Baked Goods, G-F Style

In my ongoing kitchen adventures with gluten-free baking, I have had a few hits lately (and, for some reason, a lot of misses). You don't need to know the details of the misses, but you most definitely want to know about the hits!

I made this pumpkin pie, along with the crust that is linked to in the ingredient list. The crust and the pie were SO GOOD! Seriously, delicious. The bit of crunch that the cornmeal gave to the crust was just perfect with the creaminess of the pumpkin pie. I slathered the top of the pie with homemade whipped cream (unsweetened, just a few drops of vanilla) and, of course, that just added to the perfection.

I'm pretty sure I've blogged about these almond butter cookies before, but they are so good that I'll do it again. Make these and your people will be happy. If you prefer peanut butter, these are super easy (few ingredients, one bowl) and are also really good. I add chocolate chips, but I add chocolate chips to everything…even popcorn.

Finally, I'll leave you with these chocolate chip cookies. They are great, but I recommend making them smaller than the recipe says - the texture is better that way.

Post-Thanksgivukah Joy

What a fun Thanksgivukah we had! My nine year old commented, "It seems like Chanukah is getting more popular this year!" I see what he meant-- having Chanukah so far away from Christmas, and the historic nature of the convergence of Thanksgiving and Chanukah, both seem like they have brought about much more of a general awareness of Chanukah, which is just great.

Our local toystore handed out little boxes filled with gelt & dreidels; many neighbors have wished us Happy Chanukah for the first time, and it just kind of felt like Chanukah was "in the air".

We went, for the first time, the to lighting of the Chabad menorah in downtown Portland. Chabad sure knows how to throw a party--the event was festive, full of kid-oriented activities and Chanukah treats.

What made the first and second nights of Chanukah the most special, though, was having my parents here with us. I was so conscious of being the generation in the middle these past few days, and how thankful I felt to be sandwiched--by my aging parents on the one end and my growing children on the other. What a gift; what riches, to be in the middle, and feel the love flowing back and forth and through.

Happy Thanksgiving & Happy Chanukah!

Recently Tasty

I've been lucky to eat (and drink!) many tasty things lately. If you are lucky enough to live in Portland, then you can go eat (and drink!) these tasty things, too. Go on--they're really good!

• Orzat at either/or in Sellwood. Made from lime, orange blossom water, sugar and ground almonds, this drink is the absolute perfect blend of citrus & sweet to quench your thirst on a hot summer day.
• Dinner at Abby's Table. My friend Andrea and I went to the SE Indian dinner last night and it was delicious, especially the black-eyed pea stew and the frozen chai lassi for dessert. Everything is always gluten, dairy and soy-free and you can see the menus here. You do sit at a communal table so you may be wanting to feeling a little more social than A. and I were last night, that was the only downfall...
• My daily treat is an iced mint and green chai at Tea Chai Te in the red caboose. Get it "Sellwood Style": with honey, no sugar and a mix of hemp and rice milks. Spicy, minty & refreshing.
• The salted chocolate popsicle at Cultured Caveman. Sweetened with just a little local honey.

Go and eat (and drink!).

What a Good (children's) Books Can Do

We've been enjoying the book Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote lately. It was displayed in the window of our library and I checked it out based on the random reasons that: 1) I liked the cover illustration and 2) I like reading multicultural stories to my boys. It turns out that it was our lucky day when I decided to check this book out, as it's a great and exciting story and, as the subtitle notes ('a migrant story'), it's rooted in a way of life that is fascinating and important, and that my boys had no idea about. I highly recommend this book, as both a great story and a great launching point for conversation. Probably ages 4 through 9 would enjoy this book.

Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote uses Spanish words throughout and provides a glossary at the end. We enjoyed learning some new Spanish words, along with some new kinds of foods and crafts. In preparing for a fiesta, Pancho and his brothers and sisters make papel picado to decorate.

When it turned out that we were having soft tacos for dinner last night, and we needed an afternoon activity, we tried our hands at making papel picado ("like Pancho!").

