Enlightened Creme: Product Review

Enlightened Cremes: chocolate and vanilla. Ingredients: coconut milk, brown rice syrup, vanilla, vanilla bean--all organic.

Is there anything more delectable than a rich, delicious, creamy dessert that boasts of health-giving benefits? Nope. Not really. How would you feel about a mousse, a frosting, a filling, a butter, a coffee enhancer that is so delicious you actually find yourself fantasizing about the mouthwatering spoonful you're soon going to savor as soon as you get home?

Meet Enlightened Creme, a vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, soy-free, diabetic friendly dairy substitute that is so damn good you would never know it was good for you. A smooth, creamy, coconutty confection so adaptable it's hard to pick one way to enjoy it. I have a hard time not eating it out of the jar by the spoonful, myself, but its versatility is truly remarkable. Enlightened Creme can be used in a base for cookie doughs, cake batters, pancakes, muffins, and more. It can be used as a frosting on cakes or cupcakes, or as a filling between two cookies, or spread over tart crusts. It can substitute whipped cream in strawberries and shortcake, and it can flavor your coffee. The best part is that the oil from the condensed coconut milk makes everything taste buttery, even though there is no butter in the recipe.

One day I hope to see Enlightened Creme-filled chocolate truffles, and Enlightened Creme-based panna cottas smothered with fresh berry compotes. Mmmm.

Rich, chewy chocolate cookies (gluten-free & vegan) from Enlighten Your Palate made into a sandwich with the chocolate mousse.

Why am I so excited about this product? Have you ever had a tofu-based dairy substitute make your eyes close with ecstasy? Cashew? Me neither. Case closed.

Enlightened Cremes: chocolate, vanilla, and raspberry mousses. Later I realized that I needed to stir the vanilla, which turned out to be more like the consistency of the raspberry mousse.

Enlightened Creme comes in three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and berry (raspberry at the moment), and each flavor stands on its own. The vanilla is light and smooth with a slightly grainy texture from the coconut, and it has a rich, buttery toffee flavor. I noticed that the vanilla likes to separate a little, so I recommend stirring it up before using it. The chocolate is very rich, with the consistency of mousse, almost milk chocolatey in flavor. The taste of coconut is less pronounced in the chocolate than it is in the vanilla. The raspberry is tart, refreshing, and light. The taste of coconut is almost absent in this one compared to the flavor of raspberry in the creme.

A fabulously flakey, "buttery," gluten-free, vegan tart crust from Enlighten Your Palate topped with the raspberry mousse and a dollop of the vanilla.

The ingredients are organic, and each of the three flavors is sweetened with brown rice syrup, agave, and xylitol. For those of you who are not familiar with xylitol, it's a plant extract with anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties that are good for teeth and deadly to candida and yeasts. It is diabetic safe. Agave is a neutrally flavored, sweet syrup that has been known for its low glycemic levels. If you have diabetes, it's best to be safe and check with your doctor before partaking in any kind of sweetener you're unfamiliar with. Once you've been given the green light, you will likely start buying these little jars by the caseload.

The chewy chocolate cookie with vanilla mousse, my favorite combination. 

The maker of these products, Teresa Estrada, founded an alternative baking and catering company in Portland, Oregon called Enlighten Your Palate in 2007, and she has been making desserts for people like you and me ever since, always with a love of good food and good health in mind. Her goal is to keep Enlighten Your Palate an intimate boutique that nourishes and entertains local connoisseurs of alternative desserts. In other words, you and me. 

Estrada (who is nearly as sweet as her desserts) calls Enlightened Creme a "beautiful accident." As a health conscious, very creative, go-getter of a woman, Estrada began experimenting with different combinations (mainly for personal use) until she perfected her recipe. Enlightened Creme is so good, she's making all three flavors available to you. If you've been looking for a dairy-free substitute like this one, like I have, then I bet you're pretty excited about it by now. And you should be. Just remember, products like these can be a little expensive, but for those of you who know how much it costs to source the ingredients that go into Enlightened Cremes, you know that they are worth it.

