Food choices have come a long way since Pamela started a gluten-free, casein-free diet. In fact, they have come a long way since I blogged my first Thanksgiving menu post which always gets hits this time of year. I am very thankful that we can put on a traditional spread with traditional ingredients missing.
This year, we had a turkey and stuffed it with the cornbread stuffing mentioned in that first post. We have never missed making a favorite in our house, cranberry conserve—delicious on top of the turkey and very yummy mixed with yogurt in the race to gobble leftovers before they go bad.
I continue to experiment with old favorites as new products have come on the market. I have found coconut oil a delicious substitute for butter and shortening, which we used in mashed potatoes and biscuits made from the recipe on the back of a box of Bisquik, which debuted on our menu three years ago. The other wonderful product is Pillsbury's refrigerated dough for pie crusts. What's not to like: convenient and edible for Pamela. [Pillsbury now offers tubs of gluten-free pizza dough and chocolate cookie dough, too!] I still make the pumpkin pie recipe from the back of a can of Libby's pumpkin, double the spice.
We added two new items to the menu this year. Both were a hit. Neither required any substitution. I made maple-bacon roasted pecans for snacking, and they are so addictive! I am heavy-handed with spice, and I will probably increase the spice next time. Our vegetable was roasted asparagus: quick, easy, scrumptious.
Since we did not have time to make a health food store run, I invented with a whipped cream topping for Pamela's pie. I skimmed the layer of fat at top off of a can of coconut milk and put it in the refrigerator to harden. I whipped an egg white into a meringue, adding in a little sugar once the soft peak formed. Then, I folded the egg white into the coconut fat. Pamela loved it!
Our GF/CF Menu
Turkey
Cornbread Stuffing
Cranberry Conserve
Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Asparagus
Biscuits
Maple Bacon Pecans
Pumpkin Pie
Coconut Cream Topping
Little Sides for the Non-Dieters
Toasted Bread with Butter
Whipped Cream for the pie
AUT-2B-HOME IN CAROLINA ~ Teaching our twenty-five-year-old daughter with autism and aphasia, who is still learning about God, the world, and its people with a little help from Charlotte Mason
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Friday, November 29, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Making *GOOD* Time on the Road
Nancy Kelly's wonderful advice for rich holiday reading has inspired me to share tidbits for rich holiday travel as well. Pamela and I are making two trips to and from Kansas this season. As the drive is twenty plus hours one way, we include an overnight stop. We also take advantage of inspiring rest stops like Carl Sandburg's home, the house that Manly built, a replica of Little House on the Prairie, the National World War I Museum, Gettysburg, just to name a few. While some stops cost a little and last an hour or two, we never regret making the effort. As one of my friends says, "I like to make good time on the road—emphasis on good!"
Taking time to stretch our legs, our eyes feasted on beauty at the St. Louis Art Museum for nothing more than a voluntary donation. I chose to keep ten dollars for parking underground in my pocket and walk in the bitter cold because of the plentiful free parking. The added bonus was this gorgeous view of the reflecting pool in front of the museum.
While we had planned to visit a couple of dear friends (van Gogh, Monet, Millet, and Winslow Homer), the first painting that captured our attention was this ginormous painting of King Charles I by Dutch artist Daniel Martensz Mytens the Elder. This trip revealed that art is a shared experience, not just with your companion but also with friends from afar. When we spied this commemoration of his coronation, I recalled a conversation with the elementary class at Harvest Community School last week. The students are very much aware that Charles I lost his head, so they were intrigued that Carolina and Charleston are named for his son, Charles II, who managed to keep both head and throne.
Pursuing van Gogh, we came across this version of the madonna and child by Davide Ghirlandaio. The Roman numerals, MCCCLXXXIV, painted on the stairs caught Pamela's eye, and she quickly read the date as 1486. Again, I thought of the elementary students at Harvest because they want to learn Roman numerals since some books number chapters in this manner.
