Change and Vegan Hungarian Mushroom Soup!!

I have a few moments! The house is quiet, I have errands to run, but not quite now. I have this hour all to myself. It's morning, the sun is finally coming back to the north! That is a cause to celebrate, no matter what!!! Sickness made a rude appearance in our home, but is finally begrudgingly leaving. So there is much much hope in the air. Regardless of what circumstances may look like in your life, if you live in the north, when the hint of spring comes your way, hope comes with the sun. You may just have to live here to truly understand.

I was reading over the past several entries....Wow! A whole lot of change has occurred in my life since November. I am not sure where to begin. First, our Xmas was a refreshing time with God and family. My relationship with the Lord has simply grown, and continues to change everything about me...what I thought was important, who He is, my utter dependency on Him...for...everything!, and so as a chasm forms between what I believed and was is true...change takes place all around my life, beginning with the inside.

We came home from our vacation and had the opportunity to take in a teenager with her then 4 month old. We jumped at the chance, and prayed through the whole experience (and continue to). It has been a choice that has brought about much more noise, patience, laughter, and joy in our home. The transition is still happening, but it has been smoother than I could have ever imagined. Our family of 5 jumped up to  7. And technically I have become a "nana". I feel very cool! Parenting a teenager is a whole different ball game. I know I am in over my head, so I pray, a lot.

I am officially a Romanian citizen. I was elated to get the paperwork. Unfortunately, it seems when one door opens, all that is on the other side is 7 more bolted doors, and all I have is a feather to try to open them with. In order to get my Romanian passport I must make an appointment and fly out, in person, to the embassy in Washington DC, but I cannot got there without a current greencard. So what should be extremely simple...getting my green-card renewed, apparently is not.  I won't bother you with my rants, but it should be as simple as turning it the paperwork, them sending me to a place to get fingerprinted and have a new photo taken....then voila. The max time that they said they take is 90 days.  I applied on Oct. 1st of 2012, I still have not heard back. Until then, I cannot go to the Romanian embassy. After I get the Romanian paperwork settled and done, I will have to get the American paperwork done, as well.  I am not discouraged, but it is daunting and seems impossible. I must have a current Romanian AND American passport before I can start the actual adoption paperwork. sigh. So I pray, and wait.

One of the biggest changes about having a teenager and infant in my life is the unending hours of driving them around. I have a new route for dropping and picking up kids from school (none of my kids ride the bus) and top it off with doctor's appointments, glasses appointments, and everything else, and you have a mom, very motivated to teach her teen how to drive!

So when I have a moment to finally be in the kitchen, I feel grateful! I came up with this recipe out of a need. Thursday mornings are my favorite mornings. I have a bible study that I go to, and afterwards, I go to a local bookstore and get a salad. The problem is I want their Hungarian mushroom soup!! They have the soup in containers to buy. I stare at them, trying not to hear their taunts "Eat me, Eat me" it calls. Alas, with all the diary, there is no way I ever eat it. Surely there must be a better way. So I set out to make one of my favorite soups, and I was not dissapointed!

Here's what you need:

a medium onion chopped
2T of soy free earth balance (you can use olive oil, but for the buttery taste, I really recommend this!)
2 12 ozs of mushrooms (if you can do a variety of kinds, it's better, more textures)
2T of paprika (the fresher, the better)
1T of dried dill
3T of flour (I used buckwheat)
1 can of coconut milk (I prefer native forrests brand)
3-4 c of broth or water
salt and pepper to taste

super simple....set pot on medium heat, put diced up onions and earth balance, still till onions are translucent....add paprika, dill, flour, and stir......add broth and mushroom.....let heat on high till a slight boil comes on, then let simmer....gently pour the coconut milk, stir...and enjoy!!!

My teenager, who doesn't like mushrooms, gobbled it up, which equals great success in my world!



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The Best Homemade Raw Ice Cream...EVA!

Bella and I

I am still waiting for the paperwork to go through. Paper work that says I'm a Romanian. Paperwork that says I have a current green card, in a sense, it says I'm currently adopted by America. Both countries are not moving fast enough for me:(

Today it was -9 in town. As I drove around running various errands (and getting my neck adjusted, big shout out to my favorite chiropractic clinic in town, probably in U.S).... I started day dreaming about living somewhere where we could farm all year round. The grocery store produce holds no lure for me. I look at it, wonder how long it's been since it was harvested, where it was harvested... how come it's not dead yet?? And then I think about how a few months ago, I was getting my greens from the ground. It all sounds like heaven. A place where we could just grow what we eat, and live without going anywhere else. The whole hippie movement was on to something. Maybe someday I'll be posting a blog from the middle of no where....a nowhere that is my heaven on earth.

