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!

To Eat or Not to Eat Part I: Nature Study at Thanksgiving

Because of our hectic fall, we missed out on hitting the pumpkin patch last month and, to my chagrin, I could not find any pumpkins for a pumpkin nature study. I read through the pages on pumpkin in the the Comstock Nature Study book for inspiration. We did the next best thing and studied another member of the squash family: butternut squash. We did an indoor outdoor challenge by studying the ripened fruit. For a practical application of what she is learning in pre-algebra, Pamela measured the circumference of the squash at its neck and its widest diameter, which she found to be 23.2 centimeters and 40.7 centimeters, and will calculate their diameters when we do math next week. I created my own nature journal sheet, not as fancy as what Barb usually does, but it worked for us. Pamela studied the fruit using her senses, and her observation that interested me most was that the squash smelled like carrots. With Thanksgiving looming, we decided to put the squash "fruit" to good use by roasting the seeds and making pudding.


We adapted a recipe for toasted pumpkin seeds to squash seeds. Scooping out the pulp with an ice cream scooper disgusted Pamela, so I pulled out the large seeds with my fingers. Since she disliked the sliminess, I gave Pamela a spatula, which she found awkward, so she finally dumped them onto the sheet. I loved her problem solving skills!



How did they taste? We had a hung jury. Had I not over-roasted them, I think they would have been quite tasty! We sampled the least crispy ones of the batch--Pamela found it nasty, but I think roasted squash seeds have potential, baring my tendency to lose track of the timer. Note: David has rightfully asked me not to burn the pizza on occasion . . .
The second thing we made with squash was pudding! I adapted a buttnernut squash pudding recipe by substituting coconut milk for the evaporated milk (the same trick I use for pumpkin pie) and brown sugar for white because I felt like it. Pamela helped me by squashing the squash and spooning it into the blender. I didn't mind doing the rest since we had accomplished so much with one squash. Does she still think butternut squash reminds her of carrots? Nope, she wrote on her sheet that it reminded her of P. P. . . . mmmmm . . . pumpkin pie . . .

Fruit Smoothie

Yesterday, Pamela and I made fruit smoothies, gluten-free casein-free that the whole family enjoyed! Besides making and slurping down a yummy treat, we worked on joint attention (both of us looking at the same thing at the same time). To help her become more competent in sharing her perspective, Pamela must monitor how well her partner is paying attention and then use more elaborate language to redirect her partner.

First, we looked through a recipe book with kid's snacks. Pamela thoughtfully picked fruit smoothies after discarding recipes with forbidden ingredients. Yesterday, this activity did not go well because too many distractions diverted Pamela's interest, so I eased into my role of acting like a ditz. While some autism therapies focus on rapid response, RDI focuses on letting a person with autism process, appraise, and think of a reaction. At one point, I waited for forty seconds while she was thinking through something. We checked our supplies and made a shopping list. I talked more and acted obviously clueless for this clip.


We headed to the Pig (Piggly Wiggly, all you Greenbax lovers) to pick up fresh fruit and other essentials. You may notice that the photos in today's blog are crisper and framed well. My mother, who majored in photography in college, was kind enough to take pictures! I loved the shot of us at the meat counter because it captured the critical moment beautifully. Pamela is pointing to the direction where she wants me to head and I am pointing and looking in that direction. However, she is looking at me to make sure I am looking in the right place. That is what we call a critical moment in RDI and my goal is to create think space around that moment.






After we got home, Pamela and I made the fruit smoothie. I was much quieter in my inattention and basically looked the wrong way. She noticed when I did not pay attention and redirected me both nonverbally and verbally.

Pamela started her first conversation about Blu-ray DVD's with me. This could very well become a static conversation (it has that feel). Since the topic was completely new, I stayed engaged with it. I suspect I will end up having to find creative ways to stay off the Blu-ray express down the road.

My favorite moment was when the yogurt hit me in the neck. Pamela figured out what I meant when I pointed to my neck and said, "Pamela, I got been shot!" She appraised the situation and took appropriate action. However, it did not have the feel of experience sharing because it was more like Monk reacting to something out of place. She giggled, but it sounded strained to me. I probably should have slowed down and put think space around that funny moment. My mind was on the objective!


When we actually turned on the blender, Pamela became a tad hyper-focused with the grinding noise or the spinning of the smoothie. I tried to do subtle things to see how long it would take for her to realize the smoothie was finished and take action. We had a nice smell test and taste test to preview for our lesson on comparing perspectives down the road. We also transitioned to me serving her French fries and a burger.


