Tolly fetches!

Eating joyfully without gluten

DH is gluten sensitive.  It's not enough of an issue to show up on tests (so, not full blown celiac disease, lucky for him), but it does make a difference to his health when he cuts out gluten. 

For his birthday gift this year, I signed us up for something neat: a gluten free cooking demo/class at Stir.  It took place last week, and it was really yummy and fun!

10 of us sat around a table while a professional chef and assistant cooked a beautiful gluten free meal for us, and led us in discussion of issues, resources, etc.  Everyone was really nice, and the food was absolutely delicious, definitely worth having in the repertoire.  It didn't taste like 'dietary restriction food,' just like good, hearty, satisfying fare, so even gluten eaters are likely to enjoy it! 

It turns out most of the recipes are variations on ones that appear online.  Click through for delicious photos, recipes, and discussion!

* Gluten-Free Gougeres (Pão de Queijo) are little cheese puffs made with tapioca starch that really fulfilled the bread yearning.  If you need the recipe (which, fair warning, the chef said was finicky), let me know.
* Pumpkin Polenta with Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa Fresca was comforting and warm with a nice fresh brightness in the salsa
* Along with our entree protein we had Red Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash, Cranberries and Pecans.  If you have not had red quinoa before, it has a lovely nutty taste!  I think we'll definitely go red instead of white next time.
* Maple Frosted Pumpkin Cake.  This frosting was so good that I would happily have eaten it by the spoonful, and I generally find icings to be too sweet.  

Apparently every time they teach this class they offer a different seasonal menu, so if one wanted to splurge one could take it again and again for a new experience each time.  Yum! 

P.S.  Speaking of dietary restrictions, Tolly has now tried the duck and green pea and venison and green pea cat food, and likes them even less than he does the rabbit and green pea food (so Daffy and Bambi are safe from Mr Tolly).  He is now sampling the "hydrolyzed protein" food.  I was heartened to note when I opened the bag that it smells more like beef bouillon than like dehydrated peas.  We'll see how it goes...    

Scavenger hunt

A few weeks ago we went on a scavenger hunt with some friends.  It was a little different than your traditional scavenger hunt:

You’re not hunting for things (put back that Ming vase!) but for answers to tricky and humorous questions about the intriguing places and objects you discover. The team that answers the most questions correctly WINS.

The hunt we tried had us traipsing about the Harvard Square area, examining everything from statues to historic plaques to modern day eateries.  And in fact, food was the overarching theme here: it was a snack themed hunt, and our list of clues also included recommended munchies to sample along the way.  We didn't know how long the hunt might take, though, so we opted to hunt first and chow later.  (Turns out there was plenty of time!)  It was a lot of fun, and in fact, our group actually ended up winning, which meant that we got passes to do another hunt for free!

So this last weekend we headed up to Salem to take advantage of those passes.  As befits the time of the year, this haunted hunt took us through a cemetery, to several memorials, and to other locales that were significant in the witch trials.  We did most of the searching with flashlights in hands, which made it even more deliciously spooky!  If anything, I think we had even more fun this time.

Astonishingly, we actually won again, though just by a single point.  The second place team won 'best team name,'
and hearing the double entendres they crammed in, we couldn't help but bow to their outrageous naming prowess.   The fact that they managed to get the hunt coordinators to recite that naughty name aloud, three times...   well, it was almost worth turning over our free hunt cards to them in gratitude ;) 

Sorry, Daffy

Tolly has eosinophilic granuloma complex.  As I understand it, his body, in response to some irritant, ends up overreacting and attacking itself too.  On him, it seems to manifest primarily as a 2-week long Jay Leno chin or Angelina Jolie lip, but it can show up elsewhere on the body as well. 

It is hard to pin down the cause.  It can be triggered by something as simple as mosquito or flea bites or a food allergy, though, so once it's clear that the animal is bug-free (which he is), the vet will often have you feed them a hypo-allergenic diet.

I am sorry to say switching up dinner to "rabbit and green pea" was not a runaway success.  After some initial interest because of the novelty, Tolly gives it two paws down and says he would rather go hungry.  I guess we try "duck and green pea" next.   

Somewhere, Bugs Bunny is rejoicing.  My deepest apologies to Daffy. 

(Read more on eosinophilic granuloma here.)

Truffle knows when he is licked

Tolly is very thorough when he grooms other kitties.

Look how wet poor Truffle's shoulder is!