As American as Gluten-Free, Maple-Sweetened Apple Pie

GF Pie Crust-
-2cups GlutenFree Flour Blend
-1/4tsp xanthan gum
-1/4tsp salt
-1T cold water
-1 large egg, lightly beaten
-1T maple syrup
-12T cold, cubed butter

1. Measure flour blend, xanthan gum, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Blend thoroughly.

2. Cut in the cold butter cubes until the mixture looks like coarse, dry crumbs.

3. In a small bowl, combine the lightly beaten egg with the maple syrup.


4. Add the egg/syrup mixture and cut in, just until it's incorporated into the flour/butter mixture.


5. Add 1 Tablespoon of iced water. Squeeze a small amount of dough in your hand. If it holds together, don't add more water. If the dough is too crumbly, add 1/4 teaspoon water and recheck until the consistency holds, but is not sticky.


6.Scrape the dough onto a work surface covered in wax paper. Roll it into a ball, then flatten into a large disk shape. At this point, the dough can be frozen. Wrap the disk with wax paper, and put it into a labeled ziploc bag, then freeze for future use. If not,refrigerate for an hour to use right away.


7. To roll dough- Remove it from the fridge and place the dough between two sheets of wax paper. Let dough sit until it's just soft enough to roll. When workable, roll lightly from the center outward, working to make a circle about 10inches in diameter and 1/8inches thick. If the dough should get too sticky, place it in the freezer for a few minutes, then keep rolling.

Pie Filling

Ingredients-

5ish apples: peeled, cored, and sliced 1/8inch thick

1cup maple syrup

2tablespoons gf flour blend

1teaspoon cinnamon

1/8teaspoon ground clove
1/4teaspoon salt


Preparation-
(preheat oven to 425degrees)


1.prepare 1 recipe of gf pie crust. My recipe yields enough dough for a double crust pie. Roll out half the dough and place into a 9inch pie plate.

2.Combine the flour blend, cinnamon, ground clove, and salt in a small bowl, whisking to thoroughly blend.


3. Gently coat the apples w/maple syrup.


4. Toss the maple coated apples with the flour/cinnamon blend.

5. Pour the apples & sauce into the crusted pie plate distributing evenly.


6. Roll out the other half of the pie crust dough, and place it over the top of the apples. Press to seal the edges. Slice several small vents into the pie top, then embellish with fun shapes cut from leftover dough.


7. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until crust is lightly browned and apples are tender. Check pie often. If crust browns too quickly, cover edges with foil for remainder of baking time to prevent burning.


8. Allow pie to set and cool for several minutes on a wire rack before slicing and serving.


Enjoy!

GFSF, Homeschooling, and Household Organization

Our daily grind is anything but predictable. Optimistically, I like to say that although we're busy, "At least we're not bored!" Being so 'not bored' though, does present some interesting challenges. Add the usual chaos of kids' stuff/activities to the family schedule of a federal congressional candidate, and you'll likely have a steady routine of fast food dinners, laundry pile-ups, and frustration. Planning and cooking healthy, well-balanced meals for the family had become a challenge. (Especially when one child has complex food allergies) Our main issues have been: meal planning/cooking, housekeeping/laundry, and lesson planning for our homeschool. So, while the daily grind might not be predictable, our routines would have to be. For the sake of peace in our home, I something had to change drastically. Creativity and dedicated teamwork would be vital in our organizational strategy. We'd have to think 'outside the box.' Not even our 3year old would get a free ride - we all work together. Finally, the plan must be predictable and repetitive, yet varied enough to stay interesting. Hmmm.

Here's what we came up with:

• I meal plan, grocery shop, and cook dinners once per month.


• We have a rotating schedule for laundry and a MUST DO chore list for everyone in the home.


• Homeschooling lessons are predictable; the kids know what to expect every day. (Art projects and creative learning games keep it fun.)

