The Super Allergy Girl Blog

Help with Getting Kids to Eat Healthier

This July I put out a news release on PRWeb with the same headline. You can read the full news release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/07/prweb2621614.htm

With skyrocketing obesity and dramatic increases in childhood health issues, there are more reasons than ever to make healthy eating for children a real priority. As a parent to three children (ages 7, 10 and 12), I know this can be challenging, which is why I put together my little tip sheet (with recipes) that is available FREE on my website. To download the FREE tip sheet, click on this link http://www.thesuperallergycookbook.com/articles.html

Once you are on the articles page, select the document titled "Getting Kids to Eat Healthier"! That will give you my top 10 tips along with some fast and easy recipes - that happen to be healthy! If you are having trouble getting your children to eat fruits and vegetables and healthy foods, by all means take a look at this document and the accompanying video. Let me know if you are helped by this information as that is my mission - to help empower other parents, educators and individuals.

Earlier this year the kids and I embarked on a "New Fruits and Vegetables Shopping Spree" - yes we went to the grocery store with the sole purpose of finding new fruits and vegetables to try! We went to Wegmans and there store employee Ann McCarthy, one of the experts in whipping up healthy foods, was giving out samples of Guacamole with gluten-free rice chips! The kids were delighted to try this organic and allergen-free product by the name of Wholly Guacamole. We purchased some Wholly Guacamole and as easy as that we were eating a new and reasonably healthy food! Here is our recipe for homemade Guacamole. You may want to kick up the spices with more seasonings, salt and or other ingredients, but for kids this plain version of Guacamole works well.

Easiest Guacamole

2 ripe avacados

2-3 teaspoons vinegar (or other liquid, as needed)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (more as desired)

1/2 teaspoon onion powder (more as desired)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Peel avacados, remove seed and place in a food processor. Add vinegar or other liquid and spices. Pulse until smooth and creamy. Chill for a few minutes in the freezer if desired (my children like it chilled). Guacamole turns brown when exposed to air over time. Place any unused guacamole in a plastic bag with the air removed and freeze to avoid the guacamole turning brown.

A Healthy Key Lime Cheesecake

Laurette Janak gave me the original recipe for this non-dairy Key Lime Cheesecake when I was looking for a recipe to make a birthday cake for my husband who has dramatically reduce the amount of meats and dairy that he consumes. I simply took out the ingredients we had allergies to and substituted other ingredients. Since the first time I made this delight, I have modified the recipe yet again to mellow the key lime taste, which we felt was a bit on the strong side. The good news - all the kids really enjoy this recipe! And the even better news - it's the healthiest key lime cheesecake we could ever make. To reduce the calories, you can skip the crust all together. We took this dessert to a party last month and it received excellent reviews.

1-1/4 cup sweet crumbs, graham cracker crumbs or cookie crumbs(optional, but nice for effect)**

2 bananas

2 ripe avacados (medium to large)

1 cup mango (cut in slices or pieces)

1/2 cup agava nector or other liquid sweetener

1 T. oil

1 cup key lime juice

(optional - 1 teaspoon vanilla)

Place sweet crumbs in a 8-inch round baking pan, or other similar sized baking dish. **You can add some oil to the sweet crumbs to make more of a crust or leave them loose. I add a bit of oil to make more of a graham cracker crust. My children have requested that I increase the crust on the next batch. You may opt to increase the crumbs to two or three cups as you see fit. Place bananas, avacados, mango, agava nector or other sweetener, oil and lime juice in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Pour the creamy mixture into your prepared pan and freeze until solid. Let thaw only slightly before serving. Serve cold. Enjoy!

