I discovered this recipe on one of my go to blogs, Art of Dessert, which features many allergy friendly recipes. I was determined to make egg-free gingerbread men with my daughter this year and this one sounded very doable. I thought they would be yummy for us, and make nice homemade gifts – and they scored high on both counts! My daughter and I had a blast making them. And I even love these little guys just sitting on our counter since one glance and you can’t help but smile, in addition to the lovely scent surrounding them. So, here it is with a few minor changes to suit our tastes and some tips for you.

By the way, the author says the recipe can also be used to make gingerbread house parts! I think I’ll try that next year!

Gingerbread Men (Egg-Free)

Art of Dessert says it makes 4 dozen cookies, 3.5 inches x 3.5 inches in size. I think our cookie cutter is a bit bigger and I let my daughter play with some of the cutout leftovers, we only got slightly over 2 dozen.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1.5 Tbsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
4 Tbsp. corn syrup or honey (we used honey)

Directions
In a saucepan, cook the butter, sugar, milk and honey at low heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat then pour into a mixing bowl and let it cool for a few minutes. Sift together the flour, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Flatten the dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 to 3 hours. Since the dough tends to get too soft at room temperature, take out only a portion at a time. Keep the rest of the dough in the refrigerator. Roll the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out shapes and transfer them onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Tips/Notes:

• When flattening the dough to go in the fridge, it helps to try to shape into a square or rectangle since rolling out into those shapes will get you the most cut outs per rolled out dough piece.
• Take a wooden skewer, measure 1/8” on one end and mark it with a pen/marker. Use this to check your thickness when rolling out your dough to cut. Super quick and easy. I saved my little skewer and used it for two batches.
• If you are like me, you have often complained about rolled parchment paper which never lays flat and requires scissors to cut to fit or folding over on every side. There had to be a better way. Turns out, King Arthur Flour makes half-sheet flat baking parchment!! I had never heard of them until I was recently reading Peter Reinhart’s The Baker’s Apprentice. I ordered some and have been so pleased. I do still have to fold over one edge just a bit for our baking sheets. But they work wonderfully and can be used a few times. I used 2 sheets total for these cookies, one for the chilled dough, and the other repeatedly for cooking the cookies on.
• If you are going to make ornaments out of them, be sure to make a whole in the top before you bake. A straw works well for this.
• If you want to imprint eyes and buttons onto the cookies, also do so before they bake. The flat part of a wooden skewer also works well for this. We did a combination, our first batch we left plain and added embellishments with frosting. I then realized that frosting (at least what we used) doesn’t always stay pretty when you try to package and gift. Ours squished a bit. So we just imprinted faces and buttons on our second batch so they looked dressed without needing anything extra. And they looked lovely that way in cellophane bags tied with red ribbon – which is what we attached to the holiday cards we gave our daughter’s teachers this year.
• The flavor of the cookies improves after a day. Store them in an airtight container as they will absorb moisture from the air. On the flipside, if your cookies are a little on the crunchy side, leave them out for a day and they will be perfect. And they last a long time. We made some as gifts and were told they were still tasty a week and a half later!

Through Irish pubs in Boston and my 2 trips to Ireland, I developed a strong love for Irish Brown Bread. You can see and taste the rustic nature of the bread. So simple yet so delicious and satisfying.

On my last trip to Ireland (in 2007!) I scoured bookstores for cookbooks on Irish cooking, determined to learn more about their cuisine and excited to replicate some of the traditional dishes at home. I was, naturally, most interested in brown bread recipes. I ended up taking 3 cookbooks home with me!

Yesterday was rainy and chilly here, which always make me crave comfort food. I decided to make some Brown Bread. I also figure it is about time I share the recipe! You will not believe how easy it is!! 

I’m enjoying my second slice as I write! Perfect lightly toasted with a light smear of butter. I’m planning on having it again tonight along the Guinness Beef stew I will be making later today. Yum. Sometimes rainy days are a good thing.

