SpOOn & LeVeL

The allergen free cinnamon roll. A thing of wonder. 

Is there anything better than the smell of something cinnamon-y baking in the oven? I ask you, is there??

 Especially on these cool, overcast, Autumn days when the whole house is in need of both some warmth and some cheer.

The recipe link is, as usual, below.

I didn't change too much. Just used flax eggs* in place of the two regular ones, used my cornstarch free baking powder and made my icing out of coconut butter, vanilla and honey. I don't really have any exact measurements for my version of the icing. I just mixed enough of each thing together until it looked right and more importantly tasted right.

If, as has happened to me once or twice, you end up with a cinnamon roll dough that looks a little runny when it's all mixed together (sometimes I think maybe when using a newly opened bag of Almond flour the stuff on top is a larger grind than the stuff on the bottom and therefore not quite fine enough to bind everything together tightly...) simply mix in Arrowroot powder or Tapioca starch, bit by bit, until it all comes together and holds a ball shape. That way it will roll out for you and not crumble or stick so much when you attempt to cut it. 

However, do be forewarned, you are dealing with nut flour. And honey. And applesauce. There will be a sticky factor. No way around it. There will also be a rustic factor. These cinnamon rolls won't look like any other cinnamon rolls. But that's ok. They still taste amazing and are so much better for you.

*Flax egg recipe... for each egg needed mix 1 Tbs ground flax with 3 Tbs water and refrigerate overnight.

http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/post/57820632507

Thyme; harvested from my garden before the frost.

The last of my roses

Slow buds the pink dawn like a rose, from out night's gray cloudy sheath; softly and still it grows and grows, petal by petal, leaf by leaf...

- Susan Coolidge

Yesterday afternoon I finally bit the bullet.

I did something that should have been done a long time ago.

I took down my large glass jars, the ones that have been filled forever with the saddest amounts of lumpy sugar and probably well over 2-years-since-I-bought-it flour and I emptied them out.

I know. Wow, right?

But you have to understand what a really "there's no going back, is there..." gesture that was for me. 

It seems obvious. We don't use flour anymore. We don't use sugar. Why would I keep them on hand, at eye level, in my small, small kitchen, only to never ever use them?

Well, because it's normal.

It's so normal it could be a Pottery-Barn-type add. Just think about it. Three glass, lidded jars full to the brim with a never ending supply of golden brown sugar, glittering white sugar and pure white flour. What could be more perfect? Or quintessential? If it were an add it would sell you on the idea of a warm and welcoming, fully-stocked and aesthetically pleasing kitchen, ready to turn out all kinds of beautiful and familiar baked goods. You would get a tangible feeling. A tangible feeling so distinct you would be willing to spend money towards capturing it and bringing it into your own home.

But what if it wasn't for real? What if it was just about the image, and that image were as useful as if the picture from the magazine had simply been cut out and hung up?

We don't eat "normal" here at our house. I eat completely grain free and sugar free. E is gluten free and processed sugar free. And unless he's at the fire station, or grabs some frozen bagels while we are at the grocery store, my husband eats like we do.

The image our reality creates is different. Is that bad? No way. But it's not what I saw back in the day when I pictured our future.

I saw teaching E how to bake bread. I saw homemade chocolate chip cookies on rainy afternoons. I saw pies and coffee cakes and muffins; cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, old fashioned gravy on Thanksgiving, beautiful layer cakes for every birthday.

Don't get me wrong. We have some of that. As I document on my blog. I have been and am determined to reshape and recreate those feelings and memories for our family. In the ways that work for us. And I am so blessed to have the time, the resources and the ability to do that.

I'm just saying it's not what I envisioned.

But, I guess, nothing ever is.

So instead of flour and sugar my glass jars now hold raw almonds and almond meal. Instead of creating a familiar, recognizable image, mine speak of a lifestyle a little less conventional, a little more "granola-hippie". And instead of being merely about an image, they now contain items I reach for several times a day.

A return to a recent subject and a honey of a deal...

So today, in the cool, wet weather that is so seasonal and yet so good for staying inside and not doing much, we went on a little field trip. With hats, jackets and rain boots firmly in place we got honey. From a co-worker of my husband who, in addition to being a busy dad and fire fighter/paramedic, keeps 3 bee hives. 

As a bonus we also received an informal and low key lesson on bee-keeping. 

We were able to see the hive boxes and the machine used to extract the honey. We saw the small crates used to ship bees in the mail. (That's right. The USPS will deliver to you an order of honey bees if you want.) We learned all about the pampered life of the queen bee. We observed several honey bees up close. (It being cold they were very lethargic and very, very unconcerned about our close proximity.)