Estrada can be seen tabling events around town. You should also check out her website. You can book your own party, or you can order your allergic friend that birthday cake you're too intimidated to make. Wouldn't it be fun to literally taste her work and enjoy Eating Friendly...and be Enlightened?

Bollywood Theater: Restaurant Review

With so many restaurants to choose from, the bustling Portland food scene can be overwhelming. But sensitive eaters like myself have to navigate dining out like a mine field, which can shrink our choices down to a handful. Rarely do I find a restaurant that balances the best of all experiences where I can select from a list of mouthwatering dishes that offer a variety of flavors and textures that include grains, legumes, meats, vegetables, and sauces that are both edible and delectable. But now I've found one, and it's time you know about it too.

Bhel Puri: A refreshing dish that is crunchy, sweet, spicy, and light. It's my favorite dish on the menu. Make sure you ask for it gluten-free if you're gluten intolerant. Menu: potatoes, vegetables, onion, cilantro, peanuts, spices, and puffed rice, drizzled with green and tamarind chutneys. 

Bollywood Theater, an eclectic restaurant in the Alberta district, serves straightforward, well-executed Indian street food that not only makes Eating Friendly possible, but easy and enjoyable. Bollywood Theater is a counter service restaurant with upbeat, friendly staff members--a restaurant that blends aspects of casual/fine dining with an unpretentious nosh concept that delivers excellent product at a price that's easy on your wallet.

Aloo Tikki: For a simple dish, the flavors are complex. It's a hearty dish with a mixture of savory elements and refreshing mint that livens and refreshes the dish. Menu: pan-fried spiced potato patties, chickpea cholle, and green chutney.

The menu seems small at first, but it offers a variety of flavorful and intriguing choices that satisfy on many levels. Dishes range from refreshing and sweet, to spicy, to hearty. Complex layers of mint, or cilantro, or aromatic spices antagonize the taste buds, as the flavors are balanced with the above combinations.

Goan-Style Shrimp: Juicy shrimp in a delicate sweet sauce with aromatic spices served over a well-seasoned, fluffy bed of rice. Menu: spicy shrimp with curry leaves, chile, coconut milk, and lime served with saffron rice.

Bollywood Theater was conceived by Chef/owner Troy MacLarty, former chef of Lovely Hulahands and Chez Panisse "alumni," who is known for his love of great local product, and known for applying solid technique to down-to-earth cuisine. By remaining true to the ingredients, MacLarty designs his Indian dishes in respect to the original cuisine he had studied in his monthlong stay in India. Rumor has it that many have said Bollywood Theater's cuisine is reminiscent of mom's home cooking. I'm not Indian, but I can say without hesitation that it's the best Indian restaurant in the city of Portland.

Pork Vindaloo: A must-have for me every time I eat there. Tender, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth pork with a sweet and slightly spicy sauce. It is served with rolls, but you can order it with rice. Menu: Pork braised with red chilies, garlic, and vinegar served with buttered rolls.

If you're gluten-free, and you're not ultra sensitive, you'll appreciate Bollywood Theater as much as I do. Just make sure to let the person taking your order know about your food allergies. The staff seems pretty well educated, and they usually keep an alternative menu behind the counter for sensitive eaters, but you have to ask for it. Bollywood's menu is also easy for vegetarians and people who can't tolerate dairy. In many ways, the menu is able to accommodate many eaters, unless you have an allergy to citrus, spices, or garlic. Just remember to be as accommodating as you are asking your chef to be. Eating Friendly goes both ways.

As always my friends, be well and enjoy Eating Friendly.

