I've bought green powder mixes before and I like them -- taste-wise. I wasn't sure my little blender could handle kale but it did grand.

• >2inch diameter gala apple (incl skin, remove pitt)
• >2inch ripe peach (incl skin, cored)
• 3bunches kale (chopped & destemmed)
• 8oz water

If you're trying this out for the first time, I suggest LESS WATER and possibly a banana (more sugar). I'm considering about adding honey to the second serving because the first was okay at first but became tedious to finish. And I like cabbage (kale tastes very "cruciferous").

 

 

You may have noticed that I'm still posting here instead of the new place. I'm working on it!

I went to the dentist recently and had an unexpectedly moving conversation. We're both natural (middle-aged) gingers. She mentioned how natural gingers are difficult to numb/ deaded/ anaesthetise -- it comes up in medical procedures, including dentistry. We kvetched on not being numb during procedures and then she mentioned another doctor she works for giving her trouble about hating gingers. He celebrates "Kick a Ginger Day" in his office -- makes a big deal out of it to antagonise her and I don't mean in a fun way.

Of course, I was horrified for her and commiserated by sharing some of the things they called me in school. One of the frequent taunts was to make like I was so monstrously ugly: "Why do you look like that? Halloween's in October" was one that still hurts.

Nowadays, being red-headed is considered sexy. Let me tell you something. I got punched for my hair color and people now say, "Where did you get it done?"

Grr. 

As a matter of a fact, I "dye" my hair BROWN. My natural hair color now is dishwater-blonde with copper highlights in the sun and WHITE (the brown vegetable-stain, no chemicals) turns them golden blonde. Ah, well. When people see me now, they remark on how youthful and healthy I look. I'm not emotionally evolved enough to say that I hope they wish they had been nicer to me! 

I'm not charging admission fees or designing websites for others...I'm going to "move" this blog to another free service. Posterous--is a treasure. I recommend it to anybody but it's meant as a "light" blogging platform. Right now, I want more "control" (sizing, editing photos, etc.). I'll retain Posterous for mobile-blogging because it's absolutely wonderful at that (more control that tumblr, more "space" than Twitter). If I ever get to a GF bakery or see something Awesomely Inspirational when I'm out and about, I can use the Posterous app for that :)

Last night, I made pancakes or what we call "flapjacks." The difference being (in my family) that flapjacks are intended to be flat, not so much "rise-y." I knew to expect low-to-no rise from gluten-free flour (I'm using Nuts.com's All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend, as it's my first foray).

Right!

I used my normal recipe (the idea was using "normal" to see where it ends up). It tastes FINE, don't get me wrong. For the last flapjack, I used four-times double-acting baking powder (I'm a Clabber Girl-girl, from daily quick-bread making on the ranch as a youngster)! That resulted in a "lacey" (bubbles so large on one side, they showed through to the other!) crepe-like effect. 

I ate them plain, as I went, to decipher any weirdness, then added Trader Joe's Cherry Preserves (about 1T per 1/2 jack), which improved the experience immensely!

I forced them upon my elderly parents as test subjects -- mum is typically supportive of creative endeavors. Daddy is ... well, he's harder to please.

Mum said they were okay, which alarmed me. I'm willing to put up with a lot of "natural-ness" and oddity of flavors and textures. For example, she won't eat squirrel brains, where I will. We live in the Ozarks, you know! The kicker was Daddy. He took a tentative bite and then took another. I thought he was making a face but it turned out he was thinking. "They taste like..." ::holding my breath for whatever comes next, which I supposed was something rough::

"...Like they're normal, like they're made with wheat flour." He then tore another piece off and wiped up any drips of preserves from the plate and ate it! Partial WIN (except they're EXTREMELY flat! -- like tortilla-flat). This may be okay. They weren't tough and they weren't weird-tasting, so that's something. Any suggestions?

