Galactosemia in PDX

Sauerkraut, Kassler Ripple, and Potatoes

2012-01-29T21:02:00.000-08:00

I love Sauerkraut - yes, it is true. I know it totally fits the stereotype of Germans - and you know what? Both girlies love it too :) Tonight's dinner was Sauerkraut with Kassler and potatoes. Kassler are smoked pork chops. The Sauerkraut I use is Mildessa from Hengstenberg http://www.hengstenberg.de/de/rh.php and I let it simmer on low for at least a couple of hours. I first sautee an onion in olive oil, then add a couple of tablespoons of flour for a roux, put a little of white wine on it and then add the Sauerkraut. Once it is at a low simmer, I add a finely diced apple as well as juniper berries. For the last half hour or so, I add the Kassler so it heats up in the Sauerkraut and the smoked flavor melts in with the Sauerkraut. Perfect on a cold, dark, winter night!

Sauerkraut, Ripple, and potatoes

Saturday night take out

2012-01-29T20:52:00.000-08:00

after the long day at school and since my cold is still lingering it was pretty clear that I would not cook dinner. I was even too tired to go out - can you believe that? and Ron had a taste for chinese food. Well, what do you think? Right, perfect time for take out chinese food :)

Saturday night Chinese food

A long Saturday...

2012-01-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

started out with me baking brownies before taking our weekly trip out to the Sophie Scholl Schule, our fantastic German Saturday School. It was a double day, which means school from 10 - 3 with a lunch break. The school director planned the day with a luncheon in mind for all the kids, parents, and teachers. In planning the event she asked me what our girls could eat and to make things easier, I offered to organize the food for the luncheon. It certainly made the buffet a breeze for our kids :)

We got cold cuts and also cheese from the German butcher, bread from New Seasons, veggies, and dessert. I made galactosemia friendly brownies - using Earth Balance instead of butter - while another Mom brought another cake which was not galactosemia friendly. It was not a problem - I am so proud of both of our girlies. They always ask - and because it was at the German School asking "ist da Kuhmilch mit drin" it was even better...and here are a few pictures :)

Mia Rose at the Buffett

Eating lunch with friends

Alena enjoying lunch...

Friday Night - Rigatoni with Bolognese Sauce

2012-01-28T09:04:00.001-08:00

Feeling all cruddy, and whiny I tried to recreate the "most amazing pasta sauce". I am happy to report that it worked out and it was almost as good as the one made by our good friend - not quite, but almost. I think the key is to leave it on the stove for a very long time - our was simmering on low for about four hours. Curious how I made it? Maybe? Ok - just in case

1 onion chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
2-3 carrots diced
1 can tomato paste
1 cup - or more of red wine
1 cup - less or more of water
1 lb of ground beef
Italian herbs
Pepper, salt, sugar, paprika
Rind of Parmesiano Regiano - you can leave it out
Grated Parmesiano Regianom you can leave it out
Splash of Olive Oil

1. Heat olive oil, and when hot add onions
2. When onions are soft, add Italian herbs, carrots, garlic, and salt
3. When carrots are softer add can of tomato paste and stir it in. Add wine, and water to cover the
vegetables
4. Brown beef in a separate pan. Season it with salt, pepper, italian herbs, and - optional -
paprika
5. Add drained, browned beef to sauce. You may need to add more water at this point.
6. Add cheese rind, a couple pinches of sugar and bring to a slow simmer.
7. Leave it on slow simmer for at least two hours. The sauce should be thick and not watery.
8. When pasta is about ready, adjust spices, and add some grated Parmesiano Regiano.
9. Mix sauce with pasta before serving

Undeclared Milk in Beef Sirloin Products by Minnesota Firm

2012-01-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

Minnesota Firm Recalls Beef Sirloin Products Due To Misbranding and an Undeclared Allergen

Flaedlesuppe...

2012-01-26T22:53:00.000-08:00

...the parental units went out tonight with one of our German good friends who was on business in town this week from Europe. Where did that leave the girlies? At home with an amazing sitter. Both girls were so exacted :) And dinner? Here they are eating their first course of Flaedlesuppe and the second course was pizza. Not just any pizza, but the frozen vegan pizza we bought at Trader Joe's a while ago. It was an overall success...

Levels are in...

2012-01-26T17:44:00.001-08:00

it has taken awhile to get the levels back. I was not worried, but there is always this tiny, tiny little worry. It is just there, and we all probably have it when we have tests performed on our kids. In any case we are so happy that the GALT levels are great. Vitamin D levels however were way too low again :( It surely has something to do with the lack of sunshine im the winter. Not to forget that we live in the Pacific Northwest, and it does get dim here this time of year. Well, the girls also take additional supplements and it is my fault about not being always on top of that. Argh, shame on me! But now, we make sure that all drinks contains the supplement are consumed. Fingers crossed, that Vitamin D levels go up, and GALT levels stay down....next appointment wil be the ophthalmologist.

Dinner is vegetarian Black Bean Sweet Potato Soup...

2012-01-25T19:53:00.001-08:00

...the wet winter weather has finally caught up with me as I have very unpleasant cold, and both girls are also starting to get the sniffles. So a perfect time for hot soup.

When shopping, I bought a couple of sweet potatoes anticipating to use them along with black beans. But what?! Google search I found a recipe for black bean sweet potato soup - http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2010/12/recipe-for-vegetarian-black-bean-and.html - which linked back to the original recipe at http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/black-bean-soup-sweet-potatoes.aspx. I adapted the recipe by using dried beans - about 2 cups soaked overnight, homemade vegetable stock - about a quart, for obvious reasons - no milk sugar! - I omitted the yoghurt. My broth was already very well seasoned, so I did not add any additional pepper. It turned delicious! The rest of the family added a dollop of Tofutti Sour Cream while I added some cayenne pepper.

I am glad to report that it was an overall dinner success in our little house in Portland :)

Flaedlesuppe and sausages for a Tuesday night dinner

2012-01-24T21:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, it was a two course type of dinner tonight. We started out with "Flaedlesuppe", a main dish of sausage with mashed potatoes and salad, and both girlies had ice "cream" for dessert. Cutie for Alena, and Raspberry Sorbet push-up for Mia Rosie.

Are you wondering about Faedlesuppe? Yes? Let me tell you what it is - a Swabian dish and delicious. It is soup with strips of savory pancakes. It really is good! I first fried up the pancakes, cut them into strips, and then placed them in the soup bowls. A ladle of the hot broth - I had homemade vegetable broth - it poured over it right before serving it. Such a nice warm up on a chilly, wet winter day....

Another visit from the Toothfairy....

2012-01-24T12:21:00.000-08:00

on Sunday Alena one of her bottom teeth while shopping at New Seasons Market. This was the - I am not exaggerating - 12th tooth she lost. Wow, time flies...So Sunday night she prepared a little package for the toothfairy along with a letter which she put underneath her pillow. But then I fell asleep with the girls and totally jinxed it. The toothfairy did not visit - however everyone knows that she stays far away from adults....

Alena gave it another try last night. She added "Why did you not come?" to her letter and placed everything underneath her pillow. I was not allowed in and guess what??? The toothfairy came for a visit and even took the letter with her. I am just wondering, if there will be a letter coming from her in the future...

Here is Alena with her presents from the toothfairy. Bubblegum, and money...

Lauchkuchen on a Monday Night

2012-01-23T21:09:00.000-08:00

Now I do not know, how does this dish make the most sense in English. Leak Tart?, Leak Pie?, or Leak Quiche? - Well, I really do not like to describe it as a quiche as this is just so far off from what it really is. OK - maybe I will stick to leak tart :) In any case, that was for dinner tonight - we all love leak. So yummy...and I do not just use the white part, but the entire leak.

Anyways, I use a yeast dough to make this dish and start it usually make the dough in the late morning Have I ever mentioned what a great kitchen helper I have? Mia Rosie loves to cook and she rolled out the entire dough by herself. I just put some of the flour on it, and put it in the pan. She did an amazing job!

And here is the finished meal....

what do you think we made with it? I know, I know it really is not a challenge as we eat salad almost everyday...it is just that good :)

Just in case - I have posted the recipe before. Please let me know if you would like me to repost, or send it to you.

Zwiebelrostbraten...Sunday Dinner

2012-01-22T22:36:00.000-08:00

...so I forgot to mention that Ron ran a 1/2 Marathon this morning. Time for a special treat. I made Zwiebelrostbraten which literaly translates to "onion" roast. It is however steak - rib eye - topped with caramelized onions. Along side we had homemade Spaetzle, and - can you guess it? - a large bowl of mixed green salad. By the way, did you know that Mia Rose is an absolute meat lover? Yup, she loves it...

Another rainy Sunday...

