yellow icing or frosting

I just found this in an old depression ad

Yellow Icing for Jack o’Lantern Smiles:
1 egg yolk 1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp melted butter 1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp grated orange rind

Break up egg yolk with fork. Add sugar alternately with the butter and orange juice. Add the orange rind.

I'd only do this if you have farm fresh eggs that you can trust and orange rind that you are sure hasn't been sprayed. Looks fun!

Easy piping gel for cakes

Piping gel for cakes

1 cup colorful juice or water with natural coloring
1/2 cup sugar (can omit if juice is sweet enough or if using juice concentrate)
1/4 cup corn starch

Mix all ingredients while cold.
Bring to a boil stirring constantly.
Boil for about two minutes.
Let cool, then fill your icing bag and pipe on your letters.

Natural Peeps-you got em!

http://momskitchendesk.blogspot.com/2010/03/natural-easter-peeps.html

These are so cute. There's just something about peeps that are amazingly fun. Marshmallows are super easy, and I never thought of just dipping them in sugar. mmmmmmm

Cake Decorating

What a great idea...

I take approved hard candies and suckers, and chop them in my little food processor to make sprinkles. They work great for cakes and cookies. I use the red and green ones at Christmas and the other colors throughout the year :o)
Jennifer
www.oneverybusymomma.blogspot.com

Christmas cookies

Click on the pictures to make them larger.
mmm, we made Christmas cookies today and I had to share the decorations. I was happy with white icing but the kids really wanted some color so we were inventive. They put green spirulina powder in some and made some light green, then they took acceptable fruit gel bars, cut them up, and used them for more decoration. We also had some acceptable chocolate chips. Powdered sugar "snow" topped it all off. Interesting to say the least, LOL.
A sugar cookie tip to share with you all, whip up the fat, sugar, and eggs a TON till they look like frosting, then add the rest of the ingredients and just stir enough to incorporate. chill that for at least an hour before rolling. They turn out so good. Same with the frosting, beat the heck out of it.

pumpkin pie candy-so easy! let the kids play with it

I don't know why but I'm having problems with these pictures today. One is the dough straight from the mixer, one is the dough after it was kneaded, which made the texture much better, and one is a few finished pieces.

I just had an extra sweet potato and I didn't want to feed it to the chickens so I invented something instead...YAY a new recipe! This was so fun and the kids are playing with it right now. It feels like a playdoh and tastes so yummy.

1 sweet potato
powdered sugar
pie spices such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, etc.

stuff to roll it in, optional, chopped nuts, coconut, cinnamon sugar

in a food processor or just smoosh it up if you don't have one,
mash up the sweet potato (cooked well in the jacket tastes best, it naturally carmalizes) then add powdered sugar slowly until you have a very stiff dough. Add spices to taste.

For my size of sweet potato (med) I used about 2 lbs of powdered sugar and about 2 tsp of a pumpkin pie spice mix that I made before.

I used the food processor until it began to get a little too stiff, then I moved it to the mixer with the dough hook. The kids took it from there. They're making balls to roll in chopped pecans, coconut, and cinnamon sugar. These are very rich but I'm going to have a hard time not eating them all.

And, some links for the chocolate letters

http://candy.about.com/od/chocolate/r/choc_plastic.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_4610284_alternative-using-icing-using-chocolate.html

aha...and here are some fun links. Of course, use approved chocolate chips listing no vanillan and PLEASE do not add coloring.

easter candy

http://jotsfromjoan.blogspot.com/2009/03/easter-candy.html

How to have the best holidays ever

Here's how to have the best holidays ever

Pudding and Feingold

Irish potatoes (candy)

I don't usually post recipes unless I try them first but these look so good and I need your help. I'll make one variety at a time. Please post comments if you try any.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Irish-Potatoes/Detail.aspx

remember to check your coconut or use approved stuff. I just use the unsulphered unsugared from Azure Standard. Use real vanilla on all of these recipes.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Irish-Potato-Candy/Detail.aspx

In this one remember to use cream cheese that's just cream and enzymes, not whipped or spreadable or lowfat.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1938,158170-233203,00.html

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmoms-Irish-Potatoes/Detail.aspx

and for those coconut haters out there...

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1938,158170-233203,00.html

and here's one that actually uses potato!

Valentines Day

Here's another beautiful cake. This one is the chocolate cake recipe from the Feingold binder. The frosting is regular buttercream but with raspberry juice instead of the milk. MMMMMMMMMM I can smell it now. Thanks Suzanne.

Also, a Valentine's day tip that people use for any holiday with treats. Let your kids leave their bad candy near their bed. Have the Feingold fairy trade it for good stuff in the morning.

Yes, you can decorate a cake!

This cake was decorated by Karen on the Feingold list. She used all natural coloring and it's Feingold safe! I just wanted to post this as an inspiration to let you know that you don't need little bottles of petroleum to make a cute cake.

