What have we been doing? Gardening!

I wanted to start out small. But when my starts come in packs of 4 not two and I just can't bear to throw away any plant (couldn't find anyone who wanted cabbage or brocolli starts) and onions come in packs of 40 (!) - ditto, my garden just seems to be getting bigger every day!

Some updated pics of my boxes.


My bocolli and cabbage are huge! Just had to brag ;o)

Carrots finally starting to look like carrots.

Some pepper starts that my Aunt Kathy sent over with my dad. Thanks Aunt Kathy!

Lovely snap peas that hopefully will start letting me help them up the trellis soon.

Planting corn - they have all popped up now!

Thornless raspberry roots that my Dad brought. 5 were looking great, then one came into contact with D's bouncy ball. lol But I think it will come back.

Emma's garden. She has one pea plant, about 3 of her carrots made it, 3 flower plants from seeds her cousin Hannah sent her and 4 corn stalks. She loves her garden and has tons of fun taking care of it.

Last year a friend gave me a petunia plant. No matter how many blooms Em and D pulled off, that plant kept putting out more blooms. So I got some for the kids to pick this year. Emma even snagged four from a local nursery float parade handout!

I landscaped this area for my herb garden. I got the bricks for free from a friend who was only too happy to have me remove them from her yard! lol I couldn't find a good before picture (forgot to take one) but here is D halfway through.

Finished! Now I just need to figure out what else to plant that doesn't need more than 6 hours of sun. Any suggestions?

Rendering Lard!

No - seriously! lol

My sis found directions at this site and another sis gave me the lipids (that really is what the butcher labeled them as) from the last pig they had slaughtered. So I took the plunge.

I started out with this from my freezer.


I put it in the wonderful, awesome, best ever gift from my honey (anniversary) - my new crockpot to thaw and render.


I let it cool a bit and poured it through my collander and ended up with this. Yummy! just kidding lol.


I poured it into my container and let it set to room temperature.


And there you have it. I have decided to store it in the fridge so that it won't go rancid so quickly. You see, I didn't add any hydrogenated fats or preservatives to it. ;o)


Just a warning - you will want to do this on an outside stove, in your summer kitchen or put your crock outside. This process STINKS!!! It smells like boiling a carcass all day. Not pleasant.

I have already used some of it in an awesome cookie recipie which I will post soon. Here's a teaser: cocoa and mint!

Cooking!

We have been tryimg so many new dishes around here. I thought I would post some of my faves that are definately keepers. :o)

I found a wonderful flatbread recipie that makes a pretty respectable pizza crust. In fact - since the discovery was what jumpstarted me into making pizza again since going dairy-free, Emma calls is pizza. Even when it is for toast or sandwiches. :oP And have you ever tried bacon and fried egg pizza? It's absolutely delish!

(mine got just a little too brown as someone dropped by to chat as it was cooking - it really is fantastic!)

Playing!

swapping!

I made 9 of each of these for a swap on a mothering chat forum. In a week I will be getting a lovely package w/ 9 other foods that the other moms in the swap have made.

Woo-hoo!!!

The 5 stages of (food) grief

So, I was thinking about that old DABDA acronym the other day, and it occurred to me that most of us have gone through that as part of our food elimination process. Insert your food you hate to love here:

My current nemesis -------->

Denial: "He's teething, that's all. It's not dairy."
Anger: "Why does every FREAKIN' thing have to have dairy in it?!"
Bargaining: "Maybe it's just pasturized cow's milk. Maybe raw goat's milk cheese will be fine."
Depression: "I miss cheese... what's the point of eating at all anymore without cheese?"
Acceptance: "Dairy's not particularly good for me anyway. And wow, I
know a lot more ways to cook now!"

I think I may be at acceptance now. I wish that I could say that once you get to Acceptance, there's no going back, but I certainly have found myself standing in the middle of the cookie aisle thinking, "I just shouldn't eat anything anymore." Still, it is a natural process to go through!

A Chinese Heroine

What an amazing woman. I miss having someone to personally donate milk to. Makes me want to start pumping again.

http://yesboleh.blogspot.com/2008/05/chinese-policewoman-helps-quake-effort.html

My Red - er Blue! Umbrella

Em checked this book out from the library and really fell in love with it. It tells the story of a little girl who finds room under her little red umbrella for at least a dozen different animals. Em found our spare (broken) umbrella and acted out her own version of the story.

