Fat Tuesday 2012

Fat Tuesday seems to have come and gone. But not without a little celebrations in our household. When I was growing up my mother often made Carnival Cookies. They are a dough rolled very thin and fried in oil then covered with powered sugar. I've thought about getting the recipe from her to make for my boys. And maybe one day I will. I'll have to play with gluten free flours to make them gluten free, but hey I'm getting pretty good at that. :) Anyway, without my mother's Carnival Cookie recipe, I decided I would try my hand at doughnuts. I mean, they are fried. And sweet. They fit. Plus in my new book To Dance with God: Family Ritual and Community Celebration, the author talked about making doughnuts with her kids as part of a Fat Tuesday celebration. So we did our own variation of this.

 I used a  doughnut recipe I found on Celiac.com The recipe calls for Bette Hagmans gluten-free mix. I happened to have The Gluten-free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy  However, I don't tend to like GF flour mixes with too much rice flour. I took Hagmans' example and halved it to get a smaller portion. Than did some substitutions to come us with this. 1 1/2 cups Sorghum Flour, 1 1/2 cups Sweet Rice Flour, 1 cup Potato Starch, 1/2 cup Tapioca Flour. I still have flour mix left over but hey I'll use it for something right? The other change I made to the recipe was I used guar gum in place of xanthan gum. My understanding is they are very similar and are often used simultaneously. Anyway, after mixing up the dough, I rolled it out on my counter and had the boys come in one at a time and cut out large circles. 

I don't have a doughnut cutter, So we used a large circle and then I used a small circle to cut out the center

 I then fried them in canola oil in  a pan on my stove.

 Then I placed powdered sugar in a large bowl with a lid and let the boys take turns shaking the bowl. They seemed enjoy this.

Shake Shake

checking to make sure the doughnuts are covered

 But eating the leftover sugar was even more fun. It was a mess. But hey they had fun. And I figured one day of eating plain sugar is not going to hurt them. 

eating leftover sugar

Besides Fat Tuesday is all about indulging in all the fatty, sugary, unhealthy food we will be abstaining from during Lent. Seems to me that letting them eat the remaining sugar fit the bill for the day.

 The doughnuts turned out pretty good. They were more cake like in taste and texture. But still yummy. Next year I might try to find a yeast doughnut recipe. We'll see. 

he is trying not to smile

In addition to doughnuts, this year I wanted to enjoy fried foods that I rarely, if ever, make. So I made fried chicken. And I fried it in at least an inch of oil. I used gluten free crushed corn flakes and flax seed in place of breadcrumbs for the breading. They were very yummy. 

We then enjoyed mashed potatoes with gravy and peas. Cause let's be honest, I can't serve a meal without a vegetable. And while I tossed around the idea of making a green been casserole or something, it was just one thing too many. Frozen peas take five minutes in the microwave. Simple. Easy. And the boys love them, so hey it's works.

 Overall a satisfying feast. 

Grapes

One of the many exciting things growing in our yard is a line of grape vines. The row takes up an entire length of our garden plot. And just as we closed on the house, they were becoming ripe.

 Sadly after our first picking, I didn't get out there again for a week and a half. Which meant we lost a ton. So after two pickings I think we are about done. :( But on the upside we did get to enjoy some of them.

And next year I'll be more on top of things. And hopefully have read up on how to care for them better. My reading list is getting longer by the second.
For our first picking we enjoyed Grape Pie out of Simply in Season.

It was pretty easy to make. I used a gluten free pie crust from my Gluten Free Baking cookbook.

 The boys enjoyed it.

I enjoyed it.

 I then made grape jello with the rest. That was not a hit. I think next time I might add just alittle sugar. The next bunch I picked I turned into 6 jars of gape jam. :) I'm looking forward to enjoying that. And I'm hoping that when I add these jars to the blueberry and strawberry jams I made earlier this summer we can last all winter and spring without buying store bought jam. We'll just have to wait and see though. And if we don't make it, at least it give me a better estimate for next year. I"m hoping that next year I can add grape juice to my canning list

Yeah for Grapes!

