The La Paz County Fair

To celebrate FabGrandpa's birthday today, we went to Parker, Arizona. We had a little business to take care of first, then we ate lunch at El Serape' Mexican restaurant. They had the best corn tortillas I have ever eaten. They weren't mushy tasting and wet like a lot of corn tortillas are. When I paid the bill I told them how much I liked the tortillas, so they sold me a bag of them for $2.50. I was so excited that I found something I can eat that tastes so good and that they let me buy some to take home.

(FabGrandpa on the Tilt-A-Whirl)

After lunch, we went to do laundry, then to Basha for some veggies. We wound up spending $65 at Basha, but we got cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions, lettuce, avacados, bananas, strawberries, grapes, green beans, and asparagus. Two cases of water and coffee and we were out of there. So, for what we got for the money we did pretty good.

(The Ferris Wheel)

Then as a treat, we went to the fair! I can't remember the last time I went to a fair, and he said he doesn't think he as been to one since Becky was a little girl and she is, ummm, 34.




I love the animals of the carousel, they are always so pretty. I especially liked this zebra.




Yeah, he tried to get me to ride the Starship 3000, but I am not completely crazy. The last time I got on one of those things I was really sick, and the other riders were not happy. Besides, who in the world thinks that something like the spin cycle on a washing machine could be fun???



I don't remember the name of this one, but it looks like a Ferris Wheel except that the bucket you are in twirls around and upside down. We got in it, but changed our minds before it started. I think it was a good decision.




Here it is from the ground looking up. See those little space capsule looking things. Yeah, right. I'm glad I didn't do that.



This is the more dignified, real and true Ferris Wheel. It was just the right speed for us old folks.


And here I am, with my new longer hair and shades. I got sunburned on my face because the sun was out and not a cloud in the sky.


Well, except for way over there on the horizon. This is the view from the top of the Ferris Wheel. They held this fair out in the middle of the freaking nowhere desert. Way out from town. I wish we could have gone at night, I'll bet the lights are really pretty out there. But is is more than 50 miles over there so...


Oh, and there was lots of "fair food", but since we had already had lunch the only thing we got were these: An orange cream soda float and a root beer float. It was the first thing we did. And after we rode that Tilt-A-Whirl, we were both wishing it had been the last thing we did. Riding that thing was sort of like taking just one toke too much, or one glass of wine too much, (so I am told, as I would NEVER know for sure just what that feels like.)

Happy Birthday, FabGrandpa!

My honey, my sweetie, my dear husband, FabGrandpa, is 60 years old today! I am married to an old man! Can you believe it? So here are some of my favorite pictures of him:

March 1949:

Still 1949:

March 13, 1950:

1968, His senior picture:



1992:


and today:

Happy Birthday, honey! I love you.

Feeling Better Now

That gluten I got in those daily vitamins knocked me on my hiney. I am finally feeling better, so maybe I can catch up with everything. And I finally had a phone call from the manufacturer of them, telling me which one of the pills in the daily pack contains the wheat, the B12 tablet. I let them know how sick it made me but they offered no compensation. I don't know yet if I am going to continue taking them without that one pill or not. It does seem like a waste of money not to, but FabGrandpa may take them if I don't, since the gluten does not bother him.

I was planning to give a recipe a day from the meals I was making this month, but for the last few days, it has been simple simply prepared basics. You know, roasted chicken thighs, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, stuff like that. So what I will do is just put up the dinner menus since Saturday. Yeah, boring, I know. But the last time I talked about cooking here was last Friday when I made that Mexican Seafood Soup. So, here is what we have been having:

Saturday:

Baked Chicken Thighs
Rice Steamed Broccoli

Sunday:

Italian Mushroom Stew
Rice
Pear Salad

Monday:

Gluten Free Fried Chicken Livers! mmmmmm:


Mashed Potatoes
Gluten Free Gravy
Sweet Peas

Tuesday:

Chicken with Salsa and Rice (Thanks to my mother-in-law for that recipe!)

