Learning from Kids and their Art

When you work with kids, you start seeing things in a brand new perspective. You start seeing how amazing the world is, how fascinating the creative mind works, and just how brilliant sentience can be. The kids I work with range from going into kindergarten all the way to entering middle school, and all of the artwork they’ve created thus far is simply too beautiful for words. 

In the working environment I find myself in this summer, with its amazing staff and equally amazing kids, I come home so energized and inspired to make the next day even more spectacular. They’re bringing out the best in me as I hope I do the same in leaving a positive mark in their lives.

As I work with these kids, it is phenomenal how effortless being yourself actually is. They keep me on my toes, sure, because each child needs something different from me, but I strive for that sort of life. Whether it’s how I teach, what art project I have them do for the day, or working with what kind of day they’re having, I feel limitless in my abilities to be that person for them.

If it is one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s this: if there are no mistakes in a child’s artwork, then there are no mistakes in my own growth and progression. Why should my inner critic talk so loudly over something that can only get better over time? If I find children’s art so amazing – with their perceptions of reality shown in shaky albeit heavy marker lines, large words and figures out of proportion – and their imagination so incredibly infinite in their tiny finite bodies, then I should realize how far I’ve come and far I’m going.

To celebrate my first forty-hour workweek in my life, I made a cake. It’s a sticky, moist, apple cake that tastes amazing warm from the oven to sitting in the fridge for a few days. It isn’t too sweet, but life is sweet while you eat it.

“While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.”
~ Angela Schwindt 

Sticky Apple Cake

240 ml Sparkling water
2 Large eggs, yolks and whites separated
60 g Unsweetened applesauce
42 g Honey
1 Apple (I used a Pink Lady, but whatever you have is fine), grated
1/2 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract
120 g Buckwheat flour
90 g Mesquite flour
30 g Blanched almond flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Sea salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Ground ginger
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
80 g Apple butter
Walnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a medium-sized bowl, blend together the sparkling water, egg yolks, applesauce, honey, grated apple, and vanilla, and set aside.
In another bowl, mix the flours, spices, and leavening agent thoroughly before integrating the wet ingredients with the dry.
With a hand blender or a whisk, form the egg whites into stiff peaks and gently fold them in with the batter.
Pour the mixture into a greased (I used coconut oil to keep it dairy-free) 9-inch pie pan.
Using a small silicon spatula, place the apple butter on the top and form a swirl indentation to create a marbled appearance.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the center is thoroughly cooked through.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for fifteen minutes on the counter before cutting into the cake and serving.
Smear your choice of nut butter, creamed cheese, or whipped cream, and serve warm or chilled with coffee, ice cream, or whatever you’re in the mood for.

Makes 1 cake, or 8 servings.

The Breakfast of Champions and other Delectable Things I Want to Share

It’s funny how much seems to change when you’ve slept. When you don’t sleep, eating healthily and exercising won’t mean diddly-squat; you’ll retain water, gain weight, crash, and be a crying mess like I was last week. This is even more significant to those with thyroid problems, because insomnia and other sleep disorders are very common.

So what is the sleep-diet connection? To paraphrase this WebMD article by Denise Mann:

"Exactly how lack of sleep affects our ability to lose weight (or in my case, maintain it) has a lot to do with our nightly hormones. The two hormones that are key in this process are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the ‘go’ hormone that tells you when to eat, and when you are sleep-deprived, you have more ghrelin. Leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating, and when you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin.

More ghrelin plus less leptin equals weight gain."

I noticed this immediately after the first night fully slept. Not only was I not starving, I was also fuller on less. My exercising had been plateauing for months, and it improved literally overnight. I had a more pronounced belly pooch than ever, making me extremely self-conscious and aware of my weight, and it flattened within twenty-four hours.

That being said, I’m a different Morri than I was a few days ago… and loving it.

Food, I noticed, had lost its luster since my SMI started. I didn’t enjoy it as I once had, nor did I enjoy shopping for it. I made recipes, and I loved making them, but my well-rested body savors the process even more. 

