This year’s theme was “childhood fears.”  So we gots spiders, a monster under the bed, a creature in a closet, a crazy mommy, a scary teacher, a clown, and a very long walk, since we added another floor this year.

Ignore my mutterings during the filming.  You also get to see some of what we looked like at night - this year was our first shot at staying open past 6PM.

Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Well, it’s off the camera, but I still need to do a couple of tweaks before uploading it.

I am going to go and kiss my now-working oven goodnight, play with the vid a bit (and hopefully post it) and snuggle up with the hairdroppers.

This was actually written yesterday, but I couldn’t find my usb cable for the camera!

When I decided to play in the kitchen a bit today - the first real inclination to create in weeks - I had no idea that my last post had been about pancakes.

But before we get into that.

November 10th is a day that I will remember for a while.  We’d gotten through our final Haunted Barn weekend, survived Halloween, and naturally, I managed to gluten myself on the evening of the 9th by not washing my hands after helping clean up the season-end pizza party for the pumpkin farm workers.   And then stuffing potato chips in my mouth repeatedly for about half an hour.  How dumb can I be?

Anyway, I felt crappy enough (maybe a touch of the flu too?) to stay home from work on Monday, November 10th.  I had made quite a mess in my oven Sunday and didn’t feel like cleaning it up right away, so it was dried on and was not going to come off with a handcleaning, which is what I usually do to clean my oven.  Since I paid a hell of a lot of money for my range, it came with a self-cleaning feature.  I decided to use it, since I was home and not accomplishing much.

About an hour or so into the cycle, the digital display died and the oven shut off.

People, I have no oven.

In fact, the door is still locked shut.  I consider it a damn good thing that I like expensive toys; in my infinite wisdom, when I replaced my popcorn-murdered microwave four years ago (The Man is not allowed to make popcorn in the microwave any longer), I purchased the kitchen-geek model, which also functions as a convection oven.

So I have not been completely lost on the baked goods (oh, the horror!), but it’s just not the same; I can’t use a normal sized pan, and it takes forever.

My warranty company is sending out a repair tech from a joint called A & E.  All over the internet there are…bad words…about these people, but I am stuck.

Also on the web are gripes from MANY other KitchenAid owners about this same problem.  Good lord.  I am starting to wonder what’s happened to this product.  Cross your fingers that these idiots show up with the right parts the first time around (Tuesday afternoon) so I am not waiting another 4 weeks to get a functioning oven again.  Imagine it - no Christmas cookies….please shoot me now.  Keep an eye on my little Twitter thingy over there on the right - I will either be cooing in delight or screaming in agony come 6 PM Tuesday.

This morning, I was thinking about a blueberry breakfast cake of sorts…when I remembered that I have no oven.  I wasn’t going to trust something like that to a microwave wearing an oven costume.  I went back to the drawing board…and the Vault…and came up with a different cake.  Pancake.

As stated before, until I sat down to write this post, I had forgotten about the apple cinnamon oatmeal pancake recipe that was my last post.  Sorry - suck it up - try these too.  Pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.

Blueberry Multi-Grain Pancakes

Adapted from The Vault

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/3 cup hazelnut meal

1/3 cup amaranth flour

1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk (I used skim because it’s what I keep in the house)

1 cup buttermilk

1 tbsp agave nectar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

In a medium bowl, stir together the brown rice flour, tapioca flour, hazelnut meal, amaranth flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, buttermilk, agave nectar, and vanilla.

Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture.  Add the blueberries, then stir until well combined.

Use a paper towel to wipe safflower or other oil over the surface of a griddle or skillet.  Heat the oiled skillet over medium-low heat.  I used a 1/4 cup scoop to put the batter on the griddle.  Cook the pancakes until the edges are bubbly and the bottoms are lightly browned, then flip.  Cook this side until golden brown too.

Makes 14 pancakes.

The Stepson and his best friend arrived about 7:30 last night to hang for the weekend.  Because I knew they were coming, I waited to do a grocery run because….well, they’re 17 year old boys that play football.  They eat.  A lot.  So after they arrived, I asked what they wanted snack-wise and breakfast-wise.  I was feeling generous with my nonexistent weekend time and said I would cook breakfast for them.  The Stepson said he wanted the apple cinnamon pancakes I had converted to GF a few months ago.

I’ve made these numerous times, but never thought to take a picture.  Amazingly enough, they didn’t eat all the pancakes, so I was able to #1-have some for myself as dinner tonight and #2 - take a picture.

So here they are.

On a side note, we had a pretty good weekend down at the Haunted Barn.  I always seem to forget how tiring it is to have your butt parked in a chair without moving for 6 hours.  I did my annual video (which will of course take some editing to get my cursing out) before we opened our doors for the day.  Watch for that after our final weekend.

