Great visit to the Metabolic Clinic

Today we all went up to see our friends at the Metabolic Clinic at OHSU. After almost six years you would think that we are all totally used to the drill. Of course we are, but there still is that little nagging tiny feeling in my heart saying "what if something is not right?" And of course there is Mia Rose who said in school the day before "I am sick that's why I have to go to the doctor tomorrow", and Alena who asked the receptionist "no shots, right? No Blutabnehmen (blood draw), right?"...So yes, it still pinches me every time.

In any case, our visit turned out to be wonderful. The girls are growing beautifully, live feels nice and soft (or however this is really described), eyes are clear, speech is good, LEVELS are FANTASTIC, and overall our physician was very pleased with both of our sweet little ladies...The best news of all? We currently go up to OHSU for an appointment twice a year, however because they are both doing so well we are switching to annual appointments! Yeah!!! Of course, this does not include the draws. Those are still at least twice a year for both girls, but this great appointment just shows to me that it is possible to live a normal life, include as much food as possible, and be HAPPY...as I said before Galactosemia is part of our life, but it certainly is not our life, and does not rule our life.

We celebrated today by going out for dinner to Deschutes Brewery Pub, followed by a visit to the Jamison Square Fountain, and ice cream at Ben & Jerry's in the Pearl (Lemon sorbet for Mia Rose & Mango Sorbet WITH chocolate sprinkles for Alena). The perfect ending to a great day.

Homemade easy Gnocchi & Pesto recipe

We love Gnocchi. They are delicious, and filling; some of the store bough ones contain whey, or another milk derivative, and I just do not like the frozen ones. Plus the homemade ones just taste so much better :)

Here is the recipe

Gnocchi

• 200 gr. (about a good 1-3/4 C) Flour
• 500 gr. (2-1/4 C) Potatoes (I used red potatoes as they should stay somewhat firm when cooking)
• Salt
• 50 gr. (3-1/2 Tbl.) Earth Balance melted

1. Peel potatoes and boil in salt water until done
2. Pour flour into a bowl
3. Push potatoes through ricer onto the flour
4. add Salt
5. add melted Earth Balance
6. Put everything gently together (I use a scraper) until it becomes a firm dough - this process should take about 5-6 minutes; very gently knead dough
7. Divide dough into four equal parts
8. Form, and shape each one into a long skinny roll with about 1/2 inch (1 cm)in diameter
9. Cut each roll into equal gnocchi, each about 1 inch, or longer (2.5 cm)
10. Bring water with salt to a boil
11. Add the entire Gnocchi batch at once to the boiling water
12. turn down heat to a simmer
13. Cook for about another minute once they float to the surface
14. Take out of the water

You can serve Gnocchi just with garlic & olive oil, crispy fried sage leaves, tomato sauce, etc. Since I had a bunch of basil, I made Pesto...

PESTO

• Bunch of basil (leaves only) - about 2 packed cups
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/3 Cup of pine nuts, or walnuts
• 1/2 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 Cup of Parmesiano Regiano (optional - if you use, pls be sure that it is the imported version - FYI - Grana Parmsiano is not aged as long)

1. Put garlic in food processor and pulse until finely chopped
2. Add basil leaves and pulse
3. Add pine nuts and pulse (if you use walnuts, then process them before the basil)
4. Add Olive Oil and pulse
5. If you do not add the cheese it is done and delicious - you may want to add salt
6. Add Parmesiano and pulse (no additional salt is needed)

FYI - I did not have any nuts in the house and the pesto still turned out great.

Please let me know if you like it...Happy eating :)

Stuffed French Toast & Apple Syrup

This past weekend we hosted brunch for friends. I like it because its early in the day and a lot of it can be prepared ahead of time. Plus, the big confession ;), I really love bubbly and isn't brunch the perfect time for a nice glass of bubbly? Maybe a Mimosa?! Anyway, so there is bubbly for the adults along with Fruit Salad, Apple Chicken Sausage, Marionberry Jam (so very proud to announce that its from the fruit we picked last week), French Toast, and apple syrup.

Our girls like fruit, but also (this seems to be a given) the French Toast along with the apple syrup and Jam. The recipe is easy and it can be prepared the night before. Just pop it in the oven 45 minutes before you want to serve it. Well, I have not posted recipes in a while so here we go.

