Local Chef for Hire

I gave birth to twins three months ago. So exciting! And as predicted, my boyfriend and I had no time to do any of the things we used to do. Which, for the most part is no big sacrifice. However, we always ate really well before, and one night I found myself grumpily eating a can of beans and thinking something had to change.

People who know what it is like to raise twins will often tell you to hire help. And we thought, before we had the babies home, that this was a ridiculous idea. Then the babies came home, and we were exhausted. We didn't have much money. And we didn't want to hire someone to take care of the babies- we wanted to take care of the babies. Someone else might have hired someone to help them clean the house. But we never cared that much about a clean house to begin with. Sick of eating peanut butter for lunch and spending money on takeout, I hired Jeremy Ward to help us to have fresh homemade meals at home.

"What a novel idea," said my boss. Yes, and a good idea. All of the food I had bought that was sitting unused in the cabinets and refrigerator suddenly got made into fabulous cuisine that was so good I could weep for gratitude. Jeremy came a couple of times per week, made several dishes including dinners and a fritatta for breakfast, and we could pop things in the oven, premade, from the refrigerator or the freezer. There was chicken cordon bleu, and pork piccata. We had risottos made with fresh butternut squash I had hoarded from the last farmer's market of the season. There were mushroom marsala soups and spinach and feta-stuffed chicken breasts. I got about four meals out of what I would have paid for one meal out for all of us. And I was able to take advantage of sales at the grocery store and surprise Chef Jeremy, who would cook whatever I gave him. Jeremy would also make lists for us to go grocery shopping for special meals. For Valentine's Day, Jeremy made us an exquisite leg of lamb.

That was a good month, and it got us feeling human again. We also attracted a number of friends and family, who would happen to show up when they knew that Jeremy would be cooking. We had good times in the kitchen holding babies, chatting, and smelling the delicious smells of homemade meals. Eventually we transitioned back to cooking for ourselves. But I sure do miss it.

To talk to Chef Jeremy about your needs for a private chef for home cooking, private parties, cooking instruction, weddings, etc., contact him at 240.446.4503.

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Derelict in my duties

Hey friends of local food! Sorry I've been AWOL for a month. I've been doing a lot of cool stuff but haven't been writing about it. Honestly, I have been pretty tired, being almost five months pregnant with twin boys! Here's an update:

Yesterday, Chef Christine from the Kitchen Studio gave an AWESOME demo at the North Market Farmers Market and made both panzanella and corn salad. The dishes were simple, super-fresh, and they brought out the best in seasonal flavors. In other words, the samples went really fast! Chef Christine really knew how to draw in both kids and adults, and I realized while watching her demo that I would really enjoy taking one of her classes, maybe the farmer's market class, or the sushi class...

This past Friday 9/3 I worked with our Office of Sustainability at work (I work for Frederick County Government) to put together a brown bag lunch about local food. We had a panel that included Chef Bryan Voltaggio from Volt and Zoe Brittain and Sally Fulmer from the Common Market. These folks talked about how they work with local farmers to get local produce into their establishments, and what they get out of it. It was really a very smart conversation about how to create direct relationships that benefit the farmer, and how it these relationships benefit a local restaurant and grocery store. More than that, the speakers talked about intersecting profit with purpose, and it was a very engaging. We also talked a little about the loss of family farms, and other outlets to access farm products directly, including farmers markets, CSAs, and direct farm sales. One resource we shared was the 2010 farm guide published by the County's Office of Economic Development. Get a copy if you don't have one.

I didn't grow a garden this year- I started a bunch of seedlings in my friend Chad's greenhouse and then got caught up in things like making babies. Chad ended up planting some of my stuff (especially the lettuces) on his farm and got some enjoyment out of them. So I've been shopping a lot at the farmers markets this summer, more than I usually do, because I am determined to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables while they are in season so that the babies get lots of good nutrition! Right now, I am obsessed with tomatoes and honeycrisp apples and watermelon.

I discovered Spriggs Delight Farm goat cheeses and am totally hooked. I am a cheese lover, and finding out I had a dairy sensitivity last year was a total bummer! But I was happy to discover that I could still eat goat and sheep's milk cheeses, and that has saved me from getting too skinny. I am a big fan of a lot of local goat cheese producers like Caprikorn farms. Each farm has totally different products despite using the same basic ingredient, and that's very exciting. Spriggs has very rustic, old-style cheeses with complex flavors. I tried the Hillside Feta and Torre cheeses yesterday for the first time and was so impressed. The Hillside Feta is smooth, creamy, and goaty without having the metallic tang that can sometimes infiltrate goat milk. It is honestly better than any other feta I have tried. The Torre is an aged, complex cheese with lots of character, despite being mellow- It's solidly in the stinky cheese category, in a good way. And the dairy also makes goat milk fudge- needless to say, I spent all of my farmer's market money there yesterday and then had to walk past the Cortland apples at Lewis Orchard and all of the other market goodies with a blind eye.

Three words: FRESH LOCAL EGGS. With the disgusting conditions revealed on a daily basis at the mega poultry operations in the midwest, I am SO GLAD to be eating local, free range, organic eggs. They also taste better. I got my last batch from Persimmon Pond at the West Frederick Farmers Market from Wendy and they were wonderful.

I hope you are enjoying the harvest season! Corn is coming to an end, but melons and squashes are reigning supreme. Tomatoes will be good until the first frost and then a little later as the green ones ripen. Enjoy apples- the different varieties will phase in and out- right now you have to try Cortland and Honeycrisp. Ooo, and don't forget peaches! And I see all of the summer vegetables are still hanging in there because of all the heat we've had. It's been a hard summer for your local farmers because of the heat and drought. It's a good time to appreciate your local farmer.

Shannon

P.S. Sweet Potatoes.

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Simple tomato salad

We're having my parents over for dinner tonight, and we've decided to make picnic food (but eat it indoors- it's 100 degrees ouside!) Here's what's on the menu:

• Devilled eggs (mom's recipe, but made by me with eggs from Chesapeake's Choice at the West Frederick Farmer's Market)
• Potato salad (great grandmother's recipe, made by mom)
• Baked beans (from a can)
• Fresh fruit salad (with watermelon, peaches, blueberries and blackberries from the farmer's market)
• Ribeye (from the Safeway)
• Tomato salad (with tomatoes from the farmer's market) with basil, olive oil, and Cherry balsamic vinegar from Lebherz Oil and Vinegar Emporium (new place on Market Street-it's Lou's addiction)

Lou and I had to eat one of the eggs because it didn't look pretty enough. Now there is an empty hole in the egg tray. Too bad. There might be a few more holes before people get here. Lou is making the fruit salad- that might get a few holes in it too. The watermelon might be missing a few pieces already. We are bad.

