Going Ahead
Jeff felt good in his shirt yesterday. I made another one for him last night, using up the last of our sample of the 100% merino. I didn’t make it out of the lightweight, but am saving that for myself. 
Until we receive the roll of merino wool/lycra blend that I ordered, he’ll have to alternate between those two base layer shirts.
Today I have been working on a long sleeve t-shirt pattern for myself. I am modeling it after a shirt I have that fits really well. I am stumped, though, because the sleeve cap on that shirt measures 7 inches and I can’t believe that is true. But that is what it measures! Normal for most adults is between 5 and 6 inches. Well, I am going to go with 6 inches and pray for the best.
I cut it out of red cotton knit. Don’t want to ruin that merino until I know the pattern works! I’ll sew it this afternoon, but before I do that, the kids and I must do our reading aloud. We are still reading about Commodore Perry and the Land of the Shogun.
I haven’t mentioned that I have been unsuccessful so far in creating a gluten-free sandwich bread. I’ve gotten a soggy mess out of one recipe, a moist inner and super hard thick crust from another recipe, and the third recipe gave me a brick. I’ll keep going ahead on that, too. In the meantime, if anyone has a gluten-free bread recipe using whole grains and not requiring eggs or dairy, please share! Please?
Try this http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/12/first-loaf-in-my-gluten-free-bread.html
Thank you! That’s the blog you recommend to me, isn’t it? I haven’t had any time to do blog reading lately. With the link, I can go directly there. Thank you so much. Love, Wardeh
Wardeh, what about your recipe for quick gluten-free bread? Ever since I saw that on your site, I have been making it for my son, who absolutely loves it. Are you looking for something different for any particular reason?
Sonya, thank you for telling me that! I guess I am looking for something more sandwich bready, rather than quick bready. Although you’re right, that bread is good. I appreciate your saying it because I think I just need some encouragement and it is motivating to hear feedback from others. When you make the bread, how do you think it holds up with sandwiches? I’d like to know more specifically how you use it, if you wouldn’t mind. Love, Wardeh
Can’t wait to hear about your pattern. I am glad the PP posted a link, as I have no clue!
Well, I can tell you that the GF quick bread is a hot commodity at our house! My oldest son (7), who is the only one in our family that is gluten intolerant (that we know of!), told me after I made the bread using your recipe that he never wants the store-bought kind (Food for Life brand) ever again.
And because the recipe is such a good one, I have happily complied ever since. (So has a friend and fellow homeschooling mom who also has a few family members on GF diets.) Even the other members of our family like the bread–especially hot out of the oven with a little Earth Balance and honey. When I make the bread, I usually allow the loaves to cool completely (and even refrigerate them for several hours) before cutting them into slices. Then I freeze one loaf and leave one in the refrigerator. I have found that toasting it just before making a sandwich with it helps it hold together a little better. Sometimes, when I’m almost at the end of a loaf, the slices get a little crumbly, but then I just toast the fragments and crumbs and grind them up in my food processor to use in meatballs or in any other recipe that calls for breading. I mostly make turkey sandwiches (deli-sliced meat) with mashed avocado for a spread (my son is also allergic to dairy and eggs, so no mayo for him), or jelly sandwiches (he’s gone without peanuts for so long as a precaution, that I can’t even get him to try almond butter or sunflower butter in its place). My friend, whose children can have eggs, has used the bread to make French toast, as well, with great success. I know what you mean about desiring a more sandwich-y bread. (I feel very fortunate that my son’s allergies/intolerances were discovered when he was very young–before he had time to get his palate used to regular wheat-flour-based breads!) I recently ran across a recipe in Living Without magazine that was fairly similar to yours, but it called for 3 eggs (in one loaf) and was prepared in a bread machine. I don’t have a bread machine, so I’m not sure how much of a difference that might make. If you want me to e-mail the recipe, I’d be happy to do so. (You might also be able to view it on the magazine’s Web site, http://www.livingwithout.com. I hope this post offers you all kinds of encouragement! I know I’ve said it elsewhere on your blog, but your recipes have been such a blessing to my family! Many of them are now staples around our house, and we are happier and healthier as a result! You even introduced my friend and I to Azure Standard, which, we are so excited to report, is coming to Arizona (where we live) this month! We’ll be placing our first order next week! Thank you so much, Wardeh, for all that you share.
Sonya
Sonya, thank you very, very much for this encouragement. What you wrote the other day inspired me to take a second look at the GF quick bread; I just took 2 loaves out of the oven. You are right that they are nice. They turned out much better than anything else I’ve tried! Haniya will be very happy to eat it today!
I loved hearing how you use the bread. I think its fabulous that you use them for breading! And I agree that the toasting helps them hold together. I will look at the recipe you mentioned, or at least look for it, but don’t take the trouble to type it out. Since it is similar, yet calls for eggs, I am not sure it would be that good a match.
Have you heard of Vegenaise? It is an egg-free mayo that is fantastic (even better than mayo), and made from whipped oil. You can buy a grapeseed oil version, which is what I recommend. Azure carries it. I think your son would really like it.
I’m really happy that Azure is coming to your area. Yay! Let me know if you need any help with the ordering process.
Thanks again for your encouragement. You’ve really blessed me!
Love, Wardeh
I’m so glad to offer you encouragement! I have heard of Vegenaise, but we’ve never tried it. Thanks for recommending the grapeseed version. We’ll have to check it out. We’re very excited about the opportunity to have Azure Standard deliver to our area. We can get a lot of things much cheaper than we are currently able to at specialty and health-food grocers in our area.
Sonya