Archive for the ‘Fresh from the Garden’ Category
Good afternoon, Dear Readers:
My sincerest apologies for my lateness in updates. As they say in IT, I have once again been OBE, or “overcome by events.” No, I’m not getting married, but you know if I were, I’d be working on how to bake my own wedding cake. Gluten-free, of course. And then some chocolate has been involved.
One thing I have been doing is some overdue sewing stuff. I’ve used up quite a lot of leftover pieces, have one overdue Christmas present to give (he knows about it) and am buzzing through stuff that has been sitting anywhere from one month to ten years to make. I completed two lunch bags and gave one away this weekend, along with three vinyl rain bonnets. At some point, the scraps will be either sold on Craigslist, donated, or, last resort, bagged up for the trash or recycling bin.
And while I sew, I’ve been binge-watching the cool crime drama known as Burn Notice. Since I get the DVDs from the library, I’m not watching them in order. I’ve seen seasons 4, 5 and 6, and have 7 and 3 on order, along with a prequel called The Fall of Sam Axe. The last one is a movie where they take one of the supporting characters and bring him to the fore to show how he got to the current day point. I saw a couple of episodes originally in 2010 when it was new, because I was dating someone who watched it and liked it. I found the DVDs on the shelf a while back and have made it my mission to see every episode through the end of the series. The final season has numerous requests for it, and last I checked, I am 17th in line. The only downside is that I will never be as smart as Fiona, the “trigger happy ex-girlfriend.” Oh, well.
I’ve got a roast in the crock pot, and will be making more of the white bean mash later this evening. But I have a few things to tell you about, so here we go.
First, from faithful reader Aunt Kathy, another gluten-free funny from a comic strip called Speedbump:
Aunt Kathy finds these and I love them. ‘Cause if you can’t poke a little fun sometimes. . .you’re no fun.
Opinions on my recent pineapple upside-down cake were “great” (Neighbor R), “really good” (Neighbor K) and “I didn’t care for it” (Neighbor T.) I thought it wasn’t as good as K’s, and I probably won’t make it again anytime soon, but K felt like mine was better than hers. Weird, huh? Neighbor R also really liked it, and I thought it was pretty good too, but I needed to know that T didn’t care for it–feedback is important, right? (I was only using up a pineapple anyway.)
While shopping in SuperTarget last week, I’ve discovered a new product from Smuckers, a fruit spread sweetened with stevia-based Truvia instead of the chemical Splenda:
Truvia-sweetened strawberry preserves!
So far it’s just blackberry jam and strawberry preserves, and there hasn’t been much fanfare on it. The ingredients also include malitol, which is also used in sugar-free chocolates. If you continually nibble on those sugar free chocolates. . .don’t leave home. Seriously. But a tablespoon of strawberry preserves is 15 calories; on top of a 45-calorie rice cake, well, you do the math. May have found me a go-to nibble with no consequences. The strawberry is indeed pretty good; next time, I’ll try the blackberry. Look for the green label and tops. You can find out more here.
New trend? I hope so. I do miss jam and jelly sometimes.
The HeatCageKitchen garden is still going strong. From the blooming Meyer Lemon tree to the high sprouts of garlic and green onion to the little tomato that just won’t quit, I’ve got it going on. This is not without challenges, of course, but there is green stuff. The monster pineapple plant has finally gone to its new home in a backyard, and I’ve been promised some pineapples if it ever bears fruit.
![IMG_0174[1]](http://heatcagekitchen.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/img_01741.jpg?resize=640%2C853)
Lots of flowers, but dunno about the day when I can pick me some Meyer Lemons. When I asked my gardener friend about it, he said, “you might get one or two.” Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dude! I don’t know how old that puny strawberry plant next to it is, but I’m thinking it’s going to get replanted to get more sun, like in a hanging basket.
Get a load of the garlic, shooting as high as the sky:
Anti-vampire insurance. Not sure about zombies.
I like to go out there and nibble on the green shoots. Yum. They’re not as strong as the actual cloves, but I wouldn’t go kissing anyone after nibbling on them.
