My collection of tales, recipes, and adventures as I create and eat various foods in my wide array (and often changing) of specific diets

Monday, March 26, 2012

I have been super duper busy

I hope you all understand since this is a college blog.  I've got a new cooking partner who has given me lots of new ideas and recipes.  I've been dealing with adding more fat into my diet (coconut oils, butter, animal fats) and it's been interesting.  I promise I have lots of pictures to upload and post when I can catch a break!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Problems (TMI on digestive symptoms)

As most of you know, Crohn's is all about the digestive system.  And all the lovely things that come with it.

After my year of high dose Prednisone, (60mg for over 3 months) I went from more than 10 BM's a day to less than 3 a week.  So I bought some enema kits lately because I just hate waiting on miralax.  And then I had a bad weekend.  Alcohol (pear cider, wine), gluten in the form of pancakes and muffins, anxiety from new medication, nausea and fatigue from new meds.  My digestion is just a mess.  And now I'm getting headaches.

I made the mistake of buying commercial cereal (rice chex) and that has been my "binge" food (I struggle with some disordered eating coping skills) and my main food lately which is probably not a good idea.  I was going to make rice and lamb in acorn squash tonight but I'm just not hungry.  So tea and a hot bath and early to bed is the plan for tonight.

I did however, make tuna salad for lunch with homemade yogurt and it was just like using ranch dressing.  And my lacto-fermented cucumbers are coming along nicely :) which I am excited about because I loooove pickles.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Pickles!

I've got cucumber and cucumber with carrots lacto-fermenting with grape leaves. and salt and dried dill.  I'd like to get some whole peppercorns for my next batch. and some garlic.

Busy Busy Busy

So I've been busy making lots of yummy foods and learning all I can about natural foods, Weston A Price, GAPS and lacto-fermenting foods.  
So I made something delicious out of leftover beans.  I made a whole crockpot of white beans and didn't really eat any for a few days.  So I had a lot of leftovers.  I looked online to see what I could make with what I had on hand, which is not a lot.  I made bean patties!  They were so yummy, crispy on the outside soft on the inside.  I made breadcrumbs out of gluten free bread and added some spices and an egg and fried them in coconut oil and butter ( I can't handle animal fat just yet).  Add some asparagus sauteed in brown butter and coconut oil and mmmm delicious dinner

Onto making yogurt for the first time!  I used the heating pad method that Hannah had suggested way back when (healthyfamilychronicles.blogspot.com) and heated it up, let it cool, added some starter (Traderspoint creamery whole milk yogurt, local and delicious)  and then set it up overnight on a heating pad with my fashionable hat and a dish cloth.  It didn't stay at temperature overnight, but did set up.


it was a little runny for my tastes ( I like thick Greek style yogurt) but it made delicious "cheese" when I strained it for the whey.  My second batch in the crockpot was much more successfull 

I also got raw almonds for $4.99 a pound!  Usually they are twice that much per pound so I was very happy.  I soaked them for 2 days and then dry roasted them for a few hours in the oven on warm.  It seemed to help much more when I set up the fan about 5 feet away and left the oven door cracked the entire time.  They are not the same as what I'm used to buying from the store but I like them.  Crispy crunchy and nutty.  I've got them in glass bottles in the fridge to keep them fresh.

Oh I almost forgot what this was.  I made sort of Indian beef with tumeric, cumin, and other spices and boiled stew meat in it for a few hours.  I then thickened it with cornstarch (I could have put some milk in it but  I didn't think about it)  It was like an indian flavored beef stroganoff.  With gluten free noodles it was pretty good!

A few days ago I had salmon with soaked quinoa and a big helping of red wine vinegar kale (my favorite!)  I fried the salmon in coconut oil and butter and it was fantastic

This was a recipe suggested by a friend who is a chef out in California.  Apparently there is an enzyme in ginger that makes milk kind of "seize" up and turn into custard!  So I juiced a chunk of ginger and mixed it in with milk and cinnamon/nutmeg and cooked it in the oven until jiggly (I could have probably cooked it a little longer) and then put it in the fridge to set.  I don't have custard ramekins so I used a muffin tin and liners.  They were kind of watery, but I combined them into a tupperware and mixed it together and its really good.  It almost takes like chocolate actually in a weird way.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