2012-01-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

...we still had a nice, quiet day. For breakfast we stopped at Pho Van for Chicken Noodle soup. I know, it sounds a little odd chicken noodle soup for breakfast, but it really was more brunch than lunch plus it is just so good on a cold, rainy, winter day! After breakfast, we ran to New Season's for our weekly grocery trip and then back home to make some crafts. We call it "basteln". Valentine's Day is coming up and we still have not decorated :) Both girlies love it - hearts, purple, pink, and red. We cut heart shapes out of "Transparentpapier", glued them together in on large heart flower....

here it is. Well, the picture really does not do justice. It looks a lot better in "real life" as Mia Rosie would call it. In any case, we had a lot of fun making it, and hanging it in the window :)

Both girls also talked on the phone with my Mom in Germany. Here is Alena talking with Omi. I think you can tell by her big smile how much she loves talking with Omi :) Oh, and just in case you are wondering - she is speaking in German with my Mom...

Saturday Pasta.....

2012-01-21T19:29:00.000-08:00

....what a busy day. I was at an all day out of town conference, while Ron and the girls stayed in Portland. It was a busy day for everyone. Ron took the girlies to the Saturday School, and afterwards they all went to a giant indoor playground for some fun. The topped off the fun with a late lunch at Burgerville. Sounds like a great time to me! Oh. and dinner...here you see it. Egg noodles with peas, olive oil, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper....

Friday Night...

2012-01-20T19:21:00.001-08:00

pizza, salad, orange, and grape soda. Now that is the way to finish the week. I am just super tired today so going to Apizza Scholl's for dinner was the perfect idea. Yes, even if it involved waiting in line, in the rain for twenty minutes to make sure that we get a table right away.

Oh, and before I forget - how do you like the revamped Blog? Please let me know...

Ok - This mothership is off to bed...

Undeclared MILK in "Torta de Pan" date code 2/15/2012 by JKS Wholesale SVCS

2012-01-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

JKS Wholesale SVCS, Allergy Alert On Undeclared Milk Allergens In "Torta de Pan" Date Code 02/15/2012

Thursday Night Dinner is a first...

2012-01-19T19:59:00.000-08:00

it sure is. Can you guess what this is? Nope, it is not pork it is the other white meat. Ooops, just remembered chicken is the white meat and pork is the other white meat. Joke is on me :). - Ok- I will not keep you in suspense any longer. Dinner was sfuffed chicken breast. Truth be said that chicken breast is not the first thing that comes to my mind when planning dinner. But, we now get our meat in a "Family Pack"from New Season's Market and chicken breast is one of the items we get. So, as I looked through my freezer I decided on the chicken and found a recipe from my good friend, "The Joy of Cooking".
Baked, stuffed - Italian style - chicken beast; bleck olives, capers, parmesiano regiano, yelow raisins, walnuts, panko crumbs, and more. I adjusted the recipe by using olive oil in lieu of butter,and panko for breadcrumbs. Served along rice,and the usual - but never boring - salad I call it a dinner success in our little house in Portland....

More comfort food....Risotto

2012-01-19T06:49:00.001-08:00

was for dinner last night. Mushroom Risotto to be exact served along the - almost usual - salad of mixed baby greens. Warm, creamy, Full of flavor spells comfort food. - I am cooking my risotto with a rind of the Parmesiano Regiano, and add grated Parmesiano as well as a slice of Earth Balance at the. I would think that it still turns out creamy and delicious if you make it entirely vegan by leaving the rind and Parmesiano Regiano out. Adding some Earth Balance at the end as the risotto sets seems to be key for a creamy risotto. Oh, and just in case you wonder. I used Crimini mushrooms and sauteed them separately and added them to the Rice at the end of the cooking time.

Linsensuppe - lentil soup

2012-01-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

Lentil's one of Alena's favorite. Tonight not as the usual Linsen & Spätzle, but as a soup. A perfect meal on a cold winter night. Warming, and comforting. For added delciousness I made it with smoked links (from New Seasons), and as a side we had bread - rest of the "no-knead" bread from last night - as well as a large bowl of baby, mixed greens salad.
And yes, I am aware that legumes are very controversial in the US for the Galactosemic diet. You may know this about is by now but the only foods wie exclude are those containing actual milk sugar. We have introduced These foods to our kids, and then had their levels checked subsequent to eating different foods. This obviously is not for everybody - and please always check with your clinic first.
OK - now here is how I made the soup
1 onion chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped
3 carrotts chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2-3 bayleaves
1/2 teaspoon herbs de provence
2 teaspoons of salt
Pepper
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
Splash of white wine
1 - lactose, whey, etc. free - cube of veggie broth
2 potatoes peeled, and diced
1-3/4 - or so - Cups of dried green lentils
2-1/2 - 3-1/2 Cups of water
Smoked baby links aka Little Bites - optional
Couple of splashes of Balsamic
- Heat a Splash of olive oil in stockpot
- add onions and sautee until soft
- add garlic, carrots - salt and herbs. Sautee until soft
- add a generous splash of white wine - let ist simmer downa bit
- add lentils, potatoes, water, and veggie broth Cube
- bring to a boil - Turn heat down to a slow simmer. Cover, and cook until lentils are soft
- add links - if using - until they are heated through
- adjust salt, and pepper. Add a couple of splashes - or more - of Balsamico to brighten the flavor

No school...

2012-01-16T21:09:00.001-08:00

today, because it was Martin Luther King Day. The girlies and I spent the day at home, and wie did not go anywhere. I have to say, that this was really enjoyed by me. Just us - the grls painted while I made vegetable stock, and the dough for the no-knead - quick version - bread. Alena read to Mia Rose, the girlies took a bath, I gave them manicures, Alena worked on her home-work, they both played piano, and then we took a walk around the block. Do you know what wie found? One single pink blossom of a primrose :) - Oh, and I almost forgot the most important part. Wie listened to to the "I have a dream speech" by Martin Luther King. Both girls were in awe. We spoke about him, and what he accomplished. That was amazing! Really! To see now their interest was sparked, the questions...great.

I am sure you get the picture :) We spent a blissfull day at home...

Spaghetti with meatballs...

2012-01-16T19:57:00.001-08:00

Angelhair Pasta to be exact with home made rustic bread, and a large bowl of salad greens. Comfort food - exactly what we needed on this chilly winter day.

I have to admit that I created a little. A jar of Newman's Own Sockaroni, and the meatballs were bulk, mild italian sausage from New Seasons. All I did was add some panko breadcrumbs, and some grated parmesiano regiano. I mixed it all up, formel golfball size meatballs, and dropped them in a Single layer into the sauce untl they were cooked through. Yummy! The girlies, of course, ate their pasta "naked" with only olive oil, but with a meatball each. I call this a Dinner success in our little house - no not on thr prarie :) - in Portland, Oregon....

Sunday brunch on an almost snowy day

2012-01-15T17:33:00.001-08:00

So, snow for the valley was in the forecast for today. If you have live in Pdx you know what this means. Panic - I have seen People refer to it as "Snowmagedon". We were prepared, and ist actually snowed off and on in our neighborhood, but nothing stuck. Oh well, but it was a Perfect day to just hang out at home...

So, we made brunch at home. Apple, maple, breakfast sausages from New Seasons, eggs, toast, jam, yoghurt - Whole Soy for the girlies, and the cow stuff for the parental units - Müsli, and a big bowl of vitamin packed fresh fruit salad. Just fruit, and a couple tablespoons of sunflower Sseeds. It is like sunshine in a bowl in the middle of winter.

Today I used one of each:-
fresh pineapple, Kiwi, apple, banana; a handful of fresh grapes, as well as frozen blueberries - picked by us :) - ; and a couple of tablespoons of raisins, and sunflower seeds. At the end I squeezed the Juice of 1/2 a large lemon over it and tossed it all up...

German Saturday School followed by...

2012-01-14T19:58:00.001-08:00

...a trip back to the east side of Portland to Hopworks - one of the girlies favorite restaurants - for a late lunch. Pretzel bread - without the butter brushed on - is a favorite, then hot dogs, and fries. And drinks? Ok - it was beer all around. Root beer for the girlies, and delicious Hopworks beer for the parental units.

Oh, and before I forget guess what is new on their menu? Daiya vegan cheese - well, neither of my girlies like "cheese" on their pizza, but it is now an option at Hopworks. Whoo-hoo!!! Just in case you need the link here it is http://hopworksbeer.com/

Happy weekend!

Friday Green Bean Stew...

2012-01-13T21:21:00.000-08:00

with a loaf of homemade, warm no-knead bread. This is another of these great one pot dishes. Quick and easy to prepare, but it does need time on the stove.

1 lb beef stew - I like it cut in small chunks
1 bag of frozen green beans - I like Haricot Verts
1-2 potatoes optional peeled and chopped
1 onion- chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1-2 TBL Herbs de Provence, and other herbs such as tarragon, thyme, etc. to taste
Pepper
Salt
1 cup of white wine - or more
1-1/2 cups of water - may need more

- sautee onion, garlic, and herbs until soft when soft add
- Beef - when slightly browned add
- wine, and after a couple of minutes add water.
- Bring to a slow simmer - cover and simmer for at least 45 minutes
- Add salt, and pepper
- Add beans, and potatoes
- Simmer for at least another 30 minutes
- Adjust spices to taste. (At the end I added a couple of splashes of Balsamico to brighten up the
flavor)

Enjoy with crusty bread!