The Enigma Tomato, about the size of a golf ball.
We have had multiple freezes since this plant was purchased a year ago, identical to the dried up stem next to it. I have no idea why, how, or for whom this tomato still exists. But it’s growing and hanging in there, as well as the plant beginning to regenerate. Maybe I’ve got Jack’s Magic Tomato Plant; I’ll see how this finishes off.
I’ve got plenty of mint, parsley and green onions for whatever I decide to create:
A little water and they GROW!
And rosemary until the Twelfth of Never:
Just plant it. Grows wild. Great stuff.
Oh, that bucket next to it? Yeah, there are two of those that were planted with lettuce. Not much since that snail got in and feasted on it. <burp>
Ditto for the radishes–I had two growing with foliage, and some inconsiderate nocturnal creature came by and nibbled all the greens down. Now I’m not sure if I have any growing, or just two, and I’ll need to dig them up in the next month or so and look for red orbs. The article I read about planting radishes said that the colder the better, and you’d see the tops of the radishes peeking out from the soil. No such luck, despite several freezes, and no other evidence of anything, only shamrocks coming up.
Maybe another time. I just wanted *something* to be successful and abundant. At this point, I can make one small salad with a few lettuce leaves, one tomato, mint, parsley, garlic shoots and possibly one or two sliced radishes.
Hey–I bet that would go over well in one of those high-end restaurants. You know, the ones that serve 3 scallops with a tablespoon of chopped fresh baby arugula with olive oil as an entree and charge $85 for it? I’ll give that some thought. A teaspoon of olive oil, a drop of lime juice, a pinch of Maldon sea salt or that pink Himalayan stuff, and all those arranged in some kind of artistic fashion on a fancy china plate. Call it Amy’s Garden Delight Salad. Let me think on this–I bet we could have them lining up through the door! (Unless I just gave Giada de Laurentiis an idea for her new restaurant.)
As a gardener, though, it’s a bit of a flop, unfortunately. But I’m working on it.
Last week was neighbor K’s final evening lecture for the year, and the last evening I would be taking out the pug and feeding him while she was working late. And as has been the custom, K brought home some delish food that was left from said event, which included meatballs with a sweet/sour sauce, corn chips with some spinach-artichoke dip (YUM), and an assortment of dessert bars, which included a lemon bar, several chocolate chip brownies, and something new with chocolate chips, coconut, and other delicious things. Mind you, the bars were sliced small this time, they weren’t big squares, thank heavens. I texted her later to tell her that everything was up to its usual high standard. MMMmmmm. . . .
However–last night neighbor R gave me some chocolate truffles and some chocolate covered acai berries. Well, they were OK, and the truffles are nice, but I don’t think I want any more for a while!
So last Thursday, I had a weird day. Four phone calls, all from people who could not pronounce my name at all. On Friday, neighbor J, one of the few males in my building, got home the same time I did. I told him how annoyed I was at the phone calls, and he said, “You want a beer?” I said, “is it cold?” He said, “No.” I can make it cold, and I did.
However, one beer was all I was interested in. He gave me one beer with another 23. Yes, a CASE of beer. I frosted up one, and cracked it open. . .and remembered why I don’t drink beer. It’s a guy thing. I took one taste and, well, let me put it to you this way–what I normally drink is water with lime or lemon and pink stuff, coffee, tea, or on occasion, a little fruit juice, or, even rarer, wine.
This was a complete shock to my taste buds. But I finished the frosty cold can without a buzz, since I was also eating at the same time. And decided that I would not say “yes” to a beer again. Last time I had a good beer was in 1991 at a place called the Crescent City Brewhouse on a date, and I wasn’t driving. That was wonderful–and I haven’t had one like that since.
The next question was what to do with the remaining 23. . .and they went to neighbor R, who does drink beer. I hope she enjoys them, and thank heavens, has room for them, too.
Please, don’t bring me beer. Thank you.
I’ve got two appointments this week, and some more work to do on sewing up old projects and either giving them away, donating them or otherwise putting them to good use. Meantime, I’m going to make me some dinner. Make yours, too, and make it good, whatever it is.
