One year.
One year without (knowingly) having gluten.
And I expect those vegan-like superpowers (Scott Pilgrim!) to kick in any day now. Aaaaaaany day now.
Last year was the last time I had homemade no-knead bread and cheese ravioli as my "last meal".
In a year, I have not ONCE eaten anything from a McDonald's, Burger King, Culvers, Taco Bell, White Castle, Panera Bread, Subway, KFC, Popeye's Chicken. No gyros (the meat involves breadcrumbs). No fast food fries (except Five Guys) since they are usually cooked in the same oil as wheat products. For the first time in my life I've had to send food back to the kitchen uneaten because there was bread or pasta in there somewhere. And as much as I tried to deny my problems were "just wheat" and not gluten, I've also figured out the problem IS gluten and I can only drink totally gluten-free beers. No paczki were had by me this year.
For some people, yes, it is fad. But no one does it 24-7 on a whim. Trust me.
I still have to ask my mother in law to cook the stuffing outside the turkey this year. I would guess for awhile still, I will dread a lot of parties and gatherings (outside the family) that have to do with food, because it means I have to bring my own (usually). I'll continue to bow out of some work events and gatherings because there just won't be a single thing I can eat there. I will continue to live in mortal fear of the shared kitchen area at work on mornings where someone brings in bagels (seriously... engineers are NOT a tidy lot and the breadcrumbs get EVERYWHERE).
But I have learned other things. Good things.
I can now (thanks to a rice cooker) cook rice and make an awesome risotto. I can make a gluten-free pie crust. In home cooking, I can sub for most gluten-ingredients and stay happy.
It has very much been a love/hate year with food. I'm trying to lean more back towards love. And it will continue to be difficult, but hopefully, I'll come around.
One year without (knowingly) having gluten.
And I expect those vegan-like superpowers (Scott Pilgrim!) to kick in any day now. Aaaaaaany day now.
Last year was the last time I had homemade no-knead bread and cheese ravioli as my "last meal".
In a year, I have not ONCE eaten anything from a McDonald's, Burger King, Culvers, Taco Bell, White Castle, Panera Bread, Subway, KFC, Popeye's Chicken. No gyros (the meat involves breadcrumbs). No fast food fries (except Five Guys) since they are usually cooked in the same oil as wheat products. For the first time in my life I've had to send food back to the kitchen uneaten because there was bread or pasta in there somewhere. And as much as I tried to deny my problems were "just wheat" and not gluten, I've also figured out the problem IS gluten and I can only drink totally gluten-free beers. No paczki were had by me this year.
For some people, yes, it is fad. But no one does it 24-7 on a whim. Trust me.
I still have to ask my mother in law to cook the stuffing outside the turkey this year. I would guess for awhile still, I will dread a lot of parties and gatherings (outside the family) that have to do with food, because it means I have to bring my own (usually). I'll continue to bow out of some work events and gatherings because there just won't be a single thing I can eat there. I will continue to live in mortal fear of the shared kitchen area at work on mornings where someone brings in bagels (seriously... engineers are NOT a tidy lot and the breadcrumbs get EVERYWHERE).
But I have learned other things. Good things.
I can now (thanks to a rice cooker) cook rice and make an awesome risotto. I can make a gluten-free pie crust. In home cooking, I can sub for most gluten-ingredients and stay happy.
It has very much been a love/hate year with food. I'm trying to lean more back towards love. And it will continue to be difficult, but hopefully, I'll come around.
3 comments:
Mrs. VJW, you know that Carol, (Previously/Formerly Amish) of French Laundry and Alinea blogdom, also suffers from this affliction. She's learning to substitute also, with excellent results.
See here:
http://glutenforpunishment.com/2011/08/what-i-did-on-my-birthday/
You might want to check this out:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cup4cup-gluten-free-flour/
Oh yeah... I'm totally fangirl all over Carol's new site. And the flour is on my to-buy list now that they have it in the stores (I can hit a WS on my way home from work).
It's not subbing in the home kitchen that is hard... it's eating outside the home. In her one Alinea post where she discusses the gluten-free-breakdown (been there! Had that!) she mentions it being isolating... it is on a lot of levels. Once you get informed it's easy to control what you can... but it's the stuff out of your control where it really gets nutty.
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