Big Storm

Miserable weather this afternoon. After a sunny morning, the wind and rain have come in from the West. Storm force winds of 120km/h are forecast, with peaks of 140km/h in the North West.

The perfect afternoon to drink (green) tea and eat (wheat-free) biscuits. I baked my favourite Aine McAteer chocolate chip cookies last night and we've just had a couple with a nice mug of hot green tea (coffee for Brendan). I've been drinking green tea for the last year or so, when I realised that, contrary to regular tea, it doesn't give me migraines.

The wheat-free is a new thing for me. My GP has recommended a wheat-free and dairy-free diet as a possible way to control my asthma. I'm on various inhalers, and my asthma is well managed - no attacks in years. But I'm interested to find out if cutting out wheat and dairy can make a difference. So far (it's 2 weeks), I haven't noticed anything, but I'm prepared to try it out for 3 or 4 months and see what happens. These chocolate chip cookies are baked with splet and rice flours, but you wouldn't know it. They are delicious. Pizzas are out, that's no harm. Pasta is out, but we've found that rice noodles work quite well. I'm not a big bread fan anyway, so I don't miss it. I miss the cheese on my baked potatoes at lunch time, but I've replaced it by lots of mayonaise. And I had already switched to Oatabix and rice milk a few months ago. We were down in L'Officina in Dundrum last Friday night for a quick bite, and I was fairly restricted, but they had a few specials without pasta or bread, including a very satisfying beef stew. So, no big hardship, as long as I'm not planning a holiday in Italy!