Ice Cream!

Going dairy free means no ice-cream made with cows milk. What's an ice-cream loving girl (who already gave up her favorite glutinous cookies 'n' cream) to do?

Enter coconuts. Yes! Did you know that oil from coconuts separates into a cream when made into milk? Because Em is sensitive to aluminum and because it's not as healthy or cheap to buy cans or friged I buy coconuts and make my own milk. Here is the break down.

Pierce the eyes of your coconut and reserve the drained liquid.

Bake for 30 min at 325 deg F.

Alow to cool enuf to handle. Remove the shell and slice off any brown bits that remain



Chop into small pieces and add to blender. Cover with about half an inch of reserved liquid plus as much water as needed. (don't you love the OSU cup in the background? lol)



Blend until smooth.



Line a collander with a clean towel and pour the milk in. Squeeze all the moisture from the towel.



Line a dehydrater shelf with cheesecloth and spread the coconut bits in a thin layer.



Enjoy your flaked coconut in this delicious Coconut Carrot Cake It is my fav GF/CF dessert.



Once in a blue moon I get a hankering for this old school classic. Lucky for me it translates well to gluten free. This recipe is based on one of my own [pre-gluten free] standbys. I changed it very little, except for the flour. And I left out the pineapple. Next time I might leave it in, if the mood strikes me.

GF/CF Folks: Use canned pumpkin or applesauce in place of the yogurt, and your own leavened flour mix.

3 large happy organic free-range eggs
1/2 cup light vegetable oil or Spectrum Organic Shortening
1 cup organic light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup plain yogurt or soy yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice, or Apple Pie Spice [or a mix of nutmeg, clove, ginger, allspice]
2 cups Pamela's Ultimate Baking Mix [or your own flour mix with 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda added per cup of flour]
3/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1 1/2 cups processed [or finely grated] carrots (about 4 carrots)
1/2 cup golden raisins or currents
1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform cake pan.

In a mixing bowl beat the eggs; add the oil and beat; add the brown sugar and beat till smooth. Beat in the yogurt, vanilla, cinnamon and spice. Add in the baking mix and beat till combined. [The batter should be a bit thicker than wheat flour batter.] Add in the coconut, carrots, raisins and nuts; stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

Spread the batter evenly in the cake pan; and place the pan in the center of a preheated oven. Bake until the cake is firm, and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean, about 40 to 45 minutes [or longer if necessary - I baked mine at high altitude]. Cool on a wire rack.

Frost with your favorite cream cheese icing and sprinkle with coconut, if desired.


Cream Cheese Icing:

4 oz. softened cream cheese
2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract, to taste
3 cups powdered cane sugar- or more, if needed
A squeeze or two of fresh citrus, to taste- lemon, lime or orange

In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar a cup at a time; squeeze a little lemon or other citrus juice into the frosting and beat till smooth. Taste test. Add more sugar, if needed, to thicken; add more juice to thin.

Frost the cake.

Makes 8 - 10 slices.

Cook's Notes::

Gluten free cakes dry out quickly. If you are not serving this cake the day you bake it, I'd advise chilling it to firm up the icing; then slice and wrap each piece in foil; pop in a large zip freezer bag and freeze.

Ice cream! (part two)

Once you finish wringing the milk from the dessicated coconut you are ready to separate the cream from the milk. This really easy - you cover it and put it in the fridge. Yep, that's it! Well - then you have to wait. And don't rush it. It will need to stay at least overnight.

At the same time you put your milk in the fridge, put your ice-cream maker canister into the freezer to prep.

Dream sweet creamy ice-cream dreams. :o)

Puree your favorite fruit and add your sweetener of choice to your desired sweetness. A quick slosh of vanilla (gf, of course!) can be added if you like. (strawberry and orange)



Lift sections of cream from the top of the milk. Press into a measuring cup. You will need equal parts (1:1) cream to milk. A cup is a good amount to start with.

Stir in your fruit puree ans try to get all the lumps of cream smoothed out.

