Roll-Ups

For the last year, Charlie, and now Auggie, have been demanding these for breakfast--Roll-ups. Most mornings I ask "what would you like for breakfast, Char?" Her reply is always an emphatic, almost, growling-like response of "CHOCOLATE ROLL-UPS!!! CHOCOLATE ROLL-UPS PLEEEEAAAAASSSSSE!!!" It's very hard for me to say no to that kind of response, and since they are packed with fiber and protein, it is even easier to reply, "Sounds good to me."

Roll-ups, which are very similar to a rolled crepe, have been part of my family for as long as I can remember. Roll-ups were most often found on our weekend breakfast table, but if we were lucky they could also be found on a weekday for dinner--BREAKFAST DINNER!!! I have a sweet spot in my heart for breakfast dinners. They are fun, frivolous, amazingly comforting and easy to get on the table quickly. Breakfast dinners, when I was young, seemed to happen when my dad was out of town on a business trip. Now that I'm a mom, I have a feeling that my mom gave us the choice between waffles and roll-ups for dinner because there was either nothing else in the fridge or she was too exhausted from all of our shenanigans to put together anything more than what a blender or a bowl and a hot pan could create. And, most importantly, she knew that we would never, ever, dare to complain about having a breakfast dinner.

Because Charlie was diagnosed with Celiac disease when she was about 20 months old, she has never and most likely will never taste the Roll-ups that I grew up with. But she does excitedly devours my G-Free version. Since I increased the amount of eggs in the batter and swapped out the traditional all purpose flour with more hearty and fiber-full G-Free grains, Charlie will eat definitely one, maybe two, in a sitting, compared to the four or five I used to eat. These are best served right from the pan, but since we eat them at least once a day, I make a huge batch every few days, keeping the extras on a plate in the fridge, ready to warm up and roll on a moments notice.

The original recipe included a bit of sugar, but I decided to remove it. Since Charlie prefers her Roll-ups with melted chocolate and honey, and Auggie prefers his with butter and syrup and/or honey, removing the sugar isn't an issue. By the time the first bite is eaten, the Roll-ups are plenty sweet.

Unlike a more traditional meal, there's no need to wait for everyone at the table to be served, just "eat-em-when-you-get-em" and "keep-em-comin'." I grew up with Roll-ups served with butter spread across the Roll-up prior to rolling and syrup poured over the top after being rolled. But feel free to add anything to the inside and/or outside of the Roll-ups: fruit, whipped cream, chocolate, nuts, smoked salmon, ham, cheese -- anything. As I mentioned, Charlie loves hers with melted chocolate and honey, and calls them "Chocolate Roll-ups." It is also yummy to add 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder (and maybe 1 Tbsp of sugar to help carry the chocolate flavor) to the batter, for an extra special chocolaty treat.

I always double this recipe.

Roll-Ups
makes 4 - 6

4 large eggs
10g ground flax seed
25g almond meal
25g millet flour
30g buckwheat flour
1tsp cinnamon (optional)
1tsp vanilla
1 cup milk of your choice (I have been using a combination of unsweetened coconut milk and flax seed milk)

Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until well combined. To keep the mixture well mixed, I quickly re-blend just before pouring onto the hot pan.

Heat a 12inch nonstick skillet to medium.

When the pan is hot, but not smoking, spread a touch of butter over the surface and pour about 1/2 cup of the batter from the blender onto the pan, quickly swirling the pan, evenly coating the bottom of the pan. Once I figured out how thick we liked our Roll-ups and became comfortable with the batter, the heat of the pan, and flipping the Roll-up, I stopped measuring and began pouring the batter into the pan straight from the blender.

The Roll-up will need to be flipped, but only once and don't flip too early or it will rip. When it is ready to be flipped the bubbles on the surface will have popped, leaving holes that hold their shape. Also, the batter will lose it's shine. When flipping you need to be a bit brave. You might rip a few, but they still taste yummy, and you will be able to put on a good show for those watching. Hungry, pre-dinner empty bellies, which lead to a lot of whining and grumpiness are usually eliminated with the combination of pouring the batter, the sizzle of the batter and a flamboyant flip. Especially when a Roll-up is ripped during the flip. Nothing seems to make the kids laugh more then Mom making a mistake.

