Almond Cherry Orange Biscotti (gluten-free, vegan)

On Christmas Eve afternoon, I called my grandma in Sault Ste. Marie to tell her I was thinking about her and to wish her a Merry Christmas. I was feeling as I often do when special occasions approach, and I am here and so many of my extended family members are there: flooded with warm memories of the happy family gatherings of my childhood, and wishing a little wistfully that it was somehow easy to recreate them in the same way now.

My grandma and I chatted cheerfully about the preparations we'd each been making for the holidays. She told me about the dozens of genettis and pintas she had baked and given away, the cheese and meat ravioli she'd prepared for family dinners, and the most recent batch of biscotti to come out of her oven that week, which were orange flavoured and dotted with chopped almonds and dried cherries. (Have I mentioned before that my grandma is eighty-six years old? Eighty-six, and still finding joy in baking and cooking up wonderful foods to share with the people she loves. "What else am I going to do?", she asks me. "You've gotta keep busy." I hope I have half of the strength and enthusiasm she does when I'm her age.)

I told her I liked the sounds of her biscotti, and she asked me if I thought I could make them in such a way that I'd be able to eat them. I told her I was pretty sure I could. And then one day in early January, an envelope addressed to me in my grandma's handwriting showed up unexpectedly in my mailbox.

My grandma had thoughtfully written out her biscotti recipe for me, and included a series of photos from a magazine to illustrate the method for making them. I was especially eager then to try making a batch of my own. Having my grandma's encouraging handwritten instructions made me feel almost as though she were here with me in my kitchen.

I had to modify my grandma's recipe quite a bit to eliminate gluten, eggs, and refined sugar, but the almond flour version I came up with has the same delicious flavours hers did. The sweet orange flavour and tart cherries scattered through a crispy cookie were a big hit with my eager dessert eaters here at home.

Almond Cherry Orange Biscotti

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dried cherries (I like Eden brand, with no added refined sugar)
the zest of one orange
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup fresh orange juice

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Combine the almond flour, coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, sea salt, walnuts, dried cherries, and orange zest in a large mixing bowl.

Add the melted coconut oil and the orange juice to the almond flour mixture. Stir well, until a crumbly dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until it all sticks together.

On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, form the dough into a long, flat oval with your hands. (See the example my grandma sent me in the first photograph above. I think my oval was a little too wide this first try; next time I'll try making it longer and a little taller to improve the shape of the finished biscotti.) Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then allow the baked dough to cool completely.

With a sharp knife, slice across the width of the cooled oval to create biscotti that are each about an inch wide. Place the biscotti cut side up on the baking sheet once more, and bake them for another 10 to 15 minutes at 325 F, keeping an eye on them so they don't brown too much. Allow the biscotti to cool again until they are crispy.

I was really pleased to be able to create a version of my grandma's biscotti that all of us can enjoy. They're a delicious accompaniment to a hot cup of coffee or tea and a good book on a winter afternoon. I've saved my grandma's letter along with my own recipe notes in my cookbook now -- I'll think very fondly of her every time I make this special treat.

Should kids be watching movies during school lunches?

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It's Friday -- we've made it to the end of a full week back to school and routines and the painful act of having to get out of bed too early in the mornings! Despite our reluctance about the holidays being over last Sunday evening, the transition into a more bustling, productive lifestyle once again has been positive for all of us.

As Will was happily recounting to me the events of his school day over a snack one afternoon this week, I was reminded of an issue that has been bothering me for some time. It has become a daily practice over the past several years for at least some of the classrooms at his school to have a movie playing from the BrightLink projector onto the white board during the twenty minutes that the students are given to eat their lunch. The reason for the movie, according to my boys, is to get kids to eat quietly before they go outside to play for the remainder of the period. It seems harmless enough, I suppose, giving kids twenty minutes of screens to ensure a certain level of calm while they eat their lunch, but I'm not comfortable with a daily habit of meals with screens for my children, and here's why. 

