Tracey Allen's Blog, page 9

Blog Hop - Getting to Know You - Authors

Hello, and welcome to the Getting to Know You Blog Hop. We have an eclectic choice of bloggers for this hop and it will  run from January 29, 2013 to February 1, 2013. I’d like to thank Vicki M. Taylor http://vickimtaylor.blogspot.com She’s the author and blogger who created this hop and made it happen for all of us. 

Let’s get started on getting to know me. Be sure to sign up to win a book 

Where are you from? Born and raised in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada www.tourismpei.com

When and why did you begin writing?I
I started in 1999 as a marketing/technology columnist for The Insider.  The column called BizNet was created to talk about online marketing, the internet, and business applications. Since, I was new to self-employment as a marketing  technology consultant, I felt writing a column would help me get visiablity in the business community.  It worked!

What books have most influenced your life?
As a child I loved Nancy Drew books or solving the mystery.  As an adult mainly mysteries Sherlock Holmes and the like. Also Your Money or Your Life.

What’s your favorite fruit? Pineapple

Do you ever wish you had an entirely uncreative job? Definitely not....love to think outside of the box.

What are the most important attributes to remaining sane as a writer? Living life, getting out and sharing.

Can you share a little of your current work with us? I started out with a business book based on a marketing course I taught at the University of Prince Edward  Island and then branched out to what has been going on in my life, or my  experiences.  First book was The Sustainable Table: Take Back Your Plate writing on our family's experience to moving away from processed foods, not for the hard  core but those that are thinking maybe they don't have a sustainable food supply  and are buying too much processed foods.  Next we built a passive solar house and Building a Passive Solar House: My Experience Shared was the resulting product to give people a viewpoint from the owner, not the experts.  And my most recent book – Easy Gluten-free Lunches and Snacks: Simple Cookbook for those like myself that are celiac or gluten-intolerant.  I was so happy to have  developed a recipe for making your own wraps, pita, crackers, tacos and a simple  bread recipe that tasted so good that I decided to share.  Next up is a  Sustainable Living book....

Do you have any advice for other writers?
Write what you know, love what you write and focus on the art and words rather than 'money' since most writers aren't in it  for the money!

Thank you for reading a bit about me and I’d like to introduce you to other authors along this hop. Their links are below: 
http://vickimtaylor.blogspot.com
http://tenthchild.com/wordpress/  
http://sfemespiral.com/ego/  
http://candacegauger.wordpress.com/  
http://traceeford.wordpress.com/
http://pacificrimpressblog.wordpress.com/
http://www.notanotherbookreview.blogspot.com/
http://ninjananny.wordpress.com/  
http://www.charleneraddon.blogspot.com/
http://candysmonsters.com/


 

Gluten-free Guest at Your Bed & Breakfast - No Problem

As someone who needs to be very careful of what I eat since my health depends on it - I'm writing this article for both celiacs/gluten-intolerant and for bed & breakfast owners alike.  I'm not sure who is more nervous the owner or the guest.  For the celiacs/gluten-intolerant out there feel free to share this with your potential tourist destination.  For bed and breakfast owners - here is a simple guide to help you de-mystify what gluten-free or ceilac means to you, and beyond the obvious of I can't eat wheat. I will provide a few breakfast recipes for you towards the end of this article.

Products other than food - While the celebrities are shining a spotlight on celiac or gluten-free eating there is way more to it than that.  In a bed and breakfast or a hotel for that matter, celiacs are also worried about your toiletries. 

Non-food Potential Problems:
1) Shampoo often will have wheat protein in it , while it is great for the hair it is taboo for celiacs.  I for one break out in an instant rash. Solution: Check with your supplier and leave a note in the room that states you have checked with the supplier and this product is free of gluten.  Here is an article on shampoo/soap that I use.

2) Soap can have wheat protein too but more importantly it can have oatmeal , especially if it is the nice natural stuff.  Most celiacs can't have oatmeal.  Be safe and just don't have any soap with gluten or oatmeal in it.  Solution: Check with your supplier and leave a note in the room that states you have checked with the supplier and this product is free of gluten and oatmeal.

3) A general guide/Oddities - if something will touch your guest or be consumed by your guest then it needs to be gluten-free.  If you are doing construction, please let the guest know, as believe it or not, there is wheat starch in some gpyroc.  I suggest you ask your builder to check.  If dust flies then you can be sure your guest will inhale the wheat filled dust. 

