CB likes food, too

Sometimes I'm so selfless, I make food for people I can't even eat! Now that I'm truly getting better from my surgery, I'm trying to do more things when I'm not grading essays.  This week, I made a lunch (and dinner) for CB that had prawns -- a food I am VERY allergic to -- but was actually gluten-free.  I made myself a dinner out of the non-prawny leftovers with a wee bit of chicken cooked with the same flavours but with olive oil instead of the butter.  I'm pretty sure this would be tasty without any meat if you amp up the veggies a bit more.  Any veggies could go well with it, I think.  If you substituted the butter, you could even make it vegan!

Prawn and Veggie Quinoa

Ingredients
prawns -- 8-9 per person, I cheated and bought peeled & cooked, but it was to be sure I wasn't in too much contact with them
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water (plus some in a bowl)
1 vegetable stock cube (optional)
handful of black olives, pitted
handful of cherry tomatoes
handful of green beans
half-head of broccoli
1 lime
little gem lettuce -- or small romaine leaves
fresh coriander leaves -- cilantro on that side of the ocean
a few tablespoons of butter
garlic powder
chili flakes
black pepper

Hardware
mixing bowl
a couple of pots and pans (at least one pot with a lid)
stove
bowl
fine mesh strainer
colander
assorted metal cooking utensils
knife

Directions
Pour the quinoa into the mesh strainer and rinse under water for about two minutes, rubbing the grains within your fingers.  This step is important because quinoa can taste bitter and woody if you don't remove the natural outer coating.  Some quinoa comes pre-scrubbed, but I still give it a go-over.  In a decent-sized pot, melt enough butter to coat the bottom. Toss in the quinoa and stir vigorously until you get a nutty scent.  If, like me, you have spent most of your life nasally-impaired, this takes about 45 seconds to a minute.  Pour the water over the quinoa and stir.  When the water begins to boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  If there is still water in the pan, re-cover and let it continue to simmer until all the water evaporates.  Turn off the heat and let it stand uncovered for five minutes.  Dump it into the mixing bowl and fluff with a fork.

Boil water in another pot with a bit of sea salt.  Chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces.  I cooked the broccoli and the green beans together because, well, I don't see why not.  Cook to your desired consistency, drain, and dunk immediately in a bowl of cold water for a minute or so.

Cut the green beans into manageable pieces.  Drop it and the broccoli into the mixing bowl with the quinoa.  Cut the olives in half and toss in the quinoa.  Chop the coriander roughly (I used herb scissors I got as a wedding present that made me feel very special indeed) into the mix.  Toss it all together until it is well-mixed.

Ok, I tried to get a little fancy with the tomatoes.  I cut them in half and put them in a very hot, heavy-bottomed pan -- NOT flat side down.  If you put them flat side down, the heat will pull the seeds out and get gunky. But, the magic is, if you leave them down on one round part and leave them there for a couple of minutes, they will char on that side and create a sweetness throughout the whole bite.  Just make sure to remove them before they start smoking and dump them in the mixing bowl.

Now for the prawns!  I don't generally cook things I'm allergic to, so I'm glad these came out as well as they did.  I put a fair amount of butter in a pan -- more than I thought was needed, actually.  Toss in the garlic powder, chili flakes, and black pepper. Squeeze half the lime (don't worry about trying too hard) into the butter and spice mixture and stir it all around.  When it's nice and bubbly and coating the entire pan surface -- and then some! -- place the prawns in one at a time.  I like to place them into the pan clockwise, so I know what order to flip them.  After about 30 seconds, swirl the pan around.  After another 30 seconds, flip them over.  Do the same again.  Obviously, if you have uncooked prawns to started, you're going to need to cook them more.  I have no idea about that.

Place the lettuce leaves out on a plate. Spoon the quinoa mixture on top of them. Place the prawns on top.  Offer up lime wedges for an extra tang.

Here is CB's lunch box for Monday. It may not look like it, but there was a TON of quinoa packed in there (and a lime wedge in the wee box).

