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    10 months old + Normalcy

    September 5th, 2012


    So it feels like our life is settling a bit for having moved in just a month ago. I think I put a speed track to it because I HATE having boxes around. I have a claustrophobia issue and well who likes feeling boxed in anyway?

    We got to visit daddy at his new office at the university. I showed Julianne around even though it was quite past her bed time.


    Julianne has been very much enjoying our new home. She has so much more space to roam and discover despite a few tumbles. I am teaching her about the little step from our entrance. Showing her and teaching her depth of perception is really neat. I figure if she bonks her head twice it is enough to figure it out. I love seeing her process it all!

    We have a dairy / creamery farm right across from where we live so I decided to take Julianne to see the farm animals. She loved putting together the sounds of her farm toys to the real animals. It was really neat to see her take it all in.


    Another neat thing we have in our area is a farmer’s market. It is a little pricier than the ones in Michigan but they are unique. There was even a food truck that was featured on Food Network!

    They had gluten-free, vegan and regular cupcakes.I purchased their Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcake that was egg-free since they ran out of all vegan cupcakes. I took it home and shared it with Ryan. It was super delicious. I cannot wait to try some of their other flavors earlier in the day.

     We obviously were having a great time despite it being humid and hot. It was nice to have an outing from being cooped in our home. There were several instrumentalists playing which intrigued Julianne.

    Our Julianne turned 10 months this past weekend and she has been standing up and wanting to stand on he rown for the past 3 weeks. She is gaining lots of strength too! This toy plays music and car instructions in English and Spanish. She loves it!


    Julianne also has a big appetite. I gather this is from her continuous growth spurts but she happened to find a bag of goodies in her diaper bag and proceeded to tear it open and eat it. We are having all kinds of adventures. Every day is a new day and I thank God for the opportunity to raise this child

    Don’t forget to enter the weekly Whole Grains giveaway!


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    Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls with Lime Icing / Whole Grains Giveaway

    September 4th, 2012

    September is whole grains month and as you have noticed I have been posting recipes that include spelt flour. I have been very much been enjoying yummy products from Nature’s Legacy including their spelt pastas and their whole wheat and white spelt flour.

    I have been using Vita-Spelt flour for the past 2 weeks and I have to say that I am a convert. My husband is too even though he does not know it. He has enjoyed everything I have baked and cooked for him from the Veggie Spelt Pasta down to the Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread.

    Why do I like spelt? I feel like it satisfies me longer and when I bake with it, the baked goods turn out to be a lot more moist even when using the whole wheat spelt flour.

    Last week our neighbors decided we should exchange baked goods. They brought us over a delicious carrot cake and we took them over these Raspberry Lime Cinnamon Rolls. Yes, I kept some so I could make sure they turned out.


    These were so delicious and very unique in flavor. I have never used spelt flour for cinnamon rolls but I am convinced that they taste so much better. I used the whole grain spelt flour and both my husband and I really enjoyed them warm with a big cup of coffee.


    The big plus? Our neighbors enjoyed it too and they did not know they were eating spelt! I am so glad to have neighbors that love baking and cooking. I see many exchanges in our future. 

    These cinnamon rolls require no yeast and are quick to make. I totally did this by mistake because I realized I did not have any yeast in the house. I modified my recipe for Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls and created these beautiful Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls with Lime Icing.



    The recipe required a bit more flour than the original only because pumpkin puree is a lot thicker than raspberry puree.

    Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls with Lime Icing

    by Noelle Kelly
    Prep Time: 20-25 min
    Cook Time: 30 minutes

    Ingredients (15 rolls)

      Dough

      • 1/3 cup warm So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk
      • 1/2 cup raspberry puree
      • 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed meal + 6 Tbsp water (equals 2 eggs)
      • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree, either fresh or canned
      • 2 Tablespoons melted Earth Balance buttery spread
      • 2 2/3 cups Vita-Spelt whole grain flour + more for rolling
      • 3 teaspoons baking powder
      • 3/4 cup brown sugar
      • 1 teaspoon salt
      • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

      Filling

      • 4 Tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread, softened
      • 2/3 cups brown sugar
      • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
      • 1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped (optional)

      Icing

      • 4 ounces Tofutti cream cheese, softened
      • 1 teaspoon lime extract
      • 2 cups powdered sugar
      • 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
      Instructions
      In a small bowl, mix flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes.

