What!? Easter…

April 11, 2015 | mollyeleen

Hello strangers. Remember me? It seems I have forgotten all about blogging. Over the last few ~~days~~, ~~no weeks~~, months life has been crazy busy. And all because I like to make sure everything is perfect. I say “yes” I can help – way to much. I am a volunteer. I guess it’s my “new normal.” But I need to slow down and not make my family so crazy. This morning I made a big note to myself. “Find just Molly time!” Those four little words say a lot don’t they.

I have been thinking about this little note all day. And it occurred to me, that when I took a few hours to sit at the computer and blog it is really Molly time. It might not be what I “should” be doing. And some might think it’s a waist of time. I might not be all that good at it. And you might think my life is boring. To me, it’s a moment of quite. A moment of not doing for everyone else. Imagine that! Amazing. I have said it before and I will again… I am going to do this more often. Blogging is almost therapeutic. It’s been 4 plus months (almost 5) since my last post. MY GAD! That really sucks! And I have a lot to share –

Shall we get on to the goods… I think so. How about Easter? Hubby and I hosted a lovely Easter brunch this year. Of course this meant making sure everything was perfect (because that’s what I do). And of course, that doesn’t mean just the meal and the table setting. In my world that meant painting our bedroom the weekend before Easter and making an odd coat closet in the living room into a bar (I will share both next time). You know what ever sane person does before family comes over – on top of all “normal” life things.

As you know, Pinterest is an addiction. And when it comes to holiday’s – forget about it, you can find anything. I found a how to by Urban Comfort on making these beautiful little flower baskets for the table… out of coffee filters! WHAT? YES! Making them was super easy to. The overall effect was a little Martha, but I secretly like that.

For brunch we served crepes of all kinds! Well okay- two kinds. A sweet crepe bar with cream cheese mousse, a Nutella mousse and fresh fruit and a savory crepe torte. The second best thing about this meal (the first being it was delicious!) was that ninety percent of it could be made the day before. We got together with the family and my sister in law made crepes for hours (seriously at least 3) and I made the mousse’s, cut the fruit, prepped the sauces and other items for the torte. It was fun to stand around chatting and cooking. The kiddos dyed the easter eggs for the easter bunny to take and hide the next morning. Hubby and my mama chatted with us and there might have been a cocktail or two involved.

easterfun — (Can we just say how stinking cute Sneaky B is in this outfit? I mean really…)

The day was wonderful. The food delicious. The company fantastic. The stories hysterical. The best part – was all of it. Really, I just love to entertain. I love the process… even though I might just make my family bonkers for a few days. Hopefully next time I won’t be painting a room the weekend before, I am pretty sure we are good now on that end, well there is the play room…

A suitcase and a Deli Doll?

November 16, 2014November 16, 2014 | mollyeleen

A deli doll- yes you read that correctly. “Deli Doll”…what on earth? Let me start at the beginning

Today the girls and I spent the afternoon at my moms home. Today was no unpacking, no lifting boxes and no moving furniture day. If you recall she moved in August and we moved in September; it seems all our spare times goes to unpaking, lifting and rearranging furniture. But today we sat on the sofa and looked at vintage magazines that my mom found in this suitcase. Relaxing and hysterical.

Shall we start with a little holiday decor, for the exterior of your home? Christmas is right around the corner. “For nighttime hospitality, and to create a dramatic effect, here’s the ultimate in professionally ability. Frame your door way with a pink flocked tree that fits flatly against your house.” Okay can we just agree on how fabulous this is! And if anyone actually did this… kuddos! I would love to do this to our home. However, I am pretty sure Hubby would think I had gone over the deep end of crazy town. And where do you find a pink flocked tree that big. Obviously I would have to make it and I definitely do NOT have time for that. If anyone does this, you are my hero and I want pictures!

How about some crafting? We all love a little of styrofoam crafts don’t we? This stelar little book has some nifty ideas; not sure which is my favorite. A few of these like the Santa’s and the chimney scene could have potential. Like on the so tacky it’s cool scale. Not even sure what the top left is supposed to be. We guessed an ornament of some sort, but not really sure.

Now my favorite. The recipe books. Really it’s amazing. Truly amazing what people used to eat. Maybe some still do, but in my world WOW! Shall we start with a round of “Ring Around the Tuna” from the “Cooking with Jello” book circa 1960. “Ring Around the Tuna” would be a delightful salad for any dinner party. Salad? How is this salad? It contains lime jello, canned tuna (drained of course), pineapple, green stuffed olives and celery. Maybe the garnish of curly endive and radish roses make it salad? YUM! (okay really I can not even imagine what this tastes like). Next comes the Viking Ship Sauce Dish carved out of a cucumber… very creative. Honestly I might just be crazy enough to do this one day. I will share if I do. And can we just take a moment to look beyond the Viking ship cucumber and notice the tinsel garland on the table. Okay that looks pretty. Why didn’t I ever think of that?

