This was an experiment, so measurements are totally unreliable. Sorry!
3 parsnips, chopped into 1" or less pieces
1-2 potatoes, chopped into 1" cubes
1 carrot, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 cl garlic, minced
enough coconut oil to cover the pan/cook some veg in
salt to taste
1/2 c coconut milk, maybe less
splash chicken broth, optional
pinch smoked paprika
pinch mustard and cumin seeds
2 tsp or so curry powder
pinch of chopped cilantro
Boil root veggies until not-quite-soft, drain.
Saute onion and garlic in oil, add spices, stir to make paste
Add in the root veggies and coconut milk
If you need more liquid as it cooks add more coconut milk or chicken broth, you want it a loose curry but NOT soup or stew if that makes sense. Cook until veggies are cooked/soft and flavors meld. Add cilantro if you haven't yet. Serve over rice.
Book Giveaway...A book by....me!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
We're Only Human
by Gretchen Davies
Giveaway ends June 01, 2017.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Cheesecake!
Cheesecake! Yes, cheesecake, as long as you can have cultured milk products, nuts, coconut, and honey. We'll wait and see if I can.
Winner winner chicken dinner...err...dessert. OMG it was heavenly and even non-GAPS people gobbled it up so you know it's good.
You first need homemade cultured sour cream and cream cheese. Basically make homemade yogurt and left sit extra-long in an incubator for sour cream (24 hours) , and then use your leftover yogurt for cream cheese; Alton Brown has a good recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/yogurt-cheese-recipe.
Cheesecake Crust:
1/4- 1/2 c pecans - put in food processor to make into flour. Almond might work too but almond hates me.
2 c coconut, I use a super-fine unsweetened coconut.
1/2 c honey or to taste (I used a little less)
1/4 c oily mix- I mixed ghee and coconut oil
Mix in food processor until it resembles graham cracker crumbs.
Use muffin cups/liners or lightly oil (coconut oil) muffin tin - 12 total muffin cups.
Press in the "crust" on the bottom, you will likely have leftovers- enjoy, it's a good snack!
Pre-bake 325f 3-5 mins
Filling
Soften cream cheese- I had about 8oz or so
Add tablespoon or so of sour cream
add tbsp honey
add a few zesyts of lemon
put in mixer and mix until creamed, high speed, about 1 min. Add....
1 egg.
Mix slowly for 10 sec. and increase speed to high, mix 2-3c min until well mixed.
Spoon onto crust
topping:
Lemon Curd!
Follow any recipe you find online, but what I did was...
heat 2/3 c lemon juice
1/2 c honey
splash vanilla extract
over medium heat, not until boiling, just warm and well mixed. Add barely-a-pinch of salt and stir.
Whisk...
3 egg whites plus 1 egg and 1/4 c honey, until the color changes and it is well mixed.
Very very very slowly drizzle or spoon in the lemon mixture...do not curdle/scramble your eggs!
Add back to saucepan, cook on medium low stirring often until it coats the spoon without too much dripping off. Let sit and cool to room temperature, it will thicken
Dollop lemon curd on top of cheese mix on the crust, stir gently.
Cook 325 10-20 min, really it depends on your oven. As soon as the cakes are not jiggly, take them out before they cook too much and crack.
Let cool on counter 1 hour, place in drudge at least 2 hours before serving.
Winner winner chicken dinner...err...dessert. OMG it was heavenly and even non-GAPS people gobbled it up so you know it's good.
You first need homemade cultured sour cream and cream cheese. Basically make homemade yogurt and left sit extra-long in an incubator for sour cream (24 hours) , and then use your leftover yogurt for cream cheese; Alton Brown has a good recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/yogurt-cheese-recipe.
Cheesecake Crust:
1/4- 1/2 c pecans - put in food processor to make into flour. Almond might work too but almond hates me.
2 c coconut, I use a super-fine unsweetened coconut.
1/2 c honey or to taste (I used a little less)
1/4 c oily mix- I mixed ghee and coconut oil
Mix in food processor until it resembles graham cracker crumbs.
Use muffin cups/liners or lightly oil (coconut oil) muffin tin - 12 total muffin cups.
Press in the "crust" on the bottom, you will likely have leftovers- enjoy, it's a good snack!
Pre-bake 325f 3-5 mins
 |
| yummmmm |
Filling
Soften cream cheese- I had about 8oz or so
Add tablespoon or so of sour cream
add tbsp honey
add a few zesyts of lemon
put in mixer and mix until creamed, high speed, about 1 min. Add....
1 egg.
Mix slowly for 10 sec. and increase speed to high, mix 2-3c min until well mixed.
Spoon onto crust
topping:
Lemon Curd!
Follow any recipe you find online, but what I did was...
heat 2/3 c lemon juice
1/2 c honey
splash vanilla extract
over medium heat, not until boiling, just warm and well mixed. Add barely-a-pinch of salt and stir.
Whisk...
3 egg whites plus 1 egg and 1/4 c honey, until the color changes and it is well mixed.
Very very very slowly drizzle or spoon in the lemon mixture...do not curdle/scramble your eggs!
Add back to saucepan, cook on medium low stirring often until it coats the spoon without too much dripping off. Let sit and cool to room temperature, it will thicken
Dollop lemon curd on top of cheese mix on the crust, stir gently.
Cook 325 10-20 min, really it depends on your oven. As soon as the cakes are not jiggly, take them out before they cook too much and crack.
Let cool on counter 1 hour, place in drudge at least 2 hours before serving.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Kadoo Bourani or Afghani/Indian "Hamburger helper", GAPS friendly
As you can see, my kids had hamburger helper for dinner, at left. I never exactly loved hamburger helper, but cheesy-gooey-noodley-wheat-goodness looked appetizing, since I cannot eat it. I made an alternative, at right.
So...
I googled recipes for ground beef, and settled with using ground turkey in my recipe instead, but ground beef would work just as well. I just wanted meaty-goopy-goodness.
Kadoo Bourani is the pan at right.
Adjust cayenne to your liking...I like it HOT!
1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
splash coconut oil (enough to coat the pan)
1 onion, chopped
1-2 gl garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 ~14oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp garam masala
cayenne- I added a tsp but most will want much less spice.
1 cup cubed raw pumpkin or butternut squash
2 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp of a mix of curry powder and smoked paprika
pinch salt
1/4 c homemade yogurt (or full-fat coconut milk)
a few mint leaves (or 1/2 tsp or so of dried mint flakes)
Heat oven to 400. Put foil or parchment on a baking sheet. Mix squash, 2 tsp coconut oil, the curry-paprika mix and salt. Mix up and put on the ban and bake 15-30 min until tender.
Meanwhile, add onion, coconut oil to saucepan. Cook until translucent, add garlic, cook 1 min. Add ground beef or turkey, cook until cooked through, add salt and pepper.
Add tomato products to the meat mixture and mix well. Add turmeric, garam masala, cayenne. Mix and cook about 3 minutes. Add water if it gets too dry.
Add the baked squash/pumpkin to the meat mixture and stir, cook an additional 5 minutes to let flavors meld.
Let cool about 5 minutes. Drizzle with homemade yogurt and mint.
Enjoy!
So...
I googled recipes for ground beef, and settled with using ground turkey in my recipe instead, but ground beef would work just as well. I just wanted meaty-goopy-goodness.
Kadoo Bourani is the pan at right.
Adjust cayenne to your liking...I like it HOT!
1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
splash coconut oil (enough to coat the pan)
1 onion, chopped
1-2 gl garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 ~14oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp garam masala
cayenne- I added a tsp but most will want much less spice.
1 cup cubed raw pumpkin or butternut squash
2 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp of a mix of curry powder and smoked paprika
pinch salt
1/4 c homemade yogurt (or full-fat coconut milk)
a few mint leaves (or 1/2 tsp or so of dried mint flakes)
Heat oven to 400. Put foil or parchment on a baking sheet. Mix squash, 2 tsp coconut oil, the curry-paprika mix and salt. Mix up and put on the ban and bake 15-30 min until tender.Meanwhile, add onion, coconut oil to saucepan. Cook until translucent, add garlic, cook 1 min. Add ground beef or turkey, cook until cooked through, add salt and pepper.
Add tomato products to the meat mixture and mix well. Add turmeric, garam masala, cayenne. Mix and cook about 3 minutes. Add water if it gets too dry.
Add the baked squash/pumpkin to the meat mixture and stir, cook an additional 5 minutes to let flavors meld.
Let cool about 5 minutes. Drizzle with homemade yogurt and mint.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
cheesy cauliflower "rice"
Here's where we see if I can stomach aged cheddar! I sure hope so.
So I tried cauliflower "rice" once before, with some broth and herbs and...ok...yes, I ate it. Did I like it? No, but I ate it cause I had worked hard to make it.
So I'm at Costco and my husband sees pre-riced cauliflower and buys it. I was not going to lose out on fake-o rice because I love love love rice and like cauliflower, despite my barely-edible first cauliflower rice attempt.
