Flavoured Water - Strawberry Basil Lime

Sliced Fresh Ripe Strawberries, Fresh Basil Leaves, Sliced Fresh Lime, Ice if de?sired, Filtered Water (or fizzy water)

Finally I have a device that can take photos...but it's very hard to take pictures with as the camera is rear facing - great if you wish to take "selfless", less so if anything else is your subject. Especially with a tricky neck that no longer does angles, least of all tricky ones, so that all photos must be taken blindly. I had to rest it on the table to get the pitcher in the photo at all, not very happy with this one, just hoping it shows how pretty and delicious the water looks.

This flavoured water is based on a stronger version I had when Hubby and I went out for his birthday, in which strawberries and basil are muddled in a glass, then a little lime is squeezed in, and fizzy water, perhaps a little honey (or sugar), and even a tip of vodka or gin (which I haven't tried) are added to make a lovely tonic. I'm going to try making that too!

We regularly make Mint, Cucumber and Lemon or Lime (or both) flavoured water also pretty, delicious, and refreshing.

Rich Berry "Ice Cream"

Instant "Ice Cream" made in a VitaMix or blender, no ice cream maker required.

Quick, easy, rich, creamy, decadent, delicious, and nutritious too.

 

  

3/4 cup Raw Cashews (or other high-fat nuts)

3 oz plain Yogurt (made with half & half or cream is best, or greek or dripped yogurt would be good too . . . 3 oz = 3/8 cup, or 6 Tbsp, or 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp)

3 Tbsp Honey or Maple Syrup

1 oz Coconut Water (or other liquid, more as needed to make it blend . . .  1 oz = 2 Tbsp)

3 Frozen Bananas

3/4 cup Frozen Berries (raspberries are good!)

optional 1/2 oz Dark Chocolate

6 cubes Ice

 

Place the Cashews (only!) in the blender and blend until smooth

Add the remaining ingredients in the order given

To be SCD legal, use Honey and homemade SCD yogurt, and do NOT add any chocolate.

Start blender on lowest speed and work up to highest speed (don't take long or you'll melt it too much!)

If needed to make it blend, add more Coconut Water 1 Tbsp at a time

Blend just until smooth. It should be the consistency of good soft-serve ice cream

Serve immediately (or prepare shortly before serving and pop into the freezer for a few minutes)

 
 

This recipe makes 4 small servings or 2 large servings - it is very rich so a little goes a long way!

  
If you can have it, it's really worth adding the dark chocolate!

  
It really whips up easily in my VitaMix, and a !/3 size batch in my Magic Bullet comes out decently; other people make similar "ice cream" in regular blenders, but I do not know whether every blender will give a satisfactory smooth and creamy result.
 
Today is HOT, which is something we are not accustomed to as hot weather is most unusual here in our ultra-temperate little micro-climate. The grandchildren are at their father's for the weekend, and we three adults needed something to eat but did not want to cook and didn't feel like having much, so I made a batch of this "ice cream" for our dinner and it hit the spot! It's starting to cool off a little now so we're off to have an evening stroll. Perhaps we'll have a light supper later, but this was refreshing and filling enough for us for now. Usually, though, we'd have this "ice cream" for dessert.

Coconut Flour White Chocolate & Pignoli Cookies

Z-Man and his Mommy went way down south for the day to attend a PWS study Z-Man is participating in, leaving the Big Two home with us GrandParents. At lunchtime there wasn't much to make so we all walked to the corner store where the Big Two became sweetly enthusiastic about a cute little 1 cup bag of reasonably priced White Chocolate Chips. As there happened to be Pignoli languishing in the freezer, leftover from some special occasion, it suddenly (after lunch and a visit to the library) became mandatory to figure out a recipe for and bake

    

Coconut Flour

White Chocolate & Pignoli Cookies

   

dry ingredients

1 cup Coconut Flour

1/2 cup Sugar

2 Tbsp Gelatin

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Ginger

   

wet ingredients

1 cup Butter, melted

2 Eggs, lightly whisked

2 Tbsp Vanilla

   

stir in

1 cup White Chocolate Chips*

1/2 cup raw Pignoli (pine nuts) or Macadamia Nut pieces

(mild) BUFFALO WING HOT SAUCE

(mild) BUFFALO WING HOT SAUCE

For use on chicken wings or whatever you like

    

4 Tbsp Butter (1/2 stick)

2 Tbsp Honey 

3 ounces Louisiana Hot Sauce (I use Crystal, it is SCD legal) 

2 Tbsp Vinegar (White for classic taste; usually I use Apple Cider Vinegar) 

1/8 tsp salt 

1 tsp Lecithin* (certifiied GMO free)

    

In a small saucepan melt the butter over low heat

Whisk in the remaining ingredients

Your hot sauce is ready ~

Toss your wings in the sauce and serve with celery and blue cheese dressing/dip, or use the sauce in a recipe, and

Enjoy!

