It has felt like a century since I last posted! I cannot believe how quickly this entire year is flying by and how grown all my sweet angels are getting. Life has truly been so hectic since our mild winter entered into an early spring and an earlier summer here in NWA. We have been back and forth sick, visited Tulsa and Oklahoma City and I'm now prepping to meet my baby sister (26) in Chicago for my first ever girls trip and house hunting trip for her (she was recently accepted for her PhD at NorthWestern). As soon as I'm back, the house is being painted; my sweet sister, Justine and family are coming for their amazing move to a MUCH closer place (OKC). Then they close on their house, followed by me and 3 kids heading to help the transition/move and Jason and Shelby heading to Kansas City the same week for Gymnastics camp. All this fun and excitement brings me much joy and happiness for I know that I will completely miss this in a few years once my beautiful older girls head off for college ( 2 and 3 years away) and then as my sweet babies (not babies anymore at 3 and 4) grow into the amazing children, teens and adults I know they will. BUT with all that said, I have totally neglected this blog and it's purpose. I have talked with many people on FB and via email who have had questions and need help and then....there was Pinterest....OH MY GOODNESS! What a fabulous site with amazing recipes that people pull together. Some work fantasically, some are ok but I have been able to convert so many new recipes to GF as well as DF and ALWAYS PF it has just been amazing. I have a treasure trove of recipes to share and some new things to talk about as well: like"What's a safe suncreen to use;? How do you know sunscreen, lotions, make up, self tanners, vitamins and other things are safe?; What is Ataxia? ; Celiacs and Diabetes AND How to entertain GF , as well as how to organize your "month at a glance" menu planning like the pros yet GF." So, trust that I have not abandoned you....just taken some well needed time off for some super important times in my life with family and kids.
Yesterday was the last day of preschool for the regular school year and today is the last day for both teens. I am super excited about sharing some great summer recipes and safe tips for traveling. If you guys need any help reorganizing a pantry, starting the GF diet or converting recipes, shoot me an email or comment on my post. I will be updating some things on my blog and some new pics and sharing in the coming weeks but will always answer questions or things you'd like to hear about, so drop me a line anytime!
mom of 4 beautiful children. From teens to toddlers and every food allergy and culinary experience along the way...
My sweet celiac and youngest, Izzy
Friday, May 18, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Chicken Pad Thai
Ok, it's been a while since I posted last. Since the last time we went to Little Rock for Lana's biopsy, celebrated her amazing 1 year heart day of her transplant, and I somehow hurt my shoulder and have been a little out of commision lately. BUT, you know I haven't stopped cooking AND I am happy to say that I have some great recipes to share over the next few days. So Sunday, I sat down and organized myself, menu planned and made my shopping list and while everyone was napping I headed to the store and got everything I needed to feed us for an entire week to try and cut down on my stopping and ending up with unnecessary things! IT worked! I didn't make but that one trip to the store this week and my stress level was so much better. You know how I am always telling you to plan ahead and it will prevent slipping up and eating something that will make you sick. SO, this weeks menu was Spaghetti and meatballs; Tilapia pouches with broccoli and zucchini with rice, Pasta with white beans and broccoli pesto, Shepards Pie, Chicken and vegetable Pad Thai, and chicken tortilla soup. As always all of this is GF and almost always DF and definately Peanut free (yes that means even the Pad Thai). So this post I will highlight the Pad Thai as well as the pasta with white beans and broccoli pesto at the request of several friends of FB.
Chicken and Vegetable Pad Thai or Tofu and Vegetable Pad Thai:
(Thai Kitchen makes a whole kit even that has the Thai sauce GF together with the noodles for an even faster version BUT, we eat very few processed foods where I can control the salt/sauce so I made mine from scratch)
8 oz dried wide flat rice noodles (the Thai ones can be found a natural food stores or Whole Foods (most of you know we don't have WF here and re really challenged to find some things that are GF here but our natural store did have them in the GF soy area. LOVE LOVE LOVE these noodles for any type of stir fry or lo mein and they make the super thing ones as well)
1/4 C fresh lime juice plus lime wedges for serving
3 TBSP GF Tamari soy sauce
1 TBSP GF chili sauce (like sriracha)
1 TBSP packed brown sugar
2 TBSP Vegetable oil (I only use olive oil but you can use your choice)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 pkg firm tofu (drained, thinkly sliced and patted dry) OR 4 oz cubed cooked chicken breast
2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded (for a quicker version I buy the organic already shredded carrots)
8 scallions, white and green parts thinkly sliced ( 1 tso green part reserved)
kosher salt
2 TBSP roasted salted and chopped cashews (or peanuts if you are not allergic)
1/4 C cilantro leaves chopped roughly
Boil 4 C water in a saucepan, remove from heat and soak noodles for 4-8 minutes until tender but aldente (still firm to the bite). Meanwhile, in a small bowl wisk together lime juice, soy sauce, chili sauce and brown sugar and set aside.
In a large skillet or wok heat 1/2 tsp oil over medium high heat tilting to coat pan. Add eggs and swir in a crepe type fashion to coat bottom of pan and cok until just set. Remove to cutting board, loosely roll up and cut into thin strips. Add 4 tsp of oilto skillet or wok and add tofu in single layer or if using uncooked chicken cubes salt and pepper well and add to pan. Cook tofu until brown on each side (abt 7 minutes) or on medium high heat brown chicken until cooked through and sprinkle with a little lime juice and transfer to a bowl. Add 1 1/2 tsp of oil to skillet/wok and add carrots, garlic and scallionsand cook until soft (about 5 min) and add lime juice mixture, bring to simmer and add noodles, stirring to combine. Add egg, chicken/tofu and toss one last time. Season with salt to taste. Garnish with cilatro, lime wedges and a tsp of the green part of the scallions.
Pasta with white beans and broccoli pesto:
I personally LOVE the Quinoa Fusili or rotelle pasta for this dish but the Schar penne is also good. Use the GF pasta that you like best.
1 head Broccoli, cut into 1 inch peices
10 oz GF pasta of choice, preferrable short like fusili or penne
5 tsp olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
1/2 ouce Parmesan (this is not DF, Diya makes a shredded version but some people who are DF can tollerate parm in small amounts but this portion is even optional altogether), finely grated plus more for serving
1 tsp grated lemon zest, 1 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 c chopped parsely (Italian flat leaf)
1 clove garlic
1 can cannelini beans (BPA free can) rinsed and drained
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook broccoli just until tender and bright green (about 4 min) and remove with slotted spoon. Transfer to food processor and return water to boil, add pasta. Reserve 2 C pasta water and drain pasta when it's aldente. Add oil, parmesan (if using), zest, lemon juice, parsley and garlic and puree until smooth. Transfer pesto to pot with pasta adn stir to coat, adding enough reserved pasta water to make a creamy sauce. Stir in cannelini beans and heat until warmed through. season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with more parm if desired.
Both of these recipes are great, kid approved and take 20-25 minutes to make!
