Family birthdays

Both my mom and step-father have their birthdays in September, a few days apart form each other. So for the sake of simplicity, we have one supper to celebrate all three events, hosted by me. The weather and leaves being so beautiful, I decided to carry the autumn theme inside as well, and my sister and I worked together to create an autumnal feast for our parents.

 

My sister worked hard on the decorations while I took care of the food. I printed out a menu and she basically did the rest, down to making little individual place cards. It was quite charming and I just loved working in tandem with her, usually were so busy in our respective lives our interactions seem to be like a gust in the wind, strong but unexpected and quickly over. It was really nice to be able to work with her towards a common goal as simple as making supper for our folks.

 

For the menu, this is what I made: Roasted butternut squash/apple/sweet potato soup, roast beef with garlic/peppercorn crust, mashed potatoes/carrots, and steamed vegetables. For desert I made a carrot/apple/raisin cake with a caramel rhum sauce topped with slivered almonds and thin apple slices. Im going to share the soup recipe, it is the easiest thing to do ever, gluten/dairy free, and paleo approved.

 

I roasted a medium butternut squash, three medium sweet potato and two onions at 350 for 1.5 hours. To do so simply cut the squash and taters in half and lay face down on a pan that has a couple of teaspoons of e.v.o.o. criss crossed on it. I added the onions 45 mns before done time. The squash and potatoes are done when you can stick a fork easily in them without any force. Let cool, then scrape into a blender with a cup of vegetable broth. Blend until smooth.

 

I added the puree into veggie stock, maybe 1.5-2ltrs of it, as well as 1 cup of applesauce I made. It was too liquidy so I cooked it down until it was the desired thickness. Added some cinnamon and powdered ginger (Im sorry I didn't measure).

 

Then right before serving, I grated some nutmeg on the top. It was very fragrant and delicious, and perfectly autumnal.

Basic Slicable Loafpan Gluten-Free Bread

I am happy to present a revised, simplified gluten-free loaf of bread, xanthan and guar gum-free as ever, faster than the soaked recipe I posted previously to prepare. Family-approved. I've been using some version of this for months, but as Ambrose's preschool teacher requested a formal recipe I rolled up my sleeves and wrote down some numbers as I went. Enjoy!

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1 1/2 c warm water
1 tbsp dry active yeast
1/2 tbsp salt
2 c white rice flour
1/2 c buckwheat flour
1/4 ground flax
2 eggs

Mix the dry ingredients first, then stir everything else in willy-nilly. No need to knead. Turn into a buttered bread pan (if your home isn't gluten-free, be sure there are no traces of wheat bread crumbs on the pan!). Let rise 2 hours. Bake 400 F for 30 m, then pop out of the pan and continue to bake on bread stone, or oven wire racks, for 10-15 minutes till golden-brown and very fragrant. Let cool fully before slicing.

"thrive pie"

The crust of this "pizza" is made from whole buckwheat, carrot, and sunflower seeds all mixed up in a food processor. Surprisingly yummy. and the rest is vegan.
A delicious meal that we ate at our friends Nicole and Lena's house. Recipe for the crust can be found in Whole Foods To Thrive, by Brendan Brazier.

eating well for babies - bargain alert!

Kristen at Food Renegade has had an (expensive) ecourse on eating for conception, birth & breastfeeding for awhile - I'd heard of it originally through a blog I read, Mommypotamus. It sounded awesome but it was way too expensive. Now Kristen's making it available for FREE if you preorder her new book! All the details are here. I've ordered it from Amazon.ca, here, for $18.15, and am currently doing the course. So far it's great! It's a mix of course sheets, videos, readings, and discussions. And of course, I'll get a book out of it! Basically I think every woman should buy it, but especially para-reproductive women who are already food renegades in some way will eat it up! Offer expires March 18th, though once you sign up you have access for life (basically, just preorder the book even if you don't have time for the coursework right now!).

I'm enjoying it so far in part because I've wondered whether Ambrose's dental issues have something to do with what he was exposed to when I was pregnant. My diet was better than the SAD on average, but it wasn't nearly as wholesome as it is now - and moreover, I was of course exposed daily to all kinds of stuff at the pharmacy prior to conception, and even though I was more careful to not count the obviously dangerous stuff and make sure trays were cleaned, etc. it's doubtless that it was still in my environment, be absorbed through my skin and lungs. Maybe that's why his teeth have decayed, maybe at some crucial point of his development, some toxic synergy prevented proper tooth formation? Anyway, I'm hoping this course will empower me to integrate a lot of what I've learned since we conceived Ambrose, and all the new info I'll get, to optimize my next baby's chances for vibrant wellness! I'll keep y'all posted!

And now for some snapshoots of our food lately:

Mmm.. bacon on the weekend.

pizza

while the boys had pizza, I had salmon with coconut milk and veggies and spices a la Sam!

Julia gave me her kefir grains - I'm convinced now that mine had been half-dead; like the yeast and bacteria got all out of sync. The milk fermented, and it was fine to use, but it had a funky smell - not bad, but not pleasant and yeasty like normal kefir, either. I'm so glad to be back into kefir!! <3