200!

It's my 200th post! And appropriately enough, this one will be about...absolutely nothing!

I'm pleased to announce that the cat is still alive. Mostly because we put a baby gate over the laundry room and when we want to have a dog/cat get-together, we make them sniff each other through the gate. The snapping is decreasing gradually, but it's clear that both dogs are still a little stressed about the whole situation, so we're taking things slowly. I am, however, secretly hoping that by October, I'll be able to dress all the animals up like little Victorian carolers and have one of those creepy pet portraits done for the Christmas cards.

In other news...SUCCESS! Rosemary's Baby has, for some time now, been on a gluten-free, dairy-free (flavour-free, convenience free...) diet. It's a horrible pain in the butt, but it has improved his behaviour so dramatically, that I could never go back to filling him full of processed chicken nuggets and cheeseburgers. Once I got used to dealing with this nightmare of a diet, I was able to make "safe" substitutes. So, instead of wheat crackers, I started giving him rice ones. Instead of cow's milk on his corn flakes, he gets rice milk. Stuff like that. But the one enormous difficulty I've encountered is with regular old bread.

If you have an intolerance to gluten, you probably know that a store-bought loaf of gluten-free bread, made with a rice or tapioca flour, is half the size of a normal loaf of bread, and costs three times the price. For the last 10 months, I have been regularly paying close to $7 for a piddly little loaf of bread so my kid can eat toast. And about half of the time, he decides he's just going to lick the peanut butter off and feed the rest to the dogs anyway. It's incredibly frustrating, and every gluten-free yeast bread recipe I've tried to make myself has turned out to be a better doorstop than food product.

But today, I made a quick bread that was received with such enthusiasm that not a crumb was left behind! So, in case maybe one of you out there is in need of a gluten-free, dairy-free bread, here's a recipe to try:

Mix well:
2 cups gluten-free flour (I like tapioca)
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
Add:
3 eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup rice or soy milk
1/4 cup oil or shortening
1/2 cup raisins

Mix until well blended and pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 400F for 45 minutes. On cooling, the loaf will sink a little (a common problem with all gluten-free baking, as far as I can tell), but this bread is actually edible! Makes good toast too! Let's hope the next loaf I make is as good, and this wasn't just some horrible cosmic practical joke.

And lastly, at dinner tonight, Firstborn was in quite a mood. It was one of those situations where he talked non-stop but made no sense whatsoever. And then suddenly he started singing at the top of his lungs.

"You say you wanna re-vo-lu-tio-o-on..."

The Captain rolled his eyes and said "Alright, John, George, Paul and Ringo."

Firstborn stopped singing abruptly.

"Who's THAT?!"


Thanks for joining me on my ride to nowhere, guys! Here's to the next 200!

Comments

Unknown said…
I'm glad to hear that the kitten is doing well! He's so sweet! I can't wait to see your Christmas Card!

That is awesome about the casein and gluten free diet success and finding a good recipe! Way to go!

Lol about silly supper time chatter!

Congratulations on 200 posts! :)
Glenda said…
Ahh yes....gluten free....my grandson was on that for awhile, while doctor tried to figure out what was going on with his tummy. Very difficult to feed a 12 yr. old bottomless pit on this diet and terribly expensive. I'm hoping that as we hear more about this condition, there will be better foods available. (And Less Expensive) Us common folk can really struggle with the expense!

Happy 200!! I haven't read them all, but totally enjoy your sense of humor and I admire your stamina!! You go girl!
Glad to hear the cat is still alive. Sounds like quite an accomplishment. After a few more weeks you will no longer need the baby gates; just let him out and stand back because the dogs will want to chase this little thing they could only smell. I've been there, done that. Also good luck with the new food plan for your son. Wish you the best. Jude
Hurray! Success on the bread front! And really, thanks but I'll pass on a slice of that delicious sounding gluten-free bread. Your kids need it!!

And encourage his singing career! He could be keeping you in your old age!
Linda said…
I'm looking forward to the Victorian pet Christmas photo.

Congrats on the 200th post, and on the tasty bread!
Angela said…
congrats on 200th post. : )
Dimple said…
I just had to catch up! Anakin is cute, and I'm glad the dogs are getting used to him; I hope he decimates you rodent population!

I'm really glad you found some help for your son, and that you are adjusting to it. Special foods are expensive, but it sounds as though they're worth it.

It was good you got a vacation and found some treasures while you were there!

Congrats on 200 posts!
Ya do have 'a ticket to ride' ya know! Heeehehehe!!! Congrats on findin' a diet that works for your youngen. When teaching Special Ed. we noticed how very much diet could change behavior.

Happy 200th girl, may we be blessed with many, many more.

You have yourself a glorious day sweetie!!!
laterg8r said…
congrats on 200 :D

looking forward to the creepy xmas card photo shoot with your pets LOL :D
Deb Neerman said…
Congrats on the 200th! WoW, seems like just ... a year or so, huh?!?

I'm diggin' your gluten-free recipe ... it looks amazing and can't wait to try it out. TFS!
Stephanie Faris said…
I see "gluten-free" everywhere and never really know what that means. It changes their behavior? Healthy stuff always costs more. It's ridiculous. If the govt. really wants to affect change in the medical system, how about encouraging people to eat healthy by making bad food MORE expensive and healthy food LESS?
Glenda said…
Thanks for visiting my blog today! Glad you like me new area for crafting. I have waited nearly 25 years for my own space. When I was single I had a wonderful space in my (Clean) basement that was just for my crafts. Since that time, I've just been from pillar to post and now I feel like I'm settled once again! I had really wanted all white stuff like my cabinet, however I just took part of the furniture that was already in this room, so essentially we just took the bed down. While I was in the laundry room I truly had only 4 feet, the width of my desk and the 4 feet behind it on the other wall. I just kept stacking and stacking and restacking until I could never find anything. Hoping it's not my age. Ha, ha!
Hey sweetie, just poppin' in to wish ya'll a fantastically blessed weekend!!!
me said…
Hi there, just found your blog. Re cornflakes and gluten, you do know that regular cornflakes are not gluten free? The malt flavour is from barley and so has gluten in it.

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