Gluten Free Friday: Out-of-Town + Sick Kids = Recipe Rerun

We just returned a couple of hours ago from an annual denominational meeting in Maine. When we left we were fairly sure Kory was getting over his 2 days of low-grade fever, and that it would be fine to leave all the kids with two of their favorite kid-sitters: Rachel and Virginia. (Thank you so much ladies!) Well...Kory called us this afternoon upset about how sick he was feeling, and it was pretty obvious that he had taken a downward turn with whatever bug he has. Then Coop got on the phone to say that he was starting to feel badly, and I was getting anxious about being 3 hours away and leaving them with college girls who don't have time to be sick! Fortunately, Kayla went to spend the day with one of her favorite friends, and has been feeling fine. We finally made it home around 8pm, and then it was Kayla's turn to start coughing! So...we now have 3 with fevers, coughs, sore throats, and congestion. Swine Flu? I have no idea, but I do know that this thing is so rampant - and it's only November. I was getting the heebie-jeebies this week just hearing people talk about how sick they or their kids or their husband or their neighbors are or had been.....washing my hands every hour and stocking up on Zinc, Echinacea, Vitamin C, etc. Actually, when I went to Whole Foods to purchase these things, they were almost completely sold out of ALL of it!

So pray for my kids to recover quickly. I hate it when they're sick, but I have always loved the opportunity it is to really nurture and serve and love them. It seems that tomorrow I will get ample opportunity for this - blankets, movies, hot tea, and some homemade soup! As, I made a batch of homemade chicken stock this week and put it in the freezer, I had a feeling it might not be there long, and I was right! Tomorrow I will thaw it out and use it to make this soup. I posted this recipe almost 2 years ago after making it for my sister's family who had the flu. It was inspired by one of those recipe books that shows you how to "sneak" veggies into your family's meals - hence the steamed and pureed cauliflower, onions, and celery! Don't be afraid to use 4 or MORE freshly pressed garlic cloves into the soup! It makes it taste great and contributes to the healing benefits with its anti-microbial properties.

"Creamy" Chicken and Rice Soup

1 whole chicken
1 carton GF chicken broth
1 cup rice, uncooked
1 lg. onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, sliced
4 carrots
1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1 small head of cauliflower
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place chicken in large pot of simmering water. Let simmer until done. Set aside to cool. Save broth.

2. Cook rice according to package instructions. Set aside to add to soup before serving.

3. Cook/Steam cauliflower until tender. Drain and place in blender or food processor.

4. Saute' onion and celery in olive oil until tender. Add to blender/processor with cauliflower.

5. Blend cauliflower, onions and celery until it looks like creamy white mashed potatoes. Press 2 cloves of garlic into this mixture and blend some more. This will be the "cream" part of the soup and a sneaky way to get some veggies in!

6. Remove cooked chicken from broth and debone. Pour out some of the broth from cooked chicken. Skim some of the fat and particles off until it looks clear. Add carton of both to this.

7. Add carrots and chicken pieces to broth.

8. After all of chicken has been added, pour in the "cream" and the cooked rice and stir.

9. Press 2 more cloves of garlic into simmering soup, stir.

10. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 6 quarts. Serves 10-12

And for those brave enough to eat the green stuff, I would add fresh or frozen peas and some fresh kale!

Gluten Free Friday - Cheese & Pesto Straws (and a kombucha update!)

My little (big!) girl has turned into quite a chef lately. She has always loved to help in the kitchen, and has even been known to purchase cookbooks with her own money. (A smoothie cookbook that she uses regularly!) For her 9th birthday, we bought her DK's Cookbook for Girls, and recently she has made several things from it. In fact, in the last week, I think she's cranked out about 5 different items!

But, the cheese and pesto straws have been everyone's favorite. The only gluten free substitution we needed was the flour - everything else is naturally gluten free. We even had the handy pesto pops in the freezer, which saved a trip to the grocery store for jarred pesto. These are wonderful with soups, salads, or just as a snack by themselves. They are not difficult to make; in fact, Kayla completed the entire process by herself!

Cheese & Pesto Straws

1 1/2 cups GF flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup Gruyere or Cheddar, finely grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 whole egg, plus one egg yolk
2 Tbsp pesto

Sift flour and salt in a mixing bowl, and add butter working it into the flour with fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in 3/4 cup of the cheeses. Beat together whole egg and egg yolk, and stir into flour along with pesto sauce. Mix until it resembles dough. Roll it out onto a floured surface, and cut into narrow "straws." Transfer straws to a cookie sheet, and sprinkle the remaining cheese on the tops of each straw. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350*. Let cool on a wire rack. Yum!

