Sarah Richards's Blog: The Chocolate Moose

Sometimes the best things in life are simple.
"Mom, this is better than Ice Cream!" my son exclaimed.
"Why have we not thought to make this before?!" my husband asked.

Popcorn Puppy Chow is one of those simple things.
This free recipe is gluten, dairy and soy free.

I cannot eat gluten, dairy or soy.
This includes any foods that were processed on or in a facility which processes those ingredients.
I have food allergies.

One of the hardest things is to miss out on the delicious snacks all around.
The easy to make or already made convenience food disguised as homemade.
Don't get me wrong, I love to cook, but to cook everything from scratch makes one long for the already made tasty snacks.

Not anymore with this recipe!
I foresee making this often in my house.

Popcorn Puppy Chow 
Ingredients6-7 C. Popped Popcorn2/3 C. Powder Sugar 1/2 C. Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life brand makes some allergen friendly chocolate chips.)2 T Coconut Butter (Optional)DirectionsDivide the ingredients in half before assembling the Popcorn Puppy Chow. This allows for better coating as you will be shaking the powdered sugar on in a gallon bag.
Place the chocolate chips and coconut butter in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted. The coconut butter tempers the chocolate chips, makes it a smoother pour and helps to stretch the chocolate chips a little further to allow for more coverage on the popcorn.
 Pour the chocolate over the popcorn and stir until coated.
Then transfer the chocolate-covered popcorn in a gallon-sized bag zip top plastic bag.
Pour powdered sugar on top of the popcorn.
Seal and shake.
Repeat with the other half of ingredients if necessary.

Enjoy this free recipe and if you want more recipes check out my cookbook Yum! Cooking Gluten, Dairy and Soy Free.

Available on Amazon!

Photograph & Pattern Design by Sarah Richards | Copyright 2016
Life is messy and hard, but as we persevere through the trials it brings we find reassurance and surprising joy through the words of the prophet Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
In this cross-stitch pattern, these words are typographically designed to enhance their meaning in order to enrich our lives. Check out this cross-stitch pattern on Snoflake Stitchery !

Thanksgiving is almost upon us; it can very easy to get caught up in the details of the holiday.
But what is really important?

There is the cleaning.
I clean more during the next two months getting ready for family and friends than during 'spring cleaning'.

There is the shopping.
Groceries need to be bought and commercialism is in full swing.

There is the cooking. 
Making the perfect bird is not my biggest challenge, I am hosting Thanksgiving and must make a gluten, dairy and soy free feast that doesn't taste like it is flavor free!

This morning brought me a reminder of what is really important.
My son awoke this morning to greet me with a series of sneezes rather than the usual running hug and joyful reminder that it is breakfast time. Normally I walk him to school with my two dogs, however I decided it would be best to drive him to ward away further sneezing fits.

I looked out at the driveway. My car was covered with ice.
After breakfast I made him lunch and geared up to go chip away the winter on my car. 

My son walks out when I am done to get into the car.
He says he can't get in. 

It was frozen shut.
I pulled harder.
It finally gave...up the handle!

I had pulled off the door handle and yet the car door would not budge.
I was very tempted to become enraged.
I wanted to shout out how unfair it was to had the car fall apart in my hand.
I hadn't even finished my first cup of coffee for the day.

Instead I took a deep breath, and looked at my son's face.
His eyes were huge. His mouth slack.

I did something neither of us was expecting.
I laughed.
I remember a verse we had read over breakfast that morning.

"Give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
~1 Thessalonians 5:18

It really wasn't all that important to get upset about.
There were three other car door that opened.
The car could still work to take my son to school on time.

This reminder was perfect before the holiday season begins. Things are not what's important, family is. Giving thanks is the reason for Thanksgiving. Giving thanks in all circumstances is St. Paul reminds us to do.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Click image for direct link.

'Yum! Cooking Gluten, Dairy and Soy Free' is available now through the publishers!
Yum! is my sixth book to be published. I have been working on this book for 6 years. 
Basically since I found out I had MS and the food allergies that came with it. 

This book has advice and tips for cooking with and for people with allergies.
The recipes in this book include beverages, condiments, breakfast & brunch, vegetables, small bites & lunch, entrees, soups & stews, breads & muffins, and desserts!
My husbands favorite is the Swedish Meatballs; my son's favorite are the pancakes; and mine in the Seafood Alfredo!


Click cover image for link!A few years after MS (multiple sclerosis) walked into my life, I discovered I had also developed food allergies to gluten, dairy and soy. I had to learn to cook so I could eat because I quickly realized how little processed, ready to eat or restaurant food is available to someone afflicted with those three allergies.

