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Rainy Day Picnic

Hello! I am so glad to be back; I have really missed being here, chatting with you. Both of my surgeries went well and I’m about five or six weeks in to physical therapy. The hip arthroscopy, which I expected to be shattering, was actually the easiest in terms of the surgery itself and the initial home recovery. My biggest concern was getting home and up the stairs on crutches after being released (hip arthroscopy is a same day surgery around here). That concern was seriously heightened by the trip home following the ovarian surgery. I won’t be graphic but. . .so sick, so. many. stairs. However, amazingly, for the first time ever, I wasn’t even the slightest bit nauseated following the hip surgery!! That really does deserve gratuitous use of exclamation marks. The long term lack of mobility and general inability to do for myself have gotten me down a bit at times, but overall it has been so much easier than anticipated. The last three months have also allowed me to see, yet again, how amazing my family is. I feel absolutely soaked in love and uncomplaining care.

To celebrate being back on my wobbly pins, and to kick off our twelfth wedding anniversary weekend, I thought I would throw together a Friday night picnic. We were both going a bit stir crazy being trapped inside all day, so an evening in the out-o-doors sounded just right. Things didn’t turn out exactly as planned, as you will see, but it was a pretty great night nonetheless. Scroll down past the video to find links to the inspiration recipes, as well as to see the changes I made. If you would like to see how the rest of the night went, click over to Jason’s video.

Garlicky Kale Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

Changes I made: zest of 1 lemon added to dressing

Changes I would make next time: the only kale I could find at the shop this time was red kale. Next time I would definitely hold out for lacinato kale, or switch to spinach or arugula. I did not have three hours to massage the red kale into submission (the ten minutes I did put in just didn’t cut it)!

Farmer’s Market Cornbread

Sean Brock’s Cornbread Recipe

and, my version. . .

Garden Cornbread

base-

5 Tbs melted, unsalted butter

2 cups of medium grind cornmeal (I used this)

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 C goat’s milk yogurt

1 C almond milk

1 tsp vinegar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 C corn kernels

1/4-1/3 C grated cheese (I used a firm sheep’s milk cheese whose name I do not know, but you could use just about anything you find tasty)

toppings-

1 pint (more or less) cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 red onion, sliced

basil, chiffonade (fancy way of cutting up; do what you want)

crumbling cheese (I used some cojita that was hanging out in the fridge)

directions-

heat cast iron skillet in 450 degree oven while preparing ingredients
combine dry “base” ingredients in medium bowl
combine wet “base” ingredients, stir into dry mix
add shredded cheese and corn kernels, stir until evenly distributed
removed skillet from oven, place on burner over medium heat (you will definitely want to turn on your fan)
pour base batter into pan, sprinkle with toppings
turn off burner
return skillet to oven, cook for 20 minutes
check for color (you are looking for a golden brown; the edges of your cheese will be picking up some color as well.
eat lots!

Allergy Elimination Diet: Reintroducing Eliminated Foods

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This is the fourth post in our allergy elimination diet series.

Hello a.e.d. participants. Congratulations! You made it through 28 days of massive diet upheaval, intense hunger and cravings, and pull-your-hair-out confusing trips to the grocery store. Well done! Now, the time has come to slowly and carefully reintroduce the foods you have eliminated.

No, that does not mean you go and grab the first double stack cheeseburger you see. In order to accurately determine which foods may be problematic, each type needs to be tested in its most basic form. Wheat- not bread, because that could be gluten, wheat, soy, yeast or an additive (if you use a prepackaged bread). Instead buy some cream of wheat and eat it plain. For dairy products, reintroduce basically and individually. Milk, cheese, yogurt (unflavored), and ice cream should all be done separately and days apart. Cow, goat, sheep and other milks should also be tested separately. This allows you to determine if one type of dairy is problematic and not others, if all dairy is problematic, or (for the lucky among you) no dairy is problematic.

