Lemon Basil Pineapple Banana Smoothie

And . . . it's August. Summer is coming to an end. The does are coming into heat; breeding season is in full swing, so that keeps me a little extra busy. Exiting tho, because you know what that means? In about 5 months we should be knee-deep in baby goats! Yeah, that time of year is tiring and exciting. But, we're still here in summer, and coming into fall. Rock out the end of summer with a cool, different, refreshing smoothie! 

1 cup or so of pineapple
two or three bananas
handful of fresh lemon basil
ice cubes
two or three tablespoons of honey (omit, or adjust as desired)
two cups of water

Blend in vitamix until smooth. Drink!

~ Hanunyah

Homemade Cereal Time!

Happy June! The weather is getting warm here, but with a few cool and rainy days still.

Yesterday my sister and I made some cereal. We don't buy it from the store, so we thought it'd be nice to make some and stock up. She made some granola and Cinnamon Squares.

That reminded me why I like to have a blog . . . I may have lost that cinnamon cereal recipe had I not put it on here. I created it over a year ago, and even though it was very good, I just . . . forgot about it for whatever reason. So, that poor recipe is now revived ;). We used all rice flour since we're out of the buckwheat.

I also made a variation of Nicole Hunn's Mini 'Nilla Wafer Cereal from her blog, Gluten Free On A Shoestring. They are just so cute :)! I did change it around a bit - first, I doubled the recipe because I just knew I should. We were out of vanilla . . . yes, vanilla, the key flavor in the little cookies. I used about 1/2 cup cream cheese for the double batch, just to help give it a little flavor. They turned out great, and were a hit (they are all gone). They were pretty soft (not a bad thing), which I'm sure is because I added cream cheese. They weren't as uniform as Nicole's . . . I need some work there :).

Here's some cute kids to brighten your day!

Hilarious little gal! Just taking a nap on mama.

Naptime on mom is the best! LOL.

Handsome boy.

Pretty doeling.

Peace,
~ Hanunyah

Carrot Banana Orange Cream Shake

Ah! I at least try to post on here once a month, but there is no post on here for the month of April! But, the last time I posted it was the very day March 31, so maybe that will make up for it ;). The internet has been tweaky lately (on/off), and we even lost power a couple weeks ago because of a severe storm.

Storm April 18

Things have been going pretty well. The animals have been doing alright, but we've had some problems because the weather has been soooo up and down. So we've been busy with spring cleaning (the house and barn! well, actually, both are barns - we just live in one LOL), treating animals besides the regular care, and bottling the 20 bottle babies we have. Yep, 20. It actually doesn't seem like that many - maybe it's because either they're organized into groups or we're used to it - or both.

Bottle kids enjoying the green. Yep, they are still on the bottle . . . we spoil our kids!

It's May. It's the month of M-A-Y, ok? The weather is supposed to be nice like spring, right? It was 80 degrees a couple days ago, and the next day it was like 40! One day we're sweating and the next it's freezing rain! So ya, that's what I mean by the weather has been up and down. No wonder why some of the goats have gotten pneumonia. This can't be good for us humans either :). This is Oklahoma after all.

Dogwood flowers

Even if it doesn't look like spring outside, maybe this nice fruity shake will help get you in that spring mood.

And yes, I know I'm weird. I put weird things in my shakes. At least I don't put the whole quail egg in, shell and all, like some my family does . . . I just tend not to like sand in my shake.

Presenting you with yet another of my breakfast creations . . .

Carrot Banana Cream Shake
Hanunyah Creation

3-4 quail eggs
1 frozen banana -OR- 1 banana, peeled + 3 ice cubes
1 orange, peeled
1/4-1/2 of the orange peel
1 carrot, washed or peeled, whichever you prefer
1 1/2 cups raw goat milk (or cow or non-dairy milk)

Blend up and chug! :) You may add a cup of oatmeal to this shake (before blending) if you'd like to make it more filling, but I find I do better without grains.

A few more pictures . . .

The special girls, Tiny Bit (left) and Trauma (right)

A couple of the pregnant does.

Storm April 18

Storm April 18

Storm April 18

Storm April 18. This is where we drained our pond. It appears lightning struck it. There was ash there where those dark streaks are.

Storm April 18. This is a pine tree on our property that was struck by lightning. 

Storm April 18. A Dogwood flower in the creek.

~ Hanunyah

Chocolate Banana Avocado Smoothie

I haven't done much with avocados because they are usually expensive. Well the other day my dad got a really good deal on them and came home with about 60 avocados.

Every morning I make some kind of creation with raw quail eggs because they are really good for you and we get tons of them right now. So, this morning I threw in the blender an avocado, a ripe banana, 4 quail eggs, a few tablespoons of cocoa powder, a handful of ice cubes and about a cup of fresh raw goat milk, blending it into a thick and smooth mixture. I poured it into a jar and walked out to the barn to watch this goat kid.