      To make raspberry puree: Take 1 to 1 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen raspberries and and blend in processor or Vitamix. If you blend in Vitamix you do not have to strain. If you use food processor you will have to use a sieve to remove seeds.

      Add milk, raspberry puree, melted butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes. Stir to combine well.

      Gradually add spelt flour until you have a dough stiff enough to knead. Start with about 1 1/2 cups and increase. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.

      Roll out dough on a floured surface. Roll into a 16″ x 12″ rectangle.

      Combine filling ingredients in a bowl. Spread over dough until evenly covered.

      Roll the dough into a log the long way; it’ll stretch to about 20″ long as you roll. Using a very sharp knife, slice the log into 15 slices. In order to cut down on drag, it helps to rinse the blade in hot water, and wipe it off, between slices. Place slices in a greased 9×13 inch baking pan (or in two 8 or 9 inch round cake or pie pans).

      Bake in a preheated oven of 375 degrees for 25-30 mins. Meanwhile prepare the lime icing.

      While rolls bake, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Add the cream cheese, lime extract, milk to a small food processor or use an immersion blender. Blend until smooth and combined. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, blending in between, until well mixed and desired consistency is reached.

      Remove rolls from oven and let cool for 10-15 min before icing the rolls.
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      So how about a giveaway? Since it is Whole Grains month Nature’s Legacy has decided to donate some goodies . There will be a chance for ONE winner to win weekly so stayed tuned next week for another giveaway and spelt recipe.

      What have they included in their giveaway goodie bag?

      One winner will have a choice of each:

      • One type of granola
      • Whole Wheat Pasta and White Pasta
      • Small Bag of Whole Spelt Flour
      This giveaway is open to US readers only!

      a Rafflecopter giveaway

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      Secret Recipe Club: Stuffed Poblanos and Orange Smoothies

      September 3rd, 2012



      Maybe you thought I forgot about the Secret Recipe Club but I actually opted out in August because we were in the middle of moving. Luckily I was right about having time in September. I have been cooking A LOT in our new kitchen and I hardly have time to post!


      This month I was assigned to Nichole’s blog called The Cookaholic Wife. She is in her 20’s and has enjoyed learning to cook in recent years, especially for her husband. I really liked the variety of recipes that were available and it was quite difficult but I finally decided to try two recipes. I know right?


      I made a quick and delicious smoothie for breakfast / snack by substituting a few ingredients. I plan on making this smoothie a few more times this week. YUM! Enjoy this recipe.

      Orange Smoothie

      by Noelle Kelly
      Prep Time: 5 minutes

      Ingredients (2 servings)
      • 3 oranges, peeled
      • zest of 1 orange
      • 3/4 cup almond milk
      • 1 tsp. vanilla
      • 2 Tablespoons agave nectar
      • 1 cup ice
      Instructions
      Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth!
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      The next dish was a quick dinner meal. I had a HUGE bag of poblano peppers in my fridge and I knew I had to try a new recipe for stuffed peppers. Ryan normally asks me to make my recipe for Cornbread-Stuffed Poblanos but I knew I had to try a new recipe.


      This was, as I said earlier, quick to make. I used finely ground cornmeal (masa) for the filling. I increased the ingredients in the recipe to make almost a double batch. I also did not make my own salsa as the recipe indicated but I used what I had in my fridge and pantry. I am HUGE on using leftovers. Anyway, I really liked how this sauce turned out if you do not use the original recipe.


      I was not convinced about the seasonings in the filling but I made it as is. I would increase the cilantro and add some more salt and pepper next time.


      One big note about this recipe. You can prepare the night before but definitely cook it the day you will eat it. I baked it thinking we could just heat it the following day for a QUICKER meal but it actually dried the filling. Boo. Otherwise this was a yummy recipe.

