Off to Camp Blogaway!

Gone Camping...

I'm off to Camp Blogaway, the original bootcamp for food and recipe bloggers this morning with Jen from Piccante Dolce! It's sold out for the third year in a row and promises to be a fun filled weekend up in the California mountains. Big thanks to Saag's Specialty Meats & Gourmet Sausages for sponsoring me to attend.

Stay tuned for pictures and a report on the weekend...

And don't forget to enter the Mary's Gone Crackers giveaway to win their full line of healthy, gluten-free crackers, cookies, and snacks!

Special Beer Pairing: Thai-Style Steamed Mussels with Coconut Milk & Basil

Thai-Style Steamed Mussels

When first approached, I jumped at the chance to create a beer pairing recipe for the New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of the popular Fat Tire beer.

I absolutely love pairing wine with food, so why not extend my skills and work with beer? My first stop was Whole Foods, where I picked up a case of Trippel Belgium Style Ale, New Belgium's boldest and strongest beer with the longest fermentation (and highest alcohol at around 8%). The beer opens with a blast of hops that smoothly gives way to complex character, finishing with a spicy punch of coriander. This was a big beer with a big personality, and not for the weak of heart. While the obvious choice would have been to go for meat, either braising or roasting it, I wanted to do something a little bit different.

Inspired by the spicy character and coriander flavors, I immediately thought of curry (coriander is one of the major components in a lot of curry), and this led me down the road to Thailand. With such a bold beer, I figured that it would hold up well to the strong flavors and spiciness of Thai aromatics. And instead of meat, I decided that I would steam mussels in the beer itself, finishing them with coconut milk and julienned basil.

(Giveaway Closed) Domestic Divas Giveaway: Win Mary's Gone Crackers Full Line of Gluten-Free Products!

See all those beautiful boxes pictured above of Mary's Gone Crackers famous gluten-free crackers? You can win them in this exclusive giveaway.

And see all of the cookies pictured below? You can win them, too.

And see all of "Sticks & Twigs" snacks? You can win them, too. All of them.

When I first cut back on eating gluten, I searched long and hard for a great cracker that would make up for all the crackers I was giving up. The first time I tasted a box of Mary's Gone Crackers, I fell in love at first bite.

How could a cracker made from a terribly healthy-sounding combination of organic ingredients like brown rice, quinoa, flax seed, and sesame seeds taste this great?

Simply put, Mary is a cracker-making goddess, and a blessing to the gluten-free world. Check out my exclusive Q&A with her below.

Mary's Gone Crackers will gift one lucky Domestic Divas reader with one of each of their products, including their famous crackers. Here's what you'll get:

• Crackers in every flavor ("Original," "Caraway," "Black Pepper," "Herb," and "Onion")
• Sticks & Twigs in every flavor ("Sea Salt," "Chipotle Tomato," and "Curry")
• Cookies in every flavor ("Chocolate Chip," "Ginger Snap," "'N' Oatmeal Raisin," and "Double Chocolate Chip")

Here's what you have to do to enter:

• Leave a SEPARATE comment on this post per entry
• Tell me your favorite cracker topping, spread and/or dip
• Make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner by either 1) following me on Twitter @domdivas; 2) joining my mailing list here; or 3) sending your contact info to domesticdivasblog [at] gmail [dot] com
• You can enter as many times as you want. More entries = more chances to win!
• The winner's name will be chosen in a random drawing
• Mary's Gone Crackers will ship this giveaway within the USA
• This giveaway will close on Friday May 6th at noon PST
• The sooner you start entering, the sooner you can start snacking!

Domestic Divas Exclusive Q&A with Mary's Gone Crackers Founder Mary Waldner

Mary Waldner, Founder of Mary's Gone Crackers

I'm indebted to Mary Waldner for bringing caraway back to me.

When I first discovered that I have a gluten intolerance several years ago, one of the hardest foods for me to give up was rye bread. I loved the flavor of caraway, and missed it like an amputated limb. And then I discovered Mary's Gone Crackers, which came in "Caraway" flavor. They quickly became my favorite crackers, and I've never looked back. I met up with them at the Natural Products Expo West and confessed my fandom of their crackers.

In this exclusive Q&A, Mary Waldner, the founder of Mary's Gone Crackers, talks to Domestic Divas about how she came up with her famous cracker recipe, what it's like to live with Celiac disease, and what her favorite flavor is.

Meatless Monday: Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Roasted Corn

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Roasted Corn

If you follow my blog, then you know that I love my slow-cooker.

It's any domestic divas best friend for life. It's inexpensive to buy (many costing only around $30) and simple to use. Just toss a bunch of ingredients in there in the morning, and by dinner time you have a fabulous dinner waiting for you. Who can argue with that?

In fact, when my cupboard is running low, and I need to throw a yummy and healthy dinner together, vegetarian chili is one of my staple recipes. Most of the ingredients for this chili are found in my (1) cupboard (canned beans, broth, canned tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, cocoa powder, cinnamon); (2) pantry (onions, garlic); or (3) freezer (roasted corn). However, from the flavor this recipe packs, you'd never know that it was a last minute throw together dish.