Week 3 - The Basics

This week's theme could also be called "Trash to Treasure".  I showed you how you can take every day, basic ingredients, even things you would have otherwise thrown away, and turned them into something great.  Quality that you can't buy at the store.  So many packaged foods these days have become single "ingredients" to us - a jar of tomato sauce, a quart of chicken stock.  We buy them because they are convenient.  In reality, they are made up of tons of ingredients, many of which we cannot pronounce and we would never, ever use if we were making it ourselves.  The sad thing is that making it yourself really isn't "inconvenient".  Maybe that's a happy thing, though?

Let's stick with tomato sauce and chicken stock.  I was browsing Ragu's website and came across this:

A smooth, flavorful classic sauce. Ragú Old World Style® pasta sauces meet FDA guidelines for healthy.*

* To be considered "healthy" by the FDA, pasta sauce must be low in fat and saturated fat, contain limited amounts of cholesterol and sodium, and contain a minimum amount of certain nutrients.

A little more searching and I found the ingredients for their traditional Old World sauce flavored with meat...

INGREDIENTS:

tomato puree (water, tomato paste), vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: soybean oil, corn oil), ground beef, high fructose corn syrup, salt, dried onions, extra virgin olive oil, romano cheese (cow's milk cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), spices, natural flavors.

Pretty much all of those things sound unappealing on their own, so how can they make up anything "good" mixed together? 

What about chicken stock?  It might be the most useful, versatile, and convenient "ingredients" you can keep around.  One of the better brands you can buy at the store is Pacific Foods Organic Free-Range Low-Sodium Chicken Broth.  Check it out:

Made with ingredients you can pronounce and with only 70mg of sodium.

We begin with free-range chickens raised on an organic vegetarian diet. Our mixture of simple ingredients is cooked together to create a foundation for a rich, delicious low sodium broth you didn’t have to prepare yourself.

Use as a base for more hearty soups, risotto, and pasta dishes or create your own amazing recipe.

And here are those "simple" ingredients:

Organic chicken broth (filtered water, organic chicken)
Organic chicken flavor
Natural chicken flavor (chicken broth, salt)
Organic evaporated cane juice
Autolyzed yeast extract
Organic onion powder
Turmeric
Organic flavor

You can't get any simpler than the first three ingredients:  (1) chicken broth (chicken broth is an ingredient in chicken broth?), (2) "organic" chicken flavor and (3) "natural" chicken flavor.  Then followed by five ingredients that I would never put in chicken broth.  But it tastes "rich and delicious" and costs around $3 a quart. 

It's time to stop listening to deceptive marketing and see that you can make food that is actually "rich and delicious" from REAL FOOD.  Real food cannot even be compared to the pseudo-food you find at the store.  These super easy recipes are at least 1000 times better than their store bought counterpart and cost very little to make.  They can all be made in large quantities and frozen for convenience.  I like to freeze the chicken stock and bolognese sauce in various sized containers so I can get out just what I need. 

Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Stock
The measurements on this do not have to be exact.  You can use ANY leftover vegetables to make a stock, even without the chicken.  Replace the chicken bones with beef bones (marrow bones, knuckles, etc.) to make beef stock.  Lamb bones to make lamb stock, etc. 

Carcus from at least one chicken
2 medium carrots cut into thirds
2 onions, quartered, unpeeled
3 stalks celery, cut into thirds
2 parsnips, cut into thirds
1 head of garlic, cut in half crosswise
10-15 sprigs each of fresh dill, parsley, and thyme.
2 teaspoons of whole peppercorns

Wash all vegetables, but leave unpeeled.  Place chicken carcus, vegetables, herbs, and peppercorns in a large stock pot and fill with water.  Simmer for 4-5 hours.  The only attention the pot may need is to skim the foam or "impurities" off of the top every once in awhile.  It's an optional step, but produces a clearer broth.  Once finished, pour the entire contents into a large fine meshed strainer suspended over a very large bowl or pot and discard the solids.  Allow the broth to cool and separate into individual containers.  Refrigerate overnight, skim any fat off the next day, if desired, and then move to the freezer.  This makes anywhere from 6-9 quarts. I will add some water to stretch the broth as far as I can.  Don't dilute it too much, though!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi
I use farro flour, because it's lighter in texture than whole wheat and is even better for you.  To find out why click here.  It may not be easy to find in a store. You can order it online here or substitute with wheat or spelt.  Traditional gnocchi uses white potatoes, but I use sweet potatoes, as they are loaded with vitamins and they help balance your blood sugar.  Don't worry, they are nothing like the marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole you see at Thanksgiving!  Made right, they are pillow-y little dumplings that are wonderful served with Bolognese sauce.  And they only have 3 ingredients to boot.

1 lb. sweet potatoes
1 -2 cups flour farro flour (whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat, or whole spelt work)
Pinch of salt

Bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees in their skin until soft (35-40 minutes). Remove the skins and mash with a fork or process the flesh in a food processer until all the lumps are gone. Mix the sweet potatoes, salt and ½ cup flour in a bowl. Flour the counter top with at least another ½ cup flour and dump the sweet potato mixture on top. Sprinkle liberally with more flour. Start to work in the flour by kneading and continue adding flour until you get a soft dough. The goal is to use as little flour as possible but still have dough that you are able to roll out.  Too much flour will produce a dense, chewy gnocchi, but too little flour will not hold together when boiled.  To test the consistency, pinch a little piece of dough off and roll into a ball.  Boil it to determine if you need any more flour. If it falls apart, add flour. If it’s too dense, add an egg to the dough.

Divide the dough into several balls and roll each one out to form a long rope (about the width of your thumb).  I find it easier to work with smaller pieces at a time. Cut into 3/4 inch pieces.  Flour a large baking sheet so you have somewhere to stage your gnocchi before cooking. Next you add notches to each piece so the sauce has something to grab on to.  You can do this two different ways:  (1) Roll each piece along the back of a fork so there are grooves or (2) poke two sides of each gnocchi long ways with the end of a fork (not the end with the prongs).  As you notch each piece, place them on the floured pan without touching each other.  Once all pieces are ready, you are ready to boil.  You want to do this in batches (maybe 3-4 batches for this size of recipe) so the gnocchi have plenty of room and do not stick together.  Drop the gnocchi into salted, boiling water one at a time (carefully, because they will splatter hot water).  Once they are all in for that batch, give it a quick stir with a large slotted spoon to get it off of the bottom of the pot.  They will float to the top after 2-3 minutes.  Once they float to the top, continue to boil for appx. 1 more minute. Remove with the slotted spoon into a serving bowl.  Repeat until all gnocchi are cooked. Toss with salt and pepper and a little olive oil.  Serve with bolognese sauce.

Other fun gnocchi ideas:

• Add any fresh herb to the dough before rolling it out.  Thyme or sage would go nice.
• Freeze them!  After you have notched them but before you boil them, arrange them on the cookie sheet dusted with flour.  Put the sheet in the freezer (make sure they are not touching each other) until frozen.  Put them in a ziplock back. You want to make sure and freeze them individually, so they do not stick together.  When you are ready to cook them, just drop them into the boiling water straight from the freezer.  Do not thaw them first.  Otherwise, you will end up with a mushy mess.
• Crispy gnocchi - After boiling, pan sear in skillet with oil or clarified butter until lightly browned.  Serve with tomato sauce or toss with fresh herbs and parmesan cheese.
• Crisp finely chopped pancetta or bacon in pan.  When finished cooking, add gnocchi and toss.  Serve with parmesan or gorganzola cheese.
• Gnocchi Soup - In a large pot, saute an onion plus any other vegetables you want (green beans, carrots, celery, bell peppers - any or all of this would be good).  Add about 2 quarts of chicken stock (preferrable homemade) and bring to a boil.  Add the gnocchi and cook as you would in water.  Do not remove them, though.  When they are done, just remove from heat and add fresh herbs, salt and pepper.

