Gluten Free at Taco Loco Philadelphia

I can't tell you how many times I drove past the generator powered culinary hot-spot known as Taco Loco, without even knowing it existed!  Located near the intersection of 4th street and Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia, Taco Loco operates out of a camper parked on the side of the road.  Tables are set up on the nearby sidewalk, but most people seem to just use the fold-down counter-tops or take their food to go.

I hear that Taco Loco is not located in the safest of areas.  So just to be safe, the earlier you go, the better.  Regardless, you shouldn't let anything stop you from sampling this little Mexican-American foodie gem! There were lots of options, but I kept it simple and asked for the tacos with shredded pork.  Don't get the fried pork, since cross-contamination will be likely.  Actually, go with the chicken to be extra safe.  I asked to read the corn-tortilla package to assure myself that there were no "gluten" ingredients included. None found!

The smell of the cilantro, and the spices, and the pork were too much for me to stand.  I took a few bites a bit too early, and burned the top of my mouth.  Soooo worth it:)  My take-away meal included sides of green and red chili sauce, which were both excellent.  So when you're in Philadelphia, and you're looking for some great Mexican-American cuisine, stop by Taco Loco and be prepare for some good eats!

Gluten Free Tuscan Bean Soup

Not that I'm a big fan of slush and sleet, recently shoveled parking spots blocked off with lawn chairs or milk crates, or those frigid winter days where it hurts to be outside, but I am happy things are cooling off.  Being a northern-blooded human, I'm most comfortable in temperatures between 45 and 75 d. F., so when the heat is 80s and up I feel like I'm made of soft molasses; I have no energy and I travel from one air-conditioned bubble to the next, silently wishing a cold front would move in so that I could pull my hoodies out of the "winter clothes" box, slap on a beanie cap and go tromping through multi-colored drifts of fallen leaves.  Well, the fall seems upon us:)  This whole week is in the 60s and 70s.  I love it.  I could even see my breath the other morning.  Weather like this gets me into a soup and stew mood for sure.  A little colder and I'll be experimenting with chili again:)~

This bean soup can easily be made vegetarian by switching the chicken stock with vegetable stock and leaving out the diced ham.  Meat in or meat out, you're going to enjoy every single steaming spoon of this dish.  I guarantee it!

Ingredients

• 2x 14 ounce cans of chopped tomatoes with herbs
• 2 cups roughly chopped savoy cabbage (or Cavolo Nero Leaves if you can find them)
• 2x 14 ounce cans of cannelloni beans
• 2 cups diced ham (pre-cooked)
• 2 cups GF chicken broth (or GF vegetable broth) or plain ol' water
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper (to your taste)
• 1/4 tsp. garlic salt

Cooking Directions

1. Pour the chopped tomatoes into a large pan and add the chicken broth. Season with the garlic salt, sea salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil.
2. Add the cabbage to the pan, stir in, and then partially cover the pan.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender.
3. Drain and rinse the cannelloni beans and add them to the pan along with the diced ham. Stir together and heat for another 5 minutes.
4. Check to see if the soup is seasoned right, if not, add more salt and pepper.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top.
6. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomato Ceasar Salad

Not too long ago I was sitting in Hobbs Coffee Shop in Swarthmore, PA, working on dissertation revisions and feeling hungry and over-caffeinated.  There wasn't much on the menu that was naturally gluten free, but they were having a lunch special on Chicken Caesar Salad that looked good.  I told them about my gluten-issues and they assured me that their dressing was home-made and gluten free, and that they'd simply omit the croutons.  The Romaine was served whole, but cut in half.  I loved it!  I had never eaten a salad like that before and found it fun to cut into it like a big piece of meat:)

As I was munching away I thought to myself, "I bet I can make it even better at home."  And so I did.  This version gets an extra kick from sun-dried tomatoes and a healthy dose of Parmesan cheese and grated black peppercorns.  To add some smokey undertones, I used my gas-burning stove top to slightly char the halved Romaine.  You can seriously come up with a hundred alternate versions of this one.  Just think about all the different meats, seafood, cheeses, and vegetarian combinations:) 

Make sure you completely rinse out your Romaine to get any bits of soil out (or bugs for that matter).  You'll also want to shake the heads out a bit before you halve them.  You don't want your salad being too wet and runny.

I made my croutons from the two end pieces of an Udi's gluten free bread loaf I had.  All I did was toast them up and cut them into small squares.

Ingredients

• As many halved heads of Romaine lettuce as you need (1 half per person)
• 1 small jar of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (any brand = whatever is on sale)
• Parmesan cheese (grated)
• 1-2 pounds of skinless/boneless chicken (chopped)
• Gluten Free Caesar dressing (I used Ken's Light Options Caesar Dressing - because it said "Gluten Free" on the back )
• Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions

1. Rinse out your heads of lettuce.  Shake the water out of them and cut them in half; so that both halves are held together by the root.
2. Chop up your chicken.
3. Toast and then dice up some gluten free bread.
4. Drain the olive oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes into a deep pan.
5. Chop up the sun-dried tomatoes.
6. Heat your oil over med-high heat and add the chicken when the oil is hot.  Cook the chicken, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains.
7. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and reduce to medium heat.  Stir often, and cook until the chicken is slightly browned.
8. Using either a skillet or an open gas-stove top flame, and a pair of tongs, slightly char the inside of each halved Romaine head.
9. Place each halved Romaine head on its own large plate.  First top with a generous portion of the chicken/sun-dried tomato mixture, then lightly cover the whole head with grated Parmesan cheese, grate some fresh-pepper over everything, throw on the GF croutons, and then drizzle your Caesar dressing over the top.
10. Chow down and thank me silently in your head:)