Monet's Water Lilies were gorgeous, and seeing someone notebooking increased my delight as I revel in The Living Page by Laurie Bestvater! We finally found three van Gogh's in a row. Pamela said her favorite is the one to her right, Factories at Clichy. Van Gogh included two tiny figures in front of the factory, hard to spot, but logical when considering how small we are beside the mechanical wonders made by our hands.
While the dancing grapevines in Vineyards at Auvers (shown clearly in this detail) tugged at my heart, my favorite is Stairway at Auvers, a painting which quivers with delight. Again, I am reminded of our school for the primary class adored this painting by the artist they call "Rainbow Man." When I texted a picture of Pamela standing beside the stairway to a friend whose children attend Harvest, her kids were amazed that we saw the masterpiece with our own eyes.
On the way to Millet, we spied greyhounds painted by another realist Gustave Courbet. We had to take a picture for our friend Eman, the ultimate dog lover. We even texted a picture of Pamela and the greyhounds to his mom. The other day, when we were walking with him to pick up lunch, we saw this cute little white dog named Lily. He could not contain his delight and said, "It's a Maltese! I love her!" As she was wearing a brown sweater, I let it flow into an impromptu Spanish lesson with the teen who had joined us. We figured out how to describe the encounter in a second language, "Veo una perrita blanca con un sueter pardo. Su nombre es Lily."
Right next to Knitting Lesson by Jean Francois Millet, we saw Girl with Mandolin by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Seeing the mother teach her daughter to knit brought to mind the finger-knitting lessons on the porch swing at school. One student taught another, and, before long, the entire elementary class knew how to make scarves and belts. I had to take a picture of the Corot for my friend Leslie adores this artist. I tagged her once I posted the shot on Facebook.
Before reaching our final destination, we met George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, pictured on Pamela's left. Apparently, Stuart cranked out so many of these portraits that he called them hundred dollar bills! Pamela and her class has been reading a short version of his biography in Four Great Americans. How serendipitous to find his portrait on the way to Winslow Homer's The Country School, which brings to mind Understood Betsy, a book that our entire school just finished reading.
I will conclude with this collection of arms and armor from the Middle East and Far East, which remind me of the boys who spend recess imagining themselves as heroes and villains in battles, real, fictional, literary, historical, and invented. Making GOOD time is not about how fast you finish a journey. It is about making good memories, reflecting on past experiences, and sharing your discovery with friends.
We study art for its own sake! However, if you must find a utilitarian reason to visit art museums in this standardized-test-obsessed world, this article might convict you. "Students who, by lottery, were selected to visit the museum on a field trip demonstrated stronger critical thinking skills, displayed higher levels of social tolerance, exhibited greater historical empathy and developed a taste for art museums and cultural institutions."
Taking time to stretch our legs, our eyes feasted on beauty at the St. Louis Art Museum for nothing more than a voluntary donation. I chose to keep ten dollars for parking underground in my pocket and walk in the bitter cold because of the plentiful free parking. The added bonus was this gorgeous view of the reflecting pool in front of the museum.
While we had planned to visit a couple of dear friends (van Gogh, Monet, Millet, and Winslow Homer), the first painting that captured our attention was this ginormous painting of King Charles I by Dutch artist Daniel Martensz Mytens the Elder. This trip revealed that art is a shared experience, not just with your companion but also with friends from afar. When we spied this commemoration of his coronation, I recalled a conversation with the elementary class at Harvest Community School last week. The students are very much aware that Charles I lost his head, so they were intrigued that Carolina and Charleston are named for his son, Charles II, who managed to keep both head and throne.
Pursuing van Gogh, we came across this version of the madonna and child by Davide Ghirlandaio. The Roman numerals, MCCCLXXXIV, painted on the stairs caught Pamela's eye, and she quickly read the date as 1486. Again, I thought of the elementary students at Harvest because they want to learn Roman numerals since some books number chapters in this manner.
