Heavenly Cornbread

When I first started this blog it was my intention to try out new recipes and then post them.  The lack of recipes on here is a blazing indication of the lack of success that I've had with a lot of baking recipes.  Meals and sauces from scratch I can do, and I should post some of those.  However, I had a glimpse of success this last Sunday, when I combined a variety of recipes together and added a touch of my own to create what I now call Heavenly Cornbread.  This recipe comes on the tail of some very bitter, stale tasting homemade breads (which ended up in the trash), and after an overabundance of buckwheat-based pancakes and cakes, and so I swear, as I tasted my first bite, I heard angels singing.  S'truth!

Heavenly Cornbread

1 cup white rice flour

3/4 cup cornmeal (also called polenta)

3 Tablespoons of sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon guar gum or xanthan gum

1 Tablespoon butter or bacon grease (or mix)

2 beaten eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (gas mark 6).

Mix dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. 

Melt the one tablespoon of butter/bacon fat and swirl to coat the bottom and insides of a round baking pan, or 8x8 inch square baking pan.  In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and 1/4 cup butter. Add this mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick poked into the centre comes out clean. Serve warm with butter and honey.

This recipe is good for about 2 more days if kept in fridge and microwaved.

Substitutions:

I cannot use a lot of milk while I can still have butter, so I substituted rice milk for the milk.

Outside of Indonesia you can find dairy-free margarine, which you can substitute for the butter.

Suggestions:

Throw in a 1/8 cup ground or whole flax seeds for extra flavour.

May I take that back?

Twenty four hours from the last post and I've changed my mind.  Like I said earlier, I need to experiment and that is how I'm gaining knowledge and learning how to live with Celiac. I went to Burger King, ordered a bunless burger with fries, and 7 hours later posted that I felt great.  Having not eaten anything else even remotely suspicious between then and bedtime, I know that it's the BK food that kept waking me up all through last night, poking me with nauseousness and the rest of the kit that comes with eating gluten for me.  So, after contemplating whether or not I delete my last post or not, just in case another newby Celiac reads and decides to try the BK burger, I will leave it be with the warning:  bunless is NOT enough when it comes to the BK burger.  Since this is a record of my journey towards better health and greater knowledge, I'll leave the last post alone and stick with my BK fries next time.

Burger King

It's taken a few months to get up the nerve to walk into our local Burger King (yep, our local mall is full of American franchises) and ask for "satu Jr. Whopper, tanpa roti (one Jr Whopper without the bun).  Today I was so hungry and my day was so full that I figured it was worth a try if it meant getting something to fill the hole.  Without any medical advice here, and my nutritionist friend Chris has moved to the Philippines, I am pretty much my own advisor, so that means I need to experiment a little to get my answers.

When I placed my order, I was a little surprised that the girl at the till didn't blink an eye, and yelled back "NO BUN!!" (apparently my "tanpa roti" wasn't necessary!).  They even knew how to pack the sad little meat patty, so I figure there must be some no-carbs dieters somewhere out there who eat at BK.  It was a little tricky to eat the bun-less burger in my car as I headed to the next event on my list, but it didn't take me long to down my first 'burger' in 5 months.  Five months to the day, actually.  I've already eaten BK fries twice, with BK ketchup, without any symptoms that I can pinpoint.  Yet.  So, I now can add Burger King to my list of "Cans."  

I realize that each person is different, reactions and Celiac sensitivities are different, and probably each franchise location is different, but it's good to know that I can go to BK in our local mall now and enjoy lunch with my friends as they feed their kids.  Not sure I'm brave enough to try any other franchises yet, but I'll keep researching online and see what others have to say about those.

Note:  Twenty four hours later I've decided to change my mind about bunless BK burgers.  See next post.

Chocolate, Cheese and Buffet Dinners

Well it looks like dairy might be back on the list of "Can Eat" once again...at least in moderation.  I've been doing a bit of experimentation with...you guessed it...chocolate!  I've eaten an entire Canadian-made Cadbury's chocolate mint bar over the course of a week, as well as thrown in a few doses of heavily-buttered popcorn.  Last night I was tempted by some cheese and succumbed.  So far so good!  At a birthday party a few nights ago I had a few scoops of cream-cheese laden Mexican bean dip and was thrilled to find that my body quite happily accepted it.  Of course my taste buds are ALWAYS saying 'you go girl!' but a few hours later the rest of me is asking a lamenting "why???"

