I think about blogging most days - I was doing so well - but lately I have no time for anything. Part of this is because my oldest seems to be on her way to dropping her only nap. Lately we get 20-40 minutes out of her per day. I'm trying to transition her to quiet reading time in her room, but so far, she will only do it if I am sitting in plain sight in the hallway, reading myself.
The other reason I have no time is that I am cooking a lot more than I used to. We've been on the Feingold diet for about three weeks now, and I can cautiously say that it seems to be helping N's eczema. It seems, however, to have doubled the time I spend in the kitchen. We can't eat anything with artificial colors or flavors, or most preservatives.
Example: We don't eat storebought bread anymore. I don't have a bread machine. And the recipes I use - a soaked grain bread recipe that is linked in pdf form on the bottom left of this page - and this sourdough bread recipe are pretty time consuming. You do the math.
But there's more. Jeremy and I spent several hours this weekend making graham crackers from scratch since Natasha's beloved Honeymaids have artificial vanilla flavor in them (seriously, just charge us the extra buck and use the real stuff!). And when I made "Oreo" truffles for Christmas (using the Trader Joe's knock off which doesn't have as much garbage in it), I had to find an alternative to chock-full-of-crap candy melts for the coating. Having used regular chocolate chips before, I knew that untempered chocolate doesn't set up as nicely as the melts do. And I wanted the coating to be crisp. And I am a glutton for punishment. So I decided to temper the chocolate first. It wasn't hard, but added 40 minutes or so to the process.
Below, some of my homemade sauerkraut (really tasty) and a slice of my homemade sandwich bread. Below that, a really bad picture of a few of the truffles scattered around Jeremy's beloved fudge mint cookies.
When I get some time maybe I will figure out how to take good photos at night without natural light.
YUMM - that bread looks amazing! When you are back in the states, you may want to try Ezekiel Sprouted Grain bread (no preservatives and sprouted) http://www.foodforlife.com/product-catalog/ezekiel-49/breads/120C6-organic-sprouted-whole-grain-flourless-bread
ReplyDeleteAlso, how did you make your sauerkraut? I tried making some with a Harsch Fermenting Crock Pot but it went seriously wrong. I have been scared to try it since. I would love to know how your were successful.