A bit of a ramble ...

I am soooo out of this blog routine - if ever there was one - so this will be a bit of a ramble.

Let's start with food.  I am very happy with the way we are eating these days.  I am mostly eating gluten, dairy, and sugar free.  With the coming of the holidays, I am not going to worry myself about this too much.  I may try a little gluten free baking, a cookie to have with hot cider when everyone else is enjoying a treat, but otherwise, I hardly seem to miss the baked goods.  I eat a little good dark chocolate now and then, so I'm not a purist in the sugar department.  I so enjoy our colorful mostly vegetable filled plates, though,  that I rarely feel I want anything else.

We eat meals that look very much like these that my dear friend cooks and serves.  Simple, beautiful, healthy, flavorful.  Tonight it's salmon and leftover wild rice from Thanksgiving (with figs and fresh sage and rosemary) some steamed broccoli, and my favorite raw beet salad with a ginger lime dressing.

I did do a bit of baking today, and when I came in from a walk in the woods, the house smelled of cinnamon and molasses, ginger and cloves.  Cookies and a loaf cake, along with Russian tea  are on their way to college boys who have exams in the next few days.

We had a wonderful trip to Virginia for Thanksgiving.  With children spread so far and wide, I savor every bit of time with them.  Time for good conversations about important things (like marriage and future plans); time for games and jokes and cooking together; time for a family outing; time to just sit and knit while they play Dominion or watch football.  I just want to soak up their presence and want everything to always be perfect ... which, of course, it isn't.  One child was quite sick with a nasty cold, there was mild dissension over who was going to do what when and where and with whom and a bit of wrangling over an open afternoon, but the sick son was lovingly cared for and the afternoon plans were discussed, decided upon, and enjoyed. (We went to Mt. Vernon)  And then, way too soon, it was time for another trip to the airport and good-bye hugs at 4:30 in the morning and a six hour drive back the other direction.

But isn't it good to come home?  I think so.

I moved my little old chair (that desperately needs to be reupholstered) into the kitchen/eating area by the windows.  I light a candle, make a good cup of black coffee, and sit there in the morning to read.  Everyone loves to sit there now, including, of course, the cat.

I am a sort of a wimp when it comes to cold weather.  It may have something to do with my size, but I am cold all winter.  So, thinking about hopping on my bike when it's below 50 degrees or so is not my idea of a good time, though I know it is a very good workout.  I've just got to get the right winter cycling gear.  Coty biked all through the winter last year and now that my ankle is so much better, I want to overcome my aversion to cold weather cycling.  The hard part is that first half mile.

I'm back at the aquatic center for long lap swimming through the winter.  Sometimes my 9 year old friend, Noelle, goes along, too.  It's fun to have her company.  She's such a little athlete - reminds me of the tomboy I used to be ... and kind of still am.

I am sewing and knitting, but of course, can't show you a thing.  It will just have to wait.

I love skype conversations with my granddaughter.  They almost always now include storytelling.  I ask who she wants to have in the story and it comes out like this, "meandalltheguysinthehundredacrewood, and Sadie and Biscuit and Marmalade and baby Joy (her doll) and my baby brother (who is not born yet, but I can tell you, he's already had some interesting adventures).  You can figure out that first part.  Clara had to repeat it for me several times before I understood, but now I know to include Piglet, Pooh, Christopher Robin, and various other assorted A.A. Milne characters.  Sadie is Clara's real live dog, a very sweet-tempered, long-suffering mutt; Biscuit is an imaginary puppy that appeared for the first time in a story this summer on our long drive from Denver to Winnett.  Marmalade is an orange tabby. I've thought for a while that if our good old cat, Madison,  ever used up the last of his nine lives, I might get an orange tabby whose name, of course, would be Marmalade.  I make up the stories as I go along.  I usually ask for a prompt.  Today, Clara wanted them to do something dangerous ... hunting, she said.  So, they all went along to the woods, climbed up in a blind, the cat fell down to the wolf below but was rescued and there was a venison dinner for all at the end.

Flying Geese and a new favorite Corn bread

Do you know what a Bed Turning is?  I didn't, til yesterday.  

