Well, more than a week, boy I am really getting lazy here. Awful...... Didn't feel up to doing much the past 3 days or so as I am recuperating from trying to get really sick. Darling hubby gave me his sinus infection to bronchial bug before he left town this past weekend. Well, missed 2 days of work to fight it and Hooray! It looks like I beat it! It never got down into my chest which is a great thing! I still am very tired though as I haven't slept hardly at all the past 3 nights, and I keep waking up at 4am. Guess my bod is trying to tell me that it's that time to adjust the clocks again. The problem is, is that it's really messing me up. I just was sooooo sleepy all day today! And I am amazed that I could function at all without messing everything up that I touched. I did manage to mess up my leave slip though, got the timesheet right, but did a backwards thing between annual and sick leave. Thank god for the gals in payroll! They keep me honest!
I did work a bit on baking and the cookbook while I was home sick. Used the new type or brand of gluten free flour mix that I ordered before we left on vacation. It's all in there, and you are just supposed to use it like regular flour with the only adjustments being made in the liquids. So I used some with my favorite spices and made some chicken tenders for the freezer. I guess you coat them in a container with the flour mixture, then chill them in the fridge overnight and then put them on a cookie sheet laid out to freeze. We'll see how they are when hubby gets back. I also made a slightly different buttermilk bread with a split top with melted butter. I am not sure about that one though will probably taste it tomorrow. The loaf looks beautiful though so we'll see. And before my energy ran out I was craving plain cake doughnuts, so I made some, with a slightly different recipe than my last one, I wasn't impressed as much with how they turned out, I honestly don't think they taste as good. The usual mix I use is by Bob's Red Mill and the base is beans, so things are a bit heavier but I like the flavor. This new stuff is from betterbatter.org, so I'll see how it turns out on the bread. Although I did a little math, the Bob's Red Mill mixes are a bit cheaper when buying in bulk, but the loaves haven't turned out quite as pretty as this last one. Oh well, we'll see!
The critters.... ah life is better with pets, or so some would say. I might be inclined to agree most days. It's been an adventure since hubby left on his trip last Sunday. For starters, the dogs, who mostly love to be around the hubby more, are behaving much better when he's gone. And actually want to be around me. Lil'Shit is probably the most clingiest lately. I know he's losing his hearing and you have to get his attention either by a loud sharp noise or visually to get him to do anything.
The cats, 2 of them think they own me, and the other owns hubby, have been an entirely entertainingly different matter. I finally figured out what Yummy, (hubby's owner) has been playing with or chasing when he is racing around on the bed. Seems it's his tail! Most times I think his tail has a mind of it's own as it always manages to keep moving and ends up under a foot coming down, and now I think he thinks the same. His tail is always moving, and when he is on the bed, he attacks it like it's some alien or such. He'll watch over his shoulder and when it "swishes" around he goes for it. He manages to catch it about a third of the time, then when he does catch it and bites he jumps like someone got him and his expression goes from surprised to indignant. I catch him playing like this in the evenings when I'm in the bathroom getting ready for bed or in the mornings getting ready for work. And this has become highly entertaining, he just gets so wound up! And for a fat cat, he's fast!
Now for Mushy, poor old man, I don't know where I'd be without him today. He truly has been my lifesaver for a long, long time. Seems that now he's developing separation anxiety now. He has had some wonderful changes in him since this last spring when I was learning the Tellington Ttouch. He was never a cuddler, he might have snuggled on a cold night with me in bed, or slept near to keep me alive if I was choking at night, but he came out of his shell with the Ttouch. Now he is a cuddler and is addicted to the touch. Also as of this last vacation he has become very possessive of me when I got home. Some days he'll tolerate the other animals loving on me, other days he is so possessive he'll swat everyone even hubby! Well I guess he really didn't like that I was gone for over a week, because after I got back from the airport and dropping hubby off for his flight (the airport is 65 miles away) he really got frantic and clingy and needy. He had to be held and didn't want to be put down, he was adamant about that! OUCH! I think he saw me helping hubby pack and then we left together, and perhaps thought I was leaving again.
I think that over the last 2 days he's finally starting to calm down. But still keeps me in his sight paths. I am not sure how he did today with me going back to work, and when I sat down for a minute after getting home and feeding everyone, he was right there wanting to lay on my chest and shoulder. Now a cat with separation anxiety! I love though how we've bonded even closer through the Ttouch, and I regret not learning this sooner to be able to have more time with him. It's not easy to have 2 wonderful pets, that you love very much, who are in their twilight years. I endeavor to do my best by them throughout these remaining years or months, love them, and keep up the Ttouch.
Well good news, hubby gets back day after tomorrow! Hooray! I am happy about that, maybe I will get some sleep now!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
remiss in posting.... oops!
Well it's been over a week since I posted anything. So bad! Been a strange week though.
With all the hoo ha over the elections, (btw I did my civic duty and voted this past Saturday), I am glad I don't watch the TV. The negativity, ignorance and hate coming from the republican side of things is awful! and depressing! And that it isn't helping the economy at all is even worse. You read about all these people losing their homes and livelihoods and you pray it never happens to someone you know or are close to. However, today it did hit close to home for me. A coworker/friend is losing her house and it's awful! This shouldn't be happening. And she was not one of those who overbought or got into trouble with an ARM or Balloon mortgage, she is a divorcee by herself with a small house that she doesn't own the land under, she commutes perhaps 30 miles a day for work, and has a horse that is her lifeline and sanity. But in our area, boarding stables here are a gigantic ripoff, 400 a month for one horse not always including feed. Anyhow, she came to work with us in Feb this year, and makes more gross than she did previously, but our HR has made it mandatory that everyone will pay into state retirement. It is this deduction that is causing her to make less take home than before, and she cannot meet her bills. And the state retirement agency said it wasn't mandatory, but our HR says it is, and no one is helping her. She is such a compassionate animal person, she would rather lose her house than her horse who she loves, and is scared that if she has to give him up he'll end up in the auction yard. So I am networking with everyone and everything I can, because this is not right that good hard working people who are responsible should lose their home and so much more.
And yes, I am on a rant.... I just hope I can help in some way.
And on now to foods.... LOL We found an excellent sauce for us needing wheat free stuff, and it was reasonable at Costco. It is made by Simply Natural and is their Scampi sauce. It is delicious and we like it with Chicken or it can be with Pork too. So here's the simple meal we do with it.
Chicken Scampi over Brown Rice
6 to 8 fresh or frozen chicken breast tenders placed into a covered corning dish with enough sauce to cover. Cover the dish and bake at 35o for about 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over brown rice.
It's a fast easy wheat free meal to make, and if you cook the chicken in the sauce pan by sauteing it can take less time if they aren't frozen. It also makes excellent leftovers for lunch too.
Now since Hubby can't have tomatoes either anymore, I have to figure out good non-tomato sauces for pastas, and not all cheesy stuff. I also need to figure out something for lasagna which was his favorite dish. Fun! I like challenges!
I do have to say though, overall I am feeling so much better and more alert (if the dogs ever let me sleep), and more energetic. It is also nice to not have the strange side effects I was having when I ate wheat. I still need to severely cut back on my corn consumption also. But overall, I know when I got something I shouldn't have immediately because my body reacts so quickly with bloating, or such, or not so nice or pain free results. We have a theory about why we are all so intolerant of alot of our foods anymore. I feel alot of is because of the chemicals to "bleach", preserve, and prolong shelf life, being stored that long with the "soup" that is used to make it so appealing and last longer is bound to change it so much our bodies find it toxic, and even if we do get it fresh, the body still perceives it as toxic. That and irradiating everything certainly can change it genetically so it is no longer what it was and is not compatible with us any longer. We have so abused and mucked things up it's sad. All for convenience. I know we have through planting, grafting, and cross pollination changed our crops genetically to improve the crop, but get real, fish genes into tomatoes? When in nature or without our current science would that ever happen?
Oh well, I am crashing here and it's time for lights out, put the dogs up and find my pillow that is calling me. :)
With all the hoo ha over the elections, (btw I did my civic duty and voted this past Saturday), I am glad I don't watch the TV. The negativity, ignorance and hate coming from the republican side of things is awful! and depressing! And that it isn't helping the economy at all is even worse. You read about all these people losing their homes and livelihoods and you pray it never happens to someone you know or are close to. However, today it did hit close to home for me. A coworker/friend is losing her house and it's awful! This shouldn't be happening. And she was not one of those who overbought or got into trouble with an ARM or Balloon mortgage, she is a divorcee by herself with a small house that she doesn't own the land under, she commutes perhaps 30 miles a day for work, and has a horse that is her lifeline and sanity. But in our area, boarding stables here are a gigantic ripoff, 400 a month for one horse not always including feed. Anyhow, she came to work with us in Feb this year, and makes more gross than she did previously, but our HR has made it mandatory that everyone will pay into state retirement. It is this deduction that is causing her to make less take home than before, and she cannot meet her bills. And the state retirement agency said it wasn't mandatory, but our HR says it is, and no one is helping her. She is such a compassionate animal person, she would rather lose her house than her horse who she loves, and is scared that if she has to give him up he'll end up in the auction yard. So I am networking with everyone and everything I can, because this is not right that good hard working people who are responsible should lose their home and so much more.
And yes, I am on a rant.... I just hope I can help in some way.
And on now to foods.... LOL We found an excellent sauce for us needing wheat free stuff, and it was reasonable at Costco. It is made by Simply Natural and is their Scampi sauce. It is delicious and we like it with Chicken or it can be with Pork too. So here's the simple meal we do with it.
Chicken Scampi over Brown Rice
6 to 8 fresh or frozen chicken breast tenders placed into a covered corning dish with enough sauce to cover. Cover the dish and bake at 35o for about 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over brown rice.
It's a fast easy wheat free meal to make, and if you cook the chicken in the sauce pan by sauteing it can take less time if they aren't frozen. It also makes excellent leftovers for lunch too.
Now since Hubby can't have tomatoes either anymore, I have to figure out good non-tomato sauces for pastas, and not all cheesy stuff. I also need to figure out something for lasagna which was his favorite dish. Fun! I like challenges!
I do have to say though, overall I am feeling so much better and more alert (if the dogs ever let me sleep), and more energetic. It is also nice to not have the strange side effects I was having when I ate wheat. I still need to severely cut back on my corn consumption also. But overall, I know when I got something I shouldn't have immediately because my body reacts so quickly with bloating, or such, or not so nice or pain free results. We have a theory about why we are all so intolerant of alot of our foods anymore. I feel alot of is because of the chemicals to "bleach", preserve, and prolong shelf life, being stored that long with the "soup" that is used to make it so appealing and last longer is bound to change it so much our bodies find it toxic, and even if we do get it fresh, the body still perceives it as toxic. That and irradiating everything certainly can change it genetically so it is no longer what it was and is not compatible with us any longer. We have so abused and mucked things up it's sad. All for convenience. I know we have through planting, grafting, and cross pollination changed our crops genetically to improve the crop, but get real, fish genes into tomatoes? When in nature or without our current science would that ever happen?
Oh well, I am crashing here and it's time for lights out, put the dogs up and find my pillow that is calling me. :)
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Home, Sweet Home again!
Well we got home today at noon. I am never getting up that early to catch a plane again! 4 hour flight, left at 9 est, and we got up at 4am! Because we had to return the rental car, and that could have taken quite awhile, and then security at Orlando can take almost as long as some of the ride lines at Disney! Turned out we only got turned around a little finding the car return, and walked right through security. Waited about 2 hrs before we could board. Wasn't too bad, but we were hungry.
I discovered that with the exception of the sit down dining places in Disney, there isn't much out and around Kissimmee/Clermont area for those of us needing to dine without wheat. :o( I am positive that one (possibly more) meal(s) had some wheat in them because my HS hit me within 24 hours, granted it was a small one, and let go pretty quickly. I just need it to finally heal now. And besides the food was simply soooooo much better in Disney. I think the most amazing meal I got to have was lunch in the Brown Derby in Disney Hollywood Studios.
We had fun, got overheated as the humidity was high even if it was in the low to mid 80's and had afternoon showers most days. I have some new favorite rides, and there are new ones since I was last there 10 yrs ago! Unless you are deathly afraid of heights and dropping a ways.... I would strongly recommend these, Soarin in Epcot, you simulate this amazing hang glide; Everest Expedition and Kali River Rapids in Animal Kingdom, (you do get soaked at the Kali ride); and of course the Tower of Terror, based off the Twilight Zone episode; and the Rockin Roller Coaster with Aerosmith, both in Disney Hollywood Studios. The Rockin Roller Coaster is one that will leave you breathless! WOW.....