And, as we brought our own jars, we were able to watch the thick gold honey, the result of oh so much work from those half-frozen little bees, as it slowly filled up each of our glass containers.

We felt like lucky ducks.

And you too, could feel that way. If you live in the Janesville area and are looking to buy local, raw, unheated, and unprocessed honey. And support a small, family business at the same time.

Just let me know. And I will get you 'hooked up'...

                                                                          

As promised...Homemade Chai.

Step one. Clean out your french press. If you are like me and do the most minimal rinse ever after you make coffee, REALLY clean it out.

Step two. Cut open a tea bag. Or use a teaspoon-ish of loose tea. Black, please. Dump into your french press.

Step three. Measure out your spices. The exact amount used can vary depending how "spiced" you like your Chai. For me, who enjoys it about mid-range, I use: 

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ginger

1/4 tsp Cloves

1/4 tsp Allspice

1/4 tsp Cardamom

1/4 tsp Nutmeg* 

Add into the french press.

*(A note about Nutmeg. Freshly grated is best. I know that sounds annoyingly Martha-Stewart-esque. But I can't help it. It is true. And it could be worse. I could have suggested you hand grind the cloves...)

Step four. Pour in your boiling water. 8 oz. or more. Again depending on how strong you like it. 

Step five. Let it steep. The longer you leave it the more sinus-clearing the effect it will have. Blame the ginger. I call it good when it's dark but not black. 

Step six. Press. And pour into your mug. (If you want to go authentic, as both my Mom and my Uncle have done in Nepal and India, drink it out of a glass. My picture, as you can tell, honors both them and the tradition. The liquid is hot of course, so you must hold the glass by the rim only.)

Step seven. Add your Milk. For me this is Almond Milk. Unsweetened. With just a splash of pure Vanilla extract. For you it could be Cream, Creamer, plain Milk, or even Sweetened Condensed Milk. You could also add any additional sweeteners you feel like.

Step eight. You're done.

Chai simply means tea. 

So when ordering "a Chai tea" from the coffee counter you are in essence being redundant. (And when ordering a "Tai Chi" you are asking about something altogether different and giving your barista a good laugh. But mostly you are highlighting that what you probably really need is caffeinated coffee...) 

Chai has been enjoyed in Asia and India since the late 1800s and only recently become trendy and mainstream here in the West. In the countries where it originated they generally brew it by boiling the water, tea and the spices together. I did try this method. And it was good. But it got very thick. Sludgy thick. And was very hard to strain. (Coffee filters were too fine. My mesh strainer, not fine enough...) But again, if you are after the authentic method that's how it's done. Then thin it out with fresh Water Buffalo milk and there you go.

Be sure to let me know when you find a source for that Water Buffalo milk though...

Kindergarten Art Class

Yesterday we studied Land Art. "A movement in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked..." 

After watching a short documentary, viewing some examples and discussing what might happen when something you've created is subject to the many elements and whims of nature we went on a material-gathering walk.

Then, with our front walk as our canvas, and spray starch and nature our only mediums we went to work.

Here are some of the results.

It was very freeing and a lot of fun. 

‘Tis the season for Chai. 

I am working on a homemade recipe. When I have perfected it I will let you know. Until then I am enjoying all the scents, of the many spices involved, wafting through my kitchen. 

Letters are like wine; if sound they should ripen with keeping. A man should lay down letters as he does a cellar of wine.

Samuel Butler

A small sampling of the love letters my husband leaves me everyday he goes to work.

SpOOn and LeVeL

Honey.

I love it. 

It's one of those foods, much like eggs, that you can't think too much about while eating and yet, if you think about it just enough, it's pretty amazing stuff.

In all the world there is nothing that tastes like honey. The mere phrase "sweet as honey" needs no explanation or further description and I often wonder who it was that first reached into a bee hive, pulled out some of the comb and decided to sample the viscous, golden liquid oozing from inside. I'm sure they knew immediately they had stumbled upon something revolutionary. But how they managed to subsequently talk anyone else into trying it I can only imagine.

"You want me to get what out of where...and eat it?"

A lot of the recipes I use rely on honey. And we go through quite a bit. It's the first thing I reach for when someone has a sore throat and on days when you're feeling crummy or yucky or just plain down nothing beats honey toast or a hot cup of strong tea, liberally sweetened with honey.

Now in case you are wondering the above photo is indeed a spoonful of honey. But not just any honey. Creamed honey. 

