Sumac Tea

 

 Sumac Tea of Summacaid is a lovely and refreshing drink to make in the late summer early Autumn. It is made from those lovely red plums of berries you see on top of the Red Sumac, blooming in the early fall. YOu will want to harvest them before the rain washes away all the tartness. TO test a plant for tartness rub your fingers over the berries and lick your fingers, if it's still tart, it's still good. Clip off 8 bunches or so, shake well (lots of spiders love to hide in these) and bring home..

 Put then in a pitcher and pour COLD water over the tops of the berry clusters. ( Hot water will pull out the tannins and make the drink bitter). Place in your refrigerator overnight.

In the morning take out the berry clusters and drain the rest through a sieve or fine material like an old T-shirt to strain out the tiny hairs of the berries and other particles. 

Add sugar or another sweetener to taste (I like it unsweetened) add a sprig of fresh mint and serve over ice on the last dog days of summer. Enjoy!

Crockpot Pot Roast

I made this for Bear last night and it was absolutely wonderful. It's quick to throw together but takes all day to cook so plan ahead. Tastes of Autumn.

You will need:

1 Teaspoon of Basil

1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper

2 Teaspoons of Garlic

1 Teaspoon of Italian Seasoning 

1 Teaspoon of Onion Powder

1 Teaspoon of Sage

2 Teaspoons of Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon of Tarragon
5-7 oz beef

1 small bag of peeled baby carrots

1 small bag of red potatoes

1 yellow onion

1 cup of hot water

1 cup of Apple Cider

Take the seasonings and mix them together on a plate. Next stab the meat several times with a fork and then rub and press the meat into the seasonings. Make sure to coat it well and work the seasonings into the meat. Next cut up the onion and lay it on the bottom of the crockpot, place the meat on top of the onion, place the carrots to the sides of the meat, and the potatoes on top. Pour the water and cider over the top, cover, and heat on low for 5 hours. The meat should be tender, juicy, and cooked when the timer is up. Pull the meat apart slightly to check for doneness and Enjoy!

GF Rye Bread

Bob's Red Mill You've done it again! This mixture for Gluten Free Hearty Whole Grain Bread is absolutely wonderful. It makes a nut filled rye type of bread that is dairy and gluten free and absolutely wonderful. Yes you heard right, I said Rye! It has become a staple in our home in the past month or so. A slice of this makes any fall meal into an Autumn Feast! Enjoy!

No Bake Oatmeal Bars

Constantly trying to find new ways to include oats and brewers yeast to boost breast milk production, I created this scrumptious bar.

You will need:

1 bag of marshmallows

4 1/2 cups GF Oats (we use Bob's Red Mill)

4 TBSP butter (we use an olive oil based butter)

1/4 cup of honey

1 cup sun dried tart cherries

1 cup mini chocolate chips ( we use the dairy free brand 'Enjoy Life"

1 TBSP Ground Flaxseed

2 TBSP Brewers Yeast

1 TSP Vanilla Extract or Essence 

Melt marshmallows and butter together in the microwave; then stir in other ingredients. Press the mixture into a greased pan and put in the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours. Cut and serve. Enjoy!

Increase your Breast Milk Supply With Breakfast

Increase your breast-milk supply with this delicious, hot, and savory breakfast.

Make a bowl of steel cup oats using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Steel Cut Oats leaving out the salt. 

Add a tablespoon of brewers yeast made from red beets, add a tablespoon of ground flax seed, and a slice of coconut butter on top (sometimes I also add a tablespoon or two of natural peanut butter and mix well). On the side I have a cup of almond milk to pour over the top of this scrumptious breakfast and a cup of 'Mother's Milk Tea' (although I enjoy Red Raspberry tea far more). 

This really does work (at least it does for me). I've been doing this for a month and a half now and I do notice a difference in my supply on days when I start with this breakfast vs days that I don't.

Enjoy!

Gluten and Dairy free Smores!

 Bear loves Smores. The dairy in chocolate and the dairy and gluten in graham crackers do not love him back. Using S'moreables graham crackers (gluten and dairy free), Enjoy life Mega Chunk chocolate (dairy free), and Jett Puffed Marshmallows (dairy and gluten free), you can make your own delicious and safe summer campfire treat.

First, put down one S'moreable square

Next, put a couple of chocolate chunks on the square.

Then, top the chocolate with a campfire roasted marshmallow (or pop it into the microwave)

Top with another S'moreable square..

And Enjoy!

Gluten Free Rice Krispies

They're HERE!!!! Kellogg's now has Gluten Free Rice Krispies. I first heard about them on Li Loves David's blog and have been watching the stores diligently. The gluten free Rice Krispies are made from Brown rice. I'm not sure why Kellogg's made that choice since the only problem with the original Rice Krispies was Barely Malt in the ingredients. I have not had a chance to try them yet, but am looking forward to opening them up and I'll let you know what I think when I try them.On the back of the box is a recipe for gluten free Rice Krispie bars... Mmmmm how many years has it been now? I loose track of time. Guess what we're making tonight *wink* I'll let you know how they turn out later and if they taste the same as the ones I can remember from my childhood. I hope they are good, there are going to be a lot more children running around my house soon. I'm sure that they would love a tasty treat. More on that later in my family blog. Enjoy!

