Going to Fred's For Dinner

We meet some of the most interesting people working at campgrounds. This season at Granite Hill Campground in Gettysburg is coming to an end, but we take with us the memories of friends we made during our stay here.
One of the most interesting people we have ever worked with is Fred Brantlinger. He is one of those people who is smiling every time you see him. He always has something nice to say, no matter what is going on around him. I had many occasions to talk with Fred over the summer, as I work in the office and any time he needed something he came to me at the front desk.

During his working career, Fred was an art teacher in the public schools in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He taught mostly the middle school age kids. While he was a teacher, he wrote some art curriculum books that are still for sale even today on Amazon.com.

What To Do For Bulletin Boards;: A collection of creative art ideas for the school bulletin board,

And, because he was an art teacher, and was in acquaintance with Fred Rogers, he made some appearances on "The Children's Corner", which aired on WQED in Pittsburg beginning in 1954. WQED was the first public television station in the nation. And, "The Children's Corner was the beginnings of the famous "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" that aired for more than 30 years.

Fred's last day to work with us was last Sunday. That afternoon he came over to our trailer and invited Jim and me to his house for dinner. So, on Tuesday night we drove over and had the most delightful visit with Fred and Marian, his wife. I wish I had taken my camera. (I did think about it but I thought it would be rude to take my camera to their house and start snapping away)

Marian was a very gracious hostess, and just as interesting to talk with as Fred has been. She worked in the medical field in a doctor's office. She collects bone china tea cups, and many of the patients would bring her cups and saucers from their travels. She showed me many of them, and they are really beautiful and fragile. One had been lovingly glued back together after it had fallen off a shelf when their son in law slammed a door. She had cups from England, Ireland, Japan, China, Israel, Denmark, France, as well as all over the United States.

Fred and Marian lived in the Pittsburgh area before coming to Gettysburg twenty two years ago. They live in a real house, not an RV like Jim and I do. They share their home with Marian's brother, Ralph and a little white dog named Abbie, who had more energy than all five of the humans who were present.

For dinner Marian served Ham Loaf, which I have never had before, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans, and Pickled Beets, all of which were home made. Dessert was a home made Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream, and served with coffee, mmmmm. And of course I ate the pie, crust and all, as I did not want to offend my hostess. I only wish we had had time to go and visit with them earlier in the year, so we could have spent more time with them. We will really miss Fred.

Raising Up Royalty

A while back I wrote about my niece and her ministry to girls and young women. She had chosen the name Hadassah House Ministries for this effort, but soon after she started it she was contacted by some people who were already using that name, so she had to change the name. The new name is Raising Up Royalty.
Here is what Stacie wrote about changing the name of her mission:

"...We're getting a name change! Shortly after things began to really take off, I received a letter from an organization stating they had trademark rights to the name "Hadassah." Although our name was not the same as theirs and our purposes are completely different, we still have to change our name. Although this was disappointing at first, I've decided to look at it positively. Hadassah's name was changed to Esther when she moved into the palace. If you've read or heard my testimony, you know that my name was changed from "rejected" to "Complete, Lacking Nothing." So it only seems appropriate that the name of Hadassah House Ministries would have to change as well...."

Stacie has really been surprised by the rapid growth of this ministry. She has enrolled girls and women from several states, and is currently on a trip to the Ukraine, taking her mission to girls in orphanages there. Here is an excerpt from a message she sent me:

"...{Raising Up Royalty} Ministries goes International!
Yes, you read correctly! When God gave me this vision, I always believed there would be more than one house, and I believed it would be an international ministry – I just didn't expect it so soon! We have been contacted by a lady who organizes ministry and missionary trips to Ukraine! She has seen our program, and has asked us to come on board with her. She has people who can translate our materials into their language, and they also have an empty building in Ukraine. She has contacted the leaders she works with in Ukraine, and is planning a mission trip for us to go and introduce the program at an orphanage that houses 45-50 girls ages 3-17. We will do the exact same program there that we will do when the {Raising Up Royalty} House is built here. We will have workshops for the girls to participate in, and end the trip with a coronation ceremony in which we will crown the girls with tiaras and commission them to be the princesses God created them to be. I'm going to start the passport process today! Can you sense my excitement?..."

Stacie and her group left on November 1st. They will be gone for two weeks. I think this is a great and wonderful thing that she is doing, and just wanted to share it with you.

Stew Day

A couple of years ago when I was anticipating a visit from my vegetarian daughter, I was looking for a good vegatarian recipe to make for dinner. The recipe I found for Italian Mushroom Stew looked very good, and believe me, it is very yum! I have altered the original recipe a bit, because Jim and I are not vegetarians, and we do like the flavor that a little bit meat adds to this dish. If you don't eat meat, just leave out the sausage, the mushrooms will have a flavor all their own. This is of course, gluten free.

