Men at Work!

Sometimes it's hard to explain what Michael does for a living. But, as the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words ..." Here is a great photo of Michael back stage at the show in Barcelona. Love the glowing background. So many electronics. 

So, here you have it. Michael at work.

Once his job finished in Barcelona, it was off to Seville for a little R&R with Matt & Eamonn. The three of them are sharing a little apartment for a couple of days to escape and catch up. Good for them! I hope I get more photos. I've not been to Spain before. So, this is how I get a vicarious piece.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... I'm doing laundry and grazing Valerie's sheep and testing muffin recipes. I see some toilet scrubbing in my future and maybe some mopping too. But let's talk about muffins. That's more fun.

Valerie is always a fan of pumpkin muffins in the fall. Well, that and pumpkin pie. I'm just a fan of all things pumpkin or squashy. Yum! In an effort to curb some of the simple carbs and sugar load I continue to experiment with grain free recipes. I'm particularly fond of the recipe from the Detoxinista. You can link her recipe for grain free Pumpkin Spice Muffins here. I'm eating them as I type this. Now I'm going to go wash my keyboard.

Barcelona, Baby!

Thank goodness for photostream! Michael is off in Barcelona working with Morgan & Rick.

I got this photo of Michael and Morgan outside the event. They look like crossing guards here, don't you think?

It sounds like they've been able to go into town and have some delicious seafood and see some sights. Here's Michael and Rick out for a stroll. Probably mildly jet-lagged.

There's a happy guy! I'm glad that he is getting out to see some of the city and not just be cooped up in a dark ballroom back stage. I guess every city looks similar from back stage.

Here is a panorama with two Michaels. Sounds like a Star Trek episode. Remember, the bad one always has the goatee. Uh oh.

Meanwhile, back at home ... Valerie has bee telling us about the many students at her school who have taken on a project of socializing service dogs. The way she talks makes it sound like one could see loads of students with puppies wearing vests in the halls of the school. Well, I had to go into her school the other day and I was surprised to see loads of students with puppies wearing vests in the halls of the school! This is for a program called Remedy Retrievers. It sounds really neat. Michael says we can't have a dog. But he's in Spain ... okay, just kidding. Not getting a puppy ... yet.

This weekend I was sort of abandoned by the family for Saturday night. Rex was off at paintball, Valerie was off at Fiber Fusion, Amira was off at a sleepover with a friend. It was kind strange having the house all to myself. I spent my time making broccoli soup, an apple pie and folding laundry while watching Outlander. Guilty pleasure! I mean, what would I do with myself? I really didn't want to go out. I had to savor the quiet evening at home. I was a little sorry I didn't have Michael home for this moment. We so rarely have an evening at home alone. Actually ... we have to go out to have that sort of evening. 

So, while Valerie is off doing her fiber/sheep thing, I get a text with this photo of her and Hailey that says they went shopping for Bacon Sprouts. Awesome. Valerie is getting the full farm experience. She is also now very experienced at wrangling little piggies. Honestly, that looks like fun to wrangle little piggies, er, "bacon sprouts"!

Well, tonight I try to recapture some of my kiddos so we can get ready for another week of school. I'm looking forward to another week of horse lessons with Amira. Horse Mondays make everything better!

Feeling Like Fall

Last weekend was not entirely out of the ordinary. Rex was out paintballing. Valerie was off at another sheep show. Michael was out earning money for said activities. Amira and I were left behind. So, it was a good weekend to bust out the autumn motifs around here. She was supposed to go to a pumpkin patch with a friend on Sunday, but that didn't work out. So we hopped in the van and scooted out there ourselves. It was quite a scene.

I briefly remembered traveling around to pumpkin patches with all three kids when they were smaller. And now it was just myself and Amira. And, frankly, she is just past the wonder and awe stage. But I can pry a photo out of her. She was a good sport. 

"Come on, Amira! Just one photo?" 

"I already let you take one photo."

"Okay, one more? Please? For Daddy?"

And here comes the snarky-squinty grin:

Isn't the squash display behind her in the old truck was impressive? Look at the colors! I'm inspired again to look forward to next summer's growing season so I can provide my own colorful displays out of the yard.

We were inspired to do some decorating around the house too. Here is our mini bale of straw with mini corn and mini pumpkins and mini scarecrow out front.