Happy Dining!
Good evening, Dear Readers:
I have a few updates on what’s going on in the HeatCageKitchen. Busy week already, but there is lots to share.
The lettuce experiment is now a full-fledged production. I can’t tell you how good it is to come home to nearly ready-made salad that’s fresh and crisp. YUM. Two heads of lettuce last a whole week, sometimes longer. Highly recommended for salad lovers.
This gluten free thing can be hard. I guess it’s because I’m following a doctor’s suggestion that I leave the wheat alone, and I don’t actually get sick from it like a few folks I know do. Someone brought some homemade oatmeal-raisin cookies to the office yesterday. Oh, boy—was that a temptation. But, it’s wheat! I made it, walking right past them all day, and one by one, they disappeared and I wasn’t responsible.
Read Wheat Belly if you don’t believe me. I can, occasionally, be a hypocrite when it comes to the healthy eating, and I’ll admit that. But after reading that book I’m inclined to leave it alone.
I’m also back on my feet after not walking for a few days and feeling better. Every time I pass that lovely cupcake shop New Addictions, I look over to see how they’re doing. They always have at least a few needy souls lining up for a soul-soothing, handmade cupcake. I’m glad, since it makes the customers happy as well as the owners and employees.
So I’ve eaten my first two home-grown tomatoes, and of course it was nirvana. Well, what did you expect? I let them ripen a bit too much, so they were slightly soft, but incredibly tasty. If you’ve never had a home grown tomato, make friends with someone who grows tomatoes, and maybe they’ll give you an extra or two. If you haven’t tried to grow your own, well, give it a try, if you have the room and the means.
The remaining third of the three tomatoes is still green, but should be ripening pretty soon. We’ve had some rain this weekend, (and about to get some as I write this) so I expect to pick it in the next week or two. I have five little strawberries in various stages of growth, none of them red. The basil is growing back steadily, as are the green onions and parsley. The pepper plant is doing fine, although I thought I had five peppers, not four; I’m wondering if a hungry bird or possum got it. Nothing from the Meyer lemon tree yet. Maybe I’ll get a couple more paint buckets and try growing something else.
Last week’s pesto operation sort of didn’t end well. This weekend I discovered that somehow, I’d cracked the blender mechanism that sits in the bottom with the sharp blades. I ordered a new one online; should be here in a few days. I discovered it when I actually made some Pea Pesto Soup and not only did the blending sound funny, but some leaked onto the top of the machine. What the heck? I thought I didn’t have the bottom on tightly enough, but upon further examination, it was actual damage to the part. Oh, well. Meantime, no Pea Pesto Soup or anything else until the new part arrives. Unless one of my neighbors has a blender I can borrow. If I need it. Not sure how it happened, but I’m going to be careful using that batch of pesto.
Thank heavens for online ordering. From Cuisinart. Spare parts are easy!
I have a new cookbook, y’all. Yeah, I know–like I needed one, right?
This weekend during my cooking spree, I ended up making two of my favorite Nigella Express recipes, Pollo alla Caccitora and Rib-Sticking stir fry, using beef. I just wanted to use up a couple of things and make some one-pot recipes to make it easy for a week’s worth of lunch. During my weekend errands, I decided to finally get Nigella Lawson’s latest, Nigellissima. (If I keep this up, I’ll need a new bookshelf.) I’ve been wanting to get it for a while, and I saw it in Target and got it, finally. This Italian-inspired book comes from her love of Italian food developed while living in Florence when she was a teenager. It’s like the thing I have for strawberries, except with a passport.
Nigella calls these recipes “Italian inspired,” because they are not authentic Italian recipes like the ones that Giada de Laurentiis’ grandfather brought over to California. (Giada herself admits to adding a “California flair” to her Italian recipes, much to the chagrin of her beloved straight-from-Italy Aunt Raffy.) Living in Italy, Nigella was able to not only speak Italian but learn to cook real Italian food, and has loved it ever since, so she cooks from experience.
