Sometimes it snows in April…

…but, geez, this is a little much.  Prince, who happens to be a big deal here in Minneapolis (for good reason), wrote a beautiful song entitled, Sometimes it snows in April.  This has become our mantra recently, though the song has nothing to do with snow or weather.  Har!

Welcome to my reality:

This is depressing.  Not warm enough today for any of it to melt, and more sleet/snow forecast for tomorrow night!  Instead of crying, I decided to roll with the punches and enjoy being inside.  So I made quiche!

Asparagus Spinach Quiche (made with mostly almond milk and a little bit of whole cow’s milk, and goat cheese); the crust is a pre-made gluten free pie crust.  One of the tastiest quiches I’ve made so far!

Despite the warming powers of the quiche, my mind is still firmly set on Portland and a more temperate climate!  Check out the difference, while not great, it’s a least preferable.

 

 

 

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Trust your instincts…

Man, I was starving after my second class this morning.  I ran us through Salutation G, this morning.  I love that one, but it mixed with other flows left me so hungry afterwards.

And I had the most incredible craving for pancakes.  Well, I think the cravings were induced by a story I heard on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday this morning about a Russian Pancake Festival taking place this weekend.  It’s so funny that all the brain needs is a little hint to bring about a full-scale craving.  So, I set about looking for a (hopefully) yummy grain-free pancake recipe.

I decided to make coconut flour pancakes.  The recipe I picked looked and sounded good.  Heck, even the pancakes looked good, see…

Buuuuuuut, the recipe called for way too much salt.  Hence the title of this post…every fiber in me said, “This is tooooooo much salt” but I wanted to respect the recipe as is.  Crap.  They are too salty for pancakes.  They’re not salt bricks but the salt is noticeable.  Also, the texture was, hmmmm, how to explain?  Not dry, they are moist…but a bit crumbly.  I’m used to the doughy, slightly stick texture that I suppose is the domain of wheat flour.  I’m not going to give up though.  I gotta find a good recipe!  Anybody got a good grain-free pancake recipe?

(On the side, egg white and turkey sausage.  Before I went wheat-free, I bought a box of Special K Flatbread Breakfast Sandwiches.  Not wanting them to go to waste, I just have the sandwich sans the flatbread.)

Cookery: new word for the week…

So I have been hooked on Gordon Ramsey’s Ultimate Cookery Course on BBC America.  I have already made two recipes from the show and both turned out beautifully.

I happen to love Gordon, save some of his interesting quirks…like have you ever noticed that in the opening credits of almost every show he has he’s taking off his shirt?    Anyway, I know a lot of people who don’t at all like Gordon’s reality shows but appreciate his cooking shows.  Say what you will, at the end of the day, the man is an awesome chef (with the Michelin stars to prove it!).

Last’s night recipe, Mushroom and Leek Pasta.  I used brown rice pasta, of course, given that I’m now wheat free.  The pasta was great!  I used this brand, Tinkyada, and was thoroughly impressed.  Here’s a pic:

I served this with “garlic bread” I made from my first foray into gluten-free bread making with a bread machine.  Here’s how the first loaf ended up looking at the end:

It was pretty sad…but the bread ended up being edible and not too terrible.  I think it was shot from how much my hands were in the dough.  I took the paddle out too soon last time and had to plunge my fingers into sticky dough trying to put the paddle back on.  Word to the wise: read the booklet for the machine before you dive into using it!  Duh!

Got my second ever bread in the machine now…

Fingers crossed!

Long time, no see…

Boy, it’s been a little while since my last post.

Well, despite not posting, I HAVE been taking pics!

This day is one to mark on the calendars.  I have all day off!  This is a big deal because I have worked almost every Saturday morning for the past year:

10:30 am/Private lesson, with two therapist colleagues

12:00pm/Client at my office

It tends to break up my day, especially if I decide to run errands afterwards.  This actually wouldn’t be that bad if I didn’t also work on Sunday mornings.  Each Sunday morning, with few exceptions, for the past seven and a half years, I have taught yoga at 8am.  A couple of years ago, I added another class at 10am at a different, sister location, on my way home.