Then we have the desert spread. Lot’s of delicious looking cookies, popcorn balls and a lovely cake. We started reading what kind of cake this was, looks like some kind of lemon, raspberry cake…But wait! It’s not an actual cake on the dessert table- oh no. It’s a sandwich “cake!” My mom and I where in complete hysterics at this point. Sandwich cake? Yes of course. It’s a ham and egg sandwich made to look like cake. Plus it has cream cheese “frosting.” If I was at this party and chose to have what looked like a lemon raspberry cake and took a bite to discover it was a ham and egg sandwich– I would probably get sick. If you make this Poinsettia sandwich cake, please don’t put it on the dessert table. Right?

And now the best thing ever. Yes I am being facetious. Very in fact. No party can be complete without the Deli Doll. Yes The Deli Doll!!! Yes this “conversation-sparker with her skirt of tempting cold cut meats” is…. I don’t even know what to say. The article says “The deli-doll is attractive featured by herself or on a tray surrounded by more cold cuts or breads” I… yes. I still don’t have the words.

The reality is, the ladies of the past where very creative and innovative to say the least. I thank them for bringing an afternoon of laughter of my mom and I, we enjoyed every minute of it, maybe not the way the ladies of the past intended but still. There where so many other tempting bits that I didn’t share here, like the Spanish Polenta that didn’t have one spec of polenta in it or the brain patties (yes), plus there was an assortment of egg cart flowers to make and tulle christmas trees! I am thinking a “Tasteful bites and crafting of the 50’s and 60’s Party” is in the near future, we just can’t let these delicious recipes and crafts go to waste. I am not being facetious this time either 🙂

Drum roll please….

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 | mollyeleen

“Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome” otherwise known as Fpies. To put it very simply- a person with Fpies can not process the proteins in certain, many or most foods.

Never heard of it? I hadn’t. Until a few years ago when one of my best friends Ashley (aka Magazine Mom, my sidekick) discovered her son has it. Poor little man. It was a crazy time in there lives. My heart ached for them.

This is what Sneaky B has. Fpies, although acute.

sneaky&hb.jpg — Fpies kiddos- can they be any cuter?

Okay can I say what we are all thinking. What are the freaking chances of this happening? Two friends with new babies a year and a half apart. Both have this random never heard of syndrome? There has to be a mathematician out there who can tell me the odds. Maybe we need to hit up Vegas?

I do feel fortunate though. Lucky for me I have a friend I can go to for any questions I have about this Fpies. Lucky for us, we are go getters when it comes to our kiddos. Somehow I think we will be planning something big, yet again, for Fpies kids. Lucky Fpies. Lucky us!

I have a lot to learn still. LOTS. She will probably grow out of it. She will most likely always be intolerant to corn which is her biggest trigger (using Fpies wordage: “trigger” food that causes reaction). Now that we know she has Fpies, I feel good. Not knowing, for me, is the worst. Now we can look Fpies in the face and take it on. We accept this challenge.

hating food

July 23, 2014 | mollyeleen

I guess to say “hating” food isn’t really the best thing to do. We are teaching Kiddo that “hate” isn’t a word we use in our family (along with “can’t”) but at the moment I truly do hate food, and she can’t read yet, so I am going to use HATE. And…maybe not food in general, but all the companies who make food to make our lives a tiny bit easier… I am hating them at the moment.

Sneaky B has a difficult time with food. She has a difficult time gaining weight because of this; she has dark circles under her eyes. She is not “allergic” to any food but she reacts to food in a different way. Her little tummy will hurt so much from certain foods that she is unconsolable, scream-crying (we call it the emergency room cry) for hours. Typically 6-7 hours after bad food was eaten, it will begin by being overly fussy and not wanting anything but mommy. Then the emergency room cry will being and 3-4 hours later it stops by her purely exhausted self falling asleep. A few hours later we have the nasty “reaction” poop, or maybe we should call it radio active poop. It’s the most vial poop I have ever experienced. My poor baby, I hate when this happens. It sucks! Especially when I accidentally eat something she can not have.

Since I am still nursing, what I eat effects her too. “Luckily” I only have to avoid wheat, dairy, soy and corn. HA! Only! Have you ever read labels on food? Seriously, it’s completely ridiculous what “they” put in our food. I have eaten wheat/gluten free for years (before it was popular) so I am used to avoiding that. Dairy hides in food too, it seems a bit easier to avoid than the others.