Anyhow, while it was fun to go, I am happy to be home again. We are footsore and tired because you never sleep as good as you do in your own bed. And we missed having alot of foods we just couldn't get there that we can at home. I know though, we'll be going back within a year, I just wish perhaps it could be in January, when it's less hot and less crowded. Epcot was a zoo as was the Magic Kingdom. I just don't enjoy the crowds anymore, must be getting to be a fuddy duddy I guess. LOL
Now off to make that WF/GF mac and cheese hubby is craving! :)
I discovered that with the exception of the sit down dining places in Disney, there isn't much out and around Kissimmee/Clermont area for those of us needing to dine without wheat. :o( I am positive that one (possibly more) meal(s) had some wheat in them because my HS hit me within 24 hours, granted it was a small one, and let go pretty quickly. I just need it to finally heal now. And besides the food was simply soooooo much better in Disney. I think the most amazing meal I got to have was lunch in the Brown Derby in Disney Hollywood Studios.
We had fun, got overheated as the humidity was high even if it was in the low to mid 80's and had afternoon showers most days. I have some new favorite rides, and there are new ones since I was last there 10 yrs ago! Unless you are deathly afraid of heights and dropping a ways.... I would strongly recommend these, Soarin in Epcot, you simulate this amazing hang glide; Everest Expedition and Kali River Rapids in Animal Kingdom, (you do get soaked at the Kali ride); and of course the Tower of Terror, based off the Twilight Zone episode; and the Rockin Roller Coaster with Aerosmith, both in Disney Hollywood Studios. The Rockin Roller Coaster is one that will leave you breathless! WOW.....
Anyhow, while it was fun to go, I am happy to be home again. We are footsore and tired because you never sleep as good as you do in your own bed. And we missed having alot of foods we just couldn't get there that we can at home. I know though, we'll be going back within a year, I just wish perhaps it could be in January, when it's less hot and less crowded. Epcot was a zoo as was the Magic Kingdom. I just don't enjoy the crowds anymore, must be getting to be a fuddy duddy I guess. LOL
Now off to make that WF/GF mac and cheese hubby is craving! :)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Vacation, 2 days in, and already can't walk.....
Well..... we got here. Had supper the evening of arrival at one of our fav places in Florida, Sonny's bar-b-que. This one wasn"t as good as the one in Jupiter, but it was yummy and lots to pick from for those of us with no wheat.
Spent yesterday in Epcot, First we did a little cafe thingy in The Land for "breakfast", it wasn't really what I wanted, the only thing we OMG!could have was a scoop of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. Couldn't have the bread or biscuit. So I was a little bummed about that. This is the month of the Food and Wine Festival here in Epcot, and most of the wine tasting booths, even though they offer a few regional food items from the country of the wine, they were all things that had flour or such, like pastries, or quiche, or baklava. Well you get the idea. So there wasn't much at the small food vendors or the quick cafes that I could have, bummer huh? Anyhow we were all the wIon't know how ay in the back of the park by Japan when we had to do the power walk all the way back up front to the building we were to be at for the cheese tasting, americana. The cheeses were fabulous, but they were to be paired with beer. Can't have that either except for the wheat free ones like Red Bridge by Anhueser Busch. But we did taste an absolutely amazing bleu cheese out of Oregon, called Crater Lake Blue. Wow!!!! and I don't like bleu cheese as a rule but this was to die for. Then sis and hubby took me on the Mission to Space ride and did the extreme. OMG! I got so sick and disorented, I don't know how I didn't loose all that wonderful cheese. Then we headed off for some supper. Unfortunately I believe there was some communication error and the park was much more crowded than earlier, so we didn't make reservations and ended up in Morroco for supper. They don't have much wheat or GF to select from for supper. Sad really, because we love middle eastern foods. And by that time I was also in ALOT of pain across my hips. And the poor waiter needs a bit more education between wheat and gluten. ah well, it wasn't my first choice for supper because I knew there wouldn't be much to select from. Needless to say we hit the Taco Bell on the way back to the condo for the fillers.
Today we did lunch at the Rainforest Cafe in the Animal Kingdom, I had a very very very yummy chicken asian salad. YUM! Hubby had their Volcano Nachos, LOL very mild, not heat to them really especially since we come from the land of thermonuclear chilies and food. So funny, but they were tasty. Did the Kali Rapid raft ride, got totally soaked, and then went to the Mt. Everest ride, WOW! So fun, but I must have done something to my foot and hobbled back out to the car as hubby had to go get checked in for his conference. Wonder if we'll go for the all you can eat lobster and crab for supper tonite.... mmmmm, now that is GF and I could eat alot of that.
Well that's all for now
I'll be hobbling through the week.
Spent yesterday in Epcot, First we did a little cafe thingy in The Land for "breakfast", it wasn't really what I wanted, the only thing we OMG!could have was a scoop of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. Couldn't have the bread or biscuit. So I was a little bummed about that. This is the month of the Food and Wine Festival here in Epcot, and most of the wine tasting booths, even though they offer a few regional food items from the country of the wine, they were all things that had flour or such, like pastries, or quiche, or baklava. Well you get the idea. So there wasn't much at the small food vendors or the quick cafes that I could have, bummer huh? Anyhow we were all the wIon't know how ay in the back of the park by Japan when we had to do the power walk all the way back up front to the building we were to be at for the cheese tasting, americana. The cheeses were fabulous, but they were to be paired with beer. Can't have that either except for the wheat free ones like Red Bridge by Anhueser Busch. But we did taste an absolutely amazing bleu cheese out of Oregon, called Crater Lake Blue. Wow!!!! and I don't like bleu cheese as a rule but this was to die for. Then sis and hubby took me on the Mission to Space ride and did the extreme. OMG! I got so sick and disorented, I don't know how I didn't loose all that wonderful cheese. Then we headed off for some supper. Unfortunately I believe there was some communication error and the park was much more crowded than earlier, so we didn't make reservations and ended up in Morroco for supper. They don't have much wheat or GF to select from for supper. Sad really, because we love middle eastern foods. And by that time I was also in ALOT of pain across my hips. And the poor waiter needs a bit more education between wheat and gluten. ah well, it wasn't my first choice for supper because I knew there wouldn't be much to select from. Needless to say we hit the Taco Bell on the way back to the condo for the fillers.
Today we did lunch at the Rainforest Cafe in the Animal Kingdom, I had a very very very yummy chicken asian salad. YUM! Hubby had their Volcano Nachos, LOL very mild, not heat to them really especially since we come from the land of thermonuclear chilies and food. So funny, but they were tasty. Did the Kali Rapid raft ride, got totally soaked, and then went to the Mt. Everest ride, WOW! So fun, but I must have done something to my foot and hobbled back out to the car as hubby had to go get checked in for his conference. Wonder if we'll go for the all you can eat lobster and crab for supper tonite.... mmmmm, now that is GF and I could eat alot of that.
Well that's all for now
I'll be hobbling through the week.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Just over 23 hours and counting....
Woo Hoo! Vacation is almost here! Hooray! However, I am not overly impressed with Southwest right at the moment. I have been unable to print my boarding pass and check in online. Grrrrrr, and when I spoke to rep, they said they didn't know why, but that I would have to check in, in person with my ID, that I must have been randomly picked for this. Sheesh..... Now I really need to make sure to check in early to be assured of a seat. I really, really hate this...
Moving right along...... My bread turned out fabulous with the full adjustments to the original recipe. Much fluffier and taller. And my new flour mix arrived last evening. Alas though, it will have to wait until I get back from Vacation to try it out. Bummer.....
It's been a strange week starting Sunday after Hubby left for Seattle. Got some news I never ever figured I would get in a hundred years. And it threw me for a bit of a loop and took me a couple of days to figure out. But as of last evening it led to contact with some people from the past whom I've missed and it was all good. So we shall see how it works out.
So the ticket thing I guess is just the icing to a weird week! LOL.... And I am very focused today on making it through today and all the stuff I need to accomplish tonight before heading out. I am so excited to have some time off from work!
Well off and running again.... let me leave you with this image which I truly believe says the state of things for the US at this point in time, it's from one of the sister sites for my favorite site that keeps me sane. LOL
Moving right along...... My bread turned out fabulous with the full adjustments to the original recipe. Much fluffier and taller. And my new flour mix arrived last evening. Alas though, it will have to wait until I get back from Vacation to try it out. Bummer.....
It's been a strange week starting Sunday after Hubby left for Seattle. Got some news I never ever figured I would get in a hundred years. And it threw me for a bit of a loop and took me a couple of days to figure out. But as of last evening it led to contact with some people from the past whom I've missed and it was all good. So we shall see how it works out.
So the ticket thing I guess is just the icing to a weird week! LOL.... And I am very focused today on making it through today and all the stuff I need to accomplish tonight before heading out. I am so excited to have some time off from work!
Well off and running again.... let me leave you with this image which I truly believe says the state of things for the US at this point in time, it's from one of the sister sites for my favorite site that keeps me sane. LOL
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Now it's too quiet.......
Well, I guess I have all the time in the world to bake today. I am home alone, hubby left for Seattle this morning. It's gonna be a long quiet week. So now I wonder what trouble can I get into?
I found a new Gluten free flour blend that I ordered some of and will try it out. You are supposed to be able to use it just like regular flour, in any recipe, and the only change will be the increase in liquids. I can't wait to try it out, and hope that it bakes lighter than the bean based blend I have been using. Which we love by the way. Also on this gals' site (the one who makes the flour) there is a contest to bake a better pie using that flour. I guess I need to get out my ex-mother in-law's really buttery/flakey crust recipe and try it for my Maple Sweet Potato Cheesecake Pie. I got the pie recipe from a diabetic cookbook and it uses pure maple syrup for the sweet in it. Not much of it even. And boy is it yummy! So when I make it with the crust recipe and it turns out yummy, I will post the recipe here and try for the contest. Oh the web address for this gf flour mix is: www.betterbatter.org
It ended up per pound being cheaper than what I have been using. If it is as great as it is purported to be, I will be ordering from them from now on. :)
A couple of Sundays ago, I ordered some brown rice pasta from another company, one who makes their own I assume that is wheat and gluten free. I have been trying to chase down this company as I still haven't received my order, and when they did respond they only said they sent it Monday, not which Monday, and they ship UPS. No tracking number, nothing. I am not happy. I guess I should have stuck to the one place I ordered the Tinkyada brand from. Stupid me.
I found at Trader Joe's today some brown rice tortillas, so will try them this week also. I also found they have wheat/gluten free frozen waffles and pancakes for the toaster. So will try them also. And wonder of all wonders! LOL... we found one of the wheat free brands of beer. RedBridge by Anhueser Busch. It isn't bad actually and I actually like it, especially very cold. But it's made from Sorghum, not hops and barley. It's nice to know now that I can enjoy a beer still once in a while. :o)
Ah well, time to go bake a bit I guess! LOL Wonder what mess I should make now? LOL LOL
I found a new Gluten free flour blend that I ordered some of and will try it out. You are supposed to be able to use it just like regular flour, in any recipe, and the only change will be the increase in liquids. I can't wait to try it out, and hope that it bakes lighter than the bean based blend I have been using. Which we love by the way. Also on this gals' site (the one who makes the flour) there is a contest to bake a better pie using that flour. I guess I need to get out my ex-mother in-law's really buttery/flakey crust recipe and try it for my Maple Sweet Potato Cheesecake Pie. I got the pie recipe from a diabetic cookbook and it uses pure maple syrup for the sweet in it. Not much of it even. And boy is it yummy! So when I make it with the crust recipe and it turns out yummy, I will post the recipe here and try for the contest. Oh the web address for this gf flour mix is: www.betterbatter.org
It ended up per pound being cheaper than what I have been using. If it is as great as it is purported to be, I will be ordering from them from now on. :)
A couple of Sundays ago, I ordered some brown rice pasta from another company, one who makes their own I assume that is wheat and gluten free. I have been trying to chase down this company as I still haven't received my order, and when they did respond they only said they sent it Monday, not which Monday, and they ship UPS. No tracking number, nothing. I am not happy. I guess I should have stuck to the one place I ordered the Tinkyada brand from. Stupid me.
