Tonight, our guest will be Robin Green from Midge’s Muffins (www.midgesmuffins.com).  If you’ve never tasted Robin’s treats, you’re in for a sweet surprise!  They are AMAZING!  She will be bringing samples, as well as product that will be available for purchase.

We will also be talking about take-along foods…foods that are easy to take along for lunches or to school.  So, bring your ideas to share and packaging, if you have any, so we can look at other potential allergens.

We had several new people attending for the first time at this meeting and a really nice attendance, considering some messy roads.  I’m so glad that you all ventured out for the meeting!

New samples for this meeting from Pamela’s (cookies, chip clips, hats & t-shirts), Glutino (pretzels), and some other fun stuff. The vendors have been very generous in sharing samples with us. It’s so nice to be able to try new products without spending a lot of money, only to find out we may not like the items.

 We sampled some Miss Roben’s Soft Pretzels that the Allergy Grocer was so nice to supply for us.  Susan, who was not able to attend the meeting, was nice enough to prepare these for the group. [Thanks, Susan!]  Some preparation notes that she sent along:

These were prepared with yeast, olive oil, and vinegar.  I used warm water.

• Way too thick & sticky for a hand mixer.  Use a heavy duty stand mixer.
• Takes 15 min. (at least ) to brown on bottom before you turn them.
• Pretty much have to make “sticks” because dough is very difficult to work with.  I attempted a “pretzel shape” & it did not work.
• I baked these on a silicon baking sheet instead of greasing a pan–this may have affected browning.

We were also treated to some donut holes from Celiac Specialties in Chesterfield Township, near Detroit.  These were pretty much amazing!  They sent us glazed and cinnamon sugar.  They were a cake-like donut, not fluffy, like a Krispy Kreme style. 

 Allison was also nice enought to make us some really, really good peanut-butter, chocolate chip cookies from a recipe found on the All Recipes website.  [Thanks, Allison!]  For convenience, I will reprint the recipe here, but be sure to visit the site for a LOT of really great recipes!

Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies

Submitted by: Jackie Rated: 5 out of 5 by 29 members

Yields: 15 servings

“This recipe is gluten-free and delicious! Pecans are great in these, but feel free to use peanuts or any other nut you choose.”

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups peanut butter 2 cups white sugar 4 eggs, beaten

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional) 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheet.
2.	Combine peanut butter, eggs, and sugar and mix until smooth. Mix in chocolate chips and nuts, if desired. Spoon dough by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet.
3.	Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 5 to 10 minutes before removing.

Everyone who attended received a bag full of sample products from various gluten-free vendors.  We will be posting reveiws of these products in the near future.  If you would like to add your comments about the pretzels, donut holes or cookies, please do so by leaving a comment.

I have been busy contacting various vendors regarding sending us samples and have gotten some VERY positive responses!  I’m so excited about it!  We have some hot cereal from Bob’s Red Mill, some dry mixes from the Allergy Grocer, and a TON of stuff from Lundberg Family Farms!  I’m talking about a TON!  There were 5 huge boxes waiting for me at home!  Today, I came home to samples for the group from Cebe.  I can’t believe how generous the vendors have been!

I need some volunteers to do some baking, though!  How about it?  Just let me know if you can help.  Boy, I think we all need to skip dinner before the November 19 meeting! 

I also need some volunteers to write some posts for the website.  They can be anything–like…

• restaurant reviews
• product reviews
• book reviews
• general information about Celiac or GF Living
• Celiac/GF events that are coming up
• etc. — be creative! 

We also want to get the word out to the general public about the group so we can help as many people as we can.  I had some business/information cards printed, so I’ll pass those out at the next meeting.  If you have some ideas, please let me know!