Faith, Hope, and a Whole Lotta Love

I do not have a green thumb. That's why we only have one plant in our entire house.  Herman.  He was a housewarming gift from a very dear friend, and he has to be the hardiest plant on the planet, because he's lasted through seven years of sporadic watering, only one repotting, and plenty of cat pawing and biting.  Poor Herman.

But in the spring, my thumbs take on a light green hue as I start dreaming of crisp lettuce salads with a sprinkling of fresh herbs.  It's herb garden planting time.

With a merry heart, I was off to Lowe's.  I was faced with potential flavors.  I caressed leaves, closed my eyes, and inhaled deeply.  So many choices, so little room on my deck!  I had my list of must-have herbs and tried to stay focused.

Once my cart was full of the required supplies, I could barely steer the cart.  I wondered how in the world I was going to heave those bags of Miracle Grow into my truck.  I know the bags look small in the picture, but they had to have weighed fifty pounds each.  I managed the first two on my own, and as I was catching my breath and staring at that third bag wondering if my glutes or back would give out first, a man jumped out of his car.  "Let me get that for you."


If he had asked, "Do you need help with that?" my pride would have answered for me.  Thankfully, he didn't wait for my response and muscled that last bag into the truck.

I wonder how it feels to be someone's hero of the day.

So after a morning of some serious lifting, scrubbing, digging, planting, sweeping, washing, and sweating, I have hope.








I have hope that this basil will grow to spice up Thai stirfrys.  That the pesto that I make will bring out the flavor of grilled swordfish on a hot summer night.  That everyone who eats a salad in my home this will get a flavorful surprise when they find that hidden basil leaf amongst the other greens.

I have hope that there will be homemade salsa with that happy zing of cilantro.  That there will be scooping and laughing, sharing meals and sharing stories.

I have hope that parsley will liven up an ordinary sandwich.  That a sprinkling will freshen up a pot of brown rice or quinoa.  That salads will sparkle and casseroles will giggle.

I have hope that there will be thyme-rubbed steaks and pizza with fresh oregano.  That sauces will simmer and marinades will do their magic.

I have hope that there will be cool refreshment.  That mint leaves will grace a scoop of vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries.  That they will float between the ice cubes in a glass of iced tea.

But I also have faith.  Faith that God will use these feet to go where He would have me go.  Faith that he'll use these hands to make things for those He brings my way.  Faith that I will grow this summer in ways I might not have planned.  Faith that these little plants will have a greater purpose.

This summer I'll be pruning and picking, watering and training.
But growing an herb garden takes more than just work.

It takes hope.

It takes faith.

And it takes a whole lotta love.

But isn't that what life is all about?

Hot Poppin' Sesame Seeds!

Cooking in the Whiskers' household is always done under the watchful eye of Marcy.  Her usual perch is on top of the refrigerator where she lays like a lioness, draping an arm over the door.

But tonight she wisely chose to observe a little further away from the stove.  The upright piano is high enough for her to see over the counter, yet far enough from the flying sesame seeds.






Do you know what this is?  It was my challenge for the night.











Tokyo Bekana.  It's an Asian green.  (Duh...Tokyo?)  I'd never heard of it until we joined the CSA.  At first I thought it was another bunch of leaves to toss in a salad, but it has quite a bitter taste.  So I followed a tip from our farmer and decided to cook this one. 

I figured that a dish of Asian greens had to have an Asian flavor, so after a little online research I knew that I couldn't go wrong with sesame, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic.

You could use the following recipe to cook any Asian green, but I highly recommend the Tokyo Bekana.  (I'm making myself laugh as I type about this obscure vegetable like I have more than one night of experience with it!)

Hot Poppin' Tokyo Bekana

2 T sesame oil
2 T sesame seeds
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 small pieces of chopped ginger
Mounds of Tokyo Bekana
2 T gluten-free soy sauce
1 T brown rice vinegar

In a wok, warm the sesame oil on medium heat.  Add the sesame seeds and stir until you are overwhelmed with the nutty fragrance, the seeds darken, and you wish you had a spring roll.

Next, add the garlic and ginger, but watch out!  The sesame seeds freaked out and flew out of the pan in all directions when I added the garlic and ginger.  This was quite a surprise to me, but I persevered through the stings, and I stirred, yelped, and danced in front of the stove.  All the while, Marcy watched.

After a minute, add greens by the handful, cooking them down.  In 3-5 minutes they will still be a beautiful, light, spring green, and the stems should still be crunchy. 

