1, 2, 3, 4….5…6, 7, 8, 9, 10….11…12…13!!!!

The other night when Heidi, Tim and Gustav came over I sang this to Heidi to see whether she could remember the song and where it came from. She did. Do you?

This past week I’ve been singing this song quite a bit. We’re counting down the days until state testing, and to help prepare have turned our little small groups into test prep groups. We’ve each taken a state standard and planned several days’ worth of activities for our groups, and then rotated the groups so that each child in the grade will have a session with that particular standard. Because of how few days we have left, one of our groups got combined with another group, and now instead of the 3 or 4 students that a small group normally consists of, my group was made up of 12 students…plus me (everyone shout now—13!!). I sang that song over and over this week as I gave questions to my “small” group, and each time a hand would raise with an answer, I would count them as I sang this song. The kids loved it…and I finally asked whether any of them knew this song. Nope. Guess I’m officially old. I explained that this was a song from one of my favorite shows growing up. “Teletubbies” they guessed. “Barney!” they shouted out… ok, maybe I’m getting younger?  I explained it was a show that is around now, but would have also been around when I was a little girl… This stumped them until one of them guessed “Ben and Jerry”…well, I guess black and white cartoons are getting closer…or at least older… Finally one of them guessed Sesame Street, although none of them had heard this song when they watched. It’s too bad, since I loved watching the pinball machine knock around as the ball hit each peg and a number was sung… I remember looking forward to it each day as I watched, hoping that this would be the day that it would be shown again.

Heidi’s been begging for another blog (I truly think she’s the only one who reads this thing…and we talk often enough that she knows everything before I would write something down and post it) so here it is…

As I thought about what I wanted to write today, there are several things that popped into my head. There’s been a lot going on in my life, and while some of it I would like to share, I really can’t. I am bound my confidentiality responsibilities in my jobs, and I must honor them, even when those things are the things in my life that cause me the most sadness, that give me the most happiness, or those things that I just need to process through writing about it. I’ll just leave it to say that I’ve shed a lot of tears lately. The tears come at times that are understandable…they come at times when I can’t make them stop, no matter how hard I try…there are times that the tears come and there appears to be no good reason for them… a few will drop as I laugh… I don’t feel depressed (please don’t worry about that), there’s just a lot going on in all aspects of my life right now and it seems that tears are the way my body is dealing with it all.

One of the titles I considered today was “Small Successes”, but in reality I’ve got a lot of LARGE successes in my life right now.
1) I just got the letter that I was deemed eligible to take my National Massage Exam. This is a very difficult exam, and most do not pass it on the first try. Kansas law does not regulate massage therapists, but most states require the national test as one of the hurdles you need to jump to be able to practice massage. Not knowing what the future holds for me, I’d rather take (and hopefully pass!) the exam so that I can easily be able to practice in another state if/when I ever decide to move. That and the fact that it provides another aspect of credibility to me and my massage practice. Who knows when Kansas will finally become wise and start patrolling the field of Massage Therapy. Hopefully it will be soon (there are too many people out there practicing who don’t know what they are doing, and give us all a bad reputation!), and then I will be ready. I need to finalize my test date, but I’m hoping to take it sometime during Spring Break in March.
2) I also got my acceptance letter from Fort Hays State University. This fall I will be “heading back to” college to pursue a Master’s Degree in Special Education. This is completely online, so I won’t have to give up my teaching position or move. I’ll be busy between teaching, working at the clinic, and taking classes, but I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to juggle it all. The last weeks have been full of writing personal letters, asking friends and colleagues to write recommendations on my behalf and researching how to make it all happen. I’ve gotten my taxes completed (at least my portion!) and taken them to my tax guy. I am hoping they get done quickly so that I can then complete the FAFSA and start applying for scholarships.
3) Wine making experiment one is almost complete. After watching my science experiment for the last few weeks, I needed some man-power. I convinced Heidi, Tim and Gustav to come over for dinner and afterwards Tim and Gustav helped me bottle my Riesling. It’ll be another 3 months before there will be any to drink. Tim was a great help to me in the process, and Gustav was so cute trying to hold the bottles still for me as we filled them. Now that we’ve got one bottled, I better start on another…either mead or a red wine this time.
4) After several weekend attempts at baking sweet rolls, I’ve finally got a good result. A couple weeks ago I was browsing in Heidi’s bookstore and stumbled across another gluten free cookbook. Normally I’m pretty leery of gluten free recipes…there are too many people out there that are satisfied with mediocrity…either they are gluten intolerant people who never really had a taste of what GOOD baking is supposed to taste like, or they are “normal” people who think that those of us that are gluten intolerant should just be satisfied with whatever they come up with. There are so many products on the market (they are SOOOO expensive) that just taste like CRAP. I’m sick of buying products and throwing them away. I’ve narrowed it down to a few brands that I trust, and I’d really rather go hungry than try to eat some of what is on the market. Sorry, I’ve probably offended someone now, but sometimes I just need to rant.  But, I digress… Anyway, I decided to buy the book at Heidi’s store because I feel like I need to help support the people I love and the places they work, and I’m always hoping that somehow this product/book/gadget will actually come through and help me make the foods I’ve loved to prepare and eat for so much of my life. In this case…I might have actually stumbled across something that lived up to my high expectations! Yippee!!!

Of course, this book also called for flours that aren’t readily available in my pantry, or at the health food store or grocery stores that I frequent. So, I turned to the internet (although Terri, if you’re reading this, I think that your health food store has this brand!) and ordered some of the flour that I needed. After last week’s flopped cinnamon rolls, I was reluctant to try again. After all, that batch went directly into the trash. I’m so glad that I tried again!

Cinnamon Rolls (adapted from “Gluten-Free Baking Classics” by Annalise G. Roberts)
Dough:

7 TBSP milk, heated to 110 degrees F (I ended up using more than this…the dough wouldn’t hold together and resembled pie crust. I just added milk until it looked like I thought it should. Sorry, I’ll try to measure better next time!)
1 TBSP yeast
¼ tsp. sweet rice flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 TBSP canola oil
1 ¾ cup Brown Rice Flour blend (see recipe after this one)
1 ¼ tsp. xanthan gum
½ tsp. salt
Rice flour (about 2 TBSP to use to flour the board)
1 TBSP melted butter

Combine warm milk, yeast, 1 TBSP of the sweet rice flour, and 1 TBSP of the sugar in a measuring cup; stir until well blended. Cover with a towel and set aside for 5-10 minutes until mixture becomes foamy. Mix eggs and canola oil together in a small bowl and set aside. Lightly grease a round cake pan with cooking spray. Mix brown rice flour mix, xanthan gum, salt, and remaining 3 TBSP sweet rice flour and 3 TBSP sugar in large bowl of electric mixer. Add warm milk/yeast mixture, egg and oil to the bowl; mix until blended. Scrape bowl and beaters and then beat at high speed for 3 minutes. Liberally spread rice flour over surface of a wooden board and lightly flour hands. (I spread saran wrap over a cutting board, and then sprinkled with the rice flour). Dough will be sticky. Roll dough around in the rice flour until it is lightly covered. Gently press into a 12x8 inch rectangle with your hands. (I was actually able to roll it with a rolling pin after covering it with the rice flour). Lightly brush the melted butter over the rolled dough. The recipe also has a mixture to put in the inside, but I just covered the butter with cinnamon and sugar the way I’ve always baked. Carefully roll dough, do not roll dough tightly; the individual rolls will rise better if they are more loosely rolled. Using a small, sharp knife cut roll of dough into eight 1-inch slices. Carefully arrange slices I prepared cake pan so that they do not touch. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place until rolls have doubled or more in size and have filled the pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake about 20 minutes.

