Zucchini Hazelnut Bread!

Today I made a loaf of bread. This is a big deal.

I'm gluten-intolerant and lactose intolerant, and I have a lazy intestine. That mother doesn't want to work. I shouldn't eat meat, peanut butter, chocolate, and other hard-to-digest-but-delicious-foods. At the end of the previous school year, I wrote what I consider to have been a very inspirational blogpost about the matter: "I'm taking control of my digestive system!" and "Nothing will get me down, by golly!" were the highlights, in case you were unlucky enough to miss it.Well, that attitude was fairly easy to keep up with this summer while I was at home in High Point, on vacation, straight chillin'. I had nothing to do but eat well, exercise, and hang out with my friends and family, and my mind and body loved me for it!

I came back to the DR, so happy to be with the fiancé and my friends here, but to be honest, going back to work has been a complete bitch. Being in the classroom is so gratifying and fun for me that it's like free therapy - I leave at the end of the class more relaxed and more in tune with myself than when I began. But the grading! And the new classes! My workload feels like it's doubled and I've been completely exhausted, stressed out, and contemplating quitting my job and working in retail. I mean, whatever. Any mindless job will do.

My day-to-day life has consisted of school, napping, boiling some tubers, and going back to bed. The days that vary are the days that I get so sick of this routine that I freak out about how every day is the same and the fiancé and I go to a movie or go out to dinner. And then I set my alarm to begin again.

Y'all, this is ugly. On top of feeling way overworked, I've been neglecting exercise and my strict eating routine. In the past few weeks, I feel like I reversed so much of what I worked so hard to improve in the last few months. I know it's a vicious cycle - eating poorly and not exercising also zaps energy, but being a work zombie has given me a tunnelvision that directs me straight to my bed.

But then I went away last weekend to Puerto Plata, and I connected with my inner voice again. Friends. The beach. The sun. An absorbing book. It's amazing what rest and silence and laughter will do for the soul.

I reminded myself that I really am in control. I am the only one that can bring life back into my life! Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk that has gringo-fied many Buddhist teachings (Thanks Thich! ;) We're on a first name basis now), said something that connects with my weekend away: "The greatest miracle is that you are alive. And one breath can show you that." We are alive! Living! Breathing! Swimming! Laughing! Sharing! Listening! Shit that's good!

I'm embarrassed that I've been letting work, stress, and the proverbial "man" keep me down, but I'm feeling reenergized to start fighting back! For the millionth time, I want to be better today, and tomorrow, and the next day. Because, "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.' (Mary Anne Rodmacher)

So I tried again today.

And I worked efficiently at school (check), I exercised (check!!!), and I made an incredible loaf of Zucchini Hazelnut Bread (check check check!!!!!).

Wow! My first loaf of bread! It's moist, spongy, and the flavors are so perfect together! Really, it's exactly how I remember gluten-full bread to taste like! It was love at first sight/taste/smell. I wouldn't change a thing. (But if you want to, walnuts is a good substitution for the hazelnuts.)

Yogurt-Zucchini Bread with Hazelnuts

1 cup hazelnut halves (about 4 oz.)
2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt**
1 cup coarsely grated zucchini (from about 1 medium zucchini)

**I am very sensitive to any and all lactose products, but I tolerate Greek yogurt. It has less lactose than normal dairy products, and it's full of probiotics. Some of you lactose intolerants may not tolerate Greek yogurt at all, and in that case, you could substitute the yogurt for applesauce in this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil and flour a 9-by-4 1/2-inch metal loaf pan. 

Chop the hazelnuts in half. Then spread the hazelnut halves in a pan and toast them for about 8 minutes, until you can smell them. Take them off the heat and reserve them for later.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar with the eggs, vegetable oil and fat-free greek yogurt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the grated zucchini and toasted hazelnuts.  Stir until the batter is evenly moistened. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the loaf is risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the loaf cool on a rack for 30 minutes before unmolding and serving.


a buen tiempo!

My Mom's Spaghetti: My Comfort Food

I'm in North Carolina for the summer, hopping between High Point with my parents and friends, and Charlotte, where my sister and brother-in-law are raising their brand-new baby, Travis Winston Beglin. This baby just happens to be the sweetest, most precious little smiling bundle of, as cliché as it sounds, joy. He's 3 months old and, well, perfect. His flawlessness, I'm sure, is due to my sister's unfailing dedication as a new mom. 

