Bucatini with Bolognese Sauce

and side of - surprise, surprise - mixed green salad.

One of the benefits of working from home most of the time is that I can start to cook early on the day, and leave it simmering on the stove all day. Bolognese sauce is just such a dish that I like to leave on the stove on low for at least three hours. So today, with the weather all rainy again, was the perfect Bolognese day. For a change we had bucatini pasta and I am happy to report that both girlies loved the Bolognese sauce :). Just in case you are interested, here is the link to my recipe http://galactopdx.blogspot.com/2012/01/friday-night-rigatoni-with-bolognese.html

Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup, quick no-knead bread, and mixed green salad

was our dinner on this rainy Monday in May. I saw a recipe post here http://wvfrugal-wvsaver.blogspot.com/2012/05/matzo-ball-soup.html a couple of weeks ago, and kept it in the back of my mind. I love matzo balls, and this recipe with lemon zest as well as ginger sounded fantastic. Well, let me tell you they were delicious and they are all gone...Instead of the chicken I made vegetable broth. For the vegetable broth I use vegetable bits, scraps, and leftover which I keep in the freezer in a bag. I adapted the recipe for te matzo balls a tiny bit by using Earth Balance instead of the chicken fat, and I used one tablepoons instead of two. Here is the link to the recipe again http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/matzo-ball-soup-recipe/index.html

As a side we had bread and today - this is a first - Mia Rose and I added seasame and poppy seeds. Now why did I not think of that sooner?! So, so good :). Here is the link to the quick no-knead bread http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/dining/081mrex.html?_r=1

I call this dinner success in our little house in Portland!

Maifest and fun

It was another busy weekend here - luckily it was a sunny busy weekend.  The blue skies and sun are hard to remember as I look out on the grey sky while writing this. Take a look at the girlies on the hammock with Vanilla the cat...I should also post a picture of what it looks like right now ;)

Well, actually only Saturday was super busy as we headed out for Mai Fest at Oaks Park by Zeitgeist Northwest - German cultural organization with a mission to bring contemporary German culture, and education to Portland - an organization I am involved with.

Both ladies had their face painted as - yes, you guessed right - butterflies

they played...

Ron then took both girlies to a birthday party for our neighbor's and friends daughter.  And yes, there were cupcakes.  The mom - our good friend - made sure that there were plenty of vegan cupcakes for the girlies.  Yay!!!

They came back to Mai Fest where the girlies ate some pretzels, and - surprise, surprise - sausages - Pretzels by http://fressenartisanbakery.com/index.html are now 100% vegan :). Refueled they were ready to go on a couple of the kids rides, and then they were tired....

Oh, and just in case you would like to see some more fantastic pictures from the Maifest, here is a link to the photo's on the Zeitgeist Northwest Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.457544617605709.122844.220830307943809&type=3  There is even a picture of me, and one of each girly.  Let me know if you find us :)

Asparagus Risotto on a Sunday Night...

what a crazy, busy weekend it was. Just a whirlwind...I will tell you all about it in the
morning. I did want to share with you our dinner tonight yet. In was actually the only - yes, can you believe it - meal I cooked all weekend; OK - I am not counting the pancakes, nor the Laugenweckle I made for breakfast...

I needed a quick dish - comfort food = risotto, delicious and creamy. All of us like it and who dös not like asparagus, right?! This is my basic risotto recipe. I do not use a recipe - so please Note that the measurements are not 100%. And yes, we follow the European Galactosemic diet and our girls do eat Parmesiano Regiano (we do not allow Granna) but you can leave it out as well. The risotto will still turn out...

Asparagus Risotto
Splash of Olive Oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic minced
Pinch of Salt
1-1/3 of Arborio Rice
1 C white wine
1 qt. Chicken broth (I use Pacific Foods brand)
Rind of a piece of Parmesiano Regiano
Splash Olive Oil
1 bunch of asparagus, cleaned, cut into 1/2" pieces, tips reserved
1 C grated Parmesiano Regiano
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance, or other vegan "butter"
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Warm chicken broth in a separate pot.
2. Heat Olive Oil and when hot add the onions with a pinch of salt. Sautee until soft, then add
garlic, After about a minute add,
3. Rice stir frequently until kernels become slightly translucent, then add wine. When the
wine is just about reduced, add
4. Parmesiano Regiano rind, and 1/2 of the chicken broth. Risotto should be at a very slow
simmer. Stir frequently - when reduced add the remaining chicken broth.
5. In a separate Pan heat a splash of olive oil - when hot add asparagus (all pieces) and
sautee quickly until they turn bright green. Remove from heat and reserve
6. When chicken broth is reduced to about 1/2" above the rice, add asparagus. Stir frequently,
when most of liquid is reduced and rice has desired consitency remove from heat and add,
7. 1/2 C of grated Parmesiano Regiano, and Earth Balance. Stir throughly - adjust salt and
pepper to taste. Serve with remaining Parmesiano Regiano, and side salad.