Wednesday:

Corned Beef Hash
Cooked Cabbage

Thursday:

Chili with Gluten Free Cornbread

We are doing really well on the overall budget, too. I stopped doing the Cash Monday posts, and several readers have asked me about that. It was just so boring to write about after we got out here to the desert, because there is no where to go to spend money. We haven't even taken money out of the bank some weeks because there was no need to. So, my suggestion to anyone who wants to stick to a really tight budget? Move to the middle of nowhere, only go grocery shopping once a month or less, and stay out of stores. You'll do just fine.

I have to give a little more info about those yummy Gluten Free Fried Chicken Livers. Years ago, when all my children were young, they all loved fried chicken livers as much as I do. Now, I know liver is not something that everyone likes, but my family did. I used to cook more than was needed to feed us all, so I would have some to take to work with me for lunch the next day. I had to hide them in the back of the refrigerator so my children would not sneak downstairs and eat them in the middle of the night. More than a few times I didn't hide them well enough and had none to take for lunch. So I have weird kids!

After I made my chicken livers on Monday, I called Becca, my daughter, who is also a gluten free girl, and told her how good they were. She was really excited to hear about it and said she was going to make some, too.

For anyone who would like to know how to make them:

1 carton chicken livers
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Mix
salt and pepper to taste

Drain and rinse the chicken livers. Dredge in the Bob's Red Mill Baking Mix. Melt the Crisco in a skillet, and let it heat up on medium heat. Place the breaded chicken livers in the hot oil, cover and let cook for two minutes. Remove the lid, turn the livers over, replace the lid, and let cook another two minutes. Remove the lid, turn the livers over, and resume cooking without the lid for about three minutes more. Turn again, and cook on that side for another three minutes. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Repeat until all the livers are cooked.

To make the gravy, drain off all but about 4 tablespoons of the Crisco from the skillet. Add about 1/4 cup of the Bob's Red Mill Baking mix, and stir well, cooking until the mix is browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add 2 cups of milk (any kind of milk will do, cow, soy, hemp, almond). Stir and cook until thickened.

I was sooooo in Georgia Girl Heaven!!

Workamper News

Just a quick note to those of you who think you may want to run away from home and live in an RV:

You can do it too! Just click here:



Subscribe to Workamper News Magazine or buy a book--Yeah, if you do, I'll get an affiliate commission, but hey, you like me, don't you?

Gluten Alert!

FabGrandpa started taking the Prescripitive Formulas Men's vitamins manufactured by Nature's Bounty a couple of months ago. He is liking the added energy he says he is getting from them. I read the ingredients on the package and since they had no wheat ingredients, I ordered the Women's formula for myself.

I started taking them about a week ago. Yesterday, after feeling sick and generally "bad" all week, I finally decided to read the ingredients on this package. Silly me, the Women's Formula has wheat listed as an ingredient.

I feel bloated, my muscles and joints all ache, I have a headache, my eyes hurt, and my old friend, the big "D", is back. I don't know how long it is going to take to feel better, but I stopped taking these vitamins yesterday. Just wanted to let the gluten free worlkd know about it.

P.S. READ EVERY LABEL!!!

Adopt A Gluten Free Blogger: Simply Gluten Free

The Book Of Yum is hosting an Adopt A Gluten Free Blogger event this month. I chose Simply... Gluten Free as my adoptee. The purpose of this event is to try out a recipe from the blog you choose. I made Gluten Free Smore's Cheescake.

I was a Girl Scout leader for many years when my daugthers were growing up. I took the troop camping about four times a year. At each camping trip, we made the smores, roasting our marshmallows over the campfire until they were good and hot and sticky, then plopping them between graham crackers with chocolate bars. So good! and so full of gluten.

I followed the recipe to the letter. I wasn't so sure about making the crust out of roasted peanuts, as I am not a big fan of peanuts; AND because I had never thought about peanuts being in smore's. But, that crust is a streak of genius! It has many potential uses for other recipes, and surprisingly tastes very little like peanuts.