Shannon

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Catching up

Though I haven't been posting much here recently, I have been a busy bee working on farmers market stuff. Here's an update of some cool things that I have been working on that you might enjoy:

I have been working with my friend Will Morrow to help set up the North Market Farmers Market. Will is organizing the market, which will be Wednesdays 3-7PM beginning June 9 at the old Carmack Jays site next to Old Towne Tavern on Market Street in downtown Frederick (331 North Market Street). I am really excited about this market; Market Street is actually named after a farmers market that started back in 1746 by a man named Daniel Dulaney, who had laid out the town of Frederick a year before on part of Taskers Chance.

According to the City of Frederick, Dulaney's "vision for Frederick-Town was clear, having encouraged the development of the surrounding area with productive grain farms, his new town would serve as a regional market town; a place to gather agricultural products for refinement, shipment or local sale, and where goods could be purchased by town residents and the surrounding community...In 1746, Dulaney received permission from the Proprietary to hold a weekly market at Frederick-Town, and by 1747 he was placing advertisements in the Maryland Gazette for a fair “at Frederick-Town, near Monocacy,” and a market “to be held there every Saturday." The press release for the market, put out by Colby Ferguson from Frederick County Economic Development, has a great quote from Will:

“After a 52 year hiatus we're bringing the Farmers Market back to Market Street,” stated Will Morrow of Whitmore Farm, and Market organizer. “The oldest and longest running Farmers Market used to be on Market Street. The original market was established in 1746 and served as the center of agricultural commerce for Frederick County for 212 years!”

So far the market will have meat, fruit, vegetables, eggs, baked goods, cut flowers, soaps, plants, fiber, and yarn. Will is still talking to vendors so there may be even more. Check out the market on facebook. I designed the logo :)

I also worked on a logo for the Big White Barn Tomato Festival with my friend Hilda. I'll follow up when I have more details.

Other than this past weekend when I went camping, I have been going to the West Frederick Farmers Market a lot. My boyfriend is addicted to the fat asparagus spears at Scenic View Orchard. The season for that is probably close to over, which is sad. On the other hand, it's really fun to be able to eat the foods that are in season at the times when they are available; they are more special that way. I can't wait for blueberries and tomatoes to be in.

The Shab Row and Everedy Square Farmers Market opened for the season on Thursday. I didn't make it this week but am hoping to go next week.

I talked to Colby Ferguson and we chatted about market stuff. He runs the Virtual Farmers Market, organizes the Family Festival at the Farm, and publishes the Wine Trail Brochure and Frederick County Farm Guide. Colby says there's a bunch of new markets coming this year, including one in Myersville and maybe one in New Market. There are farmers markets every day of the week now in Frederick County except Monday. I hope all of these markets are successful.

The 2010 farm guide is out, and Colby needs to get a pdf of it to put it on his website, because he still has the 2009 guide up. That guide is useful. I did see that the Truffle King had the new printed guides at his booth at the West Frederick Farmers Market on Saturday, so you can get one from him.

If you are interested in buying a CSA share and have not done so yet, visit here.

My little sister Precious and I visited our friend Chad from Chad Stull Organic Produce and Mount Zion CSA in his greenhouse yesterday. I haven't seen him much recently, but when you have friends that are farmers, you never see them this time of year unless you help out on their farms or at least visit them there. That's how it goes. Chad had kept our tomato seedlings alive that we had planted and then so rudely neglected. Other than a few weeds that I pulled out, they looked good. I need to transplant them.

I am having friends over for dinner on Saturday, and I can't wait to see what is at the market on Saturday morning.

Shannon

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Back from the Farmers Market

I am back from the West Frederick Farmers Market. I brought my boyfriend Lou and my dog Lucy with me. I love going to the market with Lou; he is from Athens, Greece originally. He says farmers markets when he grew up involved a lot more haggling and hawking. He tells me about the guy who sold olive oil and offered samples on fresh, rustic bread. The ocean was less than half a mile away, so vendors sold seafood. They sold grains, produce, meats. He said there were lots of varieties of grapes, olives, and feta cheeses from different regions like Attica or Chios or Crete. It's neat to think about how each place can have a totally different market flavor; and that's the point.

We got to the market a little after ten this morning, and it was bustling. Perhaps people found out that strawberries are in! We bought three pints from Jubilee Organic Farm along with two bunches of asparagus. Lou wanted to get the fatter asparagus from Richard at Scenic View Orchards, but the weather this week in Sabillasville was not warm enough to produce much; Richard said that the wet weather was good for the asparagus but the cold was not. We got a bunch of radishes from Summer Creek Farm and chatted with Rick for a while. We also talked to Tim, the Truffle King; I am so sad that I can't eat truffles anymore since I quit eating dairy. He had strawberry and caramel truffles in addition to his chocolate ones. Dave and his son were working at Chesapeake's Choice today; we bought two dozen multicolored eggs from them. Their eggs are gorgeous on the inside too, with a rich, dark yolk that is light years away from grocery store eggs. I bought a gluten-free rice krispie treat from A Better Choice Baked Goods and shared pieces of it with several people. I bought a large, gorgeous bag of spinach for $3 and chatted with Gwen from Glade-Link Farm for a little bit. Their u-pick operation for strawberries begins tomorrow, 5/16, at 7AM. Call 301.898.7131 before you go to make sure they haven't run out. Strawberries will be $1.50 per pound. This info isn't on their website yet, so you get first dibs.

Lucy wandered around and sniffed other dogs. She was very happy. Lou and I talked to our friends. We had a great morning. Then we went home and made bacon burger burritos with fresh greens from the market. I love Saturdays.

Shannon

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Locavore Basics

I joined a food club recently where people collectively buy food from suppliers in order to get quality food cheaper. I went to my first meeting yesterday and discovered that a lot of people in the club preserve food through canning. I also had dinner at a friend's house this week (venison, carrots, potatoes, collards, and a salad- heavenly) and he showed me his canning stores from last summer. I am thinking I am going to have to get in on this canning. My mom used to can a lot and it was a way to make use of produce when it was at its cheapest and most abundant. My mom saved a lot of money by canning and we always had healthy food to eat. I took it for granted as a kid but I don't anymore. I am also thinking that for my food club, I am going to try to build relationships with local farmers to see if we can do some wholesale buying of produce in season when they have extras.

The Culinate website has a nice little writeup of eight locavore basics: eight budget tips for going local.

