Ohhhhh....mom you are going to LOVE this post!

So what is the first thing I think of to do, as I study late Saturday night and need a break?.... make liver pate :)

I am currently following the GAPS protocol, which has been really helping me with a foundation of what to eat in order to heal (thank you B. for directing me to it). In it, she emphasizes eating liver and organ meats to get all those dense nutrients that are hard to get anywhere else. I had been hearing through an online support group I am on with GAPS where it has helped them with their energy levels (due to Vit B). I decided this weekend would be a good time to try it, as I have midterms starting next week. 

I have NEVER had liver before, and had no idea how to make it. I've just heard "stories." I got advice from my Grandpa on how to make it, and went online to see different recipes. I ended combining several recipes, than adding some things for my first experience. I don't have exact measurements, but this is what I did. 

I have to say, it's interesting ordering liver at the butcher counter. The lady next to me started to tell me her favorite liver recipes, then became so inspired that decided to get some herself. The guy behind the counter looked like he couldn't understand what the excitement was with it. 

Soak liver in lemon juice for 3-4 hours (supposedly this is to take away the bitter taste. Rinse the liver off afterwards.

 During that time, cut up 1 med onion and parsley.

 Here is the liver rinsed off - I ordered only 1/2 lb. Had no idea how much that really was.

 Cut the liver up into smaller sizes.

 During the past week or so, I had been collecting the fat from the meat stock I had been making. I take some of the fat and put it in the skillet (you could also use butter, or some other kind of animal fat).

 Cook the liver and onions.

I added some meat stock to the skillet, as it looked a bit dry. I let it cook for a few minutes. Then I cut up one avocado, for use later. (this is something I decided to add on my own...)

 Here it is all cooked up, and looking great!

 Put the meat mixture, some parsley, more animal fat in (I ended up putting the rest of the supply in) and avocado into the blender, or food processor, and blend till "pate" consistency. It looks like a chip dip!

Wahla! Here is it. And the verdict on taste... It tastes really good. It has a great dip flavor. I was really pleased with the results, and it will not be hard at all to eat this a little during the week.

Stuck Tire Tip

This week, my dad and I have been changing brakes on our cars almost every morning. 1 set on my back, 1 set for my front, than my dad's back brakes. When we got to my dad's back brake's, we took off the bolts from the first tire, and realized we could NOT take the tire off. We didn't know what to do. We hit it, we told it to come off.... nothing seemed to work. I went online to see if anyone had any suggestions. I found this site http://autorepair.about.com/od/quicktips/qt/tire_lug_break.htm

In it, they said... There's a trick to freeing a stuck-on wheel that almost never fails. You already have the lugs removed, but now reinstall them leaving about 5 turns before they start to get snug. Now lower the car to the ground, get in and start it up. Drive back and forth 4 or 5 feet a few times. Now jack the car up and test the wheel. It should be nice and loose now, ready for you to replace with your spare so you can move on down the road.

My dad tried this and worked!!! I just wanted to pass it on to anyone else who may have this experience.

Gluten Free Flour

Since becoming gluten free, I have been reading up, and at times trying to re-learn new ways to make some of my favorite recipes. At this time, due to limitations on diet, I have not been able to do much. My dad though has become more interested in cooking gluten free, and so was inquiring as to how to make gluten free flours. The ones at the stores don't seem to taste right, nor are they in the price range we would like to spend for flour. 

One thing that has been hard to grasp is how to create the right gluten free flour for baking. There seems to be an art to this. This new way of cooking feels like a foreign language at times. It's definitely not the way my grandma or mom cooked. No more "...add flour..." and wallah it's done! You need the right combination of flours to make the recipe work. In addition, buying gluten free flours are bit more than what I would like to spend at this time... and at times don't taste as good.    

I enjoy reading "Gluten Free Girl's" cooking adventures. Here is some excerpts from her on how to make gluten free flour.   

"You see, I have been realizing this lately: if you bake by weight in grams and you have a recipe based on the solid ratios that work for the different baked goods, you have a great gluten-free recipe waiting to be made. Simply substitute 140 grams of gluten-free flours for 140 grams of gluten flours, and you have it.

... other than a difference in color, baked goods made with whole-grain flours are fairly identical in texture to the starchy AP mix we used for the cookies. That means the protein of quinoa, the iron of teff, the goodness provided by these different flours? They can show up in everything you bake.

Want to make a whole grain all purpose (AP) mix in your kitchen? Here's how.

We're working with 70% whole grains/30% starches. We might someday go to all whole grains for some baked goods, but this blend works well for us now.

If you want to make a big batch for all the baking in your kitchen?

