Time for a Change

I started this blog five years ago and since then I have written 300 posts and had more than 400,000 visitors to this site.

I decided it was time for a bit of updating so I switched over to the Twenty Eleven wordpress theme which has a different, larger font, more white space, is wider and I can post larger images.

I changed my header a little as well. This is the old one. Same image, different font.

I love working with graphics and setting up web pages and sometime in the future I’m planning to switch over my blog over to wordpress.org on my own server so that I can customize it even more. Maybe even put ads on the side to make some money from it. It’s such a fascinating time that we live in because there are so many possibilities available on the web now that never existed before.

One step at a time. I’m feeling infinitely better than I did a month ago when I was knocked off my feet by mono, but I keep reminding myself to take it slow and easy. I’m so excited to be feeling better that I just want to dive right back into everything, but I’m trying to remember to the important lesson from being sick: slow down and simplify.

It’s pretty funny to read some of the things that people google to get to this site. These are the top 10 google searches that find my site. Obviously the rice flour bread recipe that I made up several years ago is quite popular. But garbage trucks? Who knew?

Search	Views
rice flour bread	10,817
rice flour bread recipe	4,379
garbage truck	2,204
love birds	1,862
felt animals	1,835
rice flour bread recipes	1,735
felt paper	1,565
rice flour bread machine recipe	1,559
mastitis treatment	1,529
giraffe	1,461

I don’t look at my stats too often but they are kind of interesting. These are the top 10 posts I’ve written.

Title		Views
Home page / Archives		130,973
Rice Flour Bread (for bread machine) gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free		71,412
Amazing banana bread recipe (gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free, dairy-free)		34,720
Cupcake recipe (gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, sugar-free)		33,471
Art Gallery		12,129
Photo Tutorial: Stained glass giraffe mosaic		7,309
Felt Paper Dolls		6,432
About		6,102
Stained Glass Mosaic Tutorial		5,443
Banana – Quinoa Flour Muffins (or waffles) dessert recipes (gluten free, egg-free, sugar-free, dairy-free)		5,410

The recipes and art tutorials are pretty big. I can see why there are so many recipe blogs – everybody is always looking for a new recipe to try, especially if you suddenly find out that you can’t eat wheat, eggs, dairy or sugar. We’ve had all our allergies cleared up in the last few years so I haven’t been inventing as many new recipes as before.

I’m pretty sure my mono is gone now because suddenly I feel like doing art again and I am waking up an hour before my alarm goes off feeling rested.

You can always tell on this blog how my health is because if I’m feeling tired, stressed, overwhelmed or sick, I will disappear from this place for weeks or months without a sign. As soon as I’m back it’s because I’m feeling better.

Some people are very consistent with their blogging and force themselves through it even when they feel terrible. We all have our own reasons for doing things and very early on I decided that this blog needed to be a place of creativity and fun for me. I decided that If it started to feel like work, or like something that I had to do, then I’d stop.

So far it’s been fun.

But I still don’t understand about the garbage truck.

For the child who won’t eat vegetables

I finally got one. A child who literally refuses anything green. If I try to sneak a piece of something green into her mouth, watch out! She spits it out and throws it at who ever is sitting closest to her.

I keep reminding myself that in two years she will be eating vegetables. Or maybe 10. Eventually. I read something a while ago that said our taste buds often need about 12 tries of a new taste to get used to it. So I keep trying.

This, however, is what I do to get some greens in her in the interim:

Green Smoothie: (serves 4)

4 bananas

6 frozen strawberries

1 TB Greenzone powder

Water (enough to just cover fruit)

——

Blend.

Anything green tastes good blended with fruit, right?

Babycakes cookbook

If there is one thing I love, it is a good sugar-free recipe book. And if there is another thing I love, it is a recipe book with gorgeous photos that lets me know what the food looks like and leaves my mouth watering. Babycakes is all of that and more.

Just listen to the name:

Babycakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery

This could possibly have been written just for me.

Despite the fact that I no longer have to eat gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, everything free – thanks to my most amazing doctor of N.I.S., Dr. Kathryn Hargreaves, who cleared up all of my childen’s and my allergies – I still appreciate the health benefits of eating a varied and healthy diet, particularly one that is sugar-free.

I can’t wait to try some of these recipes!

The Healthy Hostess is one of the recipes from her book that is a big favorite of Pamela Anderson, who knew?  This was posted in the NY Times. Click on it to enlarge and you can try it out for yourself.

