Bradford Family Blog

G.F. Snickerdoodles

2010-07-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from the Living Without magazine.

Snickerdoodle Recipe
1 cup shortening or dairy-free margarine (room temp)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

G.F. All Purpose Flour Blend Recipe
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour
1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch

In a large bowl, beat shortening, 1 1/2 cup sugar and eggs until creamy. In a separate bowl mix flour, xanthan gum, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Add this to the shortening mixture. Chill dough 10-15 min. Preheat oven to 400F. Mix the 2 TBS sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, dip tops into the cinnamon and sugar mixture and place them on waxed paper about 2 inches apart. Bake about 8-10 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned, but still soft. Remove from wax paper after about 5 min. and cool on a cookie rack.

Sorghum G.F. Bread

2010-03-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

2 cups G.F. flour mix (recipe below)
1/2 cup G.F. oat flour
2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast
3 eggs
1 cup water
2 TBS oil
2 TBS honey or real maple syrup
2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Combine dry ingredients well. Combine wet ingredients in a a blender. Add ingredients to your breadmaker per manufacturer instructions. Use regular or basic mode. I like to use just the dough mode and then place it in a greased bread pan. Allow to rise in a warm place and bake in 350F oven for about 4o min.

G.F. Flour Mix
3 3/4 cups sorghum flour
2 1/4 cups potato starch
1 1/2 cups tapioca starch/flour

Mix all three ingredients with a wire wisk until evenly incorporated. Store for up to 3 months in an airtight container.

Why we are GF/DF after NAET

2010-02-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

I had a comment on an earlier post asking why we were gluten free and dairy free after having NAET treatments. I thought it might be useful to others, so here is why:

My youngest son has a severe intolerance to dairy and gluten. If he consumes either it results in severe diarrhea if consumed (one serving of dairy = 2 weeks of diarrhea). He received NAET treatments because he was suffering from head to toe eczema as an infant (6mo -1yr old). At that time we were told that his alergy to those and many more substances was cured. The NAET treatments aleviated the skin condition, but not the diarrhea. We did not follow a restrictive diet for about a year after the treatments. He was losing weight and lethargic. He had a distended belly and looked like a starving child. Infact, that is exactly what he was. He ate constantly and kept losing weight. It took quite a long time for me to realize that those two specific food groups were causing the problem because I was told he could consume them. Anyway, we have been D.F. and G.F. for over a year and he is doing much better. Also, NAET treatments do wear off over time and have to be repeated if symptoms return.

Also my older son was so congested from eating dairy (primarily) and gluten that he was unable to breath through his nose. His tonsils and adenoids were very swollen. He even started to suffer from sleep apnea. Since we've take him off dairy and gluten he has improved much. He is now no longer a "mouth breather" and the sleep apnea is gone. Another good reason to give up both.

An aside, my kids have never suffered ear or sinus infections. If a child suffers either regularly, has swollen tonsils or asthma, removing all dairy may improve the symptoms. It took several months for my boys to start showing improvement. So allow at least a 2-3 month trial period. There are plenty of good dairy replacements available now. I'm not a doctor, but have seen very good results just by eliminating certain foods. If you have any questions or concerns, you should speak w/ your practicioner.

Eclairs w/ cream puff variation (G.F. and D.F.)

2010-02-19T16:12:00.000-08:00

Eclair Shells:
1/2 cup coconut oil or Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1 cup water
1 cup oat flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
chocolate frosting (store bought or homemade)
vanilla pudding

Preheat oven to 450F. Grease a cookie sheet. Boil coconut oil and water. Reduce to low heat and add flour and salt. Stir vigorously until it begins to form a stiff ball and pulls away from the side of the pan. Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate completely before adding the next egg. Spoon onto cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips. Bake 15 min. on 450F and then reduce to 325F for 20min. Remove from oven and prick each shell (on the end) with a toothpick. Cool completely on a wire rack. Pipe in filling and top with frosting.

Vanilla Pudding (Sugar Free):
3 TBS tapioca starch or cornstarch
1 1/3 cups vanilla rice milk
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 pinch salt
stevia liquid (add to taste)
2 tsp vanilla (or to taste)

Dissolve starch and egg yolk in 1/3 cup cold milk. Boil remainder of milk and salt. Reduce heat. Add 1/4 cup hot milk to starch/egg mixture. Mix thoroughly and add back into the milk. Whisk pudding until it thickens. Remove from heat and add vanilla and liquid stevia. Cool covered in the fridge.

Chocolate Frosting:
2 TBS coconut oil or Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 (1 oz) squares semisweet chocolate
3 TBS hot water

Melt the chocolate and butter over low heat in a saucepan. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Stir in hot water, one TBS at a time, until icing is smooth and has reached desired consistency. Cool and drizzle over eclairs.

Cream Puff Variation:
Follow directions for eclair shells, except simply spoon a dollop of batter onto the cookie sheet, to form the puff ball. Dust with powdered sugar instead of chocolate frosting.

Also, puffs and eclairs may be filled with chocolate or lemon pudding or lemon meringue filling.

For Haiti

2010-01-14T16:43:00.000-08:00

Haiti has experienced terrible devestation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people that live and died there.

Psalm 46 (NIV):

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at the break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

Bread Pudding (GF/DF)

2010-01-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

You could probably use any day old gluten free bread for this recipe, but I used Sweet Potato Pineapple muffins and it turned out really good.

Sweet Potato Pineapple Bread/Muffins (From Living Without magazine):

1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 cups shredded raw sweet potato
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple
1 tsp grated lemon rind
3 TBS honey
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and dust a muffin pan and a small bread loaf pan. Combine all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine all wet ingredients. Mix the dry and wet ingredients well and spoon into prepared pans. Bake for 30min or until done. Remove and let cool 10min. before placing on wire racks.

