Tasty Tofu

In the past two years, my kitchen has seen a lot of strange things as I've attempted to cook for Matthew's allergies. After all that time, I've found some pretty good recipes and tricks and have become pretty confident in my ability to produce tasty things that are allergen free. I often get looks of skepticism when I take treats to a party or ward function and tell people it is completely dairy, egg, and nut free. Then there are looks of surprise when they discover it actually tastes good. But one thing I had never worked up the courage to try was Toffutti Better Than Cream Cheese, a tofu based cream cheese substitute. I mean, cream cheese is a little bit of heaven right on earth. Almost everything is tastier and richer with a bit of cream cheese. A good smear on a bagel is a perky way to start the day. And cheesecake. Need I say more? Nothing made out of beans has even half a chance of being even remotely as luscious. So naturally I was reluctant.

Then my mother-in-law bought me a new cookbook entitled The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book. It was written by a mom who cooks for a child with the exact same allergies as Matthew and it is all about sweet treats. In the past few months we have tried a number of these treats and not one of them has been a disappointment. At last I have found an egg-free cake recipe that will hold up to being molded into fancy birthday cakes! And the ingredient that makes this wonder of a confection possible? Silken tofu. I kid you not. On Daniel's birthday, my siblings were skeptical when I told them I was feeding them tofu cake, but the platter was completely empty when it was time to go home.

So with the success (and tastiness) of all the other recipes I had tried, I finally decided to break down and try the dairy free cheesecake. I made it as my birthday cake thinking that I needed a lot of people to share it with so that 1) if it ended up nasty I wouldn't feel guilty about throwing an entire faux cheesecake away and 2) if it turned out tasty I wouldn't be tempted to eat the entire thing myself. And I must admit that I was leaning more in the direction of needing to chuck the thing in the nearest trash bin. The appearance of the not-cream cheese did nothing to convince me otherwise. It was kind of gray and nasty looking. I was not hopeful. I was so convinced it didn't have a chance of being yummy that I swirled in raspberries in an attempt to cover up any nastiness that might occur. I figured at least that way people could pick out the berries before discreetly scraping their portions into the garbage disposal.

But apparently miracles do happen because not only was the tofu cheesecake palatable, it was actually pretty darn good. The texture was closer to a gelatin based cheesecake rather than a baked one, but I can forgive it that due to the fact that it did in fact taste good. No lie. Now, I'm not going to be slapping that gray bean substance on a bagel anytime soon, but it does feel good to know that my son will not live out his entire life never knowing the wonder that is cheesecake.

Procrastination Is NOT A Good Life Skill

Daniel has known about the science fair since October. The aforementioned science fair was today. Which of course means that Daniel started his project a week ago and did an amazing amount of the work last night. Since he is only nine, that means that Kev and I also spent last night thinking, eating, and breathing science fair. He was off track the entire month of December and either Kev or I reminded him about the science fair on a near daily basis. Try as we might, we just cannot seem to convince him that things really work out better and are a lot less stressful when they are not left until the last minute. But then again, he seemed totally relaxed as he worked on his project late into the night. I was the one who was a mess. So how old does he have to be before I can just leave him to it and go to bed, only to lay awake hoping he doesn't fail miserably in the morning?

It spite of it all, he did in fact manage to get done. And did a fairly good job as well. Although I expected a school four times the size of the one we came from to have a considerably larger science fair, it was in fact only about half the size of the ones we are used to. There were only 50 or 60 participants in grades 3-6. I'm betting the fifth and/or sixth graders at our last school were required to participate. Anyway, Daniel came away with a third place ribbon for the 3/4 grade division. There were multiple winners for each place, but still I think he did a good job. Especially for having done it all at the last minute.


And Daniel, funny kid that he is, was glad he didn't win first place because then he would have to go on to the district science fair.

Uneducated Palate

This evening I made hamburgers for dinner (homemade buns and everything) and Daniel declared with enthusiasm that they were just as good as the ones at school.

I don't know whether I should be flattered or horrified.

Crafty Resolutions

We took the Christmas decorations down today and now the house is looking a little bare. Perhaps one of my tasks for this new year will be to make some things to fill the big empty spaces year-round and not just during the Christmas season.