I found at Trader Joe's today some brown rice tortillas, so will try them this week also. I also found they have wheat/gluten free frozen waffles and pancakes for the toaster. So will try them also. And wonder of all wonders! LOL... we found one of the wheat free brands of beer. RedBridge by Anhueser Busch. It isn't bad actually and I actually like it, especially very cold. But it's made from Sorghum, not hops and barley. It's nice to know now that I can enjoy a beer still once in a while. :o)
Ah well, time to go bake a bit I guess! LOL Wonder what mess I should make now? LOL LOL
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
I think I could be in trouble.....
And it's ok, because I can blame it on the brother. :D I don't know how he finds these sites, but this one is good! And the extreme brat in me put my sis-in-law's name in for it. LOL Want to get your name on the net and run for President in good fun? then go here, watch your video and share it with friends.
http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=357563&altf=Sipoeb&altl=Sphfst&lap=2
Too funny! Well done! the person(s) who put all this together are creative geniuses. :D
Now, who else can I pull this on? LOL LOL
Well the weekend baking, Saturday went fab, Sunday, hmmmm, 1/2 not so good, the other half was great.
Thought I would try to convert a tortilla recipe to GF. Well that was a fiasco. no way that was gonna work, maybe if I had put some Xanthan gum in. So I punted with the failure dough and threw in more liquid, and X-gum, and lemon juice and attempted to make Hamburger buns from there. They feel a bit solid despite rising well, so we'll see. The buttermilk scones on the other hand are excellent!
I have decided though that perhaps trying to make the tortillas may be more work than I am willing to fight with. I have limited counter space so it isn't easy to do many things that require rolling. And so found a company online who makes them with brown rice flour. And our local organic food coop carries this brand. I am most certainly willing to pay for them, less hassle for me and ready any time I want them. :)
So baking other things though or making meals without the wheat flour I am willing to work with. I did also discover that one company makes wheat free graham crackers also sold at the coop, I will have to get them to make my graham cracker crust for the Maple Sweet Potato Cheesecake pie for the holidays. We just love that pie and it is a diabetic recipe I got last year. It is so yummy and creamy. And we love it better than plain old pumpkin pie. Some how though for regular pies I don't think I'll have problems making the pie crusts and converting them. So we will see how the holiday baking goes. May have to make little pies, and maybe if I feel ambitious enough make Pecan Pie.
On the soft chocolate cookies that are more like cake morsels, I realized this evening cleaning out the pantry of all wheat items, that I have some cream cheese frostings in there, so..... I can frost some of those cookies for an added sugar zing! Woo Hoo!
You know, if anyone wants a recipe, or has one they would like converted, let me know, heck, I'll give it a go!
http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=357563&altf=Sipoeb&altl=Sphfst&lap=2
Too funny! Well done! the person(s) who put all this together are creative geniuses. :D
Now, who else can I pull this on? LOL LOL
Well the weekend baking, Saturday went fab, Sunday, hmmmm, 1/2 not so good, the other half was great.
Thought I would try to convert a tortilla recipe to GF. Well that was a fiasco. no way that was gonna work, maybe if I had put some Xanthan gum in. So I punted with the failure dough and threw in more liquid, and X-gum, and lemon juice and attempted to make Hamburger buns from there. They feel a bit solid despite rising well, so we'll see. The buttermilk scones on the other hand are excellent!
I have decided though that perhaps trying to make the tortillas may be more work than I am willing to fight with. I have limited counter space so it isn't easy to do many things that require rolling. And so found a company online who makes them with brown rice flour. And our local organic food coop carries this brand. I am most certainly willing to pay for them, less hassle for me and ready any time I want them. :)
So baking other things though or making meals without the wheat flour I am willing to work with. I did also discover that one company makes wheat free graham crackers also sold at the coop, I will have to get them to make my graham cracker crust for the Maple Sweet Potato Cheesecake pie for the holidays. We just love that pie and it is a diabetic recipe I got last year. It is so yummy and creamy. And we love it better than plain old pumpkin pie. Some how though for regular pies I don't think I'll have problems making the pie crusts and converting them. So we will see how the holiday baking goes. May have to make little pies, and maybe if I feel ambitious enough make Pecan Pie.
On the soft chocolate cookies that are more like cake morsels, I realized this evening cleaning out the pantry of all wheat items, that I have some cream cheese frostings in there, so..... I can frost some of those cookies for an added sugar zing! Woo Hoo!
You know, if anyone wants a recipe, or has one they would like converted, let me know, heck, I'll give it a go!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Quiet day thank heavens
Or rather it was quiet until my mother came over to see how I make the gluten free bread. I feel a bit bad though. She used to be such an adventursome cook, and somewhere during the years, she lost it. We talked about it some, and she got to reminiscing and tried to figure out when she lost her confidence in cooking. At one time she used to teach cooking, and she used to love to create in the kitchen. It all left me feeling a bit sad really.
But anyway, she brought some of her flour over to use along with some Hazelnut flour and her agave syrup as she is diabetic so we really shouldn't bake her breads with sugar. But we did do some baking with Buttermilk as that is one of the dairy products she can have. We are finally getting her squared away with some of the food stressors for her besides wheat. But we had fun and she got to see how simple it was to mix up the breads in the mixer and what the texture should look like, and really how little time it took to rise and bake. That in and of itself amazed her how simple it really was. Then I had some fun and made her the Chocolate drop cookies with the agave syrup and subbed 1/2 buttermilk and 1/2 water in the recipe where it called for milk. We split everything I made today, and did it all in less than 3 hours. She was so thrilled to be able to know that it really is that simple to make this stuff and I sent her home with the recipes we did today along with pancake/waffles, and buttermilk cake doughnuts. She was so excited that she could have PANCAKES again! And Doughnuts! I was just happy to see that it gave her the confidence again to try it all. Now if the rest of the family would be supportive and let her create instead of badgering her or being critical, she would be ok.
I did encourage her to just finally put her foot down and allow no more wheat or sweets in the house. This way there is no cross contamination, and everyone will eat healthier.
My house now will be totally no wheat because the hubby is also wheat intolerant we found, along with leaf lettuce and white potatoes of all things. LOL While he is sad about losing some of his favorite comfort foods to include Ruffles, he knows he will finally start feeling better overall and it will help him lose the weight too. So now he just has to learn to move to the new favorites. :o) I am really enjoying doing without, and now have to forge ahead and make tortillas tomorrow perhaps because I need to cut out most of my corn consumption, and darn it, I like my breakfast burritos. LOL So, onward and upward. And to figure out how to get rid of that case of Eggos without giving them to my family and encouraging more wheat in the house. I think I know who I might give all the wheat stuff to. I will talk to her on Monday. :o)
And maybe, just maybe I can help my mom some and she might finally start to listen to me some that I do know what I am doing most of the time. LOL..... And I hope she has fun making her pancakes tomorrow for breakfast, she was going to make the batter tonight and put it in the fridge to have tomorrow for breakfast. I told her to make a couple of small ones for the grandsons to try. I'll be curious to know how it goes.
And now to convince my father to let the change to a wheat free household happen. I love my dad to pieces, but he is a stick in the mud about changes. He absolutely hates changes in the home environment or for himself at times for that matter. The last time we were able to pull a big change was when he was in the hospital with heart problems, we went through their pantry and cleaned house! LOL Oh boy did he growl and bitch for several days! Glad I wasn't there to deal with it. LOL LOL Getting the change to happen will mean removing him from the house I guess for awhile again or just putting the foot down and saying no more. Same for my sister. I worry because she is so chronically ill, addicted to carbs and sugars. I wish she wasn't in denial and would try.
Oh well I could go on in this vein for awhile.... but until people are ready to change and know they need it to happen, it won't, no matter how much we love them or try to help make it happen.
But anyway, she brought some of her flour over to use along with some Hazelnut flour and her agave syrup as she is diabetic so we really shouldn't bake her breads with sugar. But we did do some baking with Buttermilk as that is one of the dairy products she can have. We are finally getting her squared away with some of the food stressors for her besides wheat. But we had fun and she got to see how simple it was to mix up the breads in the mixer and what the texture should look like, and really how little time it took to rise and bake. That in and of itself amazed her how simple it really was. Then I had some fun and made her the Chocolate drop cookies with the agave syrup and subbed 1/2 buttermilk and 1/2 water in the recipe where it called for milk. We split everything I made today, and did it all in less than 3 hours. She was so thrilled to be able to know that it really is that simple to make this stuff and I sent her home with the recipes we did today along with pancake/waffles, and buttermilk cake doughnuts. She was so excited that she could have PANCAKES again! And Doughnuts! I was just happy to see that it gave her the confidence again to try it all. Now if the rest of the family would be supportive and let her create instead of badgering her or being critical, she would be ok.
I did encourage her to just finally put her foot down and allow no more wheat or sweets in the house. This way there is no cross contamination, and everyone will eat healthier.
My house now will be totally no wheat because the hubby is also wheat intolerant we found, along with leaf lettuce and white potatoes of all things. LOL While he is sad about losing some of his favorite comfort foods to include Ruffles, he knows he will finally start feeling better overall and it will help him lose the weight too. So now he just has to learn to move to the new favorites. :o) I am really enjoying doing without, and now have to forge ahead and make tortillas tomorrow perhaps because I need to cut out most of my corn consumption, and darn it, I like my breakfast burritos. LOL So, onward and upward. And to figure out how to get rid of that case of Eggos without giving them to my family and encouraging more wheat in the house. I think I know who I might give all the wheat stuff to. I will talk to her on Monday. :o)
And maybe, just maybe I can help my mom some and she might finally start to listen to me some that I do know what I am doing most of the time. LOL..... And I hope she has fun making her pancakes tomorrow for breakfast, she was going to make the batter tonight and put it in the fridge to have tomorrow for breakfast. I told her to make a couple of small ones for the grandsons to try. I'll be curious to know how it goes.
And now to convince my father to let the change to a wheat free household happen. I love my dad to pieces, but he is a stick in the mud about changes. He absolutely hates changes in the home environment or for himself at times for that matter. The last time we were able to pull a big change was when he was in the hospital with heart problems, we went through their pantry and cleaned house! LOL Oh boy did he growl and bitch for several days! Glad I wasn't there to deal with it. LOL LOL Getting the change to happen will mean removing him from the house I guess for awhile again or just putting the foot down and saying no more. Same for my sister. I worry because she is so chronically ill, addicted to carbs and sugars. I wish she wasn't in denial and would try.
Oh well I could go on in this vein for awhile.... but until people are ready to change and know they need it to happen, it won't, no matter how much we love them or try to help make it happen.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Are we there yet?
Is it Friday yet? All I can say about September so far on the work end of things, is that it certainly hasn't been boring and there's been a new hidden pitfall around every corner. I keep hoping perhaps it will settle down, I don't think it's going to this entire term again. So, I will just plow on through and try to keep laughing. I tell you, you don't keep laughing then you end up in an unhappy place.
Speaking of laughing, you do know that laughing is contagious? So are smiles. And when you get someone else to smile or laugh, it is paid forward? Also for those of you looking for how to burn more calories than just walking, (I have a coworker who complained about this the other day that walking didn't burn very many calories) Well..... everytime you smile, you burn 3 calories minimum. So you see smiling is good for you too! :o) The only other exercise that truly burns the most calories, more than jogging 5 miles, or riding a bike, or the "h"elliptical, is bedroom aerobics. (hey, didn't want to say doin the nasty or anything like that, that would be crude. LOL LOL) And... we all know that we smile ALOT after the bedroom aerobic exercises. So there you have it. Reason to smile and exercise!
Well yesterday evening I did a real airheaded move. We went to the gym after work for a bit, then on to supper out. Went to one of my favorite local restaurants, and one place that I can eat at actually. It is call the Plaza Cafe Southside. They have an amazing, nontraditional, chile con queso that I personally think is to die for. One of the cheeses they use is Feta. Yum, and I loooove Feta cheese. I love to order their Steakhouse Salad there, and have them use Feta instead of Bleu Cheese crumbles on it, as I cannot have Bleu Cheese because the mold for the cheese is grown on Wheat. Anyhow, I ordered it, and completely forgot to ask for the Feta, and didn't ask for the real vinagrette dressing. I felt soooooo stupid when it arrived and I realized my mistake and then was too embarrassed to ask for another and let hubby take this one home. So, I picked off all the bleu cheese I could, and then added the dressing. WOW, talk about vinegary! The regular dressing was very very tart in the vinegar end of things. Well I ate what I could, and probably shouldn't have, because something gave me stomach cramps and gas/bloat in about 15 minutes from eating. :o( I am still in the process of figuring out what other foods affect me gastrically. Now I know better, that I need to be aware when I am out and not forget to make the much needed changes. Duh....