Oh, the recipe:

Ingredients
1 8 oz container of vanilla soy yogurt
2 tangerines
2 1/2 cups strawberries
1 banana

Directions
Put the banana, strawberries, and yogurt in a blender. Squeeze the juice out of the tangerines and add enough water to make 1/2 cup of juice. Pour the juice in the blender. Run the blender until it looks like a smoothie! Yum!

Good Enough for Granny GF/CF Banana Pudding

My friend (both cyber and skin) Jamberry talked about making a GF/CF banana pudding by substituting GF/CF animal crackers for the wafers. As we were invited to a neighborhood Christmas party and one of the neighbors is gluten-free too, I decided to give it a shot! I went through all my cookbooks (it took about five minutes LOL) and found a recipe suitable for altering (i.e., it did not include instant pudding as an ingredient).

Ingredients:
6 egg yolks
2 cans coconut milk
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons buttery sticks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 small bananas
1 9-ounce box gluten-free vanilla animal cookies
6 egg whites
4 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
Mix first four ingredients with a whisk until smooth. Cook in a double boiler, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla extract and stir some more until the buttery sticks melt. Layer a 9x13x2 dish with animal cookies and sliced bananas. Pour the hot pudding over the layers. Beat the egg whites and remaining sugar until it forms peaks. Put on top of the banana pudding and brown under the broiler. Chill for several hours.

BEFORE the Party:


AFTER the Party:


Pamela loved it! My gluten-free neighbor loved it! Obviously, the partygoers that were not counting calories loved it. I think it passed the Granny test!

Wordless Wednesday: GF/CF Fudgesicles (Click for Recipe Link)

GF/CF Fruit Dessert

We celebrated Steve's forty-something-eth birthday on Friday, and, since he prefers semi-healthy treats, I baked a fruit dessert in lieu of cake and frosting. Between missing ingredients and stripping it of gluten and casein, I revised a recipe from a church cookbook in a major way. If you have a sweet tooth, you may want to add up to a cup of sugar to the filling. It must have passed the taste test, for it vanished in less than 24 hours!

Filling:
1 21-ounce can cherry pie filling
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 15-ounce can peaches (lite syrup)
1 15-ounce can pears (lite syrup)
1/3 cup tapioca
2 cups fruit juice (drained from fruit)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar and tapioca with liquid. Let stand for five minutes. Cook and stir constantly until thickened. Add the remaining filling ingredients, dicing any that need it.

Crust:
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup buttery sticks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup gluten-free oats
1 cup gluten-free cornflake crumbs
2 cups all-purpose gluten-free baking flour

In a separate bowl, cream brown sugar and buttery sticks. Beat in the rest of the crust ingredients. Press 2/3 of the mixture in a 10 x 13 inch pan. Spoon in fruit filling.

Topping:
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut

Mix the rest of the crust mixture with the nuts and coconut. Crumble over the fruit filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. If the topping gets too brown, cover the dish with aluminum foil.

Chewy Brownie Cookies

Chewy Brownie Cookie
2/3 cup buttery sticks
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups GF/CF baking flour
1/4 teaspoon xanthum gum
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups GF/CF chocolate chips
1/2 cup GF/CF oatmeal

Cream the first four ingredients (wet ones). Beat in eggs. Combine the next five ingredients (dry ones). Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat (not heat) until just blended. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop by spoon. Bake at 375 degrees for nine to eleven minutes.



My objective was to focus on experience sharing by focusing on being together more than the activity itself. We are solidifying experience sharing before transferring more responsibility to Pamela in calling joint attention. While baking cookies together, I learned thing: focusing on little unexpected things and spotlighting them rather than the procedure.

In the first two videos, the camera angle looks awkward, but I really wanted to capture our facial expressions and sharing. In the first one, I capitalized on unscripted things. I have been trying to capture Pamela's "magic finger" (a "problem-solving technique" for her). She does her "magic" at 3 minutes 50 seconds!


My two favorite moments were when we discovered a mistake in the recipe and talked about how to correct it and when Pamela learned to scoop cookie dough with spoons. You can see on her face that she was in the moment here and not agenda-driven. I loved Pamela's smile of pride when she learned something new (handling two spoons).