Wednesday Lunch

Ok, so Recipe Wednesday and Foodie Friday just aren't working out. So instead today I will show you my lunch and it's components.

~In the upper left pocket of my Bento box is 1/4 cup of fat free cottage cheese (Bear may have a dairy issue but I can have a treat once in a while. In his lunch I put some turkey peperoni in this pocket).
~In the upper right pocket is a mixture of grapes and blueberries.
~ The lower left container has what we call peanut butter quesadillas. They are peanut butter sandwiches made with corn tortillas. I also have a few chocolates as a treat.
~ The lower right container is a mixture of miniature sweet peppers and snap peas. (Yum!).

Not quite Bento, but I hope you Enjoy!

Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes

There are a lot of yummy chocolate gluten free cake mixes and recipes but I had yet to find a good vanilla mix or recipe. The other day Bear brought this box of mix made by Arrow Mills home and we made cupcakes. The texture of the cupcakes was a cross between cake and corn bread however they tasted like vanilla cake! They were moist, not to heavy, and are already completely devoured. They were a huge hit over Memorial day weekend and we will definitely be making more of these for upcoming birthdays and other family events. Enjoy!

Recipe Wednesday

Udi's Gluten Free pizza crusts are by far my favorite but these little guys pack a powerful punch and are quickly becoming a new favorite. The are enough to fill you up but not enough to weigh you down and have all the flavor and crisp you would want and expect in a pizza.

You will need:
2 Gluten free corn tortillas (I use the smaller 4" in diameter ones)
1/4 cup of pizza sauce (portion this in half for both pizzas)
1 or 2 chopped up button mushrooms
1/2 cup Veggie Shreds (soy based mozzarella cheese) (portion this in half for both pizzas)
Mini turkey peperoni (use a tiny sprinkling)
4 or 5 black olives cut up
A few fresh basil leaves
a pinch of oregano
a pinch of basil
a pinch of rosemary
a pinch of thyme
a pinch of pepper
a pinch of garlic
(I have a little jar marked "Pizza Seasoning" that I keep these herbs in. That way I can just pull it out and sprinkle as needed. It's also handy when making sauce.

Assemble your pizzas, preheat oven to 350, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Note: you really only need to melt the cheese. Bake a little longer for a crispier crust. Let them sit for a minute or two before cutting so they can set up a little and enjoy. We loved that we could each have 2 pizzas and that they are so fast to whip up. Adding all of the ingredients together the nutritional total for 2 mini pizzas is:

Cal: 210 Carb: 27 Chol: 0 Fat: 2 Sugar: 5
Enjoy!

Recipe Wednesday

Welcome to the first Recipe Wednesday. Every Wednesday I will try to post a new gluten free and usually dairy free recipe. I want to share some of the yummy things we came up with during last months experiment. This week's recipe is Pita Pockets. They are soft, slightly chewy and horribly addictive.
To start you will need:

1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup GF Flour ( I use Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 2 pie pans and put parchment paper circles inside on the bottom (this will help a lot later). Mix all ingredients together till the texture of runny pancake batter. Pour evenly into 2 pie pans and bake for 20 minutes. When they are done cut each pita in half and using a thin knife cut the slit for the pocket while the pita is still warm. This recipe makes 4 pita pockets. Store in an air tight container in the fridge and warm slightly or bring to room temperature prior to stuffing and serving. They tend to crack a little if you stuff them while they are still cold.

Adding all the ingredients together and dividing by 4 the nutritional content for 1 pita pocket is:

Cal: 125 Carb: 11.5g Chol: 17.5mg Fat: 7.75g Sugar: 2.5g

Day 9: Dairy Free Challenge

Breakfast: GF cornflakes with almond milk.
Total
Cal: 280 Carb: 28 Chol: 0 Fat: 0 Sugar: 8

Snack: 2 wraps made with turkey, tofu sour cream, spicy guacamole and corn tortillas.
Total
Cal: 232.5 Carb: 28.5 Chol: 20 Fat: 10.5 Sugar: 2

Lunch: Dr. McDougall's Black Bean soup.
Total
Cal: 240 Carb: 46 Chol: 0 Fat: 2 Sugar: 2

Dinner: Alaskan Pollock with Asparagus and mashed potatoes.
Total
Cal: 366.5 Carb: 6 Chol: 100 Fat: 19.8 Sugar: 15.4
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Daily Total

Cal: 1119 Carb: 108.5 Chol: 120 Fat: 19.8 Sugar: 15.4