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Chicken Pot Pie

We celebrated Valentine’s Day a week early because one of our children was driving past and stopped in for dinner.   That is even fun to think about the second time around.

This event seemed to just make me laugh right out loud, as it was quite a comedic undertaking.

Gluten Free Pie Crust is challenging so I thought that making Pie would make the day special.

I try to always speak LOVE in my cooking. It is the main ingredient of every recipe.

Our menu was Chicken Pot Pie from the Harvest Potluck Cook book for UNICEF , blueberry fruit salad and then Jesse’s Chocolate Chip Pie for dessert.  I was making myself Chicken Noodle Soup for my suppers this week and Tuna Noodle Casserole for GF lunches.

Chocolate Chip Pie

I started several days ahead with the chicken preparation by cooking down the whole organic, pasture fed chicken and creating the stock I would need.  By evening time, had boned the chicken and was carrying the 5 gallons of stock out to the extra refrigerator we have in the garage to cool and for skimming the fat.   I got to the right spot in the garage to balance the tray of stock and use my foot to push open the door of the refrig………
Oh NO!

The lid popped off the middle container and the tray caught the door frame and down went nearly 5 gallons of warm stock onto the floor of the garage.   It filled my shoes after a wild attempt at catching something, I stood watching it wander and weave around the tires of the car, soak up into the cardboard stacked for recycling and exit by the downhill slope.

Bucket brigade of hot water and suds.  Big push broom in action.  Partner coming home to move the heavy stuff and his wood scrapes.   I was not laughing out loud yet!

There was still enough stock left for the Chicken Pot Pie – Thank goodness.  I had created a”together” project for my partner and I to accomplish.   And it was just the stock – not the chicken in the pot!

Next morning 2 GF tuna casseroles made and ready for baking; one was for the child to take home for dinner.   Pie dough is chilling in the refrigerator.  Remaining stock skimmed.  Another joint project ahead of us,    I made the GF Cream of Mushroom soup for the sauce on the pasta and used a new thickening agent recommended by the Gluten Free Pantry

Some of this flour had created a paste on the bottom of the saucepan, and now I had burned on grief to patiently remove from my best pan.

Morning of the dinner, tuna casseroles baked and Chicken Pot pie ready to go into the over.  A small over flow casserole was set on the burner to cool.   I had been cooking and preparing all morning and just needed to sit and have a cuppa tea….filled and turned on the kettle …What is that smell?

Wrong burner – I had just burned up the small overflow casserole dish!   Black smoke puffing out of a bubble.

My partner is attempting to save this little bowl.

In the door came the travelling child – we sat down to a  magnificent feast and added the stories together of all the amazing cooking feats we had enjoyed and how partaking in such a feast now was just the best part of the adventure.

We are laughing out loud and hugging; it is a celebration of the loving spirit and activities which draw us together and defines our treats and joys.  Communication and Communion.

A tuna noodle casserole and chocolate chip pie are 2 hours down the road now….I am addressing the envelopes for my valentines and sharing with you my funny story….One just must have a sense of humor and a smile.   Maybe lovin’ works best that way?

You have any feast stories to share?  Food and love stories?   Laugh out loud cooking events?

By the way, have you tried the recipes in the cookbook? Dot Did.  It is a collection of Food Love and wow I have enjoyed everyone I have made so far.  UNICEF reports that it is still bringing in donations.

Chocolate chip walnut pie

Thank you.
Other Posts you might enjoy:
Someone’s In the Kitchen With Patricia
Honeymoon Cruise for 1
Animal Vegetable Miracle

I am mailing all my Valentines this coming week, so I set aside time to make them this weekend;  a nice break from working on Income Taxes and Cooking.

I was taught how to make 3 Heart Swans in my early parenting days and I thought they were a lovely card that I would like to make again.

I cut  an 8.5”  by 11” sheet of art paper into thirds and folded the thirds in half.   I had my guy draw a pattern:

3 heart swan pattern

I cut it out – I find it easier to use smaller scissors or exacta knives:

cut out still folded

My kids added heart stickers for eyes (one even cut tiny eyes!)  and another cut a V  to make  tail feathers.

Our Swan pair is busy gliding the Lake this morning; inspiring this idea.

We added glitter too and sometimes a poem and occasionally Hersey’s Kisses.

example

My partner made a chain of swans which he can connect with paste or tape and surround a cupcake paper for a surprise dish.

double folded swan chain

Here is a lovely paper cut Valentine from Denmark.  These were on all the tables for a wedding!

Danish paper cut carriage with hearts

Are you making Valentines this year?  Writing poems?   Thinking chocolates, flowers and candy? What is your plan?  Please share.

I just wished to share some beautiful things that came my way recently.

amaryllus 2010

every bloom finding a place

The amaryllis blooms are pictures I took of our unusual plant.  9 blooms all at the same time and such a stunning red; they are the gift of our neighbor and after a week of rain today’s sunshine just made them feel like joy.

