Outing

We took the boys to Evergreen Aviation Museum yesterday. The kids had a great time. We visited their aviation and space museums, but I think the kids enjoyed the playground the most. There was also a free carnival airplane ride for small children. They liked that too. I wished I had a camera with me. But this was our first trip there and I didn't know what to expect. On the way home, we saw that the Pepsi plant had their Christmas display open, so we went through that and then headed to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. All in all a good day.

New Pictures

Well, I finally got some up-to-date pictures up. Our other computer was stinking slow and wouldn't download any pictures. Way to go new computer. Woo hoo! :)

Roots and Shoots First Project

We completed our first Roots and Shoots community project. The kids made bird feeders for the local wildlife rescue center. They will use them in their cages to feed the birds they are caring for. It was quite simple and the kids had fun. 1 project down, countless to go. :)

Dairy Free, Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie

Crust
(Makes 2 crusts)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup amaranth, millet, garbanzo bean or teff flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup + 2 TBS oil
1/4 cup rice milk
1/2 cup water

Mix dry ingredients. Add liquids and mix well. Divide dough in half. Roll out dough between floured parchment papers. Turn dough into pie pan and press in.

Filling
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken (cubed)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup butter substitute (Earth Balance)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (homemade is best)
2/3 cup rice milk

Preheat oven to 425F. In saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter substitute until soft and translucent. Stir in tapioca flour, slat, pepper and celery seed. Slowly stir in broth and rice milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove and set aside.

Place the chicken mixture in the bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover w/ top crust, seal edges and make several small slits in the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: You can also use a muffin pan to make about 6 individual pot pies. More work, but the kids love having their own.

Roots and Shoots

We joined a roots and shoots group. It is a community service group for school aged kids and our group is made up of all homeschoolers. The boys had a great time at the first meeting getting to know the other kids. I have great hopes for this group and hope the boys grow and learn while having fun serving our community.

G.F. Biscuits

1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup corn flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 TBS baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 TBS sugar (1/2 TBS maple sugar)
3/4 cup milk (rice or soy)
1/2 tsp salt

Pre heat oven to 375F. Mix all ingredients and pat out on floured surface, 1/2 inch thick. Cut out w/ a greased biscuit cutter or approx. 2'' glass. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake 12-15min.

Crawdads

We took the boys to Bohemia for a picnic yesterday. Todd took along his snorkel and mask and found crawdads for them in a little stream. We had a great time.

G.F. Pita Pockets

2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp sugar (1/2 maple sugar)
1 1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 cup sorghum flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 egg

In bread maker, add whisked water and egg. Mix all dry ingredients except yeast and add to bread maker. Make a well and add yeast. Process on dough setting. Preheat oven and a baking sheet to 500F. Roll golf ball sized dough into very thin ovals. Bake one at a time in oven for 4 min. Then turn over and bake 1 more minute. Remove and cut in half. Open up pockets w/ a knife. Freeze what you don't use right away. Pitas that don't puff up can be used as flat bread/naan.

Green bean salad

3# potatoes
2/3 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 TBS fresh rosemary leaves
1 red onion (thinly sliced)
2# french green beans (cut int0 1" peices)
24 kalamata olives pitted and halved

Quarter potatoes. Preheat oven 425F add 1/3 cup oil to a pan and raost potatoes, stir every 10 min. for 30 min. total or until tender. Let potatoes cool in pan. In blender puree garlic, vinegar, rosemary. Add salt to taste, 1/3 cup olive oil. Place onions in a bowl of ice water for 5 min. Drain and pat dry. Cook beans in boiling water for 5 min. or until tender crisp. Drain and shock in cold water. Pat dry. Combine potatoes, onion, green beans and olives in large bowl. Add dressing and toss. Serve w/ rosemary sprigs at room temp.

lemon meringue pie

1 cup white sugar
1 TBS potato starch
3 TBS tapioca starch
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup water
2-3 large lemons (3/4 cup juice, 1 1/2 TBS zest)
2 TBS butter or 1 TBS ghee
4 egg yokes, beaten
4 egg whites (room temp)
1 pie crust (baked)
3 TBS powdered sugar (Maple sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBS lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Bake pre-made pie crust per package instruction.

Make meringue first: beat egg whites until foamy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 TBS lemon juice, slowly. Beat until stiff. Cover and refridgerate.

Make lemon filling: Wisk sugar, potato and tapioca starches and salt. Stir in water, lemon zest. Cook, stirring frequently until it boils. Add ghee. Place egg yokes in a small bowl and whisk in 1/2 cup hot sugar mixture. Add the egg yokes back into the main sugar mixture. Pour hot filling into pie shell and immediately add meringue. Make sure to spread it to the edge to seal the filling in. Bake for 10 min. or until golden. Allow to cool 3 hours on a wire rack on counter. Place in fridge uncovered 6 hours. Serve or cover with cling wrap and keep in fridge longer.