 


Batter photos: 1) just after pouring, 2) ready to be flipped, and 3) after flipping.

Enjoy

Tis the Season

I love Spring. 

A lot happens at the tail end of Winter and through Spring: a huge number of fabulously, wonderful birthdays (Justin's, mine, Charlie's and Auggie's for example); thin, fresh asparagus; straight from the garden lettuce; flowers everywhere; and every now and then the weather will tease us with a preview of summer--hinting at what is to come. Spring also reminds me that until the end of summer, I won't have to hunt, too much, in the produce section at the grocery store. It is amazingly satisfying to walk out into the backyard empty handed, and come back with a mound of crisp lettuce that's just a wash away from my salad bowl--and this is just the beginning.

So, here we go.

This is what we had for dinner last night: a blended green salad from the backyard and stuffed pork loin. Justin was in charge of the pork loin and I was responsible for the salad. Like me, he is a little bit of this and a little bit of that kind of cook. From what I understand he did the following:

Cut a slit in the side of pork loin and fill with Herbes de Provence, salt and pepper.
Rub the same Herbes de Provence, salt and pepper on the outside, drizzle everything with olive oil and grill on medium high heat for about 4 and a half min per side.
Remember to let the cooked meat rest on a cutting board for about 5 to 8 min before serving.

It was a perfect dinner.

My Green Salad with Simple Vinaigrette


I wash and chop lettuce from my garden and put it all into my large wooden salad bowl.
We love adding any of the following: red or green onions, walnuts, pine nuts, grated parm/feta/goat cheese, tomatoes, and/or olives.

My quick salad dressing (for 2 or 3 people who love a large salad)
Please note that I do not measure when I bring a dressing together. And I prefer a more acidic dressing, which means that I use more vinegar and mustard than most people. At the end of the day, mix and taste, and mix and taste until you find something that you love. Once you get the hang of it, it is hard to create a bad dressing, and it will be so much better and faster than anything that you can find in the dressing aisle at the grocery store.

In a small bowl combine the following:
A couple glugs of the best olive oil I have.

Add about an equal amount of a favorite vinegar. Currently I'm using half balsamic vinegar and half apple cider vinegar together--odd I know, but I love it. And I feel like I'm bringing a bit of my grandma to dinner because she loved apple cider vinegar and all that it can do for the body and soul--a true cure all in her opinion.

Add a half-way-up-the-prongs-of-a-dinner-fork scoop of mustard (your favorite). I love stone ground mustard.

Add, about 2 tsp to 1 Tbsp of Karam's Garlic Sauce, which is amazing. It might only be available here in the heater Seattle area. (I didn't find their website, but they do sell it on Amazon Fresh.)

Add, about 1.5 tsp of Amore's concentrated sun dried tomato paste.

A pinch of salt and a bigger pinch of pepper.


Then I mix it (a quick whip with the wrist) with a fork until it comes together.

Enjoy!

Triple Chocolatly Goodness

It's the middle of March, and it snowed the other day. It rained today, but it was a cold monsoon, slushy, icy kind of rain. Since I am still getting over the flu that knocked me out this past weekend, this weather feels extra cold. While I am not up for an outside winter adventure with the kids and I can't luxuriate in a hot bath (at least not until the kids go to bed), I can turn on the oven and play with chocolate. There isn't much better, especially this time of year, than having the oven on, warming my kitchen and infusing my house with the smell of baking chocolate.

While Auggie napped in his super cozy fleece sleep sack, Charlie and I worked on our cold, wintery, wet afternoon projects: brownies (me and her) and painting (her).   Because baking brownies is so easy and almost impossible to mess up, it is one of my favorite treats to bake with Charlie, and because she loves chocolate and loves to stir, this is a perfect yucky day activity.   One of the best reasons to bake for no specific reason, especially in the middle of winter, is the bone warming heat that the oven generates and the soul warming treat that comes out of that oven. Second to that is being able to share our creations with friends and family.