I went to the Cabarrus Quilt Guild show and sat in on the Bed Turning.  Seventeen vintage quilts were stacked on a bed.  One by one, they were lifted and held up for us to view by two gloved guild members.  A third woman told us where and by whom the quilt was made, the fabrics used, the pattern and some of its history, and other interesting facts about the quilt or its maker.  I wish I'd thought to jot down some of the details of these quilts, but I didn't, so a couple of pictures will have to suffice.

 A scrappy log cabin quilt backed with plaid (wool?) flannel

 A Double Wedding Ring quilt, which we were told is one of the most popular of all quilt patterns.  Since it was often considered a "best" quilt - reserved for the guest room or special company, many quite old examples of this quilt have remained in pristine shape through the years.

I wandered around the show for a while, noting that I really like the traditional patterns.  I don't like "cute" and I'm not a fan of embroidered quilt tops, especially.  There weren't many of what is nowadays considered the modern quilting aesthetic.  I spent time looking at this Goose in the Pond design, was drawn to a couple of Around the World and Irish Chain quilts.  I also found that whenever Flying Geese were incorporated into a pattern, I stopped to look longer.  Maybe it's because once you learn something, that spark of recognition and identification with the process makes you want to linger.

Landscape Triple Irish Chain

and lots of flying geese!

Moving on...

I made corn bread last night.  I don't think I will ever go back to Jiffy Mix.  I got a new camera lens, too, so now you can view this delicious corn bread while I play with my new lens.  Oh, and those little bronzy green globes of goodness on the plate ... the state fruit of North Carolina (who knew?!). Scuppernongs.  

See the little rainbow in the corner.  How did that get there?

OK, that's enough.  How about the recipe:

Apple Cider Cornbread (Gluten, dairy, and sugar free, oh yea!) 

1 cup corn meal (not corn meal mix!)

1 cup almond flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

2 eggs

1 cup good apple cider

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 scant tsp. salt

1 TBSP. blackstrap molasses (if you're a purist and consider this sugar, leave it out)

6 TBSP. coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 350.  In a cast iron Dutch oven or 9 inch skillet, melt the coconut oil.  Once it's liquid swirl it carefully around the sides of the pan.  

Mix the dry ingredients (corn meal, almond flour, baking soda and salt)

Mix the wet ingredients (eggs and cider).  I also tipped my Dutch oven and poured a little of the coconut oil into the wet ingredients, but you can skip this step if you want.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.  Stir briefly to mix and then pour into your coconut oil covered pan.

Bake for 12- 15 minutes.  (I didn't time it. Sorry.  Just watch the edges and make sure it's firm in the center)

Really, really moist and delicious.  We ate it with roast chicken and spaghetti squash with pumpkin sauce (also dairy, gluten, sugar, and nightshade free.  Yes, I'm on a strict dietary regimen just now.  Hence the elimination of all of those in my cooking these days.)  But more on that some other time.

My husband needs a haircut and we're going out to lunch here with our family.

Happy Saturday, all!

On the way home ...

... from Virginia on Wednesday, I stopped in Chapel Hill.  Joel was just finishing class and after a quick stop at his dorm room to drop off his excessively heavy book bag, we made our way to Franklin Street for coffee.  Pumpkin lattes and then just strolling and talking and talking.  He suggested we walk around in the Coker Arboretum and what a lovely spot it is!  Winding gravel paths, old wooden benches, gurgling water, and the plants!  Oh, I could spend a nice long time in there just gazing at the plants.  Such a beautiful, quiet spot right on the front side of campus.

And what a fine young man to stroll with ...

After a trip to the grocery store to get Joel's dorm fridge restocked, we met Thomas and Kay for barbecue at The Pig. Goodness, it was tasty.  So tasty, as we say here.  Among us we had pulled pork plates, bbq beef brisket, pimiento cheese fries, and a sandwich that would only be eaten in the south - Kay's Carolina Po Boy - pulled pork, pimiento cheese, and collard greens with hot sauce, served on a bun.  I love all those things, but in one sandwich.  Hmmm.  Not sure, but Kay said it was good.

 It makes my mama heart glad that Thomas and Kay live close to Joel - just a 25 minute drive away in Cary.  I suppose those three are the Pinckney Family Triangle Contingent now.

