This Thanksgiving, Flamenco Dad and I will be packing up the kids and spending the holiday with my side of the family: my mom, stepdad, grandma, and brother. The kids are looking forward to some serious turkey eating and many rides on my stepdad’s ATV. Before I start getting angry letters from folks about the safety concerns, let me assure one and all that no one rides at an excessive rate of speed, the kids always ride with a responsible adult, and Florida has some of the flattest terrain I have ever seen! You’ve heard of making a mountain out of a molehill; here we make mountains out of anthills.

So since my mother has graciously offered to host the dinner, that means the bulk of the cooking is out of my hands. That can be good and bad: good, because my mom is a good cook (so you know the food will taste good) and also because that means less prep work for me; bad, because I don’t always know what is going to be on her table until I get there. Mom doesn’t put butter on anything, so Zoe’s safe there. And Mom doesn’t stuff the bird…also safe. Not only that, but there is usually some variety of rice and/or salad that is GFCF. Awesome. But other than that, the ingredients of the other foods at the table present challenges for Zoe, so one must always arrived prepared.

And that’s where I’m hoping you come in.

I am in need of some inspiration! I figure it would be a good idea to bring a side dish and a dessert item that I know are Zoe-friendly. So tell me: what GFCF goodies are you putting on your Thanksgiving table? Please leave your comments here, or send me a note at flamencomom [at] gmail [dot] com.

P.S. Your suggestions will come in especially handy in the coming weeks. Here at Casa Flamenco, we are not only hosting Christmas Eve, but we may be having a graduation party here at my house this month as well! Yes, that is my not-so-subtle way of saying the end of school is in sight; but also I haven’t decided on whether to just go out to lunch with my family after the graduation ceremony, or if a larger celebration is in order.

So I arrive on campus this morning, pretty pleased with myself because I actually did all my assigned reading for today, and I stroll into my first class. And when our 9:30 start time arrives and my faculty advisor walks in instead of my teacher I figure my professor is out sick for the day.

And then the advisor tells us that our professor will not be back. Because Dr. Morris died over the weekend.

And then I realize that I’m about to hear the same awful news in my next class, because he is the instructor in my next class too.

Dr. Morris was a lovely person; and he seemed far younger than his 83 years. He was still teaching into his eighties–it was what he loved to do. He had a brilliant mind and was well liked by all the students at the university, a university where the Professor had just commemorated 45 years of service.

Teachers come into our lives from the time we are young children, and we sometimes forget that they have lives that extend outside the classroom. It’s almost as if we think our teachers exist in some kind of vacuum, never to change, grow old, or die. I, for one, still have an image of my kindergarten teacher in my mind: she’s sort of preserved in that moment in my life. And in my naivete, I seem to ignore that she has grown and changed just as I have–just as all her students over the years have.

Many times we forget to thank them for the hard work they do and the personal sacrifices they make to serve as educators, mentors, advisors, and (sometimes) psychologists. Thank you, Dr. Morris. I’m sorry I didn’t have more time in your classroom, but I am grateful for the time I was able to benefit from your wisdom and knowledge.

Oh, hello there. Today I looked at this blog and realized that the last time I posted on here was, oh, sometime in JUNE?!!! Naughty, naughty blogger. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write, but there’s just been so much happening around here lately that it’s hard to get myself to write about something. I just want to go on and ramble about all kinds of stuff. So, to shake the cobwebs off I thought I’d give a few brief updates about what’s going on at Casa Flamenco.

Zoe started middle school, and I’m proud to say that I didn’t cry. Go Flamenco Mom! And Zoe’s doing really well. She had a mini-meltdown in P.E. during the second week of school, but she’s been doing really well otherwise.

I submitted my application for my degree last week. Yes, the end is near! Sort of. But I am graduating in December. Next stop, graduate school!

We’ve tested out all the Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Mixes, following the no-butter instructions available on the Betty Crocker website. What do I think of the mixes? Well, here’s a hint: if Betty Crocker were a real person, I’d kiss her full on the mouth as a show of my gratitude. I might even let her get to second base.

I booked our family vacation this week. We’re traveling in October–to Disneyworld. I know, it’s not what I would typically plan for our autumn trip–I usually like to take the family to someplace more remote, a la the woods. But we got a free 3-night stay at a resort in Orlando, so we figured it would be a good time to hit some theme parks. Besides, Ayden’s never been to the Magic Kingdom. I suppose it’s about time we took him: I think it may be a law that if you live in Florida, you must take your child to the House of Mickey at least once.