Hopefully this weekend, I can use up the rest of the buttermilk if it hasn't soured already. Why don't they ever sell it in pints? Buttermilk I do ok with, whole milk (cow's) tends to cause some distress I think. I do think perhaps this weekend, I will go to the Farmer's Market and pick up some Goat's Milk to try that. Sorry, but I love my milk, and cheeses. Goat or Cow. And for me, Goat's milk is usually a treat, I really do love it.
Well back to writing my GF cookbook. I want to do like the old cookbooks did, where you could find lists of substitutions, equivalents, etc, and actually alphabetize the topics. LOL Imagine that, organized! LOL
Does anyone still use OLD cookbooks from the 1800's to early 1900's? You know they used the "gill" as a unit of measure? Do you know how much a gill is? LOL I do. :o) Ah the weird little bits of trivia we pick up during our lifetime. I learned it in the 80's for a recipe that called for 2 gills of sugar into the mix. For that matter, does anyone anymore know what a peck is, and how many pecks make a bushel?
Have fun figuring it out!
Speaking of laughing, you do know that laughing is contagious? So are smiles. And when you get someone else to smile or laugh, it is paid forward? Also for those of you looking for how to burn more calories than just walking, (I have a coworker who complained about this the other day that walking didn't burn very many calories) Well..... everytime you smile, you burn 3 calories minimum. So you see smiling is good for you too! :o) The only other exercise that truly burns the most calories, more than jogging 5 miles, or riding a bike, or the "h"elliptical, is bedroom aerobics. (hey, didn't want to say doin the nasty or anything like that, that would be crude. LOL LOL) And... we all know that we smile ALOT after the bedroom aerobic exercises. So there you have it. Reason to smile and exercise!
Well yesterday evening I did a real airheaded move. We went to the gym after work for a bit, then on to supper out. Went to one of my favorite local restaurants, and one place that I can eat at actually. It is call the Plaza Cafe Southside. They have an amazing, nontraditional, chile con queso that I personally think is to die for. One of the cheeses they use is Feta. Yum, and I loooove Feta cheese. I love to order their Steakhouse Salad there, and have them use Feta instead of Bleu Cheese crumbles on it, as I cannot have Bleu Cheese because the mold for the cheese is grown on Wheat. Anyhow, I ordered it, and completely forgot to ask for the Feta, and didn't ask for the real vinagrette dressing. I felt soooooo stupid when it arrived and I realized my mistake and then was too embarrassed to ask for another and let hubby take this one home. So, I picked off all the bleu cheese I could, and then added the dressing. WOW, talk about vinegary! The regular dressing was very very tart in the vinegar end of things. Well I ate what I could, and probably shouldn't have, because something gave me stomach cramps and gas/bloat in about 15 minutes from eating. :o( I am still in the process of figuring out what other foods affect me gastrically. Now I know better, that I need to be aware when I am out and not forget to make the much needed changes. Duh....
Hopefully this weekend, I can use up the rest of the buttermilk if it hasn't soured already. Why don't they ever sell it in pints? Buttermilk I do ok with, whole milk (cow's) tends to cause some distress I think. I do think perhaps this weekend, I will go to the Farmer's Market and pick up some Goat's Milk to try that. Sorry, but I love my milk, and cheeses. Goat or Cow. And for me, Goat's milk is usually a treat, I really do love it.
Well back to writing my GF cookbook. I want to do like the old cookbooks did, where you could find lists of substitutions, equivalents, etc, and actually alphabetize the topics. LOL Imagine that, organized! LOL
Does anyone still use OLD cookbooks from the 1800's to early 1900's? You know they used the "gill" as a unit of measure? Do you know how much a gill is? LOL I do. :o) Ah the weird little bits of trivia we pick up during our lifetime. I learned it in the 80's for a recipe that called for 2 gills of sugar into the mix. For that matter, does anyone anymore know what a peck is, and how many pecks make a bushel?
Have fun figuring it out!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Mental Meanderings
Well it was a quiet day for work. And I actually had some fun and got to laugh alot. They had Arianna Huffington on campus today to give a talk as it were. While I didn't get to stay and listen to the whole thing, what I did catch did intrigue me. I may have learn more about her and her views.
Ah well.... this morning I certainly wasn't ready for the alarm clock. It about scared the heck out of me, enough to cause me to sit bolt upright in bed. And while I sat there waiting for my heart to slow down and become aware of my surroundings, Yummy (aka the Beast) decided that there was invisible things to chase around the bed. I am surprised the husband slept through all that. It did have the added effect of getting me out of bed quicker though. And let me tell you there is nothing in the morning like trying to put your contacts in your eyes and avoiding the two cats walking back and forth across the counter or running off with the case cap. Furry lenses bad.....
Or try to find your comb when Djinn has run off with it because he thinks it's something to attack even though he likes being combed. And one of the best ways he can help in the mornings is when he is still on the counter and you bend over to put yourself into your bra and he thinks you want loving head butts. I think he has made my nose pop more than I care to think about. Hey he needs better aim.
They are almost as fun at bedtime. They are hooked on routine, and come around 9pm here, they think it's bedtime. They will get pesty and talk alot. Of course the dogs would be happy if there were no bedtime, they like being out of their kennels for the night. The fun part is when you head upstairs to try to go to bed, and you have this moving obstacle course of cats on the stairs. They will run a few steps up and stop in the middle of the step and wait for you to catch up to them. Then when you get there, Yummy usually refuses to move so you have to try to go round him, then he'll move as you do. Djinn will scrunch up and then rocket up the rest of the stairs the second you move to put the foot down on that step. Mushy, he can do a couple of tricks here, you see the stairs are a gauntlet, so they can all get the chance to get you. Mush will either lay in wait on top of the bookshelves next to the stairs and grab you if you don't acknowledge he's there, or as you go up, and you are halfway up he run up and shoot for trying to go between your feet. I am surprised I haven't had a heart attack yet or fallen down the stairs backwards. Goofy kids. Life is definitely more interesting with pets. Not always the best but definitely more interesting.
And tonight's supper was a excellent improvisational experiment. It is one that will have to go into the cookbook for main meal. :o) Now I just have to think what to call it. Yum! Gee can you tell we enjoy our food? But I do notice overall we are eating less of what I am making that used to use things that had wheat and now don't. Normal foods for us though like our tacos or steak and such, well..... that isn't smaller portions yet. LOL.... But they will be if I don't cook them as often.
Ah well.... this morning I certainly wasn't ready for the alarm clock. It about scared the heck out of me, enough to cause me to sit bolt upright in bed. And while I sat there waiting for my heart to slow down and become aware of my surroundings, Yummy (aka the Beast) decided that there was invisible things to chase around the bed. I am surprised the husband slept through all that. It did have the added effect of getting me out of bed quicker though. And let me tell you there is nothing in the morning like trying to put your contacts in your eyes and avoiding the two cats walking back and forth across the counter or running off with the case cap. Furry lenses bad.....
Or try to find your comb when Djinn has run off with it because he thinks it's something to attack even though he likes being combed. And one of the best ways he can help in the mornings is when he is still on the counter and you bend over to put yourself into your bra and he thinks you want loving head butts. I think he has made my nose pop more than I care to think about. Hey he needs better aim.
They are almost as fun at bedtime. They are hooked on routine, and come around 9pm here, they think it's bedtime. They will get pesty and talk alot. Of course the dogs would be happy if there were no bedtime, they like being out of their kennels for the night. The fun part is when you head upstairs to try to go to bed, and you have this moving obstacle course of cats on the stairs. They will run a few steps up and stop in the middle of the step and wait for you to catch up to them. Then when you get there, Yummy usually refuses to move so you have to try to go round him, then he'll move as you do. Djinn will scrunch up and then rocket up the rest of the stairs the second you move to put the foot down on that step. Mushy, he can do a couple of tricks here, you see the stairs are a gauntlet, so they can all get the chance to get you. Mush will either lay in wait on top of the bookshelves next to the stairs and grab you if you don't acknowledge he's there, or as you go up, and you are halfway up he run up and shoot for trying to go between your feet. I am surprised I haven't had a heart attack yet or fallen down the stairs backwards. Goofy kids. Life is definitely more interesting with pets. Not always the best but definitely more interesting.
And tonight's supper was a excellent improvisational experiment. It is one that will have to go into the cookbook for main meal. :o) Now I just have to think what to call it. Yum! Gee can you tell we enjoy our food? But I do notice overall we are eating less of what I am making that used to use things that had wheat and now don't. Normal foods for us though like our tacos or steak and such, well..... that isn't smaller portions yet. LOL.... But they will be if I don't cook them as often.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Uh Oh the work week has begun....
Well.... let us see how entertaining this week might be! LOL Hit the ground running as it were this morning. Busy, busy, busy.... And because I was doing something out of my normal morning routine it totally threw my day out of whack. *sigh* Oh well we shall see how it all turns out.
Took doughnut samples in for coworkers to taste. They all loved them and most of the replies were "WOW" those are really good! :o) Hey what can I say, they volunteered to be taste testers, and so far everything is yummy.
While I knew one of my coworkers is pretty much wheat free, I didn't know until today that her two kids should avoid wheat. One is allergic and the other intolerant. So we compared notes some, and talked about some of the commercial foods on the market and such. We both agreed that the Tinkyada pastas were about the best we've tried. And she mentioned looking for a good pizza crust recipe without corn in it. I found one for her on the yahoo group I prowl on for food allergies. She was going to try it and let me know how it turned out. :o) I will be curious to see myself.
On to more fun stuff.... hubby came with his pod to bed last night. I teased him about being a "pod"head. LOL He said it was nice to use to play music to help his brain shut off and let him go to sleep. Hey that is fine with me, as there was many times I would play music to help me sleep. I just cannot sleep with something in my ears. Maybe I need to put the cd/tape deck back into our room. Playing the music does help you relax, shut off the brain, and fall asleep. You just have to really be focused and listening to the music. Still doesn't change the fact that he might be a bigger "pod"head than I am. LOL LOL
Autumn is fast approaching here. I am sad about this, we waited so long for summer, and I didn't get to enjoy any of it. Waaahhh! I really, really hate the cold. I figure we will have snow this year before mid October. bummer hey? But this is also the time of year that a particular shrub blooms here, called the Chamisa. I am not really sure what it is related to, but it certainly plays havoc on my sinuses and eyes. I would wear my glasses, but the Eyeglass place messed them up and I haven't been able to wear them for over a year now. I have my new Rx, I just need to go with the frames and get new lenses. "sigh" soon.... I hope. So in the meantime all I have to wear are my contacts. Which when bothered by allergies, suck!
Ok I am rambling and keep having to fix what I am typing. Night Night....
Took doughnut samples in for coworkers to taste. They all loved them and most of the replies were "WOW" those are really good! :o) Hey what can I say, they volunteered to be taste testers, and so far everything is yummy.
While I knew one of my coworkers is pretty much wheat free, I didn't know until today that her two kids should avoid wheat. One is allergic and the other intolerant. So we compared notes some, and talked about some of the commercial foods on the market and such. We both agreed that the Tinkyada pastas were about the best we've tried. And she mentioned looking for a good pizza crust recipe without corn in it. I found one for her on the yahoo group I prowl on for food allergies. She was going to try it and let me know how it turned out. :o) I will be curious to see myself.