Banana – Quinoa Flour Muffins (or waffles) dessert recipes (gluten free, egg-free, sugar-free, dairy-free)

I recently got a request for some recipes without wheat, rice flour or chickpea flour. I immediately remembered a delicious Banana-Quinoa Muffin recipe that I used to make all the time. This recipe comes from the back of Ancient Harvest Quinoa, which has a whole variety of quinoa products and also a lot of very creative recipes on their website. If you can’t find quinoa in your town, you can order individual products online at Amazon.com.

Quinoa is an ancient grain from South America that is a complete protein and so healthy that there is almost no malnutrion in the people who consume quinoa in the poor regions of Bolivia. It’s great for vegetarians, babies and people with allergies. You can cook the quinoa grain like rice or cook the quinoa flakes to make a breakfast cereal (like oatmeal). The quinoa flour is also great for baking.

BANANA – QUINOA MUFFINS (or waffles)

1/2 cup quinoa flour

1/2 cup quinoa flakes

1/3 cup brown sugar (or 1/3 tsp stevia for sugar-free)

2 TB honey (or 1/8 tsp stevia for sugar-free)

2 tsp baking powder (or 1/2 tsp baking soda mixed with 1 tsp lemon juice)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 very ripe bananas

2 eggs (or 3 tsp egg replacer mixed with 4 TB water for egg-free. See here for other egg substitutes.)

Optional: blueberries, raisins, cut up apricot, cranberries, grated apple, grated carrot, or cinnamon.

_____
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour, flakes and all dry ingredients. Mix in mashed bananas and all wet ingredients. Pour into greased muffin tins (fill muffin tins 1/2 full). Bake 20-25 minutes.
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To make waffles, add 3 TB oil and 1/2 cup milk.

(The best ever) Blackberry Crumble recipe (sugar-free, egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free)

I made this blackberry crumble last week at a dinner party and you know you’ve hit the jackpot when everyone there tracks you down later that week for the recipe. It’s oh-so-yummy.

And did I mention that it’s also sugar-free, egg-free, dairy-free, and wheat-free (gluten-free)? It’s hard to find a good dessert that EVERYONE loves that falls into that category. Well, if you’re looking for one, here you go:

(The best ever) Blackberry Crumble Recipe

2 1/4 cups flour (any kind of flour ie. rice, spelt, wheat, oat, etc.)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (or quinoa flakes, kamut flakes, rice bran or ground up nuts)
3/4 tsp stevia (or 3/4 cup sugar, if you like that stuff)
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Then add:
3/4 cup butter (non-dairy butter for the dairy sensitive ones)

In a baking plan, spread out:
4-5 cups of blackberries
Optional:
1 cup of blueberries
1-2 cups of peaches

Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over top of the berries.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

You can make this recipe with any combination of fruit. If you use apples, your baking time will increase to about 50-60 minutes.

When you are picking your own blackberries, the biggest, blackest berries will always be the sweetest. Look for them by sunny roads, train tracks or trails.

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Even though blackberries are considered a weed, it’s hard to find them here in Vancouver, where every inch of land is developed and consequently, weeded.

Last night I took Isabela out on a special outing to pick blackberries, made even more special by the fact that it was just her and I, out late at night, way past her bedtime, doing something that we both love. We had to drive out to Richmond, a nearby city, and went to an industrial area with blocks and blocks of blackberry bushes.

We were both sort of giddy and singing and playful the whole night. Every few minutes Isabela would say, Mmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!! These are the best blackberries I’ve ever eaten in my WHOLE life!

And then every once in a while she’d find an enormous one and she’d yell, I found THE QUEEN of the blackberries! It’s going to save it for my birthday cake. And then she’d eat it a minute later.

It was a wonderful mother-daughter bonding experience, the kind of time where I can step back from my life and look at my daughter with fresh eyes. What an amazing girl, I kept thinking to myself. I was also thinking about how much my own mother would have loved to be there with us.

Egg substitutes

If you have an egg allergy or just ran out of eggs in the the middle of baking, here are some things that work as an egg substitute:

To replace an egg:

• 1.5 tsp powdered Egg Replacer (like Ener-G) mixed with 2 TB water = 1 egg
• 1/4 cup nut butter = 1 egg
• 1 banana or 1/2 ripe banana = 1 egg
• 2 ounces tofu = 1 egg
• 1/4 cup apple butter
• 1/2 tsp guar gum
• 2 tbsp cornstarch = 1 egg
• 2 tbsp arrowroot flour = 1 egg
• 2 tbsp potato starch = 1 egg
• 1 heaping tbsp soy powder + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg
• 1 tbsp soy milk powder + 1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milled flax seed and 3 tbsp water = 1 egg

Does anyone have any other things that work to replace an egg?