8 oz white button mushrooms, slice half, finely dice the other half
8 oz portabella mushrooms, chopped
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup diced celery
4-5 cloves garlic, minced (I use a whole head of garlic, but we love garlic)
1 Italian sauage, remove the casing and crumble up (about 1/4 lb)
2 16 oz cans stewed or diced tomatoes
1 can water
1/2 lb. fresh or frozen greenbeans, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 tsp. dried basil (I use more, use your discretion)
1 tsp. dried italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sautee the mushrooms, onion, celery, and garlic until the onions are clear. Add the Italian sausage, and cook until the sausage is browned. Add all the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil. Turn down heat, cover and simmer for an hour. Serve over rice or pasta.

To go with this delish stew tonight, I made some bread sticks from a prepackaged mix from Chebe. They were ok, but could have been better if I cooked them just a bit longer. With this mix, you add two tablespoons of oil, 2 eggs, and 1 cup of cheese, and then knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth. It reminded me of making sausage balls with Bisquick back when I still ate wheat, so I am thinking I might try making some sausage balls next time just to see how they turn out. Hmmmm...

Gluten Free Chicken and Dressing

I wanted to go back over to Harbaugh Farm today and get some more green beans to go in my freezer, but in order to have room for any more vegetables in the freezer I had to get rid of some stuff that was in there.

I had been keeping half a loaf of corn bread in the freezer for a couple of months, thinking that I would make some dressing with it. So, today was the day. For dinner I made roasted chicken, cornbread dressing, green beans, baked butternut squash, and some giblet gravy.

This is the first time since I started eating gluten free that I have attempted to make gravy, and I know that I will definitely be making it different next time, but it was not that bad.

Gluten Free Cornbread Dressing
Make your favorite gluten free cornbread. I make this using the cornbread made in a small iron skillet, about 8 inches in diameter. Let it cool, put half of it in the freezer. Crumble up the other half in a large mixing bowl. Next, crumble up two or three slices of your favorite gluten free sandwich bread into the bowl. Add a cup of chopped celery, a chopped large onion, and 4 tablespoons of poultry seasoning. Add four eggs, and three cups of chicken broth. Mix well, pour into a greased baking dish or pan. Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes in a 425 degree oven. Take it out of the oven, stir well, making sure you mix the cooked parts on the sides with the uncooked parts in the center. Place back in the oven and cook another 20 minutes.

Giblet Gravy

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
cooked chicken giblets (liver, neck, gizzard) diced up

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add cornstarch and mix well. Add the chicken broth and stir until thickened. Add the salt and pepper and the giblets. You can also chop up a boiled egg in this.

Baked Butternut Saquash

I have never cooked or eaten a butternut squash before, ever, so this was just how I cooked it today.

Cut the squash in half and scrape out the seed and "stuff" that is inside. Spray with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. I put them in the same baking dish as the chicken I was roasting, and cooked them until the chicken was done. When it was about half way, I sprayed the squash with olive oil again, and put a little pat of butter in each half.

No, this was not a low calorie dinner, and probably not a low cholesterol one either, but it was yummy.

Fall In Pennsylvania

By now you all probably think that all Jim and I do is drive around on our day off. Well, you could be right! Last week we were out for our drive, as usual, looking for a farm stand to buy some veggies for dinner. But, Karen, it is mid-October, you may be thinking. Yes, but the harvest goes on until the first frost, which has not happened yet, so I knew there would still be some goodies out there for the finding.

We drove down Jack's Mountain Road, out of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, and when we got to Pennsylvania 16, we turned right towards Waynesboro. A couple miles down 16 we saw this sign:
So, we decided to follow the arrow, and boy are we glad we did. We turned onto Sunshine Trail, and it took us to the next sign, pointing to Harbaugh's Farm on Harbaugh Road, in Harbaugh Valley. Charlie Harbaugh was working at the produce stand on his farm when we arrived. He told us the farm has been in his family for "generations".

The veggtables for sale were a little bit old, because they had been picked on Saturday morning and we were there on Wednesday afternoon. We bought a peck of sweet red Italian peppers. There were about 20 or so peppers in the basket for only $4.00.

We got a head of broccoli, a huge bag of green beans, a butternut squash, a small pumpkin, some apples, a large onion for making some onion rings, and some turnips. I asked Charlie if he had any turnip greens, and he said they usually cut them off and throw them out because nobody around there eats them. But, he said, if you want some you are welcome to go out to the field and pull some yourself! I was overjoyed, because being a girl from the south, I grew up eating turnip greens and can not imagine anyone just throwing them out! He even gave us a bag to put them in.

Off we went down to the field, and guess what else we found there? We wound up picking another big bag of green beans, a fresh head of broccoli, and one of cauliflower, in addition to the huge bag of turnip greens to go with my turnips.

(Here I am with my treasure of turnip greens)

I felt like I had hit the vegetable jackpot. When all was said and done, I got all that stuff for $13.00. I put four pints of green beans and a gallon of chopped Italian peppers in the freezer. I cooked the turnip greens and put half of them in the freezer, too. We still have some green beans to be cooked in the refrigerator. I am thinking about going over there again this week to get some more green beans and broccoli because my little freezer is not full yet.

Here is one more picture for you from this trip, a barn right at the edge of the road.

Oh Say Can You See...