Chicken and Vegetable Pad Thai or Tofu and Vegetable Pad Thai:
(Thai Kitchen makes a whole kit even that has the Thai sauce GF together with the noodles for an even faster version BUT, we eat very few processed foods where I can control the salt/sauce so I made mine from scratch)
8 oz dried wide flat rice noodles (the Thai ones can be found a natural food stores or Whole Foods (most of you know we don't have WF here and re really challenged to find some things that are GF here but our natural store did have them in the GF soy area. LOVE LOVE LOVE these noodles for any type of stir fry or lo mein and they make the super thing ones as well)
1/4 C fresh lime juice plus lime wedges for serving
3 TBSP GF Tamari soy sauce
1 TBSP GF chili sauce (like sriracha)
1 TBSP packed brown sugar
2 TBSP Vegetable oil (I only use olive oil but you can use your choice)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 pkg firm tofu (drained, thinkly sliced and patted dry) OR 4 oz cubed cooked chicken breast
2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded (for a quicker version I buy the organic already shredded carrots)
8 scallions, white and green parts thinkly sliced ( 1 tso green part reserved)
kosher salt
2 TBSP roasted salted and chopped cashews (or peanuts if you are not allergic)
1/4 C cilantro leaves chopped roughly
Boil 4 C water in a saucepan, remove from heat and soak noodles for 4-8 minutes until tender but aldente (still firm to the bite). Meanwhile, in a small bowl wisk together lime juice, soy sauce, chili sauce and brown sugar and set aside.
In a large skillet or wok heat 1/2 tsp oil over medium high heat tilting to coat pan. Add eggs and swir in a crepe type fashion to coat bottom of pan and cok until just set. Remove to cutting board, loosely roll up and cut into thin strips. Add 4 tsp of oilto skillet or wok and add tofu in single layer or if using uncooked chicken cubes salt and pepper well and add to pan. Cook tofu until brown on each side (abt 7 minutes) or on medium high heat brown chicken until cooked through and sprinkle with a little lime juice and transfer to a bowl. Add 1 1/2 tsp of oil to skillet/wok and add carrots, garlic and scallionsand cook until soft (about 5 min) and add lime juice mixture, bring to simmer and add noodles, stirring to combine. Add egg, chicken/tofu and toss one last time. Season with salt to taste. Garnish with cilatro, lime wedges and a tsp of the green part of the scallions.
Pasta with white beans and broccoli pesto:
I personally LOVE the Quinoa Fusili or rotelle pasta for this dish but the Schar penne is also good. Use the GF pasta that you like best.
1 head Broccoli, cut into 1 inch peices
10 oz GF pasta of choice, preferrable short like fusili or penne
5 tsp olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
1/2 ouce Parmesan (this is not DF, Diya makes a shredded version but some people who are DF can tollerate parm in small amounts but this portion is even optional altogether), finely grated plus more for serving
1 tsp grated lemon zest, 1 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 c chopped parsely (Italian flat leaf)
1 clove garlic
1 can cannelini beans (BPA free can) rinsed and drained
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook broccoli just until tender and bright green (about 4 min) and remove with slotted spoon. Transfer to food processor and return water to boil, add pasta. Reserve 2 C pasta water and drain pasta when it's aldente. Add oil, parmesan (if using), zest, lemon juice, parsley and garlic and puree until smooth. Transfer pesto to pot with pasta adn stir to coat, adding enough reserved pasta water to make a creamy sauce. Stir in cannelini beans and heat until warmed through. season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with more parm if desired.
Both of these recipes are great, kid approved and take 20-25 minutes to make!
Friday, January 6, 2012
First week of the New Year menu, Epiphany and one year ago....
This week of the new year has been one of alot of reflection. 1/4/11 I packed up my car with 3 of my 4 kids and all the supplies we would need for a few weeks and drove to Little Rock (3 hours away) and admitted my oldest daughter into the cardiac ICU unit at Arkansas Children's Hospital to awat a heart transplant. We had no idea how long the wait would be, she was hooked up to a medication to preserve what was left of her heart function, and we had no idea the outcome. Luckily God brought us back from what can only be described as close to hell as it comes and on 1/25/11 she received a new heart. This week has been an emotional journey for us as will the next few weeks will be. The good news is, we are not there anymore, and we can focus on more amazing things going on in our family. THANKS BE TO GOD!
Today as I right this, it is the Epiphany. The day the wise men reached the birthplace of Jesus and brought him amazing gifts. Some countries call it the celebrations of lights given that the north star is what led them to the littel child in the manger. Most people do not take their Christmas trees down until after the Epiphany but alas, I had to. Everyone was having allergy attacks and asthma type symptoms and the clutter almost drove me batty so away it went...Oh well, at least I waited til after the new year:).
As I prepared my menu for the week, I tried to focus on healthy eating since most people do that in the new year. We typically eat as "clean" and healthy all year round with a few exceptions but I really wanted some new material as it's been more like spring here than January. With no snow and temps in the 60's it's almost a Florida January and closer to bikini season than usual:). So, here is a list of my weeks' menu:
Tuesday I made my asian lettuce wraps:
1 pd ground turkey
1 onion diced
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 bag deluxe stir fry mix (frozen food section)\
1/4 C of GF San J terryiaki stir fry sauce
1/4 C of GF San J Orange Sauce
1 head butter living lettuce or boston lettuce
In a medium skillet saute onion and bell pepper ( adding 1 TBSP olive oil if necessary) for about 5 minutes and add ground turkey and brown together. At end of browning add in garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add in the frozen stir fry veggies, thawed or frozen. Cook about 10 minutes until veggies are warmed through yet still firm. My kids like the texture small so I add this mixture to my food processor and pulse briefly to make it more of a crumbly mixture and add back to saute pan but this step is not necessary. Add the stiry fry sauces and lightly cook on medium low until more of a carmelized texture. Break the lettuce leaves apart to make cup sized wraps and set aside, add beef/veggie mixture to bowl and serve. You add about 1 heaping TBSP to the small leaves and maybe two to the larger leaves and wrap to eat like a taco wrap.
Wednesday was Lime in the Coconut Chicken drumsticks with avocado and tomato salad and roasted broccoli:
Rachel Ray's recipe for the chicken is both gluten and dairy free and was good, although the marinade did not sink into the chicken as much as I thought it would. I would reccomend poking more slits in the chicken and letting is marinate longer with possibly even more lime juice:
For the chicken:
3 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 c chopped scallions, whites and greens
1 c cilantro
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 c honey
1 c coconut milk
1/3 c lime juice
10 skin on chicken drumsticks
In a blender combine all ingredients but chicken and puree. Cut 2 deep slits in each drumstick and marinate in coconut mixture at least an hour. transfer chicken to a rack placed on a foil lines cookie sheet and season. bake at 450 for 20 minutes, flip and bake 10 more minutes.
Broccoli:
1 bunch broccoli florets
3 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic minced
preheat oven to 450, spread broccoli in a single layer in a baking sheet or casserole pan. Melt butter in microwave and stir in garlic. Drizzle butter mixture over broccoli and season with salt/pepper and roast about 10 minutes until tender.
Avocado/tomato salad:
2 avocados
1 pint cherry tomatoes
4 Tbsp lime or lemon juice and salt/pepper to taste
Halve, unpit and score both avocados and scoop our into small bowl. Slice or halve the cherry tomatoes, add juice and seasoning and toss.
