a good book and a good dose of misanthropy...

do you want the good or bad news first? well, i usually take bad first...

first some misanthropy--last week, for a couple of days before the torrential rain that is plaguing us right now, it was beautiful! i actually got to ride my bike to work a couple of days. it was great. however, riding my bike made me see all the other crazy cyclists out there. what the hell, people?!? i mean, a red light is a red light for us too, not just cars! i saw a girl go flying through a red light WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING and when a car came speeding toward her in the intersection, she just swerved to try to go around it. the car slammed on its breaks, narrowly missing her and then stalled in the intersection right as the light changed for now my street to go. and the girl had the gall to yell and flip off the car! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? she nearly caused an accident--and it would have been her fault completely. this is where, as one cyclist to another, i must say:

get off your high horses. just because you bike does not mean you own the road because you are greener, cooler, fitter, whatever. really--you may easily die if a car hits you. oh, and cause a large, serious accident that involves people OTHER THAN YOU. i know it's hard to think of anyone but yourself, but it's time to start. it's as easy as that.

whew.

now on to the actual bad news: my computer died at home. i mean KAPUT! i found out it had a rootkit on it, and then tons of malware. it fizzled. we have cleaned it up to the best of our abilities, but the operating system needs to be reinstalled. then we'll have to reinstall our programs. my computer problems took up my entire saturday. we thought we had lost everything. the good thing is that it appears we haven't. we've got it all stored on an external mass storage device that we believe is clean (but is getting scanned for viruses this week). we just need to start over. and then save up for a new computer. this computer is 4 years old and served me well in grad school. thanks, little dying computer. but this does mean that my blog will have no photos for a while. :(

alright, the good news. i read the second c.j. sansom book, called dark fire. the first one i gave a one-word review of "meh." but dark fire was fun! i really liked it. it's light, but there is plenty of action, darkness, etc. these two books take place in tudor england. the main character is a hunchback lawyer/detective. i really recommend this one, and the first one isn't bad, it just didn't capture me terribly. so happy reading :)

time to work now, folks... later.

crepes and a booked vacation

one of the things that made me most upset when i learned i had to live gluten free was the loss of crepes. i love crepes, and they are something special to me. sometimes, on a sunday, my husband will get up before me and make a beautiful crepe batter. we slowly make and eat crepes and just have a lovely morning--doing nothing! i particularly like cinnamon sugar crepes, or ones with honey and almonds, or cheese and jam, or... never mind, i like crepes with anything!

an interesting crepe anecdote is that when we were in japan almost 2 years ago on vacation, we learned that the japanese also love crepes. in fact, in japan, they like almost anything french but then they give them a distinctly japanese twist. so the crepe i had (which was quite large, i might add) was as follows: a piece of lettuce covered with cream cheese, then a scoop of tuna salad, covered in pizza sauce.

i know, your gagging right now. but honestly you can't knock strange japanese food combinations until you try them. we learned while traveling there that they really are food geniuses! truly! look how good it looked!

but i digress...

recently, i found out that a friend of mine is allergic to wheat. this is also a new thing to her. now this is slightly different because she is not gluten intolerant. but in many cases, we eat the same things :) she loaned me a cookbook her sister got for her upon her diagnosis called nearly normal cooking for gluten-free eating by jules e. d. shepard. it has some not so great recipes, but it also has some fantastic recipes--like GLUTEN FREE CREPES! i had experimented with making crepes again with lackluster results. but i tried this recipe and it has the taste and texture of real crepes! i'm in heaven :)


crepes

2 tbsp flour (again, i use namaste perfect flour blend)
3 eggs
3 tbsp plain soymilk
1/2 tsp salt

1. combine in a small food processor. cook in a crepe pan or small non-stick skillet until beautiful and lightly browned on both sides.

i filled mine with crumbled tofu "sausages" (again, my tofu balls), sweet potatoes and cheese. lee's had his filled with spiced chicken and apples. then we had dessert, of course! mine is the subdued, yet beautiful crepe with pink sprinkles. those of you who know lee are not surprised by his crazy dessert crepe!


and to the other part of my story today: thinking of crepes made me think of japan. japan made me think of vacations. lee and i just booked our summer vacation :) at the end of june, we will be headed to virginia where we will hike approximately 40 miles of the appalachian trail lodge-to-lodge, in shenandoah national park. i am so looking forward to it. from there, we will slowly make our way to some beach, while sipping wine and taking in some historic spots. i already feel relaxed. i can't wait for june 23rd!