In mommy news, the kids are growing. Zaya has a cough that is persistent, and is refusing to go away! I have started him on a new round of echinacea tincture. There are several nasty bugs going around.

Bella has had several allergic reactions. It has me a little perplexed. Her back turns itchy and it looks like she went through poison ivy. I want to have all of us go through allergy testing, she may be the first one we pay to go through. She has also decided that coats and winter gear are not her "thing", neither are socks. I am waiting and watching to see if wisdom comes to her, so far it hasn't. She simply insists, through chattering teeth (read above for temps here) that she is NOT cold!

Isaac is doing marvelous in school. When we eat dinner together, we all take turns telling everyone our favorite part of our day, and our least favorite part. Isaac favorite part was going to school! It is simply shocking! It warms my mommy heart. This is the first time he has ever talked about school....to see him thriving in school is amazing. I will not go back to how it's been in previous years...watching him fumble his way through school, learning very little, dealing with constant tantrums, having to fight with him about going.... Now that I know how it can be, I will not go backwards.

I am going to share with you my family's favorite quick dessert. The kids love this. Rip from this cookbook shared this simple idea on an episode of a show, I don't remember any of the specifics, but the idea stuck and we've added ingredients to make whatever flavor "ice cream" we've wanted! One of my favorites this summer was Alaskan blueberries. I am a junkie for those berries.

So what am I talking about? Our houses version of "ice cream". We simply buy an abundance of bananas in our house (they never are wasted!). I peel them, and freeze them. When they're frozen and we are craving sweets, I pull them out of the freezer and usually we make this version of ice cream in my vita mix. I know that you can use a regular blender, as well.

B'Nana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip "Ice Cream"

3 frozen bananas
1T of vanilla extract (I love making my own)
1/4 c of nut milk (I use coconut)

2T of peanut butter (yes, you can use a different nut butter, like almond)
1/2-1c of mini chocolate chips

Add caption

In your blender start with all ingredients, once blended add your chocolate chips...it will blend them slightly and give you a great texture.

Please make your own combinations and try them out! For a completely raw dessert, just do bananas!

OH!! also wanted to add, I have a very special lady coming over tomorrow to help me with this blog! I know nothing about how to make it better, and she is willing to barter with me for her talented services!!! I am thrilled and excited to see how we can make it more visually enticing. My hope is also to be able to have access to previous recipes and posts, in categories! We shall see :)

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Hummus and the family

I suspect that the emotions surrounding advocating for my children will never truly be a stoic experience. But I am praying that some of those intense feelings and reactions that occur within me (I have never been one for internalizing feelings, I'm more of a speak now, regret later, sort of gal :( will become less so, as I rest in the Lord.  Our oldest son has an IEP. For those of you that aren't sure what that is, it stands for Individual Education Plan, meaning Isaac has needs and issues that go beyond typical peers, his age. As a result, I must advocate for him. He has a team that meets and we discuss his needs, what services he qualifies, etc. It is an exhausting push...pull....balancing act. Bureaucracy reigns supreme in the public school system. Whines about funding, attempts to withdraw services because the child is actually gaining ground (after regressing without the needed services), are all moves that are choreographed in this dance that we do with the public school. It has been 5 years of a never ending amounts of meetings and advocating. Today was no exception. Just when you hear that your son will FINALLY get a much needed service, you hear suggestions that he may benefit in a classroom setting that would work on his social behavior. So I am trying to unwind from listening to input that I did not want and do not agree with...at all. I am not looking for the school to teach my son to be typical...or them to help me parent. I am wanting them to support him in a typical classroom so that he can be more successful....which is what he has been doing the past month....with the support now intact. It continues to be a difficult and shaky road for me. I do not yet have a team that I believe wants the best for Isaac. I still see bureaucracy and that is very difficult as a mother. Isaac will have his current support , which was my big desire. And he does happen to have the most incredible teacher that I have ever come across, so my heart is full of gratitude.

I would have never guessed that the fight in me, that I almost seem to have been born with, would actually serve a purpose in my life....to fight for my kids..... but it seems to have. That same fight is brewing within me to sustain the long journey of adoption that awaits us. My blog has been one of very impersonal post with recipes. This will no longer be how I blog.

