Going gluten free has gone pretty well this past week for me, even though I did have to force myself to walk away from some pasta that was taunting me.

 

 

 

Oats and avocado together are my favorite smoothie ingredients lately.  I think strawberries add a lovely flavor to any smoothie.

 

 

In a blender, add avocado,

 

 

Strawberries,

 

 

orange juice concentrate,

 

 

and honey. If you want to feel more healthy you could toss in some flax meal or something like that. Blend until smooth. Add some water if it’s getting too thick to continue blending. When the oats and berries are smooth add ice and more water until you like the taste and consistency.

 

 

Just pretend this glass is clean ok?

 

 

 

Serve right away or make ahead.

 

 

Strawberry Oat Smoothie

ingredients

• 1/2 cup rolled oats soaked in 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
• 2 cups ice cubes
• 1/2 cup water

 

In a blender add oats, avocado, honey, strawberries, orange juice concentrate and a little water and blend until smooth. Then add ice and water until you like the taste and consistency. Serve right away or or make ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

Thought I’d share a few photos from the Dogwood arts Chalk walk in downtown. 

 

 

 

This is my first attempt at making a gluten free pie. I’m not thrilled with the crust but the pie was good.



First peel a bunch of cuties and peel more if you’re going to be eating then as you work. 



In a pot add water and a few strawberries.



Then add the juice from a can of apricot halves,



and corn starch. Mix it together so there aren't any clumps.



A teeny bit of cloves.



Two teenys of nutmeg.
Over medium heat stir until thickening.




Arrange cuties



and apricot halves



in the pie shells how ever you like.



Pour the sauce over the fruit and let chill an hour or so before serving.



For garnish you can peal one cutie carefully leaving the sections slightly connected at the bottom and place it on top of pie.



Let chill an hour or so before serving.

Apricot and Cutie pie

Ingredients

• Pre Baked gluten free pie shells
• 8-10 Peeled and sectioned cuties
• 1 can apricot halves in light syrup
• 1- 1 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup apricot light syrup
• 3 table spoons maple syrup
• 3-4 tablespoons non GMO corn starch
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 frozen strawberries for color

In a pot add water and corn starch. Mix until smooth. Then add apricot syrup, cloves, nutmeg strawberries and sugar. Over medium heat stir until thickening.

Arrange the cuties and apricot halves in pie shell. Pour sauce over fruit and let cool a few hours or over night. Serve when set.

 

I did not start my day intending to make gluten free pie crust, I was just going to make some blueberry cherry pie and make pie crust like I always do. Then I found out I’m gluten intolerant.

I was at the chiropractors telling her I wasn’t going to do any more Epsom salt baths because it made my eczema (notice how I call it my eczema? I’ve had it so long I think it’s part of me) break out all over my back.

Instead of her agreeing with me and saying Epsom salt was bad. She said that was ok and it was was working to draw stuff out of my body through my skin. While I’m thinking itchy skin is not anything to be excited about she says she’ll test me for gluten intolerance. She had me hold my arm out straight and she pressed down gently. My arm didn’t move much. Then she grabbed three vials of some concentrated glutens and held them to my chest and pushed my arm down like nothing. She said I was gluten intolerant. It felt to me like she just pushed much harder on my arm when she held the vials to my chest. She assured me she had used the same amount of pressure both times.

 

You want me to go gluten free?  No, you don’t seem to understand, I’m making blueberry cherry pies today. I make plans and like to stick to them and the crust is already made and waiting for me.

I thought about it and decided to give it a try. If she’s right, good. If she’s crazy and totally wrong about this I haven’t lost anything by not eaten gluten for a month or so. I can always go back to my previous option of buying more corticosteroids and the continuing possibility of becoming immune to them.

 

 

I did make the blueberry cherry pies with the pie crust as planned and recruited volunteers to help me out and eat the pies.

Then I decided to make gluten free pie crust!

 

 

I read a few recipes online and didn’t have all the stuff so I tried it with just rice flour. It’d not flakey by any stretch of the imagination that’s for sure. I’ll work on some other pie crust recipes in the future.

 

But right now all I want is some pasta with that pesto I made last fall and put in the freezer so I could have some right about now. I’ll be studying gluten free pasta recipes too.

 

 

Gluten free rice flour Pie crust

ingredients

• 1 3/8 cups rice flour
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, very cold
• 1 cup ice water (toss a couple ice cubes in)

 

In a  bowl mix together 2 1/2 cups rice flour, sugar and salt. cut butter into pieces.With a pastry blender cut the butter into the flour mixture. stop when all of the butter pieces are the size of tiny peas.
Start by drizzling tablespoons of the ice-cold water over the butter and flour. Start working it together. Add water spoon a at a time until dough come together. Be careful to not add too much water.  wrap with plastic wrap.  Let the dough chill in the fridge  or pop it in the freezer for a little while before rolling it out.

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Please welcome Levonne Helm, the new rescue puppy.
Levonne was practicing “catch the falling biscuit” but it wasn’t all that successful she got hit in the nose with more biscuits than went in her mouth.
Jon suggested maybe she needs glasses.
So I brought out my Hanson brothers glasses for her to try…



She loves glasses! They taste great.

 

Miss Emma II is a pretty ‘99 Kenworth that had just come in from California.

 

 

I asked who Miss Emma was named after. Emma grins and said “Me.”

 

 

 

She told me they’d had a custom sleeper put on. I forget the measurements, but it’s extra long.

 

 

 

It’s set up like a little camper in there. They’ve got a one burner stove so they don’t have to eat truck stop food all the time, a shower/toilet, mini fridge, and a table that converts into a bed.

 

 

 

The steering wheel was well worn and then some.

Emma laughed and said her husband had left the bull dog in the truck one time and the dog did what any bull dog left alone with nothing to do might do, he chewed on the wooden steering wheel.

“It gives it character” she said. remembering the bull dog fondly.

 

 

They won’t be making it home for Easter this year. But they have some family in TN stopping by the truck stop for a quick visit before they have to get back on the road.

 

Life on the road is a hard way to make a living.

 

 

Happy resurrection day whether you’re at home, at a truck stop or somewhere in between doing whatever it takes to make ends meet.

 

~PN