I used Nestle Special Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chips. They melted quickly and really made the whole thing so chocolaty good.

Here is what my version of the cheesecake looks like:

Oh, and that topping? it tastes a lot like the Seven Minute Frosting my mother used to make for her coconut cake. I know I will be using that again too, but probably as a frosting for a cake. It has all the sticky sweet goodness of that long ago recipe but is very easy and quick to make.

Thanks, Book of Yum! And thank you, Simply...Gluten Free.

Spring In The Desert

We have been taking walks in the desert for the last few days in the afternoon. There are lots of flowers bloomin out there, but most of them are so tiny you have to have your eyes wide open to see them. That's my shoe in the first pic so I would have some reference to how tiny these flowers are. I have no idea what any of these are, just wanted to share their loveliness.




These yellow ones have "hairs" sticking out all over. Very fuzzy flowers.


These are my favorites. The orange can be seen quite a ways away. The leaves are large and sort of velvety.


I think this one may be lupine. Purple spikes sticking up from green foliage.


When you look out across the desert, you can't really see many flowers. It really does take looking closer to see them.


These white flowers were mixed in with some dead twigs.


I didn't have anything to put in this picture to show how little these flowers are. The whole plant was maybe two inches tall. And my camera doesn't photograph purple accurately so you really can't tell how pretty these are.


I had to get down on the ground to take this picture. These white one are one of my favorites. And so little tiny!


I think these were the smallest ones we saw. I put my water bottle on the ground next to them just to show how low to the ground the plant was.


The showy desert poppy! There are lots of these blooming right now.


The beauty has been out here a long time.

MMMM, Mexican Seafood Soup

I wrote about this soup last year, but it is soooo good that it is worth repeating. When you eat it, it tastes like it takes hours to make and like it would be a complicated recipe to make. It really isn't. If you like a little bit of heat, and a little bit of spice, this is a really good soup. And everything in it is naturally gluten free. You'll say "¡Esta sopa está tan sabroso!


The ingredients are basically the same as for any good vegetable soup, with a few Mexican herbs thrown in. The secret ingredients? Shrimp, cumin, and shrimp bouillon. Don't be afraid of it because of the jalapenos, two won't make it hot, just a little warm.

Mexican Seafood Soup

3-4 tablespoons Olive Oil
3-4 stalks of celery, coarsley chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 (or 3 if you dare) jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
3 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
3 medium potatos, washed and cut in chunks
1 zucchini, cut up
3 cubes Shrimp bouillon (Caldo con sabor de camaron) w/ 1 cup water
OR 16 oz seafood stock
6 cups water
2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2-3 shakes of tabasco sauce
1 bunch fresh cilantro if desired
1/2 lb tilapia or other firm white fish, cut in bite size pieces
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1 lime

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven. Saute the celery, onion, garlic, and jalapenos until the onions are clear. Add tomatoes, cumin, basil, red pepper, tabasco, carrots, zucchini and potatoes. Put the bouillon cubes in 1 cup of water in a microwave safe container. Microwave for 4 minutes, until the water is boiling. Stir well to make sure the cubes are dissolved. Add to the dutch oven. If using the seafood stock instead, add it now. Add the rest of the water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down, cover the pot, and simmer for 40 minutes. Add the fish and shrimp, cover, and simmer another 10 minutes. Slice the avocado and squeeze lime juice over to prevent discoloration.



To serve, fill each bowl with soup, then put some slices of avocado on top, followed by a squeeze of lime juice. ¡Demasiado delicioso ser verdad! I always eat way too much.

Finally! I Have Cookies!!!

It only took them since February 11 to get my order to me, but it DID arrive today. Just in time for me to make some biscuits for dinner with the Pamela's Baking Mix I ordered. Everything I ordered was received in ONLY 21 days. They DID however, send me two of the items for free since it took them so long to deliver my order. I have to give them that. So, just so you'll know who they were, I'm not naming them here but I will give you this link. Order if you have time to wait.