Natural Selection: The Vegetable Lover's Restaurant (Review)

Many restaurants in the food-loving city of Portland are great, but typically, their ability to gratify my taste buds stops at great and goes no further. My partner, and Chef of Park Kitchen, David Padberg, tends to feel the same as I do, if not more so. Being a native midwesterner, and foodie who comes from a culinary desert (aside from one or two oases), I am grateful to have such an abundance of great restaurants to choose from. But occasionally, I find that one restaurant that outshines the rest, and it will sometimes change the way I eat. Matt Lightner (former chef of Castagna) had reached beyond the apex of greatness to bring us stellar cuisine. But he left us for the sequined city of New York. And in his wake, David and I have been waiting for someone to rise above the rest. 

Introducing Natural Selection, an elegant vegetarian restaurant that goes above and beyond being great to offer a lovely four-course tasting menu with two columns to choose from. The menu changes often, depending on the season and the availability of ingredients. Natural Selection offers vegan and gluten-free options, which is great for sensitive eaters. Look for the v/g label on the menu, and make sure to tell your server about your allergies so that the kitchen can accommodate you.

Natural Selection rises above the starch-heavy gut bomb of typical vegetarian food preparation to offer beautiful, elegant dishes. A tiny restaurant gracing the north Alberta district with nature-inspired vegetable preparation, Natural Selection doesn’t rely on bread, cheese, tempeh, and textured vegetable protein (TVP) to create overdressed, or mock-meat recipes that disappoint, and then charge exuberant prices because they think no one else in town is making vegetarian a truly memorable experience. In fact, the price point is very reasonable: $35 for the four course tasting menu; $21 for wine pairings. Patrons can order from the menu a la carte, which raises the price of each dish, but only slightly.

My entree: King trumpet & parsley root with sliced black truffles, spring leeks, fennel, shaved radish, and brussels sprouts. A beautifully balanced, savory/sweet dish with elements of earthiness, heat, and herbs. A gluten-free/vegan dish.

Preparing outstanding vegetarian fare is difficult, because the vegetables must stand and represent themselves. It takes a lot of time and effort to prep each ingredient to achieve the perfect texture, color, shape, and flavor. Only an attentive chef, who lovingly prepares his vegetables, can pull off a restaurant like Natural Selection. Mistakes aren't being hidden under pork belly or foie gras. Balance is everything. Herein lies the key of Chef-owner, Arron Woo's, success.

David's entree: Stinging nettles al torchio with garlic, lemon, chilis, red onion, pepitas, and parmesan cream. This dish had gluten and dairy. But they can serve it with a gluten-free pasta instead.

Every one of his dishes has the perfect balance of flavors that play off of and illuminate other ingredients (sweet, savory, salty, umami, and acidic immediately come to mind.) His food is like a dance of flavors on the palate, each competing for the limelight, and then receding into the background for the next to show off its qualities.

My dessert: a gluten-free, vegan ginger spiced cake with rhubarb and orange sauces, topped with white chocolate and apricot. The cake was spongy and moist. Everything about this dish was perfectly balanced, except the rhubarb. I thought it was a little intense, and that the orange and rhubarb sauces should have been switched around on the plate. 

Years of living with a talented chef and learning to eat a restricted diet have made me a connoisseur of smart, elegant, honest food preparation that respects quality, local ingredients, and doesn't hide behind the distraction of frills. Aaron Woo fulfills all my wishes for excellent cooking, and he does it without using meat. 

The first time we ate at Natural Selection, the server was young and inexperienced. She made a few mistakes, and given my food allergies, I was a little worried at first. Luckily, I came away from that amazing meal feeling satisfied, and feeling no pain. 


This time around, the service staff at Natural Selection was solid throughout the restaurant. Our server was impeccable. His knowledge of the menu and wine pairings gave us confidence in his ability to keep us satiated, and it gave me confidence in his ability to keep me safe from allergens. In my opinion, the attentive service at Natural Selection, combined with dishes made by Chef Woo, is a good bet for allergic eaters, because the attention to detail will likely be present throughout the meal. Of course, cross-contamination is always possible in a non-dedicated restaurant, so be sure to communicate the severity of your allergies to your server. 


Natural Selection is a casual-fine dining restaurant, so it's a great place to show off your new dress or suit, and a great place to wear a dressed-up pair of jeans.  The restaurant is small, so you'll want to make a reservation in advance. You can mention your food allergies in the comment box on Open Table, below your reservation time. 


