Those poor, neglected cupcakes!

Mr Landscaper has taken a week "off" (he's working on someone else's garden that was booked before we hired him) and so I spent last week "cleaning".

"Cleaning" consisted of taking everything out, sorting through it, tossing what should be tossed, shredded what should be shredded, donated what should be donated and finally (and most importantly!) organised what was left!

It took me more time than I care to admit but it was fun! I thoroughly enjoyed the work that went into getting everything sorted, streamlined, easier to find/use/clean. I have a deep feeling of satisfaction from having everything in its place and a place for everything. I am, however, more than a little embarrassed at having let things get in such a state that it took so long to pull them back together in some sense of non-chaos.

During this past week I've also done some cooking and baking.

The first thing I baked was Green Tea Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World - I've since discovered that simply baking them isn't enough. While I was so busy cleaning I left the poor things sitting for a week. No love, no icing, no photo shoot, not even a bite taken to test how they tasted. The poor things just went to waste. I feel so horrid. They were lovingly created and then quickly forgotten. Left to sit in a bag, unable to live to their fullest potential. Their lives unfulfilled. Their destiny the trashcan instead of satisfying some lonely tastebuds some where. Poor things. I'll have to make them again. Soon. And this time actually pay attention to them!

I've also made some delicious Veggie Burgers from a recipe created by this talented lady. With her permission, I'm now going to share the recipe for these little beauties with you.

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Smoky Tofu and Red Bean Burgers

(makes 6 patties)

1 14oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 7 oz. firm tofu, squeezed of excess water and crumbled 1 carrot, grated 1/2 onion, chopped finely 2 cloves garlic, minced handful of parsley, chopped 1/2 cup whole grain vegan breadcrumbs (I use a little more to hold the patty together) 2 T flour 1/4 tsp liquid smoke 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp all purpose seasoning (like Mrs. Dash or Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute) 1/2 tsp each of garlic and onion powder (you may add less if you like) 1/2 tsp paprika salt and pepper to taste

Mash beans in a bowl and add the crumbled tofu. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. I like to use a blender/masher or fork to help chop and smoosh the mixture which will make it form into patties easier. You may have a taste in order to adjust seasonings.

Refrigerate mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Shape into patties and place on oiled baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway at 400 degrees F or until browned and crispy. (I actually fry mine in olive oil), Serve on a bun w/ caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, sprouts and sauce below:

Thousand Island Burger Sauce With A Kick

1/2 cup vegan mayo 2-3 T ketchup 1 T chopped dill pickle or relish a squirt of lemon juice 1/4 tsp all purpose seasoning blend salt and pepper to taste 5-6 drops of hot sauce

Combine all ingredients and chill. Is great on the tofu burger and with seasoned fries.

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I made mine a little differently. I placed my ingredients in my food processor and sort of pureed them. This meant I had to add more dry ingredients so I increased the flour by 1/4 cup and the breadcrumbs by 1 cup.

I really loved the way these tasted and can totally see them as "meatballs" in a pasta recipe! I will definitely make these again. And soon!

Now, for those of you wondering how I can have breadcrumbs since I can't have yeast I'll let you in on a little secret; I cheat.

Every once in a while (less often than I like, to be honest) I get to a Whole Foods and buy their sourdough bread. (It's amazing and light and not the least bit sour. I don't understand how this is but I don't argue!) When I slice it I don't like the ends as they're too thick for sandwiches or the toaster. Because of this I specifically leave the ends extra thick and throw them in the freezer. Then, I forget about them until I throw more into the freezer. Then I forget about them again and again until, eventually, I need breadcrumbs and I lament about not being able to have yeast. This happens for about 20 minutes before it finally dawns on me that I actually have yeast-free bread that I can use to make my own breadcrumbs! Yeah, sometimes I can be pretty slow. Don't ask. We don't like to talk about it.

I take the bread ends out of the freezer, let them defrost and then stick them into my food processor. (I find it's a lot easier to cut the thawed bread into golf-ball-sized pieces and use the "pulse" button on my machine. It cuts down a lot of the frustration and it makes the whole process take a lot less time.)

I then bag them in one cup portions (most recipes seem to call for this amount, why is that?), label the bags and store them in the freezer.

So, this week the landscaper is back (mid-week) and I can't wait. The closer we get to the finished product the more antsy I get to see it, use it, adore it.

