Contemporary Earth Mama

Apple spice oatmeal

I just have to chime in quick today to share with you my new favorite way to eat oatmeal.  Oatmeal is one of those breakfasts that one could get about or be really, really bored with...I prefer to get excited about it.  I love food.  It's that simple.

No measurements here, folks...just trust yourself to make good choices!

Hot oatmeal

drizzle with milk of choice

drizzle with maple syrup

dash of nutmeg

dash of cinnamon

a dozen or so craisins

a quarter of an apple, chopped and set upon the top of your heaping bowl.

This is really, really tasty.

Enjoy.

 

Gluten Free Waffles

Upon waking this morning, I was told, "we are hungry for waffles".  OK, gotcha, I'll get right on it.

Truth be told, I love waffles, too.  There are times when I purchase the Trader Joe's GF waffle mix, but really dislike paying for the packaging, when the ingredients for GF waffles are so inexpensive.  I do love the oat flour based waffle recipe I use, but this morning I nailed the new favorite GF waffle recipe, adapted from Betty (Crocker) herself.  **Another thing I love is remaking her simple recipes with healthier, more nutrient dense ingredients**

Gluten Free Waffles with a shout out to Betty Crocker

**This recipe was easily doubled and made 8 big, light and fluffy waffles.

2 eggs

2 cups GF flour mix ( 1 1/4 c Brown Rice Flour, 1/4 c White Rice Flour, 1/2 c Tapioca Flour)

1 3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup melted butter

4 tsp baking powder

2 tsp guar (or xantham) gum

1/4 tsp salt

Beat eggs in bowl, then add all other ingredients.  Pour into waffle iron until golden brown.

This morning we served our waffles with pomegranate seeds and cottage cheese...oh, and warm cider, too!

With all the Thanksgiving prep we have today for our guests tomorrow, a good hearty breakfast is what we needed!

How are you starting your Thanksgiving Eve?

 

postpartum support

The other day I had an interview with a local mama who is looking for postpartum support specifically under the category of nourishment.  She is due with her third child within the next month and is looking for help in having healthy meals made for them in their home for the first week or two following baby's arrival.

I completely commended her for thinking beyond the birth, because so few of us actually do.  When I work with a mom just as a birth doula, she can never understand why I want to talk for at least an hour about her postpartum plan...and then, post baby she is delighted ( to say the least) that we had that conversation.  There are many things that one can prepare for when you know help is not necessarily around the corner for your postpartum survival, maintenance, and success.

This mama's concern is that she has moved here recently and has yet to establish a circle of friends, there isn't a lot in terms of family around, and they are gluten and dairy free.  The children she has are old enough to help themselves to prepared snacks, but not old enough to do the preparing themselves.

I also shared with her some of my favorite tips for best supporting her children during the labor/delivery as this is a homebirth and they will be present, along with household management tips for them after the baby comes.

We will meet within the next two weeks again so I can get acquainted with her home, kitchen, and pantry.  In this session we will also make a list of favorite meals and snacks, get a handle on where the like their shopping done ( they are co-op shoppers, yeah!!!) and take a look at what we'll need to tackle first after baby's arrival.

There is nothing I enjoy more than supporting a mama in this lovely transition to holding a new life.  There is always much to be done and when I can leave her tucked in and quiet to enjoy the new babe and some rest, there is nothing like it.

If you are considering postpartum support, check out my website for the many options available.

shrimp scampi...yum

Last night I was craving spaghetti, meatballs and caeser salad...until I began craving shrimp scampi.  Not sure where that came from, but I happened to have shrimp in the freezer, yippee!

I hadn't made this in at least 10 years...in fact, the last time I made it I was housesitting and the gal I housesat for frequently, who knows I love to cook, invited me to invite my friends for a dinner party while they were gone.  So fun.  Wine, shrimp scampi and chocolate are all I rememer about the night, except, of course, the friends!

I looked up the recipe I used and remembered I added some extras, which I did last night and I know you will love this, too.

Shrimp Scampi

1 bag gluten free spaghetti

1 1/2 # frozen large shrimp (set in cool water to thaw)

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves

1T chopped fresh parsley

2T lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1-15 oz can diced tomatoes with basil

3/4 cup cream

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Cook shrimp, basil, parsley, lemon juice and salt in oil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently until shrimp are pink and firm.  Lower heat.  Pour in cream and tomatoes, stir until warm, then add parmesan cheese.

Serve with caeser salad, sprinkle with parmesan and you're good to go.

No leftovers tonight.

 

soup from my dad

I have been meaning to share this...one day last week my mom stopped over with a quart of homemade soup.  Not many things go straight to my heart like a homemade something just for me.  It was sooo good, and she delivered the recipe the other day.

My dad, like many other fifty-something's LOVES his time up north at the cabin, thus, he reads Cabin Life magazine, where this recipe came from:

Butternut Squash, Bacon & Wild Rice Soup (as I said in a class I taught last night, I do believe bacon was sent right from God and directly to me...I LOVE a good bacon)

Serves 6-10

2 medium butternut squash (peeled, seeded, cut into 1-2 inch pieces)

1/4 cup olive oil

s&p

6 cups chicken stock

2.5 cups medium diced onions

1 cup cooked wild rice

2 cups corn kernels

1 cup half/half

1/2 pound thick cut bacon

Preheat oven to 400.  Season squash with oil,s&p.  Put on baking sheet and roast for 45 min to one hour or until soft.