It's been a few days I apologize

It's been a few days, I haven't been feeling well.  My meds got adjusted and it was Cimzea and Methotrexate weekend so I've been kind of crummy.  I made a successful batch of crock pot yogurt (http://inthekeyoflife.typepad.com/in_the_key_of_life/homemade-crockpot-yogurt.html) and it was much creamier than my first batch with the heating pad.  I also have some dilly carrots fermenting in the pantry and they are almost to the tartness that I want, and I'm excited for them.  I got some lamb shanks with the bone in from the grocery store and I can't wait to make stock from them.  I also got plenty of coconut oil and lots of veggies.  It's been warm and I'm excited for spring and the farmers markets!  I contacted my local Weston A. Price foundation and hopefully they will become a helpful resource.  Hannah from Healthyfamilychronicles.blogspot.com replied to my email and that was a highlight of the week.  I made delicious white bean patties the other day and all sorts of other things.  I will update with pictures of the past few days soon when midterm week kind of simmers down and my health comes back up to par.  Happy and healthy eatings everyone!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Puffed Millet Apple Cinnamon Peanut Butter Bars

What the heck are those things? Part experiment part "use up stuff in the pantry" bars.
 I found a recipe online for gluten free granola bars.  Well, I don't have granola.  Or puffed rice.  But  I did have puffed millet and a few packs of apple cinnamon oatmeal that I wasn't going to eat (I don't like oatmeal for some reason, probably texture) and had bought some peanut butter even though I'm not a fan of it, but I need the protein right now since I'm very tight in the budget.
So what  I did was added 1/3 cup of creamy natural peanut butter, 1/4 cup sugar in the raw, 2 tbsp of coconut oil, 1/4 cup honey and molasses (I bought the molasses and never used it, and I didn't want to use all my honey so I found a reason for the molasses!)  Added all that together and let it melt just enough to be mixed together.  In a separate bowl, I mixed 2 cups of puffed millet and 1 cup of apple cinnamon oatmeal (2 packets) with flax

Incorporate the two, wet and dry, and usually you put it in a 8x8 pan or make enough for a 13x9 pan, which ever you have.  I do not own an 8x8 pan, and did not have enough ingredients to fill my 13x9 pan, so i just pushed it all to one side, compacted it all nice and then refrigerate it for 30 min at least.  Take em out, oh make sure to grease the pan for easy release.  Take em out and cut into bars, they might fall apart but you can eat all the yummy crumbs.  Freeze half, keep half in the fridge in an open bowel in the fridge for easy access! Great alternative to granola bars, homemade and all natural

Salmon Success!

I finally figured out how to cook salmon the way I like it.
I've tried baking it, steaming it, pan frying it, marinating it, all to be disappointed.  Until the other night.  I decided I wanted salmon without marinating it.  So I just seasoned it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and pan seared it in coconut oil.  That's it!  Crispy edges, I might have overcooked it but it was the way that I liked.  I accompanied it with some Amy's gluten free frozen mac and cheese for some extra added fat (plus it's just darn good!)

Sunday, February 12, 2012

A Few Words About Tea

I love tea. I love it more than coffee sometimes (although coffee has an aroma that wins hands down).  Tea does much more for me.  It has less calories, doesn't always need sweeteners or added cream.  It makes my tummy feel better, helps me sleep, wakes me up, and unlike coffee it quenches thirst.

But lately I've been having a cup of black tea with some honey (organic wildflower honey from Bloomingfoods, hopefully will be investing in some raw for my drinks and what not and more organic for baking.  They have this giant container that you just spigot honey out of into your desired container it's awesome and much much cheaper!) and then later in the day will develop chest pains, especially when bending over.

Now I thought it was just indigestion from the Emergen-C I took the other day (the fizz does not agree with me I remembered why I stopped drinking it) but it came back the next day.  The only consistent thing I ate/drank/did was have tea and smoke 1 or 2 cigarettes.  So no more black tea in the morning.  I will try again after I commit to quitting smoking (which is tomorrow!) But for now, I will stick to green tea, maybe that will have a difference.  There are less tannin's in green tea and I don't react well to tannin's.

In other news I did a dairy run yesterday with what little money I had.  All in all this is what I bought
Oberweis ( a regional dairy servicing the Midwest portion of the US) whole fat milk, lifeway raspberry kefir, whole fat yogurt from a local farm that happens to cater to local grocery chains, natural peanut butter (the raw, organic stuff was out of my price range so I opted for the one that was just peanuts and a little salt), and cage free eggs (my choices were oraganic, or cage free and I know at least with cage free they aren't all stacked up on each other.  Once the farmers market is in full swing  I hopefully will have access to pastured eggs).

