Happy Hallows!

Changing season, rainy & windy here in Oregon - but not NEARLY the storm that the East Coast has been experiencing (Sandy) ....

This evening friends are gathering for Halloween at Nancy's house. Her street decorates for holidays, & as many as 300 T or Ters come to her door! So she has us over for a little potluck & party.

I'm bringing my Pumpkin Pie Quinoa bake - it's in the oven as I type! Today I used a Cup of quinoa (out of amaranth) 3/4 C pumpkin, 2 C water, the 'usual' other ingredients, plus 1/4 C shredded coconut, 1/4 C carob powder & 1 Tbsp cacao nibs. Mmmm - hope some's left over!

Do you love quinoa? Or is it 'so-so' for you? Here's another blogger's take on ways to spice it up - "Quinoa, like anything else, has to be cooked right to taste right..."

My mama would have been 100 this fall (made it to 93!) & my daddy died 20 years ago last summer - so am thinking of them as we turn the page of the year


Happy Hallows!

Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Bake

Last fall I found a great recipe 'just in time' for my son-in law's BD! He & I both LOVE quinoa in any form, and as soon as I made this the first time, I knew it would become a family favorite! Leanne of 'Healthful Pursuit' is a nutritionist in Canada, & has a wonderful blog full of recipes & tips for healthy eating, many GF & vegan!
Her recipe was made for 2, so I expanded it, & also began with boiling water, as I'd learned that trick oven baking rice 35 years ago! So here's my version!

I begin with fresh squash from my farmers, Katie & Casey of Oakhill Organics, & often bake another while I have the quinoa in the oven, as I like to have fresh baked pumkin or squash on hand for smoothies & including in recipes.
Following their suggestion, & just poke the squash with a knife a few times (like a baking potato) & put in a pan with a bit of water in the bottom. After it's baked, I cut & scoop the seeds, which I sprinkle with a bit of salt & perhaps curry powder or pumpkin pie spice, & stick back in that hot (but turned off) oven - or do that later. The seeds make GREAT snacks!

Pumpkin Pie Quinoa bake (my version)
vegan & gluten free, does contain coconut
- heat oven to 350* & lightly oil a quart or larger casserole

1 1/2 C boiling water
1/2 C OG pumpkin puree - I chop  pre-baked squash in the blender & process with water or coconut milk,  {you could use tinned}
1/2 C quinoa
1/4 C amaranth (total of 3/4 C, could use all quinoa)
1 Tbsp Teff (for extra nutrition - can skip if you don't have any)

1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla


optional additions:
1 T maple syrup
2 Tbsp cacao nibs,
1/4 C dried fruit: raisins,  cran-raisins, currents ...

Bring water to a boil
puree pumpkin with sufficient liquid to blend

Mix spices & other ingredients with pumpkin puree
Heat coconut oil in a pan on stove top, & lightly toast quinoa & amaranth for a few minutes, stirring; then pour boiling water over
mix with pumpkin & rest of ingredients
Transfer to baking dish, cover & place in oven
Bake COVERED for 30 minutes, then remove cover & add topping; bake an additional 10 minutes UNCOVERED

Topping:
1/4 C coconut shreds mixed with sunflower seeds (can pre-toast if you wish)
1 Tbsp coconut oil in chunks
sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice & cinnamon
1 tsp or more maple syrup if you wish

You can use this method to bake quinoa plain or with onions, garlic etc - any additions you'd use on top of the stove. It turns out very fluffy - it's important to bring the water to a boil first, as that allows it to cook in the alloted time! I tend to mix quinoa with amaranth, & often add a Tbsp teff (for nutrient density, the seeds - African Millet - are tiny, so mostly bran & germ)

I often bake a batch, either plain or with pumpkin, while I'm roasting veggies, it takes a little longer than stove top, but is nice if have something else to do while it's cooking!

Fall Gardening

As the slow starting, but now very nice summer rolls toward fall, my thoughts turn to planting some fall veggies! I'm lucky to live in an area where fall/winter gardening is fairly simple, though I don't always remember to get things planted at the right times!

