Finnish cabbage casserole (gluten free, dairy free, egg free)

Cabbage casserole is one of my favorite traditional Finnish foods and I make it often. It is especially good with IKEA's lingonberry preserves. You could also eat it with crushed cranberries.

1 big of 2 small heads of cabbage
1 lb ground meat
1-2 carrots
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp molasses (can be left out too if you avoid sugar)
water, stock or bone broth
(gluten free bread crumbs and Earth Balance soy free spread)

Shred the cabbage and carrots and boil them in water until soft. In the meanwhile, fry the meat. Mix the meat and spices with the cabbage in the pot and pour the mixture in an oiled baking pan. Pour some stock, broth or water in (you can add some later if it loos too dry). If you want, top it with bread crumbs and a a couple of spoonfuls of Earth Balance. Bake in 350 F for 2 hours. Add water/broth if needed.

The best apple spice cakes.

The recipe is inspired by one from Gluten free cupcakes by Elana Amsterdam. I have modified quite a bit though.

1 cup coconut flour
2 tbsp potato starch (or some other starch like tapioca, arrowroot or corn)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 cup apple sauce
egg replacer for 4 eggs (or 4 eggs :))
4 tsp ground flax seed or chia seeds
0.5 cup apple juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/2 cup honey (to make vegan, substitute with agave or other sweetener)
1 apple cut in small pieces
1/2 cup raisins

Mix dry ingredients together and wet ingredients together in separate bowls. Combine and last stir in apples and raisins. Bake in 350 F for 25 minutes or until they seem ready.

Let cool and eat them as they are or sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with coconut cinnamon frosting.

Frosting 1
Soyatoo Rice whip (or some other type of whipped cream)
cinnamon to taste

Frosting 2
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup margarine
1/4 cup coconut milk
cinnamon to taste

Apple crumb

Apples, apples and apples. We love apples. I got some from a friend's tree (thanks Christina!) and from our weekly Farm Fresh to You organic produce box and although we eat a lot of apples, I have had to get to work to use all these delicious apples. I have been baking apple cupcakes, making apple sauce and today I made apple crumb. The recipe is inspired by a recipe from The Allergen Free Bakers Handbook by Cybele Pascal but I made some slight changes.

Fruit filling:
5 apples, peeled, cored and cut in small pieces
1/2 cup raisins
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup maple/agave/coconut or similar syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp tapioca or potato starch

Crumb topping:
3/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch/potato starch
1/4 tsp xanthan gum (optional, was in the original recipe)
1 cup quinoa flakes (I had the flour out first accidentally if it confuses you in the photo)
3/4 cup coconut crystals (or brown sugar)
1 cup palm shortening
1 tsp vanilla sugar or powder
some alternative milk or juice if it is too dry

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the fruit filling and pour it in a greased 8 x 8 inch pan. Mix the crumb topping and crumble it over the fruit. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling up around the sides and the top is golden. let rest a while before serving (difficult, I know!).

The end result was really yummy but slightly dry so I poured some thick vanilla hemp milk on it and it tasted a lot like vanilla sauce. Delicious.

"Peace is making sure everybody is ok.”

My son goes to a Montessori School and they celebrated World peace day last week. They ate peace cake, sang songs about peace, stiched a peace dove and talked about peace. This is what the 3-6 year olds thought about peace (take out a tissue if you are like me, this touched me to tears).

“Peace is not throwing plastic on the ground.”
“Peace is keeping your hands to yourself.”
“Peace is doing everything nice.”
“Peace is not pushing people down.”
“Peace is being kind to people.”
“Peace is respecting each other’s bodies.”
“Peace is making sure everybody is ok.”
“Peace is loving and caring.”
“Peace is sharing and caring for people.”
“Peace is taking care of nature.”

Clothes that fit cloth diapering babies! (and coupon code)

I thought I'd share a discount code I got today for this little clothing company in the UK, Frugi. They make cute clothes for kids and also for breastfeeding moms, all organic and fair trade. And their collection for younger babies is made to fit over cloth diapers which I think is so cool. I struggle so much with clothes not fitting my cloth diaper babe. I also like it that they sell unisex clothes, another important issue for me. The company's work practices are ethical, and I am told that they're super nice quality and will last and last.

http://www.welovefrugi.com/

Discount for 10% off, enter code: moomins at checkout.

DIY: Vegetable broth powder

I have been using Rapunzel Vegetable broth powder. Since I like making stuff myself, I made this mix after I ran out of it. The ingredients are ordered from Frontier coop.

2 tbsp fine sea salt
3 tbsp nutritional yeast powder
1-2 tsp sunflower oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp carrot powder
1 tsp dried parsley
pinch of turmeric

Mix everything together. It is not maybe as good as the real thing but a good substitute. And homemade! I add a spoonful instead of salt in soups, casseroles and sauces.

