Wren's First Birthday

Wren turned 1 on Tuesday of this week!!!! It is so amazing how far she's come in a year (walking, some talking, etc). In fact, I never remember a year going by so quickly, and it's not like I don't have enough years under my belt at 27. We spent the day together playing and snuggling. She's a riot! Her new thing since she started walking a few weeks ago is grabbing a 4-pack of toilet paper from the bathroom linen closet and carrying it through the house.

Wren's bday party is this weekend at my IL's house, and with Wren and my dairy issue I decided cake was out of the question. There are WAY to many people attending who would complain because the cake I'd make from scratch would not be like the Betty Crocker mix. I don't need the stress or negative comments, so I'm making Apple-Pear Crisp. I can't do just Apple Crisp because, again, people have expectations around names. If I do something that's not quite 'normal', ie adding pear, I remove some of the stress of failing expectations of 20+ people. It tastes pretty good, and I'm not a fan of Almond Flavoring. It doesn't have cinnamon, a standard in most crisps on either side of the family. Bonus........ It's vegan. I need to work on the 'sauce' though. It's too runny. Once I get it perfected, I'll post the recipe. In the meantime, I'm having apple-pear crisp every morning for breakfast to get rid of it before it goes bad. This is why I stopped making baked goods after I got married. BigDaddy's momma is a baker, so everything I make is compared to her versions. Mine fail his standards, even though I'm still in a testing phase, and I end up having to eat it all or it goes bad. Part of learning to be frugal (read 'wise with your money') means eating food you spend money and time on. *Sigh* At least it's healthy and not like the boxed brownies I used to make.

I also plan on making some vegan granola tonight while my mom watches Wren. She LOVES to eat the granola I make. I think it helps that the granola is crunchy, so it's not like the other foods she eats on a regular basis.

Pictures and recipes to come. Stay tuned.

In the meantime.......

Happy Birthday goofy baby!!

Brussel Sprouts and Burritos?

Sooooo....lately I've been having an affair with brussel sprouts. My mom, who still makes brussel sprouts the same way, boils her sprouts in water until they're mushy, adds butter and salt, and eats them as a side with a meat dish. I hated brussel sprouts growing up. I didn't eat them, until this past Christmas (2010). I tried one of the mush brussels and found an underlying taste that seemed interesting to me. At least, it was okay 'enough' to add to my diet as a regular addition.

I saw Heather (heathereatsalmondbutter.com) used brussel sprouts often in stir-fries, so I decided to sautee some sprouts. I love sauteed brussel sprouts. There is just enough crunch (I like my veggies to have life left in them) to keep me buying the small bags on clearance in the produce aisle and add brussels as a side to just about anything or the main dish.

While fixing up a leftover burrito (Amy's Black bean Vegetarian Chili, grassfed beef, and homemade salsa), I decided to make up some brussels. It was DELICIOUS!!!!

My favorite way to saute, you say? I like to use a little coconut oil with the brussels cut in half (1/4 if they are large). I saute for a few minutes and then add 1/4 cup of water to the pan. I have no idea if it has a technical name, but I call it flash boil. As the water nears complete evaporation (stirring several times as needed), I add pink sea salt, black pepper, and garlic. I think the garlic lends itself VERY well to the natural sweetness of the brussel sprouts.

Halflet is only 11 months old. I don't think that's old enough for cabbage. Her brussel sprout days will have to wait, but that doesn't stop her from making faces at me. I asked her to smile.

Question of the Day: What new vegetable have you tried lately?

Brownies for Breakfast

One of my FAVORITE desserts is the humble brownie. I had to give up brownies for quite a while while nursing and because I'm trying to avoid dairy, processed sugar, and most gluten. Through my dabbling in raw food, I've found some fairly reliable 'dessert' substitutions you can eat without fear, as it's just fruit and nuts in various combinations. It's still dessert, but it's one of the healthiest kinds of desserts I know. I should mention that I do not fear dietary fat. I think everyone needs dietary fat, varying in amount from person to person, for everything from producing hormones, helping the body utilize certain vitamins, to being used as building blocks for cells, hair, etc. If you're looking for something 'low-fat', this recipe isn't for you. If you want something easy (minimal time, minimal ingredients, healthy, whole ingredients), then this is for you. This recipe doesn't use anything but nuts, fruit, cacao (unsweetened chocolate), and a little sea salt. The frosting is similar, minus the nuts. I like my brownies to taste like chocolate, so you may want to reduce your cacao if you don't like dark chocolate. The recipe is SO SIMPLE.

Soak 3/4 cup dates in water, and while you prepare the rest of the mixture. Place 1 cup raw walnuts with 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1 cup of cacao in the food processor. I don't soak my nuts, no comment BigDaddy, but if you'd like, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. Pulse the ingredients until the nut particles are to your liking. I prefer a small particle, so I process at least a minute, if not more. Remove dates from soak water and place in the food processor. Process until a 'dough' ball forms in the processor container. Remove 'dough' and press into a glass dish of your choosing. I like thicker brownies, so I double the recipe and use a 9x13 glass dish. Place the brownies in the fridge for an hour or freezer for half an hour to set, remove, devour.

Now, I'm not big on the taste of dates, so the cacao hides it nicely. A small brownie is very satisfying. I get something sweet, chocolately, and with good fat, so it's satiating. I don't have the impulse to stand over the pan and eat 1/2 the pan, like I did with conventional brownies.

If you want frosting, you melt 1/2 cup of coconut oil and add 1/2 cup of cacao and stir. This is intense chocolate, so you can add date syrup/paste or some other form of sugar to cut the bitterness. The more 'solid' you add to the mixture, the better it handles conditions outside of the fridge, ie higher ratio of coconut oil equals runny mess.

Question of the Day: What's your favorite dessert?