On Pumpkin Bread -- gluten free

                                                      Pumpkin Bread -- YUM

 

 

     Pumpkins are associated with autumn, harvest and Halloween. Pumpkin "bread," which is actually a dessert, as opposed to regular baked bread, can be very sweet, very delicious. Strange, because pumpkins are really quite healthy.

     Since pumpkins are orange, they have beta carotene, which becomes Vitamin A -- you know, the carrot vitamin. Vitamin A is good for our skin, eyes, mucus membranes, and ALSO, our immune systems. So that makes pumpkin bread at least "semi" healthy.

      But what if you have a gluten sensitivity, like me? I actually found this great box cake/bread recipe in Kroger (but only once, so far). So I bought it again recently online-- "Simple Mills  Pumpkin Muffin & Bread" mix, with almond flour. It also uses coconut sugar, arrowroot, pumpkin (of course) and the organic spices of  cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. I don't think I could have made something from scratch this good. I have found that so called "1 to 1" gluten free flours may not be up to the task for something like banana bread or pumpkin bread. But this recipe is great.

     I think I found it on amazon.com, but you can also get "Simple Mills" pumpkin muffin & bread mix at vitacost.com and thrive market as well. 

    So don't deprive yourself. Get some.  

TRAVEL AND INDEPENDENCE

 

                         We walked a paved path at Grayson County Recreation Park in Independence

     We took a little trip recently to Claytor Lake, and then wanted to go to Rural Retreat (VA), but the driver (my spouse) didn't "know the way to San Jose" or the Rural Retreat lake and park, so we got lost-- winding up in the small town of Independence.  I understand the town came about in 1850 because two communities were arguing about where to put the county seat, so someone asserted some "independence" in the matter. Our being here, a ways from home during this pandemic, was a bit of a declaration in itself. 

    As we entered the town I noted a faded caboose to the left, part of a small town park near some water. The caboose used to be very important in train travel. It was an office for the conductor and had to do with signalling a brakeman to, well, put on the brakes to stop the darn thing. In the 1980s they found an electronic way to do the latter and the caboose didn't seem needed any longer. I know that my sons have utilized a caboose-- as a place of entertainment, for birthday parties, which seems kind of silly.  And they're housed at parks so families can go and see, well, this was part of a train!

     We couldn't find the part we were looking for, but after a meal at Aunt Bee's -- my spouse says the Aunt Bee's in Hillsville is more like a restaurant than the fast food place we visited, booths marked off and people wearing masks-- we asked directions of a woman and "found" a park to go to!

     The Grayson County Rec Park didn't look too big, and had a nice, mostly level trail a short ways from the pool that had kids yelling and rock music blaring. I guess they were having fun (though maybe it wasn't all that safe with the coronavirus still around). Our trail was pleasant, partly shaded, with various wildflowers along the banks, such as ferns, vervain, goldenrod,  maybe also lobelia?

     We passed a lot of barns, wingstem wildflowers, some political signs, small homes,  and church steeples. My spouse "swears" that this Rural Retreat park could be found at an intersection or crossing where there was a white church.  We probably passed three or four churches, and no intersection. So much for finding "that" park. We got a bit of exercise and got out of the house for three or four hours, so that was an accomplishment, right? 

Getting Out of House During Coronavirus -- Claytor Lake wetlands

     

These are trying times -- and you can go bonkers in you stay in the house too long. So I decided, as a Master naturalist, to monitor  wetlands/vernal pools  near the entrance to Claytor Lake State Park.

     Some call them wetlands, or vernal (spring) pools. Most vernal pools don't stick around, and only last a few months, virus or not. Why? These special wetlands are an important                                                        

part of the food web. Frogs show up and "sing" for their female mates. And salamanders also make an appearance, bringing chemical "pheromones" into play, this glandular substance attracting the girlfriend as he waggles his tail in a mating dance. 

     Female salamanders will then lay fertilized eggs that are stuck deep in the water, attached to a branch. Female frogs create a mass of eggs that linger on the wetland's surface. The critters leave the wetland and go into the woods, where they become food for "bigger" animals, from foxes to bobcats, even birds and snakes.

     We NEED wetlands (or ponds, which is a year round pool with trees and other vegetation in it), to keep the food web going. And the pond I visited did have signs of critters.  I noticed a little gray backed (probably a painted) turtle or two, briefly sunning themselves on a big log before they saw us and scooted into the water and disappeared. Then there was a "schoosh" and splash, briefly followed by what appeared to be a squeak. It sounded like the squeak of a baby toy, which was kind of cute. It was so fast I could only barely make out that the long legs of a frog were involved. 

