Armenian "Cucumber" - a melon?

Recently we heard from a member of our local gardeners group that Armenian Cucumbers are starting to be ripe in the area. We don't have any growing in our yard, so we headed over to Amadio Ranch where they happened to have some. I've mentioned the Amadio's place before. They grow delicious fruits and vegetables. They also have chickens, a cow and some really friendly big dogs who let me hug and pet them (I miss my golden retriever, Roman it's just not the same hugging our little dogs) So for me, it's a win win! They have decent prices and sometimes they slip fun things into an order for us to try. The first Armenia Cucumber we got came to us as just such an add on I believe, and since then we've gone back for more.  The first batch was eaten by Patch because I was sick and unable to eat vegetables. But recently I've been adding veggies back into my diet, and this is the first thing I tried. YUM! I ate them rind and all, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Patch used a mandolin slicer and put them in her salads. They looked very unusual and I don't know why more people aren't using them in salads around the valley, fun! This picture shows some sliced but with the seeds still inside. I removed the seedy parts from the middle, and it leaves you with interesting looking green bits. They taste pretty much like a cucumber, but it's not and I didn't have an allergic reaction, which is always a plus in my book!


Now technically I'm allergic to cucumbers, so you'd think I would be to these. But I was told they are actually not a cucumber but a melon which explains the lack of hives. You can bet I did my research before biting into them, and then I just tried one bite to play it safe. If you're allergic to a lot of foods you learn to first test things out for yourself as well as reading about foods. I test by first touching the new food to my lips to see if there is any itching or swelling. If nothing happens, I take a small bite and hold it in my mouth waiting for an allergic response. If I still have none, I eat a single bite and wait 20 - 30 minutes. If I still have no allergic response, I eat a small serving and wait for a day or two. Sometimes I have sort of a delayed reaction, but this time I did not. One of the delayed reactions I get is a sort of fuzzy headed feeling. It becomes difficult to concentrate and later I sometimes get a migraine. The fuzzy headed feeling could be stage one of a migraine actually, it's called a pre migraine aura.


Here is one page from the Backyard Gardener that explains a bit about Armenian Cucumbers: http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pda_bef7.html I am very excited to find something delicious, healthy and crunchy that I can add to salads or eat on it's own. I may try looking up some recipes online using these and see what I find, but for now I'm perfectly happy eating them like I would a cucumber.


This one was about a foot and 1/2 long or so, and about as thick as a tennis ball although it varies in size from end to end as you can see. It's shown here near a rather large cucumber if memory serves. (tho that could be a zucchini, I don't remember)  Eric Amadio suggested we save the seeds. I did so by removing the seeds from the melon by hand, placing it in water, and separating the seeds from the slime a bit by hand under the water. Here is some information on seed saving and why the bad ones float: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080731021023AAHGFfP You can bet I am going to save the seeds out of this one, because he says they grow really well in the desert heat, and in my experience, most melons do! I love having edible plants in my backyard, and if you plant them in different months, you have something producing almost year round. Here they are on seed savers: http://www.seedsavers.org/Details.aspx?itemNo=1357 in case you'd like to try them out yourself and don't live in our area.


I'll be planting some of them that I just saved from dinner, although who knows what will grow as they were grown near other melons, so I may get some sort of hybrid melon due to cross pollination, or it is possible they will just grow a lot of leaves. Either way, it sounds like a fun adventure, so I'm going to give it a try and see what comes up. Worst comes to worse, I'll learn from the experience but who knows maybe I'll get some weird Armenian Cucalope LOL!


Next year I may get some seeds from seed savers or some similar place that I know will produce Armenian Cucumbers and plant the melons at different times so that there is only one pollinating at a time. We'll see how that goes for reducing cross pollination in a small area.


If you grow some of your own food, here are some general tips about some delicious plants: http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/9504/seeds.htm but I would recommend you look for a planting calendar that is specific to your area and plant in season, remembering that your yard may have some slight differences such as I have a 10 x 10 portion of my yard which is in shade most of the day and most of the year due to it's position, so this is where I have planted a tree which filters the little light that does get to that area, and beneath it, some berries. I personally use a combination of planting calendars including the one from Gardeners World down the street which of course recommends the plants which they sell, but so far has always been very helpful info, and mostly I use a combo of the information from the http://www.urbanfarm.org/ and the one from the University of Arizona's Agriculture Department:

http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1005.pdfood

You Can't Plan for Everything - change of plans

Today was supposed to be the day I spoke with my Dr about Celiac disease and hopefully got tested, but you can not plan for everything. Unfortunately at 1am I was woken up by a scorpion walking on my neck. Not being awake and not realizing what was going on, I moved to brush whatever was crawling around on me OFF of my neck and out of my bed. I don't like bugs. Of course as my hand touched the scorpion he reacted by defending himself and STUNG me in the neck. I guess I'm really an Arizonan now! I am sad to say my doctor has canceled my appointments until the scorpion's toxin is out of my system. I wish I hadn't mentioned it when confirming this afternoon's appointments at lab and office, but for all I knew it might shift my lab results and we wouldn't want that. At least now I don't have to spend the day fasting and baking at the same time! I always feel better about food I prepared if I get to taste it before serving it to others.

Needless to say, I will primarily be using the day to rest. We have seen a few scorpions since moving to Phoenix, but we know that if you keep your house closed up properly, they usually aren't inside the house. Unfortunately, this one found a way into my bedroom. For a moment as it's toxins spread through me during those first 6 hours, I missed the familiar natural disasters of California. Thankfully I turn out not to be allergic to them, and Banner Poison Control informed me that I will be fine, because it doesn't get any worse after the first 6 hours. It will take a few days to get out of my system, and until then I should try to rest and remain still as movement tends to make it hurt more. I can confirm this is true. Still, I am determined to make some gluten-free bread today.