I haven't met anyone who doesn't love these brownies -- even non-brownie people love them.  Actually, one of my nephews isn't a fan, but his reason was that they were "too chocolaty," but I don't view that as a problem--do you?

Here are more photos of our fun this afternoon and, of course, the recipe. I have included the amount for all-purpose flour needed for the traditional recipe--but, the almond meal/brown rice flour combo is, I feel, much better.

Super Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies

7 ounces semisweet chocolate in chip form or chopped

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate in chip form or chopped

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into quarters

3 tablespoons cocoa powder 

3 large eggs 

1 cups granulated sugar 200g

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1/2 teaspoon table salt 

1/2 cup (45g) almond flour

1/2 cup (55g) brown rice flour

(for the Gluten Lover’s use 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 5 oz rather than the 2 flours above)

5 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 8-inch square pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. This makes it easy to remove the brownies from the pan once they have cooled.

In medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, melt the chocolate pieces and butter, stirring occasionally until mixture is smooth. 

Or, melt the chocolate pieces and butter in the microwave. Microwave on high for one minute and whisk. Microwave in 30 second intervals, whisking after each 30 seconds, until smooth.

Whisk cocoa powder into the melted chocolate until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt together in medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. 

Whisk warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture.

Lightly fold in flours with a spatula, add chocolate chips, mix until just combined--do not over mix (more of an issue when using all-purpose flour). 

Pour mixture into prepared pan, bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean, but with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, check after 30 to 35 minutes.

Leave in pan until cool.

Use the over hanging foil as handles, gently pull the brownies out of the pan to finish cooling.

These brownies will not cut well if they are too warm. Also, it is best to wipe the knife between each cut. I tend to cut the square into 16 pieces.

These brownies can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated or frozen.

Enjoy!

Best Laid Plans

I am finally going to make some cheese. I eat a lot of cheese, but I've never made it before.

While I was breast feeding little Auggie I had to give up a few of my favorite things: broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, bok choy and cheese. I knew that I was missing cheese, but I guess I missed it more than I realized. One day, while at Whole Foods, I found this cheese making kit and I had to have it. It has been sitting in my kitchen for months, looking at me, waiting.

Now that cheese is back on my "can eat" list, I'm going to try it out. We are also spending a lazy weekend with friends up on San Juan Island. This place always invites a lot of rest and kitchen creativity. Along with this cheese I am also going to bake up batch of G-free brownies, and my original peanut butter chip/chocolate chip cookie. One of our friends is going to try a milk poached whole chicken for dinner tonight--should be interesting.

(After a few hours)

Even the best laid plans may not work out. Due to timing issues and failing to ensure that I had all the ingredients on hand, I still have not made cookies or brownies. As for the cheese, I just got lazy. Kind of. I decided that I had to go on my all time favorite run, make a fort with Charlie and help Aug with his pulling-up-to-standing technique. Not a bad trade off. Charlie did spend some time in the garden looking for something for our table. This is what she brought in:

Alas, no baking. But, there are two whole chickens doing their thing in the two ovens. Like my best laid plans, our friend decided to not go with the milk braised chicken. Instead, one chicken is being simply roasted--always super yummy. The 2nd chicken, after being browned, is in a giant pot in the oven sitting on a pile of onions, brussels sprouts, red potatoes, carrots, white wine, chicken stock, and garlic. I love being up at the cabin.

(After a few more hours)

I was able to bake the cookies, so yummy.

Enjoy!

It's Crazy in Here

I've lost count of the number of projects/things to do residing on my counter. Here is what you don't see: post pumpkin muffin mess, dishes from the kid's dinner, my dinner prep, and a little fake Nemo fish growing in a bowl (see photo at the bottom of this post). At least I'm eyeball deep in artwork (the purple thing is Charlie's Octagon Octopus from "O" week at school).