I served the greens with plain quinoa.  The nutty taste complimented the Asian flavor of the greens, and it was especially delicious drizzled with leftover saute sauce.

I'd love to tell you that, in addition to learning about a new vegetable, figuring out how to cook it, and being amazed that I actually had all of the ingredients I needed in my kitchen, I also served Asian-flavored salmon with a orange, soy, honey marinade.  Mmmm.  Doesn't that good?

Maybe next time.  We settled for leftover salmon that had been frozen for such a night as this. 

Remember, this is crunch week.  Six days of school to go.

So, the next time you're in the produce section of your local grocery store, pick up a bunch of Tokyo Bekana.  Ha!  Good luck with that one.

Seriously, have any of you seen this before?

What Does CSA Day Mean?

It means getting a half bushel of the freshest greens I've ever tasted.

It means finding new greens and wondering what to do with them.  What am I going to do with Italian Dandelion Greens?

It means we're having salad for dinner.  It will be better than any restaurant salad, not because of the distracting toppings, but because of the goodness and richness of each tender leaf.

It means finding a new way to enjoy the last turnips of this season.  Pureed Turnip and Potato Soup tasted of home.

It means strawberries for dessert.  Not strawberry pie, not strawberry shortcake, and not strawberries dipped in chocolate either.  Just strawberries that taste like sunshine and the sweetness of life.

It means using my senses.   Feeling the tender leaves.  Hearing the crunch of stalks as I chop.  Smelling the richness of God's creation.  Marveling at the array of color that comes from the ground.  And tasting, tasting, tasting.

Pureed Turnip and Potato Soup

5 medium turnips
1 cup turnip greens sliced into strips
1 large potato
2 T unsalted butter
1 medium onion chopped
1 bunch of green onions sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1 qt of vegetable stock
sea salt and white pepper to season

1.  Chop turnips into 1 inch pieces.  Peel potato and chop into 1 inch pieces.
2.  Heat butter on medium-low in a soup pan and add minced garlic, chopped onion, and turnips.  Cook, stirring continuously until onions are tender.
3.  Add white wine, and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half.  Smell that!
4.  Pour the vegetable stock in the soup pot and add potatoes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft enough to pierce.
5.  Remove soup from the stove and ladle into a blender or Vita-Mix.  Puree in small batches and return puree to the soup pot.
6.  Saute turnip greens and green onions for 2 minutes.  Then add them to the soup.
7.  Season with sea salt and white pepper.

Taste.  Savor.  Enjoy.

Everyone Loves Bread

Everyone loves bread, especially when it's homemade.  Every once in a while I hear someone turn down a dessert because they don't enjoy chocolate.  That's pretty shocking, but I've never come across anyone who's said, "No, thank you, I don't care for bread."  It's just unheard of.  If they turn down light, steamy dinner rolls with a crunchy crust, they're either lying or they're on a low-carb diet.

So, when we first hear the news that we must be gluten-free for the rest of our lives, bread is the first thing that we mourn.

Five years ago, in order to bake a really good loaf of gluten-free bread, you had to buy 5-6 different obscure and high-priced flours, spend an entire afternoon in the kitchen, and hope and pray that the bread didn't come out of the oven resembling or weighing a brick.

We've come a long way since then.  And while it may be a lot of fun to experiment and bake breads with a variety of flours, the realities of life can cut kitchen time down to a bare minimum.  Scoop it, pour it, spread it, and inhale it.

Today, we have "go to mixes" for those weeks when we just need a loaf of bread in the fridge for sandwiches.  One of my favorites is Gluten Free Pantry's French Bread and Pizza Mix.  It's incredibly easy to make and is available at Whole Foods and most major grocery stores.

The mix has directions for using a bread machine, but I always prefer using the oven.  It brings back memories of baking bread with my grandma.  Grandma always used one large loaf pan, and she had two tiny loaf pans that she would entrust to my brother and me.  After a few hours of kneading, rolling, rising, and baking, we each had our very own mini-loaf.  We could hardly wait for it to cool before cutting a tiny slice.  We'd watch with wonder as the pat of butter melted into a golden pool.

Grandma didn't have a Kitchen Aid.  Grandma was also the most patient woman I'll ever know.  She wasn't flying around the kitchen attending to five different things at once.  No matter what she was doing, that job, or that person, received her full attention.

