Wigs

I went to get some hair accessories today for my Halloween costume. As I left, they kept telling me to come back & see them. And to tell my friends about their shop. "Tell all your friends. We have wigs for white girls!" So here I am, telling you wonderful men & women. Don't forget about Beauty Mart for all your white-girl-wig-hair-needs.

It was funny...but my heart goes out to small business owners like these guys who obviously are needing more business! So seriously, next time you need a new wig...

Boys

Last Friday, Heather & I took our boys to the local outlet to buy them new shoes. It was the first time they had someone their age riding alongside in the car. They really enjoyed themselves, swapping toys back & forth. The mall became a bit tiring, and they wound up laying in the floor of a store, as seen here...

Fall Recipes - Apples, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin

As much as I loved the beauty of the long island cheese pumpkin, I was getting hungry. So it became soup.I've gotta say - I'm really getting into the seasonal cooking thing. I've been preparing so much from scratch. This is my first time to make pumpkin puree.
And the rest went in the freezer. Plus some seeds+salt in the oven for some tasty pumpkin seeds. On last week's menu...

CURRIED APPLE SOUP
4 Macintosh apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon butter (or Earth Balance!)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree [or fresh!]
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 teaspoon white sugar

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, curry, and cumin; saute, stirring often, until onion is soft and fragrant. Stir in apples, pumpkin, broth, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Puree in food processor/blender. Return soup to saucepan; reheat, covered over low heat.

SWEET POTATO APPLE SCALLOP (a much lighter alternative to S.P. Casserole)
2 pounds sweet potatoes
2 medium apples, peeled and cored
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
2 tablespoons butter, margarine (or Earth Balance!)

Place sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool. Peel potatoes and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place in a 13 x 9 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cut apples into 1/4-in. rings; cut in half. Arrange over sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine the brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and orange extract; sprinkle over apples. Dot with butter. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until apples are tender.

More Cars

We told you how cars were big around here, right? Well, they are still big. I came in the breakfast room the other day to find e. had lined up all the cars in a little circle. Almost all were facing the same way, too! Guess he takes after his dad!

Got a Car? Then, You're Rich

800 Million People Won't Eat Today. 300 Million of them are Kids. This video is short, and worth a watch. It's a clip from "Rich" by Ron Bell.

Fair Trade Month

Since October is Fair Trade Month, I wanted to share a few online retailers to get you started early on your Christmas shopping! Fair Trade means that farmers and craftsman get paid fare wages, have good working conditions and can lift themselves out of poverty. Here are some awesome gifts that you’ll feel great about buying.

Poplin Sheath Dress from FairIndigo.com
Beaded Strand Necklace from WorldofGood.com
Embroidered Tree of Life from Ten Thousand Villages
or some Chocolates, Coffee or Tea, from aGreaterGift.org

Safe Halloween Treats

I wanted to share this safe list for Halloween Candy, that came from AllergyMoms.com. Here are a few from the list. Of course, you are always supposed to double check the ingredient list to be sure nothing has changed. You might want to stock some of these for trick-or-treaters like E! And here's another allergy-safe list, from SureFoodsLiving.com

AllerEnergy Chocolate Chip Bars
Apple Slices
Applesauce cups, Dole Fruit Cups
Bazooka bubble gum, Big League Chew, Bubble Tape
Blow pops
Candy Necklace and Watch
Divvies - Gum Balls, Jelly Beans, Popcorn, Rock Candy
Dum dums
Ener-G Wheat Free Pretzels
Enjoy Life - 2 cookie pack and Snack Bars
Fritos original corn chips
FruitaBu organic smooshed fruit snacks
Gobstoppers
Jolly ranchers
Life Savers Gummies, 5 Flavor Roll Candy
Marshmallow ghosts, cats, and pumpkins (Peeps)
Nerds
Skittles
Smarties (US version)
Starburst
Tortilla Chips

Flu Vaccinations

Today we've got the 22 month checkup, which usually would include our flu vaccination, due to the time of year we're visiting. We got the shot last year, but since I'm now super-nervous about vaccinations, I don't know what to do. They've told me that the shot is not preservative-free, but it has "no more mercury than a can of tuna." Well, Ethan doesn't eat cans of tuna either, so I'm just not sure whether or not to get him the vaccination.

In related news, Amy (whose son is on the casein-free, gluten-free diet) has a local dr. who is a DAN! specialist and will space out the MMR!

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!