Thanksgiving 2009 – Black Friday.

Today I am thankful …

that I didn’t go out into the madness!  I am also thankful that we have had two nice days in a row of visiting family.

 

Yesterday, we had dinner with dh’s father and stepmother.  Smom and I each made complete meals.  She cooked the turkey, made sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes (dairy filled), rolls (glutenous), corn, and pecan pie (glutenous and eggy).  I roasted a pork loin, dh made mashed potatoes (dairy free), the Little Guy helped me make Mexican Bean Salsa Salad (free of gluten, birds and their byproducts, milk, soy, and canola and rapeseed oils), and GFCFEFSF pumpkin pie (for the flour, I used extra virgin olive oil instead of light olive oil – not sure what the difference is, sorghum flour instead of buckwheat flour , and Thai Kitchen’s full fatted coconut milk instead of hemp milk, which I had never heard of until this recipe).

 

The pork turned out okay, the mashed potatoes not so good, the MBSS turned out nice except that I forgot to buy cilantro , which was sorely missed, and the pumpkin pie was great!

 

If you followed the link, you probably saw that the pie was made without a crust.  It was easy to get out of the pie plate and tasted very good considering it is full of substitutes to make it pumpkin pie like.  It actually tasted like pumpkin, wasn’t sludgy, and didn’t look like something I probably didn’t want to eat.  I will add more spices to it next time – and there will be a next time – because it seemed like maybe it could’ve used a little something more, flavor wise, but not much.

 

I’ve recently made a discovery that makes me feel a little sad.  It seems that my husband is losing or has lost the ability to taste simple things.    I’ve been doing a lot of cooking over the past couple of weeks, and have not been able to please him without really dumping in the salt and spices. The boys and I have have really liked a few of the things, but he doesn’t and asks if I have considered adding some salt or pepper or other spices.   WITW???  The Little Guy, Mr. Somewhat Picky, was raving over a bowl of steaming hot vegetable beef soup, while The Mister thought it tasted like veggies, beef and water, which I can assure you it was not, and yet how sad that he doesn’t seem to be able to taste the natural flavors of the vegetables!

 

My stomach has been really bothering me for the last few days, and I think it’s because I have added so much extra pepper and other spices so that he can taste something.  In the future, I will make a separate concoction for him so the rest of us don’t have to suffer from burnt innards.  In the meantime, I’ve got to search for answers about taste bud health.  8-|

 

Today, we had dinner with my sister’s family, but this time, we weren’t the only people dealing with food sensitivities.  My Mom has discovered that she is at least gluten intolerant, so we worked out the menu so that it would be as everybody friendly as possible.  Still, certain staples were required which some of us simply had to avoid.  There was turkey, pork, fresh veggies and dip, pickles, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, fruit salad, MBSS, two kinds of pumpkin pie (one GFCFEFSF), one me-friendly blueberry pie, one pecan pie, and one spectacular fruit crisp dessert that I wung which turned out, well, spectacular!  I’ll have to make it again and write down what I did, but the two main flavors are pumpkin and apple, and it was delicious!

 

We did not lack for food, and I am thankful to God for providing so much variety in nature so that those of us with a lengthy “Stuff to Avoid” list can enjoy tasty food, too! 

I am also thankful to have had the opportunity to spend time with my family.  I haven’t seen my in-laws or my side of the family much at all lately, so it was nice to slow down and have some time with them.  You know, as much as God has shown himself faithful lately, I still worried about a couple of things and cast a shadow over some of the festivities.  I feel bad that I didn’t let the things go and spend more time concentrating on how I could be a blessing to them.  Both sides of our family are having their own difficulties. We had a good time both days, really, we did, but I could cry over one of the things I wish I could’ve done, but God knows about that situation, and thinking it over, I know that He would’ve impressed a thing upon my heart if He had wanted me to do something about it.  I guess I can take comfort in that.  I shall take comfort in that.