As always, be well, and enjoy Eating Friendly.

Widmer Bros. Omission Gluten-Free Beer Review

Last week I was asked to guest blog for Beer West magazine. The subject: Widmer Brothers' Omission Gluten-Free Beers. I've written a lot of beer articles lately, and I didn't want to force overconsumption on you, so I've decided to provide you with a link to the article instead. I hope you like it. I had you in mind the entire time.



*Update on April 12, 2012: After giving it some time, I've revisited this beer. I am beginning to realize that my stomach can't digest it. I couldn't tell at first, because I accidentally ate dairy the first night I tried Omission, and then ate a heavy meal on top of that.

Omission's creating the finest gluten-free beer on the market at present, so I'm disappointed in my digestive system for creating this obstacle. Love thyself, love thyself, love thyself...

I don't think the gluten content is my problem, because I can tolerate small amounts of gluten, and tests have shown that these beers are well below the national standard for being considered gluten-free (containing less than 20 parts per million of gluten protein.) Many celiacs and gluten-intolerant people are having no symptoms from drinking Omission beers, so I think my case is rare. Still, I thought you should know that it's not for everyone.

Deschutes Brewery, Portland: Review: Bigger isn't Always Better

A very popular, high-volume watering hole and restaurant, Deschutes Brewery is bound to let a lot of details slip through the cracks. As an allergic eater, this should be a red flag, or at the very least, a yellow one. I have been to Deschutes several times now, and my overall take is--meh. 

I first discovered Deschutes Brewery by mistake. David and I stopped into the Pearl District location on July 4th of last year (me with two slices of Udi's gluten-free bread stuffed into my purse, planning to order a glass of wine and a burger--no cheese, no bun--like I always do.) The place was swarming with beer drinkers and buzzing with anticipation for late evening fireworks. Normally, David and I would leave a restaurant so teaming with bodies and with so few seats, but we were lucky enough to slip into two bar seats while a young couple got up to leave. 

And then the inevitable happened. While scanning the beer menu, the words "gluten-free" caught my eye. Joy swelled within me, until I was radiating pure excitement at the thought of sipping a beer for the first time in years. I placed my order with a very rude female bartender, but an untouchable elation had already spread across my face, and I beamed at her scowl with unwavering glee, which probably annoyed her even more. But I didn't care.

Half-pint of the gluten-free IPA (photo taken in March of 2012).

She returned with a caramel colored, frothy headed brew in a glass that had a thick rubber band wrapped around it. This is how the staff distinguishes regular beer from the single gluten-free option, which changes every few weeks. The rubber band was clever, yes, but part of me felt exposed. Anyone who understood the system would know that I was the gluten-free person in the restaurant. On the other hand, I also found camaraderie with the people who were drinking out of rubber banded glasses, and we toasted one another for finding a frothy oasis in a long-time beerless desert.

My first gluten-free beer, after the beerless years, was a fragrant, well-balanced pale ale with a rich body. Naturally, I wondered why I hadn't heard about Deschutes's gluten-free option before.

The pager went off, meaning our table became available, and soon we were ushered to the main attraction: dinner. Our server was energetic, organized, and well-educated. Noticing the rubber band around my glass, he set a gluten-friendly menu down on the table and then explained that the kitchen had a separate fryer and preparation area set aside for gluten-friendly food assembly. But they were not a dedicated gluten-free kitchen, so risk of mild contamination still existed. Unhindered, I ordered the elk burger without the cheese.

Gluten-friendly Elk Burger with fries (photo taken in March of 2012).

The elk burger comes on a house-made gluten-free focaccia. The first night I had it, the bread was fresh-baked. It was spongy and moist, and it held together, even after it absorbed the juice from the meat. The burger was juicy, full-flavored, mouthwatering deliciousness. I ate the whole thing and let David eat most of my fries.