*This recipe is not very sweet, but it works fine for the bread pudding. Add several stevia liquid drops to the wet ingredients or sugar to taste if you want to eat the muffins/bread alone or serve with honey. You may have to adjust the liquid slightly if you add sugar.

Bread Pudding:

7-9 day old muffins
2 TBS butter (Earth Balance buttery spread for DF)
1/2 cup raisins
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups coconut milk
3/4 cup maple sugar (or white sugar) + a few drops stevia liquid
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut the muffins into bite sized cubes. Place in a 9"x9" pan, so it is about half to 3/4 full. Drizzle melted butter over bread. Sprinkle with raisins. Combine all other ingredients and mix well. Pour over bread and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture. Bake 45 min. or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF/DF)

2010-01-08T18:39:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Tropical Source for this great recipe. I changed the wheat flour to gluten free oat flour and it makes wonderful cookies.

1/3 cup peanut butter
2 TBS olive oil
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup rice milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup tropical source semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (macadamia, hazelnut, walnut, etc.)

Preheat oven to 425F. Oil a large cookie sheet. Mix all dry ingredients together. Mix all wet ingredients together. Add wet ingredients to dry and drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake 8 minutes or until the tops begin to crack. Remove and let cool for 10 min.

Outing

2009-11-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-29T12:08:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-12T15:49:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

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

2009-09-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-10T07:14:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-30T20:18:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

"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

2009-06-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-16T20:07:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-02-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-27T20:35:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-18T21:32:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-27T12:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

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.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T07:27:00.000-08:00

Wow, December went by so quickly. I kept meaning to post, but just never found the time. So, I hope everyone had a great Christmas. We stayed home on Christmas this year because Todd had to work. It was nice, especially since the kids and I were sick and it gave us time to rest. Our plan is to have New Year's Eve at the river since we couldn't be there at Christmas. The kids are looking forward to that and keep asking when we can leave.

I am looking forward to the new year. 2009, I just can't believe it is here already. I am sure there are many adventure yet to be had. I wish you all a very prosperous and happy new year.

Gnocchi

2008-11-30T12:05:00.000-08:00

Ricotta Cheese Gnocchi

8 oz. ricotta cheese (strained of water for about 30min.)
2 eggs
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup white flour (I've used wheat and it just isn't the same)

Mix all ingredients except flour until well blended. Then add flour to form a soft dough. Keep hands and working surface floured. If dough is sticky add a little more flour. Form into ropes about 1/2 inch cross-section and cut into bite sized pieces. Roll with a fork to create grooves. Place in boiling water for about 4 min. Serve with favorite sauce. Gnocchi can be kept in fridge for later or frozen.

Potato/Winter Squash Gnocchi
Gnocchi can be made from potatoes, sweet potatoes, and baked winter squash instead of ricotta cheese. All are delicious.

8 oz. winter squash, sweet potato, potato
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
2 cups flour

Simple bake potato, sweet potato or squash. Prep and cooking method is same as above.

Dessert Gnocchi
Dessert Gnocchi can be made from apples, persimmons, pumpkin/winter squash, etc. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc. Follow general proportions as above two recipes. Cooking method is the same. Serve with honey or other sweet sauce.

Pumpkin Pie

2008-11-30T11:54:00.000-08:00

1 sugar pumpkin (sweet meat squash or sunshine pumpkin)
1 9 in pie shell
2 eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar (I used Lakanto w/ 1/2 TBS molasses)
1 TBS flour (or cornstarch or tapioca starch)
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 (12 fl. oz) can evaporated milk

Bake squash/pumpkin whole until soft (350F for about an hour and a half). Remove and allow to cool enough to work with. Cut in half, scoop out and discard seeds, remove skin. Puree about 2 cups of pumpkin. Save rest for side dish, second pie, or add to baked goods like breads, muffins, pancakes, etc. In a bowl slightly beat eggs. Add sugar, flour, salt, and pumpkin puree, pie spice and evaporated milk. Stir until smooth. Pour into pie shell. Place a strip of foil over the edge of the pie crust so it does not burn. Bake 10 min. at 450F, then reduce to 350F and cook for 40-50 min. until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove foil about 20min. before pie is done so crust is golden brown. Cool pie and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

Green Bean Casserole

2008-11-30T11:53:00.000-08:00

2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 cup sour cream
3 cans French style green beans (I used fresh/frozen green beans-enough to fill a 9X9 pan)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4-1/2 cup fresh chopped mushroom
1/2 cup crumbled buttery round crackers (frozen onion rings or French's fried onions)
1 TBS butter, melted
Fresh grated parmesan cheese
pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt 2 TBS butter in large skillet, stir in flour until smooth. Cook 1 minute. Add salt, pepper, sugar, onion, mushroom and sour cream and parmesan cheese. Set aside. Boil fresh or frozen green beans until done. Drain and add green beans to cream sauce, stir to coat. Transfer to 9X9 baking dish. Cover with shredded cheddar cheese. If you use crackers, crush and mix with remaining butter. Add them now and bake for 3o min. or until bubbly. If you use onion rings, place them on top of cheese and bake for 30min. If you use fried onions, bake cheese topped casserole for 25 min. and add them the last 5 min. to brown.

Butternut Squash Soup

2008-11-28T16:48:00.001-08:00

1 butternut squash
6 TBS onion (chopped)
4 TBS butter
3 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp dried marjoram (I used parsley and thyme)
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
8 oz. cream cheese
pepper to taste

Bake squash whole at 350F until soft (1 1/2 hours or so). Allow to cool so you can work with it. Sautee onions in butter until tender. Add squash, cream cheese, onions and butter, water, and all spices to a blender (You might have to do this in two batches). Puree. Place into a soup pan, heat (don't allow to boil) and serve. Great w/ sourdough bread or rolls.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you reading this blog. I hope your holiday is filled with joy, friends and family.

