Wow, this has been a busy week with too much sugar! Hence the title of this blog...

On Tuesday I had a martini (first time I’ve had non-red-wine alcohol in months, possibly a year) at a work function. Not a huge deal, but really unnecessary for me to drink at all. I don’t drink much alcohol of any type anymore, only red wine, which I love. I really just had the drink because I was waiting for the event to start and I was bored! Plus the drinks were tied into the whole event theme and it was fun.

The following night, my team went to an event called “Chef Live” during which a gourmet chef teaches you how to cook your meal while you are eating it. There were two chefs there – one was working exclusively with sugar which he softened with a torch and used to make sculptures! First, we each had to go up and make a little pitcher to hold sauce for our dessert. Then he took requests for other sugar sculptures – he made a swan, hearts, a bear, a guitar, a rose, a dolphin, etc. He used the torch to soften different colours of sugar and a pump to inflate it and make the shapes – like blowing glass. Near the end someone called out “make an angel” and he did – it looked like a figurine! This guy was seriously talented, too bad his medium is an avoid for me…

At the same time, the main chef walked us through our dinner, showing us how to make tomato consommé (soup course), salmon bow (appetizer), veal rack with sweet potato risotto (main course), Stilton ice cream (cheese course), Tranquility (fountain of raspberry sauce over chocolate filled with orange mousse), and finally Friandise (strawberry with balsamic vinegar). I tried everything since this was a great opportunity to enjoy such gourmet cooking and techniques, but it wasn’t all good for me.

Wow, if there is one cheese I dislike, it is Stilton! I found it so easy to give up dairy when I started the BTD – I’m not a fan of cheese, dairy makes me feel awful, and it is pretty easy to recognize when it is in a dish. However, I did try the Stilton ice cream and found it totally disgusting! The chef even had a huge wheel of Stilton out was scooping chunks out of it for people to just eat – ew! I also dislike vinegar – the smell and taste repulse me. I can’t eat regular salad dressing, because the vinegar taste is so strong to me. I guess this is another blessing since I’m not supposed to eat any vinegar anyway!

The whole dinner took about 3.5 hours. It was interesting and the food was good, but WAY too much sugar involved (why is it necessary to add so much sugar to food that already tastes great?) and it was more a show than a satisfying meal for me.

This morning I made waffles for breakfast. I got a Belgian waffler for Christmas when I was in high school, and this is the first time I’ve used it in at least 5 years! This was a treat for my boyfriend (type A), since amaranth is beneficial for him, but I made sure there were no avoid ingredients for me too. This is not the ideal breakfast for an O-nonnie, but I had fun making up the recipe and the waffles were yummy with some ghee and a touch of maple syrup. The perfect meal to eat while watching the Olympics. Here is the recipe:

Amaranth Waffles

(Makes about 8 waffles)

(OK for all types except B secretors)

Ingredients:

1 cup amaranth flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 Tbsp flaxseed meal

1 Tbsp baking powder (homemade: 1 part baking soda, 2 parts cream of tartar, 2 parts arrowroot)

½ tsp sea salt

½ cup ghee

2 eggs

1½ cups milk (can substitute soy milk, rice milk, water)

Directions:

1) Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

2) Combine the wet ingredients separately in a small bowl.

3) Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix until smooth.

4) It is best to let the mix sit overnight before use, but not necessary.

5) Brush oil or ghee onto the griddle plates and preheat.

6) Use a ladle to pour about ¾ cup of mix onto each side of the griddle (each waffle).

7) Close waffler and let cook for about 8-9 minutes, or until the waffles stop steaming.

Note: This recipe can also be used to make pancakes.