Ringing in a New Day

Today I am excited. Why, you ask? Because today, I wore two rings and a bracelet all day. If that sounds like the dumbest thing you've ever heard someone being excited about, you may not have experienced chronic pain and fatigue.

You know that feeling you get at the end of the day when you've been up for 15 hours, you had something to do after work - you're exhausted. Your shoes feel tighter, your clothes and jewelry feel heavier, and you just want your pajamas. That is how I feel from the time I get up until I go to bed. So most days, the only accessory I can handle is a scarf because it's soft. Some days - the ones where even the stretchy band of my maternity pants hurts - I can't even do that. So the fact that I was able to wear a chunky, heavy bracelet, as well as my wedding ring and a sapphire Mike got me when we were dating (due to the swelling, my engagement ring is too small), is a huge victory.

Add all of that to the fact that I've had two days in the last week and a half where my pain was a 2 or less and I actually had energy, and I'm starting to feel a lot more optimistic about everything. So here's to good days, bracelets, and yoga pants to put on when I get home.

To Be Healthy, Naturally

Today, I took another step in getting my insides to stop behaving like coked-up capuchin monkeys in a ball pit. (I may or may not still have some issues from my horrible primate behavior class in college.) I went to see a naturopath. Now, I'd like to preface the rest of this post with two things:

1) To each their own, but I would never use natural medicine as a substitute for a doctor - only a supplement. The naturopath can't diagnose or prescribe.

2) I didn't find this one on the internet, or just flip open the phone book and point. I went to one that actual people I know (not just a friend of a friend of a friend) have gone to and seen actual results with. It's important to research and get references.

With that out of the way, I loved it. I loved her. First of all, she spent nearly two hours with me - getting history, doing muscle resistance tests, etc. Probably the best part, though, was the emotional release. Some people think it's hooey, but I felt way better after than I had the rest of the day. So to those people, I say that I don't care if I'm happy because of a placebo effect or because of science. Also, I believe it works, and that's good enough for me.

And I definitely needed it today. See, yesterday was amazing. My pain level never got above a 2, I woke up early, I had energy, and I didn't feel like I'd been up for 24 hours all day. Then, around 9:30, I hit a wall. My whole body ached, and I was falling-over exhausted. This morning, I felt like the wall hit me back. I couldn't focus, I was so exhausted I was nauseous, and the pain was back full force. So to be able to do something - especially something not involving drugs - that made me feel that much better was wonderful.

I've been given two supplements (neither of which she pushed, and neither of which needs to be re-ordered when I'm finished with them), along with some articles and reading on enzymes, minerals, deficiencies, and self-treatment. That, for me, is the kicker. Anyone who's willing to show you how to do the things they do for yourself is someone who wants you better and isn't just out to grab your money. She even gave me a site that sells supplements/vitamins cheaply that she's not affiliated with.

Mostly though, I really liked her as a person. By the end of my session, I felt like I'd known her for years. I even hugged her when I left. I guess the lesson here is this - don't limit yourself. I mean, I'm not going to start wearing crystals and chanting, but it's good to explore a range of options when it comes to your health. Remember - the body wants to heal itself. But it may take a few different things working together to help it do that.

Reading is Fun and Fundamental

A short one today, just as a cautionary tale. Wednesday night, I went to get my hair cut (by the way, I had my mom use those Surface products I mentioned on my hair, and I'm in love. If I could afford to get them all the time, it's all I would use). Afterward (around 7:30pm at this point, and I was exhausted - it was not a good pain week), I stopped at Heinen's to pick up a cake for my boss. Her birthday is January 3rd, so it often gets overlooked during the holiday season.

While I was there, I asked where their GF section was. In this particular Heinen's, it's spread out across the store with signs to mark each food, and then there are three freezer cases. I picked up some meringue cookies, meatballs, and waffles. I prefer making my own waffles, but for grab & go, I do like Vans GF.

Friday night, I made the vegetarian meatballs with grape jelly & chili sauce (basically sweet & sour), and they were awful. Never again.

Yesterday, I started having symptoms like I had the stomach flu on steroids. Sick to my stomach, dizziness, pain, tingling, hot flashes. You name it, I had it. My first thought was that it had been the meatballs. Maybe the chili sauce was a bad idea. Mike and I were babysitting my niece and nephew, and it was so bad I even told him I might have to call my mom to take me to the hospital. I thought I would pass out any minute.

When we got home, I decided to check the one food I ate that was even slightly out of the ordinary - the waffles. Maybe they had a lot of fiber in them, or something else that would upset my IBS. Well, I was right to check them. I'm not sure if they were mis-shelved, or if I was simply tired and distracted and reached over one freezer case too far. But these were just organic waffles, not GF. Wheat flour was the second ingredient, and I had eaten two of them. I basically poisoned myself because I didn't read.

