Thoughts on Being an Aunt & Mothers Day…

     I have many roles in life, but one of my favorite roles by far, is that of being an Aunt.  I like to think I am a fun aunt that my nieces and nephews can look up to.  Twelve years ago this week I became an Aunt for the very first time, when my little nephew was born.  I know I am biased, but I think he is a pretty amazing kid.  Mr. Love From Scratch and I don’t have kids yet, we pray that they come in our future, but we love our nieces and nephews and are always excited to see them.  When my nephew was born, that kid dethroned me from my “Princess” position in the family.  Being the only girl I have to admit I did get spoiled at times, but along came my nephew and apparently “first grandchild” will trump “only daughter” every time.  He’s one of the nicest kids you will ever meet, whenever I have a son, I’d love for him to emulate after my nephew.

     I try to call my nieces and nephews often, but especially on their birthdays.  It is always fun to hear what they got, hear about their parties, the birthday dinner, and of course the cake.  I called my nephew to wish him a happy birthday and as we talked he talked a lot about the different things his parents have been teaching him, and the fun activities he has been sharing with his family.  There wasn’t any mention of x-boxes or whatever the cool toys are now for a 12 year old.  Instead he was telling me all about their garden, his hiking and camping with his dad, and his new baby sister that should be born next month. It made me happy to hear how happy he is with his life and the simple things, he really showed maturity far beyond his years.

     When my brothers started to get to the marriage age, I wasn’t all that happy.  Sure I want them to be happy, but I didn’t want just anybody join my family.  Yes I know that makes me sound like an elitist snob, but seriously, you have to protect your family.  I only wanted the best for my brothers, and I can tell you my brothers definitely found it.  Not only did my brothers marry women who are proving to be excellent wives for them, they are also great friends and sisters to me.  What did not dawn on me years ago was how grateful I would be today that these women are tremendous mothers to my nieces and nephews. 

     Everyone always talks about how much you love your own child, and that you truly learn love when they come.  I am sure that is true, but since I don’t have kids I am making assumptions on that one.  What I can tell you is I never expected to be so enamored with nieces and nephews, or to cherish the role of an Aunt so much. I am so lucky that I have an amazing mother, one that made motherhood her greatest calling in life (and still does).  I can see that same dedication in my sister in laws, and as a daughter I of course want to say Happy Mothers Day, but as an Aunt I definitely want to say a huge thank you and Happy Mothers day to all the women who are raising the nieces and nephews of the world, on behalf of Aunts everywhere I thank you!

     Mr. Love From Scratch and I are going out of town and will be gone for a little bit, so I wanted to make sure that from our home to yours we wish you a Happy Mothers Day!  To you mothers out there, please remember that there are so many of us cheering you on, more than you realize, and we are so grateful for you and all that you are doing!

Happy May! Around the World in Food Month!

     Happy May!  It is crazy to think that 2013 is almost half over, how does this happen?  This month’s theme for Love From Scratch is “All Around the World in Food.”  Mr. Love From Scratch and I love to travel and we have been blessed to be able to see some really amazing things.  I love being able to explore other places and learn about other cultures.  May has always been one of the months I think of travel the most.  Growing up it was right before school got out, so many may afternoons were daydreaming of summer fun and trips.  This month actually Mr. Love From Scratch and I are taking an amazing trip that I am am super excited for!  So you will probably notice my blogging absence later in the month, have no fear though, I will return!
     Part of the fun of travelling is seeing the native cuisine of other regions.  I love that even here in the United States there is regional cuisine, the seafood of the Pacific Northwest, or the Creole Cooking of Louisiana.  So many different regions, so many different recipes.   I have so many memories of road trips growing up and trying all sorts of food.  My parents raised us to be on the adventurous side when it came to food, for which I am very grateful.  It is always such a treat to discover new foods and recipes and learn things that you can implement into your own cooking at home.
     So each recipe this month will focus on the food of a place where I have either lived or visited.  I would love to hear some of the favorite dishes that you have discovered in your own travels.  Maybe together we will learn something new!

