Face the Fireworks!

This is the time of year when, north of the U.S./Canada border, we celebrate Canada Day on July 1st, and to the south, ya'll celebrate Independence Day, aka the 4th of July. Well we all traditionally celebrate with fireworks, and you have to be facing them to see them, or what's the point. ;o) Here are some that may not be as spectacular as the real thing, but at least they're safe... and I think they're interesting. :)

Hubby decided to try to get some photos of the fireworks. Here's a sample of what he got:

And here are some sites that offer virtual/cyber fireworks displays. Hey, for those of you with little kids, might keep them busy for awhile. Y'know? ;o)

http://www.cyberfireworks.com/

http://www.maylin.net/Fireworks.html

Just for fun today.

1-800 Are you kidding me?

So all these conglomerized companies have a web site and a 1-800 number. Well, I opted to try the web site, because even though I'm somewhat tech-challenged, I've called that 1-800 number before, only to wind up talking with someone who is unknowing and haughty about it.

One time I called a company we'll call PC to ask for more information about a product, only to be told the product didn't exist because it wasn't on her list. It was there, in my hand as I spoke with her. I read the product info directly off the package. But apparently I was living in some other dimension at that moment because the product I was holding, I was repeatedly assured, did not exist. *tweet tweet*

Hoping to avoid that bizarre dimension again, I went to the web site and clicked on "contact us." Of course, it wasn't that simple ~ there are hoops to jump through. But finally I got to an email box that told me to just go ahead and pour my heart out. Fortunately, I didn't waste that much time, but I did state the problem, then I hit "submit." It wouldn't accept my comments though, because I hadn't put my full name and address, only my email addy. OK... so I searched for those little boxes where you can put the required info. There just weren't any... not up, not down, not sideways... no boxes. So I typed in the required info under my name and hit "submit." Nope. Hehe... very tricky. Get consumers to get it all off their chests and then don't accept their comments. Interesting PR strategy.

So... yep... I called the 1-800 number. The first thing they made me do was listen to a very loud, long commercial for their freakin' mac n' cheese product (which no one in our house will EVER use) before taking me to an "expert." I told her, if consumers are grumpy by the time they get to her, they have ample reason. I regaled her with my web site adventure and suggested she tell her bosses to deep six the damned phone commercial, if only to save wear and tear on people like her. I went light though... afterall, this isn't the CEO on the phone. T'would that it t'were.

No, I'm on the line with only a company expert. Right. Now, there was a time in my life when I thought people who were supposed to be experts would actually know something, but I'm thinking I was just young and naive myself and wanted to believe in faeries... I mean.. experts. I remember my dad saying about experts: "X is a sign for an unknown quantity and a spurt is a drip under pressure." It comes back to me at regular intervals somehow.

Sure enough, on the other end of the phone is a young... may I say... blonde. (C'mon, you know what I mean.) She sounded... um... perky. I was really in no mood, but I asked her if her company carries a gluten-free mayo product. She responded that they're not allowed to say anything is gluten-free, but if there was gluten in the product in question, it would have the wheat or other grain mentioned on the label. (Because, of course, I'm really stupid and didn't read the label before calling.) *sigh*

Ok, patience... Thing is, I have Shauna James Ahern's book, gluten free girl, sitting beside me wherein she's written about "hidden" sources of gluten, such as corn dextrin, so I say so. The girl repeats her schpeal. I repeat, "but there could be other sources..." and again, she repeats her well-rehearsed schpeal. Clearly I'm speaking to a perky programmed 'droid. Great. Of course, Einstein's definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Clearly I'm floating dangerously close to this space.

I gave up. What else? It's probably what these companies hope we'll all do ~ just give up in exasperation. Only the bottom line matters, so why waste time on consumer questions? *sigh* So I gave the girl my address when she asked, so she could send me coupons. See, 'cause that's what they do... you have a problem, they send coupons ~ for products you don't even want. (But hey, maybe the BIL can use them, eh?)

So I have to face it. The gluten-free mayo I bought in the health food section of my local grocery store may be a little overbearing, but I'm going to have to get used to it. At least the cider vinegar that makes it taste so strong is good for me. *sigh*

People. What a species.

Mmm.. That Market!

Do you have a farmers' market in your town? We do. We're so lucky to have it there, down by docks, nestled into the pavilion, which is surrounded every Saturday morning by canopies seeming to sprout from the very pavement. There's nothing like sauntering past the stalls of tantilizing foods and beautiful crafts in the fresh summer breezes off the bay. People come by boat, car, bike and on foot to enjoy these special goods.

Our market features hand-made, homemade, homegrown, organic and fair trade goods. I NEVER take enough money for all my purchases. I just run out before I'm through because there's just always something new!

