waffle crust quiche

I had some leftover waffle fries one day, and I didn't want to waste them, so I left them sitting on the cookie sheet, while I thought about what to make for dinner that night. I saw frozen organic broccoli, and eggs, and instantly said to myself, "quiche." But I didn't have a crust, and didn't want to make one, so...

I greased the dishes and used the leftover waffle fries as "crust." Now I'm already thinking (having made this three times now) how I can take it one step farther. Next time I'm going to pulse the waffle fries in my food processor with some flour and an egg, and make a quick, more traditional looking, crust. 

But in the meantime, I also added defrosted broccoli.

...and Boulder sausage, cooked first, then chopped, as well as some goat cheese. (You can substitute with vegan cheese or leave this ingredient out if you need to.)

I used 4 eggs, 1 cup of coconut milk, and between 1/4 and 1/2 tsp Herbamare seasoning. 

Then baked them at 375 for about 40 minutes.

So good and so low budget :-)

Note: It is recognized that cow milk casein strongly resembles gluten on a molecular level. Goat milk, however, is very similar to human milk, and contains only trace amounts of an allergenic casein protein, alpha-S1, found in cow's milk. Although many of us find goat and/or sheep milk to be well tolerated and easier to digest, it does not work for everyone.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032400.asp

Hi! I wanted to tell everyone that I am moving my homeschool/family journal to another blog. I think this reorganization will be a good thing. I hope you will continue to follow both the gf/cf recipes and our family in this new way. 

Just click on this link, which will remain permanently on the right hand column of The Spunky Coconut. Love, Kelly 

nature's hollow raspberry syrup

My friend, Kathryn, gave me this Nature's Hollow Raspberry Syrup, as well as the Strawberry Preserves, to try. We made waffles this morning and topped them with the syrup. It was really good. The syrup is not thick like other syrups, but it tastes delicious. Another reason I love this syrup and preserves is that they are sweetened with xylitol, and the berries are organic. I'm really excited to know about this company. Thanks Kathryn! Cheers!

Go Ahead Honey! Canapes!

Naomi of,  Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried chose Canapes, for the theme of March. Which makes some of us wonder... What is a canape? After reading her post and seeing her beautiful photograph I completely understood. A canape is a decorative food, held in the fingers and eaten in one bite. They are usually served at parties as cocktail food, and they are often sour and sweet, salty or spicy.

These Raspberry Cream Canapes are both sour and sweet. The texture of the fruit on your tongue is also part of the appeal. They would be perfect with champagne. I piped them with my Vanilla Pudding, using a bag I made from unbleached parchment paper. It took hardly any time at all, but even more quickly than they were assembled, they were gobbled up by my family!

I had some left-over pudding in the bag, and didn't want it to go to waste. So I took my Mint Chocolate Brownies out of the fridge (yes, I pretty much always have some in there :-)), and cut them into tiny bites. Then I piped the pudding on like frosting. They too were eaten up in a matter of seconds.

After canapes that were sour and sweet we were in the mood for something salty and spicy, like Cream Filled Jalapeno Olives. I made a small rue, using 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, and 1 tablespoon of brown rice flour, in a heated pot, and whisking in 1/2 cup cashew milk. When it was thick and creamy I added Herbamare seasoning and garlic powder to taste, and put it in the freezer to chill. Half an hour later I piped it into jalapeno stuffed olives, cut in half, jalapenos removed. The olives were salty and spicy, while the filling was creamy with a hint of garlic. A sprinkle of paprika made them look pretty and finished. 

Perhaps we wont eat a meal, but continue making canapes all day :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

"It's just a leprechaun in his home." -Zoe

"Two leprechauns gathering gold out in the woods." -Zoe

(the red on their faces are their beards)

more costco finds!

This was about 13 dollars for 300 caps! I think it would have been about 30 dollars for that many at the health food store! Though I usually get the liquid flax seed oil there, and I would much rather swallow a capsule! It's organic and cold pressed. So happy about this! FYI - it says to store at room temperature, but I totally disagree. I'm keeping it in the fridge with all my other nuts, seeds, and nut/seed butters.

We were having homemade curry the other night, and I was wishing I had some raisins to add. I don't remember seeing these last time I went to Costco, but yesterday there they were. I'm also going to use them for granola and ice cream.

Finally, I had to buy this because it's organic, and such a bargain! We hardly ever use tomato sauce, so it should last a long time. I'm really critical of store bought tomato sauce, and we tried this - it's really yummy. I was impressed. And for the health conscious - the tomatoes are vine-ripened, and not genetically engineered. Very cool. If only I could get Costco to pay me for these plugs!

etsy, amy butler, oven mit

I have been putting off getting an oven mit for some time now, despite the fact that my old one was black with a hole, from a burn years ago. What can I say, I'm picky and frugal. It had to be stylish, go with my house, and not cost a fortune. Handmade? Even better. 

When I broke my 5 year old bag (purse), I went straight to Etsy, for a handmade one. After hours of searching, and making that difficult choice (after all, a bag and shoes are the most important accessories in my opinion), I couldn't help but wander around the rest of the site. Really I could spend all day there. 

That's when I found this oven mit. It has two pockets, but they are connected. The design is awesome. It hangs, ready for action, on the oven door, showing off my favorite feature, and the reason I had to have it: Amy Butler fabric. I have this same orange floral fabric on my dining chairs, and the coordinating print on the bench I made, where the kiddos sit. I could just eat it up. 

Check out her handmade store if you're interested in getting one yourself. She also has some other really cool stuff. Her store is called, Pretty in Purple. Here's the link:

Pretty in Purple

picnic, bento, sigg, & the environment

Yesterday it was 75 degrees, so we took a picnic lunch to a nearby lake and park with some friends. The wind was crazy, so that there were waves on the lake, as if it were the ocean. I could even smell the water. It reminded me of the beach. To make the illusion even more convincing, was the sand on the playground, where I took off my flip flops and sunk my toes. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but my friend took some pictures when we got back to her house, and I'll put those up when I get them.

I did a post on bento lunch boxes and Sigg bottles once before, but they looked so cute before I closed them and packed them in our tote bag, that I thought I'd take a picture. I made hot dogs wrapped and baked in Gillian's pizza dough, then cut them in half. Beside them is avocado. Underneath are apples and walnuts, and my raw carrot spice cookies, which I made thin this time - man, are they good! There's even a space on the right for your silverware. We just threw the cloth napkins and Sigg bottles right in the tote bag.

Sigg bottles are great because plastic bottles leach the toxic chemical, BPA, into your water, and because Americans add over 30 million plastic water bottles to our nation's landfills – everyday! We also went ahead last summer and ordered two lead-free bento boxes from Lap Top Lunches, which cost a little up front, but saved a lot in the long run because I no longer buy ziplocks, etc. The reason for using bento lunch boxes is creating lead-free, BPA-free, Waste Free Lunches.  It has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school.

As I said last time, one of the most important things I hope to teach my children is how to be good stewards of the earth. They are beginning to understand that we have to consume less, waste less, and reuse more, in order to protect our future. Sigg bottles, bento boxes, and cloth napkins are all ways we can help our kids choose to protect the environment, and our future.

(Note: You may click on the words that are bold for more information. Also, Sigg bottles are sold at natural markets, like Whole Foods, as well as local stores, and on Amazon.)