Next? What I call "yeasty bread" as I don't like using yeast; I prefer quick breads. I have access to a bread machine. After reading the instructions and luckily, they had a gluten-free section with tips for GF baking and how to use the machine for it (Whole Wheat cycle). Confusingly, their "tips" conflicted with most of what I'd read on other sites about GF bread-making. I'd like to try the same recipe with less liquid (the top part wasn't done, so I had to put it in the oven and THEN I burnt the blamed thing!) and I'd like to try the "Rapid" cycle setting rather than "Whole Wheat" as most sites recommended it. I'm so disturbed by my bread fail, even though I knew it probably wouldn't be the greatest thing ever. 

Raw and burnt at the same time. Can you hear me crying? Oh, and it tastes ... "rough." I'll add more sugar, too. I love the idea of the main proportion of this all-purpose flour is bean flours (more nutrition than rice) but ... erm ... Any suggestions?

 

What's a girl to do after the above -- did you SEE IT? Buy career-improvement essentials...Yes! I paid over 153USD but I got over 850USD-worth. I love Sierra Trading Post. (As always, I've never received any payment or goods for "reviews" and opinions! -- I tells it like it is, babies!)

This weekend, I'm celebrating SuperBake!

I have in my possession a 5lb bag of pre-blended "all purpose" (hold me, I'm scared) gluten-free flour (from nuts.com). 

My ideas:

1. pancakes (easy to toss together, quick to see if it's a fail)
2. cake (there's a flourless one that interested me but the point is trying out this all-purpose stuff!)
3. muffins (have loads of dates, so probably something with that OR carob chips AND/ OR pumpkin)
4. cookies (this may end badly but I'm going to do a run of "Mike's Favorite Chocolate Chip" recipe--this is time-tested by yours truly...even my brother loves them and he doesn't like chocolate chip cookies!)
5. pizza crust, if I can find one without yeast because ... I don't like using yeast! ;p

I have a galley kitchen (small! with about 20 inches of counter) and don't have loads of implements (I have to wash as I go so I can use them again!). What I do have is an awesome food processor (hand-me-down from Christmas 1983) and an awesome KitchAid stand mixer.My stove doesn'thave full burners or a window in the door but with a good food processor and mixer? I can do it!

This one will be much shorter as I cannot remember what I'd written :)

"Tuna Avocado on mixed vegetables"

By the time I got home last night, I was ravenous I was going to throw together a salad (the quickest meal on the planet, if you have clean, mixed greens and a protein source ready). I had been gifted a beautiful avocado (no bruises and ripe!), which I love chopped up on a salad in place of dressing.

1. I don't like almost any dressing
2. I'm dairy-sensitive, so sour cream, cream cheese are out and I simply never like mayo, ranch, 1000island, etc.
3. this means most condiments are out, really -- I like nekkid food!

Tomorrow begins week 2 of living gluten-free due to intolerance. Salads (without croutons and be wary of bottled or restaurant dressings) are usually safe (it's your health, be sure to ask and "if in doubt, throw it out).

Avocados are high in calories and fat but it's the healthy fat that lowers your cholesterol! (See WebMD article)

I'd blasted through all my prepped sources of protein, so the quickest thing was going to be a tin or albacore in water. I proceeded to drain the water off (for Bobby, my rescue-lab) 14oz of tuna and chop half the avocado (~3oz) into it. Being so hungry, I couldn't resist and spoonful...it was DELICIOUS! My intention was to make it a "tuna salad" type of salad with avocado in the place of mayo but it was so.good. that I ate several more spoons before dividing the rest into lunches for the rest of the week. I ended up putting it on top of steamed mixed vegetables. Delish!

ps: I received my nuts.com package (15lb!). Everything appears lovely. Now, I must hie to the cauldron and experiment this weekend!

 

I know Joy from our writing group! She's a great blogger, who talks about fitness, food, books and everything (especially books).

Today, she posted about loving to workout barefooted.

Here's more Lauren Brooks, who simply amazes me. She's often barefoot swinging kettlebells. Rock ON, Sister!