Yet another reason to <3 Ben and Jerry's

What's for Dinner Wednesday has changed names again

and is now What Can I Eat that's Gluten Free?

This week, we are focusing on cold treats, and so I am featuring Ben & Jerry's. My birthday was Sunday, and I love ice cream cake, but I haven't been able to enjoy any for a while. Ben & Jerry's is my new hero. See, the Dairy Queen, Carvel, and Maggie Moo's cakes all have a cookie crumble or cake layer or both, but Ben & Jerry's allows you to have a gluten-free cake.


You have two options: all ice cream or you can bring in your own filling. You can bring in cookies or brownies, whichever you like, and then you place a special order. The Ben & Jerry's that I visited had a binder at the counter that listed all the gluten free ice creams. I chose Phish Food and Vanilla, chose my cake style, and handed over my brownies. The clerk wrote "GLUTEN FREE - USE CUSTOMER BROWNIES" in the special instructions. Even better: we got a discount for bringing in our own brownies.

I came back a day and a half later to pick it up, and it looked good and tasted good, too.

Check the Ben & Jerry's website for a location near you!

Ode to a roll-y chair*

Oh, roll-y chair...
Sweet roll-y chair...

Why sit you over there?

I ponder you
with padded blue

seat cushion and nowhere

to go. Your wheels
are cracked; your steel's

all rusted; your padding,

loose; your plastic,
gouged. Was a stick

behind your cruel beating?

Yet ask I must -
it's not the rust -

What are you doing here?

It's not your place.
This is my space.

I laughed until a tear

rolled from my eye
because - well - I -

I'm in the bathroom, dear!



*based on a true story!

Shameless, just shameless.

It's my birthday today.

Hooray!

Got Celiac? Start Here

Recently I was contacted in regards to a new cookbook: gluten free every day by Chef Robert Landolphi.

Would I like a free preview copy? No strings attached. Feel free to write about it on your blog, but you don't have to.

um... ... ... YES!

Shortly thereafter, the book arrived, and I began to read. Turns out it's not just a cookbook.

The whole first chapter, "Gluten Free Basics", is informative. Each successive chapter begins with a quick breakdown of what you need to know to cook the type of food in that chapter. Some of these informational segments are just a few sentences, and others, such as chapter three "Entrees", for example, you get a two page list of possible coatings to replace the traditional flour breading. (THANK YOU!)

I wish I had had this book last year when I was first diagnosed. I didn't know which way to turn, and it seemed that almost the books I came across were either way too organic or too gourmet for my tastes and style. (Or they just had awful foods! Bleah.)

This book is excellent for someone who is just starting out. It's easy to read and it does not contain the words "for dummies" (for me this is super-important).

It's also a fairly versatile book. It has recipes that would appeal to a variety of people. Here's a short list of some of the items it contains:

• Beer-battered onion rings (super yummy, btw, and a little spicy!)
  
• Baked beans
• Cranberry-Hazelnut Rice Stuffing
• Shrimp and Vegetable Pad Thai
• White Chicken Chili
• Ricotta Cream Berry Trifle
• Parmesean-Pesto Chicken with Pecans

I think that whether you're just starting out on your gluten free life or you've been at it a while and are just looking for something new and interesting, this is a good book. I hope you like it as much as I do.

I really should stop using the phone

Today I called Comcast Cable at 1-800-Comcast and was greeted with this:

"Hi, this is Shaquille O'Neill"
"And this is Ben Stien. Thanks for calling Comcast!"


Oh, my. My, oh my, oh my.

When Random Attacks

Time: 9:35AM
Place: Living Room
Situation: Drinking coffee, enjoying solitude, watching a documentary on modern pirates

--phone rings--

Me: Hello?

Him: Is Michele there?

Me: (mental categorizing of possibilities commences) people who call me "Michele". List follows: doctor, government, central office employee, telemarketer, charity (aloud) This is.

Him: Oh, great! Good morning. I am "Bob" from ReMax and ...

Me: (mentally) Oh wonderful, what do they want? To offer me a wonderful re-finance deal?

Him: ...we're calling to let you know that there's a wonderful little house for sale on "nearby street". It's a 2 bedroom...

Me: (mentally) Wait! Remax doesn't do refi's! They're a realty company! Wait.... Huh? (aloud, shamelessly interrupting, and rather confused) Why are you calling me?

Him: (not missing a beat, not losing the smile in his voice) You know, that's a good question. Well, Michele, we were calling today to see if you know anyone who may be looking to move into this area --

Me: (interrupting yet AGAIN - and actually laughing a little bit) Wow. That IS a new one. Look, take me off your list, Ok?

--click--

What "It" Is

A big, big thanks to everybody who played along this time, and gave a guess.
In case you missed it, here is the original photo:

I must say, some of the guesses were... ... um ... interesting. From tornadoes to x-rays to ice cream to poltergeists, I really really thought I had you stumped. Some of you were close with words like fuzzy and cotton, but for the most part everybody was way, way off.


My favorite guess is Marina's: a cow. (I just love cows.)

Strangest guess is a tie between (and this should be no surprise to those of you who know them)
- Secondary Roads (aka Uncle Chuck): ham bone
- and Jill: cotton candy


But there was one man who actually got it right. Yes, he nailed it. So hats off to my winner: BA_Hutch (aka Cousin Bryant the wise), the one who guessed "the furrow between a dog's eyes". How did he do that?! Look, here it is, zoomed out a little:

Yup, that's our little Daisy,
and the photo was indeed the wrinkled furrow between her eyes.


Wanna see the whole picture?


Here she is, in all her festive glory. Merry Christmas!

Thanks for playing!