     And my feet (darn it) got wet! I should have worn my waders boots, perfect for getting closer to my wetland critters. It was sunny and calm, a perfect day to get out of the house, and still be away from people (because of COVID-19), and get close to nature! 

At Wasena Park in spite of Coronavirus

                      Bridge that goes across Roanoke River at Wasena Park in city of Roanoke.


       I took into account the fact that we were driving 40 miles away to Roanoke and that our restaurant gift certificate would only entitle us to a "takeout" meal. So I thought, what the heck, it was supposed to be kind of warm, and on Google maps I eyed a nearby park. I thought, hey, let's try out Wasena Park.
    I understand the name "Wasena" comes from a Native American wfor "beautiful view," and I think you can say that for the part of the Roanoke River flowing by it. After picking up restaurant meals at Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen at the Valley View Mall, we followed directions and roads I'd seen on Google Maps. It was down Orange Avenue, which, oddly, had a lot of white blossom cherry trees "snowing" their petals down on the road, this being the first full day of spring. Then I believe we quickly hit Franklin and then Elm Avenue. In no time at all we were crossing the bridge that went over the river.
    But we somehow missed Winchester (Ave/St) and hit Main Street (which eventually takes you to Rt. 419/Electric Rd) and I knew we'd gone too far because the river was to our left. So we stopped by a store and asked a young woman where to go. We had missed the right turn just off the bridge, so we took that, THEN we hit Winchester and the entrance to this roomy park, with its modern playground and old rail road tracks (but no train in sight -- the official railroad was across then above Roanoke River).
     And though we were in the midst of an epidemic, there must have been a dozen or so people taking in the almost 70 degree weather, even as the clouds darkened and rain threatened. One woman, almost skeletally thin, with a loose blue polyester sweater hanging off of her, commented it was a good idea, taking our meals --- the spouse dug into a smokehouse burger and I ate my tasty blackened salmon with rice and broccoli --- outside on a picnic table the newspaper said had been sanitized earlier in the week. (Well, the restaurants won't "let you" eat inside so this is our option, and we weren't close to anyone, unless they happened to jog by, which I hoped was okay.)
     After our meal we ventured toward the river and the rust brown bridge that looked like a former train trestle. With the coronavirus, walking is one of the few things you can do for entertainment. So we spied in some spots churning, fast flowing water and headed toward some of the so-called Greenway. But the spouse wasn't wearing his walking shoes, so he went back, but not before we came upon a little meadow of marsh marigolds (THAT was my observation) close to the edge of the water.
     As he walked back I noted other spring beauties, like Shepherd's purse, Pennsylvania creases (some here and on the other side, the park side), a few lone, delicate violets (which are actually edible), a few dandelions coming up early. We had a warmer than normal winter so these wildflowers were blooming rather early.
     There was also a short walkway off the Greenway with odd sculptures in bronze, wood. It was very nice to be outside, early spring an optimistic showing of nature, though the nature of the virus is really rather ominous, worrisome. 
     We are back home and guess we will stay here (except taking my sister to the grocery store and maybe a trip to the college library, which has only a few people in it at this point).

Tea Bags, Kidney Stones, and Health

     When the spouse found out that he had a kidney stone I learned a thing or two about that particular health issue. It's important to drink a lot of fluids to clean out your system. I had a friend who was told by her doctor to give her ailing husband lemonade to help his kidneys, which is apparently better than cranberry juice.
    But when you "do" drink a lot of fluids, the more natural the better. Soda, whether with sugar or "fake" sugar, has a lot of chemicals in it. That's a lot of extra work for your liver and kidneys; water or tea is better. But tea isn't perfect either. Some tea bags actually have plastic fibers (!) in them. That sucks. But Lipton has assured the writer of  one blog,"Https://Happilyhomegrown.com," that its bags are compostable and therefore, do NOT have plastic. That's a relief to know!

Did you know -- Lectins and tomato frogs (both can be unhealthy)

                                                       

Tomato Frog, photo courtesy of cites.org

    In 2006 in Japan, over 1,000 people got sick after trying a new food fad (no, this isn't about the tomato frog-- that comes later). This "fad" instructed them to toast white kidney beans, then grind them up in a coffee mill. THEN, put them on their rice, to help them lose weight.

    Many experienced vomiting and diarrhea, with 122 going to the hospital. Their problem? Lectin poisoning.

