And Now, We Interrupt this Winter Weather Snit for a Disney Cruise!

A month ago, we got back from one of the real treats of our life, getting to go on a Disney Cruise, in March! This anticipation of an escape from the winter doldrums keeps us going during the long November, December, January, February, March, April (and yes, often even May) months of winter.

It took me awhile to post photos, because the only souvenir that made it back with us was a nasty, lung-wretching cold that far surpassed any other cold of my adult life. And only now am I feeling energy to call upon my brain neurons to post. . .

This first shot is from a hotel window in Miami. We stayed at the Port of Miami Holiday Inn, just across the port. It's nothing fancy, just expensive, and very convenient to the port. We flew in a day early, because with a cruise in the winter, its a very good idea to allow a whole day for weather snafus. And with 12 hours of flights and airports, including one trek across an open field of snow to get from the parking lot to the airport entrance, a day of recovery time is a Very Good Idea.

And it gave me plenty of time to press my lens against the hotel window, using a slow shutter speed, to get light trails from the cars below:



Waiting in the Port of Miami just prior to embarkation is an exercise in containing excitement. You are so close, and have made it past so many of the Things That Can Go Wrong in travel!



Once you board, the first stop is the first buffet. This is your first chance to have Choice Overload of picking out all kinds of tasty things to sample. I've been trying to follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, and had decided that on this trip, I'd eat whatever I felt like, and assess its impact. I noticed that for the most part, I genuinely wanted the choices that were still within the Diet guidelines. There was enough that was not, however, and although I felt the impact, it was not disastrous. I was very aware, however, that the effect might be being masked by medication, but all went well.



After the buffet is when you drag your carry-on luggage to your cabin and are allowed to check into the room. I find that the only reason to really keep much luggage with us at that point is because I'm just not willing to let me photographic equipment stray to far from my hands and sight.





Not too long after unpacking in our cabin, it's time for the mandatory life boat drill. Strangely, we don't have to put the life jackets on, just watch how it's done, and even though I'm one of those people who pay attention to the safety stuff on airplanes (and read my vehicle owner's manual), I missed the life jacket demonstration! I must have just spaced it out, watching some little kids torture their parents with sibling rivalry. Ooops! After all the Carnival Cruise line trouble, and seeing Titanic, I really did want to pay attention!



Time to check out the pools and decks!





And to check out a tropical drink-of-the-day! I'd thought we'd order the drink-of-the-day each day, but there really are just too many choices!




And before long, the Embarkation Party! Here's something really important to note: No one is wearing parkas or gloves! Or racing AWAY from the outdoors! . . . . *sigh. . . . it's another world!

Husband Loses It over the Weather in North Dakota (understandably!)

"We're in the f*ing suckhole here!"  This is what my mild-mannered, sweet-natured  good-humored husband said today.  Because of our f*ing weather. I don't disagree with him in the slightest. Enough already!  30 degree weather, snow, and the ugliest, bleakest, greyest landscape you can imagine, while the rest of the state gets to have 50 degree weather.

And Montana gets to have mid-60s, double our weather!

So, imagine how I feel about the following photos, taken a whole month ago, NOT IN MY BACKYARD!

*sigh* And we had to come back. .

Buffalo Buddies. . . Signs of Spring!

Signs of Spring? Really! They are! (sort of). Or at least signs of MY experiencing spring because I'm willing to get out of the car, approach these cute little beastlies, and try to make odd noises at them to lure them closer.



They're so strange and fascinating; they have very "herd-like" behavior, moving in unison, signaling some how to each other that one or the other should stand guard and check me out. And then when they decide I'm icky (how rude!) they all show their backsides to me at once, and move away.

Doug is NOT in the Trees!

More signs of winter. . . .



. . . . and LOOK! Doug is NOT in the trees!

Some Poor MisGuided Souls LOVE Winter!

It's true; there are those who love this white stuff and relish the idea of bundling up and heading out into it.
Not me!



And even though this was considered a gloriously wonderful day in terms of the temperature (15 above; keep in mind that our windchills registered around 37 below this past week), I still can fill volumes listing the ways I hate winter.

Here's a sampling:

1. It gets so dry indoors that my fingers crack and bleed at the corners. It's not a phenomenon peculiar to me; my friends and I spend long hours debating the relative merits of liquid bandaid, clear nail polish, first aid tape, and every possible lotion you can think of;

2. Your best bet to give your dog exercise is to throw a rubber ball down the stairs, over and over and over;

3. I'd never read the local newspaper for weeks on end if my husband didn't walk the two steps out the front door, because it's too freakin' cold;

4. The worse thing about filling your gas tank is NOT the price! (that is, if you can get the frozen gas cover open; *hint: credit cards are helpful for this.);

5. Wearing two winter jackets at once is not out of the question, as in: an inner down jacket and an outer windbreaker type Northface jacket.