In the final clip, we are enjoying cookies. The problem is that Pamela had made a salad and wanted to eat that salad, dog gone it! You can see how she goes back to something static--salad--because this activity has no procedure. I slowed down the pace by feeding her and myself, which allowed her to relax--you can see how for a good forty-five seconds she was in the moment.


I have been seeking opportunities to experience share. Pamela came into the house with a beautiful red fall leaf, and we talked about it. She went outside, and I followed her after she had five minutes on her own. I was hoping to capitalize on that moment, but I failed. She got real static and tried to get me on her verbal calendar train, but I refused. We walked around the yard, but it was a bust because she focused on calendars and started sputtering at me when I didn't join her.

I pouted and walked in the house. She knew I looked upset (deep down inside, I was mildly amused), so she followed me. I looked at the floor sadly, so she put her hands on my upper arms and kissed my forehead. She said, "I apologize." I looked up and told her a forgave her and kissed her on the cheek. We agreed to explore the backyard tomorrow. I love how she read my emotion and tried to repair it.

There are two big things I discovered:

1. When *I* am unsure of what to do, I talk too much. I talk to cover up my uncertainty.
2. When *Pamela* is uncertain, she falls back on static conversations or verbal stimming.

Baking David's GF/CF Birthday Cake from Scratch

Yesterday, David turned sixteen! Saturday, we are taking David, three of his friends, and Pamela to Carowinds. He requested a carrot cake, which I plan to bake today. Pamela wanted to bake a cake for him, and we went gf/cf so that we can keep a piece for her for Saturday's celebration. She pulled out a gf/cf baking mix and pointed to a chocolate cake recipe for us to make from scratch! The baking mix we used includes fava and garbanzo bean flours, and even my picky Dad scarfed it down with gusto! We slightly adjusted the recipe:

GF/CF Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose GF Baking Flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthum gum (a little bit goes a long way)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 stick Buttery Sticks
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup soy milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two round cake pans. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer. Pour into the cake pans and bake for 30 minutes (or until the toothpick inserted in the cake's center comes out clean). Servings: 12.

I used the same frosting recipe as before, except we used Buttery Sticks instead of coconut milk.

One thing that struck me about watching these video clips is how much more comfortable Pamela is in the kitchen. When we first started baking in March 2007, I scaffolded by getting all the ingredients and utensils out. Now, she finds the ingredients on her own and searches the drawers for utensils. She can crack an egg with one hand! She can put a pan into a hot oven (although I am still pulling them out for her). She knows how to turn on the oven and set either timer (the oven or microwave). She is even starting to read the recipes and decide the next step to take!

Here is what I wrote about the cake baking clip:

Objective: To spotlight when I am not listening and when I am listening so Pamela learns to spot the differences in my body language.

What Worked: I was much more subtle today in my non-listening spells. Pamela did very well. She responded well when I complained about her jabs. She has had a lighter touch since then.

What Frustrated Pamela: I had to be careful to reassure Pamela when she got frustrated at glitches: a mom who doesn't listen, a pesky can opener, a mixer that spewed, etc. She did recover without melting down and finished all of the steps in baking a cake. I have to walk a fine line of working on the objective without pushing her off the cliff.

Comment: I loved when she cracked an egg one handed and make a pun on the word can. Her confidence in the kitchen is soaring!


We had a minor glitch between making the cake and the frosting. Pamela and her consultant were going to spend three hours doing things together like eating lunch, browsing at Wal-Mart or the store, and playing at the park. Something came up and our consultant had to postpone their visit by a week. Pamela cried and talked about being broken-hearted. I soothed her with stim phrases to help change her thoughts, rubbed her arm, and spoke to her gently. I also promised a trip to the health food store in Columbia today to make up for it.

As you can see in the clip, she is back to normal. Last night, we all went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. While I was telling Steve about the altered plans, I mentioned that Pamela was broken-hearted. She said loudly, "I'm not broken-hearted." So, her heart is healed! :-)

Another interesting thing was that Steve was being silly and nearly knocked over the salsa. Pamela laughed loudly and laughed with us. Then, she said, "Comedy!"

My objective was again to demonstrate non-listening body language, more subtly. This time I gave different reasons for it. Pamela does recognize when I am not listening, so I think I will start pointing out when "I can't tell if you're listening."