A New Favorite Gluten Free Snack & Review…Larabar Time!!!

     I think I am in love with these little guys!  As you know I went on a trip this past week, and with it being my first gluten free trip I made sure to pack some yummy snacks.  Sometimes it is hard to find good gluten free snacks that travel well, but these fit the bill perfectly.  I was skeptical of them in the beginning, I am not a big protein bar, energy bar kind of gal.  Anything that tastes at all “chemically” does not usually settle well, and to me, most bars just seem off.  I never feel like I am doing my body any favors when I put food in my system that tastes of nothing but additives and chemicals.
     Larabars prides itself on creating “healthy energy bars from minimal ingredients”.  I looked at the ingredients on the various bars that I had, and yep, its definitely minimal.  The first flavor I tried was the chocolate chip cherry torte.  I thought it at least sounded good, so worth a shot right?  I read the label, and the ingredients were: dates, chocolate chips, almonds, unsweetened cherries, cashews and sea salt.  No chemicals, no additives, nothing fancy, nothing unrecognizable.  Actually the first thought I had when I read the ingredients was that if I liked the bars it probably would be easy to recreate at home for cheaper.
     I bit into the Larabar, and was very pleasantly surprised, it was actually delicious, not just one of those snacks to help you get by, or lose weight, it ACTUALLY tasted great!  For me it was the perfect snack, gluten free and the perfect pick me up as I was walking all through NYC!  I think for me finding these bars was particularly exciting because I am feeling deprived at times being gluten free.  I am still in the learning phase, of what I can and can not eat.  Things that I assumed I could eat, sadly I can not.  Case in point beef jerky, I love to eat beef jerky when I travel.  However lots of different brands do contain gluten in them. GRR!!!  On the airlines they give you pretzels or cookies, I can not have either one.  The food court in the airports was discouraging to say the least,
     Sometimes its nice to be able to open something up that you haven’t had to specially order and be able to enjoy it and still know its safe to eat.  Larabars did that for me, and they are definitely going to be in the Love From Scratch household.  Mr. Love From Scratch and I travel a lot, and we do have a long trip coming up and the Larabars will definitely be coming with me.  I do think I will try my hand at making my own versions at home too, so I can do a mixture of both, after all we all need to save money where we can these days! 
     I tried several flavors, so far my favorite has been the blueberry muffin!  It was sweet and tangy and delicious!  I was also pleased with how well they traveled in my bag, they did get squashed a bit in my bag, but were still great.  They didn’t melt at all or show any travel wear and tear.  I also loved that they were not a messy snack to eat, I hate it when I get crumbs on myself so for me this is important.  They were also surprisingly satisfying.  From the varieties I looked at it appears that they average bar is about 190 calories.  Not bad at all for an energy bar, plus the bar kept my hunger at bay for several hours, even with me walking all over the place. 
     Mr. Love From Scratch and my family can attest that sometimes when my blood sugar gets too low or I get hungry I can become a crankypants.  It happens to the best of us I suppose.  Anyway, these bars might have to become my anti-crankypants protection for when I travel or am on the go.  Try these yourself I am sure that you will enjoy them too!  Also what flavors are your favorites, I am new to these so give me recommendations!  Also I will be working on at home recipes as well for these little guys, so hopefully we will have recipes coming on these in the next few weeks!

Travelling Gluten Free and Seeing NYC!!!

