Saturday, April 3, 2010

First of all this is brilliant and may give those of you who are curious some more insight into how I Hit It With My Axe's DM -- artist and author Zak Smith (Sabbath)-- runs our game.

Next, the third episode of I Hit It With My Axe went up this past Wednesday on http://www.escapistmagazine.com and the fourth episode will be up this coming Wednesday!

I would very much appreciate any personal tips any of you may have on cooking, eating, recipes etc, that are wheat-gluten free, dairy free, tree nut free and unfortunately corn free also. Really-really-really will be appreciated. Or send me one my newly-researched-hopefully-still-kinda-tasty-healthy snack/food items off my wishlist. (As always if you include a return address I will send you some Mandy Morbid stuff to show my thanks.)

In related news I also developed an allergy to the silicone in my contact lenses. That was fun. And am just now getting over a monster cold but...

Here's some new webcam pics since I'm finally a little more presentable and energetic!

37 comments:

bairdduvessa said...

i developed the corn allergy which sucks because corn is in everything. well almost everything.
seltzer water is your friend. avoid anything fried from restaurants.
when i find some good recipes i'll let you know

Unknown said...

Ouch, that's a nasty set of allergies. Hum lets see there is one Dr. Pepper bottler in Texas that still uses cane syrup instead of corn syrup, http://www.olddocs.com/. Proceed with caution as um the full recipe for Dr. Pepper is a trade secret (though they'll probably answer questions about food allergies). Possibly some eastern foods (Chinese, Thai, ect) might fit the bill if you're not also allergic to soy. The problem there is that the chef might not know what additives are involved.

Joethelawyer said...

Not much meets all those categories other than water. :)

Seriously though, for allergies, have you looked into locally harvested bee pollen? I hear it works wonders for allergies.

The other thing to look into is royal jelly. Another bee-byproduct. Expensive, but I hear it has amazing bnefits.

Organic food, if you can afford it, is great for you in helping to clean the toxins out of your system. If the label says USDA organic, its pretty much meaningless. Look for QAI on the label, as they have higher standards. Distilled or Reverse Osmosis water is the best to drink.

Regular hydrocolonics help for overall health too. You need to do it a few times in order to get the best effects from it, then do it seasonally.

Probiotic supplements to get your intestinal bacteria back in balance is really important. Acidophilous (sp?) is a good source.

Do you ever fast? Fruit and vegetable juice fasts are another great thing for cleaning out the system. Get a juicer, but only use organic fruit and veggies, otherwise you are just putting higher doses of toxins into your system. Start with a 2-3 day fast, and make sure you break the fast properly, or else a lot of the benefits are lost.

In terms of the physical, yoga and Tai Chi work great. I knew a woman from China who had bad asthma as a kid, did Tai Chi, and curd herself of it in a couple years.

I've been hearing a lot about the combination of honey and cinnamon lately. I have no idea if there is anything to it. The other stuff I've had personal experience with, and greatly increased my health. I've since degenerated into beer and pizza and Doritos land, but when I was organic I was in great shape.

Lastly, I am a firm believer in the mind creating your health situation in a lot of ways. Meditation, stress relief exercises, and what ever else you need to do to get your state of mind in the right place are equally as important as what you put into your body.

Anyhow, just some thoughts.

Now, back to my Doritos and pizza and Rum and Cokes. :)

Mandy Morbid said...

Thanks so much guys! There is some very useful information for me so far and I will ask my doctor about it all. :)

A little additional information--I eat a of raw honey already (it's good for allergies and immune system stuff but also good for ulcers and your tummy!) I just signed up for a Tae Kwon Do class, I try to exercise as much as I can (seems like not enough) I do stretching exercises because of the fibro pretty regularly and have done and am doing agian--stress management and emotion regulation programs. I am also looking into finding a legit and safe (sterile needles always) acupuncturist.

Any recommendations for acupuncturists in Los Angeles anyone?

Joethelawyer said...

No problem. Make sure the honey is raw, and never been heated. Lots of the benefits are destroyed if heated. Also, wildflower honey is generally better too. Local is best of all. If you can get local, wildflower, raw organic honey, you have the best of all worlds.

If you go to a regular Dr., who is not into holistic or non-western medicine, he'll downplay most of these approaches.