Brown Rice Flour blend
2 parts brown rice flour (extra finely ground—available under the Authentic Foods label—the others aren’t ground finely enough to use without leaving a gritty feeling in the mouth)
2/3 part potato starch (NOT potato flour!)
1/3 part tapioca flour

**Today’s baking experiment was so successful that I’m going to fiddle with the dough some more and see if I can bake some bierocks with it tomorrow night. I’ve got the filling done, so I just will need to make the dough after church.

****UPDATE 2/28/10 I made the dough again today. I used about 14 TBSP of milk instead of the listed 7. I used the sugar to raise the yeast, but omitted the rest of it so that I could make savory Bierocks with the dough. Once the dough was mixed, I made small round balls with it, and rolled them in brown rice flour and then rolled them out. I filled them with a mixture of ground beef,onion, cabbage, salt, pepper and mustard. After baking them, I brushed them with melted butter. YUMMY. I've eaten way too many today! I'll have to put them in the freezer after I give a few more away! There are some things that I have missed so much...so happy to be able to eat them again!

5) Another gluten free baking success! This last week I saw a recipe like this online, and decided to see whether I would like it. I do! Very yummy. I left them without icing to cut out some fat and calories, but they would taste good with cream cheese frosting, chocolate frosting, or peanut butter frosting I think! Maybe next time….

Gluten Free Banana Muffins/cupcakes
1 box gluten free yellow cake mix (betty crocker brand)
3 bananas, mashed
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup water
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla

I melted the butter in a saucepan on the stove, adding the water and vanilla. I also freeze my bananas, so I took the peels off of them and put them in the mixture to warm up and then mash. After taking it off the stove, I put the yellow cake mix in and beat in the eggs. When everything was moist I put it in the muffin tins. Bake at 350 for about 18 min. or so. It would also be great in loaf form, or as banana cake.



I’ve also got an appointment tomorrow afternoon. One of the students at school just recently got diagnosed with Celiac and her mother needs ideas of what to do and how to alter recipes. I’m hopeful that I can be a resource to these people. If nothing else, I can at least introduce them to some good books, products to try…and be a listening ear!

And now for a few pictures...these are a mixture of the last two Huber visits. Newsworthy items: Popcorn is a big hit with Gustav and Heidi. Tim, Gustav and I spent time making wine. Gustav went poop for the first time at my house, bribed with M&Ms and Curious George.

Success!

I just completed my first (although it won't be the last!) batch of Gluten Free New Year's Cookies! They taste great, although not exactly like the MCC version. Thanks to my friend Julie from Mennonite Girls Can Cook. I altered her recipe just a bit simply because I didn't have any arrowroot. Instead I substituted cornstarch. It worked out just fine.

In a previous post I lamented the fact that I hate the taste of white bean flour. I was convinced to give it another shot by Julie who grinds her own flour. She sent me a little package of flour though the mail...wonder what people would have thought if they intercepted that and saw that it was full of some powdery white substance! :) As promised, Julie's flour had just a bit of the beany taste to it, but none when baked into things. Encouraged by this I bought a flour mill and decided to start grinding my own flour. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as well as I thought it would, and I only could get the flour to a "stone ground" consistency, which won't work with most of my baking. Discouraged, I tried to figure out what to do next. I finally decided that a coffee grinder would work, and so I bought a new one to only use with grinding flours. When I grind the beans at the espresso setting, and run them through 3 times, I finally get the consistency I want. Then I sifted that to get the bigger chunks out. The end product worked great in my recipe today!

Julie's Recipe for New Year's Cookies (Portzelke)
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 TBSP yeast
Mix first 3 ingredients and let proof in a warm spot.
Liquid Ingredients
1/2 cup warm milk
1 tsp melted butter
1 tsp. vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Dry Ingredients
1/2 cup white bean flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 TBSP arrowroot flour (I used 3 TBSP corn starch)
1 rounded tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. bakingpowder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 slightly rounded TBSP sugar
1 cup raisins

In mixing bow put in liquid ingredients and beat. Add proofed yeast. Mix dry ingredients and add all at once to liquid. Beat on low until blended, then on high until dough is smooth. Add raisins and beat until mixed evenly. Scrape sides of bowl dw with spatula to form a ball of dough in bottom of bowl. Cover and let rise in warm spot for 30-40 minutes. Heat aout 3/4 inch of oil in a pot or small frying pan. When hot, drop by tsp. a dollop of dough into the ol and fry until golden. I glazed them when I was done, but I know that some people sprinkle sugar on theirs.

"New" recipes

I've been baking again. This time I'm not really creating, but altering some well-loved recipes so that I can eat them.

With the Thanksgiving and Christmas season come many memories of tastes I love. As the years go by, I'm sure that I'll have the chance to recreate many of the things I miss. For now I've tackled peppernuts and dill bread.

My cousin Patrick, who was also recently diagnosed with celiac, called me about a month ago wondering about how to go about making peppernuts. Which flours should be used, etc... Peppernuts were not something that I had thought about yet, but when there is more than just me involved, I have more of a reason to start playing. Sometimes it seems like a waste to bake, since it is just me that will eat it all...so although it is something I love to do, it hasn't been a priority lately. Honestly, I'm thankful that Patrick has joined my "team" (and yes, I realize that is very selfish!)...I realize that it is probably a burden for him and for Abbe, but for me it means that there is someone I can call and talk to; someone I can brainstorm with and exchange thoughts and suggestions with; someone that misses the same things I do... It's actually very comforting for me.

When he first called I made some suggestions on where to start for flour mixes. He called his Grandma Schmidt and got the anise Recipe he grew up with, while I focused on the Buller family recipe. One of the people I've met up with on this journey and befriended is Julie from the website Mennonite Girls Can Cook. A fellow celiac, she shares her Mennonite recipes that have been altered to be gluten free. We've been teaming up to figure out a better version of zwiebach, but that has taken a backseat at this point. I figured that I should send an email off to Julie and see whether she had done anything with peppernuts before I tried reinventing the wheel. She hadn't, but was happy to help me as I tried to figure out what would work. She quickly came up with a recipe that would work, and sent it back to me. What followed was a wonderful experience! :) I tried making peppernuts with the flour mix that she suggested. As I mixed them up, I tasted between each addition to see how the dough changed. After the last addition I tasted again, and promptly threw the dough in the trash. While that sounds awful...the truth is that I've finally figured out what tastes so bad to me in gluten free baking and that makes me want to jump up and down and clap my hands. I've been baking for a year now, and I had never been able to determine what it was, but now I KNOW!!!! My mouth and stomach can not stand bean flours. I can not even describe what the taste does to me. I didn't want to completely abandon the idea though, so I tried to figure out what else I could use. What follows is my take on the original Buller recipe (with many thanks to Julie for her help! Her take on the recipe is on the MGCC website!). ***Disclaimer: I'm still fiddling with this recipe. When I baked them out, they became very flat, not the rounded ones I grew up with. The taste (which is most important!) is there though! :)

Gluten Free Peppernuts
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, creamed
1 egg
2 rounded tsp. sour cream or plain yogurt

Add:
1 cup sweet white sorghum flour
1/ cup teff flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1 rounded tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Today I'm preparing for our annual family Thanksgiving celebration. With such a large family, it isn't fair to expect one person to do all the cooking, so for as long as I can remember, each family has contributed to the feast. As the cousins have grown up we've also started being responsible for different aspects of the meal. Since I've always loved baking I started volunteering to bring the bread for the day when Grandma B was no longer able to. Even with my celiac diagnosis I've continued to make the breads. Today I made 2 loaves of white bread and one loaf of gluten free bread. Last year I brought only "regular" breads, figuring that I wouldn't miss it with so much other food on the table. I wish that had been the case. This year I'm bringing bread so that I don't feel like I'm missing out on something.