Finally, we have the birthday boy being serenaded. We took him out to eat at the local Mexican restaurant and threatened to alert the waiters about his birthday, so they could pull out the silly sombrero and serenade him. But, we did not. Why he is embarrassed at our singing, I cannot fathom. But, he recovered sufficiently to blow out all the candles in one breath.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

The other day we had a blast making ice cream for the first time using an idea I found at Kaboose Crafts. On our shopping trip for ingredients, I turned it into a guessing game. As we picked each item, I heightened the anticipation by telling her we were going to try a new recipe and she will be so surprised. Her eyes lit up each time and, with every item, she modified her guess to no avail. Since she has never made ice cream, the rock salt did not give away the mystery.

While we were making the ice cream, a recipe from Rachel's Recipe Box, the guessing game started anew. While stirring, Pamela thought of pudding, so I encouraged her that she was very close! Even while putting ice in the Ziploc bag, she went through a guess or two before she figured it out. We all enjoyed the ice cream and found that this handmade, homemade way of making ice cream promotes fun and emotion sharing.


Coconut Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

2 14-ounce cans coconut milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon xanthum gum
1/2 cup gf/cf chocolate chips/chunks
1 pint Ziploc bags
1 gallon Ziploc bags
2/3 cup rock salt
ice cubes
canister or coffee can (optional)

Put first five ingredients in a bowl and stir with a whisk until smooth and creamy. Put half of the mixture into a pint-sized Ziploc bag. Add half of the chocolate chips/chunks to the bag. Zip the bag tight. You may want to double bag it. Put half of the rock salt in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and fill the bag half full of ice. Put the pint bag inside the gallan bag containing the rock salt and ice. Zip the bag. Gently flip, toss, rock, twist, shake the bag until the ice cream texture meets the consistency you prefer.

For another RDI variation the next day, double-bag the remaining mixture and place it in a canister with the remaining rock salt and more ice. The freeze will happen faster because ingredients stored in the refrigerator are closer to the desired temperature. Roll the canister back and forth as a game and see if the child can guess what is inside the canister. Kaboose recommends using coffee cans, but all I had onhand was a sugar canister. With a bigger group of kids, a large can, and plenty of duct tape, you can try playing kick the can.

Now, we are taking time to reflect upon this experience to imagine other recipes for ice cream. Pamela has already chosen Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream for our next batch.

Meatballs

Pamela did not want to make meatballs yesterday, so I did it without my sidekick. Queen Mum, one of these days I will film us making meatballs together. She did, however, eat them for lunch and dinner today. She told me she wanted to eat "stringy noodles" (nockerl) and was kind enough to help me. She topped it with Prego sauce.

Here is the recipe.

1/2 cup gluten-free cornflake crumbs
1/2 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dried sage leaves
1 tablespoon dried marjoram leaves
1 pound pork sausage
1 pound ground beef
2 eggs
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic

Combine the first five ingredients. Add the last five ingredients and mix thoroughly by hand. Roll into small balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

GF/CF Hungarian Nockerl (Noodle) Recipe

My sister and her fiance (who is German) are planning to move to the United States and marry. They are master wine makers and great cooks like my Mom. Last week, they made some Hungarian goulash and noodles, which were delicious and intriguing. When she described how she made the noodles, I realized it might be a great RDI activity because the technique is unusual and could be framed for many different objectives. The big trick for me was to create a gluten-free, casein-free version so Pamela could actually eat it!

The big caveat is you do this over boiling water and you need a child who is settled and calm. If you hold the grater, you will be closest to the pot and that might be one way to scaffold. You could experiment doing it over a small bowl of hot water and then transfer the water to the pot of boiling water. I did not need to do that with Pamela.

Special Equipment:
Grater with large holes, spatula, whisk or beater, slotted spoon

Ingredients:
3 eggs
4 tablespoons non-cow milk
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup potato flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1 tablespoon xanthum gum
Water

Steps:
Bring a pot of water to a boil while you make the noodles.

Put the eggs, milk, and salt in a bowl. Beat well to get air into the liquids.

Put the flours, starch, and xanthum gum in a separate bowl and mix well. Add the flour to the liquid a half cup at a time and mix.

Here is a moment of uncertainty. Add a little water at a time until the dough is slightly wet and shiny, loose yet sticky. I did not have enough liquid in my dough, which was hard to mash in the next step.

I am posting video clips to get you through the rest of the recipe. Get the grater and the spatula and hold the grater over the pot of boiling water. Pamela referenced me to figure out the tools and what to do next. Place a spoonful of dough on the grater.