Unfortunately, many recipes I found or the allergen friendly food I bought tasted like cardboard, a kitchen sponge or just plain “healthy”. I longed for the food I loved growing up but couldn’t have anymore because it makes me very sick, like put me back in the hospital sick. So I set out on a mission: to make allergen friendly food that tastes good. Not just to my standards, but by my critics: my husband and son. I only want to cook one supper; so I learned how to cook food that was allergen free, but not flavor free. I want to share these recipes and the tricks I have learned so that it may help others afflicted with the same or similar ailments to enjoy eating again.

Don't want to download and print patterns from Snoflake Stitchery individually?
A collection of Snoflake Stitchery patterns from 2015 is now available in book format!Simply Unique Cross-Stitch and Simply Unique Crochet!


Simply Unique Cross-Stitch is a 70 paged collection of cross-stitch patterns designed by Sarah Richards for Snoflake Stitchery. All 6 patterns have been made for either personal use by the designer, or by the request of others.

Patterns of prayers, Bible verses, holiday seasons and poems are typographically designed to enhance their meaning in order to enrich our lives. All 6 patterns are framed with intricate cross-stitched or back-stitched borders.

(Click here to go to Simply Unique Cross-Stitch on Amazon!)







Simply Unique Crochet is an 82 paged collection of crochet patterns designed by Sarah Richards for Snoflake Stitchery. All 8 patterns have been made for personal use by the designer and given away as gifts.

While these items looked knitted, they are in fact 100% crocheted. In this book, the main stitch which gives this illusion is described with a brief tutorial. A link to a visual tutorial for the waistcoat stitch is also provided. A list of all stitches used along with the correlating abbreviations are listed along with the materials need to complete each pattern.

Patterns 8 patterns included are for home decor, bags, hats and mittens.
(Click here to go to Simply Unique Crochet on Amazon!)

The need to spread out my notes and research
has made me leave my desk to take over the kitchen table! 
 
I am very excited to write this cookbook, so I can share it with others who need to eat gluten, dairy and soy free.

Keep checking back for updates on the progress of Yum! Cooking gluten dairy and soy free.

Hot off the Hook!

I wanted a reusable market bag to carry home my fresh produce.

Check it out this new pattern on Snoflake Stitchery!

 Keep checking back for updates as I am going to make one with an apple graphic. My family always goes apple picking in the fall and I want to use this style of market bag with an apple on it when we go.

Happy Stitching!

Is that knitted?This is a very common question with my crocheted pieces. 
No, it is 100% crocheted!The wasitcoat stitch is the primary stitch in many of Snoflake Stitchery's crochet patterns.
This tutorial will help to explain how the stitch in preformed and how to change colors while using it.
Happy Stitching!

"Time flies never to be recalled."
~Virgil

  Time is a constant. It shouldn't seem to go fast or slow, but this summer time has flown past as fast as the butterflies my son tries to catch in our garden. Flutter past, hoovering for a moment to give the illusion you can catch it, but then it slips through your fingers before you can get a hold on it.

Apart from testing recipes constantly, I took a hiatus for work this summer to focus on what was important to me, my family. Trips to see siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins and friends were made. As time flew by, countless memories were made and photographs were taken to remember the moments.

"Autumn knew she had to act fast.
Appeal to his logical side before the lifeless droning
of NPR eroded away any more of her youth."
~Left on the Edge by Sarah Richards

 Being as my husband is a logical and responsible sort of person, he loves listening to NPR. After ten years of marriage, I am starting to appreciate and enjoy some of the show, however the repetitive news stories and fund drives deaden my creativity. So while some NPR was listen to, after all this is a marriage and compromise must be struck, audiobooks were utilized. The Hobbit was listened to twice as it is my sons favorite; then we moved on to the Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

"Desolate mile after desolate mile, she found her thoughts were doing the same as the trees outside the car window, rushing past in an unfocused blur."
~Taken in the Woods by Sarah Richards

While enjoying Tolkien's books, the route we took is one I know well. It is comprised of trees and then really flat land. Land that stretches out until the horizon becomes were the world curves away. Not desolate, but predictable and a bit boring. So, I spent time developing and creating new patterns for Snoflake Stitchery.

Now schools has begun again. My house is no longer filled with the constant sound effects of Lego creations. The living room of no longer a minefield of Hotwheels. It is quite. The quiet I longed for during the summer. Quiet to work on my book. Quiet to sketch new designs. Quiet to hear my self think. Now I long to hear my son's voice during the middle of the day.

"We won't be able to change the past, only how we react
to a similar situation when it comes up in the future."
~Drowned by Fear by Sarah Richards

Time flies past so don't waste it by wishing, just enjoy what is happening.

A photo posted by Sarah (@sarahjorichards) on Jun 23, 2015 at 10:55am PDT