Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Holiday Dinner - December 25, 2013

We didn't really plan to have a big dinner for the holiday, but it sure turned out to be a feast.
We had a baked organic whole chicken infused with homemade bone broth (via syringe) & rubbed with rosemary, thyme, garlic salt and pepper; chicken gravy; wild rice blend and millet with lots of butter; dressing made of chopped chicken offal (the heart, gizzard and liver from the chicken), wild rice blend, millet, cranberries, apples, olives, gluten-free croutons, walnuts and pine nuts); homemade tapioca pudding with apples and cream; gluten-free rolls with lots of butter; and, milk.

Homemade cranberry sauce

Dressing before meat, rice, millet and broth are added.
Tapioca with apples (forgot to add the cream for the pictures)
I should have taken the lid off of the cranberry sauce for this shot ...

I. Am. Stuffed.
Lots of yummy leftovers will commence tomorrow.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Resistant Starch Experiment and Kefir

I have spent most of the morning reading up on resistant starch (which is NOT a real starch, it is a fiber.) I got interested recently in it when Steve Cooksey (The Diabetes Warrior) started posting about his experiments with it and where he got the idea. So, I have been reading more about it all on Richard Nikoley's blog, Feed The Animal. I am going to start on it and by next month, I will have my mom on it. I am not diabetic, but she is. The LCHF (adapted Paleo) lifestyle has done wonders for both of us. But, this may help a bit more. I am starting with 1 tablespoon of Bob's Red Mill Unmodified Potato Starch a day and will work my way up to 3 or 4. I am splitting it up. A teaspoon, 3 times a day, mixed in liquid. Right now, I have 1 teaspoon in my milk kefir with vanilla and maple syrup. I'll have some in water later and also in my milk with dinner. Potato starch has no real flavor, so can be put in many things easily. I think this would help a lot of people to add this to their food, as it works a bit like a pre-biotic and helps feed the pro-biotics in your gut. Most of us, at some point in our lives, took antibiotics and killed most (if not all) the good bacteria in our bodies and absolutely HAVE to re-populate them to thrive. Grocery-store yogurt WILL NOT do it. (If you are outside of the US and Bob's Red Mill is cost prohibitive, I think Encona Farina is the equivalent in the UK - from what I read on the Feed The Animal blog comments.)

As for my milk kefir. I've had it hibernating in the fridge since my farmer dried up his last cow. The other is due in January, so hopefully, I will start getting colostrum and then milk soon after from them. But, I have missed my kefir. So, I just changed out the milk. The kefir is a bit more sour than I like, but still very good. The weird thing is, the jar that had raw milk had HUGE kefir grains. The jar that had pasteurized (Straus Whole Milk) hadn't grown at all. That is after more than a month in the fridge. My grains had gotten used to the raw and thrived on it.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Dinner - 12/15/2013

I am new to eating cauliflower. So, when I got a bunch of purple cauliflower the other day, I was stumped as to how I wanted to cook it. Then, someone posted creamed cauliflower on their timeline and I thought I might try something like that! I decided to do a search on something similar and came up with this recipe: Mashed Cauliflower and Cheese 
I adapted it slightly for the ingredients I had on hand, mainly the cheese. I was out of Cheddar, so I used about 1/4 cup of Organic Valley Shredded Mexican Blend and 2 wheels of Babybel Original cheese. I also didn't have sour cream, so I topped it with crème fraîche!
It turned out pretty good! We had it with local grass-fed beef cross rib roast. Soooo good.


Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving Dinner 2013

Although we don't really 'celebrate' Thanksgiving here, we did make up a nice dinner tonight.
Turkey thighs stuffed with fresh sage, rosemary and thyme. Garnet yams with lots of butter. Green beans, pearl onions, Granny Smith apples, dried peppers, dried tomatoes all steamed together. With milk. And, a dessert of sliced Pink Lady apples in a dip made of pumpkin pie filling, mascarpone, Crème fraîche, cinnamon and ginger and topped with walnuts and raisins.
MMMMMMMmmmmmm.





Saturday, October 12, 2013

Peppery Bacon Squash recipe

This was a simple, quick recipe to use up a couple of little green summer squashes before they went bad. Just 3 ingredients!

1/2 lb. bacon, cut in 3-inch lengths
2 small summer squashes, cut in 1/2-in slices
1/4-cup grated pepper jack cheese

Fry bacon in cast-iron pan until crispy, on medium heat. Lower heat, then add squash. Cook until squash is tender and slightly browned, stirring occasionally. Turn onto plate. Top with cheese. The heat from the bacon and squash will melt the cheese nicely.