Bolognese Sauce
This is a very thick and hearty meat sauce that simmers for two hours, but requires very little effort.  For a 30 minute version use a can of organic crushed tomatoes, as opposed to the whole peeled tomatoes.  It won't be as tender and luscious as the two hour version, but still delicious.  If you save the rind from parmesean cheese, toss it into the sauce while it's simmering. It will add a rich undertone of parmesean that can't be beat.  I like to use a potato masher occasionally during the two hour simmerring period to really break up the meat and tomatoes.

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stock, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 lb. grass-fed beef
1/2 cup white wine (red would also work or use more stock, if preferred, in place of wine)
1 cup chicken stock, preferrable homemade
1 can whole peeled organic tomatoes, drained (Note: The best tomatoes are canned whole and the rest are ground and diced. If you want the best, go with whole).
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 cup milk or cream

Pour oil into a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrot, and celery and cook until they begin to soften. Next add the ground beef and garlic and raise heat to medium high. As the meat browns, break up into small pieces. Once the meat is browned add wine, if using, and turn heat back down. Allow the wine to cook down.

Meanwhile, crush tomatoes with your hands in a bowl or run through the food processer. Add them to the pot after the wine has cooked down a bit (only a couple of minutes) along with the chicken stock, herbs, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium low. Continue to simmer for an hour and a half, mashing and stirring occasionally with a potato masher. Add more chicken stock if the sauce, if needed. This is supposed to be a very thick sauce.

After an hour and a half add the milk and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over pasta.

Week Two: A Fresh Start

Everyone in America needs to see Fresh!  Don't you agree?  It was so satisfying for me to see such a positive reaction from everyone Thursday night after screening this film.  I began to worry earlier in the day as I thought about Debbie and Tonya setting everything up again.  I thought, "Oh, I hope it is worth it!". It was.  And if you want to introduce your friends to this guy....

...self proclaimed “Christian-conservative-libertarian-environmentalist-lunatic”, Joel Salatin, then you can purchase Fresh by going to http://www.freshthemovie.com/.  I paid $30 to purchase a license to hold a screening for 1-20 people and basically that got me the DVD.  Or, I would love to hold a screening for you if you have a small group to share it with.  The Fresh website is packed with information, links, books, education material, etc.  Check it out!

I have mentioned another film called Food, Inc., which is out on DVD for purchase, renting, or download.  There is book to compliment the movie called Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It.  Both the video and the book are incredible.  Food, Inc. is similar to Fresh; however, I think you will find Food, Inc. to be more shocking.  And the book is not what you may expect either.  It is comprised of essays written by various experts who cover topics that are not necessarily addressed in either movie.  Topics, such as abuse of migrant farm workers, biofuels, global hunger, and so on.  Joel and Michael Pollan both contributed essays to this book.  Joel's is especially inspring.

Other books I recommend along these lines are written by my hero, Michael Pollan.  Specifically, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto and The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.  In Defense of Food is my favorite.  It addresses the obsession America has with nutritional science and how we're always looking for that magical "it" factor that will make us healthy, yet we still have the highest rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity that we have ever had.  What is it about a carrot that is good for us?  Is the beta-carotene?  Is it the fiber?  We want to know so we can enrich our candy bars with it.  The book is thought provoking and a breath of fresh air from all of the marketing that leaves you utterly confused every time you walk within ten feet of a supermarket.  Michael gives very simple advice:  Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.  It really is that easy!

With that said, I want to share some great places where you can get food.  Real food.

Parker Farms - 12 month Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for meat and eggs.  The meat includes grass-fed beef, lambs, pastured chickens and eggs, and hogs.  Parker Farms is located in Richmond, MO, and has a drop off location in North Kansas City (1 block south of CVS on Armour Road).  They also go to Liberty and Overland Park.  The prices for full or half shares can be found on their website or within the information I had on the back table last Thursday.  Tom was nice enough to donate free eggs for everyone to try.  How did you like them?  Post your comments below!

Northland Naturals Coop Basics - This is a buying club that orders natural, organic bulk food at a cheaper rate from several different sources and has it delivered in a church parking lot at Green Hills and Hwy 152.  They order every four weeks from United Naturals Buying Clubs.  There are frozen, refrigerated, grocery, supplements, and personal items (like shampoo) available for purchase. Many items are comparable to what you would purchase at a Whole Foods Market. Currently the co-op receives a 10% discount, which goes up when our order amounts increase.  Ordering is done online and everything must be ordered in cases.  You are able to split cases, though, with other members of the club so you aren't stuck with more then you really need.  The splitting process is managed online, as well.

In addition to United Naturals, they order from Frontier every other month.  You may have seen this brand of spices at Whole Foods or Hy-vee.  The items from here are not ordered by the case, so that is a benefit.  According to the club coordinator, personal items, such as shampoo and sunscreen, are much cheaper from this company. 

Lastly, they order meat from Parker Farms and arrange a delivery at the church parking lot.  The timing of those order vary based on the demand from the club members.

There are many benefits to joining a club such as this.  You are buying the same items you would buy at the store (if you can find them) at the best price.  The more your group orders, or the more the group grows, means a larger discount.  You do not have to drive all over the city trying to find all of this stuff, because, trust me, there is not just one place you can go to get it all.  That's very frustrating!

If you are interested in this club, please let me know and I will send you more information, including the name and number of the coordinator.

Door to Door Organics - This company is new to the Kansas City area and operates in other markets around the country (Denver, Michigan, and the east coast).  They offer four sizes of boxes (itty, small, medium, and large) comprised of just fruits, just vegetables, or a combo of fruits and vegetables.  I signed up for a medium box of fruits and vegetables and will get my first delivery on Monday.  The cost is $38 per week for that particular box.  To give you an idea of what that buys you, here is what will be delivered to me this week: 

• 2 ea. Avocado
• 6 ea. Braeburn Apples
• 6 ea. Danjou Pears
• 5 lb Yams (I substituted this for tangerines)
• 6 ea. Kiwi (I substituted this for grapefruit)
• 1 ea. Broccoli
• 1 ea. Butternut Squash
• 1 ea. Carrots
• 2 ea. Cucumbers
• 1 ea. Kale
• 2 ea. Red Bell Peppers
• 1 ea. Red Leaf Lettuce
• 1 lb Roma Tomatoes
• 2 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes.

Several days before your delivery you will get a preview of the next week's basket.  You can then go online and substitute things up until a certain cut off point before your delivery if the basket contains items that you do not care for.  They do offer other grocery items, too, which you can add to your order, such as, dried pastas, spices, and even bread from Bread of Life bakery in KC.  The selections are limited, but I was still impressed.  They also offer a co-op discount, which is AWESOME!  If you have four or more deliveries at the same location then everyone receives a discount!  The boxes can still be customized per individual and each person pays individually online.  I think I heard several people interested in forming a co-op at IMX, so I will get more information from Door to Door this week about that.  They deliver to the north Kansas City area on Mondays.

Fresh Connect - Another KC based organic delivery company who works with local farmers, as well as, organic farmers in other states who may have produce not grown here.  I had a really good phone conversation with the owner, Kevin, who is based out of Lee's Summit, MO.  They have a very similar set up as Door to Door Organics with the different sized boxes, but they also offer meat and dairy.  Grass-fed beef, lamb, pork, and buffalo, as well as, milk and cheese from a certified organic local dairy farm.  They deliver to this area on Tuesdays.

