a cut and a cake

I got a haircut this morning. Bangs were calling me once again. So I obeyed. And so far, I really like this cut. But looking at this picture, I realize how freakishly asymmetrical my face is. Gah. It's good that I can say I'm not photogenic, because I promise you, I don't look this bad in real life (at least I don't think I do!).


This was Julian's birthday cake, modeled after a Clone Trooper helmet he has. I think for a last minute winging-it kind of thing, it looks pretty good. The taste on the other hand....wow. The cake was two layers: one white and one chocolate. We used Whole Foods' GF mixes, thinking they would work nicely. The texture of them was good. But the taste...oh god. The taste was awful. Seriously, do not use these mixes. I am not kidding you when I say it tasted like fish. Mmmm! Fish birthday cake! Needless to say, my next task is to whip up a kick-ass cake from scratch. I'm not a mix kind of girl anyway, but we were in kind of a hurry. This proved to be a very good learning experience for me though, because now I know what I like, and what I definitely do not like about GF baking. Trial and error. I can at least take that away from this experience, because I'll be better off when I finally launch my own GF bakery in town.

I learned the hard way last night while making a batch of cookies how important it is not to leave out xanthan gum, or some other kind of binder, in GF baking. The xanthan gum wasn't left out on purpose, but rather because I was busy and distracted and completely forgot until it was too late. The taste was perfect, but the texture was crumbly and the cookies were flat and pancakey. But still, valuable for me to know as a baker. These little things I learned are tucked away in my brain vault for later on and will only make me a better baker.

five

Today, Julian turned 5.  He's so excited about being five now and has gone around telling everyone he sees, strangers included, "Hey! I'm five today!"  At midnight last night, he woke up and asked if he was five yet, and if his head had grown any bigger yet.  He told me he's been trying very hard today to be as grown up as he can because he's five now, and five is big.

It's hard to believe that he used to be this tiny baby!  But I remember the day he was born so clearly, and I'll remember it just as clearly when he's fifty as I do now that he's five.

This picture is from his first trip to Malibu.  Julian has been a beach boy from the very beginning.

Our family.

In the tent on our first camping trip to Jalama Beach in California.

Once again, at the beach.

Along with always being a beach boy, he has always been a runner.  There is no stopping this guy.

Now, on to the fashion portion of Julian's life.  He's really into dress up and role playing.  Depending on the outfit, you must address him as such character or you will probably be ignored.  Today, he would only answer to Indiana Jones.  Some days, it's Darth Vader.  This next picture is from a particularly long cowboy spell.  The cowboy outfit always had to be worn with the yellow Batman shirt.  

I realize that most kids have not seen Grey Gardens, but since Jules is my child and it's my favorite movie, he's seen it a number of times.  And this is his Little Edie outfit.  No joke, he assembled this himself.  Little Edie would have been proud.

He's going to be so pissed at me when he's an adult for this one.

A lovely ensemble.

Happy Birthday to Julian.  He's the best thing to ever happen to me, and I'm so thankful for him in my life.  Every day is new and wondrous to him, and I'm so lucky to have him to remind me to live like that too.  

monster baby

Allow me to introduce to you the Monster Baby.  This little lady was made as a birthday present for a lovely two year old we know.  So, the story on these crazy looking dolls goes back to when Julian was about two himself, and I was hugely opposed to overloading him with Disney toys because I felt like buying him those things would be supporting The Man in a way.  Yes, I know that's crazy.  Whatever.  Also, I don't want to buy toys for my child that were made by other children.  Mostly I wanted him to have some little handmade dolls that he could look back on when he's 20 and get all nostalgic for his childhood.  Since he is a boy, I figured I'd make a line of monster dolls of both genders (not hermaphroditic Monster Babies) that he could play with.  Julian is responsible for naming them Monster Babies, although when he was two, it sounded more like "Monsaahhh Baybeeeez".  

I have to share this new Coldplay video because it's so adorable, and I love seeing real people depicted as puppets.  My favorite part is probably the little dirty roadies. 