Well, c’mon–who doesn’t like lasagne? OK, gluten free folks noted. . . but you get the idea, and there are a number of interpretations of lasagne that can accommodate the wheat-intolerant among us. (Dairy too, if you like that fake-me-out non-dairy vegan cheese stuff.) Antipasto is a great low-carb restaurant meal if you order it as such instead of an appetizer as most folks do.
So what’s good in Nigellissima? Well, there is, of course, a chapter on pasta, but there are also other delish things to eat, like a one-pot meal of Sausages with Beans & Roasted Red Peppers, which uses something new, red vermouth, discussed at length in the introduction. (I hope Spec’s has some.) In the Vegetables & Sides chapter, there is Cannellini Beans with Rosemary, which I plan to try soon, since I have rosemary growing out back, and Gnocchi au Gratin, taking packaged gnocchi and turning it into something kind of French.
That’s Nigella. She nails it.
Also interesting is the Sicilian Cauliflower Salad. Say what? Yeah, I’ll be all over that one too this weekend. Soon as I get that red vermouth stuff. . . .
The biggest surprise is a delicioso thing in the Sweet Things chapter: the Chocolate Olive Oil Cake on page 186. No kidding. I’ve wanted to try it since I saw it some months ago, and I’ll try to make one this week. Nigella created the cake for a friend who was coming to dinner and absolutely could not have dairy or flour. Almond flour, olive oil, 3 eggs, and a few other everyday ingredients. I plan to use SomerSweet so I can literally have my cake and eat it too. Woo hoo!
On page 260 is something called Eggs in Purgatory, or what to eat when you’re feeling like hell. Wish I’d had this recipe a year or so ago! Makes me want to stop at Kitchen Collection and get some of those smaller cast-iron pans I saw a while back. And make a loaf of Stout Bread just so I can try this recipe. If I do, maybe I’ll freeze some. Eggs, canned tomatoes, Parm cheese, and a couple of other things come together in a pan for soothing succor. I generally have all the ingredients on hand, except gluten-free (or any other) bread. I’ll let you know.
No, Nigella is not the only celebrity cookbook author in the world. I just happened to get her newest beautiful cookbook this weekend. And make more of her recipes.
Oh, and the only picture of Nigella herself is on the cover. The rest of the pictures are all of the food.
What I do appreciate about celebrity chefs now is that there is a variety of cooking styles to chose from, and much more to cooking that there used to be. Then again, the best things about the Food Network is that a) it’s one of the few clean channels on TV and b) the celebrities in food are known for their talent and skill, not because they are proud of their unsavory behavior.
Anyway. . . .
It’s a week night, and I’m tired. I’ll let you know what happens with the cake, as well as other adventures in the HeatCageKitchen. Especially if there’s an injury involved.
Bueno appetitto!
Happy Thursday, Dear Readers:
Well, it’s a bit premature, but here is my first tomato, picked fresh from the HeatCageKitchen garden tonight:
Isn’t it a cutie?
Granted, it’s not a BIG tomato, about 2″ across, 6″ around,but that’s OK–it’s mine!! Of course, if I hadn’t been so impatient I could have let it ripen a day or two more. But I wanted to get it before any outside creatures did. (Snails are so gross!) There are two more tomatoes growing on that plant; I haven’t seen any flowers on the second tomato plant yet.
The first of five bell peppers are growing well, as are the mint, green onions and rosemary. Rosemary grows in a drought–but we’ve had some good rain this week, and the parsley has started to sprout leaves again. Heck, the basil I chopped down to the nub is already sprouting leaves. I even found a flower growing on it already–and I harvested for pesto last weekend. Hmmm. . .how much more pesto can I make this year before winter?
I suddenly found myself with a painful throat infection on Monday night that causes a swollen gland, then two painful swollen glands with throat constriction and severe pain when swallowing. Tuesday I made it to a local walk-in clinic in the Friendswood HEB Grocery, and I walked out with yet another prescription for antibiotics. You bless these things when you can swallow again, but if I find myself with heartburn, I’ll be back on yeast-free and either the stuff I bought last time or another round of Nystatin and Fluconazole from my regular doctor. Oh, boy.
