Crafty In Coffeeland

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Schultüte...

On the very first day of public school we wave at the bus- the bus stop is ironically outside our kitchen window.
Then we peek into our Schultütes (paper cones filled with goodies and school supplies) and go out to breakfast.

and yes that is a tooth brush peeking out of Blue Eyes pile- new toothbrushes are always a hit around here!

The lighthouse

The fog was thick at the lighthouse during our Not Back to School trip but it was the first time Biddy and Monkey were tall enough to make the climb. It was a lot of fun and just a little scary ;)

Not Back to School- to the Beach!

Every year we take a family trip during the first week of Public School.
This year we went spent the night on the coast.
We played on the beach, explored the tidepools,
climbed the light house and visited the aquarium.

A lovely first week of school!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Gluten Free Fast : Flat Bread

Having been used to eating an odd diet the last few years dh and I were not overly concerned with Orthodox fasting...until we started.
We were surprised to realize how much dairy and meat had replaced the bread in our meals.
Looking back I saw how much of a rut we had gotten into- really how many days in a week can you eat shredded beef tacos :)

Katherine's post on falafel got me thinking. Dh and I used to hit a half dozen Greek restaurants when we were dating and after moving to and discovering the lack of restaurants in our corner in Coffeeland we used to cook quite a lot of Greek food.
But we had dropped all the recipes when converting to GF-The main hold up being our favorite flat bread.

I haven't baked since Valentine was born so I decided it was time to try. I found an unopened package of Teff in the cupboard and came up with this very tasty flat bread.

The kids were suspicious of the falafel but the flat bread disappeared in a shark like frenzy.

Gf- Fast Friendly Flat Bread

2 1/3 cup Gf flour mix (I used Gluten Free Mama's)
2/3 cup Teff flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 tsp. xanthum gum
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water

I mixed in a stand mixer and used a cookie scoop to scoop out the dough.
I lightly rolled each scoop in flour then patted out into flat breads.
We fried them in a pan with mixture of canola and grapeseed oil along with our falafel but they hold up well enough Im going to try to bake them - I let you know if it turns out.

They are dark-from the Teff but very tasty and none of the after taste that you often get with rice flour recipies.
They also held up well in a warm oven while I was cooking the rest- they did not get soggy or dry.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Changes in Coffeeland...

My dear Brother noted that our blogs have not reflected a recent change in our lives.
So slowly little changes have been occurring...most noticeably our blog heading now says..."our Orthodox home".
This change took a more than a few of our friends by surprise -It surprised us as well-what had been a gentle urging became an impossible to ignore calling. We began attending our local Orthodox parish at Pentecost and hope to be Chrismated in September.
We will be always grateful to our Catholic friends and Parish that have nurtured our faith for the last decade since first moving to Coffeeland.

Things that have not changed in Coffeeland:
* Cool cloudy mornings
* Coffee and Prayer by the windows.
* Trails of glue and glitter around the house
* Learning through the Liturgical year
* Not enough time to blog about the projects we do-Sorry Grand Parents!
* The smell of beeswax
* Gluten Free Saints days
* Our favorite Saints

Things that have changed in Coffeeland:
* Dairy free Coffee
* Orthodox Morning Prayers have replaced our Rosary
* Icons have joined the Cross in our kitchen
* Greek and Russian chants I don't understand replacing the Latin I didn't understand.
* Fasting on Wednesdays
* Our Liturgical Calendar
* Peace and renewed Joy have entered our home.