1. Grow or forage your own grub. Gardening is the ultimate local-foods diet, matched only by foraging for wild edible plants. There are delicious wild fruits and vegetables as well as gourmet mushrooms growing right at your feet, even if you live in the city. Usually overlooked as “weeds,” these free foods are yours once you learn some simple but essential identification skills. Sign up for one of the wild-edibles classes offered nationwide, and you’ll soon be safely harvesting the free food growing all around you.
2. No room, time, or interest in gardening? Get involved with a CSA. If you can volunteer a few hours a week for a few weeks each year, you may be able to get a community-supported agriculture (CSA) share totally free. CSAs depend on a core group of volunteers who are responsible for tasks that range from bookkeeping to website maintenance to communicating with the farmer. In exchange, most CSAs offer core members discounted or free vegetable shares, depending on how much time they put in. (I volunteer five hours a week as site coordinator for my CSA for eight weeks, in exchange for which I get my vegetable share for free. If I put in more weeks than that, I also get my fruit share for free.) Many CSAs also offer discounted shares to low-income families, and most CSAs accept EBT payments at a discounted membership rate. Ask if discounted shares are available at your local CSA, and be prepared to show some proof of your income status to qualify.
3. Even with a CSA, you might need extras. Be a savvy shopper at the farmers’ market. Walk through the entire farmers’ market before you buy anything, checking to see what looks the best and which stalls have the lowest prices. Often there’s a huge difference in price for the same vegetable between one farm’s stall and the next.
4. Pay attention to peak seasonality. Each crop has a season and a peak season. “Peak season” is when the produce is both tastiest and cheapest. For example, tomatoes appear at my farmers’ markets in June, but aren’t really at their tastiest or most affordable until August.
5. Put up your harvest (or bulk purchases) for the cold months. By freezing, canning, pickling, or otherwise preserving summer's bounty, my locavore meals in wintertime are varied and delicious, and they balance the budget of what I spend during the warm months. The strawberries I froze when they were at their most luscious (and cheapest) become breakfast smoothies in January; the ratatouille I made with summer squash and eggplant becomes a quick pasta sauce long after squash and eggplant season is over. So pick up a few food-preservation skills, not only to add interest and nutrition to your winter diet but also to keep costs down.
6. Waste not, want not. Instead of throwing apple cores and peels into the compost, I stockpile them in the freezer to make homemade apple vinegar and to use as pectin for jellies and jams. I also use my freezer to save vegetable trimmings and poultry, meat, and fish bones, which I turn into delicious stocks that later become soups and sauces. Carrot leaves, onion skins, parsley stems, and the tough green parts of leeks are among the usually thrown-out parts of vegetables that are great in stock.
7. Eat fewer animal foods. Even sustainably, humanely raised animals and animal products require a heftier input of resources and labor than plants do. That’s why they’re the most expensive items at the farmers’ market. By eating vegetarian meals several times a week, even if you enjoy your dairy, eggs, or meat on the other days, you’ll significantly reduce your food costs.
8. Eat at home. And no, takeout doesn’t count. If your lifestyle till now has included more than one restaurant, takeout, or delivery meal a week, then cooking at home will definitely save you money.
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I am trying to do more home cooking. It's easier the more I do it. I am saving quite a lot of money! I am really looking forward to cooking more this growing season and sharing more pictures. I have rhubarb in my yard that looks ready to harvest, so it looks like I'll be using home-grown products tonight for the first time this season- for dessert! Picture from Culinate.

Shannon

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Morel season is upon us

I was reminded today by a facebook post from a mushroom foraging friend that morel season is upon us. Check out the archives for mushroom eating enthusiasm and the occasional hunting tip.

It's awesome to have been doing this long enough to have seasonal archives.

Also, it's time to plant a bunch of things if you have not already and want to give your garden a go. Right now would be a great time to plant potatoes.

Shannon

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Planting seeds

Hello friends! It's time to start your gardens, if you haven't already. I'm a little late getting started, but what's new? I need to prep the garden beds so that I can direct sow peas, beans, radishes, and carrots. My little sister Precious and I started a bunch of seeds yesterday at a friend's greenhouse. It beats the pants off of my little window box, which is on a part of the house that gets mediocre light.

Here's Precious putting seeds in one of our little trays. We planted a bunch of stuff. Off the top of my head I remember:

• Black Krim tomatoes
• German Pineapple tomatoes
• Red pear cherry tomatoes
• White bell peppers
• Orange Bell peppers
• Sweet long Italian peppers
• Pimentos
• Chesapeake Bay Fish Peppers (hot)
• Rainbow Swiss Chard
• Early Cauliflower
• Cheddar Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Broccoli Raab
• Okra
• Lettuce

Somehow we forgot to plant the kale.

I am beginning to be very excited about spring- the sky was beautiful yesterday, and I was glad it was cool, since we were working in a hothouse. I can't wait to see the first little shoots pushing over tiny clods of earth.

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Potatoes

This time of year, obviously the pickings for local food are slim unless you are talking about meat or preserves. Nevertheless, I was able to get some potatoes from my friend Chad the other day that he had grown this summer, and I fried them up. Chad is expanding his Community Supported Agriculture program this summer to 50 spots. He is going to be primarily doing CSA through his farm off Mt. Zion road this year. If you are interested to learn more about his CSA, you can contact him at stullproduce@yahoo.com. He farms organic.

I saw an episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain the other day about Brittany, in France. It was the best episode of the show I had ever seen, and that's saying a lot. The reason I loved this particular show, other than the fact that it had the best looking food on it that I had ever seen, was the relentless emphasis on quality of experience in life through being grounded in local products. Lucky for Brittany, local food includes every form of seafood known to humankind. But beyond that, the appreciation for the soil, for rusticness, for truly fresh ingredients that can only come from local sources- this episode totally blew me away. Because for me, local food is about quality of life more than anything else. As much as I might like to talk about the politics of it or the economics. It does seem though, that when you are doing the right thing, there are many, many reasons for it, not just one.

Yeon and I are making some changes to the West Frederick Farmer's Market page that I think will be really cool. We're linking the feed from this blog to it, for one. We'll let you know when we're done. And when I say we, it's Yeon doing all of the coding.

The West Frederick Farmer's Market still doesn't have a home yet. I'll be talking to some other people on the marketing committee here soon to step up efforts. We'll make it work.

Are we really going to get another 20 inches of snow in the next two days? Geez. I am going to go through my vegetable seeds just so I can dream about spring. And figure out what to order. This year I want to grow watermelon radishes.

Shannon

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Lots of new menu items, cool restaurants

I wandered into Isabella's the other night with some friends, hungry, just as the kitchen was about to close. Chef James very graciously made us a number of tapas and came out and chatted with us afterwards. I interviewed Chef about the local items on his menu back in April of last year. I had the best slow-cooked chicken tapas in a red sauce- I can't remember what it was called but it was outstanding. And I also had a few excellent seafood dishes. Chef James says that he is putting 15 new items on the menu in the next couple of weeks, so be on the lookout.

