Troy's Back!

My brother Troy is back as the owner of Baja Burrito! If you eat there, know that he's missed you so much over the past year. But he bought back his restaurant, and can't wait to see his cutomers again. GO VISIT HIM!! Make sure to tell him you've missed him as well. And if you haven't been there? Well, now's the time to start. Adios!

Cookbook Advice Needed

You guys give the best advice. Thanks. E. woke up at 7:45 this morning. CRAZY!!! I think he's done that ONCE before. Seriously. Were several of you (besides Julia) praying? Keep it up!!

Anyway, I need more advice! I'm finally sending off the cookbook to the printer (Yeah!) There are 207 awesome recipes. So, I can't decide how many of these to print. I'm stuck trying to decide between 250 and 300. I know that may not seem like a big deal, but it is when you're spending your money on it! So, I want to make the most money possible for Made in the Streets, but I don't want to have too many. I know for sure that I'm going to want like 30. No joke. The people buying it are people from the gym, from church...and maybe you? What do you think?

Creativity

Thanks to The Farmers, I now know how to add cute little photo collages to my page! They aren't as good as theirs, but it's a start. Anyway, here's our cute little artist, with his first masterpiece. What composition!

Fall CSA Veggies

My vegetable education continues, as the CSA comes to a close for the year. I'm not electing the winter share, so it will start up again in Spring!

Pictured above is what I split with my folks for the week. We got 2 long island cheese pumpkins, a traditional pumpkin, a turk's turban squash, green beans, okra, white eggplants (these gave the eggplant it's name), sweet potatoes, tomatoes, onion, banana peppers, cucumbers, green bell peppers, purple bell pepper and radishes.

Two weeks ago, I shared the recipe for pie using Cushaw Squash, which I've read can often be interchanged with pumpkin in recipes. But this weekend, I tried the vegan version of cushaw pie. Mine was a bit more like pudding, but very tasty nonetheless.

So, anyone have any good ideas for using up radishes?

Help Me Please!

Oh, I'm going bonkers! E's been waking up and crying - Way Too Early. We're talking 4:30, 5, 5:30. I don't get him earlier than 6. But he just keeps doing it! He'll cry for a very, very long time and not fall back asleep. We put him to bed at 8. He's always been an awesome sleeper, but he's been doing this now for a few weeks & I don't have any ideas! My Dr. said (a long time ago), that they just never get their children before the sun comes up. Ethan ALWAYS wakes up before the sun is up. Last night, we left a lamp on in his room. When he wakes up & starts crying, it's still dark out, so we thought maybe he'd look at books and fall back asleep. It's not working...

The Food We Love

We’re not vegetarians. Vegans either. I hope this doesn’t disappoint some, since people often think we are one of these things. I can understand why, since I talk often about why veggies are so great. But I thought I should set the record straight & explain why we eat what we do...

I cook meat at dinner about once a week. Ethan eats more meat than any of us, since I want to make sure he has adequate protein in his diet. That being said, we do eat a good portion of proteins from other sources, like beans & lentils.

We are eating less & less egg & dairy in our diets, due to our son’s food allergies. I continue to find great alternatives to staples like Mayonnaise, Butter, Frozen Pizzas & More. So many of the things I cook & we eat are – in fact – vegan.

Finally, I am definitely not standing any moral highground about what I eat. I battle an unhealthy affection towards sweets, and the 5 pounds I’ve gained since the Half Marathon is living proof. I hope my sharing my love of food does not come across as preachy or arrogant. I blog about my life – and eating is a big part of it!

Turkeys & Winter Share Orders from the Farm

If you would like a locally bred turkey for Thanksgiving, you can email my CSA farm, Avalon Acres, at farmer@avalon-acres.com. Cost is 12lb for $42, 14lb for $49, 16lb for $56 plus $25 deposit.

They are also now taking orders for Winter Share, which will consist of meats, eggs, baked goods, and canned goods. They will also take small selective orders over the winter, if you want to pick & choose. We've ordered free range chicken breasts from them, and they were great. The Amish breads & cinnamon rolls are also good. Call or email them with questions.

Storytime & Fake Cheese

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday, when a morning run to Wild Oats resulted in a fun little outing for us! Did you know that they have storytime, free snacks, and face painting? I must say, Storytime had nothing on the downtown library...But E got his first Chocolate (Soy) Milk, free cookies & a free Vegan Blueberry Muffin! What a sugar rush. They also gave us a 10% off coupon for our whole shopping trip, which I of course forgot to use.