I'm also getting a couple of little health nigglings sorted out in the next few weeks and working on my nutrition as I work on a vegetarian/vegan way of eating. (It's becoming more and more difficult as I'm having difficulties digesting beans without intense gas/wind and associated pain. Considering I'm allergic to lentils and don't want to over-do soy... I'm running out of ideas for proteins *frown*)

That's a savory recipe shared and the infamous vegan chocolate chip cookies recipe is on its way (hopefully this week) - so what would you like to see me make next?

Added to the list of baddies...

As you probably know I am allergic/intolerant/sensitive to a plethora of foods which makes an "alternative" diet a bit tricky. IN an effort to streamline my life and make final decisions about what I can and cannot, will and will not eat; I dragged myself back to the allergy specialist for more testing on some foods I've been avoiding largely based on fear, cloudy childhood memories and a lack of willingness to test some of these foods and "fail" by having a potentially severe reaction.

I bought 7 tonnes of food, most of it dried, and brought the specialist The Sadist little sample bits of my fears.

After pricking my arms twelve times it was diagnosed that I am, indeed, severely allergic to some of the foods I was scared about. These are the culprits...

"Puy Style" Dark Speckled Green Lentils

Red Split Lentils

Brown Lentils

Green Lentils

Shall we just say .... all lentils? Grr, so frustrating.

On the other hand, we've learned that I'm -not- allergic to chickpeas, pine nuts, flax seeds, mung beans, aduki beans or millet!

(Sorry for the mush but the dried foods weren't conducive for testing as we couldn't guarantee that any of the allergen entered my skin. The mush ensured that it would.)

That's -fantastic- news but I must admit that some of those (along with the list of nuts OK'd at my last visit) I'm still afraid to eat because I've spent a lifetime avoiding them and thusly have almost brainwashed myself a bit. I -will- try them, I just need some time to convince myself that to do so will be OK ;)

**DISCLAIMER** I'd like to take a moment here to make this important PSA... Just because someone has a "negative" skin prick result (meaning that your skin isn't allergic to the allergen introduced) doesn't mean that you won't have something like OAS when you eat it. Consider yourselves warned/reminded.

I've been a busy little beaver doing all sorts of "chores" today... laundry, dishes, cooking two meals, assembling

and baking cookies!

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Vegan Zucchini/Courgette Cookies

Stir together in a bowl:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup grated zucchini/courgette (I think I'll add a bit more next time)

1/2 cup canola/rapeseed oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift together in another sized bowl:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

(Optional:

3/4 cup toasted, chopped pecans or walnuts

1 cup raisins)

Preheat the oven to 350 F (150 C). Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. (Stir in the nuts and raisins.)

Drop spoonfuls of dough on parchment-/baking paper- lined baking sheets. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove cookies and place on wire rack to cool.

Mine, pictured above, probably look a little darker than you'd prefer in a cookie. That's because I actually set my oven hotter (by about 50 degrees C) than I should. They still taste good (they're not burned) but I will make sure I check the required temperature versus the actual temperature of my oven next time!

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After my adventures today I've declared the rest of the evening for knitting *grin*

All in the name of science

Today was a day of itches.

Not the nice "ah, let me scratch that.. that's better" kind of itches. No. Today was a day of "For the love of -goose- that itches and I can't scratch it!" kind of itches.

Today, I went to The Sadist (professionally known as my Allergy Specialist) who loves nothing better than mixing a myriad of food and plant stuffs with some benign solution, pricking my arm repeatedly (no less than 22 times this visit, thank you!) then sending me out to the waiting room for a period of 15 to 30 minutes while I marinate, cry, itch, squirm, count the seconds until I can take an antihistamine. (For those who don't know what the Skin Prick allergy test consists of: stay tuned to the end of the post.)

Yesterday, I had headed to a "healthy" kind of grocery shop and stocked up on some foodstuffs I was concerned/curious about. Here are the dry ones...

Last night, MrB and I meticulously packed sample-size portions of each food so that I wouldn't have to lug all of those containers and their contents halfway across London on the Underground and here are the ones that were deemed "safe"*...

and the ones that we need to test some other day...