     It seems like sometimes you need a few days just to recover from a vacation.  At least that is always the case from me.  I think a lot of that reason is because Mr. Love From Scratch always loves to pack so much activity into each day that by the time we are done with the trip we are exhausted!  Last week we went to New York City for a couple days.  I was nervous about this trip because I was not sure if I was going to be able to find places to eat now that I am gluten free, so I was hopeful that we would be able to find something.
     We had several places that we wanted to see while we were in town, so there was definitely a lot of ground to cover in a very short amount of time.  The main purpose for our trip was that Mr. Love From Scratch wanted to see the 2013 NFL Draft.  (Yes I married a football fanatic.)  I wanted to see so many different things, unfortunately we were not able to do quite everything, so our next trip there we will have to do those leftover items.  However we were able to do much more in those few days than even I had anticipated.
     Since I have gone gluten free and I am committed to trying to be as diligent about this as possible, I was worried about where I was going to eat.  So here is a rundown on how it went.  The flight from Salt Lake City to NYC was a long one, so I was prepared with gluten free snacks, (reviews coming on my snacks later) so the flight went well.  We flew a redeye flight however, which got us in NYC right at breakfast time.  Breakfast seems to be the hardest meal for me to figure out and make gluten free.  We went to the Ruby Tuesdays in Times Square, which happens to be the only Ruby Tuesdays that serves breakfast.  The were WONDERFUL with accommodating my needs.  They have a GF menu, but not for breakfast, but they did keep things separate for cross contamination, and they were more than happy to do substitutions and answer any of my questions.  So I was able to have a great breakfast, so thank you  Ruby Tuesdays!
     We went to a few restaurants and for the most part they were very nice and worked with me on making the meal gluten free.  I was particularly impressed with Ruby Tuesdays and how kind and knowledgeable they were there.  I will admit that usually I haven’t eaten too much at that restaurant, but I might need to eat there more.  They were kind, the food was good, and I got to have a gluten free meal without it being a major production.
     While in NYC we did get to see the NFL Draft, Spiderman on Broadway, a Met vs. Dodgers game (go Dodgers!), Times Square and more.  It was a busy trip, but we were able to see some wonderful things.  Next time I want to see more of the museums and to go see the Statue of Liberty, unfortunately we were unable to fit that in on this trip.
      I was pleased that my first “gluten free” trip went so well, it was a relief to me.   Now we have a long international gluten free trip coming up shortly, so hopefully that goes as smoothly!  What are your gluten free travel trips?   I am always looking for recommendations!

What I have Been Reading Wednesday, The Apprentice:My Life in the Kitchen…

     Another Wednesday has come, so of course that means What I Have been Reading Wednesday.  Right now I am reading a ton of different books, and researching so many different things.  I have been reading lots of different books on gluten free living and cooking, but I am not ready to do a review on any of them yet.  When I do reviews I try to actually read the book at least once completely, and then review any particular parts that stood out.  If it is a cookbook that I am reviewing then I make sure that I have used the cookbook for awhile at least, trying several of the recipes.  The book for this week is actually one of my favorite food memoirs.  It is The Apprentice: My Life in The Kitchen, by Jacques Pepin.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jacques Pepin and his work.  Actually Julia Child herself declared him “the best chef in America.”  I have watched Pepin on PBS numerous times, both on his own programs, and as a guest on on Julia Child’s programs.  I have several of his cookbooks, and have enjoyed them immensely so his memoir was of particular interest to me.
     This is an extremely interesting book, Pepin has lived through a very interesting time, in very interesting places.  He was born in France before World War II, after the war his parents opened their own restaurant.  At the age of 13 Pepin began to apprentice in various kitchens.  He writes of his first pair of long pants being his chef’s pants.  At a very young age he took complete head of a kitchen, then began to cook for French heads of state.  He actually was asked to be the White House Chef for the Kennedys, but declined the offer.  Howard Johnson of Howard Johnson Hotels, recruited him to develop menus for his restaurants.  Most of us recognize Pepin for his TV appearances and shows.  He has written several books, many of which are in my personal library.
     Now that you know a little more about Pepin, lets focus on the book, it does talk about all of those details, but it focuses mostly on his determination to be a great chef and to create culinary masterpieces.  I have always been impressed by people who can demonstrate such passion and dedication, which is something that is very clear in this book.  As just a young boy he already knew what he wanted in life, and you learn of the sacrifices he, and his family made to achieve that,  When reading this book you develop a great appreciation for his commitment to his goals.  The road for him was not an easy one in many ways.  This is a great book that shows both his dedication and his passion for great food.  I definitely recommend reading this book.  For me I have discovered since reading this book I have a greater appreciation for his cooking and recipes when I see his shows, or use his cookbooks.  This is a definite must for your food writing library.