But corn… corn comes in so many forms and it is Sneaky B’s worst so far. Corn syrup, maltodextrin (made from corn), corn starch these are in everything! If it’s gluten free, it’s typically made with corn. Want to take a headache medicine…nope corn starch. Corn is in ketchup, mustard, chewing gum, soy milk, some frozen fruits and veggies, salad dressing, even toothpaste, the list can go on and on. I was happy to find those little cubes of frozen herbs, basil was my favorite, a small connivence,… oh guess what, they put corn starch in it. Mommy’s sorry Sneaky B… It’s everywhere!

Next our dear friend soy. I used to be a soy consumer. I was a vegan before Sneaky B was born. But since this all started I was a total cranky bitch with eating just fruit and veggies. That lasted two days, to be honest, and then I had my first bit of meat in 4 years… wow! okay, it took awhile to get used to the texture but it was so good, and I was my normal happy again. It’s what my body need now. So no more tofu, soy-cheeze, soy sauce for me. HA do you know how many other places soy hides? Seriously it’s in more things that our dear friend wheat/gluten. Deli sandwich (on gluten, corn & dairy free bread of course) (and yes they do make that)- NO! Soy is in almost all deli meats. I have found one. just one, that I can eat and it’s labeled “Healthy Roasted Turkey” and it’s made with potato starch. Isn’t that funny, the “healthy” turkey has potato starch. Why does it have anything in it at all -other than freaking turkey???

I have become a pro at reading labels and it’s a good thing I enjoy cooking from scratch. I still try to find the “easy” food that I could eat, just maybe there is something out there I have not found yet. There have been a few occasions when I have the girls at the market looking for a quick dinner or lunch, they are whining and I am so hungry I don’t even care that everyone is watching me crying down the aisle picking up an item, reading the label “Nope! freaking corn!” “HA! Nope corn and soy!” It sucks! But I also know that for me this is a short lived moment in my life. Once I am done nursing, I can add back corn to my diet. I am not so sure I will add soy back though, we will see about that. But for Sneaky B, what is in store for her?

We find out next week what exactly she has, I have an idea as to what it is, but I will keep that a secret until we get the word from the doc. So far she can’t eat wheat, soy, corn, dairy, apples and pomegranates (which made her throw up!). I have my suspicions about potato too, but am waiting to try that again. It’s a slow process, and that’s okay. Its frustrating. At times I think I am crazy. How can my eating four pieces of popcorn make our daughter be so wildly miserable? But it all comes down to this. I know I am not crazy. I know food affects her in a different way than most. I know when we are eating only what she can, so far, she is happy, the dark circles under her eyes are gone, she likes to sleep (!) and she is starting to gain weight. She is always wonderful.

A super simple, EASY, dinner

June 24, 2014 | mollyeleen

Ah summertime. Sometimes I love summertime, sometimes I hate it. Somedays is lazy and others it’s crazy. Today, was a crazy. Not sure why exactly, but we seemed to be go go go. On these days I can not express how much I love the crock pot. If you haven’t been using the crock pot during the summer, your crazy. (okay I said it) It’s not just for winter meals people.

Case in point. Black beans. A staple in our world. Some kind of bean every week. I make them early in the week and we eat them for dinner once and then lunch for a few days. This recipe is fantastic. It’s crazy easy and it gives me a little hint of my favorite South of the boarder food during this time when I can’t eat it.

Oh have I told you about this one? Sneaky B, has seriously nasty reactions to 5 major foods, even if I eat them (she is a nursing baby). Those foods, wheat, dairy, soy, corn and apples. Yep… it’s been trying to say the least. Can you imagine not eating those foods? I can handle not eating wheat and dairy, but the corn and soy- that’s another story. First off soy is in everything! Why I don’t know, but if you start looking, it is everywhere. And corn, I love corn. Most gluten free foods are based on corn too…. wait… way off on subject here- we will discuss this another time. Back to the beans!
Above is my recipe for basic black beans. They are so yummy; and it can’t get much easier than this. The most “difficult” part is remembering to soak the beans the night before. I always forget. Always. So I toss them in a pot on the stove with a bunch of water, filled almost to the top, bring to a boil and let them boil for 2 to 5 minutes. Turn off stove, cover and wait an hour. Then you can toss everything in the crock pot, turn it on low and forget about it.

Half way through the day, your kitchen will start to have a yummy smell. It’s hard to place, but it’s the secret to these beans yum… it’s the cloves. Why or why three little cloves make a huge difference, I have no idea, but I am not going to question it. It works and that’s all there is to it.

