Happy New Year 2014!

Our party tonight is 80's themed, the decorations (and people) are pretty wild lookin'! Have a fun night, more later Lord willing :)!

~ Hanunyah

Just a few pics

Man, it's been a while since I last posted! My Grandmother was here for 3 weeks, we've had a couple parties, a couple goats have been born, etc. Thanksgiving is in a week, a great excuse to party again and make tons of food that we'll probably live off of for days ;). I don't have a recipe ready to share, but pictures? Yep!

Mom and a few of my sisters, just being goofballs :)

"Blondie", one of our Mini Nubian does

"Wheeze", Nubian doe

The herd (well, part of it)

"Honeybun", one of our Alpine does

One of the Nubian babies born a little over a week ago - the buckling

The doeling

 And last but not least . . . my sweet baby!

~ Hanunyah

July 4th Party!

We had a great party, I hope you did! Sorry I'm late for posting. The party was hosted by some great neighbors. We were in charge of most of the desserts ;). My sisters made cupcakes, a flag cake, a grain and sugar-free cake topped with (goat) cream cheese and berries and grain and sugar-free banana bread. I made M&M cookies (CCC's made with M&M's instead of chocolate chips), some filled with fresh marshmallow, and 3 cheesecakes - blueberry (that lemon recipe adapted, omitting the zest and using ground blueberries instead of the lemon juice), vanilla, and strawberry/raspberry (again, the lemon recipe adapted, omitting the zest, using ground strawberries instead of the lemon juice and adding some chopped raspberries). I added a topping to all of the cheesecakes (cream cheese, sugar and vanilla blended up, berries also if it was a berry cheesecake) because a couple we're so pretty :).

grain and sugar-free cake topped with (goat) cream cheese and berries

~ Peace,
Hanunyah

Laua *Party*!

Vanilla Orange layer cake with a Hibiscus flower I drew on it (I used a stencil :) )

Saturday we had a hawaiian themed party. Several of my friends and family have birthdays in the month of May, plus it was Mother's Day weekend and so we rolled it all up into one big party! It was a really great party, we all had fun. Coconut race, singing, candle dance, banana pass, dancing, etc.

"Hairy", the coconut, was not someone to mess with! If you were caught with him when the music was randomly stopped, you'd get water, ice, banana, orange juice or whipped cream in your face! :)

As usual, there was tons of desserts. Here's just a few more pictures of the cake I made. I couldn't find any of the other desserts (my sisters made cookies, cakes, bars and fudge).

I hope you all had a good mother's day! I made some Black Gold Cookies for Grandma, she always appreciates them and I hadn't made them in awhile for some reason. 

Well, sorry this wasn't a long post . . . I am pretty tuckered out. We had a late night last night also, we had 2 does kid. That was quite eventful. Let me just say we had 6 kids out and were in bed by 2am :).

~ Hanunyah

Happy 19th Birthday to My Sweet Sister, Suriyah

Friday was my older sister, Suriyah's 19th birthday. It was a great day, ending with a party and cake :). Love you sis!

The cake: 2 layer vanilla cake with a filling of cake crumbs, cocoa powder and marshmallow fluff (homemade, recipe to come soon, Lord willing!), frosted with marshmallow fluff and dusted with cocoa powder.

~ Hanunyah

Happy New Year 2013!

Sorry I'm late . . . the internet has been down and we've had a bad round of sickies in this family. The internet is back up this morning, so yay! Just here to say Happy New Year to you! The party went well and we were up late . . . well, actually, early - 4am ;).

~ Hanunyah

Amazing Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies! Delicious cookies, fun to decorate! Sugar cookies can be made for a party anytime of the year, since they can be frosted and decorated in many ways.

These (gluten-free) cookies that my sister, Suriyah, makes are a roll-out cookie - that way the surface is flat and easy to frost and decorate. The dough is nice, a pleasure to work with and they stay together well.

Need a little extra somethin' to spice up your party? These are perfect!

Amazing Sugar Cookies
Adapted from 
(Gluten-free, Dairy-free, can be made Corn-free*)

1 cup lard
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder*
2 3/4 cups gluten-free flour (we use fine rice flour)

Cream fat & sugar. Add egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add to the sugar mixture. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut either with cookie cutters into shapes or use a canning jar band (large or small, whatever size you want). Bake at 350 for 7 to 10 minutes.

Notes:
*To make this corn-free, substitute 1 teaspoon baking soda + 1 teaspoon cream of tartar in place of the baking powder.

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving! I did with my family. Today? We're having another party very soon! Friends are coming home, a friend's birthday is today and a 2nd Thanksgiving.

"I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving." Ps. 69:30
"giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," Eph. 5:20

~ Hanunyah

Link Parties:
Gluten-Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker
Allergy-Free Wednesdays @ The Tasty Alternative
Gluten-Free Fridays @ Vegetarian Mama

Thanksgiving 2012!

Thanksgiving already? Yep, 2 days! This year we're going to our Grandma's. She's making the meal, but she's not making it allergy-friendly . . . so we have to make a meal for those of us who don't eat that. Which is fine, but it's contamination we're concerned about. Thankfully, we're bringing the desserts so that should make it a bit easier.

