Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Recipe

Great news for all you readers out there searching for an allergen-friendly dessert for the holidays.  Look no further! I made this awesome Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake this year for Thanksgiving.  It's egg-free, soy-free, and gluten-free.

I spent a good bit of time looking for an egg-free cheesecake recipe, only to find that most of them either used cashews (a bit pricey) or tofu (soy is a no-no for me) as fillers. Grrr... So, then I found this egg-free cheesecake recipe and was inspired to make it my own.

Who knew you don't really need eggs, wheat, tofu or cashews to make an amazing cheesecake with a really great cheesecake texture?  News to me.  But, trust me, it's totally possible.

And totally delicious.

Walnut Oat Pie Crust Recipe (Gluten-Free!)

Planning to cook for a gluten-free somebody this holiday season? I don't know about you, but I love me a good pie. Bummer for those who can't have the gluten in the pie crust (or the filling)...it makes baking a little trickier.

Here's a solution: Walnut Oat Pie Crust.

It's really simple to throw together and really reminds me of a graham cracker crust, both in texture and taste.  It's definitely less sweet than a traditional graham cracker crust and actually, kind of tastes like a granola bar...now that I think about it...

The Ry Guy Report: 5 Months

Ry Guy celebrating pumpkin season (thanks to my aunt for the adorable hat!)

Weight 17 lbs (got the scale fixed... looks like I over estimated last month)

Length  25 inches

Milestones 

• Rolls halfway over (from back to side, but can't quite make it all the way over yet).
• Sits up with support.
• Grasps and shakes objects (he's got a good grip!!).
• Sleeps "through the night" (by clinical definition - more than 6 hours at a time.  But, since he goes to bed around 7:30, this still means I get up to feed him in the early morning, then he goes back to bed until around 7 a.m.).  But, this is a vast improvement.
• Is increasingly interested in eating (loves to watch Mom and Dad at the dinner table).
• Starting to exhibit teething symptoms.
• Mimics Mommy's funny faces (sticking tongue out, etc.)

Likes 

• Chewing/sucking on his fingers... preferably as many at a time as he can cram in his mouth.
• Seeing what's going on.  All the time.
• His toes.
• Sitting up.
• Drooling... puddles.  On everything.
• Burrowing his face in Mommy's neck when he's tired.

Dislikes 

• Napping.  He is doing better with falling asleep at night, but daytime naps are still a real struggle.
• His carseat (or anything that requires him to be strapped in and reclining).

The Quotable Ry Guy  "[belly laugh] or [scream]".  Depends on his mood. :)

Top 10 Pregnancy Must-Haves for the Budget Conscious

I've seen several "must-have" posts around the web, so I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in and let you know about a few things I couldn't live without!

1. Ponytail Holders.  Multi-purpose!  Great for keeping my hair out of my way when exercising, cooking, etc.  Also great for looping through my skirt buttonhole and hooking on to the button, thus giving me a little more time in my regular clothes while looking for maternity clothes.  Ghetto?  Yes. Cheap? Yes. But, hey... you do what you gotta do.  I refer to these as waistband extenders in public so people don't think I'm wacko.  But now you know the truth. 

I got a pack of Goody brand elastics at the dollar store, but you may already have some on hand.

2. Belly Band.  Also know as a BeBand, or shirt extender.  You can get them in a million different colors, it seems, but I recommend getting one in white or black.  Great for holding up unbuttoned or unzipped bottoms, or covering up really awesome elastic waistbands.  You can wear it doubled over, under your belly when it's small.  Or, wear it full length when your belly starts to get huge (like mine did toward the end). As long as your hips don't change size much, you can pretty much stay in your pre-pregnancy clothes with this puppy.  Also great for transitioning back into your pre-pregnancy clothes after the baby's born.  

Note, this is not a pic of me... I only wish I was this thin when I was pregnant.  I got my band at Target on sale for around $12.

Carrots...

Carrots.  They seem like such a sweet, innocent vegetable as they stare at me from their innocuous cellophane package.  But, I know the truth.  Beneath that pretty, frilly, green top is an evil mastermind plotting to take over the world.