One of my favorite breads is Dill bread. When I was in college Carmen and Patrick's grandmother, Helen Schmidt, adopted me and invited me to all the family meals. This may sound strange to those of you who realize that I went to college less than 40 miles from where I grew up, but I've decided that a person can never have too many grandparents, too many cousins, too many family members.... At every meal I was invited to, Grandma Schmidt would have zwiebach and dill bread. I could never eat enough of the dill bread...slice after slice (and now I know just how bad that was for me!)... Grandma Schmidt is coming to our Buller Thanksgiving tomorrow. I can't wait to have her try my Gluten Free version of the bread she's made for so many meals! :)

Gluten Free Dill Bread (original recipe from the More-with-Less Cookbook)

Dissolve:
1 pkg. yeast (in the Pamela's Bread Mix)
1/4 cup warm water

Combine in Mixing Bowl:
1 pkg Pamela's Bread Mix
2 t. dill seed
1/2 T. minced onion (if using dried minced onion, rehydrate before putting in)

In measuring cup combine:
1 cup cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup oil
warm water to fill until 1 3/4 cup mark

Stir well to combine. Let rice in greased bowl to double in size. Punch down. Put into a bread pan. Let rise again. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and brush with melted margarine.

**I also make this in the bread machine on the dough cycle if I need to be doing other things.

Zwiebach

While surfing the net last night I stumbled across a new blog (Mennonite Girls Can Cook). I've got several blogs that I check consistently, and this will be added to the list. This blog is a group of several women who all contribute recipes and stories, and many of them keep of blogs of their own. What brought me to the site was a reference on another blog to a Verenika recipe that was posted. One of the contributors also has Celiac...and I'm eager to try her variations of traditional Mennonite recipes. When is the next time the Buller's are getting together for Verenika?!? I'm prepared now! :) Thanks Julie!

One of the things I've missed the most is eating bread at family gatherings. Grandma Buller was known far and wide for her baking (being a cook at the school helped with this, I'm sure!), and her speciality was zwiebach. We were always eager to fill up on her zwiebach whenever we gathered as a family. In the past years she hasn't been able to bake, and so I tried to fill her role... Because of my love of baking, at each family dinner I volunteer to bring the bread as my contribution. Even with my celiac diagnosis, I enjoy baking bread, and I continue to bring it whenever we get together.

Last night, after finding the new website, I eagerly shot off an email to Julie, the contributor that also has celiac. I hoped that she had tried to make zwiebach, and if so that she would be willing to share her recipe. This morning I awoke to her reply. She hasn't made zwiebach, but will soon post a recipe for rollkuchen.

As I had the day off today to celebrate Memorial Day, and since I had zwiebach on the brain, I decided to try my hand at making them gluten free. I used Grandma Buller's recipe, only cutting it in 1/2 and substituting Pamela's Products Bread Mix. While the texture isn't quite the same (not as light and fluffy as white bread flour would make them), they do taste good, especially with the homemade rhubarb jam I had in the pantry.



Gluten Free Zwiebach
1 1/4 cup milk, scalded
3 TB sugar
1 TB yeast (I just used the yeast packet in the bread mix)
6 T. melted shortening
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
4 cups Pamela's Bread Mix (one bag)

**Next time I will add some xantham gum to the mix to see if that helps with the elasticity.

Recipes

As time goes by, I'm gradually changing my favorite recipes to accommodate my new diet. The truth is, as a single person, I don't have many occasions to cook and create my favorite meals, so this is taking longer than I would have thought. I'm including a couple of the recipes I've recently revamped so that when I go visit friends and family they'll have something to work with!

Swedish Pancakes (probably my number 1 comfort food!)
3/4 cup Featherlight mix
1 cup milk
3 eggs
melted butter
sugar
pinch salt

I like mine with more butter and powdered sugar sprinkled on top, or with berry syrup. Other family members prefer pancake syrup.

Cream of Chicken Soup Mix (one of the things I quickly discovered is that almost ALL canned soups have flour in them!)
2 cups dry milk
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup chicken bouillon (make sure this is Gluten Free--I use Herbox brand)
2 T. onion flakes
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. pepper

Mix 1/3 cup mix to 1 cup water. If you want more pronounced chicken flavor, use chicken broth in place of the water. 1/3 cup mix is equal to one can of cream of chicken soup. Add chopped mushrooms to make cream of mushroom soup. **This is much cheaper and lower in fat than the actual canned soup!
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In other news, I'm still having trouble regulating my thyroid medication. I've become very frustrated with how my appointments have gone with Dr. Cranston, and the general lack of attention I'm getting while I'm feeling so crummy. The awful side effects continue, and I feel like I'm not getting any real attention or help with trying to figure out what to do. I've made an appointment with an Endocrinologist for April 15 (that is the soonest I can get in, and I made the appointment almost 2 weeks ago now!). I'm hopeful that she'll listen and help me find a good balance. I'm feeling worse now than I did before the surgery, if that tells you anything, and it's very frustrating feeling as though I have to fight the medical community in order to be heard and taken seriously.

This week my 4th graders are completing the reading and math state tests. It will be a full week, and we're all eager for Easter break. My body is getting very run down between working at the school, and at the massage clinic, as well as the other activities I'm responsible for and I definitely need some down time to recuperate. I'm looking forward to spending some time at my little home, but also seeing friends and family and celebrating Christ's resurrection.

Drip, drop, drip, drop

The sun has come out, and is beginning to melt some of the snow that has accumulated since yesterday afternoon. The icicles on the sides of the house are releasing, and plummeting to the ground. The weather lately has been crazy--shorts and sandals weather earlier in the week, and turning to blizzard yesterday. We started with rain, and dropping temperatures, which turned to ice pellets yesterday afternoon, then ice pellets and snow, and then snow in the evening, throughout the night and into this morning. We did get dismissed from school at 1:15, so it has been nice to have a bit of extra time at home.

I was supposed to have 2 massage appointments this morning, but both were cancelled (of course only AFTER I had woken up early and gotten ready!). Instead, I've spent the day in my house, bumming around. I did go outside long enough to shovel the driveway (it felt like we had 12 feet of snow, but I'm pretty sure it may only be about 6-8 inches). The only part that isn't cleared now is the very end--and I'm just going to say 'no' to that...the wonderful city guys have created a mountain at the edge of my drive from clearing streets--I'm hopeful that it will melt soon. I also had to make a path to the rabbits this morning, as the back door was frozen shut from the rain, and drifted snow.

I've got a pile of laundry that needs to be folded, but instead I'm planning on sitting on the couch for awhile, posting this blog, and possibly starting a Netflix movie. There is always tomorrow (church has been cancelled), so the laundry can wait until then. Right now I've got a batch of meatballs baking in the oven, so the house is starting to smell really good. I'll include the recipe (maybe Heidi and Tim can make these for the hausgemeinschaft? It makes a BIG recipe!). This is adapted from a friend's recipe...I think I'll throw a potato in the oven too and have that too.

BBQ Meatballs
3 1/2 lbs hamburger
1 (13 oz) can Carnation milk
2 cups oats (Gluten free, please!!! Bob's Red Mill is the brand I used)
2 eggs
2 t. salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. pepper
2 chopped onions
2 T. chili powder
Mix the above ingredients and shape into meatball shape (you could also bake as a meatloaf, or individual meat loaves in muffin tins) and put into a 9x13 pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for one hour. While they are baking, make the BBQ sauce. After 20-30 minutes pour off some of the grease in the pan, and then pour the BBQ sauce over. Try to bake them at least 30 minutes with the BBQ sauce on them so that they have good flavor. **These can be made ahead and frozen without the BBQ sauce. Then you'll need to bake them about 1 1/2 hours.

