A landscaper is giving some her employees this summer, so I will have a real trial of how it works, and holds up. I’ll let you know how it works out; the feedback from the first 3 testers has been great!

Eve is my middle name. I thought of using Spring Eve, which I could still do. But it seemed long. I also thought of using Eden, which is my aunt’s middle name who inspired me to come up with this lotion (she works for the landscaper in the summer), but there are so many body products out there with Eden in the name, it seemed risky for infringement.

There is apparently an Eve Taylor in the UK that has a Hand and Nail Rescue Cream. That is why I say this is probably the name. I may have to add Spring to it to keep it different enough, if I were to decide to really sell the lotion. For now, it was a really fun project! (Incidentally, even the label is a photo I took, that I inverted the color on to make a graphic. So the recipe, the design and everything was all my own creation. Super Fun!)

Thanks for all of your ideas in helping me to name it! I’ll have to see if I can find some tiny jars to put some in to give to those of you that ended up with an idea of yours in the name… maybe those jam-sample jars? Anyone have any?

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Spending a half hour each of the past two afternoons “playing” with settings, was so much fun. It really did feel like play, and creating all in one!

Adding a yellow bowl to the background (below), trying a different lens or setting, and taking 100 pictures to keep 3… it was one of the most playful and fun, and rewarding pass-times I’ve had in ages!

My kids are good sports, letting me shoot them repeatedly while I tweak a setting, or ask them to hold my foam white board and be amazed with me at how it brightens a shot by reflecting the natural light coming in from the back of the object. I think in another month I will choose a few favorites to frame as my “early period” pieces of art. Until then, reveling in the fun (something I am not very good at doing), and beauty!

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To cut myself a little slack, I teach around the dinner hour two evenings a week, and Phoebe has dance 3 times a week at dinner time. I never really found a new routine that fit this year’s schedule. But I am trying to plan ahead, and be a little more creative. It’s funny, but taking the time to be more creative actually makes cooking feel easier, more FUN, even if it takes longer.

I decided to allergy-proof an old chicken recipe I’ve had in my recipe book for over 10 years. It’s a baked “fried chicken” recipe. I copied it while on the phone with my aunt way back when, but haven’t used it in years. This is how I adapted it:

Un-Fried Chicken

•  Chicken Drum Sticks (I used probably about 15)
• Plain yogurt (I was out of homemade, so I used Danon plain)

For the Breading:

• 1 cup gluten-free bread crumbs
• 1 cup rice flour (I only had white on hand)
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp or so of Paprika (I have a Spanish Paprika that I really like)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

I put the chicken in an ice water bath while I mixed up the breading. Then I dipped the chicken into the yogurt, then the breading, and put on a lightly oiled pan. I baked it at 400 for about an hour. This filled two baking sheets. After I was done, I noticed the recipe said “cook on the bottom rack.” Oh well!

While it was baking, I decided I was also very bored with potatoes as a side (not to mention I am not supposed to eat them consecutive days). I don’t know how, but suddenly I was craving Rice-a-Roni, something I haven’t bought in probably 8 years (since beginning to reduce our processed foods).

Google to the rescue! I found this recipe, and deciding to tweak it for my allergies and what I had on hand. This is what I came up with:

Homemade Rice-a-Roni

• 1 cup white rice
• quarter-size diameter of gluten free pasta
• 1/4-1/2 cup of homemade frozen chicken broth (scraped while still frozen out of a jar)
• 4 tbs butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• little less than 2 cups of water

I mixed up the seasonings in a bowl, and then cooked the pasta (broken into small pieces) and the rice in the pan with the butter until the pasta started to brown. Then I added the seasonings and water/broth, and brought it to a boil. Once boiling, I covered it, and turned it down to low, and cooked it for about 15 minutes.

Because I was tweaking a recipe that called for bullion, I tried to tweak the water to compensate for the broth. This ratio worked out well for me… you might have to tweak it depending on what you have for rice. The idea, the best I could tell, was to make sure the rice/pasta mix was covered in water, but not swimming in it. (Does that make sense? Have you caught on I am pretty much clueless in the kitchen, yet?)

This rice was so amazing they asked me to make it again tomorrow. We were eating the leftovers (there wasn’t much!) out of the pan while taking the photo. I don’t know why I would ever make plain rice again, seriously! It was that good! I was mildly skeptic at the author’s comment that it “tasted just like it, only better,” but she was totally right!

Last week I had another rut-free night when I made enchiladas. We ate them all before I could take a picture though, so maybe I’ll try again in another week or so. Also, still finishing up my Q and A posts… I got sidetracked with several days of a migraine. I”ll get back to it!

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We hadn’t been up to our favorite sky watching spot since the fall. We were surprised at what had been put along the mountain range top since we were last there!

I can’t imagine how big those windmills must be, in order for them to seem that large from where we were!

Then there were the cries of “PINK! PINK!” And he had to quickly pull over and find a spot to get us out of traffic’s way.

I am trying not to apologize for the number of sky photos. I am just mesmerized by the way color plays and changes across the sky. I can’t help myself!

I was standing here:

But with the help of my zoom lens, this was the view I had instead.

It’s amazing what choosing to look up, and focus in, can do!

Standing in my driveway, looking up.

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This week, I want to answer some other questions. If, at the end, there is a question I didn’t answer, feel free to ask it in the comments, or on my FB page! Today’s question:

How did you do it*? (*the elimination diet) Wasn’t it hard? I don’t think I could do it!