I also stopped in to Volt last night and checked out their menu for DC restaurant week; they have an all-new 3 and 4 course prix fixe menu ($35 and $45) for dinner. Lunch prix fixe is I think $20 for 3 courses. Restaurant Week is a great way to try a fine dining restaurant at a cost less than what you would normally have to pay. But I will warn you-the Washington Post Going Out Guide is full of comments from people who could not get reservations because the place is so busy. My advice to you, that I probably should keep to myself, is to go at an off time and eat at the bar, because the food is the same and the company is great. There is also an a la carte restaurant week menu and I saw duck confit for $14. Not bad. I also talked to Danny Garland last night, who works for one of Volt's meat suppliers, and was impressed with how he really connects the farmer to the restaurant in terms of meeting the restaurant's high standards and needs for various cuts, types of products, etc. Needless to say, a lot of these farmers are local to the region.

I went to an excellent little Greek deli called Aleko's in Middletown the other week. I am going to do a more complete writeup about them soon, but was impressed by their commitment to fresh homemade food that uses lots of local ingredients and caters to people with food sensitivities.

I also made my way out to Joannie's on Carroll St. near the canal and was super-impressed by how Joannie was willing to whip up a homemade gluten-free and dairy-free quiche on the spot because I was hungry for one. Joannie also uses a lot of local ingredients and caters to people with food sensitivities. She also has poetry nights on Fridays, dance parties, a thriving local scene, a seamstress operation, and waffles. I'll be writing more about her too. We are going to share some recipes. I have a great gluten-free chicken and dumplings recipe, and a pork loin with cherry gravy that is to die for.

Enjoy!

Shannon

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The Food in Bogota

I am back from Bogota, Colombia, where my sister Bridget married her sweetheart Kico. This was my first trip to South America and it will definitely not be my last. Bogota is 5 hours to the south in the same time zone, and is a city of over 7 million people at an elevation of 9200 feet. Before I get to the food, let me just say that we had the most wonderful time there - Kico's family was so warm and hospitable, and they really went out of their way to welcome us into the family. I think a lot of my friends were wary of us going to Colombia because of the history of drug violence, but the President of the country has really cleaned the place up in the past eight years, and I felt very safe in Bogota.

The first picture is of Kico's brothers Nicolas and Luis (the youngest, so they call him Baby) with his sister Pili's husband Rob. In front of them are the massive dishes of Paella that Uncle Rafa spent all day making for us for the New Year's party. It was such a great party! We danced, laughed, and set off balloons with wishes on them (I know this is environmentally bad but let's not focus on that now). At midnight, we walked around the block with luggage to encourage ourselves to travel a lot in the coming year.

My brother Sean is sitting in front of a confection made with cake wafers and a caramel sauce. Caramel sauce is everywhere in Bogota. People in Bogota, from what I can tell, eat lots of beef, pork, yucca, plantain, potato, tropical fruits, corn, and caramel sauce. Sadly, I could not eat this confection but it looked amazing. At least I was able to eat the paella.

I had a lot of trouble eating in Colombia because of the prevalence of butter and corn in and on everything. Many meals I ate dried fruit and nuts because whatever was offered contained dairy or corn. Even though I did my best, I still came back to the States fighting an autoimmune reaction. It's getting better, but I have been tired this week. Still- it was a small price to pay for a visit to a beautiful country to meet my new family and see my gorgeous sister get married to a wonderful man.

Shannon

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Maryland's Maple Syrup Industry

Did you know that Maryland has a maple syrup industry? When I was a kid, we would see demonstrations in the Catoctin mountains at Cunningham Falls State Park, and they are still doing them every year. Western Maryland still has some commercial maple syrup industries, and I discovered that you can buy the syrup up at Catoctin Mountain Orchard's farm stand on 15. I was excited, because I will add it to the gift box that my mom is making for our soon-to-be in-laws in Bogota, Colombia. Maple syrup is only produced in the Northeast US and Southeast Canada. Cool, huh?

The maple syrup industry in Maryland is threatened by climate change. According to the Maryland Climate Action Plan, prepared by the Maryland Commission on Climate Change that was appointed by the Governor, The maple-beech-birch forest of Western Maryland is likely to fade away, and pine trees will become more dominant in Maryland’s forests:

As the changing climate after the last Ice Age resulted in the northward shift in the distribution of tree species in eastern North America, 21st century warming will very likely result in the northward sift in the range of trees and forest types currently that exists in Maryland. Trees that need cold winter conditions (for example, sugar maples) or are susceptible to diseases or pests under warmer conditions will retreat northward, possibly replaced by species currently found south of Maryland. Plant hardiness zones for horticultural plants have recently been revised to take account of the changes in the potential ranges of garden plants that have already taken place...
Under a doubling of CO2 concentrations—likely to be experienced in the latter half of the century under the low-emissions scenario—the maple-beech-birch forests of Allegany and Garrett counties are likely to disappear, replaced by oak-hickory forests. The oak-hickory forest type that presently characterizes most of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain west of the Chesapeake is likely to transition to an oak-pine forest.

I was quoted in the Frederick News-Post about the changes in hardiness zones a few weeks ago because I also write a blog about global warming and Maryland called "local warming", and one of the commenters called me an idiot:

Shannon Moore said "Climate change is already being felt. "Our climate is warmer," she said. "Where we used to get snow, we get rain. We've changed our hardiness zones. That affects everything." I guess this idiot didn't hear the weather forecast for our area this weekend. I'm also guessing she wasn't present for the past couple winter storms we've already had this FALL. Maybe she didn't even see the latest on the scam produced by Al Gore about Global Warming... Maybe if she paid more attention in her science classes and not to her political party of choice she would have a better understanding of how the Earth and Weather goes through cycles. This is nature people. It happens.

Suffice to say, I have paid a lot of attention to my science classes! I thought this was funny and didn't take it personally. But it does remind me that there are many people out there who do not believe that climate change is occuring, and this mindset does an extreme disservice to our ability to address it. The reality is that our climate is shifting, and that will affect the industries in our region that produce our food.

Shannon

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Having the time of my life

Tonight my mom and I went out to Nilgiri's, a lovely Indian restaurant in Frederick on Route 85 near the Common Market. I was talking to a gentleman there, and we decided that 2010 would be the best year ever. He said that would be good, because 2009 was a terrible year, and I think he meant the economy. So we agreed that 2010 is going to be awesome.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! I've really enjoyed all of the get-togethers with friends and family, and the shared meals in peoples' homes. I realize that though I co-write a blog about local food, I don't cook often enough. I really enjoy it, and I kind of have to now that I can't eat so many foods. So next year I will cook more, and the year will be more awesome.

Seriously, I think 2010 is going to be my best year ever.