Nursing Cookies Recipe (gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, egg free)

Please do not be dismayed by the title of these cookies. They are absolutely amazing cookies and you could just as easily call them Power Cookies or Energy Cookies (if you are not nursing). (You can also use wheat, eggs, dairy and sugar if you want!)

These cookies have literally saved me, these last 6 weeks, since Fiona was born. I eat at least 4 of them during the middle of the night feeds and they help keep me going. Janet Feirin, author of Basic Spelt recipe book and owner of The Spelt Bakery, created these cookies when she was nursing her youngest child. She says,

“When I was nursing my children, I found I had a desperate need for a nutritious and delicious snack during those late night feeding sessions. I also needed something which I could keep close to the bed so it was easy to grab. Thus I invented the nursing cookies. But they are also great for snacks anytime and good for hikes and packed lunches.” (page 34, Basic Spelt)

This recipe is posted with Janet’s permission. It is an incredible cookie because I have been able to change so many of the ingredients and it still holds together and tastes delicious! Along the side of the recipe is how I change the cookie into a gluten free, dairy free, egg free and sugar free cookie.

NURSING COOKIES recipe

1 1/2 cups margarine (or shortening if you are dairy free)

1 1/3 cups brown sugar (or 1 3/4 tsp stevia instead of the brown and white sugar, for sugar free)

2/3 cups white sugar (see above for sugar free)

2 eggs (or 3 tsp egg replacer mixed with 4 TB water for egg free)

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups all-purpose spelt (or wheat) flour (or 3 cups rice flour or gluten free flour mix for gluten free)

2 tsp baking powder (or 1/2 tsp baking soda mixed with 1 tsp lemon juice)

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups oats or kamut flakes (or quinoa flakes)

1 cup nuts/coconut (or flax meal, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds)

1 cup of dried fruit – cherries, raisins, apricots, peaches, pineapple, papaya, mango, etc.

1 cup of chocolate chips (optional)

Melt margarine in large mixing bowl.
Stir in sugars, add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
Add flour, then baking powder and soda.
Blend until all flour is moistened.
Add oats, nuts, fruit and chocolate chips and stir.
Drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 F for approximately for 15 minutes.
Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and cooling rack for 20 minutes more.
Makes 2 dozen large or 3 dozen smaller cookies.

****Special note****
Spelt flour is an ancient grain that is similar to wheat and has gluten in it. However, many people can tolerate spelt flour who are sensitive to wheat.

Making these cookies gluten free (with rice flour or a gluten free flour mix) works well, but makes the cookies a little bit more crumbly. Make sure to cool them completely and then move them very gently.

Janet makes a killer Breakfast Cookie that she sells at her Spelt Bakery which is similar to the Nursing Cookie. Stop by there if you’re ever in Vancouver!

Why I love blogging

I started my blog a year and a half ago, primarily as way of keeping my family, who all live far away, up to date with our life and children. Parents in Malaysia, in-laws in China, and extended family spread across Canada and the United States. Well, I tend to write about whatever I’m interested and engaged in at the time – which happens to be primarily art and parenting.

So now, thanks to internet search engines, somehow people find my blog and even more amazingly, are actually interested in it, even though they’re not family.

My article, “Creating Art as Prayer” , was recently published in a journal called “Sacred Journey: The journal of fellowship in prayer,” published from Princeton with 6 bi-monthly issues. The journal had well-written, informative and inspiring articles from all faiths.

Two of my paintings were recently published in an online art exhibit at The Beginning of Motherhood.

A few months ago I was contacted by Leslie Hammond, author of one of my most treasured cookbooks, “The Kid-Friendly Food Allergy Cookbook” who asked me to write about my experiences raising and cooking for children with allergies for her newest cookbook, soon to hit the book stands called, Enjoy Life’s Cookies for Everyone!: 150 Delicious Treats that are Safe for Most Anyone with Food Allergies, Intolerances, and Sensitivities . An amazing challenge, she created 150 cookie recipes that are free of the 8 most common allergy foods. She asked me to try out a few of her recipes and give her some feedback and they are delicious! In the phone calls and emails we had together, I learned that she has six young daughters, several of which have food allergies. And writing cookbooks on top of that!

Now, another exciting proposition came knocking at my door yesterday. Elizabeth Pantley is the author of The No Cry Sleep Solution (which changed my life with Diego and I just picked up a few days ago to review and re-read for Fiona), The No Cry Potty Training Solution (which helped me tremendously with Diego’s potty training), Hidden Messages: What our words and actions are really telling our children (an absolute must, must, must read! One of my most favorite parenting books ever), as well as a whole series of other amazing books. Well, she has a new one coming out called The No Cry Nap Solution, and yesterday she emailed me asking if I would be interested in reading and writing a review on my blog for her new book.

