Tomato Woes, Raw Coconut Date Rolls & Short-lived Feelings of Invincibility

I had a step forward last week. I was strict with myself - even foregoing the occasional glass of wine - and by mid-week felt confident and optimistic about a tomato trial. Many people who have issues with tomatoes can handle them cooked. I think the premise is that it lowers the acidity, and may remove certain proteins with high heat or processing. This could mean big things. This could mean soups, chilli, pasta sauce, salsa... buckets and buckets of salsa.

So, at a group dinner hosted by friends, we made brown rice gnocchi with simple herbed tomato sauce. Other than my sad comparison to everyone's side baguette- garlic-inflused vegan "butter" spread on a rice cake- it was perfect. And- no stomach ache.

I drummed my fingers into the following afternoon before proudly declaring myself cooked-tomato friendly and announcing that I would have pizza for supper (I was once that girl in the cafeteria asking for two extra sides of pizza sauce for one slice). I picked up tomato paste on my way home from work, singing all the way home. Oh, the possibilities.

Well, I must have been overexcited, because my usual freestyle gluten-free pizza crust tasted terrible. So terrible, in fact, that I could not eat it. How could I make it time and time again without fail, and then let myself down on such an important occasion? It was 9pm. I was sad, famished and exhausted. So, what did I do? I hastily scraped the tomato paste and vegetables off of the crust, spooned them onto the only immediate vessel (lettuce) and ate them.

I do not believe in regrets. Everything happens for a reason. If you can't see the reason right away, you must be patient. I think the reason for this painful result of my short-lived feelings of invincibility is in a lesson to take it slow. I may be able to have the occasional cooked tomato for now, but perhaps I should hold off before spooning its purest of forms onto my plate.

Either way, ambitious thoughts of tomato-sauce featured weekend dishes were set aside for the time being. I was little bit blue about it. Since tomatoes were off the menu, I busied myself with other ideas. Sometimes I like to make myself feel better with sugar, and sometimes with salt. This weekend, I chose sugar, and the simplest of recipes: the date roll. 

Baked Sweet Potato Chili Fries with Lemon Chipotle Vegan Mayo

I have a history of low standards for utensils. Highlights include- but are not limited to- using an old library card to cut cheese, chewing a carrot stick into a spoon, and carting around a plastic fork with only one prong for months while travelling - proving exceptionally difficult when my plates were newspaper and bowls were plastic bags. These meals were also often accompanied by what was sure to have been the highest quality of portable miniature boxed wine available to me at the time.

Since then, I'd like to tell you that I've really upped my game outside of my kitchen. I wish I could tell you it was long ago that I was using two pencils as chopsticks on a regular basis to eat my lunch at work. But- I can't. It was one month ago. And only ended when my colleague was concerned for my health and kindly brought me a fork.

What I can do, is let you in on a recipe with no utensils required. I've made these in the past using egg-whites instead of only oil- but found they had some difficulty crisping up. This time, I had some gluten-free breadcrumbs on hand, and used a combination of olive oil and lemon juice for a perfect, light little shell. This recipe only serves two as a side, so double (or triple) for bigger parties or appetites.

Gluten-Free Vegan 'Before Noon' Crumpets

Lately, I have found I am getting hungry more often than usual. Now, I am one of those people you will see constantly snacking. By the time lunch rolls around, I have eaten three- sometimes four- rounds of food. I am all of a sudden getting very hungry, very quickly, and having some difficulty curbing it. What is the deal? Is it lack of sleep? Pregnancy? Tapeworm?

Though I'd like to be clear that the first is the most likely culprit, I am starting to chalk it up to the requirement of more protein and substance in my life. The easiest, most cheap and time-efficient gluten-free vegan alternatives to the more filling sides of life's best snacks in my life right now are:

- lettuce for wrapping
- rice cakes (otherwise known as breaths of air) for spreading
- vegetables for dipping
- more vegetables to replace pasta noodles
- ice-cream-less, crustless, shortcake-less fruits for dessert

I'm not saying these are the best or only alternatives- I know there is a lot of creativity (and sometimes pricey replacements) out there. I'm just saying when Monday to Friday comes, this creativity becomes difficult to tap into after rolling into my apartment at 5pm on my bicycle in "feels like" 40 degree weather. These were whipped up on a day off, and adapted from an egg-free crumpet recipe from The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread- a little gem found at a neighbourhood garage sale by my lovely mother. I would like to point out that although both my parents were up visiting at the time, I was the only one awake at 8:00am after a night of flowing wine and guitar-playing. Then, returning from a stroll into the market for some fresh croissants and fruit - still the only one awake. Which is where these were born. How times have changed.