melrobsings

Hello! I'm an avid baker and I'm trying (again) to get my flour mixes right. I have found Potato flour and starch but I can't find tapioca flour....is it the same as starch? I thought there was a HUGE difference!?

Anyone have a great mix of flours? I have about 8 bags of different kinds of flours sitting my freezer and I need them out to shove Christmas cooking in there!!! lol HEEEEELLLLP!

First off breath, I had the same thing last year. It could be a few things, a hemeroid or (I didn't check to see if you are a chick but if you are) i was told my my doctor that it's from endometreosis cause they are the same walls. I went to the ER in a complete freak out and I just sat there for 12 hours and all they did was an xray and blood work....i didn't even pee in a cup! I went back the ER and they kept me there for 4 hours and the doctor said "you didn't need to come in for this" and i was like I'M BLEEDING FROM MY ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOTS of blood too! ugh. so I would go just to get it documented if you have insurance. I'll keep you in my prayers.

AHHHH YOU MADE MY DAY!!! So you got me to thinking....this past weekend the boy and I made home made marshmallows and they were easy, fun, not too messy and AMAZING!!!!!! I could use marshmallows to build the igloo too! Now, I think i could use my butter cream cheese frosting that I make myself....but what about candy? I hate gumdrops so that's out. Twizzlers are out. Any suggestions? Are there gluten-free twizzlers or red vines?! I am going to Whole Foods tomorrow so I will look around there but any other ideas? I laughed at myself cause I see my igloo in my head with a snickers bar fence and that's it....HEEEELLLLP!

That nephew needs a lesson on animals and manners! i'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'!

Vans waffles are great and easy in the toaster. Hard boilded eggs the night before. Tater tots with the egg in the morning in the toaster oven, just put in before you shower and get out when about to leave. Fruity Pebbles. Coffee. OJ. Omlett in the microwave: take 2 eggs and some shredded cheese and meat or whatever and put in a bowl in micro for 45 seconds, stir 1/2 way through. to easy!

Hungarian mostly.

Thanks, She is off for the weekend now so I will report it next monday to the humane society. She is a barely new neighbor (two weeks) and already having problems with her. She is also pitching dog crap in our yard which irks my husband badly because she doesnt want it in her yard and we dont have any animals. I think its why she leaves him on a leash so its in a certain area. She seemed nice when we met her but now I realize she is just trash

PS I hope you throw that crap right back over that fence!!!

We have a new neighbor

She has a cute little husky puppy. She leaves it outside all day long in a fenced yard while she is at work and trust me its cold up here in Michigan. He whines all day, it breaks my heart. They do have an overhang where he is at on pavement no blanket or anything for him with a very short chain. I peeked around the fence and noticed she had no food or water outside either Im not sure of abuse laws and how to go about it. Are they anonymous? We always had inside dogs and my samoyed would get cold outside while peeing so this is breaking my heart.

I'm sorry you aren't in NY! lol We have the BEST laws on animals!!! Call the ASPCA, sometimes it takes a few calls but yes, something should be done. Animals are people too!

Also, my bf's neighbor did the same thing to their dogs and after the neighbor would go to sleep we would throw cold cut meats at it and i swear we kept that dog alive! not that i'm dropping hints or anything!

oh and yes, totally anonymous!

Please keep us posted!

Do they say you have refractory sprue? Does a gluten free diet not work for you?

My uncle had something similar. He refused to admit that he had Spru and kept eating the wrong things and not paying attention to his body. He got down to about 95 pounds at the end and then he died. I think he checked out but he was VERY stubborn (and I think stupid) and refused to admit that something was wrong with him....funny enough he was one of the most brilliant people I have ever known in my life. PLEASE get a new doctor and I hope things improve for you. You are in my prayers....sorry to tell depressing stories but it should be known I guess.

I'm not a mom BUUUUUT I worked as characters at birthday parties, like Alice in Wonderland, Barbie, Ariel...you get the idea, you name the party, i have done it! My FAV parties were the tea parties! There is SO MUCH you can do and you can make it so that the center of the party isn't the food. I have "hosted" all kinds of tea parties and here are a few ideas.

First off...4year olds and fondue? BUST OUT THE TARP MOM AND WRAP THOSE KIDS IN CELLOPHANE SO THEY DON'T GET DIRTY!

Make Hats. You can find straw hats (sun hats) at the craft store for cheap, or check your dollar store. Grab glue, glitter and some flowers, or make flowers out of colored tissue paper and some ribbon. Cheap, easy, FUN and then the girls wear them to the tea party and you only have to have hershey kisses sitting out and tea or koolaid. Oh and stickers, the girls LOVED stickers on the hats!