So this is one of those I-didn't-measure-a-thing recipes because it was a total experiment I figured would go horribly awry. And it....turned out tasty!
1/2 bag costco riced cauliflower, or one head cauliflower, riced (food processors work well)
1 tbsp ghee, use most to coat a baking dish (I used a 9' round one)
1/2 cup aged white cheddar or regular aged cheddar
spoonful homemade yogurt
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch garlic powder
scant pinch cayenne (optional)
splash chicken broth.
Heat oven to 400f.
oil up the pan using about half the ghee or so, until coated.
In a mixing bowl, combine all other ingredients except broth, reserving a bit of cheese. Mix well so the yogurt mixes in. Sprinkle remaining bit of cheese on top. Add a splash of chicken broth, just enough to coat the baking dish just barely. Too much broth = cauliflower soup, too little=burnt dinner.
Bake, covered first 10 mins, stir gently, bake uncovered for 10-20 more minutes, until cheese is melty and cauliflower just gets a little golden-brown in spots...this adds a nuttiness.
And...serve!
So I tried cauliflower "rice" once before, with some broth and herbs and...ok...yes, I ate it. Did I like it? No, but I ate it cause I had worked hard to make it.
So I'm at Costco and my husband sees pre-riced cauliflower and buys it. I was not going to lose out on fake-o rice because I love love love rice and like cauliflower, despite my barely-edible first cauliflower rice attempt.
So this is one of those I-didn't-measure-a-thing recipes because it was a total experiment I figured would go horribly awry. And it....turned out tasty!
1/2 bag costco riced cauliflower, or one head cauliflower, riced (food processors work well)
1 tbsp ghee, use most to coat a baking dish (I used a 9' round one)
1/2 cup aged white cheddar or regular aged cheddar
spoonful homemade yogurt
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch garlic powder
scant pinch cayenne (optional)
splash chicken broth.
Heat oven to 400f.
oil up the pan using about half the ghee or so, until coated.
In a mixing bowl, combine all other ingredients except broth, reserving a bit of cheese. Mix well so the yogurt mixes in. Sprinkle remaining bit of cheese on top. Add a splash of chicken broth, just enough to coat the baking dish just barely. Too much broth = cauliflower soup, too little=burnt dinner.
Bake, covered first 10 mins, stir gently, bake uncovered for 10-20 more minutes, until cheese is melty and cauliflower just gets a little golden-brown in spots...this adds a nuttiness.
And...serve!
Sunday, April 9, 2017
OMGhee
A great way to make roasted acorn squash, and it is GAPS friendly...
Cut squash in half.
Place on a baking tray and set oven to 400f.
Place in each half a squash the following:
1 tsp organic raw local honey
2 tsp homemade ghee
pinch salt, pepper optional
Roast 45 min or so until desired tenderness.
These are so much better than regular old butter and brown sugar.
Cut squash in half.
Place on a baking tray and set oven to 400f.
Place in each half a squash the following:
1 tsp organic raw local honey
2 tsp homemade ghee
pinch salt, pepper optional
Roast 45 min or so until desired tenderness.
These are so much better than regular old butter and brown sugar.
Saturday, April 8, 2017
GAPS spaghetti and meatballs
** if eggs and tomatoes bother you, don't eat this. Also, you can add parmesan if you can have it. I'm not "there" yet.
I love Italian food. It was my favorite cuisine as a child and I could eat pasta every day. Ok, in college, I did and gained 30 lbs, and then went on a daily diet of pizza.
I miss those foods. Enter much sorrow and crying here ____.
Eggplant-
Cut eggplant into 1'4" slices. Sprinkle with salt and let sit on a rack or plate with paper towels 15 minutes. (Meanwhile make sauce and meatballs) Then rinse eggplant well, Cut into noodle ribbons.
Boil water and cook..
1 carrot, chopped, until soft. Strain.
Drizzle olive oil in a pan just to coat.
Dice...
1/2 red onion
3 cl garlic
sauté until translucent. Add carrots.
Add salt, pepper, italian seasoning to taste.
Place in food processor until saucy.
Add sauce back to pan, add bay leaf, cook slowly.
MEATBALLS
In a food processor, mix up..
1/4 red onion (if large..1/2 if small)
1 cl garlic
handful or less parsley (to taste)
pinch salt and pepper
pinch italian seasoning
Add the mixture to 1 lb organic ground beef.
Add 1 egg.
Mix mix mix by hand.
Heat a pan, add oil if the meat is very lean. Cook up the meat balls, turning to cook evenly.
Add meatballs to sauce,
Heat saucepan and just barely coat with olive oil.
Add eggplant noodles and cook, medium heat, 30 seconds to 2 minutes until desired consistency, tossing often.
Pour sauce, meatballs over eggplant noodles. Garnish with parmesan if you can.
I love Italian food. It was my favorite cuisine as a child and I could eat pasta every day. Ok, in college, I did and gained 30 lbs, and then went on a daily diet of pizza.
I miss those foods. Enter much sorrow and crying here ____.
Eggplant-
Cut eggplant into 1'4" slices. Sprinkle with salt and let sit on a rack or plate with paper towels 15 minutes. (Meanwhile make sauce and meatballs) Then rinse eggplant well, Cut into noodle ribbons.
Boil water and cook..
1 carrot, chopped, until soft. Strain.
Drizzle olive oil in a pan just to coat.
Dice...
1/2 red onion
3 cl garlic
sauté until translucent. Add carrots.
Add salt, pepper, italian seasoning to taste.
Place in food processor until saucy.
Add sauce back to pan, add bay leaf, cook slowly.
MEATBALLS
In a food processor, mix up..
1/4 red onion (if large..1/2 if small)
1 cl garlic
handful or less parsley (to taste)
pinch salt and pepper
pinch italian seasoning
Add the mixture to 1 lb organic ground beef.
Add 1 egg.
Mix mix mix by hand.
Heat a pan, add oil if the meat is very lean. Cook up the meat balls, turning to cook evenly.
Add meatballs to sauce,
Heat saucepan and just barely coat with olive oil.
Add eggplant noodles and cook, medium heat, 30 seconds to 2 minutes until desired consistency, tossing often.
Pour sauce, meatballs over eggplant noodles. Garnish with parmesan if you can.
Muesli
Many years ago I spent a month in Austria in a home built in the 1600s stop a hill. There was a lady who came in daily with homemade Kaiser rolls, cold cuts, cheese, and muesli for breakfast.
I fell in love with muesli.
Here is a GAPS friendly recipe but measurements are approximate.
1/2c or more homemade yogurt
1/2 tsp + raw honey
1 tsp + unsweetened fine coconut
1 tsp+ finely chopped nuts (whatever your body can handle )
Pinch cinnamon
Mix and enjoy.
I fell in love with muesli.
Here is a GAPS friendly recipe but measurements are approximate.
1/2c or more homemade yogurt
1/2 tsp + raw honey
1 tsp + unsweetened fine coconut
1 tsp+ finely chopped nuts (whatever your body can handle )
Pinch cinnamon
Mix and enjoy.
Friday, April 7, 2017
Ghee
A 9oz jar of Ghee at my local store is around $10or so... A dollar an ounce.
And have you ever had ghee? If not, have you ever had clarified butter? Ghee is even better. It also has a high smoke point so it's good for frying/oven dishes etc. And it is solo rich. You can even make little butter desert balls out of ghee. And it makes Indian food fantastic.
Seriously, you haven't lived until you've had ghee.
A 1 lb box of butter runs you $2-6 depending on the manufacturer, coupons, etc.
That means 15-16oz of ghee for $2-6. What a steal of a deal!
All you need to make ghee is...
GHEE `8oz recipe
A slow cooker
Butter (duh)
Cheesecloth
A sterilized mason jar
Funnel (optional but works well)
Lid or even just some plastic wrap and a rubber band
Decide how much ghee you want. 8oz butter = just barely less than 8oz ghee...3,400 pounds of ghee would = you guessed it, nearly 3,400 pounds of ghee. So make sure your jar/jars are a good size for your soon-to-be-ghee. (Hey that rhymes!)
Turn on your slow cooker to the low setting. Add 2 sticks / 8oz butter, salted, unsalted, whatever you like. I prefer salted.
Put the slow cooker lid on but slightly off, or with a chunk of foil on one side to let steam escape.
Cook ~2 hours. you will see things separate and smell good smells. Don't let it burn though, but golden colors and even a tan color is ok.
Turn off slow cooker.
Grab some pot holders.
Warm your mason jar in warm water so it doesn't break when you add in your super-hot butter liquid. Make sure you dry out the jar, after warming, before adding butter.
Use a funnel lined in cheesecloth (or get hillbilly crafty and use half a plastic water bottle, but that isn't really advised) and place over your jar/s.
Grab your potholders to grab hold of the crockpot. I prefer to pour the butter into a pyrex measuring cup and then the funnel/jars because it means butter is less likely to pour all over the place. Plu if it lured on your hands or something, I bet it would not be very pleasant. Ghee is wonderful on your tastebuds but not so lovely burning-hot on your skin. Anyways...
