Pumpkin Cake!!

I'm really not a carrot cake kind of person, but I somehow picked up this box at the store. Lo and behold, I discovered something wonderful... a recipe for PUMPKIN CAKE!!

It was just as those almost-fall days were approaching: where the temperature is the same, the leaves have only begun to get a tinge of color, and you can only just smell the change starting to happen. It was pumpkin time.

It is a super easy recipe. I whipped it up in minutes!

This is to die for with some cream cheese frosting, which I just made with a half stick of butter and cream cheese, with powdered sugar added until the consistency is right. And a touch of vanilla.

Only downfall? The price. I think I bought it for $4.69 on sale. Ouch! Granted, it is an organic product which typically drives up the price a tad (although less lately overall, it seems).

I did branch out and try the banana bread mix, with which I was less than impressed. Even though I was "careful not to underbake" as the directions warned, and my first slice wasn't too shabby, it soon turned into a gummy glob. I'm not going to say it wasn't my fault (double negative?) but this is not my favorite.

Pumpkin cake is! Time to go make frosting.

Celiac Survival Guide

In case you haven't noticed, dear readers, I don't often share the sunny outlook that many fellow Celiacs seem to have in common. I often am not feeling well, and that is unfortunately reflected in my posts here.

It is mostly about survival at this point.

Thankfully, I'm not feeling too overly horrible today. Not great, not awful. I celebrated with a new discovery with which I am currently in love: Haagen-Dazs raspberry sorbet.

My history includes a love affair with ice cream. I grew up next to an ice cream factory and store, and I worked there as my first job. The best perk? All the ice cream you could ever want to eat. And I did. I always wondered if I would get sick of it. Not so!

I've been trying to minimize the dairy lately, as I suspect I may not tolerate it so well. I'm going to make exceptions, such as pumpkin cake for Thanksgiving. It just isn't the same without the cream cheese frosting!

Especially when I've recently been glutened, which is about all the time now, ice cream hates me. I love it for about a half hour, and then I'm soon hating it. So is everyone around me.

Hence, sorbet.

ALMOST as good as ice cream! Definitely not a low-cal treat, but super satisfying.

So here is another tip to add to the survival guide. Eat sorbet.

Pomegranates are stellar!

So I'm still failing at life with the whole gluten thing. I just can't seem to shake it. In the meantime, while I'm trying for the millionth time to come up with hopeful things to think about, I realize how much going GF has forced me to branch out with what I eat.

A few things I didn't eat before GF: pomegranates, asparagus, roasted veggies, rice noodles, it's almost hard to remember now that they are such staples in my pantry. I can't believe I was missing out on pomegranates! I've had one every night since they appeared in the grocery store a couple weeks ago. Love.

So what have I eaten lately? I made baked spaghetti last night and had it again for lunch and tonight. Something is bothering me- last time I made it I thought it was the sauce. This time, I used Tinkyada spaghetti, Dei Fratelli sauce, and Kraft cheese. That's all. Maybe it's the cheese. I did have half a glass of Barefoot Riesling last night. I had salad for lunch, too. Organicville sun-dried tomato dressing. I doubt that my apple and peanut butter breakfast was an issue. I haven't even been drinking coffee!! Just green tea.

I'm having coffee tomorrow morning.

Still riding the coaster.

I love roller coasters. If you've never been to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, it is totally worth the trip! Favorites- Raptor and Millenium Force. Seriously awesome.

I don't like the gluten roller coaster. It stinks. I think I'm on the upswing again after something got me on Friday. Hard to tell, at that time I was recovering from my poor choice last Monday (hot chocolate at an awesome cafe... could tell almost immediately it was a problem).

My current rants after going to the store today- I'm already sick of the retail Christmas push. Seriously, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. It started before Halloween. I love Christmastime, but it gets more and more commercial every year, earlier and earlier. It takes some of the joy out of it for me to see it on TV and hear the music in the stores, and to know that it is all a ploy to get me to support the retail economy. Joy to the World, the sales have come... or however the song goes...

On a completely unrelated note, food labeling and marketing bugs me. Please define "all natural." I have had so many people say to me, "Oh- it says it is natural. It can't hurt me!" Granted, this is usually said about herbals or dietary supplements, but the idea goes for food, too. There is no FDA definition of what natural means.

I could put my toenail clippings in a jar and label it "all natural." Ok, maybe not, just a thought (albeit a graphic one).

I'll be useful in my next post, I promise. What to write about... my discovery of easy-peasy GF pumpkin cake? With cream cheese frosting? Maybe.

Back to where I started.

I feel like crap.

Why, you may ask? Gluten has something to do with it, but it is not the only one to blame. Of course, perhaps if it were not for gluten, my immune system would do its normal immunity thing... just a thought.

My poor body is juggling a recent glutening, a reaction to the H1N1 vaccine (lymphadenopathy, same as with last year's vaccine. Yes, I hear you saying "I told you so."), fighting a cold from my coworker, and what I think was food poisoning at lunch today. That was a trip and a half (to the bathroom). Darn shrimp.

Needless to say, I am a bit run-down.

On another note, I received an email from a nice person at Jennie-O explaining their GF status. I'll post it here. My comment for this post, which I relayed in my reply, is that I feel like I'm in a situation where "fool me once, shame on you..." applies since I suspected it twice within a short time. I also have found that I have been sorely disappointed when trusting labels. Do with it what you will, dear readers. All four of you.

First, I would like to thank you for being a loyal customer and advocate of our products. I wanted to clarify that Jennie-O Turkey Store® hot Italian turkey sausage does not contain any wheat, rye, barley, triticale (a wheat hybrid) or oats. This is a gluten-free product that is safe for you and your readers to consume.

I also wanted to assure you that we require all suppliers to list out every ingredient, including possible allergenic ingredients or ingredients that are known to cause a reaction in sensitive individuals. We understand the frustration of trying to find gluten-free products, and we only want to make it easier for you and others affected by Celiac disease. We also hope, with this explanation, you might give Jennie-O Turkey® products a second chance. Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I’d be happy to provide further explanation, if needed. Have a great day.

I also mentioned that I'll just let my husband eat it. It seriously is good stuff, I'm just wary.