Gluten-free Recipes

By popular demand, I have created a gluten-free page on the Bite-Size-Green site.

The recipe section is fairly small at the moment, but will continue to grow as I test and adapt more dishes.
On the plus side, a few of them already have demo videos.

At the same time, excellent chefs and accomplished writers, such as the duo behind the Gluten-free Girl blog, have been creating marvelous recipes for years before I reached the scene.  I seek them out for inspiration, and frequently recommend them.

And other credible sites, run by folks with Celiac, already exist as well.  So I've made sure to include resource links, and would encourage readers who want to understand the medical and logistical details of living gluten-free as a disciplined practice to dig in to those.

The main thing to remember while delving into  the serious world of 'living without' is that a world of excellent, naturally gluten-free foods and ingredients exists.  A speciality grocery aisle is not your only source of nutrition and nurture. The more you learn to cook from scratch, the easier and more enjoyable the adventure becomes.

What the Dickens?

Steampunk being a fantasy world with strong Victorian elements, one can take liberties with the standard British fare of the era.
Dickens Fair being a Victorian Christmas bazaar set in modern America, some liberties are apparently called for as well.

For all those who came to see and be seen in period costume, to buy gifts for oneself or others, and to be generally entertained by games, music, performance and the overall atmosphere, many food choices present themselves.  Traditional pub grub like bangers and mash, fish and chips, and meat pies can be found at stalls adjacent to the more exotic Greek and Italian offerings. Fresh roasted chestnuts and mulled cider call the season to life (even while in the faux outdoors, inside the heated venue).  But modern coffees and chai can also be had.  Or, for the purist, tea. And for a splurge, high tea at 4pm. Lovely - just lovely.

Steampunk Epicurean

Pull a Google image search for "steampunk" and you'll see what steampunkers wear.
And YouTube has plenty of steampunk music videos.
But what do steampunkers eat?

Tea seems the most obvious choice - finger sandwiches, crumpets, scones, etc.
And everything else Dickens ever mentioned, or Jules Verne and HG Wells threw into their stories as incidentals.
Or, if you follow the Weird, Weird West off-shoot of classic steampunk, saloon grub.

But if you are going to create an alternate history, why not throw in some food realities of the re-imagined era, such as seasonality, locality and organic growing methods?  With, perhaps, some spices from The East.
Today's slow food dinners would fit right in.

Corn-o-copia

The horn of plenty, made completely of cornbread.
 A feast in itself.

Abundance and Gratitude

Here's how I feel wealthy: go to the grocery store, and get what I want to. Now, there's plenty that I don't want, and some things that I shouldn't get, and others that are just an occasional splurge.  But what a luxury to think first about whether we have space and upcoming needs (to avoid clutter and waste) first, and price second.  Brings me gratitude with every shop.

Even better was shopping for the food bank, and being able to get whatever fit the request list. Wealthy enough to share!  And deeply grateful for the abundance.