Push down on the dough to force it through the holes to form the noodles. We struggled here because my dough was too dry! The nockerl will fall into the boiling water and sink to the bottom. This is a great moment for declarative language, too.


Because the dough was too thick, I had to provide more support for Pamela. This is another great moment for declarative language because the nockerl that are ready will float to the surface of the water.


I did not have a bowl and slotted spoon handy to allow more referencing. Pamela gets these utensils out in this clip.


Use the slotted spoon to retrieve nockerl on the surface. This is my favorite clip. Pamela was paying careful attention to what I was doing. I stirred the nockerl into the spoon, paused, and looked at Pamela. She looked back at me and then placed her hand on the spoon to assist me! She split her attention between the nockerl and my face very nicely. Then, I backed off my hand and gave her minimal support in spooning out the nockerl herself. In a non-verbal way, I am helping her to let the noodles drain in the slotted spoon before putting them in the bowl. Then, we ended the clip with our taste test.


I did not measure the quantity, but I think the recipe yields 2 1/2 to 3 cups of nockerl. WOW! I found it delicious and ate some for lunch and dinner!

Pamela put tomato sauce on hers and ate it up! I stored the rest in a plastic bag and, when I served myself some for dinner later that day, the noodles still tasted yummy. They did not mush up on me like some GF/CF noodles do when stored.

While Pamela enjoys the fruit of her labor, we talk about what everyone thinks of her noodles in this final clip!

GF/CF Praline Pumpkin Dessert & Cranberry Conserve

I adapted the following Praline Pumpkin Dessert recipe to be free of gluten and casein.

• I opened a 14-ounce can of coconut milk and skimmed off two ounces of the cream. I replaced the evaporated milk with the remaining twelve ounces of coconut milk.
• I did not have the buttery sticks that might have worked, and the nearest decent health food store is 75 miles away. Instead of 3/4 cup of butter, I tried the remaining two ounces of coconut cream and four ounces of vegetable shortening.
• I found the recipe too sweet the first time I made it, so I cut back the sugar to 3/4 cup.
• I did not have any yellow cake mix handy, so I substituted it with muffin mix.

My sister Pam has cut milk from her diet, and she tried the pecan praline dessert and raved at the taste. My daughter Pamela loved it, too. I found it equal in taste to the original, but the GF/CF version does not brown as nicely. Unfortunately, I took no pictures . . . maybe next time! By the way, everyone loved the gluten and casein packed version, too, and the only modification I made to that was lowering the sugar to 3/4 cups.

I am not exaggerating when I tell you I am not a great cook. I am a terrible cook as Pamela has attested. EVERYONE loved the Cranberry Conserve, which is GF/CF without any modifications! I did make the following changes:

• I was feeding a huge crowd of seventeen (that is huge for me). I tripled the recipe.
• Instead of using 4.5 cups of sugar (3 times 1.5 cups), I cut it back to 3 cups (which would be 1 cup per batch).
• Pamela used up all of my lemon juice, so I used 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar instead of 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.

This conserve tastes wonderful on turkey as well as pork chops.

Candlewicking, Sweet Bread, Monster Cookies

FOUR DAYS until the Third Annual Charlotte Mason Conference hosted by ChildLight USA!

ChildLight USA requested samples (flat samples only) of the efforts of children learning with a Charlotte Mason philosophy. I submitted two things about Pamela to encourage parents with special needs children: (1) her candlewicking (which was sidetracked due to our move into Glasers' old house) and (2) her cookery (recipes and photos stripped from the video clips).

Children today do many activities under the guise of "arts and crafts" that Charlotte Mason would not classify as a handicraft. I will leave the discerning reader to imagine what that may be. I believe Pamela's efforts represent Charlotte Mason's standards, which are few and are outlined as follows (page 315):


(a) “They should not be employed in making futilities.”
(b) “They should be taught slowly and carefully.”
(c) “Slipshod work should not allowed.”
(d) “The children's work should be kept well within their compass.”

Here are pictures of Pamela's candlewicking, based upon animals she drew herself:



I listed six recipes for almost everything we have cooked to date (I omitted pizza because I never took a picture of the finished product). Being required to meet this deadline will give me the motivation to add missing recipes to the cookery book we are making, tailored to Pamela's diet. Here are two recipes I have not blogged yet:

Pamela’s Sweet Bread
3 eggs
3/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup warm water
GF/CF bread mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 packet yeast

Pour the liquid ingredients in the bread machine pan. Put the dry ingredients on top, with the yeast last. Do not stir because the machine will take care of it. Put the pan in the machine. Set the baking cycle for sweet bread and the kind of crust you prefer and peek at the progress through the window to your heart's content.



