Holiday Recipes

For Thanksgiving we decided to experiment with a new recipe for cornbread, and then cornbread stuffing. Both worked wonderfully! The cornbread actually tasted as good as any 'regular' cornbread I've ever had. Steve liked the stuffing so much that he wants to make more. That's never happened! So, here are the two recipes. If you try them, let me know how it works out?

Holiday Corn Bread
1 cup GF Flour - Baking Mix
1 cup corn meal
½ cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp honey
1 cup milk substitute w/ 1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp egg replacer with 1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup Earth Balance SF margarine

Whisk together all dry ingredients in mixer. Add remaining ingredients and blend together on low until combined. Beat 10-30 seconds on medium/high speed until smooth and fluffy. Do not overbeat. Pour into a greased 9 inch square baking pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Holiday Cornbread Stuffing
1 recipe cornbread, cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, diced
Olive Oil
2 lb loose sausage
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp celery salt
1 tsp onion powder
2 cups of all natural chicken or turkey broth

Sautee onions in olive oil, add sausage and cook until browned. Add in spices. Mix all ingredients with the croutons and bake at 375 until firm and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes.

The baking mix we use is from Cybele Pascal's Allergen Free Baker's Handbook. It's a wonderful book of recipes, but, better yet, the flour mix translates to almost any recipe. So, we are able to use her mix and create our own recipes.

Baking Mix:
4 cups superfine brown rice flour
1 1/3 cups potato starch
2/3 cup tapioca flour

Kinect Adventures

I've seen a story all over the web about how a two year old with autism was able to really enjoy playing with the Kinect, and thought I'd blog about our experience. We received (as a wonderful pre-Christmas present) the Kinect the day it came out. Steve set it up that day, and Michael was already playing before I came home from work.

It was so cool how he noticed the box and figured out it was a video game, before Steve even said what it was. He supervised the entire setup and couldn't wait to play. Michael is pretty technically savvy, and enjoys exploring different options on the typical game controller. At first, it was hard for him to understand that he didn't NEED a controller for this game. He caught on very quickly though.

At first, it was pretty intimidating for Michael to figure out how to track the screen, stay in the game space, and play the game all at once. Now, a week later, he can turn on the game, use the voice commands to start up Kinect, and has even scored a gold on a few levels.

But, even better, he wants to share the fun. He's invited his Grandmother over this afternoon to play. And, he called a friend of his from school to invited him over this weekend! He never calls to invited people over! I am so looking forward to watching him explain how to play to both his grandmother and his friend.

On the negative side, I don't think Grandma will be able to play with him. The game requires a lot of physical movement (jumping, stepping side to side, matching poses, etc.) The requirements are great for Michael who still has a lot of issues knowing where his body is in space, and gross motor movements. But, for someone who is a little older with occasional balance problems, the game really isn't appropriate. But, I am sure they will have a lot of fun together.

I'll have to report back on Monday how it goes. Anyone local want to set up a play date?

We have a trailer!

I am so excited and proud to announce that we finally have a trailer for our movie!! Please watch the trailer here and visit our facebook page here. We have put so much work into the movie, I really want as many people as possible to see it. Please watch the trailer and leave a comment? Thanks!!