Days 1 and 2

aka "There is a reason why gluten sounds like it means glue." I went to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary last night and found this:

Main Entry: glu·ten
Pronunciation: \ˈglü-tən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin glutin-, gluten glue — more at clay
Date: 1803
: a tenacious elastic protein substance especially of wheat flour that gives cohesiveness to dough
— glu·ten·ous \ˈglüt-nəs, ˈglü-tən-əs\ adjective

"gluten." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010.
Merriam-Webster Online. 17 February 2010
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gluten

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and official first day of this gluten-free time for me. I was reminded why I like spelt bread (which has gluten). We had turkey burgers last night for dinner (thanks to there now being a Trader Joe's in Corvallis so we can get them easily!). My bread for the "burger" part of the turkey burger did not stay together long enough for me to eat the burger. In fact, I realized that the trend to have lettuce wrapped burgers when you ask for "no bun" at restaurants makes a lot of sense. It has more of a solid structure to hold on to than gluten free bread.

This morning I am trying to expand my repetoire of gf breakfast foods so I am cooking gluten-free steel cut oats (Bob's Red Mill). I'll let you know how it goes.

For anyone who is also going gf, I definitely recommend Bob's Red Mill for getting gluten free grains and mixes. In December, my mother-in-law, Judy, and I went to the Bob's Red Mill outlet near Milwaukee, OR. They had a whole aisle filled with gf items!

And, no, I don't get any kick-back for recommending them...though there is some funny tab in this blog software that says I can "Monetize." Anyone know what that means??