Melissa Jones

Today I picked up my first bulk shipment from Azure Standard. They deliver by freight truck to most of the western US, and UPS many of their items nationwide. The prices are good, and the delivery fee is quite small, compared to shipping by UPS, which I've done a couple times.

My husband gave me a bigger grocery budget this month, to stock up on a few things. With 3 out of 4 of us requiring special GF diets, we don't want to be left at the mercy of others or the government if there were a shortage or natural disaster. They don't often distribute gluten free MREs We hadn't beefed up our storage for almost 10 years.

The other benefit of ordering in bulk is the prices. My boy's favorite GF bread was about half the price per loaf that the HFS charges. So, if you know what you like and what you'll eat, buying in bulk is a great option. Just make sure you like it first, as you don't want a case of something you don't end up liking.

Amazon.com also has some good bulk deals, and you can often get free shipping.

Now I just need to make sure I use (rotate) it, especially the brown rice that has the shortest shelf life. I also got large bags of whole quinoa, teff and millet. More baking lies in my future! My husband tried steamed quinoa at Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco, and he liked it, so hopefully the boys will like it too.

On Mother's Day I noticed that some of the seeds I planted are starting to sprout! That was a nice way to start the day. I try to just relax on Mother's day and make it fun for my kids. My five year old is old enough to understand it and gave me quite a few little surprises throughout the day. My husband helped our 2 year old to make me a card at church nursery. It was a good day. My biggest and best present was a long nap...just what I always want!

Now my spring garden bed is filled in, and I'm finishing the second bed. I had to dig into the ground a bit for it, to get it level, but it's all put in place now, minus the soil. I'm waiting for a windless day to mix and add the Mel's mix. Today I planted most of the Jerusalem Artichokes on the hill, and saved a few for a couple squares in the second garden bed. I also made it to Ikea to buy some cheap terra cotta pots so I can line up my tomatoes along the slope next to the tall back fence. My heirloom tomato starts are still alive and slowly growing, so maybe they'll do well, I also have some more guaranteed hybrid types to put in, just in case.

I tried some turnip greens from the grocery store today for the first time. I figured I ought to try them if I'm going to be growing them. I like them quite well. They're similar to collards, and more exciting than spinach. They'd be great as a wrap for something like cabbage rolls or Dolma. (I think cabbage and grape leaves are both black dots for gatherers).

I even found some Seven Top turnip seeds at a local nursery, that are solely for producing turnip greens, so that was a nice surprise. I couldn't find them online at the places I was ordering other seeds, so I thought I'd have to compromise and get regular turnip seeds. They'd make ok greens, but I'm only interested in the greens so I'm happy to find some just for greens.

I didn't actually need to order as many seeds online as I did. I've found the variety of seeds in the local nurseries to be quite adequate, and it's easier to tell that it will grow well in my area. Even the grocery store down the street had seeds for Bright Lights Swiss Chard, which saved me a trip back to the nursery after I changed my mind and decided I wanted them afterall. Next year, I'll probably have enough seeds saved from this year (both from the packets I bought and some I'll collect from the plants). I'm keeping them all in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator, so they'll keep well. I had been keeping them in my garage, but the older ones still germinated well.

I've always spent a lot of time analyzing things, trying to figure out why I cheat and eat foods that are in no way good for me. This week I've been reading "Stop Whining, Start Living" by Dr. Laura. I've come to the conclusion, after listening to a caller with a similar problem on her show today, that I am in control of my life and what I eat. Some people just inherently know that, others of us, like myself, forget all too often.

I am in control of what I choose to eat, and my choices will affect the choices my children learn to make... that's a big responsibility. Not to mention the fact that I want to be around and healthy enough to enjoy seeing my boys grow up, and eventually enjoy being a grandma.

I did pretty well today. Honestly, my avoids were 2 grams of avocado, 2 tiny sips of root beer, and 3 grams of dark chocolate. Not too bad, and it'll get better. May the scale be my honest friend again.

I love the new blog software, though I'm not sure I can handle all the power it gives me... I'll get used to it.

I had a great breakfast this morning. Last night I steamed some jerusalem artichokes to go with baked tilapia and green beans + rice for the boys...a common dinner at the last minute in my house. The artichokes aren't really a last minute thing though, they take a while to peel! They're worth it though. When I was a kid we'd buy canned potatoes and roast them over the campfire, I'm sure that sounds weird if you've never tried it, but they were very good...and that's what jerusalem artichokes taste like. My husband began to complain about the potato famine in our house, but once he tasted them he admitted that they are tasty.

Anyway, this morning I sauteed some mushrooms and the leftover jerusalem artichokes (about 1/3 inch pieces) in some olive oil. Then I added 2 eggs and scrambled them with it, later adding some fresh spinach and ume plum vinegar. It was really really tasty. Green onions would have been a nice addition.

Hopefully I can stay on track for the whole day, without any snack attacks.

This weekend I ventured out to my favorite Thai restaurant, and found quite a few good things with no (or few?) avoids. Egg Flower soup...it's soooo good there. When I asked if it was thickened with wheat the waitress said that she didn't think they had any wheat flour in the kitchen, but she double-checked. Very cool. I avoided the curries, all made with coconut milk, and had some beef with vegetables and a little rice. It was all so good. Since it was my birthday though, I had my favorite dessert: mango with sweet rice. The rice is like a pudding made with coconut cream. It tasted great, but I could feel a difference after eating it. The other food energized me, the dessert made me feel quite tired. Better than cake, though! I did buy a cake mix with only a couple non-secretor avoids in it (tapioca flour and sugar), but I didn't get around to making it. Maybe it will last until my next birthday! I've never been a huge fan of cake. Brownies, on the other hand, if i weren't a secretor I'd make them every few weeks.

For all you secretors out there, the trick I found for brownies is to use Sweet (glutinous) Rice Flour. It isn't sweet, and doesn't contain gluten, but it makes a better brownie than wheat flour. Use a recipe that calls for cocoa powder, because then you don't need much of any type of flour.