Sunday, July 26, 2015

Things Can Only Get Better

 I'm hoping that I'm kinda rounding the corner on the starch withdrawal "flu" now and a couple of days after my last post I actually started to feel better.  No let up in the pain mind you, but my mood felt better and just kinda overall a little more energy or motivation to do stuff.  I will say that now though, when I do take nsaids I can actually feel them work some, whereas before there was no noticeable pain relief.  It doesn't last particularly long but it's something.

So, in other not really great news, the garden has about half crapped out this year and I can't say that I really care.  We should have lots of corn; it's doing really good.

 The green beans, which I can eat, turned out to be a BIG disappointment.  I don't know what these are but they are not Kentucky Wonder.  We've only gotten a few big handfuls to start with and when we finally scraped together enough for me to cook....well....they sucked.  They are almost instantly too big and knotty.  I mean, like you don't see the until they are these huge, lumpy things.  And the taste is bleh.  And they are very stringy.  I will order directly from a heirloom seed supplier next year.  So, no canned beans, no dilly beans, no fresh, sauteed green beans.

Now, the black-eyed peas are also doing great... And, my cukes died suddenly along with the zukes.  I think squash bugs got them both.  So no pickles.  However, the okra is doing great (when do es it not?) and I will pickle that at least..  My one little yellow squash plant is chugging along though and we have been getting a few off it.  I'm even starting to get a few tomatoes but after some more research decided that I should probably lay off those too, at least for a short while.  Along with the eggplant, which I can't grow anyway so, what the hell.  These plants are nightshades and many people have adverse, arthritic reactions to those, so I thought I'd give that a whirl too.  What the hell.

We should get several watermelons though, which I should be able to eat! and that's a first.  I've never done well with melons so I'm looking forward to seeing how they come out.  And maybe even a few cantaloupes.  The grapes are starting to ripen and they are really yummy and I still get about a handful of tasty raspberries every day, but I don't think they are going to last much longer.  They sure are good though.  It's still to be seen if we are going to get any figs this year though. So far it's not looking good.

After buying a cookbook on no-starch recipes I decided to try using almond flour as opposed to the coconut flour and that is a VAST improvement.  Much, much better.  In fact, these almond flour/ flaxseed pancakes are so good, I'd eat them even if I didn't have to avoid starch.  They are so tasty you really don't need syrup much, as the chef says in the book, but I do use just a little and they are super good with any fruit.  I've made several of the recipes in the new book and they have all come out well.

So, some things are improving and some things are still requiring a lot of adjustment to and some things still just remain to be seen.  I guess that's life in general.  haha!

6 comments:

ErinFromIowa said...

Why must the nightshade family be so tasty! Shakes fist! That pancake recipe sounds delicious! Your photo looks good enough to eat. :)

Hermit's Baby Sis said...

Yea! I'm so glad to see an improvement, Annie! After the first step, others should be quickly forthcoming, so it's up, up, up from here!
Yeah, the pancakes look yummy, and are those your peaches on top? I like to watch beans grow, but I'm not much on canning anything. I used to make grape jelly and juice from wild grapes, with my sister, but that was fun working together.
Good for Jack, too, for his support. Not the easiest food group to give up on, starches, so he deserves a big pat on the back! I certainly don't give up sugar in support of my diabetic hubby ...hummm, maybe I should try it more.

Ed said...

Too bad I didn't live closer. The tomatoes I planted on the farm are a disaster this year so I may go without sauce until next year. I've already been without for half a year.

MamaHen said...

Hey Erin! Seriously...lol! Anything but tomatoes...that's a low blow! haha! I'll put up the actual recipe for those pancakes if anybody wants to try them. They are good.

Hey Sis! Well, I hope more improvements are soon! Those are not our peaches unfortunately. I don't actually have enough land cleared yet to plant our own peach tress but maybe one day. Fortunately though, the county I live in is known for growing really great peaches. Yes, Jack is being a real trooper to go on this diet change with me; I certainly didn't ask him to bu the wants to do all he can.

Hey Ed! Well, even with mine making now I'm still not getting enough to can...I just have not done well with maters in the last couple of years either.

ErinFromIowa said...

I would love it if you shared the recipe! :)

JO said...

Good to hear your a little bit better and I'm sure the rest will start to fade too. To bad about the garden, it sure was looking good for a while. Those pancakes look fantastic