We are very blessed to be able to have Thanksgiving with my mother this year. If you have read my previous blogs she was in the hospital for about 4 1/2 months during spring and summer. We feared for her life on two occasions during that time. So it is great to be able to spend this day with her at home.

We will also be spending time with my dad and Suzi and are greatful for that. For those who we can't be with, we are thinking of you today as well.

In preparation for the holiday, the boys and I have been working on various crafts to liven up the house. We have a silly turkey bread basket, Thanksgiving tree, pinecone turkeys, turkey terra cotta pots and pilgrim and Indian hats. Of all the crafts the kids' favorite were and still are the pinecone turkeys. How can you go wrong with hand picked pinecones, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pompoms, construction paper and glue?

Fennel Risotto

2008-11-21T19:42:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite risotto so far and it happens to be very simple.

2 fennel bulbs (cored and cut lengthwise in 1/4 inch slices)
1 medium onion (diced)
1-2 TBS butter or olive oil
1 cup arborio rice
3-4 TBS parmesian cheese (grated)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup white wine (optional, I used a sweet muscat)
1 carton chicken/vegetable broth
Salt and pepper (to taste)

In a heavy pan/pot, sautee fennel slices and onion in butter a few minutes to soften. Add rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Add wine and stir until most of the liquid is gone. Add 1 cup chicken broth and stir until most of the liquid is gone. Continue this process of adding broth until rice is done. Add parmesian cheese, heavy cream, salt and pepper. Cook stirring constantly until risotto is nice and creamy (just a few minutes). Serve.

Did Dinosaurs Live with Man?

2008-11-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

I have not given much thought in the past about dinosaurs. They existed and that was good enough for me. But now, my kids just love them. Gabriel teaches dino school almost every day. So I started learning about them and their names. I started finding a lot of evidence that dinosaurs lived with man. There are archeological artifacts showing man and dinosaurs, fossil footprints, petroglyphs (cave drawings of men and dinosaurs), historical writings, and 'recent' sitings of these creatures. I don't have any trouble believing that our Earth could still have a few of these creatures on it. Take the coelacanth, it supposedly died out millions of years ago and now we know they still live in our oceans. The evidence, much of it proven to be authentic (there's always someone trying to fool the scientists) is quite exciting if you think about it. There are accounts of seeing and sometimes eating dinosaurs that live in a huge swamp in the middle of Africa. These accounts come from the natives and missionaries that live there. So did man live with dinosaurs? I believe we did and possibly still do.

Sauerkraut Salad

2008-11-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 cup sauerkraut
1/8 cup olive oil
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (any color)
1 TBS minced pemento
2 chopped green onions
1/2 cup sugar (I use several drops of liquid stevia instead)
pepper to taste

Combine oil, vinegar and sugar/stevia. Rinse and drain sauerkraut well. Combine all other ingredients and toss with dressing.

BTW, you can make your own sauerkraut very easily. Here's how:
1 head green cabbage
celtic sea salt or pickling salt
1 clean quart mason jar
cheese cloth

Shred cabbage and pack into a clean mason jar. Pack about 1 inch and sprinkle a pinch of salt over it. Add another layer of cabbage and salt. Continue like this until whole jar is full. Leave about 1 inch head room. Also, make sure it is well packed. You will notice liquid in the jar, it should come up over the cabbage. Do not add water. Cover with a clean cheese cloth and let it sit on your counter several weeks. Check it every week for flavor. When it tastes the way you like put it in the fridge. It should keep for quite a while. If mold grows on top, just skim it off. The kraut under it should be fine.

Jesus Loves Me

2008-11-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

Gabriel loves role playing with Andrew. They reenact scenes from their favorite TV shows. Today a Christmas catalog from the Oriental Trading Company came. In it were several nativity scenes and a nativity costume set. Gabriel got very excited and made a manger out of pillows for 'baby Jesus'. He put his farm animals around it and had Andrew lay down and covered him in a blanket. Then he sang "Jesus Loves Me." Then they changed positions and Andrew sang "Jesus Loves Me."
It was pretty cute. Their version of the song goes like this: Jesus, Jesus loves me. For the Bible it tells me so. Little ones to him belong they are weak but he is strong. Jesus, Jesus he loves me. For the Bible it tells me so.

Who Said Cutting Hair is Easy?

2008-10-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

I have a serious problem. I am too cheap to get my bangs cut by professionals, so I do it myself. That's not the problem. The problem is I can't cut in a straight line and what makes it worse is that I have to take my glasses off to do it. So today I was absolutely going nuts because my bangs were in my eyes. I could not find the professional scissors from our barber kit, so I used the only scissors I could get my hands on. You know the ones with the short blades and they curve just slightly (I'm not even sure what they are really for). Anyway, so here I am, blind trying to cut my bangs with curved scissors. Amazingly it turned out not too bad, aside from the hair that fell into my eye, ouch. I really should just break down and go to the salon, but I probably won't until my next haircut.

Chocolate Mousse

2008-10-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

I don't make dessert at home often, but this one is one of my favorites when I do!

8 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup water, divided
2 TBS butter (no substitutes)
3 eggs, separated
2 TBS sugar (I use Lakanto)
1 1/4 cups whipping cream, whipped

Heat chocolate, 1/4 cup water and butter until melted in a double boiler. Stir constantly so chocolate does not burn or stick to pan. Cool for 10min. In a small heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining water. Cook and stir over low heat about 1-2 min. Remove and whisk into chocolate mixture. Set saucepan in ice and stir until cooled, about 5-10min. Whip cream and add it to the chocolate mixture. Beat egg whites until very stiff. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture. Spoon into dessert dishes. Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight. Serve.

Note: The first time I made this, it was too bitter for me. You can adjust the sweetness a couple of ways. Taste the chocolate sauce before you mix in whipped cream. If it is too bitter, you can add additional sugar to the whipped cream. Or, what I do is add a few drops of liquid stevia to the chocolate sauce. It won't make it too watery and I can control the sweetness w/o adding sugar.

