Durham's Gluten Free Network

Pigs can swim? Pretty soon they'll be flying.  Credit I'm still struggling to regain my former energy level.  However a few announcements are in order since September is just around the corner.  First, local elections are coming up in October.  Second, there is a blog post that has collected all the national Democrat's views on farming policy.  And finally, Farm Aid is less than a month away in Wisconsin (but it may be streamed).  It's a good time to discuss farming reform especially in view of the NC pork producer's current and historical problems. Local Elections These elections are very quick and they take precision timing.  Once the candidates are listed, you can seek them out and discuss issues with them.  Then pay close attention to the dates you get from your voter lookup entry. Clickable map to get in touch with your local county electrion board: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/BOEInfo/   Get in touch with them if your ballot isn't posted at least 30

Local organic tomato at the peak of ripeness! Welcome once again to my blog!  Today we're talking about homemade spaghetti sauce with fresh local tomatoes, garlic, onion and peppers!  With 10 lbs each of tomatoes, onions and bell peppers, you can make enough Lecsó and Spaghetti sauce to last several months. I've made three batches so far this year and before the season is over, I want to share my methods with you. I developed a new technique that enhances flavor and protects the vitamins in the sauce from being overcooked. The advantages of big cooking (making a lot, ahead) are the fresh ingredients, the flavor and the thrift. Let's get started! You may wonder what Lecsó is, so let's talk about it first. Simply put, it's a " bam " for taking a healthy shortcut when making many dishes, especially braised dishes from Eastern Europe.  Lecsó is made a bit more simply than spaghetti sauce, so I tend to cook a large batch, and divide the re

This is a bit more personal than usual.  I've had a series of health setbacks and wanted to share what I've learned.  First I had an infection that I had to see an urgent care doctor about.  My doctor was not available briefly.  That delay cost me a lot in recovery.  I have frequent infections and I try my best to avoid antibiotics. But sometimes it's unavoidable.  While recovering from the infection, I learned that there's gluten in many over the counter medicines.  So I wasn't getting any better even though the infection wasn't the problem anymore. Then I noticed that my vitamins were making me react badly.  After some close examination of the vitamin, I couldn't confirm it had gluten in it.  But I was reacting to something in it.   My eating became disordered as pain mounted, and I sought out comfort foods, usually high in carbohydrates. Eating too many carbs is counterproductive for me, but when my body feels horrible anyway, it's hard to b