Saved – health

It has been at least eight years since I have been able to eat a cinnamon roll.  But this company has really figured out how to make gluten-free bread products.  Of course, it was also a lot easier to avoid such things as bread, cookies, and cinnamon rolls before eating gluten-free became so prevalent but I am happy to be able to indulge occasionally.

Read Full Post »

Saved – food

I love cookbooks and cooking – not so much baking.  Last summer, inspired by the Julie/Julia craze, I began a food blog.  I have quite a few cookbooks and some food blogs that I visit everyday.  So I was very interested by this post and the idea of keeping track of our meals.  Might be a good writing challenge for August.

Read Full Post »

Saved – recipes

I need to take salads to two different parties – one later today and one tomorrow.  Not having any idea what I might do with them, I picked up some shredded cabbage, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and carrots at the store.  Fortunately, I found two recipes that would use my ingredients along with a few items from my cupboard and some of my fresh basil growing in the yard.  And since I am looking for ways to save time, I prepared both salads at the same time.  One prep time, one clean up time, two salads – lovely!

The cabbage salad is here and the cucumber and chick pea salad is here.

Thanks to all who post recipes on their blogs!

Read Full Post »

SOLC #30 – peanut butter

Peanut butter – the mainstay of a young child’s diet for many years – has become a hazard.  We have practices in place to make sure we don’t serve anything with peanuts or made in a facility where peanuts are processed.  I find myself asking families at church if they have any food allergies when it is my turn to bring a meal after a baby is born or the family has experienced a loss or illness.  I have meetings with teachers and parents over fears and frustrations about food allergies.  It is a scary thing.

For me, the forbidden ingredient is gluten.  I won’t have the same kind of reaction as a peanut allergy but it is not a reaction that I want to repeat if at all possible.  It is getting easier to be safe.  Food labeling is so much better than it was eight years ago.  But there are surprises along the way.  I still do not understand how wheat or gluten find their way into some foods – why is there wheat in my potato chips for instance?  But I start most days with my favorite gluten-free food and then I make sure to wash my hand really well before I head off to school.

Read Full Post »

SOLC#16 – sharing food

I have a lot of food storage containers but one of my favorites is the one that gets passed back and forth between my daughter and me.  When she moved into her own apartment, I would bring her a little container with cookies or scones or send her home after dinner with some leftovers.  And now she has begun to return the container in a new way.  Now she is making treats for me and filling the little container with the red lid before she returns it.  Most recently it was gluten-free teff gingerbread waffles.  Yum!  Now I am wondering what I should make before I give it back to her.

Read Full Post »

SOLC #6 – weekend lunch

Weekend lunches are so different from my weekday lunches.  Mostly because I can make them when it is lunchtime instead of just after breakfast.  And the food can go directly on the plate instead of being packed into a container and lunch box.  Today we made Portobello mushroom pizzas.  Very simple but so satisfying.  This was an idea we heard about at a cooking class we took this week and I figured I needed to try it soon or the idea would get lost.

Gently brush dirt off a large Portobello mushroom and place on a lightly oiled cooking sheet.  We topped ours with olive tapenade from Trader Joes and goat cheese.  Cook in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  enJOY!

Read Full Post »

28 days of wonder #19

Last August, I stumbled on a magazine that has changed the way I eat and the way I think about eating and I am wondering why I waited so long to change my habits?  Why is it that when I know what to do, understand what is good for my health and my spirit, I don’t just do it?  And now that I have made these changes, why would I go back?

Read Full Post »

Day 27 – dishes

We had three tables again this year.  Somehow, as we have gotten older, it seems better to have smaller groups at each table.  Better conversation.  There is room to pull up an extra chair if you want to table hop.  You don’t have to ask everyone to move if you happen to have that next to the wall seat and you need to get out.

But always, when the meal is done, people move toward the kitchen.  Dishes are brought to the sink, the dishwasher gets loaded up for the first of at least three cycles.  Food is put into containers to take home or slide into the refrigerator.  The pies and whip cream come out.  Coffee and tea are brewing.  And there we stay, for another hour or two.  Standing, sitting, taking turns asking questions, telling stories.  Pots and pans clutter the counter but we are not distracted by them.  We are catching up.  This is the best part of the day.

Read Full Post »

Day 25 – preparations

Every year I think I will simplify, do a bit less while still making a nice presentation.  And every year I find one little thing that I want to try.  This year it is cranberry chutney.  And it was very simple.  Now, the tables are set, the turkey is dressed, the stuffing is ready.  Maybe this will be the year when it really is simpler.

Read Full Post »

Day 10 – a slice of breakfast

It has been seven years since I stopped eating wheat and gluten. At first, the hardest part of the day was breakfast. I was a breakfast cereal junkie and there were not a lot of gluten-free options that tasted good.   But it is getting so much easier to eat gluten-free.  Food companies are better at labeling and recognizing the food allergy market.  And cookbooks are beginning to include recipes that don’t involve spending a fortune on ingredients.  My most recent discovery is a breakfast cereal that I can make up for the whole week.  It is a simple hot cereal with oats and quinoa that I can dress up with craisins, walnuts, and blueberries.  Add a bit of yogurt on top and you are good to go.  I make a batch of this cereal on Monday morning and just pop a bowl in the microwave with frozen berries.  The last few weeks I have been using this wonderful cup for my cereal.  I love looking down and seeing that word – uplifting – a great way to start the day.

Read Full Post »