OK, OK, in the interest of not being a total winter grump, one silver lining is each day, I scan the horizon for sun dogs, and we've had lots of them this year.

Yogurt: Specific Carbohydrate Diet

One of the staples on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is home-made yogurt. Happily, this is a very satisfying thing to make. . . . and eat.

The process involves heating whole milk to just over 180 degrees, to simmer, for 2 minutes, and then cooling it down to below 110 degrees. It takes a good long time for it to cool down. But in the meantime, I sterilze the little jars that I'm going to pour the yogurt in. I boil water, with the jars in it, for 10 minutes, and then just let it sit in the water until the milk is ready.



Next, I take about a cup of the cooled milk, and stir in yogourmet (freeze-dried yogurt start that I buy at a health foods store. If you can't find it, whole milk, plain, Dannon yogurt will work). For each bath, I have to use a packet of the yogourmet or Dannon starter, NOT a portion of my previous home-made yogourt.

SCD is very specific about the bacteria that must be generated in the yogurt, so not just any yogurt will do. And for this to be effective, the yogurt has to be cultured for 24 hours in order to eliminate the lactose from the milk. I have a yogurt maker by Cuisine, so it's very easy to just drop the little jars into the yogurt maker, and leave it on for 24 hours. There are other ways to make this, to provide the heat to a batch of yogurt, but this is the most convenient way.

The theory is that the colon becomes populated with more of the good bacteria, and the bad bacteria is starved out, by restricting carbohydrates. "The allowed carbohydrates are monosaccharides and have a single molecule structure that allow them to be easily absorbed by the intestine wall. Complex carbohydrates which are disaccharides (double molecules) and polysaccharides (chain molecules) are not allowed. Complex carbohydrates that are not easily digested feed harmful bacteria in our intestines causing them to overgrow producing by products and inflaming the intestine wall. The diet works by starving out these bacteria and restoring the balance of bacteria in our gut.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet™ is biologically correct because it is species appropriate. The allowed foods are mainly those that early man ate before agriculture began," (from Breaking the Vicious Cycle website ) As you can see, there are some similarities to the Paleo diet, although there are a few additional restrictions on the SCD diet.

But I'm relieved to know that 4 weeks into this diet, my symptoms of colitis are improving, and while I can't be certain whether it's the medication, or diet, or just the passage of time, I'm just glad I'm seeing improvement!

And besides, I get to eat some delicious yogurt! Honey is the only sweetener allowed on SCD, so of course, I add to the yogurt.. . .along with some fruit, or maybe coconut . . . or maybe I'll even throw in a little peanut butter (as long as it's "no sugar added".)

Bird Brain?

Perhaps I should have a contest to see who can come up with how to get my bird-brained husband out of the tree? And you'd get a feather in your cap?????

Let me explain these photos.  My dear, beloved, ever-so-cherished husband likes birds.  Apparently a lot. And our lovely North Dakota Weather has turned foul, with another one of our relentless blizzard warnings.

So what does my husband do for winter-preparedness?  Why, he gets out the 6 foot ladder, climbs to the very tip of it. . . .

Oh, but wait! That's not high enough!

So he swings himself into the tree.  The rotted, brittle-limbed, ugly tree that birds really love, because apparently birds like almost dead trees, so they can feast on bugs that are infesting the tree. . . .

And up he goes ANOTHER 6 feet into the tree! All so he can refill the bird feeder.

But why stop there?  Maybe it's time to do a little house maintenance.  You know, on the roof of the two-storied house, but grabbing a long-handled rake and swinging it overhead . . . .

. . . . to shovel some of the snow off the roof.

Of course, if you are Doug, you can defend to your complaining wife that you were totally safe the entire time, but look how thin these branches are compared to his foot. These BRITTLE, ALMOST DEAD branches, which you might be having trouble getting your foot on, and have to struggle a bit for your footing 18 to 20 feet above the ground!

"Traditionally, birds have been considered inferior in intelligence to mammals, and derogatory terms such as bird brains have been used colloquially in some cultures. Such perceptions are no longer considered scientifically valid. The difficulty of defining or measuring intelligence in non-human animals makes the subject difficult for scientific study. " (Wikipedia)

Bird-brained? Maybe not, because birds, at least know they can fly!