 

I don’t mean to end on a downer.  Difficult things happen, but God is still faithful, and I don’t mean to whine away every bit of thanks I’ve expressed. It has been a pleasant week, and I am thankful for it and all that it brought our way.  And I am especially thankful that I did not join in the shopping madness! 

 

I Corinthians 15:56,57

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God!  He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

appleSauce, Soy, and School

It’s a beautiful, sunny day in SW Michigan.  For the moment anyway.

Yesterday, Guinevere* and I met in the church library while the boys had their homeschool group meeting.  I always enjoy that time with her.  It seems like we’re both so busy that we hardly get a chance to talk.  Last time, we discussed vaccines and books as we perused the library’s shelves. This time, she asked me about my Heidi dog.  I thought I would make it through the day without crying.  Oh well.  Maybe tomorrow (already had the cry for today).

Once I stopped blubbering and could focus on being the attentive listener for once, Guin* told me about an applesauce making adventure.   She said that one of her relatives brought her a bunch of apples that she had picked up from under the trees in an orchard near her (the relative’s)  home and got them for much less than she would’ve paid for “good”, on-the-tree or pre-picked apples.  Guin* wondered if maybe an orchard we both like has something like that. They do, but not exactly, though it is quite a deal.

Don’t you just love the smell of apples cooking?  Don’t you love the smell of apples, period??  I sure do!  I grew up having a seemingly endless supply of apples, and I never got sick of them.   As a kid, some of the aunts, uncles, and cousins would go to the family farm and pic up apples from under the trees.  I can remember kneeling in the wetness under the trees, smelling the apple fragrance while picking up fallen apples with my gloved hands.  I was never as fast as everyone else, but it was work that needed to be done and didn’t matter how fast a person did it.  The owner of the farm paid a fair per-crate wage, and a person didn’t get fired for working slower than everyone else; they just wanted someone to do the job.  There were lots of jobs to do in the summer, but I hated those jobs because they always involved working in the hot sun, and that always seemed to give me a terrible headache.  Picking up apples was a more hospitable working environment for me.  It was fun, too, because my Mom’s family got the humor gene.    Between talking about times past and just being a bunch of wiseacres, the time often passed quickly and more memories were made. 

*contented sigh*

“Meanwhile, back in the library,” I asked Guin* how she makes her applesauce.  She told me about that, which led to a discussion on canning, apple butter, and pesticides on apple skins.  (Guin*, if you read this, it’s a concept called biochemical neutrality, in which the nutrients in the apple skins cancel out the fertilizers, pesticides and poop during the chewing process, at least whatever chemicals and waste don’t get washed off the skins by rain or people, rendering the skins of no nutritional value, but in return, rendering the inorganic chemicals (and bird poop) harmless.  )  Oh yeah, I definitely want to make apple butter, and I would like to try my hand at pumpkin butter, too.  I’ll definitely scour the apple skins thoroughly, or peel the apples and skip the pesticide business.

Guin* asked me if I was going to the homeschool program last night.  I didn’t know there was one except that a program made some of my young FB friends’ stati and comments make sense.  I told her that I would like to go, but I wasn’t sure about the transportation situation.  The homeschoolers around here put on some pretty great productions, so I was interested, just not real sure if the Mister would be home from hunting in time.

Later in the afternoon, after having next to no lunch and little to no energy to make something, I decided to go with Gabe’s suggestion to have taco-shells-broken-into-pieces and salsa.  I was hungry and so were the boys, but I had forgotten to pull something out of the freezer the night before, and there was really nothing good on hand that was quick.  My stomach has been rebelling against spicy food lately so I thought  a taco shell would be more soothing than salsa.  A few minutes after I started eating, I realized something was different about the taco shells we bought last time.   I asked that one of the boys please read the label on the box.  Homer* checked the ingredients for me and said that there was soy in them.  UGH.