Or, maybe just my refrigerator's crisper drawer.

You know what I mean. You stroll through the farmer's market...what do they have for sale? Carrots.

You peruse the produce section of the grocery store...what do they have for sale? Carrots.

If you're fortunate enough to have a vegetable garden, what will many of you be harvesting? Carrots.

They're everywhere! You don't have to look very far to find them.  In fact, you can get them pretty much year-round, so I always seem to have them hanging around my fridge.  I can even get them in the dead of winter (organic, no less) for around $1/lb. Sweet.

Or, is that just what they want you to think?

30 Before 30 Update: October 2013 Edition

It's been a busy month!! This month, I was able to meet my 30 Before 30 goal of reading 2 books (see below for synopsis and recommendations). 

Also, I did some researching and have added a cool new feature to the blog.  You'll notice that 3 related posts show up at the bottom of each blog post now.  My hope is that when new readers check out a page on mason|raye (they come here as a result of a pinterest pin or Google search, etc.) that they'll read the post they came here for, then see a related post that may be interesting to them and click over there to read that post....  Then, if they like what they see, they may come back again or decide to "follow" or subscribe to the blog.  This way, I hope to enlarge the maison|raye readership.  Of course, I'm always excited to have my regular readers - thank you for your loyalty!  This gets me one step closer to my blog goals.  Gotta have an established readership before I can expand the blog, get my own domain name, etc.

I signed up for an online photography class. It's not as in depth as I'd like; it focuses on just photographing people.  I'm sure that some of the information will be applicable to food photography... something I'm always working to improve. 

Now on to the books:

My fun book this month was The Perfect Baby Handbook:  A Guide for Excessively Motivated Parents by Dale Hrabi.  I have to admit, it was a pretty funny book.  I literally laughed out loud, more than once. Hrabi has mastered sarcasm in this book.  He has this way of taking popular baby advice out there and putting his own witty spin on it, with hilarious results.  I personally think that the illustrations make the book even more humorous. The section on baby names is probably my favorite part ("How many letters should a perfect name contain?  Ideally, nine.  Some popular options include Sebastian, Elizabeth and Chloeeeee"). 

I enjoyed reading this book for the most part.  The only reason I'm not able to recommend it is that it contains some profanity, which I find unnecessary.

My educational book choice this month was A Family of Value by Dr. John Rosemond. Dr. Rosemond is a psychologist, newspaper columnist, and radio talk show host.  He had a lot of practical, common sense advice for discipline and childrearing that I found beneficial.  His approach may come across as "old fashioned" to those parents looking for a more progressive, pop-culture approach, but I agreed with his philosophy that children must be taught limits, resourcefulness, respect and responsibility, so when they grow up they will be an asset to society instead of a burden.  There's a lot of controversy out on the web about Dr.  Rosemond's work.  Many people feel he's too conservative (God forbid he exercise his freedom of speech and "praise Rush Limbaugh while villainizing Hilary Clinton"  as one reviewer posted on Amazon)... but don't get me started on that train.   I'm not here to debate the conservative vs. liberal issue, just to tell you that I read the book and agreed with much of Dr. Rosemond's advice.  I do recommend A Family of Value to parents, especially conservative parents trying to establish their childrearing philosophy or looking for practical advice.

The Ry Guy Report: 4 Months

 

Weight Not sure, my scale is dead... I estimate 17 lbs.

Length  24.5 inches

Milestones 

• Reaches for and grasps objects  (especially Mommy's hair)
• Hands work together to hold and shake toys, rattles, etc.
• Rolls halfway over (from back to side, but can't quite make it all the way over yet)
• Puts EVERYTHING in his mouth
• Has great head control when he sits up with support; only bobbles a little bit!
• Prefers to sit up instead of recline
• Loves to look around; can see across the room

Likes  His froggy toy and noisy book

Dislikes  Sleeping... sigh... still gets up twice a night to eat most nights and has trouble falling asleep on his own

The Quotable Ry Guy  "Gurgle, squeal, laugh"