Freezing My Buns Off!!!

    I'm doing a lot of freezing in preparation for winter, since there is so much fresh produce in abundance right now and I am a little terrified at what will be available during the winter.  I do have a few good organic store sources, but I feel much better knowing that I am getting things in season locally.

    It's not often that you actually hear someone ask for more zucchini. . .it seems that zucchini is the one that overproduces and people are trying to pawn it off on their neighbors:  "Look what we brought for you!!!"  "Oh, THANK you (really thinking: 'What the crap am I going to do with this???')!"  But I actually sent word in the neighborhood that I was willing to take all the extras I could get, thinking I would make a bunch of that wonderful cream of zucchini soup and pressure can it.  After going through all the instructions on my pressure canner, I'm a little scared that I'll screw it up so I'm freezing sliced 1 1/2 lb. portions instead and am going to to do the same with chopped onions.  So far I've done 7 portions from our garden and zucchini one of my friends gave me, and another neighbor called and said she's frozen all she's going to and we are welcome to come and get as much as we want while the plants are still producing!

    Today at the farmer's market I bought 10 huge, gorgeous green bell peppers and chopped them up for freezing; I am planning on getting more next week.  I got onions, as well, so I'll be getting to work on those soon (celery would probably be a good idea, as well).  I am planning on doing a couple of bushels of peaches; I usually can, but I think I will freeze half, sliced up for smoothies.

Wheat-Free Banana Muffins

    This is one of the best muffin recipes I've found since having to change my cooking for Brittany's dietary needs.  The only thing I've had to modify is the baking powder by making my own corn-free version, and it is a favorite around here now. I got it from the book "Back to Health" by Dennis W. Remington, M.D. and Barbara Higa Swasey, R.D.  The recipe I use for baking powder is starred after the muffin recipe.

    I'm not certain now if bananas are safe for Britt because of the ripening and shipping process, but different people have varying levels of sensitivity.  If you do fine with bananas, then try these!

1 c. rolled oats

1 1/2 c oat bran

1/2 c. chopped nuts (I leave out the nuts)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 T baking powder*

1 mashed banana

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 T cold-pressed oil

2 T honey

3/4 c. milk (I use unsweetened almond milk; you could also use rice milk or other milk substitute)

1. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl; set aside.

2. In smaller bowl, mix together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, honey, and milk.

3. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and combine only until moistened.

4. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Yields 12 muffins

*Homemade corn-free baking powder:  Mix 1/3 c. baking soda, 2/3 c. cream of tartar and 2/3 c. arrowroot together; store in an airtight container.

Bad Week

    It's been a rough week so far.  Yesterday I had the brilliant idea to have Brittany soak her feet in epsom salts because of her head hurting so much when she woke up.  We've never done this before and I have heard from several people that they really help when they have a headache or are dealing with other corn allergy symptoms.  I didn't think to look at the Safe List for safe brands of epsom salts (duh) and just used what I had in my hall closet.  BIG mistake. . .I'm really mad at myself for not checking and buying a known corn-safe brand, because now I have no idea whether she reacted to epsom salts in general or if it was just that I had a crappy brand that I bought at stupid Walmart.  Within 5 minutes she said that her feet were stinging, then that they felt cold.  About three minutes after that she started scratching her arms like crazy and said that both of them and both of her hands were itching.  At that point, we got her feet OUT, OUT, OUT and I gave her some Benadryl that I got compounded corn-free at Rock Canyon Pharmacy last week.  Then she slept all day and didn't wake up until about 6:00 p.m.

    WAY TO GO, MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Today she is down with the worst headache she has had in a long time; not sure if this still has something to do with the epsom salt episode or if it's still relating to detoxing.  I'm making an appointment with our DO for tomorrow to see if he can order some compounded aceteminophen and do some OMT to relieve some of the pain.  I ordered some Goody's Headache Powder from Amazon last Friday and got the notice yesterday that it was shipped.  I really hope that by some heaven-sent fluke it gets here before the estimated arrival date.

These Are a Few of My New Favorite Things

Now, THAT is funny-looking and a little bit scary.

    Last week I made fresh ginger tea for the first time.  It's supposed to be good for headaches and bodyaches; since Brittany deals with headaches a good amount of the time I thought we'd give it a try.  Buying fresh ginger was a little adventure all by itself; that is some funky-looking stuff!  I'm not certain at this point whether she was just being a good sport or if it the tea really helped, but she seemed to have a better day.  I made it in the morning while she was getting ready and she drank it in the van on the way to school.  It's kind of like drinking red hots, so I'm thinking that drinking it on the go wasn't the ideal scenario. :)

    The smell of ginger tea is divine!  I used the recipe at Kristy's Living It Up Corn Free blog; here is the recipe: http://www.livingitupcornfree.com/2009/11/ginger-tea-is-elixir-of-health.html .  I didn't have a tea ball, so I just put the finely diced ginger in the pot with the water and then strained the liquid through a paper towl in a colander and then into a stainless steel bowl before pouring some into the mug.

And yes, that is a snowman mug. :)

     After dropping Brittany off at school, I found myself on the tea aisle at my health food store in search of tea balls.  What a great discovery!  You just open it and put your herbs or tea leaves in, then clasp it shut.  I also found raw herbs and bought dried ginger to have on hand, as well as peppermint leaves, since Brittany loves peppermint tea.  I am now scared of plastic because of how often corn makes its way into creating a lot of it, so I bought some metal tins to keep the herbs in.  I felt so happy on the herb aisle; I have felt nudgings for quite awhile to learn about herbal remedies, and it felt so good.  I had a distinct feeling of being where I needed to be; almost like I was "home."  I am looking forward to learning more and actually knowing what to use at any given time without having to google. :)

Cream of Zucchini Soup--YUMMMM!!!

    Last night I made one of Brittany's favorite things to eat for dinner--cream of zucchini soup.  This is such a great recipe, easily adaptable for allergies, and so healthy.  I found it about a year ago while we were doing a yeastlifting protocol, from the book Back to Health by Dennis Remington, M.D. and Barbara Higa Swasey, R.D.  The creamy texture is accomplished by pureeing everything after it is cooked (I still leave a little bit of texture in it so just pulse the blender), and then adding only 1/2 cup of milk (any will do; we use almond milk because of dairy issues).  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Cream of Zucchini Soup

2 medium onions

1 1/2 lbs. zucchini

1/2 c. milk (we use almond; can also use rice milk, etc.)

1 pinch cayenne pepper

2 T butter (I use olive oil)

3 c. chicken broth

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt (I use canning salt; iodized has corn)

1.  Chop and cook onion in butter until clear and soft, but not browned.

2.  Wash and slice zucchini while onions are cooking.

3.  Combine onion, zucchini, and chicken broth in saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash is tender.

4.  Add seasoning and put mixture into blender to puree until smooth.

5.  Add milk.  Adjust seasonings to taste (I increase the salt to 1/4 tsp.).

    Between all the zucchini from our garden and zucchini others have passed on to me, we have a lot!  I am going to make large batches of this and can it in my pressure canner.