New breakfast item on our menu :)

2012-01-13T10:11:00.001-08:00

when shopping yesterday, I found non-dairy frozen Toaster Pops by Amy's. I got it as my girls get tired of the same old foods :) In any case, the girlies ate them for breakfast today - along some banana slices. The verdict? Yummy!!! Both girlies loved them and they are Galactosemia safe. Whoo-hoo always fun to find new food items....oh, and before I forget, here is the link just in case :))). http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/details/000184

Taco Thursday

2012-01-12T21:26:00.000-08:00

Here they are ready to make their Taco's. Alena already has her hands on the Tofutti. Shredded lettuce, onions - Mia Rosie's favorite, black refried beans - Alena's favorite, ground beef, pineapple salsa, and plain white rice. Yay! Oh, and I finally made perfect rice. Maybe I should not admit this, but cooking rice has always been a huge challenge for me. But today was perfect -1 cup of rice to 1-3/4 cup of water...finally.

Kaesespaetzle - Spaetzle baked with aged cheeses

2012-01-11T19:22:00.001-08:00

was our dinner tonight. We had plenty of Spaetzle left and this is a great, easy, yummy dish. Served with a big salad - delicious. I used Gruyezer, Emmenthaler our "safe" cheeses and everybody loved their dinner. Let's just say that there are no leftovers.

Both girls helped with cooking today and we had great fun. We needed a little more Spaetzle and Alena made the dough - with my help, and Mia Rose assisted in the assembly. Here is the recipe - just in case :)

Make Spaetzle -
5 eggs; 500 gr flour; 250 ml water; salt
- mix all of the ingredients until you have a heavy dough.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil
- put dough in the Spaetzlepress - a potato ricer should work too into the boiling water
- once Spaetzle float on top of the water remove them with a slotted spoon. I like to put the
cooked Spaetzle in a flat baking dish to cool
- repeat with the remaining dough

Prepare onion, and cheese
- app. 3 onions cut into fine rings
- heat olive oil in a pan, add onions, and cook until they are soft and well browned

Grate Gruyezer, and Emmenthaler - at least 3 cups total

Preheat oven at 325 F

Assemble Kaesespaetzle
- layer Spaetzle -app.1/3 - in the bottom of a baking dish
- sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika
- cover generously with cheese
- repeat at least twice
- cheese should be the last layer, cover cheese with the browned onions
- bake for about 45 minutes until cheese melted

Enjoy!

Mia Rose on her winter break as told to her teacher...

2012-01-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

a couple of clarifications from the mothership are in place :) It was not yet her birthday, and apparently Alena did not take all her princesses. However, she did play on the monkey bars and had a great time. Her calloused hands are proof :)))

Blount Fine Foods Announces Rip Roar'N Crab Soup Recall For Undeclared Milk, Wheat And Crab Allergens

2012-01-11T15:25:00.000-08:00

Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts Blount Fine Foods Announces Rip Roar'N Crab Soup Recall For Undeclared Milk, Wheat And Crab Allergens

Undeclared MILK, and egg in Safeway Snack Artist Sugar Free Biite-Sized Chocolate Chip Cookies mfg by D.F. Stauffer Biscuit Co., Inc

2012-01-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts D.F. Stauffer Biscuit Co., Inc. Issues Allergy Alert and Voluntary Recall on Safeway Snack Artist Sugar Free Bite-Sized Chocolate Chip Cookies Due to Mislabeling and Undeclared Allergens

Plain and simple - Limsen & Spaetzle

2012-01-10T19:45:00.001-08:00

Let's just say, Alena was super excited for dinner. Mia Rose helped make the dough for the Spaetzle and today we added some dried parsley for added color. I should have gotten Wieners from Edelweiss, the German butcher, as hot dogs just do not do the lentils justice. Next time - Mia Rosie still loved the hot dogs, and Alena had a second serving of lentils & spaetzle....

Schnitzel, garlic mashed potatoes, and baby green salad

2012-01-09T19:09:00.001-08:00

ahhh, the quintessential German dish. Schnitzel :) Not Wiener Schnitzel - that is veal - but "panierte Schweineschnitzel" (breaded pork cutlets), It was an easy decision as we still had some pork cutlets in the freezer, and since everybody loves Schnitzel it was an easy decision. We also had potatoes, and salad - yay! For breading I always keep Panko breadcrumb in the house as it is - always read label - without whey, or milk. The potatoes I cooked in the pressure cooker along with a couple of garlic cloves. Mashed it all up, added some Earth Balance, dried parsley, salt, and a little bit of the water from cooking the potatoes. Let's just say it was a dinner success at our little house in Portland tonight. No leftovers :)

Eat your veggies stew...

2012-01-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

this is the perfect meal to make with a bunch of different veggies. Today I made it with onion, garlic, green pepper, potato, sweet potato, carrot, can of diced tomatoes, and lacinato kale. Chicken broth, 13 bean mix - soaked overnight -, barley, chicken sausage, and sterallini - little pasta stars which are Mia Rosie's favorite :)

It always tastes a little different, but always good. Maybe I leave out the tomatoes next time I make it. Oh, and we ate it with fresh, no knead bread.

French Toast for Sunday Breakfast

2012-01-08T19:51:00.001-08:00

I think that this is actually the very first time I have made French Toast. It is usually something Ron makes - but why not? We had pancakes yesterday for a late breakfast, so we needed something different :)

I adapted a recipe for basic French Toast which was on Allrecipies -> http://allrecipes.com/recipe/french-toast-i/ by using soy milk instead of cow, used 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and about 1-1/2 tablespoons of honey. I served it with Earth Balance our vegan butter. Everybody loved their breakfast!

Simple Pasta...

2012-01-07T21:05:00.001-08:00

...that was all tonight. OK - there were also apples, carrots, parmesiano reggiano, and gruyezer. The girlies - as usual - chose their pasta "naked" just olive oil, and Italian herbs - but they liked it. Oh, and can you tell that our guests left? Only four plates - we are sad that they had to go back to Europe today :( Just wish we would live closer together - oh well, that s what Happens when you live so far from home. OK - I shall not dwell on it...have a great weekend all. Thank YOU for reading :)

Good bye Portland dinner on Friday night for

2012-01-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

our German guests at the Deschutes Brewery Pub in Northwest Portland. The Deschutes Pub is one of our favorite breweries to go to in downtown Portland. Fantastic somewhat rustic atmosphere, good food, and great beer. A great place that captures some of the essence of the Pacific Northwest. All of us enjoyed dinner - this time the girls choose to have pepperoni pizza - of course without cheese, and a glass of root beer. Each lady finished her pizza down to the last crumb...

Just in case you missed it before - here is the link to Deschutes in the Pearl http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/locations/portland

Alena enjoying her pepperoni pizza, salad, and root beer :)

Rouladen for Dinner

2012-01-05T20:46:00.001-08:00

Oh, so delicious. Beef slathered with mustarad, rolled up with Bacon slices, pickled red peppers, onions, and garlic. Served along side egg noodles, plenty of gravy, and a delicious salad. All made by my good friend just for us. Yummy!!!

P.S.: Can you see Mia Rosie in the background?

Not a single picture today

2012-01-04T22:20:00.000-08:00

Really, I must disappoint. We were invited for dinner tonight at my friend's house. It was Not only delicious, but everything she made was also safe for the girlies. Cream of zucchini soup - made with Tofutti sour cream. And you so know, that the only reason the soup was made with Tofuttin instead of regular sour cream was because of our girlies. I am beyond grateful for kg. Really! Oh, and the there was also delicious pasta. Galactosemia friendly, but as you may have already guessed theladies ate their pasta plain with just olive oil. We brought dessert - Dairy free carrot cake feom Piece of Cake vor Alena, and blueberry pushup sorbet for Mia Rosie...What a wonderful evening with friends and family

A last hooray this winter break...

2012-01-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely start into the New Year, and extended the winter break for one additional day :) What did we do? Well, let me start by telling me how we started our trip.

We started the trip with a stop at Kettleman's Bagel Shop in Southeast Portland. Here are the lovely ladies, enjoying their breakfast. Salt bagel, toasted but plain for Alena - and Salt bagel, not toasted but with plain Tofutti cream cheese for Mia Rosie...and never, ever toasted for Mia Rosie :)

Oh yes, and never ever with Tofutti for Alena :)

We left Portland, with filled tummies looking forward to our mini-trip to...to...now where did we go again? Can you guess? No, not wanting to play my game - OK - we went to a mini-vacation to the Oregon Coast. All of us love the beach, even if it is stormy as it was yesterday. It is still so much fun!