Since I’m no longer one of those folks with health insurance and paid sick time, I went to work, weak and barely able to talk or swallow. No sneezing or coughing or anything like that, just feeling like I needed to stay home. Fortunately, it was a slow day with many folks on travel, and while I didn’t do my usual 30 minute walk in the tunnel, I did go down there for something else, but I didn’t know what.
I wandered through Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, and a couple of the upscale convenience-store style shops down there, but didn’t find what I wanted. No coffee or chocolate for me, thanks. Then I went somewhere I generally don’t go, and found the very thing. Cold, sweet, and pretty healthy, in the last place you’d expect to find such a thing.
I went to McDonald’s. No kidding.
Now, I’ve been to McDonald’s on many occasions, just not very often. Sometimes it’s the only thing in proximity. Sometimes it’s convenient and right there. My biggest issue with MickeyD’s is that while their coffee is pretty good, they only offer Equal and sugar to sweeten it. No Splenda or Sweet ‘N Low anywhere. I have to make sure I have some pink stuff on me in case I end up somewhere that saccharin is not available, and that’s one of them. At least Starbucks has Sweet ‘N Low, and even honey in packets.
The McDonald’s in the Houston Downtown Tunnel is usually quite busy when I pass by during the crowded lunch hour, but yesterday it wasn’t crowded since it was about 2 when I went. I knew they had some new stuff on their McCafe menu, so I decided to walk over and take a look. Then I spotted it on the wall, and I wanted some.
The McCafe Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie.
With a throat infection, after drinking hot tea all morning, you understand why this hit the spot. But it’s also incredibly delicious! It’s gonna be all I can do not to have two of these a day:
I actually went back for another round today, and got a large. I’ll be spending money on this one for quite a while.
Holy Shish Kebab.
I did ask the clerk about what was in it–last thing I need is to ingest a lot of sugar, or, heaven help me, find out it has gluten as a thickener. You never know. She said, “it has just pomegranate and blueberries.” I also think she didn’t speak enough English to understand my question, because I found out when I got back to my desk that it has some fat-free yogurt in it. That’s fine, unless you have a dairy allergy. Thankfully, I don’t, but there are folks who read this humble blog who are allergic to dairy, hence the warning.
MAN this is a good find. I had to get sick to find this out? Move over Starbucks–this smoothie’s my new favorite!!
Starbucks and Seattle’s Best actually do have smoothies, but the berry smoothies are lower in carbs than ones with banana, pineapple and other fruits. Bananas are particularly high in starch, that’s why I avoid them–and if you’re diabetic, you should too. I might try the strawberry smoothie at Seattle’s Best one of these days, but McDonald’s definitely has a winning formula with this one.
Sometimes you just find things along the way. This delicious smoothie will keep me going back to McDonald’s, especially this hot summer in Houston.
I did discover that New York City had a high of 65F today, with a 100% chance of rain, and a low of 55F tonight, as a result of the storm that passed through Chicago and other areas last night. Heck, here in Houston, that’s a perfect fall day!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to watch a little comedy DVD and hit the Nordic Track. Rupert Murdoch is going to be a free man soon, and I need to be ready when he comes a-callin’!
Just kidding–I’m going to make up the exercise I missed today by not walking the tunnel. I wasn’t up to it, but the antibiotics are killing the infection and I’m feeling better.
Happy Dining!
Happy Sunday, Dear Readers:
I’ve got a lot to tell and not much time, so here goes.
I’m now done with this round of the yeast-free diet. Know what that means?
I can haz cheezburger. (Just no bread.) Woo hoo!! Love cheese.
I had to stop at Staples for an errand this afternoon, and the nice man who waited on me, Anthony, mentioned that he wanted to learn to cook. He’s a big dude from Trinidad-Tobago, and I asked him what he was doing stateside. He married an American woman, you see. “She kidnapped me.” Ah, he’s enjoying it. So of course when he told me he wanted to learn to cook, well, I sorta talked his ear off. But I just want to make sure he doesn’t burn an egg and give up, thinking he can never be in the kitchen. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither was anyone’s expertise.
