The Year of the Wedding

2010 should be added to the Chinese calendar as "The Year of the Wedding." Ok, maybe not. And how did I end up with NO pictures from Janelle and Allen's wedding?

July 10th: Julianna and Al Castro

August 7th: Mindy and Brent Richard

August 20th: "Nana" and "How" Hughes

My First Visit to Disneyland!

We love Disneyland. Let's just get that out of the way. I know, I know, but it's true. It's been a happy place for us, with good memories and fun times spent there with friends that we love. But when our passes expired, I was 35 weeks pregnant and it did make sense to get new ones. But thanks to a very generous gift from Gramma and Grampa, Violet got to experience Disneyland for the first time! Being the obnoxious parent that I am, I took her to get a "First Visit" pin. She didn't wear it for long, but since then she'll ask for it here at home and keep holding to her shirt and wondering why it doesn't stick! Robbie had to put it on her on Thursday morning before she would eat breakfast!


No surprise, Violet's favorites were the:

"Gup-Gups" (see previous blog post for interpretation)

"Gumgo"

I think that Small World was a little overwhelming for her!

Violet was also really excited that friends from church met us there with their little girl Abigail. V kept calling her "Abba" and would become very concerned when her friend was out of her sight. They loved playing together in Goofy's Playhouse playground.


The girls trying to hug... later a hug resulted in a big crash, but they still loved each other!

As if I needed any more convincing that Disneyland is a great place, we had a wonderfully positive dining experience. I also order my burgers sans bun, with extra lettuce. This has served well in avoiding the gluten problems and I've come to enjoy my burger this way. Well, Robbie was at the counter waiting for our food for forever and when he came to the table my burger was IN A BUN! He quickly tells me that the chef had come out and asked if we wanted the burger without a bun or without gluten -- because they carry gluten-free buns! NO WHERE that I've been has had gluten-free buns! What a treat! And now I know that a quick stop in City Hall in Main Street and I can get a full listing of all of the gluten-free offerings in the park.

What a fun day we had... Violet will still tell you all about the Gups and Gumgo and is so excited to go see her friend "Abba" at church tomorrow. And we are looking for to many a flex day at Disney in the coming year. :-)

Violet Speak v3.0

buh-bye
nigh-nigh
pi-oh (pillow)
bed
blan (blankie)
pray
luh loo (love you)
ow
cup
lid (a favorite word!)
puh-puh (puppy)
gup-gup (giddyup, which also mean 'horse')
ticky-ticky-ticky (tickle, tickle, tickle)
Gumgo (Dumbo)
dip dip (anything to dip food into ketsup, ranch, etc)
dep dep (diaper or in our house "dipe dipe")
shurt (shirt)
pan (pants)
pauy (potty)
shwee (sweep, she's obsessed with the Swiffer)
by (bike)
zoom zoom (what we do in the bike)
hep (help)
DD (DVD)

Now all grandparents can be pleased! Joining Gramma and Nana:
Grampa
How (Hal, my mom's soon-to-be husband)

She's also loving to try our friend's names:
Ly (Eli)
Aba (Abigail)
Hi-y (Heidi)

The fourth "G"

So I thought that I was being cute and kitschy when I decided to make the Gillam blog about:
Growing
Going Green
Goofing Off
I now realize that there will be one more "G" that will pop up frequently here and that is the topic of all things "Gluten-Free!" For those who don't know, gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, and is a frequent allergen for many folks -- including me! Gluten containing ingredients are found in almost EVERYTHING, so being truly gluten-free is no easy task!

Ever since I read about BBQ pizza on one of my favorite blogs, I've been really excited to give it a try! I finally made the opportunity this weekend when our friends, Melaine and Jeremy, came for dinner with their baby, Elias. I used the same recipe that I usually do for pizza crust, but doubled it:

1 T dry yeast
2/3 c. rice flour
1/2 c. tapioca flour
2 T dry milk powder
2 t xanthan gum
1/2 t salt
1 t unflavored gelatin powder
1 t Italian seasoning
2/3 c warm water
1/2 t sugar
1 t olive oil
1 t cider vinegar
(from my fave gluten-free cook book)


After the double batch of dough was made, I cut it into 8 sections and then began to form the pizza crusts. This dough, as are most pre-baked gluten free recipes, is very sticky! Gluten-free flours tend to be drier then wheat, so extra moisture is usually in the recipe to create a delicious final product. I was concerned about the stickiness, so used a generous dusting of rice flour on wax paper as my surface to press and stretch the crusts.


I eventually learned that once they were formed, I didn't need to keep the crust on the wax paper to keep them from sticking. YAY, because I didn't feel that all of the wax paper going in the trash was in congruence with my "green" philosophies...


I then simply follow Linda's instructions as outlined in the blog mentioned above:

Grilled the crusts directly on the grill on one side.

Look at the pretty grill marks on the half grilled crusts! When "decorating" the crust, make sure to put the toppings on the grilled side!


Pop the topped pizzas back on the grill, with the lid closed to help melt the cheese:


And Voila!


Wish that I had thought to take photos of my happy 'customers!' The next day, the other 4 crusts were enjoyed with our wonderful neighbors, Al and Julianna Castro. Next time, I plan to triple (or even more) the dough and try freezing the crusts after the first side is grilled. Hoping that this will make meals on those "difficult" night a little easier and help us avoid the drive-thru!