Monet's Water Lilies were gorgeous, and seeing someone notebooking increased my delight as I revel in The Living Page by Laurie Bestvater! We finally found three van Gogh's in a row. Pamela said her favorite is the one to her right, Factories at Clichy. Van Gogh included two tiny figures in front of the factory, hard to spot, but logical when considering how small we are beside the mechanical wonders made by our hands.
While the dancing grapevines in Vineyards at Auvers (shown clearly in this detail) tugged at my heart, my favorite is Stairway at Auvers, a painting which quivers with delight. Again, I am reminded of our school for the primary class adored this painting by the artist they call "Rainbow Man." When I texted a picture of Pamela standing beside the stairway to a friend whose children attend Harvest, her kids were amazed that we saw the masterpiece with our own eyes.
On the way to Millet, we spied greyhounds painted by another realist Gustave Courbet. We had to take a picture for our friend Eman, the ultimate dog lover. We even texted a picture of Pamela and the greyhounds to his mom. The other day, when we were walking with him to pick up lunch, we saw this cute little white dog named Lily. He could not contain his delight and said, "It's a Maltese! I love her!" As she was wearing a brown sweater, I let it flow into an impromptu Spanish lesson with the teen who had joined us. We figured out how to describe the encounter in a second language, "Veo una perrita blanca con un sueter pardo. Su nombre es Lily."
Right next to Knitting Lesson by Jean Francois Millet, we saw Girl with Mandolin by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Seeing the mother teach her daughter to knit brought to mind the finger-knitting lessons on the porch swing at school. One student taught another, and, before long, the entire elementary class knew how to make scarves and belts. I had to take a picture of the Corot for my friend Leslie adores this artist. I tagged her once I posted the shot on Facebook.
Before reaching our final destination, we met George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, pictured on Pamela's left. Apparently, Stuart cranked out so many of these portraits that he called them hundred dollar bills! Pamela and her class has been reading a short version of his biography in Four Great Americans. How serendipitous to find his portrait on the way to Winslow Homer's The Country School, which brings to mind Understood Betsy, a book that our entire school just finished reading.
I will conclude with this collection of arms and armor from the Middle East and Far East, which remind me of the boys who spend recess imagining themselves as heroes and villains in battles, real, fictional, literary, historical, and invented. Making GOOD time is not about how fast you finish a journey. It is about making good memories, reflecting on past experiences, and sharing your discovery with friends.
We study art for its own sake! However, if you must find a utilitarian reason to visit art museums in this standardized-test-obsessed world, this article might convict you. "Students who, by lottery, were selected to visit the museum on a field trip demonstrated stronger critical thinking skills, displayed higher levels of social tolerance, exhibited greater historical empathy and developed a taste for art museums and cultural institutions."
Friday, November 26, 2010
Flipping the Bird and other Thanksgiving Memories
I woke up at stupid o'clock this morning (3:45) and, after a quick shower, was in the car, eyes barely open. We drove by Wal-Mart in our small town with a population just under four thousand. THE PARKING LOT WAS FULL! We did not turn into the parking lot, however, for there is no way you would ever find me shopping on a day like today. I would rather buy less for Christmas than be caught in a cat fight over Tickle Me Elmo du anno.
The last time I stepped foot in a mall on Black Friday was about four years ago. My glasses broke on Thanksgiving Day, and no amount of duct tape enabled me to wear them. I am legally blind sans specs and the two opticians in our town were closed. Steve chauffeured me to the nearest mall, forty minutes away. Like a SEAL team, I headed straight toward the target, accomplished the mission, and got out of there as fast as I could with no collateral damage.
According to Consumer Reports, nearly 14 million Americans are still paying off credit-card debt from the 2009 holidays. This may sound harsh, but it would be far better to invest in relationships rather than rack up more debt. The Christmas my parents went bankrupt, presents were sparse. Mom turned cheap outdoor carpet samples and rainbow variegated yarn into booties to warm our feet during a brutal winter in Chicago. She recycled everything! My youngest sister outgrew a red coat made of furry material, and, with her magic needle, my mother whipped it into a big red dog. The only store-bought toy for me that year was a jigsaw puzzle from my grandmother in Germany. Since we had so few gifts, one person played Santa and passed presents out, one at a time, so everyone could watch someone unwrap their present and savor the anticipation.