I love food. I love nutrition. I love educating in those areas. That has come easily to me. My schooling is coming along well (in case you were wondering) and I will continue to write about food, nutrition, recipes...but I will be adding our adoption process and my motherhood tales, tying them all together,  with my faith.

If can boast of many things that seem to come easily, being a mother is NOT one of them. When the bible tells of boasting of our weaknesses because it is when we are weak, that Christ is strong, it was surely referring to Cristina's mothering. I want it to be clear that I am not very confident in this area. It does not come easily or naturally for me. It sure seems to for others, but I will boast of my weakness, because any strength in this area, surely is evidence of the invisible working through me.


This week I sent off my paperwork to the Romanian embassy in D.C.  I will then wait to hear back from Romania in regards to my Romanian citizenship. They will either reinstate it (my hope).....or I will have to jump many more hoops to reapply for that citizenship. I am praying this matter doesn't take months. In the meantime, I still have not heard back from USCIS (not so long ago it was referred to as INS) regarding my green card. I was on the phone with them this morning. It seems that my wait can be 3 1/2 months! Until the matter of my citizenship is resolved, the home-study will have to wait. I am praying I don't have to wait an exacerbate amount of time for Romania's response. So here I am typing away.



In food news. Toby and I did a veggie type cleanse last week....it was refreshing. I learned a whole bunch about my body's relationship and reaction to carbs/sugar. I have a diet with very little processed food....my baking is gluten free and made with coconut crystals (low glycerin palm sugar)....yet, I must confess, my body has a very strong reaction to any sugar, period. I have terrible cravings, as a result, and then my body is sent into an insulin roller coaster ride....I didn't realize how sensitive I am. I am the same way with caffeine. I hate the way it makes my body feel! I can barely ever tolerate it. Who knew?


I make hummus a whole lot in our house. It is a simple dip. I am hoping that at some point, my children will want to try it. But as of now, Toby and I, are the ones that enjoy it. It's a basic recipe and I really do eye ball the measurements. I blend the beans in my vita mix, but you can blend in a blender, or food processor, depending on your texture preference. 


I like to buy my grains and beans in bulk. I think it is just a better idea and it's much cheaper to make garbanzo beans from dry, than get them in a can (who knows how long they've been in a can and what has leaked in the beans), but I know we are a very busy society. I typically will soak my beans(a cups worth of dry beans) for a day or two, it makes all the difference! Why soak beans? Beans have an outer layer of indigestible sugars, tannins, phytic acid and tryspin inhibitors. This outer layer is the root cause of intestinal gas. I then will either stick them in my pressure cooker or a regular pot and boil them till they're ready (mushy)....wait till they're luke warm and then put in my vita mix


2c cooked beans (or a can of canned)
1 medium garlic clove (or two small)
1/2t of tahini (I usually put in 1/4c of sesame seeds, since my vita mix crushes em into tahini)
2T of extra virgin olive oil

1T of lemon juice or half a fresh lemon squeezed
1T of cumin
1t of turmeric
a few pieces of chopped onion
and I usually add some greens (like spinach or kale leaves)
I fill the container with water till it almost covers the beans (this really is a trial and error experience to get the right thickness you want)

I add salt as I blend...because it varies, but i start off with 1T of it....which is usually enough

add some oil and sprinkle some turmeric on top...voila!

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Adoption and tinctures

This year's family portrait, next year, I'm hoping there will be two more little girls!

 My life has been super busy!!! I assumed that once the kids were in school, I would have all these hours in the day to clean my house (how clean can it really get?) and stay on top of laundry, dinner, homework, and dishes. I had this completely distorted view of what "life with all kids in school" would be like.

A few weeks into the kids' school, I realized that I was very very wrong. My house is actually full of more clutter and crumbs than ever before. We had a nasty gnat infestation, that I am still trying to recover from. I hid my bananas in the microwave (which I rarely use) and oven to try to escape the numerous gnats that landed on them. I covered the harvested green tomatoes and covered them over. The few hours I have are full of partially touched on attempts to complete (laundry and clean counters are last battles, I must acknowledge).

I also added two new events to focus my time and energy on. Adopting internationally out of Romania, and working on my schooling degree. Both, I have longed for in my heart for many years. And this seemed like the right time. I am wondering if I have bit more than I can chew! We have just begun our home study and I just turned in my application to renew my green card. I will then need to apply for my Romanian citizenship followed by getting my American citizenship. It will allow my to get my visa. It is a long, bureaucratic process. At times it feels daunting....and I have begun to raise funds. This is the site that I have created to help us. Free gifts are always humbling to recieve....but we are grateful for the support that we have gotten all along the way!