And just in front of our mini display are the maxi pumpkins and standard sized Indian corn on stalks. I love the autumn!

The other thing about Autumn is that it sort of kicks off the baking season. Well, it used to. I've really been trying to curb the sugar. But I love the smell of ginger, apples, molasses, pumpkin, etc. I guess I could just light a candle or something. But nothing says, "Come on in!" like the scent of something baking.

I found a recipe for these Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies and gave them a whirl. They are grain/gluten/dairy free. One cookie will fill you up for a few hours. Also, the house will smell amazing. Below photo are what the cookies actually look like. Yes, you should make them. Now.

Of course, Fall is the harvest time. And although I have to wait for the broccoli, cauliflower, brussels, beets to mature, I have been pulling some lovely lettuces out of the garden. This one was so beautiful that it begged for a photo before being consumed. It's like a lettuce bouquet. And I cannot tell you how crisp it was. CRUNCH!!

Also, the Apple Fairy stopped by. My friend has a brother who is starting a cidery. She took her family up to pick apples at the orchard providing the goods for said cider. I asked if she could grab some seconds for maybe some pie or apple sauce making over here. Look what popped up on the front porch! Thank you, Apple Fairy!

Now before I leave off this post, I have been promising some of you a list of movies that I recommend. While I have not yet gotten around to compiling the whole list, I can say that one of my favorite films just popped up streaming on Netflix. If you have not seen Moonrise Kingdom yet, I recommend it! It's a Wes Anderson Film. So, if you are familiar with his films, you will know that it is quirky and strange with some understated humor. You can click on this link for more information about the film to see if it suits your taste. But I think you will enjoy. 

Happy Autumn everyone!

Goodies for You

As many of you may know we have had to learn how to bake gluten free at our house over the past several years. It's been a learning curve as when we started our adventure there were not a plethora of GF items on the market. And I used to be such a baker. We have to avoid contamination as best we can, so no wheat flour in this house. 

To seemingly complicate matters, I have had to watch the sugar. So, then I tried baking gluten free and low carb. This often means grain free and using just a tad bit of honey or maple syrup as sweetener instead of white sugar. I'm not sugar free over here! I mean, I'm still human. 

And, as age would have it, I have added dairy free to my repetoire. Really, I don't have a dairy allergy. But my family thanks me to not partake of the dairy. We all feel better when I don't! You'll also thank me to not go into detail here.

One of my kids' favorite desserts is brownie bites with a cream cheese frosting (with a little orange zest). I can make these gluten free easily enough by using a GF brownie mix. But I was recently challenged to make a lower carb and gluten free dessert. And because I miss eating the little scrumptious bites, I made them dairy free as well. The below recipe is not calorie free, mind you! But it won't crash your sugar. And just one of these delicious little treats will leave you feeling satisfied without the bloat.

Friends with food allergies? As long as nuts is not one of them, you may want to give these a go!

Grain Free Brownie Bites with Cashew Cream Frosting

Brownies:

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat the oven to 325*. Blend all the above ingredients in a Cuisinart. Fill silicone mini muffin pan rounds each 3/4 full with batter. (If you are not using silicone, you will want to use liners for a traditional mini muffin pan). Bake 14 mins. Allow to cool about 4 to 5 mins and use a wooden tart shaper or bottom of a shot glass to indent each brownie bite. Test to make sure they are cool enough to dent without smushing it all over. If they are too cool, it will be difficult to make a good indentation. I recommend using a timer for the cooling process. 4 to 5 mins is a good consistent cool window for indenting.

Cashew Cream Frosting:

• 3/4 cup raw cashews soaked about 3 hours then rinsed
• 2 table spoons coconut oil (melted)
• 3 table spoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 table spoon lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 orange
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all the above ingredients in high powered blender (like Vitamix) and blend until smooth. You can add a little water if necessary - but not too much.

Chill frosting in the freezer for 1 hour to thicken.

Use pastry bag to pipe frosting into each indentation of the brownies. Garnish with mint leaf and a berry. You'll want to keep these refrigerated. The coconut oil in the frosting needs to stay cool so it doesn't melt.

Then eat these little guys and enjoy pure satisfaction without the sugar crash or bloating. (Unless you are allergic to nuts ... then you may not enjoy these).

Bon Appetite! 

(The picture above is an actual photo from my kitchen of these yummy little guys).