Whew!  I think this week's post is more like a book!  I am continuing to make improvements to the layout of this blog so that information, such as what I wrote about this week, is more static and my posts are not quite so long.  It will also make it easier to locate this information if you need to refer back to it.  There will be links for recipes, FAQ's, etc. This Thursday is going to be fun as we will talk about building a natural pantry and I will be demonstrating how to make chicken stock and bolognese sauce.  These two things started me on my "kick" of making food myself instead of buying it at the store.  Easy, delicious and so convenient to have around.  Last, but certainly not least, here are the recipes for the treats Tonya and I brought last Thursday...

Sweet and Spicy Nuts and Kettle Corn

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

5 tablespoons agave nectar, divided

1/2 cup popcorn kernals

2 cups raw nuts (I used macadamia nuts and slivered almonds)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

To make the nuts:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 2 tablespoons agave nectar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in medium bowl.  Add nuts and toss to coat.  Spread nuts into a single layer in a glass baking dish.  Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove and cool.

To  make popcorn:

Heat coconut oil and 3 tablespoons agave nectar in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.  Add popcorn kernals and stir to coat well..  Cover with a tight fitting lid and turn down the heat just a bit.  As the popcorn is popping shake the pot periodically to ensure the kernals are cooking evenly.  When the popping stopes remove from heat and sprinkle with cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg.  Add nuts and stir with a large rubber spatula to combine.  Serve.

Crispy Rice Treats

1 cup brown rice syrup

2/3 cup nut butter (almond, peanut butter, cashew, etc.)

Healthy dash umeboshi vinegar

Healthy dash vanilla (optional)
3 cups brown rice cereal
Cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, roasted almonds, peanuts, or cashews to taste, optional

Over a medium flame, heat up brown rice syrup, nut butter, vinegar, and, if desired, vanilla, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth, thinned out, and bubbling a little.  Pour cereal into mixing bowl.  Add rice syrup mixture to it and blend well with a wooden spoon.  Pour into an oiled pan and flatten with a wet spatula.  Let cool.  Slice and serve.

Week One

Well, the series begins! Despite the technical challenges we encountered with the video, I think we got off to a great start. I was able to hear what was on everyone's mind so I know where to focus the classes going forward.

One of the recurring themes I kept hearing had to do with finding affordable sources for organic, local (where possible) food. I rattled off several resources for local farmers, CSA’s, and online ordering sites, etc. which I will add to this blog.

I, myself, am trying to get out of the supermarkets and find better sources for local, organic food. This class has really motivated me to jump in and start contacting some of these resources. I have been amazed at the response I am getting once I explain these classes and what I am trying to do. I have talked with Tom at Parker Farms, Lee at Acme Grains, and a new subscription based delivery service for produce called Door to Door Organics (thanks to Lee!). I can't wait to share all of the information this Thursday with the class along with some free pastured eggs given to me by Tom Parker.

We will definately be watching Fresh this Thursday, so I hope to see you there! In the mean time keep checking this blog as I continue to update it with recommended books, websites, and other media.

Recipes from last Thursday night:

Chipotle Lima Bean Soup
adapted from www.101cookbooks.com

1 pound dried baby lima beans, picked over and rinsed
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock (you can use all water, but the stock improves the flavor)
6 cups water
1 head garlic, top lobbed off to expose the cloves and loose skins removed
2 tablespoons coconut oil (butter or olive oil work, as well)
1 onion, halved top to bottom and sliced into thin crescents
1 to 2 chipotles in adobo sauce (see note below recipe)
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt
Squeeze of lime juice (optional)

Pick over the beans, looking carefully for any pebbles or dirt clumps; baby limas seem to be magnets for dirt. Rinse the beans, then combine them with the stock, if using, water and garlic in a heavy soup pot. You might think putting a whole head of unpeeled garlic in the pot is strange, but just go with it. Bring the beans to an active simmer and cook for 60 – 75 minutes, until just a touch al dente and not mushy or falling apart. Test their doneness by tasting; you really can't tell any other way.
Heat the oil (or butter) in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, add the onion, chipotles, and 2 teaspoons of the adobo sauce, and sauté over medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, just until the onion starts to soften. Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them, along with their juices, to the pan. Simmer for just another minute or two longer for the flavors to blend. You can always add more adobo sauce later for a spicier soup; just don't overdo it on the front end.
Add the salt and the onion-chipotle-tomato mix to the pot of beans and simmer gently for about 5 minutes. The broth should be thin, so add more water if needed. Add more salt and more adobo a bit at a time if the flavors aren't popping. Finish with a squeeze of lime if you like. You can remove the garlic or smash the cooked cloves into a paste and add it back into the soup (what I usually do).

Note: Chipotle peppers in adobo can be found in most grocery stores with the Mexican food. They are pretty spicy, so just remove 1-2 peppers and mince them up very finely so you do not have big chunks. You will not use the entire can for this or any other recipe. They will keep for a long time in the refrigerator.

Original recipe: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baby-lima-soup-with-chipotle-broth-recipe.html

Whole Wheat Fig and Rosemary Crackers

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup milk
4 dried figs diced small
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly dust with flour. Put flour, salt, cheese and oil in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour and butter are combined. Add about 1/4 cup milk and let machine run for a bit; continue to add liquid a teaspoon at a time, until mixture holds together but is not sticky. Form dough into a disk and allow it to rest 10 minutes.

2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 1/2-inch thick or even thinner, adding flour as needed. Make it as thin as you can make it. If you are doubling the recipe at all, divide the dough into smaller pieces to roll it out to ensure the center is thin. Transfer sheet of dough to prepared baking sheet (drape it over rolling pin to make it easier). Score lightly with a sharp knife, pizza cutter or a pastry wheel if you want to break crackers into squares or rectangles later on. Sprinkle with salt or other topping if you like.

3. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. You don’t want to under bake these, as that will result in a softer cracker. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature or store in a tin for a few days.

Note: The basic recipe is the flour, salt, liquid (milk in this case, but you could use water), and oil (any type of oil can be used or butter). This would make a basic cracker. You can add or change the remaining ingredients, as desired. You could use cheddar cheese, a different herb, top with any number of seeds, garlic, etc. Use the quantities above as a guide for other variations you may come up with.

Chocolate Bark

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (JM: I used coconut oil)
6 tablespoons agave nectar
2 cups pecans
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups dark chocolate 73%

1. In a large skillet, heat oil and agave until bubbling
2. Add pecans and stir until they are well coated, then mix in salt and seasonings
3. Cook for 4 minutes, then remove pan from heat
4. Place nuts on a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Place sheet in a 400° oven and roast for 4 minutes, remove from oven and cool completely
6. In a separate saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate
7. Pour chocolate into a parchment lined 13 x 9 glass dish
8. Break up the pecans and sprinkle over the chocolate
9. Using a metal spatula, spread the mixture evenly back and forth to ½ inch thickness
10. Allow to sit out until set, 1-2 hours
11. Cut into squares and serve
Makes 32

Recipe from Elana's Pantry: http://www.elanaspantry.com/chocolate-bark/

Chocolate Cake

This chocolate cake is from Heidi Swanson at 101cookbooks.com. This is my "special" cake. Or as she describes it, "an everyday chocolate cake that you might not make everyday". It's the cake I make if I want to really go all out. It's rich. It's chocolaty. And it's expensive. I'll be honest. With 1 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup, 3/4 cup of really good organic cocoa powder, 1/2 cup coconut oil, and 10 oz. of really good bittersweet, organic chocolate chips, you may wonder if it's really worth it. It is. Just every once in awhile. It's a dense cake baked in an 8x8 glass Pyrex pan. I love that, too. It's so inconspicuous. The frosting is a light chocolate whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup. It's perfect. Do not overbake it, though. In fact, underbake it slightly and refrigerate the leftovers. You will find that after it's been refrigerated it will get almost truffle-like, because all of the chocolate in the cake hardens up. If you want it to be more crumb-like then just let it sit out at room temperature. Microwaving it, even for only 10 seconds at a power level of 2, will liquefy the frosting. I actually like it that way, because with chocolate and cream it's kinda like ganache.

