Mama Cooks: Swiss Chard Side Dish

Lindsey's Warm Chard and Cherry Tomato Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients: 

One small organic onion, diced (it's all organic, so I won't repeat that for each ingredient)

Two cloves garlic, minced

One tablespoon olive oil

One tablespoon ginger

Two big leaves of swiss chard, rinsed and chopped into long strips (I use the clean stalks, chopped, as well)

One heaping cup cherry tomatoes

One teaspoon each fresh ground pepper, sea salt

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, add swiss chard and ginger.  Let cook on medium for about ten minutes.  Add the cherry tomatoes and freshly ground pepper and sea salt.  Continue to cook until tomatoes are heated through.  I served this with portobello mushrooms and brown rice.  Enjoy!

Mama Cooks: No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Gluten-free and vegan No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Growing up, we called these cookies "Grandma Cookies" because my Great Grandmother (Hazel) often made them and she always made them perfectly.

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar (organic cane sugar)
4 tbsp cocoa (I found a great organic, fair trade cocoa locally)
1 stick butter (I used vegan earth balance)
 1/2 cup milk (coconut, in this case)
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup peanut butter
3 cups oats (certified gluten-free)
waxed paper

Lay out three long sheets of the waxed paper (or baking parchment paper, as I used) on the counter or table first.  Timing is important here and once you begin this recipe, there is no stopping.  Don't worry, it's not as ominous as it sounds; this is a rather quick one!  In a sauce pan, add the sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk.  Bring to a boil.  Stir  a few times and keep an eye on the pan (watch it until it bubbles).  Set a timer for one minute as soon as the boiling begins.  Stir a bit as needed.  As soon as the timer goes off, add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well and spoon onto the waxed paper (about a tablespoon size).  Allow cookies to cool and harden. 

Mama Cooks: Delicious, allergen-free, pad thai!

Recipe: (all ingredients organic, if this doesn't matter to you, just use whatever you usually buy!)
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped carrots (I double this, and I used organic purple carrots)
12 ounces extra-firm silken tofu, cubed
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup wheat-free tamari sauce
2 tbsp agave nectar (this is key!)
1 tsp red curry pasxte
2 tbsp organic peanut butter
1 cup washed and drained bean sprouts (I omit)
6 ounces uncooked rice noodles (rice sticks), prepared according to package
4 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice

From Susan O'Brien's "The Gluten-Free Vegan"

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high and add the onions and carrots (I added one chopped zucchini-- you can add just about any vegetable to this pad thai dish).  Saute until the onions become soft, about four to five minutes.  Add the tofu, continue to cook about five minutes.  Add the vinegar, tamari sauce, agave nectar, red curry paste, peanut butter, and sprouts (if using).  Toss to coat, and heat through.  Pour the tofu mixture over the noodles and garnish with green onions and lime juice.  Enjoy!

Mama Cooks: Easy Friday Dinner

Chris requested delicata squash, which is fabulous because it is both delicious and simple to prepare.  Wash, slice, remove seeds and strings and pop into the oven (425 degrees) for about twenty-five minutes.  I added organic tofu to Trader Joe's Biryani Rice and added a little broccoli.  Voila!  I love squash season!

Mama Cooks: Gluten-free, vegan pasta primavera

Yesterday, I realized that I was out of both coconut milk and red chili paste (there is a sentence I never imagined I would write) but I had already diced peppers and zucchini and rinsed my tofu.  Since a curry was out and a plain old stir-fry didn't sound appealing, I decided to get a bit creative.  Henry helped "explore our options," picking boxes and bags out of the cabinet and tossing them onto the floor.  He found some flat rice noodles-- the kind typically used in pad thai or stir-fry noodle dishes.  Perfect!  Since his next big "find" was a huge, open bag of beans, I put him in his high chair and offered some snacks.  He wasn't thrilled with this idea and was sure to let me (and maybe our neighbors) know about it.  Still, I needed to cook dinner.  So, I hurried to make something up that would be tasty!

Here is what I came up with:

Gluten-free Vegan Pasta Primavera

three zucchinis, diced
three green chili peppers, chopped
five small green tomatoes, diced
one clove garlic, minced
one block extra firm tofu, sliced into cubes or rectangles
mixed veggies from freezer, one cup
coconut oil, roughly half cup
pesto,three tablespoons
garlic powder, some healthy shakes (I didn't measure this)
basil (fresh would be best, but I didn't have any on hand), 2 tsp
salt and pepper, a few healthy shakes as I stirred
olive oil, 2 tsp
one cup rice noodles, cooked

I wasn't sure how the coconut oil would work out as a buttery replacement, but I was very pleased!

Order isn't too important here, as long as the noodles make it in toward the end, so that you can just toss all of the ingredients together and serve!  Enjoy!

