I do bike, though. And bikers are as crazy as runners, just with a different sort of exercise. Last year by the providence of the Lord I won an absolutely adorable old-fashioned style Schwinn cruiser bike. I LOVE THIS BIKE.

Oddly enough, I’m a late-bloomer cyclist. My parents tried to teach me and my sister, but I quickly grew scared of the entire idea of biking. It wasn’t till last summer that I became bound and determined to learn.

Now I finally feel like I am doing well. I can corner better. I can stop quicker. I can take off more easily. I can now conquer little hills.

Also by the providence of God, I ended up in a fabulous apartment that happens to be one block from a city park full of paved paths. Perfect for me and my bike. There are also lakes with duckies and goosies (scratch that, I hate geese, they are the evilest form of waterfowl, they get no cute nickname).

Even on a day like today when sinus headaches are hanging around and half the path is flooded by the recent rain, biking is a time of escape. For a moment, it’s just me and my bike riding on the path. For a moment, the wind is in my hair and I’m flying along. For a moment I can listen to the sounds of songbirds and ducks instead of the noise of passing cars and lawnmowers. It’s a sanctuary. What an awesome park.

Through it all, I’m also finding myself in better shape. I have been blessed with great legs, but my thighs were a wasteland of flab and flubber. Now they are powerhouses of energy, propelling me up that once unconquerable hill with only minimal shifting of gears. Even on days that my muscles are screaming, they keep up the pace as I urge them on.

As I write all this, I write with the bittersweet knowledge that today’s bike trip will likely be the only one this week. The rain kept me away last week and threatens to do the same next week. But come one dry day and I will be back out in the park, escaping from the world, if only for a moment.

Going gluten-free meant serious breakfast adjustment. I haven’t yet taken the plunge into the world of gluten-free oats (though I will soon). My typical breakfast is usually polenta. Sometimes bacon, sometimes fried or baked eggs, sometimes sausage. But polenta is the big standby.

One gluten-free mix has saved breakfast. It’s Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix. I bought the product at that link, meaning I got a ridiculous 12 pounds of it. But I have no regrets. Why? Because it’s so versatile and it has made breakfast such a pleasure again!

I can use it for pancakes so good my gluten eating sister can’t tell. I can use it for biscuits so good they don’t need gravy, but if I want gravy the mix makes an awesome roux and a delicious gravy in no time. I can use it for quick breads, for cookies, even for pizza crust in a pinch. Though I adore Annalise Roberts’ book Gluten Free Baking Classics and I love her brown rice flour mix for cookies and quick breads and muffins and pizza, Pamela’s mix makes quick, delicious gluten-free goodies.

This morning I had biscuits and gravy for the first time since going gluten-free. I missed it so! My gravy was a bit thick (my own fault for not adding more milk when the time was right!) but so delicious. I fried my bacon and whipped up the biscuit mix. It was so simple. I just cut in some shortening and stirred in some milk, then dropped my biscuits on a greased cookie sheet and sent them on their merry way into the oven. I’ve made gluten-free biscuits before from Whole Foods’ gluten-free biscuit mix, but what I got were entirely too white and entirely too sweet to satisfyingly call “biscuits.” The Pamela’s mix biscuits were full of flavor (like the pancakes!) and so tasty I could have skipped gravy. No weird sweet taste. Just delicious.

After draining my bacon and pouring off some grease, I used the remaining drippings with a couple tablespoons Pamela’s mix to make my roux. It cooked up quickly and I added milk. I’ve had mixed results with roux before, but I hadn’t tried Pamela’s mix until I brought it over to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving. There, the mix contributed to delicious turkey gravy. Today I used it to make a fabulous bacon gravy. It thickened up quickly… I should have added more milk but it was still so delicious. My biscuits and gravy longing is satisfied!

I’m so glad that I’m learning how to use gluten-free flours and mixes to keep on cooking. Life is different without wheat, but eating delicious food and feeling better make it all worthwhile!

My goal in switching diets is to eat more grains, more fruit, more veggies, more beans, about the same amount of meat, and less baked goods. Sure, I’ll eat baked goods, but I know it will be better to eat other grains. I’ve got some quinoa and I’m making quinoa risotto on Thursday. I’m making mujahdarrah tonight to last through this week’s lunches (though I may cook the lentils and rice separate so I can change things up as I please). So I want to eat more rice, quinoa, amaranth, and other gluten-free grains. I will eventually buy gluten-free oats, but I want to let my body adjust first.

I’m working on another blog about this gluten experience… I’ll reveal the address a little later.

Yukon gold potatoes were on sale last week at Schnucks, so I picked some up and made some delectable mashed potatoes. I’ve found with russets that I could really take them or leave them, they just don’t have the same nummy flavor. Maybe I should play around with red potatoes. I always keep potatoes on hand as a staple food and I have a feeling I may be eating them a bit more often. I should at least have good ones.

Celiac test is a week from tomorrow. This morning the donuts I usually love at church just made my stomach turn. As soon as the test is over I’m going to switch over to eating gluten-free and see how I feel. I ordered a cookbook so I can learn more about baking. Even if I don’t have celiac, I can use the book to make stuff for mom. I got some gluten-free spaghetti today and will try to pick up some cereal tomorrow. I’m making a multigrain hot cereal tonight in the slow cooker. It has wheat in it, but it should be good for this week. I will make banana bread, too. I’m saving up three bananas for my next batch.

Well, off to bake I go. Till next time!