I got all that for.....$20!  I get a student discount plus an additional discount when I bring my own bags.  So I have some sources of protein and probiotics.  I plan on taking the yogurt and seperating it, and hopefully making more yogurt out of the milk, if I end up not being able to tolerate the milk.
I drank a glass last night and instantly got tummy gurgles and gas and then was in the bathroom.  But i'm not 100% sure that was from the milk because I have other things going on.  Plus I just started taking an papaya enzyme so that might have had an effect.  We shall see.  Meals of the past week soon to come!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Adventures with Leftover Chicken

First attempt; When I used to babysit in NWI i babysat 2 boys.  The younger one in particular had a multitude of food allergies.  Those foods included

1. Eggs
2. Soy
3. Tree Nuts
4. Milk
5. Sensitivity to wheat.

so feeding him was a challenge.  we ate a lot of peanut butter and honey sandwiches (their mom was also from Portland so she was accustom to a certain level of food standards that Indiana does not supply) organic sausage and lunch meats, rice milk and chex, carrots and hummus or peanut butter.  One of my favorite dishes she would make for the kids was penny (the young boy called penne noodles penny noodles) noodles with broccoli and chicken.  So easy so fast, good source of protein and calcium.  So that was the adventure on Tuesday.


Second creation; Cream of chicken with spinach mushrooms and onions.
Now, I have troubles making cream soups.  More on that later.  I used the chicken stock I made, oh about a month ago.  It didn't occur to me that chicken stock would go bad.  So I smelt it, and it had no odor whatsoever.  My theory is the layer of fat that was on it helped keep bacteria out.  Needless to say it was delicious and full of collagen and wonderful trace minerals.  Anyway making cream soups.  I always curdle the milk.  This time I attempted to temper the milk with some of the hot broth.  That worked out perfect.  I was so proud of myself, until I accidentally let the soup boil.  So I had little curdles at the top.  I called it "soup cheese" and ate it anyway.  The soup on whole was delicious.  The spinach added color and texture and the homemade chicken stock added something that you just  can't get from anything else.



Wednesday, February 1, 2012

BEST MEAL SO FAR!

If you like chicken salad, but avoid it because it's full of fat and what not then despair no more!
 Wait, thats not chicken salad! no it's homemade mashed potatoes with homemade gluten free gravy made from the pan drippings from the chicken last night and some of my left over homemade stock from the last bird I prepared.
This is Chicken Salad!  it's green yes it is.  I used avocado instead of mayo.  Same texture and same tang from lemon juice.  Add a little salt, pepper, onion powder(or chopped onions, Ican't handle them I get gassy ) and some celery and oh my gosh it's heaven if you like avocado.

Add some tortilla chips and you have the perfect lunch/dinner.

Protein for the Week

 mmmm chicken.  gosh this little guy was a hassle.  My fridge is too cold so it wasn't completely thawed.  And I bought a bird with the wax paper bag of guts in side it.  Well that was frozen inside.  So I just said "screw it" and left it in.  And then, as I was cooking, the fire alarm went off.  I thought "oh god, I set off the whole building!" turns out it was just a drill but I was so paranoid.  I finished cooking and then took the bag out.  And with it came a flood of pink juice.  So I put the bird back in for another 30 minutes.  Still I thought I saw pink when I carved off a leg.  Turns out the bird was just full of veins.
But was it dry? you might ask.  No!  I make a habit of making a compound butter (a stick of soft butter mixed with herbs and spices) and massaging the chicken and shoving butter under the skin and usually inside the cavity if the bird is thawed properly lol.  So I had that with some frozen french cut green beans and vegan butter last night it was delicious

Monday, January 30, 2012

Dinner Jan 29th

So.  Yesterday I made dinner at home. dinner included
Sliced baked potatoes (with olive oil spray and s&p)
So  I cooked the onions and mushrooms in coconut oil, then added garlic and cooked quinoa left over from breakfast

 and this was the result

 "fried quinoa" with mushrooms and onions. kinda like fried rice, but with quinoa.  more protein more chewy nutty goodness

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Welcome...?

So in my futile efforts to ignore drama on facebook, it has not been going well.  But I found out that a lot of people are interested in what I eat (how to cook it etc).  I mean I like to show people how awesome I am at cooking and all the interesting things I eat.  So, instead of getting aggravated by facebook, lost in tumblr land, or ignored on twitter, I've decided to create an entire blog dedicated just to food.  To cooking, eating, shopping, burning, making mistakes, creating, and trying new things.  Welcome to my journey.