The bare bed in the back of this pic held garlic which I harvested & braided a few weeks ago, the one in front has tomatoes, an artichoke, cantaloupe, cucumber & crockneck squash. Russian Red Kale is already coming up in that bed, self-seeding from plantings past. I've dug a couple of new beds, after covering areas of lawn with cardboard & grass clippings (this sounds more civilized than it is, some is 2' tall, & cut with a small sickle!) And have been reading up on crop rotations & increasing soil fertility.

This summer there have been a few 'rages' over folks planting their front lawns to vegetables, while others extol that practice as ecologically & visually sound. In Western Oregon, we're lucky that many communities seem to welcome, or at least accept, veggies in the front yard, composting, rain barrels & the like. I have a mix of herbs & flowers in front, with most of my veggies in my big back yard (lot is 50' x 100', with the house toward the front, so lots of room for veggie beds, fruit plantings, etc.)

I've had a CSA share the last couple of years, & we're also blessed with a couple of weekly farmers markets, one that runs 12 months of the year. Our local OG farmers grow both familiar & unusual vegetables, & it's always fun to try a few new varieties.

Since quinoa is one of my favorite seed/grains, I've got a couple of rows, plus a few of amaranth. These plants are used in many cultures as both a green & for their seeds, so I've been picking & cooking a few leaves at a time.I also have the perennial 'Good King Henry,' which is setting seed this year.

A few weeks ago I came home the farmers market with a bag of salad mix from Growing Wild Farm which included a lovely 'green' with bright magenta tips, obviously related to lambs quarters/ quinoa - Yum! It was delightful in salad or cooked, & so pretty.
When I asked about it later, they thought it was purple orach, but from the pictures on-line, it looked more like Magentaspreen, so I ordered seed of both a magenta orach, & Magentaspreen from Nichols Garden Nursery, & will soon plant some.
In this photo, the Magentaspreen is on the left (both green & fuscia leaves), Red Hopi Dye amaranth in the middle, cherry vanilla quinoa on the Right, & the more familiar shiny purple basil at the top (to show size).

All of these (except the basil) are in the 'goosefoot' family, related to our more modern spinach, & have been in cultivation for hundreds of years. An article on saving seed warns against planting several varieties close together if you want your seed to be 'true' to form, but also comment you can get some interesting variations if you do so! And they can all self-seed - but are nicely edible!

My son has a good crop of wild Lambs Quarters growing, which we call 'Emily Spinach,' as his 7 year old LOVES greens, & will go out & harvest a batch, then bring it in & cook it herself! I'm thinking of giving them some of the Magentaspreen seed to try as well.

In the "Ladybug Letter," Andy, a gardener & blogger talks about growing orach & ruminates on how to market 'red greens' with such funny names (goosefoot or mountain spinach)!

These 'greens' are best picked when 8-10", or you can harvest individual leaves as I do, leaving the tops to set seed. Quinoa seed has saponin (soap), so needs to be rinsed before cooking; but is a simple 'grain' for the home garden - & wonderfully gluten free!

Some seeds/plants for late summer/early fall planting: Leafy greens (lettuces, salad mixes, quinoa & its relatives, spinach, arugula, chard and mâche [corn salad]); root veggies (beets, carrots, onions, turnips, radishes, salsify, and rutabagas); brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale and Chinese cabbage); leeks & bulb fennel, and fava beans & peas will all thrive in the cooler weather and shorter days of fall. Some herbs & flowers(parsley, calendula, nasturtium, cilantro) may be planted now as well. In many regions, some of these cold-hardy crops will even survive the winter to produce a second harvest in spring.
You can plant small lettuce or sew seeds under tomatoes, to take advantage of the shade. Some gardeners recommend mulching around late summer sewn seeds/plants, to retain soil moisture. Seattle 'Tilth' publishes a great year round gardening guide for the NW, which gives month by month tips on planting & soil health.

