Camille'sBigSister

Blanchemae,

To reply to a post using quotes click on the "reply button under the post you wish to respond to. This is what you did with your last post...you would then type your response under the quoted text. If you don't want any quotes in your reply scroll to the bottom of all the posts and click add reply. You can then type your response without having any quotes in your post.

Hope this makes sense. Anymore questions? Ask away.

Welcome to the board.

Oh...when you post a new topic choose the forum that the topic is best suited for. I just moved your other topic question to "post diagnosis and recovery"....in case you are wondering what happened.

Rachel: Thanks! Your answer to Blanchemae also solved the problem for me. Now I know how to quote! YEA!!!

Now, suppose I wanted to quote and answer just one paragraph in a long post. How do I do that? And how would I quote and answer paragraph 1, then skip down and quote and answer paragraph 5?

Am I making sense?

Cissie

gfp: Well, of course carrots can be microwaved to shorten their cooking time! Why hasn't that ever occurred to me? When I gave dinner parties, I planned my menu two weeks ahead of time, then wrote down every step according to prep and cooking time, what could be cooked ahead of time (be it days or hours), serving dishes and table linens to be used, etc. I would also set the table the night before. Those days are over. Most of our friends are European, and as time went by, and we all grew older (My husband will be 80 in January.), they stopped coming to the States, and we stopped flying over to Europe. But, Lordy, the lovely memories we have!!! My husband doesn't like to travel any more, but I often throw my things in my car and take off!

But I digress. I used to make my own chicken stock, but now I use Horizon's Free Range Chicken Broth, and cook it down to about half to enhance the flavor. I'm going to make a risotto by your method - stir every now and then, and add extra stock at the end.

About those severe penalities in parts of Louisiana for suggesting that okra could be cooked in 30 minutes - Did you have to escape under cover of night? If you use baby okra, it doesn't take long to cook. I throw whole baby okra in with butter beans and field peas, in the last 30 minutes of cooking. I guess you know that we (in the South) cook green beans, butter beans, turnip greens, collards, and field peas with a hunk of salt pork.

I love markets too! My problem is that I can't resist buying everything that looks good, which means that I spend the next two days cooking and freezing, before anything can spoil. My eldest children have sweet memories of market-shopping with Grandmother in Memphis, when we would go for a visit.

I've never felt brave enough to cook a duck. My husband (second generation Italian-American) likes lamb, as do I, but I don't cook it any more because I can't stand the smell of the fat!!!

Yes, please do add less-than-twenty-minute meals that don't use rice or pasta. I'm ready to branch out. Thanks ever so much for your ideas!!!

Dionnek: What's the brand name of the risotto rice you found at Ingles? Mine comes in a large, square glass jar, and I think the brand is Rice Tec. It comes from Texas.

What's your recipe for asparagus and mushroom risotto? I'd really like to have it. Do you ever use white asparagus? I've never found any around here that was tender; it always has hard, woody stalks up to the very tippy tops. My husband and I were in Germany once during asparagus season, and boy, how we feasted! I don't remember having any tough stalks. By the way, I have a great recipe for an orange buerre that's wonderful with asparagus. I adapted it from a Martha Stewart recipe. It's not a quick-cook thing though.

Jabberwife: Don't apologize. That's a good, fast way to cook and eat! I would add a carbohydrate and some fruit, because my husband is diabetic and needs to eat a certain balanced diet.

Cissie

I'm trying to catch up, after losing two days to a migraine and related problems. There was hidden msg in one of the gluten-free products I ate.

gfp: I've learned a lot from your posts! When are you going to write a cookbook? You could call it "Quick Cooking for Celiacs." A guaranteed success!

I thought risotto was out of the question for a quick meal. I've always added stock cup by cup, stirring constantly. So all that time-consuming stirring isn't necessary?

I was going to ask what a garam masala is, but someone else's post, and your answer, cleared that up for me. I like curries, but I've never tried Indian cooking. I certainly shall now.

Your quick-cook gumbo sounds great to me; I've thrown together a few myself. I'm proud of you for using okra! Most folks turn up their noses at it.

I tried using the quote button to answer your post, but, as you can see, all I succeeded in doing was adding two more of the same post. I'm so confused!