We stayed in Canon Beach in a lovely hotel directly on the beach and the only view is to the mighty Pacific Ocean. Generally I do not find hotels to be as ideal for us as we travel. There was however a fantastic pool which all of us loved, plus the beach right at our doorstep. Can't beat that even if there were not so many food options for the girlies. - I did bring along some bread but not much more - dinner was OK. The girls - as neither of them like fish that much - had fries, and shared a burger wrapped in lettuce. Breakfast this morning was a little bit more challenging. Luckily the little coffee shop had a couple of plain bagels left. The shop owner, called the bakery so I could make sure they were Galactosemia safe :) So breakfast this morning looked a little bit different...

bagel in bed while enjoying some OPB Kids :)

The girlies loved the bagels - toasted for Alena, and untested plain for Mia Rosie. Quickly the batteries were recharged for some play time on the beach...

and after the beach...pool time followed by some time on the playground, before we headed back east to Portland. On the way home, we introduced our guests from Germany to some great Sushi in Hillsboro at http://www.syun-izakaya.com/. So good - and Galactosemia safe food for our girlies :)

and tomorrow ? Back to reality...the end of our fabulous winter break

Hopping' John is the first dinner of 2012

2012-01-01T22:57:00.000-08:00

We just started a new tradition at our house for January 1st - in the tradition of the South we made black eyed peas. So delicious! I used a recipe by Emeril Lagasse found online http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/hoppin-john-recipe/index.html - instead of the chicken stock, I used vegetable stock. It tuned fantastic!!! Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-01T22:49:00.000-08:00

Here is to a happy, healthy, and prosporous 2012 filled with love, joy, and peace. From our family to your family and yours. May you all have a wonderful 2012!

Have a great New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T15:47:00.000-08:00

We spent yesterday taking a long walk at Tryon Creek and are spending the last afternoon of 2011 hanging out with the girls who are playing with their friends.

The toothfairy visited our house...

2011-12-31T15:42:00.000-08:00

Alena lost another tooth yesterday. It started to wiggle while we were up in Seattle and it already came out. Wow!!!

and look what she brought her....

one happy girl - so glad the toothfairy stopped by :)

Arizona Firm Recalls Marinated Beef and Chicken Products Due To Mislabeling and Undeclared Allergens

2011-12-30T15:41:00.000-08:00

Arizona Firm Recalls Marinated Beef and Chicken Products Due To Mislabeling and Undeclared Allergens

Best Pasta - ever - for Dinner...

2011-12-29T22:27:00.000-08:00

...we love having family visit - everyone enjoys it, at least everyone at the Pdx side :))) - Tonight one of our guests cooked for us. Pasta Bolognese - the most delicious, fantastic Bolognese ever. Really! I am not sure if I can ever recreate this....

We took a road trip

2011-12-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

up north - on the way we stopped for lunch

Alena waiting for her meal

Mia Rose and Kati waiting patiently for their meal

Do you know where we stopped along the way? Yes, we did indeed have fast food...however it's the only one our family eats when in the Pacific Northwest...Burgerville. Kids Hamburger Meal, with juice for the lovely girlies...

At our destination we visited one very fun place - and the girls got to visit with some cute pigs...

and since we stayed overnight, and it was not in downtown Portland - we went out for breakfast. Thankfully our good friend told us just where to go...

look at that delicious Vegan Pancake

Alena loved her breakfast - Vegan Pancake with plenty of fruit and a side of bacon :)

and now, would you like to know where we went? OK - here is one clue...

Do you know where we went? Yes? Are you sure? - Yup, this is the Space Needle and we went on a road trip to visit the larger city up north, Seattle :)

Oh, and we had breakfast at Portage Bay Cafe http://www.portagebaycafe.com/ It was fantastic - and to me the best is always if our girls can have just the food they like :) They had vegan pancakes, soy milk - and having Galactosemia safe food was no issue. Whoo-hoo - just what this mothership loves :)

Alena plays "We wish you a Merry Christmas"

2011-12-27T10:10:00.000-08:00

Mia Rose plays "Away in the Manger"

2011-12-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

A lovely Christmas

2011-12-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

we had indeed and guess what, Santa even visited our house. Yes, he did. Look at these excited girlies...

And yes, Santa brought just the right colors :)

Breakfast and then a nice long walk outside. One of the things I absolutely love about living in Portland is that it is always possible to take long walks outside. All of us walked up Mt. Tabor, stopped at the Wishing Tree for a special wish, and on the way back down - of course - stopped at the playground. I always feel so much better better day after a nice long walk....

After our walk the girls were ready for some long awaited movies and we started cooking our traditional Christmas feast. I love traditions, so on Christmas Day we make a Weihnachtsgans (Christmas goose) with Chestnut & Dried Fruit Stuffing, Kartoffelkloesse (potato dumplings), Blaukraut (red cabbage), and this year we also had brussel sprouts with chestnuts....and of course the butter was substituted in all recipes with Earth Balance a.k.a. Vegan Butter...

I hope you all had wonderful day!

Merry Christmas - Froehliche Weihnachten from Portland

2011-12-26T09:21:00.000-08:00

Bubbly for all - real bubbly for the parental units and sparkling cider for the girlies :)

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-25T08:34:00.001-08:00

We saw the Nutcracker in the afternoon and here they are - ready for Christmas Eve Dinner. Delicious ham, Kartoffelsalat (Potato Salad), mixed green salad, and raisin sauce. It was a dinner success! And do you know who came by for a visit after dinner? Yes, the Christkind came by and left presents for our two lovely ladies. Whoo- hoo all the way from Germany!

Happy Friday - we have guests...

2011-12-24T10:46:00.000-08:00

...there is nothing like being with family for the Holidays, right?! Our guests arrived from Germany yesterday and the first stop was a late lunch at Foster Burger as a welcome. Great atmosphere and burgers. The only thing is, that the buns are not safe for the girlies. There is a little bakery right next door and they also sell baguette buns which are milk free :) So we pick up the bun, take it along, and the ladies get their burger served on the "safe" bun :))) but you know what happened yesterday? Both ladies decided to eat the meat and neither ate any of their bread....

They are back ...frozen cheeseless roasted veggie pizza

2011-12-23T10:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's right! We accomplished all if our grocery shopping for Xmas yesterday. Trader Joe's used to have a frozen cheeseless roasted veggie pizza -which the girlies loved - which sadly was discontinued. I have been checking back for it ever since, just to be disappointed. But yesterday guess what?! Well, I already blew the answer - they are back!!! Yay - just a great item to keep on hand for those nights or days when a quick meal for the girls is needed...

But now guess what was for dinner last night?! Yup, pizza :)

Eat all your veggies soup...

2011-12-21T21:55:00.001-08:00

...and finally the end of our long day. Dinner. I made soup with onions, carrots. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, large can of diced tomatoes, barley, and 13-bean . Served along the deliciously amazing, and yet so easy to make homemade "no knead" bread. It was just what we needed to warm us up after our outing to Peacock Lane tonight.
So here you have it - our lovely Wednesday in three posts and pictures :) Good Night!

Evening outing to Peacock Lane...

2011-12-21T21:49:00.001-08:00

...before dinner the four of us set out to our traditional outing to Peacock Lane. This is the first time we went this close to Christmas, so it was crowded. Fun, but too crowded. I just wish they would not allow any cars to drive through. Especially since it is such a short block. Oh well, and if you so not live in our great city of Portland, no worries there is a website where you can check Peacock Lane out www.peacocklane.net

All better...

2011-12-21T21:40:00.001-08:00

...we took it easy today - decorating our Christmas Tree, some painting, some reading, piano lessons in PJ's :), overall silliness by mother and children and a trip to the playground were our daylight activities. Here is Alena during her piano lesson which she loves so much....

Popcorn Palace Issues Allergy Alert on 1-Gallon Value Bag Products

2011-12-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts Popcorn Palace Issues Allergy Alert on 1-Gallon Value Bag Products

Undeclared Milk, Soy, Wheat, Peanuts, and Tree Nuts

The last blood draw for 2011...

2011-12-20T21:44:00.000-08:00

...what a winter break we have. Yesterday Alena's Birthday Party, and today we went up to the "hill" (OHSU) for the girl's blood draw. Ever since we have gotten the "magic cream" aka anesthetic cream blood draws have become very routine, easy, and almost fun. We park the car at the Southwaterfront garage of OHSU, and take the tram up to the hospital.

Girls in the tram on the way up to the "Hill"

Then we stop at the Metabolic Clinic, where the girls get the magic cream applied, and voila, 30 minutes later their blood is drawn.

The girlies waiting for the "magic cream" to do it's magic

No big event. - Yup, that is what I was expecting. It has become almost somewhat painless for all of us involved. Well, but today was different. I guess that is what happens if you become too comfortable. The girls had decided that Mia Rose would go first. She is such a trooper - sat on my lap, held up her arm, and watch the entire procedure. Alena went second. She sat on my lap, and was OK for the draw. As I gathered up our stuff she said "Mommy I am so so sleep". The phlebotomists quickly gazed at each other, then back to Alena, sat her down and gave her apple juice. She had actually broken out in a cold sweat. After a few minutes she felt better, we left and then she lied down right in front of the elevators. Told me she was too tired to walk, or do anything. Do I need to tell you how I felt? I am sure you know. There was a little streak of panic and what if's'.

