Finally!

An update! Apologies for not updating sooner. I haven't stopped eating, though. In lieu of a recipe, I'll just offer pictures of some of the things I've been enjoying in the past month.

First, though, some updates on what I've been up to:
> moved
> back on wheat, as of this month. I can't tell you how nice it is to eat a donut. or flatbread. O wow. Gluten. And no adverse effects so far, though I haven't eaten much of it yet.
> heading to Costa Rica at the end of the month, and I won't be back until June
> grueling winter quarter of writing, working, and being exhausted

As much as I know you all want to hear about my daily adventures, I know you'd probably rather look at tasty-looking food. So here you go:

Cremini mushrooms stuffed with creamed spinach, walnuts, herbs and an assortment of other wonderful things

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Individual spinach souffle

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Tuna melt on Whole Foods' gluten-free Prairie Bread with roasted red pepper tomato soup

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Linzer Torte Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

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Delicious grilled veggies: zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper, fennel, onion, and a purple carrot

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Pacific Northwest clams and mussels on a bed of spaghetti, dressed with fire roasted tomatoes and olive oil

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Cheesecake! With raspberries, blueberries, orange and lemon zest in a buttery almond crust.

I'm way too tired to post anything else right now. It will have to do, at least for now. But I'll be back! With something new. And with any luck, tasty. Although you never know just what might come out of my kitchen next :-S

stuck in the wormhole

I'm still cooking, I swear! But hot dang, I have no spare time to blog. In the coming posts, you can look forward to:

- buckwheat pancakes
- banana bread
- snickerdoodles (another learning experience)
- apple pie
- pumpkin filling cookies
- Araya's Vegetarian Place

Comment if you wanna see any of those more than the others, so I can post that first.

Well, I'm now a month gluten-free, and doing fine. Although, my eczema is still here. In fact, it hasn't changed a bit. *sigh* I'm a little bit addicted to the challenge of a gluten-free existence, though, and feel a heap healthier. Learning to bake again is a ball. I wish I had one of those commercial kitchens with the big mixing equipment and the calibrated oven and huge sinks for washing dishes with one of those sprayer things... and large bags of gluten-free flours and such. And fresh fruit up the yin-yang... Really, though, I'd settle for a nice KitchenAid.

I'm discovering all sorts of cool grains... Quinoa I've got down. Millet I'm currently conquering... next is amaranth.

I'm trying to like millet. But right now, I think it smells like budgies... :-S

day two

Today shall mark the second official day of my gluten-free diet. How long said regimen will last, I cannot say.

Yesterday I enjoyed:
Breakfast - an organic black plum and organic single-shot 12-oz pumpkin pie soy latte
Lunch - a gluten-free vegan burger with tomatoes, onions, pickles, cheddar cheese, and ketchup wrapped in a leaf or two of Romaine lettuce, corn on the cob, and potato salad
Dinner: quinoa tabouli, baked cod, and green beans with feta and pine nuts

Boy, was that good. And for breakfast this morning? One poached home-laid egg on organic gluten free toast. And another organic black plum.

I could get used to this. So far, no regrets...

In case you're wondering why I'm on a gluten-free diet, I am just remembering words said to me by my naturopath when I was little. Well, more like the general idea. I don't actually remember his words. He told me that I was sensitive to wheat, and that it was causing me to break out in eczema. While I grew out of my eczema as a teenager, it is back with a vengeance in the last few years and I am prepared to give up the bread, cookies, cakes, pies, pizzas, and other fine things to which I've become accustomed in order to see if it helps. Who knows? Maybe it will. And I'm a pretty good baker. I can make all those things without wheat.

You just wait. You'll see.