So I've been pretty gung-ho about this food allergy thing. Really kind of excited about finding ways around it and trying new things, and just accepting that I can't have some things anymore. I found groups, recipe sites, blogs. One of the blogs that I read, my favorite really, the lady that writes it is having a Holiday Recipe Event (Gluten-free recipes of course), and I was thinking about what I could come up with to submit. These are the things that have kept me from being discouraged, this wonderful community of strangers, united by the fact that we get ill from so-called 'normal' food.

Then it happened tonight.

I became discouraged for the first time.

It came with the realization that:

I can't have Christmas cookies anymore. I actually almost started crying. (This definitely isn't a cue that I need more sleep... no....)



:'(

I made another coffee cake yesterday. This time I used more apples and messed with the recipe a little by adding more yams. It made the batter wetter, so I baked it longer, which resulted in a crust on the bottom that I can't decide if I like. It also smells more strongly of yams, which I also can't decide if I like. I also didn't cook the glaze as long, so it was thinner and not really chewy caramel, so that's good (though I love caramel, on top of coffee cake makes both hard to eat). It turned out good again though.

In other news, it's supposed to start snowing tonight.

yammy coffee cake recipe

Lunch today was pretty, so I took a picture.
I pan seared some thinly sliced turkey breast with basalmic vinegar, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and garlic salt and served it with mushroom rice pilaf with peas, and green salad with a beautiful tomato dressed with basalmic, EVOO, salt and pepper. :) And I finished it off, after all that healthiness, with a piece of coffee cake from the other day, and black coffee with 1 Tbsp of honey.

I'm apparently turning into a food blogger, mostly because there is little else interesting in my life at this point.

There was amazing steam coming off of my coffee this afternoon. I had trouble getting a good picture though, This one is all right.



And continuing on in my gluten-wheat-egg-milk free baking, I tried a new recipe today.

I made a caramel apple- sweet potato coffee cake. (Sweet potatoes in the cake part, apples and caramelized sugar on top.) I think I'm going to use a smaller pan next time because it's a lot thinner than I wanted it to be. I heated the sugar a little too much too, so the caramel is a lot chewier than I meant it. It's a tricky thing, caramelizing sugar. It's tasty though, and I'll probably use the recipe again, just with more apples, more attention to the caramel, and a smaller pan.



In non-food news, Jake proposed to Chrissy last night. Apparently there is a long story, but all I know is that she said yes (of course).

Mmm... Cadbury dark chocolate. I am not allergic to this. (Given, I didn't read the label, so there probably are allergens in it, like milk and soy lecithin. It's just so delicious, and I still feel kind of crappy most of the time, so darn it all, I'm going to eat the chocolate!)