P.S. The kombucha is still sitting in the cabinet above my frig. I see bubbles around the rim of the container, as well as gatherings of bubbles on the surface of the tea. So...something is happening, but it might be another week or so before the "mushroom" forms. Stay tuned.....

Kombucha: Sweet Tea for the Crunchy

Sweet tea is a staple in most Texas/Southern restaurants and homes. When Robert and I were first married, we had a pitcher of it in the frig at all times. Breakfast was the only meal we didn't drink it with, and that was only because we were drinking hot tea first thing in the morning. You wouldn't even think of not having sweet iced tea available for dinner guests, but it wasn't just a mealtime drink. Many an afternoon there would be a trip to Sonic or Bill Miller BBQ drive-thru to order a large sweet tea - a craving and the seemingly perfect relief from those sweltering Texas summer afternoons.

Same thing in Oklahoma where we lived for 4 years prior to our 2000 mile move to New England in 1999. Except I think it was even sweeter there - almost like syrup, if you ask me.

Well, then I started reading up on the stuff that makes tea sweet - white sugar. I suspected it was the culprit in the extreme fatigue I was feeling, and ended up being convinced I should remove it from my diet. That meant the cookies, brownies, etc. we had for dessert almost every day, but it also meant that the sweet tea had to go. (I've never been a big soda drinker, but even gave up the occasional Coke.) I began drinking nothing but water at meals and during the day, and using agave or maple syrup in my morning hot tea. (Agave is sweeter than sugar, so you can use less, and it has a lower glycemic index. It does have the same amount of calories, though. Maple syrup is actually the best sweetener nutritionally.) I could tell a huge difference in my energy levels, and without meaning to, I lost about 25 pounds in a fairly short amount of time. (I think this also had to do with my undiagnosed Celiac Disease and malabsorption issues. Sugar, I think, was the only way I was keeping weight on at that time. I certainly wasn't absorbing much from actual food!)

After all of these discoveries, and more reading, I began to make a lot of changes to my diet - taking out gluten (because of the diagnosis of an intolerance), dairy, a lot of starchy carbs, and most all processed foods. I also began to add a lot of things - nuts and nut butters, fish, lots of salads, and other greens, hummus, fruit and fruit smoothies, eggs, and more veggies. I have never felt better physically, and really enjoy learning more about nutrition and its connection to health.

Two summers ago, our family visited another pastor's family in Connecticut. The wife is a native Texan, the husband and kids have Celiac Disease, they homeschool, had a bat and rabies shots experience like we did.....just many strange similarities to our family. One of which was that Sandy, the pastor's wife, had been using the cookbook Nourishing Traditions quite a lot to preserve food from her garden by fermentation. I also had the cookbook, and had become interested in the same type of ideas. She asked me if I had ever made or tried Kombucha, and expressed interest, but some reservation in attempting to make it herself. And the "smelly, rotting, mushroom" she described as being involved in the process definitely lessened my passion to venture into making this "magic elixir." I pictured a black, hairy, octopus-looking, mushroom in a bowl of its own rotting juices covered in cheesecloth and creating a huge stench in my kitchen. I was becoming "crunchy" for sure, but that was just too much "organic" for me.

A while later, my sister began talking about drinking bottled Kombucha from her Austin, TX Whole Foods store and raving about it. Next, my friend Kim mentioned picking some up at our local Whole Foods and that it drinking it gave her a very healthful feeling. Then, I noticed it for sale at our CSA farm by a local company. OK. Enough exposure and prodding.....time to give it a try. The $3.50 price tag and the initial sour smell upon opening a bottle were worrisome, but the taste was wonderful, and the feeling after drinking it was enough to keep me going back for more. I drank a bottle the day before the half-marathon, and a few sips the morning of - convinced it was going to give my digestive system an extra boost and keep my stomach from getting upset near the end of the run. At dinner the night before, I picked up a magazine introducing a new line of vitamins and supplements, took it back to our hotel, and found it to also include a two-page article on ......Kombucha! Why is this drink so delicious, trendy, and healthful? And is it really the by-product of a rotting mushroom?

