2012 Chili Fest A Success

A belated post after Hurricane Sandy.

Fun and great food were had by all at GIG's first Chili Fest on October 13th while listening to Ruby and the Diamond Kings.

A special thanks to our 6 entrants: Ellen Wasyl, Mary Anne McCarry, Lori Coco, Miriam Francis, Linda Lawton and the representatives of the Deep River Fire Department Carlos Uphold and Kevin Brewer.
Their entries varied widely including traditional beef and bean, turkey chocolate, butternut squash-white bean-chicken, and vegan black bean. All were enjoyed with corn bread donated by Pamela's (made by our GIG group volunteers), brownies donated by UDI's and coffee compliments of Westbrook Dunkin Donuts.

In the end it was a tie between the Deep River Fire Department's beef and bean chili and Miriam Francis's vegan chili.  Both taking home $300 a piece to support their respective organizations. Congratulation's to Carlos Uphold and Keven Brewer from Deep River and Miriam!

2012 Chili Fest - Volunteers Needed!

Saturday, October 13th 4 PM– 8 PM
1784 House at the Elks Lodge, Seaside Ave., Westbrook, CT
Celebrity judges will vote for the best chili!

Live music provided by

Ruby & The Diamond Kings

Tickets: $10 at the door, $8 in advance
Kids under 12 free!

Call 1-877-819-1820 or visit harvestchilifest.eventbrite.com for more info.

Our first chili fest is just a week away, and your help is needed to help make this event a success! Whether you can come and help out for an hour, two hours or even the whole 4-8 hours, every set of hands will greatly be appreciated. We need help to sell tickets, collect tickets, stamp hands and refill baskets with corn muffins.

If you want to just come and have fun, enjoy the band, enjoy some chili (vegan and gluten-free included, plus a kid-tested one), come on down!

Please e-mail Sybil Nassau at shoreglutenfree@sbcglobal.net if you can help.

And to those who have already volunteered, many thanks!

Lunch and Learn Event a Success

Our September 15th Lunch event called Lunch and Learn: The Healthy Truth About Food, Medical Research, and Nutrition, with nationally known sisters, bloggers and cookbook authors Claudia Pillows, Ph.D and Annalise Roberts, had quite a turnout. 

The morning kicked off with a lecture and slideshow presentation by Dr. Claudia Pillows, followed by a catered lunch by La Piastra Restaurant in Cromwell, CT, then a cooking demonstration by gluten-free cookbook author Annalise Roberts.



Dr. Claudia Pillows
Photo by Kirsten Carbone

Dr. Pillows talked about achieving a healthy immune system through a balanced diet and some of the latest, most up-to-date information on what we know about celiac and gluten intolerance, while injecting a little food-for-thought humor into her slideshow, like the slide that said "If grain diets help you lose weight, why are they fed to the cows to fatten them?"  Dr. Pillows also talked out digestive problems like leaky gut syndrome and she referred to the Mediteranean food pyramid as a healthy alternative resource for basics on eating.

Annalise Roberts preparing samples of her gluten-free bread
Photo by Kirsten Carbone

Annalise Roberts handed out delicious samples of some of the recipes from her latest cookbook, such as bread, lime tarts and brownies, before giving a demonstration of several of her recipes using gluten-free baking techniques, from the 2nd edition of her cookbook, Gluten-Free Baking Classics.   The recipes she demonstrated included a cupcake recipe, pie crust and bread dough.

Annalise covered the different flours used in gluten-free baking in detail, as well as the process she went through to develop and refine her recipes.   Annalise's focus is classic baking, and she thoroughly tests all of her recipes before publishing them.  One tip she gave participants was to thoroughly shake flour in a plastic bag prior to using it, then use a spoon to transfer the flour into the measuring cup before leveling, in order to keep the amount of flour in the recipe consistent.  She also recommends par-baking pie crusts before filling to prevent them from getting soggy.

The GIGSE group was very engaged and asked many questions throughout the demo.  Several found that Annalise has a warm and comfortable way of working with a group that felt like having a conversation with your good friend from next door.

Delicious Gluten-Free Cupcakes at Cupcakery

Cupcakery, a new gourmet cupcake eatery, has just opened in the quaint town of Chester, Connecticut (right in the village), and they are offering a daily selection of gluten-free cupcakes.  The chocolate flavor in particular is so dense and luscious it will remind you of molten lava cake.  I tried a gluten-free chocolate cupcake with coconut icing and it was unbelievably rich and decadent.  And each one is a little work of art, decorated to perfection, with both classic and unusual flavors like pumpkin marshmallow, caramel apple and peanut butter with peanut butter ganache.

 

Owner Kim Wilcox recommends that you call ahead for the flavor of the day (860) 526-2253. You can also place orders for parties, birthdays and other celebrations.  Cupcakery is located on the garden level of the Local Beet Co-Op, at 1A Main Street in Chester.  You can also follow them on Facebook .