A Cake whilst Convalescing

On a rainy, windy, mild November day you cannot beat the smell of a chocolate cake baking in the oven whilst you sit and read in the late afternoon light.  The dimness is punctuated by a quietly lit lamp, and my favourite bands are serenading the silence in the background.  Right now, I am convalescing after being kept up most of the night with a bad stomach.  However, I did find the energy to bake a cake.  It’s a trial run for the cake I hope to bake for my mum’s 50th birthday party on Friday.  Fingers crossed it’ll come out great.  The recipe was taken from Vegan with a Venegeance and slightly adapted to make it gluten free as well as vegan.   If the cake tastes as great as the batter did then we’re in for a treat.  Even when I’m ill, I’m not very good at doing nothing; idly sitting aroung makes me stressed.  And, I’m not very good at watching TV or films in the day.  Thus, I make a rubbish ill person.  It doesn’t help that I’ve got studying I should be getting on with but, for a change(!), I lack motivation.  What do you do when you’re ill?…

…Fast forward a couple of hours later and…

I’m pleased to say that the cake was excellent.  May I present to you, the rich and decadent Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Icing (except I replaced the raspberry component with strawberry, and rice flour instead of plain (wheat) flour).  Gluten free, vegan awesomeness.  Honestly, I think every vegan kitchen should have a copy of Vegan with a Vengeance.  Sorry ther’s no recipe.  I’m not sure if I’m allowed to publish the recipe due to copyright laws, even though it has modifications.  You’ll have to buy the book

Soft Diet Dinner

Continuing with my soft diet, it has taken me 3 attempts at some form of dinner tonight.  My first attempt was a blended salad, which didn’t quite work.  I think I went wrong when I added the tomato.  The second attempt was chocolate mylk from Ani Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo which was great but I don’t have a nut bag so there were still bits of almonds in it that would get stuck in my, hopefully, healing gums.  Tom liked it.  I thought it tasted exactly like chocolate milk but clearly it’s been a while as Tom disagreed.  So, I learnt two things from this try- I need to purchase a nut bag as I will definitely be drinking this when my gums have healed and, secondly, my magimix does not deal with a high volume of liquid.  I made such a mess in the kitchen.  I’ll probably be finding splashes of the mylk for the next few days.  The final attempt, also from Ani’s book, was carob pudding.  Wow, this was amazing!  It was so good that I ate the majority of it before taking a photograph!  Here what was left when I remembered to take a photo:

All that’s in it (for one serving) is half an avocado, half a banana, and 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder (ani’s recipe contains carob instead of the cocoa).  Tom loved it too.

I can’t believe the weekend’s almost over and I’m about to start a 6 day working week.  Nevermind.  Hope you’ve had a good weekend.

Food- What does it mean to you?

Well friends, it is blowing a gale here in Bristol.  The rain is beating against the window, and the wind is squealing in the cracks of the panes.  The severe weather warnings have been released.  I am happy to be indoors sitting in front of my computer screen, even if it is a forced exile from outside life due to having my wisdom teeth removed yesterday (thursday).  A soft, virtually liquid foods diet has been put upon me, and with it comes a re-evaluation of the place of food in my life.  Already I am craving normal foods and the freedom to decide what to eat for my dinner.  Pondering recipes, flicking through cookbooks, and researching what I can do with the ingredients in my fridge to make something delightful will have to go on hold for the next couple of weeks.  Instead, smoothies, soups, blended salads, stewed fruits, and mashed vegetables, will make up my daily repetoire of meals.  The dread of this has visited me sporadically through out the day, but it is soon followed by more optimistic thoughts of how I can enjoy and work with this temporary diet.

It has also made me realise how much I obsess over food and waste away hours browsing the internet wondering what to cook, or uncook.  Focus on food, be it reading about it, cooking it, eating it etc.,  is what I do when I’m bored, when I’m hungry, when I’m tired, when I’m avoiding studying, when I’m winding down after a busy day, when I’m too lazy to think of something else to do.  The list goes on.  Yes, food (particularly cooking it, reading about it, and learning about food and health) is my hobbie.  But at what point does a hobbie become more than that?  At what point does it become the demon, taking on the negative in your life?  This is what I’m trying to tackle and answer at the moment.  Any ideas?

Today’s breakfast was a treat and so simple.  Maybe a liquid-soft diet isn’t so bad after all…

Mango yoghurt (serves 1)

1 mango, chopped
1/2 a large banana, or one small one, chopped

Put the mango and banana into your blender and blend until smooth.  It will have a lovely thick consistency, and the banana gives it the creaminess that will take away all cravings you may have for dairy yoghurt.  I poured mine into a bowl and ate it with a spoon, but if you want it to be more drinkable add some water whilst blending until you’ve reached the consistency you want.