My love of Bono has been expressed here before, so it should come as no surprise to you that I am fuh-reaking out about the release of U2's newest album, No Line On The Horizon.  Wheeee!!!

obamaawesomesauce

People of bloggyland, the day has finally come.  Obama is our president!  What a great day for America!  

We started our morning out by waking up at 7:00 am and playing in the very light dusting of snow until we were too cold to handle it anymore.  Then, we all jumped in the car and drove over to Krispy Kreme to get our free inauguration day donuts.  Of course, mine was divided between Wade and Julian.  Just walking in the store was absolute torture for me.  There is nothing as delicious as the smell of fresh donuts.  I have never once intentionally glutened myself though, and I'm definitely not about to start.  Maybe it's time I worked on a gluten-free donut recipe. We did pick up some pretty cool paper hats and have been wearing those all day long. 

Once we got back home, we tuned in to all the news coverage leading up to Obama being sworn in.  To me, it was very exciting and a chance to completely geek out.  To Julian, it was a bunch of boring news stuff.  But once the ceremony began, we had Julian sit next to us on the couch and explained what a very important day this is for America.  He got it about as much as a 4 year old boy can, and managed to sit very still through most of what was being said.  A couple times I had to ask him to stop singing the theme to Star Wars and just listen.  I would like to make a side comment and say wtf is up with Aretha Franklin's hat?  That thing was the size of Jupiter.  Still, she made me get a little weepy. 

Here's to new beginnings, and to hope.  I hope you all have had a great inauguration day, full of inspiration. 

I will leave you with this picture of Julian trying to pose like a cool Jedi, oblivious to his sneaky father behind him. 

potato broccoli soup

Last night I made some potato broccoli soup.  That's what this picture is, even though I know you're thinking it looks like a bowl full of barf.  (My picture taking skills totally suck.  I still have no idea how to use my fancy-pants camera and wish I just had a small, simple one.)  

It was about 5 pm and we didn't really have anything in the house to make for dinner.  I definitely didn't feel like going shopping, so I started digging through the fridge to see what I could make.  Soup is always really comforting on cold nights, isn't it?  

This recipe is super easy, even if you're not a cooking kind of person.  And the total cook time is about 30 minutes.  You'll need:

• about 6 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
• one bag of broccoli florets, or about 2 heads of broccoli
• a box of chicken or vegetable stock 
• pepper and kosher salt
• half and half

First, boil the potatoes in a large pot of water until they're soft.  Since they're quartered, it doesn't take that long.  After that, dump some water out.  This isn't an exact science, just enough to cover the potatoes.  Next, add the broccoli and the box of chicken or vegetable stock.  If you're making this a gluten-free meal, always make sure that the stock you buy is gluten-free!  Why would stock need to have gluten in it?  It doesn't.  It's completely stupid.  But I've learned that even things that shouldn't have gluten often do, so checking is extremely important. 

Boil the potato, broccoli and stock mixture until the broccoli starts to soften.  Once the broccoli turns a nice dark green is usually when I stop.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  When everything is done boiling, I add in about 1/4 cup of half and half.  If you're trying tot cut calories or are vegan or dairy sensitive, leave this out.  It's not necessary, but just makes the soup really creamy. 

Finally, ladle small batches of soup into a blender and blend until creamy.  Put everything back into the pot and stir well.  Add a dollop of creme fraiche to the bowl for added flavor/muffin top enhancement. 

This picture has nothing to do with soup, but I just thought I'd add it.  Since this is my first real winter, (being a Florida and Southern California girl) this is the first time I've ever really seen leaves change color and fall off the trees.  Seriously.  So, this is also the first time that I've gotten to see all the bird nests that spring left behind.  This little nest is in the tree right in front of our house.  All over our neighborhood, I see these and wonder if they'll be used again eventually, or if birds will insist upon building new homes.  I suppose I'll have to wait until spring to know for sure. 

knit wit

These past two weeks, I've rediscovered knitting.  Long long ago in the far far away land of Los Angeles, my friend Shannon showed me the basics of knitting and purling and I was well on my way to having a lovely purple scarf.  Apparently, I have the attention span of a lima bean.  I got sidetracked, probably by something shiny, and put my purple scarf aside promising to return later.  When I did finally return, I couldn't remember for the life of me what the heck it was I had learned.   