On to more fun stuff.... hubby came with his pod to bed last night. I teased him about being a "pod"head. LOL He said it was nice to use to play music to help his brain shut off and let him go to sleep. Hey that is fine with me, as there was many times I would play music to help me sleep. I just cannot sleep with something in my ears. Maybe I need to put the cd/tape deck back into our room. Playing the music does help you relax, shut off the brain, and fall asleep. You just have to really be focused and listening to the music. Still doesn't change the fact that he might be a bigger "pod"head than I am. LOL LOL
Autumn is fast approaching here. I am sad about this, we waited so long for summer, and I didn't get to enjoy any of it. Waaahhh! I really, really hate the cold. I figure we will have snow this year before mid October. bummer hey? But this is also the time of year that a particular shrub blooms here, called the Chamisa. I am not really sure what it is related to, but it certainly plays havoc on my sinuses and eyes. I would wear my glasses, but the Eyeglass place messed them up and I haven't been able to wear them for over a year now. I have my new Rx, I just need to go with the frames and get new lenses. "sigh" soon.... I hope. So in the meantime all I have to wear are my contacts. Which when bothered by allergies, suck!
Ok I am rambling and keep having to fix what I am typing. Night Night....
Sunday, September 14, 2008
More Success!
Well, it's Sunday, and can you guess.... I didn't do much baking or anything at home yesterday. We went to Albuquerque after I got my nails done. Did a bit of shopping at Costco to stock up on some things we were out of, and went to the Valley Mercantile in Corrales for Cat food as they carry Nature's Variety Instinct and and Now grain free cat food. We thought perhaps they would have the bigger bags and maybe a tad cheaper as our usual shop here hasn't had the NV kibble for awhile. If I don't keep some kibble around for Yum, he will go absolutely cranky nuts, and is impossible to live with, he is a crunchy addict. So they get a little now and then to solve that. Ah well.... So the point of this was to make note for people who are wheat/gluten/corn intolerant, I realized that when we went to our favorite restaurant, Asados, that just about everything that is served hot has no gluten/wheat/soy, or corn in it. It is a Brazilian Grill, and all the meats and veggies are grilled. Most of the base for the marinades is olive oil and some spices. I confirmed this with the owner while there, and they have an amazing tasting ranch dressing which has no MSG or wheat in it. YUM! And how can you beat grilled coconut covered pineapple for dessert! So I thought that perhaps those of you who might have Brazilian Grills in your areas, this is a place you can enjoy for an evening out. And if they have the traditional Brazilian Cheese Bread, all the better as this type of bread has no Wheat in it, it is made with Tapioca Flour.
Also the other place I checked out on the mention of them in a Yahoo group I belong to was the Outback Steakhouse. You have to ask for it, but they do have a Gluten Free menu. It shows all the options on the regular menu that can be made gluten/wheat free, what salad dressings to stay away from, etc. The only thing I found a bit unsettling was there are no prices on the menu, you need to compare to the regular menu for the prices. But my meal was good and I could eat it guilt free. It was nice to find this out. I would love to hear from anyone who knows of other chain restaurants that have gluten free options or menus. Applebee's isn't bad, if you watch what you get, most of the Weight Watcher's options are flour/gluten free. You just have to be alert to what the menu says is in the dish and tell them no gravy or croutons etc. But I do ok there. And we have alot of traditional Mexican food restaurants here. Most of the tortillas served with most dishes are corn, only the burritos are flour, and they usually ask what type you want with a dish. So you get the option. It's nice although you do need to ask if they have flour in their red chili sauce, found that out in one of my fave places. So now that I know, I just stay away from the Red.
Well anyhow, moving along.... This morning I finally got to making Buttermilk doughnuts (and yes, I spell it the way it was meant to be, donuts is a derivative of the original word). And they were surprisingly easy to make and came out quite yummy. I like mine plain, just like the plain cake doughnuts. And I think perhaps if you like them plain, they might need a smidge more sugar in the mix or a bit more tapioca flour in lieu of the sugar. But they are good, and hubby has just about eaten all the doughnut holes. :o) Well, ok, I will be honest, I helped. LOL LOL
Now I think I will go through my recipe repertoire and see perhaps what cookies I can make while I am starting to write the basics for my cookbook. YUM! I think I better get started on it so I can either get it printed or sold, etc. I think perhaps word of mouth round here will help sell it pretty quick.
Have an excellent afternoon!
Also the other place I checked out on the mention of them in a Yahoo group I belong to was the Outback Steakhouse. You have to ask for it, but they do have a Gluten Free menu. It shows all the options on the regular menu that can be made gluten/wheat free, what salad dressings to stay away from, etc. The only thing I found a bit unsettling was there are no prices on the menu, you need to compare to the regular menu for the prices. But my meal was good and I could eat it guilt free. It was nice to find this out. I would love to hear from anyone who knows of other chain restaurants that have gluten free options or menus. Applebee's isn't bad, if you watch what you get, most of the Weight Watcher's options are flour/gluten free. You just have to be alert to what the menu says is in the dish and tell them no gravy or croutons etc. But I do ok there. And we have alot of traditional Mexican food restaurants here. Most of the tortillas served with most dishes are corn, only the burritos are flour, and they usually ask what type you want with a dish. So you get the option. It's nice although you do need to ask if they have flour in their red chili sauce, found that out in one of my fave places. So now that I know, I just stay away from the Red.
Well anyhow, moving along.... This morning I finally got to making Buttermilk doughnuts (and yes, I spell it the way it was meant to be, donuts is a derivative of the original word). And they were surprisingly easy to make and came out quite yummy. I like mine plain, just like the plain cake doughnuts. And I think perhaps if you like them plain, they might need a smidge more sugar in the mix or a bit more tapioca flour in lieu of the sugar. But they are good, and hubby has just about eaten all the doughnut holes. :o) Well, ok, I will be honest, I helped. LOL LOL
Now I think I will go through my recipe repertoire and see perhaps what cookies I can make while I am starting to write the basics for my cookbook. YUM! I think I better get started on it so I can either get it printed or sold, etc. I think perhaps word of mouth round here will help sell it pretty quick.
Have an excellent afternoon!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Well we survived another week!
Well it's finally Friday, and we have survived. Hooray!
Saw a friend of mine today who graduated in May and thought had moved to Arizona, well she's back. Boy I sure did miss her, it was so nice to see her again and she looks fabulous! I so love it when I get to see those who fought their way through the Nursing program and made it, I miss the lot of them.
Anyhow the point of that was that it's really a small world when we think of it. As I learn more and talk more about food intolerances I find one of the other grads apparently was diagnosed with Celiac or Wheat Intolerance. Our mutual friend encouraged me to contact her and visit with her about going wheat free and baking and cooking without it. I will probably drop her a line and hope we can visit a bit. I have so much I've learned and am still learning, that I am more than happy to share with folks. For instance I recently learned that alot of Asthma inhalers now no longer use CFC's for the drug carrier, they use what they call HFA's which can either be corn based ethanol or grain based alcohol, and just about all grain based alcohol is wheat as the primary ingredient. Sheesh.... it seems to me that the drug industry is keeping us sick! These sort of things make me mad, but I figure when sales drop to the bottom and we educate our doctors about this also and therefore we stop using the products, thereby causing sales to drop, then maybe they will listen a bit. Hell, since about 98 or so they have been using gluten in pressure sensitive adhesives, in other words the adhesive on your bandaids and bandage tape is made with Gluten! No wonder I have no tolerance and cannot use them. This adhesive is also used in the contact pads they use for EKG's and you would be amazed how much wheat and corn and soy are present in everything, including your soap, shampoos, and cleaning products. Sad actually, so I figure the more we can help educate people, the more they will be conscientious about what they buy and when product sales drop and the companies realize that we will pay more for a safer product, then they might get the hint. Oh well it's an idea.
I did find out from my nutritionist/chiropractor/homeopathist that the carrier he uses for his homeopathic remedies is grain alcohol, and so is alot of the products he carries from other vendors. So he knows now that he needs to make mine special with vegetable based glycerin. He and I share ALOT of thoughts and ideas, which I think is great, I like learning. =o) and if I can share something that helps someone, then it's a very good thing! This includes what I have learned about the relationship of diet to later in life diabetes, and other things that can accompany diabetes. Ah well.... moving along....
I do have to say being alert to no wheat, even when I eat out, I need to be aware of what might or might not contain wheat from what I know of cooking. I am not as concerned with slight cross contamination, I just don't want a full load, I don't figure most places can keep things totally separate. But I do think about what does something take in it to make the dish, how would I make it? And if I even think that someone else might use flour in their recipe, I steer clear of it. I remember to say no croutons on the salad please, and don't use any "cream" dressings they all have either wheat in some form or MSG, so I leave them alone. No gravy, and no rolls or buns please. :o) I know if I crave these yummy things, I can easily make my own. This is why I want to do a simple basic cookbook, share with folks and let them know it isn't daunting to cook without flour, it isn't hard, and a working person can easily do it and still convert and use their favorite recipes! I love what I am making and that Grandma's recipes and favorites from childhood can still be mine and, truth be told, they taste so much better without wheat! Things taste fresher and cleaner somehow, you can actually enjoy the subtle flavors in foods and wow the ingredients with the punch are just well that! WOW! I want to help encourage people to not be afraid to make the food, to let them know that it isn't the end of the world to go without wheat, and there is ALOT of things you can do despite what you "might" find on the store shelves to the contrary. Of course I am the adventuresome one, and I love trying new things. And I find that wheat free stuff takes a whole lot less time to make and cook as a general rule. Well the pastas take a bit more to cook. LOL
Well Mushy and the kids are staring at me like I will be supper if I don't feed them now. By the way they don't get grains in their diet either. After all the pet food recalls and the understanding that Cats are obligate carnivores, not cereal eaters, well their diet improved for the better too, the dogs also do much better with little to no grain of any kind. They simply don't need it, our pets don't hunt wheat or cornstalks for supper! LOL
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Friday is almost here, and what a week!
While this may not have been one of the best weeks at work, it certainly has been entertaining. All kinds of things happening, and some interesting games being played and unfolding. I know I have been kept on my toes, and will continue to be vigilant. Several of us are kind of tired already from being so vigilant about our jobs and wondering if we are next on the "game" block, so we are mostly trying to fly low. Makes for alot of stress unfortunately.
I haven't figured out yet if the dogs hopefully have finally figured out that when they hear the alarm go off in the mornings they don't need to yelp and howl to get me out of bed. For the most part they have been unusually quiet this week, if the alarm didn't wake me so abruptly, it would be nice to sleep a tad longer. But then.... maybe the cats figure it's their turn, about the time the alarm is set to go off, they start meandering around the bed, Djinn butts my hand, Yummy walks on every possible sore or tender place on my body he can get to, and Mush starts talking. Ok, so maybe the sleeping in a tad is just a delusional fantasy.
On the food front, I had a craving yesterday, I wanted doughnuts really bad, so I found a recipe, and will try it this weekend perhaps. I love plain cake doughnuts, they must be my faves except for cruellers (sp?) from Dunkin Donuts. :o) So will try to make them this weekend. Hey cake doughnuts freeze well too! Except I don't think I'll have to freeze any, I think we will go through them pretty quick. LOL Hubby loves all this baking and certainly likes the taste of the Gluten Free stuff I've been making. So we will see how this conversion goes. The recipe was from a cookbook around 1900. Yum, now I am making myself impatient and hungry.
We talked a bit about the trip to Orlando. I told him we should look forward to having some good authentic Cuban food. We both love it. Especially the Sandwiches, however, I realized I can no longer have them commercially. :o( Waaahhh! Now I desperately need to figure out how to make crusty wheat free either hoagie type rolls or what we call Bolillos here in NM. Usually they use a French bread roll freshly made, and once they assemble the sandwich they then smash it flat and grill it that way, till it is crusty and the cheese has melted. So if it isn't crusty, I don't know how I will feel about it. *sigh* oh well, more experimentation. Besides hoagie type rolls, I need to be able to make my own hotdog and hamburger buns. This should be interesting as you cannot really use your hands on the GF dough. Or maybe entertaining. LOL Ah but I can enjoy all the other yummy treats in Florida.
Well I am off to search for ideas on how to make these rolls and buns. And Mushy is here telling me their bowl is empty they really, really want more nummies.
TTFN
I haven't figured out yet if the dogs hopefully have finally figured out that when they hear the alarm go off in the mornings they don't need to yelp and howl to get me out of bed. For the most part they have been unusually quiet this week, if the alarm didn't wake me so abruptly, it would be nice to sleep a tad longer. But then.... maybe the cats figure it's their turn, about the time the alarm is set to go off, they start meandering around the bed, Djinn butts my hand, Yummy walks on every possible sore or tender place on my body he can get to, and Mush starts talking. Ok, so maybe the sleeping in a tad is just a delusional fantasy.