Today, the Kitchen Aid gets the kneading done quickly, but it takes away the joy of sticky fingers, flour up to the elbows, and the satisfaction that you can only get by working with your hands.

The Gluten-Free Pantry dough needs to rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes.  Plenty of time for multi-taskers to check a few more items off the to-do list.

Now, isn't that is a beautiful loaf of bread?  Gluten-Free Pantry really knows how to make a great mix.

Some mixes don't turn out as well.  Here's an example of a bread mix (which shall remain nameless) that had a mind of its own.

I still have no idea what went wrong with this one, but it sure made for a good laugh (and really huge sandwiches).

Summer vacation is just around the corner, and I look forward to having time to putter in the kitchen, mix up a variety flours, add a little twist here and there, and open the oven door with hope and anticipation.

But for now, the Whisker's Family is in survival mode.  Ten days of school filled with final projects, report cards, awards ceremonies, cum records, celebrations, field day, and packing up a classroom are ahead.

So, we are very thankful for good quick mixes.

What gluten-free bread mixes do you use?

New Home for Dusty Whiskers

Yes, this is still Dusty Whisker's Blog.  As the blog has taken on a life of it's own, I've decided to change the title, as well as the URL, to make it a little more accessible.  Thanks for following me to my new home. 

The Secret to Gluten-Free Living

When people find out that I can't eat wheat, their eyes fill with pity, and they make comments like, "Oh, you poor thing. That must be so hard. I'm so sorry."  Well, I'm not sorry at all. I love living gluten free. Yes, it's challenging. Yes, sometimes I wish I could just grab a bagel off the table at a luncheon. Yes, sometimes I'd love to order a meal at a restaurant without putting the waiter through an inquisition. But that's just sometimes.

Most days, I love it. But it didn't start out that way.

Five years ago, my mother told me that I should be tested for a gluten intolerance, because she tested positive, and there was a great possibility that I was also gluten intolerant. Gluten intolerance is genetic, and she carried the gene. Of course, my tests were positive, and I was instantly crushed. I went through the list of all of my favorite foods -- cereals, muffins, crusty breads, pizza, pasta, bagels, cookies, pies, brownies... I mourned that I'd never be able to enjoy them again.

Diagnosed family members pointed me in the right direction, shared their favorite recipes, and gave me lists of red flag words to look for on ingredient labels. Armed with my lists, I went to the grocery store to look at the ingredients in my favorite products. I was stunned by how many products, like soy sauce, listed wheat as a main ingredient. And then there were products that contained hidden gluten. One by one, I placed them back on the shelf as I found words like flavorings, modified food starch, malt, seasonings, HVP, and MSG, all which could contain gluten. I cried. I literally cried as I walked down the aisles, frustrated, defeated, and hungry. I was going to be hungry for the rest of my life.

Being gluten-intolerant forced me to get the junk out of my diet. For dinner, instead of adding Hamburger Helper to ground beef, I learned to cut up an onion and throw in a few diced peppers and tomatoes. My staple lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pretzels changed to brown rice, chicken, and veggies. And instead of Cheerios and milk for breakfast, protein shakes with milk, strawberries, and bananas became a morning treat. I found that most of the foods that I had to eliminate from my diet should actually have been eliminated long ago, because they were junk! And the changes that I was making were changes for the better.

Don't get me wrong, eating gluten-free doesn't mean that you are going to eat healthily. Within my first month I found out that M&Ms were gluten-free. Eating M&Ms by the fistful isn't exactly healthy. And there are a lot of gluten-free products out there that are made with even more sugar and fat than the wheat version. I was astonished to find gluten free cookies with twice the number of calories as a wheat cookie. And then there's the "oh my gosh, I actually found a muffin that tastes like the real thing" euphoria that quickly turns to frenetically devouring the entire container of muffins because you've been deprived for so long.

Today, gluten-free options are becoming more and more prevalent, and the quality of the products are improving both in taste and quality. It's been a long time in coming. So, you don't have to devour the entire plate of gluten-free brownies, because Whole Foods has their own Gluten-Free Bakehouse brand just a quick drive across town.  You can stock up on mixes from The Cravings Place and quickly whip up a batch of cookies, muffins, or cupcakes to sooth a sweet tooth.  One of my favorite sweet treats is Laura's Wholesome Junk Food (Better Brownie Bite-lettes).  We are no longer living without.

