A Recipe for Gluten Free Pastitsio and another contest...

Here is the link to another one of those contests. Isn't that bag so cute?

Last night, for dinner, I made Pastitsio. Pastitisio is a Greek dish (sometimes referred to as "Greek Lasagna". Although, it really isn't Lasagna. It is usually made with these long, thin, tubular noodles layered with meat sauce and then, on the top, a wonderfully creamy Bechamel Sauce which is then baked in the oven. One of my favorite foods. One of my mom's favorite foods. And not at all glutne free (noodles, flour in the bechamel sauce).

So, for the first time in over a year we had very yummy Gluten Free Pastitsio.
Here is the recipe along with links to GF products that I used to make it. And it did turn out quite well, if I do say so myself (BTW... this is my very own pastitsio recipe that I originally created through trial and error and have now converted to GF... this will definitely appear on our menu more often!)

Gluten Free Pastitsio
-Meat Sauce
1 lb ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes
1 sm. can tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
garlic
oregano
salt
pepper
cinnamon
1/2 cup water
-Pasta
3 cups Ancient Harvest Quinoa pasta (I used the Rotelle which I buy straight from the manufacturer in bulk)
-Bechamel Sauce
3 cups milk
4 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free All Puspose Baking Mix

Cinnamon

Meat Sauce: In skillet, cook ground beef until brown. Add diced tomatoes (I actually process our diced tomatoes until it is the consistency of tomato sauce because Big P does not like chunks of tomataoes), tomato paste, spices (to taste), wine, and water. Cover and let simmer while you prepare the rest of the Pastitsio.
Pasta: Boil water, dump in pasta for about 3 minutes (not the full cooking time), rinse, drain, and set aside.
Bechamel Sauce: Mix all of the ingredients in a saucepan. Place on burner, increase heat and stir sauce until thickened.

Place noodles in 9x13 pan. Top with meat sauce. Mix both together. Pour Bechamel sauce over noodles and meat sauce (make sure to spread it evenly over the top). Sprinkle the top with cinnamon. Let pastitsio sit on counter for 30 minutes. Then cover and place in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove cover and cook for 30 minutes more.

Enjoy!

Pavlos' nouno and nouna (godparents) are moving far far away. It is like a member of our family is leaving (well, it isn't "like" it "is" a member of our family leaving). He will miss them so much. They have taken him up for communion every Sunday since he was baptized (so that's about 6 years worth of communions). He loves them dearly. We love them dearly. His nouna has been a wonderful friend, especially when I was in the hospital. But, like my mom told me earlier today, we will be missing them, and they are going to be missing all of us (our entire community). So here is a picture from Big P's baptism.

An interesting article...

An article written by Frank Schaeffer re. Why Russia Invaded Georgia: Payback Time from the Orthodox World to the West that a Ukrainian friend of my husband emailed to him (I really hope that sentence makes sense).

More pictures for grandma...

(I think Little P's hat is a bit too small...) I love the way the pic of Big P turned out.. the sheer joy on his face at being chased by waves! It is a look of pure happiness that cannot be forced by mom with a camera (hence the reason why I carry my camera everywhere and try to capture moments like these; when they are not aware of their photo being taken). Little P has a look of either total confusion or concentration. Plus, he is a good advertisement for Greece:)

Next contest link...

Here is the link for the next contest in the month of September. Aren't those wooden animals adorable? I believe my Little P would love them:)

I am on facebook now, are you?

My mother in law started a blog to keep us informed. Here is a link:)

Is it weird that I use so many smiley faces? Am I just annoyingly happy? My friends in college called me "cheese" (that is even the nickname on my official tri-delt beer stein (yes, I was in a sorority and proud of it!). One roommate made me a poster that said something like, "The Queen of Cheese Reigns Within".

Anyway, time for another picture. This is from the beach trip to Newport that we took with my sister, her children, and my mom. It was a fun trip. Not as relaxing as I would have liked it to be, but fun (esp. for the kids! They love each other so much. There is nothing like cousins who are your own age!).

First day of school...

Pictures taken yesterday, the first day of school.

A Bunch of Little Things...

