chocolate! for any occasion!

One of those things that I cannot seem to stay away from no matter how much I try is chocolate. I can, however, stay away from the sugar - by making my very own chocolate!

My son wanted some treats for May Day (Easter), so I made him these chocolates. And here's my recipe (approximated because that's how I roll):

1 large box baker's chocolate or the darkest chocolate you can find (I think it's about 1/2 lb) (I've also used cocoa powder in a pinch)
1/3 - 1/2 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
honey to taste (I really have no idea how much I used)

Melt chocolate in a double boiler (I use a 4 cup measuring cup in a pot of water), then add all else and combine. Pour into whatever molds you like - I have some rabbits, stars, and cars we used for these. You can get them at Michael's or wherever candy molds are sold. Chill in fridge or freezer.

You can also spice it up with chili powder or cinnamon or even mint or orange extract. You could add dried fruit or sprouted almonds if you like, too.

birthday party happiness

The birthday party was a success. It went off fantastically, and everyone both had a good time AND enjoyed the food. My son had a great day, he got lots of amazing gifts, and almost all of his friends got to be there - he was delighted.

We decorated the common house dining room with Tibetan prayer flags, and just as we'd put up the ones we had, a neighbour came in and offered hers as well, so we had a great amount of them. It was lovely! We did blow up some balloons, because the kids just have so much fun with them - our one eco-blunder.

I had two crafts, and most of the kids did both - making their own party hats AND making decorated jars to hold whatever they liked. I loved seeing all of the different interpretations of how to decorate those jars - such creativity!

The wonderful thing about having parties in our cohousing's common house is having the playroom right next door to the dining room - whenever we'd be between activities, the kids would naturally go into the playroom and have a great time. When we were ready for the next thing, we'd simply call them in, and everyone would come running happily - singing 'Happy Birthday'! Opening presents!

Everyone LOVED the mini cupcakes AND the watermelon cake! I got a bazillion compliments and suggestions of opening a business. I got one request to do the food for our little friend's birthday, because his Mama says, "I do practical, you do presentation. I need someone who does presentation to do his cake." I am honoured by it all.

The nice thing, too, about serving only fruit and nothing with refined sugar or wheat is that even though all the kids are fueled up by healthy food, there are no crazy sugar rushes, and everyone gets along. It is amazing seeing the difference. AMAZING. The kids were all playing together nicely and no fights erupted. Contrast with the next night when another child (who shares the same birthday as my son) had his (regular) cake in the common house. The kids were wired and immediately after eating it, a four kid fight erupted that caused all the parents to run out to break it up. I am SO glad that I've taken refined sugars out of my sweet boy's diet - I really AM seeing a difference.

What a wonderful day - I can truly say that Sunday was for Kiernen (and us) a day TRULY lived to its very fullest. Bliss.

the party is coming together

We have been in the midst of a heatwave. In BC, Canada. It boggles the mind - it feels like it did in summer in St. Louis, and yet here we are on the mild west coast, where it is supposed to be like 80 degrees out there, tops. And you see, the weather is one of the myriad of reasons we LEFT St. Louis. Oh, and because we always always always have mild summers, almost no one has air conditioning, either. And so we've been spending lots of time with our neigbours in our air-conditioned common house (think clubhouse like in an apartment complex) - sharing meals, watching movies, playing games, etc. Because all of our units are way too hot to live in!

Thankfully today the heat let up a bit and we were actually able to spend some time outside. Tomorrow we're planning more of the same.

When I'm not trying to stay as still as possible because I really haven't the energy to do anything else in this heat, I've been busy making all sorts of different "cake" recipes - and I use that word loosely - in preparation for Kiernen's birthday party. I even made ice cream bars today, which sadly in the end turned out nothing like I'd hoped, so back to the drawing board on that one. But there's hope! I recently accidentally discovered these when I was looking for silicone popsicle molds, and so I've ordered them both. Kiernen actually picked out which ones we got, because * I * wanted the hearts and stars.

Anyway. We're doing the watermelon cake, AND little raw chocolate cupcakes with frosting. Food is still sort of up in the air, but at least I'm getting somewhere with the cake part. I don't remember having this much difficulty planning the party last year, and I went way over the top.

Is it the heat?

his birthday is coming!

Once a month is about my speed during the summer, eh?

My son's 4th birthday is coming up. And because we've gone and switched his diet around, I cannot do the grand and crazy cake I made last year, which was an entire gluten-free train.

I CAN make some SCD type cakes, which would be baked, but I was also thinking of something like this:



Directions can be found here.

Or this:



Original here.

Or some combination of both. He wanted me to incorporate Gordon the Train into his cake - he wanted Gordon to BE the cake, actually. But if I make the cake like the first one, I believe I can actually have a little track going around the cake upon which a TOY Gordon could ride, and that might do it for him. I could also have little giraffes and other small animals upon the cake, as well.

Since we are celebrating his birthday on August 9th (he turns 4 on the 10th), I am thinking about this constantly - going over and over things in my head and trying to figure out what the best options are.

For snacks, I was thinking of little nut ice cream parfaits with chocolate mousse ice cream and cashew whipped cream. Cut veggies, of course, with some raw dips to go with them maybe.

Any suggestions are welcome, too! He loves giraffes, so I am trying to incorporate giraffes and trains somehow...