Leah: Love your cleaning up rule! Maybe I'll suggest it to my husband. If I can catch him in a "hungry, cranky and resentful" enough mood, he'll probably readily agree. By the way, I too am squeamish about red meat. When I make meat loaf, I have the butcher grind pork, veal and turkey for me.

Susan: I'd love to have those other recipes, so how do I pm you? For that matter, what does pm mean? I live in the Atlanta area, so will have to check on Trader Joe's. We have a wonderful market here, called DeKalb Farmers' Market. I've heard that it's a tourist attraction, though I've never seen any tour groups when I was there.

Have you decided whether to go with French or Scandinavian on the screen? I took the Cabinets and Trim workshop because I knew I could use the same techniques on furniture. I have an ugly (cheap) bombe chest sitting in my entry, and I thought I'd convert it to a gorgeous French chest to use in my bedroom. There are a couple of Aqua products I'd like to try on it. Maybe I'll tackle that project in January, the dead of winter here.

Chelsea: Thanks; I'll add the gum to the frying mix. Fried green tomatos, fried okra anyone?

Cissie

sorry opened this and got distracted.... so its the next day now.

First off you need to find specific GLUTEN FREE worcester sauce and soy sauce. They are relatiuvely expensive but you don't use much .....

Their are a few ways to make gluten-free roux... depending what consistency you want but the ones I used are cornstarch because of the self-imposed 10 minute limit! However this is probably as good as any for pasta dishes excepting canneloni/lasagne etc.

You can make a normal roux with butter and rice/potato/chick pea and other gluten-free flours.... or a mix of a few.

For instance thinkening a curry I use chick pea but when making boeuf bourgnion I use a mix of rice and potatoe ... gluten free bacon depends where you are.... In the UK much of it is injected with wheat starch as a forming agent and make it slice thinner however real butchers bacon with nothing added is gluten-free. You need to take local advice on this... Im sure lots of the cooks here know the best US brands and places.

Indeed I see ChelsE has already helped out..

Anyway, that was just the first 10 variations on a theme ... what to do with gluten-free pasta in the time it takes to cook... more or less just off the top of my head. This is the type of thing I tend to make for myself when alone so I thought I would start off like that and just stuck to pasta (and Italian) to prove the point. There are a few that take a little longer I missed out and I bet I can find 20 more if I think... I usually let the market decide what looks good rather than planning which I only really do for dinner parties.

The whole point is you just need to do things in the correct order ... you are cooking for yourself mostly so I'm just coming up with things which are nutritious, use fresh veg and meat etc. Since you obviously know how to cook Im just listing stuff and the order to get it done in the requisite time ... later we can do the 15 mins total prep time for dishes to put in a crock pot... though some of these take 24 hours in total you are only actually doing prep for 15 mins... and the benefit is you can leave it cooking and eat when you're ready.

I won't pretend these dishes are as good as one which has love and attention put into it, they are not but then neither is a dish you cook for yourself as nice as one cooked for you. You spent your whole life pouring love and attention into cooking for others so these ideas are just to break the habit... my gradma could never cook anything that didn't take 6 hours she had a large family and her job was feeding it which she did very well.

If you have access to an Asian supermarket this expands your choice even more.... probably 1001 not 101

Practically all stir fry can be made in 10 minutes ....

If you like we can do 101 recipees in the time it takes to cook rice ... I doubt you will be the only one to benefit but I need to do them at your level not someone who can't cook else it will take forever.

The other thing I tend to do is make my own stocks and mixes...

chicken stock for instance is excellent and since I need the calcium (and most of us do) especially you probably I use all the bones. .... this is something i usually have going 1-2 a week and if its only for you then you can use the chicken bones and scraps from what you eat .... its also incredibly cheap.

mixes i tend to make up are garam masarla (because Im english and curries are our national dish now), I also love them and also my own mixes like mexican and cajun ... just to use as the base for something else.

Once you have them it cuts down the prep time ....

11/ chicken risotto (technically this is cheating because the rice goes in after 3-4 minutes but I'm including it because its simple, easy and delicious...and with the variations actually something I would serve at a dinner party and I'm really fussy.)

