365 Days Later + 3 Months

I started this blog on August 31, 2010, but got interupted and never went back to it.  It is a little late, but here it is!

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One year ago today, I sat on the couch, chowing down on a ridiculous quantity of kettle corn and trying to shake off the effects of the amnesia-producing drug given to me by my gastroentrologist.  (The drug had, by the way, given me a serious case of the munchies.)  One year ago today, I had an endoscopy and was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

It has been quite the journey.  I have been deeply humbled by the effort those I love have put into accomodating my food needs.  My hubby has very graciously made our house a (mainly) gluten-free home-- a bunker in the minefield that is the gluten-laden food of American society.  My friends (especially two) have gotten creative, trying and inventing new recipes.  My brother and my co-workers have all amazed me with the effort they will go to make things that I can eat.

More than anything, though, my diagnosis has gotten me back into the kitchen.  I never stopped cooking--nor did I ever stop loving to cook--but my growth as a creative cook stalled out for a few years.  I let life get the in way and then laziness set in.  My Celiac diagnosis helped to rekindle my desire to create, to craft new dishes, to cook for those I love.  It has pushed me to learn, to grow, and to try things I never knew I wanted to do.  (Who knew I would ever be interested in canning?!?)  It was the push that I needed to become the version of me that I was meant to be.

Do you know what I miss most about gluten, though?  Nope, not beer (although I DO miss that...a lot).  Nope, not really good chewy pizza (mmmmmmm).  Nope, not baguettes (a good baguette and a nice Brie...oh, how I loved that combination...).  What I miss most is the ease of it all.  I loved being a person that would try anything.  I loved traveling knowing that nothing was off-limits.  I loved just being able to eat without dissecting and analyzing everything placed before me.

You know what, though?  In the year since my diagnosis, I have never knowingly cheated.  When it comes down to it, it is not worth feeling bad--especially when there are so many wonderful gluten-free foods out there.  Plus, how could I cheat when those who love me have done so much to make foods gluten-free for me?  To cheat would be...I don't know...disrespectful to them.  After all that they have done for me, that I cannot do.  Those are the people that make this life a delicious one.

Now, what's for dinner?

Cheers,

Krista