run, run, run as fast as you can.

Our annual gingerbread baking using our favourite spelt recipe.  This year Iko and I had some helpers (which certainly did speed up the baking).

The felt puppet story this past week (told enticingly each day by the Mama and then copied by the bugs) is The Gingerbread Man.  I'm sure you remember that old classic where the gingerbread man escapes being eaten by a man, woman, cat, dog, horse, cow and then ends being gulped down in one bite by a wily fox who takes him on a swim into the river. 

{photos by RC}

We all nominated one of Iko's gingerbread men creations (he's down below loaded with apricots, raisins and chips) as THE ONE most likely to run away after popping out of the oven.

nut balls.

For awhile (a seemingly long while) Ash's two favourite words were nut and ball.  So you can imagine his delight when we decided to make some nut-balls.   In fact the delight is so outstanding this is becoming a weekly habit (very dangerous for the parents if you dip a few in good, dark chocolate).  This is one healthy, fun food idea for kiddies.

1 cup nut butter (almond, peanut, cashew etc.)

3/4 cup chopped dates

1 1/2 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut

1/2 cup ground nuts or seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, etc..)

Reserve 1/2 cup coconut.  Combine nut butter, dates, coconut and ground seeds.  Form into balls and roll in reserved coconut.

apple stars, apple sauce, apple eating?

And several really good stories about apples including:  The Apple Star, Three Brothers and the Apple Tree,  The Apple Pie that Daddy Made.   Mmmmm, we love apples and autumn.

peaches for pie.

So tantalizingly sweet, so juicy, so enormous, so perfectly firm -  many in our belly and four in an old fashioned, double crust peach pie.

Apples are next!

disappearing dozen.

Working on my gluten free, no sugar baking recipes.  This one is a hit so far.

Banana Muffins

1-1/4c.  barley or brown rice flour

1c.  rye flour

1/4c.  almond flour/meal

3t baking powder

3/4t sea salt

1-1/2c. mashed bananas

2 eggs

1/2c. honey

1/4c. olive oil

2t. vanilla

Add raisins, dates, or other dried fruit (and if you feel like a little bit of sugar choc chip would be yummy).

Bake at 350deg. for 15 to 18 minutes.  Makes one quickly disappearing dozen. 

daddy's cake.

Daddy asked for white cake with white icing for his birthday.  So, the bugs and I got to work on a sunny day while Daddy hit the slopes with his friends.  Yes, it took the (almost) whole sunny, ski day.  There was so much flour on the floor the boys were taking running slides.  The cake was, well, a masterpiece.