Grow a garden

The best foods for a celiac or gluten-free diet are fresh fruits and vegetables. And the best tasting fruits and vegetables are home grown. I've been in and out of the nursery business for the past 25 years and the unfortunate thing about working at a nursery or garden center is that you get burned out by the time you get to your own garden. I was fortunate enough to be able to start a nursery last year and sell my plants at the farmer's markets. The best thing about setting up at the market is that you have immediate access to all the fresh fruits and vegetables that the farmers grow. The veggies stay fresh much longer than supermarket produce I've found. In fact I still have some sugar pumpkins from October sitting in my back utility room! I encourage everyone - if you can't grow your own - visit a farmer at the market - you'll get the freshest and best-tasting food around.

Last year I made my first attempt at canning. I did a simple water-bath method and did tomatoes - sliced, in italian and chili sauce, salsa and a couple of tomato juices - one that is fiery hot! I am proud to say that I have yet to buy a can of tomatoes this winter! I also did a couple of different tasting jams - most notably sweet red pepper and tomato jams plus a couple of fruit jams. I also put by a couple of batches of refrigerator pickles and am due for another batch this week.

The new dehydrator and yogurt machines are getting a workout as well. I make yogurt almost once a week and keep batches for two friends. I dehydrated a lot of stuff from the markets this last year - tomatoes, peaches, grapes - yes they really do make raisins! and I've air dried some herbs to make my own salt combinations in the food processor. I'll do a quick post soon on how to do it it's easy.

If you would like to beautify your new garden and live in the metro Detroit, Michigan area - come see me at the market or make an appointment to see my nursery. I sell perennials, herbs and groundcovers. I'm starting a few vegetable plants as well. My website is Sage Advice Nursery and my blog is at Sage Advice Nursery Blog on blogspot.

As I said in my last post I no longer live on a gluten-free diet, but I do try and limit my intake of wheat products and processed food. I encourage everyone who needs a special diet to grow their own food - it's the best diet God can give.

Ham and Bean Soup

I've been absent from this blog for a long while as I found out I no longer have to eat gluten-free. My terrible pain stemmed from some medications I had been taking for the past 15 years and when I went gluten-free I switched medications so it was coincidental. I advocate eating gluten free as I lost weight and felt good but darn it- I craved bread. So I am back to eating regularly - and have gained a bit of weight in the process!

But tonight - since I feel guilty about not checking in here now and again- I made a gluten free Ham and Bean soup. Soaked a bag of beans for about 6-8 hours. Drained them. Chopped one onion, one carrot and a half pound of ham slices. Dearborn ham, mind you, one of the best here in the Detroit area. Dropped them all in the crock pot and added the beans. Put in a tablespoonful of "Better than Bouillon" Vegetable Base and a pitcher of water. Cooked for about 4 hours on high then simmered for another 2-3 hours on low. I was worried that there may be salt in the veg base and might screw up the beans but there isn't and they tenderized beautifully. The base has hydrolyzed soy protein and corn in it but no wheat products, so I think it would be OK for a gluten-free diet. Yum! Had a big bowl of it for dinner and I plan to bring my brother a big batch of it for tomorrow's lunch.

May your gluten-free quest be good. I know mine was hard but it seemed to take away a great deal of the stomach pain I had been having. I think it is good to take a break from wheat now and then so I'll try and check back in here a bit more often. Thanks for stopping by!