Mmmm...Can't talk...eating...

I fell completely and utterly in love last night. It was practically a spiritual experience because I could literally taste Heaven in my mouth. As a coeliac I've been restricted to a gluten free diet for almost 20 years so I'm immensely appreciative of all the gluten free goodies available these days, despite the exorbitant prices.  Last night my friend R treated me to a GF burger from "Burger Fuel". I love you Burger Fuel. More importantly I love your Bio Fuel. 

Disclaimer: Picture lifted blatantly off internet. Not my own artwork.

I had a look at the Menu and really wanted to order the Ba$tard, but I'm a good Christian girl and I was just too polite to say it.  I've been to BF once or twice before over the last few years as an extra special treat. Which makes a total of just three burgers over two decades so you can imagine the sheer joy this meal brought me. We ordered our takeaway burgers and were especially impressed when a staff member came across to double check the ingredients were safe for a potentially flatulent coeliac to consume. Chur Burger Fuel!

20 minutes later at the dinner table, R set out plates and cutlery. CUTLERY! She's English, need I say more? There was no way I was going to sully my hands with a fork - I wanted the full burger experience. So, after a bit of instruction from K (who had instead opted for a very healthy salad from her mum's fridge) on how to hold the thing, I was away. I hadn't realized I was meant to pick up a "doofer" - something else K needed to explain to me. But it's alright, she's a science teacher so is very good at explaining things to quirky middle-aged women with no clue what a doofer is. Oooh, that gluten free bun felt so RIGHT in my hands, even without a doofer.

OMG Burgers are AMAZING! As I worked my way through to the middle, all the ingredients joined hands and had a party in my mouth. I tasted the egg, the beetroot, the tomato...all at the same time!!! I was unable to hold any form of conversation as my eyes rolled back in my head and I fell deeper and deeper in love. It became so intense that I serenaded my food:

I think that I shall never see

A food as wonderful as thee

Your shape that fits to curve my hand

So....ummm....so...can't think of something to rhyme with "hand"...

 

Seriously, if it was legal to marry a gluten free hamburger, I'd do it! Not sure if Beloved would approve though.

Thumbs up for the weekend

I owe Ant my weekends. She’s the mastermind who came up with the idea that has changed my Saturday nights forever...or until the kids grow up. With seven plus people in the house on any given night, dinner’s become a mass catering affair with yours truly being the head slave...I mean...”chef”. That’s all very well for Rachel Ray wannabes but I’m more of a Paris Hilton clone. I’d rather not actually work for my dinner. I was having a moan about this when Ant flicked the switch that turned on the light bulb by suggesting we introduce Pizza Night.  At first I wasn’t sure how this could work since I’m a coeliac and have to make my own gluten free pizza dough. When I tried to explain that I didn’t want to be spending hours making separate pizza Ant just rolled her eyes before pointing out the obvious: readymade pizza bases. Oh my gosh, you mean I can actually BUY those? I am living in a science fiction world! All I would have to do is make my own base, chop an onion and leave the kids to do the rest. Can kids cook? Yes they can! Even the 6 y/o and her 3 y/o visiting nephew have been into it.

No-mess, gluten free pizza dough rolling. Yay for shortcuts!

It's the stuff under the fingernails that gives the pizza that special seasoning :)

So now I’m having Saturday nights off. No standing over the stove stirring a big pot of mince and lentils (the lentils stretch the mince out, add nutrition and the kids don’t even notice them).  But something I love even more is that a new tradition has been created that is going to become one of those warm, fuzzy memories in another decade or so. I love watching the kids passing olives around, slicing their own ham and salami and just generally getting along. I also love that they help clear the table and do the dishes while the pizza’s cooking.

So now I’ve decided I want Sunday off as well. We already have Chip Sunday Lunch from the MacAnnalley Takeaway so without further ado, I’m proud to present...(fanfare please): Toasted Sandwich Night (with special thanks to The Warehouse for their $12.99 sandwich makers). Gluten free bread for me of course.

I wonder if Ant has any ideas on what I can do about the heap of washing down stairs? I’d ask her, but I don’t like to talk about my dirty laundry in public.