Baby Update and Real Food Alternatives to Dairy

Baby I. and I are coming along.  She is strong and sweet and not too hard to soothe.  I gave her her first bath today.  She has a head full of ash blond hair and long slender fingers.  I cannot get enough of her!  I would like to spend my whole day cuddling and feeding her.  Mr. Flavivius has off from work all week and has facilitated much of my babymoon desire, but tomorrow we will begin the new schedule.

A sweet friend came over yesterday and took some professional baby pictures of I. in the beautiful layette made for us by one of the ladies from church, her birthday suit, and then in her baptismal gown.  We have never had professional pictures taken of any of the children.  It was such a special treat!  I. slept through much the event and nursed a little bit, but was fairly contented for much of the 2 hours that Amber was here.  The couple that I saw were so beautiful.  I can't wait to share them with y'all.

Nursing started out great, but now I worry that maybe I'm not making enough milk, that this little nibbler is a bit too laid back, etc...  this happens to me everytime there is a new wee bean in the house, but I have the added concern that she is nor having enough bowel movements (only 5 since day 3).

I will be calling the pediatrician tomorrow and trying to decide what to do next.  She had a touch of jaundice on day 3, but it was not a concern then.  Bilirubin is stored in the tissues, but is primarily elimated through waste (a small amount through urine, but the majority through stooling).  Keep us in your prayers, please.  Also, if you've ever wished a real stinker on that know-it-all-not-yet-a-parent-friend, please, pass all that passion and fervent wishing/praying on to Baby I.  All poopy prayers are welcome.

+   +   +   +   +   +   +

Okay!  One of my motherly peeves around the Fast is how, in effort to keep the fast, we will replace a real food with a fake food.  Now, if I was being honest with myself, then no butter would mean, no butter substitute.  That would certainly put an end to my margerine/transfat/what-exactly-is-Earth-Balance-and-why is-it-kinda-grey? anxieties.  I eventually shelve these minor-freakouts for the sake to being able to cook fast friendly food that the kids will eat.  Invariably, this eventually leads to a soy overload and then freakout #2 "what-is-all-this-soy-doing-to-us?!"  

Soy products, in general, are the answer to the question:  What to do with all this agricultural waste?!  Fortunately, for all of us, the Church and Christendom have being dealing with the question of Lenten cooking for millenia (two actually).  If you to have concerns about the effects of soy on you and your children  then here is an easy dairy alternative for the nut milk inclined.  First. a little history on use of Almond Milk and then a recipe.  I hope you find it useful.  By making your own almond milk, you can also avoid all the yucky sweeteners and Bisphenol A that end up in a comercial product.

In the Middle Ages, animal milk was, of course, not refrigerated, and fresh milk did not stay fresh for long. Most cooks simply did not use much milk as the short shelf-life of the product made it a difficult ingredient to depend upon. Many recipe collections of the time advise that cooks should only rely on milk that comes directly from a cow, something not possible at all times, and purchasing milk was a dubious practice, for streetsellers of milk often sold wares that were either spoiled or diluted with water. Milk’s use had to be immediate, in cooking or by turning into cheese & butter. It was these difficulties that forced Medieval cooks to look upon milk with great reluctance, and so having milk in the kitchen was usually unheard of.

Rather than animal milk, Medieval cooks turned to something they could depend upon, and that was the milky liquid produced by grinding almonds or walnuts. This liquid, high in natural fats, could be prepared fresh whenever needed in whatever quantities. It also could be made well ahead of time and stored with no danger of degeneration. Because of its high fat content, it, like animal milk, could be churned into butter, and because it was not animal milk, it could be used and consumed during Church designated meatless days.

Almond milk was used extensively in period; all existing cookbooks call for it, and it must have been found in literally every Medieval kitchen. It's the prime ingredient in many, many recipes, and the modern cook recreating Medieval food will have to learn its production in order to prepare the most common of dishes. Fortunately, it's easily made.  from here

Homemade Almond Milk 
2 cups of raw almonds soaked overnight
5 cups of filtered water
1-3 teaspoons of natural sweetener of your choice (I like maple sugar) optional

Grind your soaked almonds with the water. Let steep for an hour.  Stir and strain through cheesecloth or a fine sieve.  You can save the ground remains to dry and grind again to use as almond meal.  Stir in sweetner if you choose to use it.

A Wednesday and a Challenge!

Today is B.'s first birthday.  I am trying to figure out what to do about Lenten and fasting birthdays because we have 4 lucky winners at our house.  I adapted Martha Stewart's Darkest Crepe Cake for your fasting enjoyment. 


B. said his first phrase today: happy birthday!  It was amazing the girls were singing to him over and over to him, so he joined in.  Very the cute.


N. proposed a Challenge to his brother D.  


D. at 7 has tremendous anxiety where loose teeth are concerned.  For the past month his tooth has remained loose, but in place.  Yesterday, he whacked it on the slide at school (yowch!) and it became substantially looser, but still well attached.  So N. talked D. into biting a cover or a pillow (this is blurry) and began to pull the opposite side away and Voila!  The tooth is out.  Unfortunately, D. misplaced the tooth almost immediately and now the Tooth Fairy has a hunt.  Well, if she can stay awake, she has a hunt.

