I just made this Banana Crunch Cake from Gluten Free is Life. It was moist and delicious. She said it was a coffee cake but it would be just as good without the oatmeal crumble topping IMHO. It was not grainy -- it seriously took me back to my gluten days. It was full bodied and had a crumb just like a cake. It only called for oat flour -- no mixing or multiple flours and no guar or xanthan gum! It was easy and yummy!
It still amazes me how the gluten free products I try just keep getting better and better. I have learned a few things in the past year. 1.) The pre-made items are okay but can range from food grade cardboard to good but grainy. 2.) Some of the best brownies I have had were from a gf mix. Mixes are better than already made gluten-free products. 3.) The best gluten-free products that don't taste gluten free are the ones made from scratch.
I think I may be dreaming of this banana cake tonight. I am glad I did make it tonight (and sample it), with Little Miss Muffet's help (she helped sample it, also), because this means breakfast is made for in the morning.
Gluten-free living is getting easier. This past weekend we went on a scout camp out. It was rainy and cold! We were so glad our troop was in charge of cooking, that meant we could help out in the kitchen in exchange for beds in cabins and buildings. The first morning all those campers filed in looking forward to that warm liquid to help warm them up, whether it be hot chocolate or coffee. There were murmurs of the coldness and dampness and hopefulness it would warm up. My room was blazing hot, probably 90 degrees. It was absolutely stifling. I didn't dare complain because I was so glad to be warm and not sleep on rocks and have a bathroom literally three footsteps away from where I laid my head.
Working and helping out in the kitchen was fun. My entire family lent a helping hand with each meal in some capacity. One neat thing about helping with the food was access to the menu before hand -- also there was the boon of making sure there was not any cross contamination. Knowing the head cook helped so much because he kept our food needs in mind. I forgot we were having spaghetti, so really it only helps when one remembers things they shouldn't forget. We talked about what LMM and I would eat for dinner that night. We were hoping there would be a left over hamburger patty from lunch for each of us.
It's neat how things work out. We were both able to eat spaghetti!! Another camper also had Celiac. Her mom had made an entire package of gf pasta noodles. When she dropped them off in the kitchen ahead of time, I was able to introduce myself and I was able to glean some neat ideas from her. Her family has been gluten free for 8 1/2 years! She told me of an Asian market in town where I will be able to buy stir-fry to go and flours/noodles much cheaper than at the health food store. Yippee! She offered to share the noodles with us also. Usually, I would have thanked her but said no-thank-you. Not that afternoon, the noodles were good, they were not any noodles I had bought before. They were good, I just seemed to have required a lot of sauce with the noodles. I hope I can one day repay the kind act. Maybe I will make this banana cake and wrap up a couple of slices for her dear daughter.
The gluten free life just keeps getting better and better.
Showing posts with label Trips and Vacations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trips and Vacations. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Adding to a Family Tradition, Continued
After such a busy, event-filled day, 5:30 AM came a little too early the next morning. Every one of us slept through our alarms. They had to be out the door by 6:30. It was close to 6 AM when I jumped out of bed running. I made the coffee first, then put the bacon on to cook, fried the eggs, set the table, made them cups of coffee, sat at the table, ate breakfast and had them out the door by 6:30. I still don't know how we pulled that off. I'm sure our host was wondering though because as I raced into the kitchen to start everything, I did notice he was already outside waiting (maybe even wondering if we were ever going to get up). I didn't accompany them outside that morning, I was still tired. As they drove off into the early morning darkness lit by the full moon, Little Miss Muffet saw me turn off the lights and head back to the bedroom. She made the announcement in the pickup, "Mom's already finished the dishes and now she is going back to bed." She was really close. I just ran some soapy water in the sink and put the dishes in it and left the bacon grease to solidify some so it would make for an easier cleanup.