(click on the pictures to see them larger)

When we got up this morning we had two items on our plan for the day. We had to go to Hagerstown for Jim’s lab appointment at the VA Clinic, to test his TSH level; and I had to go to the bank. You would think that going to the bank would be a simple thing, but Bank of America, my bank of choice, does not have any branches in Pennsylvania. There is also not a branch in Hagerstown, Maryland, a town with a total urban population of more than 120,000 people. Hell, they have a VA Clinic but no Bank of America.

So, after Jim was done at the VA, we took a leisurely drive over to Thurmont, MD, where they do have a Bank of America, even though the population is less than 6,000. We took Maryland 64 north to 77, which goes east over Catoctin Mountain. The bank, in downtown Thurmont, was in one of those old bank buildings that you often see in downtowns around the country that have been converted to beauty shops or thrift stores, but this one was still serving as a bank. And it was beautiful. I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture of it.

Then, after I got my banking business accomplished, we looked at our map of Maryland to find a route home that we have not taken before, just to see what we could see. And right there on the map, right off of Maryland 77, were the words, “Keysville, The birthplace of Francis Scott Key.” Off we went to find the home of that famous American.

On our way, we passed through a tiny town called Detour, Maryland. It was just a blink, but who could resist taking a detour through Detour?

(looking back to see Detour)

And so, we drove on. We found the little place called Keysville, but there was no sign, no placard, no monument, no nothing. I felt a little let down that even though the great state of Maryland was proud enough of Mr. Key to put a little blurb about Keysville being his place of birth on their map, that they were not proud enough to put at least a little marker to show us where he took his first breath, in preparation of singing that great national anthem. You know, the one that starts out “Oh say can you see?” Apparently not his birthplace…

However, if you ever get to this area, it is worth the drive because it is so scenic. The pictures I have here don’t really show how beautiful it is.

A Drive Today

Today we got up very early (for us). I started a pot of bean soup with ham in the crock pot, the we drove down to Washington, D.C. to the VA Medical Center so Jim could get the stitches taken out of his face. It was very crowded in the parking lot, so I had to let him out and circle around about three times waiting for someone to pull out of a space so I could park. I got very lucky because two cars pulled out in side by side spaces. If you have never had to park a pick-up truck with an crew cab, you really won't appreciate that, but anyway, I got parked finally and went upstairs to the third floor.

They had already taken Jim in to an exam room, so by the time I found him, they were just starting to pluck those babies out. And since I was not there when she introduced herself, I don't know what her name was, but it was the same doctor we saw the first time when they did the biopsy. As she was taking the stitches out she was explaining to Jim that although this cancer was not CAUSED by smoking, smoking aggravates it and can make it worse. She advised him quite strongly to quit, and I agree with her. She told him he has to go every 2 months for a year to be examined by a dermatologist, so we made an appointment with the one in Atlanta for December.

We had already decided to stop for lunch in Frederick, Maryland on the way home because we have been wanting to go to a place we have passed on several occasions called "That Cuban Place". Man, I wish we had stopped in there before now! After eating lunch there today we made a mental note to go there at least one more time before we leave Pennsylvania next month.

Jim ordered a Cuban sandwich, which looked very delicious, and it must have been because he ate every bite, and looked like he wanted to lick the plate. He had eaten a cuban sandwich at a place in Florida several years ago, but he said that must have been a cheap imitation because he doesn't remember it being as tasty as the one he had today.

I had the Tilapia. It was sauteed in olive oil with peppers and tomatoes, and served up with rice, beans, and fried plaintains. Oh, oh, oh, those plaintains were scrumptious, or Muy Bien'! The owner offered us a free expresso at the end of our meal, which Jim accepted, but not me because I don't like it.

After lunch we went over to Borders Books because I had a couple of gift cards to spend. I got a new cookbook called The No-Gluten Cookbook and an Arizona Highways magazine. I haven't looked at either one yet. So, that was our Tuesday, how was yours?

Oh, I almost forgot, I made another batch of soap yesterday. This one has Clary Sage essential oil and some cinnamon powder for scent. I haven't cut it yet, but I smelled it this morning and it was devine!

So, now for dinner we'll be having that bean soup with some cornbread. It is smelling really good right now.

Happy Birthday Michael

My grandson, Michael, turns 11 years old today. He is the first grandson, the one who made me the FabGrandma. He has lived far away from me for most of his life, first in Texas, then in Guam, then in England. Now he lives in Maryland, only 95 miles away. We were down at his house on Monday, so while he was at school, his Dad and I made a little party for him. It was a surprise because he was not expecting a birthday cake until today.

We hung black, yellow, and blue streamers. Seth made a yellow cake with white icing and a pepperoni pizza. We also had some Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream and Orange Sherbert. Yeah, I had a totally gluten FULL dinner. I did it because in 11 years, I have never spent a birthday with my grandson. And NO, I will never do that to myself again. But, I have to tell ya, it was totally worth it.