Charlie has a new and exciting addition to her art area--a jet pack that she made at school. They are at the tail end of their solar system and space exploration series at school. For the last few weeks I have been re-learning about planets and non-planets from a preschool perspective, it's pretty interesting stuff. It might be hard to tell, but her jet pack is made from a cereal box covered with foil, Duck Tape as straps and even includes orange/red streamers representing propulsion flames. When we got home from school she put it on upside down (the flames on the top, not the bottom). I politely mentioned that it was on upside down. Well, she quickly informed me that she could wear it anyway that she wanted. I think I might be in trouble with this little one, but you gotta love her independence.

One of the best parts of my cluttered counter are the projects that are just starting to take shape. This past summer Charlie and I (mainly me) tended to our garden. As a result she is really into planting, harvesting, flowers, digging and watching seeds turn into baby plants. It will be great to watch August learn about the garden this summer--hopefully by then he will have dropped the need to put everything and anything in his mouth. Anyway, I stopped by City People's today and picked up some early Spring seeds and windowsill starting containers. As of dinner this evening we have a few different lettuce options, cilantro, green onions and (for fun) spaghetti squash seeds nicely tucked away in their little dirt beds. Grow well little seeds.

And here is Nemo.

Until next time, Enjoy.

Have old bananas?

Make chocolate cupcakes.

I bet you thought I was going to suggest banana bread. Don’t get me wrong I love banana bread, but I’m very picky about my banana bread. I love most nuts, but not in baked goods. So banana bread with walnuts or pecans? No go. Also, a lot of versions end up as greasy banana bread gut bombs; which isn’t appealing to me at all. But, I do like chocolate. And as Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and I make these all the time, I figured that I would share my yummy chocolate/banana cupcake recipe.

I discovered the inspiration for this chocolate cupcake recipe before Charlie's 3^rd birthday. She loved them and so did all the gluten eaters at her party. A chocolate cupcake recipe that calls for about three very ripe bananas and chocolate? I couldn’t resist. If I am going to have chocolate, a moist, dark chocolate cake is good, a great truffle is pretty hard to pass up and a fudge-like brownie is ideal (especially with vanilla bean ice cream). But Charlie, oh my little Charlie, she loves chocolate in any form equally. She loves, loves, loves chocolate and loves to help me bake, so this is perfect.

An added bonus about this recipe is that it isn’t bad for you. How often do you find a cake recipe that has a decent amount to fiber in it? Did I mention that they have chocolate chips in them? And because it is filled with pretty wholesome ingredients I’m ok if Charlie wants to have one day after day. It feels good to be able to say “yes” to her as often as I can. Between Celiac and her being three and a half I find myself saying “no” more than I like. When she wakes up from a nap and asks for a cupcake, “with your frosting mama,” I can say, “sure, if you help me mix the frosting,” and feel good about it.

I have made a conscious effort to find and make treats, like these cupcakes, as healthy as possible, which allows Charlie, and soon Auggie, to be able to have them more frequently. I have noticed that when I can say “yes” to her pleas for a cupcake or other “treat,” she will want it for a few days and then move on to something else. I bet that if I said “no” to her requests she would fixate on whatever it is she wants and then go overboard. It is amazing to see her have a cookie or cupcake and ¾ of the way through, stop eating it and ask me to save the rest for later—I love that. While I am not a nutritionist, I’m assuming that since most of the sweet things that she does eat do have some good-for-you elements, they don’t affect her body the same way that other overly processed sweets would. She gets super excited about them, is very appreciative, and says “thank you mama for the cupcake” over and over again while jumping and smiling. But there isn’t that crazy frenzy after she eats them, or tantrums if I say that she can’t have one. Her love of chocolate is amazing and to see her get so excited about it and these cupcakes makes me smile. They're also so, so, so easy to put together that Charlie can really help. She can’t crack an egg yet, but she is a great stirrer, and we are working on her egg cracking skills. 