Quote for the day

"We've kind of had an outbreak of common sense around the country." Senator Fred Thompson (R) commenting on public opinion about the president's proposed health plan.

The last poll I saw showed 50% opposed the plan and 45% approved of the plan. Perhaps the numbers have changed, but that margin is still pretty scary. I am glad people are seriously questioning this plan, it is clearly not good for Americans. During this administration we will see our standard of living go straight down the drain and we will all just scratch our heads and wonder what happened. It is already happening, but I have feeling we haven't seen anything yet.

Oxtail Soup

5 TBS olive oil
3 1/4 pounds meaty oxtails, beef tails (patted dry)
10 cups water
5 (14 1/4 oz) cans beef broth
3 cups dry red wine
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium leeks, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
2 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 large potatoes, cubed
1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Heat 2 TBS oil in heavy pot over med. heat. Sprinkle oxtails w/ pepper and salt and brown on all sides. Add water, beef broth and 2 cups wine. Simmer partially covered about 3 hours. Transfer oxtails to a large bowl and cool. Remove meat from bone. Freeze cooking liquid until fat solidifies, about 45 min. Spoon fat off and add meat to broth. Heat 3 TBS oil in fry pan and saute vegetables (except potatoes), garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Add to the soup w/ remaining wine. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

VBS

The boys are attending VBS this week and love it. I was so excited to find a VBS for preschoolers. Most start at kindergarten age, which would exclude Andrew. I am getting a little free time in the mornings which is very nice. So thank you Suburban Christian Church. We'll see you again next year, hopefully!

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Enchiladas

Corn or rice tortillas
2 cups favorite cooked, diced/shredded meat (chicken, lamb, beef, pork)
1/2 cup diced onions
2 spoonfuls of Tofutti cream cheese
1 can diced green chilies (mild, medium, hot)
1/2 cup-1 cup diced black olives
1 jar sweet creek enchilada sauce (mild, medium, hot)
cilantro for garnish.

Heat oven to 350F. Mix meat, onions, Tofutti cream cheese, green chilies and black olives well. Pour enchilada sauce into a frying pan. Dip each tortilla in sauce and coat both sides. Fill tortilla with filling mixture and roll up. Fill a 9x9 pan with enchiladas. Pour half of the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas. Cover with foil and bake 40min. Pour remainder of sauce over enchiladas and cook 5-10 min. more. Serve with guacamole, Tofutti sour cream, salsa and cilantro.

This recipe can be modified for veggie enchiladas too.

G.F. Apple Muffins

1/2 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup flax meal
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup vanilla rice or soy milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey or brown rice syrup + a few drops liquid stevia)
4 TBS apple juice or water (or more as needed)
1 TBS Ener-G egg replacer + 3 TBS warm water (to sub for two eggs)
1 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup raisins

Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl and add to dry mix. Add apples and raisins. Use baking cups in your muffin pan. Bake muffins 350F for 25 min or until a knife comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack so the bottoms don't get soggy. Store in plastic bags after completely cooled or freeze.

G.F. Berry Muffins

1 1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup flax meal
1/4 cup maple sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup vanilla rice or soy milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1 TBS Ener-G egg replacer + 3 TBS warm water (to sub for two eggs)
1 cup berries (your choice)

Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix all wet ingredients, except 1/2 cup water, in a separate bowl and add to dry mix. Add the water until mix right consistency. Add berries. Use baking cups in your muffin pan. Bake muffins 350F for 25 min or until a knife comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack so the bottoms don't get soggy. Store in plastic bags after completely cooled or freeze.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
2 TBS butter (ghee)
1/4 cup sugar (1/8 maple sugar + 1/8 Lakanto)
2/3 cup warm milk (soy, rice)
1 TBS yeast
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup potato starch
1/8 cup sorghum flour
1/8 cup amaranth, quinoa, or teff flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 12 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

To Sprinkle on Board covered in plastic wrap:
1-2 TBS sugar (Lakanto)

Filling:
1/3 cup maple sugar (to make gooier, use more sugar or add a little liquid maple syrup drizzle).
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped nuts

Glaze:
3/4 cup maple sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
milk to thicken (soy or rice)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Warm milk and combine with yeast in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Combine butter, sugar and mix well. Add the milk/yeast mixture to it. Add remaining dough ingredients. Mix well and remove all lumps. Dough will be very soft. Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it to cover 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 square inches. Sprinkle sugar on the plastic wrap. Lay ball of dough in center of plastic square and cover with another piece of plastic wrap. Pat or roll the dough into a square shape. Remove top plastic and sprinkle the filling ingredients evenly over the dough. Roll the dough from one edge to the other into a log. Cut into even pieces about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place in a greased pie plate. Bake approx. 20 min., until tops are browned. Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over hot rolls.

