Leftover Soaked Morning Oats

Frying up in some coconut oil.  Baby Brother has his
own cast iron pan and silicone spatula to avoid cross-contamination

A bowl of hot oatmeal is a favorite breakfast in my house.  While we prefer it on colder mornings, it is still enjoyed on warmer days.  Are there even "colder" mornings in Houston?  It's all relative coming from Toronto and being from New England! Do you ever have any leftover porridge?  Would you like to turn that leftover porridge into oatmeal cakes without much effort?  I know that you don't ever want to throw out any of your leftover overnight soaked oats!  Here is a trick: stir in a tablespoon or so of coconut oil into your leftovers and leave in fridge.  When the oats cool down in the fridge you can cook up some oatmeal "cakes" since the coconut oil will solidify when cold.  Then it's easy to roll into balls and flatten in a cast iron pan.  Baby Brother is a big fan, at least for now; he ate 3 whole cakes with a big smile the first time I made them.  No other flavors were needed to be devoured, the coconut gives the perfect sweetness.  If there are leftovers for me, I sprinkle some cinnamon on top.  I love such simple, warming breakfasts and snacks.  Try it, tell me what you think!  You can also blend up the leftover oats with some coconut milk and spices and make a yummy cold, non-dairy oat pudding.  Do you soak your oats overnight?  Check out how and why to soak oats and make oatcakes here.  This blog post came to the rescue as I was scratching my head about how to continue to serve oats as a new and interesting food for my Baby Brother.  

While they don't necesarily brown up for me at this point,
I did get a crisp "chip" which Baby Brother adored.

Carrot Cake Overnight Soaked Oatcakes.  Baby Brother ate 3 today
for morning snack.  That's homemade coconut milk with "boo berries"
Baby Brother likes to play with his coconut milk rather than
actually drink it.

Zucchini Slice

I picked up some beautiful zucchini at the farmer's market last week.  I sliced and steamed one for Baby Brother and then had 3 left. I wanted to make zucchini fritters for dinner, but really preferred a more simple preparation, like a one dish meal. Then I remembered the zucchini slice recipes I had Pinned.  Grate veggies, saute and mix everything up in the Thermomix and then bake, so easy! I thought that in order to get Big Brother to try this new dish, I'd call it a "dinner cake".  He jumped up at the idea and was interested in coming up with the cake's ingredients.  He decided that the veggies should be carrots and cucumbers.  We then agreed to include eggs, olive oil, onion, garlic, bacon, eggs and rice in the form of flour.  We reworked a few recipes I had Pinned into this one: both gluten and dairy free and approved by Big Brother. He doesn't need to know that the cucumber is really zucchini!  Zucchini is not normally one of his approved veggies.   

What you need:
2 large zucchini
1 carrot
1 large onion
1 clove of garlic
4 rashers of bacon
6 medium pasture-raised eggs
100 grams brown rice flour
50 grams of olive oil, I will try coconut oil to see how it turns out
handful of fresh herbs, like dill and parsley

What to do:
Set oven to 350 degrees
Make Rice flour, speed 9 for one minute and set aside
Place carrot in TM bowl and grate, speed 6 for 10 seconds and set aside
Grate zucchini, speed 6 for 5 seconds and set aside
Chop onion and bacon, speed 6 for 5 seconds
Scrape down sides and add 50 grams of olive oil
Sautee, speed 1, 100 degrees, 2 minutes
Add back carrot, zucchini and rice flour along with eggs and fresh chopped herbs
Blend ingredients together, speed 3 for 10 seconds
Pour into oiled small square pyrex and bake for 45-60 minutes.  Perhaps even a brownie pan since similar in dimensions to the lamington pan I keep reading about in Australian Thermomix recipes.  
Slice and serve with salad.  I have begun to include fermented foods with dinner, and saurekraut works well here. 
We enjoyed with some leftover oven roasted mustard potatoes for a delicious weekend breakfast before setting out for the morning. 

A Big Bowl Of Goodness

it's just so good!