NOTE: Check the blog button everyday to enter to win prizes:)
So I added this button from this blog linking to the above website because I would like to get in on the possible prizes (it's all about me, you know:)

I am not an artistic person but I consider myself creative. As in, I find creative ways to accomplish what I need to do (I had to make a poster for Sunday School Registration the problem is that I can barely write in a straight line... the solution? Using Microsoft Word to print out in cool fonts and colors the letters for the sign and then cutting and pasting those letters onto my posterboard... that's the creative part of me... but it is definitely not artistic:)

Paul and Big P are on their very first real backpacking trip. It's just one night but they are hiking in and camping and then maybe doing some fishing. I am very excited for my big boy. So that leaves me home for one night with Little P:) We are going to go to the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest with Yiayia and Pappous. I remember going to Mt. Angel with my grandparents when I was a child. It was always a fun trip. I hope to maybe come across some peaches, blueberries, and/or blackberries along the way. I need to finish up my canning (I already have 12 jars of raspberry jam done... well, actually, 11 now because I gave one to my very good blogging friend Mimi when I saw her yesterday at the baptism for Baby Suzy, Katie's baby). I want to make jelly with the blueberries and blackberries. The peaches I would like to can, cut in half or quarters. I love canning. My maternal grandma did lots of canning. So I feel like I am carrying on a tradition from her. If I do not find the peaches/berries on the trip to Mt. Angel, then I am heading with the boys to Sauvie's Island one afternoon this week.

Last night we went out to The Mississippi Pizza Pub for dinner because they have Gluten Free Pizza and Gluten Free Beer on their menu. The GF Pizza was awesome (I have made GF pizza at home but it is a bit more time consuming to make than regular pizza so it is nice to have someone else do the work). They had a band playing music last night and the kids loved it! One other great thing is that it is about 5 miles from our house. We will probably go back there for some special occasions in the future:) Pizza is one of those foods that Paul really misses now that he is Gluten Free.

Also, another GF shout out to this amazing Gluten Free bakery conveniently located next door to Trader Joe's in NW Portland! It's called New Cascadia Traditional. Their Portland sourdough is awesome. I buy it, cut it up, and freeze it right away. Then, when we are having GF pasta or some bean soup I just pull a few slices out of the freezer and warm them in the oven or lightly toast them for Paul and he is his own French bread!

To completely change the topic this week is the first week of school. I am a bit worried/concerned about Big P and our decision to keep in Montessori rather than putting him in the K-1st grade class. I think that I am just worried because it is my job to be worried. But I also think (after having a very wonderful chat with a great friend today at church) that I would be more worried/concerned about him constantly (as in throughout the year) if I put him in the K-1 class. I know he can do Montessori and I know he is successful at it. His teacher knows my concern and there is always the possibility that he might just move into the K-1 class anyway. I just need to not "worry" about it because in the grand scheme of things, this is very small:) But, as I already wrote, I just need to constantly have something to worry about:)

I also have decided that instead of Big P playing soccer this fall, he is going to start swim lessons. He was deathly afraid of swimming pools (he has always loved his bathtime) until about three months ago. We have been going to the swimming pool for family swim once a week. I have taught him to hold his breath underwater and to swim using a kickboard. He is definitely ready to have some lessons. And I am going to sign up for lessons with Little P. He is not afraid of water at all which scares me a little as he has no fear (that's his general attitude towards life... I believe it is a second child trait). I have declared this year the year of swimming lessons. Maybe next year we will add soccer, but it is very important to me that our children know how to swim (I was a fish when I was younger... I loved swimming and I was good at it).

Big P's other major accomplishment this summer is riding his bike. He still has training wheels, but he rides his bike when we go swimming or go to the library. We bought him this bike for his 5th birthday and he hated it. Did not want to ride it at all (he is small and his feet barely touched the pedals). This summer he has been riding everywhere.

It seems as if Big P is always just a little behind his peers in accomplishing these things (swimming, bike riding, etc.). I know that he is going at his own pace and that he is smart and talented in his own ways, but I guess that's why I should keep him in the Montessori program for another year; let him have the opportunity to catch up with everyone else (he struggles with his fine motor skills... he is in occupational therapy during the summertime... he is also in vision therapy because his eyes do not track properly). This summer I have seen him accomplish so much but I guess I have to be careful of pushing him. As a teacher and a lover of learning, I just want my children to love school and to love learning (he does love school and learning). As a first born child, I have to be careful to not push him too far and destroy that love of school and learning. I am thinking about buying the "Handwriting without Tears" program for him to use at home (he is using it in OT and is doing really well with it).

I think I have posted way more than anyone wants to read. If you made it all the way to this last line, I thank you for reading.

Article re. Ecumenical Patriarch...

My husband forwarded this article to me. Notice that it is co-sponsored by the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate.