I had actually considered trying eating gluten-free for a few years, but it didn’t seem to “make sense” to anyone else. When I suggested it to my doctor-at-the-time, she said “I don’t see why that would help, but go ahead if you want.” Obviously, not only having a lack of support, but a “what are you thinking?” reaction from people kind of deflated me, and left me unmotivated to try it. Knowing what I do now, I should have listened to my body, to my instinct.

When I finally met a doctor who urged me to not only eat gluten-free, but do the elimination diet, confident that it would help me, I was feeling so desperate for improvement, that that one push was all I needed to run with it. A little support and encouragement goes a looong way.

I guess I was desperate enough, and finally just had the encouragement I needed.

My doctor also spent quite a long time talking me through the dietary changes. She talked about balancing my protein, hidden sources of the banned foods, and gave me a huge packet with information, and recipes. Having the right resources to take some of the planning and anxiety out of it made a huge difference. She recommended a protein powder made from rice that I had not heard of. She explained what some of the ingredients were. This is the kind of help I now enjoy offering to others, and why I am blogging about my food journey.

After the appointment, I went right out and bought a bunch of food I could eat. I didn’t stop to consider the cost of the diet I was doing. I was just focused on getting well, and taking care of myself so I could take care of the rest of my family. I looked right away for a few recipes that sounded appealing in the packet, and went and bought all of the ingredients. I didn’t even plan a week’s worth of menus yet, I just needed to get a bunch of food into the house.

And then, this little un-intutive, unadventurous “cook” went on a food safari. (I mentioned that in my 31 Days series here.) I decided it was an adventure. And I kind of made the family go on the adventure with me. I couldn’t possibly make two separate meals three times a day, and with my kids at the time being 9, 6 and 3, the meals were pretty much my job. (Now my oldest two cook… Levi made dinner solo again tonight- awesome, or what?!) I tried to have a few options at a meal, so they weren’t totally limited to my choices. And any baking was all-for-one-and-one-for-all.

I experimented with recipes after the kids went to bed. And I made a lot of desserts. Seriously, if you are having dessert every day, it’s hard to feel deprived! Since the desserts were sweetened only with fruit/juice, I felt the psychological benefit was worth the effort of churning out the treats for the first few weeks, and it wouldn’t be horrible for my health.

Once I knew for sure I would be avoiding gluten and corn for the long haul, I had a good friend who was gluten/corn and sugar free bless me with a pile of recipes.Tried and true recipes that people you know have actually made is a huge help.

And that is again why I like to share my food journey here on my blog! Knowing where to shop for things, and even what that package or item looks like can really take some stress out. (I.E. walking into a store to buy guar gum, and not having any idea what it is, so how do you even know what section to go to, or if it comes in a bag, or a box.. Is it a liquid in a can? Does it matter if I leave it out? etc. And incidentally,YES! It matters if you leave out the guar/xanthum gum- don’t do it!) (I now know there are alternatives, but we are keeping this simple in the beginning, ok? No guar gum equals a flat gooey mess.)

Tomorrow I will try to go into more detail for the question “What did you eat!?”

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Sweet potatoes, white potatoes (after I was cleared to eat them), zucchini, and summer squash make up the base. I toss them with light olive oil, and my favorite seasoning is fresh rosemary. If I don’t have any on hand I use dried basil. I also add a dusting of garlic and onion powder nowadays.

Today I added some leftover cooked chicken on top at the end. I have also added ground turkey leftover from another meal. I will cook up two pans of veggies, and then have it on hand in the fridge for easy and yummy food on the go. (Only one other person here likes sweet potato, so I am sure to get most of it for myself!)

Photo is before I baked it off. It was just so pretty, I had to take a picture. I bake it at 350 for about 40 minutes until potatoes pierce easily with a fork. If you have a strong aversion to veggies getting mushy, add the zucchini and summer squash for only the last 10 minutes or so. (I find they just stick to the potatoes, and add some moisture and flavor, so I do them the whole time). YUM!

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This is the lotion I blogged about earlier in the month as “Gardener’s Healing Lotion.” It has the calendula and comfrey root infused oil that I made, as well as aloe, for healing irritated skin. I started the idea when my aunt asked me to come up with something for the landscapers she works with in the summer. First run test got good results, so now I am getting ready to do a few batches, and label them, and I need a name!

Any ideas? Post here or on my FB page!

I will be choosing the name on Saturday 4/28 when I get ready to print the labels!

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After being dog-tired all day, I was giddy with the chasing of this beauty. The kids laughed at me as I ran back in, and then ran back out. (I needed the zoom lens!)

I laughed at myself as I headed back in, and thanked my husband again for this gift of trying a new thing, a new way of creating. Thankful for the beauty, and the chance to capture it. And a husband who understands.

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I went heavier on the veggies… more like adding fruit to veggies, instead of adding veggies to fruit. SUCCESS!

Ingredients: 2 largish carrots, a full cucumber, a huge pile of spinach, 10ish frozen strawberries, and a kiwi, with a big splash of plain rice milk.

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I must admit to seeing the “Think Spring” signs and taking it personally… you know, as in “Think, Spring!” LOL

Tis the season… for laundry on the line-

And for hanging out blankets- wherever we can put them!

And for swinging-

And tolerating camera-happy-mamas-

And running-

And enjoying the shade of a big maple tree-

And exulting in the daily finds of growth and natural beauty, popping up everywhere.

Isn’t it intoxicating?

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