Italian Ice Cream Treat (The Brooklyn Chronicles)

I don't even know how to tell you about this one, about what I rediscovered this week. For once, more show than tell.

It starts like this:

Da (chocolate) bomb

Then you cut it open and get this:

So freakin' byoo-ta-ful

I know, right?!

This one is straight out of my Brooklyn childhood: tartufo. Fun to say, fun to look at - and delicious to eat. Gelato with a maraschino cherry and almonds nestled inside, covered in a thick layer of dark chocolate ganache. It's even better than it sounds. It evokes that Italian pastry shop taste - without the gluten.

I stumbled on this one at Russo's in Brooklyn's South Slope. (So old school, they don't have a website.) While a gluten-heavy shop, they sell some GF pasta and a freezer full of naturally GF treats like this one. They also have lovely Italian meats, olives, and cheeses - so you can totally justify making the trip, even though we both know it's the tartufo you'll be after.

Greek-American Joy (Bisquick Revisited)

Why yes, it does taste even better than it looks!

Strawberry shortcake with loads of whipped cream? Nope - better. I swear.

Gorgeousness above = Fage 0%, honey, and strawberries atop a gluten-free biscuit made with gf Bisquick. Biscuit recipe is straight from the back of the box, with butter (minus 1T) subbed for the shortening.

Nonfat yogurt has never looked this good.

Sun In Bloom (The Sweets)

Lemon-strawberry cupcakes. You want one.

Some days, you just need a cupcake. Meeting that need when you're gf? Not so easy. I will admit to baking up a tray of cupcakes from a mix when I'm desperate - and then eating way too much, of course. (Even if I just want ONE, I over-indulge; my sweet tooth doesn't have an off switch.) Or schlepping to an out-of-the way (verrrrry out-of-the-way) gf bakery, only to overindulge yet again because, I trekked ALL the way there, dag nabbit. And (whimper) doesn't little 'ol gluten-free me deserve treats?

Pathetic, I know.

But those days, they are over - thanks to Sun In Bloom (yes, the "I" is capitalized here), a Park Slope eatery that has gf cupcakes every single day, so I can get just one - and get my fix. My favorite is relatively new, the lemon-strawberry pictured above: lemony cake with lemon frosting and fresh sliced strawberries. (I like it best after it's been refrigerated, as it hardens the frosting.)

Want a sweet, but (strangely) not in the mood for a cupcake? They also offer muffins, chocolate chip cookies, whoopie pies, and banana bread (with or w/o chocolate chips) - all gluten-free! 

Carrot cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.

For all my goings on about their sweets, should mention: Sun In Bloom is a full menu organic vegan and macrobiotic eatery, with the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus available all day. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday, and the menu changes weekly, with a gluten-free pancake item offered every week. (A recent brunch menu included pancakes with caramelized bananas and fresh strawberries. Nice.) Oh, and: All items are vegan, most can be made gluten-free, and some are raw. (Gluten-free, vegan, raw cheesecake, anyone?) I can't offer savory recommendations, as I haven't sampled them yet (will post an update when I do) - but sweets? They all rock.

Cookie sandwich? Yes, please.

The restaurant space itself is gorgeous and comfortable: farm tables, loads of natural light, and high ceilings. The staff is delightful to a fault, even when presented with surly pre-caffeine, low blood sugar me some mornings. You should go there. You will like it. Open 8am-8pm every day, Sun In Bloom is located at 460 Bergen St. between 5th and 6th Avenues and can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/suninbloom

Chametz-Free (Why This Shiksa Loves Passover)

Rainbow Cookies: Italian-inspired, Jew-produced, gf-goy-girl-consumed.

I love Passover. I look forward to it every year, for one very special reason: rainbow cookies. About five years ago, Wegmans in Ithaca, NY started carrying kosher gluten-free items from Shabtai Gourmet.- but only at Passover, when observant Jews need to avoid chametz, loosely defined as leavened grain products. To my delight, these old school Italian cookies were among the offerings - AND they taste like the real deal. Moist cake, great chocolate icing, and the essential raspberry/almond flavor combo in the cake and filling. Perfetto! (Er, l'chaim!?)

Only "problem"? I can't eat just one. Or five. Really, they are addictive and unkind to my waistline. So I save them as a treat for every Passover season, when they make their appearance in NYC grocery stores such as Morton Williams and Food Emporium (where I recently found the beauties pictured above). Can't wait for Passover to get your cookie fix? Shabtai offers $5.95 flat rate shipping on all orders in the U.S.

Though this post is a tribute to gf rainbow cookies, I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend another Shabtai product, i.e. their lady fingers. They're perfect for a gf tiramisu - and more reasonably priced than the few other gf lady fingers I've seen on the market.