Fried Cabbage

Think you don't like cabbage? I didn't like it much when I was growing up, and I don't like it now in most restaurants. It always seems to be soggy and tasteless if I order it when I eat out somewhere. But, I like cabbage when I cook it at home.  This dish is flavorful, inexpensive, and gluten free (though not calorie free).

Fried Cabbage

3-4 slices of bacon OR 3-4 tablespoons bacon grease OR 3-4 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 medium head of cabbage, chopped

salt to taste

4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped.

2 cups water

Fry the bacon until crisp, set aside. Pour the bacon grease out of the pan, then measure 3-4 tablespoons of it back into it.  Add the chopped cabbage, potatoes and onion.  Toss them all around in the pan several times until they are coated with the bacon grease. Add the water, bring to a boil, then cover the pan with a lid. Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer until all the water has evaporated, about 30 minutes.

 

I watch it closely near the end of cooking to make sure it doesn't stick and burn. If you have fried some bacon, crumble it on top before serving.

This may not be the most healthy cabbage you have ever eaten, but it sure will be good!

Christmas Is Over

 

Sunset on Christmas day.

We had a pleasant, relaxing day. Although we don't give gifts to each other, we do give them to other people--our children and grandchildren. I made all those bags--the girls loved them! The last one was delivered today.  I received an adapter cable for my cellphone, so I can use my Wilson antenna. The cell service way out here is not that good. I only get one bar, and I have been having to put the phone on speakerphone and lay it on the counter and not move it to be able to use it. Having the adapter cable makes it so that I can use the phone anywhere in the trailer. Yay! Someone sent FabGrandpa a new video game, and someone else sent us some gift  cards. 

I cooked a roasted chicken and some potatoes, nothing else, but we were happy with just that. We had the leftover chicken today as chicken a la king with noodles. I was surprised at how good it turned out. To make a gluten free white sauce for a la king, I use corn starch instead of flour.

Gluten Free Chicken A La King

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

salt to taste

1/4 cup corn starch

1 can evaporated milk

1 can water

1/2 of a roasted chicken, deboned and diced

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add salt and corn starch, stirring to prevent burning and sticking. Add the can of water, cook and stir until very thick. Add the evaporated milk, continuing to stir.  Cook on low heat until creamy, smooth, and to desired thickness. Add chicken and cook a couple minutes more. Serve over rice,  gluten free noodles, or toasted gluten free bread.

SnowPeeps

I had to go to town today. While I was out, I found this: 

 

And guess what? 

 

Gluten free!  Yay!

My Two Seconds Of Fame

Yeah, that's me there in the shades, because, you know, I'm, like, FAMOUS!  Patricia Biesen, who writes Chicago Eats Allergy Free for Chicago Now, mentioned FabGrandma in a blog post on November 27, called "Play with Food: One Fab Grandma, FAAN's New Look and more"

Then, on December 12, she was a guest on a Bill Leff's radio talk show on WGN in Chicago, and mentioned my blog by name on the air!!!  Yes, my hat still fits. Barely.

Remember Whensday: The Christmas Food Box

My post today has no photograph to jog my memory. Way back years ago when I was a divorced mother of three young children, trying very hard on a very tight budget to make ends meet, I was the recipient of a food box from a community organization at Christmas. I was happy to get it, but one of the things I have always remembered from that experience was how many cans of hominy were in it.

I did appreciate getting the food, but I remember thinking "I wonder how many people really eat that stuff?" and wondering why, if you don't eat something yourself, would you put it in the donation box for others.  Do people think that just because we are unable to provide for ourselves for a minute that our taste buds or nutritional needs are going to change? Back then, it was just a matter of tastes. If I were the recipient of a food box now, though, it would be a matter of whether or not I would be able to eat the foods that I received.

I am not alone in this line of thinking. Dee Valdez, who was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 17 years ago, remembers talking to a mother with a sick 7 year old who had Celiac. The mother said she had to choose between feeding her whole family or just feeding her sick daughter the very expensive gluten free food she could find. That distraught mother said, referring to her Celiac daughter, "She's just going to have to live with diarrhea."