Start off with a big frying pan olive oil and a finely chopped onion until its clear then add some chicken and cook through (if you made your own stock you will have the meat you take off the bones and this is ideal but if not just chop up a chicken breast while the onions soften) along with some mixed herbs and thinly sliced garlic ....(I also tend to add chopped celery but this isn't exactly traditional)

(optionally I add pork shoulder here ... this takes a while to cut...because I need to control my calories and I cut off most the fat then reduce the olive oil accordingly...) you can also add a gluten free spicy saussage (anything like chorizo) ... so we are basically making Italian gumbo...

this should fry until the pork shoulder is cooked....I make cubes about 1/8" then add a cup full of arborio rice. You can use other rice but then its probably technically a paella. (this gets me an extra recipe )

fry the rice for about 1-2 minutes in the mix of oil and everything and it becomes just a little transparent .. at this point you add optionally a glass of dry white wine or a dry vermouth (again check the brand is gluten-free) and a 1/2 tsp of celery salt

(celery salt is a great season all - I call it the healthy MSG... and it adds that bit of depth which is sometimes missing from 15-20 minute food. )

then you need to add the right amount of chicken stock .. this is a bit of practice and depends heavily on the type of rice you use (and the lid to the frying pan) but once you get it right you can practically forget it while it cooks which excuses the 3-4 minutes cooking before you add the rice

Basically 3 measures of stock to each measure of rice is a good starting point....if you are using stock cubes then make sure you boil a kettle as soon as the onions are chopped

once the stock is in you can add dried porcini ... if its autumn and you have access to fresh then they need frying with the chicken etc. but then you would wanto to be a bit more selective about the exact herbs ... (thyme and nipitella which is a particular type of thyme but hard to find outside Italy) the you just cook it on low until the stock is adsorbed.

12/ seafood paella.... pretty much like above except you can leave out the wine and substitute pre-cooked prawns, clams etc.

13/ "curry paste" Indian curry.... curry paste is a valid way to make any curry, you can make your own or buy a commerical one and use it as a base. A surprising number of pastes are gluten-free and contain only spices fried in oil and stuck in a jar.

In most cases the suggested recipees are on the jar's but soem work out better than others.

You can make double or triple and stick the rest in a crock pot for an extra day as well.

Mostly you can get away with a can of tomatoes and an onion added to whatever meat as a base.

things like potatoes are nice to soak up the juices but these need longer to cook....(you can add these to the part going into a stock pot)

You can also add canned cooked lentils

14/ Chilli..... with trimmings

After putting the water on to boil for the rice ....You can start off with the onions and a seperate pan with cumin and cilantro seeds. while the onions soften just heat the seeds and keep moving around just to toasting....

Pull them off the heat and grind in a mortar and pestle you can make a week or two's supply at once but they loose the fresh ground flavor any longer. keep the heat on.....

Seperate off enough to season your tastes... and throw in with the meat of your choice, ground beef is fastest... meanwhile open a can of cooked kidney beans and seperate off a few to add to the chilli if you wish and take the rest and flash fry with another onion and some of the cumin, cilantro and celery salt.... and chopped garlic

by the time this is cooked you can add a can of tomatoes to the chilli pan ....and throw the kidney beans into a food processor and stick on pulse for a few goes (I like refried beans largely recognisable as beans not puree ...) now turn off the heat if electric or put on low if gas.... and empty the beans back for a minute or so.... while cleaning out the processor.... grab an avocado and scoop it out into the processor adding some

garlic and the cilatro cumin mix some lime juice and corn oil.

Obviously if you have other preferences on the guacamole go for it....

By the time the rice is done you should have chilli with refried beans and gaucamole.

As above you can make extra and stick it in the crock pot.

15/ .. and this is with trepidation ... quick gumbo....

OK .. firstly this would probably get me killed in parts of Louisiana .. quick gumbo? but lets try. It will be frantic...

1 pre cooked chicken which you know is gluten-free.... and pre-cooked shrimps deshelled....

onions, celery tops, carrots chopped, garlic, smashed with a cleaver then chopped ...

Spices : In a small cheesecloth bag or tea ball, place: tsp black peppercorns, cracked (use a towel and back of cleaver) A few parsley stems and a bayleaf, 1/2 tsp each dried thyme, tarragon, oregano, basil.....

Start off with a big pan and boiling water from a kettle (this will be used for the quick stock) and a seperate pan and a microwave bowl with water for the carrots (its the only way to cook em fast enough) add these to the rest of the quick stock after 10 minutes in the micro with all the juice

Pull off the chicken breast and obvious meaty parts and throw the rest in the pot... if you have the prawn shells and heads throw these in as well. Everything so far is in the quick stock pot....

meanwhile you need to kick off the roux.... a mixed gluten-free flour is better than corn starch for this ....

tastes vary as to the color of the roux from caramel to coffee ....you are going to have to keep stiring this....