Now to tell you that I absolutely LOVE Amazon.com. I have placed two orders from them since Feb 11 and have already received both of them. The stuff I ordered from them on Friday came yesterday. Excellent service from them, folks. I just wish I didn't have to order 6 of something to get it from them. I'll just have to look for other storage options. Maybe in my side of the wardrobe closet.


I know yesterday I talked about not having leftovers, but only to show how I try to make them different the next time. We do, sometimes, eat the leftovers, or previously cooked food, and there is not much I can do to change it. As in tonight, we had leftover stuffed peppers and eggplant parmesean. When I absolutely have to serve leftovers, I let him choose what he wants first. The whole meal tonight included another tossed salad, and some home made cheese biscuits made with Pamela's Baking Mix.


The salad was romaine lettuce, strawberries, zucchini, and green onions. A sprinkle of garlic salt, and some Wish Bone Bountifuls Berry Delight Vinaigrette. I don't know about the rest of the gluten free world, but whenever I see "new" on a product in the store, I don't usually get excited about it. Most companies just seem to not care about those of us who have to eat gluten free. But I picked up that bottle anyway, and just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the words "Gluten Free" on the back of the bottle. This stuff is GOOD! I was making my own raspberry vinaigrette at home, but I may never make it again. It's that good. They have a printable coupon on their website good for 75 cents off. Get it while you can.

This Is So Freaking Cute!

I read Baking For John, another gluten free blog. She has posted about a Monkey Cake that she made for her two year old's birthday. That cake looks so stinking cute! I am going to make one myself. Just for me and FabGrandpa.

The Art of Repurposing Leftovers

In our house there aren't really any leftovers. What we do have is food that has not yet been eaten. It may be cooked already, but I don't call it leftovers. You see, Fabgrandpa does not LIKE leftovers. So, I found out a long time ago that in order to make good use of the food we have, I have to do something different with it from time to time.

Tonight I made stuffed peppers with garlic toast and tossed salad. I started out with something entirely new, two green bell peppers. I cut them in half, took out the seeds and membranes, and put them in a 8 X 8 casserole dish.


I had some rice that was leftover, I mean stored in the fridge, from last week. I put that together with 1/3 pound ground meat (I use a mixture of 1 lb ground turkey, 1 lb ground pork, and o1 pound ground beef. I mush it all together and freeze in 1/3 pound portions). A half an onion, one zucchini, some garlic, basil, Italian seasoning, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, and a 16 oz can of tomatoes finish up the dish.


Cook the meat with the onion, garlic, and zucchini until the meat is just browned. Add the seasonings, rice, cheese, and can of tomatoes to the pan. Mix together well. Fill each of the pepper halves with a generous portion of the filling. There will be about half of the filling left when you are finished stuffing the peppers. You can put that part in a ziplock freezer bag and put it in the freezer for another day. Pour about 1/2 cup water in the bottom of the baking dish, place the baking dish on a cookie sheet, and place in the oven. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.



While the peppers were baking, I made a tossed salad. I think lettuce is quite pretty, don't you? Anyway, the salad was a simple one of romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and green onions. I had some of that fresh mozzarella pesto tomato salad from the other day. It wasn't enough for one person, but I added a little olive oil and some wine vinegar, mixed it up, and used as a dressing for tonight's salad. When the peppers were done, I put some slices of that bread I made the other day under the broiler with some garlic butter. That rounded out the meal:


Do you use up all your leftovers, or just toss them out? What do you do to make them "new"?

Steamed Brussels Sprouts

While I like to cook, and try new things a lot, there are some things that FabGrandpa and I keep coming back to--old favorites that we just love. Brussels sprouts is one of those things. Whenever I find them in the produce section at a reasonable price, I get enough of them for us to have for a couple of meals.


