In my short time on a wheatless lifestyle I'm already recognizing a pattern - I eat wheat on weekends. This is twice in a row - so no point in going to the great river of Denial - there it is. This last weekend we had a friend over for dinner who always bring a great soup starter - my favorite dish in the whole entire universe (did I make it clear I like it?). That would be - drum roll please.... oyster stew. Don't forget, I'm a west coast lady so fish is a staple, but my friend makes it like no else. Here's a recipe that's close to hers:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 pints oysters with liquor
• salt and pepper to taste
• dash of ground cayenne pepper, or to taste
• chopped fresh parsley for garnish

My friend also adds chopped tomatoes, onion, and some other tasty little things. 

Heat four bowls and add a tablespoon of butter to each bowl; keep hot.
Heat milk, cream, and oyster liquor just to the boiling point; add oysters and bring to boiling point once again. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Ladle into hot bowls and top with chopped parsley, if desired.

My friend changes the heavy cream to milk so it's less fattening. But I'm sure as your reading this, you're wondering why this is a problem since there is no mention of wheat in the recipe. Well folks, it's the french baguette you have to eat with it!

And don't try to tell me that the stew can be eaten with out this delicious french contribution because truly, it can't. So, I thought about it and decided that I would eat just as much of it as I wanted because life is hard at times and like the rest of you, I have stress and worries and if I want to drown them in wheat, well hell, I will. Much to my surprise, however, I found that I didn't actually want a whole lot of the bread. Two small chunks were tasty and great and left my taste buds doing the happy dance. 

I have to say, that shocked the hell out of me. I would normally eat half a baguette, if not at dinner, then munching on it later in the evening. I'm still in shock at how easy it was to leave the rest.

I've also noticed that aside from my caved in cheeks, I'm also finding my pants a little loser. Nothing to get excited about yet - I don't need a small size, but there's some space there that wasn't  in existence before two weeks ago when I started this wheat free life. 

Well, now that I've identified my weekend eating pattern, and lived to tell the tale, I'll see what next weekend brings. In the meantime, I'll continue on with the nuts, vegetables, wheat free cereals, and other things that are taking the place in my life where bread once lived. 

Have your best day possible.