Even though the only people at the party were Michael, his Dad Seth, his step-mother Sarah, his new baby brother Owen, Grandpa and me, the FabGrandma, he received lots of gifts. He got a couple of videos, a new music CD, a Scrabble game, and a model car to put together with his Dad. Grandpa and I gave him a card with a ten dollar bill inside. I also got him a little spiral notebook to write his stories in. He is a very good writer, with good spelling and vocabulary for an 11 year old boy, and a very creative imagination. (Hmmmm, now where on earth could he get that?) He entertained us on Sunday night by reading a story he wrote. We were all very impressed!When the party was over, he helped with the cleanup, and thanked us all for his gifts. He is quite an amazing little FabGrandson.

Good News All Around

Thursday, October 11, 2007
(I don't know why the date is wrong on this post,hmmm...)

Jim with Owen

In 2001 when Jim was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, we were both devastated, overwhelmed, terrified of what the future would bring. We sat for days in a daze, just looking at each other and crying, because we did not know what to expect. I spent a lot of hours on the internet, searching for information, anything that would tell us that his diagnosis was not a death sentence. 

That experience brought us closer together, and helped us decide what we really wanted out of our life together. That is, we found out that we really like being together, and enjoy each other’s company, and that no matter where we go or what we do as long as we can be together, we will be happy.

Along with all the other things we have done in the six years since his victory over SCC, we have continued to educate ourselves about the survival and recurrence rates of that cancer, and to celebrate each day we have on earth together. So, when Jim noticed a little spot on his cheek a few months ago, it was not quite as earth shattering as it was in 2001. Yes, we were concerned, but not afraid.

We signed him up for Veterans Administration medical benefits, so that he could be examined by a dermatologist. I had been asking him (well, ok, badgering him) to fill out the paperwork for VA for a about 5 years, but it took a little spat with him for him to understand just how important it was to me that he do it. So, in July he had his initial exam at the VA Medical Clinic in Hagerstown, Maryland.

 

They looked into every opening (and prodded into one in particular,(hahaha) and pronounced him healthy except for slightly elevated cholesterol, a low TSH level, and that pesky little spot in his cheek. They told him he needed to eat a diet low in cholesterol, but did not prescribe any medication for that. They changed his thyroid meds to a lower dose. And they made an appointment for him to see a dermatologist at the Veterans Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

 

Two weeks ago, we went for a biopsy of “the bump”, as Jim was affectionately calling it. Tuesday, we went back for the results of that biopsy. Dr. Cohen, the very nice doctor who is head of dermatology at that hospital, came in and told us it was Basal Cell Carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. He said there are three kinds of skin cancer: Basal Cell, Squamous Cell, and Melanoma. He said if you have to have skin cancer, then Basal Cell is the one you want to have. He said it was probably caused by exposure to the sun and by exposure to the radiation treatments Jim had in 2001 to treat the first cancer, the Squamous Cell one. 

So, while we were there on Tuesday, they did surgery right there in the doctor’s office to cut out the tumor. When they did the biopsy the week before, I stayed in the room and watched, but this time I chose to go to the waiting room out in the lobby. The incision turned out to be quite large, but they got all of the tumor out, and sewed him up. They put four stitches inside, and nine stitches outside. A band-aid to cover it up, and an antibiotic ointment to apply three times a day, and that was it. We go back next week to get the stitches out.

I am amazed at how well Jim is taking this. He said it doesn’t hurt at all, even three days later. He is very glad that all he has to do this time is just the surgery. He is smiling every day, knowing that his little bump is gone.

Dr. Cohen told him that he will have to go every six months for the rest of his life for a dermatology check-up, but now that he has the VA medical, that is not a problem. He should also wear a hat or sun block when he is working outside.

So, now that I have written all this, let me just say to Jim’s Mom and Dad, yes I lied to you and told you he was fine, when he had this little bump we were a little bit worried about. But, since we did not know what it was or what the treatment would be, we just didn’t have anything to tell people. And, Jim did not want to say anything to anyone about it until he knew what was going to happen.

So, now that the bump is history, Jim will continue to go to the VA every six months for a check-up. Besides the one more trip to Washington to get the stitches out, he has to go for blood work to test his TSH for his thyroid again the last week of October, and then he will be done until April.

So, the next time he goes to the VA it will be in Arizona. We have been talking to a campground in Williams, Arizona, about a job there starting in March. The pay is pretty good, and they offer good perks and benefits, one of which is eligibility for AFLAC health insurance after 60 days. The campground is 50 minutes from the Grand Canyon, and a short drive from Sedona. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we get that job.

Also, our daughter in law, Sarah, got her PICC line taken out on Wednesday. I know she is very happy about that, and she can now just concentrate on being Mommy to Owen. He is getting cuter than ever and growing like a little weed. He is already stretching the little toes out of his one piece sleepers in size 0-3 months. He is taking 4 ounces of formula every three to four hours now, and staying awake for longer periods of time. When I talked to Sarah today, she said he was a little fussy yesterday and acted like he just didn't know what he wanted. She offered him his bottle and he didn't want it, and was not wet. I think he just wanted his FabGrandma!

Biscotti Con Cioccolatto

The other day when we were coming home from Washington, D.C., I was driving and I was so sleepy I felt like I was going to nod out right there in the drivers seat. So, I got off the highway at the next exit in search of a cup of coffee. On the way to the coffee place, we passed an organic food store that was in a little cottage looking house, surrounded by a burst of flowers out front. The handwritten sign in the yard said "Fresh Mozzerella Cheese", so of course I had to go in there.