The article listed many of the beneficial properties of Kombucha, and while it lamented the price per 2-serving bottle, ($3 - $5) it suggested that it might be worth the investment so that you don't have to deal with the gross-ness of making it at home. The author described the Kombucha mushroom as "slimey" and "booger-like!"

My interest in making it was not completely squelched, though. Robert was out-of-town for a speaking engagement last weekend, and as is my usual pattern, I stayed up way too late at night doing all sorts of things. One night I spent a couple of hours researching Kombucha recipes online, and watching YouTube videos of multiple Kombucha cult-members making their own - and making it look so easy. Here's what I found out:

1. Kombucha is nothing but fermented sweet tea - perfect for the Texan turned crunchy! (And the sugar gets "eaten" by the yeast, etc. during the fermentation process.)
2. The ingredients are water, sugar, black and green tea, and a Kombucha culture.
3. The "mushroom" is not a REAL mushroom, but rather a "scoby" or a "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast." (And it's white or light brown - not black and hairy!)
4. You can order a pre-formed scoby or make one yourself.
5. Kombucha is really good for you with its probiotic, anti-microbial, and detoxifying properties.

Here's a photo of the mushroom floating on top of the fermenting Kombucha:

So yesterday, I finished gathering my supplies, and started the Kombucha making process at home. Since I did not order a mushroom to add to my tea solution, I needed to grow my own. This just means that I added a bottle of already made Kombucha to my tea. Over the course of a couple of weeks, one should form on the top of my tea, and I will be able to use it in future batches. The mushroom or scoby is also referred to as the "mother" since every time you use it to make a new brew, it has a "baby." This can be passed on to your Kombucha making friends (of which I'm sure you have MANY), or kept and added along with its mother to a new batch. They can also be frozen or stored in the refrigerator, which causes them to go dormant, but will revitalize again at room temperature.

So basically, you bring a gallon of water to an almost-boil. Add one cup of....yes, white sugar (can be organic, of course), and 4-6 black and green tea bags. Organic tea is good to use here, too, as conventional teas sometimes contain chemicals that will kill the needed bacterias in the solution. Let the tea steep about 15 minutes, remove tea bags and let sit until the tea is cooled to room temperature - too much heat will also kill those organisms. After it cools, pour into a glass gallon container, add one bottle of pre-made kombucha tea, cover with cloth and secure with a rubberband or tie of some sort. This will need to sit undisturbed, in a fairly warm place for up to 2 weeks. One demonstration I watched had the tea sitting on a heating pad for that duration. The ideal temperature for the process is between 70 and 80 degrees. I placed mine in the cabinet above our refrigerator which always stays warm with the heat given off by the frig. You can tell the tea is ready by its semi-sweet taste, vinegar smell, and effervescence. Bottling it and/or keeping it in the frig for a few days with increase the effervescence.

Another thing that is really important to remember is to sterilize all equipment you use in making the brew - saucepan, spoon, glass container, your own hands, etc. I washed all mine in very hot soapy water, and then rinsed in boiling water, and dried the outsides with a clean dishcloth. If mold happens to form anywhere in the solution, the entire batch needs to be thrown away.

I'll try and keep you posted on the progress....

One of the most healthful acids produced in this process is glucoronic acid. This is also produced by our own livers as a detoxifying agent in our bodies. It is extremely helpful to have extra amounts of glucoronic acid to combat the many toxins we eat and inhale each day. Kombucha also contains lactic acid and acetic acid which are both responsible for reducing pH and eliminating pathogens in the body. And these are only a few of its amazing properties. I read several accounts of cancer patients using it with success, and the maker of the store bought brand began bottling it because of his mother's reversal of cancer while drinking it.

It's good stuff, y'all! Makes my crunchy Texas heart happy and my New England body feeling good!

Stayed tuned for the final result....

Half-Marathon Wows and Whoas

So, we ran our half-marathon a week ago Sunday, and I have hardly given it another thought since that day - unless someone asked about it. Don't know why I do this - work so hard toward a goal, train, pray, read up on, get anxious over -finally perform the task and then nonchalantly go on with life as usual without pausing to celebrate or even consider what just happened. Recently though, Robert has been preaching through the book of Joshua, and in it God commands the Israelites to do exactly those 2 things: celebrate and consider, or as Robert put it - be mindful of the "the wow," and "the whoa."

Brett and Jenna - sweet friends from church - and running partners!