The moral? No matter where you grab it from, always read the ingredients. This may be a no brainer for some, but I still had some lingering illusions about what's "safe." Needless to say, that's not a mistake I'll ever make again.

Eat ALL of the Rugelech!

I had to post again - briefly - to tell you about this.

Katz is giving away sample packs of some of their GF goodies. I ordered mine, and it just got here today. The first thing I ate was the cinnamon & chocolate rugelech. The chocolate was good. The cinnamon was DIVINE! I am currently floating on a cloud of cinnamon bliss. I want to order a case (which, by the way, they sell on their website). I don't know how good anything else will be (there's a cupcake, a cookie, a doughnut, and a few kinds of bread), but I will definitely buy the ruglech.

Keep Rollin

With apologies to The Londoner, I'm going to have to paraphrase her thoughts on her Slutty Brownies (which, by the way, if you don't have Celiac or a gluten intolerance, you should eat. I'm currently working on a GF version because they are the best brownies I've ever had).

I don't want to exaggerate, so I'll just say this: the spring rolls I made for NYE might be one of the top 5 best foods I've ever made (I know spring rolls don't generally have meat, but I don't have anything better to call them). I made 17 of them because that's how much filling I had to use up, and Mike and I ate 15 of them that night. That's after we ate giant servings of my homemade lo mein. I didn't even get to take pictures because they were gone in a blink.
I could eat the entire 14 pounds of my ham and still want to eat one of them. I might not even miss egg rolls anymore because these were so good. So without any further ado (my horoscope today, as read to me by a co-worker said modesty would bring people to my cause - ha! There's no modesty in cooking), I present to you the (approximate, as always) recipe.

Stephane's Spring Rolls

• 1 pkg rice paper wrappers
• 1 pkg chicken breast tenders
• 6-7 baby carrots
• 1/2 head of green cabbage (you can use napa or red too - I just prefer green)
• 3 green onions (I use the white part and the green part, but if you don't like one or the other, just leave it out)
• 1/2 c vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp powdered ginger (obviously you can use fresh garlic or ginger. Just adjust the amount)
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Pre-heat oven to 300. Cut up cabbage, carrots and chicken (I cut the baby carrots lengthwise, cut the halves in half lengthwise, and then chopped). Spread in a baking dish. Combine broth, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic powder, and ginger and pour over chicken mixture. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. You can also do 350 for half an hour - I just did lower and longer so the chicken would be a bit more tender.

 

Wet one of the rice paper wrappers (careful, they tear easily - thankfully I only ruined one), and place it on a plate. The wetting should literally be submerging it fully in water and taking it right back out. The one I ruined was from over-soaking. Let it sit on the plate for 30 seconds until it's pliable. Spread 2 Tbsp of the chicken mixture in the middle of the wrapper in a line. Fold up the bottom of the wrapper over the filling. Fold in the sides, and then carefully roll up, pressing down on the filling to get a tight roll. This site gives good instructions (I didn't use the egg wash, and mine were fine. But you may want to. I also used round wrappers, not square). Make your husband help, if you have one - mine actually enjoyed it.

 

Preheat oven to 400. Thoroughly spray a baking sheet, and spread out rolls in a single layer. Spray rolls generously with cooking spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Gently turn with tongs (these should also be sprayed to prevent sticking), and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

 

It may seem like a lot of work, but it was actually pretty fun. And it was definitely worth it. So get rolling!

 





Chinese New Year

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas/Hannukuh (however you choose to spell it)/Kwanzaa/Pagan celebration of winter. I spent mine with the flu, which is also why I haven't updated since Christmas Eve.

Now it's time for the new year. While I don't carry on a lot of traditions from my childhood, there is one I observe religiously - New Year's Eve dinner is always Chinese food. When I was a kid, mom would order a bunch of take-out, and we'd get to have virgin strawberry daquiris. We'd stay up, watch movies, and just hang out. A few years ago when I had a NYE party, we ordered 10-12 different dishes from the local take-out place (.5 miles from my apartment - it was wonderful. I practically lived there), and everyone shared. Aside from keeping the shrimp dishes separate so Mike didn't die from his shellfish allergy, it was pretty easy.

Fast forward 4 years. Chinese take-out both tempts and terrifies me. Most places aren't going to use a GF soy sauce, and I'm sure cross-contamination is everywhere. I know PF Changs has a GF menu, but I find them to be completely overrated. Their food isn't anywhere near good enough for what they charge. I've had $3 take-out that's better. So there was only one option left: make it myself.

I made roasted pork lo mein a few years ago for a couple of friends. Two of our close friends had just been through break-ups within a month of each other (with fiancees, no less), and so we had them over for dinner a few times. It may have escaped your notice, but I tend to cook for comfort. The lo mein was a huge hit. That time, I did everything in the oven and used udon noodles.