When I wake up, I smile.

When I eat, I can appreciate it.

Which brings me to the title of the post. I always became so frustrated with my 2:30 a.m. breakfasts, because I usually wanted to put more effort into the meal. But when you’re starving and tired, you don’t want to use up the little energy you have. To think, months of breakfast ideas neglected because of SMI. Months of the same breakfast bake, the same flours, the same cooking process, the same feeling of exhaustion and anger and…

You know what? That’s enough bitterness for today. This post is about breakfast, and a yummy breakfast at that.

On Saturday, Mama Dazz and I ventured out to MOM’s Organic Market, and I reveled in the experience like it was my birthday. Shelf after shelf had products that were Morri-friendly, and I had forgotten how much I missed going on foodie adventures.

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Why do I like MOM’s? Well, the location in Alexandria is a breath of fresh air, currently with tomato plants for sale outside and an arrangement of delights inside. You are greeted by sincere smiles, personnel willing to help you and answer your questions, and delicious produce grown with love and the environment in mind. We went there for raw apple cider vinegar and came out with bags of cool stuff. Funny how this seems to happen quite a lot...

Anyway, here is a list of a few of the treasures from our MOM’s excursion that I am officially in love with:

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 Eden Foods Organic Ume plum vinegar

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 New Grist gluten free beer

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 Coco Hydro all natural coconut water electrolyte mix

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 Wax Orchards fruit-sweetened dark chocolate sauce

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Vega One all-in-one nutritional shake (single packets, natural and chocolate flavor)

Saturday was a great day of gastronomic proportions. I’d forgotten how much I loved the creation of a meal, the excitement of trying new products, and the beauty of the simple things.

I’m particularly excited to share my Vega One experience, because it was part of the breakfast that I’m sharing with you today. I bought the two flavors to try them out before buying it bulk to see if I liked it, how it managed my blood sugar, and how it affected my body. My plan was to have a nutritional shake with the apple muffin recipe I promised to make three weeks ago. And let me tell you, it definitely was a Breakfast of Champions combination.

I made the shake with the natural-flavored Vega One single-serving packet, 1/2 a frozen banana, and 275 ml Almond milk (vanilla, unsweetened). It wasn’t overly sweet, and it reminded me of cake batter in terms of taste. Plus, it is dairy, gluten, and soy free with no added sugar, all things I look for in a protein powder. It is also a favorite of the Pure2Raw twins, Lori and Michelle, and you can find a list of their other favorite plant-based protein powders here. So while I’m ordering Vega One in bulk, enjoy this much belated muffin recipe.

It's great to be back.

Apple Spice Muffins

60 g Buckwheat flour

60 g Garbanzo bean flour

60 g Mesquite flour

60 g Almond flour

1 tsp. Sea salt

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Cloves

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

120 g Unsweetened applesauce*

240 g Whole milk yogurt*

2 Large eggs*

1 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract

1 Granny Smith apple, finely diced

1 tsp. Baking soda**

1 tsp. Unrefined apple cider vinegar**

Coconut oil, for greasing the muffin tins

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Combine the flours and spices in a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together the applesauce, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla, and then add it to the dry ingredients.

Fold in the apple to the batter along with the baking soda and apple cider vinegar, and let it sit on the counter for five minutes.

Pour the batter into a regular-sized muffin tin and bake for 30 minutes or until done (which can be seen by poking a knife down the center and the blade comes up clean).

Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing.

Serve warm or place in the fridge for later consumption (and FYI, they freeze beautifully).

Makes 10 – 12 regular-sized muffins.

*If you can recall from my most recent muffin post, I stressed the importance of the wet ingredients being a room temperature. But since this recipe doesn’t have any fat such as butter or oil that would otherwise harden in the presence of cold ingredients, it isn’t necessary. 

**In place of baking powder, I usually do equal parts of baking soda and apple cider vinegar/cream of tartar. But if you if have baking powder on hand, homemade or otherwise, replace both baking soda and vinegar for the same amount.