A Day Of Joy, Magic . . . And Chaos

(to be sung to the tune of "I'm Gettin' Nuttin' For Christmas")
“We received Nerf guns times three,
Chaos is everywhere!
Matthew went on a candy spree,
I find I just don’t care!
We got several noisy toys
that are loved by all the boys,
plus a thousand other joys.
Calm hasn’t got a prayer!

Oh, I’m going crazy for Christmas,
Kevin and I are real tired.
I’m going crazy for Christmas
Because all my children are wired.”


But seriously, it probably should have been Nerf guns times five. Suctions darts are too much fun for even a relatively sane adult to resist. Matthew also loved his little Lightning McQueen and friends (check out the OCD toddler lining his cars up) and his shake and go Lightning McQueen from Auntie Rachael.


Nathan was super excited about his omega sized Nerf gun and was thrilled to get some new playdough (I threw out all the old, dried out stuff when we moved).



Daniel’s rock hammer (Santa has no idea what a huge hammer this was when he ordered it. He was imagining an itty bitty rock hammer, not a rock pick.) and unbroken geodes were a big hit as well as his rocks and minerals books and some magnifiers for looking at his rocks.



And all the boys absolutely love the lap quilts that Kev’s mom made for them. As soon as Matthew had his unwrapped he got on the couch, laid down with a pillow, covered himself with the quilt, handed me a book and asked me to read him a story.




By evening the boys pretty much had the aiming bit of the nerf guns down. Matthew was just about the funniest ever. Check out his face:



Between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we got to visit with all of my family and most of Kev’s and had a marvelous time. (Thanks Connie and Arrin for bringing your boys out to visit with us. Our boys love spending time with them! And so do we!) Daniel survived the season with his sense of all things magical pretty well intact. Matthew was sad to discover that our elf has flown back to Santa and is already hoping to see him next year. Nathan is thrilled with his Nerf gun even though it isn't something remote control, which is what he asked for. It was a good holiday.

Deck The Halls

One of the projects that has helped fill the boys' off-track time has been making Christmas tree ornaments out of salt dough. We started them the evening of the Sunday Daniel didn't get to see the Mo Tab concert. He was pretty bummed and I figured we needed something to perk him up. And what's better than pounding play dough? The boys loved rolling out the dough and cutting their shapes. Matthew's favorite part? Holding a big stick.


After the ornaments were dry, we got the paint out. Three boys+twenty-five paintbrushes+ a dozen colors of paint=bliss! Daniel and Nathan had an especially good time mixing their paints to create just the right color.




After the paint dried, we sealed them with a clear coat and tied on the ribbons. At last they are done! Seriously, this activity kept them busy for a week and cost us next to nothing. Everything we used (except the clear coat, two cans of which got lost when we moved) was already in the house.

(Matthew's Ornaments-he was sleeping when we took the pictures)

So be on the lookout. Some of you very important people may be the proud recipients of your very own salt dough ornament!

Mixed Blessings

Nathan's latest appointment with the eye doctor was this morning and after how the last one went, we were all a little anxious. Nathan desperately wants to be done with the patching (although most days he is still a real trooper) and Kev and I were afraid that he was losing some of the progress that he has already made. The good news (at least from our perspective) is that he is a little bit more nearsighted in his left eye and his right eye is now a bit nearsighted as well. That means he hasn't lost any progress, he just hasn't been wearing the right prescription in his glasses. The bad news (from Nathan's perspective) is that the doctor doesn't want to change too many things at the same time lest the weak eye regresses so Nathan will still be patching four hours a day. Six weeks from now when his eyes have had a chance to adjust to his new glasses and assuming his lazy eye is still as strong as it currently is, he will go down to two hours of patching a day.

The Pros And Cons Of Sledding

Pros:
1. The boys have discovered that our side yard is just steep enough that they can sled down it.
2. The can sled to their hearts’ content while I stay nice and cozy inside.
3. It is neither steep enough nor long enough to work up too much speed.
4. When they get cold hot chocolate is only ten steps and two seconds away.
5. It’s fun!

Cons:
1. It is neither steep enough nor long enough to work up too much speed . . . except when it is icy.
2. No brakes.

(Although it doesn't show up very well, if you look closely you can see the big old bruise on his forehead. And the huge scratch in his right glasses lens. And all the paint scraped of the bridge of his glasses. This is the reason we buy his glasses at Shopko. They have a rockin' replacement plan.)

(The big old goose egg that accompanied the big old bruise.)

3. Apparently children are not inclined to learn from their siblings' mishaps.