For months I have been OBSESSED with dark chocolate honey mints. Best invention ever, in my opinion. I buy them, locally sourced, from our health food store in town. Or I buy them from Trader Joe's.

And I got to wondering if they were something I could make at home.

They are not.

But creamed honey is.

 And it's pretty simple, really. As you can see from the picture the results are impressive. The end product is thick and white and not real reminiscent of the transparent liquid you start with.

All you need is a mixer and equal portions liquid honey to crystalized honey. 

Honey crystallization happens naturally over time. As most people find out. And it can be reversed with heat. As anyone who's ever melted a plastic quintessential-bear shaped honey container in the microwave can attest to. If you go through it too quickly for crystallization to take place on it's own, as is the case in our house, you can speed up the process by leaving some out in the open air, uncovered, for about a week.

Then simply beat the liquid honey and the crystalized honey together for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes and store the resulting creamed or whipped spread in the fridge.

For a real treat mix a little with some coconut butter (or regular butter) and cinnamon and enjoy on soft, warm bread.

(A word of caution about the beating process. Make sure your bowl is locked in place. Mine wasn't and let's just say things got real interesting for a few moments. Honey was flying everywhere. E, who was helping out, literally ducked for cover behind the garbage can. I thought about joining her. I almost did. But a little voice inside my head reminded me that I had to be the responsible one and turn the mixer off. Which is actually quite a challenging feat when a metal bowl spewing honey is flying around, loose, on your countertop, getting in your way as you try to reach the off switch. )

Family Fall Trip...

...a return to the simple things.

Every year since little miss E was three months old we have taken a family trip out to the gorgeous western part of this state And for the past 4 years we've stayed at the exact same place. We rent a lovely modernized farm house tucked up alongside the Bad Axe river.

This year was no exception.

While there we spent our time hiking woodland trails, wading in the ICE cold Bad Axe river, and feeding the resident horse, llama, donkeys and sheep. We watched the Scottish Highland cows graze in their pasture across the suspended bridge over the river and we chased the 2 lovable barn cats everywhere. (Well, mostly E did that. And they reciprocated by following after her like puppies.)

Each night we watched millions of stars appear as the mellow Autumn daylight melted away and the Milky way grew brighter and brighter until it was a thick silver ribbon lacing up the dark sky. We heard Coyotes howling so close by that the hair on the back of our necks couldn't help but stand up. We caught snakes and frogs and toads. (But the spiders the size of silver dollars, those we left alone.)

We had bonfires and picnics and enormous pancake brunches. We drank coffee and hot cocoa out on the porch swing and watched the low rain clouds descend into the valley and get stuck and trail misty finger along the tops of the towering ridges. We collected acorns and blew Milkweed fluff and scavenged corn cobs to bring back for the animals. We bought pumpkins and went to an apple orchard and read James Herriot's veterinary tales, which were wildly appropriate.

And as is, I suppose, only to be expected of life in the country we got stung by bees, bit by baby donkeys and covered in Stinging Nettle rashes. None of that dampened our experience though. In all, we had an amazing time. And we made our reservations for next year as soon as we got home.

This week...

...was pink tutus and birthday parties, long country drives in the evening sunshine and late nights around the fire, colored candles and trillions of stars, frost and early morning fog, fishing and annual family photos...

Fall in Columbus Circle...? 

Beautiful. As my photos from last year attest.

Fall in our own personal yard this year...? 

Not so picturesque. 

Everything is looking kind of...well...scruffy. Unkempt. Rough.

The 60+ Hostas we divided and transplanted in early September are limp and yellowing. 

The garden plot I tilled, fertilized, planted and faithfully tended finally and sadly succumbed to the toxicity of our yard's soil. (Courtesy of our neighbor's towering Black Walnut tree.) And it is now a barren patch of dirt. 

Our raspberries are gangly and sparse.

 Our mulch is a topographical relief map of holes, hundreds and thousands of holes. (Again, courtesy of our neighbor's towering Black Walnut tree and the hundreds and thousands of squirrels it attracts.) 

Enormous spiderwebs and equally enormous spiders festoon every corner and crevice and overhang, wasps swarm to any and every available drop of water and in general you get the sense that everything is longing for winter. 

To be put out of it's misery. 

And given a break. 

And that includes us.

But for now yard work abounds. My hope is to have things tidied up by Halloween. A rather, at this point at least, seemingly daunting prospect. (I think I will leave the spiderwebs perhaps...)

However, lest I sound too, too, "woe is me" and depressing here are pictures of a few of the literal bright spots that yet remain. Determined. Intrepid. Thriving amid the slow downhill descent of Autumn.

Enjoy!