In other news, I felt like a totally normal mom yesterday, because I made E a grilled cheese, (using Earth Balance instead of butter & rice cheese.) I've bought fake cheese before, and it was terrible. But going on a tip from a friend, I gave Vegan Rice Cheese a try. It was tasty!

The Farley Family

Many of you have already heard about The Farley Family's story. I knew Boothe from childhood, but have not seen her in years. That doesn't keep me from being touched by their story, however. They were diagnosed with Trisomy-18, months ago, meaning their baby would not survive long outside the womb. She carried the baby to term and Copeland was born a few weeks ago. She lived for one week, before going home to Heaven. I've been so encouraged by her family's faith and openness in the midst of such tragedy. You will be touched too. Make sure to watch the video that they showed at the funeral of their baby girl.

We'll Miss You, Brandon & Jana!

We bid farewell to our friends Brandon, Jana, Rowan & Skylar last week. Guys, I'll miss our park trips & dinner visits! We love you, but wish you all the best in TX!

Cushaw Squash Pie

You know what's surprisingly tasty? Pie made from Cushaw Squash is very nice & light. (photo from blog.fatfreevegan.com)

Here's the recipe for Cushaw Squash Pie. Yummy.

1 unbaked pie shell
2 1/2 cups cooked, mashed cushaw
1/4 cup cream
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
2 tablespoons butter

Stir together the mashed cushaw and cream; add beaten eggs. Mix well and add sugar, flour, salt, nutmeg, and allspice; mix well to blend. Blend in lemon extract and butter. Pour mixture into the prepared unbaked pie shell and bake at 450° for 10 minutes.

20+ Month Update

I can't believe how much E's vocabulary as grown since his 18 month checkup. I'd say he's got a few hundred words now (when he's in the mood to talk.) He's got great manners, saying "More Pees!" and "Ah Hue." (Thank You.) "Yes" and "Yeah" somehow become "Meh Mew" when it means "Yes Ma'am." I love you sounds more like "Aw've Hue!" and then there are the words that only a mother can translate, like his yummy "Choo Choos" (Cheerios), "Yo Yo" (Yogurt), and "Nee Nees" (Banana). His new words surprise us all the time!

$3K for Seed Project (And Vegan Recipe...)

A week of fundraising for The Seed Project is over, and about 7 parties raised around $1125 for GAIA and $2013 for Heifer Int'l. Saturday night, Jen celebrated her 30th b-day with a dose of generosity, asking $10 from each guest. Her mom dressed up her dog as a heifer & brought a cow cake!

We hosted a brunch on Saturday as part of the fundraising week. I forgot to take a picture of the event, but the remains are pictured above. I've been meaning to make Danielle's Breakfast Casserole, similar to this one. And the egg-dairy-free pancake recipe that Karina sent me. Both were EXCELLENT!

DAIRY/EGG-FREE FRUITY OATMEAL PANCAKES
1 cup oat flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup rice milk
3/4 cup pulp free orange juice
1 banana, mashed
10 strawberries, mashed
1/2 pint blueberries

Mix first 5 dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Mash your banana and strawberries together in a seperate bowl. Add whole blueberries, milk and OJ to the banana mix and stir together. Pour fruit mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until moist. Add more milk or juice if you like a thinner batter. Set batter aside for 10 minutes. Preheat your griddle to 350 degrees. Pour 1/4 cup batter on griddle and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes or until the bottom side is golden or the top of the pancake starts to bubble. Flip and cook on other side until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes. Serve with butter and syrup, honey or fresh fruit on top.

A Nice Southern Meal

all these peppers were from a month ago, but they are so beautiful i had to share. picture taken with the photo booth on mac, by the way!
Thanks to our CSA, we've been enjoying fresh okra, purple hull peas, green & red tomatoes, cushaw squash, cucumbers, corn kernels (for popping), spaghetti squash, Muscadine grapes (yum!), cantelope, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, sweet potatoes...and I think that's it! Last night's meal of peas, cornbread, fried okra, baked cushaw squash was just missing a little hamhock. (Although I don't even know what that is.) I cooked the spaghetti squash for some soup for tomorrow.