Recently, Crystal from Sonnet of the Moon made these adorable crocheted washcloths and it got me thinking about how I've been meaning to finish that purple scarf.  So, I busted out my Knit Knack Kit, which I had bought at Costco foreveeerrrrr ago and never bothered to open.  Inside were very simple instructions on knitting, as well as some cool project ideas.  I finished up my purple scarf in no time, and then Wade mentioned that he would like one as well.  But not purple.  We took a trip to J0-Ann Fabrics and he picked out some nice manly colors, and I got to work.  I haven't really lived here long enough to know if there are any cool local yarn stores. I really hope there are.  Anyway, the above picture is Wade's halfway done manly scarf.  I'm making pretty good progress though, and once I'm a more comfortable knitter, I will be moving on to my Knitted Icons book that Carolyn bought me for my birthday some time before the birth of Christ.

Oh, kitties.  They just can't resist yarn projects.  Stevie wasted no time getting in and poking around.  I'm pretty sure the caption for this picture could be, "O hai!  I haz a yarn. Let me show u it." 

Also, Julian and I can't stop saying the part from Pee Wee's Big Adventure where he's looking for his lost bike, and says, "....and knitting and knitting and knitting...." We totally say it in the Pee Wee voice, too.  My kid is so cool. 

rosemary olive oil bread

Gluten-free olive oil rosemary bread, originally uploaded by allisonthemeep.

Around our house, we make a fresh loaf of bread on a weekly basis. This is not a result of being a domestic wondergirl (I wish) but really because store bought gluten-free bread is flipping expensive. And usually way too dense for any kind of sandwich activity. Ahh, sandwiches. I love you.

Last year for Christmas, Wade bought me a Cuisinart breadmaker because he knew I would never buy something like that for myself. It has turned out to be one of the best gifts ever. There's even a gluten-free setting on the machine so the dough doesn't get over-kneaded, and have too long of a rise or bake time.

I would post the recipe I use for making bread on here, but I don't really have a set one. That is to say, I take whatever flours I have on hand, and throw them all into the mix. Most of the time it turns out really delicious, and it's nice to get a little variety and figure out what tastes the best. Sorghum and rice flours together make excellent bread. Garfava flour makes a bread that tastes like, well, sour farts. Blech.

One thing that is funny to me about being gluten-free: I don't miss eating bread nearly as much as I thought I would. I loved bread before, but I've opened myself up to so many new food opportunities simply out of necessity that I find myself not feeling left out of the fun when everyone at the table is dunking a piece of bread into their soup. But I did miss one kind of bread. The rosemary olive oil bread that LaBrea Bakery makes is one of the best things I've ever tasted. Those people know how to make a mighty fine loaf of bread. When I went gluten-free, I was a little sad over the idea that I would never again be able to eat that. But just the other day I decided to try my hand at replicating this piece of yum. I will not be denied! There is no reason to live without things I love simply because they have gluten, when I can just make a gluten-free version.
(Totally a side note, but there's a GF magazine called "Living Without" or something like that...and I won't subscribe to it just because the title is whiney to me. It makes us GF peeps sound like a bunch of martyrs. I realize that this is probably a helpful publication to some folks, but the name bugs me too much to give it a try.)

For this bad boy, I used a mixture of brown rice, sorghum, and teff flours. The oil I normally use is grapeseed or canola just because they're mild tasting, but of course it got replaced with olive oil for this recipe. Duh. The other ingredients are just eggs, xanthan gum, salt, sugar, milk, and some powdered buttermilk. I'm not sure if the powdered buttermilk was necessary, but I did it anyway since I have no idea what I'm doing. Also, I threw in a ton of fresh, finely chopped rosemary. After the dough was in the baking pan, I sprinkled a layer of kosher salt on top.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. It was a little doughy on the bottom part, and I think maybe it could have baked a little longer? But otherwise, the flavor was delish. And, it was Julian approved.

If you bake bread (doesn't have to be GF!) what kinds of bread do you like to make?