 Bbq to take back to the dorm for a midnight snack and how 'bout a little sauce to go with that ...

I've been home in this empty nest for two days now and I am settling into a rhythm that feels very different from the rhythm of the last few very full weeks.

Yesterday, I spent the day sewing.  Slow and steady.  Finishing an embroidered and quilted nametag for a quilt guild swap and making the quilt block for a year long guild project.  I kept thinking that I needed to do something else ... and truth the tell, there is a very long "to do" list, but yesterday was a day to just be quiet and sew and then go, in the early evening to my quilt guild meeting.  I always learn something at the guild and I am always inspired by the women there.  So much creativity and skill and a lot of laughter.

Today was another slow-ish day.  After a morning at the doctor's office with a friend, I shopped for healthy food and came home and deep cleaned my fridge and freezer.  Who needs two year old freezer burned cake?   Not me!

After all the celebratory food of the last few weeks and pigging out at The Pig (it is aptly named, don't you think), it's time to reset our eating around here.  Green smoothies, fruits and veggies, fewer carbs, simple dinners, no sweets.  But wait.  Before I leave the celebratory food, may I just show you the amazing cheesecake that Erin made last Friday.

White chocolate caramel cheesecake.  I made the caramel from scratch.  Best. cheesecake. ever!  We'll talk about healthy eating later ...

Quick healthy

This is the meal I served yesterday to our house guest who had an evening speaking engagement.  We ate mid-afternoon.  I came in from my long swim and quick grocery store visit at 2:15.  We sat down to a hot meal at 3:00.  I had not done any prior prep work.  We ate:

Lemon Pepper Roasted Chicken
Collard Greens
Speckled butter beans with corn
Roasted butternut squash
Pumpkin cornbread

Sounds like it was a lot of work, yes?  Actually, no.

Sounds very healthy, yes?  And colorful and delicious and filling.  All of the above.

But it didn't take much time because there are a few things I rely on to pull off a good, quick meal like this.

1.  Lemon Pepper Roasted Chicken.  I do love roasting my own chicken.  Brining it the night before the way my dear friend taught me and filling the house with it's delicious aroma. BUT, if you don't have time to do that, there is that wonderful little heater rack at the front of the grocery store or next to the deli counter where someone else has done it for you.  Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  Not costly and always good, in my experience.  I am not the only person who takes advantage of this convenience.

2.  Collard greens.  I love collard greens.  I am from the south.  We know how to make them here.  I also lived in Kenya where they are eaten daily.  Sukuma wiki, to push the week, the food you eat when you don't have enough money to cook anything else.  But washing and chopping them is labor intensive. I do it sometimes, but there is a wonderful alternative in most grocery stores.  Washed, chopped, bagged collard greens.  You've seen them, haven't you?  Right there in the produce section. Or maybe you haven't because you've never looked for them.  Or perhaps, if you live in a part of the country where collard, mustard, and turnip greens are not traditional fare, you don't have this option.  But if you can find them, try them.  I used to buy frozen collards, but I don't like them nearly as well as fresh.

Anyway, if you can get your hands on a bag of collards, it greatly speeds up prep time for this dish.

Chop up an onion, saute it in a little olive oil, throw in the collards, handfuls at a time til they cook down enough to make room in the pot for more.  Add some water or stock so they don't stick, splash in some vinegar, add salt to taste, and let them simmer til soft.

3.  Speckled butter beans with corn.  I buy them frozen.  Never seen frozen speckled butter beans?  They are the size and shape of lima beans but brown and, of course, sort of speckled.  You may not have them in your part of the world.  If not, try crowder peas or if you can't find those, black-eyed peas.  I cook these in the simplest way possible.  Just boil them with water to cover til soft.  I add frozen corn for color and interest.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve them with salsa or relish.

4.  Roasted butternut squash.  We love butternut squash at our house.  I used to not enjoy preparing it.  I used to cut it in half lengthwise, place it cut side down in a 9x13 pan with a little water in the bottom and bake it til soft.  It's tasty this way with a little butter, but I didn't enjoy picking up the hot, slippery squash and scooping out the insides.  I didn't like throwing away the skin.  Always felt like a waste.  I rarely cook them this way anymore.

