This Week's Blog Post

White Howlite Lanyards
I have always loved white howlite’s whiteness! I even think it is perfect for winter since it is as white as snow! These are certainly great for summer wear too.

Available at Miss Val’sCreations.

Gluten Free Diet 

Happy intestines = A happy me!

I recently discovered that I suffer from gluten sensitivity and probably have for the last 20 years! Gluten is a protein composite found in wheat, barley and rye. Lightbulbs went off in my head when reading up on this topic. So I spent a week gluten free to see if this is indeed the cause of my stomach issues.

My new diet started with a bunch of gluten free snacks since most of my prior snack foods contained gluten. The first week of dinners was rice and vegetables. My breakfast is always oatmeal and my lunch is salad so no changes there!

Gluten free breads and baked goods have a bad reputation for their taste and texture so as a bread and pizza lover, this was concerning. But the internet brought me to The Gluten Free Goddess. What made this an amazing find was the huge section of gluten free vegetarian recipes!!!

Here is my first gluten free pizza! I was very concerned that this would taste nasty. Ironically Jim and I both agreed that this is some of the best pizza crust we ever had! The “dough” was more like pancake batter than bread dough which was really strange to work with. Since the recipe made a large amount of dough we froze half for the following weekend and it thawed and cooked up perfectly! Crust recipe here.

After eating our first gluten free pizza, Jim offered to cook up my first batch of wraps which I had been planning to attempt the next day. These were also delicious with added dried basil and thyme in the batter. Wrap recipe here.

Attempting to roll these up with my filling of choice did not go well so I ate them pizza style with a fork and knife which was still very satisfying. I plan on investing in a tortilla press for making these which will eliminate the cleanup of oil splatter!!!

Here is my first gluten free bread! Something strange happened when taking it out of the bread machine….flour flew everywhere from the sides of the loaf. Bread recipe here.

I used the rapid cycle on the machine so next time I will try the normal, slow setting! Cutting showed a pleasant surprise inside and the taste was delicious. This recipe would be great with dried spices added making a perfect oil dipping bread! Mmmm!

Granola bars have always been a staple for me so I needed to come up with a gluten free version. Via Pinterest, I came across this recipe for making granola muffins! I added chopped walnuts and dried cranberries, omitting the sweetener since the cranberries do the trick. Such an easy, delicious snack or breakfast! Granola recipe here.

This discovery of gluten sensitivity brought me to further research on my wacky stomach. I am lactose intolerant and have always had a rocky relationship with cheese. Cheddar has always been my favorite with its amazing flavor. Reading up on this I learned that most cheese loses its lactose in the cheese making process but some cheese still have 1 – 2% lactose left in them which I am apparently sensitive to!

I learned that Cabot cheeses are lactose free!!!! So I am eating cheddar again. Big yay! I cannot express how happy this makes me and I am buying local (bonus).  

I feel a need to spread the word here about gluten sensitivity because from what I read is that many people go through their lives not realizing this is their problem (or celiac disease which can have some serious side effects) and suffer through it. That was me for many years!

While this is a bit of a nuisance I am trying to focus on the positive. Such as trying new things and working with new ingredients like tapioca flour. I am actually looking forward to trying quinoa or rice pasta. Then there is my new relationship with cheddar cheese. My intestines feel normal which is the best part of all! Also very important is that I can still enjoy my daily dose of red wine.

Iris Bloom

This is my first iris of the season. Love her!!!

This one it ready to show her petals!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!  ~Val