Irish Brown Bread (Brown Soda Bread)

From Best of Irish Traditional Cooking book

Ingredients

450g/1lb/4 cups whole wheat flour

175 g/6oz/1 1/2 cups plain white flour

1 tsp (generous) baking soda

1 tsp salt

About 450 ml/15 fl oz/ (scant) 2 cups buttermilk)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400^oF. The reaction of the baking soda and buttermilk is swift and the duration of their interaction short – speed is of the essence. Mix the flours, salt and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Add only enough buttermilk to make a soft dough. Flour your hands and the work surface and knead lightly by hand (never with a machine) until the dough is smooth. It is important to understand that this is quite unlike making a yeast-risen dough. Shape into a circle about 4cm/1.5 inches deep. Take a sharp, well-floured knife and cut a deep cross in the top. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes. To see if it is fully cooked test by tapping the bottom and listening for a hollow sound. Cool on a rack, or if you like a softer crust, wrapped in a linen or cotton tea-cloth.

Notes:

• It has been so dry here that I had to add an extra cup of buttermilk, and in hindsight realize I should have added more. So while you don’t want to add too much, the amount of buttermilk needed can vary tremendously! So go by your gut and keep adding until you get a nice dough.
• I suggest using a fork to mix the flours to keep everything loose.
• My bread turned out lighter in color than most brown breads since I used King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat Flour, since it is what we had in the house. Still 100% whole wheat, just lighter in color and slightly less whole wheat tasting. The recipe works well with both this flour and regular whole wheat flour.
• Your oven will probably take longer to preheat than it will to make the dough so be sure to get it heating up a bit before you start on the dough.
• I baked my last loaf on a pizza stone and it came out great! Perhaps a slightly harder crust.
• The recipe says eat the same day. It is delicious the same day, but I’m enjoying a slice right now (the next morning) and it is just as good. I left it wrapped in a tea towel overnight.

At $48 per bottle it isn’t cheap but you could pay way more for a less delectable wine. This one is worth it.

For more details, including wine notes from the winemaker and buying info visit Chateau Montelena’s website.

SIMPLE YET TASTY ROASTED ACORN SQUASH

Ingredients

1 acorn squash

1 Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs butter

pinch of salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 450^oF. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

Cut ends off of squash. With a flat side on the cutting board, halve the squash. Use a spoon to scrap out the seeds. Then quarter each half (slicing in the same direction with each slice), you’ll end up with 8 slices.

Melt butter and mix in brown sugar and a small pinch of salt. If you like black pepper (I do not), then feel free to add a small pinch of freshly ground black pepper.

Toss the squash in the butter mixture and lay flat on baking sheet. If you prefer you can also brush the mixture on.

Bake for about 30 minutes until tender and slightly browned on the edges.

Notes:

• One squash makes a good side dish for 2 people (perhaps 2 adults plus one toddler). Feel free to increase accordingly. Just be sure not to crowd your squash, use more than one baking sheet if needed.
• If you have backyard chickens like we do, they’ll love the seeds!
• While this dish is best eaten fresh, leftovers do make a nice afternoon snack.

CINNAMON SPICE AND ALL THINGS NICE COOKIES

From Maria Elia’s The Modern Vegetarian cookbook.

Makes 30

Ingredients

9oz butter, softened

3oz caster sugar

1/2 can condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12oz plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 1/2oz dried apple rings, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350^oF.

Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and smooth, add the condensed milk and vanilla extract, and mix until combined. Sift in the flour, baking p0wder and cinnamon and then add the dried apples and mix to form a dough. Roll into a cylinder, approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter (at this stage, you can refrigerate the dough and use as and when required).

Slice the dough into round pieces 1/2 inch-thick and place on a non-stick baking sheet, leaving a gap between each. Cook for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

My notes:

• We only used 3oz of dried apple since that was all we had and I feel it was a good amount.
• Our dough came out pretty sticky (perhaps due to the fact that we poured in a little too much condensed milk). We divided into two batches to make it easier to work with and wrapped each half in saran wrap, using the wrap to help us form them into logs. A couple hours in the fridge and they were firm and cut beautifully.
• We baked them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• We froze a little bit to see how the dough would hold up – I’m happy to report that they work well even after being frozen! We put them in the fridge for a little bit to thaw just a touch and they were easy to cut and cooked up well.
• Do store in an air tight container if not they will quickly (within one overnight) soften and lose their nice texture.

Clearly something had to be done. I searched online and discovered that ThinkSport makes yoga mats! They promised a mat that was chemically safe yet high performing and comfortable. Since we are Amazon Prime members (free shipping) and I like to read reviews, I searched to see if the mat was available through Amazon. It was and reviews validated the no-icky-odors claim. One more click and I had purchased it.

