Pumpkin Spice Muffins

One of the boys actually found this recipe. They've realized I can (eventually) tweak most recipes for their allergies so when they find something they like they ask for the recipe (an odd thing for most 10 year old boys...). Sure enough, this recipe only needed very small tweaks to meet the dairy-free, egg free, soy free criteria. I haven't tried it gluten free yet, but it seems like it should work easily. These are everything a muffin should be -- moist, flavorful and great with a cup of coffee!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

makes 24

2 c pumpkin puree (I've also used a combo of pumpkin and butternut)

3 eggs or egg substitute to equal (we use EnerG)

3/4 c olive oil

1 tsp vanilla

3 c flour

1 c sugar

1 c brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp each: ground nutmeg, cloves and all-spice

pinch salt

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl and stir well to combine (I use a stand mixer). In separate bowl combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Add to liquid ingredients and mix until just combined. Spoon into 24 greased or papered muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min. Top with a glaze of 2T milk (or coconut milk) and 1/2 c powdered sugar (most organic powdered sugars are corn free) if desired.

"Corner Under the Stairs"

Yes, I know it's an odd name. I've meant to explain several times. I keep forgetting. Or getting distracted. Shocking, I know.

There is a group of mom that meets at my house to pray for each other and decompress. And have an adult conversation. The kids tear the house apart and we sit in the living room and chat and pretend to discuss a book we're supposed to read. One afternoon we were talking about having a place of our own -- you know, a place that the kids weren't supposed to touch. A place you could leave scissors on the table or tiny bananas you've made from frosting and no one will come out a few minutes later having bit the head off the cake topper you've just made or cut their hair off with the scissors. A place where you could shut the door and craft or scrapbook, or pretend to do something while having a moments peace and no one tapping you on the shoulder (which, I swear to God, actually happened as I typed that sentence...). One mom in particular (who has a little bit of a crazy house and insists on babysitting on top of it) expressed the wish to be able to organize her craft supplies and have even just a small space that her things could be HER THINGS. She mentioned that there was this corner under her stairs that was meant to be a large storage closet and all her craft stuff was in there just waiting to be organized and it was going to be her corner. I got this instant mental picture of a mom huddled in a tiny closet. There's a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. No windows, bare walls. And she looks a little crazy. She hasn't showered, her clothes are a little eskew and she's in the fetal position hugging her knees and rocking and humming. She's gone a little batty. The kids are pounding on the door outside, yelling, "Mom! Mom! Where are you?" In my head it was pretty funny. So I giggled. And then had to share the mental picture with the rest of the group so they would understand why I was laughing at her obviously serious revelation. It became a standing joke that meeting that we'd go to our "corner under the stairs", but the truth is, as moms we NEED a corner. History tells us that Susannah Wesley, the mother of the famed preachers, Charles and John Wesley, would take her apron and pull it up over her head to make a private place to pray in her crazy household. She needed a corner. Moms need a second. Sometimes it's enough privacy to cry. Sometimes it's because we need a timeout as badly as the kids do. Sometimes it's just needing enough quiet to remember what we were thinking. Or have a thought. Sometimes it's just the desire to pee in peace (why is it more disasters seem to happen to a 3 year old at that time than any other?). Or maybe hear what the voice on the other end of the line is trying to yell. We need a corner under the stairs. So, the name has reason. The reason is a place to think, a moment out of time to sit and collect my thoughts. Turns out either I don't have as many thoughts as you might think or I don't have as much time to think them as I thought. Turns out I really do need a corner under the stairs!

Pickles!

That's right. Pickles! With an exclamation, thank you. I'm a little bit of a pickle snob. I don't love pickles. I like one kind. Claussens. I don't know why -- something about the 1) crunch 2) garlic and 3) salt. The 3 components most other pickles are missing. I don't like it when they can be bent in half. I don't like them spicy, sweet or sour. I want salt and I was garlic and darn it, I want it to coat my mouth and leave me KNOWING I had a pickle. So, when I made the very wise decision (I so wish there was a way to get sarcasm across in, say a font...) to buy a 35lb box of pickling cucumbers the week before we left for vacation, I realized I a) didn't have time to can and b) don't really like pickles. So, off to Google. After viewing many, many recipes claiming to copy the taste and snap I require, I rejected them all (seriously, how dumb do they think people are? Just look at the ingredients floating in the bottom of the jar people! Do you SEE allspice?). I finally found one that I thought looked close, read the comments and saw a few people said these were way salty and thought, "Yep. That sounds close." I then "fixed" it after looking at the bottom of jars in Walmart (Yes, I went to pickle section and looked at the bottoms of jars, even swirled a few around to make sure I wasn't missing anything...) and started pickling. Now, the downside of this recipe is when I play with things I tend to forget what and how much of what I've put in...so this is "close". I also don't know how many cucumbers I used. Maybe 20ish lbs? I made some whole, some half, some spears, some sliced...I was getting bored so every time I felt like it I changed pickle formats. We've already polished off a huge container. Now, I used the big tall tupperware containers, but any large container will do -- I've even read that lots of people use ice cream buckets! I'm thinking the recipe said this will do about a gallon of pickles -- I tripled it or more...for however many I made...

