Thursday, December 13, 2007
Quiche & Carrot Cake
I’ve tried to more of the Lean on Me Baking Company dishes. Today’s lunch consisted of their Tomato, Basil, Onion & Mozzarella Quiche (wheat & gluten free) and their Reduced Fat Wheat & Gluten Free Carrot Cake. The quiche was good. It was not as good as their broccoli quiche but still good. The carrot cake on the other hand is not worth getting again. The cake was dry, crumbly, and the flavor wasn’t very good. The topping was too thick and too sweet.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Edible Gluten-Free Lunches
As I have mentioned before I am allergic to wheat and finding tasty wheat-free or gluten-free options is often challenging. Over the past few weeks I have found 3 more to add to the shopping list.
Amy’s Garden Vegetable Lasagna (gluten-free). This single-serve microwave lunch was wonderful. This maybe the first time in seven years I have had lasagna. The noodles had a very nice taste and texture. The cheese was delightfully seasoned. The vegetables were distinguishable and quite tasty. The sauce was light and delightful. I would defiantly recommend this to any vegetarian or anyone with a wheat-allergy. This is made in a factory which also makes products which contain wheat. So those with sever allergies or Celiac disease may not want to test this one.
Lean On Me Baking Company makes a Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche which is a frozen single serve wheat and gluten free meal. This was a surprisingly tasty lunch. It tasty and rich but only has 130 calories it was. I had a small salad on the side for a perfect little lunch.
I discovered a new wheat-free snack at a friend’s party which to my pleasant surprise was filled with wheat-free snacks and knitters, too. Frito-Lay Inc tried something new. They tried to make a healthy snack and succeeded. Under the brand name of Flat Earth they are making Baked Veggie Crisps which has “½ serving of real vegetables in very ounce”. I tired the Garlic & herb Field and Berry flavored chips. Both were very good. The garlic had a nice garlic flavor without being over powering. The chip was crisp and could hold up to the same dips and a ruffle potato chip. The berry flavor was also good but a little on the sweet side. The berry would satisfy anyone looking for something sweet, crisp and a touch of salt. It’s very nice blend.
Amy’s Garden Vegetable Lasagna (gluten-free). This single-serve microwave lunch was wonderful. This maybe the first time in seven years I have had lasagna. The noodles had a very nice taste and texture. The cheese was delightfully seasoned. The vegetables were distinguishable and quite tasty. The sauce was light and delightful. I would defiantly recommend this to any vegetarian or anyone with a wheat-allergy. This is made in a factory which also makes products which contain wheat. So those with sever allergies or Celiac disease may not want to test this one.
Lean On Me Baking Company makes a Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche which is a frozen single serve wheat and gluten free meal. This was a surprisingly tasty lunch. It tasty and rich but only has 130 calories it was. I had a small salad on the side for a perfect little lunch.
I discovered a new wheat-free snack at a friend’s party which to my pleasant surprise was filled with wheat-free snacks and knitters, too. Frito-Lay Inc tried something new. They tried to make a healthy snack and succeeded. Under the brand name of Flat Earth they are making Baked Veggie Crisps which has “½ serving of real vegetables in very ounce”. I tired the Garlic & herb Field and Berry flavored chips. Both were very good. The garlic had a nice garlic flavor without being over powering. The chip was crisp and could hold up to the same dips and a ruffle potato chip. The berry flavor was also good but a little on the sweet side. The berry would satisfy anyone looking for something sweet, crisp and a touch of salt. It’s very nice blend.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Garden Update
The Lettuce Bed
The Black Seed Simons and Oak Leaf lettuces were successful. Both grew beautifully and tasted wonderfully. The first night we were expecting temperatures to dip below 32 degrees I harvested all of the tasty plants. I used kitchen shears and cut just about an inch above the soil. I’m happy to say the bags in the refrigerator held well and made for some tasty lunches. I’m even happier to say the little nubs left behind are sprouting more leaves to be harvested this weekend before the temperatures dip again.
The Black Seed Simons and Oak Leaf lettuces were successful. Both grew beautifully and tasted wonderfully. The first night we were expecting temperatures to dip below 32 degrees I harvested all of the tasty plants. I used kitchen shears and cut just about an inch above the soil. I’m happy to say the bags in the refrigerator held well and made for some tasty lunches. I’m even happier to say the little nubs left behind are sprouting more leaves to be harvested this weekend before the temperatures dip again.
