How we can help

It is a beautiful morning. As I breathe deeply and appreciate the sun, I can not forget the tragedies that have been happening in our communities.

The most recent tragedy was a school shooting in a town near the one in which I grew up. If there can ever be said to be a typical school shooting, this wasn't it. A young man killed his mother, then drove to the elementary school where she taught. He killed twenty children and six adults there, then killed himself bringing the toll to 28 that I am aware of at this time.

Flag at half mast in Newtown, CT this morning.

Breaking news this morning has revealed no motive.

I am one of the lucky ones - no one I know happened to be hurt or killed. Knowing how lucky I am just amplifies how unlucky some others were. There are 27 families who will never again hold their loved ones who were lost. 20 sets of parents of tiny children who will never see their babies grow up.

If you are able and wish to help the community, here is a story from a local paper that explains how you can help.

http://southbury.patch.com/articles/ways-to-help-sandy-hook

If we wish to make sure this doesn't happen again, we have a lot more work to do. Why did this young man snap? Why do we attach a stigma to asking for mental health help? Why don't we have a system in place to recognize and help people who are in such a dark place that violence seems like a reasonable choice? How can we make changes to assure that this won't happen again?

Healing with broths and stocks

Good morning fantastic people!

Did you know that you can make stocks and broths while you sleep, and have a nourishing drink in the morning? Last night, I simmered some broth in the slow cooker overnight. This morning, I strained it out and drank a warm cup to wake my body up.

Then I enjoyed a smoothie made with frozen banana, fresh spinach, and a little raw coconut butter. I blended it with just enough water to make it smooth. Having a little healthy fat with your green veggies helps you absorb all the good fat-soluble vitamins in the greens.

How do I make broths? It sounds daunting, but it is really easy. When you use carrots, celery, and onions in your cooking, keep the trimmings. Not the yucky bits; you don't want yucky stuff in your stock. But the tops and tails of nice, fresh carrots, ends of crunchy celery, and the skins and outer layers of onions that are clean all work beautifully. If you are fortunate to have leeks, use the green part in stock. If your carrots have green frondy tops, pick through, wash, and use all that gorgeous mineral-rich green stuff. Any time you use fresh parsley, keep all the stems in this bag too. Whether you are making a veg broth or an animal bone broth, these veggies come in really handy. Some people use all sorts of other veggies in their broths, but I find that I like the balanced flavor of carrot, onion, celery, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorn in mine.

The stems of mushrooms are great too. Usually I store mushroom stems separately, because I like to have both veg broth and mushroom broth. Put all those trimmings in a freezer bag, squeeze out all the air, and pop it in the freezer. After a week or two of eating lots of veggies, you've got a lot of trimmings!

To make veggie broth, simply dump your collected veggie trimmings and some chopped fresh veggies in a big stockpot, and cover with fresh filtered water. If you don't already have herbs in there, add them. My favorite combo for basic veg broth is to have lots of carrot, celery, and a good amount of onion or leek, a few cloves of garlic, parsley stems, peppercorn, bay leaf, and some fresh or dried parsley and thyme.

Bring up to a simmer. Simmer away for hours. You can simmer on the stove top, or if you'll be away or asleep, use a slow cooker set on low. Cool a bit, strain through a colander then a fine mesh sieve, chill it down or just use straight away.

To make an animal bone stock, add chicken, beef, or lamb bones. (You can also just simmer the bones without the veggies for a less flavorful broth, if that is what you need for a specific purpose.) Leg bones with joints and connective tissue will release their natural gelatin into the liquid as it simmers. Gelatin-rich stocks will gel up when chilled. Broths made primarily with back bones and gizzards with less collagen won't gel up as well, but do have other nutrients. Simmer bone broths even longer than veg broths to extract all the nutrients. You can use the leftover carcass of a roast chicken this way with excellent results too.

For mushroom stock, simply simmer your mushroom stems with lots of dried shiitake mushrooms, some garlic, peppercorn, and thyme (fresh and dried both work fine.)

