Invitation to Plug Your Fave Book/Website

Between dealing with a home remodel project under the supervision of the world's slowest contractor, my growing dissatisfaction with Reiss' progress (yes, I DO indeed recognize this is not his fault!), and everything else going on, I am getting more and more frustrated with eating a gluten-free, casein-free diet and not being able to get a break from cooking and dishes. I'm tired of the same old fare I seem to be rotating in an organized fashion.

So with all that said, please share (in the comments section) your favorite book or website that caters to gluten-free - and casein-free, if possible! - recipes and cooking.

And I hate to have to give this little disclaimer but there are the few who ruin it for the many: Any website postings meant to be advertisements for any products or services unrelated to gluten-free dieting will be deleted.

Post away, people!!! Pleeeeeaaaaasssee, post away!

Boogers, Bottles, and Breakfast

Just a random photo of Reiss looking at the camera when the lens shot. He's a tough nut to crack. Sometimes he loves getting the camera out and taking pictures. Other times it's like pulling teeth to get him to look at the camera for a photo.


The above was the scene of the following conversation between Reiss and myself:
Reiss: Is that a burger?
Me: I don't know. Is what a booger?
Reiss: (pointing at the wall where this photo was taken) That!
Me: (Sigh) Yes, Reiss. That's a booger.

I still don't know who the guilty party was. I'm pretty certain it wasn't my husband because the booger was (eeeuuuwww) fresh when I wiped it off the wall and James had been at work for a few hours. I know for certain I didn't do it so that only leaves two monkeys as the possibilities. And since Reiss was the one asking, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it was Milla.

At any rate, yuck! But oh, the joys of parenting. Somehow, these were not the kinds of things I envisioned B.C. (before children) whenever I sat daydreaming of being a mommy and chasing around a houseful of toddlers.


No, this is not the result of a drinking binge and a late night craving for...onions and potatoes??? No, this is what happens when one has a cordless phone that is a piece of c!@& and the battery constantly goes dead, regardless of how much you leave the handset on the charger.

The phone rang this morning and I had to pick up the call on the kitchen phone attached to the wall (yes, they still make those - believe it or not!) because the cordless phone's battery had gone dead earlier in the morning from a previous call. As I was on the phone giving out my insurance information and everything but my blood type to a compounding pharmacy that receives way too much business from us, Milla decided to empty out the cabinet where I keep the potatoes, onions, and garlic bulbs.....and well, a bunch of liquor bottles.

Honestly, I don't know why that stuff is even still in there. I can't tell you how old it is or how long ago anyone dispensed anything from a single bottle in there. My husband and I are way past our wild years. The strongest thing my husband ever drinks is orange juice and....just orange juice. He has never been one to indulge in "spirits." The strongest thing I drink anymore is a beer now and then - and only one beer.

Okay, maybe I go in phases where every day is what constitutes "now and then" but really, it's only one beer and I do only drink it for the taste. Years ago, I lived in Germany and now consider myself somewhat of a beer connoisseur. I like to try different brands and types of beer. They are almost always dark and they are always bottled. The thought of canned beer conjures up visions of bare-bellied Nascar fans hooting and hollering away their afternoon in the in-field at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and frankly, makes my stomach turn just thinking about it.

I am currently in one of those every day "now and then" phases but that will come to a halt in about a week and half when the fridge is empty of all bottles. I love my dark beer but it loves me too much and is preventing me from losing weight more quickly.


Anyhoo, here is the guilty party to the pantry raiding incident. She doesn't do a very good, "Who? ME? Are you kidding???" look. Sorry, Milla....you're GUILTY, as charged!


This has been my breakfast the last two mornings in a row. It's three eggs scrambled with cut up sun-dried tomatoes and baby spinach leaves.

Several years ago, I worked at a small mom~n~pop restaurant that was actually a friend~n~friend business. It was a small cafe called The Lonesome Pine Cafe and was owned by two ladies a few years my senior. It was probably one of the worst-paying jobs I ever had but what I got out of it was so much more valuable than money. I worked with and for people who became good friends. I gained experience in cooking some darn good soups and other recipes, and although I did quit partially because I got burned out on it, I can honestly say it was one of the best jobs I ever had.

It was at The Lonesome Pine Cafe, which was named such because of its somewhat out of place and rather large single pine tree growing in front of the building housing the cafe which was located on a busy city street, that I learned to make quiche. My friends, the owners, used a very basic recipe as a basis for different types of quiche. It's a very simple combination of ingredients and I have it memorized to this day (more about that in a minute). One type of quiche we used to serve was Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato. This was my favorite and I've been craving it quite a lot lately. I contemplated getting all the ingredients for it but doing so would be breaking rules for our gluten-free, casein-free way of eating these days.