Now onto the rest of the weekend.
So, after an off-kilter Friday at this company downtown, I got home, changed into a t-shirt and shorts, and was chowing down on my salad from a jar when an email came in. One of my folks from Boeing was retiring, and one of the invitees invited me to meet them at Cafe Adobe. Fifteen minutes later I was there, parking and laughing with everyone else. So glad to see my peeps, even if it was just a couple of hours. So what do you have when you’re not real hungry, in a Mexican restaurant and are gluten free? Check the appetizers and order ceviche:
Yeah. And take a look–there’s cooked shrimp in there. You know why I like to order shrimp in a restaurant? Let me explain: my Mom used to go find people who caught shrimp and bought coolers full of them to freeze. Only, she wanted them peeled before they were frozen. . .guess who took off the heads, the feet and the shells with bare hands? ME. So now, I order shrimp in a restaurant for one reason.
They are shrimp I don’t have to mess with.
I had half and took the rest home to toss over some lettuce from the jar on Saturday. YEAH.
They also had a cake after dinner, and while I took home a piece, I brought it home for my neighbor, who’s a bit over 65 (OK, 75) and is a really nice lady. Just don’t cross her.
In the HeatCageKitchen garden, there is big news–the basil is growing again:
Still, I bought a container of Butoni pesto today, because it was on sale, and stuck it in the freezer, just in case. But I think I’ll soon be harvesting for pesto. We had rain today, but no more is predicted for a while. So I’ll be watering a lot.
Also a fantastic discovery from one of the plants I bought last week. You remember the tomato plant I bought with three tomatoes already growing on it? Looks like I’ll be getting some bell peppers, too:
Hot dawg! But I don’t remember if I got red, orange or yellow bells. DUH. Oh, well, it’ll be green until I find out what color it will be.
Well, I’ve been really wanting a cupcake, and of course, it has to be gluten free. Now, it would be easy if I lived in The Woodlands, because I could head right over to Frost Bakery and get me one. But no, I live on the other side of Houston, sort of on the other side of the tracks. Not a particularly bad part of Houston, just, not as nice as The Woodlands. I’ve called five bakeries down here, and nobody has gluten free. One said, “we’re working on it.” That does me no good NOW, but I’ll live, I guess. Darnit.
So with the news that three new cupcake shops are opening in the Houston Downtown Tunnel, HeatCageKitchen is on it, and went to investigate.
It’s what “journalists” call a “slow news day.” But at least I have some nice pictures.
First stop (before heading to the office, no less) is New Addictions, where they’ve been open since Tuesday (day after Memorial Day) and business has been very brisk. When I stopped by on Tuesday during my lunchtime walk, I got to talk to one of the owners, Mena Frazier. Nice lady, and I told her what I wanted to do (take pictures, and write about them.) When I went back Friday morning, she wasn’t there, but two of her very nice employees were, and told me more. The owners, Justin & Mena Frazier, also have a shop on the east side of Houston called Cupcakes & More, where they bake the goods for New Addictions.They are currently working on a gluten-free model, but are also working to get to the point where they can have a separate kitchen to avoid cross-contamination of gluten. They realize that many folks would like a healthier option, and would like to provide the best offering they can.
If you’re not gluten free, however, you’ll be in heaven:
Nirvana, right this way:
And let’s not forget chocoholics like myself:
They also have cake balls, if you’d like that instead:
And cute little cupcake candles!
Meet Ivy and Nicole, who were nice enough to tell me everything:
I asked them what their most unusual flavor is, and I think Ivy said it was their PBJ combination. When I left and looked at their small card, I see one called Maple Bacon. I kid you not–and I think that would be my vote for most unusual. But hey–whatever floats your boat, right?
You can read about Cupcakes & More here and visit New Addictions Facebook page to see more. If you’re downtown, check out their shop for a nice little dessert you won’t soon forget.