BBQ Sauce
2 cups catsup
1 t. garlic salt
1 onion, chopped
2 TBSP liquid smoke
2 cups brown sugar

Mix the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour over the meatballs after getting rid of some of the grease.

So thankful

I am so blessed to have the family I have.

Heading into Thanksgiving and the Christmas season this year, I was filled with uncertainty. With all the changes in my life recently, I knew that not being able to eat the foods of tradition would be hard for me. In my daily life sticking to the gluten free diet is relatively free from angst, but the holiday season is all about tradition. And most of our traditions center around FOOD!

Again, I must say how blessed I am. Both the Buller and Johnson sides of my family really made an effort to include me and my special diet in our holiday traditions. Whether it was making gravy from cornstarch; making sure the soups for our gathering were gluten free; baking Ostkaka with tapioca and rice flours; making amazing flour-less desserts for dinner or purchases of special rice pastas--everyone really made me feel included. My parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins have really thrown themselves into learning about this, and helping me stay safe. THANK YOU!

Even my grandmother revamped her cooking for me. I knew that going into this she would most likely be the one that would struggle with it the most. She's amazed me at how well she substituted and was willing to try different things. We even spent time baking caramel cinnamon rolls together one afternoon. While they weren't quite what she would normally produce, they were good (even she admitted that, and she's a tough critic!).

I'm including one of the desserts that we made during my time on the farm. Aunt Terri found it in one of her internet searches... These little cakes are scrumptious! We served them with Aunt Terri's homemade icecream (thanks to Mulberry the cow, too!).

Lavish Lava Cakes (originally from the Hagen Dazs website)
1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
5 T. butter
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. finely ground espresso beans (I may have used a bit more! ;) )
t T. unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter six 3/4 cup ramekins or custard cups (we used muffin tins).

In the microwave heat chocolate and butter on medium power for 1-2 minutes until butter is melted. Stir, reheating if necessary to melt chocolate; set aside. Stir egg yolks and 2 T. sugar into chocolate/butter mixture. Add espresso.

Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; beat until foamy. Combine remaining 2 T sugar and cocoa powder, gradually beat into whites, until soft peaks fold over when beaters are lifted.

Stir 1/3 of the chocolate/butter mixture into the whites mixture. Gently fold in remaining chocolate mixture until completely combined. Divide evenly between cups. (Can cover at this point and refrigerate up to 24 hours before baking.)

Bake 10-12 minutes until puffy and cracks form on top. Edges should be firm and center moist between the cracks. (Bake 14-16 min. if refrigerated) Cool 3 minutes . Then either serve in ramekins or invert and serve on little plates with ice cream and dusting of cocoa powder.

Baking up a Gluten Free Storm!

Many heart felt birthday wishes being sent to my dear Gustav today. I'm sad that I'm not able to be there with him today, but I know that his mommy and daddy are doing a great job of celebrating with him. His loving mommy made him a rocket cake yesterday, and I hear it was a HUGE hit today at his birthday lunch with the Hausgemeinshaft! Happy Birthday! I can't wait until you are home in the states again!

Tonight was supposed to involve the landlord coming over to move out the electric stove from my kitchen (several burners don't work on it) and my parents helping me move in a gas range that I purchased at the school auction a couple of weekends ago.

When I called to remind the landlord of his plans for this evening, he told me I just needed to leave his stove outside his garage and then he would take care of it. I guess he forgot about the fact that he said he'd move it for me. When I then called my father to remind him of our conversation about him helping me (to be fair, it did occur last week) he sounded really frustrated and I decided to ditch the idea of moving any stoves tonight. He'd been painting and hanging wallpaper all day (which wasn't going well, I take it) and in addition to all that, it snowed several inches yesterday and it might be a bit dangerous to move anything right now. Instead I think we'll postpone the entire thing until Saturday afternoon.

Instead, I came home and decided to try out one of the gluten free cookie recipes I posted last week. I mixed up the flour mixture in a big ice-cream tubby and labeled everything so that I can easily tell which tubby holds which flour mix. Then I made the dough for the Wedding Cookies (also called Russian Teacakes in our family). Instead of the sunflower seeds, I used walnuts this time. While those were chilling in the refrigerator, I also made some Gluten Free chex-type mix. I used rice cereal, spanish peanuts, and some Glutino breadsticks I had (these are good, but not at all what I was envisioning when I bought them--no substance at all to them, so will stand in for the pretzels that chex mix normally has). I also made some chocolate chip muffins from a Gluten-Free Pantry mix that I found at Walmart the other day. I've looked at WalMart before for GF items, but always came up empty handed. This time I found brownie mix and muffin mix from Gluten-Free Pantry in the same area that the other muffin mix/cake mixes are located. I also found Midel and Pamela's Pantry cookies in the cookie section. Now if they'd only expand into having all the flours I need, as well as pastas.

So far I've taste tested the muffins and the cookies. Both are ok, and actually if I didn't know they were Gluten Free I'd probably think they were fairly average examples of what other people bake. I'm used to my baked good being much better than other people (I know, I'm not sounding very modest...just trying to convey why I'm a little frustrated.) I'm still struggling with the textures of things though--the mouth feel isn't quite right. Doughs are more grainy, not as smooth as I would like. I'm not sure whether I just haven't found the right flour combinations yet, or whether this is something I'm going to have to learn to live with. Time will tell, I guess...

Somewhat related to all the baking mentioned above is an amazing flourless cake recipe that I stumbled across several weeks ago. I was shopping at Sam's for catering supplies for last weekend, and was able to sample this cake. I'm going to make some for myself soon, although maybe I'll have to invite some people over to enjoy it with me since I probably shouldn't eat an entire cake by myself! :) Anyone want to join me?

Milk Chocolate Flourless Cake
(6 servings)

4 oz. Hershey's milk Chocolate Kisses, unwrapped (I think I may try chocolate chips to substitute if I don't have the kisses on hand)
1 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup cocoa, plus additional for dusting

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter sides of 8 inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter the paper.

Combine butter and kisses in a microwavable bowl, and heat on medium/high 40-50 seconds. Stir until smooth. If needed, heat again for 20 seconds or until mixture is smooth when stirred.

Whisk in the sugar until combined. Mixture will not be smooth.

Add eggs one at a time and stir until smooth. Add the cocoa slowly and mix until blended. pour batter into pan and place in the middle of oven for 25 minutes or until top has formed a thin crust.

Cool for 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate. Dust cake with additional cocoa.

Family

I attend such a wonderful church here in Marion. Upon discovering that I now needed to live gluten-free, one of my friends made an announcement to the congregation during a service several weeks ago. Since then there have been many concerned members who have asked me how the diet is going, offered advice that they've gleaned from "friends of friends", and in general just showed such concern for me and my well being.

Last night was our Christmas Vespers service, and yet another example of their love for me. Someone brought me special gluten free cookies and a recipe attached to the container for how to make them. Originally the recipe was full of gluten, but the recipe has been altered to have brown rice flour instead of wheat flour. The whole Darrow family now likes the gluten free version better than the previous version. Let me tell you, these cookies are scrumptious! Last night I was able to limit myself to one, but I just snarfed down three in the space of 5 minutes. I've only got two left, and then I'll be baking them for myself.