So I pour the hot butter into my cheesecloth funnel, this strains out any chunky solids. Plus if you used salted butter, those solids might smell like fresh baked cookies, caramel, hugs and sunshine but they taste like those salt licks you give to cockatiels.
Once strained, put a lid on your jar. I've heard ghee is shelf-stable but I don't trust it and keep it in the fridge, plus then it is more butter-texture-like and I know it will be "shelf stable" in the refrigerator.
And have you ever had ghee? If not, have you ever had clarified butter? Ghee is even better. It also has a high smoke point so it's good for frying/oven dishes etc. And it is solo rich. You can even make little butter desert balls out of ghee. And it makes Indian food fantastic.
Seriously, you haven't lived until you've had ghee.
A 1 lb box of butter runs you $2-6 depending on the manufacturer, coupons, etc.
That means 15-16oz of ghee for $2-6. What a steal of a deal!
All you need to make ghee is...
GHEE `8oz recipe
A slow cooker
Butter (duh)
Cheesecloth
A sterilized mason jar
Funnel (optional but works well)
 |
| Just starting my ghee |
Decide how much ghee you want. 8oz butter = just barely less than 8oz ghee...3,400 pounds of ghee would = you guessed it, nearly 3,400 pounds of ghee. So make sure your jar/jars are a good size for your soon-to-be-ghee. (Hey that rhymes!)
Turn on your slow cooker to the low setting. Add 2 sticks / 8oz butter, salted, unsalted, whatever you like. I prefer salted.
Put the slow cooker lid on but slightly off, or with a chunk of foil on one side to let steam escape.
Cook ~2 hours. you will see things separate and smell good smells. Don't let it burn though, but golden colors and even a tan color is ok.
Turn off slow cooker.
Grab some pot holders.
Warm your mason jar in warm water so it doesn't break when you add in your super-hot butter liquid. Make sure you dry out the jar, after warming, before adding butter.
 |
| a not-so-pretty photo of my straining butter |
Use a funnel lined in cheesecloth (or get hillbilly crafty and use half a plastic water bottle, but that isn't really advised) and place over your jar/s.
Grab your potholders to grab hold of the crockpot. I prefer to pour the butter into a pyrex measuring cup and then the funnel/jars because it means butter is less likely to pour all over the place. Plu if it lured on your hands or something, I bet it would not be very pleasant. Ghee is wonderful on your tastebuds but not so lovely burning-hot on your skin. Anyways...
So I pour the hot butter into my cheesecloth funnel, this strains out any chunky solids. Plus if you used salted butter, those solids might smell like fresh baked cookies, caramel, hugs and sunshine but they taste like those salt licks you give to cockatiels.
Once strained, put a lid on your jar. I've heard ghee is shelf-stable but I don't trust it and keep it in the fridge, plus then it is more butter-texture-like and I know it will be "shelf stable" in the refrigerator.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
About Me
I am a mom and wife. I am a "country mouse", raised by hippies and who took on some of those tendencies...but then again who wants monosodium glutamate and preservatives in their food, etc etc? I'm a stay-at-home mom and an introvert who recently ran for office, has a total passion for education, and I homeschool....I am a published author (www.amazon.com/author/gretchendavies) and self-professed "foodie". I enjoy making art, writing and reading, gardening (although I've got a black thug), amateur genealogist, and travel-lover.
Why do I have a food blog?
I was lactose intolerant as a child and dabbled in food insecurity on and off throughout life. In my early 30s I became gluten-intolerant to the extreme. I am also severely allergic to raspberries (anaphylaxis, anyone?!?!) and get migraines from monosodium glutamate. Basically I have to be that annoying guest at a potluck or restaurant, scrutinizing every ingredient. I don't mean or intend to, but I have to. This causes a love-hate relationship with food.
What foods do I love, despite any of my intolerances?
Sushi
Pizza
Eggplant
Smoked/BBQ foods
squash of all kinds
fresh blackberries
fruit tarts
hummus
Anything Indian
salsa
guacamole
Carne Asada
Yogurt with cinnamon apples
anything spicy
Anyway, I was raised by hippies as stated, so I was not allowed to eat top ramen or kraft mac n cheese (but I always had it at friend's homes) because it wasn't "real food". However, my mom didn't exactly go to the extent of "homemade" as I did.
In college, I gained the Freshman 30, because I decided to go vegetarian. The College meats were all slimy and actual prison-grade, no joke. Plus as a kid I didn't care much for meats. We never had fish or lamb, beef was either burgers or boiled beef (literally beef in water with 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 potato)n which ended up as shredded beef tacos days later, or well-done under-seasoned prime rib for holidays, or chicken with bottled french dressing on top. So it was easy to go vegetarian, but this meant....PASTA. and pizza. My parents weren't fond of either and with unlimited dinner amounts (plus cookies!) I gorged on carbs.
I never liked food with unpronounceable ingredients, though.
When I got pregnant with my first child, I became very gluten intolerance which came and went for a few years and then stuck to where even a bite made me suffer. Potlucks, restaurants. etc became the enemy. I mean, who puts wheat in hash browns, chili, cheese sauce, and meat rubs, to name a few? Well I found out who.
I went fully gluten-free and began to cook at home basically exclusively aside from a visit to some Mexican place, as tacos on corn tortillas were generally safe. Oh, and Chinese...I wasn't sensitive to soy sauce which con taints wheat....but now I am.
I live rurally so all we have to eat is Subway, McDonalds, Pizza, a sandwich/fried Chicken type restaurant, and sub-standard, wheat in most everything Mexican. So...I ate at home.
And then....
Well I have a "t.m.i." post in this blog as to what happened but let's just say I went to the bathroom and was not pleased with the results.
So I went on the GAPS diet.
So far so good, but my system is finicky. I've had food poisoning probably 10+ times, including times when I lost consciousness, didn't want to open gifts from Santa, and ended up with major parasites where I could barely eat for months. I think all this damaged me.
So with all this, even prior to GAPS, I wanted to make real food at home. Why buy ketchup with corn syrup or...whatever with freaky ingredients when they can be made without?
Now, with GAPS, everything, even broth, is made from scratch. I've been on GAPS almost three weeks as of this posting and haven't opened any cans or jars or anything.
It is expensive. I can bake a whole chicken, with a side of asparagus and side of spinach, and spend $21 or I can go to Mcdonalds and get 2 big macs, 2 cheeseburgers, 10 nuggets, and 4 french fries for $10. What. The. Hell. Why is it a salad costs $6 but a burger, fries, coke, and other fried delight cost $5? Why does my grocery bill week up to a thousand, when others can spend 1-2 hundred? Oh, because frozen pizza, bread, cereal, mac and cheese in a box, etc are cheaper. Anything factory made seems to be half or less the cost of homemade. Even soda often costs less than water....and soda is made of water (and then some). Something ain't right here. I don't know how to solve that issue but it bothers me.
I will continue to shell out far too much money to eat healthy and eat at home, making food from scratch like people did 100 years ago. I feel 1,000 times better this way (and it hurts me that people often can't afford to eat healthy). I find a certain zen in creating my own mayonnaise or smoked meat or pickles the old-fashioned way. I enjoy getting my hands dirty in making my food, because I know exactly what went into it - love, and real ingredients.
I hope my blog inspires people to try "real" food, or to explore natal diet-based cures for what ails them. I'm not a doctor, no-sir-ee, but I believe food plays an important role in health. I also believe there is no one diet for everyone, as we are all unique creations of God, with different dietary needs and wants.
So...embrace real food. Listen to your body. Fall in love with your kitchen again.
Why do I have a food blog?
I was lactose intolerant as a child and dabbled in food insecurity on and off throughout life. In my early 30s I became gluten-intolerant to the extreme. I am also severely allergic to raspberries (anaphylaxis, anyone?!?!) and get migraines from monosodium glutamate. Basically I have to be that annoying guest at a potluck or restaurant, scrutinizing every ingredient. I don't mean or intend to, but I have to. This causes a love-hate relationship with food.
What foods do I love, despite any of my intolerances?
Sushi
Pizza
Eggplant
Smoked/BBQ foods
squash of all kinds
fresh blackberries
fruit tarts
hummus
Anything Indian
salsa
guacamole
Carne Asada
Yogurt with cinnamon apples
anything spicy
Anyway, I was raised by hippies as stated, so I was not allowed to eat top ramen or kraft mac n cheese (but I always had it at friend's homes) because it wasn't "real food". However, my mom didn't exactly go to the extent of "homemade" as I did.
In college, I gained the Freshman 30, because I decided to go vegetarian. The College meats were all slimy and actual prison-grade, no joke. Plus as a kid I didn't care much for meats. We never had fish or lamb, beef was either burgers or boiled beef (literally beef in water with 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 potato)n which ended up as shredded beef tacos days later, or well-done under-seasoned prime rib for holidays, or chicken with bottled french dressing on top. So it was easy to go vegetarian, but this meant....PASTA. and pizza. My parents weren't fond of either and with unlimited dinner amounts (plus cookies!) I gorged on carbs.