Acupuncture is good if done by someone with a clue, who is also intuitive. Another good thing is skilled chiropractic adjustments. I don't mean just a guy who cracks your neck and pushes on your back. I mean someone who truly aligns you and understands how bad alignment detrimentally affects health in various parts of the body.

Lastly if you're using anything with aspartame in it, stop immediately. Do some basic Google research on Aspartame and prepare to be scared. It could probably explain most of your ailments. To a lesser extent most artificial sweeteners are like that, except Stevia.

More as I think of it...

Mandy Morbid said...

@joethelayer

Wow thank you.

I don't ingest much that might have artificial sweeteners already because they cause migraines. So I'm good on that!

And I do already take a lot of supplements including acidophilius.

:)

Joethelawyer said...

Oh how could I forget Oil of Oregano. My sister-in-law wears by it. She cleared up all her allergies in like a week last summer by just taking a few drops a day. All of them. She praises it up and down.

DND Nerd said...

I hit with my axe needs more boobies and girl on girl action.

Mandy Morbid said...

@DND Nerd

We made lots of porn with that--why don't you go look at that instead?

Jonathan said...

The bee pollen and raw honey thing is bogus. It does nothing. If you want to improve your allergies, I'd suggest doing nasal irrigation daily.

Soya if a soy product. It's a bit like tofu but much firmer.

Spicy Soya Chunks:
Ingredient:
1/2 pack soya chunks/vadi
2 tbsps brown sugar
1/4 cup green peas
2 carrots peeled and chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup celery chopped
3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
1 spring onion chopped
2 green chillies (to taste)
2 tbsps oil
1/4 cup tomato ketchup
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Boil water in a pot and add Soya chunks. Take off heat and stir occasionally until cooked. Strain, squeeze and keep aside.
2.Grind celery, cilantro, green chillies, spring onion, chopped onion, chopped garlic and salt.
3. Add grounded mixture to soya and season soya.
3. Heat oil in a low-based pan and add brown sugar.
4. When sugar melts and starts to bubble in the oil, add seasoned soya chunks and ketchup into pan and mix. Cook for 2-3 mins.
5. Add peas and carrots and mix. Cook for 4-5 mins.
6. Cover and cook on low heat for 6-7 mins.
7. Remove from heat and serve hot.


Dal is an Indian dish of split lentils. Tadka Dal is cooked in a way to reduce the heat of the spices. It's normally eaten with nan, but as you have a wheat allergy, that's out.

Tadka Dal:
400g yellow split peas, rinsed well

1 litre water

½ tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp garam masala

4 curry leaves

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

1½ tsp red chilli powder

4 medium tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Tip the split peas into a saucepan and cover with the water. Add the turmeric, coriander, garam masala and curry leaves. Stir well and bring to the boil. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface and reduce the heat. Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the lentils are tender. If the mixture becomes too dry, add a little more water.

Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and fry for a minute or until fragrant. Add the garlic and onion and fry for 4-6 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Stir in the chilli powder and, after a minute, tip the chopped tomatoes into the pan. Season the mixture with salt and black pepper and simmer over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes.

Pour the contents of the pan over the cooked lentils and stir well. Bring to a simmer and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, until the lentils are soft and thick. If you prefer, add a little hot water to thin down the consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve hot.



Also, you should look into alternative flours. Rice flour and peanut flower are particularly useful.

Jonathan said...

A rice flour bread.

3 c Rice flour; 2 tb Baking powder
10 tb Potato starch flour; 1 c Dry milk
(5/8 cup 1/4 c Instant mashed potatoes;
2 pk Dry yeast; (2 tb) 2 c Very hot tap water
2 tb Sugar 1/4 c Soft butter or margarine
1 ts Salt 4 Eggs; beaten

1. Sift together flours. Measure 2 cups into large mixer bowl. Add
dry yeast, sugar, salt, baking powder, and dry milk. Mix thoroughly.

2. Combine instant mashed potatoes and hot tap water; whip lightly
with a fork.

3. Add potato mixture and soft butter to dry ingredients in mixer
bowl. Beat 3 minutes on medium speed.

4. Add remaining flour and eggs; beat 3 minutes on medium speed.
Mixture will be like thick cake batter.

5. Leave batter in bowl; cover and let rise in warm place for 1 hour.
Batter will rise about 2″ depending on size of bowl.

6. Beat just enough to remove large gas bubbles.

7. Preheat oven to 325 F.

8. Grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans. Pour batter into pans; cover and let
rise 30 minutes.

9. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned. Especially good
toasted.

