Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Back from vacation. Why is it that a week when you are working goes soooo slow, but vacation time flies by and you can't believe it when you're already home again?

So here's what happened....

Almond Joy ice cream from Castle Custard. This happened a lot.

So Who's Hungry?

Turkey burger with caramelized onions and smoked pepper jack cheese on a toasted wheat bun with herb mayo.

Yum.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

I'm starting to get a little concerned.  Our vacation is only a week away and I'm not sure my husband will be able to go. Since it's a family thing and about a dozen other people will be there, coming and going, all week, maybe this doesn't seem like a huge issue. But to me it is.  I mean, here we've paid for a week's vacation - and believe me for what we're getting with this cottage, we've paid more than enough - and he won't even be able to enjoy it. Oh, and right...I'll be there all alone. With no vehicle and hence will  be stranded on a cottage at the beach in the middle of no and where. (Which isn't actually a bad thing if you have the ability to leave it should you so desire. It's less good when you're trapped.)

But why, you ask, why can't he go?  Well, you see, last year when we went on vacation in August, he took the week off from work and when he came back, it turned out that there was no more work for him until June of this year. So if he's only going to work for three months of the year, he needs to be working.

Of course, when you say it like that, it makes sense that if he's going to be off for the next 9 months, why don't we just go on vacation then,?  But, and I can't stress this enough, this is the stupid family vacation we go on every year and I have to book it a year in advance.

We don't even want this week. We want the week of Labor Day, but we couldn't get our cottage that week - not for the past three years, actually, but that's another story - so we had to take this week.

So now, here we are Or here we aren't. Or maybe just here I am. Alone, on vacation without my husband. (But did I mention the entire rest of my family will be there?)

I need a vacation.

WOO! HOO! New Doctor Who Trailer

I get this excited about new Doctor Who every year. Seriously. Since, like, 1978.

But, honestly, doesn't this look AWESOME???!!!

Summertime, Summertime, Sum, Sum, Summertime

The difference between Summer and Winter....you can get ice cream all year long, but you only get a custard twist in the Summertime.

Gluten-Free Can Still Be Adorable

As I may or may not have mentioned, my oldest sister recently had two heart attacks and needed six stents. The result is that she has to eat an extremely restricted diet. Basically, lots of veggies and fruits, no salt, sugar or dairy, and she was also advised to avoid gluten and fat.

I've been helping her out by cooking for her so she can learn some new ways to eat. But she loves, loves, loves sweets. So she asked me if I would try my hand at baking some food she can eat.

I was like, sure, I can make baked goods without flour. And salt. And sugar. And fat. And dairy. Can't everyone?

Actually, the gluten-free aspect was the easiest part. Years ago, I had a boss with celiac disease and I learned to mix various gluten free flours to make something that could be used for baking, although they were often dry and crumbly or too dense. But these days there are lots of choices and you can buy already already mixed flours that have a good consistency for baking.  I did use one of those for the blueberry muffins, but not for the other two, because I love doing things the hard way.

As for the other issues, I did a little research, and although I found plenty of gluten free recipes, they pretty much all included fat or sugar or dairy, or all three.  So I had to adapt. Thankfully, I am nothing if not adaptable.

I ended up with Apple Oat Cinnamon Cranberry Walnut (alright, maybe I got a little carried away with these cause they were the first ones I made), Blueberry (these were supposed to be Blueberry Lemon, but I forgot to add the zest), and Banana Quinoa Colada. I also went with mini muffins cause I figured she could freeze them and just eat one when she really wanted something sweet. Also, half a batch was enough to make 20+  muffins.

These came out pretty good, if I do say so myself.  Maybe the blueberry muffins could have been a little sweeter and the apple a little less sweet, but I think you'd  like them.

Recipes are in the links below.

Recipe for Mini Apple Cinnamon Muffins

cals: 33kcal | fat: 0.34g | carbs: 7.11g | prot: 0.86g

Recipe for Blueberry Mini Muffins

cals: 26kcal | fat: 0.78g | carbs: 4.38g | prot: 0.92g

Recipe for Banana Quinoa Colada Muffins

cals: 45kcal | fat: 1.54g | carbs: 6.74g | prot: 1.10g

How Do I Love Thee...

Him: I let you do the laundry and cook, cause you're good at it. If I could only teach you to pump gas and cut the lawn, you'd be worth something.

Me: If I could pump my own gas and cut the lawn, why would I need you?

(You can tell we've been married for 20 years, right?)