I don't plan (or desire) to celebrate by throwing myself a congratulatory party, but I have been trying to celebrate in my heart and mind - which each have a terrible tendency to focus on negative things, tasks incomplete, areas of struggle, worries, problems, what ifs, etc. So instead of those things....."wow" things: I just ran 13.1 miles! That was the goal I was working toward! That is an accomplishment! That takes strength and stamina, and I did it!"

And the "whoa" part is stopping to consider what just happened: The Lord cared about my desire to run a half-marathon with my husband. He fully healed a hip problem I was having (leftover childbirth injury!) that prevented me from running for several weeks and finally sent me to the physical therapist. He also heard and answered the many prayers for my stomach that was getting pretty sick on the longer runs all through training. ( I thought I might have to bow out of the race when the time came because of the severe sickness.) Not only did I have no stomach problems the day of the race, I also realized that He showed me exactly what to eat the day before and morning of the race. I had tried all sorts of eating/not-eating routines with no success, but ended up trying something a little different the weekend of the race which involved rice cakes, almond butter, a banana, Indian food, and Kombucha. (More on this new fascination later!) The point is that God was in it, leading me, listening to me, speking to me, revealing Himself to me even regarding something as trivial as a half-marathon! After all, no one needs to run a half-marathon. But still, He cares....He was there with me......Whoa!

After the Race - quickly using the camera's self timer - we were freezing!

It was such a fun and memorable experience - and so I try to recall and be thankful for....the cold and rain, Jenna's absolute steady 10 minute pace that kept me going, a chance to chat and catch up with her, a night away with my husband, dinner at Whole Foods, his big hug and smile from him upon finding me at the finish, his coat to stop my shivering, being so thankful for the cap I bought in case it rained (it was dripping by the end), Brett's gifts of Gu packs for Robert (those make me REALLY sick) and the seat warmers that he tried to keep secret, seeing the full marathon winner come in just minutes behind us, the wonderful GPS that got us to the Cook's home, a warm shower, hanging out with friends for lunch, the ability to drink coffee on the way home with Robert (couldn't even think about coffee when I was getting sick), the huge snowflakes and all-out snow storm that hit as we left for home, and 3 happy children because of Sarah and Conner's fun and indulgent babysitting techniques, ibuprofen, a comfy mattress and electric blanket to drift help me drift off to sleep that night. Lots of "wows" and "whoas." His gifts are so good. I pray I would practice this thinking more and never take for granted His presence and His help.

This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore I have hope in Him."

Lamentations 3:21-24

Outsourced

The Neighborhood Paper Boy and His Faithful Assistant

A few weeks ago, we got a call from Kory's paper route supervisor informing us that the local newspaper was planning to hire an outside company to do deliveries. The new company's policy is to hire only those 18 and older. Bob, the supervisor, apologized and congratulated Kory on his years of faithful service. He also assured us that Kory would still get a portion of the promised college scholarship for those who keep their routes at least 5 years. With 3 years and 4 months of service, that comes to $680 (which might cover books for one semester!) to be paid out upon receipt of the college's letter of acceptance - it would have been $1000 if he had been able to complete the 5 years.

We were all pretty sad to receive the news that Kory would be losing his route. Because of his job, he had managed to save $1000 in his own savings account, as well as keep a checking account complete with debit card which is handy for making iTunes and other online purchases - sweet independence for any teenager! Fortunately, his customers were even more grieved than he was, and he managed to bring in over $250 in tips just this week after he notified them of the coming changes. And not only tips, but also many kind notes of thanks and appreciation.

I have to include a couple of the notes he received here. They are just so sweet and funny - and even full of social commentary!

Dear Kory,

I am very sorry (and annoyed) by the Gazette's decision to end the boy+man delivery route in favor of a company. It leaves a lot of people like you in the lurch.

Thank you for all the service you have given me over a long period of time. I appreciate your hard work - snow, rain, and other storms didn't stop you.

Best wishes for the future, Mrs. B

Dear Kory,

The enclosed is just a token of my appreciation for your prompt delivery of my newspaper.

I think it is very sad that you and your fellow deliverers won't be doing it anymore. It takes away the neighborhood feeling we have enjoyed.

Sincerely, Mrs. B

And last, but by far the most thorough and thoughtful ... :)

Dear Kory,

Together all of us "face the end of another era" - through no fault of any of us. Many of us are giving up kicking and screaming to no avail. (A lesson....things change - like it or not - no matter what one does!)