*resigned sigh*

In time, I eventually made it to my bed, book** in hand.  It looked like it was going to be a long night.  I was losing the battle to stay awake, my eyes rolling back into my head and my left thumb and pinky finger fighting against the book’s tendency to close, when the phone rang.  I sat up and crawled to the end of my bed where the phone was conveniently located for once.   I picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Hi.” It was Guin*.  “Did [the Mister] get back yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Do you still want to go to [The Program]?  We have room.  We’re headed back from [our activity] and can pick you up if you’d like to ride with us.”

There are times in every food sensitive person’s life in which a choice needs to be made.  Do I want to be a party pooper again? (Heh heh.  Get it?)  Or do I want to try biting the bullet and risk being sick in public? In an instant, … No, in an instant and a half,  maybe two due to the cramping, I made my decision.

“Sure.  That sounds like fun.”  Yeah.  Especially if I can’t find a restroom.  Oh, man!  Please, God.  Let this be the end of it.

When I got off the phone, I told the boys that we were going away in an hour  and to get ready, and then I went back to bed for a little while, hoping to relax and let my body have a chance to bounce back.

When Guin* and her kids got here, I was some better, but the clouds looked threatening, if you know what I mean.  We went and had a good time.  Thank You, God!  The way I feel today, there’s no reason I should’ve gotten any enjoyment out of the show at all, but I did!  And I learned a new word.

A New Word:  Cromit.  Verb. To cry and vomit simultaneously.    That was from a  play performed by the high schoolers called “The Homework at my Dog,” in which a student’s science experiment eats her dog.   I can’t do the play justice by trying to describe it here, but I have to say that the director and the students did an excellent job! 

** I checked The Mill House by Paul McCusker out of the church library yesterday. Mr. McCusker’s name was familiar to me from his work with Adventures in Odyssey and Focus on the Family Radio Theatre. I have read Darien’s Rise, one of the books in a series of novels related to Adventures in Odyssey called Passages. Having recently finished a novel by another author, I have to say that that popular author’s work does not hold a candle to Paul McCusker’s.   Besides the fact that his plot is good, his writing is technically good.

All in the family

Have you ever experienced one of those situations that seems so obvious but no one will listen to what you have to say?

Because of all of the food issues that I have, and my son has, and now my mom has, I have been concerned about other family members with similar symptoms.  One of my relative’’s kids has obvious digestive issues, but, as with most people with digestive issues, she is in denial that  it’s more than a passing thing.  She has issues of her own with food that she does not want to deal with.  I don’t blame her because it’s hard to make huge changes, but you pay now, or you pay later!

Anywho, one of my relative’s kids has this problem that I’ve observed directly and indirectly. Repeatedly.  And the kid doesn’t want to do anything different with the kid’s diet.  Okay, well the next time we have to wait for you, child, because you ate something that makes you sick, don’t expect us to have any sympathy for you, you little goober!!!  It’s hard to feel sorry for you when you know better!

On the other hand, I used to think that I had to tolerate that kind of problem forever, that there wasn’t much to be done about it.  I did eventually come around – once I realized what a huge impact certain foods had on my life.  And I’m glad of it!

So I called The Powers That Be about this child and said, “Look, you need to do something about a child who is stuck standing out by my mailbox because the child is in too much pain to walk into the house and go to the bathroom!  I will go with you to the doctor and explain the family history if need be!!  This kind of thing happens every single time this particular child comes over!  This is not normal!”

Seriously, I’m getting impatient with people who don’t want to address things and feel better.  Not everything is gluten intolerance, but golly!!!  Do your homework, especially where kids are involved!!!

*steps down from soapbox*

As you were.

Dogs, Diet and Driving

On Dogs:

Conrad and Jaeger are progressing in their transformation from stupid, worthless puppies to intelligent, irreplaceable dogs.  They will never be like Noah, but they’re enjoyable more often than not these days.