Pickles

1/3 c dried minced onions

7 cloves minced garlic (I cheated and bought pre-minced garlic and used the equivalent)

1/2 T mustard seed

2 T dried dill

2 T dill seed

2 c vinegar

1/2 c canning salt
1 1/2 quarts water (preferably distilled)

Boil and pour over cucumbers. Let cool, then put on lids and let set for 12-24 hours. Refrigerate for up to one year.

Note: Since making these we have made numerous other things with this brine...eggs (pour over peeled, hardboiled eggs), asparagus, peppers, etc.  We've even tried reusing the brine (bring back to a boil) with good results.  :-)

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I'm sitting here on this grey and blustery Monday with a bowl of this soup. It's just such perfect comfort food. A good friend brought up this soup about a month ago when Bryan and I were both really sick. We loved the delicate and unique flavors -- it seems like most chicken soups get to tasting the same after a while! This one has dill -- a spice I just wouldn't normally add to chicken soup, but it adds a beautiful complex flavor! We loved it so much I asked her for the recipe so I could tweak it and make it allergy free (I knew it was close)! The original is a chicken noodle soup -- some of ours are allergic to wheat. I used wild rice since I had it on hand, but regular noodles or rice noodles would work great too! Just add them in the last 10-15 min or cook them separately and add just before serving. Now, this does make enough for an army...feel free to cut it in half or use leftover chicken!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

*Note: I used leftover chicken from a roast chicken and homemade chicken broth, sidestepping the first section!

1 whole chicken (preferable organic)

1 onion, chopped

Slow cook in crockpot with 4-5 c water (or simmer 1-2 hours in a large pot until meat "falls off bones"). Seperate meat and bones -- allow skin and bones to simmer longer to make broth. Shread/chop meat.

3 T olive oil

1 med onion, finely chopped

1 lb carrots finely chopped

1 portabella mushroom or about 4 oz other mushrooms, finely chopped

1 large parsnip, grated or finely chopped

1 leek, tops removed, washed and finely chopped

1 crushed garlic clove

Heat oil in large pot (or in a pan if you'll be using the crock pot), saute veggies for about 5 min.

Strain broth and add to veggies (or add all to crock pot). Add:

1 T dill (or to taste)

2 tsp salt (or to taste)

2 tsp pepper (or to taste)

2 c. wild rice (or wait until end and add rice or other noodles if desired)

Chicken (as much as desired)

Simmer until rice is tender. Add water as needed to desired thickness.

Perfect comfort food for a day like today!

Chickpea Salad aka Pretty Pretty Salad...

This is one of my favorite salads. In fact, I practically live on it during the summer! But, right now I have a losing battle going on with some fresh herbs in the fridge, so this seemed like a good way to use them up! The original of this recipe came from Martha Stewart magazine -- I believe the July 2009 issue. It has since been adapted...just because. Besides being insanely good for you, it's one of the few summery salads we can have -- most of them are mayo or other dressing based and have things like corn syrup and soy. This is a staple to bring to picnics and BBQ's in the summer so we have something to eat!

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

8 oz dried chickpeas, soaked

8 oz cherry tomatoes, or 2 tomatoes cut in wedges

1 cucumber or 1/2 an English cucumber, peeled and diced

1 medium green pepper, diced

2 carrots, diced

3 scallions, diced or 1 small red onion, diced

3-4 T or to taste, chopped fresh parsley

2-3 T or to taste chopped fresh basil

Dressing:

1 1/4 tsp sea salt

2 minced garlic cloves

About 16 grinds of fresh pepper (I know...specific.)

A pinch red pepper flakes

a pinch dried oregano

3 T rice vinegar

2 T olive oil

Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Prepare dressing in small bowl and mix well. Toss to coat. Add some grilled chicken or even just crusty bread for a meal!

Serves 6, 196 cal, 8g protein, 8g fiber Can you say "good for you?".