Going to school and swapping Christmas stories was easier than you think. I would tell kids that the elves came and decorated our tree (a German tradition) and we ate chocolate candy from Germany! We sang Christmas carols around the advent wreath and Dad read the Christmas story. Each one of us had to give a gift to the Christ child (saying a poem, playing a song, etc.), and hang a special ornament on the tree. The time we spent together outshone the presents.
Where was I going at such an insane hour? Schlepping Steve off to the airport!
Yesterday, we had a lovely Thanksgiving (scroll down for recipes) unlike the horror story from 2001. That year, we moved to the Shumagin Islands in Alaska. We lived in a house with no fancy indoor heating system. The primary source was a wood stove. We combed the beach for driftwood, chopped it up, and supplemented with Duralogs. Yes, the island has no trees. The other source of heat for cooking and heating the hot water tank and house was an oil stove with a cracked kiln. Anytime we kicked the oven above 350 degrees, the stove spewed soot everywhere and the kids ran around the house looking like little chimney sweeps. You know you are in trouble when your kitchen stove has a big thick pipe running up to the roof! Undaunted, we put on our typical Thanksgiving feast and, after checking the bird an hour into cooking, realized that the top was browning nicely and the bottom was a tad raw. We spent the next twelve hours flipping the bird. We weren't totally deranged and popped a plate of turkey into the microwave, just to be safe.
Last year, I blogged a nature study we did on a butternut squash as we could not find any pumpkins. The post from 2008 includes a picture of an oil stove in case you think I exaggerate and 2007 featured a paper turkey Pamela made. Back in 2006, I blogged recipes for our gluten-free, casein-free thanksgiving. Every year we learn a new trick so this year this old dog will include a new crop of recipes.
Biscuits - Pamela has not eaten biscuits since she sneaked one dropped by her cousin Daniel at a family reunion back in 1996. The next day, as predicted, she developed a rash, hosted several meltdowns, and left a yellow puddle on the floor while watching television. This year's miracle is brought to you by gluten-free, casein-free Bisquick. The only problem I see with this product is that the box is too small! That big pile of drop biscuits between David and I tasted quite delicious, especially piping hot. They are a tad dry a day later, so I plan to rummage online for a meatball recipe in which to recycle them. I got the recipe from the back of the box:
2 cups Bisquick
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened milk
3 eggs
Heat oven to 400. Cut shortening into mix, using fork, until pea-sized particles form. Stir in remaining ingredients until soft dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake thirteen to sixteen minutes or until golden brown. Makes ten biscuits.
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows - Steve did a fantastic job with this recipe which required very few alterations. We substituted Earth Balance butter and made sure the vanilla and miniature marshmallows were safe. He used brown sugar instead of white sugar because it just tastes yummier. We skipped the suggestions for scalded milk and cinnamon sugar (as if the marshmallows don't make it sweet enough). He made a layer of sweet potato mixture followed by marshmallows and another layer of each.