2 1/2 cups freshly ground wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup non-alkaline/non-Dutched cocoa powder (I use Dagoba )
1 tablespoon baking powder (look for non-aluminum type)
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup barely melted coconut oil
1 cup real maple syrup, room temperature
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk, room temp
8 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, shaved or finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F degrees with a rack in the middle. Butter and flour an 8x8 square cake pan (I've also had success using a 9x9 pan, just adjust your baking time). Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the melted coconut oil and maple syrup until it looks like caramel. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and then the coconut milk. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the flour mixture and stir until barely combined. Add the chocolate and stir until everything comes together and is no longer dusty looking - avoid over-mixing. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. This is a cake I like slightly under-baked, so I pull it out when the center is still a bit under cooked - the toothpick doesn't quite come out clean when testing. If you are going to use it for a layer cake - then bake it all the way (clean toothpick). Remove from oven and allow to cool (absolutely completely) in pan before frosting (frosting recipe below). ` `

Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
1/4 cup coconut oil, room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

To make the frosting melt the chocolate in a double-boiler, or in a bowl placed over a pan of boiling water. In a medium bowl beat the coconut oil until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the maple syrup. Then add the melted chocolate. Stir until silky smooth - any flecks of butter should be melted. Pour the chocolate mixture over the whipped cream and fold the chocolate into the cream. Keep going until the chocolate is well incorporated. Use an offset spatula to frost the completely cooled cake. If the cake is at all warm, the frosting will weep and melt.

Roasted Banana Ice Cream

This dairy free recipe is inspired by one on Elana's Pantry. I like to roast my bananas a little differently, though, (in their peel) and then sweeten the ice cream with a little bit of maple syrup. I must say the riper your bananas are the better. Not only do you get more natural sugars from the bananas themselves, but you get a stronger banana flavor.  I roast bananas like this quite often and put them in oatmeal or just eat them plain.  They taste sinfully good, like banana's foster.
4-5 medium ripe bananas
1 tbsp pure maple syrup (plus more if needed)
1 vanilla bean, split
2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk

Place bananas (peel on) into a 9x11 glass pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes until juices begin to seep through the peels. Don't worry, the peels will turn black, but that is ok. Remove the bananas from the oven and allow them to cool until they can be handled. Once cooled, peel the bananas and place the fruit in a blender along with any juice from the pan. Discard the peels. Add the maple syrup, coconut oil, and coconut milk. Run the backside of a knife along the insides of the vanilla bean, scraping out the seeds. Place the seeds in the blender. Blend on high until smooth. Taste to make sure the sweetness is right. Add more maple syrup, one tablespoon at a time, until satisfied. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and make the ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions. Enjoy immediately or place in freezer for later.

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. This recipe yields a lot of cookies. I like to make the entire recipe of dough and only bake off half of it and freeze the other half. I prefer doing this over cutting the recipe in half. I just have better results that way. Freeze it either in one big piece or portion cookie sized balls onto baking sheets and freeze individually. Once frozen you can put them in a large zip-lock bag and then only bake as many as you want. Half of the recipe makes a little more than 3 dozen tablespoon sized cookies (my preferred size).

2 1/2 cups freshly ground white wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup mesquite flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups palm sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cup rolled oats
1.5 cup 65% (at least) bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. With an electric mixer, beat coconut oil and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Then add vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in small increments, mixing after each addition. Once they are well incorporated, stir in (by hand) the oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts.

Scoop dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet (your desired size) leaving at least 1 inch between each ball. Flatten each ball slightly. Bake from 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. One tablespoon of dough will back 8-10 minutes. Two tablespoons will bake 10-12. Do not overbake.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Scone-Cakes

I contemplated whether I should post this recipe or not, because technically it was a mistake. I set out to make whole wheat blueberry scones sweetened with pure maple syrup - something I make all of the time. The night before I had a few minutes, though, so I decided to go ahead and grind my flour and let it soak overnight per Nourishing Traditions. "Soaking" your grains neutralizes the phytic acid and makes the nutrients accessible. The thought crossed my mind that I would need to use a non-liquid sweetener since I was adding liquid upfront. I forgot. My mistake was evident as soon as I began mixing the maple syrup in. I went ahead and baked them up the same way I would any scone despite the loose consistency of the dough. They turned out delicious! More moist than a scone, but heftier than a pancake. So, Logan named them "scone-cakes". The best part is how well they freeze. Just freeze the scone-cakes individually on a parchment lined sheet and then put them in a zip-lock bag. When you are ready to have one, take one out and put it straight into the toaster! Barely crisp around the edges, yet soft and warm inside. They are plenty sweet, so we just topped them with homemade almond butter. I think I will be making this mistake more often!


2 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
¾ cup water plus 2 tablespoons whey, lemon juice, or vinegar
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ cup hot water
1/3 cup ground flax
½ teaspoon salt
1 pint blueberries

The night before: Combine the flour and coconut oil in large bowl and mix until the oil is incorporated. Add the whey to the water and stir. Pour the whey/water over the flour and mix until all of the liquid is absorbed into the flour. Cover and let sit at room temperature overnight.

The next day: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Give the soaked flour a quick stir. Add the baking powder and salt and fold into the flour making they are evenly distributed. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, flax, and hot water. Stir. Fold in the blueberries and let the batter sit for 10 minutes to thicken slightly. This batter will be thicker than pancake batter, but thinner than a scone batter.

Line two 12x18 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop 1/3 cup sized portions of the batter onto the baking sheet (5 on each sheet). They will spread slightly so make sure there is plenty of room between them. Brush each top with a little coconut oil. Bake for 14 minutes and then rotate pans. Bake for another 7 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and brush the tops with additional maple syrup. Cool for 10-15 before eating.

Makes 10 servings

Crockpot Barbecue Chicken

This can be served in pieces left on the bone or shredded. I prefer to shred the meat, because it's easier to eat and share with a crowd.
1 whole chicken, cut up into pieces, washed and patted dry
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
2 cups barbecue sauce
salt and pepper

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Salt and pepper the pieces of chicken and add to the hot pan, skin side down. Sear both sides of the chicken ensuring there is a nice crust. Add the chicken to the crockpot with the barbecue sauce and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken from the pot and allow it to slighly cool. Discard the skin and then remove the meat from the bones. Shred the meat with a fork and place it back into barbecue sauce. Allow it to sit another 30 minutes or so to become a little more tender and the sauce is absorbed through all of the meat. Serve with fresh bread.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

This sauce is the love child of ketchup and teriyaki sauce with a few added ingredients. Feel free to adjust the sweetness or spiciness. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to barbecue. This is a basic sauce that can be twisted a million different ways. Add some bourbon or curry or lime, you name it. Get creative!


3/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/4 - 1/2 cup raw honey (or more if you like a sweeter sauce, like me)
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper (or more if you like a spicer sauce, like my husband)
juice of one orange

Mix all ingredients together. Use immediately if you are baking with it or using it in a crockpot. Otherwise, simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat to develop the flavors.

Teriyaki Sauce

This makes a great marinade for meat or vegetables. It would be particularly good with salmon.


1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
3 gloves garlic, mashed
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon raw honey
1/2 cup naturally fermented soy sauce

Whisk all ingredients. Makes 3/4 cup.

Bison Meatloaf Muffins

This is adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe. It starts with making a tomato relish, which goes into the meatloaf, as well as, on top of each muffin. I'm using bison, because I like the rich flavor and it has more protein and iron than beef. I like to make miniature meatloafs to save time and simplify the freezing of leftovers. Makes 12 muffins.