I opened it immediately when it arrived – no bad odors! Yay!! It also had a really good thickness and texture. I have done a bunch of yoga (I am a novice so nothing too fancy) and stretches on it and I LOVE IT! So much that I had to share with my readers so you too can have a yoga mat you love, which will love you back (no toxic icky-ness).

It isn’t cheap at $39.99 on Amazon, but I feel it is completely worth – you are worth it.

Drink Bottle

• Foogo by Thermos Stainless Steal 10oz Straw Bottle
  These work wonderfully. I’d pour milk from the fridge in each morning to put in her lunch bag. It stayed cold through lunchtime. Never a problem. Though I did also always include an ice-pack in her lunch bag to help ensure the milk and her lunch stay cool – a good idea in general. We use these when we go out sometimes too and want her to have cold milk or water. They last long and are easy to clean (as long as you don’t let it sit with milk in it overnight)Available through may sources. The link above it to Amazon.com for a reference.

Lunch bag

• Sugar Booger Lunch Sack
  Used all year and still in great shape. Never got stinky. Crumbs and drips are easy to clean out as needed. I like the design as I could keep the bento box style lunch containers I used flat…meaning my cute designs would remain cute till unveiled at lunchtime. Some reviewers on Amazon said that mold developed, but honestly, we haven’t even seen a hint of mold or odors. And I did include an ice-pack every day. Perhaps the type of ice pack matters. I chose one with an exterior pouch to minimize condensation. The lunch bag has been great for us. I should note that I did use two lunchbags when I sent her to school with a warm lunch item. I’d put a thermos of the warm food with a serving container (with lid) and spoon in one bag, and then her cold milk and fruit or cold veggies in the other. I want to be sure the hot/warm items stay warm and the cold items stay cold. I’m keeping an eye out for a better solution for those days, but my method works.

Ice pack

• Kids Konserve Squiggle Sweat-Free Ice Pack
  Love this. In all honesty the outer cover does get a little moist, but nowhere near as wet as other ice packs can get. We did have to replace it once a few months ago. I banged it on something else in the freezer and cracked the plastic. But still love it.

Reusable napkins

• Custom from downhomeamy on Etsy
  I love the napkins Amy made for us. I had ordered some snack pouches from her (also a great buy!) and loved her designs. She worked with me to use her cocktail napkins as a foundation, adding a waffle backing (like on her bibs) and cute designs of my choice from her collection. She even added Sofie’s name to the underside. They are absorbent and machine washable. They have survived the last year very well. We even use them at home as we try to cut back on paper napkins. To see a photo, check out my Eating out with a Toddler – Essential Gear article. But whether you order from Amy, somewhere else, or make your own, please do include a napkin (helps to start with good habits early!) and make it reusable – no need to add another paper napkin to the trash every day. (photos from downhomeamy’s blog)

Lunch Containers

I like bento style containers. Multi-tier ones allow my to include different types of food in a very space efficient way, usually nest for storage and they are so fun! Take a look through last year’s lunch photos on my Facebook page. Check out the Shopping Links below for some online selections.

Silicon cupcake liners

• These make great dividers in bento boxes, or any other container you wish to sub-divide. Just be sure to get good quality ones – they will look better, work better and last longer.

Rice mold

• I used a simple rice mold to create fun shapes for her lunches. They made the rice into finger food at the same time. Here’s a link to the one I used most of the time on Amazon. If you search on Amazon you’ll see a number of other cute options. Any bento supply store will have a selection as well.

Sandwich cutters

• Any metal cookie cutters should work well. Simpler shapes will be easier to work with. Experiment with the cutters you already have in your house! There are now also special sandwich cookie cutters on the market now. Search on Amazon and you’ll find a few. These will help decrease on sandwich waste since they are designed to be almost the same size as bread. I will note though that you have to have the right size bread for them to work, they can be a tight fit. But less waste is good.

Vegetable and cold cut cutters

• The small metal cutters work so well for cutting through thin and thick deli meat and even tough vegetables like carrots. If I cut my daughter’s carrots and cucumber slices into flower shapes she’ll eat twice as many whether it be in her lunchbox or at home. In fact, the other night I had put some cut cucumber on her plate while we got the rest of dinner ready and she at two helpings of the cucumbers before we got the rest of the food out! Here’s an article I wrote which includes the technique and where to buy the cutters.