You can have a few mom friends help you out and put makeup on the girls, what 4 year old doesn't LOVE make up? You can get a make up kit that's hypo allerginic or whatever at Toys R Us and instead of lipstick do gloss (gloss is more gluten-free friendly) (check with other moms first, i have delt with some pissed off mommies!) (nail polish is a nightmare).

With either of these 2 things you can put on a fashion show before or after the tea party.

I will rack my brain more today but I hope this helps. This way you are having a tea party but it isn't focused on the food but how the girls LOOK at the party. And if you can pay a neighbor girl to put on a Alice in Wonderlland costume and help with the hats and make up all the better!

Have a blast!!!!

I just posted this in another thread but GET A CROCK POT AND EVERYTHING IS EASY!

You can do any kind of roasts with vegies and even add rice, wings, and cider!

I love love love my crock pot and you can do just about anything with little prep time! i prep the night before and seriously just throw stuff in a pot and hope for the best!

I LOVE my crock pot! It's just too easy! I prep it the night before and put in the the cooker thingy in the morning before I leave and it's done when I get home. i have found you can do just about anything in them as well, chicken wings, roasts, soups and cider. I mostly use mine during the cold months. mine came with a tiny crock pot that I use for hot cheese dips and chocolate dips, check out the "crock pot" brand, that is what I got and couldn't be happier.

For Cider:

1 gallon of cider, orange juice till it looks foggy, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves. Let it cook on high for an hour or 2 and then set to warm and you have killer cider that everyone thinks you went to the end of the world to make!

for a roast:

put a big roast of whatever, broth, vegies of any kind, and spices. cook.

see, it's just too easy and the options are ENDLESS I TELL YOU!

I have found using a broth for your base in the crock pot is the best, otherwise it gets very dry.

I'm an over eater with a high metabolism and when I hit about 21 I started putting on weight and freak out. I found myself at weight watchers (I was gluten-ous then) and the best thing I have learned from them was portion control. As long as I am RELIGIOUS about my portion control at every meal I still wear my 1 jeans. I have also found that I can eat whatever I want so long as i stick to the portion control, snickers bars and all! It sucks, sometime after a meal I'm hungry but I have found that potatoes fill me well and have some type of them at every meal. I have also found that walking anywhere and everywhere is the way to go too. When I go up stairs I suck in my gut like no tomorrow and tighten up my legs and RUN up or down, this helps with toning...then again i live in NYC and do aT LEAST 14 flights of stairs a day...I hope this helps and your not throwing snickers bars at me!

I have the Kitchenaid 4.5 and i wish I also had the bigger one. They are SO EASY to clean, no small parts and are very reliable! I really want a bigger one because I want the flour guard. gluten-free Flour flies out of that thing like ya can't believe and my kitchen forever has a light coating of "dust" (gluten-free flour).

I also would have gotten a cuter color, white is grand (and I have the matching coffee maker) but i wouldn't mind a purple or green...then again, I stole mine from my bf...he didn't know it was missing till 6 weeks later when he walked in and i was using it and said "mel....is that mine?" and I said "nope, it's mine now!" he said "as long as you keep baking great things you can keep it!"

rather then getting one yourself, try getting a family member or bf/gluten-free to get one!

Self as well.

I happen to know A LOT about cookies! I bake all the time and have done a lot of testing with different flours and trying to find a "cheap" way to do it. I have found with cookies only you can just use plain old rice flour. I get mine from Goya and it's about $2.50 a bag!!! With cookies there are a few things that I have found works the best. Call me crazy but I have tried different pans and techniques and found what work the best for me and my taste buds! For cookies I use the glutenous recipes and replace the wheat flour with rice flour, same amount and everything. I have also found that the air bake pans with a baking mat works the best for baking and removing. IF you are using the air bakes I highly recommend letting them sit on the shet for 5 min after you remove them from the oven. I have also found turning the cookie sheet 180 degrees 1/2 way through the baking time bakes them the best. Also, kosher salt is the way to go and ALWAYS unsalted butter.

Here are 2 recipes that I have that are the neighborhood favs.

The Chewy Chocolate Chip

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups rice flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups DEEPLY packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons soy milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (feel free to add a few extra drops.

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Hardware:

Ice cream scooper

baking mat

air bake sheets

Mixer

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over ultra low heat, do NOT bring to a boil or it kills the texture and taste. As soon as the butter is totally melted remove from heat. Mix or sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and

set aside.

