On vacation

I've been on vacation since the beginning of August and am only getting to post this now, from the car on our way to our next destination, Wales. I'll tell you all about the best fantasy/gothic/medieval/pagan festival ever (Castlefest on Holland) and about Stonehenge, where we're stopping on our way and no doubt about other interesting things we experience in England and Wales... But that's all for later.

See you in September!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Easy Gluten-Free Bread

Giving up bread is sooo hard, especially when you live with people who love bread and pastry and especially if you live in the French culture where life without baguettes, croissants, pains au chocolat and other goodies cannot be imagined.

I've tried all the ready gluten-free breads I can buy and they range from alright when toasted and smothered in something that can kill the taste to inedible under any circumstances. So I decided that baking my own was the only way to go.

Thankfully, bloggers like Elana are out there to perfect healthy recipes and share them with us. :-)

Last night, I made Elana's Simple Bread. I happened across it and had all the ingredients plus it really did look simple. When I tried it last night I thought it tasted strange - I guess I was expecting something more like a baguette so my expectation was clearly unrealistic. :-)

It did bake into a loaf of bread though and that is amazing. It amazes me that these ingredients made any sort of bread. I mean, it's mostly almond flour! :-)

This morning I made french toast out of it and had it with maple syrup and bacon - delicious.

I believe that Elana has developed a better recipe for bread - I'll try it as soon as I get my hands on some flaxseed meal, probably after our trip to the UK.

I'm still on time to enter this into the July edition of Whip up Something New!, hosted by Margot. Check out the other recipes and add your own here.

YA Mini-Reviews

I read a lot of YA literature. Some of it is the serious, heavy kind that tackles issues that are oh so difficult. And some if it's easy and entertaining and so, so much fun. These three YA books fall in the 'so much fun' category - though some have difficult issues touched upon in them as well.

Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen CookHelen and Lauren have been friends forever. Lauren is popular and outgoing and Helen kind of stays in her shadpw. But they remain pretty much inseperable. Until right before they start 8th grade, when Lauren humiliates Helen and leaves her to be judged by her peers. School is horrible for Helen after that and Lauren is no longer a friend. Helen's family moves away and Helen can move on in a different school, but they end up moving back for Helen's senior year of high school. And that's when Helen sets out to ruin Lauren's high school life of glory. This involves some pretty mean stuff, but I really enjoyed reading about it anyway. ;-) Loads of (slightly wicked) fun.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

15-year-old Isabel (or Belly) spends every summer in the same beach house with her Mom, her best friend and two sons, more or less Belly's ages. Conrad, who Belly has always had a crush on, has always been aloof with her and Jeremiah has always been a buddy, someone to hang out and joke around with. But this summer something is different - the boys (and others too) are starting to notice Belly and things are changing. This is a book of discovery, both of oneself and of the world. It's a real book about what growing up feels like. I liked it, though nor enough to continue with the series. 

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

I think this one was my favorite of this bunch. It's the story of 17-year-old Ginny's summer of adventure. Ginny spends a few months exploring Europe but following the instructions left in 13 letters left her by Aunt Peg, a favorite aunt who died suddenly. Ginny has to complete the tasks in each letter before she gets to open the next one. As she goes from task to task, she retraces her Aunt's journey of discovery and makes discoveries of her own. She finds love and meets people who will make a difference to her life and to the way she sees herself. I loved seeing Ginny grow during the book, change from a shy, self-conscious girl to the confident, worldly young woman she becomes. I enjoyed this story immensely - what a fun idea!