Stow Away

2008-10-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

A few months ago while I was driving I saw a huge fur ball run past on the passenger's side. I just about died! Anyway, since then we have been finding sunflower seeds and cushion pieces on the floor of our van. It seems we have a mouse (or something like it) living in it. We have set traps, but the little bugger is smart and avoids them. I don't know how many miles it has traveled with us, but probably quite a few.

Time For a Change

2008-10-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well, you'll notice my blog template has changed. I was getting tired of looking at the same background all of the time. So here's something new!

Roasted Beet, Peach and Goat Cheese Salad

2008-10-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

2 beets, scrubbed
leaf lettuce of your choice (iceberg will not work well for this)
2 fresh peaches-peeled, pitted and sliced
2 shallots, chopped (I used green onions and it was great)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 (4 ounce) package goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375F. Wrap each beet in two layers of foil and place onto a baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 1hour 2omin. Allow to cool and remove skins. Refrigerate until cold and then thinly slice them.

Place lettuce onto individual plates. Layer beets and peaches. Sprinkle with shallots, pine nuts and goat cheese. In a bowl, whisk olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper until emulsified. Pour over salad and serve.

This recipe makes 4 side salads.

Deputy Sheriffs

2008-10-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

Todd has a friend at work who is a part time deputy sheriff. So he gave Todd some sticker badges for the boys. This morning Todd deputized both of them. He had them hold one hand on their heart and the other in the air and promise to serve and protect. Then each boy took his sticker and put it where he thought best. Andrew put his on the red toddler car and Gabriel put his on the potty chair. So we now have a police vehicle and an official toilet of law enforcement.

Information Overload

2008-09-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, there are a lot of different personal web pages that are out there. Today I got invited by three different friends to join three different on-line services; facebook.com, reunion.com and linkedin.com. I have also been invited to myspace.com and various blogs and other personal websites. It is dizzying to realize how many are out there and you have to join many of the websites to be able to view your friends' pages. I love my friends, don't get me wrong. I like to see your pictures and hear about what you are doing. My question is where do you find the time to update all of these sites? Many of you have personal blogs and are on one or more of the sites listed above or ones like them. I barely get time to read my e-mail and update this blog. I love the information age, but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I'm an old-fashioned girl, send me an e-mail and I'm happy.

Also, as an aside. My internet service quality has really declined. When we first chose to go with Alyrica, they were a small start up company and our internet connections were pretty much instantaneous. But now, 6 years later, their customer base has grown to the point where many days I can't log onto any site and the connection is lost. They are so bogged down with users. I think we are going to have to find a new internet provider who can give us faster service. I know my frustration is due to this. I have two little boys at home who want my attention, so I don't have time to waste sitting around waiting for the computer. So keep me in the loop. I'll add your sites to my favorites list and I will do my best to check in with all of you (when my computer will allow it). But, I probably won't be updating any other sites. I will just stick to this blog and my e-mails.

Conservation Day for Kids

2008-09-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

Today we attended Conservation Day for kids at our local fairgrounds. It was great! There were all sorts of animals to see and touch (piglets, turtles, snakes and stick bugs). The kids got to dig in dirt, crawl through a "dirt" tunnel and see what lives underground, blow bubble with solid red oak wood, touch pelts, gather coloring pages and books, see forestry vehicles/machines, witness how forest fires get started, etc. There was much more that we didn't see because Todd had to get home for work. Right before we left we made dirt babies (you know - nylon, grass seed and dirt, stick them in water and they grow hair like chia pets). When we got home Gabriel wanted to see the "dirty baby." I thought that was pretty funny. It was a great event and I look forward to going next year. I will definitely allow more time so we can see it all.

What to do with Squash Blossoms

2008-09-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

So, if you have planted any type of squash plants (zucchini, pumpkin, summer squash, etc.) in your garden this summer, you probably have a lot of blossoms. You can pick them whether they have a vegetable attached or not. Rather than let them go to waste, here are a couple of easy and delicious recipes. They both are also pretty quick too.

Fried Blossoms:
1-2 eggs for dipping (so just start with one egg)
as many blossoms as you can pick (usually 10-15)
1 pkg. saltine crackers (crushed with a rolling pin)
oil for frying
salt and pepper to taste

Clean blossoms inside and out to rid of bugs. Leave stamen in (or whatever the pollen covered thing is called). Heat oil in a fry pan. Dip each blossom in egg, roll in crackers. Place in pan and salt and pepper once all blossoms are in pan. Brown and turn. Remove and serve with ranch dressing.

***A variation on this that I have not tried, but am pretty sure would be good is to make mock coconut shrimp. Roll in coconut instead of crackers. Serve with a honey and dijon mustard sauce (mix honey and dijon mustard or orange preserves and dijon mustard).***

Squash Blossom Soup

2 cups chicken broth
2 cups squash blossoms (I fill a ziploc sandwich bag and call it good)
1/4 - 1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBS butter
tabasco sauce

Melt butter in a fry pan, add onion and garlic and cook until transparent. Add broth and cleaned blossoms. Simmer until blossoms are wilted. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree. Transfer to bowls, season with salt, pepper and tasbaco to tasted.

***A variation on this recipe is to roast 1/4 red bell pepper and/or 1 small tomato and add it to the blender. To roast the pepper or tomato, place them under the broiler and allow skin to blacken. Turn so all skin is black and remove. Once they have cooled you can peel them. (I hold them under cold running water, to keep from burning my fingers. Be careful with the tomato, the center will still be hot.***

The Circus Came to Town

2008-08-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Granny and I took the boys to the circus in Cottage Grove. I had not been since I was a kid and frankly too young to remember. It was the first time my kids got to go too. So we had a great time. I think their favorite part was seeing all of the animals. They had pony/elephant/camel rides and a petting zoo with goats, cow, donkey and llama. They also had a baby hippo and zebra, but you couldn't pet them. I tried to get the kids to ride the elephant, but they wouldn't (don't tell anyone, but I wanted to get up there with them). So we stuck to the ponies and Gabriel was all smiles. His favorite animal is the horse. We seriously need to get one. But I digress . . . . The kids were mesmerized by all of the circus acts too. They put on a pretty good show. I was impressed and the cost was reasonable. So all-in-all, we had a good day.