I never liked food with unpronounceable ingredients, though.
When I got pregnant with my first child, I became very gluten intolerance which came and went for a few years and then stuck to where even a bite made me suffer. Potlucks, restaurants. etc became the enemy. I mean, who puts wheat in hash browns, chili, cheese sauce, and meat rubs, to name a few? Well I found out who.
I went fully gluten-free and began to cook at home basically exclusively aside from a visit to some Mexican place, as tacos on corn tortillas were generally safe. Oh, and Chinese...I wasn't sensitive to soy sauce which con taints wheat....but now I am.
I live rurally so all we have to eat is Subway, McDonalds, Pizza, a sandwich/fried Chicken type restaurant, and sub-standard, wheat in most everything Mexican. So...I ate at home.
And then....
Well I have a "t.m.i." post in this blog as to what happened but let's just say I went to the bathroom and was not pleased with the results.
So I went on the GAPS diet.
So far so good, but my system is finicky. I've had food poisoning probably 10+ times, including times when I lost consciousness, didn't want to open gifts from Santa, and ended up with major parasites where I could barely eat for months. I think all this damaged me.
So with all this, even prior to GAPS, I wanted to make real food at home. Why buy ketchup with corn syrup or...whatever with freaky ingredients when they can be made without?
Now, with GAPS, everything, even broth, is made from scratch. I've been on GAPS almost three weeks as of this posting and haven't opened any cans or jars or anything.
It is expensive. I can bake a whole chicken, with a side of asparagus and side of spinach, and spend $21 or I can go to Mcdonalds and get 2 big macs, 2 cheeseburgers, 10 nuggets, and 4 french fries for $10. What. The. Hell. Why is it a salad costs $6 but a burger, fries, coke, and other fried delight cost $5? Why does my grocery bill week up to a thousand, when others can spend 1-2 hundred? Oh, because frozen pizza, bread, cereal, mac and cheese in a box, etc are cheaper. Anything factory made seems to be half or less the cost of homemade. Even soda often costs less than water....and soda is made of water (and then some). Something ain't right here. I don't know how to solve that issue but it bothers me.
I will continue to shell out far too much money to eat healthy and eat at home, making food from scratch like people did 100 years ago. I feel 1,000 times better this way (and it hurts me that people often can't afford to eat healthy). I find a certain zen in creating my own mayonnaise or smoked meat or pickles the old-fashioned way. I enjoy getting my hands dirty in making my food, because I know exactly what went into it - love, and real ingredients.
I hope my blog inspires people to try "real" food, or to explore natal diet-based cures for what ails them. I'm not a doctor, no-sir-ee, but I believe food plays an important role in health. I also believe there is no one diet for everyone, as we are all unique creations of God, with different dietary needs and wants.
So...embrace real food. Listen to your body. Fall in love with your kitchen again.
Salmon, egg salad, spinach and aioli
At first, I looked with yearning towards my husband's sushi lunch. Oh rice, how I miss you, and how cauliflower rice is an evil lie.
But then....
Let's just say on the GAPS diet I cook. A lot. Dot my eyes and call me Mary Jo Pioneer girl cause that's how I feel....homemade broth, homemade mayonnaise... I can't recall the last time I used something from a box/can. Yesiree, I live in a rural community, attend church a few times a week, homeschool my kids, and churn my own butter.
Anyway...
You can find my recipe for smoked salmon. I made 4 lbs or something crazy and have far too much leftover, and it doesn't freeze or keep well. And since I can't have lox and bagels or salmon hash or even creamy salmon bisque... I'm getting creative.
I made aioli yesterday because store bough condiments have soybean oil and corn syrup and a whole slough of things no one should put in their bodies (well, my opinion), and to get "real" versions at the store cost you a pretty penny.
Aioli is so easy to make and so versatile. Here is my recipe for garlic aioli, omit garlic to have a sort of mayonnaise, add other ingredients to suit your fancy.
My recipe is form The Heal Your Gut Cookbook by Hilary Boynton and Mary G. Brackett. Seriously, this cookbook rocks.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NQ5U5RY/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Here goes...
Garlic aioli
2 egg yolks
1 tsp dried mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced/ 2-3 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c coconut oil **
1/2 c olive oil
2 cl garlic, pureed or finely diced
splash of apple cider vinegar with mother or fermented veggie juice (optional, I didn't use it)
**you can also just do 1 cup olive oil.
Mix egg, mustard, salt, lemon, garlic in food processor until mixed and kinda syrup-y.
Melt coconut oil juuuust to melting and add olive oil and let sit just a few minutes so it isn't hot-you don't want to end up with scrambled egg aioli, yuck!
slowly drizzle in oil. It will fluff up into a mayonnaise texture. Chill, cover, serve.
Add dill to make dill-garlic aioli.
And for my spinach? I just added a splash of olive oil to a pan and threw in a bunch of spinach, pinch of salt and pepper, squeeze of lemon and cooked it. Then I added my salmon on top with a dollop of aioli.
Deviled egg salad-
6-7 eggs, boiled and chopped up
salt and pepper to taste
pinch paprika
dollop or two pf garlic aioli, enough to moisten/to taste.
But then....
Let's just say on the GAPS diet I cook. A lot. Dot my eyes and call me Mary Jo Pioneer girl cause that's how I feel....homemade broth, homemade mayonnaise... I can't recall the last time I used something from a box/can. Yesiree, I live in a rural community, attend church a few times a week, homeschool my kids, and churn my own butter.
Anyway...
You can find my recipe for smoked salmon. I made 4 lbs or something crazy and have far too much leftover, and it doesn't freeze or keep well. And since I can't have lox and bagels or salmon hash or even creamy salmon bisque... I'm getting creative.
I made aioli yesterday because store bough condiments have soybean oil and corn syrup and a whole slough of things no one should put in their bodies (well, my opinion), and to get "real" versions at the store cost you a pretty penny.Aioli is so easy to make and so versatile. Here is my recipe for garlic aioli, omit garlic to have a sort of mayonnaise, add other ingredients to suit your fancy.
My recipe is form The Heal Your Gut Cookbook by Hilary Boynton and Mary G. Brackett. Seriously, this cookbook rocks.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NQ5U5RY/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Here goes...
Garlic aioli
2 egg yolks
1 tsp dried mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced/ 2-3 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c coconut oil **
1/2 c olive oil
2 cl garlic, pureed or finely diced
splash of apple cider vinegar with mother or fermented veggie juice (optional, I didn't use it)
**you can also just do 1 cup olive oil.
Mix egg, mustard, salt, lemon, garlic in food processor until mixed and kinda syrup-y.
Melt coconut oil juuuust to melting and add olive oil and let sit just a few minutes so it isn't hot-you don't want to end up with scrambled egg aioli, yuck!slowly drizzle in oil. It will fluff up into a mayonnaise texture. Chill, cover, serve.
Add dill to make dill-garlic aioli.
And for my spinach? I just added a splash of olive oil to a pan and threw in a bunch of spinach, pinch of salt and pepper, squeeze of lemon and cooked it. Then I added my salmon on top with a dollop of aioli.
Deviled egg salad-
6-7 eggs, boiled and chopped up
salt and pepper to taste
pinch paprika
dollop or two pf garlic aioli, enough to moisten/to taste.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
homemade yogurt
There are 1,000,000 ways to make yogurt, some of which I may experiment with, but for now I'm sticking with the easiest-safest one using what I have on hand. Plus, it tastes really good. I mean it.
You need milk, well, duh. Unpasteurized is best but you can use regular old milk. I did. And you need some plain old plain flavor yogurt. Sure, you can use yogurt culture starters and I may in the future but my grocers doesn't carry it and I wanted yogurt that moment! So buy whatever plain yogurt you like best, but that also has lots of probiotics. You only need a small container.
You will also need a sterilized jar and equipment sterilized too- spoon, ladle, stainless steel pot, candy thermometer, measuring cup and tablespoon...all sterilized for safety's sake. I know, out in say Mongolia a hundred years ago no one sanitized a thing. But us Americans have super sensitive and weak tummies (which is why probiotics from yogurt are helpful) so let's not play mad pioneer scientist and end up in the hospital. Sterilize!
You need ingredient wise...
4 cups whole milk
2-3 tbsp favorite plain yogurt
Yep. That's it.
Pour milk into stainless steel pot. Why stainless steel? It heats the most evenly and at the right intervals for milk. Others will burn it. And if you're not careful, you can still scald or burn milk in stainless steel, it's just the nature of milk.
Warm the milk and stir stir stir. Keep stirring rather often (not constant, but probably a few good swishes every 30 seconds) and if your thermometer isn't the typical kind that self-hangs into your food, take the temp often. Either way pay attention to temperature, scalding, etc. DO NOT BOIL!
While cooking, prepare an ice-water bath that your pot can fit into. A sink works well.