Shopping Links:

• Amazon – ever growing selection of bento boxes and supplies. Also a good place to get insulated containers (Foggo), lunchbags and other lunch making supplies.
• From Japan with Love – very cute bento supplies
• Japanistic – cute bento supplies and other Japanese products
• J-list – nice bento box selection (just note the site also carries more adult oriented Japanese products)
• Daiso – bento boxes and supplies

There was a wonderful depth of flavor (surprising considering it doesn’t even cook for that long!), great texture and flavor contrast from the mix of soft onions, tender chicken meat and buttery chickpeas. And while we love Indian food, it can often seem a bit oily and heavy. This dish is not. It is comforting yet not heavy or greasy. We served it over a pile of brown basmati rice. Yum.

If you are not familiar with Indian curries, this is a wonderful one to start with. It is mild (I’m a wimp when it comes to hot spices) with only a hint of heat yet has great flavor.

I have never had chickpeas in Korma before but I like it. They took on a wonderful flavor and buttery smooth texture and it is a wonderful way to help stretch out the chicken since they add to the heartiness of the dish.

We actually halved the recipe since it was just the 2 of us and it worked out perfectly with the portion of chicken breast we were able to get from this week’s Surfside Chicken (we are part of their CSA and get a fresh pasture raised chicken every 2 weeks – read more here). I divided up the rest of the chicken too, so now we have vacuum sealed packs of 2 chicken thighs, 2 wings, 2 drumsticks and the body in the freezer waiting to be turned into another meal.

In addition to having a really delicious dinner, it was extra nice to have made something completely out of the norm for us. This will definitely become a go to dish for us. It is also a great dish to make for company since you can make it before your guests arrive, leave it on the stove and simply warm back up before serving. In fact, my husband finished cooking it by 5pm, we left it on to simmer for a little longer and then turned off the flame, and left it covered on the stove. We warmed it back up at 7pm when we were ready for dinner. I bet the curry flavors developed even further with the extra time. Our brown basmati rice was also just waiting for us to be ready sitting piping hot in our rice cooker.

Chicken Korma

From Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution cookbook with notes from our experience.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 3/4 pound skinless boneless chicken breast, preferably free-range or organic

2 medium onions

optional: 1 fresh green chile (we left it out since I’m a wimp)

a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger root

a small bunch of cilantro (an easy herb to grow in your yard!)

1 x 15oz can od garbanzo bean (chickpeas)

peanut or vegetable oil (We used olive oil. Using Ghee would probably be delicious as well)

1/2 cup korma or mild curry paste, such as Patak’s

1x14oz can of coconut milk

a small handful of sliced almonds, plus extra for serving

2 heaped tablespoons of unsweetened shredded coconut

2 cups natural yogurt

1 lemon

 Directions

To prepare your curry

Cut the chicken into approximately 1-inch pieces or thin slices. I find slices will result in more tender and flavorful chicken.

Peel and finely slice the onions.

Halve, seed and finely chop the chile if using it.

Peel and finely chop the ginger. If you don’t like eating ginger, be sure to chop it finely so that it melts away in the dish or cut slightly large pieces/slices so you get the flavor but you can easily opt to not eat the ginger pieces themselves.

Pick the cilantro leaves and finely chop the stalks. (love that both stalks and leaves are used!)

Drain the garbanzo beans.

To make your curry

Put a large casserole-type pan on high heat and add a couple lugs of oil. Once hot, add the onions, chile, ginger, and cilantro stalks with the butter. Keep stirring it enough so it doesn’t catch and burn but turns evenly golden. Cook for around 10 minutes. Add the curry paste, coconut milk, half the sliced almonds, the drained garbanzo beans, unsweetened shredded coconut and chicken breasts. Half fill the empty coconut milk can with water, pour it into the pan and stir again. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on.

Check the curry regularly to make sure it’s not drying out, and add extra water if necessary. When the chicken is tender and cooked, taste and season with salt and pepper – please season carefully. I did add a fair amount of salt, you’ll want to taste, add some salt if needed, stir and let cook for a few minutes, then taste again to see if it still needs more or not. Better to add little by little than overdoing it.

To serve your curry

Jamie includes various recipes for making rice as options to serve with this dish. Good old plain basmati rice works well. In fact, we used brown basmati rice and thought it was perfect.