Let me know your thoughts and comments about what you do to get your kids to eat healthier! I'll be back soon with Noah's recipe for a delicious fruit smoothie as well as his comments! Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Lisa

New Gluten-Free Gift Bags Make the Perfect Gift

I am really quite excited to share with you NEW Gluten-Free Gift Bags that we have just launched to meet a need in the gluten-free market! You can read the full PRWeb News release by clicking on this link:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/gluten-free_diet/gift_bags/prweb2823734.htm

I came up with this idea from talking to friends and customers. Those of us on the gluten-free and casein-free diet (GFCF Diet) tire of getting food gifts from well-meaning friends and family that contain allergens we can't eat. The new gift bags are the perfect gift for someone just starting out on the gluten-free diet or for someone who has been on the gluten-free diet for a while. Here is a picture of them:

Photo by Bernard Gosset

Standard Gluten-Free Gift Bag

Photo by Bernard Gosset

Premium and Deluxe Gluten-free Gift Bags

So let's talk about contents and price. The Standard Gluten-Free Gift Bag contains: xanthan gum, brown rice flour, garfava flour, tapioca flour, millet flour, egg-replacer, aluminum free baking powder, a dough scraper, and a copy of my cookbook: The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook - all packaged in a light-weight cloth tote bag. The value of the Standard GF Gift Bag is over $83.00. We have it priced right at $64.99 and that includes free priority shipping within the U.S.!

The Premium Gluten-Free Gift Bag contains xanthan gum, brown rice flour, garfava flour, tapioca flour, millet flour, egg-replacer, aluminum free baking powder, Dari-Free® non-dairy milk substitute, 4-piece set of measuring spoons, 4-piece set of measuring cups, a dough scraper, and a copy of my cookbook: The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook - all packaged in a larger, heavy-duty canvas tote bag. The Premium GF Gift Bag has a retail value of $126.00 and is priced right at $94.99 with free priority shipping in the U.S.!

The Deluxe Gluten-Free Gift Bag contains xanthan gum, brown rice flour, garfava flour, tapioca flour, millet flour, egg-replacer, aluminum free baking powder, Dari-Free® non-dairy milk substitute, 4-piece set of measuring spoons, 4-piece set of measuring cups, a dough scraper, a quality adjustable apron and a copy of my cookbook: The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook - all packaged in a larger, heavy-duty canvas tote bag. The contents of the Deluxe Gluten-Free Gift Bag have a retail value of $143.00 and is value priced at $104.99.

So that is what's new and exciting here. I'd love to hear your comments and feedback on the gift bags. I know some of the gluten-free individuals I know personally are very excited to have a gift on their gift list.

Love,

Lisa

Independent Review of My Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook

Recently I saw an Internet posting that was asking for products to be reviewed specifically for the autism community.  Since my cookbook is GFCF (gluten-free and casein-free) and is used in the autism community, I sent an e-mail to the address provided and waited.  I didn't have to wait long.  I was soon given a name and address to send the book to, which we promptly did.  I just got a link to the review of my cookbook and here is the review of my cookbook by Julie Fletcher, a writer for the NY Examiner website. 

I am so moved and touched by Julie's review.  I hope you will follow the link and let me know what you think.  Thank you Julie!  For as long as I can remember, all I have ever wanted to do was help people.  Little did I realize how many people there are with food allergies, celiac disease, food sensitivities or on special diets, and how many of these people needed real help.  It warms my heart and humbles me to be able to help.  Now, how can I help you with your food allergies, food sensitivities, gluten-free diet, celiac or GFCF diet?  I'm here to empower you to have a great life despite your food limitations.
Love,
Lisa

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Allergen Free: Trail Mix or Gorp Recipe

I really am excited to share this gluten-free, dairy-free, tree-nut free and peanut-free recipe with you because it is a great snack food for busy people.  It appeals to both children and adults although some children will snub their noses at it.  When I was young we used to eat what we called trail mix or gorp.  I think gorp was the name that the hikers used.  It was easy to make, portable, a quick snack food, and I could make it without nuts.  Most trail mixes or gorp back then contained tree-nuts and I've been allergic to tree-nuts since my childhood.  You can substitute any ingredients you can have for anything you don't like or do not tolerate!!  I made several batches of this for a gathering in March while I was in Los Angeles and it was devoured!

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free (& No nuts) Allergen-Free TRAIL MIX or GORP
2 cups raw sunflower seeds (unsalted or salted)*
1 cup roasted, hulled pumpkin seeds (raw, unsalted or roasted)*
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup to 2/3 cup GFCF chocolate chips
1 cup GFCF pretzel pieces, broken into bite-sized pieces

For the sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, you can use raw, unsalted or roasted and salted.  We like this recipe made both ways (salted and unsalted), although we use the raw and unsalted seeds more often.  Mix all ingredients together gently. Store in an airtight container.  This recipe makes about 6-6-1/2 cups.  You can divide it in half to make just 3 cups.