They taste so good just simply steamed with some butter and salt. I cut off the bottom end, and peel off a couple of the outside leaves, and put them in a microwave safe bowl.



Add about 1/4 cup of water. It doesn't take much water to steam these to perfection.



Put about three tablespoons of butter, cut in thin slices, over the top of the brussels sprouts. Add a shake or two of salt, and they are ready to go.



Cover the bowl tightly with Glad wrap, and place in the microwave. I push the buttons on mine to set for 9 minutes. Your microwave may be more powerful or less than mine, so you will have to experiment with how much time it takes for yours.


Tonight we had the brussels sprouts with another standby meal, ground meat with mushroom gravy over rice. Talk about yum! And all naturally gluten free, naturally.

What They Do In Idaho...

This van drove through the RV park today. He said the donkey and the bull rode all the way from Idaho in there with him. All I can say, is, Idaho must be really weird.

hmmmmm.......

I Make A "Stab" At Gucamole

I accidently stabbed myself in the hand while I was trying to get the pit out of an avocado today. The good folks over at Avocado.org say:

"Remove the seed by sliding the tip of a spoon gently underneath and lifting out. The other common seed-extraction method - striking the seed with a knife and twisting - requires some skill and is not recommended." Guess I should have read that first, huh?

Fabgrandpa was outside washing the awning. He heard me scream and came running inside to see what happened. Don't worry, it isn't as bad as it sounds, just a tiny wound in between my middle and ring finger on my left hand. It didn't require stitches or anything. It DID hurt like hell, though

The remedy? An application of New Skin and Patron.

That New Skin stuff is great. As soon as you dab it on, it burns for a second, then the pain is gone. It is a sticky liquid that dries quickly to make a skin-like bandaid on a cut. I love this stuff.

I got that little bottle of Patron about two years ago. It has been living in my "office drawer" since then, waiting for just the right occasion. It was just right and just enough for today.

Dinner tonight was leftover blackeyed peas, cornbread, and fried spam. Not very exotic, but filling and good. And I didn't have to cook.


The recipe for the day:

Banana Pancakes

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Baking Mix or your favorite gluten free pancake mix
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 bananas

Mix all ingredients except bananas. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. When the skillet is hot, pour pancake batter in. While the pancakes are cooking on the first side, put slices of banana on top. When the pancakes are browned on the bottom, flip over and cook on the banana side until browned. Serve with butter and syrup. The taste of cooked bananas is soooo good!

As Promised

But first, I wanted to talk about making a monthly menu. One of my bloggy friends, Terri, of Terri Terri Quite Contrary, wrote this:

"I wish I were so organized with my shopping. Sadly, for lack of more time and energy, I end up grabbing a few coupons and just tossing whatever looks good in the cart. Nothing lasts long with teenagers in the house anyway."

Now, I will confess that it does take some time, but not as much as you might think. You see, last winter when I was yet again in the off season, living off our savings until spring came and we went back to work, I made up four monthly menus, and saved them in my "Budget" folder. So now, when I need to make a menu for a month, I might use one of those as is, or I might use it as a starting point to make a new one. Another thing I did when I was sitting around doing nothing last winter, was make a complete shopping list for each of those four monthly menus. So, now that I have the menu and the shopping list ready and sitting on my hard drive, all I have to do is print it off, shop my pantry first, and go to the store.

I also admit that not everyone has the need or the desire to shop for an entire month at a time. I didn't used to do it. When I lived in a regular house and acted like a normal woman, I went to the store every week, and didn't even make a list. If I forgot something, there was a Publix Grocery Store less than half a mile from my house.