Jonathan said...

@JoeTheLawyer Everything in your post is bullshit. Seriously, every single point is inherently anti-science. Allergies and Asthma are auto-immune disorders. Fruit juice, Tai Chi, and acupuncture will do nothing to treat them. Steroid injections and, in the case of allergies, acclimation injections are the only treatments.

vlad said...

you should try looking a vegan cook books or raw vegan cook books. they have alot of good stuff. I myself am a vegetarian. and u can find great stuff online.
I also wanted to know if there any way i can do a photoshoot with you for my class project? im going to class for photography and i need to do some nudes. but i also want to make the look strange and morbid nudes. but keep it all tasteful.
p.s. i will look at my cookbooks i have and give u some yummm recipes.

squidman said...

Poor thing:(

Anonymous said...

Hi Mandy. Read about you on Zak's D&D blog, and finally got around to paying a visit to your site today.

That list of allergies is almost as long as my own. Unfortunately, 90% of the "gluten free" products you can find in health food stores have corn in them (always read the labels!).

Here's my recipie for gluten free pancakes - I make these for myself when I need comfort food:

-2 cups buckwheat flour
-3 tsp corn-free baking powder (ask at health food stores)
-1 tsp corn-free egg replacer (ditto)
-dash of salt
-not quite 2 cups rice milk or soy milk.
-1/4 cup cooking oil
-1/4 cup honey or maple syrup or sugar (if dry sugar, use extra rice milk)
-berries, vanilla, and/or cinnamon if desired.

Mix together the dry ingredients, add the liquids, and stir well. (you want a smooth, not lumpy batter, unlike regular pancakes - Add the baking powder last so it doesn't have a chance to go flat). Add whatever spice or fruit you like, and cook them like regular pancakes.

These don't rise very much, so they make a rather flat, heavy pancake, but they are 100% delicious.

Rachel Kerry said...

I'm not nearly as well-informed in healthy eating as many of your commenters are, but I thought I'd toss my two cents in...

I'm a big fan of the magical avocado (with a little lemon juice). In the past, during long stretches of being unable to keep down food, kim chi was very helpful (although kim chi is always a polarizing food choice).

You can always go Eastern European and find a bunch of delicious stuffed cabbage/potato/beet recipes and just alter them to fit your dietary restrictions. Scandinavian choices, like salmon with dill, is a win on all accounts if you can do fish.


Good luck!

Nate G. said...

Since I'm on such a "Red-Sox-come-from-behind-and-beat-the-Yankees-on-opening-night" high right now, I'll see about buying something from your wishlist to celebrate. ;)

Anyways - I've actually found good diet advice on pick-up forums, and a lot of grocery store chains are offering free health and diet consultation these days.

Zita said...

Ekk guurrlll I want your hair soo bad

Skorpió said...

I just found this dialogue between Mandy and the GM. You need to roll higher. :)

http://blog.kanearmy.com/2028/a-peek-into-our-dd-game-in-dialog/

“I rolled a 3.”

“Ok, um, you didn’t find a spell book right now, you found a book called ‘The Clutching Cow’. It’s about a cow that grabs people.”

“Do you have any actually relevant books on that table?”

“Umm…maybe.”

Bacon Dave said...

Hello Mandy! longtime lurker, first time poster.

I'm sorry to hear you've been sick, that's no fun at all.

My girlfriend is on a grain-free diet, we've got a couple of specialized cookbooks on how to live grain-free. I'll take a look through them to see if there's any recipes that conform to your wish-list and send them your way.

In the mean time, I'll send you something from your amazon wish list to cheer you up.

Don't let the haters and the trolls bring you down. IHIWMA is an awesome show, those trolls have no idea what the fuck they are talking about.

Mandy Morbid said...

@jonathan

Please don't be rude to the people leaving comments. I can research tips and ask my doctor about all this stuff. I ASKED for tips.

By the way, my DOCTOR has recommended acupuncture to me for fibromyalgia recently. Fibro isn't an auto-immune disorder as far as anyone knows yet. Some people can't take the dangerous painkillers they usually fling around wantonly.