Stuffed French Toast Strata

• 1 1-lb. loaf French Bread
• 1 8-oz. package of Tofuti "Cream Cheese" cubed
• 8 Eggs
• 2-1/2 Cups "milk", or "creamer" (I use Soy and like plain the best)
• 6 Tablespoons Earth Balance melted
• 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup

1. Cut bread into cubes,
2. grease a 13x9x2 inch baking dish
3. Place 1/2 of the bread cubes into the baking dish
4. Top with "Cream Cheese"
5. Top with remaining bread cubes
6. In blender mix together eggs, "milk", margarine, and maple syrup until well combined
7. Pour mixture evenly over the bread & "cream cheese"
8. Press down lightly to moisten all layers
9. Cover with foil and let rest in fridge for 2 - 24 hours

When you are ready to bake the French Toast

1. Preheat oven to 325
2. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until center is set, and edges are slightly golden
3. Serve with Apple Cider Syrup

Apple Cider Syrup

• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Cup apple cider, or apple juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons Earth Balance

1. Stir sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon together (in small saucepan)
2. Stir in juice, or cider and lemon juice
3. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly
4. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes
5. Remove pan from heat and stir in margarine until melted (I actually did not add more margarine and it turned out good)

I have had this recipe for a very long time and adapted it to fit the galactosemic diet; unfortunately I do not have the name of the author, title, etc.

I love Kale, Mama...

As of last week I am no longer buying produce on the Farmer's Market, or in the store. What is going on? Did we give up on veggies? Wow, that would be terrible...no, of course not, we just started to get our veggies delivered. It is too late in the season to get a share in a CSA, but it is never to late to join "Organics to You". So, last Tuesday was the first time we got a box full of veggies. Let me tell you, it is very, very, very impressive. Mushrooms, Snap Peas, Lettuce, Garlic, Fresh Onions, Carrots, Potatoes, Broccoli, Zucchini, Tomatoes, Basil, and Kale. And yes, the girls eat everything, we do not exclude one single vegetable. They love tomatoes...Mia Rose actually ate an entire pint of cherry tomatoes the other day :)

In any case, so we have had the Mushrooms with new Onions and Pasta; Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Couscous; home made Gnocchi with home made Pesto (pls let me know if you are interested in the recipe & I will post it...and yes, the pesto I made was with Parmesiano Regiano); Kale with black beans and rice...So why, the title? Today we had black beans, rice, and Kale for dinner. Alena loves black beans, Mia Rose on the other hand sees her plate looks at it (so imagine one pile of rice, pile of black beans, and pile of sauteed kale) and says "Mama I love Kale..." It was just so cute that I had to share it :)

Lately it seems that my posts have nothing to do with CG. Well, on one hand this one certainly does not but on the other hand it does. Just like with earlier posts about the berries it goes to illustrate that we live a normal life. The girls eat all fruits & veggies, even Parmesiano Reggiano and they are doing fine. I used to be so frightened that something terrible would happen if they would eat certain food which are not allowed under the Acosta Diet. I remember when Alena was first eating solids how I analyzed every single ingredient. Poor girls, she did not have any apple sauce, nor carrots...I sound like a broken record now, but I have come a long way. Remember the glass is always, always half full...

P.S.: Here is the link to Organics to you...http://www.organicstoyou.org/

Vanilla "ice cream" with chocolate sauce and raspberries

We love summer. Long days, walking barefoot, kids in swimsuits, sunshine, Oregon berries...

Yesterday the girls and I went berry picking again. We ate all of the berries from our last trip (yes, all 12 lbs. of blueberries were eaten within 3 days!!!) Good thing there are still blueberries available even so for only another two weeks or so...So we went again and came back home with
12 lbs. of blueberries, 3 lbs. of marionberries, and 3 lbs. of raspberries. Marionberries are so thorny, and Alena's absolute favorite. On the way home Alena kept talking about chocolate with ice cream, berries with ice cream, carrots (?) with ice cream and chocolate...well, you get the picture. How could I resist but to buy the fixings for ice cream sundaes?!

For the first time I bought Vanilla Bean "ice cream" made from Hempmilk. WOW - is that tasty. It is made by Living Harvest Foods, Inc. and the brand is "Tempt"...Here is the link to the "ice cream page" http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/CategoryDisplay?cgmenbr=655972&cgrfnbr=3021040. The flavors include Vanilla Bean, Mint Chip, Coffee Biscotti, Chocolate Fudge, and Coconut Lime. So far I can only pledge for the Vanilla Bean. It is delicious...oh, and for the chocolate sauce I bought Chocolate flavored Syrup by Santa Cruz. The girls loved this too :) Check it out, here is the link http://www.scojuice.com/products/dessert_toppings/chocolate_syrup. The girls topped the "ice cream" with the chocolate sauce and raspberries.

Oh, and if you wondered what happened to the berries. 1 bag of blueberries are frozen (yeah!), marionberries = 8 jars of jam, raspberries - most of them are eaten, and I made 2-1/2 jars of jam out of the rest, 1 bag of blueberries will be made into jam, the last bag of blueberries will be eaten :))) - I LOVE Summer!