This morning, Buttercup* and I were sitting on the couch.  She had pulled up the game table and was working in a workbook, and I was reading The White Dove to her. All three dogs were snoozing on various pieces of furniture throughout the room.  For some reason, I got up and walked away from my spot for not more than a minute.  Apparently, Jaeg thinks that when I move, it’s for his benefit, because, once again, he had stretched himself across the space between her and the back of the couch.  He loves to be close to her, and every time I move, I lose my place to him.  If someone isn’t sitting next to her, he and Heidi both try to sneak up onto the couch by her.  This was the first time he has stretched out all confident like that.  His head was on the armrest, just in case she wanted to pet him, I am sure!  He’s such a goof!

Conrad is like the dumb jock, and Jaeger is like the geek. We can tell that Conrad is going to be a really good hunter, but he lacks sense.  He’s in his element when he’s outdoors being all athletic and stuff, but he’s kind of a clod in the house.   Honestly, if I hadn’t seen how sharp he is outside, I’d think he was dumber than a box of rocks!  Jaeg, otoh, seems more philosophical and, well, brainy.  He likes to run around the backyard with Conrad, but he learns commands better than Conrad.

Conrad is sort of homely.  I’ve never had a dog that I had to get used to looking at.  Jaeg has Puss in Boots eyes.  Conrad’s white is bright white when he’s clean, though, while Jaeger’s fur leaves a lot to be desired for someone who’s used to dogs that are actually attractive in a domestic setting, like, say, German Shepherds.

Jaeg is no longer the housebroken one.  As Conrad has improved, Jaeg has regressed.  *sigh*  And so has Heidi.   We have become much more regimented in how we handle them.  We now have a feeding schedule, and we try to take them out every two hours whether they act like they need to go or not.  We had a schedule before, but it wasn’t written down.  It helps to have written reminders.

The boys have been keeping the pups in their room at night.  I’m not in love with that.  I’m sure Homer has allergies, and that’s not helping, but all three boys are very good about attending to the dogs.  They’re twice as responsible as I was at any given age in my childhood.  Homer lets Conrad and Jaeg sleep on his bed.  They’re as flexible as wet noodles and don’t mind sleeping in a pile, so it basically works out at the moment.

The puppies make me appreciate Heidi.  It’s nice to have one dog who won’t destroy the house while we’re not paying attention for more than 15 seconds.

On Diet:

Homer and I have continued to eat gluten free.  I believe it has been about three weeks for him, and almost two months for me.  He has noticed a difference, and I have seen a big difference in him.  He doesn’t act depressed and lethargic all the time.    He still craves bread, but we both got glutened by Qdoba over the weekend, and he has stopped asking me how much longer he has to go without gluten.

I feel really, really, really bad that he does seem to have a problem with gluten.  It is so hard to watch people eat yummy things in front of you, especially if you’re a kid.   The other day, Dub made biscuits.  I keep forgetting to buy bread, so he took matters into his own hands.  (I’m used to avoiding it like the plague, so it doesn’t phase me, while I’m shopping, that other people might still want it.)  When the biscuits were done, Homer asked if those were the bisquits that he could eat.  Those things smelled so good!  I told him no, and he wilted.  I’m not sure how else to describe it.  I felt so bad for  him!  I whipped up some cornbread for him, and that helped, but there’s nothing in the world that bakes quite like wheat flour.

Tonight, I finally remembered to do some recipe-reading and research before I was too tired to care.  (I haven’t gotten my laptop fixed, so looking things up is a chore.  I’m anchored to the desktop.) Based on what I read tonight and what I have on hand,  I made what turned out to be like a generic quick bread.  It’s a little too dense to be like sandwich bread – and no yeast, but it is good enough to slather on some Soy Garden and honey.  I am not crazy about gluten free garbanzo and fava flour, but I could hardly taste it in this concoction. Woo  hoo!!!