Grandma Darrow's Monster Cookies (Gluten Free Version)

Cream together: 3 eggs and 2 cups brown sugar
Add and beat until smooth: 1 t. vanilla, 1/4 t. white corn syrup, 1 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 stick butter
Add and mix: 2 t. baking soda, 1/2 cup rice flour, 4 1/2 cups oatmeal, 1/2 c. M&Ms, 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Scoop into balls with cookie scoop or ice cream dipper for big cookies. Flatten on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min.

Let's try these!

My friend Diana gives me her copy of "Living Without" (a magazine for people with food allergies--predominately gluten free recipes) after she is done reading it. This month's recipes are all about cooking for the holidays. Most exciting to me was a section on Christmas cookies! For everyday, eating gluten free is easy for me. I was a bit upset though that I was going to have to give up the holiday food that is so important to family traditions. Maybe it won't have to happen now!

I haven't tried any of these, but I'm going to post the recipes so that I don't have to lug the copies of the magazine all over, and they are easily accessed when I go home and have some time to bake with Mom. I will report back which ones are keepers and which should be tossed! Hopefully they will all be keepers!

Here is the basic cookie flour mix that you'll need for all the recipes.

Gluten-Free Cookie Flour Mix
4 cups fine brown rice flour
1 1/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)
2/3 cup tapioca flour/starch

Combine all ingredients. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

And now for the cookie recipes! I'm looking forward to decorating cookies with my mom when I go home for Christmas. Some of my favorite memories are Christmas memories of decorating cookies with Mom and Heidi. Mom's cookies always looked the best, absolutely beautiful and more work of art than cookie. Heidi and I had plenty of fun though, and enjoyed making ours as glittery and crunchy as possible--sometimes to the point of being inedible. The cookies got mixed up and put in tins, and Dad was always happy to eat our creations!

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Sugar Cookies
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup shortening (can be dairy free, etc... if allergic)
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups GF cookie flour mix (above)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar

1. Place confectioner's sugar and shortening in bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth and slightly fluffy.
2. Add egg and vanilla extract. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour mix, xanthan gum, baking soda and cream of tartar.
4. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating on low speed until thoroughly combined.
5. Gather up dough into a ball and chill it for 2 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
7. Flour (with GF flour!) your work surface and rolling pin. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters. Using a thin spatula, transfer cookies to cookie sheets. Gather up remaining scraps of dough and roll out again, cutting and rolling until you've used it all.
8. Bake cookies in preheated oven on center rack for 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire rack.
9. Decorate with icing! My favorite part!

Spritz Cookies
(these are the ones I'm most excited about! A family favorite!)
1 1/2 cups shortening
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. double-acting baking powder
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract (our family usually uses almond extract, I believe)
3 1/2 cups GF cookie flour mix
3/4 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Beat shortening and sugar in an electric mixer set on medium for about 30 seconds. Add baking powder and mix until combined. Beat in egg and vanill aextract until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine GF flour mix, xanthan gum and salt.
4. Add the flour mixture to the shortening mixture, beating on low speed until combined.
5. Pack the dough into a cookie press. Place the face of the press firmly down on an ungreased cookie sheet and press out cookie, a single press for each cookie. Space cookies about 1 inch apart. Decorate with colored sugar, sprinkles, etc...
6. Bake for 8 minutes on center rack in preheated oven until cookie edges are firm but not brown. Cool cookies on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Old-Fashioned Ginger Snaps
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
4 T. brown sugar
4 T. molasses
4 T. orange marmalade
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups GF cookie flour mix
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar, for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Beat shortening and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Add brown sugar, molasses, orange marmalade and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and spices.
4. Add flour mixture to shortening mixture and beat on low speed to combine.
5. Using your hands, roll uniform-sized pieces of dough into balls.
6. Roll balls in the sugar and place on the parchment paper.
7. Bake cookies on center rack in preheated oven for 14 minutes.
8. Let cookies cool about 5 minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Wedding Cookies
(maybe my all-time favorite cookie)
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 cup shortening
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups GF cookie flour mix
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup finally chopped roasted sunflower seeds (I think we use either walnuts or almonds--I'll have to ask Mom about this)

1. In a large bowl, combine confectioner's sugar, shortening and vanilla extract. Blend well.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour mix, xanthan gum and salt.
3. Stir flour mixture and sunflower seeds into sugar mixture, mixing with hands until dough holds together. Cover the bowl and let chill about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Flour your hands and shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets.
6. Bake cookies on center rack in preheated oven for about 20 minutes until set but not brown.
7. Spread additional sugar evenly over the surface of a large plate. Reserve.
8. Cool cookies for 10 minutes on sheets. Gently remove with a thin spatula and roll them in confectioner's sugar. Cool completely and re-roll in confectioner's sugar, adding additional sugar as needed.

And the last recipe was given to me by one of my paraprofessionals. Her family has several gluten intolerant people, and so this is a Peanut Butter cookie recipe she makes for all of them. According to Erin, they taste exactly like the real thing!

Erin's Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

That's it! Bake as you would for a normal recipe of PB cookies.

Gluten Free Lifestyle, Here I Come!

It's been a crash course. I'm glad I had some time off to recover from surgery, and also fill my brain with all the dos and don'ts. I've also visited the nearest health food store (thank you Prairie Harvest!) and Dillon's several times, and stocked up on gluten free baking mixes, flour mixes, and various other items for this new undertaking.

This past week I've tested out 2 mixes. I made Chebe cinnamon rolls, and Chebe pizza crust. So far my favorite bread mix is still from Pamela's products. Chebe (pronounced Cheebee) is a company from Brazil, and the main ingredient is manioc flour (from the yucca plant). The cinnamon roll mix was ok, but nothing fantastic. The problem for me lies in the fact that I come from a family of good bakers and I've been spoiled with good food. For anyone else, the cinnamon rolls would be ok, but not for me. I'm still searching... And it may just be something that I can't make from a mix and will have to figure out a flour blend for myself. The taste was ok, although not quite right...and the texture was what really got to me. As long as I call them something else in my mind, I can eat them...but I have to trick myself! :) I think the pizza crust will be ok. I haven't actually eaten any of it yet, instead I made 4 little personal sized crusts that I can quickly prepare and eat at different times. The crust mix had italian spices mixed in and smelled wonderful. If not, Pamela's Products will come to the rescue again!

I've ordered several books and cookbooks these last weeks. It seems that Bette Hagman is the go-to person for celiac cooking and baking. She's got several cookbooks on the market and is often referred to in other cookbooks. (She hails from Seattle--hey Abbe, do you have a hookup for me? :) ) One of her cookbooks, "The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods", even has a recipe for Swedish Pancakes! I thought that those were only comfort food for my sister and myself! Who knew the whole world considers them comfort food! :)

I'm including the Gluten Free baking mix that she has developed. That way I can access it whenever I travel.

Gluten Free Mix (can be exchanged cup for cup for wheat flour)
2 parts rice flour
2/3 part potato starch
1/3 part tapioca flour

Featherlight Rice Flour Mix (use for more delicate items like cakes, cookies, biscuits)
1 part rice flour
1 part tapioca flour
1 part cornstarch
1 tsp per cup potato flour (3 cups various flours=3 tsp. potato flour)

I'll keep updating all of you as I find new favorite recipes. I think I may have to make Swedish pancakes for supper tonight though!

Hello everyone!

Saturday we enjoyed a beautiful evening at the reservoir. Ruth and the kids joined Mom, Dad and me for an evening of food and swimming. We grilled Hillsboro sausage, ate fresh veggies and dip, enjoyed several salads and of course yummy smores. After dinner the kids and I went swimming, the water was cool because we were in the shade by that point, but we had a good time playing Monkey in the Middle and just swimming around.