Gluten Free Reviews #1

Now I'm very aware that for families that have been gluten free for awhile these things may be a "no duh." But having now tired a few packaged/store bought gluten free (GF) products, I thought I would share our reviews. There are surprisingly many more options out there. And I'm sure I'll attempt to try some of the others available to us here in Goshen. But for today here are four product reviews. Extra bonus reviews on few online recipes :)

Homemade Bread-
There are several recipes I've found for bread online. And while I have not tried them all, or any but one. I was pleased with the result of the one I tried. No Gluten, No Problem has both a recipe for a GF flour blend, as well as a bread recipe using their flour blend. I had attempted the use the recipe but substitute their flour blend with a GF flour blend I found at our local food Coop Maple City Market. While the bread baked beautifully, neither Mark nor I enjoyed the flavor. I think it's due to the garbanzo bean flour, it over took the flavor of the flour blend thus making my bread taste like garbanzo beans (which I like, just not in my bread). When I then made a batch of the Artisan GF Flour Blend, the sandwich bread recipe was much more enjoyable. In fact we all really liked it. On top of a good flavor, it has a good constancy and texture. Plus it was pretty simple to make. I plan on experimenting with other recipes, but it's nice to have a good backup. :)

Pancakes-

Having used the Artisan GF Flour Blend in Alton Brown's GF chocolate chip recipe (and them turning our great), I thought I would try to substitute this flour in my normal pancake recipe. It did not turn out great. Cai ate them up no problem. Me, the grainy texture was alittle much. I ate them. They were OK. But not great.
This pancake fail happened in Kansas, as I had taken many of the flours/blends with me for just these types of things. I then forgot to grab them and let everything at my mother's. So while I have brown rice flour and potato starch, I do not have xanthan gum or any other binder. Thus until I get to the store am limited in want I can make that requires flour. Last Saturday our church had a pancake feed. I wanted to make pancakes for Cai so that we could attend. However I did not have the energy to shop for ingredients, search for a recipe. Thus I broke down and bought a box of pancake mix.

We were very pleased with the purchase. Gluten Free Pantry's pancake and waffle mix turned out to be really good. The pancakes were fluffy, yummy and the texture was not too grainy. So while I still want to find a good recipe, in a bind or when life is too crazy these are a great, convenient alternative.

Cake/Cupcakes-
The boys' birthdays were earlier this month. We celebrated with my mom and stepdad while in Kansas. But didn't get to celebrate with Mark. So Sunday afternoon we had a mini-party at the park for Cai, Ian and Oliver (their cousin). I really wanted to make a cake. In Kansas it was just easier to have ice cream sundays. And really that worked great. But I wanted cake. So while purchasing the above pancake mix we bought a cake mix as well.

Sorry no picture of the finished cupcakes (they were easier to eat at the park). Cherrybrooks Kitchen Gluten Free Dreams Chocolate Cake Mix turned out wonderful. The cake was moist. The top was sweet, even without frosting. And everyone enjoyed them. Mark and I were very pleased. Two success with store bought produces makes us hopeful for our future eating. :) Although we are bracing ourselves for the many failures that are sure to happen as I try my hand at making things myself. 

Pasta- 

We love pasta at our house. So I knew right off that we needed to find a good GF option. Thus far I have found one brand I like, and one I don't. 

Tinkyada Pasta Joy has worked well for us. We have enjoyed both the  brown rice spaghetti and the brown rice elbow pasta. It has good texture, good taste, and the claim to withstand over-cooking is very true. I'm mean come on, I have 3 little ones 5 yrs and under. Our pasta sometimes gets neglected. But this brand has yet to disappoint us. 

DeBoles Rice pasta did not turn out so well. It was chewy, grainy, and just left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. In fact after draining and tasting this pasta last night, I tossed it and made the Elbow from Tinkyada Pasta Joy. I have one more box of DeBoles (Rice Spirals). I'll give it one more try. But to tell the truth I'm not holding my breath. I don't think we'll be buying this brand again. 

Well there it is. Several review for you. I'm sure more will come. In fact I plan on sharing alot about our journey in Gluten Free eating. If you have suggestions, recipes, links and such you want to share, we would be very grateful. Cause really, while there is a plethora of information out there, it can be overwhelming to sift through.  Help is always welcome. 

Fat Tuesday Feast

Tomorrow being Ash Wednesday and the start of lent I wanted to make a big meal tonight. Not that we fast in this house, but still it felt right to acknowledge the day with good food. One of these days I'm going to get my mom's Carnival cookie recipe. As kids (and teenagers) she would make them almost every year for Fat Tuesday. She says it reminds her of her year in Switzerland.