Instead, I roast them.  Wash the squash and chop into one inch (or thereabouts) cubes.  Leave the skin on.  Yes, leave it on.  Don't peel.  Don't stress.  Leave it on.

Preheat your oven to 400.  Place squash cubes on a cooking sheet and drizzle olive oil over (or spray with cooking spray).  Stir around a little to coat the squash with oil.  Add fresh ground salt and pepper to taste.  Last night, I also sprinkled on some smoked paprika.  Yum!  Good complement to the sweet, nutty squash.  Bake til you can stick a fork into the squash - about 15 minutes.

5.  Pumpkin cornbread.  I cheated here.  This was leftover from Sunday lunch, brought by a friend.  I cut the pieces open, put slices of pepper jack cheese on top and warmed in the oven til the cheese melted.  If you don't have any cornbread, lovingly baked and brought to you by a friend, this is a great alternative.  Or this, which I haven't tried, but plan to, since we love cornbread at our house.  I often add chopped jalapenos and sharp cheddar to the batter.

That's it.  Our house guest, who has traveled all over the world and lived in Afghanistan, Pakistan, England and now California, had never eaten collard greens or speckled butter beans, so last night's down home meal was a cultural experience for him - and an easily prepared one for me.

Arthritis and diet

In the comments on a recent blog post, a friend asked me to address what I've learned about exercise and diet as it relates to arthritis.  I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis a few years ago.  At that time, I was very sad.  I felt that my body was betraying me.  In an autoimmune disease like RA, your immune system, which is supposed to fight illness, instead attacks some part of your body.  In RA, it is the synovium that lines your joints.  The result is pain and inflammation and eventually, the disease can result in the loss of cartilage between bones, joint and bone erosion, malformation of joints, loss of range of motion, and disability.  It doesn't always progress that way. Early treatment can prevent or slow the progression and it sometimes goes into remission.  If you want to learn more about RA, there's plenty of information online, here and elsewhere.

For me, the main joints involved are in my hands, though I've had some pain in my hips and feet at times.  When the disease flares, simple things like pulling up zippers, opening jars, even holding a pencil are painful.  I had a flare back in May and my hands and feet hurt constantly.  They were swollen and stiff.  That has passed now and I am relatively pain free, except for one thumb and one finger joint.  Really not bad.

But back to the point of this post - what about diet and exercise?  They are key!  I am certainly NOT an expert, but I know that what you eat and whether or not you exercise DO make a difference.

So, let's look at diet first.  There are plenty of conflicting opinions out there and lots of information that is confusing.   Eat whole grains/don't eat wheat; eat a variety of veggies/avoid tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers; avoid meat/eat meat.  What to do???


I'm not sure I have the best answer for myself yet.  I haven't kept extensive food diaries or done any elimination diets.  All I can do is tell you what I am doing now and give you a bit of the rationale behind it.  I can share some of the RA diet literature with you and give you a few examples.  You will have to do your own research and see what works best for you.  Though there are some general healthy eating tips for people with arthritis, there is no "one size fits all" answer.


Before I get to specifics, however, I want to share a couple of "overarching" thoughts about food.


-Christians are reminded to eat to the glory of God.  (1 Corinthians 10:31).  Something in our eating and drinking can and should remind us and others of the goodness and grace of God.


-Food is much more than just fuel for our bodies.  If we think of it only as calories and nutrients, we miss so much.  It is a gift to be enjoyed and shared, given and received.  It is both ordinary and celebratory.  This is articulated so well by Robert Farrar Capon in The Supper of the Lamb, which I read last year and which I highly recommend!


Now to the specifics of what I do, with a few links to RA diet literature:

1.  Eat a variety of foods.  One of the easiest ways to do this is to think about color.  Eat lots of different colors of foods and you'll probably be OK (skittles don't count!).  I think this is one of Michael Pollan's food rules, from his book of the same name, which is a very common sense guide to eating decisions.  Think red like beets, green like spinach, kale, and broccoli, yellow like mangoes, orange like carrots and butternut squash etc.  A plate full of colorful food is likely a healthy plate of food.