The beets in this bed are doing quite well. I’ve harvested a pot full of leaves, stems and baby beets. They were quite tasty cleaned up and cooked with a little olive oil and chicken broth. Since beets are a hardier plant I’m letting them be in the beds for now. One or two nights hovering at 32 should be okay and give them a chance to get bigger then a dime. I’m also considering getting a garden ‘tent’ to try to extend their growing season.
So far the kohlrabi has been a good source of food for the pesky green cabbage caterpillars which have plagued in since shortly after it was planted. Each time the leaves start to look beautiful another batch of the bugs reduces them down to sticks. I think this year they are just going to be mulch. I need to talk to the people at the garden center and try again in the spring.
The Garlic is going strong but I won’t know how it is really doing until next June when it is harvest time.
The lavender is due for a ‘hair cut’ to prepare it for the winter. So far it is looking healthy and happy where it is.
So far the kohlrabi has been a good source of food for the pesky green cabbage caterpillars which have plagued in since shortly after it was planted. Each time the leaves start to look beautiful another batch of the bugs reduces them down to sticks. I think this year they are just going to be mulch. I need to talk to the people at the garden center and try again in the spring.
The Garlic is going strong but I won’t know how it is really doing until next June when it is harvest time.
The lavender is due for a ‘hair cut’ to prepare it for the winter. So far it is looking healthy and happy where it is.
The Cabbage Bed
The Great Lakes lettuce, bok choy, and wok bok didn’t do very well. The Great Lakes didn’t take well. Very few plants germinated and the ones that did were a bit on the bitter side. Either of these could have been caused by the drought or heavy clay soil. I think the lettuce would have done better if the bed was better prepared. I’m hoping to dump ½ of the soil in this bed into a new one and then add more organic material and some sand to both beds. Since I have some seeds left I may try a small spot of them again in the spring to see what happens.
The bok choy and wok bok are suffering almost the same fate as the kohlrabi. They are fairing a little better but the leaves are so lacey I’m not sure if it is worth try to harvest and cook them up.
The pansies tucked into the corners of the bed are still flowering and beautiful.
The Carrot Bed
The carrot tops look beautiful. They are such a beautiful green ‘fuzzy’ leave in contrast to the falling maple leaves that decorate the bed. I last ‘tested’ the carrots two weeks ago and I couldn’t even call them baby carrots because they were so small. I need to pull a few to see how they are doing. The
Only a few of the pansies plated along two sides of the bed germinated. The pink flowers tucked into the corners didn’t survive the first light frost and are looking really bad. I need to cut them off and add them to the compost bin.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Totally G
A young friend was joking around with me this past weekend and told me I was “totally G” since I was wearing a bandana and a hoodie (a sweat shirt or jacket with a hood). She thought I didn’t understand but to be honest my mind drifted. Some things have changed so much in some ways and not in others.
The ‘hoodies’ I grew up wearing were to stay warm not to mark who I was affiliated with. That is until I went to college. I remember buying a sweat suit at the college I chose to attend. I walked into the house proudly displaying the York College of Pennsylvania logo. Wearing it home was how my dad and I told the rest of the family a decision was made. It marked my affiliation. I still proudly wear that sweat jacket even though it has seen some better days. It says I’m part of the college. I lived and cried at that school. The life I had there helped shape who I am and who I will become. Today hoodies still show affiliations with schools but now they have become more of a way to show affiliation to gangs . They too will influence lives and guide their members but often not in positive ways.
Bandanas seem to have had a long history of showing affiliation. The striking coal miners of West Virginia showed solidarity against the owners and the government for better pay and benefits by wearing red bandanas. The news papers who supported the coal mining company dubbed them the ‘red necks’ even after they were mowed down by gun fire. And now when most of you think of redneck you think of jokes about broken down cars and beer bottles stacked in someone’s front yard. Rosie the Riveter is a famous poster of a woman in a bandana encouraging the women of the United States to pull together to support the troops and country during WWII. And now after years of being a useful handkerchiefs, head bands, hair nets, life saving tourniquets, and so much more this simple piece of cloth has been adopted by street gangs to show their solidarity and affiliation. The symbolism of solidarity is wonderful but the violence that often comes with it needs to be replaces with hope, home, better education, and good jobs.
Gangs never appealed to me when I was young and they still don’t. I guess I found other ways to ‘belong’ and to standout with Girl Scouts, school clubs, and my own causes like March of Dimes. So as I sat there in my company’s hoodie with my bandana to keep my hair out of my eyes I wonder why there is such a love affair with gangs. Is it the ‘family”? The glitz and glamour of instant gratification? Rebelling against the system? Or allowing a hopelessness to over come and control?