Thursday was -GF Penne with turkey ragu:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts finely chopped
2 ckives garlic minced
1 pd ground turkey
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
14 c fresh basil chopped
3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
12 ounces GF penne (I prefer Schar Penne or Quinoa Rotelle)
2 Tbsp half and half
Bring a pot of salted water to boil and add pasta. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add leeks, garlic and turkey and cook, stirring until turkey browns, abut 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring sauce to boil and cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add half the basil and parmesan. Simmer stirring occasionally until thickened, about 10 more minutes. Stir and cook pasta until al dente then drain. Reserve 1/2 c cooking liquid and empty pasta directly into saute pan and stir. Add half and half and toss to coat, adding some of the cooking liquid to loosen if necessary. Serve warm with additional parmesan if wanted.
Finally Friday: Enchilada casserole and black bean salad:
1 pd ground sirloin or 1 pd ground turkey
1 c chopped onion
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp garlilc minced
1 1/2 Tbsp GF flour blend
1 C reduced sodium, GF beef broth
1 Tbsp 40% less sodium, GF taco seasoning mix (Old Elpaso)
1 8 oz can no salt added tomato sauce or homemade tomato sauce canned
1 small can chopped green chilis
12 small GF corn tortillas or 4 8 inch brown rice tortillas
1/3 C Weight Watchers Fiesta Blend shredded cheese or 1/3 C shredded Jalepeno jack cheese
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add beef/turkey and onion to pan. Cook 6 minutes stirring to a crumble mixture. Preheat over to 400. Melt butter in small saute pan. Add garlic, saute 1 minute. Sprinkle with flour and cook for about 30 secondsstirring constantly until lumps are gone. Add broth, taco seasoning, and tomato sauce to pan and bring to a boil, cook for 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 C of tomato mixture to beef mixture and stir to combine. Place 1 brown rice tortilla or overlapping 4 corn tortillas in the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan. Top with 1 C beef mixture and spread around, top with 1 Tbsp cheese and layer accordingly ending with tortillas and top with leftover sauce and then leftover cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
Black bean Salad:
1 can whole balck beans drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes halved
1 avocado, halved, seed removed and scored then scooped
1 head romaine, chopped
salt/pepper
lime juice
Add first 5 ingredients to bowl and toss with lime juice and season to taste.
Today as I right this, it is the Epiphany. The day the wise men reached the birthplace of Jesus and brought him amazing gifts. Some countries call it the celebrations of lights given that the north star is what led them to the littel child in the manger. Most people do not take their Christmas trees down until after the Epiphany but alas, I had to. Everyone was having allergy attacks and asthma type symptoms and the clutter almost drove me batty so away it went...Oh well, at least I waited til after the new year:).
As I prepared my menu for the week, I tried to focus on healthy eating since most people do that in the new year. We typically eat as "clean" and healthy all year round with a few exceptions but I really wanted some new material as it's been more like spring here than January. With no snow and temps in the 60's it's almost a Florida January and closer to bikini season than usual:). So, here is a list of my weeks' menu:
Tuesday I made my asian lettuce wraps:
1 pd ground turkey
1 onion diced
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 bag deluxe stir fry mix (frozen food section)\
1/4 C of GF San J terryiaki stir fry sauce
1/4 C of GF San J Orange Sauce
1 head butter living lettuce or boston lettuce
In a medium skillet saute onion and bell pepper ( adding 1 TBSP olive oil if necessary) for about 5 minutes and add ground turkey and brown together. At end of browning add in garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add in the frozen stir fry veggies, thawed or frozen. Cook about 10 minutes until veggies are warmed through yet still firm. My kids like the texture small so I add this mixture to my food processor and pulse briefly to make it more of a crumbly mixture and add back to saute pan but this step is not necessary. Add the stiry fry sauces and lightly cook on medium low until more of a carmelized texture. Break the lettuce leaves apart to make cup sized wraps and set aside, add beef/veggie mixture to bowl and serve. You add about 1 heaping TBSP to the small leaves and maybe two to the larger leaves and wrap to eat like a taco wrap.
Wednesday was Lime in the Coconut Chicken drumsticks with avocado and tomato salad and roasted broccoli:
Rachel Ray's recipe for the chicken is both gluten and dairy free and was good, although the marinade did not sink into the chicken as much as I thought it would. I would reccomend poking more slits in the chicken and letting is marinate longer with possibly even more lime juice:
For the chicken:
3 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 c chopped scallions, whites and greens
1 c cilantro
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 c honey
1 c coconut milk
1/3 c lime juice
10 skin on chicken drumsticks
In a blender combine all ingredients but chicken and puree. Cut 2 deep slits in each drumstick and marinate in coconut mixture at least an hour. transfer chicken to a rack placed on a foil lines cookie sheet and season. bake at 450 for 20 minutes, flip and bake 10 more minutes.
Broccoli:
1 bunch broccoli florets
3 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic minced
preheat oven to 450, spread broccoli in a single layer in a baking sheet or casserole pan. Melt butter in microwave and stir in garlic. Drizzle butter mixture over broccoli and season with salt/pepper and roast about 10 minutes until tender.
Avocado/tomato salad:
2 avocados
1 pint cherry tomatoes
4 Tbsp lime or lemon juice and salt/pepper to taste
Halve, unpit and score both avocados and scoop our into small bowl. Slice or halve the cherry tomatoes, add juice and seasoning and toss.
Thursday was -GF Penne with turkey ragu:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts finely chopped
2 ckives garlic minced
1 pd ground turkey
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
14 c fresh basil chopped
3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
12 ounces GF penne (I prefer Schar Penne or Quinoa Rotelle)
2 Tbsp half and half
Bring a pot of salted water to boil and add pasta. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add leeks, garlic and turkey and cook, stirring until turkey browns, abut 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring sauce to boil and cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add half the basil and parmesan. Simmer stirring occasionally until thickened, about 10 more minutes. Stir and cook pasta until al dente then drain. Reserve 1/2 c cooking liquid and empty pasta directly into saute pan and stir. Add half and half and toss to coat, adding some of the cooking liquid to loosen if necessary. Serve warm with additional parmesan if wanted.
Finally Friday: Enchilada casserole and black bean salad:
1 pd ground sirloin or 1 pd ground turkey
1 c chopped onion
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp garlilc minced
1 1/2 Tbsp GF flour blend
1 C reduced sodium, GF beef broth
1 Tbsp 40% less sodium, GF taco seasoning mix (Old Elpaso)
1 8 oz can no salt added tomato sauce or homemade tomato sauce canned
1 small can chopped green chilis
12 small GF corn tortillas or 4 8 inch brown rice tortillas
1/3 C Weight Watchers Fiesta Blend shredded cheese or 1/3 C shredded Jalepeno jack cheese
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add beef/turkey and onion to pan. Cook 6 minutes stirring to a crumble mixture. Preheat over to 400. Melt butter in small saute pan. Add garlic, saute 1 minute. Sprinkle with flour and cook for about 30 secondsstirring constantly until lumps are gone. Add broth, taco seasoning, and tomato sauce to pan and bring to a boil, cook for 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 C of tomato mixture to beef mixture and stir to combine. Place 1 brown rice tortilla or overlapping 4 corn tortillas in the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan. Top with 1 C beef mixture and spread around, top with 1 Tbsp cheese and layer accordingly ending with tortillas and top with leftover sauce and then leftover cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
Black bean Salad:
1 can whole balck beans drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes halved
1 avocado, halved, seed removed and scored then scooped
1 head romaine, chopped
salt/pepper
lime juice
Add first 5 ingredients to bowl and toss with lime juice and season to taste.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
New York, Feast of the Seven Fishes, Christmas and Year in review.....