There are a lot of articles encouraging everyone to eat more whole grains and to use other flours besides white all-purpose flour. I think that this recipe is a great way to experiment with different grain flours because it is easy, the flours can be bought in small bags for not a ton of money and are sold in larger mainstream grocery stores. The trick is to keep enough bananas around so that you have three that are over ripened.

I always make the full batch and freeze most of them; they freeze really well. When I pull a couple out of the freezer to eat, I don’t let them defrost on the counter. I put them in the microwave for a few seconds. As a result, the cake defrosts of course, but the chocolate chips soften up, almost becoming little pockets of molten chocolate—not a bad thing to find when you take a bite, right?

Chocolate/Banana Cupcakes

Makes about 24 standard cupcakes. Pre-heat oven to 350*

300g ripe bananas

150g cane sugar

3 eggs

80g light olive oil

4oz applesauce

2tsp vanilla

100g teff flour

25g millet flour

25g brown rice flour

50g almond meal

20g cocoa powder

1Tbsp psyllium husk powder

1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp baking soda

100g chocolate chips (I have been using 50g semisweet and 50g bittersweet)

In a medium bowl, mash the bananas and set aside (I use a fork). 


In a separate bowl whisk together the teff flour, millet flour, brown rice flour, almond meal, cocoa powder, psyllium husk powder, salt and baking salt.


Using a whisk, in a medium/large bowl, mix the sugar, eggs, olive oil, applesauce and vanilla. Stir in mashed bananas.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon into non-stick sprayed and lined cupcake pan, filling them about ¾ of the way full. Bake for about 20 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes sit in the pan for a few minutes, then have them cool on a cooling rack.

Once cool, frost with your favorite frosting, or not. These cupcakes do not require frosting to be yummy.

The batter can also be baked in loaf form and then sliced and eaten like a tea bread or pound cake. The cooking time for the loaf pan is different: bake in a greased pan for about 40 min.

Frosting:

Charlie’s favorite is a chocolate cream cheese frosting, which is ideal for me as I can mix a small batch of it together in a bowl with a fork in only a couple of min.


For the full batch of cupcakes:


16 ounces (2 packages) of room temp cream cheese
1 cup powdered (confectioner) sugar
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract


Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer.


With a paddle attachment, mix on medium low until well combined.


Frost the cupcakes.


Omit the cocoa powder for a vanilla cream cheese frosting. 
For Valentine's Day, add a couple, or a few, drops of red food coloring to the vanilla frosting to make it pink.


Enjoy.

Between Christmas and New Years

August has new teeth!!! His bottom two teeth broke through sometime before Monday evening. Even though they showed up a day late, I couldn't help but start singing, "all I want for Christmas are my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth." He thought that was hilarious, as did Charlie who started singing with me, which made Auggie laugh even harder. Now that he has the two bottom teeth, the upper teeth should show up in a few weeks. Not only will he be that much cuter, he will also start using them, which means that his food choices will soon become much more interesting--this is very exciting for Mom.

I love Christmas and I am so excited that Auggie's teeth arrived on, if not just after, Christmas. Once turkey day is over I am quick to put our Christmas tree buying day on the calendar and start planning the decorating, present and food frenzy. Our Christmas celebration actually begins on Christmas Eve, which has always been the big night for my side of the family. Our Eve dinner has historically revolved around a fondue feast and then gift exchange. Our dinner always begins with a cheese fondue appetizer, followed by savory fondue with various meats and seafood and assorted sides.


As the primary food planner and chef on my side of the family (historically I've been my mother's sous chef, but I've graduated to more of a collaborative role with her and my brother in law) I am responsible for a few of the dishes on Christmas Eve; the G-Free cheese fondue, blanched veggies for dipping in the cheese fondue, G-Free mac-n-cheese, and a veggie side to go with the meat fondue. We used to serve this a cheesy potato dish that could just about kill you, of course, it tasted so, so, so good. The dish is basically shredded potatoes mixed with onions, sour cream, various cheeses, spread out in a casserole pan, topped with butter coated smashed corn flakes and then baked until molten and bubbly.  Super.  Yummy. 


