say it isn't so

my allergy tests came back yesterday. it's actually pretty funny. so i have absolutely 0 allergic response to gluten. but i am significantly allergic to egg whites. go figure. i guess this past year of avoiding gluten was good practice for now avoiding egg whites. i'm going to miss my non-gluten alternative desserts at restaurants; flan, flourless chocolate torte, rice pudding, creme brulee, tapioca pudding, ice cream, and macarons. i'm also going to miss quiche. i've read about a good alternative using tofu though. i'm not allergic to egg yolk, so that part of the egg can still be baked with at home.
and funnily enough i still have to avoid all of the same things when eating out; pasta, bread, baked goods, dressings, soups, egg rolls, battered fish. and a few new things; fried rice, egg in my pad thai, tamago sushi. bleh. so everything and nothing has changed.
i also have moderate allergies to pineapple, cow milk, pinto beans, kale, alfalfa, asparagus, and vanilla. the vanilla one is a bit of a kicker. i really like natural vanilla in everything i bake, but i guess if i only eat what i bake every four days i'll be ok. i hope. or i can switch to vanilin. yuck.

at last

sometimes i get a lust for wandering. for the most part i bat it down and keep to my comfy surroundings. but every now and then it creeps up on me and i actually let it lead the way. i just so happened to let it have a go and it chose to take me on a trip to portland, oregon and seattle, washington. i'm very glad that it did.
portland has to be one of the best places. i know i've read and heard lots of bloggers and people say that it's a great place to move to, but come on, if everyone is moving there why should i? well, they are right actually. everything i've ever really wanted or could want is in that one city. so many of the restaurants have whole menus dedicated to vegetarians, meals that are nutritionally complete and tasty! waiters actually know what it means when i say i can't eat gluten, instead of saying "does that mean you don't want bread?" or "you can just take that part off when you get it.".
there are stores that stock ribbon, many different types in whole color ways. there is a fabric store that carries nani iro fabric. there is a plethora of lovely clothes sold in small boutiques where the owners actually care about what they sell and where it comes from. not that there aren't large stores like anthropologie or nordstrom, but hey, at least there's choices. like i don't have to go to the mall; i can choose not to.
on one of our days there, we took the metro rail to 24th ave and lovejoy. i love that there is everything you could need all within 3 or 4 blocks of where you live. there was this teeny tiny bakery that makes only gluten free goods. i bought a mini apple tart and a blueberry crumple muffin. the muffin was light and moist and chewy with delicate tastes of cinnamon and fresh blueberries, definitely the best blueberry muffin i've ever had (a feat, because i've eaten my fair share of blueberry muffins all over this country, and three others, and for it to have been a gluten free one, kicks all), the crust on the tart tasted and felt just like a flaky, buttery pie crust should. we found an amazing grocery store that had a giant variety of produce, and cheese from all over the world, a baked goods section that had yummy macaroons, and a butcher that stocked fresh fish. i could eat there everyday and die a happy herbivore/sometime pescetarian. and that's the other thing that is great about this city, the metro rail, as in reliable public transportation so that i don't have to own a car. i would so want to move there tomorrow if i could.
i feel another trip to portland is necessary in order to do further research and to cement any plans concerning actually living there.

seattle was big. giant city big. i don't actually like big cities. they are fun to visit and to do some specialty shopping, and to see the art museums, but i wouldn't want to live in one. it was really neat that it was a 28 dollar train ticket away and only took 3 hrs and 40 mins, but to live there, and work there? no way.
we had vegetarian dim sum that was very yummy, and i bought the comfiest pair of heels, and had the chance to do some tea tasting (actually was reacquainted with my favorite, but forgotten, chrysanthemum tea), toured around what has to be the most vibrant and modern public library, and all in all thought it was a neat visit. but would i visit again? eh, maybe not. if i lived in portland it would be absolutely necessary to make a sojourn up there in order to fulfill my mid-century modern furniture dreams, though.
oh, if you are ever in portland or seattle and want an affordable, eclectic, funky, stylish, and modern, and on top of all that also comfortable (organic cotton towels form turkey anyone?) hotel, ace hotel is where you want to be staying. the rooms were inviting and colorful, i did not mind in the least having to share a bathroom (the least expensive rooms have a common bathroom, which was cleaned and stocked at all times), and both hotels are centrally located in the downtown area and near public transportation. i wish there were more places like this when i travel.

perhaps not a fool

echo did a wee bit of posing today in front of a lovely vintage printed textile i discovered while antiquing. it is covered in blueberries and strawberries.

on other fronts, the gluten free thing isn't going half so bad as initially imagined. so far i have baked a delicious sweet cornbread, a lavender honey cake, dark chocolate brownies, and a dutch chocolate zucchini cake. there are plans on the horizon to make blueberry oat muffins and an irish soda bread. amazingly the most glorious thing about all of these scrumptious baked goods is that they are made from scratch and gluten free.

in the land of honey

one of the first gluten free baked goods i tried my hand at was a lavender honey cake. the recipe was a modified version of one posted on gluten-free girl, a lemon poppyseed cake. it came out quite yummy, but a little dense; for it rose like a souffle and fell, creating a somewhat dense but nonetheless moist cake with lovely tones of lavender. when i figured out where i had gone wrong i made the required changes to the recipe. here it goes:

gluten free lavender honey cake

3 tbs heavy cream
3 large eggs
2 tsps vanilla extract
3/4 c honey

1/2 c tapioca flour
1/2 c potato starch
1/2 c white rice flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs baking lavender

13 tbs softened butter, cubed

preheat oven to 325 degrees. butter bottom and sides of a 9" round cake pan, cut out parchment paper for the bottom so that the cake won't stick.

whisk the heavy cream, eggs, vanilla, and honey together.

blend well together the dry ingredients in a stand mixer, including the lavender.

slowly add the softened butter and half the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, let them blend well for one minute. scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. add half of the remaining wet ingredients and blend. scrape sides again. add the remaining wet ingredients and stop when blended.

softly pour the batter into the pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. bake the cake for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until a butter knife comes out clean. let sit in pan for 10 minutes then remove to a rack and cool completely. you may frost with a sugar glaze if necessary, or just a light dusting of confectioner's sugar.

this recipe has been modified to use honey as the sweetener, if another sweetener is to be used relate back to the original recipe for lemon poppyseed cake.

let's play a word game...

there's a reason i haven't posted in 12 days. it begins with a "p" and ends in an "s". give up? it's psoriasis! i've been recently diagnosed with psoriasis and i've been spending the missing time trying to figure out what i can do and what i need to change. after some research i come to find out that i may be gluten intolerant as well, and that that is what lead to the psoriasis. so i then had to research gluten intolerance and have been trying to figure out what exactly i can and can't eat. i came across a couple of blogs and some recipes i'm going to give a go when i have some free time. so for now most of my focus has been on psoriasis and also chickens. there will be further posting on that topic later.