Set up your ice-cream maker and pour your mix in. Let it churn for at least 30 minutes. (vanilla - yum!)



Voila!



This is a mix between an ice cream and a sorbet. It is very loosely based on this recipe. There are recipies out there with a custard base, but as I am very sensitive to too many eggs I only use them in what I can't replace with flax goo. ie - baked goodies.

Of course it is best eaten right away, but gosh what would I do w/out ice-cream waiting for me in the freezer? lol Just let it sit on the counter for 5-10 min to alow it to soften and then dig in!

Sorry - no time for long posts.

I am subbing two routs for one week and I have forgotten how exhausting it is.

Some fun pics:

Bananas never last long around here, but good times with your bro/sis sure do!

Daniel always enjoys helping out. We had that compost turned in no time.

Emma is really getting the hang of tricycle riding. And she has nearly outgrown hers!

My fairy princess helping me mow the lawn.

Emma's self portrait. Each time I look at it I wonder is it Em or D? But Em was te one with the katsup smear on her cheek. LOL

Emma-isms

Emma wanted to make some cookies. She put them on the stone all by herself!


She also wanted to make some potato fries. The tart pans were her idea as well. She added the salt and decided she wasn't done seasoning them. She added garlic powder and onion powder. They weren't bad actually!


What you see her wearing is her favorite dress-up outfit. It doesn't fit her at all and the crotch sags down to her knees. But it's pink and sparkly and has a pretty flowing skirt so she loves it.

Books!

I've had these pictures sitting in the que since just after we moved. Now I'm finally getting them up!

I saw this idea from another blogger. The bookshelf was okay - but it was hard to see the books.

Daniel would walk up to the shelf and yank all the book off. It took him about 20 minutes to figure this new system out. All he has to do now is start at one end and with his hand out walk to the other end!

Gardening

When we're not all sick, we are hard at work getting our garden set up. Here are some pics to give you an idea of our progress:


Getting my compost pile started.

Emma and Daniel help mix the soil.


Em took over the camera.

The boxes are filled with soil and are ready to be planted!

These are our two 3ftx3ft boxes. I was originally planning on 4x4 boxes, but when you get your lumber as scrap from local home construction sites like I did (free wood!) you go with the size that's available. Actually, I really like the 3x3s because Em can easily reach all the way to the middle. (not so great when she decides to pull up all the onion plants she can reach.)

The chicken wire cages for the top were a PITA to make but have already come in handy keeping the young transplants shaded from the noon sun and the 30mph wind from blowing the soil away. Oh - and now They're keeping the hungry birds and squirels from my carrot/spinach/pea seeds.



This is our 14ftx1 1/2ft box. Agian - free scrap lumber dictated the size a bit. I am now glad we have the extra room on the edge. You see the onions that I got from the nursery (one container white and one red) contained about 70 onion plants! I couldn't bear to throw any of them away so I planted them all. I'm still trying to find someone that wants some onion transplants - any takers? :o)

The trellis isn't quite finished yet - I snapped this picture just as a storm was rolling in. This box is for our tomatoes, cucumbers, pie pumpkins, squash, peas and beans.



Our starters from the nursery (next year I want to start my own indoors - baby steps). Did I mention the 30mph winds? I brought them inside just after.



Here we have red and green cabbage and a square of mint that I will be transplanting to near the compost pile to discourage unwanted critters.



Here we have broccoli and red and white onions w/ some carrot and spinach seed that haven't sprouted yet.



Thanks for sticking with me to the end here. I'm very excited about our garden (it's my very first) and I really hope it does well!

Chicken Pox

Daniel has the chicken pox. Emma was giving him blowfishes so I was hoping she'd get it too. That was 3 days agoand they were both exposed at the same time. Break out already!!

The day after D broke out Em woke up with a fever and dozed off and on all day. I pretty much spent the whole day nursing one or both of them. I forgot to take are of myself and guess what? Well I got sick. At first I thought - nooooooo, I'm not supposed to get the pox! Well, it's not chicken pox. I think it's just a virus I got from not taking care of myself. It's really kicking my butt! Thanks goodness it's the seekend. Lesson learned. I'm still on the mend and so is D.