This coming weekend (October 18th & 19th) is Civil War Re-enactment weekend, so the pumpkin farm should be totally packed.  Which makes me totally ecstatic - more souls to traumatize and terrorize.

So.  The pancakes.  They rock.  Try some.

Apple Cinnamon & Oatmeal Pancakes

Adapted from The Vault

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2/3 cup gluten-free oats

1 large egg

2 tbsp packed brown sugar

2/3 cup peeled and grated apple (use a firm apple so the pancakes aren’t mushy)

6 tbsp brown rice flour

6 tbsp tapioca flour

3/4 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp cinnamon

In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk and oats.  Allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together the egg, brown sugar, and grated apple.  Stir in the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; pour in the oats mixture and stir well to combine.

Heat a griddle over medium heat until hot enough to scatter water drops across the surface.  Spray with cooking spray, then drop the batter by 1/4 cups onto the griddle (I use the back of the measuring cup to spread the pancake out a little bit so it cooks faster).  Cook the first side until the outside edges of the pancakes are set and the bottoms are lightly browned, then flip and cook the other side until the pancakes are cooked through.

The Man is supposed to begin working third shift tomorrow night.  Am I happy about this?  Well, let’s just say that nothing would really change, anyway, so why the heck not.

I have finished quite a few….or two…recipes that I am totally in love with.  The first one is below.  I have been eating variations of this muffin every day for breakfast since the middle of September (I will indicate variations in the recipe).  The house smells incredible while they bake and I have begun a little ritual with The Gidge - while these muffins are in the oven doing their thing, we dance around the kitchen to the tunes blaring out of the XM radio’s 80s channel.

Must create new traditions as the hairdropper I used to dance with now exists only in my heart.

I have been unable to watch the slideshow I created for Sylvester since the night I created and uploaded it.  In fact, since that night, my Windows Media Player has decided to shoot craps and I have to figure out why it doesn’t run.  But that’s not why I don’t watch those excellent memories.  I have created a little “Vester’s Corner” in the living room, with favorite photos, a poem about the Rainbow Bridge, and this poem.  When I can find a black corner shelf I like, I will put that up above the pictures and put his urn on it.

Sigh.  My heart still hurts daily.

But I have muffins.  Pumpkin apple muffins.  You can’t get much more “fall” than this.  In the photo, you see tonight’s batch.  This time around, I added the flaxseed meal and raisins but skipped the walnuts.

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

From the Vault

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup amaranth flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum

2 tbsp flaxseed meal (optional - if used, add 1/4 cup water to liquid ingredients)

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, please)

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1/2 cup peeled & grated apple

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1/4 cup walnuts (optional)

Raw sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 9 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together the brown rice flour, amaranth flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, pumpkin pie spice, and baking powder.  Stir in the flaxseed meal, if using.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, pumpkin, canola oil, and egg (and water if using flaxseed meal).  Add the apples, raisins and walnuts (if using).

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.  Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan.  Top with sprinkles of raw sugar.  Bake about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

On a good note, there’s proof that eating well (as I was) and gluten free (oh…and a little weight-bearing exercise) can make things better.  My T-scores went from advanced osteoporosis to only osteopenia in two years.  I rock.

I wanted to make a “special” dinner to celebrate The Man’s first day back to work. Running around doing things in the house this morning before work, I thought about what I could do that wouldn’t have us eating at midnight.

Pork tenderloin.

Mmmkay. I pulled one out of the freezer for defrosting.

Sweet and crunchy.

Huh. I have plums and cornflakes.

After getting the meal going, I sat in front of the tube and stewed because The Man didn’t come right home after work. Man, I hope he isn’t going to revert back to old habits now that he’s working again.

I cooked up some brown rice and mixed vegetables to serve along with the pork.

Still a little pissy, so I am just going to post the recipe now. LOL

Sweet & Crunchy Pork Tenderloin

2 pounds pork tenderloin

3/4 cup GF cornflake crumbs

2 cloves garlic, put through a press

2 tbsp whole grain mustard

1/4 tsp kosher salt

4 plums

2 tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.

Remove the pits from the plums; place the flesh into a food processor or blender. Pulse until the plums have become a puree. Pour the puree into a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until reduced to a thick sauce. Remove from the heat.

Stir in the mustard, garlic, and honey. Pour onto a large plate; spread it across the whole plate.

On another plate, combine the cornflake crumbs and salt. Spread the mixture across the whole plate.

Trim any excess fat from the tenderloin, then roll it in the plum mixture, making sure to coat the meat extremely well. Then roll the tenderloin in the cornflake mixture, again coating well.

Place the coated tenderloin in the prepared pan and bake for about an hour. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before cutting.

There’s no purchase necessary; all you have to do to get the free card is go to this site.

When Triumph Dining sent out their restaurant guides not too terribly long ago, I requested a set of cards to see what they were all about.  After a quick scan through of the cards, they immediately went into my wallet.  I am waiting to get up the nerve to actually use them, though LOL.