Yesterday late day - today dentist

Just a couple of days in our ordinary lives...Portland Public Schools a.k.a. "PPS" start two hours late once a month.  Yesterday was that day and it ended up as an unplanned as well as first "bring your kids to work day".  Why, well...OK if you really want to know I will tell you.  After  almost an entire school year completed, I was under the impression that the girls would be in school by 9:45 and therefore made an appointment at ten in my downtown office. As we were getting ready in the morning something felt strange and that is when it hit me.  Yes,  school starts at 10:35 and there is no way for me to make the meeting plus have the girls in school in time. So that is how the girls ended up in my office yesterday for our inaugural "bring your kids to work day".

Today we were on time in school, however both girls had a dentist appointment. So today I picked both of  them up before lunch.  Luckily both really like to go - it must be the prizes

Mia Rose was determined to sit in the pink chair

As the lunch break at school was already over we stopped at Whole Foods for lunch.  The selection is amazing, plus every ingredient listed, and allergens are declared - it sure makes life so much easier. After lunch the girls went back to school, and dinner?  A sunny day in Portland, and the entire family was home a perfect day to  go to the Hedgehouse. We all get to sit outside and the kids have time to run in the grass...Oh, and in case you are wondering what they ate, it was the usual P.A.B.S.T. Sandwich without the "P" so Avocado, Bacon, Tomato Sandwich  - the "P" stands for Provolone which - of course - was not on their sandwich...

Root Beer and A.B.S.T. 

You may remember from my prior posts the place next to the Hedgehouse.  If you guessed Pix Patisserie you are right?  Both kids were determined to have dessert, and today there was a great day for "milk free" people at Pix. Six different, vegan sorbet's to choose from.  Whoo-hoo...now who says kids with Galactosemia never get to eat dessert out?!

Strawberry Sorbet

Pennsylvania Firm Recalls Lamb Koftis Undeclared Allergen -> MILK

Pennsylvania Firm Recalls Lamb Koftis Due to Misbranding and an Undeclared Allergen

Parsley Pesto, Crunchy Lemon Quinoa, baked Lemon Chicken, and

the usual mixed green salad. This has been a busy crazy week; I was out a couple of evenings. Birthday party one night, and a long meeting last night. Not to worry I will fill you in on our dinners :).

On Tuesday I made fresh parsley - yes parsley - pesto and served it over linguine. Yesterday we had the rest of the parsley with roast chicken. I know it sounds a little odd, but it was amazing. As you know - or may not know - both of our girls have Classic Galactosemia and we allow the to eat Parmesiano Reggiano. The origin of the recipe is New Seasons Market www.newseasonsmarket.com - try it, it is delicious...

Parsley Oregano Pesto
- 1 bunch curley parsley, washed & large stems removed
- 1/2 C fresh oregano leaves
- 1/2 C raw sunflower seeds
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/3 C Parmesiano Reggiano, grated
- lemon - juice, and zest of a small lemon
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 C Olive Oil
1. In food processor pulse parsley until chopped, then
2. add oregano leaves and pulse until combined with chopped parsley, then
3. Add sunflower seeds, garlic, and Parmesiano Reggiano and pulse until well combined, then
4. Add lemon juice, and zest - pulse and slowly add olive oil until well combined

So the theme - in a way - was lemon :) tired of pasta, potatoes, and rice I decided to serve quinoa as a side. I adapted the Crunchy Lemon Quinoa from this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Lemony-Quinoa/Detail.aspx

Crunchy Lemon Quinia
1/2 C sunflower seeds
2/3 C Quinoa
1-1/2 C water
1 pinch of salt
1/2 small onion finely diced
1/4 C cilantro leaves chopped
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cumin
lemon - juice and zest diced of a small lemon or 1/2 larger one
salt and pepper to taste

1. Toast sunflower seeds - remove once they start to get fragrant and turn slightly golden.
Remove and reserve in separate bowl
2. Add quinoa, water, and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil and cook until all water is absorbed and
quinoa is soft,
3. Mix quinoa, with sunflower seeds and rest of the ingredients. Adjust salt, pepper - I also added
some more fresh cilantro

Enjoy!

