Lantern Fest 2015 – Event Review

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Lantern Fest - Fernley Speedway

Lantern Fest - Fernley SpeedwayI was fortunate enough that Lantern Fest invited my family to partake in their festivities on Friday. While it was magical, it was also challenging. It isn’t as easy as it seems and we only got one out of our two lanterns up and floating.  This was mostly due to the Nevada winds, unfortunately. Nevertheless, the kids had a lot of fun Lantern Fest - Fernley Speedwaydecorating the Lanterns, toasting marshmallows around the provided pits and making s’mores as well as watching all the twinkling lights from the Lanterns around us. It was an all round extraordinary event!

It was a spectacular evening regardless of the wind AND it was so breathtaking to watch hundreds of lanterns rise into the sky at once!!! It was like twinkling stars above us while the band played awesome music throughout the night.

Lantern Fest - Fernley Speedway

The location of having Lantern Fest at Fernley Speedway was great. There wasn’t any noise or light pollution to interfere with the ambiance.

While it was awesome to see the Lanterns rise… not all Lanterns did. Due to the Nevada winds many lanterns weren’t “rising” as they should, flying all over the place and into people and their belongs all the while on fire! This unfortunately happened to one of the two lanterns we had. We should had just been patient and waited the wind out and then tried releasing the second lantern then. Instead, we tried to fight the wind and eventually our Lantern tore and was no longer usable.

Lantern Fest - Fernley Speedway

It was nice that they had all kinds of activities for all ages prior to the lantern launch including entertainment during the launch which included awesome tunes from a live band to the fire performers.

All in all it was an awe inspiring sight to witness the lanterns that did rise into the sky as well as to have spent that evening experiencing releasing our Lanterns with my friends and family. I’d definitely participate in this event again!

Lantern Fest - Fernley Speedway

*** Disclaimer: I received our tickets free from Lantern Fest. I am not required to write a positive review and all opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Gluten Free Apple Cider Doughnuts

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Gluten Free Apple Cider Doughnuts | Small Town Living in Nevada

I had really been missing doughnuts for some reason or another and for good reason. I hadn’t had a doughnut in almost 2 years and then my mom goes and buy my kids and I gluten free powdered doughnuts back in June.

Well, no where in my little town do they sell gluten free doughnuts. So the next best thing was to buy doughnut pans and then experiment.

I saw a recipe for Apple Cider Doughnuts sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and thought why not lets try it!

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Chocolate Doughnut Glaze

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IMG_1445

So I had experimented with making doughnuts for the first time ever the other day. I made Gluten Free Apple Cider Doughnuts and while they were awesome in their own right I wanted to dip them in chocolate just to see if they could taste even better. Yeah, it was taste-bud overload!

Chocolate Doughnut Glaze

Glazes 2 dozen doughnuts

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate chips
  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

  1. Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted.
  2. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted.
  3. Turn off heat, add the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth.
  4. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the doughnuts immediately.
  5. Allow glaze to set for 30-60 minutes before serving.

Adapted from Alton Brown‘s Chocolate Doughnut Glaze.

CV Steak – Restaurant Review

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CV Steak LogoWe walked into the hustle and bustle of Carson Valley Inn in order to get to CV Steak. Once we arrived at the podium we were greeted by Mike Meza the Manager. He was very attentive and instantly walked us over to our booth. Once seated, Mike seemed very knowledgeable and extremely helpful when it came to explaining to me what I would be able to choose on their menu and what could be converted to Gluten Free.

Even though CV Steak doesn’t openly disclose they have gluten free entrées directly on their menu or website — they however can provide a wonderful gluten free experience in a very comfortable yet elegant setting for dinner.  And I have to say I was amazed at the numerous entrées I could choose from which includes items from their Appetizers, Chicken, Seafood, Pork and Steaks items as well as a couple of desserts like Assorted fresh berries with cream or even ice cream to end with.

CV Steak Dining Room

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Lantern Fest at the Fernley 95A Speedway

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Releasing lanterns into the night sky. Photo from http://www.thelanternfest.com

Releasing lanterns into the night sky.
Photo from http://www.thelanternfest.com

Did you know that Reno will be hosting The Lantern Fest at the Fernley 95A Speedway on Friday October 16th and Saturday October 17th?

Do you even have a clue what a Lantern Fest event even is?

Well let me tell you —- a Lantern Fest is where thousands of people come together with lanterns in hand for an extraordinary night… There is music, dancing, s’mores and then what everyone came for — to release their lanterns into the night sky!!

To learn more about the lanterns please go to: About Lantern Fest

If you want to purchase tickets for this event go to Reno Lantern Fest to get your tickets for Friday October 16th since the show on Saturday the 17th is now SOLD OUT!! Save an additional 10% off with Promo Code smtownliving2015 at http://goo.gl/SevQ6d !!

