Christmas was awesome

About a month before Christmas, my husband was out doing...something.  I don't know.  He was out with friends, I think.  Shopping, maybe?

Yes, my husband shops.  Willingly.

No, you can't clone him.

Anyway, he was out with friends, shopping (and yes, I'm sure he's straight, by the way) and he stumbled upon a big sale at the Paderno Factory Outlet (Paderno is a local company, dontcha know).  A major sale.  Like a holy-cow-now-we-can-afford-the-Cuisinart-food-processor-we've-been-talking-about-for-five-years kind of sale.

So he bought me a Cuisinart.

Yikes, sorry for the hair-raising photography.  The light is so horrible, these days.  I don't have much to work with.

*Officially* it was a Christmas present, but the thing is massive and there was no way he would have been able to hide that thing somewhere in the house (our house is so small that we can't even fit a Christmas tree in it).

I've been inventing excuses for the past 6 weeks to whip it out and play with it.  I don't think he understood why I wanted one so badly until he used it, himself.  When he saw how fast it chopped his stir fry veggies, all he said was "Duuuuuude." and his eyes just about popped out of his face.  Stir fries are a twice-weekly tradition in this gluten-free household, so it was a big deal.

I've been using it for mixing GF dough (pizza, cookie, scone, almond balls, etc) and chopping the aforementioned veggies.  What else should I be making with this thing?  Ideas?  Oh!  Homemade mayo?  Egads, I can't believe it only occurred to me just now.

Gotta go!  That mayo ain't gonna make itself.

(PS: The keyboard for my iMac pooched on me a couple of months ago.  The letter K and the comma buttons suddenly decided that they had known enough of the world and offed themselves.  Perhaps it was murder-suicide.  We'll never know.  Anyway,  I've been using the frustrating/disgusting/obnoxious keyboard that came with it, five years ago.  So he got me a new keyboard.  He's a keeper, this husband of mine.)

Recipe Dump

Going through my recipes and thought I would post the best ones here, in case you'd like to try them out.

Let me know if you have tried them - I'd love to know if you like them!









Here is one that I pulled from Ravelry. I'm part of a group for Celiacs and people with other food intolerances. A wonderful woman who goes by JerseyPeach62 posted a modified version of a peanut butter cookie recipe that she found years ago. I gave it a whirl and made some and yowza, I'm hooked. I usually add a handful of carob chips to it (as the hubby is intolerant to chocolate - I KNOW, it's a sin!) and sometimes even some pecans. You know, just because I can.

It's habit-forming

See ya, suckas.

What can I say?  Once again, I have no knitting or sewing content for you.  We've had such crap weather for MONTHS (we're going to get 20mm of rain between midnight tonight and tomorrow evening, for example) and when the sun pokes out, the LAST thing I want to do is stay indoors, at my sewing table. 

But, I did work in the garden for a while last week and have this to show for it:

Apparently, my basil and my black currants are having a disagreement.  The basil says my garden sucks and the currant bushes are thumbing their noses at the little punks.  So, what do I do with them?  Ideas?  I found a raspberry/currant jam recipe I might try...

Speaking of raspberries, I found an organic raspberry U-Pick patch a few towns over.  Run by a 12-year-old boy named Daniel.  It was awesome.  We picked and bought 14 kg of them.  They filled one of those big ice cream buckets they serve ice cream out of at a Dairy Bar.  I could barely pick it up.

So, we've been jammin'.

 

Also, I invented a drink.  It's called I'm-Sick-of-Drinking-Straight-Water-and-Since-I-Can't-Drink-Regular-Fruit-Juice-I'm-Going-to-Juice-Every-Citrus-Fruit-in-the-Fridge-and-Add-Some-Sugar-and-Water-to-it-and-Call-it-a-Cocktail.  Deeelish.

Speaking of designing food, I made up a new burger sauce.  See, I can't have ketchup or barbecue sauce these days.  Which makes burgers a little boring.  So, I raided the fridge (you noticing a trend, here?) and blended this together to make Awesome Sauce (that's what I'm calling it):

(Bear with the vague quantities; my husband chucked the piece of paper containing my notes...the infidel.)

