Busy Busy Life ...

Well I have been ill for about the last three weeks now ... actually all that is left of the flu head and chest cold I started with is a nagging and irritating cough that just does not want to go away ... now most of the time it is bearable until I want to do something important like rest or sleep ha ha ... then it is not a pretty sight or sound, my son "lovingly"(?) said yesterday "I think it is time mom to take you out back and shoot you" ha ha ... nice kid lmao but he is right it can get downright annoying when listening to me cough and cough ... ah well I will appreciate my health all the more once I am done with this little sickness ... and then back to just dealing with all the fun stuff that comes along with being a celiac ha ha.  Right?!  Fun?!  Right?!

Well I have to say a few things that are most awesome about being diagnosed with Celiac Disease ~ yes I do have some ha ha ...

I have met, worked and volunteered along side, and follow (blog wise) some really amazing people.  Good hearts, down to earth, wanting to help others people ... from being involved with the Edmonton Chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association - to meeting amazing bloggers such as Gluten Free Edmonton to volunteering along side some amazing folk from Kinnikinnick's ... and many more.

I have enjoyed getting out into our city and trying out new cuisine's and new places to shop ... found some amazing places to eat - favorite restaurants like Pearl River and Matahari and have found some seriously awesome places to shop such as Rio Vida Bakery, Kinnikinnick's ~ I love living in Edmonton and having all the resources we do so close by ... and the great support system we have in our own Association and all those involved in the Celiac and Gluten Intolerant world.  I wish I could be out and about more, and find more ways to get involved but there are only so many hours in the day, and days in the week and when working full time, and trying to balance life well ... we all just do what we can.  I am in great awe of those that manage to blog on a regular basis and have some much information to share ... seriously admire their dedication and time management skills and thank them dearly for the inspiration to keep at my own little corner of the blogging world.  I would love to blog on a daily basis, I would love to be creative on a daily basis ... but I have come to realize I have to be realistic and just do what I CAN DO ... and take care of all my various parts.  :)   I have of late gotten back to exploring my Artsy side as well ... trying to balance as I said ... so life is busy.

Life is busy and life is good busy ... so no time to be sick ... no time to let it slow me down ~ so much to enjoy and do. :)

Speaking of enjoy ... my guy Kevin stopped into Rio Vida Bakery last night to pick up some of her amazing soup/buns and perogies that we ordered from her, also Green Onion Flatbreads (I have become quite addicted to these - crave them all the time ha ha) and brought a new flavor of flatbread home - Spinach (oh awesome).

 She wanted us to try out a seasoned breading mix - for like coating fish or chicken and we decided we had to try that right away.  So last night for supper we made chicken strips and they were delicious! er soup is amazing.  The Chicken Vegetable is my favorite!  So good ... I have a question for my readers if someone can help me???  When using the seasoned breaded coating on the cut strips of chicken breast I found that the coating did not moisten in a lot of the strips - still tasted great but looked powdery?  What steps do I need to take to make the chicken moist so that the breading crisps better - I dipped in egg mixture then the seasoned breading mix ... should I have marinated or somehow added something?  I would love to hear what others think.

So bottom line is life is busy ... and though I would love to blog all the time in reality I don't have the hours in the day to stretch ... I haven't even been on my twitter in the last weeks because of feeling ill - Pinterest I can look at pictures ha ha - twitter I had to read but again love the inspiration we can glean off of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest ... so enjoying the social media age we live in.

That also is a plus of being diagnosed with Celiac Disease - it has had me researching and reading so much more ... and then you come across amazing sites like "Gluten Dude" - he has recently re-formatted his whole website - amazing!  My world has definitely been a better place since following blogs like his and Gluten Free Edmonton - so much talent in this world and glad we can share a little in it.

So I haven't really blogged for a while and this one is a bit of a mishmash - but just to say I am still around and busy "living" life ... I have a Facebook Page I would love more people to like and follow and there is always my twitter feed @highonlifeandgf ~ now that I am on the mend I hope to be more active on both ... Take care everyone and thanks for reading!  :)

Brown Rice Crisps

I had to post about these awesome rice crisps that I enjoy.  I am glad that they named them so well because seriously they are not a rice "cracker" so to speak ... they are a rice crisp .. the texture is very light and crispy and they have a satisfying crunch.  They are a rice cracker that I enjoy all on their own ... which I can not say for a few other brands, because the are so thin and with none of that chewy styrofoam feel you can sometimes get with a rice cracker.  They are delightful.

We have picked them up at London Drugs in the past, but also this last few boxes we have purchased have come from our local Safeway ... I will keep my eye out for other places that might carry them as well and update this post.  :)

Seriously good ~ even if you haven't cared for rice crackers in the past ... these are certainly different and quite a refresh on the rice "cracker" .... THEY ARE CRISPS!  :)

Lazia Restaurant - North End

 Lazia Restaurant - We had a delicious supper at Lazia ~ As we were with family I only took a couple pictures and forgot to take a picture of our delicious mussel dish we had as an appetizer - all the more reason to go back for another supper soon!  :)

We did call before we went to the restaurant we had noticed that on their website only a few items were marked so we call to inquire if there were more options available, and yes we were assured that we definitely could be accommodated with a number of items on the menu.  So this was good to hear.

White fish, scallops, shrimp, mussels, salmon and veggies

When we were seated we let our waitress know that as Celiac we would need to be eating Gluten Free - she showed no hesitation in knowing what we were talking about and went to get us what Lazia has put together for a Gluten Free Menu.  On this menu there were more items - including appetizers - that were not marked on the internet site.  First we ordered the Mussels - which came in a Cherry Tomato White Wine sauce, they were delicious - in the sauce was also shaved carrots, cherry tomatoes and peppers - very nice.

Alberta Boneless Shortrib

Kevin had the Alberta Boneless Shortrib ... with mashed potatoes and vegetables ... the meat was very tender and the sauce very tasty. The vegetables in both dishes were very fresh and cooked to just right - still having just a bit of crunch to them.  And the cherry tomatoes in our mussel dish and Kevin's Shortrib dish were not mushy .. loved that.

KL Seafood Pot

 
   
I decided to have the KL Seafood Pot ~ that comes with a side order of white rice, it was delicious.  The sauce in the seafood pot was just a bit spicy, I spooned it on to my white rice and it was so yummy.



LAZIA RESTAURANT
13503 St. Albert Trail
ph: 780-488-3823