For my own future reference – GFCF/Egg Free bread experiment 1:

1/2 C GF garbanzo/fava flour (Bob’s Red Mill)

1/2 C GF sweet sorghum flour (BRM)

1/2 C GF whole grain organic brown rice flour (Arrowhead Mills)

1/2 C refined white sugar (just plain old, health hazardous white sugar )

1 tsp Xanthan gum

1 Tbsp Ener-G egg replacer

1 tsp (??? oh dear … maybe it was a Tbsp) baking powder

1/2 C water

1/2 C vegetable oil

1 tsp molasses

1 tsp vanilla

1Tbsp vinegar

Notes:  Oven temp: 350 F

I mixed all of the dry ingredients before adding the wet ones, but I noticed my baking powder was chunky.  >:-|  Nothing like a mouth full of baking powder!  That didn’t seem to effect the final product, but consider sifting the b.p. next time.

After adding wet ingredients, mixed until combined well but not mixed to death.

Baking: Used one loaf pan and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  It about doubled in size and did not stick to the pan.  Baked about 30 – 40 min, but don’t keep poking a toothpick in it to check for doneness.  Since there is no yeast, every poke causes it to lose some height.  Patience, my young padawan.

Overall impression:  I went into this expecting to fail.  I was sure I’d end up with one more gloppy, gooby, half baked mess.  I haven’t had a lot of success with egg free breads, unless they are yeast breads.  I just wanted to try some things that might make Homer’s life more pleasant.  I’m definitely going to do this again in the near future. It was of the consistency of quick bread made with real eggs.    It was not more dense in the center as most of my breads are when eggs are called for but something else is used.  I am encouraged to have a gf/cf/egg free bread recipe that Homer likes.

Karen Joy, if you read this,  I have lost the emails we exchanged at the beginning of July, but I seem to remember you describing your flour mixture for everyday baking being a third of three different flours.  That was the main thing going through my head when I started out.  Thank God it worked!

On Driving:

I’m having a lot of fun riding around the countryside with Homer.  I’ve been having him drive me to Buttercup’s house in the morning and then home from her house in the afternoon.  He says he doesn’t like it, but I don’t believe that for a second!  It is so nice to be able to not drive for a change!    On the days that I work, he averages a little over a half hour of driving.  By the time he’s 23, he should have all of the required hours in to be able to take the road test.  That’ll work out well, because I think his insurance rate will be more affordable by that time!

Off I go to check on the German Shorthairs and to kick the German Shepherd Princess of the couch.  Auf wiedersehen!

Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

I made these great cookies about a week and a half ago. They were a huge hit everywhere I took them. I’m going to make them again today but I lost the recipe. Just thought I’d share the link and the recipe here for my own future reference and for anyone else who might like something delish that is egg and dairy free.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Submitted by Isa on www.theppk.com

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies Submitted by Isa prep time: 15 minutes | cooking time: 32 minutes | makes 4 dozen cookies These are soft out of the oven, but as they cool they are nice and chewy. They are a serious crowd pleaser, for crowds with taste buds.Note: I use flax seeds because they make the texture a little chewier, but I’ve made them without and they’re still good! Equipment: baking sheets 2 mixing bowls   Ingredients 2 cups flour 1 1/3 cups rolled oats 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1 2/3 cups sugar 2/3 cup canola oil 2 tablespoons molasses 1 cup canned pumpkin, or cooked pureed pumpkin 1 teaspoon vanilla optional: 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped 1/2 cup raisins Directions Preheat oven to 350. Have ready 2 greased baking sheets. Mix together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices. In a seperate bowl, mix together sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin and vanilla (and flax seeds if using) until very well combined. Add dry ingredients to wet in 3 batches, folding to combine. Fold in walnuts and raisins. Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. They don’t spread very much so they can be placed only an inch apart. Flatten the tops of the cookies with a fork or with your fingers, to press into cookie shape. Bake for 16 minutes at 350. If you are using two sheets of cookies on 2 levels of your oven, rotate the sheets halfway through for even baking. You’ll have enough batter for 4 trays. Remove from oven and get cookies onto a wire rack to cool. These taste best when they’ve had some time to cool and set. They taste even better the next day! Note from Mrs. Nicklebee: These are extremely sticky. Let them cool adequately before handling them.