Safe Travels: A Sweet Tradition

Does anyone else associate almost every great memory they’ve ever experienced with food? I look back on my college career (and perhaps beyond, now that I think about it) and I recall faces but not names, places but not directions on how to get there, and classes I attended but not the professors who taught it. But for some reason, every single memory that has food in it I can remember it perfectly. I know where I went, what I ate, and whom I was with. I know how I felt before, during, and after eating it.

Food has become quite an intimate thing for me, because nothing else parallels the creativity and the adventure of going to a restaurant or coming up with a recipe. I think back on the time my first roommates at George Mason University took me to Choices By Shawn, a place I would later enthusiastically take others and still wholeheartedly recommend their fries. When friends heard or found out I was gluten free, they would text me the name of a restaurant offering gluten free foods or say they found a product at the store I should try (usually a beer brand). And when I had a recipe I wanted to experim-, I mean, share (Right. Share. That’s the word.) with them, many were kind enough to have a taste and tell me what they honestly thought.

These people, my dearest friends, are the reason I pursued my mad scientist tendencies in the kitchen without my being sorry about it. No one has ever told me “It’s good, I mean, for a gluten free recipe.” If a recipe needs some tinkering, the people in my life will sit down and work with me to make it stupendously delicious. One of those people, and forgive me for the mushy gushiness, is the boyfriend.

When he and I first started dating, he and I would walk around campus after dark or go to the gym right before it closed. We are both fairly active, now in the form of running and rock climbing, but early in our relationship it was a form of bonding.

He didn’t bat an eyelash when I told him I was gluten free. In fact, he was interested in what I ate to make sure I didn’t get glutened when we went out to eat or when we made food together. On our first Valentine’s Day, he made us buckwheat blini with cream and fruit preserves.

But one night, before we actually started dating and being more than friends, we did something so random and so spontaneous I knew I was in it for the long haul.

We made pie, a delicious gluten free apple pie… at 10 p.m.  

It must have been after a late “date” night at the gym, but we came back to the Mason townhouses and found ourselves with nothing to do. We could watch a movie or do homework. We could go on a moonlit walk around Fairfax. But really, after a workout like that, we wanted food. And then he said, “I know! Let’s make a pie!”

“At 10 p.m.?” I asked, incredulous. I’d never baked something so late before, and I was known for my early bedtime. That, and we didn’t even have the ingredients to make a pie.

Before I knew it, we were in his car on the way to Wegmans, still wearing our workout clothes and sneakers. We found a pre-made piecrust in the freezer section, got a bag of organic Granny Smith apples, some whipping cream, and we were good to go.

I still think back on the memory with a smile, especially now that he is gone for another summer to sell educational products in Texas.

Why? Because he wanted to make a pie before he left. An apple pie.

Unfortunately, this particular pie was fresh out of the oven and too hot to handle right when he walked out the door on Saturday, so he didn’t get to taste how delicious it was. But with the family getting together for the weekend, it didn’t last very long and was happily received.

“It was never about eating the pie, anyway,” he explained. “All that mattered was making it together.”

So now we have a new tradition. Whenever one of us is going away, no matter how long, we will make pie the night before. It isn’t to symbolize that the person is leaving; rather, it’s to symbolize safe travels and great adventures while apart.

I’ve said this before; this isn’t a goodbye. It’s a see you later, a "safe travels" and "I wish you well" sort of thing. Still, I can’t wait for him to come home. 

This pie’s crust is the same one from October’s GFRR challenge, only this time I measured it out in grams. One of the hardest things I’m noticing is how ounces and grams are converted to each other. Sometimes, I see thirty grams equaling an ounce while others say 28[.349] grams is an ounce. And then of course there’s the difference between the fluid ounce (29.57 grams or milliliters) and the regular ounce. One cookbook, I don’t recall which one, had pages of these different measurements and briefly caused my head to spin. I’d just made it easier for myself by rounding it up to thirty grams/milliliters per ounce for my recipes, and so far they’ve worked out fine.