Consider planting cover crops in some of the beds (one suggestion is to have 1/3 or 1/4 of the garden beds in a cover crop, to enrich the soil & hold it in place). These can be cut & dug into the soil or added to the compost pile. Buckwheat, clovers (red, Austrian, Crimson, white), alfalfa, fava beans are all options. Your county extension office will have suggestions for your area.
Buckwheat is good for any season, as it matures rapidly & can be cut when 1/3 of the plants are blooming & chopped into the soil. The feed store a few blocks from me sells such seed in bulk, which is very handy for the home gardener who may only need a handful of seed.

Happy gardening!

Mid December Musing

As the year rolls to a close, I'm enjoying time with grandkids ('grammie, we always have sleep overs at your house - you need to stay here tonight!'), the square dance calling, de-thugging more of my clutter, Holiday Harp gigs ...

Tomorrow my Bodacious Babes Red Hat group travels to one of our favorite local tea rooms, & I'll again make GF scones, this time for myself & one of my gal friends, who's been GF about 2 months now! I intend to use the recipe I used for macaroons for a dessert buffet, reducing the sugar a bit more. I adapted a 'normal' (non-GF) recipe:
1/2 C basic GF mix, 1/4 C sorghum flour, 1/4 C coconut flour
1/2 C Spectrum OG Palm oil shortening (for butter)
1/2 C coconut sugar (only used 1/2 C sugar, prob cut to 1/3 C for the scones)
1 T ground flax/chia seed mixed w/ @ Tbsp coconut milk (for egg)
My daughter just got a box of Montina, so I'll add a couple of Tbps of that as well GF RN suggests using a small amount to boost the nutrition in recipes.

& I've been reflecting on the changes I've seen in myself & my family over the last 18 months of being gluten free. In the summer of 2009, my daughter sent DNA samples off to TX for the genetic testing, & both she & her girls had two genes for sensitivity (her husband had one sensitivity, one celiac gene) Since they lived next door, & I felt it would be easier on my grandkids if grammy was also GF, I stopped eating wheat, rye, barley & any products I knew or suspected contained them at the same time.

Having been interested in health all of my adult life, this is one of the best things I've ever done for myself! Cousins remember that I wouldn't let my kids eat 'refined sugar' at family outings, & my pie crust was always whole wheat pastry flour ... oops!!

Gluten Free RN comments "Celiac disease is associated with over 300 signs and symptoms. The reason the problems are so diverse, is that complications are a manifestation of four causes. This is what makes celiac disease and gluten intolerance extremely tricky to recognize."

1) the body recognizes gluten as a pathogen & responds with inflammation
2) chronic inflammation causes T cell dysfunction
3) chronic inflammation causes an auto-immune reaction
4) celiac or gluten sensitivity can cause malabsorption or malnutrition symptoms

So what have I noticed personally over the last 18 months of being Gluten Free?

* lost 20# & my post menopause 'tummy'/ feel more like my 30-something self than 60!

* my scalp no longer itches! My mom used think it was lice, as I ALWAYS scratched my head. (I'm careful to use GF skin products, vitamins, etc)

* very little gas

* rarely need a nap (though I still enjoy one occasionally)
I'd usually eat bread at Breitenbush when I lived there, often a second slice with a bit of honey & butter; & remember struggling to stay awake doing that first massage after lunch - warm room, sleepy sleepy ....
when filling-in these days, I always choose the 'special diet' (gluten, dairy & egg free) & same warm room, but no problem staying awake!

* slight numbness in my hands some morning - that was becoming common, is reversing. My X's older sisters who've been ID as having celiac had Raynaud's (extremely cold hands & feet) years ago - which is now seen to be a sign of gluten sensitivity or celiac.

* mental clarity

* looking for the right word - ambition is almost right - I'm more enthused to clear clutter & keep a neater house!