Buckle your seatbelts folks, there is much to catch up on before the evening and year come to a close so it's going to be a long one;) I couldn't leave things in 2011 undone as I start 2012. One of my many New Years resolutions is to be more consistant at blogging and helping you so you will see me once a week or more throughout this new year and I might even be recruiting some of you for a special project I am working on.
Ok, so lets start in order: NYC! We spent a glorious week in my favorite city with ALL 4 KIDS. Yes, you read that correctly, we had both toddlers and both teens and it went surprisingly well. Being Gluten Free in NYC doesn't mean you will starve, there are surprisingly more options than most large cities AND if they are not on the "Gluten free registry"it doesn't mean they won't make you a GF meal. There were several accidental finds that were FABULOUS and Miss Princess didn't get sick ONCE the whole trip! There were even allergy posters up in certain restaurants, I thought that was so interesting. We did visit a few famous gfree places to give them a try: #1 was Babycakes which offers doughnuts and cupcakes and other sweet treats. Although Isabelle, Noah and I approved, the teens noticed a major difference and weren't big fans, BUT Isabelle had breakfast for a week and enjoyed every bite; their staff was very knowledgeable and helpful and their shop was wistful yet small and in an out of the way area. #2 was Pala and most notable for pizzas and Italian cuisine on the lower east side of Manhattan. The atmosphere was sweet and I plan to visit again when I'm there in the summer and eat outside but absolutely everyone LOVED the pizza, spaghetti and experience. It was amazing food, and the sweetest staff EVER. But as wonderful as that was, there were two other experiences we had that topped that if you can believe it. The night my sister and her family arrived we decided we would venture out for dinner and decided on a Mexican restaurant close to our hotel but upon arrival there was an hour wait and it was a super trendy bar type restaurant with no moving around in....no way was that gonna work. I remembered seeing another mexican restaurant up the road when we were headed to a local grocery store to grab some gfree snacks. We walked the couple of blocks to find it was closed and we were thinking - "really?" The next door neighbor to this restaurant was a Chinese restaurant. I was like...no way can Izzy eat dinner there but at this point it was raining and we had a bunch of hungry kids.... Jason walked in the front door and asked the owner if he could accomodate gluten free and much to my surprise they could and there were great options as well. It turned out that they were so careful Izzy truly did not get any cross contamination whatsoever and ate like a HORSE! It was one of the BEST Chinese restaurants that we have ever eaten at EVER. It was SOOOOO good!!!!!! ChinChin will defintely be on our list again. I cannot talk about how amazing the food was! The other exciting experience was my sweet niece, Charlotte, turned 4 while we were there and we took all the girls to the American Girl Doll Store. Last year when we were in NYC in Oct I bought Izzy and Charlotte their first AG dolls and boy am I glad I did. It made this whole trip so amazing! So for Charlotte's birthday we took a trip first thing in the morning to the most amazing store on the list. We spent so much time there we decided to see if their restaurant could accomodate the 6 of us girls while the guys were off seeing the Intrepid. THEY COULD. As most mom's of celiacs, it was exciting and scary and I wondered if there was anything Izzy would be able to eat at all. Well, guess what....they deal with this all the time and had an entire meal plan just for her. Seriously it was AWESOME! They have a prefix lunch/brunch menu and they did everything for Isabelle and had a special desert for her and for the birthday girl and it was really such an amazing trip for everyone. I cannot say enough about asking about allergies first thing because the two best places weren't listed as gfree restaurants or having gfree options but we got two amazing meals in a big city with zero cross contamination. AMAZING! In the interim we ate in other locations, shopped, ice skated, shopped, ate, shopped and had an absolutely amazing trip with so much more of NYC to discover with the kids....
SO, we got back on the evening on the 23rd and then there was Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.....why did we do this to ourselves? UMMMMMMM because that's what I do best.....work under pressure:). We got back, babies and I started with allergies and all sorts of congestion right before we left the city and the flight home was miserable for me as I couldn't clear my ears at all on the flight. It was terrible and coming home, all I wanted to do was get home, get some soup and get to bed. Wasn't exactly that great but I woke up on the 24th ready to go. We had grocery shopping to do and wrapping of a few things and ALOT of cooking. Feast of the 7 fishes is typically a Catholic/Italian Christmas Eve dinner where you have 7 different fishes or 7 different fish dishes as the focus the meal, We had an great time figuring out our 7 dishes and all was so good. I made crab legs, ceasar salad with anchovies in the dressing, shrimp scampi over creamy polenta with gorgonzola, tilapia en Papillote, Cod "gfree fish sticks", seared ahi tuna, and mussels in white wine and butter garlic sauce. I made some CHEBE GF cheddar garlic biscuits that everyone loved and we were done. YAY! Christmas was a great conglomerate and we had brunch that was fantastic. Sausage, turkey bacon, gf chocolate chip pancakes, cheese grits, scrambled eggs, gf biscuits, and gf french toast. Normally we have Pannetone that we make french toast out of but I didn't get to make it with such short timing. So next year plan that into the menu!!!! It was good with our coffee, mimosas and real drinking chocolate.
Christmas afternoon we had a fried turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, steamed green beans and glazed carrots, cheesecake, pumpkin pie. It was so nice to just relax as I had alot of this frozen already before we left for our NYC trip and it was thawing out and warming up. Smartest thing I ever did!
So, for my year in review or HOLY CRAP I cannot believe we made it through 2011!