Mint and Feta Lentil Salad
1 cup lentils
3 bay leaves
4 cloves garlic
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 red onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
5 TBSP chopped mint (I used dried)
salt and pepper to taste
6 oz. Feta cheese

Marinade
6 TBSP olive oil
6 TBSP red wine vinegar
2 TBSP lime juice
1/2 to 1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. minced garlic

Rinse lentils. Cover lentils with water with several inches extra. Put in bay leaves, garlic and oregano, and boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until lentils are tender. Drain and cool.

Whisk together the marinade/dressing, and add salt and pepper. Add the veggies and dressing to the lentils and let it marinate before serving. Add mint and feta right before serving.





Sunday the Buller siblings sat in Arlin and Maretta's basement to divide out some of the boxes left over from moving Grandma. I went as well, and enjoyed listening to their stories and their laughter together. I am so thankful to be part of 2 large families that love to be together. Not very many are as fortunate as I.

We've had some spectacular sunsets in my area of KS recently. Sunsets are one of my favorite ways of remembering God and his love for us. I've been reading the book "The Shack" these past weeks. It is a book that has been difficult for me to get through (although this is not most people's experience with the book). While at times I have forced myself to keep turning the pages, I do like the fact that the book questions what we feel we "know" about God. While we "know" that God is neither male nor female, most of the people I went to school with only see God as a male figure, and when we talked about God as a mother in Bible class, reacted with a feeling close to revulsion. In the book "The Shack" God appears as an African American woman, speaking in incomplete sentences, and dishing up collard greens. I've never understood my classmate's reactions in that Bible class, whether they were more familiar with a vengeful God, whether it was a battle over the sex of God, etc... For myself, I delight in the idea that God escapes our ability for exact descriptions. My own imagination has several versions of what God looks like, but my favorite closely resembles the grandfather figure in my favorite children's book "Grandfather Twilight", by Barbara Berger. The book has beautiful soft pictures, and its a wonderful 'good-night' book before bed. The story shows Grandfather Twilight as he walks through the darkened forest each evening to welcome the night with his gift to the darkness, the moon. The recent sunsets have had me turning the pages to this book many times in the past weeks. Each time I look at it I smile, and find peace in the knowledge I have a loving mother, father, friend, and protector...May you have that same peace.

Good night!

Farm Family

Kat, sorry I haven’t answered your question. I haven’t been spending as much time on the computer lately. The gathering we had last week was for my Uncle Calvin (Patrick and Carmen’s father) who turned 65. It was also Father’s Day, but the celebration was really a surprise party for Calvin. Lots of good stories and great food shared!



I’ve spent the past few days in Nebraska visiting my Johnson grandparents, aunt Terri and uncle Tim. It’s been nice to spend time with this side of the family. I slept at Terri and Tim’s house, and spent evenings with them. During the day I spent time with Grandma and Grandpa. The weather has been really nice here, and Grandpa frequently reminds me that it isn’t “hotter than hell, like in Kansas”. It cools off in the evenings, which is unheard of in KS. They also haven’t turned on the air conditioner yet, AMAZING! Last night we had a terrific thunder and lightning storm. I went to sleep watching the streaks across the sky and listening to the loud booms. They had a bit of hail with the storm, but nothing like we had in Marion last week. My garden is in ruins, so I was happy that that didn’t happen to these up here. Grandpa keeps telling me I came at the wrong time, since I’m not going to get any fresh produce from the garden, but it was the only time that worked with my summer schedule.



Yesterday we spent the day going to all the “hot” spots in North Platte, running errands and stocking up on supplies. We stopped at the pharmacy, Ace Hardware, Dollar General, Alco…Hopp “E” (local diner), and then on the way back through Hershey we stopped at the lumber yard for another look at the plants available. All the plants were 50% off, so Grandpa bought another rose bush, and Grandma bought some little impatiens to plant in the bird bath we gave them for their anniversary. The base has broken, and the rest has cracked, so it no longer holds water. Grandpa’s roses look magnificent this year. The dalias aren’t up yet, but the roses made up for it.















Today I spent in the kitchen with Grandma. First on the list was making rhubarb jam. I had brought all the supplies with me from home, but knew that Grandma and Grandpa would have plenty of rhubarb for me to use. No one up here uses rhubarb to make jam with, so I’ve suffered quite a bit of ribbing. :) They don’t know what they are missing out on.

















That took most of the morning, and Grandma fixed a good meal of barbequed ribs for lunch. After lunch we made zwieback together. There was a lot of laughter in the kitchen, as Grandma showed me how she “beats” the bread instead of kneading it. I showed her how the Grandma Buller taught me to pinch the dough, but Grandma Johnson’s zwieback ended up being much closer to the size they were supposed to be. Again we laughed! I told her that I made them “Dad” sized, because when my Dad helps make them, that is the size they end up. The recipe said that we should have 3 dozen, and we did! We would have had more if I had made them smaller though! It was good to laugh and giggle together!



Zweiback (Grandma Hilda Buller’s recipe)

2 ½ cup milk, scalded

6 TB sugar

2 TB yeast

¾ cup melted shortening

1 egg

2 tsp. salt

8 cups flour



Mix thoroughly. Let rise until double. Punch down. Pinch off pieces of dough a bit larger than a walnut. Place on greased pan. Make a depression in each piece with thumb. Pinch off smaller pieces of dough and press firmly into depressions. Brush with melted butter. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 min. turning pan once during baking for even browning. When golden brown, remove from oven. Brush again with melted butter.



Tomorrow I head for home after lunch. I’ll be taking 3 gallons of fresh farm milk with me. I’ll give one gallon to Mom and Dad, but I’m intending the others for OstKaka, and some fresh mozzarella. Terri and Tim have an extra cow giving milk right now, and until the guy they are selling her to comes, they’ve got plenty of extra milk. I’ve been drinking my fill while I was here, and they’ve been bartering with the rest! So far they’ve gotten fresh farm eggs, strawberries, and hamburger in exchange for the milk. It’s been interesting to see everyone driving in the lane and picking up milk, some getting as much as 4 gallons at a time! The milk is good though, with plenty of THICK, THICK cream on top. I may have to just make icecream with some of it!

Odds and Ends

So my technology course ended yesterday, with a final day of "show and tell". Of course, mine was the best! Ha, just kidding. I do think that people were impressed with what I had put together for my project, and then I also showed some samples of things I've done in the past. It was a lot of review for me, but I am thankful that I had some extra time to work with Microsoft Office 2007 before starting school and having it thrown on me, along with everything else. Overall, I like 2007, but it does take a little while to find where things are at, and figure out what tools might have been renamed, etc...



Monday and Tuesday bring another workshop: "What's Going On In Their Heads". It will be in Hillsboro, and all day, instead of just mornings. There are a few other Marion people who are going, so I should probably call them sometime today and arrange for carpooling. I'm picking up some extra college credits this summer, so that I can move over on the pay scale...always a good choice.



Tomorrow is a *hush, hush* family gathering--I doubt I'll spoil the surprise here, but I won't say who or what it is for. Anyway, I was supposed to bring a side dish to go along with a Mexican entree. The anaheim peppers at the grocery store were on sale, and actually looked good (our grocery is notorious for putting out rotting vegetables and fruits, as well as out of date canned goods and dairy products). I figured I'd come of up with something to make out of the peppers and bring it along for my contribution. This is what I came up with.







Erica's Take on Chile Rellenos

14 mid to large Annehiem peppers (These can be both mild or hot, so you never know how spicy they will turn out to be!)



