The Lazy Farm Girl Cooks Gluten Free: July 2008

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Homemade Pork Sausage, first try

I couldn't resist experimenting with ground pork, considering it's only fifty cents a pound!

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds ground pork
2 teaspoons ground sage
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

Mix it all up (get your hands in there and really work it!).
Scoop out 1/4 c. at a time, shape into patties. Place on cookie sheet covered in waxed paper.
Flash freeze; transfer to freezer bag for storage in freezer.

To cook: fry over medium heat, turning often, until brown and center is no longer pink.

My take: a decent recipe but something was missing. It's more firm than store bought sausage, but noted that no fat cooked out of the patties. I have a bag full of sausage patties, so it'll be a while before I can tweak it and try again.

Going Gluten Free

Two and a half years have passed since I wrote the the comments below. We gradually fell off the GF bandwagon. Maybe we lost interest. Maybe we felt deprived. Maybe we just got lazy.

During that time, I've had ever-increasing digestive problems to the point that I was afraid I might have pancreatic cancer. After a couple of trips to the doctor, many bottles of probiotics and digestive detox supplements, and no improvement, I called doc again. He wasn't able to work me in, but I did go see a sweet young woman PA. Jenna told me to cut out gluten.

After one week, I saw a notable improvement in my issues. Guess I'm back on that bandwagon for good! :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didn't make the choice to ditch gluten because of any diagnosis or physician recommendation. I did it because the more I read about consuming wheat, the more I wondered if I was feeding a wheat or gluten allergy. I have other food sensitivities, mostly to additives, as well as a host of allergies.

To add to the laundry list of ailments, I can place a check next to most gluten allergy sympgoms: keratosis pilaris, chronic dermatitis, extreme and chronic fatigue, foggy memory, digestive problems, low iron, osteoporosis, allergies.... I've also managed to steadily gain 130 pounds since graduating high school in 1975.

I'm a mess!

Wah.

About the first of April this year, I kicked gluten for about two weeks. I didn't have the "I felt better in three days" reaction that people talk about. I did notice a more euphoric feeling coupled with less brain fog. After two weeks, I returned to gluten and so returned the mental drag. That was enough to convince me to give up gluten for life.

It's hard to kick it completely. Since I'm not diagnosed with Celiac or Crohn's, I'm not on a mission to avoid an occasional splurge on pizza, nor am I going to go over the edge if I eat something with caramel coloring. I will, however, do my best to get 99% of the gluten out of my diet.

This is my journey to living better, gluten-free.

The Lazy Farm Girl Cooks Gluten Free

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Homemade Pork Sausage, first try

INGREDIENTS

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