Crab Linguine w/ Pesto Cream Sauce

2008-08-29T11:32:00.001-07:00

Pesto Recipe:
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted in skillet
1/3 olive oil
5 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch fresh basil

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Pesto Cream Sauce Recipe:
1 package fresh linguine
2 TBS olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup butter
2 TBS flour, cornstarch, or tapioca starch
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pesto
meat from 1 crab
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
3 roma tomatoes, diced
romano or parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook pasta per package directions. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent. Stir in garlic and butter. Saute until garlic is soft, about 1 minute. Dissolve flour in milk, then stir in. Season w/ salt and pepper and simmer 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in pesto. Add crab, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook 4 minutes or until heated through. Toss with pasta until evenly coated. Top with a sprinkle of fresh cheese.

*This would be great with other seafood too: scallops, shrimp, clams, mussels, etc.*

Fly Whisperer

2008-08-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I have my very own fly whisperer. Gabriel has an awesome ability to catch flies with his bare hands. He practices catch and release. I have literally seen flies just sit in the palm of his hand or on his finger. They don't even try to fly away. I don't even need a fly swatter, he just takes them outside for me.

Swimming with the Ducks

2008-07-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well, Gabriel finally fell into the duck pond at HP. I knew it would happen eventually. He chases the poor creatures to the waters edge at full speed and stops on a dime. The only problem is there is mud in certain spots and it is slippery. So today he couldn't stop when tried and fell right in. It is not deep, but it is disgusting! Hopefully he has learned his lesson and I won't have to call after him any more to "stay away from the water." We did have fun feeding them though and had a nice picnic lunch with Daddy.

Congratulations! It's a Girl!

2008-07-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I looked back at my posts for the last several months and they are pretty depressing. Sorry folks. I guess it is time for some good news! And here it is. My brother and his wife are expecting the very first girl cousin/granddaughter on my side of the family. My mother is beside herself with joy. She has been pressuring all of us kids for years to give her a granddaughter. Like we can control that! :) So anyway, thanks Jared and Christy for taking the pressure off and CONGRATULATIONS!

Hit by a Car

2008-07-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

My sister was hit by a car while riding her bicycle a couple of nights ago. It knocked her off of her bike and the impact knocked her out, gave her a concussion and scratched her up pretty bad, but she is doing ok. The driver took off and she didn't get much of a look at it. Please pray for her and her kids.

Hemp Seed Tabuli

2008-07-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

2 cups hemp seed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 bunch parsley (or to taste)
3 cloves garlic (or to taste)
juice from 2 lemons
salt
Tabasco sauce (to taste)
1 Tomato, chopped
1 or 2 leaves lettuce, shredded
2 TBS each of sliced olives and cucumber

Put the hemp seeds in a bowl and pour in enough hot water to cover them. Allow to soak half an hour. Drain the seeds and reserve the water for hemp milk, baking, soups, smoothies, etc. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and chill.

Mom's Home

2008-07-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

Well, my mom finally got to go home a week ago from today. She is adjusting well and taking it slow. My kids haven't seen her yet, but hopefully they will be able to soon.

She's Getting Better

2008-06-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Well, thanks for all of the prayers. Amazingly, my mom pulled through (she was given about 10% chance to survive). She is off of the ventilator and just on an oxygen tube that goes to her nose. She is starting to walk again (only around her room with help and a walker). It is still going to be a long road towards recovery, assuming the pneumonia does not return. We will take every day we can get! Her attitude is great and the staff really love her, which is rare in ICU. Please keep her in your prayers.

Water? Slide

2008-06-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

Andrew's 2nd birthday is coming up in a few days and I wanted to get him an outside toy. So I bought a folding slide. The weather turned cold the day I got it, so it is currently in the house. The kids love it! Anyway, Andrew is also potty training (he wants to be like his big brother) and I can't keep clothes on him. Every outfit comes off pretty much as soon as I put it on him. So the other day he came to me all wet and smelling like urine. He took me by the hand and led me to the slide, where he had climbed to the top, peed down it and then slid on down. I am sure he had fun. He was pretty proud of himself.

My Mom

2008-05-14T18:14:00.001-07:00

My mom had her 59th birthday on May 3. She seemed to be doing very well. We had a party for her with friends and family and she was giddy. She was so pleased to have us there. A few days later, however, her pneumonia returned (for the third time). She was admitted back into ICU and is currently in an induced paralytic coma. She is on life support and is starting from the very beginning, only it is worse this time because she is already so weak. The doctors can not say with 100% certainty that she will pass away, but it is highly likely. She requested that people pray for her. I would request that you pray for her husband, Jim, and for my siblings and I during this time also.

Poached Pear Salad

2008-04-18T18:44:00.001-07:00

This salad is soooo yummy, I adapted it from a local restaurant.
This will make two individually prepared salads.

1 red bosc pear (pealed)
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup dry red wine or dry white wine
3 TBS honey
1 tsp vanilla
red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
olive oil
4 pieces bacon (cooked and crumbled)
maple sugar covered pecans or candied pecans (chopped)
soft creamy blue cheese
butter lettuce (any lettuce will work though)
salt and pepper

Peal pear and toss in lemon juice. Set aside. Combine water, wine, honey and vanilla in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the honey dissolves. Add pear. Cook for 15min, turning pear after 7min. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pear to a freezer safe bowl. Boil poaching liquid for 3-5min until thick. Stir frequently so it doesn't burn. Pour syrup over pear and place in freezer to cool, ~15min. Don't allow it to freeze! Cook bacon. Wash lettuce and arrange a circular bed on salad plate in. Add crumbled bacon, chopped pecans and blue cheese to each salad. Remove pear from freezer and cut in half. Place one half in middle of each salad. Take remaining syrup and put in a salad dressing container. Add oil, vinegar, water and salt and pepper to taste for the vinegrette dressing. Drizzle a small amount of dressing on each salad. Serve.