    What on earth are lectins? Lectins are special proteins in many legumes, fruits, and beans. They are actually used as a defense mechanism against insects trying to eat them. They are NOT digested easily. (Have you ever been advised to not eat a kidney bean raw?) Over time lectins can damage the intestinal lining, possibly causing "leaky gut" and immune disease.

    But if they(beans) are cooked thoroughly the lectins shouldn't be a problem. Raw kidney beans  have 70,000 lectin units, but if soaked overnight and boiled fifteen minutes, it goes down to 200-400 lectin units. And they have interesting health benefits. They can actually modulate inflammation. According to reporter Cara Rosenbloom, these proteins stick together, are antimicrobial, and have anti-cancer potential. Dr. Michael Gregor cites research where lectins limited tumor growth. They could even "extinguish" colon cancer cells and help them differentiate back into normal cells. (This research has only been done with animals and in petri dishes, but researchers are encouraged by this.)

    Lectins can be found in potatoes, peanuts, seeds, green peppers, and fruit. But well cooked,  they shouldn't be a problem. Avoid if you have digestive issues with these foods.

    And speaking of tomatoes (was I?),  there's a unique, almost comical looking frog found only in Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa. From the genus Dyscophus, the tomato frog is a red-orange (even redder in females) frog that lives in a rain forest. Its body is wide and squat, a fat, round shape that almost looks like a tomato slice on top, a dark brown body stripe running from behind the eye to the rear leg on each side. 

    They will even "inflate" their round body and extend their legs out to appear larger when threatened, their reddish color no doubt a hint to predators that, hey, we're toxic, stay away. They actually give off a white substance, which irritates people's hands if they try to touch one. (I don't know if I could ever find this freaky frog in the forest -- its' only three inches long, five inches for the female.) And when they mate, a female can lay up to 15,000 eggs!

    Over a decade ago, here in Virginia, it rained for the whole month of July. and I didn't get to try out the wading pool my son had bought me. In August I noticed these tiny lines moving in the pool -- they were tadpoles! I'd read online they could eat boiled (then frozen and thawed out) lettuce and grass clippings, and any algae found in their watery home.

    Some of them did get big enough to hop out, but only a few. After four months I put them in a pail of  pool water (they were probably green frogs) and took them to the nearest lake. Many of them still had a tail or only two legs. I spilled them into the lake, hoping they wouldn't be eaten by a fish before they grew up.

    It seems I have little control over frogs, but I will watch my "lectin" intake in the future (and help prevent gas).

Highlands Fest -- one part of historic Abingdon

                                            The Barter Theatre, part of historic Abingdon, VA.


        Abingdon, VA. Historic Abingdon I find to already be an interesting place to visit. When I lived close by I got my exercise by going "up and down" the steep veterans' park in town, and loving the hot fudge cake at nearby Shoney's. But this venerable town, serving an important function during the Civil War, brings citizens near and far together for its annual Highlands Fest.
     The Highlands Festival brings artists, writers, and the curious to the town managing the state theater of Virginia, The Barter Theatre. My spouse Frank and I stopped there on the second day of our weekend visit. I couldn't believe my college friend Kenny was behind the counter at the gift shop. He commented how he liked being in management at this unique theater (where people would bring cabbages and other produce to feed struggling actors during the Great Depression), and that we could volunteer as ushers, even if we lived far away.
     The Barter sits on Main Street, where the regional Shriner's group drove some 1920s open cars during the parade that is part of the festival. This we watched from the arts and crafts fairgrounds that are to the left of the historic Martha Washington Inn and Spa. The inn has been a women's college and hospital, and boasts ghosts AND wonderful fine dining (and dessert carts!). But I needed to see the great variety of art, which included old Christmas post cards showing cherubic children I was very tempted to buy. And the food tent with a nutella and banana based wrap was original (but a little too mushy).
     There was a play and '60s beach band near the town's farmers' market area, but we chose to relax at the family owned Alpine Motel, very reasonably priced. That afternoon I listened to various writers talk about method (selling and writing) at the Higher (kind of a theme in this mountainous town that is part of Appalachia) Education Center, even getting a few tips from Adriana Trigiani. Trigiani has made herself known with her book made into a movie, Big Stone Gap, and discussed her love of directing. She also suggested you could "dream up" a story. Well, it's not THAT simple. At another writers' conference I went to an author said if you wrote down a question for your story next to your bed and thought of it as you went to sleep, you'd wake up the next day with your answer. I don't know if that's true, but, hey, why not give it a try.
    The various memories I have of Abingdon will have me coming back again. It's where history and art come alive.