1 8 oz. block Neuchatel (low-fat cream cheese)

1 8 oz. block Monterey Jack cheese (freeze so that it is easier to shred)

1 lb. Chevre goat cheese

1 TBSP basil

1 TBSP parsley

2 tsp. onion powder

cayenne pepper, or chili powder to taste



Broil or grill the peppers until they are blackened and blistered. Allow to cool before you try to do anything with them. Make sure your Monterey Jack cheese is frozen (I put mine in the freezer overnight), and then shred. Set aside.



In a bowl, mix the Neuchatel and goat cheese together, adding the spices. Chill again. Goat cheese warms up quickly, and it will be easier to work with if it is cold.



Go back to the peppers. Cut a slit in one side of each, taking out the seeds and inner membranes. Wash each under running water to get any seeds that may have been left behind. Allow to dry on a towel.



Get the goat cheese mixture out of the fridge and portion out 14 equal servings. Once the peppers are dried, you can start filling them. To do this, you take 1 serving of the goat cheese, drop it in the monterey jack to coat it, and then roll the cheese into a snake shape that will fit the chile pepper. The monterey jack on the outside allows you to work with the goat cheese more easily. Place the "snake" into the pepper and fold up the sides around the cheese to look like the chile shape. Place the chile into a lasagna pan coated with Pam. Repeat the process with the rest of the chiles. When placing the chiles into the pan, make sure they are close together! That way they won't ooze all over the place when you bake them.



Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the chiles.



Bake at 350 degrees until done, and cheese on top is melted. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro, and serve with salsa.

Summer is here

Well, it's been awhile since I've last posted, and this afternoon I finally had a chance to sit down and update this site. School has been out for about 1 1/2 weeks, and in that time I've: gone to the Indy 500 with Mom, Dad, and brother-in-law's brother, Jon; had a massage class; worked at the clinic on several afternoons/evenings as well as full days; weeded the larger of our two gardens; lots of mowing and weed-eating; washed my car; deep cleaned several rooms in my house; and many other things.



Since this last Monday, and continuing through next Friday I'm taking a computer course through USD 408. It's a two week course, meeting every morning from 8-12 and learn about integrating technology in our classrooms. We don't get paid for being there, but are rewarded with a laptop and projector for our classroom (that will be left with the school if we ever leave the district). I'm enjoying the class, but I do have to admit that it is a lot of review. We do have Office 2007 schoolwide for the coming school year, which has some changes and updates to get used to, so I'm using my time to better understand how to navigate all the new twists and turns. So far I really like it. Each of us are taking one of the units we teach during the school year and we're learning about different aspects in technology that can enhance the learner's experience. Since we are all on different levels of how comfortable we are using technology, the class can be interesting at times. So far we've talked about and used all of Microsoft Office 2007, we've discussed "fair use" policies, how to properly cite things... Today's subject was blogging and wikis. I created a blog today that will be used during the school year with my students. If you're interested in checking it out (once we get started) I'll provide the link for all of you. The kids names will remain confidential (maybe with a codename of their choice), but at least you'll be able to see some of the things we do/talk about in class.



This afternoon I'm concentrating on cleaning up the house a bit, and getting food ready for supper guests. We're having some weird weather today, and who knows whether supper will actually happen. This week has had very warm weather, high humidity, and a cold front is blowing in as I type. We're supposed to have severe storms all afternoon and evening, and we've been told to make preparations for spending lots of time in storm shelters today. We'll see if it all happens!



Since I've haven't posted any pics or recipes lately, I think I'll devote the rest of the blog to that. Here are the recipes (as closely as I can remember) for the food we'll have tonight. I'm back on my South Beach Diet, so they are all low-carb and very healthy. Sorry!



Italian Grilled Chicken Breasts

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast per person

1 wedge Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Original cheese per person

1 slice bacon, cooked crisp, per person

garlic

oregano

marjoram

thyme

basil

rosemary

sage

italian dressing



Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket in the side of each chicken breast. Spread the cheese into each pocket, sprinkling spices on top of cheese and topping with the crisp bacon. Secure pockets if needed with toothpicks. Brush chicken with italian dressing and grill over medium coals until chicken is done. Keep brushing with the italian dressing as they cook.









Ricotta Cheesecake with Lemon Drizzle and Pine Nuts

adapted from "The South Beach Diet Parties and Holidays Cookbook"

3 TBSP pine nuts

6 large eggs, separated

3/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/3 cup plus 1 tsp. Splenda

2 tsp. vanilla

1 32 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

2 TBSP lemon juice



Toast pine nuts, either on the stove in a skillet over low heat, or in the oven at 275 degrees for about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them as they burn easily! While they are toasting, lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.



Increase the oven temp to 325 degrees.



In a large metal bowl, beat egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.



In a separate large bowl, beat egg yolks, 1/3 cup Splenda and vanilla for 1 minute. Add the ricotta and lemon zest (I used more zest than called for), and beat on high until smooth.



Gently fold 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture, then add the rest of the whites and gently fold until well combined. Pour batter into pan, place pan on a baking sheet, and bake until cake is golden and mostly set, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and cool on a rack for 20 minutes.



Combine lemon juice and remaining 1 tsp. Splenda in a saucepan; bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove from heat and gently brush the surface of the cooled cake with 2/3 of the warm lemon mixture; drizzle the remaining mixture into the cracks. Sprinkle the top with pine nuts.



Cool cake completely, then run a knife around the edge before releasing from pan. Chill, loosely covered for 4 hours or overnight. Serve chilled.



Makes 12 servings













Other things on the menu for tonight: wilted spinach salad, and roasted zucchini sticks with Parmesan.



I'm sure there will be plenty of leftovers, anyone else want to stop by?

Been a long, been a long, been a long time! :)

So, the last time I wrote, Heidi and Tim and Baby G hadn't arrived yet, and now they've gone again. Heidi and Gus back to Germany, and Tim to California. During the time between postings, I've gone to NE to see the Johnson side of our family, had spring break, had quite a few things happen at school, spent time relaxing with Heidi, Tim and Gus...

I had a wonderful time spending time with all of my family. It was with great sadness that I headed back to work, and "normal life". I'm planning on posting some pics of all of us, but that will have to wait until the next posting, as my camera is at school right now.

Life, as always, has been busy. It's been a flurry of meetings and staffings at school, and by the time I get home I'm ready to hit my bed. Add to that the fact that my migraines have been especially bad lately, and I'm ready to have another spring break!

This evening, I've spent time cleaning up my house. The stack of dishes needed to get done. The pile of laundry on my couch needed to be folded and put away. The table needed to be cleared....I should still vacuum the house, but the floor actually looks ok. The next two evenings I'm having people over, so I want it to look decent. Tomorrow I have a meeting for our assistive technology team at my house right after school, and then Friday I'm hosting our Girls night gathering at my house.

Tonight, I've also been preparing snacks for the upcoming evenings. I've made a sweet, spicy nut mix (Thanks Maretta!), yummy brownies (recipe to follow), and I'm marinating some chicken for satay. The house smells wonderful! I hope everything tastes as good as it smells!

Here are the recipes of things I've made tonight, in case any of you are interested.

Cranberry Trail Mix (I tripled this recipe)
1 cup mixed nuts (I used assorted mix nuts, and then added additional peanuts)
2 cups small pretzels
1 cup dried cranberries (I used a mixture of dried cranberries, blueberries, and cherries)
1 egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Spread nuts evenly on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes at 350 degrees until nuts are slightly darker (watch carefully, they easily burn!). Cool completely. Reduce oven temp to 225 degrees. In a large bowl combine nuts, pretzels and berries. In a small bowl, beat egg, sugar and spices until foamy. Pour over pretzel mix; toss until coated. Spread evenly on baking sheet. Bake one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely on pan, then store in an airtight container.