*You may bake these and then freeze them. Warm them in a microwave for a few seconds or in a 350F oven for about 10min. or until warmed through.
** You may make them the night before and keep uncooked and covered in fridge. Bake in morning for hot fresh rolls.

Coming to an End

Well, our time alone is coming to an end. Todd should be home tonight (late). He did find a little gold and is bringing some fish. He has movies and pictures of his trip and the wildlife he saw. The kids are excited to see him. I am too.

Home Alone

Well, Todd took off for his Alaska vacation yesterday. The kids and I will be home alone for the next 10 days. It is going fine so far. We have plans to go to the West Coast Game Park midweek. I am really looking forward to that. There are all sorts of loose animals roaming about that you can pet. Hopefully the kids will get to pet a lot of animals. Then we are going to the zoo at the end of the week. So, it will be a week of trips to see animals.

My Kids Love Coffee

Okay, not really. We just got back from a trip with Granny, their great grandmother. She drank coffee each morning and the kids decided that that was neat. So now when they drink their apple juice, they call it coffee. Gabriel got stung by a wasp today and told me that he needed to drink coffee to feel better.

It's a Jungle Out There

Our grass in the lawn has grown up over night, so it seems. It is about to my waist. The kids think it is great and pretend it is a jungle. Andrew is actually shorter than the tallest stalks and Gabriel can just see over them. So today they had great fun making trails and watching out for snakes and spiders. I am pretty sure I saw a tiger. :)

Buckwheat Pancakes

1 cup buckwheat flour
2 TBS brown sugar (I use Lakanto and molasses, maple sugar and molasses would work too)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, clove each
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (I used rice milk w/ 2 tsp apple cider vinegar)
1 TBS butter, melted (I used coconut oil)

Combine all ingredients until smooth. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls on to hot greased or nonstick griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Makes about six 4" pancakes.

Midway Farm

I took the kids to the Midway Farm with our play group. We had a great time on the tour. Gabriel helped feed a calf a bottle of milk and then petted every animal they had (cows, dog, cat, chickens, ducks, turkey, geese, etc.) The boys each got a flower to take home and they are going to use pictures of our group to advertise their farm tours.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

This recipe takes some prep, but it is so good.

Corned Beef Brine Ingredients:
10 cups water
1 1/2 cups kosher salt (I used 1 cup Celtic sea salt)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 TBS dry mustard
3 TBS pickling spices (see recipe below)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh 7-9 pound brisket

Pickling Spice Ingredients:
2 TBS mustard seeds
2 TBS whole allspice
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp whole cloves
1 inch fresh ginger sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 (2 inch) cinnamon stick
2 TBS black pepper corns

Corned Beef and Cabbage Ingredients:
3 ribs celery (I used fennel ribs w/ fronds)
2 large onions, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium red potatoes
5 large carrots, cut into thirds
1 head of cabbage, cut into 6 or 8 wedges

Preparation:
Combine water, salt, sugar, mustard, spices and 3 minced garlic cloves in an nonreactive stock pot. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Trim beef of extra fat and put into cooled liquid. Add enough cold water to cover the beef. Cover the pan and refrigerate for 7-9 days. Check to make sure it stays submerged and turn it every day or two.

Remove beef from brine and rinse it well. Place it in a large stock pot. Cover with water and add celery, onions, and 2 minced garlic cloves. Bring to a boil. Remove any scum that floats to the surface. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Add potatoes, carrots, cabbage and simmer until tender, about an hour. Salt and pepper the stock to taste. Serve.

Left over meat makes great corned beef sandwiches.

Corned Beef or Pastrami lunch meat:
To make corned beef lunch meat, remove brisket from refrigerator. Rinse well and pat dry. Wrap tightly in 6 layers of foil. The layer touching the meat should be greased. Cook roast on 240F for 5 hours. Remove and allow to cool 24 hours in refrigerator. Thinly slice and serve. Mine was a bit dryer than store bought meat, but still tastes great.

To make Pastrami lunch meat, start by brining a corned beef brisket. Remove brisket from refrigerator after 7-9 days. Rinse well and pat dry. Mix 1 TBS smoked paprika, 2 TBS ground coriander, 1 tsp garlic powder and sprinkle over entire roast. Sprinkle 1 TBS hot pepper flakes over entire roast. Sprinkle 3 TBS coarse black pepper over entire roast. Press the rub down, so it sticks to roast. Tightly wrap roast in 6 layers of foil. Grease the layer touching the roast and follow cooking/cooling/serving instructions from the corned beef lunch meat recipe.

