Monday, 11 July 2011
Correction to grandpas age!
Just a quick post an amendment to my last post. I've been rightly corrected by grandpa and dad that grandpa is 84 not 83! Which makes it even more the amazing to me. I called grandpa and told him about the post the internet is a new universe to him and he was so impressed and amazed at at the idea that I could write something that people could be read around the world. So to the cooking skills of my 84 yr old grandpa! I Hope I've inspired some of those none regular cookers to give it a go if your reluctant just think if my 84 grandpa can learn to cook so can you!
Thursday, 7 July 2011
A tribute to my grandpas cullinary skills and a lesson that we all need to cook, even if only once a week
In all households, there is a main cook/chef whatever we fancy ourselves. Someone who regularly cooks the meals, for many many generations it was the women, there were many reasons for this, but I'm a bit of a feminist so I don't think that just having male bits 50+ years ago and sadly some people today still think that way, means that there is absolutely no reason for men to have no idea how to cook a thing!!
A perfect example of this is my grandpa, my beloved gran was quickly taken from us 4 years ago from cancer. She was a whizz in the kitchen, cakes and slices etc were here speciality and jams etcs. She did a mean roast etc but as most Aussie, English/Irish based women of that era, dinner was generally meat and three veg, no pizza, stir Fry's curries etc! Grandpa never did anything in the kitchen apart from washing and wiping up, at times. When gran passed we were all so worried, how was he going to cope! The ironic thing is that now he is cooking pork roast dinner with awesome crackle!!! (he won't even call his children or grandchildren to share it with him so he can enjoy it himself hehe, go grandpa), he is cooking soups, all kinds of things. And the most amazing thing is its all from memory. I tell grandpa, who is 83 by the way that I can hear gran cursing him, all those years she busted her butt cooking for him and he never attempted to cook until after she had passed away!
At our house I'm the main cook, mainly because I love cooking and I'm more experienced without blowing my own trumpet too much. Since the accident, I have found cooking to be like a therapy, for me some mornings I wake up thinking about what I'm going to cook that night and go to sleep thinking about what to cook for the next day or next few days.
But the severe neck spasms have knocked me for six! It's been four weeks now, and I've been completely out of action. My beloved husband Poppa Smurf has been cooking some awesome meals, his confidence has grown as time as progressed and take away has become something that he is less likely to suggest more frequently. He is enjoy experimenting with food, adding ingredients and watching me enjoy his creations. At times in a slightly zombie state (thanks to muscle relaxants) I wonder into the kitchen and stir the pan, or fiddle with what he is cooking and I soon get sent back to bed or the lounge and out of the kitchen. I think what has encouraged his cooking is me being so sick and unable to come and nag, we all do it, 'why don't you add that', 'are you really using that pan?', those words just come out without thinking, its like verbal diarrhoea. Then they just think why bother if they are only going to be nagged, we all do it no matter how much we think we don't.
So the morale of my post is to make sure that both partners are cooking, even if its only once a week. And if you have kids, boys or girls, make them from the age of about 12 (I think that's how old I was), or younger , have them cook a family dinner once a week. It teaches them so many things, particularly if they are coeliac, or have any allergy, its so important to learn the skills of how to cook a nutritional family meal, that adheres to the various allergy problems of the family members.
This is also a bit of a tribute to grandpa, at 83, what an impressive effort to be cooking all those things (a large majority from memory). Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Grandpa I love you so much xxxxx
So all men out there if my 83 year old grandpa can get out there and cook a roast, you took are quite cable of getting in the kitchen and doing something too.
A perfect example of this is my grandpa, my beloved gran was quickly taken from us 4 years ago from cancer. She was a whizz in the kitchen, cakes and slices etc were here speciality and jams etcs. She did a mean roast etc but as most Aussie, English/Irish based women of that era, dinner was generally meat and three veg, no pizza, stir Fry's curries etc! Grandpa never did anything in the kitchen apart from washing and wiping up, at times. When gran passed we were all so worried, how was he going to cope! The ironic thing is that now he is cooking pork roast dinner with awesome crackle!!! (he won't even call his children or grandchildren to share it with him so he can enjoy it himself hehe, go grandpa), he is cooking soups, all kinds of things. And the most amazing thing is its all from memory. I tell grandpa, who is 83 by the way that I can hear gran cursing him, all those years she busted her butt cooking for him and he never attempted to cook until after she had passed away!