Food and your kitchen - the most important thing to remember is 'cross contamination' - if you are using a bowl, spoon, pan etc for a wheat/gluten product it needs to be throughly cleaned prior to using it for a gluten-free guest.  Better still a separate area/equipment is best, although not always feasible.  The TOASTER - if you will serve toast then please invest in a gluten-free only toaster to prevent cross contamination of crumbs.  The Butter - please not that using the same one for everyone again has the potential for crumbs from regular bread/toast to contaminate the gluten-free bread.  Just use a separate container in your fridge for gluten-free only. 

Helping to visualize - think of gluten/wheat/flour like it is rat poison.  A little rat poison on anything isn't good, right so be sure not to give any to your guest.  Here is a list of unsafe celiac foods to avoid.

Good news - it can be easy to serve great gluten-free breakfast foods to your customers.....here are some breakfast ideas and recipes for you and your guests (lactose free too)! Enjoy!

Breakfast Ideas with recipes
- Breakfast cereal - Granola Like
- Pancakes gluten-free, lactose-free and egg free  
- Almond-kin Cereal - easy and delicious
- Eggs cooked in a pan/pot that is throughly cleaned and not had bread put into it.
- Breakfast wraps or Toast can be made easily using the wrap or bread recipe (very easy) in my book Easy Gluten-free Lunches and Snacks: Simple Cookbook

Indoor Winter Garden - Simple and Easy

We are now enjoying the winter fruits of our labour...well not much labour really.  We simply purchased a few pots to fit our window sills, filled them with soil and some worm castings, then added seed.  We now have swiss chard and kale (cheated here...just moved a plant indoors), Tomatoes about the bloom, peppers, spinach, and lettuce.  

All you need is a few nice sunny windows - preferrably south facing, a little time, pot, soil, seed and viola you can have a few 'fresh' veggies in winter too!

Eventually we would love to have an year round greenhouse but for now...a small indoor winter garden will do just fine to add to our canned/preserved food items. 

What type of food do you want to grow this year? Now is the time for planning your spring/summer/fall garden...here are some great places I have ordered from (not endorsing just mentioning them):
Note these are primarily for Canadian Gardeners.....
- Salt Spring Seeds
- Hope Seeds
- Praire Seed/Seeds Diversity
- Green Barn Nursery - free trees, nut trees, shrubs etc.

Start dreaming of your garden or start a winter garden and get an early head start!

Get out of the 'box'!

I hosted a session on Saturday titled: Sustainable Living - Working Towards a Prepared and Frugal Future.  It was fun and I'm hopeful that the attendees garnered a few tips to help them in working toward a more sustainable life. 

During our 'conversation' it came up that I don't have a conventional stove - drawing gasps from several women in attendance.  The first words they said were, "how do you cook a turkey?'.  My reply - I use a roaster that can sit on my counter for the three days a year that I cook a turkey dinner.  And that started on the topic of fitting your needs not everyone elses.  What works for me is a Breville Smart Oven ($200), a Salton Induction Cooker hotplate ($80), a double hotplate ($30), a slow cooker ($30), a griddle ($40), and a roaster oven ($50) on occassion. If you bake all the time and use your full oven then, of course that works for you.  I bake small quanitities so my smart oven fits the bill while reducing my costs (a stove with induction cooktop costs at least $1,500) and reduces my electricity costs as less space to heat equals less cost to heat it up.  It was also interesting that a gentleman in attendance came to tell me that his stove just broke and he was wrestling with the cost to replace it...he lives alone and said what you have is ideal for me. :-)

The challenge is to 'get out of the box' and think for yourself.  What are your needs and what works for those needs? Re-think and don't be constrained by the 'box.' When we built our house 'everyone' was doing in-floor heating and I can't tell you how many people said, "you are making a mistake."  With a passive solar house you rely on the floor to take in the heat, so logically if you are already heating it you defeat that purpose and waste your money.  Now if you had oil heat, than maybe that would make sense.  And my favourite - you have to have a tub for re-sale value, 'everyone' has a tub.  Well I don't take baths and hate to wash a tub or even get in a tub to take a shower, yes we have had the all in one - horrible to clean and I don't like to clean more than I need to, especially bathrooms.  We opted for a walk in shower made of tile, no doors to clean, no shower curtain...I love it! It works for me.  I reduce my cleaning time and happily take a shower, and when if I'm ever in a wheelchair I can just roll in it, without doing a total remodel of my bathroom. 