I was in allergy-friendly heaven that night. My eyes sparkled for days beyond. I couldn't stop thinking about Deschutes's gluten-free beer, and I started making excuses to go there. All my excuses were refuted by David, who didn't want to spoil the awesomeness by burning ourselves out on the Deschutes experience. I went away telling all my gluten-free friends to go to there.

Since then, I have wished I could repeat this happy story again and again. Unfortunately, my first night at Deschutes was the pinnacle experience. It slid steeply downhill from there.

II

The second time I noshed at Deschutes, I came away half-hearted. The same rude female bartender poured my my first beer, which was a satisfyingly malty, gluten-free amber brew. I shared the burger with a friend, thinking that it was going to make a believer out of him. The bread was old, and its ingredients tasted imbalanced. The burger was over cooked. The best way to describe it--our burger was a tool used to soak up some of the booze from our systems.

III

I tried it again, this time craving the beer, but not feeling excited about the burger. We met friends, and I ordered an amazingly crisp, golden ale, similar to a wheat beer. By this time, I had learned to order the half pints, because the high alcohol content really goes to my head. Like always, I ordered the elk burger. Sadly, it was so rare and bloody that I had to send it back. I told the server not to worry about having them make me a new one. "Tell them to slap it on the grill for a few seconds and call it good," I said.

They made me a new one, and it came out in less than a minute. I thought they sent me somebody else's burger on the fly. There's no way they could have grilled me a medium-rare burger in less than sixty seconds. Knowing a little about meat (thanks to my Chef husband, David), I let it rest for a few minutes before cutting in. It was just as rare and bloody as before, literally bleeding out onto my plate.

Very apologetic, I sent the second one back.

This time, they sent the same burger back (cut in half), way overcooked. Stabbed with toothpicks, my two halves lay between the same two slices of bread I sent back, now dried out and crumbly. I would have been cool with that, but my pathetically overcooked burger came to me on a small plate with no accompaniments whatsoever. It was an obvious F-You to the picky eater in the restaurant. My server, horrified, ran to the kitchen, grabbed a fresh plate of lettuce, tomato, onion, and sauce, along with a fresh plate of fries, and came running back to the table apologizing emphatically. I told her it wasn't her fault, but I made sure to let her know that I read (loud and clear) the kitchen's response to its own mistake--made twice!

I strongly considered never going again. But Eating Friendly hadn't written an article about Deschutes. (I kept forgetting to bring my camera to dinner.) There would be another visit, of course, but it would take me a while to return without resentment.

IV

David and I met a friend at Deschutes at the end of March, 2012. I gave the gluten-free beer and elk burger one more try. For the first time, the beer was the disappointment. It was a lovelessly crafted, flat, heavy, imbalanced IPA that tasted a little like sausage. Having no other choice, unless I wanted to switch to wine, I stuck with it.

The burger, on the other hand, was just fine. It wasn't amazing, like I'd had it the first time; and it wasn't bland, like the second; and it wasn't inedible, like the third. The bread was aged, but reheated, and it was nicely textured and flavored. It stayed together, like before. The elk was cooked through, but juicy. (I learned to go for medium and hope for the best.) All-in-all, I came away feeling mildly satisfied, but certainly not dazzled.

My overall take on Deschutes:

Deschutes is a huge restaurant with a high employee turnover rate. The service staff in general comes and goes like the tide. I assume the kitchen staff waxes and wanes in the same way. The original chef, who enjoyed the challenge of cooking for allergic eaters, is probably gone by now. This makes for inconsistent service and product quality, which can be very good at times, but also, very disappointing.

If that isn't enough to conjure doubt, this might: rude service staff won't care about the consequences of celiacs ingesting a mislabeled beer. Rude kitchen staff will obviously retaliate when under pressure, and the results for highly sensitive types could be devastating.

While I would like to believe that Deschutes is a safe environment for sensitive consumers, for my own reasons, I have to tell you that you should partake with a strong degree of caution. If you go there, keep yourself safe by communicating your level of sensitivity ahead of time, and by asking for the most experienced server's section. Try to be nice about it, but don't expect niceness in return from anyone but the person who's counting on receiving your tip.