Unless it’s a recipe that I make from a cookbook with those specific ounces to grams measurements, Meals with Morri is a 1 oz = 30 g/ml kind of blog. I tried making the dough by first measuring it out by ounces and then converting the scale to grams. The dough turned out just as delicious as before, but I ended up using more water than I had in the fall (likely due to the weather more than anything), and it was just too frustrating with how an ounce varied in its weight.

Along with a bag of Granny Smiths, we also had quinces that needed to be used up, so it just made sense to combine the two. And although apple is usually a double-crust or lattice-topped sort of pie, I used the remaining scraps of dough from the bottom crust to top the pie using cookie cutters in the shape of animals. I didn’t have room for the moose shape, though, so I placed in the center a star instead.

Safe Travels Apple Quince Pie

For the piecrust:
223 g Unsalted butter
112 g Glutinous rice flour
86 g Amaranth flour
56 g Garbanzo bean flour
58 g Tapioca starch
28 g Coconut flour
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
120 ml Ice water

For how the dough is prepared, click here. Like the recipe in November, this will make enough dough for two crusts, so save the other half of this recipe for another sensational pie you have in mind.

For the filling:
4 Quinces, roughly chopped
70 ml Honey
3 (around 154 g each) Granny Smith apples roughly chopped

Honey syrup (30 ml honey and 30 ml Water)

Place the chopped quince into a pressure cooker or large pot and fill it with water 2 – 3 inches above the fruit.
Stir in the honey and cook on medium heat for two or three hours and let it sit until the liquid has thickened into a syrup.
Fold in the chopped apple and set aside.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and bring to about room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Dust the counter or cutting board with tapioca starch.
Use a rolling pin and flatten the dough into a flat circle.
Place the dough into a greased 9-inch pie dish and remove the extra dough around the edges for the shapes on top.
Pour and evenly distribute the fruit in the dish, and then lay the pie dough cookie cutter shapes to your preference.
Bake for 15 minutes, and then brush the dough with a silicon pastry brush the honey syrup.
Pour the remaining honey syrup throughout the filling and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it sit for a few hours before serving with whipped cream and your hot drink of choice.

Makes 1 9-inch pie, or 8 servings.

Crock-Pot Cranberry Apple Cider and a Love Story

There is another reason as to why I love Halloween. Besides homemade candy and traditional food, I love today because it was two years ago I met the boyfriend.

After a few weeks of moving into off-campus housing for the first time, I became friends with a group of people whom I still adore today. It’s because of my friend GM I met my friend TJ. It was TJ who invited the lot of us to his fraternity’s Halloween party. And it was at that party I met him. Coincidence? I think not. 

Our first photo together, March 2010

The rest, my friends, is history.

When I met him, it was one of those moments that I said to myself, “Now, this is a person I need to get to know better!” I was wearing goth boots with my costume, but I knew we would be around the same height without them. It was a strange evening, because I ended up hanging out with the pair of them for the majority of it, laughing and talking the whole time. I left that party with his phone number, but that was just the beginning.

We saw each other again on campus the first week in November. I was drinking a cup of Joe in La Pat[isserie] on the first floor of the Johnson Center before my interview, and he stopped at my table to say hello. In my forward ways, I told him that it was such a treat to see him again and that I’d almost forgotten how cute he was (I know, I’m terrible). For some reason, we kept bumping into each other and, naturally, I started liking him even more. We hung out officially for his birthday on November 19th with TJ, three days after mine, and we started hanging out on a regular basis afterward. Even before we formally started dating in January, he came over for Leftovers Day (the day after Thanksgiving at our house) and played various games with my family. It also seemed, I don’t know, right to invite him and his father over for a Yule dinner (December 21st, also known as the Winter Solstice).

Our friendship knew no bounds. We went to the gym with mutual friends together. We went to the movies and stole kisses on the cheek. We went out to dinner. We made dinner together.  I think it had blossomed to the point that being in a true-blue relationship was the appropriate next step, and I cannot express how amazing it is to be in love (and with) one of my very best friends in the whole world.  