Clearly - where you spend and where you can cut waste is unique to you.  Don't confine your thinking to what 'everyone' else does, look at smart options that fit your needs and you will be happier and most likely waste less time and money.  

Update Passive Solar House

Here it is middle of January 2013, we moved in July 2012.  The summer was a nice comfortable 70F or 20C.  And our winter to date has been fanastic with the lowest recorded temperature as 60F or 15C and usually this occurs in the early morning before the sun comes up for the day.  The days that the sun is shining it will reach 80F or 25C by noon...and if the sun stays out consistently then we are looking at a very hot afternoon like 90F+ or 30C+.  This might seem like a problem but we simply open the windows and let the fresh winter air in to get the temperature down to a comfortable range.  On days that it isn't sunny we decide on a case by case basis whether we will put on a small wood fire....since anymore than small and we again have a 90F+/30C+ situation.  We have concluded that the number one important feature of our house is our solid seal - read no drafts! What we have learned from our Passive solar house is that how solid your exterior walls are make all the difference when keeping your heat in (we are very pleased with ICF - Insulated Concrete Form walls)....not everyone is building but this product could be for those renovating to insulate http://www.quiktherm.com/  NOTE I've not tried it and don't endorse it but saw it and thought what a great idea for those who aren't building but renovating.
 

Gluten-free Cooking Classes Spring/Summer 2013

The Gluten-free Cooking Class Spring/Summer at Annie's Table in New London, PEI
Here is the schedule
Gluten-free Cooking Class 

Spring/Summer at Annie's Table, New London, PEI
  https://www.facebook.com/AnniesTable
http://annies-table.com (to register and see the class calendar)


Gluten-free Breakfasts (Pancakes, Breakfast wraps, and cereal)
Friday, May 31st  10 - 12
Description: Join me in creating easy and delicious gluten-free breakfasts. We will cover pancakes made with or without eggs, homemade breakfast wraps, and finally, a cereal made from scratch that is both easy and nutritious.
Cost : C$50.00 + 14.00%  HST
Register online http://annies-table.com/event-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=324
  
Gluten-free Pastry and Biscuits 
Friday, June 14th  10 – 12
Description:  As someone who truly enjoyed making pies and biscuits before being celiac, it is exciting to finally have
gluten free recipes that everyone can eat. Using a simple one flour mix for all baking, come join me in creating some scrumpdelicious gluten-free pie and biscuits that the whole family will love.
Cost : C$50.00 + 14.00% HST
Register online http://annies-table.com/event-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=325
 
Gluten-free Bread / Hamburger Buns, pita, wraps, and crackers
Friday, July 19   10 – 12
Description:  The cost of gluten-free bread products is climbing, yet it’s so easy to make your own bread at home with no special equipment needed. In this class we will make wraps, pita, and crackers all from one simple recipe! They’re so easy and taste so good you won’t believe they’re gluten-free.
Cost : C$50.00 + 14.00% HST
Register online http://annies-table.com/event-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=326
  
Gluten-free Lunches & Snacks (Quinoa Salad, Quinoa falfal, & snack bars)
Friday, August 9th   10 - 12 
Description:   In this class we will be using nutritious quinoa to make some great dishes for adults and kids  alike. We will be starting this class with with quinoa salad and quinoa falafel sandwiches. The class will finish with a recipe for easy and  gluten-free snack bars - great for taking on the go!
Cost :  C$50.00 + 14.00% HST
Register online http://annies-table.com/event-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=327


 

Eco Economy Session and Books for Sale

I will be attending the Eco Economy http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Business/Economy/2013-01-07/article-3151526/Expo-marks-the-spot/1 this Saturday 10am to 4pm at the Murphy Community Centre along with my books for sale, I'll also have a youtube video to show the house after we moved in.  Hope to see you there - there will be some great booths and information available. Plus a sign up sheet for Sustainable Living Session on Saturday, January 19th 9:30am to 11:30am.

Gluten-free Cooking Class Date Clarification

A quick note to verify that the Gluten-free Cooking Class will be Saturday, January 19th at 1:00pm and NOT the 12th. Also please note that you need to be registered for this event as there is limited space.  Have a great day.