I bought a container of the cheese, which by the way was delish with some tomatoes and olive oil, but the real find was some gluten free cookies I found there. They are imported from Germany, taste a lot like shortbread with the same consistency, and were dipped in dark chocolate. OMG! They were FABulous! A little pricey at $4.19 for 15 cookies, but what a heavenly experience for a gluten free grandma!

Ingredients include: dark chocolate 29% - cocoa 60% min. (cocoa mass 47,5%, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: soyalecithin), maize flour, potato starch, sugar, non hydrogenated vegetable fat, glucose syrup, milk powder, raising agent: ammonium hydrogen carbonate and sodium hydrogen carbonate, salt, flavouring.

So, I am truly sorry if you are lactose free and/or corn free, but if you are only gluten free and can still eat these, you are in for a real treat.

See them for yourself here

If you find a place to purchase them, please do let me know.

What a Nightmare!

We were planning to work until 5 p.m on Sunday then throw our stuff in the truck and take off down to Andrews AFB to spend time with our new FabGrandbaby, Owen. But then my son, Seth called around 12:30 p.m sounding frantic, asking if we could come any earlier. He had taken Sarah for a routine 4 day check up and they put her back in the hospital. He was at home with the baby and Michael, his 10 year old son and really needed us to be here to look after them so he could go back to the hospital.

So, I called the boss and explained the situation, and we got off early and came on down. I had really been looking forward to this quality Grandma time, but not like this. This trip has been a nightmare.

Sarah is still in hospital. We didn't even know exactly what was wrong until tonight, when I finally got a chance to talk to the nurse on duty. She has a "hospital acquired bacterial infection in her bloodstream", MRSA. They are giving her a very strong antibiotic called Vancomycin by IV. On Friday, they are taking her over to Walter Reed Hospital to put in a PICC so that they can send her home and continue to give her the antibiotic by IV for 14 days at home. Now, the infection started out at the place where they inserted the first IV when she was in labor with Owen, in her arm. There is a HUGE, and I do mean HUGE, place, about 5 inches by 8 inches, on her upper arm right above the needle hole for that first IV. It is very ugly.

While we are glad that they are taking such good care of her now, we wonder if they had taken such good care of her before this happened if would have happened at all. I am trying to remain calm about this. But, Owen needs his mother. While I am absolutely certain that he does not care WHO is holding his bottle, as long as someone does, I really believe that he needs his mother to be there. And she really wants to be.

So, I have been cooking meals, cleaning house, doing laundry, AND feeding and changing the baby, and getting up in the night with him, and I am here to tell you that no matter how FAB a Grandmother I think I am, taking care of a newborn is a sport for a much younger woman than me. I have found myself wondering about those crazy women you hear about on the news who have gotten pregnant in their late 50's and in their 60's with donated eggs--WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY THINKING!??! There is no way I would sign up to do this on a full time basis.

At least the people at the hospital are very understanding about visitation. They have allowed us to bring Owen up to visit with Mommy several times a day. Seth takes him in the morning for a while. Then Jim and I take him in the afternoon, and Seth takes him back for a little while after dinner. She is not able to feed him or change him, but she can hold him and just let him lie on the bed with her for a while, which helps her, I am sure.

What a nightmare!

Owen's Quilt

I figured since he is already here I better get off my duff and finish it up. I had the whole thing finished except for the binding, just sitting there for months. So, yesterday I made myself sit down and do it. Of course, I had to go to the fabric store to buy a half yard of fabric to finish it up. I thought I had enough of a yellow or a purple to do the binding, but could not find one piece that would work.

I love the colors in this one. This picture doesn't really show the deep purples. There is a lot of family history in this--the fabric in the big yellow blocks was also used in a quilt for Spencer and one for Becky; a couple of the purples were used in a quilt for Sarah; another purple was in a quilt for Becca; a yellow plaid was used for a dress for Sarah when she was a baby; and the purple plaid was bought on a trip I took to Mexico. I am sure Owen won't care where the fabrics came from, all he will care about is that it is warm and soft.

Owen James Has Arrived

Here he is, Owen James, weighing in at 8 lbs. 3.8 oz. What a cute little bundle!

Here he is with Mommy Sarah. Mother and son are both doing fine. Proud Papa Seth. Look at that grin!

Who turned on the lights? Aww, I can't wait to hug and squeeze this little guy.

Sleeping peacefully. See you soon, little guy!

Owen is one of the four reasons I am the FabGrandma!

Buckwheat Pancakes

I was craving some pancakes the other day so I decided to see what I could mix up to satisfy that craving. This worked great. I think buckwheat is going to be one of my favorite flours, because everything I have made with it so far has tasted really good.

Buckwheat Pancakes

3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup corn flour (use rice flour if you are corn free)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup buttermilk powder
1 egg
1 cup(more or less) water
3 TBLS melted butter or margarine

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add egg and water and mix well. The batter should be pourable. Add the melted butter and stir in well. Pour onto a hot griddle and cook until bubbles appear. Flip over and cook on the other side.

