Pancakes.

I haven't been able to eat pancakes for years. Waffles or French toast either. Before I could finish a breakfast of either, the heartburn would set in to torture me. Breakfast cereals did the same thing. I discovered that the sugar was the problem. I switched to eggs for breakfast and my chronic heartburn stopped. Well, eating naked and organic has provided me a way to have it all.

I just finished a yummy, naked breakfast comparable to pancakes and no heartburn.

I made a batch of my foccacia with organic whole wheat flour and substituted coconut oil for the olive oil. It gives the bread an light nutty taste. I cut two two inch squares of the hot-out-of-the-oven bread and added butter and pure maple syrup! Wow. It's somewhere between French toast and pancakes. Because the maple syrup has no sugar or fillers, it's not causing heartburn either.

Before I made my breakfast, I popped across the street to have my annual blood work done. Wish me luck. As soon as I have the results, I let you know.

As New Year's Eve approaches, I'm excited about my future. 2012 is going to be a good year!

VACATION!!

I'm so lucky! My company closes down for the last couple of weeks in December and I get paid. And it's not even my vacation hours which get used! How cool is that? 

I've spent the time recovering from a cold and taking it easy. I got to dog sit for the adorable girls I had to give up for adoption when I became a widow and that was good for the soul. Snuggling up with Binx and Callie at night was so comforting even though they pinned me under the blankets and I couldn't even turn over.

This first week I was off was very good diet wise. I've been eating naked and recovered from my holiday cheer. Today, though, was not my best. I drove out to Stockton to clear things in my basement and change the air filter. Just crappy landlady jobs. I stopped at my old corner cafe and had (OH NO!) a hot dog for lunch. It was loaded with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles though, so it could have been worse. Then I stopped to visit my former neighbors across the street. Teri and I shared a bottle of champagne (OH NO!) and I took them back to the cafe for a dinner of our favorite pizza. While I enjoyed the pizza, it was not as good as I remember it. I used to LOVE this pizza with its nice crispy crust and high fat toppings. the flavor just wasn't there this time. Another addiction overcome! Tomorrow I go back to eating naked and enjoying it. it was a good day.

On being "regular"

Today might gross you out, but if Jamie Leigh Curtis can do commercials about it, so can I.

I have never been "regular" in my life. Ever. Never. Period. Once or twice a week if I was going good. I scoff no more at "regular". The change in diet had made so many improvements in my life and becoming "regular" is one of them. Once a day between 10 and 11 am. Every day. Sometimes even twice. Except weekends when I am lolling about the house with my coffee, then it's by 8 am. You can almost set a clock my my intestines. It's completely freaky and out of character. All the fiber in my whole grains and produce are doing their job.

That's all I need to say.

Quinoa

Well, another trip to the Alameda Natural Grocery proviced a bag of quinoa. Until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of the stuff. It's a gluten free alternative to rice. I whipped some up for dinner and it was really tasty. Of course, it wasn't plain!

Quinoa Pilaf

Rinse one cup of quinoa
2 cups water
8 oz crimini mushrooms
2 shallots
2 T. butter
1/8 t salt
pepper to taste

Slice mushrooms and shallots. Saute in butter until tender. Bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add quinoa and salt and pepper. Return to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 to 18 minutes until water is absorbed. Add mushrooms and shallots. Fluff with fork, cover and let sit a couple of minutes before serving.

Switching things up.

Okay, I had three beets and a yam and sweet potato in the fridge. I diced them up, melted a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil, added a heaping teaspoon of crushed garlic, some kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Stirred them all together and then roasted it all at 425 for 45 minutes with a stir at 20 minutes. The beets are nice and firm with crisp edges. The sweet potato and yam have the same crusty edges, but are creamy on the inside. Amazing texture. I like them in coconut oil better than in olive oil!

I also mixed up a fresh batch of my facial cleanser. I tripled the batch this time. I'm considering using it instead of my shower gel. That with my loofah and I wouldn't need my moisturizers either.

I made my foray to Alameda Natural Grocery today. I just love that store! They were out of raw milk so I tried Strauss Organic milk. It may not be raw, but it is un-homogenized. I love shaking the bottle to mix in the cream. I also got some quinoa. I've been reading how tasty it is and gluten free. I'm looking forward to trying it.