Once this is going you can start off the louisiana long grain rice ....

The Gumbo:

chicken you pulled off, andouille sausage, sliced about 1/4" thick on the bias (you may substitute hot or mild smoked sausage if good andouille isn't available) and/or fresh Creole hot sausage, browned the rest of the shrimp, lump white crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage , sliced okra (also par boiled in the micro) 1 onion: chopped, bunch green onions with tops, chopped, tinned roasted bell peppers, chopped, celery, chopped, more garlic smashed and chopped bay leaf and chopped fresh parsley ... black, white and cayenne peppers: to taste, salt to taste and Tabasco to taste.

brown the onions then add the rest... give it until the rice is almost done and add the stock through a seive.

Take this off the heat and add the roux.... and then stir through the roux leaving until you have drained the rice and rinced in boiling water...

Not quite the real thing but takes 6-8 hours less time

Quick egg freied rice

1/4 cup water and pinch salt and 1-1/2 teaspoons gluten-free soy sauce

1/4 cup basmati or thai rice rinced in cold water.

Cook the rice until its almost done (5 minutes from end and still a bit chewy) drain and in the same saucepan bring water, salt and soy sauce to a boil. Add rice back and stir. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 5 minutes.

1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1/2 onion, finely chopped (or fresh salad onions even better) 2 tablespoons green beans, lightly beaten egg and pinch ground black pepper

Heat oil in a medium skillet or wok over medium heat. Saute onions and green beans for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in egg and fry for 2 minutes, scrambling egg while it cooks.

The rice has now stood for 5 minutes : Stir in the cooked rice, mix well and sprinkle with pepper.

sorry opened this and got distracted.... so its the next day now.

First off you need to find specific GLUTEN FREE worcester sauce and soy sauce. They are relatiuvely expensive but you don't use much .....

Their are a few ways to make gluten-free roux... depending what consistency you want but the ones I used are cornstarch because of the self-imposed 10 minute limit! However this is probably as good as any for pasta dishes excepting canneloni/lasagne etc.

You can make a normal roux with butter and rice/potato/chick pea and other gluten-free flours.... or a mix of a few.

For instance thinkening a curry I use chick pea but when making boeuf bourgnion I use a mix of rice and potatoe ... gluten free bacon depends where you are.... In the UK much of it is injected with wheat starch as a forming agent and make it slice thinner however real butchers bacon with nothing added is gluten-free. You need to take local advice on this... Im sure lots of the cooks here know the best US brands and places.

Indeed I see ChelsE has already helped out..

Anyway, that was just the first 10 variations on a theme ... what to do with gluten-free pasta in the time it takes to cook... more or less just off the top of my head. This is the type of thing I tend to make for myself when alone so I thought I would start off like that and just stuck to pasta (and Italian) to prove the point. There are a few that take a little longer I missed out and I bet I can find 20 more if I think... I usually let the market decide what looks good rather than planning which I only really do for dinner parties.

The whole point is you just need to do things in the correct order ... you are cooking for yourself mostly so I'm just coming up with things which are nutritious, use fresh veg and meat etc. Since you obviously know how to cook Im just listing stuff and the order to get it done in the requisite time ... later we can do the 15 mins total prep time for dishes to put in a crock pot... though some of these take 24 hours in total you are only actually doing prep for 15 mins... and the benefit is you can leave it cooking and eat when you're ready.

I won't pretend these dishes are as good as one which has love and attention put into it, they are not but then neither is a dish you cook for yourself as nice as one cooked for you. You spent your whole life pouring love and attention into cooking for others so these ideas are just to break the habit... my gradma could never cook anything that didn't take 6 hours she had a large family and her job was feeding it which she did very well.

If you have access to an Asian supermarket this expands your choice even more.... probably 1001 not 101

Practically all stir fry can be made in 10 minutes ....

If you like we can do 101 recipees in the time it takes to cook rice ... I doubt you will be the only one to benefit but I need to do them at your level not someone who can't cook else it will take forever.