On the food front, I had a craving yesterday, I wanted doughnuts really bad, so I found a recipe, and will try it this weekend perhaps. I love plain cake doughnuts, they must be my faves except for cruellers (sp?) from Dunkin Donuts. :o) So will try to make them this weekend. Hey cake doughnuts freeze well too! Except I don't think I'll have to freeze any, I think we will go through them pretty quick. LOL Hubby loves all this baking and certainly likes the taste of the Gluten Free stuff I've been making. So we will see how this conversion goes. The recipe was from a cookbook around 1900. Yum, now I am making myself impatient and hungry.
We talked a bit about the trip to Orlando. I told him we should look forward to having some good authentic Cuban food. We both love it. Especially the Sandwiches, however, I realized I can no longer have them commercially. :o( Waaahhh! Now I desperately need to figure out how to make crusty wheat free either hoagie type rolls or what we call Bolillos here in NM. Usually they use a French bread roll freshly made, and once they assemble the sandwich they then smash it flat and grill it that way, till it is crusty and the cheese has melted. So if it isn't crusty, I don't know how I will feel about it. *sigh* oh well, more experimentation. Besides hoagie type rolls, I need to be able to make my own hotdog and hamburger buns. This should be interesting as you cannot really use your hands on the GF dough. Or maybe entertaining. LOL Ah but I can enjoy all the other yummy treats in Florida.
Well I am off to search for ideas on how to make these rolls and buns. And Mushy is here telling me their bowl is empty they really, really want more nummies.
TTFN
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Creeping our way towards another Friday!
A quick bit tonight as I spent the entire day today at work on the computer working on either a really intense spreadsheet or completely re-doing a word doc with all kinds of text boxes and tables in it. So needless to say I am a bit tired of the computer by now, not to mention crosseyed.
This week is shaping up to be an interesting week at work. Lots of little smoldering fires that I am watching and stirring here and there to see what comes up. *eg* :D I think I am almost always stirring some pot or hornet's nest simply because things get fixed that way. Unfortunately the big boss in our area doesn't like the boat rocked, at all. Well tough, my work ethics simply won't allow things to sneak by that are just plain and simple wrong.
Ok, enough work, other than I am took a half day off Friday, we get 4 hours administrative leave time from the state for either our Fiestas (last weekend) or the State Fair. Woo hoo! Eh, it's just nice to get a jump on the weekend and out of there early.
It looks like I will be getting a vacation after all this year! We will be going to Orlando next month. It's been 10 yrs since I have been to Disney. Sis in-law will be down there too, so while hubby is at the convention for 2.5 days, she and I will get to play. Got a reminder about the Ringling's winter home / mansion / castle down that way. We saw it once when we were kids in the 70's, but haven't seen it since, so it might be nice to go see it one of the days there. Heck it's our time to play and rest. It's in Sarasota, so will have to see if we can get by there. Need to do a mapquest thingy to check how close to Orlando/Kissimmee area.
This week is shaping up to be an interesting week at work. Lots of little smoldering fires that I am watching and stirring here and there to see what comes up. *eg* :D I think I am almost always stirring some pot or hornet's nest simply because things get fixed that way. Unfortunately the big boss in our area doesn't like the boat rocked, at all. Well tough, my work ethics simply won't allow things to sneak by that are just plain and simple wrong.
Ok, enough work, other than I am took a half day off Friday, we get 4 hours administrative leave time from the state for either our Fiestas (last weekend) or the State Fair. Woo hoo! Eh, it's just nice to get a jump on the weekend and out of there early.
It looks like I will be getting a vacation after all this year! We will be going to Orlando next month. It's been 10 yrs since I have been to Disney. Sis in-law will be down there too, so while hubby is at the convention for 2.5 days, she and I will get to play. Got a reminder about the Ringling's winter home / mansion / castle down that way. We saw it once when we were kids in the 70's, but haven't seen it since, so it might be nice to go see it one of the days there. Heck it's our time to play and rest. It's in Sarasota, so will have to see if we can get by there. Need to do a mapquest thingy to check how close to Orlando/Kissimmee area.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Darn, it's Monday, but thank god the work day is over....
The alarm this morning went off entirely too early in my estimation, and I certainly wasn't ready for it. But the cats were more than ready for me to get up.
Work... hmmmm not much to say except it was a long day, not bad, a few burps, but not bad. I was busy all of the day. Nevertheless, even though it was a busily productive day, I am very happy it's over.
Took some of my butterscotch cookies in for myself and some of the coworkers to try. I decided that if I am doing a cookbook, I want to make sure the foods are tasty and good on not just my say so. Everyone really liked them, so they passed the test. Hooray!
A couple of weeks ago, the husband had to go out of state for training. He thought about getting himself an iPod like mine for the trip so he had some entertainment. By the way, I should mention I absolutely LOOOOVE my Pod, I have an 80g 5th gen classic. It goes many places with me and always goes on the road trips, much easier than carrying cd's for the car. :o) Anyhow, moving on, I didn't think he was even interested in one, he didn't seem to be, so I was a bit shocked when he said he wanted one. I offered to loan him mine for the trip, but he said no. Well.... when he got home, one of the first things he said was he wished he had gotten the Pod so he didn't have to listen to an annoying coworker yak the whole plane trip back. Needless to say she is tedious at anytime, I would hate to be trapped next to her on a plane! So the day after he got home we toddled over to Best Buy to get him one. They were out of them, even out of the 160g model, and the salesman said he didn't know if they would be getting them in again as the distribution center didn't show when they would be getting any. I thought phooey, the guy didn't know what he was talking about. Poor hubby though, he moped the rest of the day. So, when we got home, I checked Apple's site, nope they are still selling like hotcakes like I thought, so I went to BestBuy.com and found them in stock, told hubby to give me his BB charge card and I ordered him one on the spot. He got so excited that he was gonna get a pod before his next travel back to Seattle in a couple of weeks. So he then had to ask me how to get iTunes and his account all set up and once he did that, he immediately started downloading and subscribing to podcasts etc. LOL LOL then pouted when he found out it would be today before it arrived. I spent all last week and this past weekend listening to him mention off and on all day that he wanted his Pod. Like a kid asking "Are we there yet?" So as I sit here and type he is charging and syncing his new Black Pod. I had to laugh though as he was registering it and deciding what to name it, I came up with "Hysterical Toes" because he goes with me to get pedicures and gets one himself, and always picks out a fun polish for his toes, (heck it makes us all smile and giggle to see them) and one time did his bright blue, like a sapphire bass boat blue, and his sister, who went with us that day, said, "those aren't just happy toes, those are hysterical toes." Ergo, the name for the Pod. Hey, you gotta love a man who is so comfortable with his masculinity and knows how to have fun and be shocking by painting his toenails. And the gals at the salon just love him, they say he's good for business and they get many more male customers now, because the wives see him and persuade their hubbys to come in, of course not all get their toenails polished. Several of my coworkers think it's neat and one of the instructors I noticed is doing his too! Maybe he's started a trend. Of course his annoying coworker just about has an apopletic fit everytime he even mentions men getting pedicures. So there is another reason to keep doing it, to annoy her.
The funny thing is, the first time he did it, his sister took him, and he picked a metallic plum/purple color, and when he got home, he was stepping out of the shower and I noticed they were PURPLE! I immediately asked him what his sister had done to him.... He laughed and said she didn't except to take him for a pedicure and the rest is history. :o)
So guys if you want to make your significant other laugh and smile, which in turn puts a smile on your face, try out the Pedicures. Even just the pedicure without the polish is nice, you get pampered a bit. Plus you could have the added benefit of having your mom or mother in-law think you are losing it. LOL
Work... hmmmm not much to say except it was a long day, not bad, a few burps, but not bad. I was busy all of the day. Nevertheless, even though it was a busily productive day, I am very happy it's over.
Took some of my butterscotch cookies in for myself and some of the coworkers to try. I decided that if I am doing a cookbook, I want to make sure the foods are tasty and good on not just my say so. Everyone really liked them, so they passed the test. Hooray!
A couple of weeks ago, the husband had to go out of state for training. He thought about getting himself an iPod like mine for the trip so he had some entertainment. By the way, I should mention I absolutely LOOOOVE my Pod, I have an 80g 5th gen classic. It goes many places with me and always goes on the road trips, much easier than carrying cd's for the car. :o) Anyhow, moving on, I didn't think he was even interested in one, he didn't seem to be, so I was a bit shocked when he said he wanted one. I offered to loan him mine for the trip, but he said no. Well.... when he got home, one of the first things he said was he wished he had gotten the Pod so he didn't have to listen to an annoying coworker yak the whole plane trip back. Needless to say she is tedious at anytime, I would hate to be trapped next to her on a plane! So the day after he got home we toddled over to Best Buy to get him one. They were out of them, even out of the 160g model, and the salesman said he didn't know if they would be getting them in again as the distribution center didn't show when they would be getting any. I thought phooey, the guy didn't know what he was talking about. Poor hubby though, he moped the rest of the day. So, when we got home, I checked Apple's site, nope they are still selling like hotcakes like I thought, so I went to BestBuy.com and found them in stock, told hubby to give me his BB charge card and I ordered him one on the spot. He got so excited that he was gonna get a pod before his next travel back to Seattle in a couple of weeks. So he then had to ask me how to get iTunes and his account all set up and once he did that, he immediately started downloading and subscribing to podcasts etc. LOL LOL then pouted when he found out it would be today before it arrived. I spent all last week and this past weekend listening to him mention off and on all day that he wanted his Pod. Like a kid asking "Are we there yet?" So as I sit here and type he is charging and syncing his new Black Pod. I had to laugh though as he was registering it and deciding what to name it, I came up with "Hysterical Toes" because he goes with me to get pedicures and gets one himself, and always picks out a fun polish for his toes, (heck it makes us all smile and giggle to see them) and one time did his bright blue, like a sapphire bass boat blue, and his sister, who went with us that day, said, "those aren't just happy toes, those are hysterical toes." Ergo, the name for the Pod. Hey, you gotta love a man who is so comfortable with his masculinity and knows how to have fun and be shocking by painting his toenails. And the gals at the salon just love him, they say he's good for business and they get many more male customers now, because the wives see him and persuade their hubbys to come in, of course not all get their toenails polished. Several of my coworkers think it's neat and one of the instructors I noticed is doing his too! Maybe he's started a trend. Of course his annoying coworker just about has an apopletic fit everytime he even mentions men getting pedicures. So there is another reason to keep doing it, to annoy her.
The funny thing is, the first time he did it, his sister took him, and he picked a metallic plum/purple color, and when he got home, he was stepping out of the shower and I noticed they were PURPLE! I immediately asked him what his sister had done to him.... He laughed and said she didn't except to take him for a pedicure and the rest is history. :o)
So guys if you want to make your significant other laugh and smile, which in turn puts a smile on your face, try out the Pedicures. Even just the pedicure without the polish is nice, you get pampered a bit. Plus you could have the added benefit of having your mom or mother in-law think you are losing it. LOL
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Sunday.... hmmmm can it be Saturday again instead?
Well considering I am running on around 4 1/2 hours of sleep, I'm not doing too badly. I had thought to sleep in more than 6:30am this morning, but the boys (cats) felt that 6:3o was already way past their breakfast time, so they paced and talked while they paced, on me! I gave in and got up. Problem is most times, once I am up, I am up. However, I do know I am hitting the hay by 8 tonight. (will probably be closer to 8:30 or 9 though).
It's been a quiet day. Sundays are usually quiet around our house, it's the day reserved for laundry, movies and finishing up tasks. And yes you guessed it, I pretty much am too lazy today to make those scones, although I am making a second loaf of bread.
Mushy has developed an interesting habit. He prefers to wait and only drink my ice water out of my glass. Heaven forbid I should have something other that water in that glass, that is a big disappointment to him! Like Wednesday evening, work had been a big hassle that day, so I splurged and came home and made myself a Bloody Mary. Yum..... I rarely drink but once in a while I will make myself one. And I love Bloody Marys. Anyway, Mush just couldn't believe that there was something other than water in that glass. He kept going over to it expecting to find it had changed to water, or if I picked it up to take a drink he would try to grab the rim with his paw to see if it was water yet since I was drinking it, and I usually only ever drink water, he assumed I couldn't possibly be drinking something so vile as say, Tomato Juice? LOL When I finally did get to getting myself some ice water, I couldn't have any of it, he hogged it all, and if I picked it up to take a drink, he would grab my arm or hand with his switchblades to pull my hand and the glass back to him. He is so funny about this, definitely prefers ice water out of our glasses, but will occasionally stoop to drinking from his bowl if I put ice in it while he is watching, and he likes to drink from the bathroom faucet in the mornings.