A Few Thoughts After Gluten Free Day One…

     Yesterday was the day I went Gluten Free.  As I have mentioned, I HAVE to go gluten free for medical reasons.  I can not decide if that makes it easier or harder.  On one hand knowing that gluten indeed is damaging my whole body and wrecking havoc on my health make me take being gluten free seriously.  On the other hand knowing that I have to be completely gluten free for the rest of my life is frustrating.  I know I should be very glad that the doctors have found what has been making me sick, but I can’t help but wish they had said it was something else.  Hopefully my feelings of deprivation go away soon, I am trying to focus on all the wonderful things that I can eat, but sometimes that is far easier said than done. 
     Yesterday I was the first person awake in the house, then awoke our houseguests, my sister in law and cute nephew.  My cute nephew is almost two, he has just barely learned the word cookie.  I made cookies for his visit, yesterday I will have to admit I was jealous as I saw his grinning face eating cookies while I couldn’t have one.  Oh well, at least he enjoyed the cookies.  It is interesting that I have talked to several different people about having to go gluten free and I think the reactions are all very interesting.  Several people seem to see gluten-free as a fad, or a phase that people are going through, and can’t seem to take it seriously that yes it IS a medical condition for some.  Some people say that they used to be gluten free for medical reasons, don’t need to be anymore.  What does gluten intolerance change?  I think it comes down to whether I choose to take charge of my health, and whether I choose to fuel my body with what it needs.
     Yesterday I did lots and lots of research on being gluten free, while I was snacking I wanted some chips and salsa (one of my favorite snacks).  Stupid chips have gluten in them, *sigh*, yet another thing to put on the grocery list.  As I read all of the different sites I did get a lot of good advice, but I feel a bit overwhelmed.  I am dreading my first visit to the grocery store and figuring out what to buy there, but I am sure it will get easier with time.  I am trying to learn, it will happen.  Eventually I will get the hang of all of this, and hopefully in time I will be feeling much, much better.

Meatless Monday, The Gluten Free Edition…

     *Sigh*  I am so hungry!  It is Monday, and my gluten free life has begun.  Also with it being Monday it is a Meatless Monday.  *Double Sigh*  What on earth do I eat?  What doesn’t have animal products or gluten?  I have to admit thinking about it was a bit taxing on my brain so this week’s Meatless Monday is not going to be main dish like I usually try to feature, it is a delicious salad.  Vegetables and fruits are naturally gluten free (point in their favor).  Luckily, I have always loved fruits and veggies, so I am sure that love will only deepen from now on.  I looked through the fridge and found any vegetable that looked good, and came up with this recipe.  If I had portabella mushrooms I probably would have put this salad on top and broiled it for a “portabella pizza”.  Actually after making this I thought of so many different ways that I could have used it, topping for salmon, mixed with chicken and arugula as a salad.  I actually think it would make a great filling for a tart, maybe I will do that in the future.

     With this salad I actually diced a couple tomatoes, a cucumber, a green bell pepper, and a large handful of radishes.  Then I added some feta cheese, a few kalamata olives, and then a few tablespoons of rice vinegar.  I added some salt, ground pepper, and dill and fresh basil to taste.  Then I put in in the fridge to chill and for the flavors to meld.  Absolutely delicious and refreshing, next time I am definitely putting it on portabellas!  It was a super easy recipe, but I think that is what I needed today.  I needed something super flavorful and simple, yet gluten free today, and this definitely fits the bill.