According to a Common Sense Media 2015 national survey, tweens today spend just over four and a half hours on screens daily, not including the time they spend using media for school or homework. For teens, that number jumps to over six and a half hours of daily screen time for entertainment. Those numbers seemed shockingly high to me when I first read them, but they made sense when I thought some more about all of the ways our children come into contact with screens as they go through a typical day. It doesn't take long for the hour tally to climb when you add in texting, video games, movies and tv shows, YouTube, social media sites like Instagram, and surfing for cool stuff online. The easy portability of screens today means that media use has crept into many aspects of day-to-day life: kids are texting, watching movies, gaming, and using social media while they're eating, waiting for things, studying, or supposed to be sleeping.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has set out guidelines for families regarding screens, based on studies that show that "excessive media use can lead to attention problems, school difficulties, sleep and eating disorders, and obesity". It recommends no more than one or two hours a day of entertainment media for children and teens, as well as the practice of setting "screen-free zones" at home in places like the bedroom and the dinner table. Because it is so easy for kids to exceed these daily recommendations, it requires a conscious effort on the part of parents (and school staff, when children are in their care), to ensure that kids are nudged away from screens and encouraged to participate in other activities that they enjoy.

We have always had a no-screens rule during meals in our home, because I want mealtimes to be about food and conversations that encourage connection between family members. It seems to me that watching a movie on a regular basis during a meal encourages mindless eating, where kids tune out the cues their body is giving them about what they're eating and when they've eaten enough. It also discourages children from sharing in the pleasures of the social, community aspects of a meal, and from learning how to behave appropriately during mealtimes in a group setting. How can we expect them to learn acceptable social behaviours if we miss out on the teaching opportunity by distracting them with constant passive entertainment?

I believe that electronic media can be a useful educational tool in schools; my boys have learned some fascinating things using computers and well-designed programs in their classrooms. It doesn't make sense to me, though, for them to spend twenty minutes each day mindlessly watching part of a movie that's not even that interesting to them during their lunchtime. If schools are setting in place nutrition policies for students and teaching them about healthy eating practices in their lessons, it follows that they should set a good example for kids during school mealtimes as well, by turning off the screens and allowing kids to focus on their food and reasonable friendly chatter with their classmates. We have to be careful as adults responsible for the well-being of children that we don't rely too much on screens simply to make things easier for ourselves.  Just because we can put on a movie to keep lunchtime quiet doesn't mean we should.

How do you feel about kids watching movies during lunch at school, or about other practices or policies your kids' schools have regarding screens? I'd love to hear your views and concerns.

A Different View

The living room seems strangely empty this morning now that everyone has left for work and school, a stark contrast to the previous two weeks when the room was bustling with cozy chaos. Books, games, and the parts for assorted curious projects were often scattered over every surface throughout the holidays, proof that a family was happily living in the space for more than just a few hours a day.

"I was meant to live this way!"  

~Will, age 11, in reference to the unlimited free time he had over the holidays to pursue his various interests

Even though the four of us were all home last night, there was a noticeable hush over the house, the giddy energy of freedom having seemingly been packed away with the last of the twinkling Christmas lights over the weekend. Transitions back to "normal" after a cheerful, rejuvenating, family-focused holiday are always met with some wistful reluctance around here.

Even the cats were begging me not to let Christmas be over -- they were quite happy under the tree.

We all found a new energy shortly after tumbling sleepily out of our beds this morning, though, helped along by the welcome sun that was shining for the first time in what felt like weeks, and by the shock of the suddenly frigid winter air as we stepped out our front door. It was a wake-up call of sorts, after the calming lull of the holidays, an encouragement to open our eyes to the new possibilities we can explore from where we now stand.