I have not been able to sit and read and study, like I envisioned, either. Sneaking in time to focus on my studies has been very difficult! I am attempting to get my nutritional consultant degree. The anatomy and physiology part is intimidating. I will truck on. It is my desire to get my degree and begin a practice next year. We'll see.

So I will close out with Tinctures. I have just begun to dabble in them. I just finished a batch of echinacea tincture. I started to grow the plant from seed this last spring. I loved the site with the information on it. I have since given out some of the final product to friends I know that are battling cancer. We shall see what happens. Tinctures are simple. It is just a long soaking process with the plant exposed to alcohol or water. The alcohol preserves the nutrients that are pulled in the soaking process. I simple chopped up my echinacea leaves and part of the root and stuck it in bacardi 151 for 7 weeks, occasionally shaking it. 

I happened to make some vanilla extract at the same time

happy tincture making everyone!! I will let you know how my friends battling cancers do...But I have already taken some due to sick symptoms, or headaches.....and have felt great, and not gotten sick :) Pin It Now!

Grain-less, Vegan, Gluten free, Double Chocolate Chip Cupcake/Muffins

It seems like summer came and left in a very short and abrupt manner. Usually by the time that winter rolls close, I'm ready to switch gears, to inside activities and blazing fires to keep the viscous weather amusing to watch out my window. And not terrifying because the threat it may bring. In the middle of -50 weather, I am always aware of how brutal the elements can be to us vulnerable humans, when I'm in my home staring out my windows as warmth from my oven and fireplace fill my house. But this year, I'm not quite ready.  Currently I'm typing away, as I see the pounding fall wind, have it's way with my kale, chard, and the few other items that remain from my constant months of cutting.  I will miss my garden. The carrots and potatoes are still needing to be harvested. And the tomatoes are still giving me sweet treats to munch on, freeze, or to juice. Tomatoes from a grocery story are a terrible representation of what the fruit actually tastes like. I grew my garden with organic heirloom seeds and tested my tomatoes with two kinds of seed view...the hybrids (done through regular, selective breeding, not gmo, but organic) and heirloom (seeds from varieties that have been around for a long time).....there are two sides debating the quantity and quality of each. I will no longer grow anything but the heirloom! It has been such fun seeing colors and odd shapes, plants I never find at that grocery store place that I'm dreading having to go to during the winter :(

my bounty

But onward and upward I strive to climb. My children have all been in school almost 3 weeks! Yaye!! Except that I still haven't felt that freedom, yet, that comes from having some free time. Why? Well because I have had to go and deal with behavior issues from my oldest and youngest kids...my boys. Parenting is a humbling, humbling, job. I was way better at it when I didn't have children and I saw how other people "where doing it wrong". How hard can it be? I'd think, watching a child throw a fit, and wishing the parent would just pick up the child and spank. Needless to say, I'm eating massive amounts of Humble Pie, and I think it has gluten and casein in it, cause I constantly feel crazy and sick. 

I have also started school...I am studying online through this college....I am beginning with the nutritional consultant program. I spent several hours last night studying all the different parasites and yeast overgrowth that can and often does occur in the gut, that goes undiagnosed, and untreated in America....I am pretty convinced I have all of them! (yep, I think that way). The amount of material and information I need to absorb is overwhelming. But what really overwhelms me is the research documents/case studies that I'll have to put together. In case you, the reader, haven't noticed...punctuality, and sentence structure...is not my strong suit....what can I say? I love dots!

So I've been dabbling in tinctures. I grew echinacea this spring, and the plant just has been happy and growing, so I will post what I'm doing with it, soon.

In the meantime I will divulge the recipe you came for. I have been trying to bake just the right chocolate muffin....for years!!! (I think I'm going to use this recipe for brownies, if anyone beats me to it, let me know how they come out) I came up with this recipe tonight, so that I could have something to stick in my children's lunches tomorrow (I know, right?!). But since I have a great amount of zucchini, I feel good about this judgement call. No zantham gum or starch flours, because, I just don't think either is great for your body (I have deep suspicions about where zantham gum is grown)

Side note, I'm still trying to figure out, why my first cupcake had a piece of glass in it? I may never know the answer to the disturbing mystery, but it happened. I bit in the cupcake and a hard piece was in my gooey middle experience....I was confident that it was an isolated peice of glass...but where did it come from?