Sometimes I am just simply amazed at the depth of their personalities, and how expressive their eyes and voices can be. As they get older they certainly get more talkative. Although Djinn only yeowls when he wants something right now. Otherwise his eyes say it all and he purrs alot. Yummy, hmmmmm, now he can defy description sometimes. Suffice it to say he's a big boy and he knows it and he knows how to achieve optimum pestiness to get his way. Cracks me up sometimes.
Here's the other two boys....
Yummy
and Djinn
It's been a quiet day. Sundays are usually quiet around our house, it's the day reserved for laundry, movies and finishing up tasks. And yes you guessed it, I pretty much am too lazy today to make those scones, although I am making a second loaf of bread.
Mushy has developed an interesting habit. He prefers to wait and only drink my ice water out of my glass. Heaven forbid I should have something other that water in that glass, that is a big disappointment to him! Like Wednesday evening, work had been a big hassle that day, so I splurged and came home and made myself a Bloody Mary. Yum..... I rarely drink but once in a while I will make myself one. And I love Bloody Marys. Anyway, Mush just couldn't believe that there was something other than water in that glass. He kept going over to it expecting to find it had changed to water, or if I picked it up to take a drink he would try to grab the rim with his paw to see if it was water yet since I was drinking it, and I usually only ever drink water, he assumed I couldn't possibly be drinking something so vile as say, Tomato Juice? LOL When I finally did get to getting myself some ice water, I couldn't have any of it, he hogged it all, and if I picked it up to take a drink, he would grab my arm or hand with his switchblades to pull my hand and the glass back to him. He is so funny about this, definitely prefers ice water out of our glasses, but will occasionally stoop to drinking from his bowl if I put ice in it while he is watching, and he likes to drink from the bathroom faucet in the mornings.
Sometimes I am just simply amazed at the depth of their personalities, and how expressive their eyes and voices can be. As they get older they certainly get more talkative. Although Djinn only yeowls when he wants something right now. Otherwise his eyes say it all and he purrs alot. Yummy, hmmmmm, now he can defy description sometimes. Suffice it to say he's a big boy and he knows it and he knows how to achieve optimum pestiness to get his way. Cracks me up sometimes.
Here's the other two boys....
Yummy
and Djinn
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Ah..... sweet smell or rather yummy smells of success!
Well, the cookies are made and the bread is made, think I will do the scones tomorrow. Hooray. I think the cookies need less sugar, my god talk about sweet and a sugar rush! But they are tasty, I converted an old recipe from the early, early 1900's for sugar cookies that had butterscotch bits added. I also added nuts. They needed to bake a bit longer than the recipe called for by about 3 to 4 minutes longer, but they came out very very good, and were the perfect consistency. You wouldn't know they were wheat free. YUM!
The bread..... I converted a recipe for buttermilk bread for the breadmaker. I did it by hand to determine how long rising would take and how long it took to bake it at 375 degrees. Not sure I had the buttermilk warm enough, so it took an hour to rise enough, not quite double in size so that I could be sure it would finish rising during the baking process and be a light enough bread. I figured as it was a larger loaf than the French bread recipe, that it might take longer to bake, so I set the timer at 45 minutes, nope it was done in 30 minutes, and had the perfect thump sound. Can't wait for it to cool a bit and try it warm with butter. YUM, I LOOOOOVE fresh baked bread.
Anyhow with hubby's prompting, as I am converting all these old recipes and most from my grandmother, he suggested I should write a cookbook with all the substitutions in it so that we can all adapt some of our favorite recipes to meet our needs. And things that would be simpler to make instead of looking daunting, or long and drawn out. I was very much into that idea as I love to find ways to make things simpler, simply because we don't all have the time to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. Hey the french bread recipe, takes one hour total from measure to out of the oven. I was impressed! I can make a loaf while I make supper and have fresh bread in the morning. The cookies today, took maybe 15 minutes from start to finish.
The fun part of the making and baking today was having to stand in what I call a kitchen full of Pirhanas. LOL The cats think I am making them some raw food or something with dairy for them, and the dogs are just the cleanup crew. God help you if you drop something and try to retrieve it, you might lose a finger. Sheesh, if I didn't know better, I might think they were starving, the lil' piglets. So needless to say it is a challenge to make anything in my kitchen, especially if you use the mixer or the boys (the cats) determine there is raw meat somewhere to be stolen. Although Mushy is more polite, he doesn't try to jump up on the counter, he will stand up on his hind legs and try to snag something that might fortunately have been left close to the edge so he can steal it that way. It's kind of funny to be working at the counter and see this paw reach up and feel around to see what he can steal.
Ah well, so far success, as long as I remember to make bread batter and not dough, and I know I cannot move it from the mixing bowl to the pan with fingers, LOL, it is much simpler to dump it into the bread pan, use the spatula to sort of fill in the pan, let it rise there and bake.
So my word to all those learning to live without wheat or gluten, is don't be discouraged, you can bake yourself, for much cheaper and make a loaf of bread cheaper than 4 bucks a loaf from the store for a tiny loaf. Even today's loaf maybe cost me a buck or so to make and took an hour and a half of my time. And there is something sooooooo very satisfying to make your own favorite recipe that you can still enjoy without the wheat. Bon Apetit!
The bread..... I converted a recipe for buttermilk bread for the breadmaker. I did it by hand to determine how long rising would take and how long it took to bake it at 375 degrees. Not sure I had the buttermilk warm enough, so it took an hour to rise enough, not quite double in size so that I could be sure it would finish rising during the baking process and be a light enough bread. I figured as it was a larger loaf than the French bread recipe, that it might take longer to bake, so I set the timer at 45 minutes, nope it was done in 30 minutes, and had the perfect thump sound. Can't wait for it to cool a bit and try it warm with butter. YUM, I LOOOOOVE fresh baked bread.
Anyhow with hubby's prompting, as I am converting all these old recipes and most from my grandmother, he suggested I should write a cookbook with all the substitutions in it so that we can all adapt some of our favorite recipes to meet our needs. And things that would be simpler to make instead of looking daunting, or long and drawn out. I was very much into that idea as I love to find ways to make things simpler, simply because we don't all have the time to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. Hey the french bread recipe, takes one hour total from measure to out of the oven. I was impressed! I can make a loaf while I make supper and have fresh bread in the morning. The cookies today, took maybe 15 minutes from start to finish.
The fun part of the making and baking today was having to stand in what I call a kitchen full of Pirhanas. LOL The cats think I am making them some raw food or something with dairy for them, and the dogs are just the cleanup crew. God help you if you drop something and try to retrieve it, you might lose a finger. Sheesh, if I didn't know better, I might think they were starving, the lil' piglets. So needless to say it is a challenge to make anything in my kitchen, especially if you use the mixer or the boys (the cats) determine there is raw meat somewhere to be stolen. Although Mushy is more polite, he doesn't try to jump up on the counter, he will stand up on his hind legs and try to snag something that might fortunately have been left close to the edge so he can steal it that way. It's kind of funny to be working at the counter and see this paw reach up and feel around to see what he can steal.
Ah well, so far success, as long as I remember to make bread batter and not dough, and I know I cannot move it from the mixing bowl to the pan with fingers, LOL, it is much simpler to dump it into the bread pan, use the spatula to sort of fill in the pan, let it rise there and bake.
So my word to all those learning to live without wheat or gluten, is don't be discouraged, you can bake yourself, for much cheaper and make a loaf of bread cheaper than 4 bucks a loaf from the store for a tiny loaf. Even today's loaf maybe cost me a buck or so to make and took an hour and a half of my time. And there is something sooooooo very satisfying to make your own favorite recipe that you can still enjoy without the wheat. Bon Apetit!
Breakfast.... YUM!
Ok, I am now ok with the no wheat thing I think. :) The husband set this adventure into motion. He is a very considerate person, so has been trying to slowly make all the bulk stuff we bought that has wheat disappear from the house so I am not tempted and there won't be any in the house. Yesterday it was some of the case of frozen Eggo's :o) However..... LOL he left the Mrs Butterworth's on the counter, which has since left me with a craving for waffles or pancakes. So this morning I was on a mission. I went to the website where I get my gluten free flour mix from (Bob's Red Mill) and searched the recipes for Waffles. Specifically I wanted Buttermilk batter. Found the simplest one using the mix I use, and wrote it down. While the recipe called for milk, I used 1/2 milk and buttermilk, but found I needed a bit more milk to thin the batter out a tad. I thought about making waffles, but when I went to get the old waffle maker to clean up that was hubby's grandparent's, I decided I wasn't into dismantling it and cleaning it, I didn't want to wait. So, we went with the pancakes. Woo Hoo! Success! and we both had some and they tasted very good! Craving solved. YUM! I do think though next time, I might use about 1/8 cup less of the flour mix replacing it with tapioca flour, I like the fluffier texture the tapioca flour gives things. And overall either use a bit less flour or more milk to make it a bit thinner for pancakes. But they did taste yummy.
As I bake more with gluten/wheat free flours, I find I am preferring the taste of those baked goods, like the cookies, and breads. I just need to find some non wheat, non corn type egg noodles, I found a recipe to make them simply, but...... LOL without the pasta attachments for my mixer I think the recipe would be very labor intensive, and I just don't have enough counter space.
Well today's projects are to make bread (I am almost out of bread), Buttermilk scones (our favorites), and probably cookies, Hubby wants something with butterscotch chips in them. Hmmmm will have to search my cookie recipes and adapt one. I will work today on adapting my old flour recipes for these. But I have more confidence now that I know that it isn't bread dough, it's bread batter. :o) and the others are straight across substitutions pretty much.
Wish me luck! Will try to post later when I know how they've all turned out. I know the bread I'll have to do in the mixer and let it rise, no bread machine, mine doesn't have specific enough settings, and the quick cycle is too long on the rise cycle, so I end up with a very dense loaf because it fell. So, today is baking day!
As I bake more with gluten/wheat free flours, I find I am preferring the taste of those baked goods, like the cookies, and breads. I just need to find some non wheat, non corn type egg noodles, I found a recipe to make them simply, but...... LOL without the pasta attachments for my mixer I think the recipe would be very labor intensive, and I just don't have enough counter space.
Well today's projects are to make bread (I am almost out of bread), Buttermilk scones (our favorites), and probably cookies, Hubby wants something with butterscotch chips in them. Hmmmm will have to search my cookie recipes and adapt one. I will work today on adapting my old flour recipes for these. But I have more confidence now that I know that it isn't bread dough, it's bread batter. :o) and the others are straight across substitutions pretty much.
Wish me luck! Will try to post later when I know how they've all turned out. I know the bread I'll have to do in the mixer and let it rise, no bread machine, mine doesn't have specific enough settings, and the quick cycle is too long on the rise cycle, so I end up with a very dense loaf because it fell. So, today is baking day!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Oh Goodie! It's finally Friday!
Oh my, I didn't think I would ever get through this week with some measure of sanity! This week for being a "short" week due to Labor Day was an exceptionally long work week. I don't know what it is about the start of a new term that people seem to lose all common sense and go nuts. Ah well, won't discuss work here, suffice it to say, some days it definitely could drive one to drink and I love what I do.
Last evening, the sister in-law was over and the pets being their usual selves, pests, were in rare form. She isn't much of a cat person, so Yummy, (Mr. 25 pound beast) decides she needs some Yummy loving. I had to laugh when she told him he wasn't one of the small dogs and shouldn't act like one sitting in her lap. I think it's the 4 feet full of switchblades that's intimidating. :o) LOL Then a bit later he decided that he needed to be lovey with me and up in my face. I had my legs crossed and kept feeling what I thought was one of his feet falling through the gap. Go to move him, and as his face gets towards my lap I see Mushy's paw stick through to bap Yum in the face! Then Mushy decided to pounce and give me clawupuncture at the same time in my leg as he grips with one foot to swat Yum with the other. YEOW! Goofy things!