Cool squash then blend with 2 cups chicken broth until smooth.  Set aside. 

In large saucepan over medium heat add the bacon and fry until crispy brown.  Remove bacon, crumble and set aside.  Discard bacon grease, leaving 1 T in the pan.

Saute onions on medium low heat in the grease until they turn soft and translucent (THIS TRULY IS THE BEST PART-NHK)

Add corn and saute mixture for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining stock and squash puree mixture, bring to boil.

Reduce heat to medium low,cover and simmer 15-20 minutes.

Stir in the cooked wild rice & crumbled bacon and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in half/half, s&p to taste...serve with crumbled bacon.

Super, super good.

Has your mom dropped by with anything delish for you recently?

 

when life hands you marshmallows...

When life hands you marshmallows...you make s'mores, right?

 

Who's power went out the other night with the gale force winds that blew through here all evening?  My pakistani kima had to wait because without electricity, the evening called for an impromptu picnic on the living room floor.

The menu included:

almond butter and rhubarb-strawberry jam sandwiches

pickles

carrots

apple slices

AND, s'mores....with marshmallows roasted on a fork by candlelight.

 

I was so glad to have had marshmallows on hand...not something that's always in my pantry!  When it came time for dinner and I realized it was picnic time, I sent them off to play suggesting I had a surprise, requested grass (i.e., blanket) be laid on the floor, packed up our picnic and led them on a spooky trek through the enchanted forest before landing at a grassy knoll for a moonlit picnic (this amounts to a slow, deliberate walk through our little house where we carefully looked for stinky trolls around every corner before spotting the blanket where we'd sit for our picnic).  They loved it.

Actually, the power came on over an hour later, and they requested we use as little electricity as possible and continue through the bedtime routine of pj's, teeth brushing, tinkle, reading and tuck-in's all by candlelight.  It made for a really calm and beautiful evening.

After tucking Fannie in, I caught a glimpse of Sunny sitting on her bed, brushing the hair of her doll in a shadow of candlelight from her nightstand...so beautiful!

How did you fare in the power outage?

 

crafty fun

Today is my mother in law's birthday, and as we are up north to celebrate it with her, we decided to a) bake her favorite cake, b) make her requested dinner of homemade GF pizza, and c) craft something for her to add to the large collection of Halloween decor.  Last year we felted a black/green spider on a web of cream colored roving, and this year, felted pumpkins.

I found this little number and I've felted a few of them already.  They are so cute and super easy...Sunny decided to spend her time next to me on the couch finger knitting a new leash and collar for Campbell.

Any crafty fun in your day?

food on tap for the day

We started breakfast with oat flour based gluten free waffles, butter, and pure maple syrup alongside homemade kefir ( just done this morning!) blended with frozen blueberries from the orchard and a tsp of pure maple syrup to sweeten.  Alongside vitamins and oils, everyone had a great start to the day.

In Sunny's lunch today ( which includes two snacks, one for a.m. and one for p.m.) :  brown rice, pinto beans, shredded cheese, salsa, corn chips, dried apples, sesame-honey almonds, snap peas and a homemade gluten free chocolate chip cookie leftover from the campout at grandma's this past weekend!

For dinner tonight I am making a double or triple batch of corn potatoe chowder as we have a family at school with a new baby who could use a warm homemade meal to be delivered tomorrow morning.

..and you, what's on tap for you today?

Healthy Halloween anyone?

I am thinking of offering a FREE live teleclass next Tuesday night with the topic of Healthy Halloween...any moms out there needing some clarity on how to handle yet another holiday that loves marketing and junk food?

It would be no more than 60 minutes in length...leave a comment here and I'll connect with you.

Again, this would be a FREE live teleclass!  My family has so much fun with Halloween, I'd love to share our ideas with you!

 

Gluten Free Energy Bars

The following recipe is what I have prepared for Sunny's soccer game snack this week.  This was ridiculously easy to prepare...maybe took me 15 minutes.

I did adapt this recipe from one in Family Fun magazine, and you can play around a lot with this.

Gluten Free Energy Bars:  Cherry-Apple-Walnut

1/3 cup walnuts (or whatever nut you'd like)

1/3 cup dried apples and dried cherries (or whatever dried fruit you'd like)

dash of cinnamon

Grind 1/3 cup walnuts in a food processor, empty into bowl and set aside.  Grind 1/3 cup seeded dates and 1/3 cup dried cherries in the food processor.  Add a dash of cinnamon, and pour the ground walnuts back in, process to blend.

Pour all contents into a bowl and scoop a bit out into your hand, shaping them into a small rectangle or log.  Line them up on a cutting board or small plate and chill for 15 minutes before wrapping or storing.  Because we are bringing them to soccer, I individually wrapped them in a little foil.

This recipe makes 6 bars, so double if you need more.

Let me know how your family or soccer team likes them! They taste just like a Larabar to me!