Mom's Doing Ok

2008-04-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

My mom is doing better. She had a tracheostomy and is completely off of the sedation medicine. She can sit up, talk, eat and is working on standing and walking. However, she just contracted Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). It is an antibiotic resistant staph infection, that happens to be in her lungs. It is quite common among long-term hospital patients and is infectious.

Allergy Sufferers Rejoice!

2008-03-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

If you suffer from seasonal allergies due to pollen or hay fever try taking 250mg of Pantothenic Acid twice per day. We have some type of tree on our property that causes me much sneezing, itching and nasal congestion and headaches every spring. Right now in fact. I started taking Natrum Muriaticum, a homeopathic for allergies and it helped, but then I read an article about Pantothenic Acid. So I have been taking 500mg every day and almost all of my symptoms are gone. I get a little itchy from time to time, so I take my homeopathics and between the two I am doing much better than previous years. Give it a try, it is certainly working for me.

Mom's Stable

2008-03-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

Well, my mom is stable. I went to see her a couple of days ago and she had her eyes open. She is still intubated so she cannot speak and they still have her sedated so she has to work very hard to move her arms or open her eyes. She could hear me and understand me. I even saw her smile when I talked about the kids, even if it was ever so slightly. That was very encouraging to me. She closed her eyes for a bit while I talked to Jim, but when I said I had to go, she opened them again to say goodbye. The doctors saw some improvement on her x-rays a few days ago too. So she is hanging in there.

Carpet Massacre of 2008

2008-03-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well, Andrew just loves to imitate Gabriel. So the other day he took his clothes and diaper off and tried to sit on the potty chair, which he calls "bathtub." I let him sit there while I went to fold laundry. A few minutes later Andrew came running in yelling "Mommy, help!" There was poo on his hands and running down his legs. So I cleaned him up and then went to find the rest. He had decided to go play in the 2nd bedroom when disaster struck. There where about 10 piles of pudding consistency poo all over the carpet. There was no way to clean it w/o rubbing it into the fiber. So I used my carpet stain remover and Oxyclean, but the stains are still there. So I am calling it the 2008 carpet massacre.

Update on my Mom

2008-03-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

My mom has been put on a ventilator and is being sedated. She began coughing blood last night and could not breath with the machine she was on. She is also being given amnesia medicine so that if/when she is taken off of the ventilator she won't remember being on it. The doctors are still talking positively, of course they will until there is literally nothing else they can do. So at this point it is a waiting game. They still have not biopsied her lungs and still do not know what is truly going on. They are putting off the biopsy because it is surgery and is a great risk.

Andrew's First Shave

2008-03-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, Andrew had his first shave today. Todd has an electric beard shaver and left it on the bathroom sink. Andrew climbed up on the toilet and grabbed it. He turned it on and when I found him he was rubbing it on his chin and lips. I should have grabbed my camera and taken video of it. It was pretty cute.

In a Seinfeld Episode

2008-03-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

Every time I go to the hospital to visit my mom I feel like I am in a Seinfeld episode where Jerry and Newman meet each other. If you are not familiar with the show, these two characters loath each other and their greeting is always the same: Newman says "Jerry" with as much disdain as possible and Jerry responds in kind, "Newman."

Anyway, there is a male nurse there that is like that. I was holding my mom's hand and talking to her when he walked in and we "met" for the first time. Instead of a cordial greeting he looks at me and says "Who are you?" But his tone and the look on his face were very accusatory, like I was not supposed to be there or was doing something wrong. I was taken aback and didn't even say anything, I was shocked. Instead I looked at Jim, my mom's husband, with a look on my face that said "Who is this guy and what is his problem?" I am pretty sure the guy picked up on that and was still trying to find out what I was doing there, as if it wasn't pretty obvious. Anyway, Jim answered for me and the guy, tried to make a joke, poorly and went away. The interaction was brief; shorter than it took to type this all out, but the negative impression was lasting.

So I was there yesterday, holding my mom's hand and talking to her and he comes in again and says "I didn't know YOU were here." Again his tone was that I, me specifically, was not supposed to be there, which actually, I wasn't. They don't allow visitors at shift change (7:00-7:30pm) and it had just turned 7. But still, he could have said hi, I am sorry, but I have to ask you leave. Oh no, it was an "It's YOU again" attitude. So I left.

Let me say that the staff is great there. Everyone else has always been really nice. I don't even know this guys name, but I have to laugh because every time we see each other it is just like Seinfeld. We're both scowling and squinting our eyes and he says "Jennifer." and I respond "Nurse."

My Mom

2008-03-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, my mom, Donna Bochner, has been in the ICU for the last week. A week before that she had knee surgery and seven days later her lungs completely shut down. Right now the doctors are treating it as pneumonia, but she is not responding as well as they had hoped and they now think there may have been a drug interaction between her prescription medication and the anesthesia. The majority of both lungs are non-functional. She has to wear an oxygen mask that is pressurized to reduce the work her lungs do. Their next step is to biopsy the lungs to find out what is actually going on. She has made some improvement though, but could certainly use your prayers.

Bowling

2008-03-08T14:33:00.000-08:00

We took the boys bowling for the first time this week. They had a blast! We had a ramp and bumpers to help them. Gabriel is strong enough to carry the 6lb ball over to the ramp or to the lane all by himself w/o dropping it. They were so cute taking turns and helping each other. I wish I could have taken pictures, but we had our hands full (Todd and I) between the two of them. If one wasn't running down the lane the other was running around the building screaming with joy. So, no pictures. Maybe next time.

