I get all happy on Friday. I AM TGIF! I get in my little Ford Focus Wagon and say, encouragingly, "Sweetheart! It's Friday! Only one more round of commute for the week and then you get some time off!" Of course we both know that we only get one day off. Saturday is a commute of another nature, with just as many miles logged. Then we drive up the mountain to deliver eggs to our weekly egg customer (this week they had to settle for a half-dozen chicken and a half-dozen duck). I also get to visit their dog (sweet Georgia, who knows I keep treats in the car) and their two Nigerian wethers, Roger and Wilbur. More often than not, I am slightly the worse for wear by the time I get back into my car to head to the office. Good thing there's no wardrobe checker at the door.
Since this weekend is going to be a mixed bag, weather-wise, I will split my time equally between my outdoor lists and my indoor lists. Some day I will have to go back and re-read these Friday posts. I am sure they are good for a laugh. I've tried to get some of my weekend errands done during the week so I can have more usable time on Saturday. Besides cleaning the house (I swept up a groundhog-sized hair ball this morning! - everyone's shedding!), I want to complete some of my UFOs. I mean, really, how long will it take to weave in some ends? I seem to have a real problem with actually finishing these things. But, the holidays are coming up, I am going to 'do' a craft fair with Sylvie in November, and I want/need to get more on my Etsy site. So there. I have such lofty aims, don't I?
Last night I managed to make a Queso Blanco AND make dinner at the same time. I guess those fish oil capsules are paying off! I made the poached salmon with the carrot pilaf and it was great! Of course, it took longer than 20 minutes because I used long grain brown rice. And I didn't put toasted pine nuts in the pilaf, I used some chopped sultanas in their place. Yum! I am also going to try my hand at some gluten-free baking this weekend. So far, I have had very mixed results in finding edible food replacements (read: bread/bread products) that are gluten-free. Glutino's Pretzel Twists are wonderful, but pricey. I wrote them a nice email telling them so and they sent me coupons! Cool beans! But, on the flip side, last weekend, out of sheer desperation, I dropped $6 on a King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Bread Mix. Here is my description of the outcome: ick. I should have heeded the warning bells that were set off when I read the directions on the outside of the package - 3 eggs. I find it almost impossible to describe the texture of this non-bread product. Pudding? Bread? Pudding Bread? Even though I hate-hate-hate waste, and especially hate wasting eggs that are few and far between of late, I could only choke down a third of the so-called loaf and gave the rest to the chickens. THEY loved it. So I am going to try my own gluten-free baking. I believe, however, I first must have a stand-up-and-testify moment and acknowledge that there is NO such thing as gluten-free bread. There. I've said it. But, hope springs eternal in this bread-lovin heart.
Showing posts with label gluten intolerance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten intolerance. Show all posts
Friday, October 14, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
What I am learning about being Gluten-Free.
I would have to say that the most important thing I've learned is that (gasp) I can live without bread. There, I've said it. It's been viewed. That doesn't mean that I don't really, really miss bread. What I've also learned is that - so far - it's no problem to go without gluten-free bread. I have not met one piece, rendition, loaf, slice, crumb or otherwise of GF bread that I can choke down. Of course, I have just begun this journey so there is still hope that I may find a stand-in.
Another plus side to this (besides feeling better) is that I've lost weight. I was really surprised at how many things I ate that contained gluten. This means that the usual snack suspects were no longer on the Good To Eat List. I am not counting Cape Cod Potato Chips here because those have become an obsession. Those are on my Don't You Dare Eat List. The one meal where I feel the loss of gluten most of all is breakfast. Muffins, coffeecake, toast, scones, sigh.
So, as the saying goes around the farm, I just pulled on my Big Girl Pants and got creative. This has had some added benefits - I am using grains and flours I've never tried before; some I've never heard of. Sorghum flour? Wha? Guar gum? er... There is a wealth of information on the Internet at my fingertips and lots of others have paved the path towards tolerable - yes, even delicious - gluten-free food. My biggest excitement in the breakfast arena has been rediscovering a food of my childhood. Fried Mush. Oooh. Doesn't that just sound delish? I was born and raised my first few years in Newport News, Virginia. Both my parents had been in the Navy and my dad had finished his degree in mechanical engineering in Ohio. Looking for work, he ended up finding a job at the shipyards in Newport News. So, in my formative years, I was exposed to hush puppies, spoon bread, mush, and being referred to as "A Mess". That was a big compliment back then and down there - and, although I can still be referred to as a mess on many occasions, I continue to view it as a positive comment about myself.
Back to topic. My mother was and is a stellar cook. My dad was exclusively the Grill Man. But he also had some 'specialities d' Papa'. One was fudge and the other was fried mush. Basically, fried mush is plain speak for sauteed polenta. I prefer fried mush - it's not pretentious. It's a Mess. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. To make a mess of mush, one simply stirs cornmeal into boiling water with a little salt, stirs it until it's thick, lets it cook for a while, then takes it off the heat. A quick smear of butter in a loaf pan, pour in the mush, let it cool, then put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, slice and fry in butter until slightly crispy around the edges. Serve with maple syrup. MmmMmm. It goes wonderfully with a couple of eggs and bacon. Or just all by its lonesome in a small pool of real maple syrup. Mush has given me back Breakfast.
Another plus side to this (besides feeling better) is that I've lost weight. I was really surprised at how many things I ate that contained gluten. This means that the usual snack suspects were no longer on the Good To Eat List. I am not counting Cape Cod Potato Chips here because those have become an obsession. Those are on my Don't You Dare Eat List. The one meal where I feel the loss of gluten most of all is breakfast. Muffins, coffeecake, toast, scones, sigh.