Tomato Relish:

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leave
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 roma tomatoes, finely diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
1/8 cup parsley, chopped
2/3 cup ketchup
salt and pepper

Meatloaf:
1 lb. bison
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 cooked quinoa*
salt and pepper

Heat oil over medium. Add onions, red peppers, and garlic and cook until soft. Add bay leaf and cook for another minute or two. Add ketchup, tomatoes, and parsley. Turn heat to medium-low and cook for just a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, crumble bison. Add all meatloaf ingredients to the bowl along with 3/4 cup of relish. Mix with your hands until everything is combined. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with foil liners. Fill each hole with 1/4 cup of meatloaf mixture and press gently. Top muffins with remaining relish. Bake for 25 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

*Note: No need to cook quinoa just for this recipe. If you do not have any leftover quinoa, use a couple of slices of whole wheat bread, rolled oats, or even saltine crackers. Soak them in a little milk, though, before adding them to the meatloaf.

Homemade Ketchup (Lacto-fermented)

I grind pickling spice and add it straight to the ketchup. If you do not own a spice grinder, steep one full tablespoon of pickling spice in the apple cider vinegar before adding the vinegar to the other ingredients. Strain the spices out.


3 cups canned organic tomato paste
1/4 cup whey*
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon pickling spice, freshly ground
juice of one lemon

Blend everything together in food processor. Transfer to mason jars and sit at room temperature for 2 days to ferment before moving to the refrigerator.

*Note: Whey is the by-product of the cheese making process or can be obtained by straining plain yogurt. To do this, line a fine meshed strainer with cheesecloth and suspend the strainer over a bowl. Place plain yogurt in the strainer, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The whey will separate and drain into the bowl leaving you with a thick yogurt cheese. Use that as a protein packed replacement for cream cheese.

Update 4/1/10:  Amount of tomato paste should be 3 cups, not 3 cans.  Thanks, Kim!  jm

Quinoa Stuffed Portobella Mushrooms

This is one of those ideas where you can literally take any leftovers, stuff it in a mushroom, top it with cheese and call it good. Here I have used "leftover" quinoa and beans and added flavorings that I typically have in my fridge. Use any grain or pasta, meat (or not), vegetables, tomato sauce, pesto, you get the idea. Goat cheese would pair nicely with the mushrooms, as well as, parmesan, feta, or fontina. Serve with a salad on the side for a nice, light dinner.
4 portobella mushrooms, stemmed and dark gills removed
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup cooked white beans (rinsed canned beans will work)
1 sprig rosemary, finely minced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup stock
1/3 cup toasted pinenuts
1/2 cup grated manchego cheese
1/4 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub each mushroom with oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes. While the mushrooms are baking, combine quinoa, beans, rosemary, lemon zest, stock, and pinenuts. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove mushrooms from oven and stuff each with the quinoa mixture. Top with cheese, breadcrumbs, and a little more salt and pepper. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of oil onto the breadcrumbs. Return to oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Herbed Quinoa

Using chicken stock, preferrably homemade, in place of water adds all kinds of flavor to an otherwise boring side dish. Add a tiny bit of butter and fresh herbs and it's even better. This same method can be used to cook all grains. Consider even mixing several kinds of grains for varying textures and nutritional profiles.
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 scallions
fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Rinse quinoa in a fine meshed strainer. This is a very important step, as quinoa has a natual bitter coating which needs to be rinsed off. Most boxed varieties are pre-rinsed, but it doesn't hurt to rinse it again. Heat grapeseed oil in a 2 quart stockpot over medium. Add the quinoa and toast lightly until you can begin to smell a nutty flavor. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 12-15 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed. You can visually tell when the quinoa is finished, because the germ will separate from the seed and appear circular with a dot in the middle. Remove from heat and let it sit, covered for 3-5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and add the butter, scallions, parsley, salt and pepper.

Umeboshi Broccoli Salad

This is a twist on the traditional broccoli salad made with tons of mayonnaise and bacon. The unexpected saltiness of the Umeboshi Cucumber Dressing balances perfectly with the tart and sweet dried cranberries. This dish happens to hit all five tastes of the tongue (sweet, salty, sour, hot, and umami) leaving you completely satisfied.
1 head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup freshly minced onion
1/2 cup or more Umeboshi Cucumber dressing (recipe below)
Freshly ground pepper

Roast sunflower seeds in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes. Be careful not to burn. Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Add more dressing, as needed.

Note: If you buy sunflower seeds already roasted, be sure to get unsalted. The Umeboshi Cucumber dressing is inherently salty, so adding salty sunflower seeds may be too much.

Umeboshi Cucumber Dressing
Umeboshi plums promote alkalinity in the body, aid in digestion, and have antibiotic properties. Read more here. As far as their taste, they are an intense combination of salty, sour, and sweet. Made with a whole, fresh cucumber, this dressing will wake up your taste buds for sure!


2 tablespoons Umeboshi Paste
1 small cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon raw honey

Place all ingredients in a blender puree. Add a small amount of water, if needed, to get it started.

Recipe courtesty of http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Basic Vinaigrette

The method to make a vinaigrette is one part vinegar or acid to three parts oil plus flavorings (in addition to salt and pepper). In my basic recipe, I use champagne vinegar and olive oil, and flavor it with shallots, dijon mustart, and honey. Use this formula to make any type of vinaigrette you can imagine. Play around with the 3-1 ratio if you prefer more or less oil, as well as, the sweetener to balance out the vinegar. This can also be used as a marinade.


1 small shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1/2 cup good extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

In a small, wide mouth mason jar add shallot, mustard, honey, and vinegar. Using a hand-held immersion blender, blend the ingredients until slightly pureed. Slowly pour in the olive oil as the blender is running on low speed until the mixture emulsifies. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust sweetner/salt/pepper, as required. This will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week. Alternatively, this can be made in a blender, food processor, or by hand with a whisk.

Variations:
- Add any herbs. Use fresh herbs if you are using immediately and dried if you will be storing it for later use.
- Use garlic instead of shallot. Or red onion, leek, scallions.
- Use fresh ginger instead of shallot and replace some of the olive oil with sesame seed oil for an asian flavor- - Play with vinegars: Balsamic, Champagne, Red or White Wine Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar are all good
- Replace some or all of the vinegar with a citrus juice (lemon, orange, lime).
- Use pure maple syrup in place of honey

Note: Mark Bittman's book How to Cook Everything contains an awesome section on vinaigrette's. He provides a ton of different variations based on the oil, vinegar/acid, and flavoring method, all of which are so easy and so good.

Roasted Beets

Beets have a tendency to dry out in the oven, so roasting them unpeeled in a foil pack is the ideal method.
4-5 beets, cleaned and unpeeled
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut greens from beets right at the root (leave enough stem so the flesh of the beet is not exposed). Lay one sheet of aluminum foil onto a baking sheet. Toss beets, oil, salt and pepper and rub the oil into the beets to ensure they are completely covered. Place beets onto the foil. Top with another sheet of foil and fold over all edges to make a packet. Bake for 30 minutes or until you can stick a knife through the beets. Allow the beets to cool slightly and remove skin. Use immediately or refrigerate whole.

Roasted Vegetables

This method can be used for any vegetable or any combination of vegetables. Keep in mind, though, that some vegetables will take longer than others to bake and may need to be baked at different temperatues. Vegetables with more water, such as zucchini, do not take as long to bake and should be baked at 425 to get that good caramelization. In general, vegetables that are grown within the same season work very well together in terms of temperature and cooking time. The mix below, which are all winter root vegetables, bakes for the same amount of time, same temperature, and should be cut the same size. A summer mix with zucchini, yellow squash, red bell peppers, red onions, and cherry tomtaoes will all bake at 425 degrees for around 25 - 30 minutes. If there is any question, set the temperature to 400 to start out with and then raise after 25 minutes if the vegetables are not caramalizing. It is very important to spread the vegetables out into a single layer so that every single piece is touching the pan. If you overcrowd the pan, they will steam instead of roast.


