Gluten Free Stuffing and Bread Pudding

Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Hoppy Easter

Hope your Easter was as fantastic as ours. Tonight's dinner included an assortment of things I made and didn't make. But, as a throwback to my childhood, I included a classic pound cake with poured fondant (aka orange glaze) the way my Grandma used to make. I used my newest kitchen bling - a Nordic Ware cast iron egg pan. It just makes me smile.

Okey Dokey

Growing up in California, I remember having artichokes in our back yard. It would only produce three or four per year in our measly garden, but my Mom would buy them at the store to supplement our needs as a family of 6.

To this day, I love them and they instantly take me back to my childhood. I can almost feel the warm sun on my back, sitting at the table in the nook of our kitchen. I am so glad our children have grown to enjoy them - especially my oldest who doesn't care for the heart, so she gives them to mom. I've trained her well.

Unfortunately, with four kids and one adult eating today, the bag of ten went very quickly. It occurred to me that, perhaps, not everyone grew up on these and that an artichoke-along was in order. They are coming into season right now and we have even found organic artichokes at our grocery store. So, don't pass these beauties up anymore. Here's how you 'choke...

Happy St. Patrick's Day

In honor of the good St. Pat, we are celebrating at home today with a few green goodies.

Breakfast was strawberry-lime yogurt parfaits with hot cross buns (a la Panera - or Bread Co for the locals). I don't bake at 7AM. Ever. I leave that to the professionals (or, in this case, the machines).

For lunch, we had a trio of Kerrygold cheeses. The girls didn't like "the dark one" - they were all white, but okay. We had them with, what else, green apples! I mixed a concoction of green smoothie with lemon lime soda (that has to be the ultimate bit of health food blasphemy, no?). They went for it. Something about "lucky leprechaun" makes everything taste good.

Once we wrapped up lunch, I started prepping tonight's desserts. We did a cook-along for you. There are several variations on Key Lime Pie out there. Growing up, I loved lemon meringue and lemon chiffon. They were my favorite and my Grandma didn't make it very often - but she would for my birthday. I haven't had her lemon meringue pie in years, but she still does occasionally make lemon chiffon. I decided to try the same variation with our key lime pies. So, here you have a key lime pie - baked - with meringue and a second pie, a no-bake with whipped cream and egg whites folded in - key lime chiffon. I always use pasteurized shell eggs when they won't be cooked entirely.

Here's to you. Drink a pint with me this evening.

Plugra, anyone?

On an evening when pizza delivery would have been lovely, we opted instead for a quick italian vegetable soup.

The usual mirepoix mix of sauteed onions, celery, and carrots plus zucchini, cubed white potatoes, crushed san marzano tomatoes, cannelini beans, and a good handful of tiny alphabet pasta to please the littles. Only a loaf of sesame semolina would suffice alongside, and what better than plugra to top it with?

We use these little custard cups for everything around here. You'll see them filled with sauces, condiments, cereal, ice cream, soups, stews, and beans on any given day. They're darn handy!

The littlest girl's dinner is displayed here:

My favorite corner of my house...

isn't really a corner at all. But, it's that one spot where I just find joy no matter what.

For 10 years, we didn't have a backyard. Sometimes it didn't matter - we had campuses we could walk around, playgrounds we could visit, and driveways we could use chalk on. But, other years, I found it unbearable to not have a safe place where our kids could run around. It was about this time that we moved.

This house wasn't on our radar at first, because it was just a year older than we had hoped to buy. But, after driving to the parallel cul de sac and seeing the backyard for the first time, I was sold. I knew that this was going to be our home.

This "corner" is what I could see from our rear neighbor's side yard.

Today it is a bit different, but vastly improved to meet our needs. The table and chairs were a fantastic find at, of all places, Wal-Mart (after searching high and low for a decent set everywhere else). The beautiful umbrella was a replacement for my red one from Pier 1, but it has since broken under the weight of a huge ice and snow storm.

Since Jack was too small to sit in a chair at that time, we hung a swing - one of our first "home improvement" projects. Now he spends hours in that swing, completely mellow, feeling the wind in his face and watching his sisters at play. I love that he can either face out or in, depending on where the action is or where the sun is shining.