      Stuffed Poblano Peppers

      by Noelle Kelly
      Prep Time: 20 minutes
      Cook Time: 45 minutes

      Ingredients (12 halves (6 peppers))
      • 1 14 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes in juice
      • 1 1/2 cups medium Pace picante sauce
      • 1 1/2 cups Herdez tomatillo sauce
      • 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
      • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
      • 1 cup yellow cornmeal, finely ground
      • 2 tbs. fresh cilantro
      • 1 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
      • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
      • 1/2 teaspoon salt
      • 1 cup water
      • 5 poblano peppers, halved lengthwise, seeded
      Instructions

      Preheat the oven to 425.

      Combine the tomatoes, salsas in food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a 9×13 dish.

      In a large bowl, combine the beans, cornmeal, 3/4 cup of the cheese, 1 tbs. garlic, cumin, salt, cilantro and water.

      Divide the mixture into the peppers and lay in the baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese and cover with aluminum foil.

      Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 5-10 minutes more or until the cheese is browned. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
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      Thanks for having great recipes like this on your website Nichole!


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      Melissa Rose Blog Design Review & Giveaway

      August 28th, 2012

      I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Ours went by so fast I actually was a little down on Sunday because I knew Monday was going to be here and a long week was going to be ahead of me. Thanks be to God it was a great Monday and not to stressful. I was able to keep Julianne busy, distracted , entertained and active. I also was able to make dinner, clean up and give Julianne a bath and put her to bed. It was a long day but I now get to write a bit.

      I recently started a new series on Netflix. Anyone ever seen Jericho? I love apocalyptic shows because they seem so real. I really want to finish the series real quickly because then I will feel like I have nothing else to watch. HA! I am also in the middle of reading The Hunger Games for the first time. I know. I watched the movie first and then realized I should have read the book first. Gah, but this is this first time I do that. I love it so far.

      I wanted to post a recipe today because I baked a bit this weekend. I made a delicious plum crumble and accompanied it with yummy frozen yogurt. I also made a raspberry bundt cake with a lime icing for a potluck. Did I happen to mention that of the 6 desserts served, mine was the only one that was homemade? What has the world come to?

      I also made some raspberry cinnamon rolls with lime icing. I had a ton of lime icing and raspberry puree left that I figured I could create something else. Half of it went to our neighbors (who have been real kind) and the other half we kept. Ahem…do you blame me?

      Well, as you can see I had all the intention of posting one of these but I am holding off. I know. I am cruel but you will not be sorry.

      Today I want to talk a little about my blog design. I finally broke down and paid to get a nice design for the website. It is really nothing too fancy but it is clean, fresh, and elegant, in my opinion. I kept trying to do it myself, but who am I kidding? I am not a code writer (I want to learn soon!) and I am not a designer.


      I have been subscribed to Melissa Rose’s blog called 20 Going on 80 for a while now and I have been keeping my eye on her blog design company for a while. She is a lovely 20-something gal who is not only a graphic designer but she is also a baker, photographer, knitter, and more! She claims to have hobbies that an 80 year old would have. LOL. Quite humorous.

      Anyway, I finally caved and decided to buy one of her pre-made blog designs when she was running a special. The beauty and reason I caved is that she creates designs for the Blogger platform. I do not know when I will have the guts to switch over to WordPress but for the meantime, I figure I have wasted to much time not having a nice look so I chose a lovely 3-column design and purchased it.

      I am SO happy with my design and the process I went through to tell Melissa everything I wanted was super easy. She is super organized with a survey with questions asking what social buttons I would like on my page down to the column titles. It is all well done and done in the style of the pre-made blog you choose. I had my new look running within 72 hours with nothing to stress about.

      How would you like to choose one of her designs?

      Here are some examples of her designs:




      Melissa has very generously offered to give ONE of my readers an opportunity to choose one of her premade blog designs for FREE, which is valued at $50.

