Making some progress

So in listening to conversations from the past two weeks, I do see some progress.

• staying on topic for longer.
• asking for evidence
• making a claim.

Some things I noticed is the second person often doesn't have time to go. I think bc other groups really aren't able to do this so I cut off the time.  But groups that are having real conversations, they can't really get into it. So, should I focus on more discussion protocols?

Also, They are making a claim, but not really backing it up. It sounds like they are, but they're not. So, for example, Gombo makes the case that Matilda is really smart, and shows that she is. But not really why. So am I not asking the right question? Should it be a theory that has a why question and answer. I'm seeing the same thing in their essays.  'I think my character is mean. Here's why.' But you might be able to find that on the back of the book. Maybe I need to qualify that the theory is something you wouldn't know by reading the back.  It's your own original thought.

One exciting thing is that I saw Gombo make great leaps this year with the concept of analyzing characters.  So he pushed Kaylan saying, I don't think that's a theory.  A theory is like a adjective that describes the character.  Which is sort of true.  hmm.  

scrounge dinner

Here's what I had in my pantry/fridge:

gf corn pasta
greens
shelling peas
turnips
snow peas
zucchini
turkey bacon
garlic
rainbow chard
peccorino romano

So, here's what I made:

Zucchini bread

I'm home for a four day weekend, with around 102 comments to write for my middle schoolers. Obviously, it's time to start baking!  I had a hankering for zucchini bread, since I've gotten a lot of zukes in my veggie box the past couple of weeks.  I didn't really create my own recipe, but I just adapted from some other amazing gf chefs.

Based on Shauna's (Gluten free girl) flour mixture, I created what I think is a pretty good balance of flours.  I used:
150g Millet
50g coconut
100g oat
100g brown rice
100g almond

And
75g potato starch
75g tapioca starch
60g white rice flour

Then I used this gluten free goddess recipe, but instead of all of the flours and gums, I just did 1.5 cups of my flour mixture.  I used my cuisinart for the zucchini, and actually I didn't just do zucchini, I did one zuke and one squash, just because I needed to use up one of my squash. It tastes amazing.  I'd call it cake, not bread.  My only issue, is that since I'm not using xantham gum or any other gum, breads don't stay together in the same way. So it is pretty crumbly.  But, I'm not kidding, better than gluten full zucchini bread!

Enjoy.

Black Eyed Peas Recipe

Mind your Ps and Qs!

Here's my newest recipe:

1 cup dried black eyed peas
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup broth
1 bunch of new potatoes
3 medium/small carrot
1 cup fresh basil
3 small tomatoes
2 capfulls of fish sauce
1 t rice vinegar
1 t honey
dried oregano, other dried spices (I used 21 seasoning salute from tjs)
salt and pepper to taste


Soak black eyed peas for two hours in cold water

Saute onion with olive oil.
Add garlic
Add peas and broth and water.  Bring to a boil.
Add chopped potatoes. Simmer.
When potatoes start to soften, add carrots. Simmer.
When all vegetables and peas are about half way cooked, add basil.
 Add tomatoes
Add vinegar, salt, pepper, other spices, fish sauce
Let it all simmer until everything is soft and yummy!

Serve on top of quinoa or rice.

DIY Dina is Live!

My first post of my new blog. Why must I blog? I'm not sure. Lately I've just started really getting into lots of DIY stuff, and although I feel a little self-indulgent, I've decided to start blogging about them. Then I'll have a record of my projects, and if anyone else is interested, they can read and comment.

I've spent the past year finding my inner voice. Yes, it sounds really cliched, but somehow, when all your friends move away, you have to make your own fun. So, I started reading like crazy, cooking, knitting, and on Monday I'm going to learn to sew. I'm incredibly excited about my class, and I'll definitely post a picture of my tote bag after the class. It seems that an inner calm has bubbled up from slowing down and engaging in projects that yield something.  There's a sort of meditative calm that comes over me when I spend weekend afternoons or evenings cooking.

In the past month or so I've made: gf bread, pesto, mayonaise, pickled vegetables,  muffins, zuchini bread, cookies, rolls, black eyed pea curry, minestrone soup, black beans from scratch, the list goes on. I get excited about my csa box delivery every single week.  I think food just makes me really happy. Especially fresh, delicious, food that I can eat!  So, I'll try to start blogging my weekly creations, which will  hopefully help me keep track of everything. I've got about three weeks of vacation and then school starts again, at which time I'll probably be too busy to blog or cook.

Speaking of bubbling, check out my pizza!  Being gluten and lactose intolerant, going out to eat has gotten a lot less fun. There are a lot of options out there, but in general, my stomach is happier when I cook for myself. So tonight I made cow dairy-free, gluten free pizza. It turned out quite well. I made the crust from a slightly adapted recipe in Shauna Ahern's cook book, Gluten free girl and the chef. Then I added fresh buffalo mozzarella (no lactose in buffalo milk!), tomato sauce, some grated pecorino romano and manchego, fresh tomatoes and basil from my csa box. Voila! Pizza. And it's pretty darn good. I think even non-dietically challenged folks would agree. Unfortunately, I have no self control, so I at the whole thing and now I feel incredibly stuffed.

I also wanted to post a picture of the sweater I made for my niece. She just turned two. I made it big, so she'd have it for a while, since it takes such a long time to make these. Hopefully I'll be able to add a picture of her in it at some point, maybe this fall.

Tomorrow I'm going to get yarn for a new project, beginning the yet another  baby present. It seems like my friends are spawning like crazy.