We (my sisters and I) made a list of desserts we plan on making:

Super Simple and Good Fudge Brownies - a little chocolate is good at every party, right?
Pumpkin Pie is a yummy classic to the Thanksgiving table, even without a crust. For plenty more pumpkin dessert options, see my Pumpkin Sweets Recipe Round-Up.
Oatmeal Creme Pies are like spiced up oatmeal cookies!
Pear and Apple Pies . . . Sorry no recipe up! Just in case I don't get to posting tomorrow: It's really simple. Basically mix up 1 cup sugar, a few cups of the fruit, a teaspoon or 2 of cinnamon, pour that into an unbaked pie shell and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes. I made some pear pies the other day, didn't really measure (although, probably should've) and they were gone!
Peanut Butter Cookies - more yummy cookies for the party!
Turkey Cookies - Nicole @ Gluten-Free on a Shoestring posted a great idea, and we like it! This can be part of a school project and Thanksgiving!
GAPS variations of pumpkin and apple pies (basically honey instead of sugar, and almond flour for rice flour).

~ Hanunyah

Link Parties:
Gluten-Free Fridays @ Vegetarian Mama & 1 other blog

Easy Homemade Fruit Sherbet

My little bro and sis - The Twins.

It's been like . . . 2 months without a recipe on here. Sometimes - or should I say often as of late, blogging just doesn't happen. When I get on the computer, I've just been keeping up.

It's dry and hot, which is not good for the goats - that we get the milk from - to make sherbet. But they've been doing just fine, by God's grace, giving about 15 gallons of milk a day. (Side note: we sell hardly any of that). And us - the goat keepers - are doing okay, too. I guess  we just get a "detox" from sweating so much 2x a day. (We milk inside of a tin can - a metal barn, that is. It's 80 degrees F. on the low end and 100 degrees + on the high end). I'm sure it would be cooler if we got up earlier, but then there's the late nights - talking and/or partying with close friends or guests. (We had company for about 2 weeks straight last month).

So, that was July. And . . . it's August.

For now, here's the recipe. Chill out, blogging friends. Here's a sweet treat to help ya do that.

Easy Homemade Sherbet (Gluten-Free)
Fish Family Favorite (unsure of the origin)

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 3-oz. fruit flavored gelatin packet
4 cups milk

In a meduim-sized saucepan, combine the water, sugar and gelatin. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and set aside for 20 minutes.

Add the milk and freeze or transfer the mixture to an ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.


~ Hanunyah

P.S. My new baby. So sweet!

P.P.S. You may head over to my other blog for firework and new animal pictures.

Homemade Butterscotch Pudding + Memorial Day

Here I am. I'm alive, still. You know what people say nowadays - "I've been busy......".

Back to the kitchen:
Some time ago, we talked about pudding. This time it's butterscotch. Yum. Especially a whole gallon. My sister (who's birthday is today! - cake is later) likes butterscotch. She told me this pudding was like the little butterscotch-flavored pudding cups in the store.

But, of course, this is made with fresh goat milk, melted cane sugar, thickened with fine rice flour and touched-up with vanilla. That's all. This was adapted from the caramel pudding recipe on this blog.

Making it? - it's not that hard, but this is like a . . . ummm . . . science experiment.

Yes, yes, the sugar melts (brown or white) with NO liquid or nothin'. Just melted sugar and then milk - yes, add cold milk to sugar that is 300+ degrees fahrenheit - do be careful, though. Don't be surprised when you suddenly have this big chunk of hard candy in your pot. Don't freak out, it should melt just fine. After you've made butterscotch milk, add the thickener and finally, the vanilla. And no, It doesn't ruin the pot ;).

Oh . . . it smells so good! But I'm fine with just goat milk ;).

Now that I've prepared you for this experience - have fun! And just to be safe, read the recipe through before starting. Oh, and yes, I made a big ol' gallon - but it still didn't last. You can size down the recipe, though.

1 gallon of Homemade Butterscotch Pudding (Gluten, Cow Dairy, Corn, etc. Free)
Hanunyah Creation

2 cups flour (or cornstarch or other thickener)
4 cups sugar (brown or white)
1 gallon (16 cups) fresh goat milk (or other milk), divided
3 to 4 tablespoons vanilla extract

1. Whisk together the flour and 2 cups of the milk. Set aside.

2. In a large, 6-quart saucepan, melt the sugar, stirring constantly, over medium heat. It should form clumps, then those clumps melt.

3. Carefully add the remaining milk to the hot sugar. The sugar hardens, but keep stirring until the sugar melts into the milk.

4. Add the flour mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens and starts to boil. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Cool and refrigerate. It should thicken additionally in the refrigerator.


~ Hanunyah


Linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays at The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Look What I Made! at Creations by Kard and Sugar and Spice at Seven Thirty Three

Another Adult in the Family!