Now I suspect I have the disease. I am going to the doctor on the 24th to get tested. It’s scary, but kind of exciting in a way. I mean, if it is positive, it would be like justification for what has been going on. The depression. The increasing dental issues. The stomach problems. It would all make sense.

Right now I’m still eating gluten, and I am miserable about it this week. Today has been the worst. My stomach has been upset all day and I’ve had a headache. I think even if the test comes out negative I will try going gluten free and see if I feel better. It will take some doing, but I’ll do my best.

I’ve been doing lots of reading about the disease and the dietary changes. It’s sometimes a little overwhelming. Alternate flours can be expensive (though I’ve seen reasonable prices from a vendor on Amazon–going to be checking that out!). There are some gluten free things at the regular stores, so I’ll probably try that route first. I’ve been trying my best to eat cheaply, but still eat a healthy diet. This change will hopefully not drive up costs too much.

Anyway, there’s a lot on my mind as I sit here, bloated, tired, and achy. I want to be well. I don’t want this fatigue, I don’t want anymore dizziness, I don’t want anymore headaches, and I don’t want this bloated and yucky feeling. I want it to be over. I want to get the test done already so I can stop eating this stuff. Maybe then I will be well. I would like that a lot!

I had been hoping Overclocked Remix would work on more Final Fantasy game projects after the delightful Voices of the Lifestream album, but to have an album for Final Fantasy IV? That’s just an epic win!

I haven’t listened to everything yet, but I’m impressed with what I’ve heard thus far. My beau, who loves Final Fantasy IV, noted that some of the tracks should totally be used in our fictional  Final Fantasy IV Playstation 3 remake. As if. Wouldn’t that be cool. At least the DS version is awesome.

Anyway, I’ve got Final Fantasy games to play and a fabulous new Wii (thanks, beau!) to play so I’ll be off!

I made some tonight in the rice cooker, burned the onions nicely, and added some seasoning from Penzeys and a touch of white pepper. The white pepper was lackluster but the rest of it was good. It’s amazing to have such an easy, delicious dish to make!

2 onions, cut into half moons

1/2 cup lentils

1/2 cup rice

Water

It’s best to make this in a rice cooker. Put lentils and rice in a rice cooker. Mine has measurements for the number of servings. I added enough water for two and a half servings of rice, then 1 serving cup of rice and 1 serving cup of lentils. I then added spices (salt, pepper, white pepper, and Sate seasoning from Penzeys this time around. The Sate worked nicely, but a little cumin would have been good and I will definitely use red pepper instead of white next time). Turn on rice cooker.

Next, I cut the onions and put them in a skillet with some oil, heated to medium-high. Added a bit of salt. After stirring to separate the onions and coat them with oil, I turned the heat down to medium and let the onions sit and cook for four 5-minute intervals, stirring in between. Next, I turned the heat down to low and let the onions cook for two more 5-minute intervals, again with stirring in between. By this point the rice cooker had switched to “warm” and the onions were nicely cooked, with blackened edges. This makes them super yummy!

This made about four servings for me. I could have used a third onion, but I only had two. Still very tasty stuff!

Sorry for the long hiatus, I was on vacation in Seattle. I have some good material to write about, though, so I’ll be posting more soon.

I’ve got about 3-4 more boxes to unpack, but that’s coming along nicely. Since I’m in a smaller place, I’ve had to have a little rule: if it doesn’t have a home, it can’t live in mine. In other words, if it’s something I don’t have a reasonably logical place for, I’m not keeping it! I have lots of storage spaces here (three largeish closets, a locked closet in the back stairwell, and a basement locker), but I don’t want to keep things I don’t need.

I’ve found out some things:

1) Clothing that did not fit in the old apartment will not suddenly fit in the new apartment.

2) Shoes that are torn up and ugly do not suddenly become beautiful and new in the new apartment.

3) Expired medicine and personal care products do not become unexpired in the new apartment.

It’s a fun learning experience.

Also, with the move, I’ve been spending more than necessary (mostly on eating out… oops!) so I need to cut back a bit. I’ll have a lovely dental visit next month that will cost a few hundred dollars, but I can work it out. The biggest thing is that I need to curb my extraneous spending, which means meal planning and leaving my credit and debit cards at home unless I actually need them (to run errands or buy gas). Actually, I really need to just go back to my cash budget. It’s too easy to spend more than I intended when I have cards. Granted, my biggest “extra” expense this month was legit stuff for the new place (sheets that aren’t worn through and a toilet paper holder, which is like the one thing the place lacks), but the whole buying lunch at restaurants for myself is not a good deal.

Oh well. I will be making crock pot chicken stock, so I’m thinking a good soup week should get me back on track!

The gutter overflowed again today, sending water into my bedroom. In the aftermath, my apartment is a smattering of boxes and miscellaneous furniture I took out of the bedroom. I’m so ready to go. It is a pain to move, but it’s even more of a pain to see the exact same thing happen over and over, but it’s not getting fixed. My landlord is frustrated–after all, he has to pay for the many repairs–but the problem is the same. It’s the same gutter overflowing the same way in the same conditions every time. I feel bad for the guy in some ways, but this is quite enough! I know he is working to fix the problem, but I worry that he’s treating the symptoms (water damaged plaster, masonry failures) instead of the problem (THE FREAKING GUTTER).

Oh well. Hoping four weeks will pass quickly and that if it rains, maybe it at least won’t pour!

I got free range eggs yesterday and decided it was omelette time. So I made an omelette with herbs, tomato, and mozzerella cheese. Served with a couple slices of pumpernickel bread. It’s delicious. A bit dense (I’m out of milk!), but delicious.

Mmmm eggs.