"Cook" your milk to 180f. Turn off the heat and move your pot of milk to the ice bath. Stir gently and keep notice of the temperature.
meanwhile, scoop 2-3tbsp yogurt into a larger receptacle (as in a 2 cup thing. I used a pyrex 4 cup measuring cup.)
When the milk is 110f, s remove from ice. Scoop/ladle about a cup out and into your yogurt. Stir to combine, but don't get all super-agitated with it, just fold and stir to mostly combine. Add this milky yogurt back into your 110f milk and again gently stir to combine.
Now you can pour the runny yogurt stuff into a jar. If your jar is very cold, warm it with lukewarm water so it won't crack. My pot was huge and jar narrow so I poured it into my pyrex first and then the jar.
Cover your jar with the lid (do NOT seal, just loosely cover) or with some foil kind of scrunched around the lid area/jar mouth.
Place in your oven on bread proof, 100f. (Some use lightbubls and heating blankets....I use my oven. It's simple).
DO NOT AGITATE. Do not stir or move around. Just let it sit.....
Let it sit FOREVER....or so it seems. Anywhere from 4-10 hours. At 5 hours I carefully opened the lid and just barely, slowly tipped it to see it was sheer liquid.
Wait, why should we not agitate it? Agitation can break up the little bacterias or whatever and render your yogurt useless.
My first batch "fermented" in the oven, 100f, for 7 or 71/2 hours (I never set a timer.) Upon gently placing a spoon in, it was not quite yogurt texture, more like heavy whipping cream, but it was bedtime so I put it in the fridge overnight.
Next time I will let it ferment/warm/whatever you call it, maybe 9 hours?
(UPDATE: Bought an actual yogurt incubator and it says 7-8 hours but I usually do 10-12 hours).
The result? Thicker than yogurt drinks, but not quite Greek Yogurt thick. More like Yoplait? Well kind of, as they use starch and gelatin to make it more "together". Let's say its just at my limit of thinness, but it can be scooped up so it is firm enough, with a gentle sweetness and tartness.
It totally needs some honey and fruit, both which I cannot have, but being currently sugar-free (not even the fake stuff, not even fruit) I really detect the sweetness and enjoy it plain, out of the jar,
You need milk, well, duh. Unpasteurized is best but you can use regular old milk. I did. And you need some plain old plain flavor yogurt. Sure, you can use yogurt culture starters and I may in the future but my grocers doesn't carry it and I wanted yogurt that moment! So buy whatever plain yogurt you like best, but that also has lots of probiotics. You only need a small container.
 |
| yogurt...right before I taste-tested it. |
You need ingredient wise...
4 cups whole milk
2-3 tbsp favorite plain yogurt
Yep. That's it.
Pour milk into stainless steel pot. Why stainless steel? It heats the most evenly and at the right intervals for milk. Others will burn it. And if you're not careful, you can still scald or burn milk in stainless steel, it's just the nature of milk.
Warm the milk and stir stir stir. Keep stirring rather often (not constant, but probably a few good swishes every 30 seconds) and if your thermometer isn't the typical kind that self-hangs into your food, take the temp often. Either way pay attention to temperature, scalding, etc. DO NOT BOIL!
While cooking, prepare an ice-water bath that your pot can fit into. A sink works well.
"Cook" your milk to 180f. Turn off the heat and move your pot of milk to the ice bath. Stir gently and keep notice of the temperature.
meanwhile, scoop 2-3tbsp yogurt into a larger receptacle (as in a 2 cup thing. I used a pyrex 4 cup measuring cup.)
When the milk is 110f, s remove from ice. Scoop/ladle about a cup out and into your yogurt. Stir to combine, but don't get all super-agitated with it, just fold and stir to mostly combine. Add this milky yogurt back into your 110f milk and again gently stir to combine.
Now you can pour the runny yogurt stuff into a jar. If your jar is very cold, warm it with lukewarm water so it won't crack. My pot was huge and jar narrow so I poured it into my pyrex first and then the jar.
Cover your jar with the lid (do NOT seal, just loosely cover) or with some foil kind of scrunched around the lid area/jar mouth.
Place in your oven on bread proof, 100f. (Some use lightbubls and heating blankets....I use my oven. It's simple).
DO NOT AGITATE. Do not stir or move around. Just let it sit.....
Let it sit FOREVER....or so it seems. Anywhere from 4-10 hours. At 5 hours I carefully opened the lid and just barely, slowly tipped it to see it was sheer liquid.
Wait, why should we not agitate it? Agitation can break up the little bacterias or whatever and render your yogurt useless.
My first batch "fermented" in the oven, 100f, for 7 or 71/2 hours (I never set a timer.) Upon gently placing a spoon in, it was not quite yogurt texture, more like heavy whipping cream, but it was bedtime so I put it in the fridge overnight.
 |
| ice bath |
Next time I will let it ferment/warm/whatever you call it, maybe 9 hours?
(UPDATE: Bought an actual yogurt incubator and it says 7-8 hours but I usually do 10-12 hours).
The result? Thicker than yogurt drinks, but not quite Greek Yogurt thick. More like Yoplait? Well kind of, as they use starch and gelatin to make it more "together". Let's say its just at my limit of thinness, but it can be scooped up so it is firm enough, with a gentle sweetness and tartness.
It totally needs some honey and fruit, both which I cannot have, but being currently sugar-free (not even the fake stuff, not even fruit) I really detect the sweetness and enjoy it plain, out of the jar,
 |
| adding yogurt starter |
 |
| pouring yogurty-mik into jars |
 |
| putting into incubator |
Saturday, April 1, 2017
GAPS friendly chicken piccata
Here is one of those "measurements are approximate" recipes, but it is GAPS friendly.
1 lb chicken breasts. (You can make boiled ones or lightly sauté in ghee....which is tastier! add a pinch of salt and pepper to them.)
2 lemons
2 tbsp ghee (some to sauté chicken, some for the sauce)
few tbsp broth/bone broth
(if you can handle wine, a splash of wine really sets it off, but it isn't necessary)
spoonful of capers
handful parsley, chopped
2-3 cl garlic or to taste, chopped
1 shallot, diced, or equivalent amount diced red onion
zucchini noodles ** you can use a "zoodle" spiralizer or just use a peeler and sloooowly peel lots of zucchini noodles, using 3-4 zucchinis.
saute or boil chicken. set aside. cut into slices or bite sized pieces.
Saute in ghee, onion/shallot, garlic, parsley, capers. add juice of 1-2 lemon (depending on taste) and some zest. Add broth, (and optional wine) because the ghee sauce will turn to not-sauce quickly. Add back in chicken. toss to coat. Once everything is warmed through and coated, turn off heat.
Add "zoodles" and put a lid on the pan for 2 minutes. Dump pan contents into bowl and toss to coat noodles and mix everything up.
My take on zoodles....
I love zucchini and so it turned out very fresh and light and summery and healthy. However, zoodles aren't noodles. you don't get that salty al dente starchy tasty mouth feel noodles give, but it you can't have noodles, so be it.
1 lb chicken breasts. (You can make boiled ones or lightly sauté in ghee....which is tastier! add a pinch of salt and pepper to them.)
2 lemons
2 tbsp ghee (some to sauté chicken, some for the sauce)
few tbsp broth/bone broth
(if you can handle wine, a splash of wine really sets it off, but it isn't necessary)
spoonful of capers
handful parsley, chopped
2-3 cl garlic or to taste, chopped
1 shallot, diced, or equivalent amount diced red onion
zucchini noodles ** you can use a "zoodle" spiralizer or just use a peeler and sloooowly peel lots of zucchini noodles, using 3-4 zucchinis.
saute or boil chicken. set aside. cut into slices or bite sized pieces.
Saute in ghee, onion/shallot, garlic, parsley, capers. add juice of 1-2 lemon (depending on taste) and some zest. Add broth, (and optional wine) because the ghee sauce will turn to not-sauce quickly. Add back in chicken. toss to coat. Once everything is warmed through and coated, turn off heat.
Add "zoodles" and put a lid on the pan for 2 minutes. Dump pan contents into bowl and toss to coat noodles and mix everything up.
My take on zoodles....
I love zucchini and so it turned out very fresh and light and summery and healthy. However, zoodles aren't noodles. you don't get that salty al dente starchy tasty mouth feel noodles give, but it you can't have noodles, so be it.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Avleglemono soup, grain free, GAPS stage 2 friendly
My recipe is approximate but....
I had a small leftover chicken breast, more would've been nice but anyway...
3 C. chicken broth (I used 1c bone broth 2 c store bought)
chicken, shredded
1 carrot, diced
handful parsley, diced
s&p to taste
pinch of oregano
2 eggs
1 lemon
cook everything but the eggs and lemon until carrots are soft.
In a bowl, mix the eggs and lemon (like lemony scrambled eggs pre-scramble). Spoon in a little soup, stir, and slowly continue to temper it and not actually scramble the egg. Add egg-lemon-broth back into soup. Stir, turn off heat, eat.
Yes, rice adds another amazing layer, but it really isn't bad without the rice. Oh and maybe no oregano? GAPS is kinda quirky with herbs and spices. But I know parsley is allowed.