Pickled Beets

I pickle these and keep them in the fridge, but you could actually can them for longer storage.

3-4 large beets (cooked til fork tender, skin removed and diced into bite sized pieces)
2 cup water
2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 inch piece fresh ginger (diced)
1/2 tsp cloves
2 TBS sugar (I use liquid stevia to taste)

Boil vinegar with all ingredients except cooked beets. Place beets in a clean jar. Pour boiling liquid over beets. Put a lid on it and let stand in fridge for 24 hours. Then enjoy. These last about a month in the refrigerator.

Gluten Free Bread

This is a great recipe, you wouldn't even know it was wheat free if I didn't tell you.

1 cup sorghum flour
1/8 cup teff flour
5/8 cup tapioca flour (that's 1/2 cup + 1/8 cup)
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup almond meal or flax meal
2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 eggs + 2 egg whites
1 cup water
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS honey or agave nectar
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 TBS molasses

Combine and sift all dry ingredients except the yeast. Set aside. In blender mix all wet ingredients until frothy. Follow your bread machine instructions. Mine are to pour liquids in first, then add flour mixture. Finally make a well in flour and add the yeast. Use basic setting with a medium dark crust.

Vegetable Bisque Soup

Vegetables from vegetable broth recipe
8 oz. cream cheese

Use strained vegetables from the broth recipe and place in blender with cream cheese (You may have to do a couple of batches). Season with salt, pepper or garlic powder as needed. Heat in a sauce pan and serve.

Vegetable Stock

1 whole head garlic
4 large carrots, cut into chunks
4 stalks celery, cut into chunks
3 onions, quartered
1/4 yellow bell pepper, skin removed
1 can stewed tomatoes
5-10 button mushrooms
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
8 cups water
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

Roast all vegetables. Add vegetables and seasoning to water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Strain vegetables and seasonings. Reserve clear broth. Use vegetables for a vegetable bisque soup.

White Bean w/ Fennel Soup

4 cups vegetable broth
1 small fennel bulb (trimmed and sliced)
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 clove garlic (minced)
1 bunch fresh kale (chopped and blanched)
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except beans together in a large stock pot. Simmer for about an hour. When vegetables are soft add beans and allow to cook until beans are warmed through. Garnish with cheese. Serve.

Crumble Crust

1 cup sugar
1/2 TBS molasses
1 cup flour
1/4 cup butter (cold, diced)

Mix until all ingredients are crumbly. Sprinkle on pie.

G.F. Pan Bread

1 cup Pamela's bread mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp baking soda and baking powder each
1/4-1/3 cup oil.

Mix all until smooth. Fill a 9x9 pan and laddle 1/2 cup oil over batter. Cook 425F for 20 minutes or until golden.

Potty Trained (x2)

Dare I say it and risk a jinx? Gabriel and Andrew are both daytime potty trained! The potty chairs are gone and they have both been using the regular toilet for the last few days with out any accidents. I still have to help them wipe, but I am so excited. Now it is just a matter of time before I can leave them to do their thing with out loosing the whole toilet paper roll to the toilet bowl. I heard Gabriel chanting "swish, swish, swish" and Andrew laughing hysterically. I found Gabriel swishing the whole roll in the toilet water before flushing it. Gross!

Good News

The good news is that Todd kept his job. He was also offered the shift he desired. We are very fortunate and thankful. God has provided for us!

D Day

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Todd will find out whether he has a job or not. The suspense is killing us!

If it looks like a rock...

If it looks like a rock, smells like a rock and is as hard as a rock, it's a rock. Right? Well, not necessarily, especially if it was found on my floor. Tonight Gabriel found a 'rock' which turned out to be (after much inspecting) two day old gnocchi my sister cooked and ate while visiting. Way to go sis! Ha ha. (Let's blame it on your kids, probably one of them dropped it).

Grandma Shoes

You know, it makes me feel good when my kids make nice comments about me. Like the other day when Gabriel said "Mom you're beautiful." However, today Andrew asked me if my cute black shoes were "Grandma shoes." I had to laugh, but seriously, now I am worried. :)

Ducks Galore

Todd's friends have been blessing us with wild ducks and geese. He knows a couple of hunters who have been very generous in sharing with us. So I have finally had to learn how to pluck a bird. Todd says he wants me to learn to clean them too. I just don't know about that. In any case the meat is awesome and we are stocking up our freezer. Another friend of his gave us a flock of domestic ducks for eggs. The kids think they are great. Todd has let them out to roam our property a few times and then we have had to round them up and get them back inside their fenced area. I am getting better at catching them. Gabriel is pretty good at it too. We can't wait until spring. There have been no eggs yet, but hopefully as the weather warms we get some.