For Rather Crafty, I make a huge batch of veggie broth every week and use it in soups, sauces, and often as a cooking liquid for grains. When I'm making mushroom-based soups and other dishes, I make mushroom broth.

Since choosing to incorporate some animal foods back into my diet, I find that making stock from chicken and turkey bones is a nourishing way to try to heal my digestive system and my joints. I also feel better about using every possible part of the animal. While I would rather not have to use animal products at all, if my health demands that I do then it feels a lot better to use every scrap. No waste!

Healing, and a resolution

Hello wonderful people!

I am in the process of transforming this blog from a place to announce menus into, well, a blog. I'll be posting recipes, kitchen adventures, and a little about my health journey. Hopefully, my experiences can help others along their journeys too!

As some of you know, I haven't been in the best of health lately. As part of my healing, I have made a resolution: I will choose to be near a body of water almost every day. Walking to work at CeL, I am fortunate to cross the Charles. Walking to JP, I go via the Pond. I always feel better when I spend time in the woods and/or near some water. I'm also noticing that I feel better when I don't work all day, every day. I didn't work yesterday. I rested, I napped, I went for a walk, and it was amazing. Some people only work five days a week, and only eight hours at a stretch! Sounds crazy - I'll have to look into that.  ;)

Today, I only had a few hours of work to do. When I was done, I had the opportunity to go to Wellesley and walk around Lake Waban. I haven't been there for years. It was awesome. Here's a crooked picture I took with my phone:

On the right, you can see Galen Stone Tower. That's where the carillon is. In front of it, the Clapp Library is mostly obscured by trees. On the left, you see the Tower Court dorm complex, including Severance Hall where I lived during my first year.

I had almost forgotten how many rhododendrons there are on and near the campus. So very many! Some things have changed on campus, but that is not one of them.

Something that has changed for me this year is my digestion. I have always gone through periods when digestion was easier and periods when it was more difficult. Since July, I have been experiencing consistently very difficult digestion, and it has affected every area of my life.


I've gone through lots of tests. I'm tired of tests. Last week I swallowed a camera. It took pictures of my esophagus, stomach, and small intestine over a period of nearly eight hours. Crazy! Maybe there will be results to discuss tomorrow.

The next round is lactulose breath testing. What does that mean? I have to fast overnight (no water or anything) then tomorrow I will go in and drink a solution of lactulose in water. Lactulose is a disaccharide (double sugar) made of fructose and galactose. I will drink the solution, then hang out in the doctor's office. At regular intervals, I will breathe into a device that will measure hydrogen and/or methane in my breath. This will tell us if there are too many bacteria in my small intestine. The bacteria should mostly be in the large intestine, not the small intestine. If they're hanging out in the small intestine, that would explain the excessive tummy bloat and some other symptoms. It would also mean that there's something we can do to treat this and then I can start feeling better!

So far, things that seem to help include:

Vitamin D
Pantothenic acid
Drinking homemade broth
Relaxing
Taking a day or two off from work
Increasing and diversifying my protein intake
Diversifying sources of fat
Simple meals - Not combining too much starch into protein meals, and not too much protein or fat in meals that contain fruit or other sweets

Things that cause trouble:

Grains, other than occasionally a little white rice (some are worse than others)
Beans, and all legumes (some cause anaphylaxis, and others cause other symptoms)
Too many seeds
Too many nuts
Too many onions at once
Too little protein or fat
Combining protein and fat with fruit or sweets in the same meal
Eating too often. I get really bloated if I eat again within a couple hours after eating a prior meal or snack.

I can't figure out all the factors yet, because I still get bloated after most meals, even some that should be easier to digest.

And here is the hard part, where I have to tell you that I am no longer eating a vegan diet.