Something I've noticed about the grocery store: organic food shoppers are more polite and generally happier in the store than at a regular grocery. I have yet to run into a rude person at ANG. Everyone in the check out line is polite and they talk to me. It's almost creepy. So very 1955. And the drivers in the parking lot are patient. Maybe it's just that I am happier shopping there. Hm. I'll keep you posted on this.

Coconut Oil

A month ago I bought a pricey little pint of coconut oil. It looks a lot like lard in the jar. It sat in my cupboard for a couple of weeks before I thought I ought to use it as I had paid for it. Well, what to do with it? I had a little reading to do. Turns out, it's a wonder drug.

I use it to saute. Olive oil's nutrients are destroyed when heated, coconut oil's are not. Then I decided to melt 50/50 with my butter for my popcorn. It adds a delightful, light flavor to the butter. Now I'm using it as a facial cleanser. Yup. No more expensive cleanser and moisturisers for me. I whip this up in the kitchen and keep a plastic container in the shower. My skin is loving it.

Coconut Face Cleanser Recipe

Ingredients:

3 Tsp coconut oil

1 Tsp olive oil

1 Tsp glycerin

2 tsp water

Directions:

Melt ingredients together in a double boiler.  When melted, remove from heat and beat  with a whisk for 5 minutes. Transfer to jar when cooled. Use as you would any facial cleanser.

For more cleanser recipes check out http://hmbeautyrecipes.homestead.com/SKINcleansers.html.

Find one which works for your skin.

The day after: feeling lumpy.

Thanksgiving this year was one of the best I ever remember. There were only 4 of us in a tiny studio apartment, with minimal cooking space, but we created a great meal. I brought butternut squash and acorn squash, made mac and cheese and brought a huge pot of greens. Bill deep fried a turkey and baked a ham and also brought a big pot of greens. Theresa brought some AMAZING scalloped green tomatoes. Jerry made ice. Well, he planned on making ice but his ice tray leaked so he had to buy it.

I ate way too much, accepting that it was a holiday and it would be okay for one day. I had to put on my jeans and belt this morning to go do some heavy, dirty moving and I was worried about that belt. I expected to have to move the notch over one and I was right. I was just wrong about which direction!!! Smaller again in spite of the holiday meal. I love this non-diet diet.

My greens were fabulous and fine if you eat naked, not if you eat low fat. I had very little of the mac and cheese because I had used regular pasta. Next time it will be with organic pasta I make myself.

Here are all my recipes.

Squashed Squash.

1 butternut squash
1 acorn squash
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup organic honey

Cut the squash into large chunks and remove seeds. Place in a large baking pan and cover with foil. Add a little water to the pan and bake for an hour at 350 or until easily poked with a fork. Peel and put squash in a food processor. Add butter and honey. Blend until desired smoothness.

Greens.

12 oz applewood smoked, nitrite free bacon
3 bunches collard greens, cut into 2" pieces
3 cups chicken stock
1 large onion
red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Cook bacon almost crisp. Remove from pan and crumble. Dice onion and add to hot bacon fat. Add collard greens and saute until they wilt. Pour all ingredients into a 5 qt. stock pot and simmer 45 minutes or until greens are tender.

Mac and Cheese

1/2 lb butter (two sticks)
1/2 cup flour
2 shallots, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 gallon milk
1/4 tsp white pepper, black pepper and red pepper (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika (optional)
1 tsp salt (you can always add more if you like, but the bacon is salty and the cheese is salty)
3/4 lb applewood smoked, no nitrite bacon, cooked and crumbled.
2 lbs grated cheese of your choice (I like pecorino and romano, or smoked gouda, or Jarlsberg)
2 lbs dried pasta or 3 lbs fresh, cooked. (Use a shaped pasta rather than elbow macaroni. there are more crevices for the cheese sauce to fill.)

Melt butter in 5 qt stock pot. Add shallots and garlic. Saute until translucent. Add flour, salt and peppers and stir. Let simmer five minutes. Add milk and stir continuously until thickened. Add cheese and stir until melted. Stir in bacon.
I added the bacon fat from this bacon to the greens pot too. It was awesome.