I must have been about 8 or 9 years old when my dad handed me what I thought was a pretty weird-looking piece of fruit. I asked him what it was; and he casually replied, “It’s a Chinese apple. Wanna try it?” I watched as my father pried the piece of fruit with the little reddish purple pellets open, and I asked, “How do you eat those things? Are you supposed to eat THE SEEDS?!” Note: whenever a child thinks she is about to ingest seeds, images of a tree growing inside her instantly trigger a sense of terror/disgust. Dad dropped a few bits of fruit into my hand, and I nervously took a bite.

I have been hooked on pomegranates ever since.

I wait every year for them to come into season, and I scoop ‘em up by the bunch at my local market. The cashiers always look at them with some skepticism, and ask me the usual questions: how do you eat it? Aren’t they a pain in the neck to open? Don’t they stain your fingers, clothes, and anything they happen to land on? Well, they may be a challenge to open; and they may stain my fingers and clothing (sometimes); but they are so tasty, with that little burst of tartness that explodes when you bite into one of those little red gems.

Lately, when I can’t get pomegranates at the supermarket, I’ve had to make do with the occasional pomegranate martini. Which are delicious, by the way—those of you that can partake in alcoholic beverages of that variety may want to give it a try. But I digress.

I’ve purchased a few types of pomegranate juice at the health food store, but the flavor seems a bit, well, off. Sort of muddy, I guess. When the folks over at POM Wonderful offered to send me some of their juice to try, I jumped on the chance. I’d seen it at Publix, but was reluctant to pick it up because it was more expensive than the other brands I had tried, and I didn’t want to spend the money on it, only to be disappointed later (Hey, we’re living in some tough economic times, and I’m a bit of a high-maintenance gal—I try to save a buck where I can so that I can spend more money on shoes. Or makeup). I figured why not? I don’t have anything to lose with free juice, right?

So, the POM people came through, and a case of the stuff arrived at my house, along with lots of interesting literature about the health benefits of pomegranate juice; additionally, there was some info about medical research and POM 100% pomegranate juice. In the studies cited, regular consumption was found to improve cardiovascular, prostate, and erectile health. Not only that, but it is an antioxidant powerhouse, surpassing red wine, grape juice, blueberry juice, cranberry juice, green tea, vitamin C, and vitamin E in its antioxidant punch. More information about the research studies can be found on POM’s website. It all sounded good, but how did it taste?

We flew through the case; and Flamenco Dad, Zoe, and I loved it. The flavor was spot on: tart, not too sweet, and fresh-tasting. It didn’t have that muddy, dull flavor of some of the others pomegranate juices I had tried in the past. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I do. Now I’m buying it every week to store in my fridge, and I drink it once every day—and I am working it into my grocery budget.

*Note: I do not receive monetary compensation for product reviews—I’m just here to share my opinions about products both good and bad.

Gluten-free is all over the place lately. Just the other day, I walked into my supermarket, and found that the store now has an entire section of gluten-free products. I was so excited, I was near tears (mind you, not all the products were casein-free, but I call it progress nonetheless). My head nearly exploded when I read that Chex Products is expanding their selection of GF products..Corn Chex, anyone?

Joy!

To top it all off, I read that Betty Crocker (yes, that Betty Crocker) is slated to begin releasing GF baking mixes. Now, I haven’t gotten confirmation that the products are CF as well (I’ll shoot the company an email today to double-check); so I’ll put off celebrating just yet. However, if I find out the products are GF/CF I may have to give them a try. Any internets out there know if the mixes are GF/CF? Holla at me and let me know.

Lots of good stuff is happening this week. For one, it’s the last week of classes. Hooray! Next week wraps up final exams, then I get a week off before starting summer school. Wanna know what I’ll be doing during that week off?

Well, aside from sleeping in, I’ll be cooking and baking with the kids. I don’t think I’ve used my bread machine in months, and I’m anxious to try some new GFCF bread recipes that I found online. And oh, the cookies! Zoe, Ayden, and my wallet are tired of me buying store-bought GFCF treats…not that there’s anything wrong with them per se, but everyone is facing tough economic times right now, and I can’t justify spending six bucks on a tiny box of cookies right now. Besides, home-baked cookies rock–and it’s a fun way to get the children interested in cooking.