He went into this relationship knowing of my lifestyle, and he’s been just fabulous about it all. Whenever he is craving for the Old Country cuisine, he either finds a recipe that is naturally gluten free or modifies it to make it gluten free. And whenever I cook something up for this blog, he is always willing to be experimented on.

Two years ago today I met and became good friends with a few people, and I raise a glass to them. With all my love, Dear Friends, and Cheers to You All.

“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.” (George Washington)

Crock-Pot Cranberry Apple Cider

64 oz Apple Cider
16 oz Cranberry Juice, unsweetened
3 oz Maple Syrup
2 Clementines, thinly sliced
Juice from 1/2 a Lemon (0.4 oz)
0.5 oz Fresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tsp. Bourbon vanilla
1 stick or 1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Allspice
1/2 tsp. Coriander
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

Combine all the ingredients into a Crock-Pot and allow it to cook on low heat for eight hours.

Serves 8 – 12 people.

Halloween Treats without the Tricks: Honey Caramel Apples

I look forward to this holiday every year. Maybe it’s the walk around the neighborhood in costume, knocking on doors and with a squeaky voice shouting “Trick or treat!” My most memorable years were the times I dressed as Odette from The Swan Princess (Mama Dazz made the costume), the Pink Power Ranger, and a black cat. Sure, I celebrated more Halloweens than those three, but I remember them because those were the years of suburbia, where practically every house gave candy by the handfuls and there was a haunted house on every street. Like other munchkins under the age of seven, I was always afraid of the haunted houses, especially when the front yard of the house at the top of the hill became a graveyard for the undead. But for two or three hours on Halloween, kids are empowered to honor their costumes and face their fears. After all, nothing bad happens to a princess, and no one would dare attack one of the Power Rangers. And black cats own the night, so I was safe that year.

After high school, however, Halloween started to shift in regards to priority. I mean, why walk around all evening for candy you could buy half price the next day? And the costumes for tween girls and older seem to have become something different than I remember them being. I think know I’m too old to go trick or treating, but I have taken on the responsibility of giving out candy every time munchkins come to our door.

I must admit, though, I do miss the Halloween of my childhood, and that does include the ungodly amount of sugar, artificial coloring, and chocolate. For years my favorite candy was the eyeball gumball, though it became hard to find after a time. And when I moved to an international neighborhood, fewer and fewer houses celebrated the trick-or-treating tradition, I was slowly weaned from my once a year candy indulgence.

The word candy has changed since my gluten free lifestyle included soy, artificial anything, and refined sugar. Chocolate has become a little iffy for me, likely due to how it’s processed, so I’ve been using mesquite flour instead. But after making those gooey pepitas candy squares last week, my definition of candy has altered completely.

Candy doesn’t have to be artificially flavored, sweetened with HFCS, or gluten filled. It can be tasteful, healthy by candy standards, and delicious for munchkins and adult munchkins alike. I have become inspired, by the science of making candy and the turnouts of making candy. Sugarplums may not be dancing in my head, but honey sweetened chocolate bars, maple fruit juice lollipops, homemade white chocolate, and “candied” ginger are. My hopes for my children for this time of year are homemade delights, original costumes, and close-knit community Halloween fun. Until then, I just may do that for today’s kiddies, but by all means enjoy this certified gluten free candy list for tonight’s festivities.

So why am I talking about candy? Well, I made caramel apples… with honey. And after boiling over in a small saucepan and transferring the mixture and a half (because I boiled over, remember) to a slightly larger saucepan that I couldn’t heat up past 225ºF without going over, I finally found the right pot. So bear in mind, when they say size matters in candy making, they mean it. The recipe not only worked, it was amazing. It is rich, decadent, and had this butterscotch beginning with a caramel ending. I’m sure agave nectar and maple syrup would work wonders, and I’ll try again just in time for the winter holidays.