Pamela's Monster Cookies
1 bag Incredible Chocolate Chunk Mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons coconut milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the mix into the bowl. Add all wet ingredients into a large bowl and stir. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans. For monster cookies, use a plastic ice cream scooper. Six cookies fit on a square cookie sheet. A cookie tastes great alamode!



I am doing two presentations this year:

Assessing Therapies for Special Needs Learners from a Charlotte Mason Perspective
Therapies recommended for special needs children can cloud one’s vision of education as “an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life”. The speaker will demonstrate how to translate one autism therapy into Charlotte Mason terminology and accept or reject principles that respect a child’s personhood. The participants will do the same for a speech program for language-delayed children. They will leave the class more confident in selecting the therapies most suited to a Charlotte Mason philosophy. They will leave inspired by Miss Mason’s language arts program, which enabled a person with life-long challenges with language to learn recitation!

Masterly Inactivity—Not Your Average Unschooling!
Those vaguely familiar with Charlotte Mason’s writings often view masterly inactivity as the unschooling part of the day. Masterly inactivity, which flows from our responsibility and authority as parents and educators, colors how we teach children. The speaker will outline what masterly inactivity is and is not, will describe the characteristics of those who apply it, and how it affects play, work, friends, money, opinions, and education. The participants will brainstorm how Miss Mason might apply it to book choices, television, video games, and other aspects of modern life.

Cheri Hedden, listowner of AOwithLDKids, is also presenting on a CM-friendly way to map a road to success for your special needs child's challenges.

Pamela's Pecan Brownies

3/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 14-oz can coconut milk
2 eggs
2/3 cup pecans (or walnuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put all dry ingredients in a large bowl (the first five ingredients). Stir until thoroughly mixed. Put all liquids in the bowl. Stir until the dry ingredients are wet. Fold in the pecans. The batter is so good, Pamela's daddy cannot resist a taste! For thin brownies, pour into a 9X13 pan and bake for 25 minutes. For thick brownies, pour into a 8x8 pan and bake longer (for the time, try the toothpick test).

Pamela's Pecan Pancakes

Pamela asked to make pancakes today, so I decided to make it an RDI lifestyle activity. I scaffolded by assembling all the ingredients and tools at the table (tools on one side of the bowl and ingredients on the other). Because I do not have a written recipe for pancakes and eye-ball the amount of water, productive uncertainty was built into the process. The last time we cooked together was a month ago, and Pamela is much better at referencing my face for information and following my eye gaze. She has room for improvement in sharing emotions during a task that requires concentration and communicating her intentions to seek my approval. She tends to focus on the objects and not my face when I give her instructions.

Pamela is not the only one who is working on new habits! Even though I am flying solo as a novice at all this, watching myself on digital recordings helps me improve how I communicate and interact with Pamela. I am finding declarative language much easier and found myself explaining, rather than directing. I need to work on hesitating at exciting moments to build up anticipation, which can lead to an emotional exchange. I tend to be a "get on with it" kind of person, so going slowly and hesitating is not in my nature.


Scrumptious! Here is the final recipe, but I still recommend the eye-ball method for how much water to add. I always add molasses and maple syrup to the mix for taste and color. Pancakes just do not brown properly without these ingredients:

Pamela's Pecan Pancakes:
3 cups of pancake mix
2 eggs
1 can of coconut milk
1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses
1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
~ 1 cup of water
1/2 cup of chopped pecans

Pour the mix into a large bowl. Add the eggs, coconut milk, molasses, and syrup. Stir until the mix is wet. Add half a cup of water and stir. Keep adding water until you have a thick, but not doughy batter. Fold in the pecans. Fry and flip until your heart's content. Makes about eight servings, depending upon the appetite of the diner.

I like to be amused and am easily amused. While I was eating, I read something on the carton of Silk that amused me:

Back in 1995, when we started the GF/CF diet, having such explicit labels on food products were impossible to find unless you shopped at a health food store. Parents had to call food manufacturers and question them like a prosecutor, just to find out if a food really was free of gluten and casein. A decade later, I am finding more and more products, even at Wal-Mart and the local grocery store, with "Gluten-Free" stamped on the label. I guess the manufacturers got tired of fielding our questions!