Monday, April 27, 2009

Chickpea Crackers

The kids are [drumroll please] BOTH sleeping ... so I poured myself a bowl of cereal and topped it with some half frozen milk. Stephen must have been playing with the dial in the refrigerator. But I'm not upset. (See first sentence for reason why.)

Since I know some celiacs and some other people (such as the girl I babysit) who avoid wheat, I sometimes try my hand at gluten-free cooking. I know many common meals such as chili already are gluten-free; it's the things that almost always contain wheat that need the special twist to make them gluten-free.

A friend of mine posted a recipe for Chickpea crackers a couple weeks ago and I gave them a try. I'm sure the author enjoyed them but they just didn't cut it for me. I couldn't nail down what it was about them that I didn't care for but since I now have a bag full of chickpea flour (it's not very expensive and is most commonly found in the baking aisle with the selection of Bob's Red Mill flours) in the cupboard I wanted to give it another shot. Here's what I came up with. I was pretty happy with it! (And by posting it I can throw away the post-it note it's scribbled on.)

1/2 c chickpea flour
1/4 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
2 T ground flaxseed
1 T sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t oil
2-4 T water, enough to make it stick together but not too sticky!

Mix ingredients together to form a ball.
Using enough flour (this is where I cheated and used wheat, but you wouldn't have to) so as not to get the dough stuck on the rolling pin or the counter, roll the dough out.
Cut into squares with a knife.
Put on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
Let cool on a cooling rack.

This doesn't make a huge batch but was a good snack for me and the kids yesterday.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Abby Tries More Food

As Abby is approaching one year of age, I have begun introducing to her some of the staple foods that most of us enjoy on a daily basis. Because of the history of allergies in my family, I have been extra cautious and waited longer than most doctors recommend waiting to introduce the big three: wheat, dairy, and eggs. Of course there are other "big ones," such as peanuts and fish, but in my family WD&E were the culprits.

Saturday we started out with wheat. I made some whole wheat crackers that were very bland but also very simple. She has eaten some every day since then.

Today I delved into dairy. I probably will still wait quite awhile before doing straight milk, as that is not tolerated as well as cheese and yogurt. Besides, she still nurses a lot. So for lunch I mixed up some berries with some plain yogurt. (That's what this video shows.)


I think Saturday will be the egg day, since we have friends visiting and I'll be making a casserole for them.

And while she isn't having any major reactions such as ezcema or hives, I must say I find the wheat to be somewhat suspect. Her nose has been running and I don't think she's sick at all. I'll give it a couple days before I decide to eliminate it again. I hope for her sake that she doesn't have to be on a special diet. But then again, there are worse things, and it would probably help her to eat healthier.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Little Boys' Dreams Do Come True

We had such a busy day yesterday. And not just lots to do. There was a lot going on all at once that I knew would be a lot of fun for Stephen. It all started out with a birthday party. Stephen has officially "discovered" that birthday parties are the BEST! Cake and toys and kids ... what's not to love about that? At this party, the kids made individual pizzas and then did some songs/activities. Eating the pizzas and the cake was great fun, too.

After that, we drove over to the Champaign Public Library where Steve Roslonek was giving a free concert. Stephen recognized him from his Steve Songs segment between SuperWhy and Clifford. His favorite song is about shapes: "Line line circle circle square square square square triangle triangle ..." And thankfully Steve saw to it that that song was performed for the crowd. (Our friend Nadia even got to help him with the motions!!) We also saw SuperWhy who was quite large. Sadly, Alpha Pig didn't make it; he is Stephen's favorite!

Even though Stephen had done a lot at that point, I thought he might enjoy seeing some of the animals at the Vet Med school's open house. The crowds were a little too intense for him, so we ended up making a bunny ears hat and then running around the pen with the obedience dogs.

After that, I made him rest by watching a movie. We had some people over for a discussion last night and the boy zonked out at 7:30 (early for him; he goes to bed between 8 and 9).

Today has been a magnificent day for me, despite the rainy weather. I slept in and Ryan got up with Stephen. Then I went to a coffee shop by myself for an hour and a half. Now I'm home but BOTH kids are sleeping and that's been the case for over an hour. It'll be nice with Abby and Stephen's naps (or Stephen's rest time when he doesn't nap) coincide all the time.





Oh, and speaking of little boys' dreams ... some people reading this might like to know that I heard Stephen saying "how bout legos, grandpa?" when he was going to sleep last night ...