A Guava Tree

There's a little guava tree growing near the driveway in front of our house. The birds planted it. There's just one thing, we have to dig it up and move it. It is too close to that other tree. I don't know when well be able to do that. We also have to decide where to put it. I hope we can move it soon before it gets too big. I also hope we don't kill it in the process of moving it.

I went to The Source and found all these gluten free things! They were having their anniversary sale so I got a really good price for all this. I think, hope I bought enough to last me at least 6 weeks. The loaf of bread you see there is made from the Gluten Free Pantry's Sandwich bread mix. It is one of the green striped boxes . It came out a bit darker than my other loaves...I wonder if I should change the setting to light instead of medium the next time I make it.

Giveaways

My cousin Kat of Our Adventures in Japan told me that Deb in Hawaii of Kahakai Kitchen is having a giveaway! She is giving away Betty Crocker's new gluten free dessert mixes. I have yet to see them in the stores here on Oahu. What a great giveaway! Thanks, Kat.

Later, I discovered that Linda of The Gluten-Free Homemaker is also giving away the same thing, so...go and enter these giveaways and good luck!

Church Picnic

On July 4th, we went to our church's annual picnic at Waimanalo Beach Park. It was a beautiful day for the beach, but the Portuguese Man O'War and jelly fish were washing up also. One of the church members (a former science teacher) picked up 30 jellies and man o'war! He took the picture of them in an aquarium that he brought.

After the picnic we met my parents and my brother and his wife at Genki Sushi, where I can eat the plain stuff like maguro, hamachi and cukecumber rolls. :) It was nice not to bring my own food.

Squash Soup and Pencil Cases

We got a very large winter melon from a friend and it made a crockpot full of soup! I had never really made this kind of soup before. I used a recipe from Castle High School's 2005 Project Grad cookbook, "Come Eat, My House". I didn't follow the recipe as it was written because it called for Shiitake Mushrooms and I can't eat those (they have gluten). I also did not put in the sherry, Whiskey or Bourbon (I think I am sensitive to the sulfates). It was delicious! Here is the recipe I used:

Chinese Squash Soup
1 Chinese squash (the long white green one) (Peeled, seeds removed, and 1" cubes)
3-5 - 14 ounce cans chicken broth
1/2 can diced Spam or Ham or Chicken (I used frozen chicken breast, sliced)
1 cup julienned Shiitake Mushrooms (I didn't use these)
1 small package Long Rice (pre soaked and cut in 2 inch lengths) (I used Thai long rice)
1 inch Fresh Ginger Root sliced (I used lots of this)
1/3 cup Sherry or Whiskey or Bourbon (I used water instead)
1 teaspoon of Garlic minced
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Add everything to the pot except the ginger. Bring to a boil. Reduce to Medium Heat, Cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until squash and long rice is tender. Add ginger the last 10 minutes of cooking. Submitted by Jocelyn Cheng

Note: I cooked this in my crockpot and it took a very long time to cook. The conversion is as follows: If original recipe calls for 1/4 to 1/2 hr, cook on low for 4-9 hours or cook on high for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Sorry, no sewing, I'm trying to finish up some things for my MHH class. I took my test online and now I need to finish my research paper. Until then, let me leave you with a picture of some pencil cases I made a few years ago.

Potato Leaves, Bread and Drawstring Bags

We fertilized the potato plants and the leaves are now growing as big as my hand! (and I have pretty big hands) We harvested lots of leaves and some potatoes for Father's day lunch. It was yummy. I forgot to take a picture of the potatoes. Oh well, maybe next time.

This loaf of bread was made from scratch using a recipe I got from someone on the Celiac Forum. I turned out great! I went to this natural food store called The Source in Kailua. They had so many gluten free things! Mixes, flours, cookies, etc. The owner was so nice. He didn't have the mix I wanted, so he ordered for me. Then he called me when they came in. I really like that store!

I've posted pictures of some patchwork drawstring bags I made and gave away to some friends on the mainland. The outside is the patchwork and the inside is the aloha print fabric with monkeys.

Water Bottle Carrier and More Bread

I made a water bottle carrier for DH for Father's Day. I used this pattern, but didn't really follow it because I got too confused. I also couldn't find the right sliders. I made it out of nylon and boy, was it tough to sew. I had to use tissue paper to keep it from sliding in the machine. That worked, but then tearing the tissue paper out of the seams was a bit difficult. I wanted it to be light weight and water proof. I don't know if I will make another one like it again, maybe with a different type of fabric.

This bread is made from Gluten Free Pantry's French Bread and Pizza Mix. This time I left the paddle in the bread and it turned out perfect! I just took out the paddle before slicing it. If you look closely, you can see where the paddle was. It was so yummy!