Last night was a food challenge as my husband and I chaperoned our school's Social Community's "Healing Hands Charity Ball."  Money was raised for cancer treatments in honour of Ibu Mona, a teacher who very recently passed away due to cancer,  After much hoopla over getting ready (five grade 7 girls in my home, curls being straightened, straight hair curled, dresses and high heels and lots of shiny things stuck everywhere), we headed over to maintain some order at the school gym.  This was NOT a difficult task in any way as the entire lot of kids was very well behaved and spent most of their energy on eating and dancing the night away.  The difficulty for me came in the way of the dinner buffet, which looked and smelled delicious.  As always, it seemed that most things, even the steamed veggies, had some kind of extra in it, whether it was soy sauce, soup stock powder or some unknown brown source that I was not willing to tackle.  I'm learning that in order to enjoy the night, I need to put aside my love of food (I have always been a sucker for All-You-Can-Eat buffets) and to just enjoy my surroundings and my company.  My meal consisted of tropical fruit, white rice, and some krupuk (Indonesian 'bingo chips' that when placed in oil pop into large, puffy chips) and a glass of water.  Now that I know that dairy seems to be a safe bet, I'll probably add vanilla ice cream to that list next time.

Although it's fun to eat, last night was enjoyable mostly because I was able to chat with some friends that we don't see that often, to dance with our son and daughter (ok, proud mom moment when Abby danced with Dad and Matt with me, and neither worried a smidge about what their friends thought) and to watch our kids and their friends have such a fun time dancing that they didn't stop dancing until the take-down crew was ready to go-at-'er.

First Long-Term "Celiac" Journey

I have just returned from the "jungles" of North Sulawesi with my family and 2 other families and have survived.  Only once did I become a little bit "celiac-sick" and I have returned home the same weight as when I left.  That's saying a lot, because eating wasn't always easy, and we were always on the go.  Our first stop was Bunaken Island, and our 2nd was in the mountains just outside of Manado, in Tomahon.  Although the restaurants (for lack of a better word) in both locations tried to be accommodating, I found the latter the most attentive to my diet.  This became obvious the moment our host asked "is anybody here vegetarian?"

After being picked up at the Manado airport we were driven to what was to become a memorable starry, moonlit boat ride to our first location, Bunakan Beach Resort.  During the ride we were told that the owner of the resort was getting married the next day, and our families were invited to join in.  Although we were excited about the cultural experience ahead, we agreed that we'd probably not partake of the dog-rat stew that was part of the buffet.  Before retiring for our first night, I spoke with the cook--who it turns out was the bride herself--about what I could and could not eat.  Although I think she understood the gyst of it, some of the earnestness was lost in communication as she later explained to her staff  how to deal with me.  It wasn't until the 2nd night, that of the wedding itself, when I went down into the kitchen to cook my buckwheat pancakes that I was able to use some of the wisdom I learned from a fellow Celiac's blog .  I told the staff who had gathered to watch me cook my pancakes (3 ladies and one fellow) that I had an illness like diebetes, and if I eat anything I'm not supposed to, I will become very sick.  That seemed to work, so thank you Singapore Coeliac! After that, I was usually given a separate bowl each meal that contained 2 boiled eggs and some form of cooked vegetable.  Not my ideal meal but I was really thankful for the break.  I was getting tired of asking "what is in this sauce?" or "is this made from powder?"  I think the staff was getting tired of hearing it as well.

One thing about Indonesian culture that seems to get in my way of healthy eating is that typically, Indonesians are very agreeable.  If I ask "is there soy sauce in this?" they will so often say yes, even though it doesn't, because they THINK that that is the answer I want to hear.  I'm learning to ask what ingredients are in something, and then to repeat back to the staff member what they've said to me.  Often they'll elaborate a little upon the second repetition.  When it gets too complicated, I eat white rice and then snack on nuts and dried fruit later.

I have to admit that I felt a little sorry for my fellow travellers, as I was constantly aware of what was being served, how, and to whom (especially when I was forgotten in the mix).  On our final morning in Bunaken, fried egg sandwiches were being served to all for breakfast.  My husband explained (for the umpeenth time) that I cannot have the bread but would like the egg.  After a long wait, out came my egg sandwich, complete with 3 pieces of toast.  It is not a very nice feeling to look someone in the eye and tell them that they got my order wrong, and also to know that I was going to waste food that somebody living very, very nearby would probably LOVE to eat.  Thankfully a man we'd just met offered to take my roti dan telur off my hands and out came 2 more boiled eggs 20 minutes later.