Now if I just had some blueberries to go with this....

Mums In Maryland

Another week, another day off, and Jim and I were driving through the countryside again looking for scenic wonderment. I am here to tell you we found it, just a few miles down the road in Maryland. Before we came up here to work, we never knew Pennsylvania and Maryland could be so beautiful. Everywhere you go around here your eyes are rewarded with beautiful sights, and today was no exception.
The first place we went was to a little restaurant on Hwy 16 in Fairfield, Pennsylvania called Our Place Cafe. They have not been open long. Today was the second time we ate there, but we both had the same thing that we had the last time. Jim got a cheesesteak sandwich and I got Crab Fries. Crab Fries are french fried potatoes with crab meat, bacon, and cheeses on top. They serve it with a yummy scrummy sauce that has Old Bay seasoning and horseradish in it. OMG! I am going to be making these at home sometime soon!

After we left there, we took the first left turn off of Hwy 16, just because we had never been down that road. It turned out to be a dead end road, but here is a picture I took along that road:After we got back to the main hwy, we took another left turn where there was a sign pointing to a roadside market. The market we found at the direction of that sign was fabulous. The farmer guy was out in the front watering a trailer loaded with fall mums for sale:Inside the market we found so many choices it was hard to choose, but we wound up buying eggplant, green beans, two ears of silver king corn, a tiny little cantaloupe that was about the size of a large softball, but it smelled soooo good.Back at home, I made eggplant parmesean, steamed green beans, and fresh corn on the cobb in the microwave. I cut up the little cantaloupe, and that was dinner.

Here is the recipe I used for the Eggplant Parm:

2 medium eggplants
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup corn flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
1/2 a 26 oz jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used Classico Sweet Tomato Basil)
1 1/2 cups shredded mixed italian cheese

Peel the eggplants and slice 3/4 inch thick. Salt generously and let set for about 20 minutes, then rinse well. Put the egg and milk into a bowl and mix well. Put the flours, salt and pepper into another bowl and mix well. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg mixture, then into the flour mixture, coating well. Fry in olive oil in a skillet until browned. Place the fried eggplant slices in a casserole dish in one layer. Pour the spaghetti sauce over, then sprinkle the cheese over. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

This is sooo good served with steamed green beans and corn on the cob. It is gluten free. If you are allergic to eggs, you can leave them out and just use the milk. Sorry, we were too hungry to take pictures of it before we ate it all up!

Buckwheat Cornbread

I am still trying to create the perfect gluten free cornbread. This is the version I tried last night, and Jim gave it two thumbs up:

Buckwheat Cornbread

1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup corn flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 egg
1/3 cup powdered buttermilk
1 cup water

Mix all ingredients well, and pour into an iron skillet that has been heating on the stove with olive oil. Bake in 425 degree oven for 25 minutes.

This was very good served with butter, along with yet another version of bean soup.

Today's Bean Soup:

1 bag dried baby lima beans
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 fresh tomatoes, skinned and diced
8 oz frozen shoepeg corn
1 smoked ham hock, skin removed, and meat cut up in chunks
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Place dried beans in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for five minutes. Meanwhile, place all other ingredients in crock pot and turn on high. Pour hot beans and water into crock pot and cook for several hours.

The "Original" FabGrandma

My mom will be 80 years old in November. In October of 2005, she almost died when she had a ruptured diverticuli. Her doctor took her in for surgery at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon and saved her life. In March of this year, she had surgery again, this time to reverse the colostomy she received in 2005.

She called me a couple of months ago to tell me that her recipe for stuffed cabbage was selected as recipe of the month for the Greystone Power monthly newsletter. Two ladies from the electric company came out to her house and took a picture of her holding a head of cabbage. Yesterday I received a copy of the newsletter in the mail from my sister. So, for your viewing enjoyment, here is my Mom and her stuffed cabbage recipe. It is gluten free, so enjoy if you can eat beef and tomatoes: (click on the picture for a larger version)

Hacienda Shiloh

Have you ever been to a wine tasting? I have too. But, have you ever been to a garlic tasting? I had not until today.

One of the girls I work with at Granite Hill Camping Resort told me about a place nearby called Hacienda Shiloh. It is an herb farm near Gettysburg. They have 23 different kinds of garlic there. Jim and I drove over there today after breakfast. The short drive to get there was a treat in itself, a twisty mountain road through the forest, where we had to slow down to keep from hitting a huge deer that lept across the road in front of us.

At Hacienda Shiloh, there is a gift shop, the garlic barn, a greenhouse, and of course, the gardens. They have flowers and herbs growing everywhere. Of course it wasn’t as beautiful as it could be because we have been in a drought here, but still, it was fabulous.

Our first stop was the gift shop. They have tons of dried herbs for both medicinal and culinary uses. Garlic jelly, garlic powder, minced garlic, garlic pesto, garlic granules, garlic cookbooks, and garlic utensils. If is has to do with garlic, you can get it there. After we looked around in the gift shop, we walked down past the vegetable garden to the garlic barn, where they had all the different kinds of garlic hanging up to dry. The nice lady (I can not remember her name, dang it) broke off cloves of several different kinds for us to taste. We both liked the Italian garlic best, so we bought a bunch of it.