The ‘hoodies’ I grew up wearing were to stay warm not to mark who I was affiliated with. That is until I went to college. I remember buying a sweat suit at the college I chose to attend. I walked into the house proudly displaying the York College of Pennsylvania logo. Wearing it home was how my dad and I told the rest of the family a decision was made. It marked my affiliation. I still proudly wear that sweat jacket even though it has seen some better days. It says I’m part of the college. I lived and cried at that school. The life I had there helped shape who I am and who I will become. Today hoodies still show affiliations with schools but now they have become more of a way to show affiliation to gangs . They too will influence lives and guide their members but often not in positive ways.
Bandanas seem to have had a long history of showing affiliation. The striking coal miners of West Virginia showed solidarity against the owners and the government for better pay and benefits by wearing red bandanas. The news papers who supported the coal mining company dubbed them the ‘red necks’ even after they were mowed down by gun fire. And now when most of you think of redneck you think of jokes about broken down cars and beer bottles stacked in someone’s front yard. Rosie the Riveter is a famous poster of a woman in a bandana encouraging the women of the United States to pull together to support the troops and country during WWII. And now after years of being a useful handkerchiefs, head bands, hair nets, life saving tourniquets, and so much more this simple piece of cloth has been adopted by street gangs to show their solidarity and affiliation. The symbolism of solidarity is wonderful but the violence that often comes with it needs to be replaces with hope, home, better education, and good jobs.
Gangs never appealed to me when I was young and they still don’t. I guess I found other ways to ‘belong’ and to standout with Girl Scouts, school clubs, and my own causes like March of Dimes. So as I sat there in my company’s hoodie with my bandana to keep my hair out of my eyes I wonder why there is such a love affair with gangs. Is it the ‘family”? The glitz and glamour of instant gratification? Rebelling against the system? Or allowing a hopelessness to over come and control?
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Bento Lunches Squared
Okay I am still feeling a little silly taking pictures of my lunch. I have to admit that using the baking cups does make it look a bit more appealing and helps with portion control. The bentos above are leftovers made much more appealing for this week's lunches with just a little silcone cup. On the left is Kasha (buckwheat) pilaf, sweet corn, peas and mango chicken sausage. On the right quinoa/corn pasta with butter, cooked spinach and Italian chicken sausage. Below: On the left: quinioa/corn pasta with Italian seasoning, Italian chicken sausage, and beet greens. On the right short grain rice, mango chicken sausage, and beet greens. Each of these delicious lunches are completely wheat-free.
I think I’m going to put off my quest for finding bento egg molds, noki (seaweed) face cutters, and little sauce bottles off until the new year. I would like to try making fruit leather faces and fun shaped foods to encourage the kids to at least try dinner before they announce they don’t like it. Right now we are using dollar store glow stick bracelets to bribe the kids to try dinner. I’ve been told this is a phase. I’m hoping it is a short one.
National Museum of Health and Medicine
Every year around Halloween this little museum gets a lot of attention for all of its weird medical exhibits but it really is a wonderful place to visit year round. Several years ago we took a friend to a lecture they were holding on Vampires. It was a fascinating lecture on the lore around vampires and what the body does after death. They even discussed modern research which helps in forensic science and all of those CSI shows we love to watch. In addition to special exhibits and lectures they have scavenger hunts where you have to diagnose a disease or find out what killed the character in question. It is a wonderful way to explore medical science.
National Museum of Health and Medicine
6900 Georgia Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20306
Hiking Around DC
After chatting with the new guy in the office I realized how much I miss hiking as much as I have in the past. While I was gathering websites for my favorite hike groups I thought I should added them to my blog so I have a quicker resource to join a hike on a day that suddenly opens up.
The Sierra Club's Metropolitan Washington Regional Outings Program: http://www.mwrop.org/
Washington DC City Pages: Recreation : Hiking: http://dcpages.com/Recreation/Hiking/
Volksmarch
These are wonderful 6k walks you can find in your community or around the globe. This site helps you locate your local walking club or one almost anywhere you go.
American Volkssport Association: http://www.ava.org/
The Sierra Club's Metropolitan Washington Regional Outings Program: http://www.mwrop.org/
Washington DC City Pages: Recreation : Hiking: http://dcpages.com/Recreation/Hiking/
Volksmarch
These are wonderful 6k walks you can find in your community or around the globe. This site helps you locate your local walking club or one almost anywhere you go.
American Volkssport Association: http://www.ava.org/
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