As I sit and write this I remember that last NYE there was this looming essance over our family. We had been told at Thanksgiving last year that Lana wasn't doing well and that eventually she would be at a point that she would need to be admitted and moved up the transplant list. Her heart was way sicker than she was on the outside. I spent the next few weeks in a pitty party, depression, nostalgic and every other emotion you could imagine with your child being in iminant danger. I still am not sure how I survived those weeks and the months to come but here I sit and able to write you this NYE. Lana told me on Christmas break she did not think she'd be able to go back to school after the NY because she was truly too tired to do anything. I knew then it was time. I called my ex husband and told him what was going on, we decided to call the hospital after the new year and see what they say yet knowing that would mean we were headed for admition to Little Rock for an indefinate amount of time and an indefinate future. But it wasn't until we called on the 3rd that that became our reality. My mother and I loaded up 3 of my 4 kids, and all the luggage, clothes, and necessities we would need for at least a month so that we had everything with us that we would need and we drove to Little Rock and Arkansas Children's Hospital which would be our home for the next several months. 21 days into 2011 my daughter was admitted into the hospital, they then put her under quarantine due to a flu epidemic, I lived in a hotel for 2 weeks until we found an apartment, I could only see my oldest child for brief moments at a time, one of my closest friends from jr. high succomed to breast cancer, my family was split over 3 states trying to figure out what to do and then as we were figuring it all out....I got a phone call while pumping gas to exchange kids and spend the night in the hospital that they had a heart. They had a heart for my amazing child. That meant someone lost their child, to make a heart available to mine, yet all I could think about was that my child was going to go through the most traumatic, scary thing I've ever even imagined and hopefully both lives were not in vain but our donor heart would save the life of my child. To me, thinking back on those first 21 days in January of 2011, are a blur. Actually alot of 2011 was such a stressed, emotional mess it is something that amazes me that we are alive and we made it through what felt like a pergatory to me for a brief moment or blink of an eye. It felt like an eternity at the time but as I write this, it is over now. It's such a surreal experience. The 25th of January, 2011 started at 4 am when I awoke in Lana's hospital room with all three of my daughters exactly where we were the last evening, all holding hands and fell asleep watching a movie in a conglomerate of beds strewn across her room. The dad's and our priest found other accomodations for the night and various parts of my family were up making arrangments to get to us. They came into the room and readied us for what was to come a very long day. They took Lana early back to surgery and we spent the day laughing, crying, ready to vomit at any minute with bad news and just stress all together holding hands, holding phones, updating everyone and keeping busy for some period of time and praying our end was good. The end of the night we needed to sleep some and hope she was ok throughout the night, although she was bleeding heavily and losing blood pressure. We made it through, she is alive, she has many years left to prove the world wrong and that she can conquer all but those first 21 days almost killed me....Today as I close this year I could not be more grateful for anything in my life than the donor and the family of the donor who saved my amazingly gorgeous and beautiful child's life. There were many great things that happened throughout the year but Lana's heart transplant takes the cake. I close this year with the health of my 4 children who endured more in 2011 than any family deserves, and so much promise and hope for the new year. I will breathe much more freely on January 20th when she has her 1 year biopsy but I know that 2012 will ring in alot calmer than 2011. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers this year for Lana and all of us. You all have helped this family in more ways that you can imagine. I am excited about the prospects of 2012! Much love, happiness, success and life in the new year to all of you. Let all your dreams come true. There is much planned in 2012 in my life as well as my family's so stay tuned!!!
Ok, so lets start in order: NYC! We spent a glorious week in my favorite city with ALL 4 KIDS. Yes, you read that correctly, we had both toddlers and both teens and it went surprisingly well. Being Gluten Free in NYC doesn't mean you will starve, there are surprisingly more options than most large cities AND if they are not on the "Gluten free registry"it doesn't mean they won't make you a GF meal. There were several accidental finds that were FABULOUS and Miss Princess didn't get sick ONCE the whole trip! There were even allergy posters up in certain restaurants, I thought that was so interesting. We did visit a few famous gfree places to give them a try: #1 was Babycakes which offers doughnuts and cupcakes and other sweet treats. Although Isabelle, Noah and I approved, the teens noticed a major difference and weren't big fans, BUT Isabelle had breakfast for a week and enjoyed every bite; their staff was very knowledgeable and helpful and their shop was wistful yet small and in an out of the way area. #2 was Pala and most notable for pizzas and Italian cuisine on the lower east side of Manhattan. The atmosphere was sweet and I plan to visit again when I'm there in the summer and eat outside but absolutely everyone LOVED the pizza, spaghetti and experience. It was amazing food, and the sweetest staff EVER. But as wonderful as that was, there were two other experiences we had that topped that if you can believe it. The night my sister and her family arrived we decided we would venture out for dinner and decided on a Mexican restaurant close to our hotel but upon arrival there was an hour wait and it was a super trendy bar type restaurant with no moving around in....no way was that gonna work. I remembered seeing another mexican restaurant up the road when we were headed to a local grocery store to grab some gfree snacks. We walked the couple of blocks to find it was closed and we were thinking - "really?" The next door neighbor to this restaurant was a Chinese restaurant. I was like...no way can Izzy eat dinner there but at this point it was raining and we had a bunch of hungry kids.... Jason walked in the front door and asked the owner if he could accomodate gluten free and much to my surprise they could and there were great options as well. It turned out that they were so careful Izzy truly did not get any cross contamination whatsoever and ate like a HORSE! It was one of the BEST Chinese restaurants that we have ever eaten at EVER. It was SOOOOO good!!!!!! ChinChin will defintely be on our list again. I cannot talk about how amazing the food was! The other exciting experience was my sweet niece, Charlotte, turned 4 while we were there and we took all the girls to the American Girl Doll Store. Last year when we were in NYC in Oct I bought Izzy and Charlotte their first AG dolls and boy am I glad I did. It made this whole trip so amazing! So for Charlotte's birthday we took a trip first thing in the morning to the most amazing store on the list. We spent so much time there we decided to see if their restaurant could accomodate the 6 of us girls while the guys were off seeing the Intrepid. THEY COULD. As most mom's of celiacs, it was exciting and scary and I wondered if there was anything Izzy would be able to eat at all. Well, guess what....they deal with this all the time and had an entire meal plan just for her. Seriously it was AWESOME! They have a prefix lunch/brunch menu and they did everything for Isabelle and had a special desert for her and for the birthday girl and it was really such an amazing trip for everyone. I cannot say enough about asking about allergies first thing because the two best places weren't listed as gfree restaurants or having gfree options but we got two amazing meals in a big city with zero cross contamination. AMAZING! In the interim we ate in other locations, shopped, ice skated, shopped, ate, shopped and had an absolutely amazing trip with so much more of NYC to discover with the kids....
SO, we got back on the evening on the 23rd and then there was Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.....why did we do this to ourselves? UMMMMMMM because that's what I do best.....work under pressure:). We got back, babies and I started with allergies and all sorts of congestion right before we left the city and the flight home was miserable for me as I couldn't clear my ears at all on the flight. It was terrible and coming home, all I wanted to do was get home, get some soup and get to bed. Wasn't exactly that great but I woke up on the 24th ready to go. We had grocery shopping to do and wrapping of a few things and ALOT of cooking. Feast of the 7 fishes is typically a Catholic/Italian Christmas Eve dinner where you have 7 different fishes or 7 different fish dishes as the focus the meal, We had an great time figuring out our 7 dishes and all was so good. I made crab legs, ceasar salad with anchovies in the dressing, shrimp scampi over creamy polenta with gorgonzola, tilapia en Papillote, Cod "gfree fish sticks", seared ahi tuna, and mussels in white wine and butter garlic sauce. I made some CHEBE GF cheddar garlic biscuits that everyone loved and we were done. YAY! Christmas was a great conglomerate and we had brunch that was fantastic. Sausage, turkey bacon, gf chocolate chip pancakes, cheese grits, scrambled eggs, gf biscuits, and gf french toast. Normally we have Pannetone that we make french toast out of but I didn't get to make it with such short timing. So next year plan that into the menu!!!! It was good with our coffee, mimosas and real drinking chocolate.
Christmas afternoon we had a fried turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, steamed green beans and glazed carrots, cheesecake, pumpkin pie. It was so nice to just relax as I had alot of this frozen already before we left for our NYC trip and it was thawing out and warming up. Smartest thing I ever did!
So, for my year in review or HOLY CRAP I cannot believe we made it through 2011!