My older sister, Suriyah (#4 of 11) became an official adult on the 29th of March. We didn't do much on her birthday except I made brownies and blondies :), BUT a party was planned. A few days later Grandma took us out to eat (at a Mexican restaurant, of course), then she came home to a party.

A couple weeks go by.

A few days ago mom surprised her again to a special baby goat, a F4 Mini Nubian - Mom's b-day present ;).

Mom, Colleen (the goat's breeder) and Suriyah

~ Hanunyah

Happy 25 Anniversary to my Parents and GAPS Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Yesterday, the 17th, was my parent's 25 anniversary. You probably already guessed: we had a party (again) and I made cake. Just another reason for a party, as my dad (Abba, as we call him - means dad in Hebrew) said.

I made 2 cakes - one GAPS one, since Abba is on the GAPS diet, and one chocolate cake. I'm sure you can tell which one is the GAPS cake ;).

Raisins and freshly roasted peanuts on top of a egg white/honey frosting.

Chocolate chips on the same fluffy stuff. I counted 104 chocolate chips, just incase you are wondering :).

Here's the GAPS cake recipe. It is a cinnamon raisin bread, but I doubled it and baked in a round baking pan for the cake above. It is actually fluffy and pretty yummy - it uses a lot of eggs - 10 for the cake above! A big thanks goes to Nourished and Nurtured for the recipe that we adapted - go check out her GAPS recipes, they're awesome!
      So, here it is - this is the recipe not doubled.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread (GAPS legal, Grain, Sugar, Gluten, Dairy, Corn, Soy-Free)
Adapted from Nourished and Nurtured

5 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup honey, or to taste
3/4 cup almond meal/flour*
1/2 cup raisins**

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease pans (see note below) with coconut oil or other GAPS legal fat.

2. Beat together the eggs, soda, cinnamon and honey to taste. Stir in the almond flour. Fold in the raisins.

3. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 25-35 minutes, until the middle is set and the top is golden brown. (see note below).

Notes:
*The recipe used 1/3 cup coconut flour and 1/4 cup almond flour, but we use just almond.
**You may substitute safe nuts for the raisins or omit the raisins all together, if desired.

Here are a few of Sarah's notes and tips:
"I used loaf pans that were 7.5X3.75X2.25 inch.  Although the batter would all fit into a larger loaf pan, it will cook better as two smaller loaves so that the coconut flour will not be overcooked before the middle is set."
"I like to cook this bread for a few minutes past when the middle is set so that the bread will be nice and dry for toasting."
"Store in the fridge or freezer.  I like to use a good bread knife to cut each loaf into many slices.  I then place a small square of parchment paper between each slice, wrap it all in plastic wrap, and store it in the freezer.  The parchment paper ensures that I can easily pull out just one slice at a time.  This bread freezes very well, and makes great toast!"

One more thing . . . while I was experimenting with GAPS recipes (which is not very common for me), I remembered a friend who is on a diet for her Lyme disease. She really likes chocolate. So, I created a grain and sugar free recipe for CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES! She was sooooo excited! They are yummy . . . recipe later, Lord willing ;). The base for the recipe for these yummy, chewy cookies can be found at Nourished and Nurtured (I told you she has great recipes!).

~ Hanunyah


Linked to Show and Tell Saturday by Be Different Act Normal

Hey, Hey, It's A New Year!

A "Happy New Year 2012" cake I made.

It's another cool winter day. It's the beginning of January.

There's new life.

New Year's day kids.

It's 2012.

Welcome to the new year ~ I hope you had a good one! Here are some pictures from our party.

The platter that HAD 3 dozen peanut butter cups.

Bean dip.

Coconut Candy Bars

~ Hanunyah

Happy New Year!

So, I gave you one last great recipe. Now it's time for the last post.

We're having a big party tonight with lots of singing, music and friends. Oh, and lots of balloons that are hanging from the rafters right now (to let down at midnight!).

I hope you have lots of fun and a sweet time as well. There are many recipes in my recipe archives to sweeten things up! I've made peanut butter cups, cake and cupcakes, neapolitan cookies, and my sisters have made great things as well including molasses cookies and coconut candy bars!

~ Happy New Year!! ~ 

~ Hanunyah

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Yesterday was my younger sister's birthday. I baked all day and made 3 dozen vanilla cupcakes, a strawberry jello poke cake and orange cooked frosting (triple recipe). For the cake and cupcakes, I doubled this recipe. I also added a few chocolate chips to the cupcakes and cake.

Of course, the funnest part was decorating the cupcakes. We had got a frosting dispenser from somewhere, and I just put it in the cupboard and forgot about it until yesterday. So, I pulled it out and figured it out - it turned out to be very easy to use and clean - it worked great! There are several tips with it, too.

So, here are the pictures ~ I thought they turned out pretty good for my first time try using this deal ;).

This is what happens when different colors meet ;).

Rainbow!

And lastly, the poke cake - very yummy and moist! (I'll post the recipe soon, Lord willing).

Love ya, sis!


~ Hanunyah


Link Parties:
Take-a-Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts


Sugar and Spice at seven thirty three











Food on Friday @ Carole's Chatter