Ginger Peach Muffins

"What I am is a person with a love of peaches, a fear of botulism, and a chest freezer in my garage." --Catherine Newman

Ginger Peach Muffins

3 cups flour (white, wheat, or a blend)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
3 cups peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line 24 muffin cups.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the oil, eggs, and sugar. Stir the oil mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in the peaches and ginger. Spoon into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pans for a few minutes before placing them on wire racks to cool completely. Makes 24 muffins.

Ashland, NH Area Travel Guide

Planning a trip to New Hampshire? Here are a few places we like to visit.

My mom grew up spending her summers on Lake Winnipesaukee, between Center Harbor and Meredith. When my sister and I were growing up, we always spent our vacation at the family "camp" on the lake. Sadly, the camp had to be sold about ten years ago. But, my aunt now has a great house on Little Squam Lake, so we are able to bring the kids to the same area where we spent our summers.

Squam Bridge in Ashland, NH
Little Squam Lake is also known as Golden Pond because it's where On Golden Pond was filmed.

Ashland is a great town with a very active Historical Society. We were able to attend their annual lobster dinner fundraiser. They were kind enough to have hot dogs and hamburgers available for children and/or those who can't eat shellfish.

I would also like to give a special mention to the Village Pizza & Grill in Ashland. We went there for lunch one day, and the service was amazingly helpful and friendly. Katherine and Eli split a cheese-free bacon pizza and an order of pasta with sauce. All the staff was very careful and understanding, and there was no cross-contamination of ingredients. Plus, the food was excellent. Katherine ate four pieces of pizza, a personal record.

Just a few miles down the road is the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness, NH.
We had never been there before, and it is amazing. They have all kinds of native NH animals that have been injured and are living in natural habitats while they recover. The black bears, bald eagles, and bobcats were our favorites.

The Old Country Store
The Old Country Store in Moultonborough, NH, has always been the rainy-day place to take the kids. Penny candy! Weird old machinery in the museum! More candy! While the price has risen to two cents per piece of candy, it's still fun, and there are plenty of dairy-free candies available to choose from.

Weirs Beach
Usually we spend one evening at Weirs Beach playing games at the arcades on the boardwalk. Our favorites are Whack-a-Mole, Skeeball, and the ancient Dodge City Shooting Gallery. We also stopped at the Hart's Slush stand for some dairy-free frozen goodness.

Rein's Deli
Another family tradition is to stop at Rein's Deli (Warning: the site plays music) in Vernon, CT, on the drives to and from NH. They, too, are excellent about dairy-free orders. Katherine likes their turkey breast on a plain bagel with a side of plain Cape Cod potato chips. I just wish I could get her to try their fantastic dill pickles!

We had a wonderful time. It's a great place to vacation!

Emily and Jarred...

... are married! The wedding is over (as are the two family reunions, the three bridal showers, and the endless visits from out-of-town relatives, etc.), and we survived. A big thank you to Dotty the seamstress who let out the seams in the baby-belly area so effortlessly.

Now, the Hatfields are going on vacation in New Hampshire. I can't wait to sit on the beach by the lake and do NOTHING.

I've missed all of you, and I look forward to catching up when I return. Have a great week!

Non-Post and Baby Names

(Thanks for the idea, Bubandpie!)

It is raining here, Eli has some sort of stomach virus, and every single thing I look at in our house is a nagging reminder of something I should be doing. I doubt that the arrival of my Harry Potter book is going to help.

We've had all summer to read the twenty books for the summer reading program, and now there is just one week left. I don't think that reading eight books to your kindergartner in one sitting so that she can get some prizes is what the librarians had in mind.

The RSVP date for my sister's wedding has come and gone, and approximately half of the invitees haven't responded. What is that?

Sara is entering her office's bake-off with this recipe today. Hope she wins big!

Katherine is sitting at our dining table painting in a paint-with-water book of animals right now, and she just asked. "What's that critter?" You can take the girl out of Kentucky.... (It was a skunk, by the way.)

Let's talk about baby names some more. Swistle took my question and turned it into a post that received 59 comments! She can totally spin blogging gold out of straw.

As I mentioned, we always have an easy time with girl names. We already have a girl name for this baby, which probably guarantees that it's a boy. I am circling back around to a boy name I have loved since before Katherine was born. (We weren't able to find out if she was a girl or boy.) It is a family name, not commonly used, and one of a very small number of names that Scott and I agree upon. However. Here in our small town, it is also the name of the son of a prominent citizen. This boy is well-known and not... well-liked. Granted, there will be about a 10-year age difference between him and our possibly-male, hypothetically-named child, but, will people hear the name and have a negative association? Will they wonder why we chose the same name? What do you think?