Long story short - after lying down, addition apple juice and a visit from the Medical Assistant to take her blood pressure, Alena was OK. It was probably just because Alena was so stressed out about the draw...In any way, I honestly can tell you that this whole entire episode - and yes, I know it really is not a big deal - got me quite unsettled. All is good now :) - Oh, and by the way we met Ron out for lunch. Both girls indulged themselves in Burgers with Fries. And you know what else, I did not cook dinner tonight. Alena ate the rest of her cake - for dinner :), and Mia Rose had the remaining Fleischkuechle from last night...

Take care!

Undeclared Milk In Gollo Brand "Pan Dominicano (Dominican Bread)"

2011-12-20T16:30:00.000-08:00

Consumer Alert: Undeclared Milk In Gollo Brand "Pan Dominicano (Dominican Bread)"

Monday Night - after birthday party - Dinner

2011-12-19T23:34:00.000-08:00

...Fleischkuechle with Swabian potato salad and mixed in greens. What are Fleischkuechle? In Bavaria they call them Fleischpflanzerl, and in other parts of Germany they are referred to as Buletten. We call them Fleischkuechle - little meat cakes. OK - the translation really does come across really well. They are not meatballs, and not hamburgers. But very delicious and our ladies love them as well as as the potato salad. So here it is the photo of our dinner tonight. Note, Mia Rosie in the background :)

Fleischkuechle, potato salad

OK - I will now call it now a night. It has been a long day :) Have a great day!

Belated Birthday Kids Party...

2011-12-19T23:29:00.000-08:00

was today for Alena's 8th Birthday. Alena's birthday this year was during the break, so it was a little challenging to have a party then. So, we decided to have the party today - the first day of winter break. We invited the kids from her class, and about half of them came for the party. The invitation promised cake, popcorn, and a movie. In class the children read about Felix and how he travels the world - Just to give you an idea here is a link to the book -> http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Felix-Little-Rabbit-World/dp/1558598863 - They are German movies, and we own two of them. Felix travels the World, and Time Travels. The original plan was to show Felix travels the World - but it did not have an English language option. Only German or Swiss German - ooops, it was a quick decision. In any case, the kids enjoyed the movie.

Oh, but what I really wanted to tell you about was the cake I made. Alena loves chocolate, so it had to be a chocolate kind of cake. I did not want to make brownies and then I found a recipe for a Chocolate-Cherry Cake. Yummy! - A huge success. And yes, of course absolutely Galactosemia safe - at least for the diet our girls follow :)

First the picture - the the recipe....

Cherry-Chocolate Birthday Cake

The measurements are again in grams - as this is a German recipe

150 gr Sugar
200 gr Margarine - soft
1 Pack Vanilla sugar - or vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
100 gr. grated dark baking chocolate (I only found one safe brand - you could also use chocolate chips)
100 gr. grated almonds
125 gr. Flour
1 glass dark Morello Cherries (Trader Joe's) drained

Mix sugar with margarine, vanilla, and pinch of salt until it is mixed together
Add eggs - one at a time
Mix baking powder, flour, and almonds. Then mix with chocolate
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the egg, sugar, margarine mixture.
When dough is thoroughly mixed pour the batter into a greased springform
Put cherries on top of the dough and gently push them slightly into the batter
Bake at convection at 350F for about 45-50 minutes (check after 40 minutes), or at 400F in conventional oven

Enjoy!

Happy Holidays Concert

2011-12-19T23:07:00.000-08:00

it is a triple post kind of night. Yup - I have lot's in store tonight as you don't even know about yesterday. Right?! What is going on? No, I am not slacking off - just being swamped :)

So yesterday we went to the Happy Holiday Concert at the Oregon Symphony. This was the third year in a row that we went to the Kids Holiday Concert. I think that the 2011 was the best one yet. There was Mrs. Claus, and the Grinch. Both girls were just mesmerized. It was really, really amazing. So here are a couple of pictures of our lovely ladies - and the lovely gentleman :)

Before the concert - Alena was not in a smily kind of mood :)

All excited for the concert to start

Along with our tradition of going to the Holiday Concert we have the tradition of eating dinner at Pastini's which is right around the corner from the Schnitz. Fun - dinner and great, homemade pasta. After dinner a stroll through Nordstrom's and then via Pioneer Square to see the tree back to the car....

Mia Rose on Pioneer Square...

both ladies in front of the tree...

the Portland tree in all it's splendor...

Leftovers for a delicious Saturday lunch

2011-12-18T10:10:00.001-08:00

...remember the risotto we had a couple of days ago? Well, I made so much that we ended up having a ton of leftovers. It was a perfect lunch - risotto cakes with a side of salad. To make the risotto cakes, I just added a bread crumbs - I use Panko as it is dairy free and Galactosemia safe - formed the cakes and fried some up with a small about of oil in a griddle. They turned out good - as a first course :) we had cups of Gulasch. Perfect - no need to cook anything else.

Oh, you are wondering about dinner? We were invited to a party where there was lots, and lots of foods to graze on. Also for the girls - there were only a couple "non-safe" items which we pointed out to them. All of us had a great time :)

Gulasch was our Friday Dinner

2011-12-17T06:40:00.001-08:00

oops, I fell asleep with the ladies last night - so it is a belated dinner post. Not to worry, this should be the exception to the rule, now that I am back in the "swing of things". In any case - Gulasch is not fast, but easy to make and so delicious. I always make a lot so that we have left over. I find t amazing how six ingredients make such a fantastic dish. Onions, paprika, beef, water, salt, and potatoes. OK - make it seven ingredients because there is also a splash of Olive Oil which I use to soften the onions....

I serve it - just like my Grandmother did - with crusty white bread and pickles (not salt or dill pickles, but in vinegar). I buy Hengstenberg brand from Germany at WorldPlus Market. http://www.hengstenberg.de/de/rh.php/produkte/gurken - only in German - Grrman stores also carry them, and I found them on the web as well...I have posted the recipe before. Please let me know if you would like it and I would repost in the comments...Happy day, all!

Hopworks - again...

2011-12-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

I was in an out-of-town meeting all day, so there was no time to cook. Well, OK I probably would have been able to make pasta but tonight was also the Winter Sing-along at the girls school. Here is the thing, if we eat dinner at home, it is always, always so hard to leave the house again. So there were two reasons to go out, right? The girls like it, there is a fantastic play area, good food, and fantastic adult beverages :)

We ordered the usual pretzel bread without the butter brushed own - this time it was correct the first time around; and hot dogs for the girlies. And guess what, I almost - just almost so - forgot to take the dinner photo. So here she is - Mia Rosie eating her Hot Dog, and Fries...

Velvet Creme Popcorn Co. Allergy Alert On Undeclared Milk, Soy, And Wheat In Products

2011-12-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts Velvet Creme Popcorn Co. Issues Allergy Alert On Undeclared Milk, Soy, And Wheat In Products

Vanillekipferl - Vanilla Crescent Cookies

2011-12-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

I do not know about your school, but here in Portland our kids have one late day a month. It means that school starts two hours later than usual. All of us generally enjoy the extra time in the morning and today was just such a day.

A late day, and is there not a better thing to do than bake cookies in the morning? Well, I had actually made the dough a couple days ahead and just pulled it out of the fridge. So that is what we did. We rolled, and shaped crescent cookies. Baked them, and sprinkled them with a vanilla-sugar mixture. Oh, and just in case you wondered - they are completely Galactosemia safe :)

Alena enjoying the freshly baked cookies...

Vanillekipferl - Vanilla Crescent Cookies

250 gr Flour
1/8 teaspoon Baking Powder
125 gr. sugar
Vanilla - a few drops or a package of vanilla sugar
3 egg yolks
200 gr. vegan "butter"
125 gr. finely ground almonds

Mix flour with baking powder, and sugar.
Add vanilla, eggs, and margarine cut up in chunks

put mixture on low - then medium speed

Add almonds

mix them into dough until it is one dough

Wrap dough in ceran wrap and chill for at least an hour
Roll dough into a long roll
Cut slices - about 1/4" off the roll
Roll the slices and form a crescent
Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Bake at 375 F for about 9-10 minutes
Once you remove them from the oven sprinkle Vanillekipferl with Vanilla Sugar/Powdered Sugar mixture (1 pack of vanilla sugar to about 50 gr of powdered sugar)

Enjoy! - Oh, and before I forget. This recipe is a perfect tag along for the Zimtsterne. Zimtsterne recipe calls for 3 egg whites, while this one calls for 3 egg yolk - perfect, is it not?

Mushroom Risotto on a cold Tuesday night

2011-12-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

Today I gave Ron a choice. Either sweet potatoes and black beans with rice, or risotto. I originally suggested squash, but mushroom is even more delicious :) So mushroom risotto it was. Delicious with crimini mushrooms, and today I used mushroom broth instead of vegetable broth. Brings out the yummy mushroomy, earthiness of this risotto. - It was a big success for the entire family. Mia Rosie cleaned her entire plate. Risotto, salad, and the rest of the salad dressing along with onion in the bottom of the salad bowl...

