Well, September is here, and I have another hurdle to face. At the end of the month we will be taking a week to travel north to visit friends and family in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. While I look forward to seeing faces that I haven't seen in a while, spending time with my kids and some of their friends, and meeting The Man's family and friends for the first time, the idea of road trip eating terrifies me. Since I'm getting poisoned once out of every three times eating at places that I know follow pretty good GF practices, dining in uncharted territory is nerve wracking. Blogs and articles on the subject are filled with pre-prepared foods and snacks that are not always as healthy as I would like, and are definitely out of my budget. So what's a GF girl to do in a world filled with wheat? Good question. This will be a new series of blogs, mapping out the trip planning and the food planning so hopefully you won't have the same worries when you try to take a relaxing vacation. Hopefully we will both learn something along this journey!
Wow, what a busy month August turned out to be. Work has been insane, we had house guests for a week, and The Man and I became officially engaged. Lots of cooking, lots of work, and not much time for reflection. I have some quiet time this morning before he gets awakens, so I'll bring y'all up to speed.
Work is... work. Not as busy as I would like it to be, but since UT is now back in session it is getting crazier little by little. The college kids love my department because they can get a bunch of little pieces of cheese and a box of crackers for much less than junk food, with far more nutrition and yumminess. (Company policy is that we are not supposed to cut anything smaller than a quarter pound, but I think that's dumb. I would rather sell a pound of cheese that is six or seven different kinds to someone that is just discovering that there is a whole world of food out there that they have not sampled yet.) We will be doing cheese samplers for tailgate parties, and a big display with cheese and beer and all sorts of great stuff starting this weekend. GO VOLS!
The Man has been feeling a little homesick, so his two closest buddies and bandmates came to stay for a week. Woody and Jeffrey are two of the nicest guys ever (and very single, ladies!), and they were a joy to have around. They love my cooking, and had to admit that they felt better after eating clean food and mostly gluten free. (I did get real rolls for them to eat, but made chicken parm out of GF crumbs so I could eat too.) We ran the gamut with food, from The Man making a pot of sauce for the GF chicken parm and pasta, to a pork shoulder braised in Omission beer and corn bread, to the best bacon and eggs in the world... it was a great week, culminating in a performance of Face 4 Radio (their band) at one of our favorite bars, Brackins Blues Club. As soon as I get the video formatted, I'll post some clips. They were amazing!
After talking about it for months, we decided to make it official. He even got down on his knees and proposed as he slipped it on my finger. Uber romantic, I think we both got a little teary eyed.The ring, just like The Man, is gorgeous, and I am proud that I will someday be Mrs The Man. Stop by the store and see it under the lights, but bring your sunglasses, it's a sparkler!
All in all, a busy but satisfying month. Looking forward, September is going to be just as crazy, but being happy helps make it much easier to deal with.
I'm a chef, mom of two grown amazing people, a culinary instructor, and now a holistic nutrition and wellness counselor. I will be adding homeopathy to that list of accomplishments soon, and this is a record of my journey towards that and many other goals, along with the stuff that turns me on and off. Like my Facebook page for even more amazing ideas and recipes. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Healthy-People-Culinary-Program/214831771901699?ref=hl