I had a small leftover chicken breast, more would've been nice but anyway...
3 C. chicken broth (I used 1c bone broth 2 c store bought)
chicken, shredded
1 carrot, diced
handful parsley, diced
s&p to taste
pinch of oregano
2 eggs
1 lemon
cook everything but the eggs and lemon until carrots are soft.
In a bowl, mix the eggs and lemon (like lemony scrambled eggs pre-scramble). Spoon in a little soup, stir, and slowly continue to temper it and not actually scramble the egg. Add egg-lemon-broth back into soup. Stir, turn off heat, eat.
Yes, rice adds another amazing layer, but it really isn't bad without the rice. Oh and maybe no oregano? GAPS is kinda quirky with herbs and spices. But I know parsley is allowed.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
kim chi or not...
So perhaps I'll get bad bacteria. I did once in a batch of beer, so it happens.
But right now I'm making kim chi. It's good to get fermented foods, especially on GAPS.
Did I mention I don't like kim chi? Why am I making it?!?!
I remember about 15 years ago I had amoebic dysentery (the rare but deadly kind) after going to Mexico. A roommate brought home a vat of kim chi "caue no one in the school cafeteria wanted it". Having been able to keep rice gruel down and that's it, I opened the fridge to smell... an un-covered vat of kim chi.
I've been warned of the smell even when it is fermenting, it will permeate the home.
Thank God my husband won't be home Monday.
But hey I'm willing to try homemade kimchi. if all else fails, it gave me something to do while waiting for my bone broth to cook, which also smells awful.
I'm suprised the kids aren't complaining.
So I just mixed the "paste" and I could use it as paint thinner or nasal spray. I coughed and sniffed and my eyes watered. And I LOVE spice and have found few foods to be "too spicy". But the scent of the paste is....shockingly spicy. My nose is still numb.
So I followed this recipe except I spaced and salted the carrots the last half hour. I also didn't use green onion.
http://minimalistbaker.com/easy-vegan-kimchi/
But right now I'm making kim chi. It's good to get fermented foods, especially on GAPS.
Did I mention I don't like kim chi? Why am I making it?!?!
I remember about 15 years ago I had amoebic dysentery (the rare but deadly kind) after going to Mexico. A roommate brought home a vat of kim chi "caue no one in the school cafeteria wanted it". Having been able to keep rice gruel down and that's it, I opened the fridge to smell... an un-covered vat of kim chi.
I've been warned of the smell even when it is fermenting, it will permeate the home.
Thank God my husband won't be home Monday.
 |
| shoddy photo of my kimchi |
I'm suprised the kids aren't complaining.
So I just mixed the "paste" and I could use it as paint thinner or nasal spray. I coughed and sniffed and my eyes watered. And I LOVE spice and have found few foods to be "too spicy". But the scent of the paste is....shockingly spicy. My nose is still numb.
So I followed this recipe except I spaced and salted the carrots the last half hour. I also didn't use green onion.
http://minimalistbaker.com/easy-vegan-kimchi/
faux pho
I have a friend from Southern China who makes THE BEST Pho. Really. It's delicious. But somewhere along the way I lost the recipe, and she is traveling so...
I needed pho.
I'm on GAPS intro diet and it's soooo boring, so I decided to "cheat" with a few subtle spices but aside from that I'm "in compliance".
Really, the pho should be slow cooked and I added the seasonings at the end because I wanted to save my broth for non-pho purposes, but really you'd use a star anise, some fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, knub of ginger, some garlic cloves....
anyways...
I chopped 1 yellow onion, 2 cl. garlic, a celery stalk and carrot (diced) and sautéed in very scant olive oil. I added salt and pepper.
I used a bone-in chicken breast and 3 drumsticks and added it to the veg.
I added hmm....8 cups water? and a bay leaf.
oh and I added a chopped parsnip cause I can eat parsnip.
Cook until meat begins to fall off.
Take meat off bone, set aside, strain out veggies.
(here's where you put the half the broth in your to-be-pho bowl, and the rest with the chicken bones and a little more water and cook the heck out of it....just google bone broth for a recipe.)
to the pho broth, add some spinach. (the broth should include some of your saved veggies and chicken meat). Add a few splashes of lime. If you want to cheat, add cilantro - I was out of cilantro. Add a grind (on a microplane) of ginger, and a few fennel seeds and a pinch of chinese 5 spice.
Add a slice of jalapeño if you want to "cheat" and need the heat. Sadly I only put one slice in as a cheat and couldn't taste it.
But nonetheless it was edible.
I needed pho.
I'm on GAPS intro diet and it's soooo boring, so I decided to "cheat" with a few subtle spices but aside from that I'm "in compliance".
Really, the pho should be slow cooked and I added the seasonings at the end because I wanted to save my broth for non-pho purposes, but really you'd use a star anise, some fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, knub of ginger, some garlic cloves....
anyways...
I chopped 1 yellow onion, 2 cl. garlic, a celery stalk and carrot (diced) and sautéed in very scant olive oil. I added salt and pepper.
I used a bone-in chicken breast and 3 drumsticks and added it to the veg.
I added hmm....8 cups water? and a bay leaf.
oh and I added a chopped parsnip cause I can eat parsnip.
Cook until meat begins to fall off.
Take meat off bone, set aside, strain out veggies.
(here's where you put the half the broth in your to-be-pho bowl, and the rest with the chicken bones and a little more water and cook the heck out of it....just google bone broth for a recipe.)
to the pho broth, add some spinach. (the broth should include some of your saved veggies and chicken meat). Add a few splashes of lime. If you want to cheat, add cilantro - I was out of cilantro. Add a grind (on a microplane) of ginger, and a few fennel seeds and a pinch of chinese 5 spice.
Add a slice of jalapeño if you want to "cheat" and need the heat. Sadly I only put one slice in as a cheat and couldn't taste it.
But nonetheless it was edible.
(t.m.i. disclaimer) Adventures in Gruesome Gut Land and GAPS diet
Disclaimer: "TMI" or "too much information" will be disclosed here, all about my guts. Fun times! So if you're more here to see recipes and KEEP an APPETITE I do suggest reading one of my other posts!
****************************** not for the faint of heart. ***************
*************still here? Ok then.....****
So let's backtrack 3 weeks. I went and weighed myself, dammit, 139 pounds. Not obese by any standards, and I'm also not all about being super thin, and it still puts me in the healthy BMI but...I just looked and felt unhealthy. I could be 139 pounds and healthy, but I didn't look or feel it. I looked 4 months pregnant and felt worse than that. Lots of bloat and fatigue and none of my pants fit. My shirts accentuated a beer-belly look I had going on.
Fast forward to a week ago.
****here comes the icky part.*****
Full disclosure here... I woke up and went poop and...the toilet bowl was bright red, like a super-heavy-period-day but....more blood. Lots of blood.
Now, when I have gluten I get a little blood, like a drop or two or three. And related to this, I am apparently not allergic to a single damned food, and don't have celiacs according to a blood test...however, to test positive for celiacs you must have been con suing wheat for at least 6 weeks. Given that whenever I eat wheat I get drips of blood and a vicious leg rash that itches so bad I end up inadvertently with a skin infection, its no wonder I'm "supposedly" not "celiac". Who'd want to have blood when whey wipe their bum, and a skin infection, for 6 weeks just to "prove" you have celiac? Not me.
So anyway back to the bloody bowels in the bowl thing. I thought ok calm down, its ok. So I have breakfast and stuff and....it happens again. Uh oh. Then it tapers off into regular old diarrhea. I start feeling realllllly tired and skip on church and rest on the couch all day which is impossible for me. The next morning I wake up and everything is ok down there. Phew! But I'm still a little tired so my husband goes to run errands and....you guessed it. I bleed a ton into the toilet again, twice in a few minutes. So we head to urgent care. Why not the ER you may ask? Cause that costs $500 and urgent care is $20. Both have doctors and labs and X-rays.
So I wait for three flipping hours to see the doctor. My gas is rotten. Farts never smell good but it is a smell I can't even explain except a skunk, who died in a port potty on a hot day, would smell better. No joke. I've smelled some rank things and this took the cake. Even when not farting, I just smelled. I bathed and bathed and just reeked. This was to my advantage though, as no one sat next to me in the waiting room. However, I was tempted to ask the triage nurse, "why have I been here three hours? Is everyone else worse off? I flipping have anal Ebola here, folks, and I smell worse than death."
Anyway I get admitted and have a CBC blood test and come out ok aside from my mild anemia but that's normal for me and besides, I'm pooping out blood, I'm gonna be anemic. I have an X-ray. I get sent home with no diagnosis or medication, just "liquid diet for a day, bring back your stool sample asap".
It's day 4, no stool results yet. No diagnosis. But I am finally (knock on wood) done losing blood! The X-ray showed I was full of sh*t. Really. But umm...that's been fixed. But when I geek out and look up the radiology encyclopedia, I have textbook-perfect "thumb printing" typical of colitis. Colitis makes you poop blood. My grandma has it. So I'm pretty sure that's part of my issue.