Pour the hot melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on

medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly

incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for at least 3 hours, then scoop one ice cream scoop full of dough onto the baking sheet, only putting 6 cookies on the sheet at a time.

Bake for 14 min or until a golden brown, rotate the baking sheet 1/2 way through. Let sit on baking sheet for 5 min before moving to a cooling rack. Cool completely and

store in an airtight container. Do NOT put in fridge.

Sugar cookies

1 cup butter, unsalted

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups rice flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

In a second bowl, combine and mix well the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour into butter mixture 1 cup at a time. Chill dough for 3 to 4 hours. Let them sit out about 30 min before rolling them out.

Roll out dough and cut into shapes with cookie cutters or a knife. Brush with soy milk (keeps from burning and browning). Place on an airbake pan with a baking liner. preheated 350 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the cookie. Remove cookies to a rack to cool completely. Rotate 1/2 way through cooking.

Hope this helps!

RISSOTERIA!!!!! I can't stress it enough, it's like crack, you just want more and more and more! Not to mention the first time i ate there and HAD pizza in public i cried! I'm a nerd but it's so exciting! You HAVE to get dessert too! I vote for the carrot cake. If there are a few of you in your group I also recommend being VERY bossy and tell people what to get, make sure everything is different and then pass all the plates to you so you can try everything! That's the rule with my friends when we go out. Just come VERY hungry, did i mention the all you can eat breadsticks?! AND PS there is a girl there that is really cool and if you take some of your meal home she will slip in a few extra sticks and not charge you! I think I'm going there for dinner tonight now that I think about it....

I like baby cakes, but to go to a bakery and actually EAT something is just a beautiful thing! The staff doesn't get excited with you, that kind of sucks.

To be honest i live in the city and the only place I go to is Rissoteria...I just love it too much to try something else...

I tried Rice and got SICK SICK SICK! So I say don't go there.

There is always the outbacks too. But REALLY go eat and have a WONDERFUL trip!

PS There isn't a lot around Times Square, so don't try.

I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience of this as part of there experience with gluten, be it eating gluten foods or when you went gluten free etc.

here is the wikipedia description of Depersonalization-

Depersonalization Disorder (DPD) is a dissociative disorder in which sufferers are affected by persistent feelings of depersonalization. The symptoms include a sense of automation, feeling a disconnection from one's body, and difficulty relating oneself to reality.

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I have felt it too and I have found that taking an iron pill helps. May sound crazy but if was referred to me and i TOTALLY works!

I'm crazy allergic to them. If you touch them and then touch me I'm in hives! but I LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!!! i think it got worse cause as a child I could somewhat tolerate them and would eat them all the time....I just kept getting worse and worse and worse...now I can't even touch them...

Oh my gosh I never thought that this could be a celiac thing! I have NEVER been regular!!! It was always a guessing game with my bf and I and always always always had a tampon stash on me....but funny, whenever I forgot the tampon stash was when i got my period....i think my body was playing tricks on me on purpose! lol Good to know i'm not the only one!

when i get gluten-ized I have to RUN to the pot every time I even have a little fart for fear of an accident! We are all with you!

I always used to order an omelette after I would see if they were safe....I can't tell you HOW MANY TIMES I got sick off a freaking omelette from CC!!!! UGH! but that is SICK! I'm so glad I don't work in food, I don't think I would ever ever ever eat out again!

Lisa if he's not going to pay attention to your allergy, you don't want him anyway! Period!

I worked on cruise ship for a number of years pre-celiac BUT I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT you can talk to the head chef or food and beverage manager. When you board go to the front desk and tell them your Celiac and food and blah blah blah and I'd really like to talk to the Head Chef or the Food and Beverage Manager. Whenever you sit down to eat you SHOULD have the same server in the main dining room, tell them when you first meet them that you are Celiac blah blah blah and throw them a nice tip. You tip first, they will really pay attention to you (IE I always tipped first and got the best sheets, room service when it wasn't open, stuff like that) and really get their name and ask about them as a person. Ship people are often lonely and just want someone to talk to...trust me.

And just cause it's a 3 day or 19 day cruise doesn't mean crap, whatever the cruise is they are there in that moment, not thinking about the next cruise or the last cruise. It's odd but you totally focus on the now out to sea, cause you loose the outside world.

I know this all sounds stupid and superficial but trust me trust me trust me, I learned and I PROMISE you that will work....but make sure you talk to the head chef too! Have a GREAT trip and don't forget your sea bands!

I posted this in another thing but I just wanted to get everyones attention. I got sick, like haven't been that sick in a few years sick from there. IF YOU GET SICK CALL THEM they said I was the first complaint.