Sugar and Fancy-Free!

Since January, Andrew and I (and some other brave family members) have been off sugar. Yes, we do have jam and syrup occasionally, and we get a break for Valentine's Day and Easter, but other than that, no brownies, ice cream, etc. It's been tough. But, along the way, we've found some great sugar-free dessert ideas!
Here are a couple I've really liked (the apple pie tasted particularly normal)

BANANA SPICE CAKE

Beat together in a bowl:
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
¼ cup natural peanut butter (I use chunky)

Stir together in another bowl:
2 cups whole grain flour (I use oat)
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ginger (do not use fresh ginger root, use the powdered ginger)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients. Pour into greased 8" square cake pan.

Bake at 350 for about half an hour, until a knife comes out clean.
For frosting they recommend mixing peanutbutter and cream cheese, but you can be creative!

APPLE PIE

6 med. (6 c.) apples
1 (6 oz.) frozen apple juice, sugar free, thawed
1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 tbsp. butter
1 (10 inch) unbaked pie shell
1 top pastry crust

Peel, core and slice apples. Then place in a large pan with undiluted juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in small amount of water. Gently stir into the apples, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, 10 to 15 minutes (apples will begin to soften and mixture is thickened). Gently stir in cinnamon, then fill pie shell. Dot with butter. Apply top crust, prick the top, then bake in a 350 degree slow oven for about 45 minutes.

And last but not least- Banana Smoothie:
1/2 c. milk (soy is best)
1/2 frozen banana
Large spoonful of peanut butter (optional)
spoonful of cocoa powder (optional)
Put in a blender and enjoy.

If you have any other tasty sugar-free desserts, please pass them along!

V-Day Song and Story

We celebrated another happy and eventful Valentine’s Day yesterday. Ariel wrote me a sweet storybook of our story. It is a lively tale, with perfect pictures to accompany the text. I love it. Hammie gave Ariel a single, long-stemmed rose for V-day. He’s in love with her, which is okay, for now. He gave me a card, which I will put in the front of my school binder. We gave Abe a Book of Mormon picture book.

As is the custom, I wrote a song for Ariel (which can be downloaded here in M4a format and here in MP3 format if you’re interested). What began as a lullaby about Ariel for Hammie, became a storybook, and before I knew it, an epic tale.
I’ve thought a lot recently about the archetypal journey: leaving home, gaining light and knowledge during a lengthy journey, and eventually being prepared to return home. It can be seen in everything form Homer’s Odyssey to Disney’s The Lion King. But more importantly, it can be seen in life. That’s what I’ve thought about lately. How we arrive here, leaving our heavenly parents, to receive guidance from earthly parents, who teach us how to return to our heavenly parents. Eventually we bring down others and do the same thing, and they one day they follow suit. An eternal round.
With this song I strove to describe the incredible journey Ariel went through (and billions like her that have lived on the earth), in carrying, giving birth to, and nurturing Abraham. The experience was, and is, sanctifying. I have so enjoyed watching her fill the measure of her creation in the greatest of life’s miracles. I feel like I've watched her transform from a princess to a queen. No words, nor even music, can aptly describe what it feels like to see God’s plan unfurl in your own little life. I love my wife, very much, and my baby too. This song is for Ariel, to Abraham.
These thoughts led me to write this song, straying from the traditional ska-rock motif I’ve used the past three years. The song has only voice, multiple layers of cello tracks, and drums (my first time behind a set!).
And thanks to Ben and The 29th Street Studio for recording yet another song for me. You have a great gift for engineering , mixing, and making a song much better than it would have been if I had been on my own.

Happy 200th, Abraham!

Along with many of you, I have reflected today on the great life of Abraham Lincoln. Our baby Abraham was, in large part, named after this courageous leader. We want our Abe to stand for the things that Lincoln stood for: liberty, equality, and truth. We have worked, and are working, with refugees and immigrants in order to help remove the stain of intolerance that can still be seen too frequently in a country whose founders declared that "all men are created equal." We have seen a lack of cultural competency along with ignorance, racism, and fear of the "other" inflicted upon people who have come from Mexico, Somalia, and Bolivia based solely on the notion of difference. We want Abraham to continue the battle for equality, following the footsteps of Lincoln. God bless America, and leaders who gave their lives to make it what it is.

"Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."
"...I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side."
"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."
"While we do not propose any war upon capital, we do wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to get rich with everybody else."
"The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me."
And of course . . .
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

And on a lighter note, Ariel found this site, which we'll follow for our dinner tonight. The Galli's have a unique ability to celebrate using the culinary arts.

She Married Him??!!

California Travel Log: Part 2

Thank you Reesor's, for a fantastic trip!

Lovers at Sunset Beach.

Tough Hammer.

Did I know I liked Butternut Squash soup? Not until the Nonie made it for us. The cuisine during the trip was really exquisite. And Ariel's sugar-free desserts (new year's resolution) were surprisingly delicious.

The Griffith Observatory in LA was out of this world. Part of me hates that I wrote that, but the other part of me won't let me change it.

Abe's first time on blades! Sure felt good to break out the ol' Lightnings!

The Arcadia Arboretum.

Ham and Sam became much better friends over the week. Yea for cousins!

They've been spendin' most their lives, livin' in a gangsta's paradise.

Thanks again Reesor's! You were the best hosts imaginable! Thanks for fitting us into your busy teaching/schooling/churching/family lives! The only thing we will miss more than the 75 degree weather is you three! We'll be moving in with you soon. :)

And thanks Grandpa and Grandma Evans for hosting us in St. George on the way back!