Gluten-Free Birthday Pancakes

Pancakes for Everyone

Pancakes are easy. Right?

Well, I certainly thought so.

I've made them dozens and dozens and dozens of times before.

With gluten. Without gluten. No matter. Making pancakes is making pancakes.

That is, until you delete some sleep, stir with some distractions, and add some pressure.

The Boy wanted a sleepover birthday party with pancakes in the morning.

Sounded simple.

And it should have been. But it didn't quite happen that way.

The Glass Castle

Book Review

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls.

I knew I wanted to read this book for quite some time.

But before that, I heard about it from a friend. She said it was disturbing. I wasn't so inclined to want to read it then.

Fast forward a couple of years.

I read the second book from Jeannette Walls. Half Broke Horses.

I loved it.

I told my husband that that book might change my life.

I don't think it has (yet), but anything is possible.

Right?

Well, I loved Half Broke Horses so much that I had now made up my mind that I was going to read this book.

My friend warned me again.

"You don't want to read it. It is disturbing. Really disturbing."

I knew it was going to disturb me, but I really wanted to read it now.

Really.

Despite being disturbing.

Disturbing or not (and how could you not be disturbed by this book?), this is worth every minute of your time.

The Glass Castle

Best Chinese Restaurant Ever, with Gluten-Free Sauces!

Welcome Back to Chinese Food!

I cannot, for the life of me, get over how lucky I was.

I was planning to join some colleagues for dinner while traveling for business. A suggestion was made for a local Chinese restaurant that is well renown.

I immediately felt my own internal panic start.

Chinese? Really? Do we have to?

Don't get me wrong. I used to love going out for Chinese food!

But after going gluten-free, that love faded and twisted and sagged into near apathy.

The questions started galloping through my mind.

What hoops would I have to jump through to eat safely and gluten-free?

How much explaining would I have to do?

Will they understand?

Not just no soy sauce. No sauces. No batters. Nothing fried.

Nothing safe?

Not so!

Chef Chu's in Los Altos, CA knows all about gluten-free Chinese food!

Chef Chu's

The Cider House Rules

Book Review

The Cider House Rules by John Irving.

This book has been around awhile. Since 1985, to be precise.

I've heard references to this book, infrequently, for years. Many years.

I've just never had anything pushing me to pick it up.

All it takes for me is to browse the large print section at the library and not find what I'm looking for.

That's what happened this time. And I needed to get something to read on the treadmill.

I don't remember what I was interested it at the time, but I ended up picking this off of the large print shelf.

Why not?

Never mind that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This is a frequent occurrence for me. I just usually don't do any research on books before diving in.

I don't know whether that is good or not.

I kind of wonder if I would have read this book if I had known more of what it is about. I'm not sure. It is not exactly thought-provoking or entertaining in the ways I prefer.

The Cider House Rules

Gluten-Free Beer and I Like It!

Beer on the Holiday

Is there anything more ubiquitous on the Fourth of July than fireworks and beer?

I didn't think so.

But I've never been a fan of beer. I remember it as always being bitter.

I'm not a fan of bitter.

In any form.

Endive or beer. Doesn't matter.

No bitter for me.

Ah... except for maybe chocolate and coffee. Not necessarily together, but sometimes....

Anyways, when I had to become gluten-free, I didn't miss not being able to have beer.

I had never met a beer worth missing. In my book, they had all been bitter.

Granted, my exposure may have been limited.

But no matter. I didn't miss what I couldn't have. At least, not when it came to beer.

Recently, a friend and beer connoisseur and home brewer suggested I try this gluten-free beer.

I admit it. I was skeptical.

I'd never yet met a beer worth pursuing.

Enter Dogfish Head's Tweason'ale Strawberry Gluten-Free Beer.

Dogfish Head Tweason'ale

Unwind

Book Review

Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

I'm not sad to discover that my daughter has become a big reader.

She goes to the library with us and brings home stacks of books. Most she reads. Some she doesn't. But she's always got something at hand to read.

And she has told me more than once that the middle school library "doesn't have any of the good books."

I didn't get a very precise definition of "good".

But I love that she is this much into reading. Her own reading. Her own choices.

Not that this doesn't come with it's own caveats, though.

Caveats for a big reader?

Yes.

She reads so much, I can no longer keep up with knowing what she is reading, nor can I keep up with knowing what is in those books.

They are, for the most part, young adult books. But I don't really know what is in them.

And there is no real way to know what is in them without just reading them.

But I'm pretty busy reading my own books.

Yet, I need to know. I need to know a bit more about the things she is reading.

I read the Hunger Games trilogy. And I liked it. For what it is.

And I read the Twilight series. I can see why so many have loved the series, but I don't put myself into that category.

And now she has recommended this book to me. So, I see this an opportunity to find out a bit more about the things she is reading.

Unwind