I am very pleased that Rudi’s Organic Bakery– a small Boulder bread-maker that became a national organic bread supplier- now offers a gluten-free sandwich bread from Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery. Their catch phrase says it all: “Gluten-free doesn’t have to mean bread free.”

I was invited to celebrate the launch of this great new gluten-free bread at Root Down in Denver. Rudi’s and Root Down put together a fantastic gluten-free meal for me and some fellow food bloggers, and we all got to taste this new bread for ourselves.

The first dish was fantastic. Rocky Mountain Ford Cantaloupe and Tomato Gazpacho served with Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery Tomato Jam Grilled Cheese. I could have eaten a few of those sandwiches… so good. Good thing they gave us the recipe. I’m sure to post again on this grilled cheese sandwich.

Next I had a roasted beet salad, which was a lot prettier than what I plate at home!

The Pan-Seared, Line Caught Halibut with Black Quinoa and Grilled Corn was some of the best fish I’ve had in a long time. Root Down gets their halibut flown in fresh from Alaska, and at this point I’d say it’s worth going to Root Down just to have some halibut. Delicious.

The dessert, Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery Bread Pudding with Sour Cream Ice Cream, truly showcased Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bread. I was completely fooled into thinking this bread pudding was made with regular bread. Root Down and Rudi’s graciously shared this recipe with me and I will re-create it and post it here soon.

So, thanks to Root Down for serving one of the best meals I’ve had in Denver. And thanks to Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery for baking such a great gluten-free product that will be widely available for gluten-free eaters across the country.

I LOVE bread. Sometimes it feels like a weakness, especially when I bite into a warm, crusty, freshly baked bread. Something takes over me and I just can’t stop! bite after bite after bite.

So, since I’m trying to make as much from scratch as possible, I decided it was time to take a bread making class. I am so fortunate here in boulder to have the Culinary School of the Rockies in town. They offered a two-day, 10 hour Rustic Bread class and I jumped on the opportunity to have a hands-on lesson from a bread-making pro.

That is exactly what I got. I will keep blogging about my bread making. But, first I need to eat all of the bread I got to take home!

Edamame. It’s not just a fun word to say… it’s fun to eat. I got a big bag of edamame in my CSA share from Ollin Farms and was eager to eat the little green beans. I hadn’t had edamame since they were in season last summer, which seems like a long time ago now!

First, I brought a large pot of water to a boil. Then, I added my edamame (maybe a pound?) in their shells and let them boil with a pinch of sea salt for 3-4 minutes. I fished them out of the water and rinsed them in cold water to stop them from cooking.

Now comes the fun part: shelling them. Ask for help here if you want to eat these within a reasonable amount of time.

I dressed mine with sea salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and 3 cloves of garlic that I grilled, let cool, and coarsely chopped. Yum. The grilled garlic flavor really compliments the buttery flavor and texture of edamame. I’m definitely going to make this dish again.

I can’t believe I forgot how much I love pan-fried zucchini. I totally spaced this out and stood there staring into my fridge thinking, “What the **** am I going to do with all this zucchini?”

Then the hungry voice from the living room yells, “Do we have enough to bread and fry?”

Genius! Yes! We DO have enough to bread and fry. How did I forget that I loved doing that last summer when I had tons of zucchini?

It is easy. Slice the zucchini. Crack a few eggs in a bowl and mix them well.

Get another bowl for your breading. I used whole wheat flour mixed with 1 tsp sea salt and 1 tablespoon Spicy Spanish Paprika from Savory Spice Shop.

Then, get an assembly line going. Dip in the egg, roll in the breading, place on a plate. Then pan-fry them on medium high in a little olive oil until golden and crispy on each side. It’s best to only flip them once so you don’t lose any breading.

Let them sit on some paper towels to drain off any excess oil before devouring them all.

Enjoy.