As always, my friends, be well and enjoy Eating Friendly.

Harvester Brewing: Review: Local, Dedicated, Gluten-Free

James Neumeister (Left) & John Dugan (Right)

When I first heard about Harvester Brewing, the pioneer brewmasters who started the first dedicated gluten-free (GF) beer brewery in Portland, my cheek muscles nearly seized from the sudden grin blossoming on my face. I've combed the GF beer aisles of Whole Foods and New Seasons before, and I've tried several damn good GF beers from other parts of the world. But you must know this: Portlanders have a thing for local, and I am right there with them. I am proud to know that our beermongering city has come of age and joined the GF movement grown-up style.

Harvester had a tasting last night at Belmont Station--part beer retailer, part beer bar that boasts of having over 1,200 beers in circulation. I was happy to see that our new beer makers were getting a lot of attention from GF and Non-GF drinkers alike. Harvester featured three beers: Pale Ale, Dark Ale, and Experiment Red Ale. Each beer is made of the same ingredients: chestnuts, GF oats, sorghum, cane sugar, hops, and yeast. The chestnuts are roasted to varying darknesses, which changes the consistency, color, and flavor of the beer. When asked if he planned to use other grains, head brewmaster, James Neumeister, said they were willing to experiment with other grains, including buckwheat, something I've always wanted to taste in a GF beer.

I was told that the GF oats are grown in Montana on an isolated farm. That means their are no gluten-containing grain farms in the vicinity. If that isn't enough, the GF oats are sent to a facility in Seattle for testing before making their way to Harvester Brewing. That tells you how serious these guys are about keeping customers safe.

Harvester is a two-man operation. It was started by James Neumeister in 2009, and he was joined by his partner, John Dugan, in May of 2011. Together they are creating a variety of beers that make taste buds, and sensitive tummies, very happy.

Here's the thing. These guys are just getting started. Their beers are good, but they will improve as the company and its brew masters mature with time. We need to keep our eyes on these guys, and support them by buying their products, and by asking our local beer retailers and restaurants to carry their products. If we do this for them, we will have delicious, dedicated, GF beer flowing copiously throughout our lovely river city. And people like us will be able to order a GF beer at any location we damn-well please, thank you very much!

The following are my tasting notes for each beer:

Experiment Red: An intense ale with dark, smoky, and bitter notes, with a hint of molasses in the mouth. The beer was not well balanced or very complex, and it left a bit of an aftertaste, but it had a lot of potential. I expect this one to mature as they master their technique.

Pale Ale: A refreshing, crisp, aromatic beer with a rich, silky texture. A well-balanced brew that is ripe for summer BBQs. I heard that Steve's Cheese will be selling Harvester, and I hope this fine beverage will be on the menu. It will stand up to sharp and pungent cheeses like a champ.

Dark Ale: A delicious, creamy, smoky beer with molasses on the finish. It isn't quite balanced just yet, but it is very drinkable now, and I am confident that the Dark Ale is going to be a future prize contender.

You can find Harvester beers at all New Seasons grocery stores (accept Arbor Lodge, so ask for it) and at Bridgetown Beer House, Saraveza (Yeah!), Food Front Coop, and more. Click here for a complete listing. As of right now, the beers are being sold for $5.99 per bottle. For the GF crowd, you know that's a good price. So go and get you some, and remember to drink responsibly. Make someone else drive.

Click here to "Like" Harvester's Facebook page.

Bob's Red Mill: My New Heroes are Bob and Charlee Moore

The store sells every single product Bob's Red Mill produces, and it houses a restaurant that serves many of their products, including gluten-free mixes and baked goods. (The restaurant is not GF certified.)