Enjoy!!  Let me know your thoughts!
Love,
Lisa

  

Gluten-free, Dairy-Free, Tree-nut & Peanut Free Trail Mix or Gorp

Gluten-free Flours: A Primer For Beginners

There are more gluten-free flours than when we started nine years ago although some of the newer flours we can’t use because of a nut allergy or chose not to use for other reasons like availability.  The primary flours used in gluten-free recipes and commercially made foods include: rice, potato, tapioca, soy, garfava or a bean flour, amaranth, sorghum, quinoa, buckwheat, arrowroot, cornstarch and millet to name the more common flours.  Teff is also gluten-free.  It has a much stronger flavor and darker color and I categorize teff to be in the same broad group as buckwheat flour – probably fine for some adults or for children if you fed it to them from infancy on.  I don’t think there are many children who will have a fondness for buckwheat.  The same goes for some adults.

With such a variety of flours, which ones do you use?  Great question.  I have information on the more common flours on this website under "Cookbook Info." so you can get more support by down loading that information. The majority of gluten-free products (commercially made) contain one or more of the following flours: rice, potato, corn and soy.  If you want to avoid developing an allergy to rice or to prevent new food issues, I personally recommend reducing your rice, potato, corn and soy consumption.  Therefore, I would advise beginners to get right into using the millet, amaranth, quinoa and garfava flours.  I have formulated recipes specifically designed for these flours for good reasons.  You simply cannot substitute amaranth, quinoa and sorghum in some recipes and have the foods turn out.

Years ago when I first had to start using these “alternative” or less common gluten-free flours, I did not have recipes that called for them, so I used my tried and true recipes and just changed the flour.  My baked goods turned out terribly.  The best example was of this was the Delicious Chocolate Cake recipe that I have posted on this website (that can be downloaded for free).  I had been making this chocolate cake recipe for years and years.  But when I used the amaranth flour (and some other flour that I can’t even remember), the cake tasted so bad that it wasn’t worth eating.  I mean it was awful. 

Then later I made something else with these flours and it was equally terrible.  I mean a dog probably wouldn’t have eaten it.  Over time, I discovered that no matter what the recipe, you could NOT just use any old gluten-free flour and have it turn out wonderfully.  To my knowledge, I am the only one who states this, but I stand by my experience.  If a recipe works well with rice and tapioca or rice and millet or garfava and tapioca or some other combination, then it may or may not work with one of the less common gluten-free flours. 

The other point worth mentioning in a discussion of gluten-free flours is that there can be a wide range of flours within one brand.  I have been making the Versatile Roll recipe in my cookbook, and featured on the baking videos on my website and on youtube for almost 8 years.  I know exactly how this recipe is made and exactly how it should turn out.  About two or three years ago when I was making some rolls for a function that a friend was having, my rolls came out very badly.  The batter did not have the right consistency or texture and I chalked it up to me not paying attention when I made the mix or when I added the liquid ingredients.  I baked the rolls only to find out that, indeed something was off.  I made a second batch, after all, these rolls were for a social function that someone else was having, and I wanted to have them look great!!  The second batch came out equally as poorly although I was paying careful attention.

It was perplexing!!  I finally realized that perhaps it was the flour!!  Maybe something different had been done to the flour - as in maybe there was a higher ratio of chickpea to fava bean or only one or the other.  I had my sweet husband run out to the store and get more flour.  I made a THIRD batch of rolls with the new flour, and they came out perfectly!!  Since that time, this has happened only two or three times, but enough for me to know that there CAN be a wide variation in flour from the same mill.  And, yes, by-the-way, I did contact the manufacturer who while they seemed interested enough to get the flour returned to them, they were not interested enough to call me back with the results of their analysis.  The bottom line is that, as a last resort, a problem in baking could be the flour.   You would not, however, know this unless you had a lot of experience.