New Year Challenges For You

It is a new year - happens every year...a trend I hope will continue for a very long time.  Every year there is good and bad and if we focus on the good we will be much happier.  So think of new year's resolutions as a challenge to do better on what you say you will do to make your life simple, fun, and stress free.

Here are my challenges for you this year:

1. Back up your Data - For the love of all that is good - back up your data! Today not tomorrow. I just had my computer wipe out and with it all my data...on the computer.  I did however, have an external back up drive - YES! So my pictures, files etc are still around for me to see and use. 

2. Commit to Reducing 'stuff' or 'clutter' - Too many things around clutter not only our homes but our minds as well.  Trust me donate, give away or throw out/recyle a few items a month and you likely won't even notice. I'm a huge fan of HGTV's Consumed - watch it online.

3. Re-Think, Re-Learn, Re-Focus - Just for fun, every time you think of buying something think of an alternative way to do it, sharing, renting, fixing it, learning a new skill to DIY, etc. Give your creative side a try and save a little on your pocket book at the same time.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful, happy, and stress free 2013!

Baked Beans - Saving in more ways than one

Who doesn't like baked beans, especially in winter in Canada.  Fish cakes and baked beans are a traditional Island dish...I'm just keeping the tradition alive! I've had a wood stove off and on for years in our different houses and honestly this was the first time I thought to use it to cook beans.  The other side of it is we don't have the wood stove on every day just cool, not sunny days, which the last few days have been, so not likely to cook on it everyday but must say it was a fun experience and one I will most likely do more often this winter.

I won't bore you with a recipe for baked beans since there are a ton of them on the internet - feel free to email me for mine if you like.  However, the savings, and simplicity of it all I will focus on.  So let's start with the savings part.

We bought our baking beans this year in a 10kg bag from Dolphin Village. We would like to grow our own and have in the past and will likely do so again this coming year but building a house this summer side-railed our gardening, that combined with the very dry summer.  Yes 10kg is a very large bag.  What can I say we eat beans often, like once every two weeks, at least.  However, baking beans are a dried good that store well. 

The Saving part....

Buy Bulk Dried Goods - Cost savings - 25lbs is roughly equal to 11.34kg at $50.23 or $2.00 a lb compared to buying a one lb bag of yellow eyed beans at $8.99 or approximately $225. The beans will increase in size after soaking so lb is bigger than a lb. If you don't think you will eat that many beans in a year than split the cost with a friend or neighbour. $175 in savings for the year.

Use a wood stove to cook to save electricity - My grandmother did this as my father reminded me, while I was going on and on about how great they turned out; this was the only choice she had.  I have a choice and I really like the fact of reducing waste by not using my electric stove when I can use the wood stove (when it is going).  
Experience on cooking beans on a wood stove: The beans taste better and cook way faster on a wood stove.  The down side is there are no buttons to dial down the heat, but once you get use to using the wood stove it is fun.  The energy savings I estimate at approximately 1 kwh/day or 30kwh/month with .125 cents per kwh or about $3.75/mth or $45/year.  Not a lot but it all adds up.

A Meatless Meal savings: First let me say, I love meat, however I understand the environmental impacts of growing animals and we tend to fast (abstain from meat/dairy)  a number of times a year so tend to eat a large number of vegan meals.  The focus here is the cost - the price of meat is going up and can add a considerable cost to a meal.  To have a hamburger and fries meal compared to beans and homemade bread (Gluten-free of course) is enough to write about.  A small package of hamburger ($3.50), a four buns ($1.00) is $4.50 while my pot of beans/loaf of bread cost $3 and will make another meal - so cost is $1.50/meal compared to $4.50 or $3.00 saved per meal. The fact that they taste awesome is just another bonus. I will note that the beans used my own preserved tomatoes which reduced my costs.

Simplifying - There is a little planning involved with baking beans but really no more than remembering to set meat down to defrost. The simply part is the one dish concept that you have one dish to cook in, clean, and then use again for another meal, really saves on your dishwashing.  And the simply fact that you are using a woodstove that is already heating your house so another double up.  Finally, you really feel like you are getting back to basics and if the power went out you would be able to cook a meal using another source.

If you have a wood stove give it a try, if you just want to try a simple non-meat dish, give it a try.....and enjoy the adventure.