This year, given the flu and all, I'm not really up for that, especially because I'll be taking enough time later making chicken spring rolls in rice paper wrappers. So I threw everything in the Crock Pot. You can use whatever you like, but here's how I did it (note, I just put this in, so I'll have to update later with how it turns out):

• 1 pkg boneless pork short ribs (trust me, they're the best meat for this - pork chops aren't nearly as good in it)
• 2 stalks celery
• 4-5 mini sweet peppers
• 2 cans baby corn
• 2-4 heads of broccoli (I like a ton, so I used 4)
• 1 can sliced water chestnuts (you can use more, but hubby hates them, so I go easy)
• 2 cans sliced mushrooms (or 1/2 pkg fresh ones)
• 1 bottle San-J GF teriyaki sauce
• 1 can Dynasty hoison sauce
• 1/2 c vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
• light sprinkle of MSG (don't judge - I wanted the take-out flavor)

Chop the veggies and ribs, and throw in the slow cooker. Add garlic. Mix the veggie broth, MSG, hoison sauce, and teriyaki sauce in a measuring cup with a pour spout. Pour 3/4 of the mixture in the crock pot, and pour the rest back in one of the sauce jars/bottles to pour over the noodles later.

And that's it. I'll just cook the rice noodles by the package directions, pour the sauce over, and mix in the pork and veggies. For the spring rolls, I'm using chicken, green onions, cabbage and carrots. But that will have to be another entry - they may be a disaster.

Here's to 2013 being happier and healthier than 2012!

Such a Ham

When my husband and I were first dating, we would go out to dinner every year with his dad's family a week or so before Christmas. We didn't see each other often, and it was a great way to catch up. However, his grandfather, grandmother, and uncle all passed within a relatively short span of time, and after that the get-togethers sort of trailed off. I missed everyone, so this year I told my husband I wanted to have them all over here for dinner. It's cheaper than going out, and it meant I would get to cook - and make sure everything was GF.

Naturally, given that I'd be feeding ten people, I wanted something simple that would go far. I chose ham. Why? Because it's relatively inexpensive and difficult to mess up; and because pork is delicious. I may or may not have gone a little bit overboard in buying a ham that was 14.15 pounds. Quite possibly I'll be eating ham for the next month.

For sides, I made potato soup (my mother-in-law's favorite), and roasted broccoli. Which, by the way, is my  new favorite food. I didn't add the Parmesan or pepper like the recipe calls for, but you knock yourself out with it. That link is the recipe for the broccoli, but I just kind of ad libbed the ham and soup, so here are the (approximate) recipes. Remember, all measurements are eyeballed. Adjust as needed to taste.

Sweet & Savory Apple Baked Ham

• 1 semi-boneless, heat & serve ham (maybe get only as much as you need - although the 14 pounder was gorgeous)
• 1/2 c beef broth
• 1/4 c apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp dried rosemary (crushed)
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 Tbsp orange juice
• 2 red delicious apples, sliced

Preheat the oven to 325. Place ham in a large roasting pan. Combine all ingredients and pour over ham. Place apple slices around ham in the pan. Cook for 18-24 minutes per pound. Check every 30-60 minutes and baste as need. Add more broth, vineger, and/or juice if it starts to run dry. Let sit for 30 minutes after removing, then carve and serve.

 

 

Stephane's Slow Cooker Potato Soup

• 5 lb bag of potatoes (a few potatoes per person is a good guideline)
• 1 yellow or orange pepper, roughly chopped
• 4-5 green onions, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp celery salt
• 1 c milk
• 2 c broth (veggie, chicken or beef - I adjust based on what I'm serving the soup with. In this case, I went with beef)

Wash and peel the potatoes (or have your hubby peel them like I did), and cut them into chunks. Place in a pan, and fill with enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, and let the potatoes cook for about 30 minutes - until they are fork tender. Drain all but about 1/4 c of the water from the pan, and mash the potatoes. It's ok to leave chunks here - I like them in my soup. In a food processor (or a blender), combine milk, broth, celery salt, garlic, onions, and pepper. Blend. Pour mashed potatoes and broth mixture into the slow cooker. You can leave it on keep warm, or put it on low. Because the potatoes are already hot, it cooks pretty well. If you don't have a slow cooker, you can always just add the broth mixture on the stove and let it simmer for a bit.

 

 

 

While there was no leftover potato soup or broccoli, there was a ton of leftover ham. So last night we had a friend over for ham, roasted broccoli, and rice with roasted peppers that was cooked in the ham drippings (with the fat drained off). It's times like these that I'm so thankful for all the incredibly delicious foods I can still eat. And you will be too, if you just remember this: bacon, wine, and (most) chocolates are gluten free. Enjoy!