Once I get a recipe that works, I don’t mess with it.  It takes too much time and the gluten-free, dairy-free ingredients are way too expensive to waste.  What flours are you using?  What is your experience?  Any thoughts you would care to share?  I’d love to hear from you!  I’m particularly interested in hearing from those of you who are having troubles getting your gluten-free and dairy-free (and other allergen free foods) to come out well.

Love,
Lisa

Gluten-free, Casein-Free, Egg Free WHITE CAKE Recipe

Well, a few posts back I wrote about the White Cake Conundrum: not having a gluten-free, dairy-free, casein-free, and egg-free white cake recipe that satisfied my penchant for perfection.  Gloria Tilley had asked for help with this for a relative's upcoming wedding.  I finally got around to experimenting in the kitchen today and I am thrilled to report a resounding success!!  Of course, the kudos go to Gloria who gave me the foundation for the recipe (one of my own).  I started right where Gloria suggested, which was with my own Luscious Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin recipe (page 191) from my cookbook.  I deleted the flavoring ingredients (lemon extract, poppy seed and lemon peel).  I increased the baking powder by 1/2 teaspoon and baked the cakes in 9 inch round pans.  We all just sampled the cake and it is fantastic.  Here is the recipe.  Let me know your results, if you would please.  I am sure that altering the pan size will change both the baking time and possibly the results.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free WHITE CAKE RECIPE
1 1/2 cups white rice flour (I used a mix of white and brown rice flour - half each)
1 1/2 cups of tapioca flour
2 teaspoons of xanthan gum
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 stick of acceptable margarine
4 teaspoons of Ener-G® Egg Replacer (dry powder)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups rice milk
(Extra rice milk a little bit less than 1/2 cup-see directions below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 9 inch round baking pans and set aside.  Measure all of the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and set aside.  Take your margarine and cut it into small pieces and add to the dry ingredients.  Cut the margarine into the flour mixture until it is very, very well incorporated into the dry ingredients.  Add 1 1/2 cups of rice milk and the vanilla.  Start to mix the batter.  Then add a little less than 1/2 cup of additional rice milk.  The batter for this cake will be fairly thick.  It will not drip off of a spoon.  It will hold it's shape pretty well.  You may need a bit less milk if you are light on your flour measurements. 

Mix well, but do NOT OVER MIX your batter.  You will probably see small lumps of margarine in the batter, that is fine.  Place the batter into your prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.  Oven temperature is very important.  A hotter or cooler oven will change both the baking time and results.  This recipe produced a nice, moist cake.  Just wonderful.  Because we used organic sugar and organic vanilla (both browner in color than clear vanilla or bleached sugar), our cake was not a pure white color.  Good luck and let me know how YOU make out with this recipe!!

Love,

Lisa

Gluten-free/Casein-free & Egg-free White Cake Conundrum

This blog is due in full to Gloria Tilley's phone call to me yesterday asking for help with a gluten-free, casein-free and egg free white cake!!  Gloria is an expert gluten-free and casein-free baker whose children also can't tolerate eggs.  I explained to Gloria yesterday that I had too many failures in attempting to create a GFCF (that's short for Gluten-free & Casein-free) cake that was also egg-free to even think about trying it again.  I had tried many times to perfect a GFCF and egg-free white cake, but the results were always a huge disappointment.  How many failures do you withstand before you just give up?  For those of you who don't know Gloria Tilley, she is quite enrolling.  And yes, she did eventually enroll me into trying it AGAIN!!  I know, am I a glutton for punishment?  No, Gloria needs a white cake recipe for a family wedding this year, and I promised to work on it for her.

To her absolute credit (and Gloria gets a ton of credit- she actually deserves her own blog entry), Gloria took the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin recipe in my cookbook and deleted the lemon flavoring ingredients as well as the poppy seeds to come up with a white cake (adding vanilla extract), but it was a bit more of a pound cake.  So Gloria suggested that in addition to trying it myself, that I ask you, my readers, if you have a gluten-free, dairy-free (casein-free) and egg-free white cake recipe.  It also needs to be free of peanuts and tree-nuts and coconut.  O.K. now I actually can't remember if Gloria's children are free of peanuts, tree-nuts and coconut, but we are and for me to test a recipe that is a must.

