Adventures in North Conway!

This past Thursday Mom and I were able to sneak away after work and go to North Conway! We typically go every summer and there are lots of fun shops, outlets and country stores that we love to visit. Last year when we visited we were thrilled to go to Rafferty's for lunch, this time not so much. Listen to my story.

Our first stop was a store on the way to downtown where we love to look around and where I've found my most favorite earrings, ones I get compliments on all the time! Lat year I bought two pairs, one stud and one drop style, but unfortunately I lost one of my studs! I wanted to go back especially to try and "rebuy" so I could wear the earrings again. One earring out of a pair doesn't do me much good! When we got there as always there are lots of options and Mom and I took several several minutes to decide which ones we wanted to purchase. I wasn't quite sure which one matched my lonely earring, so I bought the pair I thought matched it and another one that I liked as well. I unpacked our goodies this morning and it doesn't match :( but they are still pretty and I will enjoy wearing them. Now NEXT summer I know which one to get!

After this stop we continued down to downtown North Conway. We visited our favorite country stores and walked across the street to a HUGE tent that had winter coats to see if they had any good ones for me, but they were all ski-style and not what I was looking for. Before we knew it we were getting hungry! We drove over to Rafferty's and got a table and expected to have as good an experience as last time. But soon it was obvious we weren't. Rafferty's pub has the largest gluten free menu in New England (I think) or at least New Hampshire. Last year when we asked about my soy allergy, it wasn't a problem, but this year it certainly was. The chef came out and started telling us what he could do. He basically said that soy is in everything. He even said that they don't use real butter? That the rotisserie chicken they serve is not made in house? That they sautee everything in fake soy based butter substitute? Wow. After hearing about all this fake food I quickly lost my desire to eat there and Mom and I left, disgusted! 

For starters, a green crunchy salad.

The oven!

That says it all!

Real meat!

My pizza!

Look at those delicious caramelized onions!

Luckily there are lots of gluten free restaurant options in North Conway so we went over to Flatbreads to check it out. We've heard they have gluten free pizza for a while, and they have a great perspective on food, so we've been meaning to try it but never have! Upon walking in we knew instantly it would be good. The atmosphere was so fun, our waitress very helpful, and it wasn't cold in the restaurant (which we always hate). To answer our soy questions, she brought out the label of the gluten free pizza crust which actually was quite nutritious, made with wholesome gluten free grains and yeast, NOT the typical white rice flour, potato starch. We were starving, since it was like 7:15 pm, by the time we left Rafferty's and waited for a table, etc, etc, so we ordered their basic salad right away. It had seaweed on top and it was delicious! The waitress totally understood about soy being in the salad dressings and she happily offered us olive oil and balsamic vinegar which we happily accepted! I am so glad we got a salad since the pizza was a long, unfortunately, wait. Their gluten free pizza is only available in a small size, but it's more than enough for one person. I got their Coevolution pizza with steak and red sauce, and Mom got the Community pizza with chicken. BOTH were delicious. My pizza was underdone and the steak still pink, but I was so hungry that we weren't about to send it back to cook it more. Mom's pizza had mushrooms (gasp) that she forgot to tell them to leave off, but they were surprisingly very good, and I (we) HATE mushrooms! Mom and I shared slices and both ate about half of the pizzas! I would go back to Flatbreads in heart beat. My new NH destination (which I never had before) for gluten free pizza! I am so happy that it was made with real food ingredients.

Insert my face here!

After it was getting late and the outlets were closing soon, but it was 8:30 and we wanted ice cream. Off to Ben and Jerry's we went! I got a Chocowlate Chip and Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl in a cup and Mom got the New York Super Fudge Chunk. It was DELICIOUS. 

It was such an incredibly relaxing day together with good company, shopping and real food. I love days like that.

CUCUMBERS!

Homegrown :)

We grew our own! Mom set up planters in the front yard, it was all her doing. Now after a few weeks we JUST picked our first one. I can hardly believe it! It made me feel so much like a farmer :) My mom named him "Henry" (I have no clue why, hmm, don't ask) and we had such fun picking him from the vine. Complete with pictures. Then we ate him. And Henry went to cucumber heaven!

The moment of truth!

Delicious with some healthy, nutritious and real celtic sea salt. Contrary to popular belief, salt is good for you. But like with lots of foods it matters what kind or type of salt you're buying. Celtic sea salt is an unrefined, naturally harvested sea salt that is not beached or stripped of any minerals in any way; it has no additives, no chemicals and no preservatives. It is quite the opposite of iodized salt which is very damaging to our health. You can really taste the difference, and your body knows the difference. It's a bit on the pricey side for salt, but nothing bad at all and the cost is worth it for your health. This kind is most perfect for cucumbers.

Cucumbers + salt = love.


Real foodies... do you grow anything at home, or wish you did?

LIVER!

Look at this lovely liver waiting for me!

Liver is such a superfood. Since learning about real food and the WAPF, I've been meaning to add foods like organ meats to my diet. It hasn't been easy, mainly because the first problem is finding a source. The second problem, the actual cooking, isn't that big of a deal for me. I have other food bloggers that have blazed the organ meat trail before me and have left behind several good recipes! After finally finding out a good source of grass-fed organ meats at a local gourmet food store, I can now jump in and try my taste buds out on some interesting "new" traditional foods, which I've never ever eaten before. Eek!

Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of my liver attempts and I just ate the last of the casserole for lunch! In the package of liver there were 4 beautiful beef livers. I took them out, rinsed, tossed them in olive oil and then breaded them in almond + coconut flour with smoked paprika. I fried it up with onions and ate it with roasted zucchini and sweet potato disks. Even with the loads of ketchup I put on top I could still not get over the fact that I was eating liver!! The texture is soo different and while the taste wasn't bad, it was queer, for lack of a better word. I think half of it was in my head :)

With the liver leftovers (lots) I placed them in a dish and pureed them with a hand blender. Then I added this liver puree to a casserole I made in my "new-old" Wapak cast iron pan that had sauteed veggies, tomato paste, chunks of raw cheddar cheese, and ground turkey; the casserole was topped with almond flour, olive oil and raw milk parmesan cheese and placed under the broiler for about 5 minutes until brown and bubbling. This casserole, while you could still taste the liver sometimes, was quite good, and spicy! I'm definitely going to try this again with less liver and spices. I ate the leftovers throughout the week and felt great. Liver is a superfood!

Have you ever tried liver or other organ meats? What did you think, would you do it again?