Go and check it out - you aren’t out anything, you get a freebie, and it benefits all of us gluten-free folk in the end.

I want to say thank you with all my heart to those of you that left comments and sent emails over the past week.

We have an empty space here at Just Not Dinner.  For the most part, The Gidge and Baby have been normal, but that changed over the last two days.  I was awakened by Baby on Thursday morning - he was standing on my pillow, pawing at the pillowcase, and yowling to beat the band (remember that my hair was Sylvester’s sleeping spot his whole life).  He has taken to lounging for long periods in the top of Sylvester’s cat tree in our bedroom; Baby HATES this cat tree because there’s an opening in the top bed and he has never spent any major amount of time in it.  He also makes a point of calling Sylvester (loudly) at feeding time.  Gidget has done something strange as well - we have a green cat tree in our living room that is shaped like a house at the bottom and has a ledge for chillin’ at the top.  Sylvester spent a lot of time in the house part of this tree.  The other night, Gidget worked her way into the house, turned around, and laid there with her chin on her paws.

And me?

I cry a minimum of twice a day.  I can’t do anything “normal” without thinking of my sweet pea, even something as simple as blowdrying my hair, as I had to do this morning.  I am struggling with a tremendous amount of guilt, even though I know I did the right thing at the right time.  I have no appetite and have lost nearly 10 pounds since the Sunday that Sylvester got sick.  I can’t look at the video I made last week Friday without.  As long as I am keeping my brain busy in one way or another, I am fine.  As soon as I have an opportunity to think or have to do something that he would have involved himself in, it’s over.

The Man and I intend to create a memorial garden of sorts, not just for Vester, but also for The Man’s parents.  I have ordered a necklace from Whispers in the Heart so I can put some of his fur in it and while I am carrying his collar on my purse strap right now, when his ashes arrive, the collar will go around the urn.

I am sure I will babble on about my sweet boy quite a bit over the next while, so please be patient with me.

Now.

Yesterday, I finally managed to eat twice in one day.  Today, three meals.  Can you believe it?  I’m not sure I do.

Since I started this blog two years ago in October, I have gotten samples from various companies, receiving books, rice, bread, and most recently gluten-free teriyaki sauce fron Seal Sama.  I stashed one bottle on my pantry shelves in the basement and the other went into my kitchen cabinet.  Numerous things happened to distract me from trying it.  I was half-heartedly debating the possibility of making myself something for dinner tonight and was pushing through my cabinets looking for something - anything - that looked appealing.  I found some jade pearl rice from Lotus Foods, received as a sample and completely forgotten about, and the teriyaki.  Some green beans from my garden steamed with tomatoes, shallots, garlic, and fresh basil, and I had dinner.  I actually felt hungry as I was cooking.

I grabbed a piece of salmon from the freezer, quickly defrosted it most of the way, and then placed it into a plastic bag with a good half cup of the teriyaki sauce.  Into the fridge it went to marinate while I prepared the rice.  After a half hour, I heated the oven to 400 degrees, popped the salmon in, and got to work on the beans.  Very shortly I had a pretty good meal.

Verdict?  I like my teriyaki sauce a little sweeter, but this really is quite good.  And the rice was slightly sweet, which went well with the salmon.  And my greenie beanies were terrific, too.

Would I buy Seal Sama’s gluten-free teriyaki sauce?  Absolutely.  How about Lotus Food’s jade pearl rice?  Damn straight.

Now.  What exactly has been going on around here?  A plethora of bad things.  First bad thing: The Man did something….well, the only word I can come up with is “stupid”…which I believe led to losing his job at the end of May.  Second bad thing: I found out about some money things that I didn’t know about before.  Third bad thing: Vester.  Fourth bad thing: Sewer back-up.

Other than Vester, all of these issues (and I am sure there are more, but all are overshadowed in my mind by my loss of my best buddy) are no more.  The Man starts his new job on Monday - and while he won’t be making the money he made before, he will be HAPPY - no more 24/7/365 on-call status.  I truly believe that the industry he was in before led to other…issues…for him that have essentially been non-existent since he lost his job.  So everyone applaud for The Man, who will hopefully now have a less stressful work environment.

And applaud for my 88-year-old maternal grandfather, who underwent hip replacement surgery on Thursday and has been yelled at by his doctors and nurses for getting up and walking on his own.

So while we continue to reel from the emotional battering we have received these past months, good things are still popping up.

Recipes coming soon, I promise.

No more pain, Sweet Pea.   Momma loves you forever & knows that Nana J is taking good care of you.

But oh, the pain for me.

Thanks to Dr. Buchanan, Dr. Mullan, and the staff at Mallard Point Veterinary Clinic in Minooka and the Animal Care Center in Plainfield for making Sylvester’s last days as comfortable as possible.