Tropical Sorbet

http://thebakingbeauties.blogspot.com/2008/09/pina-colada-sorbet.html

Pina Colada Sorbet

Before I get on with today's recipe, I'd like to wish my In-Law's a
Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary!


Wow, 40 years.
That is over 14,600 days of making the choice to stay married.

WELL DONE! Congratulations!

Summer isn't gone yet! At least I haven't posted all my summertime recipes yet, so the season can't be done yet. :) This sorbet was simple to make, had only a few ingredients, but tasted fantastic! Definitely a welcomed treat.

Source: AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (20 ounce) can canned crushed pineapple, drained
1 (13.5 ounces) can coconut milk
1/4 cup lime juice

Directions:

1. Make a syrup by bringing the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir and boil until the liquid becomes clear, about 1 minute. Set aside to cool.
2. Blend the drained pineapple in a blender or food processor until very smooth and frothy. In a large bowl, whisk together the syrup, pineapple puree, coconut milk, and lime juice. Refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours.
3. Freeze in the freezer canister of an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

Gluten Free Brownies

http://thebakingbeauties.blogspot.com/2008/11/gluten-free-brownies.html

Gluten-Free Brownies

After reading this recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook (and yes, they can) I knew this was a recipe I wanted to try. I found some coconut flour at Bulk Barn when we went to the city, and have since gotten more, so I can make more brownies. :) These made really, really good brownies. Not too cake like, and not too fudge like. Just perfect! When you have a minute, head on over to MGCC the next time you're looking for a recipe. With 14 contributors to the blog, you're sure to find a recipe that you like!

Source: Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup coconut oil (or butter)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup sifted coconut flour (*See Note)
• 1 cup nuts chopped

Directions:

1. In a saucepan at low heat, melt butter and blend in cocoa powder.
2. Remove from heat and let cool .
3. In a bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla .
4. Stir in cocoa mixture.
5. Add well sifted coconut flour and whisk the batter well until there are no lumps.
6. Fold in the nuts.
7. Pour batter into a greased 8" or 9" square baking pan.
8. Bake at 350' for 30-35 minutes.

*NOTE: Coconut flour very quickly absorbs so the batter may look thin at first ! 1/4 cup of coconut flour is equal to 1 cup of regular flour. (note from Danika, ahhhh no wonder my coconut stuff comes out too dry, I was trying to thicken the batter)

Gluten Free Old Fashined Doughnuts

http://thebakingbeauties.blogspot.com/2008/08/gluten-free-old-fashioned-doughnuts.html

Gluten Free Old Fashioned Doughnuts

Yes folk, that's right, gluten-free donuts! These were actually really simple to make, and they tasted just like the donuts that you get fresh at the summer fairs, all covered in a cinnamon-sugar coating.

I bought myself a donut cutter the other day when we were in the city. I don't really know why, I had never even successfully made donuts before going gluten-free. What was I going to do with it now that I couldn't even eat my failed yeast donuts? Well, I decided to look online for a gluten free donut recipe. Lo & behold, there it was! And on a side note; what on earth did anyone do before the internet anyway??? Going gluten-free would have been horrible back then! Anyway...

The next time I make these donuts, I think I will skip the donuts, and make them all into donut holes. The donut holes are such a nice little size to just pop into your mouth while walking past the platter of donuts (don't ask how many I ate that afternoon, yikes). Like all GF baking, it is best when fresh, however, it can be frozen & reheated in a 350 degree F oven when you want to serve them too. These were awesome, and I didn't even miss not being able to buy them at the local festivals this year (why would I when I have them in my own kitchen??).

Source: GFUtah.org

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 5 cups rice flour blend (*see note)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

1. Combine eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter in a large bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk or fork.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add to the wet. Mix by hand with a large spoon. (Do not use an electric mixer).
3. Let batter rest for about 15 minutes. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface. If dough is sticky, work in more rice flour blend.
4. Roll dough 1/2" thick. Cut with a doughnut cutter.
5. Fry in 1 to 3 inches of very hot oil (375 degrees F) until brown on one side. Turn doughnuts over and brown on second side.
6. While doughnuts are still warm, toss in a mixture of white sugar & cinnamon to coat. Serve warm.

*NOTE: Rice flour blend is 6 parts rice flour, 2 parts potato starch, and 1 part tapioca starch.

YAY! My Lara bars worked!

oooh yummy! My bars worked. I made a trial run since I only had salycylates (raisins) for a stick together item.
My next batch will be bigger when I get my Azure Standard order. They have non-preserved almonds, dates, and figs. I called the manufacturers just to be sure.

We've been searching for some Gluten and Casein free portable items to keep in the purse and these will be a really nice change from stupid perky-o's.