"There is a great need to develop a systematic approach to establishing Gluten Free Food Banks across the nation." says Valdez.  She is making that happen in Loveland, Colorado, where there was a dedication and ribbon cutting for the new gluten free section of the existing House of Neighborly Service Food Bank (HNS) on Tuesday, December 15, 2009. This location will serve as the test site for the new program Valdez is designing to be implemented in communities across the country. What a wonderful thing for the 1 in 133 of us who can not eat gluten!

I was also happy to read that Pamela's Products, a dedicated gluten-free company, is a supporter of this effort, and is donating their Baking & Pancake Mix and their cookies to HNS. I discovered Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix early on in my gluten free life--it is now one of the staples of life in the Fab household.

While the costs of gluten free products has come down, and there is a much wider selection of them, they are still more expensive than regular normal foods. For example, you can pick up a loaf of regular white wheat bread for under $2.00 at any grocery store. The last gluten free bread I bought cost me about $7.50 for a 12 ounce loaf. Fabgrandpa and I can afford it, but with so many people losing their jobs, many people who must eat a gluten free diet are finding their budgets stretched to the limits, and facing the choice of whether to eat foods that are toxic to them. Ever since I started eating gluten free, whenever I donate items to a food drive, I always donate gluten free--pasta, bread mix, baking mix, cookies, cereal.  Because, what is the point of giving something I wouldn't eat myself?

For other Remember Whensday posts, click here.

A Simple Pleasure!

We left the trailer behind this weekend to go visit the family in our hometown. It was a 200 mile drive, mostly through the countryside in Alabama. Back in the days when I still ate a gluten filled diet, when we traveled I would make a picnic lunch so we could eat in the truck. Egg sandwiches, with potato chips, and maybe some fruit. But since we stopped eating gluten, we haven't had that simple pleasure. But guess what? since I have all that Udi's bread in the freezer, I surprised FabGrandpa with egg sandwiches:

Now that might not look like such a treat to anyone else, but to us, it was wonderful! It just seems like such an intimate thing, for me to make a sandwich for my sweetheart on a trip out of town.

It's Been A Mail-a-palooza!

When I lived in my house in Georgia, my daughter had painted on the inside of the mailbox "I love gettin' mail!" along with a smiley face. My mail carrier told me she never failed to smile when she opened my mailbox.  But I do, I do love getting mail! And I got a lot of it this week!  

My daughter, Becca, sent me a package from Colorado. She had been on a trip to New Mexico a couple weeks ago, and bought that purty chili ristra for me.  She also sent the fabric for me to finish her quilt:

 

and a loaf of gluten free bread from Udi's Bakery in Parker, Colorado:

 

And when I opened the box, I also found her green ink pen she hasn't been able to find. thanks Becca!

 

I loved that bread so much, I ordered a case of it for myself, and it arrived only two days later! all the way from Parker to Greensboro, Alabama:

 

  

I saw this fabric online a month or so ago on Etsy in one yard lengths, and had been trying to find  a seller with three yards in one piece. I was so happy to find it! It's called Fairy Tip Toes, and it is soooo cute.  It was also delivered to me this week. I have to make a baby quilt for my new FabGrandchild that is due in May. In case I haven't mentioned it yet, my son's wife, Sarah is having a baby! We'll find out in two weeks whether it is a boy or a girl. I am so hoping it is a girl so I can use this fabric. But, it it's not, I'll just make something for FabGrandaughter, Sarah, with it. 

And. the last thing I got in the mail was a new copy of "The Essential Gluten Free Grocery Guide".I love this book! I can find out really quick if something I want to buy is on "the list" or not.

Ooooooo, I can hardy wait for next week to see if I get anything good in the mail!

Try This Out At Snack Time!

I got some Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks in the mail to try out. I was surprised that an old lady like me would like them. See my review here.

Butterball Turkey Goes Gluten Free!

I received an email from Megan at Triumph Dining, the folks who publish "The Essential Gluten-Free Grocery Guide", that I just had to share:

"...We don’t normally reach out to our fellow bloggers with news (we don’t want to clog your inbox)… But this was really exciting, and I thought you might be interested to know! Butterball turkey now offers gluten-free gravy mixes with a bunch of their turkeys.  I think this is super-cool because 1) Butterball is synonymous with turkey, and it’s exciting to see someone so mainstream do gluten-free, 2) as you know, gravy is almost never gluten-free, and 3) the GF gravy isn’t a specialty version, but it’s the default option for some turkeys.