Sausages with Sherry Caramel Glazed Pears = Tuesday Dinner

Dinner was delicious the day however was not so fantastic. Alena and I have caught some nasty cold which makes both of us crabby and there were a couple of meltdowns. The first one right before school some were late, and the second one just before I started on dinner. The two of us were not the happiest of campers, neither of us. We talked it through and it was at that time I realized that Alena was also not feeling good. We worked it out and all are happy again... But now dinner. I know it really is not pear season until fall but we had Maple Sage Sausage links from New Season's left and I remembered this recipe. It is a New Season's recipe which I picked up a couple of years ago and also made before. Today however it was the best yet. I served it with basic mashed potatoes and the ever present mixed green salad.

Here is the - adapted by switching Earth Balance for the cow butter'- recipe. Original by http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/.

You need
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C sherry vinegar
2. firm ripe Bosc pears, quartered, cored, and (if you want) peeled
Splash of lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance or other vegan butter
2-3 large shallots, quartered lengthwise
1/4 tsp salt
App. 1-1/2 lbs. link pork sausage - app. 8 links

1. In a medium pan bring sugar and 1/4 C of water to a boil. Stir frequently until sugar is
dissolved, keep at a boil - keep stirring - until mixture is a deep golden caramel. Then
2. Carefully, add the sherry vinegar. It will STEAM so be very careful. Then remove it from the
heat and stir until caramel is dissolved. Pour into a separate bowl and reserve. Then,
3. Mix the pear spears with lemon juice and set aside. Next,
4. Add earth Balance, 1/4 C of water, and shallots to the pan in which the caramel was made.
Heat until the liquid is evaporated and the shallots brown.
5. Add the pears and continue to cook for app. 6 more minutes. Then,
6. Stir reserved caramel - step 2 - to shallot, pear mixture as well as salt and pepper to taste.
Cook for 1 minute then remove from heat.
7. Cook sausages in a different pan.
Source http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/

Serve sausage with the glazes pears, a side f mashed potatoes, and a salad. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful day.  Certainly almost everyone must have had one here in PDX as it was just a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine.  Perfect to just hang out, or go for a hike, or bike ride - or like me just hang out.  I had a lovely day,  Ron did everything while I relaxed and read my book on a lawn chair in the back yard. Total bliss!!!

And yes, Ron also made breakfast, as well as dinner it does not get much better than that...

Ron and I toasted with delicious Gruet Rose and Lemon Sorbet.  The girls joined us with a big glass of lemon sorbet...

For dinner Ron made steaks on the grill, oven potatoes, and - you know we love it - salad...

The girls gave me a big smile.

And Ron even recorded a cover song for me...

Thank you so much!!! Signed with a singing heart, the mothership...

Dinner at a friend's house...

I just love Friday nights!  Well, I know that almost everyone loves Friday night, right?  The work week is over, the kids are out of school, and the leisure plus errands of the weekend await...Often times we pick-up Ron from work downtown and go out.  It is just a great night...

Yesterday one of our friends called to see if we were available for dinner.  What a treat as we have barely seen each other this school year.  The girls are best of friends, but with busy schedules it is just hard to get together. So everyone was super excited - plus my friend is an amazing cook,  and everything they served was 100% Galactosemia safe.  She even made sure to get vegan cupcakes from St. Cupcakes....

Now take a look at this amazing menu...

Artichokes

Grilled artichokes

Here is Alena and her friend enjoying the artichokes...

Delicious artichoke

The second course for the kids was fruit

while us adults - and Mia Rose - feasted on Stinging Nettle & Mushroom soup of which I forgot to take a picture. Lastly are friends served us flank steak with the most amazing homemade chimichurri sauce, grilled potatoes, and greens.

Flank Steak with Chimichurrie sauce

Take a look at these best friends....