This is such a simple and delicious way to eat lunch: fill a big bowl with something like rice or quinoa and then top with a variety of vegetables, both cooked and raw, combining contrasting flavors and colors. The real highlight is the heaping amount of tasty, zesty dressing.  How about toppings?  Roasted chickpeas, my "nuts", are a good addition.  This week, my bowl includes all the goodness from my Saturday farmer's market basket: roasted butternut squash, massaged kale, steamed broccoli, thinly sliced carrots and radish and a hardboiled egg. I am presently avoiding wheat, dairy and soy because of Baby Brother's allergies, and this is an easy gluten-free and dairy-free meal; it feels a little wild to include a hardboiled egg after building meals around egg avoidance! I have been getting my eggs from Tejas Heritage Farm. When I run out, because we actually eat eggs despite disbelief, I pick up these eggs. Will Baby Brother actually be able to eat eggs? This week is egg yolk introduction.  So far, he did not react in the allegist's office to the skin prick test and has cleared the egg yolk on cheek and inside lip test.  Interestingly, Baby Brother is allergic to avocado, but the rest of us are all still eating it.  I like a little in this lunch for its added creaminess. Extra hand washing needed after handling before touching!

This lunch is inspired and copied from My New Roots.  I saw the post, took note of it and then found that I kept going back to it to peak at it.  I felt that the recipe was written for me.  It reminded me of a forgotten frequent meal I made when I first moved to Toronto, before eggless and sesame-less cooking.  It was shared at a favorite health food store in Kensington Market: quinoa swirled with a dressing of pureed dandelion greens, garlic, shallot, ginger, lemon juice, sesame and pumpkin seeds and topped with egg and walnuts. I of course left the walnuts out.  So, this big bowl lunch recipe brought back memories of that favorite from the past.  It was so good!

I find that it is difficult to tire of this lunch and have been eating regularly since I started making it.  And it makes so much sense too, since it uses all the awesome produce I get twice a week from the farmer's market and CSA basket.  It streamlines meals by using leftover roasted and steamed veggies to go along with the shredded or thinly slice crunchy ones stored in the fridge and ready to assemble daily.  It is great because easily adapts to dietary needs and to what you have in the fridge and is easy to pack the night before and have ready for the next day.

I encourage you to make a double batch of the dressing so that it lasts a few days.  For similar inspiration, see this, this and this . How about this giant lunch bowl with chopsticks and a magazine?  Perfect, right?  Just make sure to keep pouring the yummy dressing for some extra yummy coating as you make your way to the bottom of the bowl.

Do you have a sesame allergy in your family/  How about other seeds?  We recently did a skin test for chia and pumpkin seeds and he did not react.  

What you need for my version of ginger-garlic pumpkin seed dressing:
1 cup of sprouted pumpkin seeds (I get mine from Whole Foods before reaching bulk bin, but in top dispenser so less scary than if down below.  what would you do, avoid bulk?  do you know of any free of cross-contamination with sesame or tree nuts?)
2-3 cloves of garlic
knob of fresh ginger
1 Tbs. maple syrup
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
3 Tbs. lemon juice
3 Tbs. olive oil
3/4-1 cup water
3/4 tsp good quality salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
a pinch of cayenne

What to do:
Drop garlic and ginger into TM bowl while running at speed 5.  It chops up nicely this way.  Add in pumpkin seeds and turn up dial until the mixture is sand-texture.  Add 3/4 cup of water and blend.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix at speed 5-6 for 30 seconds.  Scrape down side of bowl with your silicone spatula.  Add 1/4 cup of water if you want to thin out the dressing. Store in glass container for up to 5 days.  

ready to be assembled

packing lunch for Papi and Big Brother

mixing in dressing and enjoying with mug of bone broth

Chai Coconut Milk Ice Cream

This is our favorite go-to ice cream.  Simple ingredients, great flavor and super easy to make. We served this ice cream along side chocolate layer cake for Baby Brother's 1st Birthday and it was a big hit.  We also enjoy serving drowned in hot coffee or Crio Bru in the form of Affogato.  We can't wait to try with this chocolate ganache or this hard chocolate topping.  See below how great it is scooped on top of our favorite brownies.  But really, it's great on it's own!