It turns “gluten-free going mainstream” on its head! Instead of having specialty gluten-free options (like Betty Crocker mixes) alongside “regular” gluten-full options, this is a company that’s making the gluten-free option THE default option.  Our wonderful blogger, Tiffany, uncovered this story. And we are super-excited about it, and thought you might be too. The full story is here (just in time for Thanksgiving!):

http://www.triumphdining.com/blog/gluten-free/2009/11/butterball-now-offers-gluten-free-gravy/

..... here’s Butterball’s number if you want to do some investigating on your own, 1-800-BUTTERBALL.."

Now that is news that the Gluten Free world can really be thankful for!

Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings

Have you been dreaming of gluten free chicken and dumplings? I have ever since I started eating gluten free. Click here to see how I made my dream come true!

What A Great Day!

As if this:

 

Or this:

 

Or this: 

 

Or even this:

 

Were not enough reason to call it a good day, someone came by my work station today and brought this:

 

She said she had had a visitor who left them behind, and she would not ever eat them, so she gave them to me.

And then, another co-worker came by a few minutes later, and brought this:

 

A half dozen home made chocolate chip gluten free cookies. Okay, I ate three of them, and they were yummy!  He said a friend of his is starting a gluten free company in Tucson, and when she came to visit she brought these for me. Well, by then, I was feeling really extra special and very loved.  And then, another person came by and brought this:

 

She had been down to Flagstaff, and was shopping at Frontier Foods, and when she saw their gluten free aisle, she thought of me. And that Cranberry Pomegranate juice? Because she knew I had that kidney stone last week, and just wanted me to have it. 

People, I am so high on this spontaneous show of love from these people!  I can't tell you how good this made me feel today.  I can hardly wait for tomorrow...

Gluten Free Banana Pudding

My neighbor gave me a bunch of ripe bananas today, so I decided to make some gluten free banana pudding. It turned out really good--FabGrandpa ate two big bowls full. To make it:

1 cup sugar

3 cups milk

1/4 cup corn starch

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

5 ripe bananas

1 box of KinniKritter Animal Cookies

Mix the sugar and corn starch in a 4 qt pot. Add milk and salt, cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Separate the eggs, set the whites aside. Beat the yolks well, then add a small amount of the hot mixture from the pan to the eggs, stirring well. Add the egg yolks to the pan, stir and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. 

Layer the cookies and bananas in a large bowl. Pour the pudding over the bananas and cookies. 

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add 1/3 cup sugar a little at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread the meringue over the top of the pudding. Put the bowl into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until  the meringue is browned.

For a review of KinniKritter Cookies, click here.

Chicken Corn Chowder Revisited

Back in 2007, I found a recipe for Chicken Corn Chowder, that I thought was pretty good.  However, it was a somewhat complicated recipe, and I have never made it again.

Tonight when I came home from work, I realized I had not set anything out of the fridge for dinner, so I needed something I could throw together quickly, with things I already had on hand. One of the things I had on had was 3 ears of corn, that needed to be used today.  After poking around in the cupboard, I found enough things to make a pot of Chicken Corn Chowder that is just as good as if not better than the previous one and was way easier to make.  And that canned chicken made it a snap to prepare.

This version of corn chowder has these ingredients:

3 ears of corn, scraped from the cob

3 medium potatoes

1 large red pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

1 12.5 oz can of chicken, with juice

2 cups 2% milk (or rice milk

2-3 tablespoons corn starch

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

Peel, dice and cook the potatoes in a small boiler until soft, drain.  IN a dutch oven, heat the olive oil, then saute the peppers, onion, and garlic until soft. Drain the chicken, but save the juice. Add the chicken to the dutch oven, and continue to saute for a few more minutes. Add milk, chicken juice, salt and pepper,potatoes,  and corn to the pot. Cook on medium low heat until thickened. Add 2-3 tablespoons of corn starch if needed to thicken the soup.   Serve with buttered toast or cheese toast. Mmmmm, goood!

Homemade Bagels From The RV? Yes...