Pumpkin Pie - The first thing we made last summer when Betty Crocker's miracle arrived, we made Impossibly Easy Pumpkin Pie and it tasted impossibly fantastic. We used the following substitutions and made sure the vanilla was safe: gluten-free Bisquick, coconut milk, and Earth Balance butter. I wanted a traditional crust for Thanksgiving since David's braces ruled out pecan crust. I adapted the crust (and only the crust) from this recipe for Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie for my 9.5 inch glass pie dish with fluted edges. The unsweetened almond milk gave the crust the nutty flavor we love. I made the pie as directed with these ingredient portions:
1 1/2 cups Bisquick
8 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
6 tablespoons Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened milk
Cornbread for the Stuffing - Steve, who prefers white-bread stuffing, made a cornbread stuffing that he didn't enjoy. Next year, I'm thinking about trying a slow cooker cornbread stuffing recommended by my friend Queen Mum over at Setting of Silver. It definitely solves the problem of running out of 9x13 dishes and limited oven space at the critical moment. I tried a new recipe by adapting one from The Little House Cookbook. Because we could not add pecans to our stuff, I substituted unsweetened almond milk for the buttermilk. As much as Steve hated the stuffing, he said the cornbread was phenomenal, the best he's ever had in the annals of gf/cf cookery. I doubled the Crackling Cornbread recipe minus the crackling to fit a 9x13 dish:
1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
2 cups stoneground yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened milk
4 eggs
Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter by heating it briefly in the baking pan. In a larger bowl mix cornmeal, salt, and baking soda. Stir in almond milk. Beat eggs well and add them to batter. Stir in the melted butter last. Pour batter into hot greased pan and bake about 30 minutes, until the brown edges pull away from pan and the center of the bread bounces back when pressed.
As always, I made cranberry conserve, which we serve on the turkey, eliminating the need for gravy. We also served turkey, brussels sprouts, green beans, and macaroni and cheese that was the yummiest thing to cross my lips in ages and full of gluten and casein.
Pamela's cousin Jose drove all the way from Charlotte for dinner even though he heard Steve and I were cooking! Brave soul!
The last time I stepped foot in a mall on Black Friday was about four years ago. My glasses broke on Thanksgiving Day, and no amount of duct tape enabled me to wear them. I am legally blind sans specs and the two opticians in our town were closed. Steve chauffeured me to the nearest mall, forty minutes away. Like a SEAL team, I headed straight toward the target, accomplished the mission, and got out of there as fast as I could with no collateral damage.
According to Consumer Reports, nearly 14 million Americans are still paying off credit-card debt from the 2009 holidays. This may sound harsh, but it would be far better to invest in relationships rather than rack up more debt. The Christmas my parents went bankrupt, presents were sparse. Mom turned cheap outdoor carpet samples and rainbow variegated yarn into booties to warm our feet during a brutal winter in Chicago. She recycled everything! My youngest sister outgrew a red coat made of furry material, and, with her magic needle, my mother whipped it into a big red dog. The only store-bought toy for me that year was a jigsaw puzzle from my grandmother in Germany. Since we had so few gifts, one person played Santa and passed presents out, one at a time, so everyone could watch someone unwrap their present and savor the anticipation.
Going to school and swapping Christmas stories was easier than you think. I would tell kids that the elves came and decorated our tree (a German tradition) and we ate chocolate candy from Germany! We sang Christmas carols around the advent wreath and Dad read the Christmas story. Each one of us had to give a gift to the Christ child (saying a poem, playing a song, etc.), and hang a special ornament on the tree. The time we spent together outshone the presents.
Where was I going at such an insane hour? Schlepping Steve off to the airport!
Yesterday, we had a lovely Thanksgiving (scroll down for recipes) unlike the horror story from 2001. That year, we moved to the Shumagin Islands in Alaska. We lived in a house with no fancy indoor heating system. The primary source was a wood stove. We combed the beach for driftwood, chopped it up, and supplemented with Duralogs. Yes, the island has no trees. The other source of heat for cooking and heating the hot water tank and house was an oil stove with a cracked kiln. Anytime we kicked the oven above 350 degrees, the stove spewed soot everywhere and the kids ran around the house looking like little chimney sweeps. You know you are in trouble when your kitchen stove has a big thick pipe running up to the roof! Undaunted, we put on our typical Thanksgiving feast and, after checking the bird an hour into cooking, realized that the top was browning nicely and the bottom was a tad raw. We spent the next twelve hours flipping the bird. We weren't totally deranged and popped a plate of turkey into the microwave, just to be safe.
Last year, I blogged a nature study we did on a butternut squash as we could not find any pumpkins. The post from 2008 includes a picture of an oil stove in case you think I exaggerate and 2007 featured a paper turkey Pamela made. Back in 2006, I blogged recipes for our gluten-free, casein-free thanksgiving. Every year we learn a new trick so this year this old dog will include a new crop of recipes.