Mornings with the cats can be interesting. At least 2 of them insist on being on the counter, with Yum underfoot. I don't understand how a cat could have this magnetic attraction in his tail to know when to swish it and place it exactly where your foot is coming down! It's a rough way to wake up in the morning..... Needless to say those "startling" yowls and screams aren't good for the husband's blood pressure and tends to make him cranky. So you learn to shuffle your feet and get creative about putting contacts in with a counter full of furry beasts, who by the way if you put them down, they run out one door and quickly come in the other and back up on the counter before you can get the case open. I believe they think that by being pests it will get them fed that much sooner. This includes peeking around the shower curtain to make sure you haven't drowned so that they will still get breakfast. And if the one determines that you are just lollygagging in the shower the other still on the counter starts knocking small important things off, like lens cases and then gets down to carry them off somewhere. While humorous, it can be a bit challenging! LOL
And then once the dogs determine that you have your eyes open and are at least sitting upright, they start yelping to be let out of their kennels. Or if they think you are trying to sleep beyond 6am, they start it up, and the cats join in by using the bed and your body as either a springboard or something that needs as much attention from their claws as possible. Never dull round our place, no siree. LOL
However, I do have to say that going to bed is nice with the cats, they all cuddle and purr you to sleep. The husband laughs and says I am a purr addict, and I certainly don't deny it. Middle of the night though can be challenging if Yummy falls asleep on you or between you and the edge of the bed on the covers, because he certainly doesn't wake up in a hurry, and it's like moving a liquid lead lump trying to get to the bathroom in a hurry. LOL LOL
For all the challenges, I wouldn't be without them, Love them all and they do return it. So anyone who says animals don't have personalities or only know what you teach them, I would probably invite them to spend time with my crew. :o)
Have an excellent Friday folks! Give your pets a cuddle, and let them purr or wag their tails, it will help put a smile on your face. Honest!
Last evening, the sister in-law was over and the pets being their usual selves, pests, were in rare form. She isn't much of a cat person, so Yummy, (Mr. 25 pound beast) decides she needs some Yummy loving. I had to laugh when she told him he wasn't one of the small dogs and shouldn't act like one sitting in her lap. I think it's the 4 feet full of switchblades that's intimidating. :o) LOL Then a bit later he decided that he needed to be lovey with me and up in my face. I had my legs crossed and kept feeling what I thought was one of his feet falling through the gap. Go to move him, and as his face gets towards my lap I see Mushy's paw stick through to bap Yum in the face! Then Mushy decided to pounce and give me clawupuncture at the same time in my leg as he grips with one foot to swat Yum with the other. YEOW! Goofy things!
Mornings with the cats can be interesting. At least 2 of them insist on being on the counter, with Yum underfoot. I don't understand how a cat could have this magnetic attraction in his tail to know when to swish it and place it exactly where your foot is coming down! It's a rough way to wake up in the morning..... Needless to say those "startling" yowls and screams aren't good for the husband's blood pressure and tends to make him cranky. So you learn to shuffle your feet and get creative about putting contacts in with a counter full of furry beasts, who by the way if you put them down, they run out one door and quickly come in the other and back up on the counter before you can get the case open. I believe they think that by being pests it will get them fed that much sooner. This includes peeking around the shower curtain to make sure you haven't drowned so that they will still get breakfast. And if the one determines that you are just lollygagging in the shower the other still on the counter starts knocking small important things off, like lens cases and then gets down to carry them off somewhere. While humorous, it can be a bit challenging! LOL
And then once the dogs determine that you have your eyes open and are at least sitting upright, they start yelping to be let out of their kennels. Or if they think you are trying to sleep beyond 6am, they start it up, and the cats join in by using the bed and your body as either a springboard or something that needs as much attention from their claws as possible. Never dull round our place, no siree. LOL
However, I do have to say that going to bed is nice with the cats, they all cuddle and purr you to sleep. The husband laughs and says I am a purr addict, and I certainly don't deny it. Middle of the night though can be challenging if Yummy falls asleep on you or between you and the edge of the bed on the covers, because he certainly doesn't wake up in a hurry, and it's like moving a liquid lead lump trying to get to the bathroom in a hurry. LOL LOL
For all the challenges, I wouldn't be without them, Love them all and they do return it. So anyone who says animals don't have personalities or only know what you teach them, I would probably invite them to spend time with my crew. :o)
Have an excellent Friday folks! Give your pets a cuddle, and let them purr or wag their tails, it will help put a smile on your face. Honest!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
First go round.... =o)
Thanks alot kiddo, now you have me doing this. And you know who you are. :o)
Now the decision lies in whether or not do post my meanderings or whether to put it in Mushy's perspective. So much to share and ramble on about. Things I've learned, am still learning on the almost vertical learning curve, and dealings with the pets. HA HA...
A bit about me I guess.... I reside in New Mexico for now, but dream of the tropics. I'm fast running up on the big 50, scary huh? LOL.... married, to an amazing man, now only have 3 obstinate vacuous chihuahuas, (the smart one passed on), and 3 cats with very very different personalities. No kids, but do have 2 nephews who are a whole other story. :o)
I recently discovered my health issues were more than I thought or surmised. And through my learning to understand these issues, I found a common thread, alot of them are tied to food intolerances. And my homeopathist confirmed that I had a wheat intolerance. Which is different than allergy and is not celiacs. So..... while learning to live without wheat in the diet I have been learning to convert alot of old family favorite recipes to include cobbler and bread using non-wheat flours. What an adventure! Also trying new breads and foods like pastas without wheat has had it's own funny moments and tears too. Problem is for me, I was always a pasta addict since I was little, and this cutting out until I found good pastas that were tasty and had the right texture lead to no end of stress and tears. I have though figured out the secret to converting bread recipes somewhat, the basic thing for me to keep in mind is I am making bread batter not bread dough. I grew up watching my grandmother make bread, so I had it ingrained in me that bread dough had to be a certain texture and feel. LOL LOL... well I made two lovely art deco type, or very artistic topped bricks. They never rose, because I had too much "dough" flour in there. Once I figured out that it had to be a sticky shiny batter like consistency, wow, then I turned out a fabulous tasty loaf of bread! WOO HOO.... I figure I am on my way now. Although I was so bummed out about the "bricks" and my hubby encouraged me to just go ahead and throw them out, but my frugal consciousness wouldn't let me because the flour cost so much at first. So I figured there must be something I can do with the "bricks". It took me about a day or so and then AHA! I realized I would make bread crumbs out of them! Use the crumbs in my meatloafs, to bread fried chicken with, etc. Well the two dense tasty brick filled a gallon sized ziplock bag, geez, now I have enough for 2 or 3 years! LOL
One adventure I had that makes me laugh though is buying different types of wheat free breads to try out and get an idea of what tasted good to me and which way I might want to go on the flours for my breads. One of those poor unfortunate loaves was made from brown rice flour. These loaves from this particular company are double packaged and the inner package has a "dessicant" pack in them and they are sealed to preserve the shelf life of the bread. So one morning I made my lunch to take to work of chicken salad, put the mix in the container, and put a couple of slices of the brown rice bread into a baggie to assemble the sandwich during lunch. Sitting there in the campus center with my father and make my sandwich, take the first bite and I swore I had actually gotten the dessicant packet and eaten that by mistake! OH MY GOD! That bread clean sucked all the moisture out of my mouth! I couldn't get enough water into my mouth to finish chewing and swallowing it! Oh lord.... it was awful! And stupid me because I don't like to waste anything, I continued to eat my sandwich! LOL Lots of water with that lunch! Even toasting the bread, while it helped a bit didn't help enough with the palatability of it. I tried to finish the loaf, even threw out the dessicant packet, but thank heavens science took over and I got to throw it out without guilt. Other than the lovely bricks, most of my other baking tries have been very very successful!
Pastas.... I personally wouldn't recommend corn spaghetti, that episode made me cry. I was so wanting pasta for supper after work one evening, so I took the package of corn spaghetti out to cook it. Thought what the heck we'd try it. Brother.... that was a resounding failure. Cooked it according to directions, the ends clumped and glued together, the spaghetti became angel hair in size and the water turned to gruel, YUCK! It kinda grossed me out. I tried to serve it, hubby said he didn't think it was too bad and I just busted out in tears. I was so disappointed. And while I tried it, I personally thought it was gritty and that was a turn off for me. We have found though that we like the brown rice based pastas and they cook well. Even the Lasagna did good, no precooking, so now I just need to remember to make the sauce soupier. LOL
Ah well.... as this is a work night, time to hit the hay. :)
Now the decision lies in whether or not do post my meanderings or whether to put it in Mushy's perspective. So much to share and ramble on about. Things I've learned, am still learning on the almost vertical learning curve, and dealings with the pets. HA HA...
A bit about me I guess.... I reside in New Mexico for now, but dream of the tropics. I'm fast running up on the big 50, scary huh? LOL.... married, to an amazing man, now only have 3 obstinate vacuous chihuahuas, (the smart one passed on), and 3 cats with very very different personalities. No kids, but do have 2 nephews who are a whole other story. :o)
I recently discovered my health issues were more than I thought or surmised. And through my learning to understand these issues, I found a common thread, alot of them are tied to food intolerances. And my homeopathist confirmed that I had a wheat intolerance. Which is different than allergy and is not celiacs. So..... while learning to live without wheat in the diet I have been learning to convert alot of old family favorite recipes to include cobbler and bread using non-wheat flours. What an adventure! Also trying new breads and foods like pastas without wheat has had it's own funny moments and tears too. Problem is for me, I was always a pasta addict since I was little, and this cutting out until I found good pastas that were tasty and had the right texture lead to no end of stress and tears. I have though figured out the secret to converting bread recipes somewhat, the basic thing for me to keep in mind is I am making bread batter not bread dough. I grew up watching my grandmother make bread, so I had it ingrained in me that bread dough had to be a certain texture and feel. LOL LOL... well I made two lovely art deco type, or very artistic topped bricks. They never rose, because I had too much "dough" flour in there. Once I figured out that it had to be a sticky shiny batter like consistency, wow, then I turned out a fabulous tasty loaf of bread! WOO HOO.... I figure I am on my way now. Although I was so bummed out about the "bricks" and my hubby encouraged me to just go ahead and throw them out, but my frugal consciousness wouldn't let me because the flour cost so much at first. So I figured there must be something I can do with the "bricks". It took me about a day or so and then AHA! I realized I would make bread crumbs out of them! Use the crumbs in my meatloafs, to bread fried chicken with, etc. Well the two dense tasty brick filled a gallon sized ziplock bag, geez, now I have enough for 2 or 3 years! LOL
One adventure I had that makes me laugh though is buying different types of wheat free breads to try out and get an idea of what tasted good to me and which way I might want to go on the flours for my breads. One of those poor unfortunate loaves was made from brown rice flour. These loaves from this particular company are double packaged and the inner package has a "dessicant" pack in them and they are sealed to preserve the shelf life of the bread. So one morning I made my lunch to take to work of chicken salad, put the mix in the container, and put a couple of slices of the brown rice bread into a baggie to assemble the sandwich during lunch. Sitting there in the campus center with my father and make my sandwich, take the first bite and I swore I had actually gotten the dessicant packet and eaten that by mistake! OH MY GOD! That bread clean sucked all the moisture out of my mouth! I couldn't get enough water into my mouth to finish chewing and swallowing it! Oh lord.... it was awful! And stupid me because I don't like to waste anything, I continued to eat my sandwich! LOL Lots of water with that lunch! Even toasting the bread, while it helped a bit didn't help enough with the palatability of it. I tried to finish the loaf, even threw out the dessicant packet, but thank heavens science took over and I got to throw it out without guilt. Other than the lovely bricks, most of my other baking tries have been very very successful!
Pastas.... I personally wouldn't recommend corn spaghetti, that episode made me cry. I was so wanting pasta for supper after work one evening, so I took the package of corn spaghetti out to cook it. Thought what the heck we'd try it. Brother.... that was a resounding failure. Cooked it according to directions, the ends clumped and glued together, the spaghetti became angel hair in size and the water turned to gruel, YUCK! It kinda grossed me out. I tried to serve it, hubby said he didn't think it was too bad and I just busted out in tears. I was so disappointed. And while I tried it, I personally thought it was gritty and that was a turn off for me. We have found though that we like the brown rice based pastas and they cook well. Even the Lasagna did good, no precooking, so now I just need to remember to make the sauce soupier. LOL
Ah well.... as this is a work night, time to hit the hay. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
