PF = my GF BF.

After spending this lovely autumn weekend locked up in the law library, I am FINALLY (mostly) finished a much-dreaded memo for school! To celebrate, I ordered takeout online from PF Chang's. Due to the wonders of technology, when I arrived at the designated time, I was told I still had to wait another 35 minutes for my food. Well, that turned out to be a good thing! In the same shopping center (The Shoppes at Brinton Lake) I discovered The Fresh Market. Not merely the only store open at 7:30 on a Sunday, it's a gloriously swanky, upscale food store. As their website says, "Our stores convey the atmosphere of an old world European market, all under one roof, where you can visit an array of departments... The open air feel of our market presents a feast for the senses as colors and fragrant smells fill the atmosphere and classical music plays wafts through the air." This joint is classy! One of my joys in life is wandering around food stores looking for new GF discoveries - again, not a hobby that fits well with the rigors of law school - so it was wonderful to do some guilt-free exploring.

I've read about the new King Arthur GF baking mixes but hadn't seen them in person - voila! Some other good finds included Sharwood's papadums and San-J tamari-ginger salad dressing. They also carry Caesar's frozen GF pasta entrees, which are fantastic, especially the manicotti. Because of the location and not-cheapness, I won't be shopping here often, but it seems like a lovely place to pick up odds & ends or high-quality organic produce and meat/fish.

In other news, this week I finally tried out Seasons Pizza's gluten-free pizza. It's now being offered at the Concord Pike, Christiana, and Elsmere locations. Real talk: nothing can replace the role of gluten in pizza crust, so no pizza is going to be the same. But this is pretty darn good! The pizza comes only in medium size for $9.99 (toppings extra). The pie is small, and the crust is very thin; almost crispy but not quite there, although the melty gooey cheese is so perfect that you can trick yourself. This is about as good as it gets for gluten-free pizza. (It's also good the next day if you pop it in the toaster oven, which does crisp up the crust a bit.)

Despite the pizza talk, I've decided I must recommit to being dairy-free, or as low-dairy as I can get. The time crunch has made me rely too much on carbs and dairy for quick fix meals lately, and it's having a drastic effect on how I feel and look. It's going to be hard but I think it's for the best. Goodbye cheese, I will always love you.

Wheat dreams.

Right after my diagnosis, I would have vivid, lovelorn dreams about forbidden gluten. (Really, it is just like getting dumped.) I would wake up raging like The Hulk after dreaming of pizza. Well, some major transformation has occurred in my subconscious since then. Last night I dreamed I had a gluten-free pb&j and someone placed their regular sandwich on top of mine, rendering mine inedible. I was crestfallen. It's funny that even my dreams have turned gluten-free. Or maybe a sandwich is just a sandwich.

One of the quirks of celiac life is that, at least in my experience, you need to shop at several different grocery stores to find everything you want. This has become something of an official hobby - I enjoy checking out new stores and exploring the gluten-free items. Even if I'm not interested in the products, it's still dorkily thrilling to see what's out there. (Many of my non-GF allies have gotten into the game as well.)

Newark Natural Foods, a local co-op, is a must for gluten-free staples and treats. The prices are steep (things are usually priced above Whole Foods, which doesn't exist in Delaware anyway, though I suppose that's the cost of supporting independent stores) but I like their selection of organic produce and their huge range of GF miscellany, most of which is conveniently labeled as such on the shelves, that can't be found at chain supermarkets.

Some highlights of today's new-to-me GF haul include Flamous Falafel Chips, which are, as advertised, delicious with hummus, and Amaranth's hot dog buns. If you forget what you used to know about hot dog buns, these are quite good - they're more like a whole wheat/multigrain bun. (Which, in fact, they are. They're made with a brown rice, millet, amaranth, tapioca, coconut starch, and arrowroot flour blend.) Not that I recommend eating hot dogs often, especially given yesterday's monumentally non-shocking news, but I've had a craving. At $6 for four buns, I am reminded that GF life is not for the faint of heart and/or wallet.