Life got a lot easier for me when we entered Highlands Resort & Spa in the mountains, because not only had we stopped at a grocery store and picked up some snacks on the way (I'd eaten most of mine as fillers on the island), but because the staff asked about dietary needs.  It was established that I can eat rice and bihun (rice vermicelli), as well as a variety of made-from-scratch dinner meals that the cook, Ibu Ati, was quite willing to make for me.  My first meal consisted of chicken and corn egg-drop soup, with cap cai and rice on the side.  Both breakfasts contained one special fried dish just for me, sauce-less, and at least one egg.  I was very thankful that I didn't have to be on top of things, and that as soon as the staff saw me heading towards the buffet breakfast, they'd bring out my meal.  I do have to admit, though, I am still a little uptight about checking how things are being done, and although I see it as being irritating to the staff, my fellow travellers encouraged me that it's actually being aggressively healthy.  Something I'll continue to learn as I go, I suspect.

This short, 5-night trip away from general civilization (mostly felt in the lack of food stores) was a great opportunity for me to learn a variety of things.  I found that I do need to bring some basics like Bragg's soy sauce substitute, some non-dairy milk, some protein snacks (nuts, nuts nuts!!!) and some sweets that will stave off an almost daily sweet-tooth craving.  I also learned that I need to not be intimidated by staff or situations within a vacation setting, or I may get lost in the 'dining cracks.'

Dwindling Supplies

When we first moved to Indonesia, there were some political changes going on that affected us mostly in the area of food.  For the first 6 months we'd find mayonnaise, boxed cakes, icings, all kinds of flours, a variety of imported goods and snacks, and then all of a sudden, everything stopped at the docks.  There were political red tape excuses keeping food stocks on the docks, typically associated with taxes, and so the ex-pats had to make do with local mayo (yuck), cakes from scratch (I prefer anyways), and learning how to either make do with what was out there, substituting local ingredients, or having a friend who was heading from overseas bring things in a suitcase.  I opted for the latter as we had a steady flow of visitors in our first year of living here.  Sadly, that has petered out a bit, with the odd visitor popping in...our last one stayed only 50 hours but it was worth it still.

Today, it's a treat to go shopping in Jakarta, and sometimes even at the local grocery store.  Once in a while we'll find a real treat and share the news with friends.  It was quite a delight when Snickers appeared on the shelves a few months ago, and now that there are Snickers bars commercials on tv, we figure they're here to stay.  Unfortunately, my gluten-free shopping experience is a big similar to my earlier one, where when I first was diagnosed in January, I found gluten-free goodies all over the place.  Now, it seems stocks have dwindled and am I forced to make my own treats.  Not a huge deal, though, because as I settle into this life-style, the 'overwhelmingness' (new word!) of it all diminishes with each new successful gluten-free/dairy-free recipe. I haven't thrown anything into the garbage in over 2 weeks, and the banana cake I made today actually smelled delicious as it came out of the oven.  I have sweet friends who, when we get together, actually research how to make a gluten-free treat, and bring it along just so I can eat with the group.  One even had a boxed brownie mix sent from the United States.  Needless to say, I made it immediately and it sits, pre-cut, in my freezer.  I dive into it every few days and the chocolately-ness of it all just makes my day:).

A trip home to Canada is on the horizon, and growing closer each day.  I try not to think about it too much, but am excited at the eating-prospects (not quite as excited as seeing family and friends, though) and am already planning what I'll be bring back with me.

Thanks for reading.

Island Eating

Bunaken National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia

In a week our family is packing up for 5 days and heading north to the seashore.  I've always wanted to say that, "heading to the seashore."  We have almost always lived on an island and the shore has always just 'been there,' so NOW we get to 'head there.' I have to admit, I am really excited about it and have been looking forward to it since we booked our tickets last November.  This is the first time that I have had to think ahead about what I am going to eat, and since where we're heading is rather primitive (no hotel, a simple bamboo villa will do, thank you) I am anticipating simple fare.  My husband has contacted the first place that we're staying at in Bunaken National Park (still in Indonesia, an island cluster just below the Philippines) and he figures that they're a little nervous about me coming.  It doesn't sound like they get too many "special food needs" people there.  It seems they want me to cook my own meals with food that they have provided.  My opinion?  Bring it on!  What better way to learn the local cuisine than to cook it myself?  I'm actually pretty sure that being as remote as it is supposed to be, it'll mostly be fresh meat/fish/poultry, some greens and rice, along with the normally offered 'western' fare of pastas and deep fried foods.   Have Braggs, will travel!