Knit-Nerd-Rant

So, with the process of learning to live with out gluten and dairy, I've also ruled out oats and soy. The fun of learning what an unpredictable body likes and doesn't like... So, one thing I found recently was a recipe for a pickled cabbage salad . Now, this gal loves cabbage, and especially pickled cabbage. I will eat it on so many things, and the idea of eating it as a salad by itself - I was drooling. When it came time to give it a try, I decided to make it a little differently.  I've been eating a lot of southeast Asian food lately (a new Laotian restaurant opened up and I am in love), so I felt like giving the salad a bit more of an Asian-style punch.  I didn't try a bite until it had at least a day to rest in the brine, and holy moly, it is one of the best things I've ever made.  It's spicy, sweet, savory, crunchy, and chilled.  No cooking, just a fair bit of chopping and peeling. Ingredients: Cabbage salad: 1 large head of cabbage chopped i...

As part of an experiment to try and nail down the source of some ongoing fatigue issues, I am doing a trial off of gluten, oats, and dairy. Both my mother and sister have been off of gluten and dairy for years, so really I probably should have been doing this for a while. It has been helping some, but it isn't entirely clear if it is the absence of these things or the addition of more produce and whole (non-gluten) grains. I did go to a wedding over the weekend and cheated with a wedding cupcake, and have had stomach cramps that made me dream that I was shot in the gut and has been less than comfortable today. Where there have been similar mistakes, I realized that gluten makes me painfully gassy and dairy makes me constipated (sorry if TMI). So there may be something to this.  I've never really done well with diets to lose weight because results weren't fast and they just didn't matter sufficiently to me. But the threat of horrible stomach cramps is a GREAT motivator...

[ Source ] from April 1 2013 People Magazine So, while waiting with family in a hospital room with now windows, I was flipping through a People Magazine and found the recipe here (which someone else decided to save as well to provide me with this lovely picture). With the recent online meltdowns involving certain bakeries that had had some interaction with Mr. Ramsay, it makes the timing even better. Anyway, since Lala the lavender came to my home, I've been hoping to find a way to make lavender shortbread cookies. It seemed perfectly natural! So, why not adjust this recipe for what I wanted to do. I didn't monkey too much with the ingredients, but had to make some adjustments. 2 1/2 cups flour (kept the same) 1/4 tsp fine sea salt (kept the same, luckily had some on hand) 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (reduced from original to make room for olive oil) 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (not in original at all) 2/3 cup superfine sugar (confectioner's worked for me)...