Biscuits - Pamela has not eaten biscuits since she sneaked one dropped by her cousin Daniel at a family reunion back in 1996. The next day, as predicted, she developed a rash, hosted several meltdowns, and left a yellow puddle on the floor while watching television. This year's miracle is brought to you by gluten-free, casein-free Bisquick. The only problem I see with this product is that the box is too small! That big pile of drop biscuits between David and I tasted quite delicious, especially piping hot. They are a tad dry a day later, so I plan to rummage online for a meatball recipe in which to recycle them. I got the recipe from the back of the box:2 cups Bisquick
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened milk
3 eggs
Heat oven to 400. Cut shortening into mix, using fork, until pea-sized particles form. Stir in remaining ingredients until soft dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake thirteen to sixteen minutes or until golden brown. Makes ten biscuits.
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows - Steve did a fantastic job with this recipe which required very few alterations. We substituted Earth Balance butter and made sure the vanilla and miniature marshmallows were safe. He used brown sugar instead of white sugar because it just tastes yummier. We skipped the suggestions for scalded milk and cinnamon sugar (as if the marshmallows don't make it sweet enough). He made a layer of sweet potato mixture followed by marshmallows and another layer of each. Pumpkin Pie - The first thing we made last summer when Betty Crocker's miracle arrived, we made Impossibly Easy Pumpkin Pie and it tasted impossibly fantastic. We used the following substitutions and made sure the vanilla was safe: gluten-free Bisquick, coconut milk, and Earth Balance butter. I wanted a traditional crust for Thanksgiving since David's braces ruled out pecan crust. I adapted the crust (and only the crust) from this recipe for Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie for my 9.5 inch glass pie dish with fluted edges. The unsweetened almond milk gave the crust the nutty flavor we love. I made the pie as directed with these ingredient portions:
1 1/2 cups Bisquick
8 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
6 tablespoons Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened milk
Cornbread for the Stuffing - Steve, who prefers white-bread stuffing, made a cornbread stuffing that he didn't enjoy. Next year, I'm thinking about trying a slow cooker cornbread stuffing recommended by my friend Queen Mum over at Setting of Silver. It definitely solves the problem of running out of 9x13 dishes and limited oven space at the critical moment. I tried a new recipe by adapting one from The Little House Cookbook. Because we could not add pecans to our stuff, I substituted unsweetened almond milk for the buttermilk. As much as Steve hated the stuffing, he said the cornbread was phenomenal, the best he's ever had in the annals of gf/cf cookery. I doubled the Crackling Cornbread recipe minus the crackling to fit a 9x13 dish:
1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
2 cups stoneground yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened milk
4 eggs
Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter by heating it briefly in the baking pan. In a larger bowl mix cornmeal, salt, and baking soda. Stir in almond milk. Beat eggs well and add them to batter. Stir in the melted butter last. Pour batter into hot greased pan and bake about 30 minutes, until the brown edges pull away from pan and the center of the bread bounces back when pressed.
As always, I made cranberry conserve, which we serve on the turkey, eliminating the need for gravy. We also served turkey, brussels sprouts, green beans, and macaroni and cheese that was the yummiest thing to cross my lips in ages and full of gluten and casein.
Pamela's cousin Jose drove all the way from Charlotte for dinner even though he heard Steve and I were cooking! Brave soul!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thankful Thursday Thanksgiving Meme
I found this meme at a knitting blog:
1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? Hint: Last year, we served champagne in Dora the Explorer paper cups last New Year's Eve. I am not Martha Stewart, nor do I play her on television. Of course, I prefer going elsewhere so I do not have to overextend my meager decorating and culinary skills!
2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? I buy frozen, or better yet a ham to avoid being the subject of any thanksgiving horror stories. While my dad is brave enough to manage a fried turkey without blowing up the house, I am better off with a plain-old, garden-variety ham!
