I just have one thing to say about this holiday weekend....
HARDSHELLS ARE GLUTEN-FREE!!!!!!!
Last night was the best outing I've had in a long time. We met my Mom, Dad, Pa-paw, Aunt Jane and Uncle Mike at Carr's, the best local restaurant. We had cocktails, terrific wine, tasty appetizers, fantastic main courses and delicious chocolate Creme Brulee for dessert. The company was great, and the food was wonderful. I think my Aunt Jane liked the meal, which I was quite nervous about. She has traveled extensively in France, and she knows food. Did I say we had a great time? I'm so blessed with a great family. I looked around the table and couldn't believe I belong to such a cool family. I'm so thankful for the influence they've had on me. I'm so thankful just to have been able to spend that time with them.
Today is Monday, June 26. It's been six months since my grandmother passed away. This weekend and today a few tears have been shed while thinking of her and missing her. I think I'm finally getting to the point where I can talk about her and say that I miss her without feeling bad about myself or without crying all the time. Tonight it was a song that brought some tears to my eyes. We were listening to Michael Buble sing Can't Help Falling in Love, and the tears started coming. For some reason it reminds me of Grandma. Maybe it's a song she liked, or maybe it's a song that I think she liked. But it was while I was cooking dinner, and I was drying my eyes with the flour sack towels she gave me for Christmas the year I got married. I think if she had seen me she would have laughed.
I also had a sudden intense feeling that she was with me and that it was all ok. I miss her, and I want to be like her. But it seems the more I try to be like her the less I become. As I was crying into the spinach a thought hit me that she was telling me to not try to be like her but to be myself - be the person she's always loved. That's a scary thought for me, but I think it's one that deserves my thought and consideration. I feel a peace about letting her go that I have not felt in a long time. I definitely need to think this over and pray about it. I need God's strength to be the person I'm meant to be, not to just be like someone I dearly love. And I think by being myself I will honor Grandma and myself so much more.
Thanks, Grandma for inspiring me. Your legacy lives on. Thank you, God for giving me the gift of a grandmother like her.
I'm sitting here at 12:10 a.m. enjoying my gluten-free dinner and not feeling a bit gluten deprived. Yes, it's late. My sweet baby had a small wreck on his new bike that required two stitches in his chin; so dinner had to wait. But I already had it started, and I did not want my organic chicken from Market to go to waste; so I decided to cook it when we got home.
I was recently diagnosed with celiac disease (an allergy to wheat and gluten), and I am trying to cook healthfully and of course, avoid gluten at all costs.
From The Gluten-Free Bible, "Beth Hillson's General Tso's Chicken"
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used organic breasts)
MARINADE
1 egg, lightly beaten (I used a brown free-roaming egg from Market)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
SAUCE
2 tablespoons wheat-free soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar (I used Spectrum Naturals Organic Brown Rice Vinegar after checking their website www.spectrumorganic.com to make sure it's GF friendly)
2 tablespoons water
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Corn, peanut or safflower oil for frying
Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Combine egg and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add the chicken and coat with mixture. Let stand 15 minutes at room temperature. Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.
Over medium high flame, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok or large frying pan. When oil begins to smoke, add chicken in small batches. Saute until golden brown. Pour off all leftover oil.
Return chicken to wok or frying pan. Add sauce and stir mixture for 1 minute. Serve over hot rice.
This was fabulous, and even my sweetie was able to eat some.
On another note, our shopping list for market today...
organic bananas
organic chicken breasts
locally-grown, fresh-picked strawberries
locally-grown peas
red peppers
locally-grown spring onions
locally-grown and spray-free butter lettuce
baby zucchini
mozzarella cheese...
all for $20. Unbelievable.