Coconut vanilla pancakes

Coconut pancakes/crepes
Dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut free, soy free, corn free

2 cups coconut flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp corn free and gluten free baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp flax seed meal/ground chia seeds
3 cups hemp milk or coconut milk
1-2 cups water until the consistency is right (more water/try sparkling water for crepes like pancakes)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sunflower oil for frying

For variations: sprinkle blueberries, dried pineapple pieces or chocolate chips on the pancake right after pouring the batter in the pan.

Fry on low to medium heat until golden brown. I used a Scandinavian pancake pan to make little pancakes (bought one from Amazon). They were a little hard to get to stay together so next time I will maybe add a little more starch instead of so much coconut flour.

Pancakes were eaten before I managed to get a photo. The reviews from the eaters: Best pancakes ever! I served them with agave nectar and fresh raspberries.

This is a good cooking project to get your little ones to help.

Please no more Sponge Bob!

Last spring we spent a few days in San Fransisco and in the hotel I let my son watch tv (at home we don't have cable, we let him watch some carefully chosen dvd's but not tv). He watched Sponge Bob. I remember paying attention how he seemed to go wild after the program and was acting really fast and kind of aggressive afterwards. I thought: Never again Sponge Bob to my kids. I have stuck to that promise and I am glad because today I read this on Facebook:

SpongeBob impairs little kids' thinking, study finds

[...] "To test what those might be, Lillard and Peterson randomly assigned 60 4-year-olds to three groups: one that watched nine minutes of a fast-paced, "very popular fantastical cartoon about an animated sponge that lives under the sea;" one that watched nine minutes of slower-paced programming from a PBS show "about a typical U.S. preschool-aged boy;" and a third group that was asked to draw for nine minutes with markers and crayons.

Immediately after their viewing and drawing tasks were complete, the kids were asked to perform four tests to assess executive function. Unfortunately for the denizens of Bikini Bottom, the kids who watched nine minutes of the frenetic high jinks of the "animated sponge" scored significantly worse than the other kids" [...] Read the whole article from here.

Same day I also read from Mothering blog that a new study finds that early TV watching has detrimental impact on literacy and language skills. This is because there is then less contact and talking with the parents. I don't think this last study is such new information but still, reading these both harmful TV related news today made me decide that today Miio isn't watching any dvd's. I will have to restrict it even more and same applies to little Leo in future.

Cloudberry caramel cake (lakka-kinuskikääretorttu)

I baked this delicious thing for an international potluck at my son's Montessori school. It is a variation from a Finnish popular cake, a rolled cake. It is super fast and easy to make. It is called Kääretorttu (rolled tart, a rolled cake). I don't have a photo, but by clicking this link you will see pictures of the cake roll.

Cloudberry caramel roll
gluten free, dairy free, corn free, soy free, egg free

1 cup potato or tapioca starch
1/3 cup superfine rice flour (or starch or some other gluten free flour)
2 tsp baking powder (gluten and corn free)
1 tsp vanilla extract (gluten free)
3/4 cup coconut crystals or sugar
3/4 cup and 2 tbsp milk alternative
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Line an inch deep baking sheet with parchment paper. Oil the paper. Pour the dough on it and bake in oven in 435 F for 8 to 10 minutes. Let it sit for a bit and then spread good stuff on it. I used caramel sauce (recipe below) and cloudberry jam from IKEA. A traditional and delicious way to stuff it would be whipped cream (or rice whipped cream from Wholefoods Market) and fresh strawberries...

Caramel sauce

1 1/3 cups water or (alternative) milk
1/2 cup coconut crystals or sugar
1/4 cup agave/coconut nectar
4 tbsp potato starch
3 tbsp coconut oil

Put all ingredients except the oil in a pan and mix while getting it to boil. Turn off the stove and add the oil. Mix until blended. Spread on a cake or pour in molds to make candies (you might have to use actual sugar to get the candies to harden, but I am not sure).

A new way of thinking. And baking (blueberry coconut cakes).

So last year we found out my son is sensitive to gluten. Then to dairy. And soy. And some other foods. Then I had another baby and went on elimination diet because he seemed to react through my breast milk to a lot of foods. This is the way I found out that many of those foods weren't good for me either (or my husband). We also did a gene test to my son and found out he has got two genes related to gluten sensitivity, one from each parent. So our family is now gluten free, dairy free, soy free, corn free and mostly egg free (little experiments done with my son) and my husband might not completely follow my program ;). I am also trying to be grain free since I noticed that the last grain in my diet, rice, doesn't make me feel that good in large quantities either. My diet starts to resemble paleo diet!