Eight Things

Theflyingmum tagged me for the 8 Things Meme forever ago. I lifted the rules from her, and she got them from Beck. And so it goes.

A. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.

B. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I am left handed.
2. I have been asked to be a product reviewer for Go Dairy Free by the wonderful Alisa. Unfortunately, no one in my family cares for the first product I am reviewing. I promised myself that I would not put up a new post until I finished the review and published it. Ahem.
   
3. I am very, very good at rationalizing and procrastinating.
   
4. The air conditioner in our new-to-us minivan quit halfway across Ohio on our trip to Kentucky. We drove for four hours in 90-plus-degree weather with no A/C and the windows rolled down. Scott and I were miserable, but the kids thought it was fun. They rode along with their arms up over their heads like they were on a roller coaster. They are a happy people.
   
5. Our souvenir from Kentucky is a new $800 compressor for our van's A/C.
6. Yesterday, my OB told me I should be finished with morning sickness by now. I am not.
7. Scott and I always have an easy time selecting girl names and a difficult time with boy names. Why is that?
8. This is what I look like, about seven weeks pregnant, throwing my sister a bridal shower with my friends and neighbors Heather and Renee. Heather is in the blue shirt, and Renee is taking the photo.

I will tag Alisa, for when she starts a personal blog, and whoever else might be reading this who hasn't already done this meme. Although I am probably the end of the chain.

Anniversary

If you get married on a national holiday (like, say, The Fourth of July):

• It is easy to remember your anniversary
• You will always have the day off from work
• There will always be fun events, like fireworks, to attend
  
• You will spend the day with family
  

On the other hand:

• You will never have a romantic evening out on your actual anniversary
• You will often spend your anniversary on the road
• Your traditional anniversary dinner will feature hot dogs and marshmallows
• You will spend the day with family
  

So, tonight, Scott and I will enjoy a lovely dinner out before the holiday/family reunion madness begins.

The Wild Rose

Sometimes hidden from me
in daily custom and in trust,
so that I live by you unaware
as by the beating of my heart.

Suddenly you flare in my sight,
a wild rose blooming at the edge
of thicket, grace and light
where yesterday was only shade,

and once again I am blessed, choosing
again what I chose before.

--Wendell Berry

Happy Fourth of July!

Edited to add: We are on our way to Scott's family reunion in Salt Lick, KY. See you all here Tuesday when we return.

Peanuts: Cookies and Baby

Here I am! Barely beating the cookie challenge deadline! Whew! I made my favorite four-ingredient cookies, which I wrote about here. But I'll post the recipe again exactly as I made it today.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups dairy-free chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix peanut butter, sugar, and eggs in a bowl with a wooden spoon until blended. Add salt if needed. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookie bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

And here's a first photo of Baby Peanut. You know, just because.

Bridal Shower Report

Wanna talk about wedding stuff? Oh, good!

Thank you all so much for all of your bridal shower game suggestions! At the shower I hosted for my sister, we played this Martha Stewart game that Theflyingmum found for me. Each person wrote an abbreviation of their relationship to Emily, the bride, under their name on their nametags. (I opted for MOH - Matron of Honor, instead of SOB - Sister of Bride.) There were no prizes handed out for it; we just used it as a get-to-know-you game since there were so many people who didn't know each other.

The second game we played was given to me by my friend, Heather. Each table had a flower centerpiece with a poem placed next to it. The poem was passed from one woman to another after each line. ("Emily and Jarred, what a wonderful pair/Give this to the woman with the longest hair." Etc.) The last line of the poem was about whose anniversary is closest to the wedding date. That person got to take the centerpiece home for her prize.

In the invitations, we asked everyone to bring a favorite recipe and a spice or seasoning from the recipe for Emily to stock her recipe file and spice rack. We had planned to play a third game where we'd list the spices and people would have to guess what the corresponding recipe was. We ran out of time, though.



The favors were little packets of coffee, cocoa, and tea, since the wedding has a coffee theme. Everything was done in Emily's colors, pink and dark brown. The menu was quick breads, baked oatmeal, fruit trays, ham and egg cups, and tea cakes. We had coffee, iced tea with mint, orange juice, and water for the beverages.

The egg cups recipe is from Scholastic Parent & Child magazine, and the tea cakes recipe is from American Girl Tiny Treats.



