Some shabby chic fabric

I found a "simply shabby chic" fabric shower curtain on clearance when Lily was a baby and I just loved the pattern!  Since I still haven't learned how to use a sewing machine, I had my mom,"Gram", create cute pillows for the futon in Lily's soothing, sage, green room.  I simply toss them in the wash to get rid of any allergens.  How awesome is that?  Sew easy!  

Lily's First Self Portrait

I was so thrilled to see Lily's sketch, "it's me!"  The only problem was that it was in chalk, on the patio.

I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped a pic before the rain sadly washed it away.  She is now sketching more on paper with crayons and watercolors.  Yay!

"Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups" ---ALLERGY FRIENDLY NO PEANUT BUTTER!

Oh my gawd!  These are sooooo good! 

I found a vegan recipe from Alicia Silverstone and slightly changed it to be safe for Lily. 

They are ridiculously rich, and didn't last a week in my home.

The next time I make them, I will have to use a mini muffin pan so that they will last longer!

½ cup Earth Balance buttery spread

¾ cup Sunflower butter (I use Trader Joe’s)*

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs (preferably organic with no hydrogenated oils)

¼ cup granulated sweetener (I use stevia)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup vanilla soy milk ( I use Silk Very Vanilla)

Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Stir in sunflower butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sweetener.

Remove from heat.

Divide mixture evenly among muffin cups, about 2 TBSP per cup…gave me only 11 cups.

Combine chocolate and milk in another saucepan over low/medium stirring constantly until melted.

Spoon evenly over the butter mixture in the muffin cups.

Top with chopped nuts of your choice if not allergic to any (almonds, pecans…)*

Chill in the fridge at least 2 hours. 

Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready for a treat! 

*If you are not allergic to peanuts, then go ahead and use chopped ones for a topping, along with peanut butter in the recipe instead of sunflower butter.

Lily's Eggless Banana Cookies

These are a staple in our house.  We make them at least every other week, or whenever bananas get over ripe...you know the ones that basically turn dark brown?  Do not throw them away!  This quick and easy recipe is yummy.  You will want your next bunch of bananas to ripen faster than you can eat them, just to make these healthy cookies!

• 3 mashed bananas (very ripe ones, dark ones ok!)
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup oil
• 1 ½ cup wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 or 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds
• ½ or 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (eyeball it to see how much you like)
• (use sunflower seeds or nuts if you are not allergic!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Mash bananas in a medium bowl, add sugar, mix a little, and then add the oil.

Add the flour, baking soda, and flax seeds.  Mix well and then fold in the chips or nuts.

Drop by 1 tablespoon size (or 2 if you like big cookies) on to cookie sheet lined with parchment

Bake for about 15 minutes or until they look golden.

To make them last longer, we wrap the cooled cookies in wax paper, tuck in a zip lock bag and freeze.  Thaw one or two at a time in the fridge for snacks later. 

Enjoy!

Lazy Sunday

Who ever said Sundays are lazy must not have included me for today!  We are starting off with Lily's favorite breakfast--homemade chocolate chip pancakes, and will then have to rush off to the local fairgrounds to see "Fur in Flight", a performance of her favorite animals in the world...dogs of course!  Her first word was dog.  I clearly remember when she was only about 16 months old, she would scream, "doe-doe!" everytime she saw a little canine friend and hit her little thigh with her tiny hand (the dog sign in sign language).  Last year we bought her a souvenir tie-dyed t-shirt bearing the awesome, frisbee catching, K-9 champions, "Harley and Spencer", if I can remember correctly?   She was swimming in that shirt, it was so big!  That shirt is now faded and outgrown due her daily wear.  We are thrilled to have the opportunity to finally get her a new one this year and a few backup ones to help keep me out of the laundry room daily :)

Bonjour!

Welcome to my new blog.  I am so thrilled to have finally created this page to share some creative ideas with you. Whether it be a song, or a new recipe that is food-allergy-friendly, or just a plain old fashioned recipe of Nana's, I would love to share it with you and welcome your thoughts or suggestions.