January 22, 2011

Wheat free, week three

Another week went by and not only did I resist wheat's siren song but I also found it much easier to limit my other grains, rice and oats.  Big this week were kale snackers, more soaked and dehydrated nuts, smoothies combining coconut milk and coconut milk kefir and the favorite for this week-- this celery soup.   I feel that soup had a doctrine of signatures like association with the snowy weather that was very soothing to my soul.  I snatched up a couple more celeriac roots at the co-op this morning to make more and this time I'm getting my share before John gets to it.

But in spite of those triumphs, this week will henceforth be renamed "The Backlash of the Dried Pineapple" because of how sore my mouth was all week after overindulging in the fruit last weekend.  By Monday I was regretting it greatly and it took all week to feel completely better.  I've portioned out the rest of the bag and vacuum sealed them to protect myself.

I was better enough to enjoy a mystery package that arrived Friday from Alexia Foods and Foodbuzz.  The box contained a cute black apron and a coupon for a free Alexia product.  Though I do make my own sweet potato fries, Alex especially likes the crisp, thin-cut version Alexia makes and they are wheat-free to boot.  So today we had them for lunch with some almond crusted baked cod nuggets.  A delicious combo, thanks Alexia!


Almond-crusted Cod Nuggets
Makes 3 generous servings

Heat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, spray or grease with oil.  Take two pie plates.  Fill one with ~1 1/2 cups whole almond meal + 2 teaspoons dried lemon thyme and 1 teaspoon salt and stir to mix.  Beat 1 egg in the other pie plate.  Separate and cut into equal sized pieces, 1 pound Alaskan cod (or other firm white fish), toss the pieces in the egg and then coat each piece in almond meal.  Lay out the pieces on the baking sheet, spaced evenly.  Bake for 10-15 minutes and remove when cooked through.

Alex in the Alexia apron, it says "I rewrite the recipe book"
Visit Alexia on their Facebook page, like them and vote on the newest fry to get a $1 off coupon