Double Chocolatey Goodness Muffins, oh wait, Cupcakes?

So here's what I did... set oven to 350 and set aside 1 1/4c of coconut milk (I used So Deliscious) and add a Tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar, the milk will curdle,  (voila, vegan "buttermilk", without puss or blood:) set aside.

Dry ingredients to mix

1/3c of garbanzo/fava bean flour mix (you can use Bob's mill brand) but I simply ground full beans in my vitamix and have a 3/4c of fava to 1c of garbanzo bean mixture, waiting for me in the fridge

1/3c of buckwheat flour (again I grind mine in the vitamix)

1/3c of quinoa flour (it really saves you money to grind your own)

1/4c of ground chia seeds or ground flax (again I recomend grinding your own in a coffee grinder)

1/2c of cocoa powder

1/2c of coconut palm sugar/crystals (low glycemic)

1t of baking soda (aluminum free)

2t of baking powder (see above)

1/2t of salt
mix your dry ingredients nicely....then add

1T of vanilla extract (I make my own...sooo easy, I'll post how with the echinacea tincture blog)

1/2c of coconut oil melted (you can use olive, if you don't have coconut)

now grab a blender (or a grater) and mix some of the curdled milk with a half a medium sized zucchini....(I tend to use about a cup cubed size).... once all blended...add to the batter and mix thoroughly....

scoop up in tins and bake for 22 minutes (fill tins about 3/4 full, they will rise)... this batter made me 15 muffins (be sure to fill the spots without batter, with water, so the heat distribute evenly) ...shout out to my friend, Tiffany Seale for that great tip! 

It's been a full day, good night

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Gluten-free Graham Crackers

i spent my entire morning in the kitchen today....i neglected my much needed shower and completely ignored the dirtiness moving and sweeping across my house...room to room.....all was forsaken, for the kitchen.... i get up every morning around 6, give or take (actually rarely is it take) a few minutes...i pray myself out of bed (God please help me up...some mornings it's a louder plea than others) and get everyone's lunches packed and breakfasts made....bella is out the door by 7:20 and i drive isaac to school an hour later (i have two kids in two different schools, isaac is waiting for a spot to open at our Montessori school that bella currently goes to, i am excited at the thought of having them both there!!) after i drop him off, i have only one little 4 year old who wants my attention....so while i wait for food to come out of the oven, we play board games....

today i did my routine after which i began with soaking some cashew, looking at the garbanzo beans that had been soaking for almost 24 hours.and hoisting some chevre cheese to drain the whey, and checking out some recipes online to get an idea of what else i should do for baking today.

this is what my morning produced a raw lemon cream cheesecake (tdf!), hummus (with and without jalapenos), and i decided to bake another cheesecake with my fresh chevre tomorrow....so i needed to make some gluten free graham crackers today....

short story...we went camping a few times with just our children this summer and decided to have some smores.....since gluten is not very nice to isaac or myself, often the rest of the family just gets gluten free options too (i have begun to not trust anything that comes in a box and is found in a grocery store)....i found some gluten free graham crackers at my local health food store and thought i scored.....YUK! seriously? it was just like cardboard....gluten free prepackaged really doesn't work out, in my humble opinion.....so when i came across this recipe in my favorite book.. it's from the classics versions (i couldn't be a bigger erin mckenna fan!!!). this recipe is hers. if you don't do bean flours, an alternative to bob's is a 2c brown rice, 3/4c potato starch, 1/3 c arrowroot premix works sufficiantly well....it is also completely stolen from erin's book, as well....i have used both and they both work well.... the bob's is a slightly more soft graham cracker

Gluten Free Graham Crackers
preheat oven to 325

1c sugar (i use coconut crystals, but succanat works great)
3T of ground cinnamon
1 1/2c  of rice flour
1 1/2c of bob's red mill
2t ground ginger
1t xanthan gum
1t salt
-mix dry ingredients-

-add the next two ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula-
3/4c melted coconut oil or canola oil
1/4c of agave
1T vanilla extract

-slowly add the cold water-
1/2c cold water

when batter is sticky cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes


rolling out the batter is the tricky part....i know there's the whole dust with brown rice and dust on the rolling pin....but it has never worked for me....i use two parchment papers and roll out that way with a touch of brown rice flour on each side....

mix 1/2c of sweetener with 1/2T of cinnamon and sprinkle on top...i also use a fork to create that waffle look....cut out the shapes you want before you stick them in the oven

bake for 15 minutes

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