1/4 cup of mayo (NOT Miracle Whip)

1 tsp-ish of maple syrup (I have to avoid brown sugar or honey or agave nectar, but you could try those instead)

1 tsp-ish of lime juice

1/4 tsp (MAXIMUM - this stuff is potent) of fish sauce (available at Asian stores in the Thai section)

a sprinkle of good curry powder*

a half sprinkle of chipotle powder

*There is a spice lady at the Farmer's Market in town and she is my idol.  She has taught me so much about spices, it's kind of insane.  I mentioned that I have not always enjoyed curry powder and she explained that it is because there was too much turmeric in it.  The store-bought stuff is commonly made that way, she said.  She sold me some stuff that she calls "Citrus Thai Curry" and oh. my. gawd.  Swoon.  Also, she sells Smoked Applewood Sea Salt.  Gah.  To die for.

Meat and Potatoes

I live in a place that produces potatoes.  Like, lots of them.  Like millions of pounds of them every year.  They're everywhere I look.

But I've never been a huge fan of potatoes (let's pull a veil over my substance abuse problem, re: fries and potato chips, shall we?).  I grew up eating (offensive) boiled potatoes that everyone in the family seemed to find perfectly adequate and I found perfectly disgusting.  As my good friend Miranda would say: "Revolting with a capital BARF."  And let's not go anywhere near the word "pierogi".  Retch.  Gag.

Having said all of that,  I've decided that getting old has its advantages.  Namely, you start to like stuff that used to make you want to hurl.  It's like magic.

Enter: Becky's Potato Salad.

This is a grown-up's potato salad.  It is refined, it is elegant and, most importantly, it is healthy.  It is out-of-this-World-delicious.

So who is Becky?  Becky is my veggie pusher.  She runs an organic CSA a few towns over (and just bought herself a rundown old farmhouse that she is slowly painting PERIWINKLE BLUE! - refer to Snatch for the appropriate accent to use when saying that out loud) and she provides us with our organic veggies every week.  We like Becky.  She gives us things like garlic scapes and tat soi and beet greens.  Then, because we have no blessed clue what to do with them, she gives us a recipe sheet with ideas.

That's where the potato salad comes from.  The sheet of culinary wonders.

Here's what you need:

1-1/2 lbs of new potatoes, cubed (but washed first, of course...silly)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
2 tbsp minced garlic scapes or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper (or just give the pepper mill a good once-over, that's my modus operandi)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 "bunch" washed/dried/torn arugula (not sure what she originally meant by "bunch", but I just toss half the bag in)

Cook the potatoes until tender but still firm (15 mins or so).  Drain and cool.  Transfer to a big bowl.

Meanwhile, mix the vinegar, garlic (or scapes), salt and pepper in a bowl.  Drizzle in the oil, whisking until the mixture thickens (or my personal favourite: stick it all in a mason jar and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE UNTIL YOU CAN'T SHAKE IT NO MO').

Toss the potatoes and the arugula with the vinaigrette (fancy French word alert).  Serve at room temperature.

That's it.  It sounds like a nothing salad, but holy crap on a cracker, it's good.  And just WAIT until you taste the leftovers the next day, after it's had time to marinate in the fridge (if you're like me, you'll want to add a touch more vinegar to it to re-jazzify it).  Gah. 

As a side note: I have humungous hands.  For a girl, I mean.  They're big.  I call them man-hands.  I am relaying this information to you because you need it in order to understand that following:

I have encountered mutant strawberries.

And no, they are not GMO.  These babies are organic and local.  Like, my-friend-Ruth's-garden-local.  Like, down-the-road-5-minutes-local.  And when I say organic, I mean organic.  Ruth doesn't even like wearing bug spray when she is harvesting edibles, in case it contaminates the food.  Guaranteed: they haven't been tampered with.  They're just the T. Rex of strawberries.  They're... beyond comprehension.  But, damn, they're delicious.

And I'm eating them all, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

In other news, I have no knitting progress for you.  I have, however, been doing some sewing.  Nothing to show you yet, but I have an impending surprize that will explain all.  I gave my wheat-coloured socks to Ruth for her birthday.  They fit like a glove.  Sigh, I just love it when that happens.  Am falling in love with a lot of the new patterns I am finding online.  Like this.  Or this.  Or even this.  Can't forget this.  Oh.  And I bought New England Knits, on sale at Interweave Press (supposedly, it was a "hurt book" so it was marked down to $12, but it's in pristine condition so whatever).  Swoon.

Ok, that's it - I'm going to knit upstairs.  I'll be back soon, I promise.  I feel like I've been neglecting you guys and that just ain't right.  Kisses!

The Argyle Colossus

I realize that I haven't given a status update on the argyle vest.  My avoidance was shame-based.  It is woefully under-completed.

