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Friday, October 3, 2014

Pancake Imposters And Other Changes. Plus, Maybe, An Auction!



Friday.
You got stuff going on this weekend?
We're hanging here; That Old House demands attention.


It's time for me (if by "me," we mean "Howard")
to bring the Fall stuff up from the dungeon cellar.

You are looking at your weekend, O Dear Husband of Mine.

I am embracing Autumn.



There are more than seasonal changes here.

For the past few months,
we've ditched grains and sugar here at That Old House.
It is a challenge, but there have been benefits.
I can make a fist with my right hand.
That may not seem like much, but for the past year ... I could not.
My fingers could barely bend.  Now, they do.  Easily.

See?

Image from Karen, at The Graphics Fairy

That's one major change since Spring.

Another?
Howard and I are once again empty-nesters.
Our daughter Anne now lives in Washington, D.C.
She found a wonderful job as a costume designer,
a full-time position, and is loving the city,
her apartment, her job, her independence.

We are very proud.

(I miss her.  Especially when I have to weed the flower borders, or cook.  Don't tell.)

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Since we are not cooking with any grains,
breakfasts can get pretty repetitive.  No more cereal.  No more bagels.
No more breakfast sandwiches.  No more toast or English muffins.
No more pancakes!

Every once in awhile, we have pancakes anyway.  Well... sort of.  
Here, for Foodie Friday, are Cream Cheese Pancakes.


Cream Cheese Pancake Recipe

2 oz. cream cheese (1/4 regular block)
2 eggs (whole)
(opt) a packet of sweetener of your choice
(opt) 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Put everything in your blender, and blend the heck out of it.
When it's all smooth, let it rest a few minutes till the bubbles settle down,
then pour 1/4 of the better into a hot pan, greased with butter or Pam.
Cook 2 minutes ... till brown ... then carefully flip it over.
(This is tricky sometimes ... slide your spatula under just a bit, and FLIP.)
Cook a good minute on that side, then serve.  Syrup, fruit, jam, butter, horseradish sauce,
whatever you like on your pancakes, you will like on these.
They are, as Anne would say, "tasty."

Update:  We made these for Saturday breakfast, and I realized that they would benefit
by the additon of a bit of salt to the batter.  Perhaps 1/4 teaspoon.  Sometime you just need that depth.


Will you ever mistake them for Aunt Jemima's?
Nope.
But if you, too, have sworn off wheat for whatever reason,
these are a nice change of pace.  I think I'll make them tomorrow....


I found this recipe on a wonderful blog, "i breathe... i'm hungry..." and you
can find the recipe, nutritional info, and much more, by clicking here.

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Meanwhile, for the first time, I have rose hips on a bush.

Are they used for anything?  Or do they just look nice?

Speaking of looking nice, our front porch Boston ferns are still ferning along.
The one closest to the camera hosted a family of birds this summer.
Mom, Dad, and babies, nesting in the fern.
Perhaps not the brightest of our feathered friends;
we had to water really carefully so as not to wash them away,
and they plucked the sticks for their nest off the front door wreath,
while I watched.  Kinda cute.  Wreath looks a little shabby....

The nesting fern is showing a little more brown than its mates. 
It worked hard this summer!


Now ... go visit Michael Lee West at Rattlebridge Farm,
for her long-running blog party Foodie Friday.
Go on ... click here!


What will you be up to this weekend?
As I said, we'll stick close to the Mothership.

Unless . . . maybe . . . well, we got an invitation to 
a country auction in the mail, and it looks pretty sweet.
It's described as "two houses filled with antiques and collectibles."
I think maybe we just have to go, don't you?  I think I owe it to my blogging friends!

Have a beautiful Fall weekend, ladies and gents.  -- Cass

11 comments:

  1. Good for you for being gluten free. That is not an easy commitment. I used to make a pancake using pumpkin and eggs-very similar to yours- the trick was flipping it. lol
    Your ferns still look great....so do mine by some strange stretch of fate! Hope you have a good weekend-xo Diana

    ps. Congrats to your daughter-

    ReplyDelete
  2. I probably should try that diet also as I can hardly close my right hand. I am diabetic so I don't eat any sugar and have really cut down on carbs.
    I went down to my dungeon (garage) and hauled my plastic tubs up to the living room to decorate, will put the Halloween stuff up next week. Each year I cut back and soon I will not be decorating at all LOL It just gets to be to much.
    your fern still look terrific. Do you bring them indoors in the winter? My Aunt used to bring in a lot of her potted plants in the dining room where they got a lot of sunlight.
    Have a great weekend.
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary -- I was having a real problem with my right hand, too. The ring finger was jumping out of its socket -- that's the only way I can think of describing it, I think it's called "trigger finger" -- and my fingers would not bend into a fist -- they would only bend a short way -- and it was interfering with doing things!