I was really disappointed about not being able to get my lab tests today as I was hoping to start my gluten free life after the test. At first much frustrated venting ensued, but now I've got a plan. Instead of being frustrated that I still have to hold off on complete dietary changes, I am going to use the time to help Patch, Carlie and myself become used to shopping for gluten-free ingredients and start intentionally preparing some glulten-free meals that are delicious. It is my hope that this will  get us used to the idea of eating in this new way. Patch has never liked change, and this is a big one. So now instead of instantly shifting over, we'll mix them in here and there between our normally glutenous diet. This continued occasional gluten will insure that I won't risk a false negative on the upcoming tests, but we will start on the path towards new habits. Already Patch has begun making note when she finds something which says gluten-free, so we are heading in the right direction!

The first gluten-free premixed product I'll try will be the pancake and baking mix which Patch brought home from AJ's which apparently has a large gluten-free section. For those of you in Phoenix or Chandler areas, check it out: http://www.ajsfinefoods.com/ I'm excited to try this product and will first use it to make the gluten-free Irish Soda Bread which Gluten Free Girl posted on her blog today. Perhaps we can dip it in the gluten-free vegan corn chowder I plan to make tomorrow for lunch with a vegetarian friend.

Happy St Patty's day everyone, wish me luck on making my first gluten-free bread!

Gluten-Free Gormet Pizza Delivery?!?! YES!

Since I am currently living on a set income due to my disability, I can't often eat out and when I do, I want it to taste good. I do however have a weakness for pizza. So I was especially excited to receive this coupon offer for Z Pizza, a pizza place you can probably find around you that makes gourmet pizza using great fresh ingredients, and it DELIVERS! I was so excited... but it turned out they do not deliver to my area.

Still, we were set on trying a gluten-free pizza and hoping it would be satisfying and delicious so that I can know that if I have to go gluten-free, I won't be losing out on the beloved doughy, cheesy goodness of a pizza. I hear there are other places in the area that cook gluten-free pizza as well, but this was a good one, so I'd eat at Z-pizza again. The crust was crispy around the edges from being cooked on hot bricks, and a bit more doughy otherwise. We tried the pesto sauce, mozzerela and parmesan cheese, with carmelized onions and red peppers. DELICIOUS! I would be happy to splurg on a pizza from there any time. Especially knowing that all the incrediants are organic. Being able to order Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, or meat lover all from the same place is great too. The place was crazy busy and difficult to pick up the pizza from, so I would give the overall experience, taste, and joy of eating healthy ingrediants that taste like they're bad for you a 4 out 5!

I often feel a bit light headed while eating pizza, and doze off afterwards or feel very lethargic with an upset stomach. This time I didn't go into a "pizza coma" until I snacked on the bread sticks (not gluten free) I think next time we order pizza from z-pizza I'm going gluten-free all the way, see how I feel after a completely gluten-free pizza meal.

Here's a coupon if you want to try Z- Pizza yourself: http://ww7.empathica.com/sxml/zpizza/eblastpilotsurvey/custsurvey.jsp?SURVEY_ENTRY=

Gluten-Free Eating in Arizona

Today I was speaking with someone about a friend who was having a difficult time finding gluten-free foods in their part of Arizona. I mentioned a few ideas which my family and I will be making use of in order to stay gluten-free while eating locally as much as possible. One part of that is to eat less processed foods, and focus more on whole, home cooked meals. There are a plethora of "Gluten-free yummies" as I have begun calling them already for sale in such places as Fresh and Easy, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and more. In my research I found plenty of locally grown or made items which are gluten-free including produce from Customer Supported Agriculture, Buying Clubs, grocery stores, health food stores, and other such options which you can find at Arizona Local Foods.

We are blessed in this part of Arizona with a temperate climate which allows for a longer growing season than many other places. Although people think of the desert as arid and empty of life, in actuality there is a large bounty which can and is grown right here. We have planted a garden with some of our own favorites, and a hybrid fruit tree which has just started to blossom as we approach spring.  Living in the Laveen area, we are especially blessed to have neighbors who raise livestock, produce their own milk products, honey, sunflower oil, organic coffee, cactus products, fruits, vegetables, and much much more!

As I continue moving towards healthier living through food, I have been keeping my eyes open for places we already enjoy that just so happen to sell gluten-free foods in our area. We are fortunate, in a sense, that we had a roommate who was gluten-intolerant and who introduced us to some places she could eat, such as RA, our favorite sushi bar in Ahwatukee, or Green in Tempe where I tend to meet up with my vegan friends. I also am really looking forward to trying Gluten-Free Creations Bakery, which was recently recommended by a friend and looks delicious.

But what if you aren't into negotiating the waters of gluten-free sushi and you don't enjoy vegetarian or vegan foods? I mean, sometimes a person just wants a good steak right? Tonight I came across a list of restaurants in Arizona which are pretty big on our standard styles of eating out and which happen to have some gluten-free foods on their menu or are willing and able to prepare gluten-free versions of their foods. The celiac handbook has an entire such list online at  http://www.celiachandbook.com/arizona.html!

So never fear my fellow Arizonans! Be you central to a larger city, or living in one of the many beautiful areas not quite so populated, there are options out there. I hope you will share with me what gluten-free delights you find as you go and I will continue to share the results of my foraging as well. If you would like to recommend a gluten-free treat, restaurant, etc. please do comment, I look forward to hearing from you!