Today we bought butter tarts, fresh basil, raspberry-apple crisp, Ying-Yang hummus dip (half garlic/half roasted red pepper), organic ground beef, meat pies, Jamacian meat patties, elk pepperettes (the hot ones), berries, and more. Another great thing about an outdoor market is that you don't have to leave the dog in the car. (Although you do have to scoop.) ;o)

I not only LOVE getting hold of high-quality, healthy, locally grown/made goods, I enjoy supporting the local economy by shopping at the markets and downtown businesses, instead of the big box stores. I like that the small businesses will order what I want, instead of telling me what I must settle for (because it's what they carry). And I like that they don't lie to me about their goods being organic (as the big box store here has been caught doing), and they don't presume to censor the goods (like music) available to my family. OK, it costs me a bit more, but that's because the local stores and markets can't artificially lower their prices in an effort to crush the competition. They don't need to. I don't want temporarily artificial prices that I know will skyrocket once the competition is out of the way. I just want fair prices. And so I choose to give my business to local small entrepreneurs.

Overall, it's economically better for my community than those no-benefits, minium wage jobs at the box store.

Where do you shop?

Skum n' Bread

Ok, so you're already bleched out. But really, it's not that bad.

When I was a little kid, it was just standard stuff that strawberry season = homemade jam. We'd go off to school in the morning quite unsuspecting that it was a special day. But then we'd come home to the luscious smell of hot strawberry jam filling the whole house. We'd scarcely get the back door open before yelling, with ridiculous, child-like glee, "SKUM 'N BREAD!"

Ok, so see, when you make jam out of red berries ~ strawberries, raspberries, even strawberry/rhubarb ~ you have to skim it. This is because, as you cook the berries, a pink froth appears on the top of the hot jam. The more you cook it, the more pink froth just magically appears. When I first asked Mom what that pink stuff was, she replied, "skum." I don't know if she was trying to gross us out so we wouldn't want it, or if it just followed for her that the stuff skimmed off jam was skum. But there it is. And it was good. Mom didn't have to knock herself out making a big dinner after making jam. The kids, at least, were already full of skum and bread.

When I make jam, I skim... to a point. If I just kept skimming ~ endlessly ~ there'd be no jam left, so when most of the skum is off, I bottle up my jam. That pink coating on top of the last jar? Well that's the one I keep for the fam, but if there's some pink fluff on yours, donworryaboutit.

It's just skum.

It's all good. :)

Eat jam responsibly. ;o)

Strawberry Jam

6 cups cleaned strawberries, cut the bigger ones in half

4 and 1/2 cups refined sugar

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Put into a large saucepan and cook till it's jam. Bottle it up in sterilized jam jars, and place sterilized lids on top. Enjoy.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Captain Canada and His Beaver People
(A story for Canada Day)

As Captain Canada foraged through the tall stalks of corn, his beaver people meekly followed.

"Don't move too fast," he advised. "Someone might see the stalks waving around and know we're here."

Quickly and quietly the group picked several cobs of corn, then weaved their way out of the field, back to the beat up car by the side of the country road. Throwing the corn into the trunk, they took off in a cloud of oily exhaust fumes, back to the city.

There, in an untidy apartment above a pizza joint, they shucked and boiled the corn.

"Don't cook it too long!" said one beaver. "It will make it tough."

After 10 minutes they tried it, but it was too hard to bite into, so they threw it back into the hot water. After 20 minutes, same thing. After 30 minutes, "I don't think this is edible," offered Captain Canada.

"It's cow corn," said one beaver, disparagingly.

Hence, Captain Canada and his beaver people learned a lesson about the difference between corn grown for human consumption, and that grown for farm animals. It was a hard lesson.

So they passed a pipe around and tried to think what to do next.

After a while, one beaver piped up, "let's go for pizza!" So they all got up and went down stairs.

Let this be a lesson to you young people:

1) Never steal corn. (It's just wrong.)
2) Never follow anyone who calls himself, Captain Canada.
(Now that's just crazy.)
3) Never allow yourself to be referred to as a "beaver."
(Unless you're a young Girl Guide.)
4) Never drive an ecologically unsafe vehicle.
(Gov't won't let ya anyway.)
5) Never share a pipe.
(The potential for germs.. Dr. Oz would be mortified.)

Happy Canada Day!

Cautionary Tale

I really don't want to turn this into just a health blog; I like to explore ALL aspects of life as we know it on here, especially the annoying ones. ;o) However, as some of these important aspects of life are health issues, I'd like to share a cautionary tale.

I do this simply because I don't want others to go through what I have if there's a way to prevent it. And there is. Awareness is the key. So I give you one word: ALUMINUM.

I mentioned on my last blog that before I got celiac disease, I already had colitis. Symptoms of chronic illness can be so insidious, sometimes we really don't realize we're ill until those symptoms become debilitating. So it was with colitis. I knew something was wrong, but I just thought I needed to eat healthier, so I got the whole grain pastas, added veges to my diet, ate fish (tuna) regularly. Yet I still got sicker and sicker... no energy, gut pain, bleeding bowel... I won't get too graphic because if you want to know more about colitis you can always look it up. Suffice it to say I was suffering and wound up ass up in a little room in the hospital, somewhat drugged, a doctor coming at me with a hose-lookin' thing with a camera on the end of it. This is called a colonoscopy. Not fun... drugs notwithstanding. Through the haze of those lovely seditives I heard the doctor say, "colitis." Then he instructed the nurse to have me make an appointment for 3 weeks hence.