Shannon

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Local Holiday Gifts

April Finnen posted a great idea recently about giving away locally made items in a holiday gift basket. I reposted her idea, because I loved it. Last night I had the opportunity to make use of her suggestions. My Mom was trying to figure out what kind of a gift to bring to Bogota for the family of my sister's fiancee, for the wedding. I didn't even have to think. I told her we should put together a basket of treats made from local products that would be like bringing a little bit of our world to theirs. Of course, she loved the idea. I went to Zoe's and bought some of their candy canes. Then Mom and I had a mother-daughter outing last night and went to the McCutcheon's store in the mall. They had lots of mini jars of their products- I got my personal favorites:

• apple butter
• cherry butter
• black raspberry preserves
• blueberry preserves
• triple crown (raspberry, cherry and strawberry) preserves

Mom also got a tote with a silkscreen of Frederick icons on it, and picked up some Rosebud lip salve, which is made in nearby Woodsboro. I will pick up a few more things before we go, but I thought this was an awesome start.

Shannon

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Getting Better, Part II

Part I of this post talked about how I discovered that I had an autoimmune disorder that was triggered by food, changed my diet, and began to feel amazingly better. In Part II I am going to talk about improvements I have noticed since November 6, and my trials and tribulations with food. It's hard to believe that my life has radically changed in less than two months, all from eating better, but it has:

• Brain fog: In November, I noted that "the fog in my brain is about 60% gone. I can concentrate and remember things". The brain fog is 90% gone.
• Mental Fatigue: In November, it was about 40% better. Today, it's gone. Things don't feel as intense as they did at first but I have also gotten more used to stimulus.
• Physical Fatigue: The only time I deal with unusual physical fatigue now is when I eat something weird that knocks me out or makes my muscles weak. Otherwise, 100% gone. Also, I am uncomfortable sitting for long stretches at a time now. I also walk 4 times as much as I used to, have been back to the gym, and have been doing fun things like hiking and sledding.
• Constant pressure on the top and sides of my head: This only returns when I eat something weird, but otherwise, it's gone.
• Chronic hip pain: Gone.
• Plantar fasciitis: Was 50% better by November 6, is about 90% better now. I have been walking everywhere. Sometimes I'll do a walk and have more energy and then do another walk, and my feet don't hurt.
• Leaden limbs: gone unless I eat something weird
• Inability to wake in the morning: This is one of the most discouraging symptoms from narcolepsy for me because people think I am lazy. I reported in November that it was about 25% better. Now it is about 75% better.
• Constant depression: Gone. Sometimes if I eat something wrong, I can tell the next day because I feel hopeless, but it goes away in a day.
• Asthma: It was about 50% better in November and it's about 60% better now. It's a little slower going than I would like but I can't complain.
• General Fatigue: About 50% better.

In November, I hadn't tried to reintroduce any foods. I discovered through trials and tribulations of food reintroduction this past month that I can't eat wheat, corn or dairy. I also found out randomly after having a reaction to some contact lens solution that my body has problems with preservatives (My Opthamologist, Dr. Kracher, told me it was "definitive", that he has a few other patients like me, and to avoid eating and using preservatives). My reactions to some things are freaky.

Food sensitivities are no problem at all when I am cooking for myself- in fact, I have started to cook a lot more. I have made the most excellent dinners- like the pork loin with Indian spice rub served with a tart cherry gravy, or the gluten-free chicken pot pie. I have found the Common Market to be awesome because they don't carry food with preservatives, and have a lot of wheat, dairy, and corn-free products. They really cater to people like me. I was telling this to Sally Fulmer from the Common Market the other day in gratitude, only to find out that she has a gluten sensitivity and recovered when she stopped eating it. I find that when I cook my food, avoid too many sugars and carbs, and focus on eating lots of fresh vegetables, I feel like a brand new person.

A problem for me is eating in restaurants. There are very few places I can eat and feel safe. And of these places, there are very few dishes I can eat. This is not a big deal for someone who does not go out to eat much but it's a big part of my life. Or it was. Here's what I can eat in downtown Frederick:

• Five guys: A burger without a roll with sauteed onions and tomato. Luckily I didn't have reactions when I reintroduced tomatoes and beef. Buy the way this isn't the most exciting meal but I was able to go out one day with my staff.
• The Orchard: Grilled chicken house salad with no soy (haven't tried to reintroduce it yet) and the chicken curry over rice.
• Juliet's Italian Market: Curry chicken salad, artichoke antipasti, tuna fish salad on regular salad.
• Volt: anything made gluten and dairy free. I have had so many dishes there I can eat- they will really cater to people with special dietary needs. I've had sturgeon, pork, chicken, hanger steak, bass, mushroom risotto...
• Moxie: Tea. Yeah I know other people serve tea. But I like that place.
• Lucky Corner: Chicken Pho and maybe the Chicken curry.

I am not obsessed with chicken curry, it's just that it's made with coconut milk rather than dairy and wheat, and I can eat it. Literally, those are all the restaurant foods I have found so far. Not to say there aren't others. I have tried many things that looked safe, only to have a reaction later. Here's the typical reactions. The exact reaction differs depending on the food:

• Instant headache
• Head, neck and shoulder ache within 20 minutes of eating something
• Feeling my stomach turn/flip, feeling nauseous
• Feeling pain creep into my wrist, hip and knee joints within 20 minutes of eating something
• Weakness in legs the day after eating something
• Not being able to put the offending food in my mouth physically or feeling a shock run down my arm to my had when I touch it. I know this is really weird and I can't explain it.
• Feeling bombed-out exhausted within 20 minutes of eating something. This happened at a dinner out with friends and was kinda embarrassing.
• Burning mouth, tongue and lips. Why I never felt this before I eliminated food and reintroduced it, I don't know.
• Feeling depressed the day after eating something
• Asthma the day after I eat something

I have strategies now to help me avoid getting into situations where I am really hungry and have no good options:

• Eat before going out, and then just have fun with friends and drink water. This way I still get to go out and enjoy people's company.
• Drink a protein shake before going out, so that I am not hungry but not totally full. That way if there is something I can eat then I have the option.
• Carry Rawnola bars in my purse. I have tried every other kind of bar and they all make me feel terrible because of the carbs and sugars in them. Rawnola bars have only 4 g sugar and 15 total g carbs including fiber. I am going to try to start making my own granola and see if it's good.
• Invite friends over for meals. Living alone, I like to have company, and my friends are more than willing to eat at my house. They also return the favor- one friend brings bags of potatoes from his farm and tropical fruit salad, another helped to shovel out my car from the recent blizzard. I have been a little concerned that my new tastes won't suit people (I am adverse to most sugar, for example, unless it's fruit) but have been pleasantly surprised. My friends that are athletes are excited to eat my food because their bodies recognize it as good fuel; I find this very rewarding.

I thought I would have problems visiting at other peoples' houses but I have avoided the dinners. A friend of mine made dinner for a couple of our friends the other night and I tried to dissuade him from trying to cook for me. But he was unyielding and went ahead and made me the most beautiful composed plate with a beef stir fry that had persimmon slices as garnish. I don't know how he figured it out but I could eat everything in it. I was floored. THANK YOU.