You get the idea; every reintroduced food, from Almonds to Zesty lemons, should be in its simplest state. After eating, carefully observe the effects each food has on you. Consider keeping a record of the results for your doctor and yourself. Give yourself roughly a day with each food, and have that food two or three times over the course of the day. If you have a bad reaction to a food, wait until you are symptom free before moving on to a new item.

Also, if you find a problem, educate yourself. Don’t wander through the rest of your life a victim to this allergy or sensitivity; find out if there are treatments, make sure you have a clear enough understanding of the problem to keep yourself safe and healthy. Look for or create alternative favorite recipes; educate your loved ones, patiently and graciously. On that note: after this intense a.e.d. experience, food and your personal restrictions are looming large in your mind. Don’t assume that they are in everyone else’s; you friends and family have their own problems and health concerns and, simply, lives to keep up with. If they offer you a problematic food, don’t melt down; calmly decline and explain. You may have to do this a dozen times with the same person. Also, for group meals and parties: it is easier (and safer) for an individual with allergies to make provision for themselves than to expect others to do it for them. So take a dish that fits your dietary needs, and make it so fantastic that others want the recipe! If someone does go out of their way to cater to your allergy, show them how much you truly appreciate that consideration. Bottom line, extend a little grace to those around you.

I sincerely hope that the allergy elimination diet information provided here on One is Hungry has been helpful. I will be continue to post new a.e.d recipes and stories of other people’s a.e.d. journeys from time to time. The more accurate and in depth information that is made available, the greater the chance that someone with find the answers or help they are looking for! If you have completed the a.e.d. journey and would like to share your story, tips or recipes, please contact me.

Virginia Beach

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You know that saying, ” If you can’t say something nice. . .”; well, this will be a short post! Virginia Beach was a work trip. We were looking at it as a nice segue from full, flaming sun, southern vacation to the realities of home. This was our first experience of the mid-Atlantic ocean and ocean front. To be brief, we found it was not for us. I have lots of pretty, cherry-picked pictures from the boardwalk, but they are not an accurate representation of the place or the experience. However, let’s focus on the good things: We had a room immediately on the beach (that was a treat), and saw the sunrise colors spread over the ocean each new day. The food offerings, in town, not the hotel (Hampton Inn, you really need to work on your breakfasts!) were quite good.

The first night we took a leap of faith on an Urban Spoon recommendation, wandered into what appeared to be a biker’s dive bar, and were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves eating some of the best Mexican food we’ve ever had. Hello tuna tacos with mango-passion fruit-chipotle dressing! Everything at the Side Street Cantina was fantastic and really reasonably priced. A few nights later one of Jason’s co-workers introduced a group of us to Mojito Cafe…fantastic! Thank you, Chris!! They are open from 5 til whenever they feel like it; the staff is great and the food is truly outstanding. Jason highly recommends the fried banana cheesecake! Almost forgot, Sunnyside Cafe and Restaurant has gluten-free pancakes and waffles, enormous portions, and roughly five pages of reasonably priced breakfast goodness (bad news- real maple syrup is by request and $2.50 extra).

Other good things, hmmm. . .dolphins. So many dolphins at Virginia Beach; at least three separate pods of around ten dolphins each. They come incredibly close to shore on a somewhat regular schedule. One day while I was watching the water, a wave began to form about 20 feet ahead of me. As it approached and grew, overtaking the couple in my sightline I saw a large grey form riding along inside the translucent amber top of the wave, staying just ahead of the break. After a few heart-stopping moments in which I was the only one aware that this sizable, unknown entity was eight feet from the swimmers ,it became comfortingly clear that it was a dolphin. I’d never seen one so large (about 10 feet) and so close up. That moment had all the elements of my worst nightmares (sharks!) and best dreams (swimming with dolphins) rolled into one!

Finally, the airplanes. We were near the Oceana Navy Base and received CLOSE, LOW fly-overs about ten times every day. Once used to the almost sickeningly loud sounds (and I mean really, so loud as to nearly make one’s stomach hurt), it was amazing to see the various planes in flight. We got to see quite a bit of the Blue Angels, in town for the air show, F22s, helicopters and more.