I've found the secret to living gluten free.  Enjoy naturally gluten-free foods like fruits, vegetables, potatoes, lean meats, rice, and nuts.  And I mean enjoy them.  Savor the flavor of a summer peach.  Feel comfort in the fall from a butternut squash and apple soup.  Grill a burger and top it with avocado and goat cheese.  (With such rich flavors you won't even miss the bun.)  Then experiment with some new grains like quinoa, buckwheat, montina, and teff.  You might find that you like the nutty, earthy flavors better than that of wheat.  Try some of your old favorite recipes using a gluten-free all-purpose flour.  And find a few gluten-free treats so that you don't feel deprived.  It's actually rather simple.  Get the junk out, bring the wholesome food in, and allow yourself occasional treats.  Even those who are not gluten intolerant will be much better off following that tip.

So, don't feel sorry for me.  I'm not deprived.  Living gluten-free hasn't just helped me eat healthier, it has expanded my world of food.  There's my secret.  Feel free to spread it.

When the Floodwaters Rise, Stirfry

If you haven't turned on the news lately, Nashville is in a state of emergency.  We've had 13.75 inches of rain,  9 fatalities, and over 600 water rescues.  We've been cooped up for three days watching the deluge, rivers flowing just beyond our property line, as well as images on the TV and internet such as these.

I was on my way home from a church event when the water levels on the road started to get scary.  Tornado sirens were sounding all around me.  I was thankful that the Husband traded cars with me that morning.  The Jeep's big beefy tires kept me anchored to the road.

Thankfully I made it home before the major flooding started.

This is the YMCA where I teach classes.  Behind the building is the running path where I do most of my training.

This intersection is just miles away from our home.

Thankfully our home is built into a hill, so our yard only suffered a little pooling, but flooding all around prevented us from getting out.

So, what's a girl to do with a refrigerator filled with CSA veggies,

a brand new birthday gift from the Husband,

and time on her hands?

Stir-fry!

When your county is in a state of emergency, it's not a good idea to run out to the store for missing ingredients.  So, I had to get a little creative.  I placed all of my veggies on the counter and started grouping them.  Which flavors would go together?  This is what I came up with.

1.  Golden Beet and Greens Stir-fry

Have you ever tried a golden beet?  They don't bleed like red beets, they have a subtle sweetness, and they are a good source of potassium.  The beet greens are actually more nutritious than the beets themselves as they contain twice the potassium.  They're also exceptionally high in beta carotene and folic acid.

Beets, beet greens, and swiss chard sauteed in grapeseed oil with garlic and caramelized onions was not only delicious and nutritious, it was beautiful.

I asked the Husband to describe the taste.  He said it tastes like stir-fried vegetables.  Thanks.

When I asked him to focus on the golden beets he said, "It has a bouquet of beet, a distinct nose of beet, and an aftertaste of beetiness."  Again, thanks.


2.  Turnip and Greens Stir-fry
I don't think I'd ever had a turnip before joining the CSA.  I'd seen the white and purple roots and passed them by.  But Hakurei Turnips are a delight.  They are perfectly round and pearly white.  They are mild enough to eat raw or sliced on salads, but we've had a lot of salads lately, so into the stir-fry they went.

I started with the same minced garlic and caramelized onions combination, but this time I added some balsamic vinegar, green onions, turnip greens, and spinach.  Tangy, sweet, and scrumptious.

3.  Ginger Carrot and Mizuna Stir-fry
What is Mizuna?  It's a tender, crisp, deep green Asian lettuce with jagged edges that tastes mild yet tangy.  It is often found in mesclun mixes and is used in salads, soups, and stir-fries.  I would have loved to have used fresh ginger root for this stir-fry, but flood waters made a run to the grocery store seem frivolous, especially when ordered by police to stay home.  Thankfully, I had some bottled ginger in the fridge.  

I sauteed chopped ginger, minced garlic, and onion in grapeseed oil, added carrots until al dente, and then piled on mounds of mizuna the last minute of cooking.  The mizuna quickly cooked down to about a quarter of the size. 

Sweet, sweet, sweet.  The natural sugar in the caramelized onions and carrots mixed beautifully with ginger and fresh garlic.


It was a wet day.  It was a creative food day.  The house smells spectacular.  We are well fed.  

And we are thankful.  We're thankful to be safe and dry.  We are thankful for fresh, organic food.  We are thankful for our farmers.  We are thankful for the stir-fry meals that we'll be enjoying for the next three weeks.

Our prayers are with those who are still being rescued from the flood waters and those who are cleaning up the devastating damage.