I think I might have an inner athlete coming out. Long after high school was over, my sister, the athlete, told me that she had always resented me. Her track coach told her that if she had longer legs, she could have been in the Olympics. I had the longer legs. I was always reading, always tired, not vital. But here I am emerging from this cocoon and lo and behold, I have lost 20 pounds in the past 2 months and am discovering that I am very strong. My athletic friends have adopted me and will be helping me to get my body into shape. I am so excited about this!!!

I am worried about going to Bogota, Colombia in the beginning of January for my sister's wedding. How can I prepare for that? I am really scared, actually. How can I plan my meals when I am at the whim of other people? My sister is already there, so I am sending her an email in hopes that we can figure something out.

Anyway, this has been my update and observations from the past two months. My life is changed. I am so excited that local food is such a huge part of this plan, and am thankful for the farmers in my life who create the food that my body thrives on. Your work means everything to me.

Shannon

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Getting Better, Part I

I've dropped mentions here and there about how I have changed my diet and have had profound results. I thought I would post here about what I have done, why I did it, and how my life has changed. I am having the most exciting time of my life, getting better. This post is different from most and is kind of long, but bear with me. This is Part I and focuses on my progress after 1 week, back in November. Part II will catch me up to now and will discuss more about food especially local food, which is what I am really getting into.

I wrote the following on November 6:

A few months ago, I read a posting on a narcolepsy list serve that recommended an article in August's Scientific American(http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=celiac-disease-insights) about a bunch of genetically linked disorders (narcolepsy, celiac, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, MS, etc), and how scientists had recently proven that several of the disorders (narcolepsy, celiac) are T-cell disorders. The article was specifically focused on celiac, and how the disease process starts with two conditions (leaky gut and overactive T-cell response) but doesn't turn into a disease until people eat wheat- the wheat is only partially digested, passes through the leaky gut, and is recognized as an antigen by the body, which attacks the places where it is found. It doesn't just attack the stomach- I did more reading and realized that it can attack other organs like bones and the brain. So I thought I would do a test, and I quit eating gluten back in August. And I started to feel a little better. Basically my depression lifted and I felt a little healthier. And then I thought, maybe it's not just gluten. And I wanted to find someone who could help me eliminate things systematically from my diet and figure out piece by piece. A naturopathic doctor named Dr. Sinclair was recommended to me, and he told me that he thought I had adrenal fatigue, perhaps as a result of diet, and prescribed a cleanse with elimination diet and an adrenal supplement.

I am going to make a prediction here that you might think is crazy but I think I am going to get better now. I mean all the way better.So far here is what is different from starting on the plan just this past Saturday 10/31:

• The fog in my brain is about 60% gone. I can concentrate and remember things. I noticed this yesterday when reciting lines for my acting class and actually remembered them.
• Mental Fatigue during the day: 40% better. I am no longer bumping into walls. My voice does not slur from sleepiness when I try to talk. I feel a little spring in my step. I also noticed listening to music in the car the other day that I felt like I could really listen to it. It was intense. Like freaking great. My attention has improved significantly.
• Physical Fatigue: I raked the leaves in the yard, mowed them, and mowed the rest of the yard the other day with no problem. I was only counting on being able to rake the leaves. Today I walked a mile on my way to and from lunch. It was fun. I am actually looking forward to going back to the gym this weekend.
• Constant pressure on the top and sides of my head (My physician once sent me for an MRI for this complaint): 90% gone within three days of first starting Isocort. CRAZY.
• Chronic hip pain that I notice after walking for a mile or when trying to sleep that I have had since childhood: gone within three days. I am excited about this because it means I have started walking again and should be able to walk to work again (about 2 miles per day)- I am going to try next week. It also means that I will sleep better because I roll around a lot from the pain.
• My foot soreness is also about 50% better as of today. The heel pain from the plantar fasciitis is about 60% gone.
• Leaden limbs, especially legs and feet: gone within five days. I walk around all sprighty now instead of dragging my clumpy feet around. Pretty cool.
• Inability to wake in the morning: about 25% better than normal after 6 days (today). This is HUGE. I actually feel an alertness in me when I waken. IT'S FREAKY. Is this how you people feel? I guess that's how you can get up in the morning, huh? I just let the snooze go about a hundred times until I gradually come out of a coma and drag my carcass into the shower.
• Constant depression: Already somewhat better from not eating gluten starting back in August. But within 1 day of taking the IsoCort, I actually had happy, positive thoughts in my head that I did not have to put there with extreme conscious effort. Walking down the street with Lucy last night I was thinking about how I am excited about my life in general, which never happens. I am usually just happy about a particular thing but feel blah in general. I am not dreading winter any more. I am noticing that people are reacting to me a lot more positively. I also don't feel like I am having the winter blahs anymore and I am no longer afraid of this winter.
• The tension and stiffness in the back of my neck is gone. The old lady bump on the back of my neck- I actually noticed this morning that it is reducing in size. FOR REAL.
• Asthma: about 50% better. I was using the inhaler last week but have not needed it this week. I am still feeling some inflammation. I can catch a deep breath now more and more.

It's totally weird that a lot of the random problems I have struggled with all now appear to be connected. As I read up on adrenal fatigue I see that things like pressure on the top of the head, hip pain, asthma, digestive problems, gradual weight gain, insulin resistance, and frequent lung infections are common symptoms that get better with treatment. This is pretty wild.

My Dad advised me not to get my hopes up the other day, but I thought this was totally lame, and am way past that point. The only thing I am afraid of is a Flowers for Algernon situation where all of this progress suddenly starts to decay. But I do not think this will happen. I have read online about other people who have adrenal fatigue, and if the medicine works, it usually keeps working. A lot of people don't see results right away- it takes a month or so. So I am really curious to see if I will keep getting better, and at what point I will stop. I also am not afraid to look forward to things, dammit. Expect the best. The worst can look out for itself.

I'll be working with the naturopath to see if we can't figure out what is causing the fatigue in the first place. He thinks it could be an autoimmune food sensitivity and believes I will continue to get better. His goal is to see if I can eventually go off the medicine for narcolepsy - he thinks I will - I feel like I am so much better than I was but this is just by contrast, and I definitely still need the narcolepsy meds to stay awake during the day. But I AM so much better than I was - this is so manageable - that I feel like my life is being given back to me. But my idea of a better life versus a normal life may be totally different. I actually have no idea how it feels to be normal and be able to wake up in the morning and do my hair, or have energy when I come home from work to clean anything. My idea of better is just not feeling tortured by exhaustion. I really don't even know how to anticipate anything better than that. But I bet it would be awesome. Imagine your whole life has involved sloshing through mud up to your neck, and suddenly the mud goes away.