3. What kind of stuffing? I like gluten-free, casein-free cornbread stuffing with mushrooms, nuts, and other goodies (but no innards or oysters, please); Steve prefers Stove Top when he is not visiting his mother, who makes fabulous stuffing that I cannot match!
4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? About the only thing I can do well is a gluten-free, casein-free pumpkin pie, made with a nut crust, except for this year because I blackened the outer edge in honor of my Cajun friends.
5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? Any leftover is a blessing in the home of the anti-Martha Stewart! I grew up on Exxon Valdez stew (leftovers with a splash of lard to stick to your ribs).
6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? I am pleading the fifth because none of my side dishes are that popular.
7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? Yes, I do and that is why I am the Queen of the Crockpot!
8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? I wish I had someone else to do the cooking. Oh, wait, I do! It's my husband, Steve!
9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? Snort! We eat dinner when it is done. The year we lived in Oliver's Fun House in a fishing village in Alaska (see the image I found online of one--no, that is not me nor did I ever smile while cooking on my oil stove), the turkey wasn't ready because our dual-purpose stove (which heated the house and the hot water heater, neither very well) had a cracked kiln. We could not crank up the thing to avoid sooting up the house. So, we rotated the bird periodically to eat it evenly.
10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? I always bring homemade cranberry conserve and pumpkin pie!
11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house? I guess it would have to be Senor Influenza!
12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see? We keep it small and cozy to avoid the drama for my momma, who lives across the street from us.
13. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? My absolute favorite thing on any menu is dessert!
14. What are you thankful for this year?
1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? Hint: Last year, we served champagne in Dora the Explorer paper cups last New Year's Eve. I am not Martha Stewart, nor do I play her on television. Of course, I prefer going elsewhere so I do not have to overextend my meager decorating and culinary skills!
2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? I buy frozen, or better yet a ham to avoid being the subject of any thanksgiving horror stories. While my dad is brave enough to manage a fried turkey without blowing up the house, I am better off with a plain-old, garden-variety ham!
3. What kind of stuffing? I like gluten-free, casein-free cornbread stuffing with mushrooms, nuts, and other goodies (but no innards or oysters, please); Steve prefers Stove Top when he is not visiting his mother, who makes fabulous stuffing that I cannot match!
4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? About the only thing I can do well is a gluten-free, casein-free pumpkin pie, made with a nut crust, except for this year because I blackened the outer edge in honor of my Cajun friends. 5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? Any leftover is a blessing in the home of the anti-Martha Stewart! I grew up on Exxon Valdez stew (leftovers with a splash of lard to stick to your ribs).
6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? I am pleading the fifth because none of my side dishes are that popular.
7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? Yes, I do and that is why I am the Queen of the Crockpot!
8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? I wish I had someone else to do the cooking. Oh, wait, I do! It's my husband, Steve!
9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? Snort! We eat dinner when it is done. The year we lived in Oliver's Fun House in a fishing village in Alaska (see the image I found online of one--no, that is not me nor did I ever smile while cooking on my oil stove), the turkey wasn't ready because our dual-purpose stove (which heated the house and the hot water heater, neither very well) had a cracked kiln. We could not crank up the thing to avoid sooting up the house. So, we rotated the bird periodically to eat it evenly.
10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? I always bring homemade cranberry conserve and pumpkin pie!11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house? I guess it would have to be Senor Influenza!
12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see? We keep it small and cozy to avoid the drama for my momma, who lives across the street from us.
13. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? My absolute favorite thing on any menu is dessert!
14. What are you thankful for this year?
- We live in a country where we can speak freely, worship God freely, and homeschool!
- My husband is a great breadwinner, who does not mind cooking or helping out with the house.
- My two kids have taught me so much about patience and never giving up.
- Our extended family loves and accepts our autistic sweetie pie for who she is.
- I am thankful for my local skin friend (and the one who moved away last spring), my skin friends from high school and college, and all of the aut-2b-home, homeschool, RDI, CM, gf/cf, whatever cyber friends.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Turkey Surprise!