Catch-up

I am still waiting on pictures from the Hierarchical visit.  In the meantime, I will share with you the bread that I baked for Vladyka Jonah's visit.

The recipe is from prosphora.org, the only website exclusively devoted to Orthodox Christian Holy Bread. Thanks to my handy-dandy . . . Nutrimill (you thought: Notebook! didn't you?  Oh, you know you did.)  I was able to have fresh ground whole wheat and chickpea flours for this bread, which was a blessing because going 45 minutes across town in traffic to even find a Middle Eastern Grocery for chapati and besan flour was not going to happen.  

This past fall my heirloom rose bushes were unexpectedly loaded with beautiful, fragrant blossoms.  I jumped on the opportunity to make some rose water.  It is the only flavoring called for in this bread, but almond, vanilla, or orange would be appropriate as well.

Andrew Troth of Mediterra Bakehouse gave me excellent direction.  There is a crack that ran along the edges of some of my olive leaves and so I asked Andrew how to prevent that from happening next time.

The trick to decorative dough motifs on bread is to put the pattern on the bread after it has proofed, just before it goes into the oven. This keeps the decorative motif from shifting. To prevent cracking try a few little razor cuts along the edges of the decorative dough.

If you take a visit over to Mediterra's webpage there are the most wonderful photographs of their morning meditation in dough. It just calls to me.  There is something about bread that is so basic and humble and yet at the same time glorious.  How you can take a few modest ingredients and turn it into a soul satisfying delight is a mystery (or at least the beginnings, you need a priest for the soul satisfying part).  I know, some will scoff and say, "no, that's science."  Actually, science can only observe and try to explain the chemical interaction of the yeast and sugars fermenting making alcohol and CO₂, raising the flour and chains of gluten proteins into something that once heated to an internal temperature of approximately 190°F gives you a tasty comestible.  Others will point out that heat excellerates the activities of the yeasty-beasties (a very scientific term), causes the sugars to caramelize, steam introduced at the beginning of the baking yields a crisp crunch.  And don't forget oven spring!  Ok, maybe less mysterious, but it is still ripe with mystery to me.   Did you know it is mentioned in Scripture 217 times?

Clean Monday

The Prophet Isaiah says:

Wash yourselves and ye shall be clean; put away the wicked ways from your souls before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well. Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, consider the fatherless, and plead for the widow. Come then, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and though they be red like crimson, I will make them white as wool (v. 16-18).

Today is Clean Monday.  In Greece it is a public holiday.  Clean Monday is a public holiday in Greece, a day of great celebration and traditions. Families take to the beach or countryside for picnics and kite-flying. Children make "Kyra Sarakosti," (Lady Lent), a paper doll with seven legs to represent the seven weeks of Lent. Every week, a leg is cut off to show how many weeks remain until Easter.


The entire first week of Great Lent is often referred to as "Clean Week," and it is customary to go to Confession during this week, and to clean the house thoroughly (or to have it clean before the beginning of the Fast).


Father asked us to be particularly observant of the Fast and to maintain silence as much as we can.  I better get my prayer rope.  It looks like I'm going to need it.

Homemade Lemon and Spice Olives are Nice for Lent

I found a new little Greek grocery in my area the other day.  I've passed it several times and thought about going in, but usually I am on an errand and unable to stop or it is closed or it is late.  All the excuses, right?

Anyway, today on the way back from coffee with a friend of mine I saw the unassuming sign and took advantage of my semi-free state.  I am glad that I did!  Apollo the Great Greek Grocery in Watauga, Texas is a lovely little store run by a husband and wife team.  They were very friendly and helped me with all my purchases.  Their prices are exceedingly fair.  I purchased brine cured olives and pickles, Zahtar Mix, Pita, and some good Greek yogurt and Bulgarian Feta at their direction.  Their produce was fresh.  I was very happy with my overall experience.

Upon returning home, I whipped up some homemade marinated olives for our Saturday and Sunday lunches during Great Lent.  They will take a few weeks to really season up.

Lemon and Spice Lenten Olives 

• 6- sterilized, half pint jars with lids
• 3 cups of brine cured olives (black or green), drained
• 6 fresh bay leaves, crumpled
• 1 lemon washed and sliced into 6 slices
• 3 sprigs of rosemary, cut in half
• red hot flake pepper
• 6 cloves garlic 
• olive oil

You can pit the olives if you choose.  I did not.  In the bottom of each jar place 1 bay leaf, 1 piece of rosemary, some of the red flake pepper, and one clove of garlic sliced thinly or smashed.  On top of that squeeze the slice of lemon and drop it in the jar.  Add the olives and 2 or 3 tablespoons of high quality olive oil.  Cover with lid and shake until in the ingredients are evenly coated.  Put in the pantry.  Shake every few days for 3 weeks.  Take to coffee hour with some beautiful pita or french bread and olive oil.