The other thing I tend to do is make my own stocks and mixes...

chicken stock for instance is excellent and since I need the calcium (and most of us do) especially you probably I use all the bones. .... this is something i usually have going 1-2 a week and if its only for you then you can use the chicken bones and scraps from what you eat .... its also incredibly cheap.

mixes i tend to make up are garam masarla (because Im english and curries are our national dish now), I also love them and also my own mixes like mexican and cajun ... just to use as the base for something else.

Once you have them it cuts down the prep time ....

11/ chicken risotto (technically this is cheating because the rice goes in after 3-4 minutes but I'm including it because its simple, easy and delicious...and with the variations actually something I would serve at a dinner party and I'm really fussy.)

Start off with a big frying pan olive oil and a finely chopped onion until its clear then add some chicken and cook through (if you made your own stock you will have the meat you take off the bones and this is ideal but if not just chop up a chicken breast while the onions soften) along with some mixed herbs and thinly sliced garlic ....(I also tend to add chopped celery but this isn't exactly traditional)

(optionally I add pork shoulder here ... this takes a while to cut...because I need to control my calories and I cut off most the fat then reduce the olive oil accordingly...) you can also add a gluten free spicy saussage (anything like chorizo) ... so we are basically making Italian gumbo...

this should fry until the pork shoulder is cooked....I make cubes about 1/8" then add a cup full of arborio rice. You can use other rice but then its probably technically a paella. (this gets me an extra recipe )

fry the rice for about 1-2 minutes in the mix of oil and everything and it becomes just a little transparent .. at this point you add optionally a glass of dry white wine or a dry vermouth (again check the brand is gluten-free) and a 1/2 tsp of celery salt

(celery salt is a great season all - I call it the healthy MSG... and it adds that bit of depth which is sometimes missing from 15-20 minute food. )

then you need to add the right amount of chicken stock .. this is a bit of practice and depends heavily on the type of rice you use (and the lid to the frying pan) but once you get it right you can practically forget it while it cooks which excuses the 3-4 minutes cooking before you add the rice

Basically 3 measures of stock to each measure of rice is a good starting point....if you are using stock cubes then make sure you boil a kettle as soon as the onions are chopped

once the stock is in you can add dried porcini ... if its autumn and you have access to fresh then they need frying with the chicken etc. but then you would wanto to be a bit more selective about the exact herbs ... (thyme and nipitella which is a particular type of thyme but hard to find outside Italy) the you just cook it on low until the stock is adsorbed.

12/ seafood paella.... pretty much like above except you can leave out the wine and substitute pre-cooked prawns, clams etc.

13/ "curry paste" Indian curry.... curry paste is a valid way to make any curry, you can make your own or buy a commerical one and use it as a base. A surprising number of pastes are gluten-free and contain only spices fried in oil and stuck in a jar.

In most cases the suggested recipees are on the jar's but soem work out better than others.

You can make double or triple and stick the rest in a crock pot for an extra day as well.

Mostly you can get away with a can of tomatoes and an onion added to whatever meat as a base.

things like potatoes are nice to soak up the juices but these need longer to cook....(you can add these to the part going into a stock pot)

You can also add canned cooked lentils

14/ Chilli..... with trimmings

After putting the water on to boil for the rice ....You can start off with the onions and a seperate pan with cumin and cilantro seeds. while the onions soften just heat the seeds and keep moving around just to toasting....

Pull them off the heat and grind in a mortar and pestle you can make a week or two's supply at once but they loose the fresh ground flavor any longer. keep the heat on.....

Seperate off enough to season your tastes... and throw in with the meat of your choice, ground beef is fastest... meanwhile open a can of cooked kidney beans and seperate off a few to add to the chilli if you wish and take the rest and flash fry with another onion and some of the cumin, cilantro and celery salt.... and chopped garlic

by the time this is cooked you can add a can of tomatoes to the chilli pan ....and throw the kidney beans into a food processor and stick on pulse for a few goes (I like refried beans largely recognisable as beans not puree ...) now turn off the heat if electric or put on low if gas.... and empty the beans back for a minute or so.... while cleaning out the processor.... grab an avocado and scoop it out into the processor adding some

garlic and the cilatro cumin mix some lime juice and corn oil.

Obviously if you have other preferences on the guacamole go for it....

By the time the rice is done you should have chilli with refried beans and gaucamole.

As above you can make extra and stick it in the crock pot.