Tonight we had the beans with lettuce, avocado, green onions and bell pepper. Kiddo ate three bowls full. So good.

If you try them, please let me know what you think- Enjoy!

Sprinklings: breakfast

October 21, 2013October 21, 2013 | mollyeleen

Breakfast used to be my favorite meal of the day…and then I started eating a vegan diet. Plus I am gluten free. So finding something super yummy isn’t always easy and quite frankly I am done with hot oatmeal with berries. So when I found this recipe on Pinterest by The Joy of Everyday Cooking I was super excited! Peanut butter oatmeal bars- YUM!

I have been making them twice a week for weeks now, but yesterday I had a slight panic…not enough honey!

Okay side note- many vegans do not eat honey, harms the bees or something like that. This is not us- we still eat honey, we are vegans for health reasons and I believe the bees enjoy making honey.

Back to the bars…I had to adjust the recipe to what I had in the pantry and they came out divine. So here you go!

I hope you try them out

Sprinklings of my reality is part of a 31 day challenge- read them all

Sprinklings: Short and super sweet

October 9, 2013October 9, 2013 | mollyeleen

So I don’t have a sweet tooth, unless candy corn is involved. Not sure why but I love those little triangles. Could be the colors, white, orange & yellow- When I was younger I would eat off the white then the orange and pop in the yellow- don’t have time for that anymore. Could be the slight honey sweetness, I don’t know, they are perfect to me.

And then my friend Alison introduced me to something a little more perfect.

Okay- I’m taking you on a detour because this is my world. Bedtime for kiddo was two hours ago. She has never been a good sleeper and we struggle getting her to sleep; I think the book “go the *uck to sleep” was written for us- seriously if you have kids you should, no need, to read this book. So I am multi-tasking writing my post and nursing sneaky b and kiddo comes out of her room, walks up to me, rubs her wet finger across my cheek and says

“mommy do you feel that?

“Yes why is your finger wet?” (I’m thinking she was playing in the fish-tank)

“The wet is from the tears coming from my eyes. I’m upset”

Taking a deep breath…”why?”

“Because a few weeks ago you through away a band aid that I wanted to keep”

“Go. To. Bed. Now.”

Where does she come up with this stuff? She is my little hippy that is for sure. She wants to keep everything and make something new, but a used band-aid? NO, I draw the line there.

Okay- back to where we were…

My friend Alison introduced me to mixing candy corn and dry roasted peanuts!! Salty and sweet all in one handful. OMG! Candy corn even more perfect! LOVE IT!

Happily, for my already wideness, I only buy candy corn in October, kind of like Starbucks pumpkin latte. You wait for it, probably have a bit too much of it, then wait another eleven months for it.

This fantasticalness might not be new to you, but it sure was to me. Do you have a salty sweet treat you enjoy? I would love to hear about it

Sprinklings of my reality: day 9

Sprinklings: Crock pot Sunday

October 6, 2013October 6, 2013 | mollyeleen

Sunday seems to be a lazy day in our home. P.J.’s all day, lounging around- well sort of. Usually its the day to catch up on laundry, ironing, dusting etc, but its done in P.J’s.

Lazy days mean lazy dinners and for me that is the glorious under used crock pot. Today I am making our basic lentils.

As you can see I’m not big on measuring when it comes to lentils, I guess its lazy measuring too.
Do you use the crock pot? What do you make most?

Sprinklings of my reality: a 31 day challenge- read the all!

Feeling the love!

June 16, 2013 | mollyeleen

Yesterday was Family baby shower day! My Aunt Anita and my Mom gave me a wonderful shower, the only thing that would have made it better is if Hubby didn’t have to work. Since you are on this roller coaster ride with me, I thought I would share all the “Martha” goodness with you, pictures speak more than words, so here we go!

First off, let me say how cute everything was. Martha eat your heart out! Speaking of eating, the food was delicious!

Fresh fruit in ice cream cones (how stinkin’ cute is that?), Veggies with dip and of course a cocktail umbrella (since there are no cocktails for me), Cucumber & Egg Salad sandwiches, Cheese & Crackers, and pink lemon aid with raspberries…yummy! Plus a celebration is not complete without a Princess Torte! Holly Happy Baby Bump- seeing this cake makes me so happy, and for those who don’t know, I do not have a sweet tooth, unless there is a Princess Torte around.

So many of my family and friends where there to help celebrate Sneaky B, I was seriously feeling the love!

Saturday afternoon was a lovely day. I was feeling the love of you all. There are not enough words to say thank you to those of you who made it and of course a major thank you to my Aunt Anita & My Mom for all that you have done! You are both amazing and I love you both!

molly b

creating, stitching, designing, thrifting

food