I'm traveling to Penn State to meet with my interns next week and then it is off to Los Angeles, so I won't be experimenting in the kitchen until early February at the earliest.  If you have a cake recipe that meets these criteria, it would be greatly appreciated.  I'll let you know how the great white cake conundrum unfolds.  Until then, happy baking and enjoy the week!

Love,
Lisa

Gluten-Free Recycling: A New Use for an Old Gingerbread House

My children were delighted to eat the gingerbread house trimmings, candy and frosting from the gingerbread house we made leaving the dear old house looking sad and useless.  I could not bear the thought of throwing it away.  After all, with the costs of gluten-free ingredients, that would be a real waste.  So, I broke it up into pieces that would fit into our food processor and ground it all up.  Our gluten-free gingerbread house (see previous post with recipe and pictures) made just over 8 cups of crumbs!!  Now, I have a container of gluten-free cookie crumbs for making crumb crusts or other tasty treats!  I've already used some of the crumbs for a cheesecake crust (gluten-free and dairy-free, of course).  If you try this trick, remember that you won't need to add any sugar to the crumbs because they are already sweet.

Recycling is a handy tool in gluten-free baking.  If you have cereal that you kids didn't find too appealing, you can grind that up too.  If the cereal is not sweetened, you can use the cereal crumbs for coating poultry and other meats or use it for a fast stuffing, or even in meatloaf.  You can use them anywhere bread crumbs are called for in a recipe.  If the cereal is sweet, you can use these crumbs for a crumb crust for pies, non-dairy cheesecake or bar cookies.

As the old saying goes, if there is a will, there is a way.  If you have made a gluten-free food that your kids won't eat, or for some reason didn't turn out quite as well as you anticipated then start thinking about how you could recycle it.  Crumbs are just one way.  Another way to recycle is to take a food and convert it to something in a different form.  Some time ago, I made plain bagels out of amaranth and quinoa flour that my children didn't find too appealing given the stronger taste of amaranth and quinoa flours.  My handy and inventive husband took the bagels and sliced them very, very thin into little "bagel chips", slathered them with oil and onion and garlic salt and toasted them in the oven.  They were beyond delicious.  The kids ate them up readily without a second invitation. 

What are the ways that you recycle gluten-free foods?  Any ideas that you want to share?  We'd love to hear about your inventive ideas for turning a flop into a success.  Or how you recycle foods.  Happy Baking!

Love,
Lisa

Food Allergies: Dairy-free, casein-free Whipped Topping

What whipped topping do you have if you are avoiding all dairy including casein?  We have not had whipped topping for my children since we took dairy and all milk proteins out of their diet.  Thanks to a good friend, Gloria Tilley, we now have whipped topping!!  We are excited and delighted.  Now, I preface this with the following: it doesn't contain the best ingredients, so it is a "once-in-a-while" treat, and it will probably take something to get your local health food store or grocery store to get it in.  But for the occasional treat for your children, or you if you are allergic or intolerant to dairy----it is so worth it!  What product makes a whipped topping free of all dairy?  Rich's® RICHWHIP® Non-Dairy Topping Lactose Free.  Let me show you a picture of the product and then I'll give you the ingredients.

Rich's® Non-Dairy Whipped Topping in two different sizes

About nine or so years ago, I had heard about this product, but I could never find it.  Repeated requests to my grocery store managers did not produce the result of me getting this product.  Eventually, I gave up and decided that wasn't worth it.  A few weeks ago, Gloria was talking about making whipped topping for her children, who are also on the gluten-free, dairy-free diet.  I couldn't contain myself as I interrupted her to ask what was she using to make the whipped topping.  Rescue hero Gloria then told me that she was driving to the Rich's® store to purchase the whipped topping!!  I couldn't get the directions fast enough!!  I promised myself that I would take my children there as a reward if I got certain tasks done that week!  (I know, isn't it ridiculous how I motivate myself???)

