Down Mulberry Lane

New Food: Mazidra

Tonight I tried making Mazidra.  A lentil dish that is saute'ed before adding the water.  The effect is to create a more nutty texture, rather than the traditional mushy lentil texture.  However, I used red lentils, which already appear to be shelled and I still ended up with a mushy texture.  The flavor was good, but it was a bit to soupy for me.  It was supposed to be poured over rice or potatoes.  I made baked potatoes and the finished dish was similar to a rice soup, with a real watery broth.  In looking at the picture in the recipe book, that is not really how it is to turn out.  The flavor was good enough for me to try it again with some brown lentils.  The rest of the family hasn't tried it yet, as it wasn't done until a bit later than when the potatoes were done.  I did wait to eat it with my potato and found it ok, once I strained the water/broth a bit. 

As I look at the dish, however, it is not one that will appeal to the rest of the family, so I think I will continue my search with some more recipes.  I myself enjoyed the dish and may make it again for me, if I get to wanting a lentil dish.  It tasted similar to a recipe I have called Armenian Lentil Loaf. 

My Dad came to visit and he took us out to eat.  We went to a buffet and had a tired little one with us (we were eating later than normal) and saying no brought loud screams.  If it was just us, I would have left the restaurant, but beings my Dad was visiting and had a long day, I succombed to allowing cottage cheese.  I did limit it to one scoop, but I fear it was enough to bring on another tantrum at another date when she is told no.  She wanted cheese on her baked potato tonight and we ran out because dd number 2 ate what we had left.  This caused a small ruckus at home, but when she realized she wasn't the only one not having cheese, she calmed down.  I also ate some cheese when eating out and I am unsure if the stress of dealing with saying no to Paige is doing me in, or the dairy allergy is becoming more noticable since I was not eating it.  I have a good case of the hives.  Dh thinks it is silly that I'm trying to eat better and here I am appearing sicker.  He knows that something is up with Paige however and that we are on the right track.  Even though we are at square one again with the wetting, we know that going back to not eating dairy that it likely will go away again. 

Now to stay firm.  That is so hard.   Like last night, the restaurant just didn't have much for options.  The salad bar was slim to say the least... then there was the choice of pizza or chicken for the main meal.  We went with chicken to stay away from the cheese, but still ended up with little variety and I suppose I could have sat and ate a salad with unripe tomatoes and mushy peas... that was about my only choice as a vegetarian, non-dairy.  I realize now that I ate the mashed potatoes which likely had milk in them as well.  UGH!  So much thinking to do!  This restaurant just didn't have enough variety, even though Dh and my one daughter thought there was plenty of variety... once there they were like... bugging me about eating cheese and I wanted to say... my Dad just paid $8 for me to eat and you want me to pick at the food and eat a obviously poor salad choice and that's it?  I shouldn't feel sorry for myself, but it seems that I am the only one thinking about the big picture when it comes to eating out and in.  Somehow it is up to me to do it alone.  Which if it helps both my daughter and I to feel better, it will be so worth it.  I need to keep that in mind as I start feeling down about my "lot" in life right now. 

Tomorrow is a new day with NEW aspirations... Hopefully we will start anew and have new determination and vigor in this fight against allergies.  Oh how great to know that when we mess up... we can start fresh and new in our walk with God.  If I can smile with that thought, I will make myself smile with our battle of the food intolerances and allergies.  May they open my heart to God's mercies as we experience the ups and downs of this battle of appetite in our war against the foods that hurt us.   

Warmly, ~Melissa

Untitled Comment

7:47 AM, October 8, 2008 .. Posted by morningsunshine

I never knew what was causing my problems either until I cut out dairy for a month or so. that was sooooo hard. When I would take a bite of something I was making for the kids (it had cream of chicken soup in it), and I got an IMMEDIATE reaction, I knew I was on the right track. After a while I started adding it back in, in moderation. I try to stay away from cheddar - that always sets me off, but a small amount of cream cheese is okay.
the other thing I found that works for me with my milk intolerance - raw milk. if you can find a place that will sell you raw milk, try it. just a little. even if you do not want to drink it straight, I find using it in cooking allows me to have waffles and pancakes and creamy soups.
But again, I would wait until you have purged the current toxins from your body.

Try Persian Lentils

7:35 PM, October 8, 2008 .. Posted by safords

I prefer Persian lentils to any other. I have about 100 lbs of Eston lentils ( a particular type of Persians) in my closet. I get them $4 for 25 lbs! This year they gave them to me for free.

The Persian lentils look like the regular brown ones, but they are half the size. They don't go mushy like the red lentils. Red lentils remind me more of pea soup than anything.