This sort of schedule makes lazy weekend mornings in bed, with some cuddly lover impossible.  No wonder I’m single!

Breakfast and juicing this morning, as I contemplate what to do with this day…

Steel cut oats and quinoa, with a splash of almond milk, maple syrup, a mixture of toasted nuts (pecans, almonds, hazelnuts) and a sprinkling of hemp seeds!

I, again, juiced my veg separately and then cubed them to add to my morning juices:

My freezer is taking on a whole new look, and I like it:

Baking the blogs!

So I have also been craving treats since I have given up wheat.  Most recipes for baked goods have been good.  These cookies, however, were great!! Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!

The recipe is courtesy of The Urban Poser, another awesome food (and YOGA) blog for y’all to check out!  You must try these!

Three ingredients or less is healthy, right?

I wish that were true about last night’s dessert.  It has only three ingredients: lemon, heavy cream, and sugar.  What a great combo.

I made Lemon Posset, last night and it is heavenly!

I had this with a gluten-free shortbread cookie from the Wedge Co-op.  Yum!  I’ll have to find a good gluten-free shortbread cookie recipe now.  I’m envisioning a lemon tart.

For dinner last night, I made a spinach salad with a great Maple Mustard Dressing from the Wedge, and made lemon pepper tofu to top!  It turned out great!

Aaron came over and hung out last night.  He gobbled his salad up quickly.  I sent him home with about half my freezer.  All those yummy gluten filled treats that had been staring back at me every time I opened the freezer door.  Rather than being tempted, or mocked depending on my mood, I decided to give them away.  It’s good food and he can use it so I feel good about it.  Now I have room to store all those darn gluten-free flours I’ve been accumulating.

Lemon muffins

More gluten-free baking!

This time I made Lemon Poppyseed Muffins, courtesy of Elena’s Pantry:

Now, watching the Chopped Champions Finale! These guys are killing it. Can’t wait to see who wins. My money is on Vincent!

Paleo Bread!

OMG.  I made my first Paleo bread today!

It’s so freakin’ good!  And it didn’t even turn out exactly as it should.  Thank goodness there are suggestions on Elena’s site that I ca try next time.

Regardless, this is one yummy bread.  Gluten-free, paleo-friendly, and really nutritionally packed!  You gotta try this recipe:

I cheated a bit.  It’s the last day of the elimination-challenge.  But I had a smear of butter on this bread, along with some blueberry preserves!

No sophomore slump here!

Of course, because I am eliminating certain foods at the moment I am craving meals with those very ingredients.  So I challenged myself to make another quiche.  I call it an alterna-quiche.  It took some work to find a good crust recipe.  The hilarious bit is that I had never made a crust before my first alterna-crust made a couple weeks ago.  This crust turned out nicely as did the first.  My issue is that I need to learn how to roll dough.  I sort of suck at it.  This crust is a delicate thing and I fear that I am manhandling it!

The second time around gave me a chance to tweak some ingredients.  Last time, my filling was asparagus, goat cheese, and hemp milk.  It was good but the hemp milk, when cooked, took on a weird greenish-brown.  This time I used almond milk, which really made all the difference; it was a great base along with eggs.  I also used butternut squash and herbed goat cheese.  Goat cheese, btw, is allowed on the Elimination-Challenge diet, and I’m taking full advantage of that.

Oh, and I asked AJ to bring over bacon, to accompany the quiche.  Only as he can, he managed to buy something called English bacon which was remarkably like Canadian bacon.  It was okay but did not quite whet my taste for the crispy bacon I dreamed about as he made his way over from the store.  Ah, AJ wouldn’t be AJ without doing something just a little mindless.  And I love him just the same.

Cheese day success?

So I finished “cheese day” from the Elimination-Challenge diet today.  All in all a good day; well, except my sciatic nerve is acting up and I have been reduced to walking around like a hundred year old woman and grunting every time I move.  I know that they say to note everything that happens on the day you challenge and not assume any symptoms aren’t related to this.  Ugh, can my beloved cheese really trigger a nasty bout of sciatica?  Say it ain’t so.  Just look at that beautiful cheese (in the pics below).

Dinner :