I have had to learn a whole new way of cooking and baking. And thinking. I guess at first I thought of our new diet as limiting. But then I noticed that actually it opened a whole new world for me. I have tried so many different recipes, ways to prepare food and bake and new foods even that i would have never maybe tried if I had continued on our old diet. I have also been eating healthier than ever. And felt healthier. I realized that our new diet is not limiting but vice versa. It makes us feel better! I will start sharing my experiences on this journey with the food sensitivities (or allergies if you wish) here too I hope.

Today I made these little blueberry cakes. I baked them in the toaster oven in little cute Finnish Arabia baking dishes. They are ceramic. Four of them fit in the toaster oven perfectly. You could also use four muffin cups. I have been contemplating on buying those muffin cups made of silicone? Any experiences or thoughts about them anyone? Are they safe? No toxins leaching out?


Blueberry coconut cake
gluten free, dairy free, egg free, corn free, soy free, no refined sugars

1/3 cup coconut flour
1/3 flour potato starch
1/2 tbsp Ener-G egg replacer
1/2 tsp flax seed
1 tsp gluten and corn free baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp gluten free vanilla extract
1/3 cup pineapple juice (or any other light unsweetened fruit juice)
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Mix dry ingredients together and add the rest. Mix, pour into ceramic little dishes or muffin cups and bake at 350 Fahrenheit (175 C) for 20-25 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

The Stay At Homer

My son Miio goes to Montessori school (and loves it by the way). His friend's dad writes a blog which is fantastic. Not only is it hilarious but it also makes you think. Just wanted to share the link with you here. :)

http://thestayathomer.com/

Mothers Day Happiness.

This has to be the best Mothers day ever. Miio had selected the theme (Thomas the Train). According to the selected theme I got a Thomas the train card and Miio performed the Thomas tune and told me Thomas stories. Miio is also planning the same theme for Fathers day but it is a secret! Shhh!

I also got breakfast to bed and a shirt, text by Miio that says Äiti on meidän paras (Mom is our best), which in Miio language means that Mom is their favorite. :) And a rose from the garden, a big beautiful rose.

I loved the part of the morning where I was pretending to be sleeping and my husband and son were preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Miio kept running in and whispering to me excitedly things like: "We are baking you a cake! It is a surprise!" Four year olds just can't keep secrets (three year olds neither, it was the same thing last year). And why not, if the secret is so much fun, why not share it right away? ;)

Actually the best part of my mothers day is that I am now a mother of two. Leo Kiian is now 2 months old.

Photo by Erin Maher, check out her site!

Baby hammock

I got a tip from a friend about a baby hammock. It was pretty easy to make yourself. You can also buy these for 200 dollars or so. I used instructions from this blog (thank you Life on the roof!). All you need is 3 yards of fabric, some twill tape or bias tape, a 2 foot piece of wood, a couple of hooks, a spring (might be too tough for the light weight baby) and durable string (we used string that is used for parachutes, don't even ask why we have 100 ft of that).

I didn't want a polyester foam mattress like it is suggested on the blog post I had as a reference though so I made a more natural mattress. I sew first a pouch (14 x 30 inches) and left one end open. I stuffed it with sheep wool from an animal friendly farm and a reclaimed all wool sweater piece. Then I sew the opening and by hand I sew from eight points through the mattress to get the wool stay in one place. A pillow case is a good sheet for it.

We put hooks to a few places so we can change the place of the hammock.

I am now 39 weeks pregnant and ready for the baby to come!

Free baby slings (just pay shipping).

I just did this and got a sling and baby legs with $16.95. It was a Valentine's special but the code still seems to work. Here is what you have to do if you want to use it:

1. Go to SevenSlings.com.
2. Click on "Shop Now" and select any baby carrier you like. Be sure to go
to the sizing page to get the correct size.
3. Once you have selected your size, you'll automatically be directed to the
shopping bag. Enter the promo code " CUPID " and we'll deduct 100%
of the cost of the carrier - all you pay are the shipping fees!

Remember: the promo code is " CUPID " and you can use it more than once - just open a new browser window each time you do.

These Baby Carriers make great gifts.
Selections dwindle quickly, so get yours today!

Participate in a $35 dollar gift card giveaway!

I did recently a review of Iittala glassware from CSN Stores. They have now kindly given you the opportunity to participate in a giveaway! Post below by February 7th and I will put all the names in a hat and draw my eyes closed a giveaway winner who will receive a $35 dollar gift card to their online stores. There is a lot to choose from how to use your card because CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find anything you need whether it be modern dining furniture, fitness equipment, or even cute cookware! So it is worth participating! Sign up below or email me at info at kaikulifestyle.com . Please note that the gift card won't cover international shipping.