I can't remember exactly how it happened, but a few years ago I offered to make my triple cheese mac-n-cheese, instead of the potato dish, and it has stuck (perhaps the grand kids liked the idea of mac-n-cheese more than potatoes). So, now I make two giant pans of my mac-n-cheese: one for the kids, which is made without a bread crumb topping, and another for the rest of us who love the crunchy topping. My mac-n-cheese didn't start out G-Free, but it is now and I think everyone loves it, but really, who wouldn't love three types of cheese melted together, mixed with noodles and topped with butter coated breadcrumbs? Did I mention that it is G-Free?

Usually it is a rough, pinch here and handful there type of recipe and definitely not low-cal. But I tried to measure it out this time. I used four 12 oz packages of Bionaturae G-Free Penne pasta, but I will divide everything by two so that the recipe is more manageable and will fit into a single 9x13 pan.


Mac-n-Cheese
2 12 oz bags of Bionaturae G-Free Penne Pasta (or Macaroni Pasta)
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cups milk
10 ounces Sharp Cheddar cheese shredded
10 ounces Monterey Jack cheese shredded
10 ounces Gruyere cheese shredded


1 loaf G-Free bread of choice (I have been using Udi's G-Free Millet-Chia sliced bread and I don't use the end pieces.) torn into pieces.
1/2 stick of cold butter cut into 6-8 pieces


For the bread crumb topping:

Pulse the bread and butter in the Cuisinart (or other food processor) for about 20 - 30 seconds.

For the pasta:
Boil the pasta according to the directions on the package.


While the pasta is cooking, grate the cheeses and measure out the milk, flour, and butter, setting everything aside.


Drain the pasta and put the pot back on the stove, adding the butter to the pot.


When the butter has melted, add the flour, salt and cayenne pepper into the melted butter, whisking until the mixture has lightened a bit and is fragrant.


Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly which will prevent the milk from burning.


While constantly whisking, make sure that the milk comes a low boil to ensure that it thickens properly.


When the milk mixture thickens after a few minutes, and resembles heavy cream, turn off the heat and stir in the shredded cheeses.


When all the cheese has melted, add the pasta to the cheese mixture.


Spoon the mac-n-cheese into a 9x13 inch baking dish and cover with the bread crumbs.


Bake in a 400 degree oven until top is golden brown, about 15 - 20 min.


I always make this a day or two before I actually need it, saving the baking step for when I want to serve it. As it will have been in the refrigerator, it will be cold and will need to bake longer (about 45 min). I start it in the oven covered with foil, so that the top doesn't burn, and then remove the foil for the last 20 min


This mac-n-cheese freezes amazingly well, either before it is baked or after, if you want to save the leftovers.


This can be made with the same amount of traditional wheat pasta and wheat flours.


Enjoy

Something for Everyone Cookie Exchange: Gluten Free and Full of Gluten

“Firsts” are happening a lot in our house these days, but more often with August. His first real oatmeal, first night in his crib, first time having his picture taken with Santa. I love “first” experiences, especially the monumental “firsts.” Yesterday we had somewhat of a monumental “first,” but this time for Charlie and I. She was invited to a cookie exchange. Cookie exchanges are a ton of fun, especially for cookie/sugar hungry kids and it is a great way to see and taste something new. But Charlie was the only G-free kid there, and I was the only mom baking and bringing G-free cookies, or so I thought. It turns out that our host, who has three kids under three and a half years old, made a huge effort to include Charlie and made two batches of G-free cookies in addition to making the rest of the food for the party. I don't think she slept the night before. And another mom made macaroons, with Charlie in mind, which are naturally gluten free.

It was a wonderful surprise and felt great to know that the moms of Charlie's little pre-school friends wanted to make the effort to ensure that she felt included. I was pretty sure that we weren't going to be able to participate in the "exchange" portion of the party, so it was a thoughtful surprise. I will admit, though, that I am still not quite sure how to navigate the situations when someone, who usually uses wheat flour, makes something gluten free. The cross contamination potential is there, but how much is too much? How sensitive is she really? I know what a crouton will do to her, but not what a batch of G-free cookies mixed in a clean mixer that is also used for wheat flour will do to her. We are living and learning.