Here it is:

And lovingly (whatever) placed over a well-worn and much-appreciated sweater that I've used as a guideline:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: instarsia, me no likey.  There are going to be approximately 1 gadgillion ends to weave in when I'm done.  I'm debating doing it on an on-going basis, as I progress.  Any thoughts, fellow instarsians?  Good idea?  Asking for trouble?

Also, my lack of progress may be due to some yard work we have undertaken.  I've decided that chopping/stacking wood is much more fun to do in the Spring.  Therefore, I have declared it a Spring Chore.  Amen.

This photo was taken yesterday evening at about 6:00 pm, when I got home.  Tonight, it is snowing.  Sigh.

And, my garden!  It LIVES!

Well, this was all pre-snowstorm, so it is will likely have taken a royal beating.  Status report to follow, when weather allows.

Because I spent so much of last summer feeling crappy, I feel as though I lost a year.  Do you know what I mean?  I spent my weekends crouched in the bathroom (TMI, I know...sorry) and/or in bed, so it's really all just a blur.  I remember renovating the bathroom.  I remember my friends coming over for a visit.  But I don't remember doing any decent gardening.  I was eating very little (elimination diets are hell), so I wasn't able to embrace the bounty that is organic gardening 'round these parts.  

This summer?  This summer will be make-up time.  I still don't feel 100%, but I'm starting to learn what works and what doesn't.  This winter, I was tested out the wazoo (no seriously, they tested my wazoo) and the conclusion is that there is nothing "structurally" wrong with me.  I have no tumours, no cysts, no inflammation, no lesions, nothing.  Apart from the potential for endometriosis (which I've always suspected that I have), there is nothing there.  So, that's good.  But it also sucks.  Because the only thing left is IBS.  Which, coincidentally, I have dubbed "Irritating Bull Shit".  If you have any experience with doctors and digestive ailments, you will understand what I mean.  They've latched on to the IBS diagnosis and refuse to let go.  If you so much as walk in there and tell them you have a stomach ache, their first and only guess is IBS.  At least, that's how it is out here.  And treatment?  They have none.  Live with it, they say.  Up yours, I say.  

So, I'm working with a naturopath and doing lots of reading.  I've discovered that on top of being gluten-intolerant, I am also likely fructose- and FODMAP-intolerant.  Good times.  Meat and dairy?  So far, so good (thank god, because seriously, I don't know if I can handle any more dietary restrictions...Universe, please do not interpret that as a dare, I beg you).  But, things are looking up, friends.  They are indeed looking up.

That bicycle of mine better get ready, because she and I have a hot date that is going to last 4 months.  

YeeeHAW!

Batchin' it

My hubbie has been busy this week with a rehearsal for a school play (cool, eh?) and a stupid teacher's union meeting, so I've been on my own for supper.  Last night I made the most awesome grilled cheese sandwiches with the most awesome gluten-free bread EVER!  There was an obscene amount of cheese on them (this loaf of gf bread is miniature, so I made two sandwiches...stop looking at me like that, I'm not THAT greedy!).

{Do you dip your grilled cheese sandwiches in ketchup?  Because if not, you should.  Ok, now I sound greedy.}

My digestive system revolted today as a result of my over-indulgence (could have been the Thai food I had for lunch, I suppose), so I resolved to eat something a little easier on my system tonight.  Not sure if I succeeded, but you guys have to check this out:

Yes, I actually opened the oven door to take a photo of it.  You guys, the smells emanating from this appliance were almost enough to make me pass out.  I had no idea that basil, mushrooms and cheese could smell that good.

And the taste?  I have two thoughts on that:

1.  Holy

2.  Cow

So, here's what I did: I made up a batch of my tried-and-true gf pizza crust (sorry, it's from a mix that is made locally, so I have no idea how to reproduce it...I know, I'm sorry - I hate it when other people cheat when they post recipes online...someday I'll hack the crust mix and then I'll post my recipe online, I promise).  Then, I sauteed some mini portabella mushrooms in a bit of olive oil.  I slathered the tiniest hint of tomato sauce onto my crust, plopped the sauteed mushrooms on, took a handful of fresh basil and a handful of fresh arugula (no, not from my garden - are you kidding me? I wish!) and laid them over the top.  Then, I sliced up about 4 balls of bocconcini cheese and placed them over the basil and arugula.  A sprinkle of sea salt and the whole kit and kaboodle went into the oven for the prescribed 13 minutes.

And then I died and went to heaven.

