A Gluten-Free Kinda Morning

When I first found out I had celiac disease two years ago, I was immediately grateful that I already loved to cook.  It would be so much harder to be gluten-free if you weren’t used to whipping up stuff in your own kitchen.   

Even still, my fellow gluten-free cooks got me through — and still do.  I found so many wonderful blogs who lovingly and passionately showcased all that you can do gluten-free.  Folks like Shauna at Gluten-Free Girl, Karina at Gluten Free Goddess, and Carol at Simply…Gluten Free.   What I love about them is that they never make being gluten-free a drag or about what you can’t eat. They all celebrate the abundance of options we do have — and they are wicked funny and smart to boot!

To honor the gluten-free bloggers that have made my life so much easier, I am participating in the Book of Yum’s Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger event this month.   I decided to adopt the sassy and talented Carol Kicinski at Simply…Gluten-Free and make her Gluten-free Southwestern Eggs Benedict.

First I gathered all the ingredients I would need.

A special note, when you click on the link to Carol’s recipe you’ll notice I swapped out the chorizo sausage for some cajun style andouille and the chipotle in adobo for diced green chiles.   Sometimes that’s just how you have to roll as a gluten-free cook.   The two brands of chipotle in my market had wheat flour in them and when I inspected the ingredients for the chorizo I just couldn’t do the beef lips, lymph nodes, and salivary glands that were listed on the back. 

Never the less, I pressed on.  First I needed to make the polenta — with a little chicken stock, polenta corn meal, butter and parmesan cheese. 

Once I cooked it through for about 20 minutes, I put it into a baking dish and let it harden up.  Next, I took a biscuit cutter and made a nice round polenta cake and pan fried it.  Yum!

Next, I cooked the andouille.

And whipped up the hollandaise sauce, cut the avocado, and poached the eggs.  And guess what the coolest part of this whole recipe is?  I got the eggs from my backyard!  From these guys —

Our four hens have been so good to us lately — giving us three eggs a day — that I am constantly looking for new recipes to use their eggs in.   Oh, and in case you haven’t seen it before, you can take a tour of our suburban backyard chicken coop by going here.

So how’d it all turn out? 

It was delicious!  And passed the husband eating test.  From the looks of his plate below, think he liked it? 

Thanks for letting me “adopt” you, Carol — and thanks to all the wonderful gluten-free cooks and bloggers out there who share and inspire and make our lives so much easier!