Yesterday I got together at a friend’s house (this friend is also gluten-free with a host of other allergies) with some other girlfriends for a potluck lunch and clothing swap.  We ate fantastic food and then swapped clothes for an hour or so.  We had all cleaned out our closets, pulling out things that didn’t fit anymore or that we just didn’t wear anymore, and had a sort of free market together.  It was a fantastic way to get great “new” clothes for free!  Plus, you know that your friends have good taste, so it’s like filtered shopping, AND every time you wear your friend’s clothes, you think of your friend.  AND, unlike shopping in real malls, swap-shopping means that you can “shop” and then eat fruit salad and a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free peanut butter-chocolate cream pie.  You can’t find that in any mall, for sure!

Here’s the fantastic lunch that we ate.  I made an aduki bean dip from Annemarie Colbin’s cookbook _The Natural Gourmet_.  It turned out really well and very flavorful — the recipe calls for ginger and cayenne pepper, so there’s some kick.  Otherwise, aduki beans are generally pretty bland.  I served it with raw carrots, cut up cucumber and red bell pepper, and corn chips.  My friends showed off their culinary talents with amazingly delicious spring roll wraps (with stevia substituted for the sugar called for in both of the sauces), okra-potato curry, stuffed bell peppers (stuffed with quinoa for me, with meat for the non-veggies), and a very fresh, summery fruit salad.  I didn’t take a picture of the chocolate-peanut-butter cream pie.  To be honest, I ate two slices of it, and I think that was maybe a tad bit too much.  I felt too full afterwards.  

 

Aduki Bean DipSpring Roll Wraps with Peanut Sauce & Chili Lime Sauce

Slow-Cooked Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa

Okra-Potato Curry

Fruit Salad