Bo In A Magazine

Mountain Climbing and Mining for Diamonds

Fiesta Fashion

Fashionable, Style Icon, First Lady, Michelle Obama, looked stunning in Isabel Toledo at the Mexican State Dinner last night.  Rick Bayless, Chicago Top Chef Master's winning Chef, prepared a delicious feast for all the White House guest.  Some of Chef Bayless recipes are mine and Jim's very favorite, and his restaurant Frontera Grill in Chicago is a favorite of the Obama's.  Just so happened Jim was in Chicago and ate at Frontera just last week.  He sent me some photos.  I was jealous!  But he brought me back a gift.  A signed Mexican Everday cookbook.  And the recipes we've tried have been sure not to disappoint.  One in particular was a fish recipe - we used halibut.  Delicious!

Splash of Sun

Yesterday I came across Portuguese water dogs.  Reminded me of when I worked in the Senate and would get the chance to walk and play ball with Sunny and Splash.  I remember Senator Kennedy walking with the dogs in those hallowed halls.  A sweet memory - a sweet moment.  Sunny and Splash always brought a splash of sun!

Mother's Day

 

A Mother

A mother is someone to shelter and guide us,

To love us, whatever we do,

With a warm understanding and infinite patience.

And wonderful gentleness, too.

How often a mother means swift reassurance

In soothing our small, childish fears,

How tenderly mothers watch over their children

And treasure them all through the years!

The heart of a mother is full of forgiveness

For any mistake, big or small,

And generous always in helping her family,

Whose needs she has placed above all.

A mother can utter a word of compassion

And make all our cares fall away,

She can brighten a home with the sound of her laughter

And make life delightful and gay.

A mother possesses incredible wisdom

And wonderful insight and skill

In each human heart is that one special corner

Which only a mother can fill!

Katherine Nelson Davis

I got to spend time with my mother, grand mother, and great grandmother yesterday.  What I love most is that not only are they mother's to me, but my very dearest friends!  My mom and I put together a delicious lunch of dainty, sentimental items special for Mom's Day!  We started off with a nice refreshing gazpacho, proceeded to different salads: green, Japanese chicken salad, and mixed in a ham and cheese quiche and fresh homemade rolls.  But the finale was the true favorite for me.  My mom and I made my great grandmother's famous coconut pie!  A special day with special memories from the past and present! Cherishing these moments is a most important part of this journey. 

Recipe:

Japanese Chicken Salad

Salad:

2 cups cooked chicken

16 oz. shredded cabbaged carrots (slaw mix)

2 pkg. chicken ramon noodles, broken up

6 oz. slivered almonds

4 oz. sunflower seeds

4 green onions - chopped

Mix above

Sauce:

2 pkg. seasoning from ramon noodles

2 t. sugar

2/3 cup oil

1 t. accent

1 t. pepper

3 t. vinegar (use salad vinegar)

1 t. soy sauce (use more soy and vinegar than it calls for)

Mix sauce ingredients well.

Pour sauce over salad. Refrigerate overnight.

Flour - A Whole New World

Flour is used for many things we love so much - cakes, breads, biscuits, pastries, pasta, pizza dough, gravy, and the list goes on.  It's hard to imagine life without all these delectable foods, but for those that have Celiac you have to rid yourself from flour based items, and anything else that contains gluten.  Finding a flour that doesn't contain gluten and that taste no different re-introduces many to the foods they miss. 

Leave to the oldest flour company in the U.S. to come up with gluten free mixes, and products that taste "normal."  King Arthur Flour established 1790 is by far my favorite flour to use.  I got excited when I learned they tested, developed, and have launched their gluten free products on the market.  It won't get any better than King Arthur. 

Hopefully friends with Celiac will be able to use this flour and open their world to include things they've missed - sandwiches, desserts, and much more.  And their families will be able to enjoy just as if it was regular flour - never noticing that gluten is missing.  

King Arthur is not only FDA approved, but GFCO a program of the Gluten Intolerance Group that is even more strict than the FDA.  This flour company is running a predominant grass roots campaign to get the word out through it's faithful patrons.  Please taste and see, and help in getting the word out; in hopes of helping  open a whole new world for those affected by Celiac. 

As Julia Child would say, "Bon Appetit!"

A helpful resource for gluten free recipes is the "Gluten Free Girl."