What is exciting for me now is that I might have found some answers to the problems I have had not just since I was a teenager, but perhaps also my whole life. Even if this is all the better I get I am totally excited. But the prospect of getting really better- of having a condition that can be treated, not just managed, is awesome. I also think it's interesting that adrenal fatigue is a condition that is not accepted by the mainstream medical establishment. I gave them 36 years and the could not do what a naturopath was able to do in a single office visit.

Shannon

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Snow Cream

• 1 big bowl of clean snow
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 c milk or cream

Pour sugar over the snow. Mix the vanilla and milk together and pour over sugar. Mix with a mixing spoon and add more milk as necessary to make a slushie-like consistency. Scoop into serving dishes and eat with spoons.

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April F's great idea: local gift basket

April Finnen gets the prize today for having a good idea. She needed to come up with a gift basket for an office party, so she put together one using products from Frederick County. Here are the contents of her basket, quoted from her blog page:

• Elk Run Vineyard wine - I chose a chardonnay, since that's all the liquor store was offering, and I didn't have time to visit the vineyard. (Making this basket could really be a full-time job.)
  
• Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale - I sent my husband out for this one, with the request only that he didn't choose the Raging Bitch... this is a work party, after all.
• Dublin Roasters Guatelmalan Antigua artisan roasted coffee, hand-roasted in New Market, Md. I was hoping for some Highlander Grogg, but the selection is whatever's been recently roasted. I also picked up a couple other items for the basket in their cute little store, including:
• Local honey from Bill McGiffin's apiary in Mt. Airy, Md., and
• A selection of Seven Angels lotions, made in New Market. I think I've seen them at farmers markets too.
• While in New Market, I stopped at the New Market General Store, hoping for something small by a local artist. I found McCutcheon's Buttermilk Pancake and Waffle Mix, and some Swedish fish (for my husband, not the basket).
• And what basket would be complete without chocolate? First, a variety box from Perfect Truffle in Frederick's Shab Row.
• Finally, my personal favorite, a Raw Bar (with cocoa nibs) and an Espresso Bar from Zoe's Chocolate, a relatively new addition to downtown Frederick.

I think this is a fantastic idea. Other thoughts: McCutcheon's has their factory outlet on Wisner and a store at the FSK mall. Zoe's also has the world's best candy canes, according to Saveur Magazine. For wine, also check out Berrywine Plantations/Linganore Winecellers, Black Ankle Vineyards, Frederick Cellars, Loew Vineyards, and Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyards. Flying Dog was ranked one of the best American breweries by Forbes and won best in show at the Great American Beer Festival this year as the best mid-size brewing company in America. The Common Market has some local gift items, as does the Muse (disclaimer- I sell my necklaces at the Muse).

While I am on the topic of local gifts, if you are looking to participate in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) next year and get fresh produce all season, Several may still have openings.

• Summer Creek Farm, Farmer Rick Hood (organic), farmer@summercreekfarm.com
• Mt Zion CSA, Farmer Chad Stull (organic), stullproduce@yahoo.com, 301.473.7068
• Thanksgiving Farm, Darby Zimmermann, 301.662.1291

What are your local gift ideas?

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Top Chef, Tasting Notes, and Home Cooking

Where do I start? This past week has been a culinary whirlwind. Let's start with Top Chef.

I was sitting at the bar at Volt Wednesday, watching the TV screen as brothers Bryan and Michael Voltaggio waited with urgent intensity to hear which one of them would be crowned Top Chef. When Michael heard his name called, he transformed. It was actually one of the more beautiful things I have seen. I grew up with a younger brother who was always somehow second to me in the eyes of other people because I was good, and did the right things, and was brilliant, and succeeded. My brother, also brilliant, was unable to follow other peoples' rules, was often angry and inappropriate, and was always asked, "what is wrong with you" and "why did you do that" and "why can't you be more..." It was hard to watch Bryan not win; I know how good of a chef he is, and how much he fought for it. But it was wonderful to watch Michael win, because there was that moment where he had permission to see himself differently. I hope it is a seed that grows within him his whole life. Some people say the title was stolen from Bryan- I don't know, I didn't try Michael's food. The episode was set up to make you think that Bryan would win, but the blogs from the judges have been more informative. They were torn. They duked it out all night. There were people who thought Bryan should win and people who pulled for Michael. In the end, the vote was the vote. But it was close.

The Voltaggios are brothers, after all, and they have decided to become successful together as a team. Check out their website. A rising tide floats all boats. The person I was more sorry for was Kevin, as he had his first real bad day and the show dispensed with him so unceremoniously. But others have said, and it appears to be true, that he has an illustrious career ahead of him. He has a certain genius to him, that much is obvious, and he is a fan favorite. He also has the ability, like the Lee Brothers (whose cookbook is at Ollie's right now for $6.99- GO BUY IT), to tell a story about Southern cooking that elevates it from the prejudices of the North and West.

Kevin and Bryan both talked a lot about using local, fresh ingredients; I think this really distinguished the two of them. Great food starts with great ingredients. Our local tourism industry will be putting together an initiative to bring people to Frederick for our cuisine, and they will be highlighting the proximity to high quality local ingredients as part of the campaign. I give Bryan a lot of credit for developing the concept that Frederick will be capitalizing on as a result of his success.

I look forward to seeing more from all of the chefs. Most of all, I am proud of them- how they helped each other and wanted to win because they were the best, not because someone else lost. I think the tone for this was really set by Bryan. The production team loved Bryan the best because he was always charitable, easy to get along with, kind. It's a long-term philosophy, to treat yourself and others well, that in my experience always pays off in the end. And Top Chef is just the beginning. Bryan is also now a celebrity and that's kind of weird. But them's the breaks. I am sure it's weird for him too. Stay true.

I went to Georgetown this weekend with my friends Chris and Karly. We hung out at the GORGEOUS apartment of his sister Kelly and her husband. I was inspired by the place, as it really is focused on art, and by the people who have a love of fine food. We went to a restaurant that was just around the corner from their place, called Urbana. The Executive Chef there is Alexander Bollinger, who used to work with Bryan V. at Charlie Palmer. I had three courses on the tasting menu for $39 and was stuffed; the courses were also excellent. Some notes:

• Portugese kale stew with cannellini beans, creamer potatoes, laughing bird shrimp, and chorizo. The broth in this soup was outstanding and had a lovely balance of shrimp and chorizo. The shrimp was a tad bit more cooked than I like but I am weird about seafood and like it just as the proteins denature (turning the shrimp from translucent to white) and not a second more. $11. A very big bowl and a hearty soup.
• Ahi tuna tartare with 61 degree egg, warm applewood smoked bacon and banyuls sherry vinaigrette with crispy house made fennel crackers. I had this without the crackers since I am wheat-free. For those interested, 61 degrees is significant because it is the temperature at which egg white and yolk are at the same consistency- silky, velvety, and thick. The way this is achieved is by cooking sous-vide. Sous-vide is done by vacuum-sealing the food and then putting it in a water bath that is calibrated to a precise temperature. The food is then cooked until it reaches the desired temperature. Food cooked sous-vide NEVER OVERCOOKS. For this reason, it's a great technique for things like chicken and pork, which need to reach a certain temperature on the inside but often suffer from overcooking on the outside. Sous-viding is not something that the home cook does at this point, though I have seen an ad for a machine that ran around $350, plus the vacuum sealer and bags. About the cost of a microwave, and worth it I would think if you cook meat a lot or are obsessed with perfection. The dish was delicious though I would have preferred the egg and tuna separately. Their flavors go along together except for a few subtle notes pretty far in that I thought clashed, and I could not get over that, but again that is my palate. $15 well spent.
• Cassoulet with crispy duck confit with butternut squash, cannellini beans, garlic sausage and applewood smoked bacon. Confit, a preparation of duck where it is preserved in salt, cooked in its own fat, and then stored in fat, is the most tender preparation and a real delicacy well-suited to the holidays. This confit was excellent, and came with a crispy skin that I really enjoyed. The bean cassoulet was also very good. I found the combination of the two to be oversalted and would have liked to see the cassoulet have less salt to compensate for the salt in the confit. This was an extremely hearty dish that filled me up like an entree and was an absolute steal at $13.
• I forgot to write down the name of the wine but it was a 2006 French Burgundy. I thought it was a good wine but still closed. But a good price on the wine and a good wine list in general from what little I know about wines. I know a lot more about food than I do wine.
• Some local, seasonal ingredients were mentioned on the menu like Tuscarora Farms beets.

Urbana, 2121 P. St. NW, Washington DC 20037, 202.956.6650

I made a good dinner this weekend too- a chicken pot pie using the Lee Brothers' recipe (seriously, get the book). For local ingredients, I used a chicken from Rohrer's meats and some cayenne peppers I had grown and dried last summer (I also had a watermelon radish from the Common Market that went into a salad). The recipe asks for you to cut up the chicken and fry the pieces, but I broiled them instead. Broiling chicken is my new favorite cooking method because it is fast, gets the skin crispy, and avoids the addition of extra fats from frying (though the chicken roasts in its own fat). Basically I broil on the top rack, starting the pieces cavity-side up, for five minutes on each side, then drop the rack to 8 inches and continue to broil but at 10 minutes each side. I made gluten-free dumplings from a mix of flours like brown rice, potato starch, and garbanzo and was very excited that they tasted good. The pot pie also had the holy trinity of carrots, onions and celery in it. I will definitely make this recipe again.

I would also like to note that my elimination diet is going along well in the sense that I am still on it and have made a complete 180 degree shift in my awakeness and energy. I am having a rough time reintroducing foods because every one that I have tried to reintroduce has completely bombed. I guess that's good because it's REALLY OBVIOUS that I have sensitivities to food. So I am going to wait a few weeks before trying to introduce foods again. I also keep hitting land mines when I go out to eat, which means I really need to stop going out to eat. Maybe there's a niche for me as a lover of quality foods with a very limited diet, and I should go with it. I'll do a more complete post here soon of my experience with food and getting better, because I think it might help someone. But for now, I am:

Yours in food and in health,
Shannon

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Corn Free

I love corn. When I was a kid, when the white "silver queen" sweet corn would come in, I remember having meals that were nothing but corn because we all loved it so much. There were very few weird meals like that coming from my mom's kitchen. The exceptions were apple dumplings, waffles, and corn. So that tells you how special corn is to my family and to me.

So it was with great sadness when I tried to reintroduce corn into my diet after eliminating it to test for food sensitivities, and found that I can't eat it. I mean I really can't eat it. Within a minute of eating a corn chip my stomach turned, I felt nauseous, and I didn't want any more. I said to myself, well, maybe I had a little too much to drink last night (it is the holidays) and I am just a little off. I went to put another corn chip in my mouth and it hung there in my hand in midair because my body wouldn't let me eat it. I could not make my arm put it in my mouth. I kid you not.

I have told this story a few times now and have heard varying reactions to it. My opthamologist thought it was funny and believed me. Dr. Kracher is awesome, by the way, if you need an opthamologist. He said, "I really think there is something to this, and I think you are halfway there." And he switched me to preservative-free contact lens solution because the stuff I was using was making my eyes itchy- he said probably an autoimmune reaction. And I think he was right, because my eyes don't itch now. My dad, on the other hand, said it was psychosomatic and weird, and he looked at me funny. I said, "maybe it is, but I can't eat corn anymore, and that's an autoimmune problem."

I had a similar but worse reaction when trying to eat dairy again. I made a mushroom pate and put some of my favorite cow goat cheddar in it from CapriKorn farms. I had such a bad reaction to eating it that my tongue and lips burned. I thought, "maybe that's not the dairy. Maybe that's something else." I went to pick up the package so I could eat a slice of cheese, and I felt an electric shock go through my arm to my hand, and I dropped it. Now I know that there is nothing wrong with that cheese because it is awesome. It is me.

Other foods have caused me minor issues. Scallops turned my stomach over, but I ate them. Same with tuna fish in mayo. Sugar turns my stomach if I eat more than a few bites of something sweet.

Now that I am feeling better, I have actual reactions to foods, rather than living in a murk that is better or worse from day to day. I am so profoundly better that I am like a totally different person. So my hunch was right. Some foods trigger me to have autoimmune reactions that cause the narcolepsy symptoms. I don't know if this is because I am atypical, or if there is a dietary relationship with this disease the way there is between celiac and wheat; that is my instinct, since both diseases have the same genetic marker.

Sometimes I eat something, and I don't know what it is, but it hits me like a land mine. I started out assuming that if there weren't any obviously bad ingredients in a food for me, I could eat it. Now I assume the opposite, and find that I can only really eat the food I cook myself- or go to places that are obsessed with food purity. Food is so adulterated, I have discovered, and there are so many things that it is adulterated with; it makes me think that instinctively I turned to local foods more and more because they are not processed.

Today I got up at 5:45 on my own, which never happened to me in my life before I started eating this way a little over a month ago. I was taking the dog for a walk, and I thought about how many people out there are like me and just don't know it. I also thought that if all of these people knew this about themselves and acted on it, there would be a much greater market for primary rather than processed foods, a lot more pressure on the factory farming industry, and a lot less pollutants in the environment. There would also be a lot more healthier people.

I told the Naturopathic Doctor (Steven Sinclair) about my reaction to dairy and he said it was highly unusual. I am okay with that. I feel deeply normal now, more than I ever have been. I feel unstoppable.

Shannon

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