When life gives you lemons, put them in onion jam.

Healthy small intestine villi on the left, Celiac on the right.

I have Celiac disease. That means when I eat gluten from wheat, barley, or rye my immune system goes crazy and attacks the lining of my small intestine. The gluten free diet is not for the faint of heart, but feeling normal and human makes it worthwhile to me.

It's been three years, and I thought it would be smooth sailing by now. It is so annoying to think about food and gluten all the time, so I got into a routine and thought that would be it. Minimize the constant planning, worrying, label-obsessing.

Turns out that was not how it would be. I am way sensitive to small amounts of gluten. This lesson came the hard way; September was a painful, bloated, ibs, achy-joint, fever-filled month. Something as innocuous as nestle cocoa powder and kroger brand chocolate chips can knock me flat on my back.

So, if it is not a plain meat, vegetable, fruit, oil, or egg, it's gotta be certified gluten free to go into my mouth. I can't just go to wal-mart and pick up Jif peanut butter. My spices need to be replaced since none of them are certified gluten free. Mainstream brands are out for the most part. Initially, this was so frustrating that I wished the disease was fatal.

It's been a few weeks since this new adjustment, and life is looking cheerier. The pain is gone; the bloat is gone. Some of what seemed extra fat around my middle was fluid retention. It's not flat now by any means, but it's nice to see the inches disappear. I am sooooo lucky in that gluten makes me swell up like a balloon. My energy is up and so I have survived working part-time in addition to taking care of a three year old tornado, walking back and forth to the school to take said tornado to school, and maintaining our home.

Food can still taste really good. Since I am waiting on spices, getting creative with flavors is important right now. Gene and Emeline still eat what I cook, so something is going right in the kitchen.

With that said, here is a recipe from Alex G. from the food network for onion jam. Click here to go to the website. Personally, I would omit the wine vinegar and up the lemon juice. Also, any onion would work, in my most humble opinion. It can still be tasty without the sugar and pepper, too. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 4 large red onions, halved, peeled, and cut into thin (1/4-inch) slices
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups dry red wine

Gastrique:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• Juice and a few grates of zest from 1 lemon, optional

Directions

In a medium saute pan, heat the oil until it begins to smoke lightly. Add the onions and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the onions give up their liquid, 3 to 5 minutes, and then add the red wine. Lower the heat and cook the onions until the wine reduces almost completely. Leave on low heat while you prepare the gastrique.
In a separate small pan, heat the honey until it begins to bubble and froth. Cook until the honey turns a light caramel color, an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar, simmer for a few minutes on low heat, and then shut off the heat. Pour the honey mixture over the onions and continue cooking them over low heat until all of the juice is absorbed and the onions are a jam-like consistency, 10 to 15 minutes. If you desire, add lemon juice and zest at this point. Taste for seasoning and transfer to a bowl to cool until ready to serve.