A 10.5 lb buckling! Poor mama, we had to assist this one.

~ Hanunyah

Food on Friday @ Carole's Chatter

31 for 21: Suriyah's Cinnamon Rolls

As I type, my sister Suriyah is making cookies. I'll post about those within the next few days, Lord willing. 

This is her cinnamon roll recipe . . . and a very good one!

Suriyah's Cinnamon Rolls (Gluten-free)

Dough Ingredients:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup fat (butter or shortening or lard, melted)
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour (I use rice flour)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside.
In large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted fat, salt and egg.
Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth.
Add yeast mixture and stir.
Mix in remaining 1 1/2-2 cups flour until dough is easy to handle.
Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth, just a minute or two.
Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. *Note: I have let it rise for only 30 minutes before as well and they turn out fine, just not as fluffy.
Roll out dough on a floured surface into a rectangle, about 15x9 inches.

Filling Ingredients:
Fat (butter or lard)
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Cream cheese - optional - for cream cheese cinnamon rolls
Raisins, walnuts or pecans - optional

Spread fat across dough. If using cream cheese, spread the cream cheese on now. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and brown sugar. Add nuts or raisins now.
Beginning at the long side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.

Coat the bottom of the baking pan with fat and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon rolls close together in pan, and let rise for about 30 minutes.
Bake for 25 minutes or until nicely browned.

Glaze Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter or lard
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients together in saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and put pan in a bowl of ice water until cool. Remove from ice water and beat until desired consistency. Pour over rolls.

View all

Get your own

~ Hanunyah

31 for 21 is a blog challenge to raise Down Syndrome awareness 1 blog at a time. The challenge is to blog everyday the whole month of October (31 days) to raise awareness for Down Syndrome (aka Trisomy 21). This is the 6th Annual 31 for 21 Challenge.

Link Parties:
Gluten-Free Wednesdays @ The Gluen-Free Homemaker
Gluten Free Fridays @ Vegetarian Mamma

31 for 21: Fruit & Nut Granola Bars

Being so versatile, granola bars are very allergy friendly. These are even GAPS approved.

Homemade crunchy, chewy and slightly sweet granola bars - easy, versatile, healthy and portable. Here's a no-bake recipe I created.

Fruit and Nut Granola Bars
Hanunyah Creation
(Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Refined Sugar-free, Grain-free, Corn-free)

3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup natural peanut butter, optional
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups nuts and seeds
1 cup raisins

1. In a medium sized saucepan, bring the honey to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

2. Remove from heat. Add the peanut butter, cinnamon, nuts and raisins and mix well.

3. Spread into a greased 6x11 inch pan. Cool and cut into 16 bars.

Notes:
This granola bar recipe is very versatile.
- You can use any mixture of nuts (chopped or whole) and/or seeds, and any mixture of raisins and/or dried fruit. (Remember to check ingredient labels, because some dried fruits have added ingredients). You could play around with adding different spices and extracts, and even other syrups instead of honey.
I recommend wrapping these individually, as they kinda stick together otherwise.


~ Hanunyah

31 for 21 is a blog challenge to raise Down Syndrome awareness 1 blog at a time. The challenge is to blog everyday the whole month of October (31 days) to raise awareness for Down Syndrome (aka Trisomy 21). This is the 6th Annual 31 for 31 Challenge.

Link Parties:
Gluten-Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker
Wheat-Free Wednesday @ Anne-Marie Cain
Allergy-Free Wednesdays @ The Tasty Alternative and 6 other blogs
Gluten-free Fridays @ Vegetarian Mama and 2 other blogs

Homemade Cereal - Cinnamon or Chocolate

Well, I'm still here and I'm skipping back to the blog with a recipe today. We've been getting spring showers here - yesterday and today it was dumpin' rain, and now there's a river flowing through our property.

So, here's a quick recipe I'm putting up quick before I need to go! Have a good, sweet [and crunchy] day!

I do have pictures of the chocolate stuff to post later, but for the cinnamon - see the Wordless Wednesday post I did awhile ago here. Oh, and this recipe is just what I do, the flours, etc. are subject to change ;).

Homemade Cinnamon Cereal
Hanunyah Creation

1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/2 cups rice flour
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
cinnamon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a few cookie sheets.

2. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, salt and flours. Add the oil and mix together with a fork until the mixture is moist and crumbly. Add the eggs and water to form a soft dough.

3. Take a portion of the dough and place on one of the prepared sheets. Roll out very thin, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness. The thinner it is, the crunchier it should be. Sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar, and cut into squares with a dull knife.

4. Bake for about 8 to 12 minutes, until firm to the touch, crunchy and light brown. Remove from oven, remove the cereal from cookie sheets to cool (you may have to break some of the squares apart).