So, as the saying goes around the farm, I just pulled on my Big Girl Pants and got creative. This has had some added benefits - I am using grains and flours I've never tried before; some I've never heard of. Sorghum flour? Wha? Guar gum? er... There is a wealth of information on the Internet at my fingertips and lots of others have paved the path towards tolerable - yes, even delicious - gluten-free food. My biggest excitement in the breakfast arena has been rediscovering a food of my childhood. Fried Mush. Oooh. Doesn't that just sound delish? I was born and raised my first few years in Newport News, Virginia. Both my parents had been in the Navy and my dad had finished his degree in mechanical engineering in Ohio. Looking for work, he ended up finding a job at the shipyards in Newport News. So, in my formative years, I was exposed to hush puppies, spoon bread, mush, and being referred to as "A Mess". That was a big compliment back then and down there - and, although I can still be referred to as a mess on many occasions, I continue to view it as a positive comment about myself.
Back to topic. My mother was and is a stellar cook. My dad was exclusively the Grill Man. But he also had some 'specialities d' Papa'. One was fudge and the other was fried mush. Basically, fried mush is plain speak for sauteed polenta. I prefer fried mush - it's not pretentious. It's a Mess. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. To make a mess of mush, one simply stirs cornmeal into boiling water with a little salt, stirs it until it's thick, lets it cook for a while, then takes it off the heat. A quick smear of butter in a loaf pan, pour in the mush, let it cool, then put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, slice and fry in butter until slightly crispy around the edges. Serve with maple syrup. MmmMmm. It goes wonderfully with a couple of eggs and bacon. Or just all by its lonesome in a small pool of real maple syrup. Mush has given me back Breakfast.
Monday, August 15, 2011
This is fun!
Thank you for the idea, Carolyn - I love haiku(ing) 'tho I wouldn't quit my day job...
Chickens lay few eggs
Must I send in a masseuse
walk on chicken backs
Family fun is not
birthday full of miffs and sniffs
orphan status optional?
Beans and greens get cut
Pressure not just in canner
Ears coming out my ears
Although rain threatened all day yesterday, it didn't fall in earnest until last night and into this morning. Thankfully (this is Scrappy talking) there was a let-up just as I let them out in the yard. As soon as they came in, it started up again. After a weekend of everything out-of-sync, it was a nice feeling to be in rhythm with nature again for, even as I am Princess DeNial, daughter of the Queen of DeNial, I am facing up to the fact that I may be gluten intolerant. And, even though I am facing up to it, I have already worked out in my fevered mind ways of sneaking in bits of the bread I love. Cripe. Isn't it funny how, when you know you can. not. have. bread/chocolate/dairy/etc. it becomes the only thing you want?
I noted in my daily egg-laying journal, my hens have produced 8 eggs every day for the past four days. I would be thrilled with this if I had 8 hens. But I have over 20. So, I am not thrilled. I've checked them for parasites, I've upped their feed rations, I've cleaned their nesting boxes out every other day. Ergo, the masseuse crack. Heads will roll if the eggs don't.
I did a lot of pressure canning over the weekend - 12 pints of green beans, 6 pints and a quart of mixed vegetables, with 3.6 dozen ears of corn to go. I also dried six zucchini squash, four yellow squash and a large bunch of Swiss chard. I doubt if this will end anytime soon, as the beans, squash and chard are going gangbusters. Wish I could say the same for the tomatoes. Plenty of fruit on those miserable plants, but not a blush of color on most of them. My next indoor project is to catalogue my canned goods. While I can feel the first stirrings of tomato-mania in my heart, I need to come to grips with what I already have. I need to battle the seasonal "Channeling of the Prairie Housewife" (the one with a family of 8). I may need an intervention.
Chickens lay few eggs
Must I send in a masseuse
walk on chicken backs
Family fun is not
birthday full of miffs and sniffs
orphan status optional?
Beans and greens get cut
Pressure not just in canner
Ears coming out my ears
Although rain threatened all day yesterday, it didn't fall in earnest until last night and into this morning. Thankfully (this is Scrappy talking) there was a let-up just as I let them out in the yard. As soon as they came in, it started up again. After a weekend of everything out-of-sync, it was a nice feeling to be in rhythm with nature again for, even as I am Princess DeNial, daughter of the Queen of DeNial, I am facing up to the fact that I may be gluten intolerant. And, even though I am facing up to it, I have already worked out in my fevered mind ways of sneaking in bits of the bread I love. Cripe. Isn't it funny how, when you know you can. not. have. bread/chocolate/dairy/etc. it becomes the only thing you want?
I noted in my daily egg-laying journal, my hens have produced 8 eggs every day for the past four days. I would be thrilled with this if I had 8 hens. But I have over 20. So, I am not thrilled. I've checked them for parasites, I've upped their feed rations, I've cleaned their nesting boxes out every other day. Ergo, the masseuse crack. Heads will roll if the eggs don't.
I did a lot of pressure canning over the weekend - 12 pints of green beans, 6 pints and a quart of mixed vegetables, with 3.6 dozen ears of corn to go. I also dried six zucchini squash, four yellow squash and a large bunch of Swiss chard. I doubt if this will end anytime soon, as the beans, squash and chard are going gangbusters. Wish I could say the same for the tomatoes. Plenty of fruit on those miserable plants, but not a blush of color on most of them. My next indoor project is to catalogue my canned goods. While I can feel the first stirrings of tomato-mania in my heart, I need to come to grips with what I already have. I need to battle the seasonal "Channeling of the Prairie Housewife" (the one with a family of 8). I may need an intervention.
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