Anyhoo, if you look at my menu plan I was going to roast a chicken in the crock pot. That plan quickly got  swapped. Yesterday without thinking I picked up Cai while already holding Aiden. And I wasn't careful about it. Cai had banged his head on the floor of the coffee shop we were in and I just wanted to confort him. Of course I ended up hurt my back in the process. So I have been hobbling around ever since. Today has been alittle better as I stretch and take pain meds. But still I'm not at my normal speed. Thus my morning got started late. And putting the chicken in the crock pot didn't happen. So wanted to still have chicken (cause chicken and mashed potatoes sounds soooo good), I started looking for a roasted chicken recipe. Mennonite Girls Can Cook saved the day! My friend Sarah in Kansas showed me this site before we moved. She loves it and I can see why. They have great recipes for home-style cooking. The recipe for Roasted Chicken isn't fancy. But it was easy to follow and I didn't get bogged down with other entries like I might have if i was looking in a big cookbook such as my Joy of Cooking (which I should mention I do use for things such as this). It turned out wonderful. I'm sad to say I didn't take any pictures. :( I served garlic mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and egg bread with it.
Have I mentioned I love my kitchen aid? It's it pretty!

I love my bread hook, and just the ability to make bread without having to knead it myself. Sure I'll admit that there is a peace in kneading bread. But on days like today when I can have my kitchen aid to the work it mean I get homemade bread when I might have not done it otherwise. Because with todays back pain there was no way.

 Boy I do appreciate this little appliance. And the bread, it turned out great. The perfect addition to our feast of food. Everyone ate their fill.

 And after picking up some toys, the boys enjoyed brownies with ice cream. It was a good way to celebrate day.

Lasagna Rolls

So I will get to our ski trip, but first I wanted to share about making lasagna rolls. These were a favorite meal growing up in my house, especially by my little brother. And they have come to be loved by my boys as well. To top off the fun, they are pretty simple to make. So when thinking about what meal to take and what to cook for said meal during our ski trip with family and friends they immediately came to mind. Knowing I could make them ahead of time meant less to worry about once we got to our cabin. Less work for me there meant more time to enjoy being on "vacation" and away from home. :) So I quickly volunteered to make dinner Thursday night and said I would bring lasagna rolls. It was a hit. Mark sauted broccoli, we made a salad and I brought up Parmesan, onion bread I baked the night before. Yummy! Anyway, I thought I would share the simple process of making them here. Hopefully my mother will forgive me for giving away her secrets. :) 

Lasagna Rolls

You'll need:
         box lasagna noodles- cooked
         1lb ground beef- browned
         28oz can of spaghetti sauce (or equal to)
         8-16oz (2-4cups) mozzarella cheese- shredded
         grease 9x13 casserole dish
        *see notes at end

I set everything within reach so I can easily assemble. I rinse my noodles in cold water and hang them over a bowl or pan to avoid sticking and allow for handling without burning my fingers. 

First I lay out my noodle on the counter or other clean surface. 

Than I spoon on the spaghetti sauce. 

Next spend on the meat and top with cheese. I tend to use alot of cheese. Which is why I tend to go through closer to 16oz rather than 8. 

After everything is on, you roll up the noodle and place in the pan. I can get three rolls across and 5 rolls down in a 9x13 pan. You could probably get 6 down depending on how tight you roll you noodles. But I tend to loose noodles in the cooking process and don't have enough complete cooked noodles to do 6 rows. I than add the rest of the sauce and cheese to the top of the rolls at the end. 

You place in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes. The great part about this recipe is that you can assemble and then freeze. My mom is always filling my freezer with pans of lasagna rolls for us. I have to say I love it. For our trip I made three 9x13 pans, put them in the freezer over night and then let them thaw on our 6 hour trip up to the mountain. It was great. 

*Some notes you should know. 

         1) Feel free to substitute a vegetable for the ground beef. I have used cook spinach several times now. In fact one of the pan for our trip had spinach instead of beef.  

         2) While when cooking for a big group I use store bought spaghetti sauce, I often will use a can of tomato sauce and spice it up with herbs and diced veggies such as carrots and pepper instead. 

         3) 8 oz of cheese really should work for you. I just like cheese and tend to go over board. Luckily my family doesn't complain. :)   

Enjoying Purple Cauliflower

So last week we enjoyed my purple cauliflower I got from our local Farmer's Market in two meals. On Monday we had Broccoli Soup. This is a potato soup with broccoli and cauliflower. It is perfect for a cold day. Very warm and thick. My recipe from Simply in Season had me steam my potatoes, broccoli, onion and cauliflower until soft. I also added a leek cause I had some that needed to be used. Than you add your milk, broth (veg or chicken), Worcestershire sauce and simmer. Finally add some flour smoothed with milk to thicken and cheese. It's a great recipe, and yummy. The thick milk base covered up most of the color of my veggies. Oh well.

On Tuesday we ate Green Spaghetti and steamed cauliflower. The cauliflower turned really dark, almost indigo in color when steamed. It was very pretty.

I changed up my Green Spaghetti recipe too. The original comes from La Leche League's Whole Foods for the Whole Family cookbook.

My boys liked this recipe. But everyone seemed to enjoy the new one even better. So I thought I would share.

