How was Christmas and New Year’s for you all?  Ours was nice.  I love hanging out with the cute monkeys I call my kids.  Their vacation was much too short this year, but it was great to have them home.  We spent all day Christmas in our jammies (even when we went to look at Christmas lights), drank cocoa, napped, played Christmas music, snuggled up, and rang the New Year in with great friends.

Sometime before Christmas hit, we did get some gluten cross-contamination somewhere.  I am sure it was just a bit of cross-contamination as the effects were not as bad as they could be, however it was still not pleasant.  We are coming around the corner on that note.  That is all you want to know about that.  Trust me.  Yuck!

It is the start of a new year and (as my daughter constantly reminds me) we have a birthday coming up in the family.  My oldest daughter will be 9 years-old soon!  I can’t believe it!  She is planning a tropical birthday party to warm us up.  I don’t know if I should be glad or not that my kids think I can make any shaped cake (all gluten and dairy free) without any trouble.  Somehow her cake needs to include a hula dancer (girl) and 3 ukulele playing boys and 3 boys playing drums.  Um, okaaaaaay………I’ll get back to you on that one….  This is my daughter who one year wanted a GREEN Clifford the Big RED Dog cake.  (I made a big white dog bone shaped cake that year with Clifford napkins and coloring pages she could color green.)  She is a creative one and oh so very specific.

I looked in the freezer earlier and realized I have been slacking in the stocking up department.  Too many cookies and not enough meals lately, I guess.

Tonight for dinner we are having barbecue pork sandwiches and and rainbow coleslaw.  We have some left over pork roast from the other day’s crock pot meal.    I am just shredding the pork and adding enough barbecue sauce until saucy enough for us.  A quick BBQ sauce I mix up is:  3/4 cup gluten free (preferably fruit juice sweetened) ketchup, 2 T dark brown sugar, 1 T apple cider or white-wine vinegar, 1 T gluten-free Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 t cayenne pepper, 1/2 t dried thyme and black pepper to taste.  Just mix up and you are done.  I can make up a batch of quick Noah’s rolls while the pork and sauce is heating up.

For the rainbow slaw, I have some left over rainbow slaw ( a shredded mix of carrots, broc. stalks, and red cabbage you can find in the salad section of the supermarket.)  For 5 cup of shredded veggies, I mix:  3 T gluten-and dairy free mayo, 2 T apple or white-wine vinegar, 1 T gluten free honey mustard, 2 t sugar.  Mix that up and toss with the veggies.

The Recipe: Quick BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup gluten free, preferably fruit juice sweetened ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider or white-wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • ground black pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • Just mix up and you are done. Mix with enough shredded pork, chicken or beef to make as saucy as your family likes, and heat through.

The Recipe: Rainbow Slaw

Ingredients

  • 5 cups of shredded veggies, you can get a mix of shredded mix of carrots, broccoli stalks, and red cabbage in the salad section of the supermarket, or shred your own mix
  • 3 tablespoon gluten-and dairy free mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoon apple or white-wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon gluten free honey mustard
  • 2 teaspoon sugar

Instructions 

  • Mix mayo, apple or white-wine vinegar, honey mustard, and sugar. Toss mayo mixture with shredded mixed veggies until well incorporated.
2 Comments

Saturday, January 6, 2007 – 07:28 PM
So glad you’re posting again!

I decided to go ahead and just do the newsletter to finish out Spa this year.  But I will NOT be volunteering for it again.  So anyhow, could you do that Crock Pot cooking article?

Also, let’s set some deadlines for your book.  First should be the outline.  Can you have that by the end of January???

Tuesday, January 9, 2007 – 06:43 AM
Yes, I could do that.  Thanks for kicking me in the butt!As far as the newletter goes, I am so glad you are doing it.  It has never been so great!  I will get the crock pot thing to you Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.  I just did something yesterday that was really tasty and want to tweek some info for winter not for the holidays!