To the left, you can see our fire pit. I personally rearranged the landscaping so that it would have a stable, concrete base to sit on. But, more importantly, it's representative of our great neighbors. In the cooler summer evenings and brisk fall nights, you can walk down our street and see no less than four families with their fire pits out on the driveway and dozens of neighbors out walking around, drinking glasses of wine or bottles of beer, while kids ride bikes up and down the cul de sac or play basketball in the dark. When we moved here, we had no idea that it would be such a part of our lives, and were a bit dismayed by the huge pile of fire wood in the back until we made that connection.

Further back, against the side of the house on the left, is my first real garden. I tore out some mulchy areas back there because I knew I needed to learn this art! We had peppers - SO many jalapenos with the drought and hot summer of last year - a few tomatoes, some bell peppers, and more basil than one family could eat in a lifetime of pestos and caprese salads. There are just three plants remaining now - sage, lavender, and rosemary - but seeing that gorgeous green reminds me that spring is coming and that I CAN grow things!!!

And, of course, it's the place where everything happens outside - where the kids sit and eat popcicles on a hot summer day, where the children of friends eat lunch outside, not wanting to be far from play, where the pinatas are hung at birthday parties and marshmallows are roasted, where we barbecue and drink coffee and sit and just live.

Monday Night's Cuban Kitchen

Tonight for dinner I went with a Cuban theme. I'm always trying to come up with new flavors, new ideas that keep things interesting. Trader Joe's sells Cuban Black Beans ready to go. Easy peasy! I love that. Sure, I could soak black beans, then cook them, and probably make fifteen pounds for what I paid for the two cans - but sometimes it's a jarred pasta sauce night, you know? I never advocate for taking longer in the kitchen than absolutely necessary. Some short cuts are perfectly acceptable and absolutely delicious.

To accompany our cuban black beans (which have sea salt, lime, and cilantro, I believe), I made a coconut rice in the rice cooker. It was one can of coconut milk plus one and a half cups of water (for a total of 3 cups of liquid) added to a cup and a half of rice, plus 1/3 cup of sugar (optional). I kept a close eye on it, because it can scorch at the bottom with the sugar added - but there's just something weird about having coconut and it NOT being sweet.

On the side, we were supposed to have a ripe mango, but when I cut into it, it was brown. We were all very disappointed. However, a huge victory in the avocado department. I always buy three when I need two, because it's virtually guaranteed that one will be brown inside. I go for a slightly hard avocado and let it ripen on the counter for two to three days, which works well for us. Last night - aha! All three were fantastic!! My third daughter was gleeful and ate a whole avocado by herself (a favorite since infancy).

Always making an effort to try new produce, we decided to use a recipe in my new cookbook and have plantains. One ripened faster than the other, so we got a good mix of some that were sweet and some that were more savory. Everyone liked them except #3, who would much rather have another avocado. Dad was surprised at the taste, which we expected to be more banana-y, but was deliciously squash-like, slightly sweet, slightly savory. I squirted some fresh lime juice and a bit of sea salt on them out of the pan and it really heightened the sweetness inside. We'll do this more often!

For this photo, we have #4's plate - she's just 3, so she doesn't get a whole lot. The contrast of spicy beans, creamy avocado, and sweet rice made for a perfect meal!


Now, I don't normally make dessert. Growing up, my Grandma made it every night. I lived with her for several years and I am still in awe of her abilities as a cook. After a great, balance dinner, we would always have a freshly-baked dessert. Many nights it was pie, and it ran the gamut - everything from coconut custard to lemon chiffon (my personal favorite). She made cakes with the staple Dream Whip frosting and many recipes seemed to favor Jell-O products heavily. Since my girls can't have artificial coloring, I have to really do it from scratch, which means more kitchen time. Now, don't get me wrong. I love food, I love cooking. But, sometimes - with a toddler and preschooler underfoot - I don't love it as much.

Baking something like cake, which isn't something we should have every day anyway, is something I reserve for birthdays and special occasions. But, today, since Daddy was home, I indulged them a little and made coconut cupcakes. The frosting is non-hydrogenated shortening by Spectrum, which was accidentally purchased in mass quantity last winter, topped with some of the remaining shaved coconut in the pantry. I love using my Pampered Chef icing gun for cupcakes. We had a cup of Peet's decaf as well, which cut the sweetness perfectly.