We also got some garlic scapes, which are the tiny little bulblets from the flower that grows out the top of a garlic plant. I had never even seen anything like them before. She said you take them home and pinch them off of the flower heads, and store them in a zip lock bag in the refrigerator. Sprinkle a few in a salad for a burst of garlic flavor. Yum!

As we were walking back to the gift shop to pay for our purchases, I happened to see some chard growing in her vegetable garden. I asked her if she would sell me some of it, and of course she did. She got our her scissors and cut me a handful of it, both red and green. As she was cutting it she told me she has fresh herbs, too. So, I got her to cut me some fresh basil, my favorite herb.

Back in the gift shop, I rounded out my purchase with a Autumn Cranberry Rub and some Mushroom Sea Salt. The Autumn Cranberry Rub has cranberries, orange zest, rosemary and sea salt. She recommended rubbing it on chicken or fish. The Mushroom Sea Salt has powdered oyster, boletes, porcini, shitake, and woodear mushrooms. I can not wait to try it. The last thing I picked out was four sample sizes of herbal teas. All of the things I bought came to $16.10. What a deal! Oh, I forgot about the little bag of shallots, too.

When I got home with all this stuff, here is what I made for dinner:

1 chicken breast, skinned, deboned, and cut into bite size pieces
20-25 cloves of garlic (I sliced some and left some whole)
2 shallots, diced
1 bunch of chard, washed, and cut up (I cut up some of the more tender stems, too)
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and shallots, and sautee until tender. Add the chicken and stir fry until the chicken is done. Meantime, steam the chard in the microwave for about three minutes. When the chicken is done, add in the chard and sautee about 2 minutes. Serve over gluten free spaghetti or angel hair pasta.

I usually make this with broccoli, but since I had the chard, I used it instead. Oh MY God! Delish!

The lady at Hacienda Shiloh said she will ship anywhere in the country. She is working on getting a website. If you would like to have her product and price list, write to her at:

Hacienda Shiloh
327 Knox Road
Gettysburg, PA 17325-7243

Or send her an email at casagarlic @ superpa.net.

8 Random Things About Me

There is a blog tag thing going around, and while she didn’t actually tag me, Karina at The Gluten Free Goddess threw down the gauntlet when she invited anyone who wanted to join in the fun to do so. So, in the spirit of fun, here are my 8 Random Things About Me:

1.I also curse like a sailor. Well, what do you expect, I grew up in a house full of truck driving men. All the male members of my family are truckers. And if they weren’t truckers, they were in the Navy. So, there ya go.

2. I used to BE a truck driver. Well, technically, I still am, because I drive a four door Ford F-250 diesel pick-up truck. But, what I mean is that I used to drive a truck delivering freight to make a living. Yes, it WAS a Dodge Ram pick-up truck with a camper shell on the back, but it WAS a TRUCK and I DID deliver freight all over the United States in it.

3. I was once frisked by the Secret Service while I was wearing a bathing suit. Just ask if you want the details.

4. Here is a picture of me with the only “celebrity” I have ever met.

5.I live in a travel trailer and work at campgrounds and resorts.

6. I am diabetic and gluten intolerant. My husband has a thyroid condition and can not eat beef. So between us both we lick the platter clean, hahaha.

7. I was a Girl Scout leader and Service Unit Director for 8 years while my children were growing up.

8. I am from the south and everyone knows it as soon as ah open ma mouth ta speak.


I am not tagging anyone, but if you read this and want to do it, feel free.

Bean Soup Weather, Again

The weather here in Pennsylvania has been cool for almost a week now. Today is supposed to be 85, but it is already after one o’clock and it is still only 72 degrees out there. I am loving it, but hope it does warm back up as I really don’t want to have COLD weather yet.

Yesterday I did another version of bean soup, so here it is for you all to enjoy:

1 lb dried white beans (I used cannellini beans)
1 good-sized hunk of salt pork, preferably with some lean in it
3 celery ribs, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the beans for a couple of hours, until they are soft. Add:

1 pkg Bird’s Eye Sugar Snap Stir Fry (sugar snap peas, carrots, onions, mushrooms)
1 large yellow squash, cut up
2 large fresh tomatoes, cut up (peel and seed if you want to, I didn’t)
1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried basil ( I really like basil)
1 tsp dried oregano

Cook for about an hour longer. This was really good, although I can’t take full credit for the recipe, as there was a recipe for minestrone on the bean package, which I followed very loosely. I just happened to have that package of frozen vegetables in the freezer, and since it had most of the vegetables called for in the original recipe, I dumped them in. My husband, Jim, really like it, too, but he asked for cornbread to go with it. I just doesn’t seem like a cornbread kind of soup to me.

Bean Soup Weather

When we got up yesterday morning it was rather chilly for August--62 degrees. The high for the day was only 68, and the weather forecast was for rain all day. Perfect weather for a pot of bean soup!