What you need:
2, 14 ounce cans of full fat coconut milk
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each of ground nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom
a pinch or two of unrefined salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup or combination of 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup raw honey.  
*for vegans, make with maple syrup or check first if honey is permitted

What to do:
Blend or whisk ingredients until smooth.  
Follow instructions of your ice cream maker to freeze until smooth.  We churned for about 25 minutes and packed two pints. 

Click here for original recipe, and for a way to make without ice cream maker.  You could also make with Thermomix.

Arroz Con Pollo A La Española

The Thermomix simplifies this classic and always perfect meal: a big pot of Spanish chicken and rice. This, to me, is the perfect weeknight dinner for the whole family. No cheese, gluten, eggs, nuts, seeds....so perfect for all of us.  I usually have a pasture raised chicken cut up in pieces in the freezer along with the bones to make a batch of TM stock prior to using it in rice dishes such as this one; make two things, clean one bowl!  I will post the recipe in English at some point if asked.  Click, here, for the original recipe in Spanish.  I add in some onion and celery for flavor.  Oh, and some chorizo too :)

Ingredientes: 
100gr de aceite de oliva virgen extra
2 dientes de ajo
500gr de pechuga o contramuslos con piel cortados en dados
150gr de pimiento verde cortado
150gr de pimiento rojo cortado
1 zanahoria cortada en daditos o láminas
850gr de caldo de ave o agua
1 pellizco de pimentón dulce
Azafrán al gusto 
Sal/pimienta
350gr de arroz bomba
120gr de guisantes

Preparación:
Pon en el vaso el aceite y los ajos y trocea 5 segundos en velocidad 6. Calienta 3 minutos, Varoma, Velocidad 1.


Añade el pollo en taquitos y rehoga 5 minutos, Varoma, giro a la izquierda y velocidad cuchara.


Agrega los pimientos y si quieres 1 zanahoria picada y cebolla y apio en trocitos pequeños y sigue sofriendo 6 minutos, Varoma, giro a la izquierda y velocidad cuchara.


Vierte dentro del vaso el caldo de ave, el pimentón dulce, el azafrán o curry y la sal y cocina 9 minutos, Varoma, giro a la izquierda en velocidad cuchara.


Echa el arroz y chorizo precocido por último programa 13 minutos, 100º, giro a la izquierda y velocidad 1. Cuando falten 3 minutos para acabar el tiempo,incorpora los guisantes por el bocal. Deja reposar unos minutos y sirve calentito.

Coconut Waffles for Big Brother's 5th Birthday

Big Brother wanted waffles for breakfast to celebrate his 5th Birthday.  We stacked them up festively on a cake stand and put a candle on top.  It was a nice way to start his special day.  Check out the recipe here.  These dairy-free waffles include both wheat and egg.  Big Brother can have all three: dairy, egg and wheat.   At this moment in time, we had just discovered Baby Brother's dairy allergy so the recipes includes wheat.  Just a few days later, we found out about the wheat allergy as well.  For a few weeks, after  passing the egg food challenge in our allergist's office, we had a quality of life improvement with breakfast out in restaurants and french toast at home.  But it is once again tricky again for fear of Baby Brother coming into contact with allergens both outside and inside the home.  How would you handle the situation?  We allow Big Brother to drink cow milk with meals and cheese on his  wheat bread at school.  In order to prevent cross-contamination nightmares, wheat will not be in our home expect for frozen Whole Food's sprouted whole wheat bread for his sandwiches and goat cheese from the farmer's market for spreading.  We will also have cubed cheddar for him so that I don't have to cut it myself and contaminate.  Of course, rules are in place and both serious hand and mouth washing are in place.  But the allergens remain in saliva!  So kisses after milk are prohibited.  Not an easy job as a parent.  What do you think?

Orange Curried Pumpkin Soup To Fight the Allergic Blues

picture taken one-handed while
holding Baby 

I spent the morning at Whole Foods with a new set of allergic criteria to keep in mind for meal and baking planning.  Yesterday, we confirmed avocado and wheat allergy for Baby Brother.  Of course, I have been a little wound up.  I find that taking my stress to the kitchen and making a little bit of a mess is how I deal with new allergic findings.  I have already made a batch of quinoa flour and molasses cookies and now I write as allergic Baby Brother naps and my Thermomix cooks up a batch of Curried Pumpkin soup. I love making soups and coconut curries with my CSA veggies and the Saturday morning goodies we regularly get at Urban Harvest.

