Labor Day With Miranda. . . .

We had a very nice Labor Day this year.  It was
quiet and low key. just what I needed.

Over the last year or so, Miranda's suspicions
that she was allergic to gluten, proved to be true.
Sensitivity to gluten is not a pleasant thing to
endure.  A gluten allergy causes many adverse
symptoms, some of which include headaches,
migraines, lethargy and tiredness, as well as
muscle disturbances and bone and joint pain. 
She did a lot of research on gluten allergy and
consulted a doctor.  As she was experiencing
many of these symptoms, she decided she
needed to remove gluten from her diet.

Miranda always enjoyed cooking and when
she would come to visit us, she often helped
prepare a meal.  After she was found to have
an allergy to gluten, her eating took a whole
different pattern.  We found that when she
would come to visit, we usually went out to
eat as we didn't stock the supplies to cook
gluten free.  We found some restaurants
with gluten free menus and many of them
are her favorites.

More restaurants are becoming  aware of the
large number of people with wheat and gluten
allergies and work to accommodate them.

Eating out can't always take the place of a
good home cooked meal and the fun of
preparing it.  So, on Labor Day, George and
Miranda decided they would work together
to prepare a delicious gluten free dinner. 
They both did some grocery shopping and
Miranda also brought ingredients for planned
dishes that she had at home.

They planned a menu of standing rib roast,
sweet potato fries, Asian cole slaw, gluten
free French Bread, and for our desert,
Miranda made Red Velvet cupcakes with
cream cheese frosting.

George was excited to cook the standing rib
roast.  It would be the first roast he had cooked
in his Nuwave Infared Oven which he and Rhonda
recently became proud owners, and I might add,
are a bit obsessed with the new way of cooking
many of our favorite foods.  This is fueled, in
some part, because of mine and Steve's opinion
that everything "tastes so very good."

Everything turned out to be delicious.  Miranda's
cupcakes were to die for and very pretty to look at.
We had a very nice, relaxing dinner, a lot of good
conversation, and quality family time together.

I didn't do much of anything.  I critiqued what
they were doing, often to their chagrin, and
basically made a pest of myself.  It was great
and just what I needed to do.

Miranda had brought me a lovely bouquet of
flowers in a cute vase with purple and yellow
tissue paper and a turquoise bow.  This bouquet
did not need water, hence the use of the tissue paper.
Why?  Because it was a chocolate bouquet
featuring the best of the best along with some of
my favorite candy sticks.  As bouquets go, it
doesn't get much better than chocolate.  It might
not smell like roses, but it sure does taste delicious.

All in all, it was a lovely day.