Reading and… er… Eating
Let’s start with the fun stuff! I finished this book: I know I said I don’t love Louise Penny, but I did enjoy this book. I think I’ll like the series better now that Gamache is living in Three Pines. BUT, there’s one thing about her writing that bugs me- her excessive use of fragmented sentences. I wouldn’t mind it every once in a while, but the entire book is written that way. It irks me so much, it distracts me from the story. Is it just me? Does this bother anyone else? Does anyone else even NOTICE this? Next up- I’ve started this book, which I heard about on the Currently Reading Podcast. I’m going to count it as my “long” book for May, even though it’s only 600 pages (well- I guess that is long). On the podcast, Meredith warned that it takes a long time to read this book because of the mixed media aspect. There are a lot of pages like this: This book is a mystery, and Meredith warned that you DO have to read all the inserts, because there are clues to the puzzle and important plot points in there. She said reading this book is an immersive experience, and I was immediately intrigued. So far, I’m loving it. I’ll write more about it when I’ve finished, because everyone knows you can’t really judge a mystery until you know how it ends. Okay, let’s talk about food! In yesterday’s post I announced that I’ve started an anti-candida diet, which is unfortunately very restrictive. I’m following the plan in Rikki Heller’s Living Candida Free, which has a lot of recipes. She really does a good job of making the most of the ingredients you ARE allowed to have. On Sunday I did some meal prep. As a snack, I made these “Cookie Dough Truffle Balls.” You blend up nuts, seeds, coconut flour, carob powder and stevia powder in a food processor, and add water to reach the right consistency. The recipe just said “salt” (which is one of my pet peeves- this is a RECIPE! Tell me how much!) so I added what I thought would be a good amount, not realizing how little the recipe actually made: So… they came out a little salty, and it reminded me of “Chef’s Salty Balls” from South Park, hee hee. Luckily I don’t mind salt, so I’m eating them (and I’m calling them Chef’s Salty Balls from now on). Here’s an amazingly appetizing photo of the “Grain Free Breakfast Porridge”:” You grind up coconut flakes, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds and cinnamon in a spice grinder, then add water and stevia. Now, at this point you’re probably asking, “Do these things actually taste good?” Well… “good” is a strong word. My experience is, when I first taste them something seems a little off, but it’s just because I’m expecting it to taste different. Once I get used to it, I like it just fine. For dinner the last two nights, I’ve had a salad: You are allowed to eat only fermented soy products on this diet- so no tofu, but LUCKILY tempeh is allowed. I made a large batch of “Glazed Tempeh” (recipe from the book) and will use it throughout the week. Another dinner was this Smoky Rutabaga Hash. This was actually NOT a Rikki Heller recipe- it’s from this website. Starchy vegetables are limited on this diet, but rutabaga is an exception because it has anti-fungal properties. I served it with millet, which is one of the few grains allowed (actually, millet is a very starchy seed, but acts like a grain when cooked). I liked the rutabaga, but boy- is there any way to make millet taste good? I want to know! For lunch, I’m luckily still able to drink my usual protein shake, because my protein powder has all approved ingredients (I just mix it with water and chug it at work). That, along with snacks of chickpeas and sunflower seeds has kept me going- I’m not starving. So that’s enough to start with. More updates as time goes on! What are you reading now? Send me a great millet recipe if you have one!