Who knows? Maybe candy canes are in the future. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Caramel Apples (recipe from Our Best Bites)

1 c. (252 g or < 8.9 oz) Honey
1 c. (240 g or 6.5 oz) Heavy whipping cream 
1/2 tsp. Bourbon vanilla
1/4 tsp. Sea salt

10 sm. Jazz apples (Trader Joe’s Small Apples for Small Hands)
10 skewers or popsicle sticks

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, honey, and salt.
Once warmed and whisked together, bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat to a simmer (it should still be bubbling, but not so hot that is splatters all over).
Stir and scrape sides of pot down occasionally until a candy thermometer reaches 260 degrees.
To reach 260ºF can take about 30 minutes, so while your caramel is cooking prepare your apples by washing and drying them and skewer them with a popsicle stick or bamboo skewer, then place in the fridge to continue chilling until ready to use.
Line a baking sheet or cutting board with waxed paper or parchment paper and set aside.
When caramel has reached 260ºF, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (It should start thickening).

(You’ll have to eyeball the consistency for dipping. If you’d like to help it along you can place your pot in a bowl of ice. And if it gets too hard to coat the apples, just return it to the heat until it’s thin again.)

Remove apples from fridge and dry them thoroughly with a towel.
Dip in caramel, rolling and twirling each one so it gets well coated.
Let excess drip off and then place on prepared sheet.
Refrigerate for 10-20 minutes to set the caramel and then enjoy!

Makes 10 caramel apples.

Yeasty Apple Pulp Teff Bread

My goal for the month of October was to make traditional Halloween delights such as candies, treats, spooky Bento Box Snapshots, savory meals from all over the world, anything with pumpkin, and so much more. But then Midterms and projects happened. And Graduation and “What am I going to do with my life?” freak-outs kept me preoccupied. So I’ve a week and a day to make up for it.

As you may know, I’m a sucker for a good apple. Our peck and a half of apples we purchased from Hollin Farms lasted us for quite a while, until their bruises were growing and no one wanted to eat them as is. I then had the idea to juice them and use their pulp for something innovative and ingenious. Where that innovation and genius would go, I had no idea.

Earlier this week I started craving bread. Maybe it was Elana’s Paleo pumpkin bread or Amy’s vegan pumpkin bread that had me yearning for a mouthful of a toasted slice of something with butter smeared on top. But I was out of pumpkin puree, though I did have apples to juice. And I wanted a yeasty bread, something that would hold as an open sandwich base, something just as savory as it is sweet, and especially something that incorporated my apple pulp.

Naomi from Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried was my inspiration with her carrot pulp bread. I was treated with quite a bit of teff flour a few weeks back, and I wanted to use the molasses flavor it’s famous for. Besides making bagels from time to time, I’d never made true-blue gluten free bread before. Well okay, that’s not true. I did make gluten free bread once. It was way back when I had first started out and cooking mistakes were often and close between.

My first mistake: I cooked by volume. My second mistake: I used coarse rice flour and nothing else. And my third mistake: I used the bread machine without knowing how to use it correctly for gluten free bread. The result was a crusty block of… meh.

But this recipe is nothing like my first flop. It’s rustic, moist, rich, sweet, and yeasty. I do recommend more sea salt than I used, maybe a teaspoon or two more. I was inspired so much by my first ever success with bread baking, I plan on using freshly juiced carrot, maybe with raisins and walnuts like Jim Lahey’s recipe in My Bread.

Yeasty Apple Pulp Teff Bread

12 oz Water
3.5 oz Apple cider (or apple juice)
1 packet of Active Dry Yeast
2 tsp. Sea salt
1 tbsp. (21 g) Honey (to make it vegan, use maple syrup or agave nectar)
15 oz Teff flour
5 oz Tapioca starch
14 oz Apple pulp
4 oz Apple mash, or the concentrate strained from the juice (alternatively, you could use applesauce)

Add the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and stir either by hand or with a stand mixer and the dough paddle attachment.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it sit overnight, up to twenty-four hours for a great rise.
Preheat the oven to 425ºF and place a Dutch oven (or oven-safe deep dish pot) in the center.   
After the oven is preheated, carefully take out the hot pot, grease it, and pour in the dough.
Bake for 10 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 350ºF and bake (covered with a lid) for 30 – 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool.

Makes 1 loaf of bread.