As I sit and write this I remember that last NYE there was this looming essance over our family. We had been told at Thanksgiving last year that Lana wasn't doing well and that eventually she would be at a point that she would need to be admitted and moved up the transplant list. Her heart was way sicker than she was on the outside. I spent the next few weeks in a pitty party, depression, nostalgic and every other emotion you could imagine with your child being in iminant danger. I still am not sure how I survived those weeks and the months to come but here I sit and able to write you this NYE. Lana told me on Christmas break she did not think she'd be able to go back to school after the NY because she was truly too tired to do anything. I knew then it was time. I called my ex husband and told him what was going on, we decided to call the hospital after the new year and see what they say yet knowing that would mean we were headed for admition to Little Rock for an indefinate amount of time and an indefinate future. But it wasn't until we called on the 3rd that that became our reality. My mother and I loaded up 3 of my 4 kids, and all the luggage, clothes, and necessities we would need for at least a month so that we had everything with us that we would need and we drove to Little Rock and Arkansas Children's Hospital which would be our home for the next several months. 21 days into 2011 my daughter was admitted into the hospital, they then put her under quarantine due to a flu epidemic, I lived in a hotel for 2 weeks until we found an apartment, I could only see my oldest child for brief moments at a time, one of my closest friends from jr. high succomed to breast cancer, my family was split over 3 states trying to figure out what to do and then as we were figuring it all out....I got a phone call while pumping gas to exchange kids and spend the night in the hospital that they had a heart. They had a heart for my amazing child. That meant someone lost their child, to make a heart available to mine, yet all I could think about was that my child was going to go through the most traumatic, scary thing I've ever even imagined and hopefully both lives were not in vain but our donor heart would save the life of my child. To me, thinking back on those first 21 days in January of 2011, are a blur. Actually alot of 2011 was such a stressed, emotional mess it is something that amazes me that we are alive and we made it through what felt like a pergatory to me for a brief moment or blink of an eye. It felt like an eternity at the time but as I write this, it is over now. It's such a surreal experience. The 25th of January, 2011 started at 4 am when I awoke in Lana's hospital room with all three of my daughters exactly where we were the last evening, all holding hands and fell asleep watching a movie in a conglomerate of beds strewn across her room. The dad's and our priest found other accomodations for the night and various parts of my family were up making arrangments to get to us. They came into the room and readied us for what was to come a very long day. They took Lana early back to surgery and we spent the day laughing, crying, ready to vomit at any minute with bad news and just stress all together holding hands, holding phones, updating everyone and keeping busy for some period of time and praying our end was good. The end of the night we needed to sleep some and hope she was ok throughout the night, although she was bleeding heavily and losing blood pressure. We made it through, she is alive, she has many years left to prove the world wrong and that she can conquer all but those first 21 days almost killed me....Today as I close this year I could not be more grateful for anything in my life than the donor and the family of the donor who saved my amazingly gorgeous and beautiful child's life. There were many great things that happened throughout the year but Lana's heart transplant takes the cake. I close this year with the health of my 4 children who endured more in 2011 than any family deserves, and so much promise and hope for the new year. I will breathe much more freely on January 20th when she has her 1 year biopsy but I know that 2012 will ring in alot calmer than 2011. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers this year for Lana and all of us. You all have helped this family in more ways that you can imagine. I am excited about the prospects of 2012! Much love, happiness, success and life in the new year to all of you. Let all your dreams come true. There is much planned in 2012 in my life as well as my family's so stay tuned!!!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Silence
Well, I can't seem to finish one post on here recently. It's like I have ADD. I literally have 3 posts sitting in my drafts section and cannot seem to finish one with everything going on. But really, nothing that much is going on...except in my head. HAHA, there, I said it. My brain works in overtime mode all the time and sometimes I just have to listen to "The Voices" :). I just spent the last 5 days with my mom here and now am frantically packing 6 of us for NYC for 6 days. Nah, I don't have anything going on. Since Thanksgiving I have been working on a project and potential new venture and it has my mind tied up in creative overload. I can't seem to get a damn thing accomplished from beginning to end which, those of you who know me, knows this makes me INSANE! Add Mother Nature off her Zoloft, a couple full moons and my normal "OMG it's almost Christmas and we are going to be traveling until the 23rd" moments plus the regular day to day with 4 kids and I am officially ready for my beautiful NYC city. Those of you who have never been...get up and go! It's my favorite place in the US to go and somehow in the crazy hustle and bustle of the big city, there is silence and peace. I immediately feel better when I step off the plane. I can honestly say, I cannot wait for the sweet silence of my brain when I get to NYC. It makes me utterly happy and nothing else matters for the 6 days I'll be there. I will try my best to finish up all the loose shoe strings before I leave and we will see where that leads...;) Will update all the dish on NYC and all that is gluten free when I can while away but a whole set when I am home...Much love to all of you.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thanksgiving and Arsenic and all that stuff....
I know you are thinking I poisoned someone at Thankgiving dinner by the title of this post.:) But everyone escaped with their lives. Sorry it's been so long since I last posted, Thanksgiving literally took it out of me and left me exhausted. Our menu was great, our friends were amazing and probably better behaved than family would have been (LOL:)) and my sweet babies had an amazing and fun time playing with a ton of friends. I actually got to eat a HOT meal, with everyone else, and was able to sit around the table and gab with friends, watch football and relax! I think that equals a perfect holiday:). Everyone enjoyed the food, the fried turkey was amazing and there were 3 refrigerators FULL of leftovers even with people taking some home! Ok, so I don't know how to not cook for an army. I could have fed a 3rd world country on our seconds. Perhaps that is what I'll do once the kids are all off:). I had two recipes that I turned into round two recipes. One was Shepard's Pie made with leftover turkey, gfree gravy and leftover veggies and I made a version of white chicken chili with some more turkey instead of chicken.
Recipes will be at the end.
Onto the arsenic part of this. On the TODAY show this morning the consumer reports study has come out on the juice we give to our children and it is VERY disturbing. Dr. Oz did a lot of reporting on this earlier this year and got shot down on many things during his testing but surprise, surprise...he was guest star on the TODAY show this morning with exactly what he thought and what he said previously. Not that I am totally surprised but why is arsenic in any amount allowed in our food supply? It puts us at a much greater rish of cancer and other major chronic illnesses even at the smaller level. It absolutely amazes me that there are not more people concerned about this. The old adage of well we've been doing it for years and everyone is fine is not ok anymore. We are not fine. There is more cancer in the human population than ever reported and growing in numbers that you cannot even comprehend. And it's due to plain greed. If the companies would core the apples they are using, the seeds have high levels of arsenic naturally, alot of the problem would be solved. But they don't want to hire another person to core the apples or have a machine to do it. It's not just apple juice though, it's grape juice and several others and if you did not already know this, there is an acceptable level in our drinking water as well. This is just not acceptable. Obviously filtered or bottled water eliminates some of the exposure and Organic juices as well as when you can verify that the apple juice concentrate is from USA (this is a difficult task as some have the concentrate imported then the juice is made here) you are a little safer. This is a larger issue though. The almighty dollar is making all sorts of companies make decisions that are not in our best interest. Chicken plants breed chickens without beaks or feet and sometimes without feathers so that they don't have to hire someone to pluck, debeak or break apart the chicken. Seriously? How can that be good for us? That doesn't even begin to talk about the hormones or antibiotics that are injected. Buy organic as much as you can, be a pureist when you can ( buy a juicer, soda maker, food processor, bread maker when you can and make your own), use local farmers for meats and produce when you can or be very selective where you buy. Even in a crazy, out in the middle of nowhere place, like I live in there are options. Stop supporting McDonald's and support your kids health.