That's right, I get all of my cutting-edge culinary ideas from children's resources. While I did bake the ham and egg cups, my friend Renee made all of the tea cakes. Because she is a saint, and also crazy. The cakes are made from Oreos (No dairy! So healthy!), and she used dairy-free frosting and decorations. (No, I didn't let Katherine eat the espresso beans, even though they, too, are dairy free.)

Ham-n-Egg Cups (from Scholastic Parent & Child magazine, April 2007 issue)

nonstick cooking spray
4-inch square slices of deli ham*
1/2-inch thick slices plum tomato
large eggs
[salt and pepper - added by me]

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the cups of a regular-sized muffin tin with cooking spray. For each serving, lay one slice of ham over a muffin cup, place a tomato slice in the center of the ham and gently press down to insert into cup. [Salt and pepper the tomato slice.] Pour contents of one egg on top of each serving. Place pan in oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the egg yolk is cooked to your liking. Remove from oven and allow to cool for one minute. Using a spoon or spatula, lift each egg cup from the muffin tin and serve. [I served them on a bed of chives, to look like flowers and their stems.]

*Be careful about what type of ham you buy, as some varieties have dairy filler. Also, if you have the ham sliced at the deli, make sure they wipe down the slicer so there aren't any traces of dairy left from the last item.

Surprise

So, what's up with you? Me? Nothing. Just summer stuff, wedding stuff...oh yeah, and a surprise pregnancy.

Yep. Due date January 26, 2008. That's one week before Eli's second birthday. Mostly I am excited, but I'm also very nervous. My sister and I are nine and a half years apart. Katherine and Eli are four and a half years apart. I don't know how this two-year spacing is going to work. This is what I get for saying, "I don't know how they do it!" about friends with closely-spaced children. Now I get to find out for myself. We've always wanted three children, but my timeline and God's were a bit different. Ah, well. It will all work out.

Although my mother had a dream that I was pregnant with twin boys, we found out yesterday that there is just one Baby Peanut on the way. Scott went out and bought a minivan this weekend, so now he feels ready. "We'll all fit in this house, and we'll all fit in this van." Katherine is hoping for a sister. I pointed out to her that I never had a brother, and she does, and she said, "Maybe Grandma and Grandad will have another baby so you can have a brother, Mama!"



We talked some more about how the baby could be a boy or a girl, and she said, "But either way, it'll be my baby!"

Eli keeps patting my (already pooching) tummy saying, "Bay-bay? Bay-BAY!"

Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been writing as much or commenting as much, but it's been hard to keep this a secret. I'd want to write about Go Dairy Free or cookie recipes, but my brain was making my hands type "BABYBABYBABYPREGNANTPREGNANTPREGNANT!!!"

I think, like many other bloggers, I am finding that summer is a not-so-much-blogging time. But I'll try to write more frequently now that my secret is out.

Now if I can just cram myself into my bridesmaid dress on August fourth....

Rhubarb

I got a fabulous digital camera for my Mother's Day present, and I am just now, on Father's Day weekend, figuring it out. We had a wonderful day yesterday, lots of good food and fun with family. We made Rhubarb Dump Cake for Daddy, a very easy, very kids-in-the-kitchen-friendly recipe. If you want to learn more about rhubarb (and who doesn't?) , I recommend this site.

This recipe was given to me by Mrs. Taylor, our favorite farm stand owner. I scribbled it in pencil on the back of a church bulletin that was in the car. Two years later, that is still how it is filed in my recipes.

Rhubarb Dump Cake

2 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 package (4-serving size) raspberry gelatin
1 package yellow, dairy-free cake mix
1/2 cup dairy-free margarine, melted
1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch pan. Spread the rhubarb in the pan. Sprinkle the gelatin on top of the rhubarb and the cake mix on top of the gelatin. Pour the margarine over the cake mix and the water over the margarine. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

Yay, summer! Yay, Farmers' Market!

Zucchini Bread

1 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 cups white flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
2 cups grated zucchini
*1-2 cups raisins, nuts, or dairy-free chocolate chips, optional

Blend together oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add remaining dry ingredients. Stir in zucchini and optional ingredients. Spread into two loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees one hour or until done. I am told this bread freezes well, but it has never made it to the freezer in our house.

Monday Mission: Travel Guide

Theflyingmum asked me to participate in this week's Monday Mission. Happy to participate!

Significant other on a business trip? Come enjoy a relaxing, four-night, five-day stay in Leftbehindville. Your days will begin with young children (ages five and under) jumping on your bed and asking, "Where's Daddy?" They will happily repeat this service every morning of your stay. After a leisurely breakfast of corn flakes and soy milk, the day is yours to fill however you see fit. Some options include: dragging young children on errands, scouring the neighborhood for other children to entertain yours, and making a special trip to the duck pond to wade through duck and goose feces while the children whine that they want to play at the playground instead. (In case of emergency, head directly to Showtime Video.)