* my main seed is quinoa - love that!! (it's in the beet family, so a seed rather than grain) Cooks in ~ 20 minutes, I usually add 1 T teff & 1 T amaranth to 1/2 C, cook with ~ 1 1/2 C water/stock or coconut milk - mmm.
I tend to cook it plain, then can add spices when I reheat - often have ~ 1/3 C mixed in with cooked veggies (or stuffed in pumpkin - yum!), take it in my tiffin, etc.
I used to eat a lot more rice, but tend to limit that now, so I don't overuse it. Rice cakes & crackers are a good option for when I'm out & about, & I use a basic mix that has rice flour. A major difference I notice is I'm less hungry eating less grain! We think of grains as 'fillers' - but I actually ate more of everything - perhaps that malabsorption bit GF RN mentions; the body craves more because it's actually starved for nutrients! Where I could easily eat a couple of pieces of bread, or a bit of every desert, it's now fairly simple to fill my plate (medium, not huge) or eat half of a restaurant meal; & only a piece of GF desert. It's not because it's not good - far from it! I've had some of the best deserts I can imagine that are GF! I'm just not as hungry!

* I take a multi-vitamin/mineral, Vitamin D-3 (5000iu in winter), magnesium (important for >300 biochemical functions in the body; I take 700 mg - some is from my multi) fish oil or chia seed, lithium ('think young into your 90s with this anti-aging secret for your brain'), sub-lingual or liquid Vitamin B-12 (absorbs in the gut rather than stomach, & is often low if you're Gluten sensitive), digestive bitters (1/2 tsp before meals), & coconut milk kefir (probiotics)

* My 10 year old granddaughter did go off her anti-seizure meds over the summer. She is doing well (though we still need to watch her); she also raised from level 12 to level 22 in her Spanish reading this fall! (the family Dyslexia is probably gluten related)
This week my niece commented she'd mentioned my granddaughter's progress at a party, & later one of the men took her aside & told her his 19 year old son recently had a seizure while driving - he & mom were OK, but the car was totaled when he seized while driving! They had no idea he'd been having seizures, & the dad said the boy could 'eat a loaf of bread or half a cake' at a sitting, so after hearing about my granddaughter, they planned to ask the Doctor to check for gluten issues! I warned her that the Doc might not know much about gluten sensitivity, & they may need to look into it on their own!

* My 5 year old granddaughter is much calmer, happier, & more alert. While she may get feisty, she rarely has the flares she did while eating gluten. Her little hands are smooth & soft as long as she avoids wheat flour play dough & soaps with a lot of chemicals/ gluten. & did I mention happier?? Her playschool teacher commented several times what a difference it made for her 'she just WOKE UP!'

* My daughter is seeing a new doctor who is working on healing her 'leaky gut' & helping her safely reduce/discontinue her anti-depressant. Her last blood work showed sensitivities to more foods (whey, so no yogurt/milk; hard cheeses are OK) egg whites (mildly sensitive) as well as yolks; & cane sugar (another grass, like wheat, rye & barley) among others.
She's been anxiety free since the first week GF, but has been taking the anti-depressant for a number of years. He's recommended a good digestive enzyme, & an amino acid supplement. She's pregnant, so he & her midwife want to avoid postpartum depression, so are being very careful! For protein, she's adding ground pumpkin seed into smoothies. I recently got some hemp seeds which are great on salads, & always roast the seeds of the pumpkins & squash I'm baking this season.
Her European doctor (primary care) is a proponent of limiting animal proteins, fish being the only meat he recommends. He also recommends NONE of his clients eat gluten containing products in America, tho when his family visits Europe, they eat bread & pastas. Dr Radzik's concerned about the GMOs & other American farming practices, feeling we'd ALL be better off avoiding wheat.

So if you've wondered if YOU might be gluten sensitive, now's the time to check it out for yourself - have the Genetic testing, or simply go gluten free for a few weeks & see how you feal! (it takes much longer for the body to heal, but you will probably notice some changes over the first weeks) & if you've been GF, & slipped, don't beat yourself up, just go GF again!

Here's to a wonderful GLUTEN FREE holiday!