And yes I already know about steriods for asthma. I've been given a lot of different (and sometimes very in very heavy doses of--including injections of) steroids used to treat asthma and they don't work for all asthmatics equally effectively, also they have some very negative side effects. (I do take preventative inhalers every day of course but have recently switched to a steroid-free medication called Spiriva which is actually done more for me than the fucking Advair or Flovent or any of the others ever did.)

As for the shots to reduce allergic response over time. I've asked about that too, obviously. More than once I've been told that there is only a 60% chance they will have any beneficial effect and in the U.S it is expensive and they also can have some very negative side effects.

And any exercise including tae kwon do is good for asthma and arthritis or any chronic ailment! No doctor has ever said anything otherwise to me and I've seen a lot more doctors than most people my age. Plus the benefits of doing exercise you actually enjoy is also important.

I am not some ignorant hippie kid who thinks any of these suggestions is going to be some cure-all. I have grown up with these diseases and I am not stupid and I first hand experience with most of the typical common treatments already. I would never not discus any of these suggestions with my various doctors before trying them.

As for the honey thing--it is the only thing that soothes my throat when my allergies are bad or I have a cold. Over the counter cold medications are dangerous for asthmatics and have all kinds of crap I'm not interested in ingesting packed into them along with being mostly ineffective. And some very smart people I know say it's very good for your stomach if you are sensitive to acidic foods.

Thank you very much to anyone who has left me a recipe or a tip! Really.

_Dan_ said...

ur lips and eyes drive me crazy lol
xoxo

Xenon_Wulf said...

Two good places for gluten-free recipes online I've been directed to are Elana's Pantry (Gluten free recipes a plenty, but they might not always fulfill your other requirements) and Epicurious (their advanced search actually gives options to search only for gluten-free recipes, as well as excluding from the search result anything with nuts, dairy, eggs or shellfish).

Elana's Pantry:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Epicurious' advanced search page:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipesmenus/advancedsearch

Enjoy!

Lyle said...

Hey Mandy, sorry to hear about the allergies but good to know, right? I had a wheat and dairy allergy for many years. I second the Epicurious suggestion and their app if you have an iPod or iPhone. I like MacGourmet very much as a way to organize my recipes. I google substitutes often, which generally works. I did a lot of dal, rice and beans with delicious spices, and veggie stir fry. Basically eat like an asian and you'll be in pretty good shape. (sushi is sexy) There is a lot of bad soy milk out there, but I like Whole Foods' 365 and Silk for flavor and texture. Tofu can be handy for dairy substitutes. Gluten free kitchen is a good resource: http://gfkitchen.server101.com/GlutenFree_Guide_Shopping_Guide.htm
Olive oil is your friend. Veggies in general are important.

I should note that I no longer have food allergies since switching to a flexitarian diet with only local and organic meat and dairy. This came as a surprise to me. Check out some of Michael Pollan's work, especially Food Rules for some ideas.

Since the importance of Science! was mentioned earlier, I should mention the amazing discoveries relating to our co-evolution with intestinal parasites and their role in moderating our occasionally hyperactive immune response. RadioLab and This American Life have both covered it. It's gross but sort of fascinating.

Also, for the Fibro, I would join PatientsLikeMe. It's a social networking site for sharing and learning about how to treat and hopefully cure what ails you. I see over 300 members with Fibro, so hopefully it'll be a good resource. As you know, connecting is important.

I'm sorry your body is giving you some trouble, but I hope this info helps you win with it.

Anders said...

Jonathan said it crudely, but he's basically right. There's no evidence to indicate that bee pollen, distilled water, or the other things he suggests has any effect on allergies. There's no evidence to suggest that acupuncture has any effect on fibromyalgia either (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20100789) - I'm genuinely sorry, but that seems to be the truth.

There is some controversy about the safety of aspartame (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12180494; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12180494), but to blame all your allergies and fibromyalgia on it goes beyond the evidence. Far beyond.

I was thrilled by the "I Hit it..." videos - a secret dream of mine has been to gather actors and see what they would make of an RPG. It was interesting to watch and you looked as if you were having fun. Ever considered switching to GURPS? (*hoarse voice* Join Us /hoarse voice) :)

And if you have any questions I suggest you direct them to Science-Based Medicine (http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/). And if you go over to their forum (http://sguforums.com/index.php), you'll find that you have fans there.

I do hope you get better.

Anders said...

Oops! Pressed "Publish" too early. Here's a thread: http://sguforums.com/index.php/topic,27353.0.html on bee pollen for allergies. As you can see, the immunologist is not impressed.