You can expect your spouse to place at least two calls a day from Florida to tell you all about his trip, his visit to Epcot, and last night's steak dinner. But he's not the only one with a swanky meal plan! You will have everything in the kitchen cupboards at your disposal, as well as takeout choices: pizza or Chinese.

Your evenings will be filled with the tears of children who miss their father and don't want to go to bed. Put them to bed anyway; your two best friends are on their way over with a chocolate pie. But after the pie, it's straight to bed for you! Only four more days to go!

O' Henry Bars

O' Henry Bars

1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup dairy-free margarine
4 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup Karo syrup
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
2/3 cup chunky peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the margarine and sugar together. Add the oatmeal, syrup, and vanilla and mix. Pat into a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely. Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter together. Spread this mixture on top of the oatmeal layer and let cool. Cut into bars.

The Flu and Cemeteries

I do not recommend celebrating Memorial Day weekend with a bout of stomach flu sweeping through your family. Try to avoid doing that, if at all possible. Also, the stomach flu and blogging do not mix. Tell your friends.

I do recommend learning more about graveyard gardening as a possible summertime activity for all of you gardeners. There was an article in our local paper yesterday called, "Reconsidering Cemeteries as Public Gardens." The article says that "a movement is afoot to go beyond one day a year [Memorial Day] of decoration. As cities become more crowded, urban graveyards across America are reevaluated. Their potential as public gardens...cannot be denied.... Those who long to cultivate floral beauty but lack their own space or funds may find these public places an ideal opportunity to gather, plant and socialize in the process." The article also pointed out that cemeteries are full of rare, old rose and bulb varieties.

The New Hampshire Old Graveyard Association has information on improving conditions at your local historic cemetery. Another site to check out is Saving Graves. I've always been fascinated by old cemeteries, and this seems like a neat way to take care of them and do some fun gardening at the same time.

P.S. I'm in for June 4th's Monday Mission.

Bridal Shower Games?

I would like to jump on Swistle's bridal-themed bandwagon and ask, do you know any good bridal shower games? And by "good" I mean:

• They do not draw an uncomfortable amount of attention to the bride
• They are easy and low key
• They are good for a wide age range of people
• They do not involve toilet paper

Thank you in advance!

On Friendship

In honor of Food Allergy Week, I'd like to thank a few people.

Thank you to Katherine's classmates, who are careful with their milk and who like to bring in snacks that everyone in class can eat. As one of Katherine's friends told her mother, "I'm not having any treats for my birthday that Katherine can't have. That's not fair."

Thank you to the kids who attend children's church with Katherine, and who tell every new teacher, "Katherine can't have dairy. You can't give her those cheese crackers." (A special thank you to our minister's children. Their parents can't eat dairy, either, and those kids are some of the best label readers we know.)

Thank you to the parents who invite Katherine to parties and run out and buy soy ice cream and dairy-free cake mixes, even after I tell them that I'm happy to bring those items myself. One of my friends said to me, "I just don't think the mother should have to do extra work every time her daughter is invited to a party." (Of course I wouldn't mind, but I do so appreciate the thought.)

Thank you to our neighbors, who are so careful with Katherine, and to their children, who oh-so-patiently smile and nod at me as I ask them to wash their hands after eating dairy. "We know, Miss Sarah, because it makes Katherine sick."

Thanks to you all.

No-Stir Risotto

Surprise Mom with a fancy, and very easy, Mother's Day risotto.

Italian Sausage Risotto (adapted from a John Pisto recipe)

1-1.25 lbs. sweet Italian turkey sausage
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup carrot shreds
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups beef broth (sometimes I use dairy-free beef bouillon)
salt and pepper

Take the sausage out of the casings and brown it in a Dutch oven or large pot. Remove the sausage and set it aside. Saute the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots in olive oil in the pot until tender. Add the sausage, arborio rice, wine, and beef broth to the pot. Stir together and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and turn the heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the rice is tender. No peeking! Salt and pepper to taste.