SEN. MENENDEZ FIGHTS TO ENSURE TURKISH GOVERNMENT RESPECTS RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH㏎ ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATESEN. MENENDEZ FIGHTS TO ENSURE TURKISH GOVERNMENT RESPECTS RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH㏎ ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE SEN. MENENDEZ FIGHTS TO ENSURE TURKISH GOVERNMENT RESPECTS RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH'S ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATEIn seeking to join European Union, Turkey must adhere to certain criteria, including the guarantee of respect and protection for religious minorities WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has introduced legislation to urge the Government of Turkey to respect the rights and freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Christian Church, in accordance with criteria necessary to join the European Union. The Ecumenical Patriarch is the leading figure in the Orthodox Church and has suffered from discriminatory treatment from the Turkish government. "For a government to treat a revered religious institution and leader in such a discriminatory manner is an affront to human and religious rights and shows disrespect to the hundreds of millions of Orthodox Christians," said Senator Menendez. "There must be fairness and freedom when it comes to the Turkish government's treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. As Turkey appeals to the European Union for membership, I would expect its treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to be a prime topic that must be addressed." Senator Menendez's resolution, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Benjamin Cardin (D-MA), urges the Government of Turkey to respect the rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Orthodox Christian Church. It calls on the Turkish government to immediately: • recognize the right to the title of ﹛Ecumenical Patriarch'';• grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate international recognition and ecclesiastic succession;• grant the Ecumenical Patriarch the right to train clergy of all nationalities, not just Turkish nationals; and• respect property rights and human rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Government of Turkey has sought membership in the European Union and maintains strong bilateral relations with the United States Government. The accession of Turkey to the European Union will depend on its adherence to the Copenhagen criteria that require candidate countries to have stable governmental institutions that guarantee human rights and that respect and protect minorities, including religious minorities such as Orthodox Christians.

The other side of the Russia/Georgia Fighting...

Just something to watch and think about....

http://war.georgia.su/

Netflix Problem... I know what is really going on...

So we have Netflix and we are that percentage of the Netflix population that is having problems receiving our movies and receiving emails (go here for a short article).

Here is what I think is going on... NBC has paid Netflix to have "technical" problems in order that we will all stop watching our movies and start watching more of the Olympics:)

Just an idea...

The Picture I tried to Post the Other Day...

Us, camping, over 4th of July.

Would You Like Something From Starbuck's?

Today was one of "those" days. My very good friend called me from the Starbuck's drive-thru and asked if she could pick something up for me. Normally, I am just perfectly content with my cup o' ordinary black coffee from my home brewing machine (aka. coffee maker) but today was one of "those" days. I normally don't do soy. I just don't do it. But I had her bring me a grande-vanilla-soy-latte. So, thanks, friend!

*Note: One of "those" days generally means one or both of my lovely children are involved in doing things that are driving me absolutely batty. Thank God I do not have too many days like this. Sometimes it seems as if everything just builds up to a certain point and my patience runs out and then I have one of "those" days. I think everyone wants to get back to school (not just me wanting eldest son to go back to school... he has wanted to return to school since the first day of summer vacation:)

In other news... my mom has a plan. She wants us (her, my sister, my sister in law) to set up a booth at the upcoming Artisan Fair for our school. We will make baby/children clothing items and blankets. I have this idea of doing kids aprons with cross stitch animals, bugs, etc. on them and then selling them. We'll see how this goes. I took a cross stitch class this summer at the Greek church and made a very nice bookmark (class was taught by a wonderful Greek woman who really can cross stitch (like my yiayia)). So I am getting "in" to cross stitching (with all my spare time...HA!). I will definitely keep you posted because if this goes well, mom has plans. She wants to expand, go to other fairs, maybe even open an online store?!?!

I leave you with a somewhat recent picture of the family (we rarely have pics of us together). Oh, and I added an Amazon widget to the ole blogging page. These aren't necessarily books that I recommend, more like books that I have read this year.

Nevermind the picture... blogger won't let me post it for some reason. I will keep trying.

Oh, and I added a picture to my page. It is called The Secret School. It is a famous Greek painting. We are hoping to buy a copy of it for our living room, someday. It is our favorite painting (it shows a priest teaching children secretly under the Ottoman Occupation while a Greek soldier stands guard).

Artists/artisans Wanted....

If you know anyone who is an artist, jeweler, musician, etc. please forward this information to them. This is actually a great deal for them and it is a fundraiser for our school. Artisan Fair will take place in Portland, Oregon November 8-9. Thanks for spreading the word!!!
-Christina
PS: please leave a comment and I will get back to you if you are interested.

Note***Feel free to link to this page or post it on your own blog... Just get the word out!!!

Artisans Wanted!!

The Artisan Fair committee needs YOUR help acquiring Artisans for our showcase.

Looking for artists (watercolor, acrylic, oil, etc), potters, jewelers,
to sell their products as well as musicians willing to play in exchange for advertising and selling their music.

Here’s what we have so far:

Chair Massage/Paraffin Treatments
Partylite
DeMarle at Home
Artists (3)…we need more!
Jewelers (3)…we need more!
Iconographer
Eikona
Kid/Travel pillows
Cards…more is welcome
Soaps (2)…more is welcome

Cost for Artisan to participate:
10% of all sales go to Agia Sophia Academy. Profit increases to 15% if the artisan registers after September 15.

Hi! How are you? Where have you been? and meme...

Where could I possible begin to update? I bet that no one is even checking this blog, anymore!