Mandy Morbid said...

@Anders

Thank you for the links and info. Like I said I'd speak with my doctor about any of this stuff before buying into it.

I still say honey is the only thing that helps my throat when my allergies or a cold is bad. I'm not saying it helps my immune system, only that I know it makes me feel better. Also as far as I know it IS actually good for your stomach if you are sensitive to acidic foods.

Also, western medicine doesn't like acupuncture in general and fibro isn't well understood or even accepted as a real condition my many doctors. I'll take it all with a grain of salt--but I have real pain that can't be treated by conventional means and there's no harm at this point for me in exploring alternatives. Especially when they come doctor recommended, by more than one doctor.

Anders said...

Take honey if it makes you feel better, but don't think it does more than it does. That's all I'm saying. And yes, listen to your doctors.

As for acupuncture, there's two things. 1) the needles aren't always cleaned carefully and there has been reports of infection and death. Now, this would be a smaller problem if acupuncture actually worked - conventional medicine has its risks - but it seems to be a risk without a benefit.

So what's the harm? Well, I have more links than you can shake a stick at. :) (http://whatstheharm.net/) Look up acupuncture.

Plus, there's the cost issue. It's hardly free. You should absolutely trust your doctor and your own judgment, but be aware of the facts as well, OK?

Was it specifically wheat gluten you were hypersensitive to? Not oats?

Mandy Morbid said...

@Anders

Yeah I'd obviously find a place that used sterile needles--my doctor already explained about all that to me.

Also please, western medication with worthy risk, pah! Tell that story to someone else who hasn't already experience first hand how much damage some of those medications can do. Most of it's poisonous, toxic, nonsense. Go look up Viox or old migraine medications, look at what they're now saying about common asthma medications....it's infuriating!

And yeah I think I'm sensitive to oats too. Been avoiding that as well since I had been eating a lot of it before the "attacks" of whatever was happening in my abdomen started getting worse and constant.

HoratioHN said...

AMAZING Boobs...

Bacon Dave said...

Hey there Mandy! I did some more in-depth research on my girlfriends grain-free diet to see if any of our specific diet needs could help you. My girlfriend suffers from ulcerative colitis that has lead us to making radical diet changes to help keep her helathy.

I think some of the recipes in our cookbooks may be of use to you, however one of the main ingredients is almond flower (it replaces practically all gluten), so if you can't eat almonds... well fuck!

I'm still doing research and will get back to you with more info. In the meantime, check out http://www.grainfreegourmet.com/ for info on the two cook books.

Also, we had some limited success with the Specific Carb Diet, although we ended up following Grain Free more than this diet...

http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/

Anyway, I hope there's at least one bit of useful information tucked in there somewhere for you.

Have a great week, and enjoy the cookies!

-Dave

Oh, PS: Kale chips! Do a google search for tons of info on them... delicious, nutritious and really help satisfy the crunchy/salty cravings that epic D&D sessions build up. you can find them at Whole Foods, or you can make them yourself very easily. Om nom nom!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Kale-Chips/Detail.aspx

Anonymous said...

Make it easy on yourself, and your man. Check out ddo.com. Ghallanda server is the best IMHO.

Cogni said...

As someone who was raised by vegetarian hippies and lived on a commune (of sorts) I've met a few vegheads that're allergic to gluten and from what I've witnessed, it sucks. My family eats Quorn ( http://www.quorn.us/ ) A line of meat substitute that is gluten free and I'm pretty sure corn free as well. There's also Okara patties, okara being a byproduct of tofu production and is pretty yummy especially when grilled or toasted, we like the SoyBoy brand.

Also, you could always gnaw on cardboard or such...maybe.

Cogni

Menace 3 Society said...

Hi Mandy!

If you want gluten-free foodstuffs, I recommend galettes! (galettes sarrasins if you want to get all French and technical about it). They are basically crêpes made with buckwheat flour instead of normal, and with water instead of milk. Thus they are gluten free and dairy free, although they normally contain eggs. I've never tried making one without, but you could always give it a shot if you're into the whole vegan thing too.