In the past, whenever I heard the name Bob's Red Mill, I thought of grain products packed in little plastic pouches, a red barn, and paintings of a bearded man who looked a bit like Santa Clause. I knew that Bob's Red Mill was like a grain sanctuary, and that they sold gluten-free grains and mixes as well as many other products. I knew that lovers of Bob's whole grains spanned the U.S., but I didn't know that demands for Bob's quality products come from around the globe, and that their labels are written in other languages, including Arabic.

I certainly didn't know anything about Bob Moore and his amazing wife Charlee, or their story of overcoming tragedy, or their devotion to humanitarianism. On our way to tour Bob's Red Mill, I had it in mind that I would write an article about the Whole Grain Store and the Mill itself, but that changed when I learned about these two pioneers of industry.

Bob surprised us with a visit at the end of our tour. I swear the man just appeared. It was almost like seeing Santa Clause in person. I was star struck, but I think I hid it well. It turns out, I wasn't the only one.

It was a dreary Monday morning drive to the store, and my companions and I had a burning anticipation for a whole grain breakfast and a cup of coffee.

I don't think any of us were prepared for what we saw when we walked through the sliding front doors. Shelves stocked with every Bob's Red Mill product you can think of fanned out across the front of the building. In the back right corner of the building, wooden tables dotted the space. A loft space up above ran almost the entire periphery of the building, and people sat and ate their breakfasts while looking down upon the bustling store. Seriously friends. If you've never been to the Whole Grain Store, you really should go. It's like going back in time, yet modern-day conveniences provide you with creature comforts. And some (but not all) of Bob's products cost a lot less at this store than they do at other grocers, such as Fred Meyer, Whole Foods, and New Seasons.

We ordered breakfast at a counter in the back of Bob's Whole Grain Store, took a number, went to our table, and sipped coffee in anticipation. I ordered the "wheat-free," vegan pancakes--made from the gluten-free pancake mix--and a slice of turkey ham. (The pancake mix is made in Bob's dedicated gluten-free facility, but the restaurant is not certified, so they have to call all their gluten-free products "wheat-free" in the restaurant.) My pancakes were cakey, a little dense, and delicious. They endlessly drank maple syrup like sponges, but they never seemed dry. The turkey ham was good, but the pancakes trumped the ham so I gave it to my neighbor.

Everyone else at the table ordered Bob's Favorite Breakfast: two eggs any style, corn grits, and biscuits. I thought it was weird that everyone ordered the same thing, because the restaurant menu is huge, and it offers a gluten-free and a vegan menu. Plus they had a specials board. Some of my companions ordered cereal and Belgian waffles to go with their meals. They said the waffles were a little chewy, but they said nothing about the cereal, which probably meant it was good. Everyone confirmed that the biscuits (shown above) were more like whole wheat rolls than flakey biscuits, but they said they were good. Judging from what I saw, my order was the better choice.

The dedicated gluten-free mill. 

Arriving at the mill a few minutes late, and stuffed, we were just in time to hear Kristie, our tour guide, explain how Bob recently willed his entire company to his employees. That certainly got my attention. According to Kristie, every employee is eligible to received a gifted share of company profits. It's entirely voluntary. (Who wouldn't volunteer to receive extra income?) Starting this march, they will begin collecting a share of the profits as partial owners. This happens once a year until they either quit or retire from Bob's. Employees have to sell their shares back to the company when they leave Bob's Red Mill.

Kristie then held up a book titled, "People Before Profit." In it, Bob's business (and probably his life-) philosophy are illuminated, a philosophy he and his wife, Charlee, both seem to agree on. I haven't read the book, but I got the impression that it was about using company profits to create a thriving community, starting with employees, and branching out into the local, and perhaps extended, communities to enrich the lives of others. 

Kristie wore a twinkling expression of love an admiration when she spoke about Bob. It was a thought provoking look. I have never once admired nor loved one of my employers, although I've liked one or two. I certainly haven't loved an employer with my heart like Kristie does. I was beginning to think Bob really was Santa Clause.
(I regret not getting a picture of Kristie. Sorry folks.)