Baked chicken was for Dinner

2011-12-13T20:18:00.001-08:00

Baked chicken leg's, oven Fries - Trader Joe's - and mixed salad with baby greens, carrots, and yellow peppers. This - I must say - was such an easy, and quick dinner to make. I somewhere feel like I cheated :) - I think that this is the first time ever, that I baked chicken leg's. It is usually not one of the meats on my "standard" list. But it was part of the Family meat pack I got at New Season's in late October and it's what was left in our freezer :) So baked chicken ist was...
very delicious and I certainly will make it again...

Chili is the perfect dinner on this Monday night

2011-12-12T19:07:00.000-08:00

Delicious, comforting, quick and easy. Chilie, Avocado, and corn bread.
An onion, a large clove of garlic, a pound of beef, beans - or just beans - a large can of tomatoes, chili spice, salt, and pepper will so the trick. Sautee the onion, add the garlic, and chili powder. Then the beef and brown - or the beans. When it is browed add the tomatoes and a couple cans of beans. Let is simmer for at least 30 minutes. Adjust salt, pepper, and chili to taste.
I cheated - always on this - on the corn bread with the box from Trader Joe's. Just add soy milk, oil, and an egg. I have to say that the Trader Joe's cornbread is by far better than Jiffy's. But that's just me.
Stay warm, all!

Zimtsterne on a blissful lazy Sunday...

2011-12-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

We did so much yesterday that we relaxed all day and I made one more batch of cookies as our supply is already dwindeling. So today I made Zimtsterne - cinamon stars. They are delicious and contain not one milk product, derivative, or substitute. How about that?! They taste almost like "gebrannte Mandeln" aka Moondrops. Almonds, cinamon, sugar, and egg whites...
Here they are - mine are not as beautiful, but they are tasty. Oh, and is the apple Nikolaus not cute? Mia Rose made it last week in the Sophie Scholl Saturday School - and in the background is our advents wreath :)
Here is the recipe - measurements are in gram as ist is from a German cookbook; my scale does measurements in grams and ounces.
ZIMTSTERNE - Cinamon Stars
- 3 egg whites
- 250 Gram powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla - or a package of vanilla sugar which you can get at a German store, and I
have also it before at New Season's
- 1 teaspoon ground cinamon
- 275 - 325 gr ground almonds or you could also use hazelnuts
* Beat egg whites until very firm
* Slowly pour sifted powdered sugar into the egg whites
* Set about two Tablespoons of the egg white mixture aside - for frosting
* Add Vanilla, cinamon, and half amount of the nuts
* Mix under the meringue carefully and slowly add the remaining nuts
* Cover area with flour - or powdered sugar - and put dough on top of it
* Roll the dough to about 1/4" thickness - you may need to put flour on top of the dough as well to
prevent dough stickig to rolling pin
* with a star shaped cookie cutter cut out the cookies. Place them on a parchment lined cookie
sheet
* frost cookies with the meringue - you may have to add a couple of drops of water
*Preheat oven to 300F - bake for app. 20 minutes
Enjoy!

A fun Saturday spent in downtown Pdx

2011-12-10T20:56:00.000-08:00

and I have to tell you right away that there will be no dinner picture tonight. Sorry, if you have been anticipating it :)

After having so much fun last night, we had a very slow start into our Saturday. We have not been downtown with the girls for a long time, so what better time? It was a freezing cold day here in our great city of Portland - OK, freezing cold for us with temperatures hovering about 39F - but fun to be outside and get into the holiday spirit. We heard and saw some of the Christmas Tuba on Pioneer Square - who know - which both girls loved since both of them love to sing. Then worked our way up to Finnegan's the toy store which is at a new location. By the way, I find the new location quite disappointing :( Our next stop was to go to the Ducks store. So, if you are not in Oregon and not into college Football you probably have no idea what I am talking about :) so here is a link to the Oregon Ducks http://www.goducks.com/ - oh, and if you are a Beavers Fan I really do not favor one more than the other. Really! So here is the link to the Oregon Beavers for all you Beaver people :) http://www.osubeavers.com/

Now back to our day. We took the Max from Pioneer Square to the Saturday Market, and walked to the Duck store. And what surprise, Santa Duck was there and we met him. The picture is unfortunately not yet ready, but I promise to post it! Mia Rose told me later "...I thought he is fake, but he is real..." Oh, so worth it :)

We strolled back to the Max station Portland via the great Portland Saturday Market which is another great Portland institution http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/ We stopped for a warm up coffee, and a hot chocolate for the girls. I just love Portland. Of course, they had soy milk, and yes, the chocolate was vegan - so it was no issue at all to get a Galactosemia friendly Hot Chocolate for our girlies. Look at Alena warming up...

and a couple steps later we stopped to get some "Moondrops" - which are fresh roasted almonds aka "Gebrannte Mandeln" Yummy! Almonds, sugar and cinnamon - such a delight. Freshly made, warm, so good and yes, Galactosemia friendly. Who-hoo!

mmmhhh, delicious...

Happy Holidays to all!

Friday Night Fun...

2011-12-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

I know, I know it is already Saturday night and I have fallen behind :) In any case, we had a communal dinner yesterday with our friends and neighbors. The girls had great fun hanging out with their friends, and we also got to enjoy some adult conversation. The four girls ate first, then had a treat of Almond Dream Praline Crunch Ice Cream - which by the way all of them loved - and then got to watch Tangled (I call it Rapunzel) along with some fresh popcorn. Here is a picture of the girls at dinner

Alena and her friend Ana before sitting down for dinner

These two ladies just could not wait :) - Mia Rose and her friend Sophia

So, while the girlies enjoyed the movie we enjoyed a nice dinner with adult conversation. Great start into the weekend.

Oh, oh, I almost forgot - we had Polenta, mushrooms, salad, peppers, meatballs, and sausage for dinner. Yummy!

We went out on Thursday...

2011-12-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

Alena had her "All about Alena" presentation in school today. She showcased herself and put together a presentation with pictures as well as stories about her life. The project was actually quite an undertaking as we went back to look at pictures from the time she was born until now. We did have a lot of fun!

In any case, she had a successful presentation and what better way to celebrate than with a dinner out. We had dinner at Deschutes Brewery Public House here in Portland. http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/locations/portland - Both ladies chose to eat the kids Hamburger which on the menu is a Cheeseburger. We are so proud of our girls - they ordered themselves "Kids hamburger without any cheese, or dairy on it because we are allergic". Whoo-hoo...the waitress was amazing. She double checked on the bun - so if you go and you cannot have the milk products be sure to order the burger with the Gluten Free Bun. It is made with almond milk, instead of the cow :)

Look at the ladies - very happy with their Burgers :)

Tortilla Soup was for dinner this Wednesday

2011-12-07T23:56:00.001-08:00

nice, and warm - perfect to warm us up on a chilly day. I made a cheater version. How? Well, I used Tortilla Chis instead of frying up fresh, crisp, Tortilla strips. It still was good. Onion, garlic, chili powder, salt, and peper.Added to it a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste - then four cups of chicken broth and finely chopped cilantro. I brought it to boil and let it simmer for about 15 minutes before adding a can of drained black beans, a can - small - of diced tomatoes, and a cup of - frozen - corn. Served it with lime wedges, chopped avocado, Toffuti sour cream, and tortilla chips on the bottom and on top of the soup. Nice, and warm...

Chicken, mushroom ragout on egg noodles with salad...

2011-12-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

...was our Tuesday night dinner. I actually made the ragout already yesterday. Chicken thighs, crimini mushrooms, onions,a bottle of white wine, and -Tofutti - sour cream. It was in the oven for almost 2 hours yesterday and turned into a yummy dish. - I served it with egg noodles and the - mostly - usual salad...

Uncle Bens Whole Grain Rice Garden Vegetable - undeclared Milk

2011-12-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts Mars Food US Recalls Two Date Codes of UNCLE BENâ€™S Whole Grain White Rice Garden Vegetable Due to Undeclared Milk

Monday Night Dinner is not very exciting...

2011-12-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

...I kid you not :) it was however liked by the entire family. What was it? Well, do I dare admit to it? Ha, ok ok it was - brace yourself - Mandarin Orange Chicken from Trader Joe's. Every so often it is such a treat and it left us plenty of time to work on more stars for our windows :) Picture of those will follow soon...

In any case, dinner was Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken out of the freezer, served with Jasmine rice, and - finally - mixed green salad. Not very exciting, but quite good!

Milk Free Weihnachtsbroetle - Christmas Cookies - and a busy Sunday...