I had a hard time snapping a picture of Pamela. She knows when the flash is going to go off, so most pictures show her with closed eyes. On the third try, I suggested to her to look away. On Friday, Pamela made a turkey from The Toymaker. I chose the black and white version so that we could experiment with the crayon shavings technique. However, if your time or patience with coloring is limited, you can try the colored version.Pamela painted the turkey body and tail feathers (pieces A and B) with brown water color. While the paint was wet, we added the shavings. Once dry, I covered it with a piece of paper, then a towel. Pamela and I melted the shavings with a brand-new iron. I am not sure why it turned so brown: did we have the heat too hot or did the colors mix in with the brown water color? Whatever the reason, the effect turned out surprisingly feather-like. They say even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. As I am not a crafty person, I felt like I found a nut that day! 
Do you see our little mistake? We drew the head on the wrong end at first. I think it gives it character . . . At least, that is my story, and I am sticking with it . . .
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Happy GF/CF Thanksgiving
As many parents with autistic children are following a gluten-free/casein-free diet, I thought I would share recipes Pamela could eat in our Thanksgiving feast. My mother found an awesome and completely gf/cf recipe for cranberry fruit conserve. The only change I made was I skipped the zest (which I detest) and used only one cup of sugar. Mom gave me two lemons and pecans fresh off the tree! Everybody raved about the conserve, and they were none the wiser about its lack of zest!I made two kinds of gf/cf pie: a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie. For the pumpkin pie filling, I follow the directions on the back of a can of Libby's 100% pure pumpkin, substituting coconut milk for evaporated milk. For the pecan pie filling, I follow the directions on the back of the Karo light corn syrup bottle for classic pecan pie, substituting coconut milk for butter. For the shell of each, I made a pecan nut crust. For one shell, grind up about 1 1/2 cups of pecans 
with 1/4 cup of gf/cf flour (I used sorghum) in a food processor or blender until you have a fine meal. I poured the meal into a bowl. I boiled water, added one tablespoon of hot water to the meal, and mixed it together. Because the meal did not form a ball, I kept adding a tablespoon of hot water and stirred until a ball formed. I oiled a pan and pressed the meal into a pan with a small pizza dough roller to smooth out the shell. I added the filling and baked as prescribed in the recipe.
I made mashed potatoes by boiling four peeled and cubed baking potatoes and a head of peeled garlic. Once they were soft, I mashed the potatoes with a mixer and added salt and olive oil to taste. They were not as fluffy as those made with butter and milk, but very tasty. My mother made a standard gravy out of cornstarch, stock, and salt.
I made both two half loaves of cornbread, one for cornbread and one for stuffing. To make a loaf of cornbread, I mixed the dry ingredients in one bowl (1 1/2 cups cornmeal, a half cup gf/cf flour--sorghum, a teaspoon sea salt, and a tablespoon gf/cf baking powder) and beat the wet ingredients in another bowl (two tablespoons honey, two eggs, 1 1/4 cup coconut milk, and two tablespoons oil). I added the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stirred gently. Then I poured the mixture into an oiled 1.5-quart loaf pan and baked in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes.I baked a typical Southern style of cornbread stuffing. I chopped two stalks of celery, half an onion, and four ounces mushrooms and sautéed it in olive oil. At the last minute I added two tablespoons of minced garlic to the sautéed mixture so it would not burn. I chopped half a cup pecans and two boiled eggs. I cubed a half loaf of cornbread. Then I mixed it all together with three eggs and my favorite stuffing seasonings (thyme, marjoram, and sage). I added several cups gf/cf chicken stock until the mixture was moist. I poured it all in an oiled dish and baked it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees until the top looked crusty.Pamela's special diet, which brought about tremendous improvement in her quality of life, reminds me of a person for whom I am thankful and whom I never met. That is Dr. Bernard Rimland. His newsletters gave me all kinds of wonderful ideas for helping Pamela, and I still look up information to this day. He died on Tuesday and that is a great loss to the autism community.
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