Monthly Archives: September 2009

Food

Muscadines – Yum

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Muscadines are a relative of grapes who happen to enjoy the particularly hot and humid climate of Florida.  With summer winding down, a crop arrived recently at the produce section of the local Walmart.  Since I had just read a Wikipedia article about them while searching for potential crops that could be grown in the yard, I decided to check them out.

muscadine

The look of the thing is very much like a grape, but the similarities mostly end there.  For one thing, the skin is very tough, and needs to be peeled away rather than eaten.  The large seeds also end up being spit out.

The taste and texture of the fruit is quite unique.  Its sweet at the same time its extremely tart.  I can see why that combination makes a popular wine.  The fruit’s pulp is also a little bit slimier than a grape.  Its quite juicy, but the liquid doesn’t readily separate from the fibers.

Since my stomach is pretty sensitive to new things, I was afraid that these fruits would leave me aching.  But its been eight hours since I tried a couple, and I’m just about ready to have a few more.

In fact, I wouldn’t mind having a bush or two of these growing in the backyard at all!

Food

Gluten Free Chex – Awesome!

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If you’ve ever scrutinized the ingredients in a cereal isle, you’re sure to know that almost every single box contains some form of gluten.  Even if the cereal itself isn’t made from wheat or cross-contaminated oats, malt is one of the favorite flavoring additives of breakfast cereal.

The good news though, is that Chex is paying attention.  This means General Mills.  Finally, someone really big in the grains business is taking Celiac in to consideration.

The only change in the Chex formula is the new lack of malt.  This means people on a gluten-free diet can enjoy all the crunchy rice and corn cereal you can care for.  And they’ve got a few really good flavors to choose from, too.  The cinnamon reminds me of a glutenous favorite:  Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  It might be a little heavy on the flavor, though.  The honey nut style is also a sweet treat – just maybe a little too sweet for my breakfast tastes.

Ultimately, I find I most appreciate the plain-old Rice Chex.  A few raspberries or blackberries on top can add a punch of vitamins and minerals to an already healthy bowl, and it adds an incredibly sweet burst into every other bite.

After almost two years of rarely eating any kind of cereal or grain, its really nice to have something back in that spot of my diet.  I’m starting to wonder how I ever survived without it!  Now that I know a cheap brand of gluten free cereal is readily available, my stomach doesn’t want the box to run out.

Food

OK, too many hot dogs

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Ouch – just because it doesn’t have gluten doesn’t mean your stomach will really appreciate it.

Last night I tried a strange combination of hot dogs and asparagus – and it actually tasted pretty good.  Maybe that’s why I went back for seconds.  Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.

Mixing junk food with something particularly healthy might average out to something that isn’t particularly good or bad for you, but right now my stomach is saying it was way too much.

I’ll leave out the details of my discomfort, but suffice it to say I won’t be eating so many hotdogs in a single night again any time soon.

Food

Junk Foodie – Hot Dogs and Asparagus

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For the last few weeks, Wal-mart had some cheap prices on premium hot dogs.  Not the one-dollar kind, but the kind that are actually made out of beef and minimal additives.  The Oscar Meyer brand was particularly enjoyable, and I’ve only got a few of the Ballpark ones that seemed a bit more “over-processed.”

What I’ve also got though, is a fresh – and even slightly sweet – green bundle of asparagus.  On my last trip to the grocery store, I literally spent $6 on meat and $6 on broccoli and asparagus.  Since then, its been burgers, hotdogs, brocolli, and of course, the asparagus.

Right now the last two hot dogs are frying on a pan and the asparagus is being lightly steemed over a cup of water.

When they’re done, I’ve got some mild mozorella that will make a perfect complement and hopefully tie the flavors back together.

Just because its junk, doesn’t mean it can’t be good & good for you!  Its also, as always, cheap to make and 100% gluten-free.

Food

More Brownies – Gluten Free Pantry Brand Review

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I read somewhere that Betty Crocker was considering (or possibly was in the process of implementing) a line of gluten-free baking mixes.  Now, I’m not the biggest fan of baking – but I do love some gluten-free cookies and brownies.  Inspired by the hope of convenient gluten-free cakes, I stopped by the baking aisle of my local Walmart.  While I didn’t find a Betty Crocker gluten-free baking mix, I did find one from a little brand called Gluten-free Pantry.

I picked a box up immediately and the first thing I noticed was the price.  I had cooked gluten free brownies before, but this new brand was about 2 and a half dollars cheaper.  Not one to sneer at frugality, I ran to make sure I had enough eggs and butter in my cart to pull this extra dish off.

When I made the brownies, I had one deviation from the box’s plan:  The baking pan I was using was a bit longer than the recipe called for.  As a result, the mix ended up being a little bit thin and my first attempt yielded somewhat crispy brownies.  My girlfriend said they were the best ever, but on my second try I compensated by cutting the baking time down by about ten minutes, and now I think they’re even better than they were before.

With any brownies, I like to add some crushed walnuts and make sure to add some chocolate frosting to the top.  It adds a nice layer of sweet chocolate – don’t tell me that’s redundant because its just as essential as any other ingredient!  No word yet if the lady agrees about the lower cooking time and fluffier brownies – I’ll keep ya posted with updates as available.