Remember: cupcakes are ONE SERVING. Maybe one and a half if you get one with top hat icing.
At lunchtime, I headed over to Gigi’s Cupcakes, which was quite a hike (read: cardio), but I made it. I’d spoken to the owner a day or so before I took my camera, and he said that they only did gluten-free on Fridays. They use almond flour, and that’s more expensive (I know!) and so only Friday, and the cupcakes were more. How much more? Twenty five cents. I thought he meant they were like $17 each! But no, only a quarter more than their regular cupcakes. I made a promise to get there on Friday. I wanted one!
Gigi’s actually has Wedding Cake cupcakes. Yes, you can buy one. Supposed to taste like wedding cake. Long as there’s no groom that comes with it, I’m game.
So I take The Lunch Purse (a small bag you carry just your wallet, cell phone, etc. when you go to lunch in the Tunnel) and I head down there. WAY down there. Asked which one was gluten free today. “None.” Um, it’s Friday, why not?” The employee’s comment, with a straight face:
“I never took the time to order any gluten free.”
And I won’t take the time to go back and see if they did order any. From the comments on the Houston Chronicles’ website, I’m not missing anything. I mean, if you want customers, how about “I’m sorry, but we didn’t get any in today,” or, “I’m sorry, they weren’t available today?” Even “we ran out” would have been polite. It sounds like she didn’t care, so I don’t either.
I haven’t made it to the third cupcake shop yet. I’ll let you know when I do.
So, darnit, what am I gonna do? I want ONE CUPCAKE, GLUTEN FREE.
What I always do. I made them. Along with a breakfast quiche, some Yeast Free Brownies and some biscuits.
From the Wheat Belly Cookbook, I made the only cupcake recipe in there, with almond flour and a chocolate/cream cheese icing that is really stiff when it’s cold. Like the delicious biscuits, they have a heavy, chewy texture that satisfies but is likely not what you’re expecting. That’s OK. I’ll get more almond flour next trip to Trader Joe’s.
My dishwasher has finished, and I’m fading fast, so I need to get back in the kitchen and finish up so I can eventually go to bed and get some sleep. I’ve had an interesting weekend. I’m tired.
Happy Dining!
Hello, Dear Readers:
With the news this week that Twinkies may be returning to store shelves this summer, all of a sudden, I WANT ONE. And a packet of Ding Dongs, too, please. Or, maybe the chocolate cupcakes. Yes, I know what’s in them. I want some. Just once.
It would really be fun to do a side-by-side taste test of the Hostess Twinkies and the new Twinkies and see if they got it right. I hope so. Or there’s gonna be a whole lot of upset sugar junkies in this country. There could be trouble if even one molecule is changed, you know.
Well, it’s been another busy and confusing week here in my neck of the woods, and that time change thing didn’t do me any favors. I’ve been TIRED since last week, and not up to doing anything spectacular. The weather is warming up nicely, and while I have had the patio doors open to get some fresh air this week, I know it’s time to put away the jackets and the wonderful winter boots I bought in 2011 from Lands’ End. I wore them one night last week when I went to the pub to meet a friend of mine. One last time until the fall. Also, they’re flat, so if I get a bit tiddly I won’t fall off of them.
I got a teeny bit tiddly, but didn’t get into any trouble. I promise.
So if in spring, a young man’s heart turns to romance, a young woman’s mind turns to dieting, and what I she’s gonna look like in a bathing suit real soon. While I haven’t dieted in some time, I am thinking about finally getting back to fitness and maybe dropping some of the dreaded excess that seems to follow me around when I’m not careful or get OBE (“Overcome By Events,” an IT technical term.) I found a DVD that I got with the Belly Burner a few years ago and forgot about, called Blazing Abs. (I also forget the Belly Burner frequently.) I would like to start with that one, but I’m kinda tired. To my credit, I have been using my Thighmaster combo, and also managed to get long walks in a couple of times this week. So I’m not entirely sedentary. Just need to be *more* mobile, darnit.