Allergy friendly, Dairy Free Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Hot fudge Sauce

This is a basic coconut ice cream recipe I adapted from a chocolate coconut recipe. We've found that canned coconut milk is remarkably versatile. I was surprised that the coconut flavor adapts so easily to so many other flavors without an overwhelming coconut flavor. We had ice cream very similar to this in Thailand -- they made it fresh on the boardwalk and then scooped out a fresh coconut and served it in the shell with the shavings! It's super easy ice cream and once you get hooked on it, you'll want to have some on hand all the time! I've even converted Bryan, who can have regular ice cream. He actually prefers this now! Store it in a microwaveable container -- it does freeze harder than dairy ice cream so I zap it in the microwave for a minute or let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes or so until it's soft enough to scoop. Oh, and a word of warning. DON'T eat it as soft serve right after you make it. If you're a fan of soft serve, you can eat a gallon without trying...Coconut milk is easy to come by. Even here in Gillette any grocery store or even Wal-mart carries it. Usually you can find it in the ethnic food section by Chinese/Thai food.

To top it, here's my dairy free, corn free chocolate fudge sauce recipe. It stores great in the fridge. If you have any left.

Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Ice Cream (Dairy-free, egg-free, corn-free, soy-free)

3 cans unsweetened canned coconut milk (I use 2 cans regular and 1 can lite)

1 c sugar (or about 6 T agave)

1 vanilla bean

3-4T vanilla

Scrape vanilla bean and add with pod to 1 can coconut milk. Cook over med. heat for 5-10 minutes. Chill. Combine remaining ingredients in blender and blend. Pour all into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions for freezing. Serve soft serve or freeze as desired.

*Note: Blue Bunny ice cream has great reusable containers! Find a friend who buys it and steal their containers! Or ask me...I have extras!

Allergy Friendly Fudge Sauce

2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (or 6 T cocoa powder plus 2 T coconut oil)

1 c rice, coconut, almond or other milk

3/4 c sugar

2 T. brown rice syrup or sugar syrup (see my cinnamon roll recipe or corn syrup if you can...)

3/4 tsp vanilla

Combine chocolate and milk. Heat to boiling over low heat, stirring constantly (especially as it heats up). Cook, stirring, until mixture is smooth and blended. Add sugar and syrup. Increase heat to medium until boiling. Continue boiling without stirring until sauce reaches 220 on a candy thermometer or soft-ball stage. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Store in sealed container in refrigerator. Sauce will thicken as it cools -- serve hot or cold.

Variations:
We've tried several various variations on this.  These are our favorites!  P.S  I can not for the life of me remember where the original that we worked with came from.  I know it was a chocolate coconut milk ice cream...if I remember, I'll post it, but it's been so long I have no idea...

Pumpkin Pie ice cream:
1 recipe Vanilla Bean minus the vanilla bean addition

Add:
3/4 a large can pumpkin
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Serve with crushed graham crackers and/or the fudge sauce (above).

Raspberry Rum:
1 recipe Vanilla Bean minus bean and sub out vanilla for rum extract (or get brave and add rum!)
1 1/2 c frozen raspberry crumbles (or just crumble them yourself)

Tropical:
1 recipe Vanilla Bean minus bean and sub out vanilla for rum extract
1 can (not the small ones) crushed pineapple, drained
1 c frozen shopped mango (partially thaw and chop smaller if desired, or add it to the blender)

Mint Chocolate Chip:
1 recipe Vanilla Bean minus bean and sub out vanilla for peppermint 1 T mint (or to taste)
Add chocolate flaked off a Lindt 80% or higher bar for a soy free version, or mini chips if soy is tolerated.  Add green food coloring if desired.
May also be made with the chocolate base for Double chocolate mint.

Steps

Since we made the decision to adopt, I've been keeping a diary of just thoughts and venting along the process with the idea that eventually I would share that. Since our news is now public, I thought I'd slowly start posting these. Many of these are from months ago already when we were trying to come to grips with what we believed we were being called to. This first one is from very early on in the process:

Reading the World Vision magazine has new meaning. Each step of the adoption process, I find myself struggling with a new aspect of it. First came the realization that, as much as we like to think we are above the past, there is still a price on humanity. How much is a child’s life worth? Not the intrinsic value, but a true, monetary price tag. Would I pay 10,000 to save a child? 20,000? 50,000? Can a child truly have a price tag? And the answer, as hard as it is to come to grips with is, yes. Each step has a price tag that hurts.  For the price of a luxury car, I can bring home a child. For half the price of a house, ransom one child. One. In Russia alone, there are 600,000. The zeroes after that are staggering. What can taking one child from that truly accomplish? For every one that is taken out, how many are left? For me, the price of a car hurts. For others, it may be impossible. How it will be provided is still unknown. But what it will provide is clearly and tangibly evident. It will provide a chance. A chance to not be a statistic. A chance to know the love of a family. The protection of a father. The care of a mother. The loyalty of a sibling. A chance to go to church. A chance to be introduced to Jesus. Can we really put a price on that? Can we really say no when all it takes is a step of humility, of saying that no life is more or less valuable? Of saying that I could let my standard of living suffer a little to give someone who has nothing, everything?

Today it was the picture of a little girl that reduced me to tears. The truth is, somewhere in Russia, my daughter is probably already born. When my boys were born we did everything we could to give them the best possible start for their future. We read to them. We played with them. I nursed them. If they cried, we were there. If they were hurt, we were there. If they were sick, there was medical attention when needed and love and cuddling when it wasn’t needed. They had the softest clothes, a warm bed, a stuffed animal to snuggle with. We made sure their new little teeth were brushed, they were clean and their skin taken care of. She will have none of that. There will be no one to answer her cries. There will be no one devoted to giving her the best possible care and start in life. Somewhere, she will have no one to pick her up if she is sad, or make her laugh just to see a new smile. She will not have anyone rejoice over her first words, or each new facet of her personality. Somewhere, she has nothing. And I can’t even know where. I can’t even know her face. I think that this will prove itself to be the best growth of prayer I will experience. I literally have no control. I can not do the best I can. ALL I can do is pray. Pray for protection of her mind, soul and body. Pray for comfort when she needs it. Pray for compassion from those who may give it. Pray for her parents, whoever and wherever they may be. That they may be comforted in knowing giving her life is a gift. That they may one day know Christ. That they will know that their daughter is being given a second chance to have a life they could not give her. That their sacrifice to keep this life is amazingly valuable to our family. All I have right now is really all I could give. What is more important than placing our trust solely in the hands of God? Of knowing that He who fashioned every little minute detail of her body, her brain and soul, is more than sufficient to cover the lack she now faces. He sees. He sees the injustice. He sees the mountain of paperwork that I can not move on my own. He sees all the roads converging on that one where we step on the plane in Russia and she steps off an American citizen. He’s been faithful before, and He will be faithful to complete what He has called us to do.

Dairy free Egg free Corn free nothing but gooey goodness Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

So, I've been working on this recipe for a while. It's getting pretty close now. Since making a basic glaze for cinnamon rolls was proving, well, not very tasty, I decided maybe caramel was the way to go. The big problem? Caramel has dairy and corn as it's main ingredients. The big challenge was to change that AND still have it taste like caramel. These have gone over pretty good! : ) Since today is like -25 cinnamon rolls seem like the way to go, so I made some promises to people to post this so they could spend the day covered in sugar and yeast too! Special thanks to my friend Christy for coming up with the basic roll recipe that I've used -- it was the perfect base!

Jessica's Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

2 c water

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c olive oil

1 tsp salt

6 c flour

2 T yeast

Additional olive oil (a couple tablespoons...)

about 1/2 c sugar and 3-4 T cinnamon

Halved pecans if desired

Combine 4 c flour and yeast in large bowl (or kitchen aid bowl). In large microwave safe bowl add water, sugar, oil and salt. Microwave until sugar is dissolved and water is warm (I use the "finger test" -- if you can keep your finger in the water 10 sec, it's the right temp. If you can't, it needs to cool.) Add to flour and mix well until completely combined. Add remaining flour and mix to form a soft dough (dough should clean sides of bowl -- if it is too sticky add a 1/2 c more flour). Oil bowl with a little olive oil and let rise, covered, in warm place (I heat the oven on the lowest temp and then turn it off and put it in there) til double -- 30-45 min. Meanwhile, make caramel.

Caramel (I've started doubling it and like it a lot more!)

1/4 c coconut oil

1 T rice syrup (or corn syrup or other sugar syrup -- I'll post one I found, but haven't tried yet)

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1 T coconut cream (I skim the top thick layer off of regular canned coconut milk)

Bring to a boil. Boil about 1 min. Remove from heat. Pour into a 12x18, greased pan or 2 9x13 greased pans.

