Allergy free Wednesdays

There is some great food being posted that is gluten free on Gluten Freely Frugal. Great site!

Homemade vitamin water

I saw this and decided I wanted to make my own. I used to drink zero calorie vitamin water all day when I was working. My employer loved it and had all her beverage refrigerators stocked with it so I learned to love it too. Don't they look yummy?

Fireworks tonight at Kemah

Starts at 9:30pm

Lemon meringue pie

My family loves pie. My brothers always requested pie instead of cake for their birthday. Tart marionberry pies were always the favorite. My Mom makes delicious pies and I did too, until I became gluten free. I have yet to find a GF pie crust recipe I like, but I will persist because we like pie more than cake!

I had extra egg whites to make this lemon meringue pie because I had made an egg custard ice cream for James' father's birthday. This pie was so tasty, but the crust did not hold up well. It was very humid the day I made it and the crust became rather soggy. I made a GF pie crust last year that was delicious, but it was from a mix. I think adding almond flour makes a big difference in GF baking.

Penny and Posey

Good morning ladies.

Penny is the white hen and Posey is the black and white hen. Penny has completely molted since her accident and trauma from a dog attack and then a rooster attack. James performed surgery on her at the time about 2 years ago. Isn't she lovely? Both of these girls were some of our first hens who were raised in the house. They are still laying an egg everyday. You can tell they were raised in the house. If you leave the door open, they want to come inside. They like to follow James and I around the property like little puppies. They are our sweet girls.

Too many cooks in the kitchen

A friend of mine once told me that her Mother-in-law was the best cook she has ever known. That statement makes me laugh because she was, in a round about way, telling me my cooking wasn't up to par with her Mother-in-law's. Seriously!?! I cook the way my Mother taught me to cook and there are some things that I do really, really well. But having said that, it's all relative because what you may like may not be what I like and vice versa. This friend made me some of her Mother-in-law's food, and let me tell you, I didn't think it was at all spectacular, but then again didn't I say it's all relative? I am used to my Mother's cooking. I think her cooking is spectacular. She cooks with spices and herbs. I think my friend is used to more bland cooking. That being said, I was at a backyard BBQ a couple of weeks ago when it was sunny outside and not the constant monsoon we had all last week. The lady of the house had made a potato salad and I went to spoon some up and quickly put the spoon down. I mean who the bleep puts green olives in their potato salad????? Really?!? Don't you know anything??? My parents grew up in Idaho and I moved away as a preteen. I know good potato salads and I have never eaten a green olive in a potato salad before. But then I had that conversation come up in my head about my friend's Mother-in-Law, who is supposedly the best cook ever. Then I looked at the potato salad and thought, I like green olives. I used to eat a ton of them on my mission. Those Puerto Rican Mamas put them in their yellow rice and I love their yellow rice. So I took my plastic spoon and tried some. OH MY DIVINE GOODNESS! So here is a recipe for Egg potato salad with green olives I found on Epicurious. I am going to make it and see how it compares to the one I had. :)

Trellis garden

I saw this trellis garden and wanted to post it so I could use the idea later. Isn't it a cute idea? LOVE!

Gluten Free Lunch Recipes by Udi’s®

I thought this looked really good. I'm always looking for good gluten free food recipes.

Recipe: Fried Green Tomato BLTs Ingredients 8 slices of Udi's Gluten-Free Whole Grain bread (personally my favorite GF bread is Pamela's bread mix. I throw it in the bread machine and it's easy and yummy.) 4 slices of bacon 1/4 cup almond flour 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper 1 pound unripe green tomatoes or large tomatillos cut into 1/2-inch slices Canola Oil (I use olive oil) Low-fat gluten-free mayonnaise and baby arugula Instructions Serves Four -Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. -Line a pan with aluminum foil and bake the bacon for about 15 minutes, or until it gets crispy. Cut in half and set aside. -In three separate bowls, add the almond flour, beaten egg, and cornmeal. Season the cornmeal with salt and pepper. -Dip each slice of tomato into the almond flour, then the beaten egg, then the cornmeal, and set them on a clean plate until they are all ready to go in the skillet. -Fill a large skillet with 1/4 inch frying oil (canola or other). Over medium-high heat add the tomatoes and turn them once after the first side looks golden and crisp. Total time in the pan should be about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. -Add the low fat gluten-free mayonnaise to four slices of bread and stack with green tomatoes, bacon, and arugula. Close the sandwiches and serve. Preparation time: 15 minute(s) Cooking time: 25 minute(s)

Family

I talked to my Dad last night. I hardly ever get to talk to him and it was nice to hear him. Unfortunately, he was involved in a car accident. My Mom and Dad were driving to the coast and my Mom slowed down for the car in front of them to turn. The car in back of them never slowed down, just rammed into my parents. The guy who was driving put his own wife in the hospital. My Dad is in a lot of pain. He has to take a medical leave from work because he's in so much pain. If you know my Dad, he always goes to work, sometimes even on the weekends. He likes his work and always meets his deadlines. He says he's fine, but I still worry. My Dad isn't really one to complain much and as he's gotten older he's become a lot more mellow. But then the good part... My Dad asked me if I'd like to come home for a visit. Perhaps for a couple of weeks. He has lots of frequent flier miles and he's willing to let me have some. HMMMMMM... let's see, going home? WELL YES! I haven't been home for a couple of years.

<(Picture of the Oregon Coast) Then they said they'd like to come visit me in Texas sometimes after Christmas. How lucky can I get? I have been wanting my parents to come here SO BAD! I need to make a list of fun things we can do while we're here so they don't get bored. I also have got to fence all the animals away from the house. Even though my Mom grew up on a farm, she doesn't like animals. So much to do between now and then.... I better GET BUSY!