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IN my reading this week of other blogs I found a woman in Shanghai who is doing a series of videos about how she is falling in love with her KINDLE with Global capabilities.   I learned something new about my KINDLE from her video and I also learned how to read my KINDLE on my phone and PC and laptop this week – meaning my partner and I can share!  This was fun and made me feel celebrative.  Kristin has produced 4 lessons so far.

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I am reading Breakfast With Buddha by Roland Merullo again and just re-read a stunning piece of writing  and I wanted to share it with all the people who might not read the book and miss some good insights?

The main character of the story – maybe- a 44 year old man driving across the country, showing the sights to a visitor revealing to the reader this:

“I love my country.  But I love it the way you love a wife of many years: not because you have some sentimental notion of her perfection, but because you know her thoroughly, from the courage of the maternity room bed to the pettiness of her morning moods; from seeing her sit for weeks by her dying mother’s bedside, to watching her worry about which shoes to wear to a cocktail party given by a person she doesn’t not like.  You know she has the capacity to get up at five in the morning and make you pancakes before you set off on a particularly arduous business trip, and you know she also has the capacity to say things, in the heat of an argument, that she should not say, to sneak the last piece of chocolate cake, to lose track of time and keep the rest of the family waiting for an hour, at the beach, on a burning hot afternoon.  You know everything from what flavor of lip gloss she likes to what books she would bring with her to the proverbial desert island and what she believes the meaning of life to be.  And the, always, there is a part of her you do not know.”

Don’t I wish!

Do you wish?

What brought you joy this week, or beauty – surprise?  Will you not share it with us here and add to the conversation?

Vitamin

I am similar to a canary in the mines when it comes to vitamins and supplements.  I have passed several kidney stones which are just straight unusable material such as IRON – remember when that was the big hype?

I am not an expert. My Mother was not either, she just spooned Cod Liver Oil into her children every day.

I have discovered that most people are either enthusiasts or totally against them and there is not much space in between.  Producing and rearing healthy, happy children was a primary concern for me and when we discovered our problems were related to diet, then Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance and cilia inflammation/lack of absorption, and the rise of industrial designed “foods”), I decided to learn everything that I could learn.

I thought I would share some of my discoveries so that you might make some choices for yourself.

-    Almost all vitamin supplements are designed to be absorbed in the intestines.  This means they must pass the stomach digestion process and get down to the main absorption facility of the body.  (Much medication is also designed for intestinal absorption.)   With CD and allergies this makes almost all vitamin supplements – worthless.
-    Almost all vitamins are only about 10% useable ingredients.  Many are pressed in milk powder or corn starch.   Many are coated in plastic.
-    Almost all vitamins in the USA are made in Utah.  They have specialized regulations and rules which means just about anything can be called a supplement/vitamin.
-    One needs to know whether or not your supplements are synthetic materials or real foods – plant and animal based.  The producer/manufacturer should show you that their product is being tested regularly in blind tests at a medical or research facility.  They should be informing the consumer of the exact test results.
-    Liquid vitamins are often rancid and are very volatile for shelf life.
-    Remember sugar pills make people feel good and have energy too.
-    Vitamin pills need a full glass of water when you take them to work properly, and they should be consumed with some kind of food.  If your vitamins make you feel bloated or nauseated – burping vitamin – they are not right for you.  Just about all vitamins, not accompanied by food will do some talking back to you – remember there is very strong coating materials on them to get past the stomach acid and all the way to your intestines.
-    The vitamin/supplement industry is just that and it makes billions of dollars per year.
-    Make sure your vitamins are from organic materials and are mercury free.
-    As a rule of thumb, I would say do not believe media Ads and the information they are spreading around.
-    I have found that most Doctors do not know enough about vitamin supplements and usually just recommend what they have been given as free samples.
-    As we age and figure in the worthlessness of much of the food on the market, many of us will need supplementation.  If we live in the Northern climes most of us will need some additional vitamin D.
-    All the research I have completed indicates to me that in most cases, exercise plus daily vitamin B complex and stress reduction exercises provide more relief than most anti-depressants.
-    The number two item sieved out of “port a potties” before they are allowed to dump the effluent is whole vitamin pills!   We are poisoning our fish and oceans. (I believe soda and beer containers still hold the #1 position)

The vitamins that I tested and have given my CD members of my family are 98% useable and they digest in the stomach.  They have completed blind testing in laboratories at several well known Medical Schools.  Even though they send me the quarterly statement of their modifications, I still have to call them and make sure that the modifications are not synthetic or problematic for CD folks.

I was attempting to put the logo of the company on the site and run an ad, but the group that I use has an enrollment process that I both like and dislike.  30% of every dollar I spend with this company goes to research and development and that the vitamins have made a profound difference in our health are important factors to me.   I personally have to enroll you in the company to get paid to advertise for them – I do not care for the multi-level marketing aspect….even if it is good products and good research. It makes me uncomfortable.

Are you a vitamin person or not?   Do your vitamins work for you?  How did you choose them and what do you know about them?   Was any of this information helpful to you?

Related Reading:
Female Brain Gone Insane
10 Things I have Learned About Celiac Disease
Becoming Another Persons Advocate First Thoughts
Personal Health Records

Looking forward to your comments and ideas…