These bars have raisins (checked to make sure they have no flour dusting), sunflower seeds, coconut shreds, and carob powder. I did boil the raisins with a bit of water first to make sure they were plump enough so the mixture would hold plenty of carob powder. Baby is very low on iron and the carob is good for that.

They turned out very yummy and I'm so excited to get my almonds, dates, and figs!

I made them into a basic shape, wrapped, and then squished a little better. If anyone knows how long these last please let me know. I put them in the fridge for now just in case.

Homemade Lara bars, a quick snack

http://www.wellsphere.com/healthy-cooking-article/homemade-lara-type-bars-energy-bars-part-3/191669

This is a great blog post about homemade Lara bars. If you don't have a Feingold list please verify that you're using preservative free nuts and fruit. I like the stuff from Azure Standard. Lots of nuts are preserved in the packaging so they won't go bad.

****edited to add**** I spoke with a friend today who was going to soak the nuts first to bring out the enzymes. They would be a different texture and not hold together with the sticky if you do this however, you can follow nourishing traditions and soak the nuts for a night, then drain and dehydrate them. Chop them up afterwards. If you have all dry ingredients they should stay good in your cupboard for a while. If you have wet ingredients you'll need to refrigerate.
Also, a caution, these are so compact and full of potent, no water food. Drink plenty of water when eating nuts or dehydrated foods. If you don't you'll pay the price with constipation. If you drink lots of water while eating larabars they're somewhat cleansing.

Here's the article on wellsphere...

Apologies for this post being a few days late, but my love for LARA bars demanded several tries and multiple flavor variations before posting—I really wanted to get this as close to the real thing as possible.



Whether you’ ve heard of them or not, LARA BARS are one of the very best energy bars on the market, largely because they are made from a short list of real food ingredients: nuts, fruits and spices. In addition to their inarguable yummy- ness , they boast the following assets:



Unprocessed - Raw - Non- GMO - Gluten Free - Dairy Free - Soy Free - Vegan - Kosher.



For comparison sake, take a look at the Lara bar ingredients and the ingredients for another apple- ish flavored bar on the market (made by Powerbar ):



LARABAR : Apple Pie Flavor (from http://www.larabar.com/ )Dates, Walnuts, Unsweetened Apples, Almonds, Raisins, Cinnamon



Powerbar : Apple Cinnamon Flavor (from http://www.powerbar.com/ )High Fructose Corn Syrup With Grape And Pear Juice Concentrate, Oat Bran, Maltodextrin , Milk Protein Isolate, Rice Crisps (Milled Rice, Rice Bran), Brown Rice Flour, Almond Butter, Apple Powder, Natural Flavor, Glycerin, Soy Protein Isolate, Cinnamon and Peanut Flour.CONTAINS ALMOND, MILK, PEANUT AND SOY INGREDIENTS.



Umm , glycerin.



The only downside to LARA bars is that once you try them, you love them, and you’ ve got to have them. And at about $1.60 to $2.00 per bar, times three family members (yes, baby likes small bites of them, too), it starts to get pricey. Hence my ersatz, but equally enchanting, rendition.



Just me and my food processor…

A few raw ingredients, and no cooking required? Replication seemed possible. I found a handful of blog posts with recipes for homemade LARA-type bars, but they didn ’t sound like they could possibly be correct.



The primary problem was that quite a few recipes pushed for a one to three ratio of fruit to nuts. I tried it, and my suspicions were correct: far too many nuts, nowhere near enough fruit (an easy give-away: if there were so many nuts, it would always be listed as the first ingredient on the LARA BAR packaging; it is not).



In addition, the specifications for each of the steps (how fine to chop/process the nuts and fruits, how to blend, etc) were vague.



After a few delicious rounds of testing, I think I’ ve got a good facsimile; Kevin agrees, and baby Nick kept pleading, “More! More!”.



So here’s what to do for two bars (and this can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc; it only depends on the size of your food processor). I’m using cherry as my main example, but I’ ve listed some variations below. You can be as creative as you like with the combinations.



Raw or Toasty—It’s Up to You

The Raw Foods Movement is fascinating, but if the raw angle does not matter to you, and you have a bit of extra time, consider lightly toasting the nuts; it boosts the flavor significantly (but truth be told, I still like the raw flavor best). Or, if you like salty-sweet, you can opt for roasted, lightly salted nuts—yum!

.

Bars, Shmars ...

There is no rule saying you have to shape these into bars; you can shape them into little truffle shapes or squares (see photo 6). It's a great candy alternative (and this comes from someone with a not-so-secret affection for sour fruit jelly bellies).



Very Cherry Bars (use as a template for almost any combination)



LARA BARS use a multi-layer package that keeps out UV light and oxygen, which, in turn, maintains freshness without the use of preservatives. I use plain old plastic wrap and my refrigerator, then pop one in my bag when I’m ready to go.



