The Sinister Scribe

Yesterday was my appointment with an allergist. I waited for over an hour before I (overheard) that said Doc was STILL an hour behind. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! It certainly would have been nice to know that when I first arrived. Apparently this is a “normal” wait time. Gimme back my copay and no, I don’t want to make another appointment. Thankyouverramuch. Bob has the name of another allergist maybe his wait time isn’t so long.

At least I got to knit while I waited.

So I’m back to wheat free… because it works and wondering if I really need to know why. And wishing the wheat bread I made yesterday didn’t look so good. LOL

I can’t do it. I’m going off wheat again today. I can’t keep this up until the 19th. I’m tired of feeling like crap…. fatigued, itchy, headachy and my stomach constantly hurts and is bloated. I can’t get up in the morning to run and I’m too tired by the evening to run then.

What’s up with the stomach thing? Don’t remember that happening before.

Which brings me to the 19th… a visit with an allergist. Should I really even go? If this isn’t an allergy, why go to an allergist? If staying away from wheat/gluten solves the problem, what’s the point of going?

Yes, I’m a wimp and really don’t like to go to the doctor.

Wow. This morning’s speed work run felt better than great. Did all 3 fast segments at a 10 minute mile pace and feel like I could do more. Weird. Really weird. But great too.

I am dripping with sweat though. Even with the AC on the humidity is just about unbearable. But I feel fantastic. Started last night… just feeling really great. Bouncy great. Mentally unfogged. Even at 8pm when I’m usually ready to collapse in bed.

In light of Monday’s outbreak after dinner, this seems really weird. I don’t know what caused it. The only thing new I ate yesterday was some greek yogurt. And I felt really lethargic afterwards. Then after dinner my mouth just about blistered! Grrr! Hmmm… I did have lunch meat Monday but the ingredients didn’t list wheat. Sigh. What ever it is, I have a DR visit on Monday. I just hope that will shed some light on things. Either way, the wheat free eating continues.

We’re all itchy eyed here. Sam and Bob have been the worst. Even had to get some serious allergy medicine for Sam. AFter a 10 minute walk last week Sam could barely see through completely bloodshot and swollen eyes. Poor Kiddo. I’m not really comfortable giving it to him, it being Veramyst, but then neither was I comfortable watching him suffer so.

Well, on with the day. We’re reviewing and in some cases testing where I see Sam has mastered the information. And I’ve got to clean a bit (ok more than a bit). My mom will be here on Saturday!

First the baking (fun) part of this post…

Made my first attempt at wheat-free bread last week. This is the loaf. It fell during baking but is quite edible. Maybe add a little more flour next time? The recipe (found here) calls for a lot of ingredients that I’m not used to putting into bread. LOL! Like gelatin. I think I’ll try it again with just a little more flour (or less liquid, next time)

This morning, I made Raspberry Buckwheat Waffles (recipe found here). They were yummy and crispy… if a bit hard to pry off the waffle iron. I didn’t have buckwheat flour so I used sorghum (I think, my collection of “flours” is getting hard to remember).

Today I baked a loaf of Multi-Grain Artisan-Style Bread (found here). It is yummy. Lots of flavor but rather dense. Very filling! I don’t have a picture of it though.

I *thought* I had this allergy thing under wraps. (I hear you laughing. Stop it.) Weeeeeelllll, today after dinner, I broke out in a rash all around my mouth. GrrrrrrRRRrrrr!

There was also nothing with wheat in it. The only difference between this week and last is that I cooked dinner today. It wasn’t from a box labeled “wheat free.” Egads! Do I have to replace all my cookware? The waffle iron is probably a biggie. I almost went out and bought a new one today (will do tomorrow). But what about the glass casserole dish the bread and then the chicken was cooked in?!

Last week I did bake those cookies and muffins… muffin tins, cookie sheet and spatula are all old ones and I didn’t have a reaction. I did grind the sweet rice for the bread, but the coffee/herb/grain mill has never been used for wheat. Oats yes, but not wheat.