1 butternut squash
2 sweet potatoes
3 medium carrots
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss all ingredients together in large bowl and spread out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 35 - 40 minutes. Carefully stir the vegetables half way through, if necessary.

Yogurt

Everyone is eating greek yogurt these days, because of the high amount of protein it contains. The biggest complaint, though, is it feels like you are eating sour cream. You get used to it, but still long for Yoplait Boston Cream Pie. Consider making your own yogurt. You can control the tanginess with how long you let it process. I like mine right in the middle. To make greek yogurt, just strain your yogurt in a cheesecloth lined fine meshed strainer suspended over a bowl for several hours in the refrigerator. The whey will drain out leaving you with the protein. Strain overnight and you will have yogurt cheese. There is a million things you can do with this. It has the consistency of cream cheese, so use it as a substitute in your favorite recipes. I have used it in the recipe below in a spread packed with finely minced vegetables. You can use it as a dip with the crackers above, spread it on a bagel, or anything else you can imagine. This could easily transform into a fruit dip by using vanilla extract (or vanilla bean), any fruits (peaches would be especially nice), lemon, lime, or orange zest, or fresh grated ginger just to give you a few ideas.


Yogurt Cheese Vegetable Spread
Chop your vegetables fairly small before putting into the food processer. They will end up finely minced when finished so it can spread easily onto a bagel or crackers. To make more of a ranch flavored dip, add mashed garlic, parsley, and dill. Add the fresh herbs after most of the processing is finished. You just want to pulse it a few times to mix them in, not pulverize them.

16 ounces yogurt cheese*

2 tablespoons minced scallions, white and green parts
2 tablespoons finely chopped carrot
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons finely chopped radish (2 radishes)
2 to 3 pinches kosher salt
1 pinch finely ground black pepper

Place the yogurt cheese, scallions, carrot, celery, radish, salt, and pepper in a food processor and process until the vegetables are minced very fine.

*Note:  To make yogurt cheese, line a fine meshed strainer with cheese cloth and suspend the strainer over a large bowl.  Place 32 ounces of yogurt into the strainer and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate overnight.  The whey will separate and drain into the bowl leaving in the strainer a thick cheese. 

Homemade Crackers

Making your own crackers is so fun and easy. Literally, you can make crackers with flour, water, salt, and butter. Think about what you want to serve your crackers with, though, to make the perfect accompaniment. Change up the seeds, add cheese, dried fruit, herbs, or spices to make your own delicious cracker. This recipe is very forgiving, easily adaptable, and impossible to mess up. I find it easiest to work with smaller amounts of dough at a time when rolling to ensure the center is as thin as the outsides. If you find when baking that the center crackers are thicker, just remove the thinner pieces when they are done and bake the rest for a bit longer. I think it goes without saying how much better these are for you than store bought crackers. If you need convincing, though, check out the label on your favorite crackers and see how the ingredients compare to the list below.


Whole Wheat Seeded Crackers
If you cannot find whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour (most likely in the health food section), use regular whole wheat.

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
¼ cup milk (plus more, as needed)
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
¼ cup ground flax
2 tbsp poppy seed
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp brown sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processer add the flour, salt, and grapseed oil. Pulse until mixed together. Next add the remaining ingredients and process until a ball of dough is formed. Add 1 teaspoon at a time of milk if dough is too dry. Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface and kneed just a few times to bring the dough together. Form a disk and allow the dough to rest 10 minutes.

Cut the dough in half (It is easier to roll the dough out more evenly if you are working with smaller pieces at a time). Place one half in the center of a large piece of parchment paper. Roll the dough out as thin as possible, ensuring the center is not too thick. With a pizza cutter or knife, score the dough into 1 inch squares in the shape of the crackers. Transfer the entire piece of parchment paper with dough onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until the crackers are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool. Store in a tin for several days.

Creating Nut Butters

This may be one of my favorite things right now, which says a lot considering how much I play in the kitchen. Making your own nut butter is so incredibly easy you will wonder why you never did it before. But that's not my favorite part. Neither is the fact that it is cheaper to make it yourself. My favorite part is that you can customize your nut butter to use the ingredients that you want to use. Again, back to the idea of using ingredients that work for you. You can use coconut oil, if you choose. You can use raw honey. Or pure maple syrup. Or leave the sweetner out, altogether. You get the idea. It would be rare to look at the back of a peanut butter jar and find just the ingredients you were looking for.


I use coconut oil in my nut butters. I use it in a lot of things, actually. For years coconut oil has been a source of controversy, because it is comprised of saturated fat. Research has found, however, that because it is a medium chained fatty acid (MCFA) versus a long chained fatty acid (LCFA) our bodies metabolize it differently. Better. Some say it actually promotes fat burn by triggering an increase in metabolism. Click here and here to read more about the benefits of coconut oil. How cool is it to have the option to have coconut oil in your almond butter or peanut butter instead of some gross hydrogenated oil?

Roasted Rosemary Cashew Butter
This is more of a savory nut butter, but would be delicious served with apple slices or on toast drizzled with honey. Carrots also make a nice dipper. If you cannot find raw cashews, feel free to use roasted and skip step 1. If you buy salted cashews, omit the pinch of salt in the recipe.
8 ounces raw, unsalted cashews
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread cashews out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent burning. Remove from oven and add to a food processer. Turn the food processer on and run until a thick ball is formed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed. When the thick ball is formed, remove the lid and add the coconut oil and honey. Turn the machine back on. Continue to run until the butter loosens up and it reaches the desired consistency. Transfer the cashew butter to a bowl and stir in the rosemary. The longer the butter sits, the more the flavor will develop.

Almond Flour

Gluten-free, low-carb, nutrient dense, and packed with flavor, this stuff rocks. Rather than regurgitate what Elana Amsterdam, the queen of almond flour, has thoughtfully explained on her website, click here to find out more about the benefits. While you're there, check out Elana's recipes. They are all unbelievably good and so simple to make. One of my fave's is her Breakfast Bars. They taste like a blonde brownie and are great for traveling. A couple of notes about almond flour. First, it is not the same as almond meal. Almond meal is ground almonds with the skin. Almond flour does not have the skins. Elana cautions that almond meal will not work the same in her recipes, so keep that in mind if that is what you buy. Second, it is expensive if you buy it at the grocery store. I order mine from Honeyville Grain and for 5 lbs. pay around $30. I have tried grinding blanched almonds in a food processer to a fine enough consistency and it worked ok in cookies, but I could definately tell a difference. Not bad. Just different. The cookies had a coarse texture as opposed to a smooth texture when they are made from the Honeyville flour. I think cookies are forgiving where as, muffins or cake would not be, so go with the Honeyville.  You won't regret it.  Without further adue, here is the recipe:

Almond Flour Breakfast Bars
This recipe can be modified a million different ways. You could add cocoa power, cinnamon, chocolate chips, mashed banana, dried cranberries...the list goes on and on.  Full credit goes to Elana Amsterdam at http://www.elanaspantry.com/.  She has the BEST recipes!

1 ¼ cup blanched almond flour, packed
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup almond slivers
¼ cup raisins

In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, combine coconut oil, agave and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients into wet. Mix in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond slivers and raisins. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with grapeseed oil. Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with water to help pat the dough down evenly. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes


Recipe from http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Bolognese Sauce

This is a very thick and hearty meat sauce that simmers for two hours, but requires very little effort. For a 30 minute version use a can of organic crushed tomatoes, as opposed to the whole peeled tomatoes. It won't be as tender and luscious as the two hour version, but still delicious. If you save the rind from parmesean cheese, toss it into the sauce while it's simmering. It will add a rich undertone of parmesean that can't be beat. I like to use a potato masher occasionally during the two hour simmerring period to really break up the meat and tomatoes.