1/4 cup chopped dates (roughly chopped whole dates, not pre -chopped)

1/4 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries

1/3 cup whole pecans, almonds or walnuts

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon



Set out two pieces of plastic wrap for shaping and wrapping the bars. Do this first; you’ll have sticky fingers when you need it.



Place the dates and cherries in a food processor. Pulse until processed to a paste (photo 1). Transfer paste to a medium bowl (don’t clean processor).



Add the nuts to the processor and pulse until finely chopped (photo 2). Add the nuts, along with the cinnamon, to the bowl with the fruit paste (photo 3). Use your fingers to knead the nuts into the paste (just keep squishing, it’s fun; brings back memories of play-dough; see photo 4).

.

Divide mixture in half. Place each half on each of one of the sheets of plastic wrap. Wrap the plastic around each bar and start squishing into a bar shape form, 3 and 1/2 inches long, 1 inch wide and 3/4-inch thick); press against countertop to flatten bottom side, flattening top side and ends with flat of hand (photo 5) Tightly wrap the plastic around each bar and store in the refrigerator. Makes 2 bars.

.

Nutrition per Serving (1 bar): Calories 207; Fat 9.4 g (sat .8g, mono 5.2g, poly 3.1g); Protein 3.9g; Cholesterol 0mg; Carbohydrate 24.9g; Sodium 0.4mg. (Note: I did the nutrition analysis using Diet Analysis Plus 7.0.1 )



A Few Ideas for Variations:



Apricot-Almond: Use 6 tablespoons coarsely chopped dried apricots and 2 tablespoons date (to measure 1/2 cup total); use almonds for the nuts.



Tropical: Use tropical fruit bits (these come pre -packaged at the supermarket); use raw cashews for the nuts. Add 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest, and 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice to the mix.



PB & J (cheap and delicious!): Use 1/4 cup dried cherries or cranberries and 1/4 cup raisins or dates; use raw or roasted peanuts (lightly salted or unsalted) for the nuts.



Blueberry Bliss: Use 1/4 cup dried blueberries and 1/4 cup dates; use almonds for the nuts. Add 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, and a drop of almond extract to the mix.



Cashew Cookie Dough: Reverse the proportions of fruit to nuts--Use 1/3 cup dates for the fruit and 1/2 cup raw cashews for the nuts.



Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: Same as cashew cookie dough, but add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, pinch of cinnamon and 1/2 ounce very finely chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate to the mix.



Peanut Butter Cookie Dough: Same as cashew cookie dough but use raw or roasted (lightly salted) peanuts for the nuts.



Dates Nutrition Notes:

Dates are included in a majority of the LARA Bars, so I thought I’d mention a few facts about these wonderful fruits.



I love dates because I love brown sugar, and dates taste like brown sugar candy--hence they are a delicious and healthy way to curb my sweet tooth. One date has a mere 23 calories and is loaded with nutrition. Dates are an excellent source of carbohydrates (great for pre- or post-workout), contain no cholesterol, are high in fiber, and boast a wide range of nutrients, including calcium (32 mg per serving), Magnesium, Phosphorous, Potassium, Iron, Zinc, Copper, and Manganese.



Dates also contain vitamins A1, B1, B2, B3, B5, C and more than 20 different amino acids; they help in the digestion and assimilation of carbohydrates, and help to regulate blood sugar levels and fatty acids content in our bodies.





PHOTO 1

PHOTO 2

PHOTO 3

PHOTO 4





PHOTO 5

PHOTO 6

http://gotpetroleum.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-on-lara-bars.html
click above for more hints

A list of ok recipes from another website

http://frugalabundance.wordpress.com/

Lemon Slushie, use fresh lemon or approved lemon

citrus refresher

southern cornbread is ok if you use butter instead of margarine

multi-grain cereal is ok with no TVP

basic vanilla frosting is ok with real butter, whole milk, real vanilla

chocolate frosting is ok with real butter, whole milk, real vanilla

tomato, green pepper, and cucumber salad is ok with olive oil

pantry pesto is ok with olive oil, real Parmesan, and approved or in shell walnuts

homemade chicken broth is ok with just the chicken, water, and veggies using a minimally processed chicken.

doughnuts, donuts

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/yeast-doughnuts-recipe/index.html

This was the best by far to me. I didn't post it here because of the need to use approved oil. There are many many brands so I'll just let you know that I use wesson oil (not shortening). Please check the Feingold food list for different options. If you know that this diet has helped you it would really benefit your family to have a food list at least for a year.
The key to these is to keep the dough very very very soft. I make it the night before and stick it in the fridge overnight. Then in the morning, I flour the cutting board, roll out gently, and cut with my doughnut cutter. By morning it only needs a little flour to roll but the dough can still be nice and light. They turn out MUCH different if you put too much flour in.
We do a light glaze with powdered sugar and water and dip the whole doughnut in.