pasta Archives - Cruisin with the Colemans

Gluten is Not My Friend

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

Oh how I wish we were the best of friends. The pastries, the pizza, the pasta, the bread, Lord have mercy, the bread. I want to have a relationship with these foods like no other relationship I have had before. Sorry, Brian but you get me.

I don’t want to linger on this discussion because I made a decision many years ago that my life will not be defined by whether or not I eat gluten. But I do think it’s an important topic for those who care to understand how I manage my food allergy.

Let me take you back to our first pilgrimage in 2017 on the Camino Frances in Spain. I ate zero gluten the entire trip and, with regards to food, I was miserable. I hated missing out, I hated have to explain my food allergy to every sweet person trying to give food to a hungry pilgrim, but most of all I hated being defined by my food allergy.

In 2019 when we walked part of the Camino France and all of the Camino Portuguese, I decided food allergy be dammed, I am eating whatever I want. LOL My body said, “Oh you want to play that game, let me show you who’s really in charge.” Guess what? It’s not the mind, it’s the stomach. I paid a hefty price on that pilgrimage. I had breathing issues, anxiety, and the horrific, constant wheat belly. When I eat gluten, my belly protrudes and makes me look very round in the middle until is processes through my body at a snails pace as it impacts my breathing. I didn’t want to believe the gluten was to blame, denial was much easier to manage.

Fast forward to when we decided to go on another pilgrimage. I spent the year working with my doctor to ensure my heart and lungs were functioning well (since I developed breathing issues). I got a colonoscopy where my doctor did two different tests for celiac disease. He confirmed that I do not have celiac disease. Well, there’s a win!

I went to my allergy doctor, we decided to go ahead with a food allergy test. Guess what? Dang it, it was confirmed that I am allergic to wheat. Not the, “you will go into anaphylactic shock,” type of allergy but one step down, a moderate allergy. I already knew that but my mind needed the confirmation. Now what? I am going to Italy! I am eating the pasta! Ughh!! But I will not let my food allergy define me.

I did some research and found a gluten relief pill to help ease the pain my body goes through to process wheat. Click here to see what I use.* It’s not a perfect system, but as long as I take it before I eat wheat, my body processes it a bit faster. I still have a bit of breathing issue and my belly still protrudes some but it helps the wheat process faster.

On pilgrimage, the greatest problem is that we are at the mercy of those who are providing food for us. Some places we stay only have bread and coffee for breakfast as that is typical for Italians. I am not going to hike on coffee alone. See my blog, “I’m Hungry and I Don’t Want to Talk About It.” Therefore, I avoid gluten when I can, I take the preventative pill and eat it when I have to do so.

Life is a delicate balance of choices whether you have a food allergy or not. Sometimes we eat too much, drink too much, and that’s just life. My allergy will not define me, it’s just part of the consideration when I make choices. I can feel a life lesson in there, can you?

On this day, I found gluten free snacks! And a cappuccino with chocolate. 🥳

*We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Recipe of the Week – Sautéed Chicken with Garlicky Pasta

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Cruisin Brian

We love to entertain guests but there are only so may opportunities during the weekend with our busy schedules. That leaves weeknight entertaining, but who has time for a fancy dinner after work? Sautéed Chicken with Garlicky Pasta comes together quickly and is perfect for a “Sunday dinner” any night of the week. Serve with a green salad and invite some company for dinner on a weeknight!
Start by heating some olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Season four chicken cutlets with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes per side.

While the chicken is cooking slice half of a red onion, a small package of baby bella or white mushrooms, four cloves of garlic and about one tablespoon of fresh thyme. Take two or three tomatoes and core then slice them thinly. Dispose of the seeds and juice that result.

Remove the chicken and keep it warm (I usually put it on a plate and stick it in the microwave to get it out-of-the-way). Add a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary. Toss in the mushrooms and onion and saute until soft. Meanwhile start a pot of water to boil for the pasta. Cook two ounces of spaghetti per person according to package directions.

Add garlic, thyme, and tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are heated through.

Pour two cups of chicken broth into the pan and scrape up any browned bits (this is called deglazing). Make a slurry by mixing one tablespoon of gluten-free flour with two tablespoons of water and add to the pan along with one teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Add the chicken and any juices on the plate back into pan and allow the sauce to thicken. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Portion out the spaghetti on plates and top with sauce and chicken. If you really want to get fancy, sprinkle some chopped parsley on top or a little parmesan cheese.