I went back and snuggled down in the warm bed. In fact, the whole house was warmer this second morning. I awoke at 8:15, sat straight up and thought, "Oh no! I left the water running!" I hadn't, but it got me off to my second running start of the day. There were no deer that morning to distract and entertain me as they had the previous morning. They may have been there earlier, or maybe they slept in as I had. I had the dishes done in no time then began cleaning the kitchen. I moved the kiddos backpacks and belongings to one of the beds in our bedroom and began cleaning the rest of the house, making beds and vacuuming. They were back by 9 AM. I went out and greeted them and asked if I could bring them coffee or anything else. Mocha Java seemed to be the choice of the day, I'm so glad I brought hot chocolate packets. Little Boy Blue was hungry (aren't all 13 year old boys) so I offered a bacon sandwich. That sounded great to him, so I made him one with the leftover bacon from breakfast.
It was funny to see him with his Mocha Java in one hand, bacon sandwich in the other, and standing back watching Dad and our host skin and quarter his deer for him. We laughed about him taking a snack break. Dear husband then told us about the night before in the deer blind. They were sitting there waiting for a deer when Little Boy Blue reached inside his jacket and brought out a granola bar and began eating it. Dear husband informed him they were deer hunting and not supposed to be eating, and in his nonchalant way, Little Boy Blue then offered his dad one.
Coffee for the kiddos isn't a regular beverage choice at our house, but early mornings seem to bring out the need for something hot and stout even though it is always decaf. The only other time Little Boy Blue has drank coffee was when he and his dad got up really early to help my cousin irrigate at the farm a couple of months before.
They were finished and had the ice chests packed full of the venison that will soon be gracing the shelves of our freezer and be our supply of meat for the coming year. Everyone wanted showers before the trip home. Everything was organized and those that weren't getting ready helped with the final clean up details and loading everything up in the suburban for the trip home. All at the same time, everyone was ready and the house was clean. The kiddos were looking forward to the two hour trip home so they could sleep. We stopped in a little town an hour away and ate at a little cafe. We had to wake the kids up.
The food at the cafe was good. It's almost always a challenge when we go out to eat somewhere and definitely when it is somewhere new due to our food allergies, two of us can't have gluten (wheat, rye, barley, etc. ) and one can't have corn (cornstarch, high fructose corn syrup, etc.). It means we have to study the menu and ask our server questions that we hope they know the answer to. It also means we have to avoid buffets due to the risk of cross contamination. We all made good choices, there was tons of food on each plate and it was reasonably priced. With full tummies, we continued on our journey home.
Forty-five minutes later we made an unscheduled stop. We decided to stop by my sister and brother in-law's and show them the pictures. Dear husband was happy because he got to brag about his children's first deer hunting trip some more. When we got to town, dear husband remembered the meat processor we use was open on Sunday. I gave them a quick call, and someone was there making some repairs and he said he would wait on us. That was really nice, it meant I didn't have to make that thirty-minute drive one way the next day or even the day after and we didn't have to buy more ice to keep the meat iced down.
So much was packed into this day and a half adventure that it seemed longer than what it actually was. I wished though it would have been longer. I would have loved to sit out on the porch swing with dear husband, drink some hot chocolate or coffee, talk and stare at the mountains. I also would have loved to have been able to play some checkers or dominoes with the family, but maybe those memories can be had with the next trip...
Adding to a Family Tradition
This past weekend my dear Husband took the children and I on an adventure we had never embarked on before.
Two years ago, my husband, his dad, and brother began a new family tradition by going deer hunting at a friend's ranch a couple of hours away. They always had lots of fun and came back with full tummies, full ice chests, and full of stories. It was a nice male-bonding time for the guys.
This year (actually I should say this season) it all got changed up a bit as dear husband was out of the country. We were surprised with an opportunity for dh to get his annual hunting trip in, just a few months later and without his usual hunting buddies. The children and I were invited.
Little Miss Muffet and Little Boy Blue were so excited to have this opportunity to go deer hunting with dad. I, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. We loaded up and traveled Friday evening until we got there after sunset. We were welcomed by the bright moonlight, a few random cats and by the cutest farmhouse with all it's lights on that shone like beacon. The little farmhouse was surrounded by a fence with gates on three sides.