I've learned that the key to "happy baby" is an on point sleeping schedule. Baby eats, plays, and the second you see an adorable baby yawn, get that booger to sleep! In his cute little crib with his adorable little animal mobile. As long as his sleeping and eating schedule is always on time, Baby T rarely fusses and only plays. It's great for my Mom and I, the visitors, because we have the honor of playing with the baby bunny while he's awake, and just hanging out while he's asleep. My sister, Caroline, on the other hand, doesn't have many moments to herself, but you'd never realize it because she never complains. It's more than impressive, it's honorable. Being a mother seems to be some scary shit, and she hasn't skipped a beat. Kudos to you, mi hermana!

Look at that baby smile!
You are welcome.

Love this baby bunny!

Now that I'm on summer vacation, I've been spending my days incredibly lazily. While I'm home, I've been getting my fix of the Food Network, particularly because the fiancé and I are TV-less (by choice!) in the DR. Knitting, looking for recipes and DIY projects, scanning Pinterest and Facebook - these are all worthy activities of Food Network or TLC's Say Yes to the Dress as back noise. Anyway, my Mom tends to join me while I watch, and she gets very upset that most Food Network hosts credit their mothers for their culinary "skillz." My Mom is patient, kind, funny, and quirky, but she is not a woman who enjoys being in the kitchen. I started my cooking prowess independently in college, and I've gotten serious about it in the last year and a half. Putting the pieces together, you'll see that I was not living at home while I was learning how to cook. But it's ok, Mom! You taught me too many other things. I need to be able to figure out a few things by myself!

My Mom's Spaghetti is her signature meal that, despite her magnetic pull away from the kitchen, has marked many special moments in my life, both before and after being gluten-and lactose-free. It has, what the fiancé calls, the 3 B's: it's bueno (good), bonito (pretty), y barato (cheap). Are you tempted yet? No really, this spaghetti is incredible. Most, if not all, of our family birthdays and other days of celebration were spaghetti days. Many a Sunday while my sister was in college, she came home for dinner with a few of her cronies, and those were always spaghetti days. When I come home from wherever I've been, spaghetti is normally what we eat first! My Mom's Spaghetti is my own personal comfort food, I know it's my sister's, too, and I've taken this tradition with me to the DR.

One cool November evening, we had a few of our best friends over for dinner, and My Mom's Spaghetti was on the menu.

I added some sliced mushrooms to this spaghetti, plus all the goodness you'll see in the recipe below.

Look at all those smiling, full faces!

After that night, our friend Juanddy talked about this spaghetti all the time! The next time I knew he would be over for dinner, I planned for spaghetti again, and then invited everyone else to try it! It was a huge hit, and nothing was left over! 

Not gluten- or lactose-free! But I didn't eat these!  

I think something intimidating about discovering you have food allergies is that you imagine your life without the foods you love. Yes, you'll find new foods that mark moments and people that are meaningful to you, of course. But I've found a way to eat My Mom's Spaghetti no matter what, by making slight changes, whether in my choice of pasta - whole wheat to gluten free - to eliminating the 1/2 pound of cheese I used to add on top. Obviously, these tweaks are easy ones, but I bet you can find a way to adapt the most important recipes in your life to your new diet. For example, since I found out about my recent digestive issues, this meal has been been adapted to be meat-less. We ate it without the ground beef at my sister's house last week! Do your best not to write off those breakfasts, lunches, dinners, or muffins that make you the happiest! You can find a way to keep them in your life!

You can always send them to La Buena Fe and I'd be happy to help you adjust your favorite recipes, too!

The most important thing you should take from this post is that when you make this recipe, you must share My Mom's Spaghetti on a special day or with people you love! Or, in other words, pay it forward!

Recipe

My Mom's Spaghetti

(Cooking time: 15-20 minutes)

Noodles:

1 package of gluten-free, and lactose-free (don't forget to check for milk!), spaghetti noodles

Sauce:

2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided

1 pound of ground beef, or substitute with ground turkey (But if you're going to do it, you might as well go with ground beef. It's so much better this way.)

1 package McCormick Thick and Zesty Spaghetti Sauce Mix

1 3/4 cups of water

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

** Leave out 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the ground beef or turkey for a meatless option.**

First, cook your spaghetti according to the package's instructions. 

While your spaghetti is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauce pan. Brown your ground beef until it is brown and crumbly. Then, stir in the McCormick sauce mix, water, tomato paste, oil, and ground beef until well blended. Bring the sauce to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Serve over pasta and add parmesan cheese (if you can!). Serves 4-5. 

a buen tiempo!