2011-12-04T21:26:00.000-08:00

...we - OK three of us - pretty much stayed home all day, and ended up being quite busy. We started the day with making cookies. Mia Rose was invited to another Birthday party today, so we decided that she would cookies along as a treat for herself and the others. In preparation, I had made the dough already last night, so this morning all we had to do is roll out the dough. We took turns making the cut-outs. Mia Rosie cut out the first portion, while Alena cut out the second portion. Turned out to be a good solution :)

By the time the cookies were baked, frosted, and decorated it was time to take Mia Rose to the party. The host planned on serving pizza, so I pre-ordered a Kids Pepperoni Pizza without cheese at Pizzicato which was right on the way to the party. On our way to the party, we stopped to pick-up the pizza. I dropped off Mia Rose, the pizza, cookies, and the usual talk in regards to milk, etc. As always, she wanted me to leave as soon as possible...she had a good time.

I really wanted this post to be about the Galactosemia safe Weihnachtsbroetle - Cookies - we made yesterday and today. So far, we have three kinds. Haselnussmakronen - Hazelnut macaroon's -, Walnussguezli - Walnut Cookies, and Ausstecherle - Sugar Cookies. What do you think? - All turned out great - recipes are below. I would love to hear from you - really :) Oh, and I plan on making a couple more. Just not sure what. - Probably Vanille Kipferl, and Zimtsterne - let's see...

Haselnussmakronen - Hazelnut Macaroon
4 Egg Whites beaten
150 - 200 gr. fine sugar
300 - 350 gr. finely ground hazelnuts
1/8 tsp cinamon
3-4 TBL ground chocolate - I use Ghiradelli's
whole hazelnuts for decoration for each piece

- beat the egg whites until they are very firm
- slowly pour in sugar, and cinnamon
- mix hazelnuts with chocolate, and carefully mix the nuts under the egg whites
- Pre-heat oven to 300 F
- using two teaspoons put little mounds on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Decorate each - if you like -
with a hazelnut
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes

Walnussguezli - Walnut Cookies
- 175 gr Flour
- 100 gr. finely ground walnuts
- 125 gr. sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 75 gr liquid vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance) slightly cooled
- 1 egg
To decorate -
- 1 egg beaten
- Walnuts, or walnut pieces

* mix flour, walnuts, sugar, and salt in a bowl
* add slightly cooled off margarine
* stir mixture until it turns into a smooth dough
* take the dough and roll it into one-two rolls approximate 6cm in diameter and wrap in ceran wrap
* cool for about one hour
* Preheat oven at 400F
* Take dough out of the fridge, cut slices approximately 3-4 mm off the roll. Put the cut cookies on
a parchment lined cookie sheet. Put egg on top of each cookie, and finish with an individual nut, or nut
pieces on each cookie
* Bake for app. 10 minutes

Ausstecherle - Sugar Cookies

- 375 gr. flour
- 100 gr. vegan margarine cut into slices
- 150 gr. sugar - or a little more if you like your cookies very sweet
- 2 eggs
- 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
- vanilla sugar - or liquid vanilla
- Frosting -> app. 125 gr. powdered sugar and stir app. 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or other juice/liquid to
your taste. The frosting can also be colored if desired

* Mix all of the ingredients into a dough
* Roll the dough up in ceran wrap and cool for about an hour
* Spread a little flour on your working area, roll out the first half of the dough with your rolling pin
* cut out individual shapes and place cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
* preheat oven to 350F and bake for about 10 minutes
* when cookies are cooled - spread frosting on the cookies, and - if desired this is the girls second favorite
part - decorate them with colored sugar, sprinkles, etc.

Nikolaus

2011-12-03T21:59:00.000-08:00

The girls have been attending the Sophie Scholl Samstagsschule since we have gotten back from Germany in late October. It is a German immersion school and taught on Saturday's. A couple weeks back, I posted pictures from the Laternen making day for St. Martin's. Today, the children learned poems, and prepared for their special visitor Nikolaus. In tradition of the celebration for St. Nikolaus Day (which is actually December 5th) each child took off a shoe and left it in the hallway.

And here look what happened....

a present in each shoe - one for each person from Nikolaus.

Nikolaus first visited the children. The children recited poems in German for him, and St. Nikolaus also recited a German poem for the children "Tief vom Walde da komm' ich her..." Take a look

Nikolaus meets the children...

there he is..

Once Nikolaus left and went back into the Wald it was time for the children to take a look to see wether Nikolaus left them any presents. And see how happy our girlies are...

Two very happy girlies. And yes, their treats were Galactosemia "safe" - no chocolate but Gummibears, little oranges, nuts, and a pencil each. Both were thrilled. Alena did ask me later so "Mama, how did Nikolaus know that we cannot eat any Kuhmilch?" Hmmmm, I wonder how he knew ;)

As all of us went out to the suburbs today, we decided to have lunch at McMennamins Cornelius Roadhouse. It is basically just up the road from the school. The girls shared a cheese less pepperoni pizza, and a basket of tater tots with plenty of honey mustard dressing.

Oh, and if you are looking for the daily dinner picture - there will be none because the girlies ate their leftover pizza for dinner. Neither of the parental units needed any additional food today. An off regular schedule day - but hey, it is the weekend....

Pasta Dinner...

2011-12-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

...fresh pasta and home made sauce, no short- cut on the sauce today :) - No salad today - again! - and the girls are their pasta as usual which is plain with Olive Oil.

Mia Rose stayed home from school today. Out of nowhere she got sick last night so she still was not back to her regular self, and only ate a couple of pieces. I sure hope that she will be back to her usual self by morning....

Thursday Night Dinner is...

2011-12-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

...warming, delicious, satisfying soup. I call this the "eat your veggies soup" and make it with dried 12(?) beans - soaked the Night before - seasonal vegetables, a can of go tomatoes and vegetable or chicken broth. Today I also added barley. The veggies today were leaks, carrots, garlic, potato, and a bunch of lacinato kale. I also had some bulk, italian sausage left. I rolled the sausage into small meatballs, fried them until browned, and added them to the soup.

A dinner success - both girls love "Wurst" in any form, Alena loves all beans, and Mia Rose loves all veggies...

Wednesday Night Dinner to warm us up..

2011-11-30T23:36:00.000-08:00

was Chili. Plain, and simple chili with - to Alena's delight - lot's and lot's of beans. Here it is - nothing special - but so good...

along side I served. No, let me stop you right there! I know exactly what you are thinking, mixed green salad - the usual boring side. Oh no, we did not have mixed greens tonight but...

can you tell what it is? Are you curious? Maybe just a little bit? - It is a roasted root vegetable salad with reduced balsamic vinegar. It turned out fantastic. The entire family liked it - however Mia Rosie loved it. In case you are curious as to how I made it -

1 parsnip
1 sweet Walla Walla onion
1 golden beet
1 yam
several brussel sprouts
Olive Oil, salt, pepper, reduced Balsamic vinegar - or regular balsamic vinegar

- Preheat oven to 350 F -
- Peel, and clean vegetable. Cut the parsnip, beet, and yam in fairly thin, long slices. Break the onion up into chunks
- Toss the vegetables with olive oil and spread them in one layer into a baking sheet, or pan (I use Pyrex dish)
- Bake for at least 30 minutes until vegetables are soft, slightly browned, and sweet
- When done take vegetables out of the oven and let them cool down
- Arrange them in a larger shallow dish. Add salt, pepper, and balsamico to taste
- Serve at room temperature

Nice and sweet plus a nice change of pace at long last :)

Tuesday Night Dinner - leftover

2011-11-30T00:27:00.000-08:00

Linsen & Spaetzle a.k.a. lentils & spaetzle.

Another great thing about this meal is, that it is even better on the second day - and makes for a super, super easy dinner night. Nice :) So tonight it was Linsen, Spaetzle, sausages, and mixed greens. Everyone was was happy...

I just bribed the kids...

2011-11-29T22:32:00.000-08:00

...what?! Yup! We overslept this morning and woke up at 7:40. The first bell at school rings at 8:35 and the tardy bell at 8:45;I had to be downtown for a meeting by 9:30. Let me tell you, it was not the most pleasant morning. Ron and I made breakfast for the ladies and then it was a race against time. Could we make it to school before the tardy bell rings? I retreated to a new trick, I promised the ladies cupcakes if we made it to school on time...yes, I bribed them :)

And guess what?! - Wow! Everybody got their shoes, coats, and backpacks on. The trip to school was a race against time, but I kept reminding them "cupcakes if we get to the classrooms before the tardy bell..." It was a very, very close call. Mia Rose was in her room on time, and yes, Alena also got to her room just right before the tardy bell rang. Whoo-hoo - the promise of cupcakes worked...and I also made it downtown in time.

On the way home, I stopped at Saint Cupcake to pick up two delicious Vegan - Galactosemia safe - Cupcakes for our girlies. Chocolate-chocolate, and carrot - I let the pictures tell you the rest

Monday Night after Thanksgiving weekend dinner...

2011-11-29T00:56:00.000-08:00

...have you already given up on me? I am still here - and still up. So for all practical purposes to me it is still Monday night, even so technically the clock already changed a little while ago. - Thanksgiving weekend was all fine and dandy, even so I ended up being under the weather a little. Oh well, it happens to all of us. - All else is well here in our little house in Portland and the girls were excited to go to school today as they did miss their friends. I have to say so, that we did have a lot of fun and all of us enjoyed the week off. As they say, all good things come to an end, so it was back to school for the ladies and work for me today. Then again, we all enjoy what we do...