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stock, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 lb. grass-fed beef
1/2 cup white wine (red would also work or use more stock, if preferred, in place of wine)
1 cup chicken stock, preferrable homemade
1 can whole peeled organic tomatoes, drained (Note: The best tomatoes are canned whole and the rest are ground and diced. If you want the best, go with whole).
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 cup milk or cream

Pour oil into a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrot, and celery and cook until they begin to soften. Next add the ground beef and garlic and raise heat to medium high. As the meat browns, break up into small pieces. Once the meat is browned add wine, if using, and turn heat back down. Allow the wine to cook down.

Meanwhile, crush tomatoes with your hands in a bowl or run through the food processer. Add them to the pot after the wine has cooked down a bit (only a couple of minutes) along with the chicken stock, herbs, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium low. Continue to simmer for an hour and a half, mashing and stirring occasionally with a potato masher. Add more chicken stock if the sauce, if needed. This is supposed to be a very thick sauce.

After an hour and a half add the milk and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over pasta.

Whole Wheat Mesquite Cornbread

I have wanted to experiment with mesquite flour since the first time I made Heidi Swanson's Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies from Super Natural Cooking. Those are the cookies we made last week and I featured the recipe in my last post. To quote myself, here is a little information about mesquite flour:

Mesquite flour - This is a fun ingredient. Mesquite flour (aka "mesquite meal") is simply pods from a mesquite tree finely ground into powder. Indigenous to desert regions, mesquite trees can be found from central Texas to Southeast California. Typically we think about mesquite flavoring when grilling meats. The soft, smoky aroma of mesquite flour, though, pairs perfectly with chocolate. The health benefits are incredible, too. It's full of fiber, protein, nutrients, and essential minerals, such as, magnesium, iron, zinc, and potassium. Historically, mesquite was an integral part of Native American's diet. It is very low on the glycemic index and actually promotes balanced blood sugar. Add a spoonful to oatmeal or smoothies and you will feel fuller longer. Cross my heart. I like to purchase mine online from Barry Farms. One pound is $6.09 or you can purchase 5 pounds and receive a discount. If you don't think you'll use that much, go in with a few friends and split it up. FYI, Barry Farms has a recipe for a Mesquite Yellow Cake that I just saw and will be making very soon!

I can't reiterate enough how good mesquite flour is. So different and unexpected. Many people think the taste resembles cocoa and I can see that. Not sweetened cocoa, though. And it has a warm, almost cinnamon-y flavor, too, but it's not overly spicy. I hesitate calling it sweet, because I just compared it to cocoa and cinnamon. It really is more of a smoky flavor, but it does have a slighty sweet element to it,too. Are you intrigued? I haven't made the yellow cake from Barry Farm's website that I promised I would make last week, but instead I made mesquite cornbread to go with some black bean and quinoa soup.

I modified my usual whole wheat cornbread recipe (modified from Barefoot Contessa's recipe), to replace 25% of the whole wheat flour with mesquite flour. That's about the right proportion. Any more than 25% and the flavor becomes a tad strong. The result was the best cornbread I have ever had. I didn't think the original recipe could be topped, but I was wrong. My family agreed, too. My youngest son, who will turn 2 in April, has been gobbling it up all week and asking for more "cake". It is extremely moist and a little on the sweet side, which is interesting since there is only 1/4 cup of honey for a huge amount of cornbread. I think that's a good thing, though! It was great with the soup, even better with an over easy egg and Chile de Arbol Sauce (also from Super Natural Cooking), exceptionally good with almond butter and honey, and if I had some fresh or frozen raspberries, I suspect making some type of raspberry sauce to drizzle it over it would make a wonderful dessert. Next up may be some mesquite banana pancakes with pure maple syrup or maybe some type of mesquite scone with chocolate chips or raspberries.

Whole Wheat Mesquite Cornbread
This makes a lot of cornbread, but it freezes well so don't be afraid. You may be able to cut the recipe in half and bake it in an 8x8 pan. Just adjust the baking time. If you don't have mesquite flour, just use all whole wheat. You'll end up with something close to the original version of the recipe. Whole spelt flour would work fine in place of the wheat if you want to go that route.

2 1/4 cup freshly ground wheat (or whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 cup mesquite flour
1 cup coarsely ground cornmeal
2 tablespoons aluminum free baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups 1% milk
3 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup coconut oil, slightly melted
1/4 cup raw honey
1/2 cup freshly grated manchego cheese, optional

Combine flours, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, coconut oil, and honey. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and stir only until everything is combined. Do not overmix. Stir in the cheese, if using. Allow the mixture to sit for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 glass pan. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly and serve with honey.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

I use farro flour, because it's lighter in texture than whole wheat and is even better for you. To find out why click here. It may not be easy to find in a store. You can order it online here or substitute with wheat or spelt. Traditional gnocchi uses white potatoes, but I use sweet potatoes, as they are loaded with vitamins and they help balance your blood sugar. Don't worry, they are nothing like the marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole you see at Thanksgiving! Made right, they are pillow-y little dumplings that are wonderful served with Bolognese sauce. And they only have 3 ingredients to boot.

1 lb. sweet potatoes
1 -2 cups flour farro flour (whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat, or whole spelt work)
Pinch of salt

Bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees in their skin until soft (35-40 minutes). Remove the skins and mash with a fork or process the flesh in a food processer until all the lumps are gone. Mix the sweet potatoes, salt and ½ cup flour in a bowl. Flour the counter top with at least another ½ cup flour and dump the sweet potato mixture on top. Sprinkle liberally with more flour. Start to work in the flour by kneading and continue adding flour until you get a soft dough. The goal is to use as little flour as possible but still have dough that you are able to roll out. Too much flour will produce a dense, chewy gnocchi, but too little flour will not hold together when boiled. To test the consistency, pinch a little piece of dough off and roll into a ball. Boil it to determine if you need any more flour. If it falls apart, add flour. If it’s too dense, add an egg to the dough.

Divide the dough into several balls and roll each one out to form a long rope (about the width of your thumb). I find it easier to work with smaller pieces at a time. Cut into 3/4 inch pieces. Flour a large baking sheet so you have somewhere to stage your gnocchi before cooking. Next you add notches to each piece so the sauce has something to grab on to. You can do this two different ways: (1) Roll each piece along the back of a fork so there are grooves or (2) poke two sides of each gnocchi long ways with the end of a fork (not the end with the prongs). As you notch each piece, place them on the floured pan without touching each other. Once all pieces are ready, you are ready to boil. You want to do this in batches (maybe 3-4 batches for this size of recipe) so the gnocchi have plenty of room and do not stick together. Drop the gnocchi into salted, boiling water one at a time (carefully, because they will splatter hot water). Once they are all in for that batch, give it a quick stir with a large slotted spoon to get it off of the bottom of the pot. They will float to the top after 2-3 minutes. Once they float to the top, continue to boil for appx. 1 more minute. Remove with the slotted spoon into a serving bowl. Repeat until all gnocchi are cooked. Toss with salt and pepper and a little olive oil. Serve with bolognese sauce.