I was vegan for two years. There were so many things I loved about it, but here's the thing: I'm allergic to most legumes, highly sensitive to the rest, and I can't digest grains or pseudograins anymore. I've been dealing with chronic inflammation and other issues, and I basically ran out of protein sources. I tracked my diet, and discovered I rarely consumed more than 30 or 40 grams of protein a day. That's just not enough. I had almost no significant sources of lysine, or of a few other essential amino acids. I stopped being able to digest flaxseed, so I had very limited sources of Omega-3 fatty acids. I was worn out and feeling brittle. I was experiencing wild weight fluctuations, completely unrelated to calorie intake. I had muscle tears that weren't healing. I was consistently getting inadequate pantothenic acid. Pantothenic acid insufficiency is not something Western doctors even test for, because normal diets are very rich in it. It's very plentiful in egg yolks, grains, all animal foods, and legumes. It's also plentiful in avocados, which may explain why I craved them so much! But woman can not live on avocado alone.

So I'm again eating a careful omnivorous diet.

It has been a challenging journey to get here; I am sorry if it offends anyone.

Some aspects of my health have been improved by starting to eat fish. Some aspects have greatly improved by including eggs, especially the B-vitamin-rich yolks. I get the eggs from our friends at Stillman Family Farms. I have been out to their farms, and I have met the animals. I know that they are treated humanely and live happy lives. The chickens scratch outdoors. The lambs and calves grow up in pastures with their mothers. They're not fattened up with hormones or antibiotics. If you're going to eat animal products, it is so important to know how the animals are treated.

So that's what's up here in Craftyland. I hope you are all doing well! I hope to be doing well soon too.

Love,
Mary

Muffin Mania!

Twelve dozen banana buckwheat chocolate chip muffins. That is what I have baked. Twelve. Dozen. My oven only holds two dozen at a time, people. *WHEW* Okay, now on to the scones!

Bunny emergency! Delivery postponed until Friday.

Hello everyone,

I am very sorry but I have had an emergency and I must postpone the cooking and deliveries this week. I can deliver on Friday. Please let me know if this is ok, and if you need to adjust your order accordingly. If you need to amend or cancel your order, I will understand completely.

Our bunny, Penelope, has been sick. She spent the weekend in the hospital. Hopefully, she will come home tomorrow or the next day. She has great doctors and nurses, and is making good progress. In the meantime, I just haven't been able to spend time in the kitchen to cook this week's food.

I will be able to deliver the same menu to you on Friday, December 7.

I am very sorry for the inconvenience. It's been a rough couple of days!

Thank you for your understanding.

Love,
Chef Mary

One Last Menu: Monday, December 3

Hello CraftyLand!

The holiday season is upon us! Shops are decorated for Christmas. Hanukkah begins soon. And the weather is finally turning just a bit wintry.

As you know, this will be the last menu for delivery for a while. Of course, I am available to come and cook in your home or for special events of almost any size. I can accommodate a wide range of dietary needs and tailor cooking specifically for your needs.

There will be plenty of opportunities to see me around town, too! I'll still be cooking at Cuisine en Locale, for large and small events, pop-ups, and ONCEs. And don't forget to check out the Downtown Crossing Holiday Market - lots of local small businesses (including Alex's Ugly Sauce for the next couple weeks) are set up there every day until 7 pm to help you finish your holiday shopping!

Without further ado, here it is! A delightful new menu with a touch of holiday flair. This menu will be ready for delivery on Monday, December 3.

Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you all very soon!

Much love,
Chef Mary

************************************

SOUP:

Pumpkin Apple Soup! Not spicy, but richly flavored with sage and nutmeg, this soup will warm your soul on any winter night! $9

PLATES:

Vegetable Lasagna: Gluten free brown rice pasta layered with plenty of seasonal veggies and cashew "ricotta." What kinds of veggies? That's up to the farmer's market, but I expect to see butternut squash, tasty greens, and more. $13

Carrot Masala Dip: Vivid flavors warm you from your tastebuds to your toes. With sesame tahini, fresh ginger, and warming spices. Served with fresh veggies to dip. $12

Red Bean and Seasonal Veggie Chili: Nourishing, warm, and just a bit spicy. Served with brown rice. $11

BAKERY:

Banana Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Muffins! Everyone's favorite! I can do them without chocolate on request. $10 half dozen, $18 dozen

By popular request, my famous Chocolate Hazelnut Spread! Served with chocolate chip scones so yummy you'd never know they were gluten free and vegan. (I can do a chocolate-free, cinnamon-vanilla version with cream scones on request.) Yum! $12

*************************************

Please inform me or remind me if you have any allergies or sensitivities. I do not use wheat, gluten, meat, fish, egg, dairy, soy, or peanut in any Rather Crafty dishes. I do use tree nuts and seeds in some dishes, and while I am careful to minimize the risk of cross-contact, some risk exists. I use fresh fruits and veggies, local and/or organic when possible. Below is a guide to help you choose based on allergies, but it is not a comprehensive ingredients list.