***

We sent Will back to school with a brand new pair of glasses today, a first for him as he's never worn glasses before now. His recent optometrist appointment showed that his nearsightedness had progressed to a point where he needed help seeing the board at school, so we walked out of the office with a prescription and a boy who wasn't really sure that he wanted to get glasses. (Funny how that works -- a year ago, when the optometrist mentioned Will's nearsightedness but said that he wasn't yet in need of prescription lenses, Will kept wishing he was getting glasses!)  I was glad to see his excitement, though, when the first pair of frames I pulled down for him from the display wall at Lenscrafters was exactly what he wanted, and he beamed with satisfaction when he saw his fresh new look in the mirror. 

He's thrilled with how clear everything at a distance appears to him now, too. (I am just keeping my fingers crossed that the glasses, which don't need to be worn all the time, will somehow survive their travels to and from school every day and the mysterious black hole that is Will's classroom desk.)

Noah and I are each taking on something new this month as well: he is starting crossfit classes for teens a few times a week, and I've signed up for a "writing adventure" with an accomplished local author whose work I greatly admire. I was curious and excited about the session she's offering when I read about it on her blog, and I signed myself up for it before I allowed myself to think too much about it and talk myself out of participating. I am used to writing all by myself in my living room, usually when no one else is home, only sharing my work once I'm reasonably comfortable with it (and sometimes not at all). The idea of writing through guided exercises in a room with other, very likely more skilled, people and sharing it immediately afterwards with the group definitely makes me feel nervous, but I'm eager to take this next step to see where it might lead me. I'm stretching!

A New Year

If the laid-back feeling of this holiday week had somehow made my family oblivious to the fact that today is New Year's Eve, my recent burst of activity around the house certainly would have tipped them off. Over the past twenty-four hours, I've felt the urge to tidy things up, to reorganize, to freshen things up in our various corners; I've been flipping mattresses and making beds with fresh sheets, cleaning out fridges and restocking them with fresh foods. There's no need, really, to do any of these things right now, but the physical actions seem to satisfy a psychological drive in me on the cusp of a new year -- it feels especially good today to take stock and to make space.

I came across this quotation in my social media surfing this week, and appreciated the encouragement to tend to our minds and hearts as we ring in a new year, much in the same way I've been tending to the physical things around home.

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It makes sense to me that we are better prepared to welcome new experiences and awareness if we're willing to leave a part of ourselves open and free. What a wonderful way to approach a new year.

I've spent some time over these past few days thinking back through the joys and heartaches, the accomplishments and the challenges of 2015, glad for having documented them here throughout the year so I can remember more clearly the little details and the way I felt when I was living them. We welcomed kittens to our family, dealt with washing machine woes, made lasting memories in our favourite summer spot, and created a new way to enjoy chocolate. (Mmmm, chocolate.) We found tangible proof of how hard it is to keep up with Will, and proudly watched Noah grow through one of his busiest, most interesting years to date. I made a commitment to myself to focus more on something that makes me happy.  I travelled old familiar roads that led me to a poignant revisiting of my younger self, and to a beautiful place to say a final goodbye. I'm grateful for all of these experiences, cheerful and sad, for the rich meaning and understanding they've brought to my life. I also truly appreciate all of you, who have been here with me as you've read my stories and shared your own experiences, your encouragement and support.

Some friends and I were recently discussing the practice of choosing a personally meaningful word for the year ahead, rather than coming up with a specific New Year's resolution. I like the idea of cultivating a mindset that can be applied to a wide variety of situations; having a word to live by seems to me to offer more opportunities for success. Several words have seemed good possibilities as I've thought about which one might suit me best for 2016, but in the end I've decided on stretch. I don't mean in a physical sense (although that feels good, too, and I really should get back to practising yoga in the new year!), but I'd like to stretch my inner self beyond the artificial limits I may have set in place through unhelpful thought patterns or behaviours. It becomes easy, I think, in one's forties, to settle a little too firmly into comfortable routines and beliefs. I want to reach beyond what feels convenient and familiar, to find what new possibilities and happy surprises might lie there.

What word will you choose for the year just ahead of us? I hope you'll be open to hope, joy, love, and peace in 2016. Wishing you all a very happy and healthy new year!