Those things were really the highlights of our time at Virginia Beach. On our final morning, Virginia Beach bid us farewell with pelting sand like bee stings and a car that had been very carefully broken into and relieved of its hidden GPS. More about that here. So, my final words on Virginia Beach are these: if you find yourself headed down the Virginia coast with time to kill and hankering for a good meal, by all means pull up at one of the fantastic restaurants this city has to offer. Then get back in your car and out of town, preferably before 10 pm :).

Down Under the Weather

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Westlake, Yarralumla

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men

Gang aft agley,— Robert Burns

In other words, things don’t always go as planned. I mentioned in this post that Jason and I would be returning to Canberra, Australia for the month of June. We were really excited about the opportunity and it built up in our minds into a fairly important, potentially life-altering trip. During our January sojourn health, happiness and suitability lined up so wonderfully that we were even considering a move to Canberra or a similar climate! Can you see the expectations mounting?

The flights over went as beautifully as 26 hours of travel could go (Dramamine, where have you been all my life?!). Setting down finally in Canberra, we disembarked into what seemed a remarkably mild winter . Came the first surprise: we were taken to an apartment we were sharing with two other guys! Yep. . .I’ve never had a roommate, other than my husband; I didn’t live in dorms at college, and I had no full time siblings growing up. I was feeling some trepidation about not knowing the rules of living with other people and how sharing space works (also fears of being loathed by Jason’s co-workers by month’s end). Luckily, I’m pretty sure it was the easiest introduction to roomies that anyone ever had; the guys were great and we bonded over rugby and the flu.

That’s right, surprise number two: all of us got the flu; in fact, it seemed like all of Canberra had the flu. Jason and I were able to hang on steadily through the first week and a half feeling a bit tired and run down, but completely able to function. We took in the Canberra University vs. Wales game at the Olympic training grounds, visited our favorite restaurants (hi, Tom!),found some new favorites (Brodburger– best burger in Canberra), and spent as much time as possible up in the hills.

Canberra University vs. Wales

bottom of the hill

half way up the hill

top of the hill. . .lovely

Rain forced me inside several times this trip, allowing me to taking in an amazing exhibition of Antarctic photography , a stunning touring exhibition of von Guerard landscapes, and a really interesting series of paintings about the life and career of Ned Kelly at the NGA.

Ned Kelly by Sidney Nolan. Image property of NGA

Finally, we both landed like a ton of bricks, oozing, hacking,wheezing and sneezing our second weekend away. My insistence that fresh air would be good for us, and exercise boost our immune systems earned me a secondary upper respiratory infection. After a successful trial run with the Australian health care system, antibiotics, and a few days of lying in bed with soup and P.G. Wodehouse, I convinced myself that I was well enough to spend my last full day up in the hills I love, watching kangaroos nap, kookaburras laugh, and myriad parrots, parakeets and cockatoos paint the sky with their dazzling plumage.

Wodehouse. . .I know, I have a problem

Gandalf Trail, Red Hill

Macedonian Orthodox Church St. Kliment of Ohrid

kookaburra on approach to Mt. Mugga Mugga

kangaroo on Red Hill

I’m glad that I got out that last day, even though I subsequently added a sinus infection to the list of woes. Being sick when we could have been well, cold when we could have been warm, and watching the sun go down at 4pm, knowing it was shining on well into the evening at home was making us both a bit dour while we were trapped in the apartment. Getting back up into the hills, being bathed in sunshine allowed for a return to balance and an important lesson. Since moving to the D.C. area I have been both continually ill and ill at ease. I’ve always wondered if I really dislike the area, or if it is merely a circumstantial prejudice. Knowing how much I loved Canberra in January, and seeing how close I had come to thinking it a miserable hole while sick, I’m inclined to try harder to see the sunny side of D.C. So, no, we are not moving to Canberra, the trip was a total bust for testing respiratory health in different climates and we were absolutely ready to come home. We would love to go back, eventually, and I miss the gum trees and birds every time I go outside, but for now we are quite content to ‘bide a wee here in D.C.