Jennifer Esposito calls out CBS and I make tacos

Lest I fall into the same pattern as the shops around town, I made sure to make my mother a gluten-free dinner that didn't have to be made with exceptions or substitutions.  It's not hard to find a cake or cookie suitable for a gluten-free lifestyle in Tesco or M&S; this is not to say that they are all tasty!  However, it's much harder to find a decent loaf of bread.  Considering all the foods that have "hidden" gluten -- meaning, not just bread -- it's more important that we can eat dinner than dessert!

As I watch my mother struggle with her new lifestyle, I realise how lucky I was to have supportive folks around me as I worked my way through the changes.  I did it very much alone in the sense that I didn't know anyone who could give me advice or show me the ropes, but I did have my husband (while he was still on the way to being my husband) and our families for moral support.

All these thoughts were piqued today when I read this article: Blue Bloods' Jennifer Esposito Departs Show, Slams CBS For Its 'Shameful Behavior'.  I don't know this actress (I mean, I've seen her in things) or anyone else on the show or in the network, so I can't speak to what truly happened.  However, her words "[...] CBS implied that I was not truly ill [...]" struck such a chord with me.  I know most Celiacs don't like to actually say "Celiac Disease" because it sounds so terrible like that.  However, it IS a disease, and it is something that requires actual treatment and consideration.  Some people think that, just because the most-known treatment is not eating particular food that it's not as bad as other diseases.  You don't hear people saying the same about Diabetes, which also involves a specific diet as a major form of treatment.  While, like I said, I don't know for a fact that CBS acted terribly, her phrasing makes it sounds real.  It is something that happens, and it shouldn't.

Anyway, so, in an effort to support my mother through the process and show her that real food is within reach, I made tacos.  Tacos have long been one of her favourite meals, but removing both beef and gluten from her diet have made the concept of making them unappealing for her.  What follows isn't really a recipe for tacos as much as it is just a chronicle of the meal.

I made tortillas with masa harina (OH! That is what was in the mystery jar! Mystery solved!), water, and sea salt in my tortilla press. I fried them without oil in a cast iron skillet and kept them warm until everything else was prepared.  I battered the chicken lightly in a seasoned corn meal and pan fried.  It was served with lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and salsa (I decided against the salsa because of my recent surgery).  It was a great send-off for my mother's last meal in Belfast (this time!).

Gluten-free facts, part 2

1.  When you first stop eating gluten, your body will be very confused.  You will likely get hungry all the time.  My suggestion is, for the first week or so (listen to your body!), really up your protein intake.  Don't immediately move to gluten-free substitutions unless you have to because your body will grab hold of them and immediately slow down its processing.  I carried around turkey jerky in my handbag.  Yes, it was super-classy.

2.  Your energy levels will probably hit an all-time low for the first couple of days after leaving behind gluten.  I don't suggest moving to a gluten-free diet when you have a big meeting or when your kids have a weekend full of baseball practices.  That being said, if you look at your calendar and find yourself making excuses for every few days, JUST DO IT.  After the low comes the best all-time energy high you have probably experienced in your entire life.  I swear, I think my eyes were even bigger!  Everyone began complimenting me -- did I lose weight? did I change my hair?  I just took the things my body saw as poisons out of my body!

3.  As far as pasta is concerned, brown rice pastas are the best.  They hold their texture and really hold up to overcooking.  The first time I made baked macaroni without wheat pasta, I tried a mostly-corn pasta.  I cooked it according to the directions, and it was a little soggy.  However, once I added the rest of the ingredients, it didn't hold up.  I was left with a wet pasta mush at the bottom of the dish with too-thick sauce along the top.  It was gross.  I eventually tried again with a brown rice pasta, and it was perfect.  I couldn't tell the difference between it and the wheat version.

4.  In the first part of my gluten-free facts, I mentioned that it's better to make your own sauces.  Honestly, if you have the time, it will always pay off to make any of your own gluten-free foods than to buy them.  I'd say the exception is probably bread because baking bread is not something everyone enjoys or can do.  I don't say that to be offensive.  My first loaf of gluten-free bread was a gluey mess. It made me not want to try again.