The history of Bob's Red Mill goes back to the '60s. Bob, whose DNA is practically fortified with a family line of grain milling, became passionate about milling stones and their reputation for producing quality grain products. He opened his first mill in California with his wife, Charlee. That worked out for a while, but good ol' Oregon was the ultimate destination for Bob's mill.

A picture of Bob sharpening a Mill Stone. Informative pictures like this one decked the walls of the area dedicated to the tour. 

In 1978, Bob bought an old mill in Oregon City, and for years he milled the grain while Charlee ran the store (in pictures, it looked like a quaint Amish store) and did the bookkeeping. People came from miles around to buy Bob's quality grains, until 1988, when the mill burned down in a fire. At 63, Bob had to rebuild their entire operation from scratch. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the new Bob's Red Mill was erected in Milwaukie, OR ten years later. And today the company continues to expand at an approximated 24% annual rate.

Bob posing with the restaurant teams of Park Kitchen and Bent Brick. I tagged along on behalf of Eating Friendly. 

The thing is, I can tell you how clean both the gluten-free and main facilities are. I can tell you that the corn they process is non-GMO, organic, grade-A corn sourced from only two farms in the entire U.S. I can tell you that all their products are superior quality. I can tell you that stone milling keeps the temperature of the grain cool enough for it to retain its vital nutrients. (Anything above a certain temperature (approx. 110 degrees) can chemically alter the grain.) I can tell you that they store their grains in two-ton, one-use bags that have handy ties at the bottom, which allow them to funnel their products into smaller bags at appropriate production times. I can tell you that their process time--from receiving, to processing, to shipping grain products--is about three weeks, which means fresh. I can tell you that they process and sell other products, such as beans and seeds (including chia and flax). I can tell you that they test all their gluten-free grains at regular intervals to provide safe, quality ingredients to sensitive eaters. I can tell you that they have an on-sight kitchen that conducts regular product testing, and that the staff really enjoys participating in quality control, and that the successful recipes make it into a cookbook that is sold at the Whole Grain Store.

But I want to tell you that, in the middle of Bob's mill, next to the break room, sit two upright pianos. Sheet music rests on the lip of each piano. Both instruments are in tune. Kristie told us Bob had been playing when the first of the tour group arrived, and we had just missed it. Apparently Bob has regular play-offs with one of the staff members named Nancy. The pianos are available to anyone who wishes to play during break. I can tell you that Bob seemed like a nice man with a healthy dose of patience. He comes to the mill and the Whole Grain Store just to meet his customers.

I also want to tell you that Bob's sends clean, left-over grains to a shelter that provides homeless people with baked goods. Their two-ton, one-use bags are sold to farmers and similar business owners that need bags for grain storage. According to Kristie, "nothing is wasted" at Bob's Red Mill.

I came away from the tour thinking about Bob and his wife Charlee, two people who followed one man's passion, who opened and ran a humble grain mill and store together, who raised a family on top of all that, who persevered and started over late in life, and who have built a little world of their own in Milwaukie, OR, which behaves like a living time capsule. These two people have touched the lives of many, and they continue to change lives for the better every single day they are alive. I am glad I got to see that the 1% includes goodhearted people like Bob and Charlee Moore.

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Find a list of Gluten-free products produced by Bob's Red Mill.

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Bob's famous packaging: the four bag box that holds the products upright.

The Gluten-Free Corn Stone Miller. It can detect when a corn grain is too big for packaging. That grain gets picked up and cycled back into the pile with larger kernels. The hulls are collected and sold to farmers for animal feed.

A Stone Mill Wheel. Bob usually sources them from Denmark. He said he has about 100 in use on-site.

An old Stone Mill. You can see the wheels at the bottom. Bob said the wheels never touch, or at least, they're not supposed to. When they do, it ruins the grain. If you're wondering if Bob's wheels have ever touched, the answer is yes, once. He looked regretful but wise from the experience.

These one-use storage bags can hold up to two tons. As you can see here, that's a lot of grain.

Bob had a small collection of old-fashioned mills on the tour.

This is what it looks like today.