Char

I had a scone for breakfast almost everyday before my diagnosis. I have tried different recipes but haven't come up with a good one yet. I love to put chocolate chips in them and eat them with clotted cream. Can't use the clotted cream anymore since I am lactose intolerant but someday hope to. Maybe someone knows a lactose free whip cream that I can mix with lactose free cream cheese to make my own clotted cream. Anyway mostly I need a good scone recipe.

Here's a fantastic scone recipe from the Gluten Free Gourmand, but it calls for butter (a lot of it!!). I'm not sure what you could use to substitute... maybe earth balance?

The baking mix I used was 1.25 C white rice flour, 1/2 C potato starch and 1/4 C tapioca starch. I've done it with coconut milk (and condensed milk in a pinch) and it came out great.

http://glutenfreegourmand.blogspot.com/2009/01/recipe-for-famous-scones.html

-Char

I am a very light packer (usually one carry-on for a trip, no matter how long), so my list is shorter.

I'll always bring a few snacks (cheese and fruit if traveling for a while or (as long as there aren't any border crossings!), nuts or bars otherwise), a container of gluten-free soy sauce (I use a small re-usable 3-oz container), and at least one packet of a boil-in-the-pouch dinner (more if I'll be gone for more than a week). The Trader Joe's hash is good, and so are Tasty Bites (Indian food).

I tend to buy anything else I need if I'm cooking -- in asia, rice and rice noodles; in eastern Europe, grits and potatoes; in South America, quinoa and corn. (Western Europe tends to have a ton of health food stores that sell gluten-free food) Most places I've traveled to have rice cakes, which totally work as "sandwich bread" in a pinch.

-Char

Sorry this happened to you! This happened to me in Germany -- which, given the penchant there for meat and potatoes, is a bit surprising (especially as I kept trying to say just plain meat would be fine), but I think it was because they didn't know what gluten was and thought it was just too much bother to go through.

I've found that it helps to show them the card before you sit down. And I echo the advice of trying to find a self-catering hotel/apartment at least part of the time -- even if you can find gluten-free food, it sometimes just gets tiring when you're in a foreign city!

-Char

Tastybites are great -- they don't use up too much fuel to heat (just put into a pot and boil with some water that you can use to cook instant rice or pasta with) and have protein already in them.

Hard cheese (like a block of cheddar) works well too -- it'll be ok for a few days, although I wouldn't bring it to the desert (ok for at least up a few days in NE August summers).

Otherwise, I echo what everyone else here has said -- you'll probably have to bear bag anyway, so I think using tuna packets shouldn't be a huge issue (depends where you go, of course).

Have fun!

Hi B Gluten-Free,

I'm only gluten-intolerant, so I don't know if I'm the best guide or not, but the below are some things I've found that are fine.

1) the bbq/satay sauce in the silver metal cans (you'll know what I mean when you go into the store) - the brand = bullhead.
2) Lee Kum Kee:
http://usa.lkk.com/C...porate/faq.aspx

(including oyster sauce!)

The last time I looked at Lee Kum Kee and did my major shopping spree, one thing that was tricky was that you had to make sure that something really WAS from the US or Hong Kong. I.e. they sometimes have different ingredients for the different versions.

3) Lan Chi makes a few sauces -- "Chinese Salad Dressing" (which is just sesame paste, good for sesame noodles, yum!) and "Black Bean Sauce with Chili" (which tastes a bit off to me since I grew up on the w/ soy sauce version, but isn't bad as a make-do)

I haven't been able to find "real" traditional-tasting hoisin sauce, but I use Dynasty.

The Super 88/Hong Kong Supermarket in Allston/Brighton has these dumplings that are Vietnamese, I think, that are gluten-free; they're a bit glutinous (in the sticky sense) but otherwise quite good.

As for restaurants in Boston, I've found that the trick is to order things that are normally gluten-free anyway and make doubly-sure that there's no soy sauce or other sauce. I haven't had any terrible experiences anywhere that way.

Other than the obvious (chow fun, mei fun, things in lobster sauce, mochi), I've found that peking duck is often gluten-free (since it's traditionally made with vinegar instead of soy sauce) and so is salt & pepper fried stuff, since it's usually made with cornstarch (but I haven't asked about CC). I also think that the oyster pancake in Taiwanese restaurants (Jo Jo Taipei in Brighton and Gourmet Dumpling House (ignore the name! it's really quite good)) are gluten-free without the sauce. You can also go to any of the hot pot restaurants, and just bring the bbq/satay sauce in #1.

I've been fine with the Chinese flours, but tend to use the "general rule of thumb" applicable to most Asian groceries I buy -- i.e. brands from Taiwan/Japan first, then Hong Kong, and only then vietnam/thailand/the mainland, since I think the mainland doesn't always use the best "quality control" when it comes to listing ingredients.

Good luck!

-Char