Jamie also suggests: Add a few spoonfuls of natural yogurt dolloped on top and sprinkling over the rest of the sliced almonds. Finish by scattering over the cilantro leaves and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over. 

We served individual plates, since it was just 2 of us. I put a heafty scoop of rice on my plate (really a pasta bowl), hollowed out the middle and filled it with a few serving spoons full of korma. Very pretty. We skipped the yogurt, even though we had gotten a small container of Greek yogurt for the dish. We found the dish rich enough that we didn’t feel it needed the yoghurt. We did sprinkle on the cilantro leaves (we chopped them a little first) which made the dish look extra pretty and added nice fresh flavor. We completely forgot about the lemon wedges since we were hungry and excited to eat! It was still amazing, so if you don’t happen to have lemons, don’t sweat it.

They are amazing creatures. Every day I marvel at them. At their beauty, their curiosity. At their distinctive personalities and the clear bond they have with each other. I also love how interactive they are with us. They start chatting to us as soon as they think we are coming to see them and follow me around the yard as I tidy up. I feel quite privileged to have them as part of our family.

If any of you are curious as to how our coop and run are working – so far all goodness. The one thing that was missing from the run was a nice place to roost. We added a homemade one over the weekend and they love it. If you have an Omlet Cube and want to know details on how we added the roost just let me know, happy to share. We also added a hanging feeder when we went away for a few days to be sure they had plenty of food. We’ve decided to leave it in there all the time, I think they like having a couple places to find feed (in addition to scratching around). My other desire would be for a human height run so we could walk in it more easily!

It is funny, even though keeping their area clean, feeding and water is work, I find it somehow satisfying for the soul. It is always peaceful out in the yard with them. They need so little from us, yet give us so much in return…and we haven’t even gotten eggs yet!

Here are some glamor shots for your enjoyment.

Here’s Royal, our gorgeous Blue Birchen Marans. She always has a very regal stance. (below)

Olive is our feisty Easter Egger. She is the hardest to catch. (below)

Niki, our Barred Plymouth Rock, is still the most adventurous. She is always the first to try new things, like jumping into our planting beds or enjoying the new roost we installed in their run. While we haven’t seen any big displays of dominance, she is certainly top hen. (below) 

Below is Oreo (named by Julia) our Mottled Java. She is the largest hen by quite a bit! I love her mottled feathering.

Group shots!

We didn’t get a solo shot of Waffles, she’s the Wheaten Ameraucana in the front of this photo. She is the quirkiest!

Just for fun, I suggest you check out some older posts to see how much the girls have grown! I just looked at my post from mid-May and they were still so tiny then compared to now!

Ever have an amazing season or a very fruitful tree? More apples or zucchini than you can eat? Too many eggs from your backyard chickens? A quick stroll around our neighborhood and it is clear to see how you can have too much of a good thing. Trees dripping with oranges, limes and lemons, even persimmons! Much more than any one family and their friends could consume fresh.

You have probably thought about donating some of your bounty to a local food bank before but weren’t sure how or asked only to discover they are not able to take your goods. I have good news! I just discovered AmpleHarvest.org (http://www.ampleharvest.org/) which is making it easier to connect with organizations that will welcome your extra vegetables and fruit. Through their site you can search for groups near you accepting such donations. They have almost 4000 organizations in their network across all 50 states. Your hard work won’t go to waste and you can feel some satisfaction that you are helping others. If you are concerned about liability should someone become ill after eating something you donate, don’t. According to the FAQs on Ample Harvest, “You are protected by the Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act signed during the Clinton administration. The Act is intended to encourage donations of food to nonprofit organizations while providing the donor with “Good Samaritan” protection. You are provided protection from criminal and civil liability providing you did not exhibit gross negligence. The text of the act is at www.usda.gov/news/pubs/gleaning/appc.htm”

So once you’ve eaten your fill and given as much as you can to friends and family, think about donating the rest to a local food bank. AmpleHarvest.org is a great place to see who in your area you can give to! 

Too many people go hungry and have no access to fresh produce. We can help change that. Spread awareness with gardeners and encourage more local food pantries to sign up. The more connections the better. To help, AmpleHarvest.org has provided pdf fliers you can print (or email) to post at local garden centers, community centers and food banks. They also have images you can use on your site to help spread the word.

AmpleHarvest.org
http://www.ampleharvest.org/