"Fancy Drinks": A Kids' New Year's Eve Cocktail

We've been enjoying a wonderful Christmas holiday here. There have been fun visits and special dinners with cousins and aunts and uncles, late mornings in pyjamas, movie nights with four of us tucked up under warm blankets in our now finished and very cozy basement, afternoons spent enjoying new books and Lego sets and games, Christmas cookies and steaming mugs of tea in the evenings. The holiday season is a gift in and of itself, I think, the way it gives us so many hours to spend in each other's company, playing and laughing and eating and resting to our hearts' content.

As 2015 nears its end, perhaps you and your family are making plans for a New Year's Eve celebration. We're making plans here, too, ones that involve more family and food and fun, so we can welcome 2016 with the same positive energy we hope to keep with us all year long. Whenever there is a celebration being talked about around here, Will requests "fancy drinks" for the kids, so they can enjoy something bubbly as well as the grown-ups. I'm not a fan of pop, even on special occasions, but I'm happy to create something fizzy and sweet from natural ingredients to fill the kids' toasting glasses. This "fancy drink", made from orange and pomegranate juices and sparkling water, is one of my boys' favourites.

You can make these fun kids' cocktails very simply by adding a few ice cubes to each glass, filling them one third of the way up with orange juice, adding a generous splash of pure pomegranate juice, then topping them up with sparkling water. A few fresh cranberries or orange slices make the drinks look extra special, and Will likes when I add a striped straw and a little paper drink umbrella to each glass, too.

Cheers to you, wherever you are -- I hope you've been enjoying a wonderful holiday, too!

Peace and Joy

A friend recently shared this post on Facebook:

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending some time at Conestoga Mall finishing up a few things. ... The parking lot was a zoo, even at 10:30am, but I found a spot at the far end and enjoyed a quiet walk in the rain to the entrance. Line ups were common in most stores, but it was time to reflect and give thanks. Sadly, at The Bay, a cashier walked away from her cash for a few moments to help someone and in the meantime two women wanted to purchase their items immediately! They rang the bell at the cash over and over again. Meanwhile, I was choosing the perfect socks for the girls' stockings and heard the ladies comment in such a negative tone of voice to the cashier as she returned, "We've been ringing this bell for 10 minutes, you were nowhere in sight!" The cashier said she was sorry. As I approached the cash, the young cashier had a hard time to look me in the eyes. I told her that she was ok and that the customers certainly weren't ringing the bell for 10 minutes and that she could let that go and enjoy her day.
If you are out in the hustle and bustle today, see what you can do to share a smile, and take a few moments to reflect while standing in line ups....

I loved this reminder to slow down and find the joy in the last preparations for Christmas this week, keeping in mind that just being able to drive to the mall and buy food and drinks and gifts is a privelege we're fortunate to experience.

My friend's words reminded me of a post I wrote here four years ago; I'm still grateful for the same things. A very merry Christmas to you all!  xoxo

***

The Real Joys of Christmas

Despite the fact that no part of me wanted to enter through the store doors this time of year, I popped into Walmart today after my yoga class to pick up a few things we needed around the house.  As I expected, the aisles were a dangerous labyrinth of carts and people, half of them frantic and running, and the other half seemingly lost as they wandered aimlessly, preventing others from getting by.  I managed to get out of the store within fifteen minutes and only almost got run over once, but I was glad to return to the relative calm of my own home afterwards.  (And let me reassure you that I'm not trying to be smug about the zen-like state of my home during the holiday season with that last comment -- it was only calm because I was the only one here.  If you had been around this evening when the four of us were home, and Will was wailing over nothing in the family room while Noah simultaneously (accidentally) shattered a glass all over the kitchen floor, and then I lost it, you'd know that our house can be just as crazy a place as Walmart at Christmastime!)