{Was there too much cheese on it?  Will the tomato sauce make me wish I had never been born?  Only time will tell... Right at this moment, I say it was all worth it.}

Done and done.

After about 4 days (and only 2 hours of actual working time), thar she be:

(I just slipped a discarded magazine page in the front sleeve, for the sake of having a yummy picture to look at.)  I bought a heavy-duty rubber-edged binder at Staples and a pack of grey cardstock for the pages.  A set of colourful dividers and I was off to the races.

These are all recipes that I'd been holding onto for a while and though I haven't made them all, they're the ones I can see myself making.  I split them up into sections that made sense to me.  I have one for soups, seafood/fish, meat, desserts, and gluteny recipes (just in case anyone asks me for suggestions, I'm keeping my favourites back there for quick reference, even though I can't eat them anymore).

There's a section on vegetarian dishes:

There's even a section for canning/preserve notes:

Let this be a lesson to me - if I buckle down, these little things don't have to take long to get underway.  Definitely not as long as I can take procrastinating to avoid doing them.


The nice thing is that this will keep my cookbooks in - if not "pristine" - dignified condition.  I am hell on cookbooks.  Scratch that.  I'm hell on all books.  For someone who lives to knit and read, I sure do treat both with a fair bit of disregard.

{My sister once asked me to scan and send her my copy of our mom's bread stuffing recipe (I think?) and she called me afterwards to demand what the hell I had done to the page - she could barely read the writing, for all the oil stains, rips and smudges on it.}

I haven't photocopied my cookbook faves yet, to add to the binder.  I am going to do that at work sometime this week.  So far, the binder is about 1/3 full.  I'm just taping/stapling smaller sheets onto the cardstock and any print outs that I have on decent paper just got hole-punched and crammed in there.  I'm also going to start a plastic envelope for potential new recipes at the front of the binder.  Once I try them and they pass muster, they'll get upgraded to a permanent position in their respective sections in the binder.

Thank you SO MUCH for your suggestions (and keep 'em coming, of course).  It's funny, because I got the suggestion for polenta and had actually just tagged it in Michael's book as something I wanted try.  I know I said I've backed off corn - and I have - but I still allow myself to have some once or twice a week.  The reason I don't eat a lot is that I find it very hard on my system.  I just need to be very aware of my intake.  Oh, and someone suggested quinoa pasta - I have tried it and yes, it is good (better than most rice pastas, in fact).  I've been gluten-free for four years, and have had a surprising array of options in GF products (surprising, given where I live, I mean).  The best gluten-free pasta I've ever had is actually corn pasta (some informal research done among some of my GF peeps netted the same affirmation).  Alas, it is still corn and is still something for me to watch out for.  Plus, it's GF and if I'm being honest, the taste/texture is still not *quite* the same as wheat pasta, so while it's nice to have in the house, we eat pasta in moderation.

In other totally unrelated news, I have begun The Socks:

Someone asked me what I was holding up in one of my recent posts.  That is a set of interchangeable metal "Options" needles, from KnitPicks.  You get a clear vinyl case full of metal tips and a set of cables that you screw into the ends of the tips to customize your circular needles.  That case I was holding up also contains a series of 40" circulars in all the smaller sizes KnitPicks can't offer in the interchangeables, which I purchased at the same time, knowing I needed to do some sock knitting.  I am VERY happy with them and wish I had bought them years ago.  I might not have hated circulars so fervently, had I tried these (full review to follow in an upcoming post).


Oh, and I should probably tell you that I watched "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" this weekend.  Holy.  Cow.  In a good way.  A very very very good way.  (Disclaimer: if you have a weak stomach, I advise viewer discretion.  There were a couple of scenes that I found exceedingly difficult to watch.)  I'll be renting the second and third films next weekend, so don't tell me what happens!

Food: good. Hunger: bad.

My last post triggered some questions which I am going to sit down and write about in the next couple of days, but for now, I wanted to put this out there:

I am starting a new side-project.  It's not a full-blown project, because I think it's going to be a long-term undertaking and I don't need to feel the guilt that will inevitably follow if I have to put it aside for a while or if I give up on it.  This side-project is an inventory/sorting/cataloging of my recipes.

 I don't have a lot of recipe books.  My kitchen shelf contains a few really really really good ones:

• The Best of Chef at Home, by Michael Smith (who, besides being an amazing chef, is also just a really really nice guy)
• Dinner Tonight, by Lucy Waverman
• Home for Dinner, by Lucy Waverman
• Pantry Raid, by Dana McCauley
• The Wheat-Free Cook, by Jacqueline Mallorca

But other than that, I am subsisting on a selection of old family recipes (some of which I revamped and posted online - see the sidebar at the right of my blog), gifted recipes from friends, and a really great collection of Inspired magazine, which is a free publication put out by my local supermarket, Sobeys.

