Organizing Boy

Bran loves to throw his food on the floor while eating. Partly because he likes throwing things on the floor, and partly because I think he likes to eat the food later.

Apparently, he seems to also like to organize the food, even if it is cheerios in the laundry basket.

Tahitian Coconut Chicken

Filed under Coconut and Chicken. Which of course are right
 beside each other in the "C" Section.

I've been cooking and baking for years, and so I get the milk mixture first, and then the coconut. But what is the point of the orange juice. I used the required amount (1 cup), and by the end, the orange juice had not lowered at all in the bowl, while the milk mixture was almost gone. Why would you not put the orange juice with the milk mixture. Or perhaps use a quarter the amount of orange juice, and sprinkle it over the chicken while baking.

Also, I used 2 cups of coconut, but I would probably use 3 cups next time. I only used 3 lbs of chicken pieces (which is still a LOT of chicken), and I ran out of coconut. We served this with rice, and it made enough for Robb and I to have 2 dinners, and 3 lunches. It might have made another lunch or dinner, but when it was first made I kept snacking on the pieces, and when Robb got home, he was snacking off it too. The butter and coconut together made an amazing, to die-for combination.

Gramma loved using butter. I think that her mantra was the more butter the better. When she cooked chicken thighs in her oven (using the cast-iron frying pan method) she'd add butter.

Ingredients
4 lbs chicken - cut up
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 tsp. salt
1 cup orange juice
3 cups unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 cups butter
4 oranges, peeled and sectioned

Directions

Mix together eggs, milk and salt. Coat chicken with this mixture. Dip chicken into orange juice and coat with coconut. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

 

Melt butter in baking pan and arrange chicken in pan. Baste with butter and bake in 400 F oven uncovered for 1/2 hour. Turn chicken bake for another 1/2 hour or until chicken is tender.

 

Serve hot, garnished with orange pieces.

Serves 6-8.

Rice Pudding

A little story about rice pudding, me and Gramma. It's kind of like apples, me and Gramma. We got along like oil and water. I still cannot eat a whole apple, believe me, I try. It's almost like my body/soul forces me to stop. Plus the texture of raw apples just doesn't appeal to me.

I think that Gramma enjoyed making foods, and then forcing me to eat it. And because Gramma and I enjoyed annoying each other (I think, who knows, I was 5 at the time!) I would refuse. Or maybe this happened after the bone fish incident - she promised me there would be no bones. Believe me, the walls and the ceiling after the meal proved otherwise!

Years later, I tried rice pudding, and I like it. Years later as in about a year ago. One of the neighbours brought Robb and I a dinner for us shortly after Bran was born. It had a full chicken that was cooked to perfection, squash and a delicious quinoa salad. For dinner there was this amazing baked rice pudding. It was at that point I found out that Robb LOVES rice pudding. Never knew that, probably because I had never made it. I had a couple bites, and then a couple more. We polished that sucker off in 2 days. It was a massive bowl of rice pudding!

Since then I've made a couple batches of rice pudding - which Robb has enjoyed. But when I was organzing Gramma's recipe box yesterday, I found her rice pudding recipe, and knew I had to try it.

Ingredients
1 cup seedless raisins
1 cup cooked rice
3 cups milk
1 Tblsp. butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions
Place raisins and cooked rice in lightly butter, deep 6 cup baking dish.

Rice and Raisins - Bran's favourites!

Heat milk and butter to scalding. Not scolding, as Robb kept saying I should do.

Lightly beat together eggs, sugar and vanilla.

Gradually stir in heated milk.

Pour over raisins and rice. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Set in shallow pan. Surround with 1" - 1 1/2" hot water. Bake in 350 F oven for 1 hour.

Serves 6.

Bye bye food

So Bran was eating lunch today, and not really having fun with it. He still isn't totally happy.

We offered him tons of food he likes but he refused all of it, except rice puffs and raisins. One of the foods that was on his mat was some little tomatoes. He took them and dropped them one by one on the floor.

Then he picked up a raisin, and I said if he dropped the raisin, he'd have to say bye bye to the food. So he dropped the raisin and waved bye bye.

Think he understands us???

MEAT - Beef Stew, with beer & mushroom

 I love her handwriting. It gets me every time.

When I first got Gramma's recipes, my Mom said to me that I would now be in charge of the stews. Totally fine with that. But then we found out that I had Celiac, so I tried other recipes. (The best was this beef
bourguignon that I found in a beef pamphlet at Save-on-Foods.)

The original

Gramma's first two, and my copy.
I think I cried on mine.

And then Robb found me Gluten Free beer. It's super delicious... of course someone who isn't on this ridiculous food limiting diet may not think so, but I'd like to believe it tastes just like normal beer!

Anyway, this stew is, as the recipe card states, 'delicious!'

Ingredients
3 lbs beef (cut into 2" cubes)
1 Tblsp vegetable oil
4 Tblsp butter
4 cups thinly sliced onions
2 cloves garlic, mashed and chopped
1 5 ounce can tomato paste
2 tsp salt
1 Tblsp crushed thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf (I used 2)
3 cups beer (or two bottles)
1 lb fresh mushrooms, quartered
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Brown meat in oil and a 1 Tblsp butter. Place in casserole dish.

Brown onions & garlic in rest of butter for 5 minutes. Stir in seasonings, beer and tomato paste. Pour over beef in casserole.

I added some of the mushrooms before the first 90 minute bake.
I'm sure Gramma would have smacked me over the the head with a
dishcloth or oven mitt for that one!

Place in 350 F oven for 90 minutes, cover lightly. Stir in mushrooms and cover again - back to the oven for 30 minutes.

Right after we took it from the oven. It reduces a lot. I feel like
I should add more liquid.

Serve over noodles or rice (or potatoes). Sprinkle with parsley. Delicious!

Serves 6.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I think of cookies and Gramma, I don't automatically think of Chocolate Chip. I instead think of icebox cookies. I'm sure I'll find a recipe of one in this box. Probably a lemon rind one or something equally gross. I have never been a fan of icebox cookies. Especially after I've made them. So when I do make them, they won't be Gluten Free.

Anyway, Robb has been bugging me for cookies for awhile, and I've been promising them to him for probably longer than he's been asking, and today I finally decided to do it. Mainly because Robb took Bran out for a walk to Bran's Gramma's house, and that meant I was alone for awhile. Robb doesn't like nuts in cookies, and he usually doesn't like me putting "healthy" things like oats in them, but he approved after I brought him a fresh cookie.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour (3/4 cup sorghum flour, 1/2 cup white rice flour, 1/4 cup corn starch, 1/3 cup teff flour, 1 1/2 Tblsp brown rice flour + 1 tsp xanthum gum)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips ( I did 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet and 1/4 cup white chocolate chips)
3/4 cup oats (or 1 cup chopped nuts, I used oats because of choice)

Directions
In large bowl, cream together butter and shortening; gradually beat in both sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt; blend into creamed mixture.

Stir in chips and oats (or nuts). Chill for 1/2 hour. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet, or cookie sheet with liner. Flatten slightly to 1/2 inch. Bake in 375 F oven for 10-12 minutes.

Cookies are ready to be removed from oven when edges are browned and slight slighty underdone in centre.

Let stand on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to rack to cool completely. Take one to husband who is trying to put new speakers in your car.

 

Recipes from Gramma Joan

My Grandmother, Joan, died awhile ago. The loss of her was felt upon all of us in the family, especially when it came to cooking. My Gramma was a great cook. She never really thought so, but so many of my memories of her have to do with food. Whether it was watching the Olympics eating chicken wings cooked just so in a cast iron frying pan, or having a family dinner with the cooked cold broccoli dipped in Italian Dressing, or the stew... oh my goodness, her stew. I think my mother still has dreams about the stew. There really isn't a lot that can top a good Gramma Joan Beef Stew.

When she died we had to clean up her apartment, and for whatever reason I ended up with most of her kitchen items, including the coveted stew recipe - which was in a little white recipe box. I also ended up with her knitting "recipe" box. I think it's called patterns but either way, it was in the same kind of white box, and had the same kind of 3.5" x 5" recipe cards, and it was written in the same way as her recipes, so in some way they were recipes. Foot Mitten Recipes... doesn't that sound delicious?

I've been trying to find a way to actually go through and use her recipes, but there are so many, and reading her hand written recipe for how to cook Brown Rice is still a little difficult. Also, I think that it would be good to transfer a lot of her recipe's digitally, as the cards are starting to show a bit of age.

Brown Rice: Mexican Style (There is one that shows how to cook
PLAIN Brown Rice)

Over the years I've added my own recipes, and it's always easy to see which ones are mine, as I rarely used white cards.

So my plan is to start using her recipes. I'll have to adapt a lot, as I cannot eat gluten, and my Grandma LOVED flour. So, when I put the recipe I'll put what I used, but just understand that it's been changed somewhat.

A boy and a sandbox

I always loved sandboxes. More the idea of sandboxes than the actual sandbox itself, as the sand always bugged my hands. Still does. I hate the feeling of dry hands because of sand. I love beaches, but am always wanting to clean my hands in the water. My son does not have the same aversion as me.

As we have a cat, I had to come up with an idea for a sandbox where the cat would not go in and do his business. So I bought a large plastic container, that has a lid that can be clicked shut. Then I put a couple shovelfuls of sand (that a friend brought over for the purpose of stuccoing our walls), and added some cars and measuring cups. I have a lot of measuring cups, and decided to donate a few to the cause.

He has been enjoying playing in the sandbox - which will one day become a sand table when I have a chance to get to the workshop and create one. I took care of another little boy awhile ago, and he showed Bran some new ideas of how to play in a sandbox. Mainly, dumping the sand out, but a lot of it was taking the trucks and cars and driving them along the ladder and then back to the sandbox. So that added a whole new aspect of play.

Today, with the crisp fall air upon us, I decided to add some extra things to the sandbox. This may annoy me later when I want them out, but for now it's okay. I put in some crunchy leaves and some flower petals from the very few flowers that are still blooming. He then spent a good 5-10 minutes taking the leaves and putting them in the measuring cups, and then taking them out.

Leaves and flowers

Little hands

A present for Mom. (Or Dudu as
 he calls me and EVERYTHING)

Sitting in the sandbox is a lot more fun than
 sitting on the grass

Happy Autumn

Bran loves playing in the leaves, but was a little leery
about the camera!

The fall season is upon us and Bran has found some things he loves. Looking for deer, playing in the sand, and crunching leaves.

I've been babysitting (child minding?) a friend's child once a week. He is 5 weeks younger than Bran, and the two of them seem to love/hate playing together. They follow each other around the house and blabber to each other in baby talk, and then if one of them gets too close to the other, a smack usually happens. It can be either party, so it's not just my little brute that is handing out the smacks!

My favourite part about watching these two together is when they start looking at books. It honestly looks like they are reading together.

Bran shows E the white 'Dau' 

E shows Bran that his Mamma is a teacher.

E and Bran take turns reading. (Or is
that just grabbing the book?)

Peaches and Peas

It's hard to know if Brandon actually likes these things, or just likes feeding himself. Either way, he's eating peas and peaches like they are going out of style. Mixed in with a healthy (unhealthy?) amount of raisins and rice puffs.

I think that lunch should be snacky foods, and he seems to enjoy that. Breakfasts he eats cereal and a fruit, and for dinner he'll have an "entree." (He's had blended lasagne the last few nights, and will have it it one more night, tonight.)

Brandon had a lot of fun playing naked today. I asked him "Do you want to be naked for a bit?" and he nodded. To double check that he doesn't just nod at EVERYTHING, I asked "Do you want to wear your do-dot (diaper) instead?" and he shook his head. So got it, naked it is.