As Charlie gets older and is becoming more involved in the world outside of our house, she is also being exposed to and put in situations where she is the odd girl out. While she can do anything she wants, she can’t eat anything that she wants. For example, at school she gets special snacks, such as G-free pretzels, while the rest of the class has Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies. That can be difficult for a kid, even for adults. But I do believe that one positive aspect about being diagnosed with Celiac so young is that she will ultimately learn, much more quickly than she would have otherwise, that she can’t have everything that she wants, that other people can eat/do things that she can’t, and that sometimes life isn’t fair. Those aren’t fun lessons to learn, but they are essential to understand if she wants a fun, happy and somewhat contented life.

Now that I’m an adult, I can look back and see that learning, sooner rather than later, that not everything needs or can be equal all the time and that sometimes life isn’t fair, is in fact a great thing. But try explaining that to three and a half year old. My goal, in guiding her through this process, is that she will understand that it is o.k. that someone else has something that she doesn't or can’t have. I want her to be able to focus more on and celebrate the things that she has and can do. Even though she couldn't eat most of the cookies at the cookie exchange, she was there, having fun with her friends. Ultimately, that is the point of the cookie exchange in the first place, right? To bring together great friends, share and have a ton of fun running, squealing and laughing. She had to say, “No thank you” when someone offered her one of the gluten filled cookies but she handled it well, and was then able to proudly say, “have one of our cookies, they're good.”

That is where I came in. Until she can bake her own stellar cookies, I need to bake the stellar cookies for her. So, for this “first” cookie exchange, I baked two kinds of cookies. I haven’t worked on and figured out my own snickerdoodle recipe, but I wanted to bring them. So I used a recipe from another G-free baker/blogger, "Irvin Lin's snickerdoodle recipe." These are great. Justin, who is very particular about snickerdoodles loved them.

The second cookie is my version of the Whoopie pie, but bite size. I used my Chocolate Banana Cupcake recipe (I will post that recipe in a separate post) and a vanilla cream cheese filling. Each little Whoopie pie has an M&M on top. M&M's are G-free, as are some of the other best candies out there--Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, anyone?

The cookie exchange was a huge success. Charlie had a great time with her friends and I was able to have coffee and chat with a few great women/moms. Not only did we come home with some tasty little treats, but Charlie was allowed to borrow her friend Emmett's Halloween costume. She wore it for the rest of the day, even during her nap and to a quick visit to my parent's house.

Enjoy.

Loving the glitter.

I now know why, at least partly why, I had kids. I really love book stores and art supply stores. Since having kids I am allowed, if not overly encouraged, to spend a lot of time in both places. Charlie is my little artist. She loves painting, drawing, gluing, using scissors (especially the fancy edged craft scissors), using glitter, puff balls, stickers and squiggly eyes. She has even gotten into my giant box of tooth picks in her quest to realize her artistic vision. As a result I am finding these silly tooth picks in the oddest places, but not in the box, where they belong, when I need to test to see if a cupcake is finished baking. I'm counting myself lucky that I haven't stepped on one.

As you can see, Charlie's art area in the kitchen is overflowing with completed projects, drying projects, in the process projects and future project material. It is difficult to keep this area orderly. But it is from this craziness that she has created some really fun and beautiful things.

The holiday season is in full swing here, and because of an overly successful trip to the local art store, our floors are covered with red, green and silver glitter. While the little one naps, Charlie and I are working on a series of crafts: christmas trees, snowmen, paintings and ornaments.

Yesterday morning we brought together glitter, styrofoam, glue and puff balls to make these little christmas trees. Today, after school, I am looking forward to making snowmen; hopefully Charlie is too.

Enjoy your day.