SOUP: Small amount of cooked garlic and onion in broth and soup itself. No nuts.
LASAGNA: Will probably contain some cooked garlic. Will definitely contain cashews.
DIP: Contains some garlic. Contains sesame. No tree nuts. Richly flavored with Indian spices, but not super hot.
CHILI: Some cooked onion and garlic. No nuts. Contains beans. A little spicy.
MUFFINS: No nuts. May be done without chocolate on request.
CHOCOLATE SPREAD: Contains nuts. Scones contain cashews.

RAW: Choose carrot dip and the chocolate spread without scones.
GRAIN FREE: Choose soup, carrot dip, chili minus the rice, and chocolate spread without the scones.
ACD: Savory dishes are good choices for most. Muffins and chocolate spread are somewhat sweet; use your best judgement.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Love,
Chef Mary

Gratitude and Vitamin D

I'm feeling inspired to post an actual, you know, blog post here on the blog. For almost two years, I have only really posted weekly menus. Now that I'm taking Rather Crafty in a new direction, I think I will start using the blog as an actual blog every now and then.

I was inspired by Lillian's Test Kitchen. Lillian is not a professional chef, she's just a person with food sensitivities. She very bravely makes recipes for the first time on camera, then tells the whole internet about them. How brave is that!

On top of the recipe testing, she has been doing a series lately about what she calls GratiTUDE - simply the attitude of being grateful. Today was day 42 and she posted about avocados. As you know, the avocado is my favorite fruit! I'm incredibly grateful for avos too! They are creamy, satisfying, go great in sweet or savory dishes and salads, and are amazing on their own with just a sprinkling of sea salt.

Another thing I am grateful for is vitamin D. Some of you know I have been experiencing some challenges lately. One of the things tests have uncovered is a low level of vitamin D. I suspect that in addition to not making much of it (Boston is not the best place to get direct sunlight, especially this time of year) I was probably also not correctly absorbing or utilizing what I was making.

I've made some significant diet and lifestyle changes recently. I've been working on uncovering hidden sensitivities and nourishing my body back to its best health. One thing that I recently started doing is supplementing with a high dose of vitamin D. I've also introduced a wider variety of fats, in an effort to better absorb fat soluble vitamins and other micronutrients. The difference is noticeable already!

I recommend that everyone get their vitamin D levels checked, especially those of us with sensitivities and weird, hard-to-explain symptoms. If you are low, even if you're not that low, you might consider supplementation. Making this hormone yourself in the sunshine is the best way to get it, but it's November and the sun's rays are no longer direct enough for that plan to work. There's a lot of controversy about indoor tanning; enough to warrant an entire post of its own. Eating foods naturally rich in D is helpful, but there aren't many and it is very difficult to get enough that way. If you want to try to get enough from diet, wild caught salmon and cod liver oil are among the best natural sources. Supplementation through enriched foods can be a pretty good backup plan for some folks, but that means you have to actually eat those enriched, factory-produced foods.

I've never been one for taking a whole lot of pills, but I do suddenly find myself taking some now and I feel better for it.

(I am not a doctor. This is not to be construed as medical advice and so forth. It is my opinion. It is supported by the science.)

So I'm grateful for the flexibility to adapt. And I'm grateful that my health is improving!

I'm also extremely grateful for all of you who have made Rather Crafty great. It's been a fun ride so far, and while it's changing, it's far from over! I look forward to writing and cooking for you lots more in the future.

Much love,
Chef Mary