15/ .. and this is with trepidation ... quick gumbo....

OK .. firstly this would probably get me killed in parts of Louisiana .. quick gumbo? but lets try. It will be frantic...

1 pre cooked chicken which you know is gluten-free.... and pre-cooked shrimps deshelled....

onions, celery tops, carrots chopped, garlic, smashed with a cleaver then chopped ...

Spices : In a small cheesecloth bag or tea ball, place: tsp black peppercorns, cracked (use a towel and back of cleaver) A few parsley stems and a bayleaf, 1/2 tsp each dried thyme, tarragon, oregano, basil.....

Start off with a big pan and boiling water from a kettle (this will be used for the quick stock) and a seperate pan and a microwave bowl with water for the carrots (its the only way to cook em fast enough) add these to the rest of the quick stock after 10 minutes in the micro with all the juice

Pull off the chicken breast and obvious meaty parts and throw the rest in the pot... if you have the prawn shells and heads throw these in as well. Everything so far is in the quick stock pot....

meanwhile you need to kick off the roux.... a mixed gluten-free flour is better than corn starch for this ....

tastes vary as to the color of the roux from caramel to coffee ....you are going to have to keep stiring this....

Once this is going you can start off the louisiana long grain rice ....

The Gumbo:

chicken you pulled off, andouille sausage, sliced about 1/4" thick on the bias (you may substitute hot or mild smoked sausage if good andouille isn't available) and/or fresh Creole hot sausage, browned the rest of the shrimp, lump white crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage , sliced okra (also par boiled in the micro) 1 onion: chopped, bunch green onions with tops, chopped, tinned roasted bell peppers, chopped, celery, chopped, more garlic smashed and chopped bay leaf and chopped fresh parsley ... black, white and cayenne peppers: to taste, salt to taste and Tabasco to taste.

brown the onions then add the rest... give it until the rice is almost done and add the stock through a seive.

Take this off the heat and add the roux.... and then stir through the roux leaving until you have drained the rice and rinced in boiling water...

Not quite the real thing but takes 6-8 hours less time

Quick egg freied rice

1/4 cup water and pinch salt and 1-1/2 teaspoons gluten-free soy sauce

1/4 cup basmati or thai rice rinced in cold water.

Cook the rice until its almost done (5 minutes from end and still a bit chewy) drain and in the same saucepan bring water, salt and soy sauce to a boil. Add rice back and stir. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 5 minutes.

1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1/2 onion, finely chopped (or fresh salad onions even better) 2 tablespoons green beans, lightly beaten egg and pinch ground black pepper

Heat oil in a medium skillet or wok over medium heat. Saute onions and green beans for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in egg and fry for 2 minutes, scrambling egg while it cooks.

The rice has now stood for 5 minutes : Stir in the cooked rice, mix well and sprinkle with pepper.

Many thanks for the info, ChelsE. I'm furious!!! The bastards indeed!!!!!

Cissie

Touche, Lister! I am old! No harm done, so don't feel bad.

Yet another way to boil eggs: Put six eggs in a sort of deep pot, and cover with cold water. Set pot on burner and turn heat to High. When the water starts boiling, remove pot from burner, put the lid on it, and set timer for 20 minutes. When timer rings, pour off the hot water, set the pot (lid removed) in the sink, fill with cold water, put in a lot of ice cubes, and leave like this for about 30 minutes. This ice bath keeps the yolks from turning green. After that, keep the eggs in the refrigerator.

Deviled eggs require that you discard the shells and use those yellow things inside the eggs. Pulling our collective leg on that one, weren't you, sugar?

Slice the peeled eggs in half lengthwise, reserve the white part, dump the yolks onto a plate, and mash them with a fork. Add salt, pepper, a little vinegar, mustard, and mayo. Mix well until they are creamy but not runny. I don't measure these condiments, so you'll have to experiment to get them to suit your taste. I like salty, sour things, but you might not. Spoon this mixture back onto the egg whites, sprinkle with paprika, and arrange the deviled eggs on a platter. I have several deviled egg plates, but they aren't necessary. Break some wooden toothpicks in half and stick a half, pointed side down, into each egg. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. (The toothpicks keep the plastic wrap from sticking to the eggs.) It isn't necessary to use the paprika; it's just a southern custom. You could put an olive on each egg half.