At our house I'm the main cook, mainly because I love cooking and I'm more experienced without blowing my own trumpet too much. Since the accident, I have found cooking to be like a therapy, for me some mornings I wake up thinking about what I'm going to cook that night and go to sleep thinking about what to cook for the next day or next few days.
But the severe neck spasms have knocked me for six! It's been four weeks now, and I've been completely out of action. My beloved husband Poppa Smurf has been cooking some awesome meals, his confidence has grown as time as progressed and take away has become something that he is less likely to suggest more frequently. He is enjoy experimenting with food, adding ingredients and watching me enjoy his creations. At times in a slightly zombie state (thanks to muscle relaxants) I wonder into the kitchen and stir the pan, or fiddle with what he is cooking and I soon get sent back to bed or the lounge and out of the kitchen. I think what has encouraged his cooking is me being so sick and unable to come and nag, we all do it, 'why don't you add that', 'are you really using that pan?', those words just come out without thinking, its like verbal diarrhoea. Then they just think why bother if they are only going to be nagged, we all do it no matter how much we think we don't.
So the morale of my post is to make sure that both partners are cooking, even if its only once a week. And if you have kids, boys or girls, make them from the age of about 12 (I think that's how old I was), or younger , have them cook a family dinner once a week. It teaches them so many things, particularly if they are coeliac, or have any allergy, its so important to learn the skills of how to cook a nutritional family meal, that adheres to the various allergy problems of the family members.
This is also a bit of a tribute to grandpa, at 83, what an impressive effort to be cooking all those things (a large majority from memory). Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Grandpa I love you so much xxxxx
So all men out there if my 83 year old grandpa can get out there and cook a roast, you took are quite cable of getting in the kitchen and doing something too.
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Gluten in Ice Cream, really??????
Very annoyingly I wrote what I thought was quite a good blog yesterday, then the lovely computer decided to have a little heart attack and unfortunately it didn't save my post like it normally does!
Anyway I have a more pressing point to write about in my limited writing time today....
Did you know that ice creams, yes ice creams, well at least some contain gluten!!!!!
As if we don't have enough food to worry about, spending endless time in supermarket aisles, reading the back of labels to ensure there is no wheat in products, I honestly didn't realise that ice cream was something we had to watch out for too!!
It's ridiculous!!!, knowing and having an increasing knowledge of how food is made, there is really no reason to put wheat or any gluten based products in ice cream of all things!
Now we have the issue of going to those yummy ice-cream places and ordering a hokey pokey etc and asking the pimply faced 15 year old working there if the ice cream contains gluten. Wow, that will be way beyond their capabilities, their face will go red, which will be made more obvious by the outbreak of pimples, as they try and read the standard guideline of food ingredients that those stores issues, to 10 minutes later either inform you that sorry madam the only ice cream that definitely is gf is vanilla or I can't guarantee you that anything is gluten free!!!
I mentioned about my accident in my last post, I've been suffering very severe, debilitating neck spasms several times a day for the last 4 weeks, I haven't had a day spasm or intense pain free in this entire time. So needles to say my husband (who I'm now referring to as Poppa Smurf), and my parents and family have been eager to try and get me little treats to try and make me feel better. They can't stop these horrible spasms but they can get me ice cream or chocolate. I think I mentioned before I love Fry's Turkish Delight, it has gluten in it but the nutritionist told me that because I was so good with the gf free diet to have one occasionally was okay, mainly because the gluten was so processed.
I've probably eaten far too many of these lovely turkish delights, in attempts to ease some of my pain. My mum actually found some Turkish Delight Ice cream, I have to confess, I ate the majority of the packet!!!! Whoops! Next time she came over and I requested some ice cream, she actually read the ingredients and was amazed to find just how many different types of ice cream contained gluten. Basically all the exciting yummy ones, had wheat!! So not fair.
So now I have some pains, admittedly the majority are endo based, but I know that some of my pains at the moment are from eating the ice cream with the gluten!! What absolute crap!!!
So a warning out there for all of you, unfortunately ice cream contains gluten, so yet another bloody thing we have to read, check, ask, deal with inexperienced staff who have no idea.
