Our Trip to the Sugar Bush

This past week-end, we did what most Eastern Ontario families do in March - we visited the sugar bush. We went to Wheeler's - it's a bit further from Ottawa but that also means it's a lot less busy. With sugar bushes also comes pancake breakfasts - pancakes with milk. So in the morning I cooked up some dairy-free pancakes for Charlie to take with us. I use the Aunt Jemima mix to which you have to add milk and eggs. It doesn't have any dairy products in it which means Charlie can eat it. I mixed it with coconut milk and the pancakes came out nice and fluffy. Charlie sure thought they were good - he ate one and a half of them, and that was before the sugar bush. He also enjoyed his special pancakes at the sugar bush. And his sister enjoyed her pancakes full of dairy.

Here's something most dairy-free mamas wouldn't think of though... does maple taffy have milk in it?  You'd think no... obviously. Actually - not quite! When we were at another sugar bush in the fall, they told us they put butter around the rim of the container from which they pour the taffy. So we asked. And guess what? They put butter in the maple syrup to keep it from boiling over when they're boiling it down for the taffy!!! Can you believe it? Sadly, I can honestly say I wasn't really shocked because I've learned in the last year that dairy is in the oddest foods.
I resigned myself to the fact that Charlie won't be able to have any taffy this year and that Anna will have to eat it away from him. But the fine folks, the owner actually, at Wheeler's made him a special batch with no butter!!! He washed the pot to make sure there was no residual butter and made 10 taffys. We ended up buying all of them because we were so excited and happy that on a busy day the owner would do that for us. Sometimes people amaze me - in a good way! As you can see, Charlie really enjoyed his dairy-free taffy, as did Anna!

So thank you to the fine folks at Wheeler's for making our outing to their sugar bush so wonderful. Here's a photo of the three of us :) Enjoy your dairy-free life!

Monica

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

One thing my 'poor' little Charlie has been deprived of during his short little life is cookies. Well, he sometimes gets cookies, but they aren't the really good, chewy, gooey, chocolatey, yummy cookies. Let's be honest, it's hard to make a good cookie without butter. And most chocolate chips have milk.  After discovering the milk-free PC Decadent Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, I knew I'd finally be able to make chocolate chip cookies for the little guy.

The next obstacle, of course, is butter. I am not too keen on shortening, it's just not the same. And most margarine is just too thin to bake properly. I'd used the Earth Balance Buttery Flavor Spread for Charlie's birthday cake icing last year and I liked it.  It's much thicker than margarine, much more like butter. So I thought I'd try it for these cookies. It was perfect! The cookies turned out so well!  Moist, chewy, just right :)  Everyone in my little family loved them - except Charlie, lol! He wasn't sure about this new treat he was suddenly allowed to have! It's really the first time he'd had chocolate (except for the few times he managed to grab something when I wasn't looking). And he hasn't really had a real cookie. I'm sure he'll be converted soon enough though ;) What kid doesn't love chocolate chip cookies?  So for the recipe... you'll notice there's no salt (which I typically omit anyways) because the butter substitutes usually have salt in them.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (makes about 2-1/2 dozen)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter substitute, such as Earth Balance Buttery Flavor Spread
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used 2, but only because I LOVE vanilla)
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips, such as PC Decadent Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda or baking powder
1/3 cup boiling water
2 cups rolled oats

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat together butter substitute, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla until blended well, and as fluffy as you can get a butter substitute. Blend in flour. Dissolve baking soda/powder in the boiling water and blend into the mixture. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the chocolate chips.

Form dough into approximately 1-1/2" balls and place on cookie sheet 2" apart.  Flatten balls. Bake 10-12 minutes, until golden on top. Take out of oven, let sit for 1-2 minutes and move to cooling rack. Store in airtight container.

Finally - enjoy your yummy, dairy-free chocolate chip cookie and helps you enjoy your dairy-free life a bit more :)

Monica