Green Spaghetti

Steam 1/4lbs spinach- set aside

Steam 1/4lbs kale- add to spinach

Blend together (in blender or food processor) the spinach, kale, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 cloves garlic, salt, 1/4-1/2 cup milk

Toss mixture with cooked spaghetti and serve!

The Kale and garlic are my additions. And I was really pleased with the results. Even Mark seemed to enjoy it more.

Blueberry jam and Blueberry soda

Awhile back Rachel, my sister-in-law, and I went and picked blueberries. They had been sitting fridge waiting for me to make jam from them. And today I finally got to it. I used a recipe from Whole Foods for the Whole Family. I really like this cookbook. It made 4 1/2 pint jars of jam. After making the jam I had alittle over 4 cups of blueberries left so I decided to try and make blueberry soda. Using the same concept from rhubarb soda, I pureed the blueberries and than cooked them with 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar. I then strained them to get some of the skins out. I couldn't get all the skins out and it's alittle thicker than I would like. I think next time I'll just cook the blueberries rather than pureeing them. However it's still pretty good soda. It made alot so if you want a smaller batch you could cut everything in half. Just with the rhubarb soda I fill my glass 1/4 blueberry concentrate, put in some ice and then fill to the top with sparkling water. Mix and enjoy! The boys and I have already enjoyed a glass each. YUM!

Establishing routines- The Dishes

Mark and I have never been good at keeping up with dishes. The sad part is we have a dishwasher. And yet in the past we weren't always good at getting it unloaded and loaded back up in a timely manner. And thus dishes would be stacked on top so high that we did finailly start loading there wasn't room for them all. :( It's sad but true. And hand wash dishes are worse. However, my new kitchen is very small in comparison to the one in KS. My dishwasher has to either sit in my laundry room or my dining room b/c there is no place for it in the kitchen when it's not running (it's a portable dishwasher). Currently I've got it in the dining room, which I think is where it will stay. But I don't want to have to look at dirty dishes on top all day long. So in attempting to organize my house and my life and establish new routines in our new place, I have started making dish duty a regular part of life. Every morning I unload the dishwasher.

Cai has been really excited about helping with this job. He pulls out silverware and plates and brings them to me to put away. Things like plastic containers I let him put up in the cupboards b/c they are stored in the lower ones. Ian helps too on occasion. But I haven't started making this a requirement. YET I'm thinking in the new future it might be. I'm wanting to start some basic chores for the kids. Things that I know they are capable of and such. Simply having them help starts the idea.
Anyway, so after we get the dishwasher unloaded, I roll it into the dining room so we can load dishes through-out the day. Here I also get the boys help. After snack, lunch and dinner I have them load up their plates and silverware. Things such as bowls and cups that go in the top rack I load b/c it's harder for them to reach and I don't want things to drop and break. But after about four days of this I think it's working. It's becoming ingrained in my memory and routine. And I feel much better about the dishes. I've also started cleaning as I go while cooking. And making sure to run the dishwasher every evening after supper. What are your kitchen cleaning routines? My next goal is establishing toy clean up. Wish me luck. :)

My Kitchen, My Center

Just moments ago I was catching up on reading some of the blogs I follow. And I came across SouleMama's post Miss Mae's Coffee Crisp. She starts the post talking about how her kitchen is not only the center of her home but the center of her Self. And I was struck with the truth of this notion. The kitchen in my family is the heart of any and all matters. People congregate in the kitchen, despite more comfortable seating in other rooms. We chat, we laugh, we cry, we eat, we create, we pray, we share, we bear our hearts and souls to one another. I've long known the importance of a kitchen. It doesn't matter the location, be it my mother's, father's, grandmother's or uncle's house I gravitate to the kitchen. Yet until recently I haven't realized the depth in which my own self blossoms from my own kitchen.

Growing up my mother's kitchen was always a welcomed place. My mother is an extraordinary cook, who not only loves to cook but loves to feed. In my knowledge no one is excluded from my mother's table or my mother's kitchen. There is always room for a friend, even a stranger. Always enough food, despite her worries otherwise. And the love that flows out of her kitchen and out of her manifest in my own desire to feed those I love and more. While I never thought I would experience the joy my mother does while cooking, I always wanted my kitchen to be a place of joy and love. What I didn't expect was to find exactly that joy in which I watch my mother possess. I think I finally understand my mother's love and joy surrounding her kitchen. In my kitchen I cook and bake in order to feed those I love. I talk and laugh, deeply communicating with those around me. But more than all that, the daily rhythm of creating food, to nourish and nurture, connects me with the human race as a whole. Through my kitchen I am connected to my mother, my father, my grandmothers, and their mothers, to women and men both here and gone who too have stood in front of a stove or mixing bowl preparing to feed those around them. I find my center, my self, both as an individual and part of a community. I find peace. Most importantly, in the process of feeding others I feed me.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my kitchen. It's alot smaller than my old one and I'm still getting use to it. But slowly I'm growing more and more comfortable within this small space that I consider so important.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos

Since I've started posting our meal plans I have gotten question on how to make the sweet potato burritos we often have. So I thought I would let everyone know how they can cook them. But first a cookbook review.