Broiled Sturgeon with Mango Salsa

2008-03-08T14:14:00.001-08:00

Mango Salsa:
1 ripe mango (diced)
1 orange (half peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces, half juiced)
1 lime (juiced, 1/2TBS for salsa, reserve rest for the fish)
1/4 cup pineapple (crushed- canned or fresh)
1/2 inch piece raw ginger (grated)
2 TBS celery (chopped very fine)
Fresh cilantro to taste
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and cool in fridge for at least 1 hour.

Sturgeon:
1 Sturgeon fillet with skin on (large enough to feed two or three people)
Olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
cilantro
2 TBS butter (cut into thin slices)
mango salsa

Rub sturgeon with olive oil and season to taste. Place under broiler until golden brown. Turn oven onto bake 400F. Cover fillet with plenty of cilantro and arrange butter slices on top. Cover with about 1/3-1/2 of the mango salsa and bake until the thickest part of the fillet flakes with a fork. Time will vary depending on thickness of fillet (20-30min). Remove from oven and drizzle remaining lime juice over fillet. Serve with remaining mango salsa or add salsa to a green salad and enjoy. I also served a soft ginger-mango Stilton cheese on sesame crackers as an appetizer with this meal and it was delicious.

*If your fish does not have skin on, you may oil and broil both sides. The baking time will be much reduced, probably 10 min.

Baked Duck

2008-02-29T14:15:00.000-08:00

This is a very simple recipe, no frills!

1 duck
enough sliced apples w/ skin on to fill cavity
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 cup water/apple juice/chicken broth for basting

Rub duck with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Place in a baking pan and stuff the cavity with apples. Pour liquid of your choice over duck. Cover with foil. Bake 1 hour at 350F or until done. Serve immediately.

Outlaw Trail

2008-02-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

We just watched a great movie called Outlaw Trail. It is about a boy who believes his great uncle, Butch Cassidy, returned to the states and left buried treasure. He and his friends have to find it before the villains do. It is a great movie, has no bad language, minimal violence and is entertaining. It is great for kids and adults.

Potty Training Update

2008-02-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

Well potty training is going pretty well, so far. Gabriel goes pee all on his own now. He doesn't even tell me, he just goes. He has not had an accident either. He also went poop all by himself last night. That was great! I have had him in underwear only, so next week I'll clothe him and see how he does. After that we'll try an outing in public. Then he will have had a couple of weeks under his belt. Eventually we'll tackle night time.

Adventures in Potty Training

2008-01-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

I started potty training Gabriel this week. It has been pretty successful so far. On day 1 we had all misses, but day 2 was a good day. After 1 1/2 misses (he started to have an accident, but finished in the potty) he went the rest of the day in his potty chair. Today is day 3 and we have had 100% success with pee. Yeh! However, he has not yet learned to go poo in the toilet. Yuk! So here is what I learned about hard wood floors, they are great for pee accidents. However, our Australian Cypress has lots of knots like Knotty Pine. I thought I cleaned up all of his poop from both of his accidents, but I missed a few spots. The floor looked clean, they just blend in with the knots. Then all of a sudden, squish! I have gone through three pairs of socks today. Also, Andrew found a gem and decided to eat it. I hear him spitting violently and then he comes running to me for a drink wash the bad taste away. I look in his mouth and there is a piece of poop stuck in his teeth! After a good brushing and a glass of kefir, he was all better. I am sure there is nothing like eating your brother's poo. I am sure he will be thrilled to here he did it; when he gets older. Anyway, wood floors are great for potty training. They clean up easy, don't stain or stink. However, if you have the choice and are planning on potty training at some point in your life, I highly recommend you put in flooring without knots. Light bamboo would be a good choice. It'll save you laundry and if you have children who eat off the floor, it'll save them from a yucky surprise.

Mmmm Money

2008-01-19T14:08:00.000-08:00

The other day I was feeding the kids and I heard Andrew say "Mmmm money." I immediately checked him for any loose coins. He still loves to put them in his mouth. I wondered where he would have found them, since we usually keep them out of reach. But he was "clean," as they say, no coins. He continued to eat and said it again. "Is that yummy?" I asked. His reply: "Mmmm money mom." So money = yummy and it is his favorite new phrase.

Cloned Meat and Milk on its Way

2008-01-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

The FDA approved the sale of cloned meat and dairy products in the US earlier this week. I am totally grossed out! The food will probably not be available immediately due to the high cost of cloning. Hopefully it will take several years. Also, the FDA is not requiring labeling, so there will be no way to distinguish between food from cloned and "natual" animals. I put the "" around natural, because animals that are not raised organically or free range are generally given antibiotics, growth hormones, vaccinations, may be fed genetically modified food or other animal parts and are often raised in close proximity to other animals. I think this is far from natural. Just another reason to always buy organic or free range animal products. I also try to buy from local farmers. Then I know how the animals are raised and fed.

To see the full article from the Organic Consumers Association website go to : http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_9699.cfm

Homeopathic Update

2008-01-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

A while back I wrote about the blood tests that both of my kids submitted. We found worms, intestinal bacteria, viruses, fungi, yeast, viruses, vaccines, antibiotics, and allopathic drugs. I have been giving them homeopathic drops for parasites, bacteria/fungus/virus, and chemicals. They have been pooping like crazy. I have noticed a few improvements. Before treatments Gabriel had very dry dull hair. It was not soft at all. He has been on the drops almost two months and his hair is much softer and shinier. Andrew was experiencing daily diaper rash before the treatment and now it is gone. He has been on the drops about 1 month. He still has a month to go. After two months of treatment we will test each child's blood again. I am looking forward to seeing the results. I will keep you posted on their blood results (probably around March). I expect them to be much improved. I am also thinking about testing them for heavy metals and doing a heavy metal cleanse. I was exposed to industrial chemicals and metals for 8 years before I had Gabriel. I would not be surprised if they have high concentrations of heavy metals in their tissues. I need to do a heavy metal cleanse myself.