I called The Sadist's secretary yesterday to ask if I should soak the beans/legumes/pulses/lentils overnight or just cook them or leave them be or what but The Sadist wasn't available for contact so I was advised to just bring them as they were. It turns out that most of these babies are too tough in their solid state to guarantee any food actually penetrated my skin when it was broken meaning that any results aren't certain. (Mushy foods are much smaller molecularly and therefor easier to force under the skin.)

So, I need to make another appointment. *sigh* To be honest, though, the 20+ pricks I got today were tough enough that I'm glad I didn't have another ten itchy spots to contend with.

Things I learned today:

1. I am severely allergic to goat's milk. (I know that I have a severe allergy to cow's milk but MrB and I were curious as to the possibility of other animal milks.) It turns out that if you have a severe cow's milk allergy the odds are that you will be allergic to the milk of other mammals. The Sadist asked if I'd like to be challenge tested for sheep's milk because my reaction wasn't as severe as the other milk reactions but warned me sternly that "under no circumstances" was I to encounter/test myself with an animal milk at home "or even sitting outside A&E [the ER]".
2. I was wrong when, as a child, I had convinced myself that I was allergic to nuts. It turns out I am not. (The Sadist and I have agreed that what probably happened is that I had a bit of an OAS reaction to walnuts not quite knowing how it differs from a dangerous allergy. This is, interestingly, attached to my Birch allergy.) And, now that I'm not allergic to any of the nuts The Sadist tested for today (and also peanuts, cashews and almonds) I'm allowed to perform my own OAS investigations at home with nuts. (Basically, take a nut, rub it on my wetted bottom lip and wait 15 minutes to see if I react.)

Almost two years ago I "had a run in" with strawberries that meant I've been earnestly avoiding them since. It wasn't an allergic reaction or even OAS but it was weird and something I wanted to not repeat so strawberries were out. Because my body is so sensitive and changes so often I decided I'd get tested for them, too. Turns out (as I suspected) I'm not allergic to them so I am now sitting down with this...

(they really are as yummy as they look)

...to see how I fare tomorrow. If said weirdness returns tomorrow I will know that I cannot have strawberries and I will, of course, report my findings here to you. (This odd symptom isn't something "new" or unique to me but it is still relatively unknown because strawberries aren't usually consumed in huge amounts.)

So, how did you spend your afternoon?

(Skin prick allergy testing involves preparing myself up to a week in advance. Because I have eczema/psoriasis I have to stop using topical steroids on my hands/arms for about a week before I get tested because their presence can inhibit any reactions. I also have to stop using my antihistamines for at least 24 hours -I try to go 48ish to be sure- for the same reason. If The Sadist is testing me for an allergen he has in his handy little kit then it is a liquid placed in a small drop (it looks like water) on my skin through which he pierces my skin with a lancet-type device that doesn't just have one sharp point but four. And he turns it to make sure it definitely breaks the surface of the skin. A little annoying but I can handle that pretty well. If there's a substance/food that isn't in The Sadist's little bag o' tricks then I have to provide it. Liquid, soft or mushy foods are best as they are comprised of smaller molecules which means it's easier to get enough of the sample through the break in my skin that any reaction (or lack thereof) can be deemed as official. If the substance is solid/too hard/dense (as we found out today) then The Sadist can't guarantee that there was enough of it on the lancet-type thing when it penetrated the skin to ensure a real result (if I don't react was it because I'm not allergic or because there wasn't any/enough allergen introduced?). This is done until we run out of things we want to test/The Sadist gets bored. Then he pricks my skin with a lancet with -nothing- on it (known as the Negative Control = I shouldn't react at all) and a lancet that has pure histamine (known as the Positive Control = I should react and the size of that reaction can help him gauge the others). Then he sends me out of the room to stew. I try to occupy my hands with an electronic game (usually on my phone) so that I don't scratch/rub/scream. I've tried crocheting and knitting but sharp objects that are perfect for scratching aren't so good when you're trying desperately not to scratch. Plus, I fidget so much during that time that I'd be dropping stitches left, right and centre. Not a calm me would that make. When I'm called back into the room The Sadist reviews the sizes of my bumps (ooer!) and makes his diagnoses. Then we discuss if/where/when we need further testing and I am allowed (finally) to take an antihistamine to help calm my system down. Once that's done we shake hands and I head home. Not too horrible, really, I'm just a big baby when it comes to really itchy itches. *grin*)