I love to hear from you, so please let me know if you like this...

Fun day at the pool followed by popsicles

Yesterday we went to Sellwood Pool to cool off...what fun we had. I did not feel like making a second stop at Staccato Gelato. There are snow cones for sale at the pool, but there is also an ice cream vending machine. Guess what? As you can see, there were Popsicles the girls can have...Isn't life great?! :)

This time we had a fun day...

Today we drove back to the place where Alena had a seizure a few weeks ago. Both Ron and I had to go back to feel good again about the place, and know that it had nothing to do with the location. I certainly did not want to avoid the recreation area as I had avoided Emanuel Hospital for over four years because of PTSD. In any case, we went back today and had the absolute funnest day. It was great therapy and I think that it just maybe OK...

It was a very warm sunny day in PDX, and about ten degrees cooler up there. Alena just got a bike with training wheels and we brought that along as well as Mia Rose's bike. Mia Rosie's bike is w/o pedals, she sits on it and uses her feet. Its great to learn the balance thing. We took "Streamwatch Trail", looked at the fish, threw rocks into the Salmon River, waded in the Salmon River, and also brought lunch along. Our fantastic lunch de jour consisted out of PBJ for Ron, Mia Rose, and myself. Alena prefers to just stick apple pieces into peanut butter. She ended up eating 1-1/2 apples with a ton of peanut butter :) (made both of us oh so very happy). We then trekked back up to the car, loaded in the bike and drove to the "Family Picnic" area. There is a huge open field, and also a nice playground. The girls were ecstatic...Perfect ending for a perfect day. Take a look at this great place here is a link to the broshure http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/files/brochures/Wildwood_brochure07.pdf. Oh, and what does this have to do with Galactosemia? It really has nothing to do with it at, but you know what? We did not think once about CG...Have a great week.

Espos and Nature's Promise Sorbetto Recall due undeclared to milk - specific lot sizes

I just received information about this recall. The panel will be updated by next week.

Hiland-Roberts Ice Cream Announces Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Specific Lot Numbers of Espo brand and Natures Promise brand Sorbettos Due to Containing Undeclared Milk

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:59:00 -0500

Hiland-Roberts Ice Cream, Norfolk NE is voluntarily recalling sorbet products manufactured for Espo's Cucina Dolce, Inc. because they contain undeclared milk. The recalled products are pint containers of Espo's Sorbetto and Nature's Promise Sorbetto.

Please click on the above link for detailed information about the recall.

More summer ice cream fun - Staccato Gelato

Friday morning's are our playground days. We meet up with other families in Sellwood Park. Today, after playgroup, we all went to have ice cream at Staccato Gelato. Most children had chocolate, vanilla, or any other type of milk based ice cream you can imagine. Alena and Mia Rose had sorbet. Today they had a selection of four different flavors. Lemon, Raspberry, Plum, and Blueberry. Mia Rose ate (as always) a scoop of lemon, and Alena chose Blueberry. Delicious!!! Honestly, I would have never thought that being around other kids eating chocolate, or vanilla ice cream would be a non-issue. What do I mean by that? Well, I imagined that the girls would have a hard time with other kids eating the flavors they love (OK - Mia Rosie really is a lemon sorbet girl, not vanilla soy cream or anything else :) ). It is no issue at all. Alena told the other kids, no I cannot have that...and I told Mia Rose that it had "Kuhmilch" in it. I am so impressed, on top of that I was not the least bit anxietal. No fear, that they would ingest, or taste from another kids...what a great journey :)

On more thing about Staccato Gelato, homemade, local gelato. The place is such a wonderful east side place...you just have to love. The staff is great, they are helpful, and there is even a play corner in the Sellwood store. :) FYI - there are two locations one in North East Portland, and the other in Sellwood (South East Portland).

- 232 NE 28th Ave. and
- 1540 SE Bybee

Here is a link to their Web-Site http://www.staccatogelato.com/

SO DELICIOIUS - Coconut Milk Ice Cream from Turtle Mountain

We found something new that is quite delicious! On our weekly trip to the grocery store Alena picked out a box of "Mini Chocolate Vanilla Bars" from So Delicious. They are made from coconut milk, super creamy, and very, very good. FYI - I just saw that they are now also offering Coconut Milk in 1/2 gallon containers. It is fortified with minerals and available in plain, vanilla, as well as chocolate. In addition, there are now also coconut milk yoghurt's available. We have not tried the milk, but the yogurt. The yogurt is also quite good, however it runs on the spendy side if you know what I mean ;). What do you think? Would you like to try it too...well, here is the link http://www.purelydecadent.com/. Let me know what you think.