Autism & Action

Since so many people were interested in last week’s post about autism, I thought I’d share this info from Generation Rescue, about Biomedical Treatments. While this is in reference to treatments, I suspect that they would also theorize that these practices may prevent the onset of autism as well. Below are their four most important things to help heal. For the full article, click here.

Bring the toxin load down.
--Remove casein (dairy) and gluten (wheat) from the diet.
--Remove other food allergens from the diet.
--Get rid of bad food and sugar.
--Remove conventional household cleaners.
--Add a HEPA air filter to your child's room.
--Cook to keep toxins down.
--If your child needs dental work, never use "silver" fillings, as they contain mercury.
--If your child needs a vaccination, ensure they are Thimerosal-free.
--Don't renovate while you live at home.
-Use fluoride-free toothpaste.
Help the gut heal.
--Removal of Food Allergens, like dairy, wheat, soy, eggs & corn.
--Cod Liver Oil.
--Probiotics.
--Digestive Enzymes.
--Colostrum.
Get the nutrients up.
Get the toxins out.
--Chelation.
--Natural detoxifiers.

And to make things even more confusing, the CDC says today that there is no link between vaccines & autism.

Where We Eat

You've seen the dining room, now here's our kitchen & breakfast nook!a little wall of chalkboard paint is alot of fun.

And here are some of the interesting things about an old house - I think it's a built-in flour sifter & pastry board...

Squash & Goggles

Well, if it works for Heather & Jodi, then I thought I'd give it a go. And what do you know? Goggles really help out when cutting onions! Unfortunately, I got them from the dollar store and they broke immediately after I took them off.
Okay, new question...Anyone know if this squash is edible or decorative? I have no idea what to do with it. Please excuse the silliness.

Note: After a little research, I think this is a Cushaw squash.

Ducky

Two years ago, I did not know what a "lovie" was. But when E. was 3 months old, we struggled with naptime & worked on getting him a regular schedule. We tried everything & discovered that what worked best was this cute little "Ducky" that we received from Frances before his birth. To this day, he loves to curl up with it when he goes to bed. Whenever we see a sight like the one above, it's surely time to take a nap! If you don't have kids, make a mental note that you should definitely get yourself a lovie if/when you have kids!

Yard Sale Totals

Our group yard sale made $2,350 for Made in the Streets, which is hoping to start a program for Young Mothers. Here is one of the stories of a woman they met recently...

New mother Ann, who had given birth three weeks earlier by herself, she bled out a whole lot, and was so weak afterwards that she did not eat for three days. The baby was premature, a lot premature. Ann’s feet were so swollen that her flip flops would not fit and she could hardly walk.

You could tell that the baby was small by the size of the head, but with all of the clothes and blankets you could not see anything else. We took the baby in a room to unwrap the baby in order to check the umbilical cord and outer health of the baby. I have never seen anything like that in my life. I have seen premature babies, but not like that. It is literally skin and bones. There is nothing there. The skin hangs off the body like an older person because it has nothing to wrap around. I was so nervous holding the baby because I felt the bones would just crumble. A baby like that should be in the hospital, not out in the cold weather. The infant also had a boil and open wounds on his hands. The mother had the boy covered up so much that no air was getting to any part of the body except the face. Not to mention the fact that the clothes were also wet. We cleaned the boy off, washed away all the feces, put on a diaper and new clothes, and wrapped him in a new blanket.

Someone paid to take Ann and her baby to the hospital. This just happened a few days ago, and it’s not yet known if the baby will live. This is just one of the many harsh realities of so many in impoverished countries. This mother doesn’t have money for food or shelter, but when she does get milk the baby cannot even eat.

Autism on the Rise

Is anyone else scared silly about the rise of autism? Get this...In 1992, 1 in 3,000 had autism. Now, ONE IN 92 BOYS develops it. Yesterday's Oprah featured 2 celeb moms with autistic sons. Both developed normally, but then began to "disappear" and stop interacting, chattering, smiling, etc.

I don't know what to do with this scary statistic. Especially since my son has food allergies, which is often referenced together in the same breath.

Hannah gives her son cod liver oil. Karina is spacing out her child's MMR shots. I guess for starters, I will begin reading Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies. Next, I'm looking into spacing our our next immunizations. There is no research to back up that it's the cause, but so many have a gut instinct that tells them otherwise.

Anyone else have any articles to share, or any tactics that you're pursuing to fight this?