Instead of breaking any GFCF rules and for the sake of keeping my own weight-loss plan intact, I decided to opt for just the main flavors I had been craving and went with the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Below you will find the recipe for the real deal of what we served to customers.

Spinach Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche
5 eggs
1 2/3 cup half~n~half
sun-dried tomatoes
baby spinach leaves
swiss cheese shreds
1 pie shell

Combine the eggs and half~n~half, whisking until well blended. By eye-measurements alone, add in the tomatoes, spinach, and swiss cheese. Whisk and pour into the pie shell and bake at 350 until just set.



The eggs and the half~n~half are the same measurements we used for all the different combinations of quiches served at The Lonesome Pine Cafe. It is very versatile and I've never used this recipe with any type of ingredients that didn't work well in it. If you have a grandma who can make your pie shells by hand, like we did at the cafe (this was the sole restaurant-related task one of the owners' mothers), all the better. If you want to try this recipe and are eating a low-carb diet, just eliminate the pie shell - the filling is just as good on its own.

By the way, I am not sharing proprietary recipe secrets here - I would never have given out this recipe years ago. Unfortunately, The Lonesome Pine Cafe - to the dismay of a good size following of customers - went out of business about three years ago. Sadly, the owners could not keep up with the competition and keep their prices competitive unless they switched to a much lesser quality line of ingredients. Guess people just preferred going elsewhere and eating frozen pre-made stuff sold at nearby franchises, rather than eat "from scratch" dishes made with excellent quality fresh ingredients, a grandmother's touch, and a lot of love.

Thankful for Three Things Thursday

It's "Thankful for Three Things Thursday!!!"

I am really glad I decided a few weeks ago to do a post such as this one every week. It has really made me reflect on things and how fortunate my family and I are in this world. Each week around Tuesday I find myself pondering the things around me that have made me happy or my life easier in some way.

This week, I am very thankful for.....

1) All the people who help us in some way to improve the quality of life for Reiss. Reiss only has mild to moderate autism and that, in itself, is something to be thankful for because things could be much worse (but just don't tell me how "easy" I've got it or you will face a wrath like you've never seen!). But I am very thankful for his preschool teachers and the teachers in his Parent's Day Out program. His preschool teachers are fairly used to being around children with autism but the teachers in his PDO program have gone out of their way to accomodate for keeping Reiss in the program and also learning about autism themselves.

2) My weight loss. Yes, I know I was thankful for this last week too but it continues and this week I was able to squeeze (barely!) myself into a favorite pair of jeans that haven't fit for more than two years.

3) Little potty-training successes. After nearly three weeks into potty-training Reiss, we are finally beginning to see some real progress. Using a reward system in the past has not been very effective for us but it has this time. Reiss really wants those few teeny-tiny chocolate chips. We are convinced he is even beginning to drink more just to go pee.

Low-Carb Fiber "Fudge"

Since going back to eating lower carbohydrate foods a few weeks ago, I have gotten a little sweet tooth that needs to be satisfied. In order to stay on track and keep the weight falling off, I came up with a recipe (and I use that word very loosely since I do not measure any of the ingredients) for a concoction that closely resembles fudge. It is lower-carb, high-protein, and full of fiber. Depending on any additions you choose, this could be made to include not only a ton of fiber, but Omegas from here to Utah! No matter how you go about making it, it is sooo good for you!

Although I do occasionally throw in some of the optional additions, the "recipe" is how I have been making this most often. All measurements are approximations, as I just eyeball everything as I assemble it. Double, triple or multiply this as needed - the following will make enough to last about two days with only myself eating it by the spoonful here and there throughout the day. Do NOT be scared of the chocolate chips!!!

Low-Carb Fiber "Fudge"
2 T. nut butter - I use Maranatha Macadamia Butter
1-2 T. Enjoy Life GFCF chocolate chips
1 T. coconut milk
3 T. natural unsulfured coconut flakes

Optional additions:
flax seeds
sunflower seeds
nuts
raw cacao nibs (at 9 fiber grams per 1oz-serving, these are almost pure fiber)

Melt the nut butter, chocolate chips, and coconut milk in the microwave on 10-15 second intervals, stirring in between intervals. Heat only until melted or the chocolate will get gritty. Add coconut and chill until firm. If you're really "jonesin'" for a sweetie-treat, put it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

Yes, this recipe does have chocolate chips in it and generally, chocolate chips are not low-carb. However, because we eat gluten-free and casein-free as well, we always have Enjoy Life brand chips in the house and although they are only minimally lower-carb than traditional chocolate chips, they do not contain the higher glycemic index sugars. They are made up of literally only three ingredients: evaporated cane juice, chocolate liquor, non-dairy cocoa butter. That's a far cry from all the ingredients - some I can't even pronounce - in traditional chocolate chips.