"healthy" hashbrown casserole

a friend and i were reminiscing about hashbrown casserole not too long ago. i thought, "mmm... i want me some of that..." but i recalled it being just hashbrown potatoes and cream of mushroom soup. not too nutritious! so here i've come up with a healthier, but still satisfyingly yummy, hashbrown casserole.


ann's healthy hashbrown casserole

1 lb potatoes, peeled and shredded
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp + 1 tsp flour
1 c plain soy milk
1/3 c low fat sour cream
1/2-3/4 c shredded cheese (i used a mix of cheddar and mozzarella)
1/2 tsp salt
paprika, to taste
pepper, to taste
dill, to taste
pinch turmeric
1/4 c gluten free breadcrumbs

1. squeeze excess liquid out of shredded potatoes. place in an oiled non-stick skillet. pat down and fry evenly in a large pancake. this is to get some brown-ness on the potatoes, a la hashbrowns. do this until all your potatoes are lightly browned but not cooked. put in a large mixing bowl and break up gently. add shredded and uncooked carrot. stir in sour cream thoroughly and then mix in cheeses.
2. saute onions and pepper 3-5 minutes, until beginning to brown and soften. add mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid. add herbs and spices. stir until incorporated. sprinkle with flour (i use namaste's gluten free perfect flour blend). stir and add soymilk.
3. cook until soymilk starts to bubble and thicken. pour over veggie and sour cream/cheese mixture. stir until well combined.
4. put in a buttered casserole. top with breadcrumbs and a small amount of shredded cheese.
5. bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. it will be brown and bubbly, and the potatoes should be cooked through by this time.

mmm...mmm...mmm!


i ate this with my tofu balls, but i shaped them more like sausages. i also used less breadcrumbs (about half as much) and did not coat with flour--like i said i would do the last time. instead, i oiled my hands and coated the tofu "sausages". then i placed them on a baking sheet on parchment paper and baked for 20 minutes until they were beautiful and brown. this is the PERFECT way to make these tofu beauties, and the next time i make balls i will do the same :)

more reviews

i just finished two books: dissolution by c.j. sansom and alice's adventures in wonderland.

dissolution: meh... i really have nothing else to say.

alice, on the other hand, is lovely. i've seen the disney cartoon before, but never read the story. i liked it a lot, and the version that i checked out is lewis carroll's original story, but someone did contemporary watercolors of alice and the events in the book. it was beautiful :) and it fits in nicely with my british literature theme that i'm still working on.

i am reading the second book in the series by sansom. this is because the first one was loaned to me by a woman at work who really liked it and saw that i had been reading victorian literature. she thought i might enjoy it. so she just assumed i wanted the next one and brought it in as well. she says it's better than the first. i'll give it another try. the funny thing is that i could see the book as a movie--it might make a better story with some good old fashioned hollywood embellishments!

oh, also fyi: i had been trying to read the chronicles of narnia since december. i was reading the big volume of all the stories in the order that c.s. lewis wanted them (not in the order he wrote them). i couldn't do it. i really wasn't that into the stories and i just couldn't finish. so i read the magician's nephew; the lion, the witch and the wardrobe; and the horse and his boy. then i returned it to the library. don't know if i'll ever finish it. i know that many people love these stories--i can say definitively that i don't...

low country boil

hey y'all!

well, there are many things i disliked about living in georgia, but low country boil ain't one of 'em. here's a good description of what low country boil is. basically, it's a big pot of shrimp (sometimes crab, as well), new potatoes, corn on the cob, and sausage boiled together with old bay. mine is a little bit of a fancier version :)


ann's low country boil--courtesy of my 9 month stay in savannah, georgia

serves 2
1 lb shrimp, heads off and deveined, but shells on
1 lb yukon gold potatoes
1 buffalo or andouille flavored chicken sausage
2 tbsp old bay seasoning
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp dill
1/4 tsp paprika
3 tbsp butter