PS, another note on additives in our foods for those that are not gluten free: King Aurther is the only flour on the market that is non-bromated flour and if you are not sure what that means: it's an additive to flours
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_bromate...... I could go on and on with things in our foods...
King Arthur also makes a lot of G Free producst and flour blends!
OK, enough of that tangent. I'll include some article links at the end of this as well.
SO, Christmas is upon us. I've done most of my shopping , addressed almost all the Christmas cards and partially written our family letter. I've wrapped the things that have come in, decorated most everything except the outside. Things are moving along quite nicely. I can say, it feels a little weird this year. I let the kids decorate the tree while I supervised from the kitchen and made dinner. I broke down when I pulled the stuff I had shoved in the attic willy nilly on a quick trip home from the hospital at almost Valentine's Day and couldn't find everything and thought of where we were this time last year. I think I was so stressed last year and went through so many things this year I had to suck up and not react to emotionally that it's all built to a head that is waiting for New Years Eve to arrive so I can finally take a deep breath and start the new year in a new way. But my sweet angels are so excited and enjoying every second of Christmas and it's contagious! It's so sweet to see how excited they all are. We told the big girls that their main present is a destination present. This year we are leaving this lovely Arkansas town for one of my favorite places on earth...NYC. We will spend a week in this amazing city and embrace everything that it holds. That will get me back in the mood for sure. Ice skating in Central Park, shopping, eating, seeing my cousin and her family and seeing my sister and her family who are driving in from MD. It is a trip that is very needed this year to celebrate how far we have come in such a short period of time.
Dr. Oz and TODAY show links:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/safe-apple-juice-what-you-need-know you can go to his home page for the main parts of the article
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/arsenic-apple-juice remember it's not just apple juice either!
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45491242/ns/today-today_health/t/high-levels-arsenic-found-fruit-juice/
Leftover Shepard's Pie- traditional Shepard's pie was made with lamb but I typically make it with either lamb, ground turkey, beef and NOW leftover fried turkey:)
1 1/2 lbs leftover turkey, either runn through the food processor or hand shredded
1 onion chopped
1 TBSP olive oil
1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup leftover gravy (usually I use either gfree beef broth, mushroom soup, or gravy of some sort)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (GF)
Salt, pepper
1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
2 While the potatoes are cooking, heat olive oil in saute pan.
3 Sauté onions until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.
4 Add meat and sauté until no longer pink or if using leftovers until warm. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of gravy and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more gravy or broth as necessary to keep moist.
5 Mash potatoes in bowl with butter, season to taste, add coconut milk as needed to moiten.
6 Place meat, veggies and onion mixture in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown. If you want to add cheese at the end, the last 5 minutes is perfect.
White "chicken" Chili- or replaced with leftover turkey:)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers (optional and I don't include when the kids are eating)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth (GF)
3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast or leftover turkey
3 (15 ounce) cans white beans
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)
1/2 bunch cilantro chopped (1/4 C)
Recipes will be at the end.
Onto the arsenic part of this. On the TODAY show this morning the consumer reports study has come out on the juice we give to our children and it is VERY disturbing. Dr. Oz did a lot of reporting on this earlier this year and got shot down on many things during his testing but surprise, surprise...he was guest star on the TODAY show this morning with exactly what he thought and what he said previously. Not that I am totally surprised but why is arsenic in any amount allowed in our food supply? It puts us at a much greater rish of cancer and other major chronic illnesses even at the smaller level. It absolutely amazes me that there are not more people concerned about this. The old adage of well we've been doing it for years and everyone is fine is not ok anymore. We are not fine. There is more cancer in the human population than ever reported and growing in numbers that you cannot even comprehend. And it's due to plain greed. If the companies would core the apples they are using, the seeds have high levels of arsenic naturally, alot of the problem would be solved. But they don't want to hire another person to core the apples or have a machine to do it. It's not just apple juice though, it's grape juice and several others and if you did not already know this, there is an acceptable level in our drinking water as well. This is just not acceptable. Obviously filtered or bottled water eliminates some of the exposure and Organic juices as well as when you can verify that the apple juice concentrate is from USA (this is a difficult task as some have the concentrate imported then the juice is made here) you are a little safer. This is a larger issue though. The almighty dollar is making all sorts of companies make decisions that are not in our best interest. Chicken plants breed chickens without beaks or feet and sometimes without feathers so that they don't have to hire someone to pluck, debeak or break apart the chicken. Seriously? How can that be good for us? That doesn't even begin to talk about the hormones or antibiotics that are injected. Buy organic as much as you can, be a pureist when you can ( buy a juicer, soda maker, food processor, bread maker when you can and make your own), use local farmers for meats and produce when you can or be very selective where you buy. Even in a crazy, out in the middle of nowhere place, like I live in there are options. Stop supporting McDonald's and support your kids health.
PS, another note on additives in our foods for those that are not gluten free: King Aurther is the only flour on the market that is non-bromated flour and if you are not sure what that means: it's an additive to flours
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_bromate...... I could go on and on with things in our foods...
King Arthur also makes a lot of G Free producst and flour blends!
OK, enough of that tangent. I'll include some article links at the end of this as well.
SO, Christmas is upon us. I've done most of my shopping , addressed almost all the Christmas cards and partially written our family letter. I've wrapped the things that have come in, decorated most everything except the outside. Things are moving along quite nicely. I can say, it feels a little weird this year. I let the kids decorate the tree while I supervised from the kitchen and made dinner. I broke down when I pulled the stuff I had shoved in the attic willy nilly on a quick trip home from the hospital at almost Valentine's Day and couldn't find everything and thought of where we were this time last year. I think I was so stressed last year and went through so many things this year I had to suck up and not react to emotionally that it's all built to a head that is waiting for New Years Eve to arrive so I can finally take a deep breath and start the new year in a new way. But my sweet angels are so excited and enjoying every second of Christmas and it's contagious! It's so sweet to see how excited they all are. We told the big girls that their main present is a destination present. This year we are leaving this lovely Arkansas town for one of my favorite places on earth...NYC. We will spend a week in this amazing city and embrace everything that it holds. That will get me back in the mood for sure. Ice skating in Central Park, shopping, eating, seeing my cousin and her family and seeing my sister and her family who are driving in from MD. It is a trip that is very needed this year to celebrate how far we have come in such a short period of time.
Dr. Oz and TODAY show links:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/safe-apple-juice-what-you-need-know you can go to his home page for the main parts of the article
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/arsenic-apple-juice remember it's not just apple juice either!
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45491242/ns/today-today_health/t/high-levels-arsenic-found-fruit-juice/
Leftover Shepard's Pie- traditional Shepard's pie was made with lamb but I typically make it with either lamb, ground turkey, beef and NOW leftover fried turkey:)
1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
2 While the potatoes are cooking, heat olive oil in saute pan.
3 Sauté onions until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.
4 Add meat and sauté until no longer pink or if using leftovers until warm. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of gravy and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more gravy or broth as necessary to keep moist.