There are endless possibilities with this recipe. You could switch up the nut butter to peanut butter and make it a peanut butter "fudge." Personally, I love the subtle flavor and silky texture of the macadamia butter. It's a perfect complement to the coconut and coconut milk.

In case you're wondering, yes, I can eat this delectable treat and still lose weight.

Thankful for Three Things Thursday

Say that three times fast! LOL

I've been feeling a bit blah lately and some might even say 'feeling sorry for myself,' so on that note, I am going to start doing a new thing on Thursday of each week: Thankful for Three Things Thursday. And when I have time to look around online, I may even try to find someone to make me a "Thankful for Three Things Thursday" button to put on here. For today, right now I am thankful for.....

1) My husband having a job that pays fairly decently well. We are not rich. We are not poor. We are somewhere in the middle. Some days that is a good thing, some days it is bad. On days when we get some kind of medical bill in the mail that is for an amount that most people would consider enough for a down payment on a car (or in some cases, the entire car!), it is bad. And yes, I mean after the insurance has paid its share. It's those days that I am reminded that rich people can afford those kinds of medical bills, poor people get taxpayers to pay for them, and those of us in the middle are just screwed. I was once again reminded of this while chatting online with my friend, Michelle, who also has a child with autism. We were discussing supplements for our children and she mentioned how no one seems to tell you that if you are going to have an autistic child you need to be sure to get a money tree in your backyard as well.

If it sounds like I am not thankful, don't be fooled. I am very thankful for my husband and the support he is able to provide. Way too often I hear about families who were at one time financially middle class who are now bankrupt because of their autistic child(ren)'s medical bills, which by the way, very often are not covered by insurance. Seriously, there is something wrong with healthcare when a person can smoke three packs of cigarettes per day and get cancer and insurance will help out.......A person can knowingly and purposely go into a pregnancy without financial means to support the child (or eight of them!!! or fourteen!!!) and taxpayers will take care of the child(ren)....but heaven forbid that a family with the financial means to provide a child with a decent upbringing have a child with autism because insurance doesn't recognize many of the proven forms of therapy.

2) I am thankful that I have had the willpower to not stuff my face today. Of course, it's only 10AM right now but that's a start, right? Really though, I do need to eat something because, while it's nice that I have not overeaten, I have not eaten at all....and that's not a good thing either. Maybe I will heat up some of the leftover chicken curry before going to get Reiss from preschool.

I have my husband a little worried that he's not going to get treated to homemade muffins and other goodies here pretty soon. We've been eating really good here lately but now I'm thinking about getting back to low-carbing. And by "good" I mean we have been sticking with the GFCF diet for Reiss (all for one and one for all, right?) but I have also made chocolate chip zucchini muffins and other yummy things....just made a little differently than traditional so that they still qualify as gluten-free, casein-free. Well, now I'm thinking I may want to add low-carb into the mix as well so that I can get some of these extra pounds off again since having Milla. Christine over at "Smiles & Trials" has me a bit motivated.

3) I am thankful for the wonderful view out my back window. We have a modest ranch home with a basement that needs some serious updating from the previous owners' (lack of) taste in interior design. Modest as it is and as out-of-date as some rooms may be, it has a view that many people living in million dollar homes would die to have. We have a nice size yard that rolls down to a small creek. All along our backyard is lined with trees and a thick wooded area, in which at least one of every known critter existing in the Midwest seems to live. We have seen all sorts of birds, possum, fox, deer, coyote, beaver, raccoons, hawks, eagles, cranes, and so many others. You cannot get this kind of view just anywhere. And the best thing is, even with this great landscape in our backyard, the mall is literally only three minutes away from our house. Not that I go there very often....well, to walk when it's too cold to do so outside. And when Gymboree is having Gymbucks earning or redemption going on. Or when I want an Auntie Anne's pretzel. Okay, okay, I admit it - I'm there about once per week or more but really, most of the time it's just to go walking and then I let the kids play in the play area and then we leave. REALLY!