It was a really fun craft and the banners look so festive in our kitchen. I think they would make great birthday party decorations in various color combinations.

Yum!

I'm in love with the salted chocolate popsicles from Cultured Caveman. I don't know how they make these honey-sweetened gems, but they're a whole lot better than the various dairy-free chocolate popsicles I've tried to make at home.

I am really excited about Harlow's opening and can't wait to try it.

What have you been eating 'round PDX these summer days?

Summer Idea List #1 - Portland specific

My facebook feed is filled with friends offering and soliciting suggestions for summer fun with kids. I have the same questions and also some answers, so thought I'd share my ideas here (in a series of lists), as I so appreciate getting ideas from other parents. This first list is specific to Portland; other lists will be more general, with book, craft and game ideas.

I'm all about the simple pleasure, so if your style is more flash and dazzle, some of these ideas may seem insubstantial, but, for me, especially with young ones and summery weather, an ice cream cone adventure can be the highlight of the day.

Portland with Kiddos Summer List:

• Bike to Cloud City Ice Cream and try it out (we've been hearing it's good and it's about a 3 mile bike from our house). Maybe I can even sneak a look into the new Red Fox Vintage while we're in the neighborhood.
• Take a day hike at Powell Butte. Watch the mountain bikers, bring the dog!
• Hang out on the Sandy River at Dabney State Park.
• Explore Elk Rock Island--bring a bucket for blackberries!
• We have so many wonderful parks here in Portland; I'm looking forward to visiting some of our favorites outside of our neighborhood--Peninsula Park, Overlook Park and Mount Tabor.

Okay, that's it for Part #1 of MamaPie's Summer Lists. Are you in Portland? What PDX places are you looking forward to visiting this summer?

Lunch

before I added a big scoop of quinoa

Yum. And Virtuous. And Responsible (made with leftovers and stuff I had in the fridge).

Inspired by a delicious red quinoa salad I had at a class party last weekend, I've eaten a version of this quinoa salad every day for lunch this week. Ingredients include: pan-toasted sunflower seeds, roasted hazelnuts, carrots, celery, avocado, leftover grilled chicken and sweet red onion and, of course, quinoa (which I like alot better now that I know about soaking it and then rubbing it while rinsing to get off some of the bitterness).

I drizzled a little of my go-to dressing (shallot, 1vinegar: 2 olive oil, dijon mustard) on top and - wow! What a lunch.

Book List Love

I love a good book list-- who can resist the temptation of a list entitled "Best Beach Reads", "Top Picture Books of 2012" or "Librarians Choice for Best Chapter Books"? Certainly not me.

So, here are a few promising looking children's book lists I've found recently:

• This one is from the New York Public Library and is divided into categories (another thing I love) like fairy tales, picture books etc. 
• I found the above list while I was actually looking for this list - a collection of classic children's books reissued by the New York Review of Books. We've recently read Cheerful and Wee Gillis from that collection and they are both wonderful.
• We've read quite a few of the books on this list, as I love reading my boys folk tales and books about children in other countries, but there are alot more that are definitely going on my library hold list.

I'm looking forward to lots of good reading time with my boys this summer and I'm sure these lists will help us find some new favorites.

Do you have any sources for book lists that you recommend?

Chapter Books

I am a book lover--always have been. Two of my most vivid childhood memories are carrying armloads of books out of the Palms Park Library in L.A. and standing on my head while reading a book. I had books stashed in every room of the house and never understood the idea of reading one book at once.

So, now that I'm a mama, one of my favorite things to do with my boys is to read. But, I'm a picky reader, too, so that means I seek out children's literature blogs and read lots of children's book reviews. I like lots of the children's books that were written in the '50's and '60's, as I appreciate the more formal language and the fact that nature features more prominently in these books than in many more modern books.

