Gluten-free in Mastic Beach

It's not so easy to find quality gluten-free foods around here. However, I have found a few sources and will share them with you in case you are searching.

- Stop-n-Shop in Shirley has a selection of gluten-free foods, including some really good granola and rice crispies. However, all their GF cookies contain chocolate (except for some really bland ginger cookies), and not everyone wants chocolate (I don't). The one GF bread mix they sell cooks up like cake. They have GF pretzels which taste like the real thing.

- King Kullen in Shirley on William Floyd Parkway has a decent selection of Red Mill GF mixes, including the multigrain bread mix which cooks up well and can even be used untoasted for sandwiches. Be aware that the GF bags are mixed in with the non-GF Red Mill products, make sure the bag you buy says Gluten Free! Also, what is on the shelf is all that is in stock until the next Red Mill delivery. (As a side note, King Kullen seems to be the only local supermarket that sells my favourite 0% fat Greek yogurt, Stop-n-Shop have replaced it with one that tastes gross. In my humble opinion.)

I am in search of the GF flour replacement that will allow me to bake cakes, pastry, and most importantly, Yorkshire Puddings. I had a total failure this weekend with a GF "baking mix" that I used to make Banana Nut Bread. It did a good impression of a volcano inside the oven, then deflated like a sad balloon but faster, and produced two big ziploc bags full of crumbs, which the birds are enjoying. Needless to say, while the experiment was interesting--particularly the lava effect--that particular "baking mix" has gone onto the Fail list.