Why my kitchen looks the way it does

(Well, that and it being food-preservation crunch time. That's also why we had pancakes for dinner tonight.)

Making a home away from home

There hasn't been a lot of crafting going on here this week. But there's been a lot of "making" of another kind; we're getting ready to go on vacation next week (halleluiah!), and I've been preparing...stocking up for our home away from home. Partly out of a desire to save money, and partly to make it easier to just relax and not have to worry about anything once we're there (even as simple as which restaurant to go to). In the past several hours, I've made granola (for breakfast in pajamas in the cottage):

Brownies (ignore the horrible look--they are called "Ugly Duckling Brownies," after all, but they taste good!), for emergency chocolate situations:

And deodorant, because there is no way I'm packing that broken-up scrap of jagged crystal rock I've been using. (I've been wanting to get to this recipe for ages, and this vacation was somehow the motivation I needed to finally get to it. What took me so long? It took only 5 minutes to make and so far, it works great!)

Now, off to make Lucy some new longies. Somehow, her ratty old ones are fine for home, but if we're going on vacation, surely she needs to have some nice new ones...

Independence Days challenge update: syrup and fruit

Time again for Sharon's Independence Day's Challenge:

2. Harvest something: Eggs. Maple sap.
3. Preserve something: 1 1/2 qts. maple syrup.
7. Eat the food: I'm working on clearing out last year's frozen food (and, dare I say, some from the year before? Yikes!) We ate rhubarb "cuppa cuppa cuppa" (recipe below) this week, and polished off a well-hidden bag of raspberries and ate lots and lots of "blueberry oat bake" for breakfasts.

Dairy-Free "Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa"
(adapted from a recipe from my friend Eric)

Melt 1/2 C coconut oil in a baking dish in a 350 degree oven.
Add 1 qt. frozen or canned or fresh fruit.
Mix together 1 C coconut milk, 1 C flour, 1 C sugar (that's the cuppa cuppa cuppa) and 1 T. baking soda, and pour it over the top.
Bake for an hour or until browned.

(This came out delicious with rhubarb. We ate it with company, and all had seconds.)

Allergy-friendly teether recipe

You are not likely to get many recipes from me here. I'm not a great cook, and I'm certainly not creative with my cooking: I generally follow recipes to the letter. However, I cook A LOT. I make six children 2 snacks and 2 meals a day, in addition to helping with evening and weekend meals for our family. And we've made a commitment to eating only local produce and trying to avoid unnecessary packaging, so that means most things are made from scratch. Add to that the fact that Lucy has allergies, and I've been forced to become a bit more creative.

So I do have a recipe to share today, because I was really frustrated when I tried to find one for teething crackers I could make for Lucy. She's allergic to dairy and soy, which means that even if I wanted to buy some, it'd be really hard to do. (But I don't want to buy them, because of all the packaging, and transportation, and unnecessary ingredients, and too much sugar...) We're also supposed to be extra-careful about potential allergens, like honey and eggs, because of her history. So I was surprised and frustrated to find out that most teething-cracker recipes included ingredients I couldn't use: eggs (have to wait until after a year old), honey (ditto), bananas (not local)... Hmm. Time to get creative.

I found a recipe in Vicki Lansky's Feed Me, I'm Yours for "Homemade Graham Crackers," which she said could be rolled thicker to make teething biscuits. I altered the recipe so much, I feel ok about sharing it here.

Lucy's Teething Crackers

1 C. whole wheat flour
1 C. oat flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 C. coconut oil
1/2 C. maple syrup
1/4 C. coconut milk

Combine flours and baking powder. Cut in coconut oil until consistency of cornmeal. Stir in maple syrup and coconut milk to make a stiff dough.

Roll out to 1/2 inch thick or so. Cut. Prick with a fork. Bake at 400 on ungreased baking sheet for 18 minutes or until golden brown.


(Ok, so the coconut oil and milk are SO not local, but they are our favorite, tasty substitutes for butter and milk, adopted since this allergy came up; it makes baking so much easier. Also, I'd like to experiment with less sweetener, but I'd changed so many ingredients I left it alone for this run. I'm going to substitute some applesauce for part of it next time.)

Sometimes Lucy likes to gnaw on them. Sometimes, she wants us to break off pieces for her to eat. They're loved by the pickiest eater in my group, and so I tried one myself, and found they're really tasty! Let me know if you try them, or if you have any favorite teether recipes to share.