In other FABULOUS news, Zoe tried out for the school talent show yesterday. Flamenco Dad accompanied her on guitar as the sang “Zippity-Do-Dah.” The principal and the school’s Exceptional Student Ed. specialist were among the panelists watching the auditions, and they were so happy to see Zoe out there doing her best. The  kid has absolutely no fear, which certainly helped her when it came to standing up in front of a group of people and performing.

Ayden reached a milestone this week as well…he is now riding a bike on his own. Two wheels, baby! His favorite word lately is “awesome,” and every time he zoomed past me on the bike  he would yell out, “This is so awesome!”

I’d say they both did a pretty awesome job.

Ever since I went back to school full-time, my competitive side seems to have reemerged in a BIG way. In my first go-round at college, grades were not something I paid much attention to. That’s probably because I was too busy paying attention to the hot guys around campus, drinking WAY too much, and focusing on my tan. Now that I’m older and paying for my education, I actually care about getting good grades. Actually, I care about learning…and kicking some ass grade-wise.

When I finally came up for air this week, I noticed the following letter in my stack of mail. I had to read this letter twice, because I have honestly never seen one of these letters before in my life:

Dear Melinda:

I want to congratulate you for your outstanding academic performance during the Fall Term of 2008! Your grades for that term qualify you for the honor of being named to the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s List of Scholars.

I am extremely pleased that the academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences attract students of your caliber. The Dean’s List of Scholars is only awarded to the top ten percent of the majors in our college who are full-time students. You should be very proud of your accomplishment.

Once again, congratulations on being named to the Dean’s List of Scholars and best wishes for your continued success at the University.

It was at this point when I fell out of my chair. Holy crap! My friend Stephanie told me to scan it, make copies, post it on my Facebook page, and mail one to my mom. Okay, maybe my buddy went a little overboard, but I am quite excited about this. Especially since I had a less-than-auspicious beginning to my academic career. And, of course, now I want to get another one for the Spring Term. I’m going to have to load up on some caffeine.

I’ve been doing a TON of reading this semester. Reading two or more books simultaneously has proven to be a challenge, but so far my sanity is still intact. I think. What have I been working on? Take, for example, the following:

Bleak House. Nine-hundred and eighty-nine pages of Charles Dickens at his best. I know not everyone out there is a Dickens fan; but if you are, then get thee to a bookstore or library as fast as you can and pick up this book. When I saw this book at the university bookstore–I was buying my textbooks for this semester–I panicked. But I am proud to say that I read it from cover to cover, and I adore this novel.

I just rented the BBC interpretation of the novel (starring Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock), and I’m enjoying that as well. Oh, how I love the Victorians!

Oh, pardon me, could you direct me to whoever is in charge of the weather around these parts? I thought that one of the perks of living near the land that Mickey built was that the temperatures were in the moderate range this time of year. We like to save our extreme temps for when it gets oppressively hot around, say, June. Now the extremes are in the opposite direction–it’s bone-chillingly cold around here. Mr. Gore, I thought you said the ice caps were melting and that the planet was getting hotter–um, what?

I miss wearing my sandals. Now excuse me while I go crank up the heater.

Since Rice Chex went gluten-free, they’ve been a pantry staple in my house. The kids eat them for breakfast a few times each week, usually with some berries thrown on top for a bit of sweetness (and to get in an extra serving of fruit). But there are some pretty nifty recipes on the back of those Chex boxes, and I’ve given them a go here at Casa Flamenco–making a few modifications in the recipes to meet our GFCF needs.

I decided to try the recipe for Chex Muddy Buddies, and my kids went CRAZY over them. I’m sure that is due, in no small part, to the fact that they are very sweet. And what kid doesn’t like chocolate?

9  cups Rice Chex cereal

1 cup Enjoy Life dairy-free chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used unsweetened)

1/4 cup margarine (I used Earth Balance)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, measure the cereal and set aside. In a 1-quart microwaveable bowl, microwave the peanut butter, margarine, and chocolate for about 1 minute; stir. Microwave about another 30 seconds until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Pour the mixture over the cereal and stir until all the cereal is coated. Take a BIG (2-gallon) zip-top bag and place the cereal in the bag. Add the powdered sugar, seal the bag, and shake until the cereal is well-coated–this would be a great job to give your kids! Spread the cereal mix on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and allow to cool and dry. Once completely cool and dry, store in an airtight container in your refrigerator.