Beets with Oranges and Pecans: Specific Carbohydrate Diet

Here's another little recipe that is Specific Carbohydrate Diet safe.  I modified this recipe from the Cook's Illustrated magazine.  I was looking for a way to cook beets, one of the vegetables that I've long insisted I "hate."  It was just a bias thing.  And never did I dream I'd be searching for ways to make this unfairly maligned vegetable tasty.

It turns out, it wasn't so hard after all, when my latest copy of Cook's Illustrated showed up in the mail.

The original recipe calls for brown sugar. . . . definitely not allowed for SCD.  But honey is wonderfully welcome, which makes the whole diet much, much more palatable.

Walnuts give me problems, but I can substitute pecans very happily. The recipe also did not originally call for the actual orange pieces, but I liked the slightly surprising change in texture and taste showing up throughout this salad-like treat.



INGREDIENTS
3 beets, trimmed and cut in half
1 1/4 c water
salt and pepper
3 T white vinegar
1 T honey
1/2 red or yellow onion
1 t orange peel or zest
1/2 c pecans, toasted and chopped
1 t parsley
1 t thyme
1 orange, peeled, and in pieces

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place beets in single layer in Dutch oven. Add water and 1/4 t salt;;
bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about
45 to 50 minutes, until beets tender
2. Remove beets. Increase temperature of pan and reduce cooking
liquid, stirring, until pan is almost dry, 5 to 6 min. Add vinegar and
honey; return to boil; and cook, stirring constantly with heat-resistant
spatula, until spatula leaves a wide trail when dragged through,
about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. When beets are cool enough to handle, rub skin off with a paper
towel and cut into 1/2 inch wedges. Add beets, onion, orange peel,
1/2 salt and 1/4 t pepper to glaze and toss to coat. Transfer beets to
serving dish; sprinkle with pecans, parsley, oranges and thyme; serve.


I also liked it served cold more than warm, so it was an excellent addition to my lunch over the next several days after I made it.

Give it a try! Beets are actually quite nutritious and have great digestive properties.

Almond Cookies with Cinnamon Glaze--SCD safe

Ahhh, cookies! Often, the perfect little snack to eat while settling in to a good book.

About a year ago, I was diagnosed with colitis, and dang if that nasty issue didn't resurface a few weeks ago. Strangely, it's turned out to be the explanation for life-long problems with MY FEET! Who would have thought? Apparently, colitis itself can cause inflammation in other parts of the body, creating arthritis in peripheral areas, like feet. And a seemingly innocuous brief bout with this winter's gastrointestinal bug triggered the colitis which makes my feet angry!

So, I decided to follow the lead of a number of other colitis sufferers and start to follow the strict guidelines of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. And this recipe, avoiding all grain products and sugar, other than honey, is one outcome.

It's not the most wonderful recipe in the world, but it will do when there just has to be some kind of sweet treat (like for Valentine's Day!) *(edited to add: Actually, by the next day, I decided that these really were quite tasting after all! Especially with chai tea, and I really like the "nutty" texture because of the almond flour, and the tinge of coconut because of the coconut flour and sprinkling on top. I'll make these again, but increase the honey just slightly.)

Ingredients
Dough:
2 ½ cups almond flour (250 grams)
¼ cup coconut flour (35 grams)
2 teaspoons baking powder (8 grams)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup macadamia nut oil (2 oz) or coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey, melted
1 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla
2 eggs

Glaze:
2 tablespoons honey, melted
1 tablespoon grass-fed butter melted, or ghee
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Combine your almond flour, coconut four, baking powder, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl and stir well
Add your oil, honey, almond extract (or vanilla) and eggs and mix into a soft dough
Roll your dough out, pressing to just shy of ½ inch thick all around
Cut with heart-shaped cookie cutters and lay on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Place in the oven and bake for 9 minutes

While the cookies are baking, combine honey, butter, and cinnamon for the glaze in a bowl and mix well
At the 9 minute mark, pull your cookies out of the oven, and using a basting brush, brush your glaze on all of your cookies
Place your cookies back in the oven and bake for 9-11 minutes or until done

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with some almond flour or shredded coconut and drizzle any remaining glaze over your cookies. I like the contrast between the coconut and the cinnamon glaze.
Grab your camera and take some photos.
Serve immediately or place in an airtight container which will last 3-4 days

North Dakota: Always January Never Spring

Winter is just so frickin' LONG around here! I vote, we end it now!