Gluten-free pancakes

I spent the weekend in Roseburg and used it to go shopping for Joe. Not only are prices often lower but stores are closer so I can go to more and compare. Packed up my trunk with all kinds of gluten-free stuff to try. This morning was my first attempt. My mom has this pancake recipe we grew up calling "Best in the west" that we love. Bob's Red Mill makes a flour mix that can be substituted for wheat flour 1:1 so I used that. I added some vanilla and used cane sugar rather than brown. Put in a bit of agave syrup too. Bob's recommends adding Xanthan gum as well. I was nervous to try them since most things gluten free seem to have a bad texture or flavor. Since Joe really loves good food I hoped it would be something he'd enjoy rather than endure. When the moment came for the first bit we looked at each other, with smiles, commenting that these were some of the best pancakes we'd ever eaten! I almost cried...well, I actually did tear up. Maybe we will be able to live like this after all. Now all I need to do is figure out how to make my own baking mix for less than a buck a cup.

Looks like gluten's out

It's been about three weeks of testing foods. Monday we added in wheat in the form of my favorite breakfast food, spoon-size shredded wheat. What a treat! Of course we are suppose to eat it three times a day for three days so the treat wasn't as wonderful by the third day. However, the good/bad news is that by the morning of day two, Joe had all the symptoms return that made us try this in the first place. Headaches, intestinal stuff...you get the idea. He's been feeling so great the past few weeks and now, with the return of symptoms, realized just how bad he's always felt. Since he was a kid! We are so thankful to have a place to start focusing. We know that it could still be something else everything seems to make sense so far though this lens. This week we've been working on learning all we can about gluten intolerance. I'm looking forward to trying new ways to make bread and other foods Joe loves. Any one that has good references on the subject feel free to comment!

40 Mile Trail Search

The bike trails around here keep commenting on this 40 mile loop around the peninsula, but we have yet to actually see a real loop on a map. Anyone know where it actually is? The Green Way maps don't exactly make it clear. This morning we did part of what we think is that trail. From our house we took Willamette to the trail head by Fred Meyer's. It goes along a drop-off that the train runs through for a mile or two. Then, after crossing a few major roads, it gets into wilderness areas (loosely applied in pdx), along a couple lakes, and then off to the tip's park. We didn't go all the way to the tip today but it would be a great little day trip, maybe 15-20 miles round trip.

Stump Town

The first two real weeks after our move have been packed with all kinds of adventures. We started with hiking in the Columbia Gorge, Angel's Rest to be specific. Great little hike for those who are willing to go all up, then all down, for a fantastic view. After that my parents came to visit for a week (yep, we leave and they miss us =) ). They biked us all over P-town and Vancouver. Three days of riding putting in about 80 miles, which, for someone who doesn't bike, is pretty but about as far as one would enjoy in a week. My dad is amazing at planning bike routes. Much more ambitious than I would be on my own. By the time they left we were set up for commuting and excited to do more day trips on our own.
As soon as they left, other friends came to visit. This time we took the MAX into downtown and walked/wandered all over. Probably about five or six miles. In the rain. We'd best get used to that since most of life here is in the rain. That night we ate the best Thai food I've ever had. I love Thai! E-San's at 2nd and Pine nails it! We ordered four different dishes and none of us could decide which was our favorite. All so great!
Our next adventure has been quite different. Not of the wandering sort. We've been wanting to find out if we are allergic to any foods. Both of us suffer with various symptoms of possible food allergies: headaches, fatigue, etc. So, starting four days ago, we started a regiment of "safe foods" (aka ones we don't eat very much of and don't taste so great as some other foods). Been learning to cook lamb and have found that cold lamb with avocado lightly sprinkled with sea salt is excellent.
Unfortunately, part of this process means withdrawal from things we are addicted to. Caffeine, sugar, maybe wheat or dairy...all we haven't had in a four long days. We've been in bed with headaches and fatigue for the past few days. Ready to get moving on to better days. Supposedly tomorrow through Monday will keep getting better. After that we can start adding foods back into our diet. Until then I will keep craving a sugar free vanilla latte, Umpqua ice cream, french bread, thai food, noodles....(see list going on for a long time...)
The process of preparing for this has actually been very enlightening. We are learning just how many things have corn in them. Hopefully we won't be allergic to corn. Or wheat. That's almost as many foods. It's been a good jump start into whole foods, that's for sure. Go Micheal Pollen! We'll keep you updated as to the progress.