Here is the recipe I used, or rather what I threw together:

1 lb dried red beans
a ham bone from the freezer
3 carrots peeled and chopped
3 celery ribs chopped
1 medium onion chopped
2 heaping tablespoons of chopped jalapeno peppers
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper to taste

Put the beans in a pan, cover with water, bring to a boil and cook on high heat for five minutes. Meanwhile, put everything else in the crockpot. Pour in the hot beans, and cook for several hours on high. I did not have anything else to serve with it, but cornbread would have been nice.

Sarah and the Diabetes Scare

We went down to visit with Seth, Sarah and Michael in Wahington, D.C. We spent the night on Tuesday night and came home on Wednesday. Before we left to come home, I took Sarah shopping for Michaels school uniforms.

She has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. The baby is due at the end of September. They prescribed glyburide for her to take. She took her pill, then we left to go to the store. While we were there, she started looking obviously distressed, so I took her out to the truck. She tested her blood sugar and it was 38! I ran over to a convenience store and got her a coke. After she drank about half of the coke, she started feeling better.

She is supposed to go back to the doctor today, so I told her to be sure to tell the doctor what happened. I think they need to either change the dosage or change the medication.

Pennsylvania Fruit Quest

Jim and I go on a weekly "Fruit Quest", that is, we take a drive to somewhere we have never been before, looking for local fruit and vegetable stands where we can buy direct from the local farmers. Since we got here, there has been a huge variety of fruits and veggies available to us. So far, we have been through strawberries, cherries, apricots, sweet peas, asparagus, and blueberries. I was sad when the cherries were all gone, but now there are the most delicious blackberries I have ever tasted.

This week, we drove up to Carlisle, Pennsylvania just because we have never been there before. We took a very scenic route to get there. It took about three hours round trip, through some beautiful countryside. This part of Pennsylvania has been experiencing a severe drought this summer, and the orchards are showing the effects of it. Many of the trees have lots of fruit on the ground where it has fallen due to not getting enough water. Leaves are turning brown and falling as well. Corn is not as tall as it should be this time of year, and flowers are hanging their heads down towards the ground, as if they are praying for rain. Even with the lack of rain, there is still an abundance of fruits and vegetables available, and we took advantage of that fact yesterday, stopping at at least three stands to purchase our produce for this week. We got some squash, eggplants, tomatoes, and onions at one stop where barefooted Amish women where tending the store under a tent at the side of the road. At another place we got nectarines, yellow plums, and blackberries. I have never seen so many blackberries for sale as I have this summer, and they are just now coming into season. I used some of them to make a blackberry vinaigrette salad dressing. It turned out YUM! Here is the recipe:
1 cup fresh ripe blackberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 of a red onion, chopped
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh basil
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients except olive oil in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, mashing the berries with the back of the spoon. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain out the solid ingredients and pour the liquid into a cruet. Add the olive oil and shake well. Store in the refrigerator. MMMMMMM.

Also, while we were in Carlisle, we stopped at a natural food store called The English Garden. While the proprietor was very helpful and nice, I was not impressed. When he asked what I was looking for, I told him I am gluten free. He took me to an aisle where he has all types of pasta, including regular wheat pastas, all stacked in the shelf together. He told me all of his pastas were gluten free, and they obviously were not. I thought about informing him of his error, but I just didn't want to get into a debate with him right then. I just hope that his gluten free customers are label readers.

Cooking For the Daughter-In-Law

We got up late on Tuesday morning. While we were having our coffee we were discussing whether or not to call Sarah, our daughter-in-law and ask if she wanted company, when the phone rang and it was her. She had been to her doctor appointment and wanted to tell me all about it. Our little Owen is due in about 58 days now. So, we decided to get in the truck and drive down.

On the way, we stopped at a farm market and picked up new potatoes, green beans, squash, peaches, and blackberries. Those blackberries were as big as my thumb!

When we arrived at their house, Michael was in the yard playing with his friends. As soon as he saw our truck, he raced across the yard to greet us. I heard him telling his friends "It's my grandparents!" That made me feel really good, like a real grandmother. And when Sarah saw the bags of groceries, she said to me, "As soon as I hung up the phone, I thought to myself, yeah, she's gonna cook dinner for me, yum!"

That night, I cooked dinner, except for the pork chops, which my son, Seth, did on the grill. We had green beans with new potatoes, fried yellow squash with onions, fresh creamed corn, and a peach-blackberry crisp based loosely on a recipe from Karina's Kitchen at the Gluten Free Goddess blog. Everything I cooked that night was gluten free, but I did not tell my family that it was because I did not want any bias in their opinion of the meal. They all raved about the food,most especially about the crisp, which they insisted on calling a pie. It was all good.

I used white rice flour to coat the squash before frying, which is the first time I have done that. The squash turned out very crispy and golden brown, and seemed to me to be better than when I used wheat flour for all those years of cooking it. I used rolled oats and rice flour for topping of the crisp. The only negative comment I had was that it was too chewy. Oh, well, if that is the only thing then it wasn't too bad.

We only got to stay for one night, then had to come home as we had not really planned on going down there. But we did make plans to go back in two weeks. So, that was our days off this week.