Starting Solids

 I've wanted to write about introducing solid food to babies for quite some time.  It is exciting for parents to offer a first taste of solid food to their babies.  The adorable expressions that undoubtedly ensue are priceless.  What this?  Carrots!  Oh my!  Still, I don't advocate rushing into solids.  I knew that my babies were getting all of the nutrition that they needed from breast milk.  Of course there are instances in which a particular mother may be advised to begin solids early due to a baby's low vitamin or nutrient levels and, as I am not a medical professional, I'm not arguing with that.

Here, I am speaking to the practice of shoveling rice cereal or sweet potato into the mouth of baby who isn't yet sitting alone or picking up pieces of food with his fingers-- these are key signs that a baby is ready to eat solid food. There are old myths that babies will sleep better if given solid food and they've been debunked.  In fact, babies that wake at night are at lower risk for SIDS.  (Part of what makes sleep sharing safe is that babies spend less time in a state of deep sleep than babies who sleep alone-- but, I digress. . . .)  One reason a baby who has been given solids such as cereal at an early age (a few months, for instance) might seem to sleep longer is that the baby's body needs to work much harder to digest the food.  A baby's digestive system was designed for breast milk.

Have you recently asked yourself: "When should my baby start solids?"  Well, here you go!  Some *solid* advice, courtesy of La Leche League International (see link above):

Breastfed babies do not need to have complementary food introduced until about the middle of the first year. Before that time, you will notice some signs that your baby is changing developmentally, in preparation for beginning solids in a few months. You will notice that:

• he becomes more sociable, playing and holding "conversations" with you during a nursing session
• he has a growth spurt and nurses more frequently for a while
• he imitates the chewing motions you make whilst eating -- he is practicing!

You will know that he is really ready to start solids when:

• he is about six months old
• he can sit up without any support
• he continues to be hungry despite more frequent nursing which is unrelated to illness or teething
• he has lost the tongue-thrusting reflex and does not push solids out of his mouth
• he can pick up things with his finger and thumb (pincer grasp)

Babies who are ready for solids can usually feed themselves. Mothers often report that they knew their babies were ready when they picked up food from a plate, chewed it, swallowed it, and wanted more.
Listen to your baby! Babies with a tendency to allergies may refuse solids until later in their first year. As long as they are growing well and are happy and healthy, there is no need for concern.

Other resources I like:

Developmental Readiness


Waiting is worth it
 

6 Reasons to delay introducing solid food

Snapshot: Eat Your Greens

Mama Cooks: Pretty as Potpourri

This week, my CSA box contained an assortment of summer squashes.  I learned that the vast majority of them were of the "patty pan" variety.  To be honest, they look like the beautiful gourds I use to fill decorative bowls in the autumn, not unlike potpourri.  As it turns out, many of these "gourds" are perfectly edible, flesh and all.  Over the past year, I have expanded my squash repertoire well beyond the acorn and butternut varieties.  Still, I hadn't had patty pan squash until tonight and I was nervous to prepare them. 

Will they be hard to cut?  I wondered.  One tentative slice and I was relieved!  They're very similar to zucchini.  They were easy as can be to chop into 1/4 inch slices.  Because I cook dairy-free, I just used olive oil, sea salt, and pepper but I imagine pasture butter would add nice flavor too.  I sauteed the squash until soft-- but not mushy-- and slightly tan at the edges. 

I served them with assorted salted potatoes and grilled chicken breast (field roast sausage for my vegetarian husband).

Enjoy!

A Little Muffin With Her Jam

Evelyn ordered a bran muffin for lunch (it was huge!) at a cafe out in the country today.  It was upstaged by the two cups of jam and the butter pad though.  She spent the majority of lunch licking jam from her fingers (and the knife, when I wasn't looking).  I'm glad she enjoyed it so much, but I'm even happier that she didn't stain her new little dress! 

Snapshot: Summer "Harvest"

This is the second year we've planted peas behind the house and Evelyn is enjoying them again!  Fortunately, there are still plenty of flowers on the plants so we should see more pea pods soon. 

Mama Cooks: Seasonally Inappropriate Dinner

It was a balmy 61 degrees here in the Pacific Northwest today.  There wasn't a stitch of blue in the sky this afternoon while I prepared dinner, so I opted to make something I typically save for the cooler months:  a whole baked chicken.  I like my chicken tender (who doesn't?) and flavorful.  I use a simple "recipe" and it always turns out well.

one free-range, organic whole chicken
one cup organic olive oil
three large organic yams, sliced into "rings" (peeled, if you like)
one organic onion, diced
four organic carrots, chopped
kosher salt, pepper

Pour a little olive oil into glass baking dish, placing yam circles and half of the chopped onion on the bottom of the dish.  Rinse the chicken and place into baking dish.  Next, pour the remaining oil over the bird and sprinkle the rest of the onion and carrots into the dish.  The chicken should be fairly covered with onion.  Add a healthy dose of salt and pepper.  Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake at 450 degrees for about two hours.  Enjoy!

