Turmeric Tea

I’ve been feeling stiff and swollen. It’s not a nice feeling. But suddenly I remembered the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric. So I decided to make some turmeric tea. 

I dumped some turmeric into my pot, among with a little ground black pepper and a healthy scoop of minced ginger. (Side note: when I buy fresh ginger I grate and mince the whole root and then put it into the freezer. That way I always have “fresh” ginger on hand without it dying in the pantry.)

I added water and simmered the spices for about 20 minutes. 

I used my nut milk bag to strain the spices out of the water.  You could drink it like this, but I like to go a step further and make  an Arnold Palmer of sorts. 

I added lemon juice, stevia, and ice to my cup. 

This is pretty strong- just like I like it- but you can adjust the water and/or the simmer time to your liking.

And, just in case you ever need to dye anything bright yellow- try turmeric. 

 

 

Dump Meals Aren’t Complicated.

I made chicken thighs for dinner last night. 

They were easy and SO good. 

I simply browned the chicken in a skillet with olive oil. Then I added the magic ingredients. 

                Drain, chop, dump. It was that easy. 

  After all the ingredients were in the pan,  I moved it to the oven to finish cooking the chicken. I guess this would count as braising. 

 The chicken was so tender that it was falling apart as I took it out of the skillet. I ate it just like this, but I served it to the carbivores over penne pasta. 

Each of my kids didn’t like some part of this meal, but there were no leftovers. I kind of wish there were. 

Less Complex Dinner Prep

Last week I decided to try a produce delivery system.  The jury is still out whether or not I will continue getting it.  I am going to get another week, at any rate.

The box came with a lot of things that I would reach for on a typical grocery shopping trip.  It also had a few things that, while not foreign, certainly aren't on my regular rotation.  Things like leeks.

Today I still had leeks and potatoes from the last box. That plus a quick trip to the store for ground sausage yielded this yummy pot of soup.

To start, I trimmed the dark green, woody stalks off of my leeks, and sliced them up.  I washed the leek confetti very well, then boiled them down in beef broth until they were soft.

While the leeks were cooking, I crumbled and browned two pounds of mild Italian sausage,

When the leeks were cooked I puréed them with the broth and returned the slop soup to the stock pot, and added the browned sausage.  I dumped it all in without draining it because there was no other fat in this soup.

At this point I took my portion of soup out of the pot.

I added heavy whipping cream to my soup as I was dishing it up.

But the peoples got the potatoes cubed up and cooked down in their soup.  When the soup was ready and the table was set, I added milk to theirs.  I would have taken a picture for you all, but the people gobbled it up too fast.  Trust me, though, it was beautiful and delicious.  And not all that complicated.

 

At Least One Thing Isn't Complicated

 I was just thinking over the weekend that I should have some test results by now.  I had made up my mind to call the office today to find out if they had the results of the Celiac test yet. I was sitting on my hall steps today, waiting for my 10 year old to take his shower, when they called me.

Good news!  As I suspected, I do not have Celiac Disease.  Which simply means that I can keep not eating wheat and grains, but I also do not have to buy my own toaster and cutting boards. 

I also asked if  they had gotten my records yet, which they hadn't.  So, to further uncomplicate things, I sent them a copy of the lab results from my previous blood draw.  That way we don't have to repeat any tests.  

Well, no is still an answer.  So we press on.

BLT-C

C for complicated. Because making a BLT does not involve grabbing a couple of pieces of bread. Instead, it involves getting out the paleo flour that I mixed up and making myself something that resembles bread. In this case I made waffles.  Waffles that I slathered with mayo/mustard. 

I keep cooked bacon in my fridge as a staple item. We eat a lot of bacon. So, I grabbed the bacon, the lettuce, and a tomato and made myself a “simple” sandwich. 

I like this waffle mix as bread. It is nice and soft, yet sturdy enough to hold my ingredients. 

YUM!

 

How to complicate an ordinary Wednesday

I haven't posted any of my food for the last two weeks because I have been eating the Standard American Diet (SAD).  I haven't eaten gluten in about 8 years, and I have been avoiding all grains for the last year or so. But, when I went to the allergist, he wanted to test me for Celiac Disease. I consented because, while I don't think I have it, I do have other auto-immune issues.  I would rather rule it out definitively, than to have it lurking untreated.  The consequences of having untreated Celiac can be VERY bad. Unfortunately, testing for Celiac Disease means that I must be consuming gluten.  So, that's what I've been doing.

And it's been killing me!

This was as far as I could open my hand when I woke up on Wednesday after two weeks of eating SAD. Getting it open to this point was very painful. It didn't get that way overnight, but that was the net result.  In a couple of hours I am able to fully extend my fingers.  The thing is, all of my joints feel like my hand looks. Additionally, not only could I not take my ring off, but I couldn't even turn it on my finger.  That is not usual for me.  Just saying.  When I eat clean, that ring spins at any hour.

So, after 2 weeks, I took the first available lab appointment.  I gave them my blood at 9 am.  And then I came home and had a grain free, dairy free breakfast.

Either I have it, and I will have to make some major changes with a steep learning curve, or I will eliminate Celiac as something that is trying to kill me.  I still won't eat the grains.

Sun butter; Because buying peanut butter isn't complicated enough.

I jest. We eat peanut butter.

We eat a LOT of peanut butter.

But, sun butter is my favorite.  And, because seeds are much less inflammatory than beans, I grabbed a couple of boxes of shelled sunflower seeds when I saw them in Walmart today.  They were under 3 bucks each.

You have to be sure to get roasted seeds or nuts, otherwise, the oils won't release from the seeds, and you won't get butter.  Also, you need a super strong blender.  I have a Pampered Chef blender, but I know a VitaMix will do nut butters.  I suspect a Ninja might, but don't quote me on that.

 

I also added a couple of spoons of stevia- because I like my sun butter a little sweet.

But, this might be my favorite thing.  My blender has a self cleaning mode. Add some water, add some dish soap, and set it to clean.  It still needs the sides washed a little, but the blades come out clean.  

I looked on Walmart's website.  This is the sun butter they sell.

And this is the sun butter I made for under $6. 

I can't decide if I am going to have it on some paleo waffles tomorrow, or if I will add it to a smoothie.