A Glimpse into my Life.: November 2011

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Attempts at Gluten Free Cookies!

So, we tried making oatmeal cookies the other day because Little Miss was dying for a treat we had no suitable treats for her and Dutch's new diet. It was interesting to say the least. From the reading I've done, some say you can substitute straight across if you do it by weight not the volume, some say it'll never be the same, some say you have to really tinker with the recipe. Since the answers were so mixed, I decided to take my recipe, weigh out the amount of regular flour, and substitute it with gluten free flour.

The mixing it up part looked the same.

They started to look a wee bit different as they baked up. If I took them right off the baking sheet, they 'melted' through the cooling rack and fell apart into a lacey, holly mess. Yes, I know you see a stack of cookie mess, but that was after we realized there was no hope for them to hold their shape and I needed somewhere to put the hot mess.

If I left them on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, they glued themselves to the pan.

In the end, they made a fabulous granola, and I'll have to get back to the drawing board. The kids enjoyed eating the granola, even if it wasn't what we were expecting.

Looking at the granola, maybe we'll have to make it again for a snack with some fruit!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since I know I won't be on here much in the next few days, I am taking the early opportunity to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We are going to be having a bit of an adventure this Thanksgiving, in at we are doing a mostly Gluten Free Dinner. On that note, a few things I am thankful for this year:

My family. They are wonderful, idiosyncrasies and all. Seriously though, I am blessed beyond measure to have the wonderful husband I have. He is a wonderful father, and husband and loves me unconditionally. My children, who although they are distinct and different personalities, love to play together and are each others best friends. There is also my extended family and those friends who are family by heart if not by blood.
Doctors who listen. Little Miss has been having health issues for a few years, and although it seemed that things would sometimes get somewhat better, they never fully cleared up. Through keeping food diaries and process of elimination, and multiple consultations with the doctors, she is either Gluten Intolerant or has Celiacs. I am so grateful the diagnosis was made and done in a non-invasive way. They felt comfortable enough to make a clinical diagnosis because of how young Little Miss is. In a few years, we may revisit the issues and reevaluate, but I am so thankful they didn't want to push for the tests, which in small children tend towards having a lot of false negatives. Having her on a Gluten Free diet has done wonders for how she feels and once she is finished with the gluten withdrawal symptoms, I think she'll be a whole new girl.
Acquired Knowledge. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn new things and to apply them. The opportunity and gift to be learning more is wonderful. It has helped in dealing with the issues Little Miss has, and it has helped in the application towards Dutch. He had been exhibiting similar characteristics of being Gluten Intolerant like Little Miss did at the age of 1 and since we've learned so much in the last couple of months, we were able to apply it to him also. He has shown a huge improvement too! I am also grateful for the opportunity to be able to direct my acquisition of knowledge as desire and need dictate.
I am thankful for the Freedoms I experience living in this country. Yes it isn't perfect, there are many changes to be desired, and many issues to work out; but I have the opportunity to make of my life what I will. I can stay home with my children, see to the little details they need from me, be a helpmeet to my Hubby, and it is wonderful.
The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for Him being my Savior and Redeemer. Through Him I can progress in this life, be on the ever straight and narrow path, and know that his Atonement was for me and everyone. As I study the Scriptures and teach my children, the sacrifices He made on my behalf become clearer and more strongly impressed on me.
I am thankful for the opportunity to help and serve others. It is a wonderful blessing to help those around you and serve others, whether they were known to you or not.

A note on the photos, they are of no significance other than I think they are beautiful. We were fixing the photo library on our computer and I came across a lot of pictures I'd either forgotten about or were overshadowed by others. I just thought I would give these a moment of sunshine! :D