So I go and see an herbalist and get put on the GAPS diet.
I can't eat much since my stomach has shrunk over the past week for obvious reason, but I am perpetually STARVING. Sure, I will eat a handful of steamed carrots and a slice of turkey and be all OMG I'm so full I could burst, but then half an hour later I'm famished. But being that I can only have broth with boiled meat, well-cooked bland carrots, spinach, squash.... I'm hungry. Besides I can't eat every half hour because my tummy isn't ready for that.
So today I'm going to try and make bone broth. I've had lots of regular old broth and stock, now it's time to make my own.
I guess you detox and get cranky and tired and poopy on GAPS at first. And you get cravings.
Most people crave sugar. Me? No. But starches? Yes.
I guess it shows that I do eat kind of healthy (even before GAPS) because instead of the typical cravings for pastries and pasta and candy... I am craving...
butter chicken, hummus, and salsa. Yep, those are solo my cravings. I want them NOW!
Well, off to go boil some chicken and bones for a zillion hours!
****************************** not for the faint of heart. ***************
*************still here? Ok then.....****
So let's backtrack 3 weeks. I went and weighed myself, dammit, 139 pounds. Not obese by any standards, and I'm also not all about being super thin, and it still puts me in the healthy BMI but...I just looked and felt unhealthy. I could be 139 pounds and healthy, but I didn't look or feel it. I looked 4 months pregnant and felt worse than that. Lots of bloat and fatigue and none of my pants fit. My shirts accentuated a beer-belly look I had going on.
Fast forward to a week ago.
****here comes the icky part.*****
Full disclosure here... I woke up and went poop and...the toilet bowl was bright red, like a super-heavy-period-day but....more blood. Lots of blood.
Now, when I have gluten I get a little blood, like a drop or two or three. And related to this, I am apparently not allergic to a single damned food, and don't have celiacs according to a blood test...however, to test positive for celiacs you must have been con suing wheat for at least 6 weeks. Given that whenever I eat wheat I get drips of blood and a vicious leg rash that itches so bad I end up inadvertently with a skin infection, its no wonder I'm "supposedly" not "celiac". Who'd want to have blood when whey wipe their bum, and a skin infection, for 6 weeks just to "prove" you have celiac? Not me.
So anyway back to the bloody bowels in the bowl thing. I thought ok calm down, its ok. So I have breakfast and stuff and....it happens again. Uh oh. Then it tapers off into regular old diarrhea. I start feeling realllllly tired and skip on church and rest on the couch all day which is impossible for me. The next morning I wake up and everything is ok down there. Phew! But I'm still a little tired so my husband goes to run errands and....you guessed it. I bleed a ton into the toilet again, twice in a few minutes. So we head to urgent care. Why not the ER you may ask? Cause that costs $500 and urgent care is $20. Both have doctors and labs and X-rays.
So I wait for three flipping hours to see the doctor. My gas is rotten. Farts never smell good but it is a smell I can't even explain except a skunk, who died in a port potty on a hot day, would smell better. No joke. I've smelled some rank things and this took the cake. Even when not farting, I just smelled. I bathed and bathed and just reeked. This was to my advantage though, as no one sat next to me in the waiting room. However, I was tempted to ask the triage nurse, "why have I been here three hours? Is everyone else worse off? I flipping have anal Ebola here, folks, and I smell worse than death."
Anyway I get admitted and have a CBC blood test and come out ok aside from my mild anemia but that's normal for me and besides, I'm pooping out blood, I'm gonna be anemic. I have an X-ray. I get sent home with no diagnosis or medication, just "liquid diet for a day, bring back your stool sample asap".
It's day 4, no stool results yet. No diagnosis. But I am finally (knock on wood) done losing blood! The X-ray showed I was full of sh*t. Really. But umm...that's been fixed. But when I geek out and look up the radiology encyclopedia, I have textbook-perfect "thumb printing" typical of colitis. Colitis makes you poop blood. My grandma has it. So I'm pretty sure that's part of my issue.
So I go and see an herbalist and get put on the GAPS diet.
I can't eat much since my stomach has shrunk over the past week for obvious reason, but I am perpetually STARVING. Sure, I will eat a handful of steamed carrots and a slice of turkey and be all OMG I'm so full I could burst, but then half an hour later I'm famished. But being that I can only have broth with boiled meat, well-cooked bland carrots, spinach, squash.... I'm hungry. Besides I can't eat every half hour because my tummy isn't ready for that.
So today I'm going to try and make bone broth. I've had lots of regular old broth and stock, now it's time to make my own.
I guess you detox and get cranky and tired and poopy on GAPS at first. And you get cravings.
Most people crave sugar. Me? No. But starches? Yes.
I guess it shows that I do eat kind of healthy (even before GAPS) because instead of the typical cravings for pastries and pasta and candy... I am craving...
butter chicken, hummus, and salsa. Yep, those are solo my cravings. I want them NOW!
Well, off to go boil some chicken and bones for a zillion hours!
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
golden milk
I went to a restaurant yesterday, one I hadn't been to in years.
As some of you may know, I have severe issues with gluten. I took the celiac blood test, but if you haven't recently ingested gluten, it will say "negative" to celiac's even if you do indeed have it. To sugar coat my issues....since you can't take blood tests in the restroom, I didn't eat gluten before the test. But I know I have either very bad gluten intolerance or celaic's.
Anyways...
Years ago, I was less sensitive. I could even act as if my gluten-free living was a fad diet and splurge and eat a small cookie or a bite or two of pizza or cake and survive. I enjoyed Chinese food (containing soy sauce which has wheat) and beer and all that.
Nope. Not anymore. Even cross contamination can get to me.
So I went to a Mexican restaurant and got a salad. Salads can easily be made gluten-safe.
My salad had rice, beans, pork, corn chips, lettuce, pico de gallo, creamy cilantro dressing, sour cream. Safe right?
Yeah, sure, if I ate only the pico de gallo, sour cream, lettuce. They had a sign inside about gluten allergies and possibly cross-contamination, and advised to obviously not eat the wheat tortilla.
So my salad also came in a wheat tortilla showed at the bottom which I didn't see.
The salad dressing, beans, pork, rice all had gluten. Really? I have never added wheat flour to any of those ingredients. So much for the "fresh, healthy, from scratch simple ingredients" mantra they tote.
So....
I'm counting down the moments until I live in the bathroom. I googled the gluten-free menu as I began to eat my salad. I ate probably 4 bites of meat mixed with rice and beans, then went on over to the lettuce smothered in dressing when I read it...gluten. everywhere. I then peered down to see the wheat tortilla at the bottom. The tiny corn chips which have wheat, microscopically scattered in every bite.
My friend suggested Golden Tea. She has my same -uh- issues and says it isn't a cure but lessons the blow (pun intended).
So here's my recipe! You can use other "milk" if you can't have cow's milk, coconut milk leads well to the taste and I bet almond would too. (But did you know how much water goes into almond trees? Something like 25 gallons of water ends up producing one nut. Well one nut, some leaves and bark and stuff but you get the idea).
Ok now that I've scared you away from almonds (but they are so tasty!)...
GOLDEN MILK
1 c. milk
1/2 tea turmeric powder
1/8 tea coconut oil
1/4 tea cinnamon
1/2 tea honey
grind of pepper (helps absorption)
1/8 tea ginger powder or tiny bit more fresh ginger
cayenne (optional)
dash cardomon powder or one cardamon pod
Surprisingly, turmeric works well taste wise. I always think of spicy curry with turmeric but it's ginger cousin means it can be sweet or savory. I imagine the cayenne (optional) would make it savory and add a boost of the medicinal glory of capsacin. But I wanted sweet. It reminds me of Chai, really. Minus the tea.
Anyway, put everything in a blender (but if using a cardamon pod, don't blend it, leave it out till cooking).
Blend till, well, blended and a little frothy. Pour into a saucepan (add cardamon pod if doing pods) and cook over low to medium (depending on your burner) until the milk comes to a gentle and frothy scald but not a burning scald or boil.
Pour into a cup, let cool a bit (unless you like super hot burn your tongue stuff) and enjoy.
It is supposed to help with inflammation per Ayurvedic medicine practice.
As some of you may know, I have severe issues with gluten. I took the celiac blood test, but if you haven't recently ingested gluten, it will say "negative" to celiac's even if you do indeed have it. To sugar coat my issues....since you can't take blood tests in the restroom, I didn't eat gluten before the test. But I know I have either very bad gluten intolerance or celaic's.
Anyways...
Years ago, I was less sensitive. I could even act as if my gluten-free living was a fad diet and splurge and eat a small cookie or a bite or two of pizza or cake and survive. I enjoyed Chinese food (containing soy sauce which has wheat) and beer and all that.
Nope. Not anymore. Even cross contamination can get to me.
So I went to a Mexican restaurant and got a salad. Salads can easily be made gluten-safe.
My salad had rice, beans, pork, corn chips, lettuce, pico de gallo, creamy cilantro dressing, sour cream. Safe right?