1. cut potatoes into about 1 inch pieces. throw in a pot with cold water and plenty of salt. bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are starting to get soft.
2. throw shrimp into the pot and sausage. cook until done. if using frozen shrimp, which we do up here in the frozen north, it will take about 6 minutes. then your potatoes will be perfectly done!
3. drain. put shrimp and potatoes back into pot with the butter. keep the heat on low. melt butter and add nutmeg, dill and paprika as well. coat everything real well.
4. serve hot, with a nice bit of corn bread on the side :)

at my house, the sausage is not boiled in the pot. lee cooks it on the side. i am not sausage friendly, so i don't want it touching my food. so i take out my portion of shrimp and potatoes, and then lee throws his sausage into the pot and coats it nicely with everything else. he also drastically prefers the buffalo sausage to andouille. the church's page above says they use polish sausage, but i'm pretty sure the places i saw it on the menu it was usually andouille. you can use whatever sausage you want to! (oh, and a note here, low country boil does not work with sweet potatoes. we tried that when we were out of potatoes, but it was unsuccessful...)

drink with plenty of beer!


ann's gluten free cornbread

1 c cornmeal
1 c white rice flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 c sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 egg
3/4 c plain soymilk
1/4 c canola oil
1 tbsp honey

1. mix together dry ingredients. add wet ingredients and stir to combine.
2. pour into muffin cups or 8 x 8 baking pan. put into 400 degree oven.
3. muffins will take about 20-25 minutes to bake. bread will take closer to 45 minutes.

sometimes, i add chili spices to the muffins if i'm having them with something like low country boil. either way, be sure to serve with plenty of butter :) or they make a nice breakfast, too, with plenty of jam!

mennonite in a little black dress by rhoda janzen

i have only one word: HILARIOUS!

if you're looking to laugh out loud frequently while reading, this is the book for you. if you are looking for plot or reasons or answers, skip it.

there are lots of mennonites near where i grew up, so that's one of the main reasons i thought about reading it (but the mennonites in ohio are different than the author's upbringing. she's part of the mennonite brethren church. the mennonite brethren also come to the u.s. via ukraine. the ones in ohio came directly from the netherlands and switzerland, where the faith originated.). that, and i heard some good reviews while at ala.

i liked it. it was a good pick-me-up :)

is there anything that beats bananas?

i love a classy chocolate banana cream pie. here it is, folks--gluten free and mostly vegan too!


chocolate banana cream pie

crust:
1 c arrowroot cookies
2 tbsp butter

ganache:
3 oz. chocolate chips
1/4 c vanilla soy milk

filling:
2 sliced bananas
1/2 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups vanilla soy milk
1 tbsp butter (use 2 tbsp if you want a richer flavor)
1 tsp vanilla

1. process arrowroot cookies into nice crumbs. melt butter and add to crumbs. press into a 9 inch pie plate.
2. melt chocolate chips into soymilk in a pan over a VERY low flame. spread ganache evenly over pie crust. place into refrigerator to firm up (about 5 minutes).
3. layer sliced bananas over the bottom of the crust, right on top of the chocolate. reserve any unused banana slices.
4. for filling, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a small bowl. pour soy milk into a sauce pan. pour sugar combination into soy milk. whisk thoroughly. turn on the burner to medium. whisk soy milk combination constantly until it begins to thicken and bubble. once it starts to bubble, cook over low heat for 1 minute. turn heat off. whisk in butter and vanilla. pour over crust.
5. use rest of the banana slices and put on top of the pie in a decorative pattern. use plastic wrap and cover pie. put the plastic wrap directly on top of the pie--when the plastic wrap touches the surface of the pie, this prevents a skin from forming!
6. when completely cooled and set (at least 2 hours), serve with whipped cream or drizzled chocolate on top :)

and here's a classy side-view of the pie so you can see the layers. divine!