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.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
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
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