We walked in the door and the first thing you saw was a sign that read, "Welcome To The Ranch." With the space heaters and the lights on in each room, it was welcoming and inviting. It was a little like bed and breakfast meets deer camp. The living room was filled with two old rustic army style twin beds with metal frames. The first bedroom had two four-poster antique cherry wood twin beds, along with matching dresser and nightstand. The second bedroom was well equipped with a full size bed and two twin beds, an antique armiore and chest. The bathroom was very modern with fluffy slippers and robes and big white fluffy towels. There was also a kitchen equipped with just the right amount of pans. I checked out the kitchen quickly, aquainted myself with the contents, unloaded the refrigerated items into the fridge and everyone settled into bed, all before 9 pm.
We all tried to go right to sleep, knowing 5:30 was going to come early. As we waited to fall asleep, I heard an odd noise, dear husband heard it too. We listened carefully and he decided it was a turkey. I wanted to see this wild animal that was making this noise and tiptoed through the house, as not to wake the kiddos, and that is when I heard the noise coming from inside the house. The wild turkey ended up being the hot water heater. So much for the wild animals.
We all jumped up when the alarm rang at 5:30 with anticipation of the days events. I made scrambled eggs, sausage, chocolate covered donut-holes for dh and gluten-free, corn-free maple glazed donuts for the rest of us, and a plethora of fresh fruit to choose from. The three of them gobbled up their breakfast and raced out the door decked out in their new camo duds. One great thing about hunting so late in the season is camo is really cheap ($1 short sleeve t-shirts, $5 long-sleeve t-shirts and overalls). I went outside with them to meet their guide and our host. He let me know their plans, asked if I needed anything, and told me about when they would be back. I hugged and kissed the family and made my way back to the warm house.
I was looking forward to the quiet time alone, a luxury I don't have very often - but I don't wish for it very often either. I washed the dishes, vacuumed the floors and then got myself ready for the day. I crocheted a bit while sitting at the kitchen table. I looked out the kitchen window as I reached for the coffee pot to pour me the last cup of the decaf chocolate velvet coffee. It had such a wonderfully aromatic chocolatey perfume, I just knew it would entice the deer to the deer blinds in which my family each had a large cup of the dark, sweet smelling liquid with them.
As I looked out the window, I saw a buck ... oh, and a doe, and another, until I counted twelve deer in all. I hurriedly tiptoed to the camcorder and got it out of the case. I received a text message from dh, saying they hadn't seen any deer yet. I got the camcorder going and filmed them through the window. I replied to dh's text saying I just shot 12 deer... with my camera. In good humor he sent back one, telling me good, I should have them all cleaned by the time they got back. I decided to get a little braver and I stepped out onto a porch that I wish I had been able to spend more time there. I tiptoed closer, being careful not to bump into the wooden porch swing. In the quietness of the morning, I could hear two young bucks fighting. I heard the antlers crashing together and the crunch of the branches breaking around them. I tried to get a clear picture of them but they were in a thicket and it was too dense to get clear pictures of them. It was a moment of awe, standing outside without my coat on in freezing weather and not even noticing because I was watching nature. The deer were grazing, the big buck looked up at me and saw I meant no harm so he went back to eating the corn. Then I heard an odd sound behind me, kind of curious and kind of afraid, I contemplated just going around to the other side of the house to the other door so I wouldn't have to see what kind of animal was behind me. Instead, I let curiosity get the best of me, I turned around to find a big ole fluffly cat pawing at the screen door trying to get in. It's not that I'm a scaredy-cat, but I had been warned that illegals coming up from Mexico cross through there. In my defense, we were out in the middle of nowhere with no tv, radio or cell phone signal (although text messages usually went through).
