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I’ve just started posting 31 days of “Gluten Free Everyday Eats”.  Just photos of my meals/food for the month of July to answer the question we all get:  “What *do* you eat?!?”.  I hope you will join me!

-See you there!

Kate

Another salad…ho hum I wanna be done.

Okay – so just a word of warning:  this blog post is definitely a whoa-is-me whining post.  So feel free to move on if you have never had a day like I’ve been having lately.

I’m done.

I’m done having Celiac Disease.

Are you?

Well, okay. I just wish I were done.  Today is one of those days.  I’m hungry.  More hungry that my salad and pear are going to satisfy.  More hungry than my now longer-than-expected workday is going to handle.  And I hate it.

I hate the daily reaching in to grab some fish crackers for the Littles and wishing I could just as easily grab a snack for myself (crackers, peanut butter toast, etc) that I either didn’t have to make from scratch or would bust the budget.  After all, our grocery money only goes as far as yours and I want us to have as many fresh fruit and veg that it can handle rather than carbs anyway.

Yes, I can and do make crackers, muffins, toast, bread, etc for myself.  It tastes a hell of a lot better than the stuff I can pay for. Really.  And I know exactly what is in it.  Always an added bonus, right?

But this week I am tired.  Final exams were last week (I moaned about the papers/projects I am grading on Facebook) and grades are due i two days.  I’m practically done.  That’s not the problem.  But I’m tired – dog-dead-wrung out tired.  Grading, planning, etc and sticking to my absolute time-for-the-Littles each night to read, bathe, play and laugh together = all of that has worn me out.  Doesn’t matter that I’ve gone to bed earlier than usually (if you count 10PM as earlier – it is… earlier than my normal 11-11:30 when grades are due!).

Does tired make me more resentful of having Celiac Disease or just the minor amount of time required to PLAN and PREPARE for said hunger meltdowns or carb-needs?  Yes.

And this would be why – when people ask – why it is SUCH a pain in the butt to go “grab something” for lunch.  It’s not because it’s not always possible, because yes, I can go grab a bag of GF chips or carrots or whatever from the grocer.  (And no, I can’t run out to get something to eat while teaching.  We have 20 minute long lunch periods during which I eat at my desk and work – see photo above.)  It’s because of simple this:  sometimes it sucks not to be able “just to grab anything” convenient.

Simply that.

And I’m not about to go demand that people feed me correctly or safely.

I’m not about to go whining my way through the GF product chain about the need for better (and cheaper!) crackers or bread.

I’m just going to suck it up today and put on my big-girl pants.

And then tonight I am going to back the biggest batch of pumpkin muffins that ever existed on the planet.  By God, I will.

And I might just eat them all.  Unless these two little stinkers get their hands on them.  They are the reason why the last two batches got demolished in record time too.

Grrrrrrumble!!!
Hope you are having a successful and happy GF Day today to help make up for the crab-pants I appear to be wearing.  
:S
Kate

PS.  It does not help in the least bit that my next two classes are starting a unit about food in Spanish class. Really.  Today is out to ruin me, I swear.  Or… I might just eat my arm off before I get to the kids for pick up after work today.  That outta be pretty.

Korean-inspired Sweet & Spicy Wings

I don’t know how many of you have tried Korean spicy chicken wings prior to having to eat gluten free, I only did once.  And they were delicious, sticky, spicy and oh-so-good! My husband often picks up a pack when we are at the Korean grocer for munching.  I don’t make them at home – usually – because not only are they tossed in seasoned flour (not GF, but easily converted) but they are deep-fried.

Now that is a mess I don’t like.  I like fried food as much as the next person but man, I hate that mess if prepared at home.

The other thing I don’t think I’ve ever gotten 100% right was the seasoning.  That sticky red-spicy and sweet sauce that coats the wings seems to also differ rather significantly depending on who is making it.  Since his favorite Korean chicken place closed a long while back (16 months +?), I know he’s been craving these wings.  And quite honestly, I wanted some sticky goodness too. 😀

This time around, I rinsed the pack of wings, patted them dry, seasoned them (salt, pepper & granulated garlic) and put them in the oven at a very high heat (450F+).  I flipped them a bit more than half way through cooking (25 minutes?) and broiled them for another 8-10 minutes until they were crispy brown.  Frying averted.