I know firsthand how easy it is to get caught up in a hectic, emotional state this time of year.  We feel we NEED to get all the right gifts, make all the right foods, decorate our house in just the right way, fit in all the right activities, and generally produce a Christmas that is Facebook share-worthy.  (Broken glass all over the kitchen floor somehow doesn't fit with that picture, I'm thinking.)  In all of our complicated holiday rushing about, it's also very easy to forget that the most beautiful and true joys of Christmas are often the simplest things, things that don't require a trip to Walmart or a Martha Stewart-esque flair for perfection (and that won't be ruined by a broken glass or two!).

Real joy is sharing steaming mugs of hot cocoa with your family around the kitchen table after an afternoon of sledding or skating or road hockey together.  It's reliving favourite old family stories with your parents and siblings and other relatives, laughing together and fondly remembering those dear souls who are now only with you in spirit.  It's opening the mailbox and being greeted by the wonderful smell of anisette wafting through the box of homemade genettis that your grandma so thoughtfully sent you, and suddenly being brought back to the happy Christmas Eves of your youth spent at her kitchen table.  It's taking a few moments late at night with your spouse to look at your beautiful sleeping children, their faces softly lit by the Christmas lights from the hallway, and to marvel together at how you ever got so lucky to have them.  It's giving gifts of the heart, by sharing part of yourself with those who really need their spirits lifted this time of year.

When I think back to the Christmases of my childhood, I don't remember very clearly what I received as gifts, and I know that Christmas was never "perfect" (because I'm sure despite all of my parents' efforts, my brothers and I probably wailed over nothing and broke a few glasses, too).  What I do remember with great fondness, though, is the feeling of being warm, and safe, and content at Christmas, feelings that came from being surrounded by a family I love and who showed me in the most meaningful ways that they love me, too.  Whenever I start to feel frantic about getting ready for Christmas, I try to remember what I hope my boys will remember about their childhood Christmases when they grow up, and suddenly all of the other stuff seems less important.

During what can be a very hectic holiday season, I wish you and your family many moments of real and peaceful Christmas joy.

Maple Spiced Nuts

Christmas preparations are now in full swing at our house. I've been having fun this week working on one of everyone's favourite parts of the holiday season: the delicious foods and special treats we'll enjoy with family and friends who come to visit. The boys have each put in their requests for which cookies and squares they hope will make the baking list this year, and I'm looking forward to recreating some of our family's best-loved traditional foods that evoke happy memories of Christmases past.

One of the treats that was always around in little bowls at Christmastime during my childhood was roasted mixed nuts. Everyone had their favourites (brazil nuts for my dad, cashews for my mom and me), and the salty snack was always great to munch on while we enjoyed drinks and laughs with relatives. This week I noticed a recipe for sweet and spicy nuts in the December issue of Chatelaine magazine, and it reminded me that I've long wanted to try making a roasted nut mixture of my own for the holiday season. Today I tweaked the ingredients of the magazine recipe to suit my own preferences and ended up with a pan full of fragrant and tempting snacks.

Maple Spiced Nuts

2 1/2 cups of shelled natural nuts (I used 1/2 cup each of almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews and hazelnuts)
1/2 cup unsweetened large flake coconut
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground cinnamon (I like to use Frontier organic cinnamon, which is especially flavourful)
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat the oven to 275 F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the nuts and the large flake coconut.

Place the coconut oil in an oven-safe bowl and set it in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating. Once the oil is liquefied, remove it from the oven and add the maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice to the bowl. Whisk well to combine.

Pour the syrup and spice mixture over the nuts and stir to coat. Sprinkle the sea salt over the nuts and stir again. Spread the nuts out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, stirring once every 10 to 15 minutes.

Allow the nuts to cool before serving.

These roasted nuts are a perfect combination of maple sweetness and cinnamony spice, and I'll be happy to set them out in little bowls this holiday season so everyone can enjoy their favourites. (It's still cashews for me!) Maple spiced nuts would also make lovely homemade holiday gifts if placed in pretty glass jars tied with festive ribbon. Enjoy!