Columbus Day Weekend Picnic

There was ice on the bird bath when I went to school yesterday morning. Not the kind of ice that Woodstock skates on but ice none the less.  I was nervous that it was going to be cold all weekend.  You see, Veronica and I had been planning a picnic and picnics are no fun when it's cold.  But I was especially happy when I woke up this morning and it was wonderfully warm.

La Tortilla Factory Gluten Free Wraps

Ma went on vacation to visit her sister.  She left me at home with Dad.  I was kind of sad that I couldn't go along, but someone has to take care of Dad... and Veronica!  And staying home has it's perks. Ma comes home with gifts! And this time, she brought home Kirsten!  I am so excited! Kirsten!

But Ma brought home something even better than an American Girl doll!  OK, nothing's better than a new American Girl doll but this is pretty close.  She brought some La Tortilla Factory Gluten Free Wraps. Seriously, wraps!

Riding lessons

I love horseback riding and I've been taking lessons for as long as I can remember.  This is Penny. She's a good horse and doesn't spook easily, which is good, since Veronica likes to ride with me.  I would feel awful if Veronica fell off or got kicked. But Penny is always careful when my chipmunk friends are around.

I've been thinking about teaching Veronica how to ride by herself but I don't think she would be serious about learning.  Whenever she rides with me, she's always hopping around and playing.  I'm not sure what she's doing back there but she's obviously up to no good! I bet she would make a good circus horseback riding chipmunk!  But I haven't learned how to ride like that yet so I can't teach her.  Maybe someday we will learn and then we can join the circus and be trick riders!  That would be awesome!

Do you want to see what happened today when we went for a ride?  

Here, take a look at Me and Veronica and Penny.

 

How to read a story in a Google photo album:
 

Click the first picture to start the story. The text is at the top of the white sidebar. (If the sidebar doesn't open, click the info button 🛈 in the top right corner.)
Click the arrow ˃ on the right side of the picture to turn the page.

Cucumber Crackers

Cucumber crackers with tuna salad

My favorite gluten free crackers

Blue Diamond Nut Thins, any flavor

Glutino Crackers, original flavor

Cucumber slices

Seriously, cucumber slices.

Labor Day Festivities

Happy Labor Day!  

Veronica and I had a nice day. 

Click here read about our> Labor Day Festivities. (Click the pictures in the album to read the story.)

Back to School

The new additions to my lunch box collection.

Hurray!  It's Friday!  One week down and only 40 more to go!  Thirty seven, if I don't count the holiday, winter and spring breaks.  Not that I'm counting or anything.  I like school well enough but I like summer better.

General Tao's Tofu

I just want to point out this recipe for General Tao's Tofu on vegweb.com.  I've made it a couple of times and we had it again last night.  It is so good!  You gotta try it!

It's gluten free, just make sure to check your soy sauce and veggie broth for gluten.   Instead of veggie broth, I used water and Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base and I use San-J Tamari Sauce.

Vegetarian Chili

I have a couple of friends who are vegetarian so I do a lot of meat free cooking.  In fact, I was a pescetarian before I found out I was gluten intolerant.  I ate fish and seafood, eggs and dairy but no other animals.  But a lot of the meat analogs that I used to eat contain gluten and I had to give them up.  (Actually, discovering I was gluten intolerant totally explained why I always thought seitan was pure evil!)  Anyway, while I was learning to eat GF, it was kind of tough getting enough protein in my diet so I started eating a little poultry, beef and pork.  I know!  I know!  There are lots of gluten free, meat free people out there, but hey, I'm only a kid! 

Veggie stir fry with shirataki noodles

Have you ever tried Tofu Shirataki?   They are noodles made with tofu and yam flour.  They are super easy to make, extremely low calorie and best of all, gluten free!  (Our local grocery stores sells them in the produce department, where they sell tofu and other vegetarian things.)  They are kind of expensive so I like to use them as an accompaniment to the main course.  They don't taste like much by themselves, but like tofu, it picks up the flavors well and are delicious with a stir fry sauce and lots of fresh summer veggies.

Death defying feats and apples with peanut butter

"Faster, Squeak!  Go faster!"

The heat wave we've been having finally broke and I went out to play with Veronica.  I haven't seen much of her for the past couple days.  When I was outside, I was either at the splash park or the pool.  Veronica said she wasn't crazy about getting wet and preferred to stay in her comfy cool home, deep in the stone wall.  

But today was nice so we went for a bike ride.  

Mango Salsa

We have an electric, glass-top range, which is nice because it's super easy to clean.  But lets face it, cooking over a real fire rocks!  Even a gas stove flame is more fun than cooking over a piece of hot glass!  So one of the best parts about summer is that I can cook outside.  Over a fire.  I just love to grill!

Friends, dolls and weeds

I'm saving my money because I want to buy an American Girl doll so I can play with my friends Lanie and Lani and their dolls.  I haven't decided which one I want yet.  They have dolls that look just like them but I don't think I can find one that looks just like me!  I'm thinking I might like Kirsten, since my ancestors were pioneer farmers, just like she is!

Blueberry Sauce

It's blueberry season!  And I love blueberries.  We have some bushes in the backyard and I eat the berries as fast as they ripen.  That's if I can pick them before the chipmunks, squirrels and birds get to them!  They are so good.  Sweet and juicy and warm from the sun.  I can't blame the critters for wanting to eat them! 

Squeak's Favorite Granola

Breakfast.  It's the most important meal of the day.  Ugh! I sound just like Ma! 

My all time favorite breakfast is going to the Bridge Diner and having an Egg Beater veggie omelet with a side of home fries and a glass of tomato juice. Yeah, I'm one of those sick kids that likes tomato juice!  Preferably with some salt sprinkled on top.

My second favorite breakfast is a bowl of cereal, because I can eat it in front of the TV, in my jammies and everything tastes better when you're wearing jammies! 

Chipmunks gotta eat too.

 

 I like peanuts.  Especially peanuts in the shell.  Which I think is part of the reason I like the Texas Roadhouse so much.  They always have buckets of peanuts on the table so I have something to snack on while everyone else eats the bread. I also like the steak and the loaded sweet potatoes with the toasty marshmallows on top.  But the peanuts are the best part because 1) they are salted and we always have unsalted peanuts at home and 2) I can eat them inside. Inside. 

Greetings and salutations!

HI!  My name is Pippa but everyone calls me Squeak.  Welcome to my blog!  I decided to start this as a way to keep track of my favorite recipes.  You see, I'm gluten and lactose intolerant and I have to be crazy careful about what I eat.  I don't worry too much about lactose, I can eat hard cheese and yogurt and they make a pill if I want to eat ice cream or anything else.  But gluten is a whole nother story! I can't have anything made with wheat, rye or barley and sometimes it seems like those things are in everything!  Eating in a restaurant or with my friends is really tough.   I have to ask lots of questions and read lots of labels.  Sometimes it's just easier to say, "No thank you"  because if I accidentally eat something with gluten, even a tiny bit, it makes me sick and sometimes I feel sick for days.  Yeah, it pretty much stinks!

So I'm learning to cook because if I cook it myself, I can eat anything I want!  Sometimes my friends stop by and we cook together.  We have lots of fun and they are learning what I can and can't eat and I'm learning what they eat and don't eat.  Anyway, that's enough rambling for today.  Talk to you soon!