Eats: Primal and gloriously gluten free — Tripp’s Primal Farm and Kafe in Auburn

If you are one of those many people intolerant to gluten, you know how the story goes . . .

While meeting friends to catch up over coffee, you approach the pastry counter and the aroma alone is as close to nirvana as it gets. Everyone picks a mouth-watering pastry, and although you nod your head in agreement with your friends that each and every cinnamon bun, muffin and tart look amazing, you sigh and take a seat with only a coffee in hand.

Well, no more.

Owners Mark and Jenn Tripp recently opened Tripp’s Primal Farm and Kafe at 1056 Center St. in Auburn and it has all the sights and smells of an old-fashioned bakery, but without one ingredient: gluten.

It all started back in 2009 when Mark, an Auburn firefighter, decided it was time to get in shape and eat more nutritious meals.

“A friend and I began our journey of living a primal blueprint lifestyle,” he said. “In a nutshell, it is cutting out grains and high-processed carbohydrates. And I’ve been maintaining a healthy lifestyle ever since. With farm-fresh eggs and organically raised bacon as a mainstay for breakfast, I wanted something different. And to be honest, I missed my cereal. So I played with different combinations of seeds, nuts and raw honey. The end result was Primal Krunch, which I could pour into a bowl with berries and almond milk or grab as an ‘on-the-go’ breakfast or snack.”

You may ask: What has primal living got to do with opening a gluten-free bakery?

“As my friends saw me succeed with a grain-free diet, they wanted in!” Mark said with a laugh. “They loved the Primal Krunch, but wanted more. So I began experimenting in making other grain-free items such as cookies, muffins and bread. Then the encouragement came for opening a bakery. But going only grain-free was too small of a target. Since bread has become the ‘staple of life’ for nearly every culture, there are a lot of people that take the most basic form of nourishment for granted. This is not so for people with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity. By adding gluten-free products, it widened our target and made us become passionate about producing a wholesome line of gluten-free items that are difficult to find.”

The couple say only the healthiest of ingredients are used.

“We stay as natural and local as possible,” said Jenn. “We use only organic butter, Maine maple syrup, raw honey, homemade mayonnaise, farm-fresh eggs, olive oil and Himalayan salt. We stay away from anything that has been processed in any way.”

The result is a charming, eat-in or take-out bakery at the former location of the Bread Shack, with a delightfully vast line of gluten-free and grain-free treats and meals.

If the smell of Maine’s own Carrabassett coffee doesn’t awaken the senses, the display case lined with tasty delights certainly will. The cinnamon buns are huge, with glaze dripping down the sides. Muffins include pumpkin pecan, blueberry and apple cinnamon. Occasionally doughnuts grace the menu as well. And , but if you prefer something to warm up the soul, there are breakfast wraps, French toast, Belgium waffles and pancakes.

Loaves of bread are baked daily. There is cinnamon raisin, honey oat and white, and a grain-free white as well. On Fridays, Mark and Jenn offer Freezer Friday specials.

But that’s only some of what Tripp’s has to offer.

The lunch menu has numerous items. On Friday, fish chowder is always the soup of the day; other daily soup specials include cream of broccoli, chicken and vegetable and creamy sausage. Sweet potato bombs are a huge hit, as is Mark’s famous sweet potato chili, which is an everyday menu item.

“Salads include buffalo chicken and spinach with bacon,” said Jenn. “Sandwiches and wraps include steak and cheese and Cape Cod chicken salad. On Saturday we have a special of zucchini spaghetti, which is topped with homemade meat sauce, onions, green peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms. If possible all of the meat is local, farm-raised.”

What bakery wouldn’t be complete without desserts, which at Tripp’s vary each day.

“You can round out your meal with a cookie or a slice of pie or cake,” said Jenn. “Maybe a triple-berry tart is more to your liking . . . but then the whoopie pies and brownies are pretty yummy.”

And for those wanting only grain-free,” added Mark, “we offer three grain-free cookies.

For those who are gluten intolerant, and have been confined to a health food store, or spent money and time with concoctions only worthy of the trash can, walking into Tripp’s establishment is nothing short of pure bliss.

“It took a lot of time and experimenting with different blends of flours to get the perfect combination to make a gluten-free product that has the right texture and also pleasing to the palate,” said Mark. “Most of our items have their own unique blend to maximize flavor, but it’s so worth it when we see the smiles on customers’ faces. We had a couple come in with their 6-year-old daughter. She was highly allergic to gluten and when her parents told her she could pick out anything she wanted, the expression on her face said it all. It almost brought tears to our eyes.”

People even comment on how they would never know it was gluten-free.

“I had someone say they don’t eat gluten-free because of the taste,” said Mark. “Then I handed him a cinnamon bun to taste. I think the quote was something like ‘Wow, this is the best cinnamon bun I’ve tasted; gluten-free or not.’ It was priceless!”

With Mark raising heritage breed pork and range-free chickens organically and humanely, it was only natural to add healthy meats to his lunches and offer a line of frozen meats at Tripp’s Primal Farm and Kafe.

“Heritage breeds have been around since the early American times and thrive better in a natural environment than commercially; they grow slower and are not as lean,” said Mark. “They are able to forage and produce a high-quality, deeper color meat. . . . We call it the other ‘red’ meat; it’s that dark. Customers can buy it by the pound or a half or full pig.”

Cuts of meat offered are bacon, country-style ribs, pork chops and sausages. Free-range chickens, wings, drumsticks, thighs and breasts are available too (all meats subject to availability). Meats are all sold as frozen, but Mark said, “If people give me a call, we’ll be happy to thaw it for them. We also sell our own BBQ sauce that is free of gluten, grain, soy and high fructose corn syrup.”

You don’t have to be gluten intolerant to check out and enjoy the offerings at Tripp’s Primal Farm and Kafe.

“Our mission is simple,” said Mark. “Living a grain- or gluten-free lifestyle should be accessible and convenient; we hope to offer that. Our products are all at minimum gluten free, and we also offer a variety of grain-free products as well. Whether a grain/gluten-free lifestyle is for you or not, you will find something here you’ll love.”

“You’ll enter as strangers and leave as friends,” added Jenn.

Mark’s healthy BBQ ribs

Ingredients:

One rack of organically raised, heritage, St. Louis-style rack of ribs

Bottle of Tripp’s BBQ sauce (free of grain, gluten, soy and high fructose corn syrup)

1/4 cup white vinegar

Himalayan salt and fresh-cracked pepper

Instructions:

Rub the ribs with salt and pepper, place in a baking pan and put 1/4 cup vinegar in the pan. Cover with aluminum foil or place in oven bag and cook at 225 degrees for about 3 hours. Take ribs out, slather with BBQ sauce and continue cooking for an hour or until the meat is pulling away from the bone ends. If preferred, grill for extra flavor.

Serves 3 to 4.

Bacon-wrapped asparagus

Ingredients:

1 pound organically grown heritage-breed bacon

2 pounds asparagus

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Mix the oil, garlic, salt and pepper together.

Set aside.

Bend each asparagus spear between your two hands; they will “snap” in the perfect spot. Discard ends.

Pour oil mixture over asparagus and brush to assure coverage.

Wrap the asparagus in bundles of 2-4 with the bacon.

Place on sheet pan in 400-degree, preheated oven. When bacon is done, remove from oven and serve. Serves 4.

Coffee ice cream

Ingredients:

16 ounces coconut milk

1/2 cup extra-dark maple syrup

2 tablespoons decaf instant coffee

3 egg yolks

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a low boil while whisking. Remove and let cool, strain into a medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for two hours. Place in ice cream maker and run until desired consistency. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.