5.  Gluten affects everyone differently, not just those with gluten allergies/intolerances and not.  I need things to be handled carefully, using different utensils for my food and to make sure they don't touch.  I need precautions with things that you might never even consider -- even though the crumbs fall through a toaster, all those gluteny crumbs are heating up all over your gluten-free bread!  If you're less sensitive, please be understanding to people who take more precautions than you do.  If you're more sensitive, please be understanding that not everyone has to jump through all the same hoops as you do.  Neither one is doing it to be belligerent, so please don't act as though you know what's best for someone else.

Always forward, just sometimes with cheesecake

Sydney likes breathing!  My surgery has come and gone, and I'm definitely on the path to recovering well.  I had the last of the things intruding into my face removed on Monday, and now I just have to let it do what it's meant to do.  In the meantime, I'm learning about breathing through my nose -- which should be a reflex but isn't anymore after years of disuse.

One of the great things about the surgery was that my mother was able to come and look after me.  I didn't know in what way she would be helpful, but she definitely was.  She did the majority of the cooking and cleaning, allowing CB to go to work without guilt.  I used what energy I had to pursue what I felt like was a a very noble goal:

Make Mum feel less crap about living gluten-free

I wanted to show her that, while not always easy -- especially not in places like Belfast or rural Georgia -- a gluten-free life doesn't have to be completely depressing. A couple of months ago, Mum had to undergo a battery of allergy tests, completely changing the way she lives her life.  Unfortunately, but, I'm sure, not coincidentally, many of the things she's been told to remove from her diet are the very things I've removed after years of trial and error.  The biggies: gluten and beef.

Since I wasn't quite up to my standard, I instructed her on making those pumpkin cupcakes I do so adore.  Before she arrived, I also whipped up a favourite I perfected last year: pumpkin cheesecake.  (Can you tell it's autumn, and I've gotten a pumpkin from the market?)

My mother was quite like me about pumpkin before I'd tried it.  I remember thinking I hated pumpkin because I didn't care for a lot of other squashes. I'd never even carved a pumpkin until I was 16.  I got the flu when I was in college, and a friend sent over muffins to cheer me up.  I had no idea what they were.  From a box, she said, and frosting from a can.  Yeah, but what flavour?  It absolutely blew my mind to discover they were pumpkin.

It wasn't until I moved to Northern Ireland that I started craving pumpkin.  I think it was a response to knowing I wasn't in America but REALLY starting to feel it.  Unfortunately, pumpkins are only available in the month of October here, so I missed out the first time around for not recognizing my craving soon enough.  Last year, after having lost another piece of my Americanness by marrying a Northern Irish man, I grabbed hold to as many pumpkins as I could, and the pumpkin cheesecake is one of the results.

I didn't get any beautiful pictures because it was gone that fast.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:

24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups pureed pumpkin
3 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1/4 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (separated into 2 halves)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups gluten-free graham cracker or digestive biscuit crumbs
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 stick salted butter, melted

Hardware:
oven
springform pan
flexible spatula
Ruby (or mixer, or strong arms)
mixing bowl (2 if you don't use a mixer)
wooden spoon
measuring cups and spoons
egg separator (not necessary, but I just got a new one that I adore)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350°F/175°C.

In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, melted butter, and 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon.  Press the mixture into the bottom of your springform pan.

Using a mixer or your wooden spoon, whip the cream cheese by itself until it gets shinier.  There's not really a perfect thing to say to look for.  You want it smooth. Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar, remaining cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix together until combined.  Add in the flour and vanilla extract.  Make sure everything looks uniform.

Lumps aren't a good idea.  I made one where I found there was a bit of unmixed cream cheese at the bottom of the bowl; I threw it on the top of the cheesecake, thinking it would all melt in together.  WRONG.  I had white lumps of no flavour in the finished product.  Though, I will admit that I like to leave some of the pumpkin a little chunky, sometimes.  This gives you a cheese with a little extra texture and bit of a fruity bite.  If you don't like that, don't do that.  If you're using canned pumpkin, you don't have much choice there.