But just a little for note, not the most sound medical advice (but I'm not a doctor) just eating one of these ice creams with some degree of gluten, hasn't caused a massive reaction with me and I'm sure at times (particularly while I'm having 2-3 severe neck spasms daily, I will indulge in the occasional gluten ice cream). Although obviously if you or your child are allergic to the protein in milk (which I will learn more about this from lovely friend author of Stranger Than Fiction (see me reading list for her blog) you wouldn't even attempt to eat the ice cream.
If you work at one of these big ice cream companies, I put out a challenge for you to make a gf ice cream that tastes just as good as all the others!!! And please send me one to try, I promise I will even write a review for you.
Imagine a world when you could eat whatever we felt like, without reading every bloody ingredients and asking fifty thousand questions when we go out.
I'm adding an ice cream place in Croydon Park Sydney that was recommended to me by one of my dearest friends. http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.puregelato.com.au%2Fproducts%2Fnutritional.htm&h=YAQBMMM0R
Anyway I have a more pressing point to write about in my limited writing time today....
Did you know that ice creams, yes ice creams, well at least some contain gluten!!!!!
As if we don't have enough food to worry about, spending endless time in supermarket aisles, reading the back of labels to ensure there is no wheat in products, I honestly didn't realise that ice cream was something we had to watch out for too!!
It's ridiculous!!!, knowing and having an increasing knowledge of how food is made, there is really no reason to put wheat or any gluten based products in ice cream of all things!
Now we have the issue of going to those yummy ice-cream places and ordering a hokey pokey etc and asking the pimply faced 15 year old working there if the ice cream contains gluten. Wow, that will be way beyond their capabilities, their face will go red, which will be made more obvious by the outbreak of pimples, as they try and read the standard guideline of food ingredients that those stores issues, to 10 minutes later either inform you that sorry madam the only ice cream that definitely is gf is vanilla or I can't guarantee you that anything is gluten free!!!
I mentioned about my accident in my last post, I've been suffering very severe, debilitating neck spasms several times a day for the last 4 weeks, I haven't had a day spasm or intense pain free in this entire time. So needles to say my husband (who I'm now referring to as Poppa Smurf), and my parents and family have been eager to try and get me little treats to try and make me feel better. They can't stop these horrible spasms but they can get me ice cream or chocolate. I think I mentioned before I love Fry's Turkish Delight, it has gluten in it but the nutritionist told me that because I was so good with the gf free diet to have one occasionally was okay, mainly because the gluten was so processed.
I've probably eaten far too many of these lovely turkish delights, in attempts to ease some of my pain. My mum actually found some Turkish Delight Ice cream, I have to confess, I ate the majority of the packet!!!! Whoops! Next time she came over and I requested some ice cream, she actually read the ingredients and was amazed to find just how many different types of ice cream contained gluten. Basically all the exciting yummy ones, had wheat!! So not fair.
So now I have some pains, admittedly the majority are endo based, but I know that some of my pains at the moment are from eating the ice cream with the gluten!! What absolute crap!!!
So a warning out there for all of you, unfortunately ice cream contains gluten, so yet another bloody thing we have to read, check, ask, deal with inexperienced staff who have no idea.
But just a little for note, not the most sound medical advice (but I'm not a doctor) just eating one of these ice creams with some degree of gluten, hasn't caused a massive reaction with me and I'm sure at times (particularly while I'm having 2-3 severe neck spasms daily, I will indulge in the occasional gluten ice cream). Although obviously if you or your child are allergic to the protein in milk (which I will learn more about this from lovely friend author of Stranger Than Fiction (see me reading list for her blog) you wouldn't even attempt to eat the ice cream.
If you work at one of these big ice cream companies, I put out a challenge for you to make a gf ice cream that tastes just as good as all the others!!! And please send me one to try, I promise I will even write a review for you.
Imagine a world when you could eat whatever we felt like, without reading every bloody ingredients and asking fifty thousand questions when we go out.
I'm adding an ice cream place in Croydon Park Sydney that was recommended to me by one of my dearest friends. http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.puregelato.com.au%2Fproducts%2Fnutritional.htm&h=YAQBMMM0R
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