With your Lantern Pass, you will receive a wristband granting you entrance to the event, a Lantern, a marker, a lighter, and a s’mores kit (with enough supplies to make 4 s’mores). Kids 3 and under are free, ages 4 to 15 will need to register with a “$5 kids pass”, they will receive entrance to the event as well as a mini flashlight.

It should be an unforgettable night regardless if you are on a date or going with the family!

To be enter in a drawing for 2 (two) free admission tickets to the Lantern Fest in Reno click here!

Location of the Lantern Fest
Fernley 95A Speedway
1965 Highway 95A
Reno, NV

Gluten Free Breakfast Pizza

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Breakfast Pizza

I always seem to have at least a 100 eggs in my garage refrigerator at all times. When I am bored or don’t know what to make for dinner I tend to gravitate towards using up the eggs and making breakfast as our dinner.

This time I decided to make a breakfast pizza. My brother made it for me once and I really enjoyed it. So this time I decided to make one for my family. While I can’t truly remember what my brother topped his pizza with — I just scoured the fridge and went from there for my breakfast pizzas.

I found slices of ham, spinach, and wonderful onions and tomatoes from my garden. I couldn’t wait to get started!!

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How to harvest and cure your onion crop

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Onions Cured

Curing is a month-long process of drying down your onions to prep them for storage. Once properly cured, onions will store for a very long time.

When your onions are growing, their stems are succulent and green.

When your onions have finished growing, you’ll notice the lowest stems start to yellow and wilt. Soon after, the green stems will flop over at the neck. You want to wait for most of your crop to flop over as well before digging up your onions.

Carefully pull each onion out by the bulb, or by digging around it. Pulling the weakened stem could cause it to pull off entirely, and you want the stem intact to reduce the likelihood of mold. Later you will lay the onions out on the ground, or in another open, sunny area, for a day or two to dry out the roots.

Next move your onions into a shady spot so they can start their month long curing cycle. You don’t need to clean off the onions until after they are cured. (I strung my onions out to dry on a clothes line. I then left them there for 4-weeks. Downside of not laying them out is your stems will completely dry out and you might have a few of your onions fall off the clothes line due to their wilted, dried out stems.)

Homegrown Onions & Shallots | Small Town Living in Nevada

Over the next 3-4 weeks as the onions are curing, their necks will gradually wither and the papery skins will tighten around the bulbs. Once the necks are completely tight and dry, and the stems contain no moisture, you can use scissors to trim the roots off the bottom of each bulb if you so choose. I just left the roots on.

Next you want to place your onions in a well-ventilated space like a brown paper bag, mesh bag, milk crate, a rack, or any kind of storage shelf.

Remember that even after curing, onions are still alive and really need a cool, dry place to stay dormant. If there is any change in temperature or humidity, it will cause the onions to break dormancy and start sprouting stems again. So you need to check your onions every few weeks for green shoots that might emerge in storage. If you have onions that sprouted, you will need to use up those onions first.

Enjoy your onions!

Gluten Free Fish Cakes

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Fish Cake

I have never tried making Fish Cakes before and don’t know why I haven’t tried them sooner. They are quite easy to make and so tasty!

Fish Cakes are quite versatile and can be served as a snack, in a sandwich, or even as an appetizer or a side for a party.

My kids and husband thought they were great. And my husband even took the leftovers to work for lunch the next day. So I say that is a win-win dinner for Mama.

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Gluten Free Tempura Fried Calamari

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Fried Calamari Tempura Style

I love fried calamari! Since I was diagnosed gluten intolerant, I have not been able to really patron many Italian restaurants let alone order fried calamari. But I found the Walmart near me carries a 1 pound bag for $5. I cannot believe how reasonable that is! The calamari is already cleaned and cut which is even better! Nevertheless, I made up a tempura batter, dipped the calamari in and fried them up to a crispy goodness!

Gluten Free Tempura Fried Calamari

Ingredients

  • 1 lb bag of calamari, cleaned and cut
  • 1 cup arrowroot
  • 1 cup sweet rice flour
  • 1 cup white rice flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 2-3 cups ice cold water (depends on how thin you want batter)
  • Oil for frying

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a deep pot or fryer to 375º F.
  2. In a large bowl mix arrowroot, sweet rice, white rice, eggs and water together. Mix thoroughly.
  3. In batches – dredge calamari in batter, then place in hot oil.
  4. Fry 2-3 minutes or until golden and crispy.
  5. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. Transfer to a ‘Warm’ oven until all calamari is done.
  6. Repeat frying steps until all calamari is done.