I was motivated.  By Thursday we were driving around the west side of Buffalo with our directions and map trying to find Rich's®.  We found the store just before it closed and talked to an employee about the non-dairy whipped topping.  It was heavenly.  The store employee told me that the larger can (pictured above) contained the same ingredients as the little carton.  I bought some for myself and some for my friend Sara.  It was like winning the lottery!  I put all of it in the freezer except for one of the cartons which I let defrost in the refrigerator as the carton instructions directed.

The very next day, we invited our dear friend, Linda Breitbach, over for coffee and we whipped up the whipped topping!!  It was so fun!!  It whipped up just like real whipping cream if you have ever whipped cream in a mixer.  The kids put it on some cake and cookies, oh goodness who cares what they put it on.  They were just so elated to have whipped topping!! 

Here are the ingredients:  Water, high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated coconut oil, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, Contains less than 2% of the following: carbohydrate gum, sugar, polysorbate 60, polygycerol esters of fatty acids, salt, sodium alginate, soy lecithin, artificial flavor, sodium citrate, natural flavor, colored with tumeric and annatto extracts.  Are they great ingredients?  Obviously not.  But every child deserves a treat once in a while, and every so often I'll allow my kids to indulge.  Now, watch for the decadent cream pie recipe I'll be posting very soon.  Do you have any other whipped toppings for your children?  I know people who can have nuts can do lots of things to have a "topping" that is similar.  We can't eat any nuts, so other than tofu, I'd be interested to hear what you are whipping up for whipped topping. 
Happy Holidays,
Love,
Lisa

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Dreamy Chocolate Cream Pie

Yesterday I blogged about the Rich's® Non-dairy Whipped Topping.  Today I'm going to share one of the easiest recipes ever for a fast, fancy and delicious dessert that uses the Rich's® Non-dairy Whipped Topping featured in yesterday's blog.  This is a no-bake dessert which will wow anyone.  Our friend, Linda Breitbach gave it an A+ on Monday when she came over for coffee this week.  Quite frankly, I've been so excited to try it in recipes that I had to forget about, that I'm anxious to make some old family treats converted to be gluten-free, dairy-free, casein-free, egg-free and nut-free.  GFCF is the abbreviation for gluten-free & casein-free.  My heartfelt thanks again to Gloria Tilley for hooking me up with the Rich's® non-dairy whipped topping!!  Here is the recipe for a dreamy dessert and the picture follows:

Dreamy Chocolate Cream Pie
Gluten-free, dairy-free, GFCF, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free)

1-pie crust of your choice*
1/2 to 3/4 cup melted chocolate chips GFCF
1/4 cup liquid sweetener (like agave)
16 oz. Non-dairy whipped topping (1/2 of the large can if using Rich's®)
6 gluten-free, dairy-free cookies, crumbled into LARGE chunks
More melted chocolate to drizzle over the top of the pie (about 1/2 cup chocolate chips)

While you can use any pie crust, for this pie I recommend either crushed cracker or cookie crumbs, cereal or what we used was a marshmallow and rice cereal crust.  You remember how you used to combine a rice cereal, marshmallows and some margarine to make marshmallow treats?  Well you can make a batch of rice-crisp treats and the standard batch will make 2 pie crusts with some leftover for treats.  I used a rice-cereal/marshmallow crust because I wanted to use up some marshmallows that had seen better days!!  It is all about finding ways to use the food before it expires!  Place whatever pie crust you are using in a standard 8 or 9 inch pie dish.  In a large mixer, whip up the whipped topping until it is fluffy and stiff like a standard whipped cream topping.  Add melted chocolate (1/2 cup to 3/4 cup) and liquid sugar and mix well. 

Place chocolate topping mixture into pie plate.  Sprinkle chunks of the cookies on top of the pie.  Drizzle the remaining 1/2 cup melted chocolate chips over the top of the pie.  There are so many ways that you can vary this pie.  I plan to have fun with this over the coming winter months!!  Here is the picture.  The chocolate on the top of my pie was clumpy because I melted it in the same bowl as the sugar/chocolate mixture was in and that altered the consistency and drizzle factor for the melted chocolate.  Still tasted fantastic!!




What is your favorite fast and easy dessert?  I'd love to hear about it.  Happy Baking this season of love,
Love,
Lisa