February 04, 2011 – The first three weeks of college were a whirlwind of adventure. I quickly learned how to navigate a large university campus, met many wonderful people, saw a glimpse of Boulder, and remembered how to write academic papers and do homework. However, unfortunately, I also explored the local hospitals multiple times, and not as a student, rather as an emergency room outpatient.

I began the semester enrolled in four courses, Writing and Rhetoric, German, Music Appreciation, and Science of Human Communication. German was definitely my favorite! Unfortunately my constant vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain worsened dramatically over the course of the month. After spending two nights in the ER, I decided to drop two courses to allow for more rest. I was hoping this change would be enough to get me through the semester, but my health kept spiraling downward quickly. I withdrew from all my classes and came home to find a better solution. I’m bummed that I can’t complete the semester for many reasons, including that that I won’t be living with friends and getting to know the ski team. As frustrating as it is, health always must come first.

Now I am back at home in the care of my parents and doctors, and we are in the midst of researching our next step. In the meantime I am trying different medications to stabilize my stomach pain and weight loss. I’ve also enrolled in a couple online courses to keep myself entertained and distracted when I feel well enough to focus.

It’s been snowing like crazy since I returned home, and we have at least 3 feet of powder on the ground. It’s happened twice now that I’ve been rushed to the ER during a major snowstorm (bad timing, huh?), so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my stomach stays happy when we get hit with another six inches on Saturday. I can’t wait to get healthy so I can enjoy the cross-country trails! But for now I’m learning how to be a really good couch potato and a gluten-free chef! I am avoiding a number of foods that have been proven to irritate my digestive system, like gluten, wheat, dairy, casein, eggs, soy, corn and vinegars. I’ve concocted a bunch of inedible dishes experimenting with alternative flours, milks, and egg substitutes, but the other day I made my first tasty loaf of bread, as well as a few other dishes! There seems to be a high demand for gluten-free, dairy-free foods these days, so when I discover a recipe that tastes good I’ll post it!

Berry Coconut Ice Cream (dairy, soy, gluten free)

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen berries
2 cups cold coconut milk (So Delicious works well)
¾ cups sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp xanthan gum

Pour coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, and xanthan gum in blender. Blend on high until sugar is dissolved and mixture is frothy. Add one cup of the frozen berries and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and start churning. After 10 minutes add the remaining berries to the ice cream mixture. These berries give the ice cream texture. Continue churning until mixture becomes the same texture as custard or soft serve ice cream. Either serve immediately, or freeze for later use. It’s best when a little softer than ice cream, so if you serve it after freezing it, first take it out of the freezer and let it soften for a few minutes before serving.

Quinoa with Vegetables (gluten free)

Ingredients:
Quinoa, cooked
Olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 small yellow summer squash, sliced
½ sweet potato, peeled and chopped
½ to 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 yellow carrot, sliced
Sea salt
Pepper
Dried herbs to taste
Fresh herbs for decoration

Follow instructions on quinoa for cooking. In separate frying pan, sauté onions in olive oil. Once onions are translucent add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add all remaining chopped veggies except the tomatoes and stir-fry until tender. Add salt, pepper and herbs to taste. If you like slightly cooked tomatoes add them to the veggies and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes until the tomatoes skins wilt. Then combine the veggies with the cooked quinoa. If you prefer raw tomatoes, add them to the quinoa after stirring in the sautéed veggies. Sprinkle with fresh herbs before serving. This salad is good warm or cold, but I prefer it cold.

Onion and Tomato Flat Bread Focaccia (gluten and egg free)

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup Sorghum flour
1 cup Potato starch
½ cup gluten-free all purpose flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 ½ tsp sea salt
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried herb mixture

Yeast:
1 Tbsp Active dry yeast
1 ¼ cups warm water (110º F)
1 tsp raw sugar

Wet Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp lemon juice

1 egg, or Ener-G egg replacer for 1 egg (1 ½ tsp Ener-G plus 2 Tbsp warm water whisked together)

Toppings:
Sliced tomatoes (I used cherry, but anything will work)
Sliced yellow onion
Herbs and salt

Combine yeast with the warm water (110ºF) and sugar in a large glass measuring cup. Set aside to proof.

In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients. Once yeast has proofed add it to the dry ingredients along with all the wet ingredients. Stir to combine. The dough will be wet and won’t hold together like a wheat bread typically would. Grease two 9 inch round pans and lightly flour with gluten-free corn meal, or gluten-free flour if you can’t eat corn. Pour dough into pans and shape into rounded, flat loaf with wet hands. Place sliced tomatoes and onions on top of the loaves and sprinkle with herbs and salt. Let rise in warm place for 1 hr (75-80ºF), or place in warmed oven for 30 minutes. Preheat Oven to 375º F and cook for 25 minutes. Remover from oven and transfer to wire cooling wracks immediately. If you are a garlic lover you can sprinkle chopped garlic to the top of the loaves before cooking.