Yeah, sure, if I ate only the pico de gallo, sour cream, lettuce. They had a sign inside about gluten allergies and possibly cross-contamination, and advised to obviously not eat the wheat tortilla.
So my salad also came in a wheat tortilla showed at the bottom which I didn't see.
The salad dressing, beans, pork, rice all had gluten. Really? I have never added wheat flour to any of those ingredients. So much for the "fresh, healthy, from scratch simple ingredients" mantra they tote.
So....
I'm counting down the moments until I live in the bathroom. I googled the gluten-free menu as I began to eat my salad. I ate probably 4 bites of meat mixed with rice and beans, then went on over to the lettuce smothered in dressing when I read it...gluten. everywhere. I then peered down to see the wheat tortilla at the bottom. The tiny corn chips which have wheat, microscopically scattered in every bite.
My friend suggested Golden Tea. She has my same -uh- issues and says it isn't a cure but lessons the blow (pun intended).
So here's my recipe! You can use other "milk" if you can't have cow's milk, coconut milk leads well to the taste and I bet almond would too. (But did you know how much water goes into almond trees? Something like 25 gallons of water ends up producing one nut. Well one nut, some leaves and bark and stuff but you get the idea).
Ok now that I've scared you away from almonds (but they are so tasty!)...
GOLDEN MILK
1 c. milk
1/2 tea turmeric powder
1/8 tea coconut oil
1/4 tea cinnamon
1/2 tea honey
grind of pepper (helps absorption)
1/8 tea ginger powder or tiny bit more fresh ginger
cayenne (optional)
dash cardomon powder or one cardamon pod
Surprisingly, turmeric works well taste wise. I always think of spicy curry with turmeric but it's ginger cousin means it can be sweet or savory. I imagine the cayenne (optional) would make it savory and add a boost of the medicinal glory of capsacin. But I wanted sweet. It reminds me of Chai, really. Minus the tea.
Anyway, put everything in a blender (but if using a cardamon pod, don't blend it, leave it out till cooking).
Blend till, well, blended and a little frothy. Pour into a saucepan (add cardamon pod if doing pods) and cook over low to medium (depending on your burner) until the milk comes to a gentle and frothy scald but not a burning scald or boil.
Pour into a cup, let cool a bit (unless you like super hot burn your tongue stuff) and enjoy.
It is supposed to help with inflammation per Ayurvedic medicine practice.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Bistro meal- fish in cream sauce, beet and sweet salad
One of my favorite meals - and a power-punch of vitamins and super foods to boost - is my beet and sweet salad or beet and sweet stackers. Today I paired them with fish.
First the Beet and Sweet recipe...
2-3 beets, peeled and sliced about 1/2' thick
drizzle olive oil
pinch salt and pepper
pinch thyme
pinch thyme
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced about 1/2" thick
drizzle olive oil
pinch salt and pepper
pinch of smoked paprika
6-12 oz spinach, more if you are feeding more than 2.
drizzle olive oil
your favorite vinaigrette dressing- my favorite is Trader Joes tuscan vinaigrette.
handful crumbled feta
preheat oven to 425.
Add beets, lined up in one layer, on tin foil in a cooking tray or sheet over tin foil for 30-45 min until tender....
meanwhile prep the sweet potato. They only need to cook 10-20 mins.
Check beets and sweet potatoes as they cook as they can get finicky- they go from crunchy-uncooked, to soft but firm and cooked, to potato chip crispy very quick. You want soft but firm riiiiight before potato chip.
Cool the veggies a bit.
Saute spinach in olive oil until wilted. Plate. Add beets and sweet potatoes (they look kinda neat in stacks but it is up to you). Drizzle on the vinaigrette- not as much as you would a salad, just some dribbles for flavor. Add feta.
Rice
Yup. Make rice. Whatever rice you like. Really, a wild rice mix would be awesome but I had jasmine on hand. Follow the directions of the rice to cook it.
Fish in mustard cream sauce
(sauce optional)
Fish of your choice. I used 4 filets of tilapia. Any white fish would work well.
Old Bay seasoning, or, lemon pepper seasoning, whatever you like. See the photo to know "how much" but I went right to the limit of almost too much for my taste.
salt and pepper to taste (depending on how salty your seasoning is)
olive oil to coat a pan, and lining the pan in foil is advised but not necessary
1 lemon - half in slices (place atop fish), the other half squeezed over fish before or after cooking, before is best.
Cook at 425 10-20 min (start checking at 10) till cooked thorough and flaky but not like jerky :)
Sauce...
Enough cream to coat a saucepan. Maybe 1/2 cup?
(you can use milk and a dollop of sour cream in a pinch)
salt and pepper
teaspoon of your favorite mustard (mine is Trader Joes garlic aioli mustard)
pinch dill
warm in a pan, whisking until blended and warm - don't let it boil'curdle/scald.
pour over fish or serve on the side.
THESE RECIPES ARE GLUTEN FREE AND NUT/PEANUT FREE. CAN BE GRAIN FREE (NO RICE) OR DAIRY FREE (NO CREAM SAUCE, NO FETA IF YOU CANT HAVE FETA)
pinch of smoked paprika
6-12 oz spinach, more if you are feeding more than 2.
drizzle olive oil
your favorite vinaigrette dressing- my favorite is Trader Joes tuscan vinaigrette.
handful crumbled feta
preheat oven to 425.
Add beets, lined up in one layer, on tin foil in a cooking tray or sheet over tin foil for 30-45 min until tender....
meanwhile prep the sweet potato. They only need to cook 10-20 mins.
Check beets and sweet potatoes as they cook as they can get finicky- they go from crunchy-uncooked, to soft but firm and cooked, to potato chip crispy very quick. You want soft but firm riiiiight before potato chip.
Cool the veggies a bit.
Saute spinach in olive oil until wilted. Plate. Add beets and sweet potatoes (they look kinda neat in stacks but it is up to you). Drizzle on the vinaigrette- not as much as you would a salad, just some dribbles for flavor. Add feta.
Rice
Yup. Make rice. Whatever rice you like. Really, a wild rice mix would be awesome but I had jasmine on hand. Follow the directions of the rice to cook it.
 |
| the recipes...fish, beet/sweet, rice. |
Fish in mustard cream sauce
(sauce optional)
Fish of your choice. I used 4 filets of tilapia. Any white fish would work well.
Old Bay seasoning, or, lemon pepper seasoning, whatever you like. See the photo to know "how much" but I went right to the limit of almost too much for my taste.
salt and pepper to taste (depending on how salty your seasoning is)
olive oil to coat a pan, and lining the pan in foil is advised but not necessary
1 lemon - half in slices (place atop fish), the other half squeezed over fish before or after cooking, before is best.
Cook at 425 10-20 min (start checking at 10) till cooked thorough and flaky but not like jerky :)
Sauce...
Enough cream to coat a saucepan. Maybe 1/2 cup?
(you can use milk and a dollop of sour cream in a pinch)
salt and pepper
teaspoon of your favorite mustard (mine is Trader Joes garlic aioli mustard)
pinch dill
warm in a pan, whisking until blended and warm - don't let it boil'curdle/scald.
pour over fish or serve on the side.
THESE RECIPES ARE GLUTEN FREE AND NUT/PEANUT FREE. CAN BE GRAIN FREE (NO RICE) OR DAIRY FREE (NO CREAM SAUCE, NO FETA IF YOU CANT HAVE FETA)
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Dog food. Yes, food for your mutts.
 |
| Sam |
Coconut oil, Omega 3s, fatty fish, lean meats, vegetables, vitamins, turmeric, pepper or cayenne, cinnamon, ginger. Anti-inflammatory. Add to rice or other grain.
Well then.
This sounded much cheaper and more humane than putting him to sleep or on heavy medication doses. so....
I make dog food. Not daily, as I supplement it with "regular" dog food as instructed, but he gets fed his special concoction at least once a week, usually more.
Today, for example, we had salmon for lunch (we as in the humans). The skins were left, so I boiled them in water and added rice (I was out of oats which are much better for dogs) and some diced carrot and parsley stems. I added some turmeric (maybe a teaspoon or so) and a few shakes of cinnamon and a grind of pepper.
Sometimes I mix it up with some barley, or other meats (whatever meat is going bad or has freezer burn works), and a little spinach or sweet potato or peas. I mix up my spice mixtures too, always some form of cinnamon, pepper, turmeric, ginger. And if I am using a lean meat, I add coconut oil.
My dog loves it.
He is getting cranky in his old age, and I'm sure the pain of arthritis is adding to it. When our friends come over though, they can tell if Sam had his "special happy food"or not as he is a lot friendlier and less of an anxiety case.
We've yet to get him to lose the excess weight but we just bought a ramp so he can get up into the car to go for walks. He doesn't like playing in his own yard (no strange dog pee on trees to sniff!) and where I live is not walk-friendly so we have to take him places, but now with the ramp and his special dog food, we can!
So see, making dog food is probably more of an old-fashioned thing. And it has benefits.
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