Nick moves fast through the 100 degree heat to the precise location in his Clements Ridge Farm where the rhubarb grows. The soil is hot and I have to tread carefully, my flip flops failing to keep me afloat on the well tilled farm. Nick darts quickly between rhubarb bushes, snipping ripe Christmas colored stalks once at their base and again just before the leaves. A leafy pile forms and he tosses the first few stalks into in the box I carry in my arms, but it becomes too difficult for me to keep up with him.

Last weekend I joined 63,000 other natural foods industry members at the Anaheim convention center for Expo West, 2013. Our mission: to view, sample, and learn about what's new in the way of natural food products. With more than 2,400 exhibiting vendors, I can see why the organizers allot four full days for attendees to visit.

A few weeks ago, Patrick and I attended our second Paleo pop-up by Simone of Zenbelly Catering. This time, the event was held at Coffee Bar, a super modern open space in San Francisco's Potrerro Hill neighborhood. We were joined by my friend Justine who hosts a monthly Paleo cooking club, Michelle and Henry of NomNomPaleo (read their recap of the Zen Belly Popup), Jackie and Ben of LunchBots (I got to see their line of super slick stainless steel food containers at Expo West!), Daphne of The Fit Daffy, and Simone's boyfriend Simon (it's almost like they planned their names that way!). 

The Gluten Free Expo seems like a lifetime ago but I wanted to be sure to give some love to some favorite moments, people, products, and blogs! 

On the Friday before the expo, I had the gluten-free meal of a lifetime! Accompanying me were five out-of-town gluten-free eaters (Brandy Wendler (Mrs. Northwest), Mary Fran Wiley of Franny Cakes, Kyra Bussanich of Portland's Crave Bake Shop, Alison Needham of A Girl Defloured, and Andy Yeum of Taste Guru). We decided to meet up at the bakery so that they could pick up some treats for the road and set off for what would be an epic four-hour meal at the French Laundry. 

Although January has been pretty great so far, I’m really looking forward to February for two big reasons.

The first: Valentines Day! The one holiday a year when all the time I spent in high school perfecting heart doodles in the margins of my notes actually pays off. Ok, I worked on it throughout college too. Pretty red hearts everywhere!

The second: The Gluten-Free Allergy-Free Expo on Feb 9 & 10.

My family is not particularly known for Christmas spirit. Around this season, my house is filled with statements like:

• “I’m going to the mall to buy your present right now. Still don’t know what to get you.”
• “Mom, I don’t even like Christmas trees. I’m not going to decorate it.”
• “Ew, are we listening to Christmas music?”
  

Most mornings we aren't in the house for a traditional breakfast. The 3:00am alarm sounds and we're on our feat for the next 8 to 10 hours baking up a storm of gluten-free treats. 

It's not a complaint. Just a fact. 

So it's rare that we we actually eat breakfast at a normal breakfast hour. But I'm okay with that. 

Did you know we are offering gluten free, dairy free, and egg free gingerbread houses as part of our Gluten-free Holiday Survival Kit? The kit includes the house, two ginger folk, and a ginger christmas tree. The kit also includes gluten-free candy that you can use to pimp out your very own house! If you haven't ordered your kit yet, you have until December 16th to do so!

One of our employees, Natalie, had some fun pimping out her very own gingerbread house and was kind enough to share her writeup!

Now that Thanksgiving is outta the way, we are thrilled to announce our holiday survival kits for 2012!

To help you and your family continue your holiday traditions, we are offering a limited number of gluten-free holiday survival kits. Similar to our Thanksgiving survival kits, there will be sweet, savory, and morning treats. We've also included a DIY category if you prefer to do *most* of the baking yourself. Items include: