ah, blog.

Hello there, you pretty little blog, in all your neglected glory. 

Long abscence, thy name is stomach flu.  We’ve all been passing it around for a few weeks, which has just been a blast.  I mean, as plagues go, this one was a real party.  But, as always, the good times had to end.  Thank God. 

So, back to business.  I have been working on some new mirrors for a shop update and maybe some retail, if I can get my act together, and in doing so have stumbled upon a great idea that has commanded all the creative thought power of my brain for at least 3 days.  Which is a lot, for me.  That’s all I’m going to say about it for now.  I know.  CLIFFHANGER!  Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of Heather’s Big IDEEEEEAAAAAA. 

Hey!  If you live around here, consider signing up for one of my awesome classes at the yarn shop!  Or, if you live far, fly in for one of my classes at the yarn shop!  I’ll bring you some home-baked gluten free dairy free yum yums if you do that!  And a big, sloppy kiss! 

(scroll down on the page and look for Heather- the classes are kid’s crochet and baby ball) 

MMMMM’kay… also!  I will be guest blogging here later this week (tomorrow) about stores in Hampden (my ‘hood) who carry mafia members’ work.  It will include tips from shop owners on how to strike into the retail market.  My fellow mafioso have been adding some really awesome content over there, so do check it out.  Yo.

Later, dudes.  ‘Cause you’re all surfers in my head. 

Look what I did!

ETSY shop update!  Woo-hoo!   Go me! 

There’s more to come on Friday, including postcard sets and baby hats! 

sniff.

Ugh.  Zander and I are down again with some sort of flu-type bug.  I wish I could write some witty banter here to keep you entertained, but I need all my energy to cook all the food for today and wash the dishes.  Please, powers that be, heal us before tomorrow morning so that Zander can go to school, because I am convinced I shall never be well without some sort of break. 

I have a draft product review and mafia guest blogging this week, should the atmospheric conditions of heavy brain fog clear… stay tuned! 

*Product Review* Bob’s Wonderful Homemade GF Bread Mix

My friend Patricia was over here the other day, helping me get through all the notes on supplement dosages for Zander.  She heard a sound in the kitchen. 

“Is that a bread-maker or something?”

“I wish it was, but no, we don’t have one.  That was the dishwasher.” 

“Oh.  Do you want one? I have one in my trunk you can have.”

And with the planets aligned, we got a bread machine.  Amazing, no?  I just so happened to have a package of bread mix I’d been meaning to make, but the thought of adding more processes to the super computer assembly line that is my every day was too much.  And so, it sat.  Until now!  Huurah! 

 

<photo from bob’s website, see link below>

Product Name: Bob’s Gluten Free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix (Best Product Name EVER)

Bought from: Donated from someone giving up GFCF diet (Woo!)

Price: Retails for $4.49 per one pound package OR $16.16 for a 4-pc case on Bob’s website

 

I followed the recipe on the back of the package for a bread machine loaf.  I used melted coconut oil (has yeast-fighting properties) for the fat, and Hemp milk for the liquid.  I went ahead and used the egg called for, as we haven’t seen a problem with them as of yet. I added the liquids (beaten well) to the machine’s reservoir, then the mix on top, topped with the yeast from the included packet.  Snapping the lid closed with a satisfying ”klunk”, I chose the options for our loaf (size, cycle, crust color), and sat back to wait for the loaf to be finished.  Meaning, I went to the sink to get the afternoon’s 2 hours of dishes washed just in time to dirty them all for dinner.  Wheee! 

3 hours later, the loaf was finished.  I was in awe.  I spoke softly to the bread machine, whispering sweet nothings about its fantastical abilities to provide nourishing sustenance for my family.  This would be a good place to mention Orlando Bloom, given the whispering of sweet nothings, but I’ve promised that I won’t beat the dead horse that is my enduring love for he who is more beautiful than any living creature should be, for fear that the others will attack him in an attempt to extract the elixir of his supremacy.  So I won’t mention it.   

We’ve been eating cinnamon toast at breakfast for a week- it has been blisssssss.  This bread is so good!  It has a perfect crumb, a lovely clean yeast-y taste, and a great crust.  My only complaint is that you don’t get that ‘I am so cool that I bake my own bread’ smell filling up your home with the bread machine.  So, I just tell everyone that I am, indeed, that cool. 

Here’s some (bad, sorry) images of our lunch today, peanut butter and sour cherry jam. 

 

<hopelessly adorable children not included in bread mix>

But, you don’t have to take our word for it- Rachel tried some as she was sitting on my babies last night, and she proclaimed it as good as gluten filled bread.  And so it shall be known.  Buy it!  Make it!  Let the crumbs fall where they may! 

 

bulls eye!

Yesterday, I was on the phone with my friend Fatima.  We were talking about life, and she said she wanted things in my etsy shop so she could buy them.  I love Fatima. 

The problem is, my everyday drudgery is keeping me from working- I even have pieces made, but it’s not as quick as it seems to list on etsy.  At least, not for me.  Most of what I make is in its own category, with its own description, etc.  So, I ask ye crafters in the bunch, how do you streamline this process?  I’ve thought about writing general copy and saving it in a Word file… ?  I am hopeless in this capacity!  Any comments would be greatly appreciated. 

BUT!  I did complete some crafting (sort of) yesterday, inspired by the Teemers.  Sage has this adorable apple green pair of pants (hand-me-downs, of course) that were ready to retire to Florida- they’d had a good life, made good investment choices, etc.  I thought I’d patch them to buy a few more months out of them.  I don’t support ageism. 

 

I had some great scraps gifted from one of my mafia pals (thanks, Becca!), including this mod canvas that I thought would be perfect.  I am loving spring green with bright pinks lately- perhaps my friend Kristen’s wedding colors are bleeding into my palette awareness. 

Hooray, I finished something!  More cooking/reviewing to come later this week.  Happy MLK day! 

Surely, this is the only time…

…I’ve ever wished I was a Nepalese orphan. 

More reason to love Orly. 

Not that I needed any, mind you. 

new directions

Well, I thought I’d start fresh for the brand spankin’ new year with a new theme.  You like? 

 I’m also taking this opportunity to unveil a new category of posts for the blog- I’m going to start reviewing products I’ve tried on the Gluten Free Casein Free diet.  If I see enough traffic, I’ll go ahead and separate this feature into another blog, but in the meantime, I’m gonna keep it small.  I do know that it’s really frustrating to put out a lot of moolah for a product and then find all its shortcomings after it’s too late.  However, here’s a tip: if you’ve bought an offending product from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, they might take it back if your child rejects it, or if you find an ingredient that your child doesn’t tolerate (or stops tolerating before you can use the product).  Whole Foods especially makes it easy to get your precious money back. 

So, let’s get to it!

 

(photo from the efoodpantry.com site)

Product Name:  Orgran Gluten Free Pizza & Pastry Multimix

Bought at: efoodpantry.com

Price: $4.29, plus shipping of $8.38 on about a $22 order

Orgran is an Aussie company that has received good press from the autism superstar mom, Jenny McCarthy, so I thought I’d give this product (as well as a couple others) a try.  In general, I prefer to cook from scratch, but this mix had so many possible options for preparation, it beckoned to me with its multimix splendor of possible choices.  I probably should have gone with my gut…

 I made “scones”, following the instructions on the box.  I used 2 egg whites, beaten, and instead of water, I used half coconut milk and half water.  I also didn’t have a scone pan (Have you ever used a scone pan? Not me…), so I just arranged the dough the way I always do when making scones (and I’ve made lots of scones, we go wayyy back)- patting the dough into a circle, cutting the individuals apart, then sliding them apart ever so slightly, as in, how far apart I’d be from Orlando Bloom, whilst I interview him for an important GFCF product review.  Not far. 

Sorry, eating these scones must have pushed me right into a daydream to avoid thinking about the chalky lack of crumb in my mouth.  Can you guess how they turned out?  I baked them at the suggested temperature, for the 20 minutes called for (which seemed nutty as well, again, based on my past scone-related escapades), and they came out looking like… well, like this:

 

I forgot to mention that I sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar before I popped them in the oven.  That’s not the one that got dropped on the floor, I promise.  That one’s on the bottom of the pile. 

So, they’re white as the light at the end of the tunnel, but less hopeful.  They’re as dense as my Vanagon Bus used to be when all my friends needed a designated driver to and from Fells Point, and they are devoid of crumb entirely.  I could talk about the taste, except it was as though taste entered another dimension, leaving me no way to describe it, even using the most colorful metaphor.  The cinnamon sugar on top was delicious, as was the jam the children and I slathered all over the top, sides, and bottoms of these, in order to choke them down.  Which, we all did.  I have such good kids. 

Now, I might have done something wrong, but either way, I prefer to make scones from scratch.  I’m still developing a very yummy scone variety for the cookbook I’m writing (tease, tease!)…

Thanks for tuning in, if you like this feature, leave a comment, and if you’re Orlando Bloom, please know that I will always bake from scratch when you come to visit.

new year’s gem

sage and i have been sitting here at the computer, catching up on craft blogs and discussing the best things about our special new year’s eve dessert (a tiny yellow cake with dark chocolate icing). 

 sage: “so, what do we do tomorrow?”

me: “well, we’ll have a nice breakfast of butternut squash pancakes, and then maybe we’ll go for a nice long walk.”

s: “oh, yes, let’s do that, i think.  can we go to the dog park?”

m: “sure, we can go there.  then, later, we’ll eat some lentils and sausages, because that’s what you do when you’re italian, and we’re italian.”

s: “no, mom.  i don’t want to be italian at all.”

m: “what do you mean?  you can’t really change that, i’m afraid.”

s: “no, i just want to stay a meat eater, ok?”

happy 2008! 

merry merry merry

happy holidays, everyone.  i hope you’re spending time with loved ones, not feeling too commercial, good stuff.  feeling good. 

i’m working on that, too.  the commercial part is pretty easy when you have little money.  everyone’s getting homemade presents, and the kids are getting one big present from me.  they’ll be spoiled beyond belief by all their other family anyway. 

zander has been pretty ancy (sp?) lately.  i think he’s taking a cue from my stress.  i’m working on making time for myself, and not just to read more message boards, books, and blog posts about autism.  i need to unwind just for me, as i can see how it’s affecting him. 

we’ve just begun some glutathione cream with him, as well, if you’re an autism mom, and have used this, any tips in the comments would be most appreciated (i.e.- morning or night?  tops of feet, or someplace else?). 

merry christmas everyone.  see you on the other side. 

update

hey everyone.  i love all the christmassy cheer i’m seeing on everyone’s blogs, and i especially love how honest everyone has been about feeling stressed, and not getting all their handcrafted gifts crossed off the list just yet. 

we’ve been cheery around here, too, although i have no pictures no prove it.  i’ve gotten a few of my church responsibilities for the season crossed off the list, i’m almost finished craft shows for the month, and i’ve got all my plans laid for the family visiting. 

still, most days i feel like all i do is cook, wash dishes, and soothe a screaming, yeast-die-off boy.  oh, and protect his sister from his wrath.  that’s a big one.  i know it will pass, but it is truly the hardest thing to watch your child obviously in pain and be able to do nothing to ease that pain.  i got him started on enzymes, olive leaf extract, cod liver oil, b-12, spectrum support multivitamins, grapefruit seed extract… there’s about 4 or 5 more things, but i’m not remembering them all right now.  i was so lucky to meet a local autism super mom (thanks, patricia!) who’s supplied me with all these things and the guidance i needed to get them all started.  it’s mind-boggling, people. 

zander’s iep meeting is tomorrow morning, and i’m hoping it will be uneventful, and he’ll get the placement i want for him.  i’m going to ask for home ABA programming, too, but i’m less sure we’ll get that. 

he’s still going strong on the diet, as are sage and i- i actually thought i’d let sage eat “regular” food at our Christmas dinner last week (lasagna and garlic bread- the worst possible meal!), and i did, too, and boy- did we ever pay for it.  no more infractions for us- poor sage looked as though she had two black eyes the next day, and we both felt like crap.  they are still have infractions at theid dad’s house, and i’m hearing arguments right now for (and against, in my own head) keeping them with me full time and/or sending all their food with them (which wouldn’t exactly solve the problem anyway). 

oh, also, my landlord (remember how i just moved into a rental in September?) called me the other day to tell me that she’s putting the house back on the market with a realtor, and she’s found 3 interested parties.  she wanted to know if i wanted to be included in the interested parties.  she’s asking way too much for this house, with all its shoddy rehab-related quirks.  i do not want to move again.  do.  not.  want. 

we also signed up to deliver for meals on wheels this week, which starts later today.  i’ve always found it easier to get out of my own pity party by helping others.  sage is really excited about it, too. 

so, wrap up- things are hard, things are good, things are moving.  i think that’s about all i could hope for at this point.  right?