Homemade Chocolate Cereal
Hanunyah Creation

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt, optional

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 1/2 cups rice flour

1/4 cup oil

2 eggs

1/4 to 1/2 cup water

cocoa sugar (a little cocoa mixed with some sugar)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a few cookie sheets.

2. Combine the sugar, salt and flours. Add the oil and mix together with a fork until the mixture is moist and crumbly. Add the eggs and enough water to form a soft dough.

3. There are several ways you can shape the cereal, but here are my preferred methods. With the chocolate cereal I ended up crumbling most of the dough to make like a "cocoa pebble" type cereal (method a.) which was much quicker and easier than all of this shape stuff I was doing (yes, I did a few hearts and circles ;) ). So, I prefer the crumble method - which doesn't necesarily look very great - but it is very quick. The square method is also pretty quick, but still a bit more involved because of the rolling.

a. Crumble method: Take a portion of the dough and crumble/break into small pieces all over the baking sheet. It doesn't need to be very spread out, but just make one layer - sort of like granola.

b. Square method: Take a portion of the dough and place on one of the prepared sheets. Roll out very thin, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness. The thinner it is, the crunchier it should be. Sprinkle liberally with cocoa sugar, and cut into squares with a dull knife.

4. Bake for about 8 to 12 minutes, until firm to the touch and crunchy. Remove from the oven and remove the cereal from the cookie sheets to a container (WITH NO LID) to cool (you may have to break some of the squares apart).

~ Hanunyah


Linked to Thrifty Thursday @ Thrifty 101

Banana Cream Crunch

My brother was trying to grab it off the screen ;).

Another "Hanunyah Creation", this sure was a hit! With many bananas and the Vita-Mix cream/pudding recipe I created (with a surprise ingredient), I made this interesting no-bake treat the other day.

For a quick run-down? - A soft oat-peanut crust + ripe, sweet bananas + Vita-Cream + the good stuff (peanuts and chocolate chips) = a quick and easy, no-bake, delightful snack or dessert.

This was very good, and it was gone in minutes - credit to my taste-testers, who were hungry for a sweet snack ;).

Banana Cream Crunch
Hanunyah Creation

Crust:
1 cup safe oats*
1/2 cup peanuts*

2 to 4 bananas
a few tablespoons peanuts**

Cream Pudding:
1 3/4 cups cooked rice***
3 to 4 tablespoons sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons vanilla
1 to 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup peanuts
safe chocolate chips (optional)

1. Add all crust ingredients to the Vita-Mix container. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to variable 6 to 10. Blend a few seconds, until the mixture is crumbly and moist.

2. Press into a 9x13 inch pan.**** Slice the bananas over the crust, and sprinkle with some peanuts.

3. Combine all cream pudding ingredients in the Vita-Mix. Blend on high for a couple minutes, adding enough water until smooth and desired consistency is reached. Pour over banana layer.


4. Top with peanuts and chocolate chips, if desired. Refrigerate until set. Cut into pieces to serve.


Notes:
*Instead of blending the oats and peanuts together for the crust, you may mix together oat flour and peanut butter, then proceed as the recipe instructs.
**If there are allergies, or if desired, you may use other nuts in place of the peanuts.
***Instead of using all rice, you may use cooked mashed potato for 3/4 cup of the rice. You may need to use more vanilla and sugar to cover up the potato taste.
****The crust was kind of soggy, so, if you like, you may bake the crust for a few minutes at 350 degrees F, until light golden brown.


~ Hanunyah


Linked to Foodie Friday by Not Your Ordinary Recipes

White Chocolate Cranberry Muffins

Red, tart berries (aka cranberries) and white chocolate chips are often added to muffins. It is a great combo - tart cranberries and creamy chips. This is my version, the base muffin batter being the hidden, weird potato version I created of late.

I know these are not very good pictures, I was missing the sun (it was raining).

Cranberries and white chocolate chips may be added to your favorite basic muffin or cupcake recipe also. That way you wouldn't have to try a new recipe, if you're not feeling adventurous at the moment ;).

Anyway, these went very fast. I guess they were good! Although, I only used 1/2 cup of chips, and one of my sisters informed me that they really could use more. So I think 1 cup would be good. (Mom's added note - I don't like cranberries . . . too tart for this ole mouth!! :o )

White Chocolate Cranberry Muffins (Gluten-free, Dairy-free if safe chips are used)
Hanunyah Creation

2 cups baked potato, mashed

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons each: baking soda, cream of tartar

1 tablespoon flaxseed meal

2 1/2 cups oat flour

1/4 cup water

1 cup fresh cranberries*

1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin pans**.

2. Beat the potato, oil, eggs and sugar until creamy, making sure there are no potato chunks. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

3. Spoon into prepared muffin pans about 1/2 to 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until medium-brown on the top or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes:

*You may use dried cranberries.

**This recipe makes about 18 muffins.

~ Hanunyah