6 months already--solid food here we come

August is six months old today. I can't believe that he is half a year old already. Some days I have a hard time believing that I'm either old enough or mature enough to be a mom in the first place. I look around at my "mom" peers and think, wow, I'm actually one of them. But they seem so put together, like they actually know what they are doing. I'm still following the "fake-it-till-I-make-it" plan; feeling very proud on days when the little ones are smiling, nap well, we are able to be on time (at least once) and I can shower and brush my hair.


Now that he's old enough to do so, it is time to explore solid foods. It has been three years since I first dove into making baby food. And now I am pureeing all over again. This time a bit wiser and probably a bit more easy going. I learned a lot when Charlie and I started exploring the world of solid food. With all the day to day need to do's and even want to do's I have a lot going on, but making Auggie's (and Charlie's) food is super high on my list--way higher than brushing my hair (that is why someone invented hair rubber bands, right? I am even thinking about looking into the dry shampoo thing; lazy, maybe, efficient, absolutely.) Some may think that making food for a baby is hard or time consuming, but with the right tools, it isn't that hard. And I have found that making my own food for the little ones helps speed up the transition between super pureed and chunky/textured and then finger food. And with a three and a half year old, I am all about having them eat similar if not the same things as soon as possible.


Since Charlie was my trial baby, there were probably equal number of hits and misses when it came to my homemade food; and Auggie is definitely benefiting from what Charlie and I learned. I did splurge and bought him new ice cube food trays, a new food mill, and bibs. I bought a ton of bibs, this boy drools, a lot, and is an always-puts-his-hands-in-his-mouth kind of guy, which makes for messy meals. He receives a lot of hand me downs, so new food products are the least I can do.


My little guy is growing, growing, and growing fast. His rarely satisfied tummy proves it. While some recommend not introducing solids, at all, until 6 months, August couldn’t wait. He has been excitedly gobbling up apple sauce, avocado, peas, sweet potato, banana and even a little rice cereal (not my favorite option as it seems really boring, but what are you going to do?) since he was about 4 months and 3 weeks old.

This past week I ventured into red lentils; Charlie loved red lentils. I would make and freeze batch after batch after batch for her. Mixing them with avocado, assorted veggies, quinoa, and even yogurt. We’ll see what Auggie thinks after the second or third taste. His first exposure was not love, but not hate. At this point he loves anything with avocado, but sweet potato seems to be his absolute favorite.


Charlie loved sweet potato puree as well, and now loves them cut into wedges and roasted. I ask, "How about sweet potato fries with dinner?" Then I usually follow up the question with a little tune/chant and dance I made up: sweet potato, sweet potato, sweet potato fries.


At first I chose to roast and then puree a whole sweet potato for August, while also making fries for Charlie. Once I new that Auggie was OK with and loved sweet potato, I've started making the same for both. Obviously Aug cannot eat a fry like Charlie and she isn't interested in pureed food, but if I smoosh-up a wedge, he can eat all he wants. I have found that this recipe, while really easy and simple, is a crowd pleaser, even with the adults.


Sweet Potato Fries
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Cut a washed sweet potato up into equal sized wedges (as narrow or wide, as long or short as you like)
Spread the wedges on a foil lined baking sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Evenly grind/sprinkle salt and pepper on wedges along with a few pinches of Herb de Provence.
Toss together
Bake for 10-15 min.
Flip wedges over and continue roasting until they are fork tender.
Feel free to bake them longer or shorter depending on how crunchy you like them. The time will also need to be different if the wedges are thicker or thinner. Currently, I am cutting the wedges pretty thick, which guarantees that there is a large quantity of soft insides for August.

I should also note that roasting a sweet potato for pureeing is very easy.
Wash a sweet potato, using a fork, poke a few holes in the skin and place on a foil lined baking sheet.
Roast until the yam is fork tender, remove from oven and let cool.
It is almost impossible to overcook the sweet potato. I completely forgot about one in the oven once and it turned out great. I think it was in there over an hour, the skin was almost completely burned, but the inside was close to perfect.
Spoon out the soft insides into a bowl and mix with a fork until smooth.
If a smoother consistency is desired, feel free to whizz it up in a food processor.


Enjoy