here's a little story bout me joints that i'd like to share w ye all.
i had been a avid weight lifter, 4+ hours every other day, as well as a long distance runner, 10+ miles on the days i wasn't lifting, and a committed vegan that loved his seitan sandwiches - especially my labor intensive hand-made seitan that i placed onto, my almost equally as labor intensive, hand-made sour-dough bread. this amazing bread was soured from a whole wheat yeast starter aka the mother, for those who grow their own starter. my starter was an old one, handed down through many generations to a friend of mine from Denmark. My friend, Rima, who I met while attending the Natural Gourmet Cookery Institute, gave me some of her mother, which i nurtured & fed 4 many, many years till a nyc black-out killed her. Rima also gave me an outstanding sour dough bread recipe that she was given from a friend of hers from Italy. Of course, this recipe was handed down thru the generations as well. I felt extremely privileged to have both; and boy this sourdough bread was out-of-this-world fantastic. it was combined with wheat berries & herbes de provence, which added an incredible chewy, crunchy texture along w the glorious taste of provence. the dough needed to rise & be punched down & kneaded 4 three days b4 it would be put in2 a mold 4 its final rising, and thereafter baked. mouth puckering sour & delicious like no other sour i have ever tasted b4 or after: w a thick, hard crust that almost felt & tasted like the hard crust found on many cheeses. this was the most flavorful sour i have ever tasted. when chow was on hudson street, we used to make this bread quite often, and 4 a while, we made sour dough bread sticks that were very, very popular.
near this time, my right shoulder joint began to ache like crazy, so i went to an upper extremity specialist to see what was up. he recommended surgery to remedy the joint pain that he claimed was commonly known as pitchers arthritis (from baseball), and told me that the success rate was 99%; i had the same surgery 4 the left shoulder as well. in both instances i was able to begin weight-lifting 3 weeks after surgery. i was happy, happy to be back at the gym.
then my elbows started to ache, and i went to another upper extremity specialist, and was told that i had tennis elbow, but that the rate of success was closer to 80%, and that recovery, if successful would be 6+ months. at this time, my baby boy had been born, and all i wanted to do was hold him, and also, i loved chopping veggies, as I was speedy fast. but i could not continue to lift weights, chop & hold huxley, carry groceries, heavy flour... something had to give. so i stopped the gym. it helped but not really.
then my fingers, then hips...oh man, i thought, maybe this is just the nature of my life now, and in2 the future. after all, i recalled, i had uncles, grandfathers...that suffered tremendously from the aches & pains they declared were from arthritis; so then, ergo...
oh but my baby boy, i really needed to have him close to me, in my arms, close to my face, to smell his breath, to feel his heart, to hear his gurgles...
then i started doing some research 2 learn more bout the liquid that lubricates the joints. i thought, "why wasn't the synovial fluid working to lube my joints probably? what leads to this? then i thot of cross referencing synovial fluid w gluten, and i discovered that for many folks there is an adverse interaction btn the two which often can cause joint pains. "B.S.!" i thot. of course, i couldnt imagine being wo seitan or my sour dough bread, or many other wheat based favorites. but i restricted any gluten intake, just for good measure. well, who would've guessed it, all my joint pain wi a week was remedied, not 80%, but 100%, not in 3 weeks, but in 1 week. i couldn't believe how well i was feeling, not one ache, no pain. of course, sadness too, no wheat; but eventhough, it was extremely liberating.
i do occasionally taste the amazing bbq or black olive seitan on the most delectable toasted whole heroes at chow, or i'll consume a whole wheat bun w a veg burger, but i do pay. it starts w my fingers, then goes to my elbows. but of course then, i stop, and the pain goes away again in a day or two or three.
it is a tad difficult, but i am fortunate to be building more and more recipes w dino that r incredible and gluten free.
for instance, the dough recipe for pies, tortes or tarts that we invented, or cake recipes, lb cakes.... are just fantastic that it is hard to conceive that wheat is not a part of the recipe, but alas, it is far from it.
i am grateful to be able to carry groceries, and chop, and...not have joint pain. hux is nine now, so i am no longer carrying him around in my arms. but he did say the other day in a pondering way, as we were walking down the street w my arm around his shoulder: "dahhhdid, do u think that there is another father & son anywhere in the world that are as close as we r? what do u think dahhhdid? there can't be right dahhhdid?" " we r pretty close," i said to hux, " so i bet ur right." w excitement, he said, "right dahhdid, right!" "absolutely huxley, absolutely!"
i worked real hard to make this perfect, so that u can do the same too. enjoy & good luck! any questions, please feel free anytime!
(
chickpea-rice flour dough): makes 5 g.f. crusts at 1/2 lb each.
2.5 cups chickpea flour
2 3/4 cups rice flour
1/2 cup sticky rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup corn or arrowroot starch
1 t xanthan gum
1 T baking powder
w a wire whisk,& in a stainless steel bowl, mix above 2gether well.
make a hole in middle of flour, push flour aside & upwards.
add, 1 & 3/4 cup of earth balance.
put on vinyl or latex gloves.
push the flour mix on top of the solid fat, then rub the margarine in2 the mixed flours till lil balls of various sizes start coming 2gether. rub it gently in btn both hands till very well combined.
then make a hole again. next get 3/4 cup chilled water, use ice to speed the process. empty 3/4 cup chilled water, w/o ice, in2 the cup used for the solid fat, add 1 T of vinegar.
add to flour & fat mix. use a rubber spatula at first, then hands. bring 2gether till supple & soft, but not wet, roll, & shape in2 a log, then cut in2 5 equal pieces, use scale, @ 1/2 lb each.
oil & flour pie plate, spring form, tart shell, press w fingers in2 desired form. gently fork holes in2 bottom, rub a small amount of jam over holes, place in freezer till frozen.
time to make pie, & feel rejointed!
never give up on urself. there are myriad possibilities. just know that u'll be there; u will: 100%! REJOICE, REJOICE, REJOICE!