When you make egg salad, you could chop some olives and add them. This mixture makes a good sandwich.

I think you're really trying to improve your eating habits, and you seem to be eager to learn. What's worrying us is the lack of protein in your diet. Your brain cells and the rest of your body are begging for protein!

Cissie

Hi, Ursula! I spent some of the happiest years of my life in Deutschland! Von drei und sechzig bis acht und sechzig. Ich habe biBchen Deutsch gelernt, aber nun habe ich viel fergessen. (Sorry about the "biBchen. My computer doesn't type in German, so the capital B is the best I can do.) My first husband, our six children, and I lived in Frankfurt. He worked as an electronic technician for the FAA, which provided electronic technicians for the Air Force. We were under the auspices of the Department of State, and lived in HICOG, in case you're familiar with Frankfurt. The University of Maryland had a branch there, and offered college courses in German, as well as lots of other subjects. I studied German for two semesters.

I was probably one of three or four American women who learned the language. I never understood why all the women, be they associated with the Army, Air Force, or the American Consulate, were content to live such circumscribed lives, confined to the PX, the Commisary, and the American housing complexes. Boring!!!

My Putzfrau (She didn't speak English, so I got a lot of practice in German with her.) came once a week, and that was my day to drive downtown to get my hair done and to shop. My hairdresser, Beate, was German, married to an Italian hairdresser.

We bought a VW Microbus, and drove all over western Europe. The Army schools (The State Department paid tuition for our children to attend.) encouraged travel even during the school year, and were wonderful about helping kids catch up with their studies. We camped everywhere we went, until our last year there, when I put my foot down and insisted on staying at B&Bs.

Where does your aunt live? And your nephew? I know what you mean about boys' eating habits! My sixteen-year-old grandson (Lives in West Virginia.) was here a few days last week, and boy, did I cook!!! He loves my cooking! I've never used pre-mixed anything, and buy organic veggies and fruit. He actually enjoyed our trip to a farmer's market.

I've always been so picky about food, so you can imagine how astounding this gluten thing is for me!!! How ironic! I think God has a sense of humor!

Have a lovely wochenende!!!

Cissie

Oops! That should have been "Wochenende."

Cissie

I love it! Bet you even know the last words of the Redneck driver. "Watch 'is, Bubba; I'm on try sumpin!" I've lived in Georgia for years, but I'm a Tennessee girl forever!

Cissie

P.S. It's almost my bedtime. Goodnight, y'all.

Rats!!! I was afraid of that, so I haven't eaten any in a week. I'll switch to a different brand.

Cissie

Lister, you sound very young, so I'm wondering if anyone has ever taught you how to make a tuna salad, or simply to boil eggs, for that matter. Deviled eggs are delicious, and easy to make. Do you know how to do these things?

Cissie

Does anyone know about Godiva? Their Belgian Dark Chocolate is the best I've ever tasted in my life!!! I can call them, or find their website, but I thought somebody might know offhand.

Cissie

eKatherine, that's so funny! I know how to spell Worcestershire, since I've been looking at the label all my life. I just wrote it phonetically as a joke on myself. I really must start using those little yellow faces, but I don't know how.

ChelsE, your "frying" blend will become a staple in my kitchen. It's okay for you to laugh at us Southerners; heck, we laugh at ourselves!

NancyM, sounds delicious! Don't you love those pre-washed greens and veggies? You're right; I am having a blast at 73! You will too, if you'll always be curious.

To all: I'll eventually figure out how to use quotes. I just learned to use a computer a year and a half ago, and some things still throw me for a loop.

Cissie

Hello there, gfp. Oh, my gosh! You mean to say that I can use my beloved "Wooster" Sauce? (That's the way mother pronounced it. Her people were from southern Mississippi and Louisiana, and for some reason they pronounced some words the English way. Another word is "again," which rhymes with "rain.") I was afraid Worcester Sauce might have gluten in it, because the label doesn't say gluten free.

You make a roux with cornstarch? I would never have thought to do that. In fact, I've been a bit down-hearted, wondering how on earth I'd ever be able to make a gumbo or a thick soup without flour. Come to think of it, maybe rice flour would also work.

Thanks ever so much for the recipes!!! I'll print them out, and try them one by one. When I make a tomato/mozzarello/basil salad, I drizzle it with Brianna's Vinaigrette. Using pesto would be a nice change. There's such a thing as gluten free bacon? What's the brand? We might not have the same brand here though. (I'm guessing you're English, and a wee bit Italian.)