So dinner tonight - the first meal I made since Thanksgiving - was Linsen, Spaetzle, Wurst (sausages), and green salad. A favorite of all of us, and cool, dreary weather calls for a nice warm, filling meal like it.

Lentils, spaetzle, and mixed trees for dinner

Oh, and in case you are wondering about the picture. The centerpiece in the middle is an advents wreath - and we lit the first candle yesterday. It's a German tradition :)

Have a great day, all!

Friday - the day after Thanksgiving a.k.a. Black Friday

2011-11-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

Well, we did not spend any time in a mall, nor even a second in our car. Instead we walked - and the girls biked - down to Hawthorne to spend a beautiful sunny late November day. Lunch at Porque No - and plenty of time at the playground in the sun.

And for dinner we ate the rest of the delicious Vegan Cranberry Apply Pie, and yummy Soy Vanilla Ice Cream....

So many things to be thankful for...

2011-11-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

...I know Thanksgiving is over and #Thankful is probably no longer trending on Twitter. This morning for me is however the perfect time to reflect on what I am thankful for.

There are endless persons and things to be thankful for. You know, the usual things - all of my family, love, wellness, our health, our home, having plenty of food on the table, being able to travel, the things everyone is thankful for. So I will not reflect on the know about....So here it goes.

I am thankful - beyond words - for Newborn Screening and all the people that put so much hard work in to have the tests implemented in each State. It is - as I am sure all of you know - that without Newborn Screening we most likely would not have our wonderful family. It is only because of the test, because of the lab technicians that worked over the Thanksgiving weekend eight years ago, the physician that tracked us down, the pediatrician who had a gut feeling and not afraid to go by it, and the infectious disease physician that we celebrated Alena's eight Bday this week. Just think about, what could have happened. Think about what could happen if the test would not be mandatory/opt in for every baby. The results could be devastating. I would not have known about the Newborn Screen. - I am thankful for the individuals at www.screenbabies.org who work tirelessly to educate about Newborn Screening. Through Save Babies through Screening organization we learned about additional private newborn screens. By the way - the positive diagnosis for Classic Galactosemia for Mia Rose was received from the private lab. I am however heartbroken, when I remember that the organization was started because a baby died of complications from Classic Galactosemia before the Newborn Screen results were processed. Just heartbreaking....

There is so much more to be thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving from

2011-11-24T17:47:00.000-08:00

our table to yours. - Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and gravy. For dessert vegan cranberry apple streusel pie with vanilla soy ice cream...now rest and then we will be watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving...I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Eve Dinner...

2011-11-23T18:52:00.001-08:00

...no, it cannot be true! Yes, it is :) I made Fish-sticks for dinner. Yup!!! The girls have been begging for it. Really, I do not make this up. How could I?! In any case, fish-sticks, Jasmine rice, mixed green salad with pomegranate.

It has been rainy all day and I admit to enjoying it. Everything quiets down, and we stayed at home the entire day. A walk around the block - but that was it. Alena and I made her new big puzzle while Mia Rose drew, we finished some presents, the girls had piano lessons and yes, there was also tv time for the girls. Mia Rose assisted in cleaning out the pomegranate while Alena played some more piano. Oh, total bliss...Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Look who had a Birthday

2011-11-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here is our beautiful birthday girl. There is no school this week at the Portland Public School System so we had the day to ourselves to celebrate and have fun. And fun we had!!! We started the day with Brownies - not the perfect breakfast food but it's a once a year occasion and Alena loves chocolate. By the way, I admit to making them out of a box. Yup - not my usual thing but these are so good and free of milk :) I used the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix and they turned out beautiful and full packed of delicious sweet chocolate flavor.

Next the girls were allowed some rare playtime with my iPad before we went for our second breakfast at Alean's favorite restaurant Jam on Hawthorne. Guess what she ate?

Yup, vegan chai pancakes and a slice of bacon.

The next stop was for a pedicure and manicure before

we headed to Playdate PDX with a couple of friends for some well deserved playing time. For some reason I did not take any pictures there - what was I thinking! - but here is the link. So fun, and they do have Galactosemia friendly foods. The girls all shared a couple of warm Pretzels which were safe for everyone. Just in case you like to know more about Playdate PDX - I highly recommend it for a fun time - here is the link http://www.playdatepdx.com/.

Alena chose Bridgeport in Northwest Portland for dinner - both girls enjoyed their Pizza Dogs while their friends had cheese pizza, and quesadilla.

We ended the day as it began. With chocolate brownies....

Monday Night Dinner is...

2011-11-21T23:31:00.000-08:00

...peppers-beef-and-linguine. I know it sounds like an odd combination, but it turned out well. I had bought a family pack of meat a few weeks ago at New Seasons and we had a couple of Top Round Steaks left. As I usually do not cook that much with beef, I looked for option in Epicuirious and found this combination. I did tweak the recipe a little because I marinated the meat in lime juice and Balsamico before hand as suggested by several commentators. I also left out the olives, and for obvious reasons left out the provolone as well. I served the beef and pepper mixture atop of the pasta which was not ideal. Next time I will mix everything up together before serving...

Recall of Diamond Crystal Brands Inc. for GFS Sugar Canisters Due to Undeclared Milk

2011-11-21T08:09:00.000-08:00

Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts Diamond Crystal Brands Inc. Announces a Nationwide Recall for GFS Sugar Canisters Due to Undeclared Milk

It's double post Sunday :)

2011-11-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

Pasta for dinner - plain with olive oil for the ladies, and with tomato sauce for the adults. An easy "lazy" meal...just the right thing for this Sunday.

Saturday Night Dinner

2011-11-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

...sweet potatoes, and black bean stew served along couscous. It was an impromptu kind of dinner using what we had in the house.

I first sautéed an onion in olive oil, and a finely minced garlic clove as well as a good amount of cumin. Then added some salt and 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste. Next I added a finely diced sweet potato and half of a golden beet (because I had it left over). Finally a can of black beans - drained - and 2 cans of water. I let it simmer for a little under an hour. Turned out fine for an impromptu kind of dish :)

Saturday afternoon diversion...

2011-11-19T16:28:00.000-08:00

...Yummy cupcakes from Saint Cupcake because sometimes you just need a treat! Is this Vegan Cookie and Cream cupcake not fantastic looking? Alena assured me that it tasted just as good.
Mia Rose is at a Birthday party this afternoon and I stopped at Saint Cupcake to pick up a treat for her. They are serving vanilla cake at the party so I got a vanilla cupcake for her to match the others. And how can I stop at Saint Cupcake to just get one? There were four different vegan options today. Vanilla with vanilla or chocolate frosting, chocolate with chocolate or vanilla frosting, red velvet, and cookies-and-cream. Each one of them amazing - and there are even more Galactosemia "unsafe" cupcakes. Delicious! Take a look - here is the link http://saintcupcake.com/

Friday is pizza night...

2011-11-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

...who does not love pizza? It is even better having a Friday night pizza party with good friends. That is what we did for dinner last night. Can you see how much fun everyone had? Pizza, with sparkling Strawberry juice (that was Mia Rosie's choice), followed by a movie.

Our friend loves cheese pizza while Mia Rose and Alena prefer pepperoni - obviously without cheese. We ordered the pizza half with cheese, and the other half no cheese, but pepperoni. The pizza came just as ordered - perfect! Can you see it in this picture?! Girls sitting side by side - one eating cheese, while the other is eating her Galactosemia safe pizza. Both girls know not to eat pizza with cheese. These are moments that are now so - for lack of better words - normal, and something I would not have thought possible almost eight years ago when Alena was first diagnosed.

Happy Saturday!

Maumee Valley Vending Company Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Milk in Buffalo Chicken Wedge Sandwiches Containing Cheese

2011-11-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts Maumee Valley Vending Company Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Milk in Buffalo Chicken Wedge Sandwiches Containing Cheese

Thursday Night Dinner - is finally Pasta :)

2011-11-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

...Orichietti to be exact. The girlies love them, such a fun shape. How did I serve them? Well, I know the picture is by far not as beautiful as yesterday's dinner. It was however just as good and - whoo-Hoo - sucessful. So what is in them? Red onion, garlic, golden beet, purple chard, and basil chicken sausage. That was it! No bread, or salad just pasta.

Please let me Know if you would like me to share how I made it. - It really turned out great, and it is packed with veggies. Who does not love greens...

Wednesday Night Lauchkuchen - Leak Tart

2011-11-17T11:00:00.000-08:00

...what a productive morning! The girls ate their breakfast, the mothership made their lunches, and then made the yeast dough for the tart. We left - in time - for school, all showered and ready for the day. Felt like quite an accomplishment :)

In any case, we had leak tart for dinner, along a mixed green salad with Pomegranate. And who knew, that the pomegranate was the absolute winner of the night? Well, actually everyone like the tart but Mia Rose declared her love for pomegranate. So delicious...