Of great interest to many has been my 'cooking dinner once per month' thing. I did not originate this idea, but have made it my own by tweaking the system and preparing most of my meals gluten-free. I started out by assigning each day of the week with a particular dinner type. Monday-gf pasta, Tuesday-mex, Wednesday-finger foods, Thursday-casseroles or barbecue, Friday-stir fry. Then I pulled out a calendar and plopped in our favorites for each day-of-the-week-dinner-type. All that was left to do then, was to list out all of the ingredients, hit the grocery store, and throw everything together into either casserole dishes or bundled ziplocs to store in the freezer. Not bad, huh? My first attempt at 'prep night' ended up lasting until about 2am. Whoops! The benefits of having every night's dinner already made, though, has definitely made the work of it worthwhile!

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Here are a couple of my favorite gluten-free recipes that work really well with the cook-ahead method:

Taco Chicken Chili-

Ingredients: 1can vegetarian baked beans, 1can dark red kidney beans(drained and rinsed), 1can black beans(drained and rinsed), 1can sweet corn(drained), 1can Mexican stewed tomatoes, 1/4cup gf taco seasoning, 2boneless skinless chicken breasts

-When I make this ahead, I just combine all of the canned ingredients with the taco seasoning in a big ziploc and store it with a package of chicken breasts in the freezer. I'll take the bundle out to thaw the day before I need it. The next morning, the chicken goes into the crockpot first, then the bean mix. Set on low, it takes about 9-ish hours to cook, 5ish on high. About 1/2 an hour before dinnertime, I remove the chicken breasts, shred them finely, and return it all to the chili. So yummy! Served with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of cheese on top is my absolute favorite!

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Zucchini GF Spaghetti-

Ingredients: 1 sweet onion, 1 or 2 zucchinis, 1lb ground beef or turkey, 1can stewed tomatoes, 1bottle gf marinara, 1 package of gf spaghetti noodles

Chop the sweet onion and zucchini. Saute the onions in olive oil until they're translucent, then add the zucchini. Brown the meat in a medium-sized saucepan. Drain the fat, then add the marinara sauce, and let it simmer. When the zucchini is just barely tender, add the stewed tomatoes. Stir to combine, then add the mixtures together. Let it cool completely, then pour into a ziploc. Bundle with your gf pasta and stow in the freezer. I take this out the morning I need it, and by dinnertime, the noodles are ready to boil and the sauce just needs a quick reheat! The kids LOVE this spaghetti (and get an extra couple servings of veggies snuck in there)! Everybody wins!

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For the housework and homeschooling, we have a 'big board' that details every body's schedules and responsibilities. My kids are pretty competitive, so we also have a side by side comparison of who's done what. It works for us and helps keep the hectic days running smoothly. I love the big board, because it takes the heat off of me! Mommy's not the bad guy anymore, it's the big board!

Organizational side note: with many kids comes lots of stuff! I've learned to keep track of most things by keeping a color code. Works great for the big board, as well as clothes, toy bins, coats, cups, toothbrushes, blankets, etc... At our house, Luci's color is pink, Ani's is purple, Jojo's is yellow, Jed's is orange. They each have a colored shoe bin under their coat hooks, so we tend to not lose shoes. I know exactly who's cup got left in the van and who neatly folded their bath towel. I love this weird little system.

I'm always looking for new ways to streamline the day-to-day process. Any readers with fun or interesting time saving tips and suggestions, please feel free to share in the comments! In any event, it's been fun putting this post together!

Parades, Carnivals, and Car Shows... oh my!

When scheduling the day for our family, I usually try to keep things somewhat... um... tentative. 'Working with young children is like contending with the sea. Things can change when you least expect it.' I don't know where I first heard the phrase, but it's most certainly true regarding my family. Sometimes, even the most noble and well thought-out plan goes awry when any of the children gets 'napless attitude,' scrapes a knee, struggles with their schoolwork, etc... I've had to reschedule morning meetings when one of my kids has had a bad dream and 'needs Mommy.' Our family has been late to church when a newly potty-trained youngster has a blowout accident minutes before van-loading. But theses are common parenting phenomena, and are by no means unique to us.