The other day I was cleaning the bathroom when Big P walked in and asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was cleaning the bathroom. He then said, "Thank you, mommy, for cleaning the bathroom for us." And then he ran out of the bathroom. I think that is the first time anyone has ever thanked me for cleaning the bathroom:)

We are enjoying these warm days. Our garden is coming along and we have plans for next year (more raised beds, etc.). We ride our bikes (Big P is really coming along in the bike riding). DH has even been biking to work! We've been going swimming at the local outdoor pool in the evenings (Big P used to be REALLY afraid of water). I think by the time fall rolls around, he will be ready for swim lessons. Little P likes it, too.

We had our first big camping trip and discovered our new tent from REI leaked horribly. So we returned it and will purchase another smaller, good quality tent like we already own. Live and learn.

Below is a meme that I have seen going around. I love, love, love to read so it is a good meme for me. And I may use this list and read the 42 books that I have not read.

In the gluten free world... did you know that Rice Chex (the cereal) is gluten free?

Hope you are having a wonderful summer (we are!).


What books have you read? Bold the ones you have read, italicize the ones you are planning on reading and underline the ones you loved:
1.Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen -
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien –
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte –
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling -
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee –
6. The Bible –
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell-
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman- I read two of these books before deciding they were not worth my time.
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens-
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott –
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller-
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare – Have read some, but not all (wouldn’t that be a feat?).
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier –a favorite... I love the movie, too.
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien –.
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks –.
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger -.
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger –.
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot –.
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell –
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald –
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens- I am a fan of Dickens.
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy-.
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams –.
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh -
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky -.
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck -.
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll-.
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame-.
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy-
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis-
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen-
36. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini-
37. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres –.
38. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden-.
39. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne-
40. Animal Farm - George Orwell- I read this in the 2nd grade. I pulled it off my parents bookshelf thinking it was a story about animals. Needless to say, I did not understand what the book was really about until a few years later (it is a pretty good animal story:).
41. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown-
42. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
43. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving- high school english class. I had an interesting english teacher.
44. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins -
45. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery –
46. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
47. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
48. Lord of the Flies - William Golding-
49. Atonement - Ian McEwan
50. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
51. Dune - Frank Herbert- have read the whole series but the first book is good.
52. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
53. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen-
54. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
55. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
56. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens-.
57. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley-.
58. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
59. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez- my fav. by GGM
60. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck-
61. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
62. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
63. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold -
64. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
65. On The Road - Jack Kerouac -
66. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
67. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
68. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie- I actually have this on my bookshelf from my sister!69. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
70. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
71. Dracula - Bram Stoker
72. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett -.
73. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
74. Ulysses - James Joyce
75. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath-.
76. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
77. Germinal - Emile Zola
78. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
79. Possession - AS Byatt -
80. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens-
81. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
82. The Color Purple - Alice Walker- .
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert-
85. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
86. Charlotte’s Web - EB White - .
87. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
88. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
89. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
90. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
91. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery -
92. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
93. Watership Down - Richard Adams
94. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
95. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute-.
96. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
97. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
98. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
99. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain-
100. A favorite book not on this list? Exodus by Leon Uris (actually, anything by Leon Uris)
I have read 58 out of 100.

Where I once lived....

Dujiangyan... never thought I would see that name in print. It is a small city in China. Not worth mentioning. Nothing really interesting about it (I believe there is some really old aquaduct there?!?!) And now it is all over the news. That is the "small" city in China where I lived 13 years ago. I would wager money that the school I taught at is one of the schools where buildings collapsed. The building I lived in was only a few years old, but it looked as if it had survived WWII bombing. I lived on the second floor of a five floor building. When the rainy season hit one night, I was awakened to water falling on my bed. Through the light fixture in the center of the room. I rushed around my room, trying to find dry spots to put things I owned (like cd player, pictures, books)... things that would be damaged by water. I never asked how the person above me fared during this storm. I was just astounded that I had a leak in my ceiling on the second floor!

I am a bit worried about people who I knew for only a short period of time in my life. People who I didn't keep in touch with over the years. Are they alright? Did they survive the quake? Most of my students are no longer in school, but some of them lived in the area. Are they alright? This earthquake has really hit me. I keep thinking about Dujiangyan... the city, the way everyone stared at us (being the only westerners in a small city of is it 6 or 8 million people?). Being the tallest person standing on the bus (if you know me, you will know that I am not at all tall!). I remember trying to find postcards to send to friends and family, but there were none to be found. I had to buy my postcards in Chengdu.

This has stirred up a lot of memories; things that I have/had forgotten. The people I worked with were all very kind. I am praying for you, Dujiangyan, from someone who has actually set foot on your streets...