Lunch

Lunch is the one meal that throws me a curve ball every week. I never want to spend time in the kitchen, dirtying the dishes, before dinner prep. So, I often rely on easy things like peanut butter sandwiches or pre-made frozen things. However, I'd much rather feed them (and me!) something healthy and homemade. So, we're trying to make sure that our dinners have some extra servings or have things we can carry over.

This week, I decided to grill extra veggies so that we'd have something quick for lunch the next day. I knew that the peppers, onion, and asparagus would be a great addition to pasta salad. I had a half a bag of heart-shaped pasta (half colored with tomato puree for "pink") left in the pantry from our Valentine's Day themed party last month. I added some Newman's Own Lighten Up! Balsamic Vinaigrette while it was still warm, then the leftover grilled veggies. To give it more crunch and texture, I added halved grape tomatoes, some freshly chopped green onions, and for creamy contrast some goat cheese on top. YUM!
(sorry the colors are off in this one - it must be a blogger issue! That looks pretty ugly on here!)

Brunch

On rare occasions, when Daddy is home in the morning, we make a big brunch. This weekend we were out of coffee and had to visit our local roaster and artisan bakery. The couple who owns the shop are some of my favorite people. I admire all they've accomplished just in the last five years. What was once a little stand at the Farmer's Market, giving out free cups of delicious coffee to the visitors, has become quite an accomplished business. Nearly all of their coffee is fair trade and organic, which is something we like to support (particularly with the volume of beans brewed in this house).

Today we're brewing the Breakfast Blend. We've cycled through a few different blends from Goshen, and have yet to be disappointed in a single cup. Our Capresso is a happy machine and we are happy campers. John also bought a loaf of their cinnamon brioche, knowing my love of all things eggy and bready. Matt, the oracle, commented to him, "Is there french toast in your future?"

Oh, Matt. If only you knew.

Today's brunch consisted of cinnamon brioche french toast a la Daddy. Having gone to the store in search of new produce, my oldest begged for Candy Apple Bananas (the mini Hawaiian variety). Yet, once again, the kids didn't like them. So, I thought I'd caramelize them to top our french toast this morning. Questioning the protein content of my kids' breakfast, I added some scrambled eggs to the side. And, for those who weren't too sure about the "yucky bananas," I added some big, beautiful organic raspberries. (The boy is a big fan of these lately).

A drizzle of real maple syrup, a dusting of "snow," and we were ready for breakfast.

Spark of Summer

Today's blissful 72° high begged the barbecue pit to be uncovered.

Not being one to want to disappoint, we had a lovely dinner with plenty of extra grilled veggies for tomorrow's lunch. We try to cook two to three times as much as we'll need so that lunch, or occasionally an extra dinner, will be taken care of for a couple days.

Tonight's dinner was big, fat, spring asparagus, orange and yellow pepper rings, onions, and a bit of zucchini - all tossed in organic extra virgin, cracked pepper, salt, and lemon zest (chef note: always buy organic if you're zesting it - you don't want the outside of a conventional lemon!) grilled to deliciousness.



In addition, we made my favorite warm potato salad with baby white creamer potatoes, sauteed onions, and the tart sweet dressing that is similar to German.


I also made baked beans with brown sugar and molasses.


I had made some marinated cucumber salad in rice wine vinegar, upon request, and we forgot about them in the fridge. So, they will be for tomorrow. Good thing they grow better with age.


Dessert was a fairly good miniature watermelon. It was a good day for the hints of summer to come.

WW Day 2

Our week isn't too terribly exciting. Here my oldest does her school work on the computer and the younger two clean up the books after reading time. The oldest is really struggling with the motivation and dedication to reading, so her new assignment is to read aloud to her siblings. This is working nicely, because she has to pronounce the words properly or they catch her on it - and she can't say she read four chapters and just skim. ugh. That one!

Winter Walk Day 1

DD is working on Time4Learning. We've just started using this online curriculum and all of us are very happy with it. It allows her to set her own pace (and sometimes she needs a little extra help). My older DD soars through her lessons, but they are far more diverse and interesting than I could have (or would have) come up with. I'm very proud of all their keyboard skills and computer skills.

DS is taking the opportunity to hit as many buttons as he possibly can on my computer, which happens any time he can get near a keyboard. Dh is working downstairs and we're waiting for a call-back from the doctor regarding his cast. DD 1, 3, and 4 are upstairs watching TV, playing, and reading, not in that order.