Anyway, the basic recipe is 1 kg buckwheat flour, 30g coarse sea salt, 2 eggs, 1 heaping tablespoon of honey, and two 1 liter measurements of water. Mix the salt and buckwheat flour, then mix in the honey and eggs, then mix in 1L water. Let it sit at least four hours (overnight is better, up to 2 days), add the rest of the water, and then pour one ladle into a flat pan on high heat. Spread the batter around, being careful not to let any get onto the sides. After about 10-15 seconds, it should be cooked, you can peel it off with a spatula and eat plain, or else add meat, veggies, tofu, etc, roll or fold it together, and season with fresh pepper to taste.

If you have a kitchen scale that doesn't do metric (and really, who does?), just remember that the relationship between 1kg and 1 liter is the same as that between 1 pound and 1 pint; use one egg, 1 tablespoon of salt and a regular tablespoon of honey.

If you don't even have a kitchen scale, I've found you can get away with using 1 cup of flour and a tiny bit less water. Anyway, it's really easy, and if you screw it up the first few times, just call it "German shredded pancakes" instead of buckwheat crepes.

Anonymous said...

Fibromyalgia may not be an auto-immune disease, but there are a couple auto-immune diseases that look very similar. Given your rampant allergies and asthma it might be worth a double check:

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/fibromyalgiacfs/a/cfsfibrothyroid.htm

Sarsen Lintel said...

My wife is gluten and dairy sensitive, so she follows a GFCF diet. She eats a lot of beans and rice. Also other grains like quinoa, millet, buckwheat and amaranth.

Oats are out, not because of anything inherent to the oats but simply because they're typically processed in a facility that also processes wheat and so they get cross-contaminated. I think Bob's Red Mill makes certified gluten free oats.

One thing she really missed was mashed potatoes, so to make a dairy free version of that:

Substitute chicken broth for milk (I make my own broth so I can be sure what's in it, but I'm sure you can buy gluten free broth).

Substitute olive oil for butter. (saute some rosemary in the oil first for some added flavour).

Optional: add a good dollop of mayo - I use fat free miracle whip - it makes them creamier.

There's practically no difference from "real" mashed potatoes.

And with any leftovers, mix potatoes with 1 egg, some gluten free flour, and salt to make gnocchi.

Sarsen Lintel said...

A couple of other things:

I was pretty vague on the gnocchi, so here's a bit more detail:

I do about 4 cups potatoes (either mashed as above or even just baked potatoes cooled and mashed up).
2 cups gluten free flour.
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 eggs
1 tsp salt

Mix the dry ingredients, mix in the eggs - best to mix by hand.

You can punch them up with chives or whatever else you like.

Pull off a small lump, roll into ball, press onto wax paper lined cookie sheet with thumb leaving indentation in middle.

Makes several dozen. Freeze and they'll keep for a long time.

To cook, dump into a pot of boiling water, once they float give them 1 minute more and they're done. Note: may fall apart in water depending on consistency - need to play around with flour amounts if so.

Or you can pan fry them - they get lovely and golden brown on the outside this way.

Serving ideas: they work great as dumplings in soup or stews. Or you can serve with a tomato sauce.

Speaking of which, easiest tomato sauce:

In large sauce pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil. Add 4 - 6 cloves (or as much as you can stand) minced garlic.

Saute until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Add 1 can of diced tomatoes. (I usually give a couple quick pulses with the blender first).

Add salt & pepper to taste.

Heat to boiling, reduce and simmer 10 minutes or so. Serve with Gnocchi. Garnish with fresh basil & oregano.



GFCF banana muffins

2 cups GF flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
.25 tsp salt
.5 tsp cinnamon
.5 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1.5 cups mashed ripe banana
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
.5 cup canola oil

preheat oven to 350F. Combine dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients, then fold into the dry.

Ladle into muffin tray - I recommend using those little paper muffin cups - then you probably don't need to grease the pan.

Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for a few moments before turning out of pan. Cool on wire rack.

You can punch these up with some semi-sweet chocolate chips (dairy free), or some blueberries. I usually add some psyllium fibre as well.

Finally, an easy dessert recipe.

Raspberry Nectarine Sorbet/Granita.

Dice 4-5 ripe nectarines.
liquefy in a Blender with a cup or two of apple juice, and 2 cups frozen raspberries. You can play with the amount of berries - more = more tart.

If you have an ice cream maker pour in the mixture and let it spin for 30 minutes.

Otherwise pour 9x13 metal dish and freeze. Stir every 30 minutes or so to break up the ice crystals. If it gets too hard, rake a fork over the ice crystals to fluff.

Hope that helps