The only thing that remained was making the spicy-sweet sauce to coat them in. (I made it while they baked.)  Most of the recipes given to me over time contain “mulyeot” which is a malted corn syrup.  Since it is traditionally made with barley but now seems that most are making it with corn, I avoid it.  I don’t know enough about the processing, preparation, etc and the words “barley” and “malt” are all I need to know sometimes.  I substituted corn syrup (in the recipe below) but next time will also add some brown sugar to caramelize this even more.

If you are looking for a sweet & spicy wing recipe, this might be for you too!

Korean-inspired Spicy & Sweet Wing Sauce

Makes enough for 12-15 full chicken wings  (4 pounds+?)

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
1 Tablespoon corn syrup (or honey)
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons mirin or other rice wine
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 teaspoons Korean red chili powder (less/more to taste)
2 teaspoons minced jalapeño (seeded!  Or not – if you want it to be HOT HOT HOT!)
3 Tablespoons water (or 1 1/2 Tablespoons ginger juice* + 1 1/2 Tablespoons water)

Directions:

1. Mix together GF soy sauce, corn syrup (or honey), sugar, mirin, garlic, ginger, chili powder and 3 Tablespoons water.  (Reserve jalapeños – if you want to keep their color bright. If it doesn’t matter to you, toss them in now.)
2. Taste!  (no kidding!  Dip your finger in and taste this mix.  Is it sweet enough?  It will get a bit spicier as you let it blend together, but if it is not spicy enough or you doubt that it will be, add some more jalapeño or chili powder.)
3. Bring it to a boil then lower the heat.  Allow mixture to simmer – stirring frequently – until it has reduced by almost half.  It will thickly coat the back of a metal spoon when dipped and removed from the mixture.  (If time is running out – or you don’t think it is as thick as you’d like, you can speed up the thickening (but diminish the flavor intensity a bit) by mixing together 1 teaspoon cornstarch (not flour) and 2 teaspoons of water.  Add this to the simmering sauce at the end and stir constantly.  The sauce will thicken over heat with this mixture, so watch that you don’t over thicken it as well.)
4. Pour the sauce into a large bowl when done.  Add a few wings at a time and stir to coat the wings well.  Remove and place on a serving dish.  Continue until all wings are coated. (Sometimes we even save some of the sauce before dipping the wings in for dipping while eating – just an option.)

Happy GF Eating!
Kate

 

Christmas Cookies

So it’s December?  Or should I say it’s almost 2013?!  Not like you need me to state the obvious, I’m just reflecting on how much of my “life” seems to be under different categories.  I’m obviously not able to keep up with every thing (this blog included) but I’m not quite willing to let it go.  I really enjoy posting recipes and more times than not, I’m thinking about what I’m making as a blog post (after the fact) but then I never get a chance to catch my breath or write it up.  Ah, but there are such worse things in life.

After a soon-to-never-be-released comic strip on Mommy-Plans-Gone-Wrong marathon of errand running yesterday and bath time, etc, I did manage to not only make the cookie doughs but I rolled out the roll out cookie and gingerbread between pieces of parchment (4 large pieces each) and slid them into the fridge.  That way today I merely had to pull the pre-rolled dough out and put it in front of the kids for them to cut out shapes; decorate and go.  Honest to goodness, it was the best choice ever.  What two or four or forty-three year old has the patience for cookie making?  Not me, I tell ya.  But thanks to my kids, I don’t think all of my Christmas cookies will be naked from here on out.    Today we made three different kinds of Cookies:  roll out cookies, GF Joe’s Gingerbread Cookies and PB Kiss Cookies (the no flour version).

Not too shabby.

Tomorrow, me/myself/I will attempt to gather 3 toddlers and a wonderful 8-year-old around a table for the royal icing to decorate the gingerbread men.  I think I will lose my mind.  Or not.  It could be the messiest fun I’ve had in days! 😀

Hope that life is treating you well.  May you have many messy happy moments this season.

We could all certainly use them. 😀

Merry Christmas, All.

~Kate