Mama Cooks: A Variation on a Theme

 

 

 

 

Fresh ingredients

At least once or twice each week, I make a coconut curry.  It is one of the best dinner solutions for our family's needs (gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegetarian).  Also, it fulfills my major preference for only using one (maybe two if you include the rice) pot! 

This recipe serves as the starting point and I tweak it depending on our CSA farm box or our preferences.  One thing is for sure, the curry definitely involves kale or swiss chard!  This time around, I used zucchini, swiss chard, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, onion, tofu, coconut milk, and red chili paste (with some other spices).

Evelyn's version:  Uncooked tofu strips, fresh snap peas, plain rice

Voila!

Mama Cooks: So much kale!

I really like our CSA.  We are eating seasonally and enjoying a good variety of flavorful organics.  Nevertheless, the amount of kale in our house seems overwhelming at times.  There is only so much kale a person can consume. 

I've had luck adding it to curried dishes and to stir fries.  I've also baked it into "kale chips" but none of us actually like these chips very much.  Tonight I needed to use up a bunch of kale and I decided to cook it with wheat-free tamari sauce and a little olive oil.  I didn't let the leaves wilt completely, in order to maintain some of the bitter taste of the raw leaves.  I think it turned out fairly well.  

Mama Cooks (in pictures): "Special" Quesadillas, Curry, and Ambience!

Gluten-free, dairy -free quesadilla

Swiss chard, et al before I added curry paste and coconut milk.

The tulips are too excitable, it is winter here. (from Sylvia Plath's "Tulips")



Mama Cooks: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I used this recipe at the gluten-free goddess blog as a starting point.  Her cookies look more photogenic than mine, but rest assured that mine were still very tasty!  I try not overload Evelyn with sugar, so I substituted one cup of agave nectar for the one-and-a-half cups of brown sugar. 

Oats (mine were certified gluten-free) are a galactagogue, so I was able to justify my indulgence in a few more cookies than I might otherwise consume.  They only take about twelve minutes in the oven and it is entirely possible to make these cookies with the "help" of a toddler and with a baby in one arm. 

Mama cooks: Brownies from scratch

Yum!

Evelyn and I recently made these brownies.  I was especially eager to try this recipe because brownies (especially the gluten-free variety) normally contain quite a few eggs.  One recipe I found called for six of them!  As I love brownies, but do not love feeling ill after eating them, I turned to my new favorite cookbook.

Gluten-free vegan brownies (also soy-free) from Susan O'Brien's cookbook.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups organic sugar
1 cup applesauce

1 banana, peeled and mashed

1 1/8 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Substitute

2 tablespoons warm water

1 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup rice flour

1/2 cup quinoa flour (I substituted sorghum flour because that's what I had on hand) 

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (I omitted the walnuts because we didn't have any)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease an eight inch square pan (I used a dairy-free spread).  In large mixing bowl, add the oil and sugar, add the applesauce, mashed banana.  Whisk 2 TBSP warm water with 1 1/2 tsp Ener-G (really dissolve the powder!) and add to mix.  Add the cocoa powder and mix to blend.  In separate bowl sift together the flours, baking soda, xanthan gum, and the salt.  Combine the dry and wet ingredients and blend them well. Do not over beat.  Mix in by hand vegan chocolate chips and walnuts.  Spread evenly in greased pan.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes-- the brownies should be gooey and moist, so a toothpick may not come up perfectly clean.  Let cool for five minutes.  Enjoy!

Food allergies: the next chapter

After seventeen months on a gluten-free diet (and limited eggs and yeast), I met with my doctor for the results of an IgG/ IgA antibody retest.  These antibodies are thought to be associted with Delayed-Onset Hypersenstivity Reactions (not anaphylactic reactions like throat swelling or difficulty breathing).  Recently, I've noticed that some of my old symptoms have been returning and I was discouraged, so I sought answers. 

There was not-so-great news:  new foods to eliminate.  I need to exclude whey (which, to seriously exclude includes basically all dairy and almost any packaged food) and corn (it's everywhere!) from my diet for six weeks.  I also need to be more dilligent about excluding egg whites and yolks in all forms-- even in baked goods. 

After six weeks, beginning with the food causing the lowest reaction, corn, I can try a small amount of each food one at a time to pose a "challenge."  If the symptoms return after a particular food, I need to eliminate it for a much longer period of time.  In the meantime, I continue taking probiotics and eating a whole-food diet to allow my body to heal.  Currently, I am eliminating dairy (because of the whey), corn, eggs, asparagus, oyster, and gluten.  Bananas, cranberries, and pineapples are borderline foods I will probably avoid but I don't need to completely eliminate them for now.