Pour the mixture over the crumb base. Gently tap it on the countertop to remove any big air bubbles.  If you don't, they will find their ways to the top and create big, burnt, air-filled lumps on the surface.  Bake for 55-60 minutes.  When it is completed, leave it to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes before covering with cling film (or a large plate if it's more handy) and moving it to the refrigerator for 4 hours.  At this point, remove the sides of the springform and either leave it on the base or put it on a cake stand or plate or whatever you have around.  I don't like to leave it on the base because, when I slice through the cheesecake, I don't want to knick the coating of the pan.

When serving, I like to make it look fancy with a light dusting of icing sugar (powdered sugar) or cinnamon . . . or an icing sugar/cinnamon mix! . . . and a dollop of whipped cream on the top.

Give it to someone who doesn't like pumpkin.

Chronically Me . . . and you . . . and you

Visit chronicallyme.com for more

I usually try to focus on the positive aspects (I hear you snorting already) of having digestive conditions.  Sometimes, though, you just get touched that someone else knows exactly what crap you are dealing with everyday.  This comic is PERFECT.  CB always comments -- though he generally forgets by morning -- that, as soon as I get comfortable in bed, I'm up and down to the bathroom.  It's as though my body thinks it has free reign once gravity isn't such an issue anymore.

The biggest "positive" I always keep in mind is that I'm far more in tune with my body than I ever have been.  This is coming from the girl who would always go to the doctor with "I think I have X." "No, no," says Doctor, "I'm sure it's not."  And, lo and behold, it was always X!  Once my IBS started up in earnest, I never really knew what my body was trying to tell me.

I remember last year, a week after all my tests had been done, after all the scopes had been up or down their respective routes, phoning my doctor to ask how long I needed to take the prescribed medicine.  The answer wasn't sugar-coated: "The rest of your life."

The pills in question turned me into a zombie.  I was prescribed 8 of them a day -- 2 when I woke, 2 at lunch, 2 at dinner, and 2 at bed time.  I don't think anyone quite believed me when I said I didn't have the energy to get up to get myself a glass of water.  All I could do was lie there.  It hurt to be hungry, but it hurt to eat.  My mother actually, unfortunately, experienced what I meant when she was prescribed the same pills.  She was told to have 3 a day -- not 8, like me -- and, after the first dose, she felt like she was moving in slow motion and didn't even have the energy to finish her dinner.  She couldn't follow a conversation. (If you're wondering, yes, I did get the gift of gab from her, so it was a particularly difficult time!)  She told her doctor that she would only take them on very bad days.

I finally went to my GP and explained that I could not live like a zombie anymore. We tried another tablet.  I didn't feel like a zombie, but I didn't feel any relief, either.  Another, some relief.  It got rid of the more dull achy pains, but I still had the stabby ones that have dropped me to the floor at times.  Finally, they decided to pair it with an anti-anxiety pill.  Sweet relief!  It got rid of most of the pain!

There was a trade-off, though.  Every day, regardless of how I was feeling, my stomach was swollen.  I was used to swelling off and on, but this was constant.  I was worn out.  I also began to realise that I didn't know what my body was telling me anymore.  I'm sore, but why?  Was it food?  Was it exercise?  Was I simply overly tired?  Was it -- gasp! -- just that time of that day, and it was just going to happen?

I made one of Sydney's Patented Executive Life Decisions and weaned myself off all of my pills.  Are they helpful? Sure, but they don't actually make me any better.  In the long run, they weren't doing anything.  They were making me temporarily more comfortable but also more complacent.  I can tolerate pain.  I can recognise it, acknowledge it, and file it away.  It can frustrate me, but it rarely stops me.

I've been doing remarkably well.  Do I have pains?  Yep, but I think about them less because they are not a worry; they are what they are.  Do I still swell?  Yep, I am still six months fake-pregnant on some days.  Do I have more energy?  On most days, I think I do.  I still get worn down, perhaps a bit easier at times, but I feel like my body is saying You can do it rather than You know, you probably shouldn't.  And, that's the other thing: I can hear what my body is saying.  You could do without eating that food again.  You overdid it on the lifting boxes.  What makes you think you can pull more than your own weight? And, perhaps the most important thing it tells me.  Calm down; you need a rest, but you'll be stronger tomorrow.

