Friday, September 24, 2010

The Friday Five from The Women's Colony

1. What is one characteristic you received from your parents that you want to keep, and one you wish you could change? 

I'd want to keep my inquisitive nature (from my dad).  At the same time, I might tone down my need to question absolutely everything, all the time, every time. It gets in the way of seeing the magic moments in life sometimes. 
 

2. If you could have any chef (free of charge) cater a dinner party for you and your friends, who would you choose? What is one thing that would have to be on the menu 

Anthony Bourdain^. I'd like him to make Vietnamese crêpes called banh xeo (happy pancakes). They are gluten-free and look wonderful. I saw him eat them on one of his travel shows, and they were crispy and fresh and I really wanted them right then.They don't seem to be particularly difficult to make, but to require an insanely hot iron skillet to get the crêpes perfectly crispy.
Vietnam
I like Vietnamese food a lot. Everything I've ever had or made has been wonderful. Lots of veggies, lots of herbs, lots of flavor, usually not too spicy if that is a concern. It isn't for me, but it is for some folks. 

3. How do you know when you are in love? 

I have no idea. Seriously. Maybe when you're happier with the person than without them? 
 
I can tell you how you'll know if you aren't in love any more , though: when you simply don't care much one way or the other, you are no longer in love. And yes, I am a little ray of sunshine, aren't I? 
4. Favorite crappy, sugar laden cereal? 

I used to love Kellogg's Corn Pops, but they are not gluten free, so I haven't had them in years and don't buy them for the kiddos, This is a true shame, because they're missing out on the joy of having the roofs of their mouths scraped raw by those sweet little corn nuggets. My understanding is that they used to be free of gluten^, but that that changed a few years ago. So I don't buy them. At all. Period.

I'd like to take this moment to explain allergy math to food manufacturers. They look at Celiacs, or people with food allergies, and see them as a percentage or two of the population. What they don't see is that if one person can't eat it, it doesn't get purchased in most homes. So that 1-2% is multiplied by the several other people living there, and suddenly it's a lot more than 1% they're missing out on. If I don't buy your product for 4 people, we're 4% out of 100 consumers.And when I buy more of one entire brand name because the company has made an effort to make things that I can eat, you lose even more of my business.

So come on, Kellogg's. Y'all get on the trolley. Sheesh

Many awesome companies are moving toward making their cereals and other products gluten free whenever possible. General Mills has done a fabulous job making Rice Chex & Corn Chex GF. They've introduced lots of other GF products, too^. They introduced several products including a GF Bisquick this summer. Everyone I know who buys GF foods now makes a point to buy as many General Mills products as possible. I can't tell you how nice it is to buy food from the regular grocery store from a recognizable company at a good price. Their response to the GF community has created a lot of brand loyalty. Yay, General Mills.

I buy Rice Chex or Corn Chex almost exclusively now and sometimes fancy it up with a recipe from the Chex website^. I'm not sure I'd go back if I could; the awesomeness that is Chex Muddy Buddies is beyond description. GF, full of chocolate and peanut butter. Oh, my goodness.

Here's the recipe. 

Muddy Buddies ^

Ingredients:
9 cups Chex cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Use dairy-free chocolate and margarine if dairy is an issue. Obviously, use GF Chex if gluten is an issue. Always read the labels on ingredients. Always. 

Again: Yay, General Mills. Seriously, you guys rock. 


5. If you were guaranteed honest responses to any two questions, whom would you question, and what would you ask them? 

I'd like to ask the same question of two very different people. 

Also, this assumes that I can ask anyone from any time period, right? I'm gonna be seriously disappointed if I have to limit my questions to current denizens of Earth.

Ok, so I'd ask Charles Darwin, "What do you think of your idea now?", because I'd like to know what he thinks of the massive, far-reaching effect his theory has had on the rest of Humanity. I wonder if the continued controversy would surprise him or not?


Charles Darwin
I'd ask Thomas Jefferson the same question,  "What do you think of your idea now?" Because Jefferson was the principle author of the Declaration of Independence and so much change has come to pass in the world as a result of what he did and what he wrote. Would he be sorely disappointed? Surprised? Happy?
  Thomas Jefferson
How would you answer these questions?

This week's quiz is from The Women's Colony^. So many talented women. I encourage you to zip over there and read to your heart's content.

Namaste.

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