A New Pledge

After more than six weeks on medications--two antibiotics, steroids, nasal inhaler, nasal spray, muscle relaxers, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, licocaine injections--two of which I'm still on, I've given a lot of thought to giving my body a natural break. I won't say these are toxins, if only because they've certainly helped me, but I am leery of the effects of so much over a short period of time. Beyond that, I just have a need to put only natural things in my body for awhile, when I can. I've heard that some doctors suggest to chemo patients that they embrace a vegan diet during treatment, if only to give their systems a rest from digesting meat. And while I'm not in any way in the same place as a chemo patient, I can see the value of such a break.

But mercy, the ideas I've read online. Just Google "cleanse" or "detox" and you'll be amazed at the suggestions. Overly processed powders mixed in juices. Or wheatgrass. Nothing but maple syrup and lemons in water, I think was one. Or was it cayenne pepper. Or the more natural juices and smoothies, raw, with all manner of green vegetable. Plus colonics.

I don't think I can go for that either. The ingredients might be natural (except those powders) but the idea isn't. And so I'm trying to think of my own plan. Nothing extreme, because I'm not a doctor or nutritionist or naturopath. But I'm looking at veganism, with the addition of no refined sugar or gluten, for a week or more, something like the vegan workshop Sew and Sow did (and here). Maybe even 40 days.

Remember last year? My 40 day pledge? The Bread Pledge. The Bread Miracle. I made all our family's bread products for 40 days. And beyond. Until my back injury, I was still making a loaf or two a week; it had been a year since we'd purchased a loaf of bread. But in the beginning of the pledge, I didn't really even know how to bake but learned from friends at church and received recipes from family. It's one of the best things I've ever done.

It's that time of year again. The UU 40/40 pledge began on Earth Day. But I didn't. In fact, the idea of combining veganism with the pledge only occurred to me yesterday. I'm part of the way there, further than I was as a bread-baker, because I'm already a vegetarian. But I love my dairy products and rely on eggs. I also eat refined grains and sugar. Those will be harder to give up than dairy and eggs, I imagine. And I don't want to be the kind of vegan, however temporarily, that relies on overly processed soy and fake meats.

But I'm not starting yet, mainly because I'm not really in charge of my food right now. Friends are bringing some meals (thank you! thank you!). Mama is cobbling together everything else, for breakfast and snacks that can be stored in my room so I can get to them. Now is not the time to put even more restrictions on things while people are being so generous and helpful and while I cannot do things for myself. It also gives me some time to investigate and research how and what I want to do

Meanwhile, Mama is undergoing her own food transformation, having listened to Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma during her commute for the last week or so. CAFOs, antibiotics, pesticides, corn, etc etc etc. Did you know there is butane in Chicken McNuggets? She is not really considering vegetarianism but wants to give her meat-eating a lot of mindful attention. And she is now firmly committed to local, organic, humane, and less meat in general, as much as we possibly can, which includes when we eat out . . . and thus trying to wean Sis from chicken fingers and Bud from ranch burgers.

And she's agreed to join me in the vegan pledge, or whatever I end up calling it. I'll let you know. Hopefully soon.

Rise Up: The King

It seems silly, but I had forgotten all about King Arthur Flour as I prepared for my bread pledge. Okay, not the actual flour, which I have in AP (all-purpose flour), whole wheat, bread, organic cake, and organic AP varieties, or even the cookbooks, of which I have the companion and the whole grain tomes, but the website, with its recipes, blog, and shop. I ended up there this morning as I was researching baguette pans and La Cloche, which is a rectangular, lidded, ceramic baking pan for traditional loaves. Ooooooh! I love that site. And it is going to be a huge help for me over the next 40 days (maybe I should add a counter?! It's more like 38 now). Immediately, I found several cracker recipes for when our current stash is gone--one that uses AP flour to make simple soda crackers but also a gourmet one that calls for Italian 00 flour. Wouldn't I love to play with that, maybe even make some DOC-inspired Neapolitan pizza like we had in DC? But I didn't order that. Yet. I did, however, buy a simple baguette pan because Sis is very attached to the long loaf (the ceramic baker, while attractive, was almost triple the price). And I'll be trying their baguette recipe as soon as the pan gets here. See, I knew this pledge would be more fun that drudge!

Rise Up: Bread and Community

Recipes, anecdotes, advice, resources, even a lesson--people have reacted warmly to my bread pledge. Not only am I providing food for my family and learning a new skill, but I feel like I'm fostering a little community of bread lovers. I was given my Cousin S's French bread recipe, which is proofing in my kitchen even as I type. My Aunt T sent me her mother Bammie's recipe for bread, transcribed exactly as she sent it to my aunt years and years ago (Bammie died of ALS in 1975). My church friend sent me the recipe below for Beer Bread, which I hope to try when I make beer beans later this week. And several more church friends offered places to look for recipes, including Soup and Bread (from the CIA) and an annotated cookbook which was donated to the church (ironically by the almost 90 year-old woman down the street who was a good friend but now doesn't like us because we had kids without a father. And now the book is coming to me. I wonder what she'd think.). Another church friend, one of our best cooks and bakers, has offered me a private bread lesson, a traditional loaf and a European loaf with lots of seeds, which I'll be taking on Monday. It's so generous of her--and it sounds like she is as excited as I am! And I just know that this "staff of life," part of communion in many faiths, really does create community when it is shared.

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Beer Bread
This is delicious warm, or the next day, sliced/toasted with butter or jam. I find this bread to be a bit sweet and yeasty. I love it and it takes about 5 minutes to prep.

3 cup self rising flour
3 Tbs. sugar
12 oz beer (any beer works, but I did find a lager seems better)
2 Tbs. Butter, melted

Mix flour sugar and beer. Reserve the butter.
Place the mixture in a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes in 350 F over. Pour melted butter over the top and return to oven. Let bake 10 minutes more or until top is nicely browned. Let cool in pan 5 minutes before serving.

J, I grease the pan using butter personally. When you have to flour a pan, using Pam is pretty gunky. Butter or shortening works better.

(Note: The original recipe called for it to bake a total of 1 hour (45 minutes, top with butter, then 15 minutes. I have never needed it to go that long. See how it goes for you. I feel my oven bakes fairly hot anyway though the temp gauge says it's right on so I've let the time adjustments based on my baking.

(2nd Note: If you only have all purpose flour the conversion is: PER CUP add 1 1/2 tsp. baking powderand 1/2 tsp. salt.)

E