I went back in the warm house and decided I didn't want to crochet anymore. (I just taught myself how to crochet last Tuesday.) I looked through the lastest Organic Gardening magazine. I was amazed that I was able to read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Every so often I would want to turn on something for noise, but there were no noise makers there. Solitude. It was soothing, healing and peaceful. I decided I would lie down for a bit and maybe get in a quick nap before everyone got back and the excitement began. Before I fell asleep, I thought I should take my blood sugar reading (pre-diabetes). My family came in wondering where I was, then when Little Miss Muffet saw what I was doing, she asked if I was feeling okay. When I told her it was just a routine check, she sighed with relief and said, "Okay, good! Guess what I just did?! I got to drive!" This is a post for a later time.
Little Boy Blue shot a buck, 7 points! We walked over, cameras in tow and the learning process began. Our host was wonderful and was a great teacher. He showed and explained everything they needed to know about cleaning and skinning the deer. The 110 lb. buck was cleaned, skinned and quartered in about 20 minutes. The kiddos really enjoyed hearing the story of the first time their dad and uncle had to do that. It took them three hours, it would of taken longer if the host hadn't of taken pity on them and told them how to do everything.
I took the learning process a little further and turned it into a Biology lesson. Caution: Queasy stomachs may want to jump to the next paragraph. We looked at the brain in wonderment -- that those little squiggles and pockets of fat with interwoven blood vessels are what holds the deer's thought processes, tells it to run, jump, eat, etc. We cut a cross section and studied it. Dh and the host both took a step back during this. We looked at it's teeth, saw the bristles type growths inside the gum and then looked at the eyes. I've always heard how cow's eyes were easy to disect. We saved the deer's eye to disect a little later.
We were taken on a tour of the ranch, saw breath-taking views and had lots of fun. Our host made a hearty venison stew for lunch. I actually went on the next outing to hunt. I loved the deer blind, it was the pickup. We dropped Little Boy Blue and Dear husband off at their deer blind and then we went and checked on a waterer for some of the livestock on the ranch. The host got out of the pickup and told Little Miss Muffet that it was her turn to drive. She was careful and really concentrated hard on her task at hand, so hard that she didn't hear her instructions to turn. It was funny, anyway she got to go in reverse and did finally make her turn. Don't you just love those private country back roads, that's where so many have learned to drive. Anyway, she parked on top of the mountain and we waited. We waited first for the feeder to go off then we waited for the deer to come. Out of nowhere it seemed, a doe appeared. She stared at us for quite a while. Little Miss Muffet waited. The host asked if she knew where to aim, she indicated that she did. She waited and was patient. The doe walked behind the feeder and disappered from view, but LMM was patient. Then the doe turned and gave her the view she needed. She acted like a pro through the whole thing. Our host thought she had hunted before, but no this was her first deer hunt. We waited a few minutes. The doe hadn't even taken a step, which was good. Our host gutted it for us and the Biology lesson continued. I had Little Miss Muffet name all the organs. The deer's stomach was full and LMM was curious to the contents (thanks, CSI). She cut it open and it was full of grasses. This was impressive to her. We picked up Dh and Little Boy Blue, who had just gotten a spike. Wow, looks like the freezer's going to be full.
We returned back to the farmhouse and had a few minutes before we joined our host for supper. I had brought some baby leaf lettuces, I peeled some mandarin oranges and put in to make the salad. I had also brought some honey mustard salad dressing. It made a nice accompaniment to the steaks, mashed potatoes and black-eyed peas our host fixed for us. We enjoyed sitting out by the fire while the steaks cooked on the grill, laughing about events of the day, laughed at stories from past trips that the host shared with us. No one had a problem going to sleep that night. We all had full tummies and were tired from all of the events of the day.
To be continued....
Two years ago, my husband, his dad, and brother began a new family tradition by going deer hunting at a friend's ranch a couple of hours away. They always had lots of fun and came back with full tummies, full ice chests, and full of stories. It was a nice male-bonding time for the guys.