We have particularly valued having you - a neighbor - as our "paper boy." They are "the natural part" of our lives - and then suddenly - they disappear from our lives as they lose their jobs. As a sociologist - who is seeing more and more "natural" connections disappearing in our society - I worry about what that does to how people interact - or not - and care - or not - for one another. This worries me on a larger scale than just our immediate neighborhood.

Anyway, I want to thank you for doing your job so well. We never could figure out how you managed to deliver our paper - opening a door - about 20 feet from our ears - and never awakening us! Truly magic! And - mornings when we caught a glimpse of you - and Buddy (now and then) on your trek - always started our day with a feeling that all was right in the world - at least for a few minutes, anyway.

We hope that you will find something to take the place of being a paper boy and that, now and then we might get to see you and catch up on your life. Maybe the dogs in our lives will keep us somewhat attached!

We send a few dollars to give you spending money until you can find new "work" - and to thank you for sharing your time with us in the past.

Best wishes - take care - and keep in touch when that is possible. Cheers, Mrs. W

I feel sorry for the Gazette with these earnest ladies on their hands. I can only imagine the phone calls they have gotten just from Kory's route! I wonder if the employees of the new company will also pick up the customers' New York Times that simply gets thrown in their driveway and hand deliver it along with the Gazette to their front door? Or if they will separate the paper into sections, fold each section into thirds and pass each third through the mail slot of a certain house? I wonder how long it will take them to master the art of opening the glass door just enough to drop the paper between it and the wooden door without letting the paper fall to pieces in the process?

And I KNOW they will not be as adorable as a freckled 14 year old boy, newspaper satchel over his shoulder, and golden retriever leading the way!

(My goodness... now I'm in tears. It is just so sad! At least he has an appointment with one of the Mrs. B's for some pet siting and other odd jobs which he offered in his goodbye note to all his customers. Hopefully we'll keep some of these precious connections.)

Gluten Free Friday - Homemade Crackers

I learned to make these crackers at a "gluten free day" at a local health food store. I was asked to be a vendor that day with my book, and there were many other vendors serving all kinds of yummy gluten free foods. Another part of the day was a cooking demonstration by Ingrid Lysgaard, a Danish-born pastry chef who recently, ( I believe) discovered a gluten intolerance in herself. I think she has even been a "pastry professor" at Boston University, and Boston Globe food correspondent. She made these crackers right before our eyes, and had small "favor" bags of different versions/flavors of this recipe for each person to have and try. They were delicious, and of course, she made it look so easy!

Well, it's really not that difficult, and you can't beat the price when a small sleeve of rice crackers can cost over $3! Here is the recipe for a version I made recently - sort of a combination of a few of her recipes. They go great with hummus or cheese!

Homemade Garlic and Herb Gluten Free Crackers

2 cups GF flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder or 2 Tbsp fresh garlic
6 Tbsp butter
1/4 + 2 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet. Use a food processor to combine flour, sugar, salt, cumin, and garlic. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add water while machine is still running. Stop when dough turns into a soft ball. It should be soft, not sticky. (And, of course, you don't HAVE to use a food processor - you can do it the "old-fashioned" way by cutting in the butter, kneading with fingertips, etc.) Place dough onto greased cookie sheet and press or roll out to 1/8 - 1/16 inch thick. Pierce rolled dough with fork tines. Cut crackers to desired shape and size. Bake for about 20 minutes, watching closely to make sure they don't burn. Remove any crackers early that are browning too soon. Let cool on a wire rack. Store in airtight container or in the freezer.

Gluten Free Friday - Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

This recipe appeared in a 2004 issue of Real Simple magazine. I've made it several times through the years, but only recently felt that I tweaked the recipe enough to make a good gluten free version. I love making it to go with soups - especially Minestrone. It is also great as a side dish for other meals, on an appetizer platter, or toasted for breakfast! It is the perfect combination of sweet and savory! (And it's dairy free, too!)

Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

2 1/2 cups GF flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup apple cider (juice or sweet white wine will work also!)
1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp olive oil
zest of one lemon - optional

Stir together flour, sugar, walnuts, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, rosemary and lemon zest. In another bowl, blend the cider, olive oil, and eggs together. Stir into dry ingredients. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Use a toothpick or fork to test for "done-ness" before removing from oven. Cool on a wire rack before slicing. Makes 1 loaf. Freezes well.

* If you don't have, or just don't like using xanthan gum, you can increase the eggs or oil or both by a bit.