Days 13 - 14: It's the weekend. Eat this! It's good.

I love food.

Love.

LOVE.

There are few things as wonderful as sinking into my seat at the dinner table, eyes and elbows honored to be seated in front of a hearty, delicious meal, steam rising off of the dish, getting drunk on the aroma and pleasure before I even take the first bite.  Add people I adore and some thick, crusty bread, a curl or two of soft, creamy butter...and you have some of my most favorite experiences.

Or give me a good book and some just-released-from-the-oven spiced cookies, a mug of tea to warm my hands around, and a sunny, snowy afternoon, and you have another.

Or let me have some electrically-infused music (think the smoothest of jazz played by an ice cold horn section on a sweltering summer night) while noshing on something crispy and salty and fresh while I swill something equally as cool as the vibe around in my glass, ice cubes tinkling, heart and heat thumpin', belly full and oh so mellow.

Aaahhh...

Obviously, then, tossing a Low Iodine Diet into the equation kind of messes with my mangi mo jo.  The Low Iodine Diet, followed for the last one to two weeks before RAI treatment is pretty restrictive.  It involves avoiding food with iodine, dairy, soy, chocolate, seafood, sea salt,  certain food colorings, and specific food additives.  Additionally, they advise little to no leafy greens, limited grain servings, no potato skins, and no more than five ounces of (no additive!) meat per day.    Also, no eating out, as they say you can't trust a restaurant to prepare things the required ways.

You would not believe how much of our regular food stuffs have other irregular food stuffs in them.  Even meat in the grocery store has been injected with other things that are not permitted.  Craziness.

Thankfully, mini marshmallows somehow pass the LID test. 


This means, then, some creative shopping and some even more creative cooking is necessary.

Hey from Trader Joe's! LID-approved PB!

There's ants on my log! And they're yummy!

Breakfast for dinner involved some interesting recipe changes...

Despite some initial hesitation, I managed to frankenstein these (dairy-free, soy-free, yolk-free, iodine-free):  "Low-Iodiney-Still-Deliciouslike-Appley-Cinnamony-Pancakes!" 

2 c flour
1 tsp white sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
sprinkle of kosher salt
1-2 tbs cinnamon
1/4 c brown sugar
1 3/4 c applesauce
3 tbs olive oil
4-6 tbs water
5 tbs + 1 tsp egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients (except brown sugar) in bowl. Mix.
In separate bowl, whisk egg whites. Add brown sugar. Whisk again.
Add applesauce, oil, water, and vanilla extract. Mix.

Add dry ingredients. Mix together (adding more water by the tbs as necessary).
Fire up your griddle and MAKE SOME FLAPJACKS! :)

I worried how thick they were, but...

Fluffy, golden deliciousness!

And, even though they look kinda awful, these egg whites with fresh Jersey tomato, sauteed onions, basil, garlic, and oregano were so good!

Okay, maybe not as good as what the rest of the crew had! :/

Yesterday, we visited my mother's shop, Candle Corner, at the Amish Market in Vineland.  On the lower level of the marketplace, there's a variety of fresh food shops, including a produce stand and a butcher.  Fantastic!  Fresh, additive-free meat! In addition to some super nice sweet potatoes and corn on the cob, we picked up the plumpest, juiciest-looking boneless pork chops ever.  I prepared an Orange-Garlic marinade and let those bad boys lounge around in it for awhile. 

See how fabulous?! And it smelled incredible, too!

In the end, we wound up with this:

I am saddened that you can not taste through the screen...It was that good!

Today, since it's Lily's 4th birthday, I'll be making the requested mac and cheese and fried chicken for the brood.  There's really no substituting for that, so don't expect anything nearly as tantalizing next. There may, however, be some baked apples soon...