But now, I have this new life, you see. I live in a travel trailer, where the whole house has about 300 square feet, and the refrigerator/freezer is a whopping 8 cubic feet combined. And I share this space with another person. And both of us like to eat. We like to eat a lot. And one of us has to eat a special diet, that is free of gluten. Right now, we are living in a remote area, where the closest decent grocery store is at least 50 miles away. Wal-Mart is an 80 mile drive. Shopping for groceries is an all day affair. A love affair it is not. Hence the once a month shopping. Oh, and did I mention that all of the refrigerated and frozen things I buy have to fit in two coolers in the back of the truck for the ride home? I have to be organized to make it all work. What is the point of buying it if I can't put it in it's proper place when we get it home, I ask you.

However, if you would like to save both time and money, making a menu and a shopping list is very useful. It could also save you some time if you are the primary grocery buyer and meal cooker. If you post the monthly menu where everyone in the house can see it, someone might just make a meal for you one day. Without you asking them to.

Another thing is, just beause you have a monthly menu doesn't mean you have to eat the meals in the order they are on the plan. I just print out the plan for the month, and mark off each meal as we eat them, so I know what I have still on hand. Adn I only plan the dinners, because breakfast is just breakfast. It will either be eggs, pancakes, or leftover eggplant parmesean. It has worked for me. Your mileage may vary.

And, to address the part about nothing lasting in a house with teens. Honey, you ain't seen how much FabGrandpa can eat! I solved the problem of him eating things I had planned to cook by giving him his very own cupboard. Yes, the FabGrandpa cabinet has nothing in it except for his snacky and lunchy things that he can eat any time he so desires. It makes him happy, it makes me happy, and so life is happy here. No more of him eating my special olives for that thing I wanted to make.

Ok, I think that about covers it. If anyone wants one of my monthly menus with a shopping plan atached, let me know. I'll think about it.

On to the recipe I promised. This morning (ok, this afternoon) we had scrambled eggs with zuchinni and onions. I chopped up a zuchinni and half an onion, sauteed them in some butter in a skillet, added three eggs, and scrambled them up. Yummy.

Dinner was Eggplant Parmesean with a side of this:



I made the bread using up some flours I had on hand, because my online order from hell has not arrived YET. Here is the recipe I used:

1 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup potato flour
1/4 cup corn starch
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup water
1 pkg yeast
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 pkg unflavored gelatin
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil

Heat the milk to lukewarm in the microwave, about 45 seconds. Add the brown sugar and yeast, set aside. Mix all the dry ingredients together well. Add the eggs, oil, water and milk. Beat well with electric mixer. Scrape all the dough into the center of the bowl, spray with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with olive oil. Spread the bread dough on the pan into a rectangle about an inch and a half thick. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut the rectangle in half. Cut one half into six bread sticks.

I served the bread with home made pesto, fresh mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes, and garlic stuffed olives.

The main course for dinner was Gluten Free Eggplant Parmesean

1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices
1 cup milk
1 cup gluten free flour (you can use whatever your favorite flour is. Tonight I used half white rice flour because I was using up the rest of the box, and half buckwheat flour. but any flour is ok, as long as you like it)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
8 oz gluten free spaghetti noodles. (I used Deboles corn angel hair pasta, but you can use any gluten free pasta you like)
1 16 oz jar gluten free spaghetti Sauce. (I used Classico Traditional Sweet Basil. Again, you can use any brand you like, even make your own, just make sure if you buy prepared that it is gluten free)
2 cups Italian Blend shredded cheese or 2 cups mozzarella cheese.

Cook the spaghetti according to directions on the box, drain, rinse, set aside. Meanwhile, sprinkle the eggplant with salt, and let it weep. Rinse. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Dredge each slice of eggplant in flour, dip in milk, then back in flour. Fry in olive oil over medium heat until browned on each side. Drain on paper towels.

Spread about 1/2 cup of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of an 11 X 13 casserole dish. Put the spaghetti in the casserole dish on top of the spaghetti sauce, and spread around evenly in the dish.

Place the eggplant slices in a layer over the spaghetti. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the eggplant layer. Spread evenly over the eggplant layer.

Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top of the casserole. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

This casserole freezes well, and reheats well. Serve with a tossed salad or with bread and pesto.