A Gold Bond Moment

2008-01-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

We had a Gold Bond (foot powder) disaster this morning. But the story actually begins yesterday morning when Gabriel woke up with a fever. Traci and the kids were coming to attend church with us and Gabriel just wasn't himself. So, Todd decided to stay home with him, while we went to church. I got home to find that Gabriel had thrown up a couple of times while we were gone. He continued this all day until the evening in between short naps. We had him in bed by 7pm and I hoped we would have a nice quiet night. However, to my dismay, Andrew woke up at 10:30pm crying and then Gabriel woke up at 12:30am because he was hungry, which also woke up Andrew. Now both kids had had a midnight snack and were tucked back in bed, but at 1:45am Gabriel decided he was up for good. All of his afternoon napping on Sunday had messed up his sleep pattern and he was hungry again to boot. Between 2am and 4am I got quite a bit done. I did dishes and laundry, read to the kids (of course Andrew had to get up too), fed the kids again, watched Toy Story 2 and finally got them back into bed. Surely they would be tired and sleep in, right? Wrong, they were both up at 6:30am. I was so exhausted at this point that I stuck another movie in for them and crawled back to bed. A little while later I heard a cough, which actually turned out to be a sneeze. I got up to check on the kids and what I found was two little boys on top of the dinner table covered in Gold Bond Foot powder. They found it while riffling through Todd's backpack, which he left on the table. I took a few pictures for posterity's sake and then promptly cleaned them up. I never got back to bed after that.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

2008-01-03T11:02:00.001-08:00

Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 thin slices ham
two-4 jack cheese (traditional is swiss cheese)
flour for dredging
2-3 eggs beaten
1 cup Panko style bread crumbs

Slice a cavity into one side of the chicken. Dip the chicken in egg and then flour. Shake off excess flour and allow it to dry a minute. Dip into flour again and then the bread crumbs. Stuff the cavity with cheese/ham/cheese. Bake at 350F covered with foil for 1 hour. Remove foil and cook 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Sauce:
2-3 TBS sour cream
two slices cheese (1 jack and 1 extra sharp cheddar or 2 swiss)
1 TBS butter
1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth
salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat until all cheese is melted and the sauce is uniform. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T21:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to one and all! We spent our New Year's eve at the River with Granny and the kids. Granny made Yorkshire pudding and prime rib. Todd made us "camp fire" baked potatoes in the fireplace. It was a delicious meal. The kids had fun playing with toys and terrorizing the cat; who only put up with it because he was so lonely. We all made it to bed before 11pm. So, it was a fun, but quiet night. Todd started the new year with a bang, literally. He shot two ducks. I plan to cook them tomorrow. If they turn out well, I am sure you will see a recipe eventually. I hope everyone had a good start to the new year too.

Simple Chicken and Potatoes

2007-12-22T07:18:00.001-08:00

4 pieces of chicken (I used all legs, but any cut would do.)
4 medium potatoes, cubed
salt, pepper, cumin and allspice to taste (an even sprinkling of all will do).
2-3 TBS olive oil
1/8-1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Heat oven to 350F. Place chicken and potatoes (skinned or not) into a deep baking dish. Season and coat with oil and lemon juice. Stir potatoes and turn chicken to make sure all sides are well coated. Cover with foil and bake for 30min. Remove foil and increase temperature to 400F and bake another 30min or until potatoes and chicken are brown. Serve.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-22T06:55:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have enjoyed the holiday season and are looking forward to the new year. I can't believe it is almost here. I am not even used to writing 2007 yet! Yikes.

The Kids Love to Sing

2007-12-07T20:25:00.001-08:00

My kids are starting to sing. Gabriel loves Jingle Bells and he sings it pretty well. He also likes Twinkle Little Star and sings along with his favorite cartoons. Andrew's favorite song is Old McDonald, which goes "Cow EIEIO, Cow EIEIO ...."

Fresh Tomato Salad

2007-11-30T09:18:00.001-08:00

This is a very easy and yummy salad.

Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Feta Cheese
Fresh Parsley
Kalamata or Black Olives (chopped or sliced)

Slice tomatoes in thick slices and arrange on a plate. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over them. Salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit on counter top at least 1 hour for flavors to mingle. Add feta cheese, chopped olives and minced parsley. Serve. (If you don't have an hour for the salad to sit, just prepare everything and serve.)

Saag Recipe

2007-11-09T09:11:00.001-08:00

Saag Recipe

This is a wonderful Indian dish that can be made with chicken or paneer cheese.

1 block paneer (cubed) or 3 lbs boneless chicken (skinned, cubed)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 large onions, minced
1 can crushed tomatoes or 3 fresh tomatoes (skinned and cubed)
1 inch ginger (peeled, minced)
4 TBS milk, yogurt, sour cream or heavy cream
3-4 bunches fresh spinach or swiss chard
2 TBS butter or ghee
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
2 big cardamom pods
2 whole cloves
oil for frying
1 tsp garam masala
salt to taste

Fry chicken in oil for 3-4 minutes and set aside. If using paneer, brown in oil and set aside. Boil spinach until soft, drain and set aside. Brown garlic, onions and ginger in oil. Add tomatoes, salt, cayenne, coriander, tumeric, cloves and cardamom pods. Cook for 10 min. on low. Add chicken or cheese and sour cream and cook for 10 min. Add spinach garam masala and cook for 15 min. Add butter and serve with rice or quinoa.

A variation is to add the spinach before the chicken or paneer to the other ingredients and then blend them into a thick sauce. Then add chicken or paneer and sour cream.