      Now remember this is only for people who use the BLOGGER platform. Good luck on the giveaway!

      a Rafflecopter giveaway

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      Savory Zucchini Spelt Pancakes

      August 23rd, 2012
      Pancakes


      I have been a little stuck with savory dishes lately since I have been quickly planning my weekly meals. I am hoping to get more baking done this weekend especially since we have a pool party. I am bringing a dessert and at this moment I am thinking cupcakes. Ryan has been requesting my lime cupcakes so I will probably work on those.

      Anyone have grand plans this weekend besides preparing for kids going back to school? Ryan starts his job this next week and I have to say that I am going to miss him terribly. I am spoiled having him at home during the summer so when fall comes around the house sounds so quiet. Not only this but he ends up being lots of help with Julianne.

      I am sure I am not the only one but I am trying to create a weekly schedule that balances morning and afternoon outings so that Julianne and I do not feel so enclosed in our homes. I was successful finding mom groups in Michigan to connect with but it is a little more challenging here. Facebook has been helpful but then I am finding that most groups require a yearly fee.

      I feel like I am in a sorority or club and in high school all over again. I tend to rush things along but I know that it will take time getting to know people in our area. In the meantime, we have been meeting our neighbors and Ryan and I are planning on having people over for dinner so that is always good.

      Back to food though, this week I worked with whole wheat spelt. The last few recipes had me using the white spelt flour but now I opened my big bag of whole wheat spelt and finished up using my ginormous zucchini. I love how it is in season but seeing that I am the only one who likes it in our house, besides having it in the chocolate bread, then I pick and choose recipes.

      Savory Zucchini pancakes

      I have been wanting to make zucchini pancakes for a while and have had Ina Garten’s recipe pinned. I was not convinced that the recipe was going to cut it and I wanted to make some modifications. I wanted to try and vegan version and a vegetarian version to see what the flavors would be like.

      I made Ina Garten’s recipe to start and thought it was VERY bland. I substituted the flour for the whole wheat and I added some spices. Ryan tried the first pancakes and also thought there was something else missing. Once I added my ingredients we both had a vegan and vegetarian version and they were both equally delicious and a lot MORE savory.

      Savory zucchini pancakes 1

      SCORE! Don’t you just love tinkering with recipes? I certainly do. I also miss my chemistry lab classes because I always like mixing different chemicals for our experiments. I guess that is why I like modifying recipes. I feel that a recipe can always be a little better. Is this pretentious? I think it is exciting, but I might be wrong.


      So how do you eat these pancakes? I had them for lunch with a large green salad. YUM! We also just had them for breakfast with some diced tomatoes on top, fruit on the side and coffee for a complete breakfast. You can also have them for dinner with another side veggie or salad. There are so many possibilities.  I did not venture into the sweet and savory but if you feel like pouring some fresh maple syrup, you go on and try it and let me know how you like it!

      Enjoy this recipe!!


      Savory Zucchini Spelt Pancakes

      by Noelle Kelly
      Prep Time: 20 minutes
      Cook Time: 5 min total

      Ingredients (18-20 pancakes)
      • 4 cups zucchini, grated (1/2 a large garden zucchini)
      • 1 medium white onion, grated
      • 2 garlic cloved, minced
      • 3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten / OR 4 flax “eggs” (4 Tablespoons flax seed meal + 12 Tbsp warm water)
      • 1 cup whole wheat spelt flour
      • 2 teaspoon baking powder
      • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
      • 1 teaspoon oregano
      • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
      • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
      • Olive oil
      Instructions

      Grate zucchini and onion in a food processor or box grater. Place in a bowl and add seasonings, flour, and baking powder. Mix well.

      Add beaten eggs to the mixture and let it sit for 5 minutes/ OR to make VEGAN, prepare the flax seed meal with the warm water and mix well. Let sit for 5 minutes then add to the zucchini.

      In a non-stick pan or griddle pan, add 1 Tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake and let it cook for 3-5 minutes on each side. The pancake will rise and be golden brown. Flip to the other side and it will finish cooking in 1-2 minutes.

      Serve on top of a salad or with marinara.

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