"Not Even Wrong"

More than a month ago, I started reading Not Even Wrong, Adventures in Autism by Paul Collins. I picked it up from the library during Autism Awareness month and have slowly made my way through it. Slowly, only because I have so little time. I have really enjoyed it so far. The author tells about his and his son's journey as they learn about autism and get diagnosed. At the beginning, his son hasn't been diagnosed. The dad is a writer researching for a book he is writing. He comes across a "wild child" named Peter who lived in the forest all alone until he was found by local villagers in Germany. Eventually, the King of England (also from Germany) adopted him and brought him to London. Throughout history there have been similar children. Peter was nonverbal, lived in his own world and much preferred solitude to the company of friends. As the father continues his research, he and his wife discover that their son, Morgan is autistic. He then focuses his research on other autists and supposed autists from history. It's a very interesting read and describes well how a person with autism functions. As he learns more and more about autism, it becomes apparent that he himself is autistic and probably his parents as well. For a while, I've been planning an entry about movies. Disney movies, autism movies, and movies that Conlan likes. All three of which are not necessarily mutually exclusive. So look for that in the coming weeks.

Pancakes

Ever since Conlan was about 12 months old, he has loved pancakes. We were at a family reunion, known as "The Ranch". As is tradition, we have pancakes for breakfast on the Fourth of July. Pancakes, sausage, bacon, syrup, jam, orange juice, milk, and other delicious foods. Conlan loved the pancakes, then a couple days later at his great grandma's place more pancakes. From that point on, they were a staple in his diet. Pancakes and waffles, usually drenched with syrup.

So when we started cutting sugars and gluten, pancakes and especially syrup were the first things to go. We replaced his breakfast food with corn/quinoa flakes from Whole Foods and other gluten-free cereals. At first we used regular milk. Then we bought rice milk for a while. Then when we got our Vitamix blender, we started making our own rice milk. So much cheaper than both rice milk and regular milk. Sure, it tastes a little different but does the job. And he likes it.

Recently I made rice flour pancakes using milk that was in the fridge (we had friends and family staying with us and bought a half gallon for them). He ate the first one plain. For another pancake we added a limited amount of jam and for another, some pure maple syrup (no added sugar). So this past weekend, I used the same recipe but used rice milk instead. Same result: he ate them just as heartily as though they were "normal" pancakes.

Here's the recipe:

• 2 C rice flour
• 3? tbsp oil
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 eggs
• milk (rice, hemp, flax, almond, soy, cow - any type should do
• generous sprinkling of cinnamon
• baking powder
• rest later

Sorry, I will look it up later and correct/finish.

Bread

Since we've gone mostly gluten-free, we've started making our own bread. We found a bread maker for about $10 at the local Salvation Army store and have been using it. It's been difficult finding a good recipe to be gluten-, sugar-, and dairy-free.

Here's what we currently use as a recipe.
1 1/2 C warm water
2 eggs
1.5 tbsp apple vinegar
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp xanthan gum
1/3 C flax meal
3 C brown or white rice flour or a mix of the two
3 tsp sugar
2 tsp bread machine yeast

Sometimes I'll put in a little baking powder as well.

We tried making an extra loaf and freezing it, but it just crumbled upon thawing.

To make the rice flour, we use our Vitamix dry blender.  We also make the flax meal the same way. The flax isn't required but adds texture, fiber and nutrients.

Xanthan gum helps keep everything stuck together, what gluten also does. It's quite costly, at about $12 per 8 oz bag from Whole Foods. We got it once for $10 and should have grabbed a couple extra bags.  Wal-Mart sometimes has little packets costing 0.50 each. Xanthan gum is hard to find at grocery stores. After trying it out, I suggest finding it cheap online.  Bob's Red Mill sells a 5-lb bag for $111. I've seen other brands on Amazon and other places.

We're still modifying the recipe, but this works pretty well in our machine. It comes out a nice golden brown color but is very dense.