This was really good and served one. Moi!
 photo 005_zpse8283772.jpg

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Milk Kefir

Well, I have finally ventured into milk kefir. I started out trying to use the starter cultures that you can find in the store. But, that got expensive since they don't really multiply well. I purchased real milk kefir grains about two weeks ago. They arrived last week. I covered them in raw whole milk and set them on my counter. Today, I finally had the time to do something with them. I may have left them a little longer than necessary, but they seem happy. They've multiplied already! As I said, I may have left them a bit too long - the kefir is slightly cheesy-flavored, but otherwise good.

I started off with a bit over 1 tablespoon of grains. I split them among 4 jars. Covered each with 1 cup of raw whole milk. Set on the counter for 5 days at room temperature.
They finally decided to 'set' yesterday and thicken nicely.
Today, I strained the grains from the kefir. Do not use metal utensils as the grains won't be happy.
Just allow the kefir to drain. Don't mash it through the strainer. You don't want to lose too many 'baby' kefir grains.
You should have thick and creamy kefir. It's about the same consistency as runny yogurt, but so much better for you!
You should have more grains than when you started. Mine multiplied slightly. I ended up putting some in another jar. So, I now have 5 jars on the counter for my next batch.
Milk kefir is very versatile and one of the best ways to get probiotics. You can drink it as-is, mix in fruit, honey or vanilla (or other extracts to your taste), use in smoothies, cold soups and much more. You can also use it in baking and other cooking in place of milk, but you will lose much of the probiotics due to heating.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Barbecue!

I has BBQ!!! I bought it the other day, but tonight is the first time it's been 'fired' up! About 10 more minutes of the coals heating up and I'll be putting some spicy ribs on the grill! Can't wait! And, no lighter fluid poison is being used. Electric lighter like we had when I was a kid. I was stupid and sold the old one (which still worked at 40+ years old!!!) a few years ago, thinking I would never get a barbecue ... luckily, they still make them and it looks identical to the old one!
OMG! This was sooooo good. And, soooo juicy & tender!
I always had an aversion to BBQ'd meats growing up. Everyone I knew made them so messy and slathered them with sauce. I hated it. But this! We will be barbecuing often. Lots of experimenting to do! Mmm.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Dinner - June 2, 2013

We decided to have breakfast for dinner. And, it was so good!
There was enough flour left in the bag of Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix for 4 gluten-free pancakes. So we each had 2. My mom added pine nuts to the batter. Loved that little bit of crunch. Topped with lots of butter and maple syrup!
I made this to go with the pancakes - Maple Chili Bacon SOOOOO good!
The butter melted far too quickly to get a good picture!
And, of course, a glass of raw milk!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Good Health Articles - May 10, 2013

THE SEED OF THE DAY – Exotics in the Garden: Blue Flax – Please note that in the Landreth Catalog and on the...

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  2h
THE SEED OF THE DAY – Exotics in the Garden: Kohlrabi, Purple Vienna –...
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  4h
THE SEED OF THE DAY – Exotics in the Garden: Salsify, Mammoth Sandwich Island –...

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5h
THE SEED OF THE DAY – Exotics in the Garden: Rutabaga, American Purple Top –...

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Food Recalls - May 10, 2013

Nestlé USA Announces Voluntary Recall of Select Varieties/Production Codes of California Pizza Kitchen® and DiGiorno® Frozen Pizzas

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Cargill’s Animal Nutrition Business Conducts Voluntary Recall of Lamb Feed

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  California Firm Recalls Ready-To-Eat Smoked Pork Sausage Products Produced Without the Benefit of Inspection

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Dairy Fresh Conducts Voluntary Recall of IGA® Brand “Vanilla & Chocolate” 1.75 Quart Ice Cream Because Package May Contain Undeclared Allergens (Almonds, Coconut, Soy)

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Krinos Foods, LLC. is Expanding its April 28, 2013 Recall to Include Additional Expiration Dates Jan 01-2014 to Jun 01-2014 of Tahini Products Because of Possible Health Risk

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Smart & Final Expands Recall to Include Additional Production DatesAllergy Alert - Undeclared Wheat, Milk and Eggs in La Romanella Tri-Color Cheese Tortellini

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Hannaford Supermarkets Issues Allergy Alert for Two Bakery Cookie Products That May Contain Undeclared Nuts

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Louisiana Firm Recalls Stew Products Due To Misbranding and Undeclared Allergens

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California Firm Recalls Pork Pie Products Due to Misbranding and Undeclared Allergens

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Monday, May 6, 2013

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Squash Hash with Fried Eggs Recipe

I got the idea for this recipe from Cave Girl Eats on Facebook. I saw her picture and had to make it - with my own variations!