Cissie

Great ideas! I'm going to add a crock pot to my shopping list, as well as those freezer-to-microwave dishes. I'll even drag out the pressure cooker, which I haven't used in ages. Now, gfp, where do I find recipes for those 101 meals that take no more time to prepare than cooking rice?

I cook rice often, and prefer it to potatoes. I was born and raised in Memphis, which isn't far from rice country, so I grew up eating rice: rice with butter, rice with gravy, rice in soups and gumbos, rice pudding . . . . Gosh, that brings back such good memories!

We rarely ate meat in the summer, only fried chicken on Sunday; and even chicken was hard to find during the war (WW II). Once in a blue moon, news would sweep through the neighborhood that there was meat in the butcher shop at Kroger's, and all the ladies would rush down, with meat coupons secured in their pocketbooks! Mother used to swear that it was horse meat, but she cooked it nevertheless.

But summer was synonymous with vegetables. The local farmers, having risen before dawn to pick their crops, would truck in their wares two or three days a week. Early on a summer morning, before it got hot, we'd hear the sing-song of the market man drifting down the street. "MarKET! Market man! Nice fresh butterbeans, peas, okra, corn, tomato-os!" Mother would invite him to sit on the cool back porch, pour him an enormous glass of sweet ice tea, select our meals for the next two days, and send him on his way again, quart jar of that tea in hand. Sometimes (Glory be!) the market man's wife would have had time to shell their butterbeans or peas. We children loved that! It meant less time shelling peas and more time for playing. But there was usually corn to shuck; there were beans to string; and squash, cucumbers, and other vegetables to wash. Mother would cook all those wonderful things, and have dinner done by ten o'clock in the morning. After that, it was too hot to cook (no air conditioning in those days). When daddy got home from work, all mother had to do was heat up the hot foods, set out the cold foods from the ice box, fill glasses with ice, and pour that ubiquitous sweet ice tea. Well, that was actually my job - filling the glasses with ice. How I hated wrestling with those damn aluminum ice trays! The levers never worked! I would have to turn the trays over and run hot water over them, and some of the ice cubes would inevitably fall into the sink; THEN I would have to fill them with water and slide them back into the ice box without spilling half the contents on the floor. I was so traumatized that, after I married, and even after the advent of refrigerators with ice-dispensers in the doors, I HAVE NEVER EVER MADE ICE TEA!!!!!

Good grief! I've written an epistle, when all I meant to do was say I like rice and vegetables. Sorry.

Cissie

Thanks so much for all the good advice, and for caring! I've been feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, thinking this diet was about to take over my life. Guess I lost my perspective. Sooner or later I'll get it all worked out.

Leah, you're spot on about the creative frenzy! That's exactly how I feel, and how I eat, when the muse strikes. The creative frenzy in the kitchen comes over me sometimes, too, although not often enough to suit my husband, bless his heart! He can't cook, but he can grill, so I'll buy one this weekend. We used to have one just off the back deck, but we enclosed the deck, and it's now my studio.

Cissie

Hey, y'all! This is my first post, but I've been reading a lot of strings, and feel as if I know some of you. I haven't been diagnosed yet, but when nature decides to cooperate with me, I'll be sending my specimen to Entero Labs. Given the histories of my mother and my sisters, however, I'm pretty sure my weight loss and increased number of attacks of diarrhea have been caused by gluten intolerence. Oh, well; it is what it is.

Here's the HUGE stumbling block that's making me mad as hell: I'm sick and tired of cooking, and thought I was through with it!

I'm 73 years old; I have (by my first husband) six children, all of whom are married; I have eighteen grandchildren; and I've been married for 30 years to my second husband. About 3 1/2 years ago I began taking lessons in faux finishing, and a whole artistic thing sort of snowballed from there. I'm now a stencil artist, a faux and decorative finishes artist, a so-so muralist, and I know how to refinish cabinets and furniture. (That last one is a killer! No way would I work that hard - not even for myself!) So there I was, ready to start my own little business, when boom!

Now I have to waste hours of every day on FOOD? I don't want to cook!!! I want to paint!!! Does anyone know a source for buying prepared, gluten-free meals? Help!

Cissie