5 Mash potatoes in bowl with butter, season to taste, add coconut milk as needed to moiten.
6 Place meat, veggies and onion mixture in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown. If you want to add cheese at the end, the last 5 minutes is perfect.
White "chicken" Chili- or replaced with leftover turkey:)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno (if using), green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken or turkey and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the mixture from heat. Top with the cheese and cilantro. Serve warm.
For a little more depth I will occasionally add a can of Rotelle tomatoes/onions/chilis as well, it does spice it a little more but I like it!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Funny things happen, sometimes they end up good! Dessert's
So, I've been baking away and something hilarious and comical happened tonight that I had to share with you all. I have a Martha Stewart recipe for a sweet potato pit with a gingersnap pie shell. Well, obviously you have to have gluten free gingersnaps but I sorta figured Izzy probably wouldn't be eating it so I wasn't going to concentrate so much on being dairy free. In the end I ended up with an amazing sweet potato pie that is accidentally gluten AND dairy free and I want to share this tip for those who are daity free! I was half way through making the pie and realized that the recipe called for sweetened condensed milk and I had bought evaporated milk. Uh OH! Well, I thought, they had to make condensed milk in some way shape or form to create the cans, maybe there's a recipe. I googled how to make condensed milk....to my surprise there is not only a recipe but it was SUPER EASY! Here comes the funny part.....the first ingredient in the recipe was powdered milk. I knew I didn't have that on hand so I'm searching through the pantry and found that I had a box of powdered coconut milk. The EXACT amount I needed for the recipe. So, I decided, what the heck let's give it a try! SURE enough, it came out perfectly! Here's the recipe for homemade condensed milk, just substitute your powdered milk of choice, for us it was coconut which I think is more readily available: http://www.ehow.com/how_4903555_make-condensed-milk.html
The sweet potato pie recipe is:
http://www.marthastewart.com/314807/sweet-potato-pie-with-gingersnap-crust
I used Mi-Del all natural ginger snaps that are gluten and dairy free, butter substitute (Earth Balance baking sticks), C4C gluten free flour blend (but any Gfree flour blend should work since it's only 2 1/2 TBSP) and the coconut milk condensed milk. I will serve with the rice or soy whip for whipped cream but I wanted to tell you about another product I found today while at our natural food store. For those who need dairy free heavy whipping cream and are not tree nut allergic there is a almond and cashew whipping cream called Healthy Top by Mimiccreme, dairy/soy and gluten free! If anyone out there has tried this please post a comment so I know how it is!
Next up is Pumpkin pie:
I make the traditional Libby's pumpkin pie: I am lazy when it comes to pie crusts because they have to have alot of love and patience and usually since dessert is the last part of the meal, I run out of patience. You can ask anyone....I would rather have a glass of wine or prosecco than a slice of pie. BUT Whole Foods bakehouse makes one heck of an already done frozen pie shell, you can get it just like the regular frozen pie shells and you thaw and bake just like any other pie. It HAS to be one of the best things ever invented for a gfree chef. So, last time I was in Little Rock, I picked up two packs and have been hording them for just this moment...the star of Thanksgiving cannot have an icky or soso crust! Prepare the pie according to directions on the back of Libby's canned pumpkin. For a dairy free option evaporated milk can be substituted several ways, boiling your milk sub by 50% or 1 C soy, rice or coconut powedered milk with 1 C boiling water and combine in a blender. http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18470/LIBBYS-Famous-Pumpkin-Pie/detail.aspx
I also made Paula Deen's (I rarely use one of her recipes due to the amount of butter, lard or other fat added but this one is a great one) Fresh apple cake with honey glaze
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/uncle-bobs-fresh-apple-cake-recipe/index.html
I subbed the milk for coconut milk, vegetable oil for olive oil and I made this cake with two flours to see what worked best, they both ended up very nice...I used Pamela's baking mix first and then the C4C flour blend second. It's a really nice cake that can sub as a breakfast type cake as well.
and the final dessert at this year's big even will be a chocolate ganache cake:
Barefoot Contessa and Ina make me happy, I love to entertain and man does that lady know how to do it right. This is her recipe and I sub for my gfree flour blend: http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-ganache-cake-81807
Full fat coconut milk can be substituted for heavy cream. A coconut milk substitute will impart a coconut flavor to a recipe, so it will work for some recipes, but not all. Here is another recipe for subbing heavy cream: http://www.sweettaterblog.com/2010/12/10/vegan-heavy-cream/
The sweet potato pie recipe is:
http://www.marthastewart.com/314807/sweet-potato-pie-with-gingersnap-crust
I used Mi-Del all natural ginger snaps that are gluten and dairy free, butter substitute (Earth Balance baking sticks), C4C gluten free flour blend (but any Gfree flour blend should work since it's only 2 1/2 TBSP) and the coconut milk condensed milk. I will serve with the rice or soy whip for whipped cream but I wanted to tell you about another product I found today while at our natural food store. For those who need dairy free heavy whipping cream and are not tree nut allergic there is a almond and cashew whipping cream called Healthy Top by Mimiccreme, dairy/soy and gluten free! If anyone out there has tried this please post a comment so I know how it is!
Next up is Pumpkin pie:
I make the traditional Libby's pumpkin pie: I am lazy when it comes to pie crusts because they have to have alot of love and patience and usually since dessert is the last part of the meal, I run out of patience. You can ask anyone....I would rather have a glass of wine or prosecco than a slice of pie. BUT Whole Foods bakehouse makes one heck of an already done frozen pie shell, you can get it just like the regular frozen pie shells and you thaw and bake just like any other pie. It HAS to be one of the best things ever invented for a gfree chef. So, last time I was in Little Rock, I picked up two packs and have been hording them for just this moment...the star of Thanksgiving cannot have an icky or soso crust! Prepare the pie according to directions on the back of Libby's canned pumpkin. For a dairy free option evaporated milk can be substituted several ways, boiling your milk sub by 50% or 1 C soy, rice or coconut powedered milk with 1 C boiling water and combine in a blender. http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18470/LIBBYS-Famous-Pumpkin-Pie/detail.aspx
I also made Paula Deen's (I rarely use one of her recipes due to the amount of butter, lard or other fat added but this one is a great one) Fresh apple cake with honey glaze
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/uncle-bobs-fresh-apple-cake-recipe/index.html
I subbed the milk for coconut milk, vegetable oil for olive oil and I made this cake with two flours to see what worked best, they both ended up very nice...I used Pamela's baking mix first and then the C4C flour blend second. It's a really nice cake that can sub as a breakfast type cake as well.
and the final dessert at this year's big even will be a chocolate ganache cake:
Barefoot Contessa and Ina make me happy, I love to entertain and man does that lady know how to do it right. This is her recipe and I sub for my gfree flour blend: http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-ganache-cake-81807
Full fat coconut milk can be substituted for heavy cream. A coconut milk substitute will impart a coconut flavor to a recipe, so it will work for some recipes, but not all. Here is another recipe for subbing heavy cream: http://www.sweettaterblog.com/2010/12/10/vegan-heavy-cream/
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