Of course I thought I had died and gone to heaven, and I wrote her a gushing email back about what huge fan I am how much her books have changed my life as a parent. But mostly I was in awe that someone that well-known and respected would be interested in having me review her new book. Quite thrilling. And on top of that, that all of these people somehow find me, so I don’t really have to do anything except except write whatever I want, whenever I want. Perfect for a mother of three!

How to create an erupting volcano

Isabela’s sudden interest in volcanoes and fire sparked a library search of volcano books. And I found one, in particular, that has some great science experiments to do at home. Janice VanCleave’s Volcanoes: Mind-boggling experiments you can turn into science fair projects. It’s wonderful.

So here is her recipe for creating an erupting volcano:

1 large bottle
large baking pan
1 TB flour
1 TB baking soda
20 drops red food coloring

Put the bottle in the pan. Pour the flour, baking soda and food coloring inside the bottle.

1 cup vinegar

Pour 1/2 cup of vinegar into the bottle. Watch it explode! When the bubbles die down, pour the rest of the vinegar in to make it erupt again.

And then you can talk a little bit about science…
“The baking soda reacts with the vinegar, producing carbon dioxide gas. As the gas forms, it expands quickly, pushing the liquid and the flour particles out the top of the bottle. The mixture of the gas, flour, red food coloring, and liquid produces the foam, which simulates the foamy magma in an active volcanic eruption.” p.21

(Ah. Pink lava. Oops! Ran out of food coloring.)

Going in for a closer look.

Ah ha! A real volcano. 12 years ago in Guatemala. A real volcano, and me in front of it! Wearing a garbage bag raincoat, nonetheless.

Rice Flour Bread (for bread machine) gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free

I felt inspired to finally put up this recipe, since I made several loaves of rice flour bread yesterday, so we could use it today to make stuffing for our turkey. Canadian thanksgiving weekend! One of my most favorite meals. And I think the stuffing (and cranberries) are my favourite part.

So when my daughter was little and I realized she had a lot of food sensitivities, I searched and searched on the internet for a good rice flour bread recipe for a bread machine. But all of the ones that I tried either didn’t rise, would rise and then flop in the middle, tasted bad or a was as hard as rock.

So I started experimenting my own and after about 10-15 different tries, I finally came up with a great recipe.

Rice Bread

1 cup water
1/3 cup milk (I use plain rice milk)
2 eggs (I use 3 tsp egg replacer mixed with 4 TB water)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
4 TB oil
2 TB sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup white rice flour
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (you can also use guar gum instead)
2 tsp quick rise yeast

Rice flour is a little finicky, so it’s important that you place all of the ingredients in the exact order that is listed in the bread machine pan. Then when you put in the flour, try to spread it around so that it covers all of the liquids underneath. I have no idea why this makes a difference, but it does. Then start the bread machine on the “grain setting”. It cooks it a little longer than the regular setting.

Keep the bread in a plastic bag and refrigerate after about a day, then slice and freeze after about 3 or 4 days (it can last for a long time in the freezer).

Cupcake recipe (gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, sugar-free)

Despite the title, you might be wondering what’s in them? And they probably taste horrible! But the true test is if both kids and adults will eat (and enjoy) them, and following the recipe, I have photos of a group full of kids and adults devouring them to prove it. So yes, it is possible to make delicious treats when you have allergies or a restricted diet!

This recipe comes from The Kid Friendly Food Allergy Cookbook by Leslie Hammond and Lynne Marie Rominger under the “Yellow Cake” recipe. I will list what the actual recipe is for those that can eat the other ingredients and but beside it how I changed it.

Cupcake recipe (or regular cake)

3 eggs (or 4.5 tsp egg replacer mixed with 6 TB water)
1 1/2 cups sugar (or 1 1/2 tsp stevia)
2 sticks of butter (or the equivalent of oil or margerine)
3 cups of rice flour
2 tsp baking powder (or 1/2 tsp baking soda mixed with 1 tsp lemon juice)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1 1/4 cups rice milk mixed with 1 1/2 TB lemon juice)

Bake at 350 degrees. 10-12 minutes for cupcakes or 25 – 35 minutes for cake.

Since we were bringing them as a treat for Isabela’s music class graduation party, we put colored sprinkles on them them make it a little extra special.

And here are some pictures of the kids enjoying their cupcakes….

And here they all are with their graduation present from Amy.

And with the parents and the next generation of kids.