Choose 700 grams of any combination of the following flours:

Almond
Amaranth
Brown Rice
Buckwheat
Corn
Millet
Oat
Quinoa
Sorghum
Sweet Brown Rice
Teff

Almond is not a grain, but it is a whole flour, so I've thrown it in there. You might notice that I have not put in garbanzo (I don't like it) or coconut (I don't like the way it tastes or the way it sucks all the moisture out of a baked good) or soy (I'm having a hard time finding a good gluten-free one). You might like those. Substitute if you want.

This means that you can make your own blend. If you are allergic to corn, and you know you can't eat the certified gluten-free oats, blend up 100 grams each of almond, brown rice, buckwheat, corn, millet, sorghum, and teff. (the flavor you find by blending all these different taste is fascinating. It's amazing how boring regular AP flour seems after you use this.) Find your own favorite combination.

And then throw in 300 grams of any combination of the following:

Arrowroot
Cornstarch
Potato Starch
Tapioca Flour
White Rice Flour

We like using 150 grams each of arrowroot and potato starch, at the moment.

Combine the 700 grams of whole-grain flours with the 300 grams of starches in a big container. Shake it all up. You have whole-grain flour mix.

Oakland Temple

Last weekend I flew up to see my Dr in Alameda, CA again. During that time my sister, her boys and I visited the Oakland Temple. I don't recall seeing pictures of this temple. It is absolutely beautiful! The grounds and view of San Francisco was amazing. On one side of the Temple is a carved mural of Christ teaching the sermon on the mount. On the other side of the temple was a sculpture on the temple of Christ teaching in the American's the beatitudes.

Here are some pictures of the experience.

View of San Francisco from the Temple

I love this pictures

There are way to many other things to do than take pictures it looks like.

Visitor's Center

He was the BEST turtle I'd seen that afternoon

Trying to be like his brother

Sister made some great dehydrated zucchini. Another snack I am able to add to my diet :)

Gluten Free Cake

My mom made a cake....

Not just any cake....

A gluten free cake......

For a baby shower....

Nobody could tell that it was gluten free......

And the cake was loved by all.....

Muir Woods

I am starting to see a doctor in Alameda, CA (Dr. John Nieters). He has been one of the best doctor’s I have ever seen. He spends time with you, and really wants to get to the root cause of what is going on. His approach to treatment is much different than the other doctor’s I have seen. I highly recommend his radio talk show podcasts that he provides as well. He has two: The Balancing Point and The Medicine Men. I have learned quite a bit through these shows.

So this new adventure towards health provides me an added bonus of being able to see my amazing sister and her family once a month for a bit. They are a lot of fun. I can’t get enough of the time granted to me to play with my nephews. This past trip in April we visited the Stanford University campus. I think I’m in love! The campus is so beautiful and filled with trees. I had no idea their mascot was the tree. Who knows, perhaps I may look into going to grad school there :)

Saturday we all went up to Muir Woods. It was a pleasant surprised to find that the park was free that day. It’s was National Park’s Week. I LOVE National Parks Week. I think I need to honor it every year.

Muir Woods is so breathtaking. The tall trees are like none else. Tall and red. And can I mention that they are tall.

Ok, Blogger is doing something weird to where I can't rotate my pictures. So stretch your neck, and turn your head...

A very tall tree...

My nephew keep saying, “Common’ let’s go find the woods.” I think we forgot to explain to him what “woods” meant. I think one of his favorite parts of this place was the water.

Nephew looking at the river

He loved looking at it. He also kept trying to find sticks. We are wondering if he wanted to go fishing.

Nephew with his newfound stick

I just love this picture and smile :)

There were some trees you could go inside of... his own little house

Handwriting

Right now I am taking a college Chemistry class. As I sit here doing homework, I am thinking how different some college classes are going now, due to advances with electronics and computers. With this class, I am required to turn in ALL assignments as hand written only. This is due to so many people cutting and pasting their work into word, that nothing can be trusted now they feel. Out labs are required to purchase the carbon paper and to write in pen, so that it will show up on the copy page underneath it. For that is the copy we turn in each time. Our professor told us that if our handwriting is not legible for him, than it will not be graded. So press hard, slow down, and write bigger.

Lucky for me, I haven't lost my skill with handwriting, and yes, my assignments take a little more time, as it is faster for me to type. But I find I understand more, as I slow down and write my work out. I do see some  classmates, who just graduated from high school, struggle a bit with this, especially during their labs. It's not good when they can't even read their own handwriting.

In addition, I had to buy a cheap calculator to use on my tests. Nothing that can store memory of anything. I guess it's time to go back to the basics again, especially at college.