This year (actually I should say this season) it all got changed up a bit as dear husband was out of the country. We were surprised with an opportunity for dh to get his annual hunting trip in, just a few months later and without his usual hunting buddies. The children and I were invited.
Little Miss Muffet and Little Boy Blue were so excited to have this opportunity to go deer hunting with dad. I, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. We loaded up and traveled Friday evening until we got there after sunset. We were welcomed by the bright moonlight, a few random cats and by the cutest farmhouse with all it's lights on that shone like beacon. The little farmhouse was surrounded by a fence with gates on three sides.
We walked in the door and the first thing you saw was a sign that read, "Welcome To The Ranch." With the space heaters and the lights on in each room, it was welcoming and inviting. It was a little like bed and breakfast meets deer camp. The living room was filled with two old rustic army style twin beds with metal frames. The first bedroom had two four-poster antique cherry wood twin beds, along with matching dresser and nightstand. The second bedroom was well equipped with a full size bed and two twin beds, an antique armiore and chest. The bathroom was very modern with fluffy slippers and robes and big white fluffy towels. There was also a kitchen equipped with just the right amount of pans. I checked out the kitchen quickly, aquainted myself with the contents, unloaded the refrigerated items into the fridge and everyone settled into bed, all before 9 pm.
We all tried to go right to sleep, knowing 5:30 was going to come early. As we waited to fall asleep, I heard an odd noise, dear husband heard it too. We listened carefully and he decided it was a turkey. I wanted to see this wild animal that was making this noise and tiptoed through the house, as not to wake the kiddos, and that is when I heard the noise coming from inside the house. The wild turkey ended up being the hot water heater. So much for the wild animals.
We all jumped up when the alarm rang at 5:30 with anticipation of the days events. I made scrambled eggs, sausage, chocolate covered donut-holes for dh and gluten-free, corn-free maple glazed donuts for the rest of us, and a plethora of fresh fruit to choose from. The three of them gobbled up their breakfast and raced out the door decked out in their new camo duds. One great thing about hunting so late in the season is camo is really cheap ($1 short sleeve t-shirts, $5 long-sleeve t-shirts and overalls). I went outside with them to meet their guide and our host. He let me know their plans, asked if I needed anything, and told me about when they would be back. I hugged and kissed the family and made my way back to the warm house.
I was looking forward to the quiet time alone, a luxury I don't have very often - but I don't wish for it very often either. I washed the dishes, vacuumed the floors and then got myself ready for the day. I crocheted a bit while sitting at the kitchen table. I looked out the kitchen window as I reached for the coffee pot to pour me the last cup of the decaf chocolate velvet coffee. It had such a wonderfully aromatic chocolatey perfume, I just knew it would entice the deer to the deer blinds in which my family each had a large cup of the dark, sweet smelling liquid with them.
As I looked out the window, I saw a buck ... oh, and a doe, and another, until I counted twelve deer in all. I hurriedly tiptoed to the camcorder and got it out of the case. I received a text message from dh, saying they hadn't seen any deer yet. I got the camcorder going and filmed them through the window. I replied to dh's text saying I just shot 12 deer... with my camera. In good humor he sent back one, telling me good, I should have them all cleaned by the time they got back. I decided to get a little braver and I stepped out onto a porch that I wish I had been able to spend more time there. I tiptoed closer, being careful not to bump into the wooden porch swing. In the quietness of the morning, I could hear two young bucks fighting. I heard the antlers crashing together and the crunch of the branches breaking around them. I tried to get a clear picture of them but they were in a thicket and it was too dense to get clear pictures of them. It was a moment of awe, standing outside without my coat on in freezing weather and not even noticing because I was watching nature. The deer were grazing, the big buck looked up at me and saw I meant no harm so he went back to eating the corn. Then I heard an odd sound behind me, kind of curious and kind of afraid, I contemplated just going around to the other side of the house to the other door so I wouldn't have to see what kind of animal was behind me. Instead, I let curiosity get the best of me, I turned around to find a big ole fluffly cat pawing at the screen door trying to get in. It's not that I'm a scaredy-cat, but I had been warned that illegals coming up from Mexico cross through there. In my defense, we were out in the middle of nowhere with no tv, radio or cell phone signal (although text messages usually went through).