I am listening again.

A Tale of Two Jars

I love glass jars.  They are perfect for storing the tons and tons of gluten-free flours necessary to be a real gluten-free baker.  I also keep things like pine nuts, chocolate chips, oats, lavender, and various rice pastas among their ranks.  Because there is such a range, my most important tool is my label maker.

CB thought I was crazy when I said I needed a label maker when I bought my first jars.  It soon became obvious just how necessary it really was.  I even have two jars which are not Celiac-friendly -- regular oats and wheat flour.  Labeling has become more and more important as my kitchen and my skills grow.

And then there was this guy.

I had my mind set last night on a baking project.  It was part "I want to make it!", part "This is a good excuse to put away some jars and get them out of boxes!".  I fully admit it.  CB was helping me to get everything together, and he holds up one big, full jar.  "What is it?" he asks.  I suddenly realise that I have no freaking clue.

I do remember how it happened, though.  Several months ago, we were packing away all our earthly belongings for the great move that never transpired.  I saw an empty jar and a bag of flour.  I didn't want the bag to burst open inside a box (Could you imagine the looks on the customs officers' faces when they see a box covered in white powder?!), so I dumped it into the jar.  CB says, "But we've already packed your label maker?  How will we know what it is?" "Well," I wisely explain, "We'll know it's X FLOUR because it's the only one without a label." "Good idea!" he says.

Good idea, my butt.  Months later, I'm sitting here trying to compare the weight, texture, and colour of the flour to fill in the blanks.  What are you?  There is the remnant of a label on the glass.  What did you used to be?  Why aren't you that anymore?

At the end of the day, I am no more knowledgeable on what he is than what he is not (except almond flour.  He is not almond flour.).  It didn't matter for my project, though.  Ruby and I went about our business and created a masterpiece anyway. 

I got this recipe from Gluten-Free Goddess, which is a site I wish I had found ages ago.  I didn't make my cupcakes vegan because, well, I'm not vegan, and vegan products are pretty expensive around here. I also played it pretty fast and loose with the smaller measurements.  I can't say exactly why I did it, though.  It doesn't sound like me. 

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Hardware:
Ruby (okay, okay, a mixer of some sort)
mixing bowl (if you are using a stand mixer, you can use the bowl from it)
flexible spatula
cupcake liners
muffin tins
measuring cups and spoons
oven
wooden spoon
whisk

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

Dump all the dry ingredients (sorghum flour, brown sugar, tapioca starch, sugar, almond flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg) into your mixing bowl.  Whisk by hand or with whisk attachment on mixer.  I suggest the whisk because, with so many dry ingredients, you want to make sure there aren't any lumps and everything is well-combined.

Add in (melted! Always measure by melting! I can't believe I haven't said it earlier!  You can pop it in the microwave for a short time -- watch continuously and stir every 10 seconds.) coconut oil a little at a time.  Switch to your wooden spoon and watch for it to completely combine before adding more.  The texture should be like wet sand when it's all in the mixture.  Add your pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Here's where having a mixer saves the day.  Your end result is a thick and stretchy batter, so guess how it gets that way.  If you aren't using a mixer, it gets there with hard work.  I let Ruby at it on Setting 8 (medium high) for about 2-3 minutes.  The original recipe said 1-2, but I found it wasn't completely combined by then.  A hand mixer will probably take the same amount of time.  I don't know how long if you're just using a spoon, but I don't envy you right now.

Fill your cupcake liners with your batter.  Since my oven broke two of my silicon muffin tins (I don't know how; please don't ask.), I'm down to only one muffin tin, so batches were in order.  I didn't know how much the batter would rise, so, on my first batch, I filled the liners only halfway.  It didn't rise very much, so the tops of the cupcakes were below the tops of the liners.  On the second batch, I filled them 3/4 to the top, and they were almost there.  Next time, I'm going to fill them nearly to the edge and cross my fingers.  The recipe also says to smooth the tops. I thought my batter looked pretty smooth and figured it would spread out when it got hot, so I didn't bother.  It doesn't affect the taste at all, but I wish I had listened because they rose unevenly.