3 strips bacon - diced
2 eggs (I actually used 2 chicken and 2 dove eggs this time)
½ small squash (I used Carnival, but Acorn, yellow or other would do) - de-seeded and diced
1 Jalapeño Pepper - de-seeded and diced
¼ onion - diced
Cumin - to taste
Butter


Cook bacon (I baked mine - 350°F. for 30 minutes, until crisp).

Heat butter in 2 small cast iron pans.
In one, fry onion until transluscent. Add squash and Jalapeño. Stir in bacon. Cook until squash is tender. Stir in cumin to taste.
In the other pan, fry the eggs. Sprinkle with cumin to taste.
Plate the hash and top with eggs (I'm adjusting to a new stove, so the eggs got a little crispy!)

This served one - moi!

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Dinner - May 4, 2013

Tonight's dinner was broiled in my brand new countertop oven. It was soooo good. It was organic Llano Seco pork shoulder steaks, topped with Trader Joe's 21 Spice Salute and chipotle powder. It was joined by organic tomato and cucumber slices topped with Crave Brothers Mascarpone and paprika.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Food Recalls - May 2, 2013

Orville Redenbacher’s® Classic Kettle Korn Ready-to-Eat Popcorn Recalled Due to Undeclared Milk Allergen

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Maple View Farm Recalls Three Flavors of Ice Cream Because of Undeclared Allergens

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Smart & Final Issues Recall - Allergy Alert Undeclared Wheat, Milk and Eggs in La Romanella Tri-Color Cheese Tortellini

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Krinos Foods, LLC. Voluntarily Recalls Tahini Jars Because of Possible Health Risk

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Prime Food USA Issues an Alert on Listeria in Latis Brand Herring Fillet "Antalja" in Oil and Latis Brand Herring Fillet in Oil with Spices

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Carson’s Deli & Bakery Issues Allergy Alert For Undeclared Allergens In Assorted Cookie Pack And Fudge Brownie Cookie

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New York Firm Recalls Fresh Mozzarella with Chorizo & Cilantro Products Due to Misbranding and Undeclared Allergen

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Missouri Firm Recalls Meatballs Due To Possible Listeria Monocytogenes Contamination

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Good Health Articles - May 2, 2013

Planting Blueberries & Growing Blueberries 

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2h

THE SEED OF THE DAY – The Straight 8 Cucumber –...
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7m
THE SEED OF THE DAY – The Muncher Burpless Cucumber –...

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Making Butter, This is so neat

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  2h

THE SEED OF THE DAY – A Child-sized Cucumber: The Mexican Sour Gherkin –...

Friday, April 26, 2013

Food Recalls - April 26, 2013

Natura Pet Expands Voluntary Recall of Dry Pet Foods Due to Possible Health Risk.

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Go Max Go Foods LLC Issues Voluntary Withdrawal of "Snap!," "Cleo's," "Jokerz," "Twilight," "Buccaneer", "Thumbs Up" and "Mahalo" Due to Possible Health Risk

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7th Heaven Bakeries Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Egg, Soy And Milk in Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

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Good Health Articles - April 26, 2013

April 23, 2013 THE SEED OF THE DAY – Vegetable Spaghetti Squash –...

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Is It Primal? – Soda Water, Listerine, Tamarind, and Other Foods Scrutinized

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THE SEED OF THE DAY – The Pink Banana Squash –...

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Seal Plastic Bags with Aluminum Foil and an Iron

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12 Lifesaving Canning Rules

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5h

THE SEED OF THE DAY – Waltham Butternut Squash –...
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Raw Strawberry Ice 'Cream' Recipe

I found this recipe here: 3 Ingredient Ginger Strawberry Sorbet
This was so good. I followed the recipe exactly. I need a more powerful blender! I had to stop and start several times to push the frozen fruit down. But, in the end, it was worth it!
I also topped it with cacao nibs.
This made 2 servings.
It was served with yummy lamb steak and raw milk.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Chia Tea Recipe

Original recipe found here: Chia Tea

This turned out really good, and I will make it again. Often.

I heated 1 pint of filtered water to 150˚F. After pouring water into pint jar, I added one teabag to steep (use any flavor you like!) for about 20 minutes. Make sure to remove teabag before adding chia seeds (or they will stick to it as I found out!)
Add 1 tablespoon of chia seeds (depending on how thick you want it, you can add a bit more) and 1 tablespoon (or to taste) of raw local honey and stir until honey is dissolved.
Screw on jar cap and cool in refrigerator or until chia seeds have expanded.
I left mine in the fridge overnight for a nice cold drink.
Sorry about the flash. The camera was acting up again.