Jalapeno Mayonnaise

Char's Jalapeno Mayo

 Jalapeno Mayo

1 cup mayonnaise

2 jalapenos (seeded)

1/2 bunch cilantro

Juice from a slice of lime

2 teaspoons Agave (honey or rice syrup will work also)

1 tbls mixture of cumin, chili powder and oregano

dash of salt

I  put everything in the blender and blend till smooth (mixture will be green and slightly runny.)  This is great on sandwiches, scrambled eggs or as a dip.  If you make this, please share what you like it on!!

Enjoy!!

Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Mix - the secrets

Charlotte & Kyle, 2012 Crystal Lodge -  Mt. Rainer

When we first found out that my son and I could not eat Wheat or Gluten (honestly at first I wondered how we would live)  I thought all I had to do was convert my favorite recipes by simply exchanging wheat flour for rice flour, boy was I wrong!!  You cannot simply take your favorite bread recipe and exchange gluten free flour for regular white flour.  Gluten is exactly what is "sounds" like...GLUE.  Without it bread turns out like crackers.  With the price of gluten free mixes, its not cheap to make mistakes and toss it in the garbage.

So I turned to the internet for gluten free recipes.  That wasn't much better, considering some people like to publish without TASTING!!   Oh, I better insert here that we are not just gluten free, we are also dairy, soy, and sugar free!!  Which adds more failure to our list!!

I couldn't just give up, after all I have to feed my family.  Not just "feed" them bland food, but offer food that is beautiful to look at and taste equally delicious.  Foods that we miss like pizza, cookies, cake, etc..

Solved!!  I am going to share with you the flour combination that will produce perfect, delicious breads. 

• 6 cups rice flour (white is good, brown is healthier)
• 3 cups tapioca flour
• 1 1/2 cups potato starch
• 1 tbl salt
• 2 tbl xanthum gum

Whisk all ingredients together, transfer to an airtight storage container.  This is my alternative "All Purpose Flour" and is used anytime I upload a recipe that calls for Chars flour mix.


NOTE:  I  know some of you cant have Tapioca and Potato flour/starch so here is an alternative mixture.  BTW, if I know YOU  are coming over I will replace the above combination with the below combo instead :)

• 2 cups arrowroot powder
• 1 cup millet flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 4 tsp xanthan gum

ENJOY!!

Dont Perch On My Birdhouse!

The Nesting Box - Charlotte Sherman

I've been making birdhouses for over 18 years, I've taken many Ornithology classes over the years and have participated in The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's "Project Feeder Watch."

One of the very first lessons I learned is NEVER put a perch on a birdhouse!!  Only predator birds use the perch.... WARNING:  The following paragraph contains graphic information:

           They steal and eat the eggs, or they steal the babies, carry 
           them to a puddle and drown and eat them.

 So next point is to consider the entrance hole size.  Most native song birds use a 1-1/2" diameter opening and it keeps out more aggressive non-native birds like house sparrows and starlings. Some birds can use an even smaller opening. It's good to know which species you want to attract, then research the minimum opening size the species requires.

Birds need a certain amount of floor space inside the house so the hatchlings have room to grow. For smaller songbirds like wrens, chickadees, titmice and nuthatches, 4" x 4" is usually fine. Larger birds need more floor space. The height of the entrance is also important, it should be between 4 and 5 inches.  

Each house should be checked for ventilation, proper drainage, the use of non-toxic materials and be able to open them for once a year cleaning. 

One year I was doing an Art Show in Arizona, another vendor was there selling birdhouses, she had perches, no way to clean them out AND she thought it was "cute" to paint the inside!!!  As people stopped and asked me why mine didn't have perches - I had a huge crowd around me - I noticed several people checking their bags and returning birdhouses to the other vendor....I however, sold out all my inventory. 

Log Cabin Birdhouse

Today the only birdhouses that I continue to make are the cabin style’s. I make them to be used outdoors, however almost everyone displays them in their home.  They are ventilated, and have removable screws either on the side or bottom for easy clean out.

• Log Cabin, approx 9x9, $ 165.00 plus shipping/handling
• Rock Cabin, approx 9x9, $165.00 plus shipping/handling
• Lighthouse, approx 7x18, $145 plus shipping/handling
• Shingle Cabin, approx 7x9,$105.00 plus shipping/handling

Rock Cabin - Birdhouse

Shingle Cabin - Birdhouse

Charlotte & Stew Sherman - Thanks for visiting my page today

Apple Pie - or is it?

The other day my son told me he wanted Apple Pie.  It was such a sad moment because  I feel so badly that there are so many foods he cant have and apples are one of them.  In that moment of looking into his big eyes I said "ok, I'll make you an apple pie" ---WHAT!!??  How was I going to do that?

Years ago I remembered a friend of mine (Lori Standifird) had made a mock apple pie from zucchini, at the time I wondered why would anyone do that.  So I went to work, I found my favorite apple pie recipe and made some adjustments to it.  The following recipe is gluten, wheat, sugar and apple free.

Kyle's Mock Apple Pie

1 box Gluten Free Pantry - perfect pie crust

5 zucchini's (less if they are big)

2 tbls lemon juice

1 pinch salt

1 1/4 cups Coconut Secret Crystals (brown sugar replacement)

2 tsp cinnamon 

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 pinch Stevia

1 pinch nutmeg

3 tbls all-purpose glueten free flour

coconut oil (for dots of butter replacement)

First follow the manufactures instructions to make 2 pie crusts, put in the frig as you prepare the rest of this recipe.

Peel the zucchini, cut into quarters lenghwise, then remove the seeds (I used a grapefruit spoon to remove the seeds), then cut into bite size "apple" looking pieces.  Toss them with the lemon juice and salt.  Next you'll saute them in a frying pan till tender-crisp.

In a seperate bowl, mix together the coconut crystals, cinnamon, cream of tartar, nutmeg and flour.  Add this mixture to the cooked zucchini and mix well.  It will be a little runny at this point, but its ok.

Prepare your 9inch pie crust and add the zucchini mixture.  Dot with coconut oil and place the upper crust on top - I dont like that much crust, so I "dot" the top of my pie with crust.  

Bake at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes or until it appears to be golden brown.

Kyle's Mock Apple Pie - 6/5/13

While it was cooking my whole house smelled just like apple pie!!  I placed the cooked pie on a wire rack and allowed it to cool slightly.  Once it cooled for five minutes I took a small bite....OMG its DELISH!!!  Lets see what Kyle thinks after school.....

Approved!!

Kyle gave it the thumbs up!!  Shhhhh, no one tell  him its not REAL apples!  After my husband had been home for a few minutes, he noticed the pie on the counter and sliced himself up a piece.  I told him it was a new recipe and I asked if he liked it.  He said he "likes my other recipe better, but this one is pretty good."  About a half hour later I told him the little secret, he didn't believe me!!

IDEA:  Top warm pie with Rice Cream (Ice Cream replacement) and its a complete treat!  

Enjoy