Entering my whole family to march in our town's annual parade, however, may be considered a unique activity. We live in beautiful little Gig Harbor, Washington where every year, on the first weekend in June, a Maritime Festival is held. Along with marauding pirates, food vendors of every kind, school band performances, and family events, the main attraction at each year's festival is the grand parade. Boy Scout troupes, gymnastic students, and more pirates join the cheerleaders and high school marching bands that proudly 'float' by the local on-lookers while passing out massive amounts of candy and other fun treats. This year, the Jesse Young for U.S. Congress campaign team (including our 7, 5, 4, and 3 year-old kids) marched along en force! A logistical nightmare to be sure, but amazingly fun time. Jesse's truck has been wrapped with exciting campaign signage. Plan A: The truck would be sandwiched between a huge banner and a fun group of wonderful volunteers doing a choreographed routine with yard signs. A smaller group of friends would distribute fliers to the grown-ups and candy to the children watching the parade. My own kids had loved practicing with the signs at home (and have never been at a lack of energy) so we allowed them to walk/dance with us until they got tired/bored/restless/etc... Then we'd move on to Plan B: The kids would ride in the back of the truck and blow bubbles. Great plan, right? A place for everyone, everyone in their place and a backup plan to boot!

There are times, though, when Plan B falls through, and poor unfortunate Plan C becomes a necessity. For example, riding in the back of the truck was great fun for the kids until they became curious about the sound system. Industrious little Joseph quickly became bored with flag waving and bubble blowing, so he decided to take matters into his own hands by figuring out how to work the sound system. His experimentation was crafty... we thought the system was randomly skipping spots of the music mix, but it was my sneaky button pusher! It wasn't until he discovered the volume control that we figured out what was going on. After that, the boys got to ride inside the truck. Welcome to Plan C! Guess who found the chocolate and candy stash! The subtle beauty of Plan C was happily smeared across Jed's face in a hyper chocolatey smudge! Meanwhile, the girls were dribbling bubble soap all over the back of the truck. We should have prepared a Plan D.


Campaigning with kids is a tricky business, but I don't think our efforts were wasted. The sign-dancing drill team volunteers had a great time, the kids will never forget it, and Jesse was able to connect with lots of friendly Gig Harbor area voters. Success!

After the parade and subsequent traffic-jammed drive home, we grabbed a quick lunch then hustled out to Mason County. A carnival in Shelton provided an opportunity to meet up with my parents, have a fun outing, and make some new friends. It was like Christmas came early for the kids, who rarely get to go on expensive carnival rides! (It adds up when there's 4!) We partied at the carnival until our feet ached and tummies growled. Surprise #3 for the day was spaghetti and a sleep-over at the Grandparents' House on Spencer Lake. Ahh, what a day! With the children nestled in their little beds and Jesse working his way through emails on the laptop, I finally dozed on the couch watching funny sitcom reruns. Exhausted, but happy!


Sunday afternoon, following a visit to my parents church, we all went to the Forest Festival Car Show. Outside. In the rain. Oh, as optimistic web-footed Pacific Northwesterners, we made the most of it! We plopped the boys into the tandem stroller, wrapped them both in a big blanket, gave campaign fliers to the girls, and had a blast! Luci and Ani are both champion puddle stompers and take their 'art' very seriously. They took turns passing out fliers saying, "My Daddy is running for Congress. Will you vote for him, please?" and practicing their flying puddle stomp technique. The wonderful folks from the Mason County Republican Party were there with a barbecue vending booth, so we trekked across the show to say hello and have some hot dogs. They are so nice there, always helpful and friendly!


Jesse was outgoing and engaging with people, as always. I'm impressed that wherever we go, people are honestly concerned about what's going on in American politics. Everybody seems to have their own specific issue of concern that gets them fired up. Most often, they just want to be heard, their opinions valued and understood. As Jesse's wife, what I think draws people to him is that he really does care about what's important to them. He will take the time to listen. My husband has never been a 'politically correct' or pandering type of guy. If he has a difference of opinion with someone, he will hear and respect the opposing position then carefully (diligently with detailed gusto) explain his own view. Intelligence, compassion, genuine interest and gumption... that's my guy!

