video of dinner chat

Now that we realized we can video using our camera, we are anxious for everyone to see how much Ashley has improved with her biomedical treatments. Of course, it's hard to get on video, but we're going to try! Here they are at dinner tonight: "mac-n-cheese" otherwise called, Tinkyada noodles with cashew cream sauce :-) As you will see, Ashley thinks that she is having her picture taken, since Andy is using the camera to video her. Although we didn't get much talking in this one, it's pretty impressive that she shows she now can ask questions and answer questions. She's totally present and interacting with us. Go Ashley!

"summer snow"

The cottonwood trees.

Zoe's ball.

See the white flakes in the air behind Zoe? That's not snow :-)

We spent the afternoon at our favorite coffee shop, cottonwood blowing through the air like summer snow. It was really quite magical. So much so, that I called Andy, who rode over on his bike to see for himself, over a pot of tea. The girls ran back and forth in the downpour of cotton, just like they do in snow, even gathering it into balls. I also took some video on our camera, which by the way, I didn't even know took video until today. (see post below for video)

first video using our camera

Here is some video of the girls in the "summer snow." Don't worry at the end -Ashley isn't opening anything but a container of her chewable enzymes :-) She wont even eat them unless I grind them and mix them with food. She just says, "It smells good."

around the house this week

Holding my huge bag of oranges, which I just picked up today from our friend's farm. Only $15!

Ashley in Zoe's dress that is a little too big for her.

Zoe, when she came downstairs first thing in the morning and was cold.

The flowers we planted last year that came back twice as big!

Zoe in her cute hat. 

orange pie & a tea party

(you may click on the images to view them larger)

I was looking at some of my favorite blogs for recipes and inspiration yesterday, when I saw Orange Cake at Elanas Pantry. It was news to me, as Elana mentioned, that Starbucks has released a gluten-free orange cake. I go to my local coffee shop nine times out of ten, where they always have a good selection of gluten-free/dairy-free cakes and cookies, and when I do go to Starbucks I use the drive-though, which explains how I was out of the loop, but I digress. 

I wrote down Elana's Orange Cake ingredients, and while we were out I swung by a Whole Foods to grab them. When this Whole Foods was still a Wild Oats grocery store, I bought almond meal flour there all the time, but now... it's gone. This is the second time I've lost a gluten-free product which Wild Oats carried, that Whole Foods doesn't. The last product I actually went ahead and requested, with those little pieces of brown paper which they display near the check-out. You know, the ones they hang up on a small board, with a note written below your own that says, sorry, but no.

I was disappointed, but I didn't feel like driving to Vitamin Cottage, where I should have gone in the first place. So I went home, and decided to make up my own version of an orange cake, using my own blend of gluten-free flours. I made one last night, but it needed a little tweaking, so I made another one this morning and I am very happy with the way it came out. It turns out that mine is not really a cake at all. It's an orange pie, and it's super yummy. I'm so excited about it that I'm going to take it to a pot luck this weekend. Cheers, Kelly

Orange Pie:

Boil 2 whole oranges (peel and all) for about 80 minutes.

Add the whole cooked oranges (peel and all) to your food processor, after putting in the blade.

Cut each orange in half, inside the food processor (they will be very soft).

Puree.

Add:

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp spoonable stevia, or 1/4 tsp liquid stevia

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

Puree.

While pureeing, drop in 4 eggs. 

Now for some reason my spring form pan drips oil onto the bottom of my oven (yes, even when it's properly assembled). So what I do is use a large piece of unbleached parchment paper, untrimmed, so that it comes right up the walls of the pan, and I pour the batter over. As you can see this creates a bit of a scalloped edge, that I think is pretty. If, however, you have a pan that doesn't leak like mine, you wont need this step =)

Bake at 350 degrees for about 34 minutes.

Let cool fully before dusting with ground xylitol (I use a mortar and pestle to grind mine).

It will take forever to cool, so if you are impatient (I am impatient, and it was driving me crazy :-)), you can skip dusting it and eat it hot.

*As always, be very careful that your pets don't eat any xylitol

Update: I should mention that the size of the fruit really changes the texture and consistency. The first two were made with large organic oranges (I think it's especially important that they are organic, since we are eating the peel). The large oranges produce a pie-like dessert (can I call it dessert if I eat it for breakfast -Ha!). The last one I made for a pot luck last weekend used two much smaller organic oranges, and it came out more like cake. They were equally good, I just thought I'd pass that on! Today I'm making it with 2 lemons for a lemon cake to take to another pot luck tomorrow -yay!

Lauren's cake with a surprise...

Last night I was reading some of my favorite blogs, when I came across something that left me mystified: Healthy Chocolate Cake with a Secret, by Lauren at Healthy Indulgences. 

What makes this cake so intriguing? ... it's made of beans. That's right, beans. And not only that, but there is no flour in this cake. And since Lauren doesn't use sugar, like my family, I couldn't resist giving this easy recipe a try.

I had dry red beans in the pantry, so I soaked them overnight. This morning I washed them well and cooked them. I followed Lauren's recipe almost exactly, only making a few minor changes. I'm out of liquid stevia, so I used 1/2 tsp of Spoonable Stevia, with 1/3 cup honey, and I used only 1/4 cup of coconut oil (and no butter). Also, I made mine a bundt, which took 40 minutes to bake at 325 degrees. 

We were all too eager to try this mysterious cake, and we were all thrilled with it. It's very much like my Chocolate Raspberry Cake in taste and texture, but a little darker and richer. And I thought there was hardly any flour in my cake! Very cool recipe, Lauren. XOXO

hiking

Last weekend we went hiking with our neighbor, Abi, who we adore. It was such a blast. The trail wasn't too difficult, and ran along a creek. There were all kinds of wild flowers, and butterflies. We also saw two lizards, and a chipmunk. I could hardly choose which pictures to share with you! XOXO