Gluten-Almost Free

Yeah, it's been a long time. And my "readers" are probably not even checking anymore. I wouldn't be checking regularly if I was them. Oh bother, same old post as last time. I've been pretty busy though because I have just been diagnosed as Gluten Intolerant. First reaction? Anger!!!! Grrrrr!!! Can't bake anymore--have to start reading those doggone impossible- to-read-because-my- eyes-blur ingredients on the backs of boxes and jars. Have to buy SPECIAL food. Dang, dang and double-dang. But then, as always when presented with a problem, I threw a book at it. I went to the lovely, local Barnes and Noble and found Gluten-Free Recipes for Dummies and, more importantly, a recipe book for Gluten and Egg Free Baking (did I mention I also tested positive for egg intolerance?). The recipe book is called Flying Apron's Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book and is written by a woman who owns a bakery in Seattle--www.flyingapron.com .  I'm not going to become a Vegan but they don't eat eggs (among other things I find very delicious) so this will work for me.

Okay....so....I've been reading and researching and buying expensive gluten-free things.  My husband is flinching at the grocery costs (we have a grocery budget and he keeps track of it).  I flinch, too, when I buy a loaf of gluten-free bread and it costs nearly $5!!  But I love bread and it's one of the things I just can't live without.  I'm learning, though, that there are things I will have to live without.  I won't be able to eat Ralph's donuts anymore--maybe one, but not one everyday like I was doing when he brought me a bag full at one of our 50th alumni reunion planning meetings.  And his potato salad is incredible partly because he puts so many eggs in it--another dish I will have to avoid.  Then there are all those things I love to made--cookies, bars, muffins--that I'll have to re-invent.  Sounds like I'm not going to be any fun anymore, doesn't it?  That's part of why I don't much like this diagnosis.  I should not drink regular beer anymore, either....and that hurts.  I have found gluten-free beers, but they aren't Gary's Irish Death or Silver City Brewery's Panther Lake Porter, my two favorites.  Even a pretty light beer like Corona is now off my list.  Did I mention I turned the air blue with cursing when I got the word about the gluten?

The thing is, I have suffered from intestinal stuff for almost my entire life, and now I have arthritis that is progressing fast and I have to take anti-depressants for my moodiness.  And from December to April 2011-12 I had three bad colds.  So instead of going to a regular doctor who would have had nothing but pills in their arsenal of remedies, I went to a naturopath.  I happened to know Jane already--she's in my writing group--and I trust her.  She is the one who had me tested and she is the one who had to tell me about my intolerances.  She was afraid I might say, "Screw it!" and never come back to see her again, but I did go back and she gave me all kinds of ideas and resources.  I'm getting used to the idea, sort of.  It's only been a couple of weeks since the tests came back.  I found out right before we went to Gary Parker's Iron Horse Brewery in Ellensburg ( www.ironhorsebrewery.com ) for a tour of his tiny brewing building.  He gave us a taste of every beer he had on tap.  They were delicious, cold, refreshing and I knew with each gulp that they might be some of the last tastes of real beer I'd have in a long time, if ever again.  That made them doubly wonderful and I felt wicked and intoxicated.  We had a great 24 hours with Gary, and I ate all kinds of things I wasn't supposed to--it was a wheat binge--flour tortillas, bread and waffles.

The upside to all this "intolerance" is that without wheat gluten (which includes barley and rye) I feel more energetic, my stomach isn't rebelling, I'm less moody.  My fingers are still aching--we'll have to give it more time to see if the new diet helps that condition.

That's one of the reasons I haven't been blogging--the others are that it's summer (yahoo!!) and I can work in my garden, I'm taking an online writing class for several weeks and it's intensive writing, and my writing group demands something new every two weeks.  Reasons, reasons.  If only I could be satisfied with a one paragraph blog post....I'll work on that.  I hope this post satisfies some of my readers, if they're still out there.  If you have any gluten-free, egg-free advice, let me know.