If you have never heard of Simply in Season, you must check it out. It is by far one of my most used cookbooks. It is put together so nicely that I can easily look up recipes by ingredient and season. And often there are variations to the recipes, using other vegetables or fruit common in other seasons. And example is in the Summer section there is a wonderful recipe for crustless zucchini quiche. At the bottom it suggests using broccoli or kale rather than zucchini and tomatoes in the fall. In addition to the great recipes, there are menu idea for putting together the recipes to make a complete meal. This is a great help to me. I sometimes get excited about a certain dish but than have no idea what to serve with it. Finally there are great tips on gardening and eating seasonally.

Ok now that I have praised Simply in Season, on to the recipe. We had these burritos last night. As you can probably figure out by checking our menus, we love them. And they have become a staple around here the last couple of winters. Hope you enjoy as well.

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

Saute in oil 3 cups diced sweet potato and 1/2 an med onion

Add 2 cups cooked black beans (or one 15 oz can), 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt. Cook until heated through.

Spoon into 6-8 tortillas, sprinkle with cheese and roll up. Bake at 350F in 9x13 baking dish covered with foil for about 20-25 minutes.

I get impatient with sauting the sweet potatoes. And with little kids I need to ensure my potatoes are very very soft. So I have cooked the two different ways. One is to diced them up and then steam them like I would if I was going to mash them. The second (which I first tried last night) is to bake them in the oven first. I diced them, tossed them in oil and then placed them in a square baking dish at 400F. I think it took about 45 mins to cook till they were as soft as desired. But they tasted so good this way. If cooking the sweet potatoes in either manner, I add the spices to the black potatoes and then toss the cooked potatoes into that mixture before spooning into the tortillas. If I'm using canned beans I don't even bother heating. They get heated in the oven. I also like to sprinkle cheese on top of the rolled up tortillas.

Sorry I don't have any pictures. When I was making them last night I didn't think about taking any. I sure hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Love of Pancakes

We love pancakes around here. And lately we have been eating them alot. The increase in pancake intake came about with the purchase of an electric griddle. I was very excited awhile back to find a square electric griddle at our local Salvation Army. And I must admit it has been wonderful addition to my kitchen. Somehow cooking pancakes on an electric griddle instead of a frying pan is alot easier. Don't know why. Just seems that way to me.

While I've been known to use pancake recipes that are more detailed (and always worth it), of late our pancakes have been very simple. I have a pancake mix ready in my cupboard. I use one cup of the mix, add a cup of milk, one egg, alittle vanilla, and about a tablespoon of oil. Sometimes when I'm feeling nice I'll even add something extra such as applesauce or chocolate chips. :) The mix I use is from my mother-in-law's pancake recipe. I cut the dry ingredients in half to fit in the container I have. And while I follow her recipe that uses yogurt for when Mark is eating with us, lately I've stuck to my own variation. To make the amount of mix I make you mix the following together and store in air tight container.

3 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup while all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon baking soda and 1 tablespoon salt.

Our renewed love of pancakes is more than the easy creation of the meal. It's also due to the easy in consumption. Both my boys can easily feed themselves pancakes. And recently, upon the suggestion from Angry Chicken's post in December, we have been eating them with powdered sugar rather than syrup. The boys love the sugar, and I have less sticky to clean up. Sure there is white on cloths and the table cloth, but somehow it doesn't bother me the way the sticky syrup does when it gets everywhere. :)

At first we would just use a spoon to put the powdered sugar on the pancakes. And I would love to get a big shaker. However, since I don't have one right now I decided to use a small glass salt shaker. I had this nice decorative salt and pepper shakers that I wasn't using and decided it was time to put them on our table. We got them to go with our dishes, so there was no reason for us not to use them daily. I then cleaned the clear glass set we had been using and once cleaned put powdered sugar in it.

While it takes some effort to get the sugar out it works. And I'm not worried about Ian dumping a ton on his pancakes anymore like he did with the spoon when I would let him do it himself. Of course, Ian's alittle upset about not getting as much, but he'll live. Besides Mama is happy with the situation. And when Mama is happy, so is everyone else.