I went back in the warm house and decided I didn't want to crochet anymore. (I just taught myself how to crochet last Tuesday.) I looked through the lastest Organic Gardening magazine. I was amazed that I was able to read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Every so often I would want to turn on something for noise, but there were no noise makers there. Solitude. It was soothing, healing and peaceful. I decided I would lie down for a bit and maybe get in a quick nap before everyone got back and the excitement began. Before I fell asleep, I thought I should take my blood sugar reading (pre-diabetes). My family came in wondering where I was, then when Little Miss Muffet saw what I was doing, she asked if I was feeling okay. When I told her it was just a routine check, she sighed with relief and said, "Okay, good! Guess what I just did?! I got to drive!" This is a post for a later time.
Little Boy Blue shot a buck, 7 points! We walked over, cameras in tow and the learning process began. Our host was wonderful and was a great teacher. He showed and explained everything they needed to know about cleaning and skinning the deer. The 110 lb. buck was cleaned, skinned and quartered in about 20 minutes. The kiddos really enjoyed hearing the story of the first time their dad and uncle had to do that. It took them three hours, it would of taken longer if the host hadn't of taken pity on them and told them how to do everything.
I took the learning process a little further and turned it into a Biology lesson. Caution: Queasy stomachs may want to jump to the next paragraph. We looked at the brain in wonderment -- that those little squiggles and pockets of fat with interwoven blood vessels are what holds the deer's thought processes, tells it to run, jump, eat, etc. We cut a cross section and studied it. Dh and the host both took a step back during this. We looked at it's teeth, saw the bristles type growths inside the gum and then looked at the eyes. I've always heard how cow's eyes were easy to disect. We saved the deer's eye to disect a little later.
We were taken on a tour of the ranch, saw breath-taking views and had lots of fun. Our host made a hearty venison stew for lunch. I actually went on the next outing to hunt. I loved the deer blind, it was the pickup. We dropped Little Boy Blue and Dear husband off at their deer blind and then we went and checked on a waterer for some of the livestock on the ranch. The host got out of the pickup and told Little Miss Muffet that it was her turn to drive. She was careful and really concentrated hard on her task at hand, so hard that she didn't hear her instructions to turn. It was funny, anyway she got to go in reverse and did finally make her turn. Don't you just love those private country back roads, that's where so many have learned to drive. Anyway, she parked on top of the mountain and we waited. We waited first for the feeder to go off then we waited for the deer to come. Out of nowhere it seemed, a doe appeared. She stared at us for quite a while. Little Miss Muffet waited. The host asked if she knew where to aim, she indicated that she did. She waited and was patient. The doe walked behind the feeder and disappered from view, but LMM was patient. Then the doe turned and gave her the view she needed. She acted like a pro through the whole thing. Our host thought she had hunted before, but no this was her first deer hunt. We waited a few minutes. The doe hadn't even taken a step, which was good. Our host gutted it for us and the Biology lesson continued. I had Little Miss Muffet name all the organs. The deer's stomach was full and LMM was curious to the contents (thanks, CSI). She cut it open and it was full of grasses. This was impressive to her. We picked up Dh and Little Boy Blue, who had just gotten a spike. Wow, looks like the freezer's going to be full.
We returned back to the farmhouse and had a few minutes before we joined our host for supper. I had brought some baby leaf lettuces, I peeled some mandarin oranges and put in to make the salad. I had also brought some honey mustard salad dressing. It made a nice accompaniment to the steaks, mashed potatoes and black-eyed peas our host fixed for us. We enjoyed sitting out by the fire while the steaks cooked on the grill, laughing about events of the day, laughed at stories from past trips that the host shared with us. No one had a problem going to sleep that night. We all had full tummies and were tired from all of the events of the day.
To be continued....
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