Three weeks to find out about this colitis thing... more than enough. The library books told me what the doctor would say and gave all kinds of case histories. A common thread ran through many of them. Aluminum.

After reading this, I looked at my pots, pans, utensils. I'd grown up with these. Mom gave them to me years ago when I left home and got herself new stuff. Aluminum. I looked at the colanders I used to drain my healthy pastas ~ both of them ~ aluminum.

Longer story short, I got rid of them and replaced them with stainless steel, enamel or glass. I started noticing all the consumables that come in aluminum and I stopped using them. I made dietary adjustments to accomodate my condition, including no dairy, white wheat, red meat and no more tuna (mercury). I got well. My colitis remained in remission until I got complacent and drank some iced tea out of cans. Lesson learned. (Canned beer, soda pop, teas and even the lining of some drinkin' boxes.. aluminum.)

Life is good with no gluten. Life is good with no aluminum. Even with all these dietary restrictions, there are still lots of foods left and I feel good. I can see the blue sky, feel the warm sun, smell the fragrant breezes, hear the rain on my deck, get annoyed with technology and its limitations (another blog.. again) and go shopafrolicking without worry! Yep, life is good.

Note: Everyone is different. You may have enjoyed your drinks from cans forever and feel no ill effect. I reached my saturation point for aluminum in my 40s. You may never do so. But know that you could and what it can do to you. Aluminum and consumables don't really mix well.

To follow me on Twitter: @Wendakai

Other health resources on twitter I suggest:

@Marielhemingway

@mercola

@MattinglyMD

@iHerb

Some of these folks are also on facebook.

It's Not About the Destination...

..it's about the journey. Today I embark on a search for alternative grains and other gluten-free foods I can have.

I already traded in my beloved lite Miracle Whip for gluten-free mayonaisse. (Kraft, do you make a gluten-free product??) And I found gluten-free dijon mustard in the same health-food aisle. Chic peas have become a big part of my life. Oh, the mighty chic pea. *bowing*

Of course, you may be saying to yourself, who cares? All I can tell you is that the doctor wasn't at all surprised by my gluten intolerance, and that's simply because he's encountering it with so many of his patients. Pay mind, readers ~ this may be a problem you'll need to be aware of in future. That might not be a gall stone causing your discomfort... might be gluten.

Todays' search will focus mostly on alternative grains. Specifically I'm hoping to find sorghum flour, amaranth, bean flour and/or oats that aren't contaminated with wheat. We'll see what I bring home. I really miss bread, rolls, biscuits, etc. While the brown rice pasta is delicious and the rice cakes are good, brown rice bread is yucky and cloying, even when toasted and toasted some more. I must find alternative flours, and while I'm out there, I must get some gluten-free baking powder.

Onward to the hunt. And then on to the kitchen experiments, with the guidance of others who've gone before. Later ~

Added several hours later:

Ok, here's how I did. As I suspected, I couldn't find these flours on my first lookabout, but what I did find was Bob's Red Mill mixes, some of them using the very flours I was looking for. I'm not really a "mix" kind of cook, but hey... gotta go with what's available and maybe this isn't a bad place to start.

So then, here was the opportunity to make something for supper besides the brown rice pasta with veges and some sort of dressing. Don't get me wrong... I love that. But EVERY night? Maybe not. So I went with the biscuit mix and the almond "meal/flour." I made half a recipe of the biscuits using part vege shortening and part roasted garlic olive oil and water. Those in the oven, I cut several slices of zucchini, dipped them in egg seasoned with salt and pepper, then the almond, and fried them in XV olive oil. In another small pan I put some mushrooms, chopped green onion and pieces of asparagus to saute. Then I poured the beaten egg leftover from dipping the zuc in with the veges. With some li'l tomatoes, this was my supper:

It was surprisingly good. Really the only complaint I had is that the biscuits took longer to bake than the pkg. directions indicated, so some of my zuc slices got a little mushy, and I like them firm. But that's easily adjusted another time.

You may have noticed that there's no meat included in any of my food posts. That's because before I got celiac disease, I already had colitis. So I was already on a special diet where I couldn't have any dairy, red meat, or white wheat. I did eat chicken, but now apparently that's no longer an option either. Basically then, there's 3 things I can eat: *veges, brown rice and the one animal product my body will still tolerate, eggs. So this is why I'm so anxious to discover some of these gluten-free grains. So far, so fun and interesting. ;o)

*Yes, I can also have fruit ~ I'm just far more likely to have it as a drink, rather than in solid form.

Note: if you're interested in more info on dietary issues, look for Chickie Pea's blog on Facebook called Eating for Autoimmune Health, and The Healthy Haven, by iHerb on wordpress.com, and nutritionevolution.net, all great nutrition resources. (I'd give you the links, but this thang won't copy and paste and they're rather long.)