I will do a post on picture books soon, but for today, here are some of my boys' (ages 5 and 8) and my favorite chapter books:

• Enid Blyton's Enchanted Wood
• Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows
• Thornton Burgess' Old Mother West Wind (really, anything by Thornton Burgess)
• Sterling North's Rascal (I did a little editing about the sexual behavior of raccoons--I'm a big fan of age-appropriate editing)
• Joyce Lankester Brisley's Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook

Many of these I have discovered in my son's school library, which has a really well-curated selection. Others I have discovered through research. They have all provided me and my boys with many hours of snuggly couch time as we were transported, through the magic of words, to forests, farms and meadows with characters who soon felt like friends.

More About the Birds

So, I'm kind of becoming a crazy bird mama and, just in case you and your kiddos love the birds too, I thought I'd fill y'all in on some of the cool bird-y things I've found, with a focus on birding with kids.

I am truly a novice at all this, so every bit of information and advice I find really helps me. I'm learning this from the ground up and Ezra is right there with me--fascinated, excited and voracious. Andrew and the boys went to The Audubon Society last weekend and now we are official members! In addition to the membership, they also came home with a finch feeder, as that was one feeder missing from our collection (we now have a suet feeder, a hummingbird feeder and multi-perch feeder and a finch feeder). The finches haven't yet discovered it, but we're waiting...

The boys also came back with this book, which has already been a great help to us. Ezra and I have been wondering what kind of bird the brownish ones were; the ones that always seemed to be there with the red wing blackbirds. This book taught us that they are actually the female red wing blackbirds--with nothing red on them at all! Mystery solved.

We were over at a friend's house last week and I noticed that there suet feeder had a block of wood on the bottom. I asked what that was for and she told us that they were told (by the folks at The Backyard Bird Shop, a great local shop) that some birds like to press their tails against the wood block for leverage when pecking at the suet. Who knew? Our suet feeder gets lots of woodpeckers who don't seem to be bothered by the absence of a "tail rest", but I think we may try one to see if we attract some different woodpeckers.

I also liked this blog post from Imagine Childhood on making your own ornithology kit. I especially like the suggestion about making silhouette cards. I think we'll be doing that soon.

And, finally, I discovered that the perch feeder seems to attract more birds (especially the red wing blackbirds) when I buy the black sunflower seeds than when I buy the seed mix, which includes some sunflower seeds, but also has millet and other small seeds and grains.

What's been happening with the birds in your neck of the woods?

Feathered Dreams

I went bird-watching for the first time fifteen years ago. My friend Heather, who knew much more about the natural world than I did, suggested we go birding on a Spring weekend in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where we were in nursing school. She took me to Mount Auburn Cemetery and, while I forget what birds we saw, I remember the Spring blossoms and the excitement of listening for bird calls and then trying to seek out the makers of those songs with her binoculars.

I wish I could say that that experience set me on a trajectory of frequent "birding", as now I would have fifteen years of experience under my belt, and a most probably impressive list (this is a birding thing, I have gathered, having your "list" of birds you've seen) of birds I've seen and exotic places I've visited in the name of this hobby. But, no; I loved it, but have only formally gone birding a few times since. One time being a few days ago when Ezra and Reuben and I rode our bikes down to the Springwater Trail, just below our house, and watched the herons, geese, ducks and red-wing blackbirds in Oaks Bottom.

But, the amazing thing is that I now live (and have lived for the past ten years) just across the street from a bird sanctuary. So, while I don't formally go looking for birds very often, birds are present in our daily lives--the joy I get from watching birds at our feeders, especially the woodpeckers the come to our suet feeder, is enormous. The sense of discovery and excitement that I get when, after viewing a new bird at our feeder, the boys and I pore over our bird books and try to make a correct identification, is huge.

Ezra and I identified this northern flicker who came to visit a few days ago:

That night, I dreamt of a tree in our front yard filled with chattering and colorful birds and on whose branches slinked baby tigers and snow leopards.

The Candy Shop is Open!

With this in (chocolatey) hand, we made candy today! We're beginning our second week of Spring Break this week and I thought some candy-making would be a good activity.

