I feel blessed to have such wonderful friends, and I am always reminded this during our monthly Potlucks. This month’s Potluck theme was ‘Favorite Dish’. I was scared with this one, a bit worried about whether people would alter their favorite dishes to accommodate my dietary needs, but as always I was stunned at the love of my friends. The Menu included the following, with GF marking gluten free items:
Back Row (Left to Right): Split Pea Soup (GF), Asparagus and Spinach Soup (GF), Mashed Potatoes (GF), Apple and Cheddar Risotto (GF)
Front Row (Left to Right): Mac and Cheese (GF), Spaghetti Squash Pie (GF), Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pancakes.
Not Shown: Artichoke Dip (GF), Artichoke Dip Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cannoli Dip (GF), Strawberries (GF, duh), Tea (GF), and Caramel Rice Cakes (GF)
But one question: Who knew that favorite dishes were so tan/brown themed!? I mean really:
It wasn’t a visually appealing plate all things considered, but it was another successful and filling potluck. And a tiring one apparently:
During clean up we even got the opportunity to discuss cross contamination with two friends who were new to the potluck. As they were cleaning they combined the non-gluten free artichoke dip bread with the remaining mac and cheese, resulting in me going into a bit of a panic about my left overs. But, I pulled my dramatic self together quick to turn it into a learning experience about my diagnosis, my symptoms (they were medical background so could stomach the details), and cross contamination that we all enjoyed.
One change that could make the potlucks better?: Purchasing little chalk signs for the food for each contributor to fill out, including whether they are gluten free, vegetarian, vegan etc. We shall see!
Celtic Celiac @ http://celtic-celiac.blogspot.com/