2.  Eat as much fresh and raw as you can.  Think fresh fruits and veggies, big salads with a variety of greens, veggies, fresh berries, and almonds or walnuts.  A little olive oil and balsamic vinegar with some chopped garden herbs from dressing.  Skip the storebought salad dressings with artificial ingredients.  Or how about a dinner of roasted beets and butternut squash, watermelon, cantalope, and honeydew, and sliced homegrown tomatoes.

3.  Be careful with fats and make sure you get your omega 3's.  I take cod liver oil (old fashioned, I know) and flaxseed oil.  I use olive oil and coconut oil and I eat butter.  That's about it.  No margarine or shortening, vegetable oil and sesame oil on occasion.  I limit how much fat I eat.  I avoid processed foods and fried foods.  However, I DO like french fries and onions rings.  So I consider them as treats, celebratory foods, to be eaten on rare occasions, not as daily or even weekly diet items.


4,  Go easy on the sugar.  Less is better.  Avoid soda, sweet drinks, and candy as much as possible.  Learn to appreciate the natural sweetness in raw fruits and veggies.  If you do eat sweets or desserts, don't do it everyday.  I'm not a candy nazi here.  I do like a bit of dark chocolate from time to time (which we ALL know is good for us) and I have a weakness for a Coke every once in a while (Yikes! That sounds rather blasphemous, doesn't it).  But here's the thing.  I think there is a food group that the FDA has never put on any food pyramid.  It's the Happiness Food Group.  The foods in this group are the ones that may not be the most healthy for you, but they bring happy memories, remind you of someone special, or just make you smile.  I maintain that the happiness obtained from eating them on occasion far outweighs the deleterious effects and counteracts all that worrying we do about food.  But the Happiness  Food Group is at the very tip top of the pyramid.  If you eat too much from this group, it becomes ordinary and doesn't evoke those happy feelings any more.  (I am well aware that this is totally unscientific, however if laughter makes you get well faster, doesn't happy food help boost your health, too???  Has anyone done a study on this?)


5.  I am not gluten free.  I've never had any symptoms of gluten sensitivity, nevertheless, I have begun reducing how much wheat I eat, on the recommendation of my daughter who has done more reading on this subject than I have, and another friend, who experienced relief from a variety of symptoms when she reduced her wheat intake.  Reducing gluten may reduce inflammation.  We'll see.  Instead of bread, I eat brown rice.  For breakfast, instead of bread products, I eat oatmeal.

6.  Drink plenty of water.  I have to work at this, except when I'm exercising a lot.  I do drink a cup of coffee or tea in the morning.  I do use half and half and a little sugar.  It's a weakness, I know.  But it makes me happy.  The research is inconclusive on the affects of coffee on RA, but most studies suggest that coffee in moderation may have beneficial effects.  I also drink herbal teas.  We used to drink more juice, but I've drastically reduced the amount of juice we drink.  Too much sugar.  It's better to just eat a piece of fruit.

7.  Go easy on the meat.  We used to be completely vegetarian.  Then we added fish and seafood.  A few years later, we added chicken now and then.  These days, we occasionally (though pretty rarely) eat beef.  Our protein sources are most often beans, tofu, salmon, and tilapia.  We do eat eggs sometimes.  I like them hard boiled for breakfast.  It is not hard to get enough protein.

8.  I don't drink much milk, but I do eat yogurt and kefir.  Cultured foods provide probiotics to your system.  Some researchers say that RA is triggered by a deficiency of healthy bacteria in the gut and that probiotics can help reduce symptoms.  The research is not conclusive, eating yogurt has been linked to longevity for, well, a long time.

Folks, as I finish writing this, I am well aware that none of this is earth shattering information.  Neither is it based on the most recent dietary information.  I know very little about the Paleo diet, which seems to be the latest thing in combating RA and other autoimmune disorders.  There are SO many books out there and I should do more reading. Honestly though, right now I'd rather spend time training for the triathlon and eating fresh, raw, colorful, tasty, happy food than reading diet books.  Maybe there will be time for that in the winter!

Thanks for reading.  I'd enjoy hearing your suggestions and dietary wisdom.