Ravioli -- again!

So much to write about and so little time. When the school year is over, I plan to WRITE MORE!

Daniel and I had a go at making ravioli again. Thanks so much to my friend Leah who loaned me her pasta cranker -- brand spanking new -- with no gluten flour inside! I used it to roll out the ravioli noodles. Well... Daniel used it. He wouldn't let me touch it. "Mom, I'm good with machines!!" Well, I would be too, if you would let me have a turn!

Anyway, the ravioli was delicious, and so much easier than the last time when I hand-rolled it. It was tricky at first. When we first put the dough through the rollers, it came out looking almost shredded. But we patiently mashed it back together and put it back through, and after a few times it held together. Daniel would fold it and put it back in, repeat, repeat repeat, until finally it made a nice big flat noodle.

I was in charge of putting the noodle in the ravioli press and filling it. That was a little tricky too, with the GF flour. I had to be careful not to press too hard with the ravioli form or the dough would break. But I found that even if it cracked, I would seal up the crack with a little egg white before I cooked it, and the filling stayed inside. It was such fun! I'm going to get one of those cool machines!!


The ravioli ended up being about 5.5 carbs each, by the way.

Diaversary

Today is Daniel's 2 year diaversary. Last year we lit a candle and said a prayer, and I will do something similar today, probably on my own. Daniel doesn't really note this anniversary, and that's fine. However, I can't let the day go by without doing something.

I hugged him this morning as he was getting ready for school, and said, "Happy (ha ha) diaversary," and he said, "Oh, is it? What day is it?" So I reminded him. And then I congratulated him on managing very well for two years with diabetes.

"Two years? No, just one!" he said. Then he remembered he was 14 when he was diagnosed. "Oh yeah, two years. Wow. Okay, bye!"

And that was it.

Mochi

At our local health food store, Roots, there was a sale item in the gluten free section called "Mochi." It didn't look too appetizing, but sounded intriguing, AND it was on sale, so I picked up a package. It was in the refrigerated section, and was a small, flat brick of brown, solid, pounded, glutenous rice sealed in plastic. (Not the kind of gluten that hurts celiac people!) This particular mochi had raisins & cinnamon mashed into it, which probably accounted for the coloring. The instructions were pretty easy -- cut into 1 to 2 inch squares, bake at 450 for 8 - 10 minutes, until puffed. Then there were serving suggestions inside.

I cooked up a few mochi, and followed the serving suggestion. It said to cut into the mochi square, insert a dollop of cream cheese, and then top with a little agave nectar. I served one to Daniel and his eyes almost rolled back in his head from delight. WOW! Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. It tasted just like a bite of cinnamon-raisin bagel.

I've gone on a youtube hunt ever since for mochi-making instructions. So many varieties. We're on to something fun!!

Thinking of Cake

We're celebrating my parents' 50th anniversary soon, and I'm thinking of cake. Gluten free cake. I'm trying to decide what direction to go. GF cheesecake is easy, but not everyone likes cheesecake. A pavlova would be lovely and light, but I've never made one before. While I was surfing around today, I found a wedding cake & food guide pdf on the Pamela's Products page that gives tips on how to make GF wedding cakes. Hmmm. I don't want a four-tiered wonder, but some of the tips look helpful, like sprinkling simple syrup on the layers to keep them moist, and using "magic strips" to stop the layers from doming while baking. I may have to give that a try.

Okay, I have to help Daniel with a site change now, so I guess I'll put this blog post off until later. It seems that every time I sit down to write, a child starts a major conversation with me. What is it with their timing? Daniel is still talking to me as I type! It's amazing! Now he says I'm mean... Bye...