Before I found out I have to eat a gluten free diet, I really enjoyed a good bagel with my coffee for breakfast. Now that I can't have a "real" bagel, I really miss them. I have found some good frozen ready made ones, but since I live 85 miles from the nearest place to buy them, I don't always have them on hand.

I decided today to try making some at home. Yes, Linda, I did burn them a bit, but you have to remember, 1. I live in an RV and the oven is quite tiny and the thermostat on it is not exact and 2. I live at an elevation of almost 9000 feet. Baking anything is trial and error. For the baking conditions I have, this first attempt at homemade bagels turned out pretty good. To see more, click here.

Want To Know What I Think About.....

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix? Click here to find out!

Want To Know What I Think About...

Nature's Path Organic Gluten Free products? Click here to find out.

Shrimp Stir Fry

When we were in Flagstaff last week, I bought a refrigerator full of veggies, including some bok choy. I have never bought or eaten bok choy before, that I know of, but it always looks so good in the store. So, when I got home tonight, and wanted something quick and easy to cook for dinner, I thought about that bok choy in the fridge.



I also had a bag of raw shrimp in the freezer, so I decided to make a shrimp stir fry. To make this, I used :

1 whole red bell pepper, cut into strips
2 small zuchinni, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small bok choy, sliced thinly
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled
salt and pepper to taste
1 package bean thread noodles, cooked according to package directions

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet, add all the chopped veggies, and stir fry until they are done to your liking (I cooked mine about 7 minutes). Add some salt and pepper, a couple of shakes of some gluten free soy sauce, and 1 pound of shrimp, peeled. Stir and cook about 5 minutes more, until shrimp is done.

I served this over bean thread noodles, with more gluten free soy sauce. It turned out very good. FabGrandpa said for me to put bok choy on the shopping list more often.

Working In The Campground Has Its Rewards...

I have many duties on my job. My first love, the part of my job that I love the best, is being out at the entrance station, welcoming visitors to the park, selling passes, and giving directions to scenic viewpoints.

(Me at the entrance station)

I also work at the campground, checking people in when they arrive, and IF there happens to be a vacancy or cancellation, selling sites to campers. The campground here at the North Rim is very nice, with spacious sites. There are no hook-ups, but we do provide every site with a fire ring and picnic table.

(The group area of the campground in early spring)

Today, one of my duties was to walk through the campground inspecting all the fire rings, and noting if any of them need to be replaced or repaired. Every time I walk through this campground, people camping here invite me to eat with them--breakfast, or lunch, or dinner depending on the time of day. I usually decline the invitation, saying that I can't eat wheat so I have to be careful what I eat.

(the North Rim Campground in early spring before any campers arrived)

Today, though, as I was walking through, there was a family camping in a pop-up, cooking a delicious smelling chocolate cake in their covered grill. As usual, they invited me to have a piece, indicating it would be ready in a few minutes. I gave my usual reply, "It smells very good, but I can't eat wheat." And THEY said, "Well, lady, this cake is for you!"

(the North Rim Campground in fall)

The mother said they have been eating a strict gluten free, egg free, and dairy free diet since October of last year, and the cake they were making was made with chick pea flour, tapioca flour, brown rice flour, and potato starch. So, of course, I stopped for a piece of it. It was out of this world delicious! Tanya, the mother, said she makes her own homemade mixes, even grinds her own chick pea flour. I was very impressed.

I didn't have my camera with me, so no photos, but trust me when I say this was a very good cake. She also asked me not to publish her recipe on my blog because she is trying to write a cookbook. Well, let me tell ya, I will be her first customer when that book is published! Tanya also gave me three of her mixes to bring home--a chocolate cake mix, buckwheat pancake mix (that her teenage son raved about), and a corn bread mix. I can not wait to try that cornbread!

I should get out there and walk that campground more often!

MMMMM, Look At That Sandwich!

Isn't it beautiful? For most people, having a sandwich for lunch, dinner, a picnic, or even for breakfast is just another humdrum, ordinary day. They can walk into any burger joint, restaurant, or sandwich shop and order a ham and swiss on rye, or a Ruben, or a tuna salad sandwich, or a hamburger, and know they can eat it with no problem at all.