Radio Station KFKD

I spent the better part of the week listening to Radio Station KFKD* because I was being considered for one of those "Power of Food" segments on the Food Network. I was passed up, which feels a bit like being one of the twelve Homecoming Court nominees and being escorted by a soccer player in front of the entire student body while, Mrs. Gilson, the health teacher and tennis coach, announces your name, who you are the daughter of, and what activities you're involved in. Then you sit onstage in a rickety folding chair while Mrs. G. belts out "Cow Patti" or some other obnoxious novelty song and you try to figure out how much to smile. Sure, it's uncomfortable, but you might end up being one of the half dozen Court members and get to wear a fugly sateen dress. Why you want this honor isn't exactly clear, you just do. Then you don't get chosen and, although you have a much better time at the dance then the Court members do, you still feel a little sad.

Yeah, it feels like that.

How about a drink?

Mint Sauce

1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
14 mint sprigs, crushed

Bring the sugar and water to a boil and cook for several minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat. Add the lemon juice and mint and steep for five minutes. Strain out the mint leaves. Refrigerate and use a teaspoon or two in iced tea. Or in a mint julep. Or maybe a mojito? Let me know.

*"If you are not careful, station KFKD will play in your head twenty-four hours a day, nonstop, in stereo. Out of the right speaker in your inner ear will come the endless stream of self-aggrandizement, the recitation of one's specialness, of how much more open and gifted and brilliant and knowing and misunderstood and humble one is. Out of the left speaker will be the rap songs of self-loathing, the lists of all the things one doesn't do well, of all the mistakes one has made today and over an entire lifetime, the doubt, the assertion that everything one touches turns to shit, that one doesn't do relationships well, that one is in every way a fraud, incapable of selfless love, that one has no talent or insight, and on and on and on." --Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Colic Solved?

There is an interview with Bryan Vartabedian, M.D., in the newest issue of Wondertime magazine where he talks about colic and his new book, Colic Solved.



He believes that colic is a "wastebasket term that's used when we can't explain what's going on inside a baby."

He says, "Initially, I started out to write a book that tells parents about gastroesophageal reflux and milk protein allergies. But it became evident that parents of kids who have GERD or milk protein allergy are very often perceived as having colic.

The 'solved' part of it discusses the changes that have occurred over the past 50 years since colic was first described. What was once a mysterious condition can, in many cases, be explained."

Vartabedian goes on to say, "...in my practice, between acid reflux disease and milk protein allergy, probably 60 percent of the kids I evaluate for inexplicable irritability are ultimately found to have one of those two problems."

Vartabedian makes sure to point out that not all babies diagnosed with colic have an allergy or GERD: "There are adults who are cranky at the end of the day, or are bothered by lights and sounds. But we don't give babies the same latitude. We expect them all to be, you know, placid, cherubic little creatures what just do exactly what we want them to do. Expectations are very important in this regard."

As someone whose child was diagnosed with colic and was later found to have a milk protein allergy, I found this article to be a very interesting read. It is a long interview, but I'd recommend reading it when you have a few minutes. I'd love to hear what other parents whose babies were diagnosed with colic think about his findings.

Conversations

Thank you to The Goldfish and Lady Bracknell for allowing me to participate in Blogging Against Disablism Day. Thank you to Katherine's School District and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for classifying her as disabled so that I could participate.


Conversation I:
[Whispered]"Is she still...you know?"
"I'm sorry?"
[Eye roll, head jerk directed at my daughter, whisper] "Is she still...allergic to dairy?"
[Normal tone] "Yep, Katherine is still allergic to dairy."
[Looking horrified at me for speaking so loudly with K. in the room] "Do they think she'll grow out of it?"
[Louder] "No one really knows."
[Head shake, whisper] "That must be so hard for you."

Conversation II:
"No, Katherine can't eat that baked good/cracker/ice cream/pizza. We brought some of these snacks for her instead."
[Sympathetic head tilt] "This must be so hard for you, Sarah. [Adult-speaking-to-child squat] Katherine, I'm so sorry you can't have these delicious foods. You are so good to eat what you brought."

I don't want Katherine to think that her food allergy is something that needs to be spoken about in whispers or is something for just Mama to worry about. Her allergy is a fact of life, and she needs to know how to manage it for those times when I cannot be there. Also, while I am proud of her five-year-old self and how well she handles being in situations where there is no safe food for her, I don't think she needs to be treated as if she's making some big sacrifice. She is learning not to eat foods that could kill her. That does not deserve pity; it deserves admiration, respect, and support. As for me, keeping my daughter safe and healthy is not a chore; it is a privilege. I'm so glad this smart, strong girl is ours to care for.

I don't quite know where the next year will take us, what we will do if Katherine's school refuses to let us keep her EpiPen and Benadryl in the classroom. I don't quite know how I feel about allergen-free lunchroom tables (Safety or segregation? Or both?). I want her to be safe, and I want her to experience everything at school. I hope those wishes aren't mutually exclusive.