      We had already gone mostly gluten-free because my daughter Anne has Celiac's -- and must be GF -- so I added no-sugar to that, and very low carbohydrates. This also meant eating more fats, which is REALLY hard to wrap my mind around, as for decades I've done low fat, high complex carb eating. I think it was eating more fat that made the difference. Real fats -- olive oil, butter, dairy. Even my cholesterol dropped to 160, and the inflammation that was causing the hand problem has almost gone entirely. I hesitate to tell anyone that i'm eating a higher fat diet -- but for me, it seems to be working, and my doctor agrees.

      As for the ferns -- I have good intentions of saving them every fall, but they get so HUGE over the summer, that I don't have room for them anywhere in the house! I'll try again this year.
      Thanks for visiting!
      Best ..Cass

      Delete
  3. Tough changes but good for your hand. Keep it up.

    Glad someone else is just getting their Fall stuff out.

    Enjoy the sale.

    M :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cass...I'm so happy to see you back! Hurray for your daughter! That is one interesting career and one interesting city!

    Is there any flour in these pancakes? They can't just be cream cheese. Am I reading it wrong? They sound really good! :)

    I'm having surgery Monday for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and trigger finger. It sounds very much like what you have, Have you been diagnosed? I started with numbness and pain in my wrists, hands and fingers, then they were like claws and the pinky fingers kept popping. Years ago they would do a very conservative treatment but patients eventually had to have the surgery, so now they seem to gravitate right to that if it's severe, and mine is. Right hand on Monday and then the left at least 2 weeks after. Ugh!

    Jane xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Jane! I hope the surgeries make your hands ALL BETTER! I'm hoping to avoid surgery but I know several people who have had their hands done, and with very good results.
      And there is NO flour in the pancakes --just the cream cheese and eggs! I make them without sugar/sweetner or cinnamon, as I like to also use them as wraps for lunches. Thanks for stopping by! Good luck ... and hugs!!! -- Cass

      Delete
  5. I am so glad this is working for you. I read through the comments, and you have answered the question I was going to ask. I keep reading that sugar is really bad for arthritis, and if that is true, I am in trouble. My hands are not in the condition some of you have described, but they do get sore, along with the rest of my bones. I should try this -- but the hesitation is what do I feed the bottomless pit I am married to? I am sure this would help the high TGL, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Husbands. Ha! Howard got used to a lot of wheat-and-gluten free eating when Anne was living here the last two years. as she has Celiac's and cannot tolerate even a little bit of gluten. It was just easier for all of us (well, me anyway) to keep the kitchen mostly GF. Howard satisfied his wheat appetite with bagels in NYC for breakfast, or the occasional pastry from the coffee shop. In August, after a doc's visit, he decided to join me on the no sugar, no grain thing ... and he's lost almost 10 lbs. He's convinced. I make sure we've got berries and cream on hand for his sweet tooth and he's getting more and more used to this. Of course, men lose weight easily, and because of that are extremely lucky that they are not smothered by pillows when they sleep ... also, it's proof that God IS a man.

      Before H jumped on the bandwagon, I just made a potato for him, or a bit of pasta or rice, for him to have with whatever else I was making for dinner. My hands started with just being sore -- I found myself massaging them all the time -- but then they got stiff, and that did it for me -- that's scary. Good luck with whatever you choose!

      Delete
  6. I really need to cut back/out on sugar! And wheat. I don't eat much bread but it's still there in my diet and I know I eat way too much sugar. Oh the pain. (in my joints!) I need a lot of willpower. That's cool that birds nested in your fern basket. I hope you get to an auction. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I too had some ferns I've nursed back to health after almost killing them last winter. I hope they over winter better this year. They are still healthy...which says a lot. Last year this time was just about their undoing as they were starting to dry out rather quickly.
    Congrats to your daughter on her new job and new place. Congrats to you on your new empty nest again!
    I found out in June I am diabetic...so cutting out the wheat; mainly bread and grains lots of 'additional' sugar. Drinking unsweet tea and coffee now--things like that. I am having some whole grains...and have a pancake substitute that I find very satisfying. However... we get fresh eggs everyday, and I love cream cheese! It is so low in carbs. I'm going to give your cake a chance!
    have a pleasant and restful Sunday.

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  8. the pumpkin plates remind me of that Stangl leaf plate...do you still have it & can I buy it?

    ReplyDelete

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