Other fun gnocchi ideas:

• Add any fresh herb to the dough before rolling it out. Thyme or sage would go nice.
• Freeze them! After you have notched them but before you boil them, arrange them on the cookie sheet dusted with flour. Put the sheet in the freezer (make sure they are not touching each other) until frozen. Put them in a ziplock back. You want to make sure and freeze them individually, so they do not stick together. When you are ready to cook them, just drop them into the boiling water straight from the freezer. Do not thaw them first. Otherwise, you will end up with a mushy mess.
• Crispy gnocchi - After boiling, pan sear in skillet with oil or clarified butter until lightly browned. Serve with tomato sauce or toss with fresh herbs and parmesan cheese.
• Crisp finely chopped pancetta or bacon in pan. When finished cooking, add gnocchi and toss. Serve with parmesan or gorganzola cheese.
• Gnocchi Soup - In a large pot, saute an onion plus any other vegetables you want (green beans, carrots, celery, bell peppers - any or all of this would be good). Add about 2 quarts of chicken stock (preferrable homemade) and bring to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook as you would in water. Do not remove them, though. When they are done, just remove from heat and add fresh herbs, salt and pepper.

Homemade Chicken Stock

The measurements on this do not have to be exact. You can use ANY vegetables to make a stock, even without the chicken. Replace the chicken bones with beef bones (marrow bones, knuckles, etc.) to make beef stock. Lamb bones to make lamb stock, etc. I like to keep a large ziplock bag in the freezer and throw my vegetable scraps in it instead of the trash.  Whenever it's full, it's time to make some stock!


Carcus from at least one chicken
2 medium carrots cut into thirds
2 onions, quartered, unpeeled
3 stalks celery, cut into thirds
2 parsnips, cut into thirds
1 head of garlic, cut in half crosswise
10-15 sprigs each of fresh dill, parsley, and thyme.
2 teaspoons of whole peppercorns

Wash all vegetables, but leave unpeeled. Place chicken carcus, vegetables, herbs, and peppercorns in a large stock pot and fill with water. Simmer for 4-5 hours. The only attention the pot may need is to skim the foam or "impurities" off of the top every once in awhile. It's an optional step, but produces a clearer broth. Once finished, pour the entire contents into a large fine meshed strainer suspended over a very large bowl or pot and discard the solids. Allow the broth to cool and separate into individual containers. Refrigerate overnight, skim any fat off the next day, if desired, and then move to the freezer. This makes anywhere from 6-9 quarts. I will add some water to stretch the broth as far as I can. Don't dilute it too much, though!

Sweet and Spicy Nuts and Kettle Corn

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted 5 tablespoons agave nectar, divided
1/2 cup popcorn kernals
2 cups raw nuts (I used macadamia nuts and slivered almonds)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

To make the nuts:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 2 tablespoons agave nectar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in medium bowl. Add nuts and toss to coat. Spread nuts into a single layer in a glass baking dish. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and cool.

To make popcorn:
Heat coconut oil and 3 tablespoons agave nectar in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add popcorn kernals and stir to coat well.. Cover with a tight fitting lid and turn down the heat just a bit. As the popcorn is popping shake the pot periodically to ensure the kernals are cooking evenly. When the popping stopes remove from heat and sprinkle with cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg. Add nuts and stir with a large rubber spatula to combine. Serve.

Crispy Brown Rice Treats

1 cup brown rice syrup
2/3 cup nut butter (almond, peanut butter, cashew, etc.)
Healthy dash umeboshi vinegar
Healthy dash vanilla (optional)
3 cups brown rice cereal
Cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, roasted almonds, peanuts, or cashews to taste, optional

Over a medium flame, heat up brown rice syrup, nut butter, vinegar, and, if desired, vanilla, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth, thinned out, and bubbling a little. Pour cereal into mixing bowl. Add rice syrup mixture to it and blend well with a wooden spoon. Pour into an oiled pan and flatten with a wet spatula. Let cool. Slice and serve.

Chocolate Bark

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (JM: I used coconut oil)
6 tablespoons agave nectar
2 cups pecans
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups dark chocolate 73%

1. In a large skillet, heat oil and agave until bubbling
2. Add pecans and stir until they are well coated, then mix in salt and seasonings
3. Cook for 4 minutes, then remove pan from heat
4. Place nuts on a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Place sheet in a 400° oven and roast for 4 minutes, remove from oven and cool completely
6. In a separate saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate
7. Pour chocolate into a parchment lined 13 x 9 glass dish
8. Break up the pecans and sprinkle over the chocolate
9. Using a metal spatula, spread the mixture evenly back and forth to ½ inch thickness
10. Allow to sit out until set, 1-2 hours
11. Cut into squares and serve

Makes 32

Recipe from Elana's Pantry: http://www.elanaspantry.com/chocolate-bark/

Whole Wheat Fig and Rosemary Crackers

The basic recipe is the flour, salt, liquid (milk in this case, but you could use water), and oil (any type of oil can be used or butter). This would make a basic cracker. You can add or change the remaining ingredients, as desired. You could use cheddar cheese, a different herb, top with any number of seeds, garlic, etc. Use the quantities above as a guide for other variations you may come up with.1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup milk
4 dried figs diced small
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly dust with flour. Put flour, salt, cheese and oil in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour and butter are combined. Add about 1/4 cup milk and let machine run for a bit; continue to add liquid a teaspoon at a time, until mixture holds together but is not sticky. Form dough into a disk and allow it to rest 10 minutes.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 1/2-inch thick or even thinner, adding flour as needed. Make it as thin as you can make it. If you are doubling the recipe at all, divide the dough into smaller pieces to roll it out to ensure the center is thin. Transfer sheet of dough to prepared baking sheet (drape it over rolling pin to make it easier). Score lightly with a sharp knife, pizza cutter or a pastry wheel if you want to break crackers into squares or rectangles later on. Sprinkle with salt or other topping if you like.

Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. You don’t want to under bake these, as that will result in a softer cracker. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature or store in a tin for a few days.

Chipotle Lima Bean Soup

Chipotle Lima Bean Soup

This recipes is adapted from www.101cookbooks.com, one of my favorite food bloggers.  I like to add tomatoes and use a good stock to add more flavor.  This is a very light soup great for any season.

1 pound dried baby lima beans, picked over and rinsed
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock (you can use all water, but the stock improves the flavor)
6 cups water
1 head garlic, top lobbed off to expose the cloves and loose skins removed
2 tablespoons coconut oil (butter or olive oil work, as well)
1 onion, halved top to bottom and sliced into thin crescents
1 to 2 chipotles in adobo sauce (see note below recipe)
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt
Squeeze of lime juice (optional)

Pick over the beans, looking carefully for any pebbles or dirt clumps; baby limas seem to be magnets for dirt. Rinse the beans, then combine them with the stock, if using, water and garlic in a heavy soup pot. You might think putting a whole head of unpeeled garlic in the pot is strange, but just go with it. Bring the beans to an active simmer and cook for 60 – 75 minutes, until just a touch al dente and not mushy or falling apart. Test their doneness by tasting; you really can't tell any other way.

Heat the oil (or butter) in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, add the onion, chipotles, and 2 teaspoons of the adobo sauce, and sauté over medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, just until the onion starts to soften. Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them, along with their juices, to the pan. Simmer for just another minute or two longer for the flavors to blend. You can always add more adobo sauce later for a spicier soup; just don't overdo it on the front end.

Add the salt and the onion-chipotle-tomato mix to the pot of beans and simmer gently for about 5 minutes. The broth should be thin, so add more water if needed. Add more salt and more adobo a bit at a time if the flavors aren't popping. Finish with a squeeze of lime if you like. You can remove the garlic or smash the cooked cloves into a paste and add it back into the soup (what I usually do).

Note: Chipotle peppers in adobo can be found in most grocery stores with the Mexican food. They are pretty spicy, so just remove 1-2 peppers and mince them up very finely so you do not have big chunks. You will not use the entire can for this or any other recipe. They will keep for a long time in the refrigerator.

Original recipe: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baby-lima-soup-with-chipotle-broth-recipe.html