Erica's Triple Chocolate Brownies
(Once upon a time, I worked in a little eatery in Newton where I made brownies nearly daily. I gained several pounds that summer from eating those wonderful brownies, and was disappointed when I discovered I never wrote down the recipe. I guess I thought that I had made them so often that I would never forget! Anyway, since I'm having a gathering with plenty of people who love chocolate, I thought I'd attempt to recreate the brownies. Here's what I did tonight, and if I alter anything in the future, I'll modify the post to reflect that)

3/4 cups melted butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 to 1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add in the chocolate chips, and cocoa. Stir until smooth. Add in the sugar and stir. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit. Add vanilla and eggs (make sure to stir so that the egg doesn't cook!) and then the flour and baking powder. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or whenever you think they're done (for those of you who like gooey ones!)

**I'm making the Chicken Satay recipe up as I go, combining several I've got, and until I test it I'm reluctant to post it. After I finish them tomorrow, I'll post the recipe in case you want to try them. They smell good at least! :)

Erica's Zesty Chicken Soup

This was my contribution to our family Super Bowl Party. I don't normally cook with Velveta, but it makes this soup really creamy.

3-4 Chicken breasts, shredded--Save the broth/water from cooking and add to soup later

Saute 1 small bag baby carrots, 1 large onion, and 6 stalks celery (all chopped fine) in 1/2 stick butter.

In a large pot combine sauteed vegetables and shredded chicken. Add 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, broth from cooking chicken, 1 can Rotel, and 2 soup cans of milk. Add 1 lb chopped pieces of Velveta. Heat throughly, although don't allow it to boil.


Enjoy!

The Race of Life is going strong!

After my wonderful Christmas "break", this week was the official start of what my "normal" life is... I'm as busy as I ever was. :)

Teaching at MES is always exciting, but the kids have come back with more vim and vigor now after Christmas (this means more discipline problems than before.) We're hoping that it dies down, but the last 1/2 of the school year always holds more chaos that we seem to be prepared for. Yesterday, my friend Julie had to call the police after school because one of our 6th graders was beating up another child right off of school property. The individual has been quite the trouble maker all year, and we all wonder just how far he'll take it. Here's hoping that our fears are all unfounded, and that the year will be a smooth sail until the end!

This week I've worked at the massage clinic (I'm now working Tuesday evenings, and during the day on Saturdays); had 2 massage classes (one with Carolan in Marion, and then I'm taking Kinesiology in Andover), and numerous meetings before and after school. By the time I get home in the evenings, all I want to do is drop into bed--even if it is only 8:30! I realize that some of you might find this humerous, but I'm too tired to care! :)

Today I did a massage at the clinic, and then went downtown to donate my time to the City of Marion. Marion is trying to put some new playground equipment in the park downtown (which is good, since the equipment they have now has been around since I was a little girl--I vividly remember playing on it!) and have been having several fundraisers to try to make it happen. Today they had an auction in the City Building, and Carolan, Carol and I went down to do 5 min. massages in exchange for a donation to the playground fund. There wasn't a good turnout for the auction, and we were quite disappointed. I'm hoping that those that did show up will be generous in their giving!

This afternoon I'm hoping for a nap. I started some bread, so I'll need to bake that at some point. I'll include the recipe. My aunt Pauline's mother, "Grandma" Schmidt, makes this recipe, and I always love being invited to her family dinners so that I can enjoy this bread!

Dill Bread

Dissolve 1 pkg. yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.

Combine in mixing bowl:
1 c. cottage cheese
2 t. dill seed
2 t. salt
1/4 t. soda
1 unbeaten egg
1 T. melted butter or margarine
1/2 T. minced onion
2 T. sugar

Add: yeast mixture and 2 1/4- 2 1/2 c. flour

Stir well to combine. Let rise in greased bowl to double in size. Punch down. Put into two 7x3" or one 9x5" well-greased bread pan(s). let rise again, about 45-50 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes. Remove from pans and brush with melted margarine.

**Since I'm not home very much, I usually start this in my bread machine, on the dough cycle. When I get home I bake it in the oven! So easy!

I LOVE SALMON!

One of my favorite things to fix for myself is salmon--I've baked it, I've sauteed it, and I've grilled it. What makes it so easy, is that it now is sold in convienient packages that have several one-serving packages within. When I come home from work, it is so simple to take one out of the freezer, and have it thawed in minutes! It is also an easy thing to fix if I invite people over for dinner on the spur of the moment, as it is quick to thaw and fix (and people are always amazed when you can whip something up mere minutes after getting off work!)

This last week I invited myself over to Kym and Troy's for dinner, promising that I would bring a fair share of the food since I had invited myself over! :) I brought this salmon recipe, some shrimp to throw on the bbq, rice in the rice cooker, and multicolored zuchini and onions to grill. Troy and Kym added fresh potatoes and tomatoes from the garden, as well as Troy's sweet peas. Everything ended up on the grill to keep the heat out of the kitchen, except for the rice in the rice cooker. We had quite the feast, and all healthy!

Herb-Encrusted Grilled Salmon
(inspired by a recipe on Kalyn's Kitchen blog)

2 salmon fillets, thawed
1 1/2 T. olive oil
2 T. Fish Herb Blend (recipe below)

Mix olive oil and Fish Herb Blend together. Rub fish on both sides with herb mixture and let sit for at least 10 min. while you preheat gas or charcoal grill. Rib grill with a piece of paper towel dipped in olive oil or use nonstick spray (so that the fish won't stick), then heat the grill to medium high. Place fish on grill, and cook until grill marks start to appear, about 2-3 min. Then rotate the cook 2-3 min. to get criss cross marks. Turn fish carefull and cook 2-3 min. on the second side or until fish feels just slightly firm to the touch. Total cooking time will be under ten minutes. **This recipe is easily doubled!

Fish Herb Blend
1 T. dried basil
1 T. dried chives
1 T. dried dill weed
1 T. dried thyme
1 T. ground fennel
2 T. lemon pepper
1 T. sea salt

Enjoy! When I made the rice in the rice cooker, I also added sliced onion, garlic and various herbs. It was yummy!

Date night with Grandma

Tonight is date night with Grandma B, and everyone is coming in my direction. After my 5 mile bike ride around the lake this morning I started on the ribs so that they could bake all day, and hopefully fall off the bone by tonight. I even made my own BBQ sauce for them. I also was blessed that Heidi and Terri were online and I was able to chat with them for awhile.

I've been busy picking up the house a bit, folding and putting away laundry, although I'll save my major cleaning for Friday in order that everything is ready for my purse party. I also had my TM1 final today--the full Swedish body massage sequence. I was a bit nervous, and made a few mistakes, but overall it went really well. I have a meeting on Friday with the ladies at the massage clinic to go over procedures and expectations. I'm eager to start moving my things into "my" room, and decorating the room to make it my own.

When I got home, I baked a quick loaf of beer bread for dad--carbs, carbs, carbs! ;) Pickerings will be coming over after dinner for some more talk about our summer travel plans.

The rest of the week is going to be some more "deep" cleaning of the house, getting curriculum and plans done for summer school, May girl sleep over, purse party, and maybe a few other fun projects thrown in there!

Erica's South Beach-Style BBQ Sauce
1 1/2 medium sized onions, chopped
2 T. garlic, minced
Drippings from meat
1 cup water
4 T. vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. Splenda
2 tsp. mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Saute onions and garlic in the meat drippings. Add in all other ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.