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We moved into our new (to us) townhome one month ago - in that time we have unpacked many boxes, moved furniture, put up a few sparce decorations and generally managed to settle into our new home. The cats have both managed to make a break for it a couple times, which has resulted in a strong need to keep windows and doors shut, as well as the purchase of a new cat harness and lead.

YES, we have inevitably tried putting the cats on the harness. Mr Poo, struggled immensley when we put it on her and then was too scared to set foot outside, instead opting to immediatley dart back inside. OP on the other hand, has had some prior experience with the harness and let me put it on him with little difficulty. He doesn't like it, but he will wear it. Of course he tests the strength and give in the lead, but eventually just lays in the grass and toddles around the yard.

In fact, OP will wear the harness once he goes back inside without pulling or biting at it. Seems his exposure to a harness as a kitten (when I tried to take him in the backyard) wasn't a complete exercise in patience, there was some purpose to it as well.

My various planters litter our little patch of green, and although the sun shines with grave intensity, the majority of the flowers are blooming, flowering and looking spectacular. There does seem to be a bit of a slug problem however, they are eating my marigolds before they even have a chance to flower completley, and thats not to mention the irridescent trails that litter the entire yard. Surely there is a non-chemical solution to the slugs...

It looks like BEER is a highly touted slug killer - apparently a bowl in the backyard will both draw the slugs to it, and kill them. In all truth I'm not super keen on killing the little guys, but I also don't want them eating my marigolds.

Perhaps more research is needed...

Gluten-Free Ponderosa Cake

In an effort to satisfy both my sweet tooth and my need to bake, I have been experimenting with making some of my favourite recipes Gluten-Free.

I have had AMAZING success with the following Ponderosa Cake recipe - this is actually a banana cake with chocolate and brown sugar that is apparently quite popular and well known at UBC. Having never attended UBC, I first experienced it at a BBQ and instantly felt the need to find the recipe and try it out.

I only had a chance to make it once before learning I had to try out the Gluten-Free Life. I made it (in addition to carrot cake) for my office this morning and already had requests for the recipe...and now that my substitutions are typed out I figured I might as well post it here.


Here's the original recipe I found at: http://members.shaw.ca/amyfong/recipes/ponderosa-cake.html

UBC Ponderosa Cake
This is a delicious moist, chocolate chip banana cake.
Makes one 8" square cake. Double the recipe for a larger cake (9"x13").

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar (recipe calls for 1 cup)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup mashed bananas (approx. 2 bananas)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Cream butter and granulated sugar. Add egg, then vanilla and bananas. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add to banana mixture alternately with sour cream. Pour half of batter into greased 8" square pan. Mix cinnamon and brown sugar together. Sprinkle half on top of batter, then half of chocolate chips. Repeat layers. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until cake tester in middle comes out clean.

To make it GLUTEN FREE I made the following substitutions:

• Substitute 1/2 cup of butter with 1/4 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of applesauce (you could do this to decrease your fat regardless whether you make it gluten free)
• Add a little bit of extra banana (I use 3 bananas and don't both measuring the amount)
• Substitute regular (wheat) flour for 1- 1/2 cups of a rice flour blend
  
  (I mix these in larger quantities so I can just substitute it for wheat flour - i.e. the quantities below are ratios - use 1-1/2 cup of one of the mixes below)
• 3/4 cup of rice flour & 1/4 cup of cornstarch (this is the minimum substitution - it worked pretty well)
  
  OR
• 3/4 cup of rice flour & 1/8 cup of cornstarch and 1/8 cup of tapioca starch/flour (this was very good)
  
  OR
• 3/4 cup of rice flour & 3/4 cup of sweet (glutinous) rice flour and 1/4 cup of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of tapioca starch/flour (This is my most recent and successful mix)
  
• Increase the baking soda to 1 & 1/2 tsp baking soda
  

Final hints:
When layering the chocolate and brown sugar mix - layer chocolate first then brown sugar to get that yummy crumbly topping!

I purchase the rice flour and tapioca starch at the Chinese Grocery (they have it at T & T in the mall) and they are under $1 for a small bag that will allow you to make 2-3 batches of gluten free treats. Much cheaper than purchasing it at a specialty or health food store!

Mmmmm Delicious!

DAMN contacts

My eyes fit into the category you could deem "sensitive".  What does this mean exactly?  Well, for me if means that I often have a consiousness for the entirety of the time that I wear my contacts, it means that my eyes get dry and uncomfortable when I wear my contacts, and wose, it means that I get a huge headache when I wear my contacts for prolonged periods of time (read over 4 horus).

It wasn't always this way however, as a teenager I wore my contacts from the moment I awoke, until I was ready to hit the hay.  Perhaps this contrubuted to the current state of my eyes...

Since I started wearing contacts I have tried a multitude of contacts and at least 10 different solutions.  Most recently my eye doctor recommended I try and get away from solutions altogether, and dispensed me some trial dailies to try.

The first time I wore them, the left contact refused to stay in my eye, popping out about 4x in the first 5 minutes.  I could feel an air pocket in the contact and it felt like it kept slipping every time I blinked, which resulted in temporary bluriness.  I had to play softball, so I put some extra drops in my eyes, blinked a few times and decided to make due.

Coincidently - THIS was the day that I caught a softball with my forehead.

 

I went for my contact lens check in on Friday and quickly recounted my discomforts to the optomotrist.  A quick peek at my eyes and the doctor was able to confirm that not only did the contact NOT fit my eye properly, they were defintley sliding around as I had suspected.  In a flash she came back with different dailies for me to try - I was amazed at the instand boost in clarity I recievd, once the contacts fit my eyes.

 

Perhaps I shouldn't have beat myself up, QUITE so badly when I missed that damn ball.

Triumph Dining Cards

Hmm...if this Gluten this is for real, then I'm going to want some of these cards.

http://www.triumphdining.com/details.html

Other cards stop at "no wheat, rye, barley, or oats." Our cards are different because we don't assume a chef can immediately intuit the things it took us Celiacs months to learn. We clearly list hidden sources of gluten, where they might be found, and other subtleties, like the dangers of cross-contamination.

We also understand that every cuisine is different. For example, the most common hidden source of gluten in Chinese food is soy sauce, in Thai food it's fish sauce, and in Indian food it's a spice called hing. We've created dining cards for six global cuisines, and each card is different, calling out the hidden sources of gluten unknown even to many native chefs!

Wow for the internet!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

We moved yesterday.
Our new home is in total disarray, but it's still WONDERFUL.
We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but it's soooooo nice to be here -
In OUR townhome!

Yay us!

another monday

I'm feeling a little bit more bubbly and cheery today.
Perhaps the sign of a better week.

NOT my week

I started my softball career with t-ball and have easily been playing
first base for 15 years. In that time I have NEVER missed a ball that
was thrown at my face - in fact I often joke, "just throw it at my
face - instincts will kick in."

I swear I was focused yesterday, enjoying a softall game on a sunny
afternoon, and in all truth I was having a pretty good game.

Until third base threw me a ball, which I watched tip off the top of
my glove and up under my ball cap to hit me square in the noggin'
above my left eye.

I know have some lovely red speckles and a bit of a gooseegg...

DAMMIT!

Thank goodness it will be Friday tomorrow!