Today's soup is my typical butternut squash/pumpkin soup, but inspired by the Naturally Nourished Ocotober Newlsetter from Urban Harvest Market.  The author, a local regsitered dietician, describes her curried pumpkin soup as "your food-as-medicine prescription".

Next time, I'll experiment with polenta croutons as a way around the typical sprouted whole wheat ones 've been making until now.  Perhaps with some Thermomix GF Foccacia? That is on my to-do list.  I'm even thinking that some Terra Chips wouldn't be bad on top.  But just not the Mediterranean variety of Terra Chips, they have sesame oil!

A little "ode to my Thermomix": Entire soup prepared start to finish all in my Thermomix bowl!  One bowl to clean, besides the cutting board! And a delicious and nutritious lunch to enjoy before Baby Brother wakes up from nap.  I can always serve in a mug if need be and enjoy while he plays.  

Allergy note:  Baby has his own chopping board, the Epicurean to be exact. I chopped up the butternut squash on his chopping board and the rest of the ingredients on my daily everyday use board.  Baby's board is only used for the foods eaten and tolerated up until now.

What to use and What to do: 

Place small onion and small nub of ginger into TM bowl and chop for 5 second on speed 7

Add tbsp coconut oil with tablespoon curry powder and extra dash of turmeric.
Sauté 3 minutes at 100 on speed 1

Add in 500-600 grams butternut squash, carrot, celery, apple.  Chop 15 seconds speed 7

Add combination, whatever you have on hand really, of 500 grams of TM homemade chicken stock/bone broth and/or canned coconut milk (carton kind has carrageenan and I don't know if I want my family eating that. click on and will direct you to ordering by case on Amazon). You can always make your own coconut milk in your Thermomix. Throw in a bay leaf or two along with some cilantro (could add the cilantro stems with the onion and ginger in first step).  Cook for 20 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1.  

Remove bay leaf, add handful spinach or kale.  You can add a little more coconut milk if desired along with a few tablespoons of raw, unfiltered honey/maple syrup).  

Blend for one minute going from speed 1-9, or until you reach desired consistency. Garnish with some basil, cilantro or chives/scallions.  Great way to use roasted squash or pumpkin seeds.

Saying Goodbye To Dairy

a warm cup with pumpkin pie spice

After reacting to big brother's milky kiss, we have confirmed that Baby is allergic to milk. Despite, immediate and religious hand washing and face washing after eating, big brother managed to pass along milk protein to Baby's skin via a loving kiss.  I know, very sad to have to police affection between brothers.  

I have to admit that I have been dwelling on what we can no longer eat, the daily dangers of milky kisses and touches, and how truly stressful it can be to adapt to the sudden deletion of a favorite food group.  At the same time, I know that I can handle this challenge.  I have done it before and I can do it again.  Thank you, Thermomix, for being there for me during my allergic journey in kitchen!  I am sure that my Thermomix will be an even more essential kitchen companion now with a   dairy allergy to contend with.  Instead of buying coconunt and rice milk, I will be able to make it myself.  Better ingredients and less cost.  Here is my first attempt at homemade rice milk this past weekend.  I do not necessarily mind the sludge leftover with using just the Thermomix straining basket. Maybe I'm just too tired to notice or delighted with the idea of making my own rice milk.  Perhaps I'll give it a go with cheesecloth next time to get a smoother batch. Here is the link to the original recipe: http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/2009/06/rice-almond-milk.html This is one of my favorite sites for Thermomix recipes and for learning about ingredients.

My version uses sweet brown rice soaked overnight with apple cider vinegar and maple syrup as the sweetener.  I also added in some homemade pumpkin pie spice to celebrate November. 

Another place for instructions and for the good idea of using dates to sweeten: http://tebasileskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/06/brown-rice-milk.html

For an index to many milks:
http://www.superkitchenmachine.com/2011/14176/dairy-free-soy-rice-nut-milk-recipes.html 
For how to strain with cheesecloth:
http://www.kerstenskitchen.com.au/2012/07/making-rice-milk-using-thermomix.html