June 6th was also our 12th wedding anniversary! No elaborate gifts or expensive vacations... that's not really our style. We took a ferris wheel ride together on Saturday night and smooched at the top. Sunday morning we high-fived our 12 years over breakfast. Spending the weekend together as a family was just the celebration we wanted and needed. Parades, carnivals, and car shows probably wouldn't define many couples' ideas of romance, but as long as we're together... what more could we ask for? 12 years, and every day an adventure! Yeah! Bring on the next 50 or so!

the Armed Forces Medley on Memorial Day Weekend

This past Memorial Day weekend was certainly a memorable one for my family! It began on a busy street corner Friday night with a group of wonderful folks waving our American flag in support of US troops. Directly across the intersection from us was a group of people protesting the war. Tacky, I thought, during a time when we should all be expressing our gratefulness to the brave men and women who've given their lives for our freedom. My phlegmatic side reasoned that the Anti-War folks could have been observing Memorial Day by exercising their Constitutional right to peaceful protest. Still, personally, it felt like a jab to all of my friends and family who have served in the armed forces.

The evening was not simply an exciting time of patriotic support, however. While we were happily smiling, waving, and 'woot-wooting' to the happy drive-by honkers, a huge camper stalled out in the middle of the intersection (right in front of the Anti-war protesters)! While the other drivers were cautiously trying to navigate their ways around this massive RV, Jess just hustled out to offer help! The man driving the camper was more than happy for the help, so Jess ran to his own truck, pushed the RV out of the intersection, gave him a jump start with borrowed cables (from another of our flag wavers), and had the frustrated weekend warrior on his way just as the police were arriving to direct traffic. What a guy!

Saturday was spent as an unusually mellow day with the kids. I took the opportunity to involve them in some little home projects and teach them the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines anthems. It's so sweet to see these tiny people trying to sing out phrases like, 'From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli!' Especially little Joseph, who's Ethiopian accent only comes out when he's really excited, tired, or singing. The Army song was a tough one for them, but they all knew exactly when to sing '...And the Army goes rolling along!' Very loud. I've come to learn that my kids tend to get louder when they're really having fun. Saturday was a very loud day! The Navy song was the favorite by far. So much, that Sunday morning Jed asked if we could all sing the 'Angers Always Boys' song together. It took me a couple minutes to figure out that he meant 'Anchors Aweigh, my boys...' So adorable, I had to laugh out loud before I could kiss his little blond head and remind him what the correct words are!

As cute as it was to hear my babies singing the Armed Forces Anthems, it was also quite emotional. The girls are just old enough to start understanding the greatness of sacrifice it is to serve. Teaching them that this is the day we have set aside, as a nation, to honor men and women who've been killed in battle was not easy. Reflecting on the lives of my personal friends and family who have been courageous in service while listening to my innocent boys singing 'we will fight for our rights and to build our nation's might...' Emotional. Of course, I partially blame pregnancy hormones for the sudden well-up of tears. I'm not usually the weepy type. Yet, how can one not be overcome with gratitude at the thought of all that's been given as the price of our freedom? Wow.

By Sunday afternoon, we were back on the campaign trail! The Mason County Republican Party had a picnic at Robin Hood Beach in Union. We rolled in with all four kids in tow, and set out to have a beautiful time making new friends. It seems to be Pacific NW 'uniqueness' that to properly pack for a Memorial Day picnic, one must bring gloves and scarves along with sunscreen and shades! As it turned out, we had no use whatsoever for the sunscreen and shades... it rained almost the entire time! And between the wandering boys and dare-devil girls, we were certainly kept on our toes! I consistently have to remind myself that childish curiosity is a blessing, not a curse. The intensely competitive search for shells on the beach or exuberant attempts to communicate with the passing deer should serve as sweet endearment, not irritating misbehavior. There was a brief moment, when I lost track of one of the boys, that I nearly had a panic attack! It was short-lived, however, as we quickly found him following his Daddy away from the crowd to help display campaign signs. Trying to contain my overwhelming relief, I brought our little wanderer back to the kids' area and promptly re-lectured him on the importance of staying close! We will all get more practiced in the arts of keeping the young curious ones collectively focused. This time, I just felt blessed that our hosts were gracious, the other guests good-humored, and Grandparents were with us. (Thanks again, Mom & Dad!) We've taken our notes and have made preparations for the next outdoor campaign adventure!

All in all, it was a meaningful and memorable time spent with family and new friends. To me, Memorial Day should never just be about bargain hunting and barbecued food. While those things are nice (and the 3day weekend a fun perk) the true meaning is remembrance. For all of our freedoms and for everything our military has endeavored to protect, I am personally very thankful.