Problem is, a lot of the recipes in these books and magazines are really gluten-intensive (in case you didn't know, I have am gluten-intolerant).  I get a little discouraged when I'm looking for suppertime inspiration.

So now, I've bitten the bullet.  I discarded a couple of cookbooks that didn't pass muster and I'm going through the rest, tagging anything that looks like something I could realistically make for supper (that's my main concern, at the moment).  I don't have a concrete plan as of yet, but I think I'm going to get a nice, good-quality, three-ring binder with some plastic sleeves and start clipping the recipes I like and sorting them into categories.  The rest of the magazine/calendar/whatever is going in the recycling bin.  The interesting cookbook recipes are getting copied out and placed in the binder, so I'm not forced to constantly page through the entire cookbook to find the 5 recipes I can actually make.

There are so many options online, that I don't think I really need to dish out for new books, at the moment.  With the exception of Extra-vegan-za,  which was recommended to me by a friend, Maureen (who is a recipe developer for Michael Smith and fellow GF-er).  A totally vegan diet would be pretty tough for me to follow (a LOT of vegan alternatives are loaded with gluten), but not impossible.  She said the book contained some really amazing ideas, so I'm putting it on my wishlist.

So, here's where you come in (I'm serious, I want some feedback or I'm going to start taking names):  I want some ideas for suppers/lunches.  I need stuff that is quick, nutritious, low-fat, low-sugar, high-protein, as full of whole foods as possible, non-processed and delicious (no, duh).  Stuff like taco salad with ground turkey, mango salsa and low-fat cheddar.  Baked squash, stuffed with wild rice, pecans and raisins.  Chicken pesto with black olives and artichoke hearts.  You know, the good stuff.

I eat everything that does not contain gluten (wheat, oats, rye, spelt, kamut, barley all contain gluten), with the exception of cilantro **BAAAAARRRRRFFFF**, brussel sprouts **shudder gag**  and bell peppers (bad memories of acid reflux from my gluten days).  I am notoriously un-picky (I just asked my husband to list out the food I don't like and he couldn't think of one single thing {ETA: My sister just chimed in and remembered that I detest perogies.  I know, I am the only person on the planet who can say that and technically, it's not even an option anymore - what with them being made primarily of wheat dough and all.  I strongly suspect that may hatred has to do with the slimy gluten content.}) and will try everything at least once (for instance, I could eat an entire plateful of pan-fried chicken livers, like RIGHT NOW - does that make you want to hurl?).  I have eased way off soy, corn, dairy and eggs, but I'm not averse to having them from time to time.  I L.O.V.E. ethnic food.  LOVE IT.

Ethnic food, a not-quite-sonnet

by dw

India, I love you.  

Thailand, I love you.  

Morocco, I love you.  

Lebanon, I love you.  

France, it goes without saying.  

Japan, I love you.  

Italy, you are dead to me.  

Unless you can figure out how to perfectly duplicate your entire cultural menu without using a fleck of flour, of course.  

Then, I will love you once more.

Now, wasn't that beautiful?  Yes, I thought so, too.

To be clear: I do not need dessert ideas.  NO SWEETS FOR ME!  I can't eat refined sugar right now (still sick) and the hubbie is allergic to chocolate.  I have no idea how all of you foodies can eat so many cupcakes and cake pops and pies and ice cream sandwiches and tarts and chocolate truffles.  My idea of dessert is two Medjool dates.  Two.  Dates.  Or maybe a dried fig.  And a mouthful of roasted pecans.  Maybe twice a week.  C'est tout.  I would weigh 400 lbs if I ate the desserts I see on some websites (Pioneer Woman and Elana's Pantry, I'm looking at you).  Butter and fat are also on the persona non grata list, though my conscience can be convinced to occasionally look the other way...  Baked goods are ok, but I have a lot of recipes for those, already.  Plus, I'm only allowed to have a small amount of them, anyway.

Oh, and I want to know: do you think my three-ring binder is the way to go?  Do you have a better system (keeping in mind that I'm VERY visual and need to see photos with my recipes)?  Send me e-mails, not just comments, ok?  I want to be able to reply directly.  So, you ready to help me?  High five?  Ready, set, GO!