There was a silver lining, however.  This re-test showed that my reaction to gluten in all forms was either non-existant or very low!  I am so surprised; after the first six months without gluten, I tried a small amount and became very sick.  The new results give reason to hope that I can successfully introduce some gluten in the future.  I still need to wait until my body has healed and is symptom-free before adding gluten (hopefully after eliminating the newly reactive foods for about six weeks). 

Whether or not gluten is back on the menu, I can say that I will continue to eat foods as close to their original source as possible.  Crackers, breads, and pastas are simply not going to provide good nutritional foundations.  Still, I am hopeful that there will be a day when I can order a meal right off the menu at any restaurant or prepare a dish exactly the way I remember it from childhood on rare occassions.

Mama Cooks: A (mostly) Local, Vegan, and Organic Christmas Meal

Merry Christmas!  Our family had a lovely holiday together-- and plenty of fun, thanks to Evelyn and Henry.  We spent Christmas day at our house with some of our family members who made the long trek to be together.  We went to a "standing room only" Christmas Eve Mass at our church and made a taco buffet that night.  The meal met our three requirements:  gluten-free friendly, vegetarian-friendly, and meat-eater friendly.

Our Christmas menu this year was largely based on our CSA share for the week and it added an element of creativity to the hours we spent in the kitchen preparing our meal.  What, exactly, was on the menu?  (Everything organic)

• Free-range turkey
• Rainbow garlic smashed potatoes
• Large yams
• Baby bok choy
• Rainbow carrots
• Ranbow swiss chard
• Green beans
• Gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, corn-free vegan stuffing (recipe below!)
• Gluten-free baguette (from Wheatless in Seattle)
• Butternut squash
• Whipped turnips
• Apple Pie

First, we sautee the vegetables for the stuffing.

Evelyn helps scoop out the seeds and pulp as we prepare butternut squash.

The stuffing is done!

Baby bok choy, fresh from the farm-- it was delicious.

The only non-vegan dish at our table was, of course, the turkey!

Stuffing Recipe (adapted from Sunny Valley):

2 rainbow carrots, chopped

1 stalk of celery, chopped

3/4's onion, chopped

small handful of fresh mushrooms, diced

2 cups vegan broth (gluten-free)

Sunny Valley Wheat Free bread crumbs

Sautee onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms until soft.  Add dry bread crumbs and toss (1-2 minutes).  Add two cups of boiling vegan broth or cream soup.  Toss and mix until desired moistness is achieved. Pour into glass baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  Serve immediately for best results and enjoy!

Henry says "no, thank you"

We offered some homemade organic carrots (silky smooth and mixed with a bit of breastmilk to thin the carrots and add a familiar taste).

"Whoa!  This is nothing like Mama-milk."

He did appreciate the spoon.  Henry has been grabbing at our utensils for weeks.  It is great fun to slobber on and taste new objects, as long as it isn't a new food!  We'll offer a little something again in a couple of days but there isn't any rush.  Henry is getting all of the nutrition he needs through nursing and, if he is anything like his sister,  he'll continue to get the bulk of his calories from my milk for at least another year.  

Mama cooks: Curried coconut squash stew

Let's get it out in the open:  curry is not very photogenic.  Under the right circumstances, however, it is quite tasty.  I adapted a gluten-free vegan recipe (again from Susan O'Brien) based on our available produce-- acorn squash instead of butternut and a green pepper instead of red.  It turned out very well, if I do say so myself. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon olive oil (I used grapeseed)
1 cup finely chopped red onion
1 teaspoon diced fresh ginger
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 pound extra firm silken tofu, cubed
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 ½ cups peeled, seeded and cubed butternut or delicate squash
1 tablespoon seeded and finely chopped jalepeno (again, I omitted this. I'm still working up the courage!)
2 teaspoon mild curry powder (I used red curry paste)
1 cup hemp or soy milk (I used almond)
1 cup light coconut milk
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/4 -1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper


In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add the ginger, bell pepper, tofu, garlic, squash and jalepeno and continue to sauté until the squash is fork tender, about 15 min.* Add the curry powder and the hemp and coconut milks, and heat to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook until flavors are blended, about 5-10 minutes. Add the lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, and serve. 

*  I sliced the acorn squash in half, scooped out the seeds and strings and baked it for about thirty minutes at 450 degrees.  I then added the chopped up, cooked squash to the pot.  My reasoning?  I didn't have two hands available for a long enough period of time to peel and chop through raw squash and it was much easier to scoop out the cooked squash and quickly cut it up!  Most of this meal was prepared with Henry in my left arm.