Some food snapshots

Hello!

A week has gone by since my last post and whilst I have studying to do, I thought I should share some photos of what I’ve been eating over the past week.  Whilst there aren’t any recipes, the photos will give you an idea of what a gluten free, vegan girl eats.  Most days I have lots of salad and fruit but on the days where I cook, here’s what I enjoy.

This was a lazy fruit salad that I bought from Marks and Spencer; mango, melon and blueberry.

A simple red pepper, yellow pepper, and carrot stir-fry sauted with olive oil, ginger, garlic, tamari and dried thyme; served with brown rice and peas.

Ahh, I had this salad after an awesome yoga session.  It’s just green leaves, celery, red onion, and cashews dressed with a bit of hummus and balsamic vinaigrette.

This was my first attempt at miso soup and our first taste of tempeh.  This tempeh had bits of sea vegetables in.  Not sure if I enjoyed the tempeh- it has quite a strong almost cheese like taste.  Maybe it just didn’t work with the miso soup.  Anyway, I stir-fried the tempeh with some vegetables and ginger then added it to the miso soup.  Loved the miso soup though.

I’m off to do some research about the specific needs of providing nursing care to elderly patients, before I head off to do a late shift.  Hope you’re enjoying your Sunday

It’s Gluten Free Lifestyle Blog Carnival Day!

Welcome to the November 1st, 2009 edition of the gluten free lifestyle blog carnival.

There have been loads of great entries this month, thanks guys.  There are product reviews and a host of delicious recipes for you to try out as the winter nights draw in and socializing becomes less (if you’re anything like me; I prefer my sofa, pyjamas and duvet in the winter months). Have a browse through the following posts by fellow bloggers and see what tickles your fancy.

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Product Reviews

Ginger Carter Miller presents A B-Udi-ful Product for the Gluten-Free posted at Ging Recommends!, saying, “The best!”

Kim, The Food Allergy Coach presents Product Review: Edward & Sons Exotic Rice Toast posted at The Food Allergy Coach, saying, “Check out these yummy crackers that I found at my local wine & cheese shop!”

Katrina Morales presents Yummy Gummy In My Tummy…. posted at Gluten Free Gidget, saying, “Delicious, healthy treat for kids or kids at heart!”

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Recipes

Gluten Free Mains

Tamara Duker presents A Tearful Reunion with Mushroom ?Barley? Soup posted at What I’m Eating Now.  Tamara says, “If you’ve been looking for a perfect GF substitute for pearled barley just in time for soup season, allow me to introduce you to a little known grain called “Job’s Tears.”"

Ray Burton presents Blackened Chicken Cajun Dry Rub posted at Planning Diets Natural Nutrition, saying, “Spicy Cajun Blackened Dry Rub – no worries for gluten allergies. I use it all the time for chicken and hot stir fry.”

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Gluten Free Baking

Linda presents Gluten-Free French Bread Rolls posted at The Gluten-Free Homemaker.

Iris presents Hearty Apple Cinnamon Waffles, posted at The Daily Dietribe, and they’re gluten free!

Linda Simon presents M is for Millet- Muffins Two Ways | Kitchen Therapy posted at Kitchen Therapy, saying, “Whole grain muffins. With buttermilk and egg, or flaxseed and Amazake. Tasty either way.”

Cinde presents Gluten Free Frosted Pumpkin Doughnuts posted at Gluten Free Taste of Home.  Here’s what Cinde says about her blog, “Gluten Free Taste of Home offers gluten free vegetarian comfort food recipes and product reviews.”

Cheryl bannon presents Pumpkin Streusal Bundt Cake posted at my realistic life.

Amy Green @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free presents French Apple Tart posted at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, saying, “If you thought that flaky gluten-free pie crust wasn’t possible, think again. Better yet – try my sugar & gluten-free French Apple Tart. It’s simple to make, light, flaky, and it comes out perfectly every time.”

Kim, The Food Allergy Coach presents Buckwheat Brownies posted at The Food Allergy Coach.  She recommends them as they are, “Very yummy and suitable for many folks with multiple dietary restrictions.”

Meg’s Gut presents Chocolate Chip Cookies posted at The Gut Gazette, saying, “Delicious gluten free chocolate chip cookies! Yummmmmy!”

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That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the gluten free lifestyle blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Happy gluten free blogging!