Roll dough out into a rectangle, roughly 18x20ish. (This is what happens when I make stuff up...). Brush with olive oil (you don't want it dripping, just a coating). Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (if you want, normal people mix the cinnamon and sugar together first...I literally have never measured this part. I just use the "sprinkle" side of my cinnamon jar and put a layer, than sprinkle a generous layer of sugar on top of that. I'm guessing on the amounts I've given. Feel free to add more or less as needed! Roll up jellyroll style. Cut into roughly 1 inch thick discs and set into caramel in pan. (for pecan caramel rolls, sprinkle in pecans before setting dough in). Preheat oven to 375. Let rise in warm place until roughly doubled in size. Bake at 375 for 20 min or until just beginning to turn golden brown (to keep them soft, do not let them get crispy brown). Remove from oven and immediately invert over a cookie sheet to let all the caramel goodness ooze down the sides. Try not to eat them in the first 5 minutes -- you'll burn your fingers. Highly recommend adding a cup of coffee while you wait for them to cool enough to eat...

Now, I have played around with other oils in the caramel, but eh...the coconut oil is, a)way healthier and b)adds a flavor that makes people really confused when you tell them there is no butter...I think the most common question is "how do you get them so buttery then?". Same with the coconut cream. Regular cream would obviously work (if you can have dairy...). I would imagine 1 T of any milk would work, though not quite as rich of a taste. I plan on making these myself today, so I'll add a picture later on...I think I'll play around with making some wheat free too.

If you don't have rice syrup, you could substitute 100% maple syrup, agave nectar or the sugar syrup below...

2 c sugar

3/4 c water

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Bring to boil and cook to softball stage. Cool -- stores at room temp up to 2 months.

Back to the basics...

It's that time of year again. Resolutions, lists of things to do better. Mine is simple. Just get serious about keeping up with the ideas I already have tried to implement. For example, things just work better if I have a menu. I don't like to plan by day. It works better for me to plan 10 days worth of meals and have everything I need sitting here. That way if I wake up and don't feel like making homemade pizzas, dumping a chicken in the crock-pot is still an option. And, it really helps the grocery bill too! So...here is my 10 day meal plan. My goal is to try 1 new recipe each rotation. That should help me remember to post here once in a while too! And...wow! Lots to post now that we've gone public with the whole adoption thing! I've been keeping a diary of things as we've gone and I'd love to share some of those thoughts with you!

But back to food! Yummmmmm. Foooooooood. Sorry. I like food.

10 days:

1. Grilled Rosemary Lamb chops with roasted root veggies and potatoes

2. Turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, brown sugar glazed carrots and cranberries

3. Spicy Lentil and Sausage soup with bread

4. Burgers with homemade fries, baked beans and vegies

5. Fish, potato chips and fruit smoothies (that's our standard 'fast' meal for Wednesday nights to get to church on time!)

6. Chili

7. Lentils and Rice with caramelized onions and onion tomato salad (thanks to Yasso for introducing us to this Lebanese meal!)

8. Homemade Pizza and fruit

9. Pot Roast with Potatoes and carrots

10. Coconut shrimp with roasted red potatoes and pineapple

Now the way this works, some of these dishes, such as the lentil soup, use broth. We have to have homemade broth as Isaac is allergic to celery -- it's in every store bought kind! So, for example, if I make pot roast before I plan on making the soup, I know I'll have the broth sitting there. ANY time I make a roast or turkey or chicken, I always make broth so I have it on hand. I know it's not "technically" how you should make it, but I just throw all the bones and bits and pieces that aren't worth using for leftovers into the crock-pot with some onions and pieces of carrots and slow cook it all day. I just freeze mine in 2 c amounts to use whenever.

We also eat lots of leftovers. I know that there will leftover lentils and rice, leftover chili, turkey, etc. So, 10 meals is really more like 12, plus a few lunches as well.

Tonight is Pot Roast -- the super simple kind. I sprinkle mine with garlic and a generous amount of black pepper and sear it in olive oil on all sides, then toss it in the crock-pot all day with onions and potatoes and carrots. Easy, easy, easy and one of the few ways my boys will eat carrots and white potatoes and actually like them!

Yesterday was coconut shrimp -- I make it simple for the boys. I toss a handful of coconut in the food processor and break it down a little, then toss the shrimp with it, garlic salt and red pepper flakes, then fry it in coconut oil. Kind of a short cut version, but it works. Sometimes we eat with rice. This time I had lots of potatoes that were on their last legs, so I threw red potatoes cut up in chunks in with olive oil, rosemary and sea salt and roasted them at 500 for about 40 min. Chopped up a pineapple and dinner on the table in less than half an hour so we could make to church on time!