No, I haven’t tested oats yet.

On a lighter note… I ran nearly 5 miles on Sunday. Go me! 4.75 to be exact. Took me 52 minutes exactly. Not great but not bad. Paid for it for the rest of the day. I was really tired!

*sigh* Back to year end test preparation…

Well, I’ve taken my first foray into wheat-free baking. It has been surprisingly good! Even the kids have liked the two recipes I’ve tried so far… Honey Tapioca Cookies and Brown Rice Muffins.

The first picture is the muffins. They weren’t as crumbly as I expected and are really good with butter and jelly. A little on the dry side but I read that is to be expected with rice flour. Though I did substitute one cup of rice flour with sorghum. Oh, the batter is really wet compared to wheat based recipes. I think it was too wet in my case because I had to add a little more flour (tablespoon of each) to get them to cook all the way through. I used mini muffin pans too.

Here’s the recipe, I got it at healthyandwheatfree (a great resource):

BROWN RICE MUFFINS
2 cups brown rice flour (used 1 cup brown rice and 1 cup sorghum)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup Sucanat, maple syrup, or other natural sweetener (used honey)
1 or 2 eggs (or egg replacer for one egg)
1 cup milk (or rice/soya milk)
1/4 cup melted butter or canola oil

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate, small bowl,
combine the eggs, milk, melted butter, and liquid sweetener if used.
Mix well and pour the batter into oiled or buttered muffin tins.
Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes. Makes 12.

You can add raisons/dates/currants/walnuts or almonds to make it
even more fun. If you do not want to have oil in this mix you could
use 1/4 cup of applesauce or prune puree.

The cookies were like delicate tea cakes. You can feel a difference in the texture with the rice flour. Just slightly grainy but still yummy. I tried topping some with cinnamon/sugar and it seemed to make them a little flatter. Didn’t really add that much flavor wise either so I don’t think I’ll do it again. I also used almond extract instead of vanilla (couldn’t find mine). I think they’d be great with some finely chopped almonds in them. Mmmmm!

I may try a little xanthan gum next time to see if they’re a little less so. Jessie would have eaten the whole batch if I let her.

Here’s the cookie recipe (from a friend):

Tapioca Honey Cookie
1/2 cup margarine (I used butter)
1/2 cup honey
2 T brown sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/4 cup white rice flours.
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whip margarine, honey and brown sugar together until fluffy. Add egg and mix until creamy and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and mix for about 1.5 minutes. Place on baking tray about the size of 1 T, 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes

I don’t think I can really explain how much better I feel now that I’ve made these. I think I was feeling a little helpless (and therefor depressed). Now, I’m a little excited about experimenting with new ingredients.

*Yawn* Managed to drag myself out of bed this AM to do some speed work. LOL! Makes me laugh to think about me, running and speed. Anyhoo. It goes something like this and is about 4 miles long (starting mile/speed):

• 4/4
• 3/5.5
• 2.5/4.3
• 2.25/6
• 1.75/4.3
• 1.5/6
• 1/4

Hopefully that makes sense. I’m having trouble typing this. LOL! All of this, according to the dreadmill, consumes 636 caleries. Woot!

I feel drenched pretty good. Did have some rice cereal with honey and coffee 15 minutes before I started running this morning. Pretty sure it made a difference. Biggest difference afterwards… my face doesn’t feel like it is on fire. *sigh* It is a good thing. (my current mantra)

The wheat-free trial is still going on. It is weird but I seem to think about food more. Like “what CAN I eat next.” LOL! A trip to the convenience store yesterday showed me I can’t get much to eat there. Not like I usually do, but still, the option just won’t be available.

Went to the HFS and picked up some WF supplies. Was gonna wait but I NEED to bake SOMETHING NOW! Coly How! I see a grain(less) mill in my near future. I can buy in bulk grind rice/ garbanzos/ quinoa/amaranth/ etc cheaper and grind it my own friggin self.

Say it with me now: “This is a good thing.”