Bake for 22-25 minutes.  Because I don't yet have a good relationship with my ovens, I checked on them after 15 minutes.  20 minutes.  22 minutes.  I took the first, smaller batch out after 22, and I left the more full second batch in for the full 25.  Watch carefully in these last minutes if you fill your liners higher and leave them in longer because I can't guarantee any results.

Let them cool in the muffin tin until you can touch them without burning yourself.  Move them to a wire rack to cool for an hour.

Time for your frosting!  I have to admit that I have never made frosting or used a piping bag.  It's shameful, I know, and it's not beautiful.  Again, I used a newly scrubbed Ruby to whip it all together.  If you don't have a stand mixer, you'll need to whisk it all together again.

Start with your powdered sugar and give it a good whisk before you add anything to it.  Lumps will not be easy to get rid of once you add the other ingredients.  Alternatively, you could sift it into your bowl.  Add the cream cheese and maple syrup and whisk until thoroughly combined.  You can use a piping bag or spread it with a knife.

My icing was a bit too sweet for my tastes and didn't taste enough like maple, so I will lower the amount of sugar and up the maple syrup next time.  It's all to your taste.  Give it a lick when you finish and you can decide what you need to do for your own.  I think I'll just eyeball the sugar and go for 4 tablespoons of maple syrup next time.

Oh, there will be a next time.

Best Friends Forever

We are finally settling into the new house, just in time for everything to go topsy-turvy pretty soon.  I'm having what I refer to as my "nose job" in 11 days.  I know, I know, I can hear you already. "But, Sydney! You have the perfect nose! You have the nose every girl dreams about when she thinks of her fairy tale future!  Tons of women take pictures of you when they go to have nose jobs!"  Well, you can calm down.  It's okay.  The outside of my nose shouldn't change at all.

It's the inside that is getting a makeover!  Ever since I was very tiny (Mum, care to chime in with specifics?), I've had chronic sinusitis and difficulty breathing at even the best of times.  Well, sometime last year (I'm being coy.  I know exactly when.), my nose stopped and never started again.  Antibiotic after antibiotic (which I hate -- almost as much as excessive parenthetical comments!), nasal spray after nasal spray, nothing.  Doctors, scans, doctors not calling back, unfruitful follow-ups, and finally!  Someone decides that something needs to be done!  So, in 11 days, I'll be having three procedures inside my nose -- 1) removing two bits of bone that are making passageways too narrow; 2) realigning my party wall, which meets the bottom of my nose in exactly the right place but bends in the middle; 3) cauterizing the lumpy lining of my nostrils that prevents anything from draining down the right paths.  You see why I just say I'm having a nose job?!

One of the most exciting things about my nose job is: If you think Sydney Likes Food now, just wait until she can actually taste it!

Regardless, the house is coming together beautifully, if slowly.  I've been cooking, but it's been mainly old standbys that don't take too long.  We're still acclimating to the schedule change; CB has never had a full time job!  He did do his PhD, which was definitely more than a full time job, but it typically involved him hunching over a desk in his home office/spare room/chinchilla abode.  This job requires him to be out of the house for more than 10 hours a day, and I have to figure out what to do with myself in the empty space.  (If I'm honest, it's mostly academic for me, now, too.  I should be grading papers right now.)  I did make one new meal that was delicious, but the texture needs a little tweaking, as does my understanding of the new ovens.  I'm going to give it a shot again this week, so, if all goes well, I'll photograph and properly document it here soon.

Ah, yes, but the title of the post.  I have a new kitchen friend.  I feel like I have known this friend forever because of how long I have wanted -- nay, needed! -- it amongst my tools.  I will never let it go.  We will make so many yummy things together.  You just wait.

Meet Ruby: