Life As I Know It

Over the past six months I've had to come to terms with my mortality more than I've ever had to before. I don't so much mean fear for my life, as I'm not in anyway near death. But I've never broken a bone, never been in the hospital for long past infancy, and never had anything worse than mono and a very severely bruised foot. A scooter landed on it. (It looked cool)

I had to come to terms that I couldn't just tear through life like I had always done. Go go go grab a bite on the side. Repetitive movements caught up with me for the very first time. I lost my kid rubber. You know that stuff that lets kids bounce around like they just ate a bag of gummibears, knocking heads, but they still don't really hurt themselves? Yup that. I lost that.

Basically I found myself unwell on the cusp of starting a very physical career. I sought an answer that didn't involve medications. I researched on my own, talked to my doctor, herbalists, acupuncturists, and people all around me who might have knowledge to share. I turned to herbs, whole foods, a diet which spelled out for me that what was included was just as important as what wasn't. Those answers for me (and everyone is different) really shook the foundations of my lifestyle in a way I am still adjusting to. It was pretty hard to realize that corn, wheat, potatoes, and most sugars are just not in the cards for me at the moment. I do not know if this is a life long adjustment I will need to make, for that I am playing it by ear. 

There are times when I've gotten really sad. It's difficult to go out, a lot of the time it doesn't even feel worth it. There are many restaurants that can only offer me salad without the croutons. But the only way I could get through it to a happy place was to cook. Was to learn. Was to try new things and new recipes and just make this a constant in my life--what are you going to eat next? It has taken me to a place where I feel more in tune with the people who came before me. The people who had to forage the jungle and identify the food among the poisons. When things changed in my life the supermarket became a jungle, every label had to be checked carefully. It might not be life threatening, but it is unpleasant when things slip by my notice.

I've learned how to make kefir, milk and water, to make sourdough starter, bake breads, popovers, muffins and protein bars without sugar or any of my allergies. I know how to get myself in good working order: take my herbs, prepare good foods and watch what I'm doing. Took me months to figure out just how and to learn all the skills I have now.  Major accomplishment. I find myself getting into this rhythm, paying attention to all my starters and these life supporting kefir I've adopted. It kind of feels like the lifestyle I needed, the structure to hold my life together. Boil water, choose herbs, steep, and drink. Do these steps, make something good for you, make something right. It'll be there tomorrow and the next day, and so will you. 

Recipe Review-- Slowcooked meats and Brownies

Salsa Chicken Crockpot style from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

Twenty minute to prepare! I skipped the tortillas (being gluten free n all) and instead served this with rice and black olives on top. I put half the sauce in the crockpot, added chicken breasts, put the rest over and cooked on high for 4 hours. Then I added cheese and let it melt into yumminess.

Black Bean & Avocado Brownies from Cara's Cravings

Believe it or not, these are absolutely delicious. While making these a friend dropped by and waved off the batter covered spoon I offered to him. "I'm on a diet." Well guess what you can have your brownies and eat them, too. These taste like the chocolate mousse type variety. Another friend would not stop talking about these after he tried it, and the ingredients are inexpensive. Be careful not to eat the whole thing, as beans and avocado might have a loosening effect! I replaced the sugar with equal parts palm sugar to make it even better for you. Instead of espresso, I added spicy hot chocolate mix I had in the kitchen.

Slowcooked Carne Asada from Faithful Provisions

I recently bought this dish at a Mexican restaurant and didn't realize it was not a slowcooked dish. So when I saw that Trader Joes sells premarinated carne asada for $6 a pound, I got a package of the sliced version and decided to make it myself. This recipe is a bit similar to the salsa chicken above, however it doesn't need any cheese, instead I topped it with fresh avocado. It was the perfect cool addition to this spicy dish. (If you don't buy the trader joe's version, I would recommend marinating the meat in your favorite spices first for extra flavor).

Crockpot Meatballs from a Year of Slowcooking

I am an Italian food snob. This month I craved meatballs and so I set out to make a gluten free version that I can eat. I made these marvelous things in about half an hour and I froze them. Next time I definitely will make an extra batch so I can have meatballs anytime. These are so good. I used a larger can of tomatoes and added onion, carrot and celery so there would be a delicious sauce with it to put over rice pasta and peas. Yum yum yum!! (FYI you probably only need a third of a cup of flour to coat the meatballs, not the 1 cup this suggests)

Super Easy and Delicious Glutenfree Popovers!

This recipe is based on another from King Arthur Flour. Unfortunately I do not eat corn, potato or wheat so I couldn't use their flour mix and needed to come up with my own recipe.

1 cup total flour:
6 tablespoons of brown rice flour
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
1 tablespoon sorgum flour
1-2 tablespoons arrowroot powder


1/4 teaspoon guar (or xanthum) gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk room temperature
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted may be easier for your blender but not very hot

Mix the dry ingredients together. I would do the flour in a measuring cup first with heaping tablespoons. Make sure you have at least a cup of flour when smoothed on the top. You may need to add some more flour of each kind esp arrowroot or tapioca. Blend all the ingredients in a blender after so it is smooth and fluffy. Put a small slice of butter into each muffin pan. Place that in the oven as it is heating up to 400 F. When the butter is melted and the pan is warm, pour the batter into each of the pans. Fill no higher than two thirds of the way, better yet a little lower. The popovers would grow huge and round in the oven but might fall if you take them out and the tops are too heavy from too much batter.

Bake the popovers for 25 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. Let sit at least five to seven minutes before popping them out. Best right away but they last a few days in the fridge.

These become fluffy moist flakey delicious popovers. Prep is probably about 10-15 minutes aside from keeping an eye on the oven for a total of about 30-45 mins before eating. You can save some batter and make more day two. This recipe makes 9-12 popovers depending on how much batter you put in each tin. So delicious. I wanted to share the mix I figured out, but if I did anything I'd figure out more exact portions of all the flour, perhaps even up to 1 1/2 cups total. (Haven't tested it yet though)

Enjoy!