But, for those of us who are gluten intolerant or who have Celiac disease, that is not the case. We order a baked potato, or a salad "hold the croutons", or a "hamburger no bun", and sit there and watch as our friends and family enjoy that delicious bun or bread in the form of a sandwich.

Most of you won't ever know what that is like, or even think that it is a problem. And you probably don't even think about it. You see us sitting there eating our salad or potato and think that is what we really WANTED to eat. But being able to eat a nice, delicious sandwich would be soooooooo nice!

And the reason I bring this up is because I know there are companies out there who make gluten free hamburger buns and gluten free bread. How hard could it be for a restaurant or hamburger place to get some, and keep them in the freezer. The buns or bread can be thawed in a gluten free microwave, and then toasted in a gluten free toaster, as needed. Heck, I do it all the time at home. I would GLADLY pay the extra cost of the gluten free bun or bread, even if it was $2.00 per serving, just so I could have a sandwich when I am out with FabGrandpa.

So, next time you are in a sandwich or burger place, ask them if they have a comment card or form. Get one, fill it out, and tell them you want your gluten free friends to be able to eat there with you. Suggest to them that they should get some gluten free buns and bread, and make a little effort to feed the rest of us! Let them know we expect to pay more, and that we will come to their place of business instead of the other places, just because we'll be able to get a sandwich there. Ah, a delicious gluten free sandwich. MMMMMMMMM.......

Oh, and YES, that is a homemade gluten free sandwich in the picture.

Gluten Free In Kanab, Utah

I have written about Kanab, Utah before. It is only seven miles north of the Arizona-Utah border, out in the middle of nowhere. The town was settled in the 1860's, first as a fort for defense against the Paiute Indians, then as a Mormon settlement. It is now a tiny town of about 5,400 population.


It serves as a hub for agriculture, recreation, and tourism in this area, being located in the center of the triangle formed when you draw lines between Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park.


You can see why the town thrived, even though it was in a remote area. The Kanab Creek provides water, and makes the town look like an oasis in the middle of desert country.

We like doing business in Kanab, because the people here are so friendly. We can get just about anything we need here, from a good lunch at the Mexican restaurant, to new shoes, to tires and repairs to our diesel truck.

I love it that I can get lots of my favorite gluten free products at Honey's Jubilee, a local independently owned grocery store. Last year, when I shopped there and found Bob's Red Mill, Mi-Del, and Glutino products on the shelves, I was so happy I cried. When I checked out that first time in the store, I thanked the cashier for having such a good selection of gluten free products. She told me that the owner was celiac.

(Terrell, the owner of Honey's Jubilee)

Not that I'm glad that Terrell is a celiac, but if he has to be, then I am glad he owns a grocery store. Because he has to eat a gluten free diet, he stocks things in his store that he can eat. It makes life easier on all of us in town (and out of town as well) who must eat the same gluten free way.

(look at the gluten free section in Honey's!)

When we went to Page, a much bigger town, that even has a super Wal-Mart, AND two chain grocery stores, there was NOT ONE gluten free item to be found. No pasta, no bread mix, no buckwheat cereal, NOT even the gluten free Rice Chex. I was so disappointed with that. At one of the grocery stores, I even asked at the service desk and the girl said, "No we don't have anything gluten free here. One of my co-workers found out last week that she is gluten intolerant and she can't find anything here." Isn't that sad that a whole town has nothing to offer a person who is gluten free?


I was delighted to see that they had the new Betty Crocker Gluten Free mixes on the shelf at Honey's. I didn't need any of them this time, or believe me, I would have gotten one of each! I did get Bob's Red Mill Bread Mix and some Creamy Buckwheat Cereal; Mi-Del Ginger Snaps; Glutino Frozen Bagels; Van's Apple Cinnamon Waffles; and some Shar Table Crackers. I was in gluten free heaven!


So there you go! If you are a gluten free girl or guy, and you are planning to go on a trip to see Zion, Bryce, and North Rim Grand Canyon National Parks, go knowing you will find a gluten friendly place in Kanab. Honey's Jubliee Grocery Store at 260 East 300 South - Kanab, Utah. And if you do go there, go to the service desk and ask for Terrell, and tell him FabGrandma sent you!