We made the chocolate mint meltaways and they are delicious. They were fun, easy and totally kid-friendly to make (well, if you hold a loose definition of kid-friendly, as I do) and then end result is cute and fun and good. They would make great gifts (teachers, I'm looking at you!) and I am totally ready to make more recipes from this adorable cookbook (which, itself, would make a great gift--maybe the book & some candy together?).

In addition to making candy, we read a bunch of stories from From Sea to Shining Sea (not to be confused with this book, of similar name - yikes!). I love this book as it has stories from all different parts of American history, and from all the different cultures that make up America. After the stories and the candy-making, we went to drop off some food for the Oregon Food Bank and listened to my new Neil Diamond CD on the way. When the song America came on, Ezra asked what it was about and I got to have a brief (I force myself to keep them brief!) teaching moment about religious freedom, immigration to America and our good fortune at being born here. In addition to feeling thankful for being born in a free country, I felt really thankful today to be able to be at home with my beautiful boys.

Passover Review

While we're still observing Passover (until Tuesday night) by not eating chametz, the seders are done. We had two this year, the first with twelve of us and the second with six of us, and they were both great. Some of the food highlights were the quinoa flake matzoh balls made by my friend Julie, this charoset and this cake (with fresh whipped cream). Some of the non-food highlights were Ezra reading from the Haggadah for the first time, telling the Exodus story (the heart of the seder), talking about Miriam's cup, symbolizing the well of water that appeared in the desert wherever Miriam was, and, of course, the songs.

Passover Miscellaneous List

It's the season - seder stress is in the air. My mother, my mother-in-law and most of the other Jewish women I know have charoset/shankbone/brisket-on-the-brain. My kids, however, feel no stress (as it should be)--only pure excitement. I wish I'd shared their excitement when I was a girl--to me, seders were boring, fraught and irrelevant. I'm totally willing to take on the work and stress if it means my boys will have happy feelings about the seder.

Here is what's swirling around my mind right now, Passover-wise:

• I might get ambitious and make this cake for dessert, but if not, I have these delicious babies to fall back on.
• I'm trying gluten-free matzoh balls again (after a failed almond flour attempt on Rosh Hashanah). These have come highly recommended.
• I've been on the lookout for cute frog table decorations, but haven't found any. I was going to try to make some felted frogs, but I don't think that's going to happen this year. If you have found anything sweet/cute/non-cheesy, please let me know!
• One of my favorite children's Passover books is Nachshon, Who Was Afraid to Swim, which tells one of my favorite midrash stories. My boys, ages 5 and 8, love this one, too. 

Okay - time for me to make one more trip to the supermarket and then get down to cooking! Chag Pesach Sameach!

The Mighty Green

Kale; the wonder vegetable, the superfood, one of the few crops that will grow under in our raised beds near our (toxic!) Black Walnut tree. If only a few things are going to grow well near that massive tree, due to the toxins it sends out through it's roots and it's leaves, well, then, I'm glad kale is one of them.

Due to the abundance of kale we've had for months now, I've tried lots of kale recipes. Here are my favorites:

• The ubiquitous kale chip--a favorite with kids of all ages. How do I make mine? Wash and dry a big bunch of kale (more than you'd think - these shrink down alot). Drying the kale well is an important step. I tear the kale off each side of the leaf (composting the stem and thick middle rib), put all the kale strips in a bowl and thoroughly rub with a big glug of olive oil and lots of good salt. Heat oven to 350, put kale in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper (to ease clean up) and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, tossing the kale halfway through. I like to sprinkle it with lots of nutritional yeast right when I take it out of the oven. No matter how much I make it's usually gone in 5 minutes. Not that I'm complaining one bit about my boys shoveling kale in their mouths. 

• This kale salad with almonds and golden raisins is amazing.

• My friend, Andrea, has a great whole foods blog. Her kale salad was the first kale dish that I loved and my introduction to massaging kale.

So, get started, friends! Go buy some kale and plan on planting some in your garden this summer - your body, kids, friends (I had my neighbor picking my kale to make kale chips of her own after I gave her the recipe) and family will thank you!