Gluten-free challenge, Days 2 and 3

Yesterday was my second day on this diet.  I had been quite dissatisfied with Day 1, craving gluten like crazy.  I made some bread with Bob's Red Mill GF Flour Mix, and it ended up burnt and didn't taste good at all.  I peeled the burnt crust off, and it is somewhat decent when toasted.  Somewhat.  I never realized that making bread without gluten would be so difficult!  Yesterday was so much better because I actually ate enough food and even found some gluten free treats out in town.

I woke up feeling amazingly good- lots of energy, not groggy.  Still felt nauseous, just like every morning since high school.  I went out and helped gather up sheep from the field with my friend, and then took town all the summer's electro-net fencing.  I had enough energy to do chores all afternoon.  Jon and I went to the co-op and got some dessert- Jon got bread pudding, I got a flourless vanilla cupcake.  Then we went to a local sushi place and got one roll to split with the leftover soup that was waiting for us at home.  I think that if I can treat myself to healthy and still gf treats and keep my stomach full, this experiment might work =)

Especially since chips are allowed.

Today is day 3, and I have no idea what I will bake or cook today.  But I feel good, full of energy and hope.  Who wants to teach me how to make sushi?

Gluten-free challenge, Day 1

My cookie ideas are going to be an extra challenge now.  I have decided that I will go gluten-free for two months.

This decision comes from a lot of thinking and a tip from my cousin- that going gluten-free might greatly assist  my dreams of having children.  As far as I know, I am not gluten intolerant.  But I have seen studies that may show that not eating gluten can greatly increase fertility.  I don't know what will happen.  I do know that there is a bigger plan out there, and maybe this is my way of being guided.  At the very least, I will have a chance to do lots of experiments with new recipes, ingredients, tastes, and who knows what will happen!

I will be going to the co-op today to get some ingredients in bulk form, and hopefully they have what I 'think' that I need.  There are so many strange flours and starches in gluten-free recipes.  I have no idea of cost or if the store will even have them.  I may end up coming home with a bag of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour Mix!

Also, from my last post, here is how to make one chicken last for many, many meals:
Day 1: Roast large whole chicken with tons of root veggies for dinner
Day 2: Slices of chicken with leftover veggies for lunch, chicken marsala pizza for dinner
Day 3: Leftover pizza for lunch, buffalo chicken pizza for dinner
Day 4: Leftover pizza for lunch, chicken soup for dinner (made with boiling the carcass in water, straining broth out, then adding the rest of the meat back in with veggies)
Day 5: Leftover soup for lunch, stretch out soup with more veggies and black beans
Day 6: Leftover soup for lunch.  Leftover soup for dinner.
Day 7: Leftover soup for lunch.  Leftover soup for dinner with extra side dishes (didn't I say black beans are amazing?!)
Day 8: Leftover soup for lunch.  Just over a week with one chicken!

And that is how we keep grocery bills down!

Oatmeal chai cookies with whole wheat flour and flax seeds

Last night, I hardly slept at all.  It was the first night we programmed the thermostat, so of course it was so hot and dry that I couldn't stay asleep on the night before Jon had to get up super early.  This resulted in a migraine, a three hour nap on the couch, and spending the entire afternoon knitting/watching scary movies (not that I don't do that part anyway...).  Sometime during my nap, I woke up to a program all about chocolate, and it highlighted some very unusual flavor pairings.  After my brain cleared up a bit, I had a thought- I love cookies.  I'm hungry.  What recipes are out there that I haven't tried yet?  What about using different flavors that you wouldn't get in a traditional cookie?  I found quite a few new recipes out there, especially on pinterest, and decided to have a go at making some new cookies.

Oatmeal chai cookies

I adapted the recipe from here.

3/4 cup brown turbinado sugar (Demarara) 

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp soybean oil

2 eggs (I used free range)

1 tsp vanilla (I used homemade)

1 cup whole wheat flour (I used stone ground)

3/4 cup white flour

1/2 cup regular oats

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (I used sea salt)

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 heaping spoonful of flax seed (I used organic)

Because I am a rebel, I don't bother to mix things separately, and I used my Kitchenaid.  Set oven to 350.  Mix brown sugar and oil together.  Throw in everything else in the order listed.  I didn't grease my cookie sheet, but you can if you feel like it.  Drop by large spoonful onto a cookie sheet.

Leave lots of room for spreading.  They puff up quite a bit.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes.  The very bottom may stick a tiny bit, but they should come off if you're careful with the spatula.  Cool on a cooling rack.  Makes 18 cookies.

The result?  OH my goodness.  Slightly crunchy, yet puffy and cake-like, wonderful oatmeal flavor, hint of spice.  I would definitely increase the chai spices if you wanted a more intense chai flavor, but this is enough for my tastes.

And you would never know that there was whole wheat flour in these!

I think this is a good start to a long project.  I will think up some more recipes soon.  Also, in my next post, I will write about tips on how to make one very large chicken last two people for 9+ meals.

Best ginger cookies, ever.

After lots of research, I have discovered the best ginger cookies I have ever tasted.  Here is a link to the recipe, which was hiding at the King Arthur Flour site all this time.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cape-cod-soft-molasses-cookies-recipe

I substituted veg. oil for the butter (0.56 cups), because that is what I had.  And I added all of the optional ingredients.  I also used turbinado sugar to roll them in and they only took 8 min. to bake.

You're welcome.

And yet another move!

We have moved, again!  This is my seventh place since college, fifth since we married.  To quote Scott Pilgrim, it is a "a long story filled with sighs".  So here we are now, in an apartment with a full-sized fridge and washer and dryer!  If you know me in real life, feel free to ask me where I'm now located.  

There is a large window that floods the living room with light, giving little sunny warm spots on the carpet that make me long to curl up on the carpet and take a cat nap.

For the first time in my life, I have a dishwasher.  I have no idea how to use it.  I think it needs special soap.

I am already enjoying the benefits of doing laundry in a washer instead of the tub.

Basically, we are very happy where we are now!

Tavie is rocking out to Gogol Bordello here, exploring his new environment.

Having a full sized fridge with freezer is suddenly a puzzle.  I have almost forgotten how to buy groceries ahead and make large meals to last all week.  I haven't even touched the freezer yet, except to look inside and marvel at how cold it is!  Food is even keeping longer with the fridge at the proper temperature.

Now that I have the luxury of all these modern conveniences, I find that I am used to not relying on them and hardly miss them!  I'm sure that will change with time- the freezer is calling for some applesauce.  And ice cream.

We are still unpacking the mountain of boxes that ended up in the basement.  I have no idea where any of my books are.

On another note, Jon and I participated in this event:

It was a lot of fun, and I even sold a bunch of my knitted things while demonstrating spinning!  Jon demonstrated stone and wood carving.  We really hope some of the leads that we got follow through for future jobs!

I have neglected this blog lately, but now that we are almost settled in, I will really try to keep up with all of my fall recipes!  I have also discovered the perfect ginger cookie recipe I will reveal in my next post!