So one of the many things I need to do once I wake up is get on my back patio, dig up the weeds, tidy it up and start planting both in the ground and in the containers. If you’re thinking of elegantly thrown pottery like you see on any of Martha Stewart’s shows, well, keep thinking that, because I use 5 gallon plastic paint buckets.
Currently, I have a smaller plastic pot with mint in it (mostly brown but a few green leaves at the ends), two small planters with green onions in it (more about that in a minute), and one paint bucket with the top off a pineapple in it. I have no idea what’s going on with it, but it’s stuck in there pretty good. Have no idea if it’s growing a pineapple or not, and I’m afraid to dig down there and find out. There’s also rosemary, which seems to grow in desert conditions, because it’s fresh and green and growing like. . .weeds.
Last summer wasn’t a good one after I was laid off, and I pretty much neglected the garden, unfortunately. Amazingly, I still have rosemary and a bit of mint and green onion. I had a bamboo plant that was the living legacy from a coworker that passed on in 2004, but that died pretty quickly. I told them I didn’t want it. I have a small piece of bamboo that’s been growing in a water glass for nearly a year; I might plant it in the same pot, or maybe in the ground. I’d like to get it out of my kitchen, that’s for sure.
One thing I learned from reading Urban Farm magazine and the forums on their companion website is that if you cut off the rooted bottoms of green onions you get from the grocery, you can plant those roots and keep growing them. I bought these at Frohberg’s Farm maybe 3 years ago, and they’re still growing. They’ve gotten a bit skint because I’ve not been faithful in watering them, but I’ve still got some. I’ll have a full pot again soon. Ditto the mint.
Amazingly, the weeds are thriving, even with the little bits of rainfall we’ve had, or rather, NOT had. We’re still kind of in drought conditions here, but I’m hoping for a good rainy season this summer.
I got started growing stuff with the last, um, “relationship” I was in with Blob, since we had plans of eventual country living and food growing. (I still read Hobby Farms and Hobby Farm Home magazines.) I started with the paint buckets and basil. In 2011, I planted things like zucchini and cantaloupe in the ground, along with lettuce and a few other things. Unfortunately, we also had a bad drought that year, and despite my best watering efforts, nothing lasted. I put a small zucchini plant in the ground and it took off, eventually taking up half the plot along with cantaloupe. Then one day, it started to shrivel up. . .and then, no amount of watering would bring it back. There was nothing I could do.
I tried re-growing flat-leaf Italian parsley recently, but nothing sprouted. I’ll try to get me some basil planted soon (preferably organic), and start making some pesto. The sooner I get some basil, the sooner I can whip some up. I LOVE pesto! My favorite recipes is from Giada de Laurentiis’ first book, Everyday Italian, but there are oodles of recipes out there for pesto. Suzanne Somers also has a very tasty recipe for Parsley Pesto in her Appetizers book, which calls for some parsley but a fair amount of basil.
I have one container of pesto left in the freezer from last year. I MUST make more of it this year and freeze lots of it for the winter, darnit.
Of course, my favorite thing to do with that pesto is make Pea Pesto Soup. Had some just this week, with some pesto from the freezer. Admittedly, I can buy fresh pesto already made, but why?
I have hoped to grow sugar snap peas, but I never seem to get around to planting them. Down here in Texas, you have to plant them in like November, because otherwise it’s way too hot. Garlic, too–you buy the bulbs in August, and they have to “over-winter” and you are rewarded in the spring with lovely garden fresh garlic.
I want to grow grape tomatoes. I LOVE grape tomatoes, and those yellow pear-shaped tomatoes, but they’re quite expensive at the grocery store. I planted some in the ground and some in one of those hanging tomato thingies, no luck. Fennel, too–I tried growing that to no avail, along with regular onions and a few other things. No luck.
Soon as I finish a few other things, I’ll be getting out there, probably Sunday, so I can get stuff growing. I admit I’m not the *best* gardener, but eventually, I hope to be picking lots of good stuff from my garden.
One of these days. Tips and comments are welcome, of course. Are you doing the garden this year? If so, what do you want to harvest?
Happy Dining!