    

Alter proportions according to taste

Best used warm or room temperature as the butter will congeal

    

*Lecithin is optional, it is added as an emulsifier and to promote adhesion.

Domestic Buffalo are generally de-winged

Chocolate Jelly (& carob jelly)

Go ahead and try this different slightly gelatin dessert! It's incredibly easy and is inexpensive to make. Don't be put off if all you're accustomed to is fruit jellos; you'll be surprised how really delicious this is. Adopted for making with cocoa from RusCuisine.Com's recipe for Russian Chocolate Jelly.

    

Chocolate Jelly

2 cups Milk

2 Tbsp Heavy Cream

3 Tbsp Cocoa

6 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Vanilla

2 Tbsp Gelatin

1 cup Water

Yummy Gummies

Yummy Gummies

Easy peasy delicious and nutritious real food "candy"

    

1/2 cup Frozen Fruit Juice Concentrate (defrosted)

3 Tbsp plain unsweetened Gelatin

Z-Man and the Sheila-Roo

Zander, The Z-Man, is my 8 year old grandson, my little Nugget.

Help unite Zander with Service Dog Sheila
Donate at Zander needs a Service Dog
Share, Pin, and Send it everywhere!
http://www.gofundme.com/adogforZander

  

SWEET LITTLE ZANDER NEEDS A SERVICE DOG! A good doggie match has been found and now funds must be raised - every dollar helps. His dog will help him in many ways, but most importantly she will help keep him safe. Please help unite Zander with Service Dog Sheila!

   

Zander has Prader Willi Syndrome, which causes him to constantly feel starving hungry. This uncontrollable and incurable hunger is referred to as Hyperphagia; in PWS this means "Compulsive eating and obsession with food. The urge to eat is physiological* and overwhelming; it is difficult to control and requires constant vigilance.". And because if it Z-Man will do anything, however dangerous, to find food. Given the chance he literally could eat himself to death (due to gastric rupture or necrosis, or even from choking), he could be seriously injured or killed in one of his escape attempts to look for food, or he would at the least become life threateningly obese.

*based in physical and chemical functions, activities, and phenomena of the body

   

There is much more to Prader Willi Syndrome than hyperphagia, and there a number of ways in which a service dog will aid Zander, but the critical thing, THE reason Z-Man NEEDS one, is that a specifically trained service dog will help KEEP HIM SAFE. A service dog trainer has recently identified Sheila, a 4 yr old black lab, as a suitable match and already begun training her to meet Z-Man's particular needs.

We are appealing to everyone to help unite Zander with his service dog Sheila by donating if they are willing and able (even one dollar - every dollar counts!) and by promoting his cause. An added, and ultimately more important, benefit of sharing Z-Man's cause is that doing so will also help spread Prader Willi Awareness. Those interested in supporting the PWS cause directly can donate to the Federation for Prader-Willi Research help fund important research or to the Prader-Willi Sydrome Association USA or the International Prader-Willi Syndrome Organisation to help support families and individuals with PWS.

   

See videos about Prader Willi Syndrome on my last entry, PRADER WILLI SYNDROME AWARENESS MONTH.

PRADER WILLI SYNDROME AWARENESS MONTH

Welcome to May, Prader Willi Awareness month. Man I am hungry; I've been foraging through the kitchen looking for something to sate my appetite (not much luck though; we're low on groceries and there's not much for a non-grain-eater to ingest, grrr). When I eat, this will go away until I need food again. But it never goes away for Z-Man or others with Prader Willi Syndrome, no matter what or how much they eat. How would I deal with a hunger that was worse than this, and that was constant, unremitting, insatiable? How would you? And what if this hunger came with a host of other insults and difficulties?

Gathering Food and Bargain Shopping in and near Ventura

Hate California, it's cold and it's damp

 

I'm just starting this page, will add more as I get to it - starting off with places to obtain fresh produce from its producers with

San Buena Ventura Market Days:

Would you do me a really huge but oh so easily accomplished favor and tell me whether the "Index" page link right up there in the blog title box at the top of the page, on the lower edge of the box and second in from the left, is working properly? You'll be rewarded with many thanks!

Simple Lentils

Simple Lentils

3 cups cooked Lentils

1 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp dried Parsley (or 1/4 cup or more fresh chopped)

1/2 tsp dried Oregano (or 1 Tbsp or more fresh chopped)

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1/4 tsp ground Coriander

1/8 tsp Cumin
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

If available, add chopped fresh herbs and tomatoes (or sundried tomatoes, or, if serving hot, tinned tomatoes).

Quick Kidney Bean Soup With Savoy Cabbage

Quick Kidney Bean Soup With Savoy Cabbage

 
1 cup Carrots, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 qt Vegetable Broth

1 qt Savoy Cabbage, finely shredded

3 cups Red Kidney Beans, cooked* (or 2 15 oz tins, drained)

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 clove Garlic, or 1 tsp garlic granules

1 1/2 tsp coarse Salt

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Turmeric

1/4 cup Quinoa, uncooked, rinsed