Having gone to this music class every week for almost two years, it became a real parenting support group for us and we got to watch as several of us became pregnant and had second children. I’m going to miss getting together with these amazing mothers and helping each other solve our life problems, share new ideas and inspire each other to try new things.

Why I choose stevia, not sugar

Stevia is an amazing, completely natural sweetener that is 300 times sweeter than sugar. It has zero calories, does not create yeast infections and actually helps to regulate blood sugar levels, so it is completely safe for diabetics.

Stevia comes from a plant and is therefore completely natural. It came onto the market at the same time that the cancer-causing aspartame did, and therefore, due to FDA politics, stevia hasn’t spread as rapidly as in other countries around the world. More on this, click here.

When I was pregnant with my second child, the pregnancy hormones created a lot of yeast overgrowth in my body, so I completely switched over to stevia. I first learned about it when I was living in Brazil where it was very commonly used in a liquid form, as a coffee sweetener. Using stevia has helped me to dramatically decrease my hypoglycemic episodes, regulate my blood sugar levels, decrease cravings for sweets and junk food, and rebalance the overgrowth of yeast in my body.

Normally I buy the white powder stevia, which is 300 times sweeter than sugar, so just use a little bit! You can also use the dried, crushed leaves of the plant (a green powder) which is 30 times sweeter than sugar. In the beginning, I bought a few brands that had a bitter aftertaste and got a little turned off, but then learned that the high quality plants will not have that bitterness. I found the brand Sweet Leaf and am sticking with them.

Experimenting around, I’ve found that I’ve been able to use stevia in all of my regular “sugar” recipes.

Normally I use the ratio of:

1 cup sugar = 1 tsp stevia
3/4 c. sugar = 3/4 tsp stevia
1/2 c. sugar = 1/2 tsp stevia
1/4 c. sugar = 1/4 tsp stevia

But if I want something really sweet, like cookies, then I’ll add a little more than this. There’s also a couple of great stevia cookbooks, like Baking with Stevia: Recipes for the Sweet Leaf, by Rita Depuydt and some great online resources. This one is my favorite.

Amazing banana bread recipe (gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free, dairy-free)

This recipe is quite amazing because I’ve literally been able to change all of the ingredients (except, of course, the bananas) and it still works and it still turns out yummy! Usually I make it gluten free, dairy free, egg free and sugar free!

I don’t know why this is called Joy’s Banana Bread, but that’s the name I have on the little paper with the recipe that I’ve been using for years.

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Joy’s Banana Bread

3/4 cup sugar (OR 3/4 tsp powdered stevia)

1/2 cup butter, margarine or oil

2 eggs (OR 3 tsp egg replacer mixed with 4 TB water OR an extra banana)

1 cup mashed bananas with 1 tsp baking soda mixed in (usually I do 2 bananas and skip the baking soda step, but my sister says it makes a difference)

2 Tb milk (cow, soy, rice)

1 tsp baking powder (OR 1/4 tsp baking soda mixed with 1/2 tsp of lemon juice)

1 3/4 cup flour (wh. or br. wheat, spelt, or rice flour OR my favorite mix: 1 cup br. rice flour, 2/3 cup chickpea flour, 1/3 cup tapioca flour – this mix can be used in place of wheat in almost all recipes. ALSO, I usually do 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/4 cup ground flax meal or oat bran.)

pinch of salt

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Bake at 350 degrees.

50 minutes for wheat, 45 minutes for spelt, 40 minutes for rice/chickpea/tapioca flours.

Baking times vary based on your oven and your altitude.

Nice soft playdough recipe

Here is a fantastic, soft playdough recipe that, if stored properly, can last for years.

4 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 Tablespoons cream of tartar
8 tablespoons of oil
4 cups of water

Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, add any food coloring you like and cook it in a pan on low heat until it is thick and not sticky. Knead the dough for two minutes. Store it in a plastic bag inside of a plastic container and keep it in the fridge.

This recipe makes a lot of playdough, so you can half the recipe if you want to make less.

I got this recipe from a drop-in play group at my local Mt. Pleasant Neighbourhood House.

Yum! Edible Playdough!

Since everything still goes in the mouth for Diego, I’ve found an amazing recipe for playdough that he can eat!

Edible Playdough (From “Surviving Your Preschooler” by Trish Kuffner)

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 flour (any kind)
1/2 water (may need to add more, depending on what kind of flour you use)

Kneed. Play. Eat.

Here’s my nephew, Olee, testing it out. I recently discovered from a morning at the neighbourhood Family Place, that toy hammers are a favorite when playing with playdough.