Sauteéd Chicken with Garlicky Pasta

1 T olive oil, plus a little more
4 chicken cutlets
1/2 pound white or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
2-3 tomatoes, cored and sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T fresh thyme, chopped
8 oz gluten-free spaghetti
2 C chicken broth
1 T gluten-free flour blend
1 t Dijon mustard
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
4 T parmesan cheese (optional)

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat and saute chicken about 5 minutes on each side. Place chicken aside and keep warm.
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Add a little additional oil to pan and saute mushrooms and onion until soft. Add garlic, thyme, and tomatoes and heat through.
Deglaze the pan with chicken broth and add a slurry of flour mixed with 2 T of water. Stir in Dijon and allow sauce to thicken. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings if needed.
Top with parsley and parmesan, if desired.

Recipe of the Week – Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Tomatoes, and Pepperoni

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Cruisin Brian

Before you turn your nose up on this one, keep on reading. It doesn’t sound like its going to work, but it is actually really good and quite easy to make over the campfire itself, at home in the oven, or even on the grill.
The original recipe comes from the January 2013 issue of Women’s Day and you can find it here.
If you’ve been reading my recipes so far, you know that I don’t do a great job of following the recipe exactly, and this one is no exception so read carefully for my modifications. As always, I’ve cut the recipe in half during preperation since only two of us are eating and we don’t want leftovers. All of the quantities listed are the full amounts.
Start off by cooking 12 oz of your favorite short pasta. Shells or rotini would work best. We use gluten free pasta when we cook because Michelle is celiac. There is some debate about adding oil to your cooking water. Generally you SHOULD NOT do it but this recipe is an exception. When you pour the pasta out of the pan, the oil floating on the top of the water will coat the pasta which will help keep it from sticking together while it waits to be added to the grill. This is the same reason you should not do it normally, it will keep the sauce from sticking to the pasta!
While the pasta is cooking, cut up a smallish head of cauliflower into bite size flowerettes. If they are too big it will take longer to cook and you run the risk of burning the outsides. Also cut up a pint of grape tomatoes into halves. Throw it all onto a grill pan (or piece of heavy duty foil). Next give it all a drizzle of olive oil, salt (not too much), pepper, and garlic pepper. Finally top it with sliced pepperoni. Do not mix it up at this point.

By now your pasta should be done cooking. Drain it and put it into your serving bowl. If you didn’t add oil to the water, add a little now and mix it all together. Take everything outside to the grill.

On a medium grill, let things get good and hot and once you see that the edges of the cauliflower are browning and the tomatoes are giving up some juice, start to mix it up a bit. Now you just have to play it by ear. You want the cauliflower to get nice and browned and the tomatoes to get a good blister. I like it when the pepperoni get a little crunchy too, plus they will give up more oil which will lube up the veggies.
Once everything is to your desired degree of doneness, pour it on top of the pasta and mix it all together. Sprinkle with some parmesan cheese and fresh parsley or green onions and dinner is ready!
So my modification on ingredients was just the addition of the garlic powder and parmesan cheese. You could also add lots of other veggies if you want. I think zucchini, asparagus, or mushrooms would all make a great addition. If your not a pepperoni fan, smoked sausage, grilled chicken, or even shrimp could be nice.
Here’s my version, check out the link at the top if you want to cook the whole thing in the oven at home.

Pasta with Grilled Cauliflower, Tomatoes, and Pepperoni

1 small head of cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
2 T olive oil, divided
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
12 oz small pasta such as rotini or shells
1 pint of grape tomatoes
6 oz pepperoni
2 T parmesan cheese
chopped parsley or green onions for garnish fish (optional)

Cook the pasta with a little oil in the pot. While the pasta is cooking, layer the cauliflower and halved tomatoes on a grill pan or piece of heavy duty foil (on a cookie sheet to carry out to the grill). Drizzle the remaining oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cover with pepperoni.
Drain the pasta and take everything out to the grill. Grill the veggies for about 3-5 minutes before stirring to mix the pepperoni in. Let the cauliflower brown and tomatoes blister.
Mix the veggie mixture into the pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and garnish.
Let us know what you think of this recipe by leaving a comment!