Sauerkraut

This week I had somewhat of a spontaneous “traditional foods cook day” for our family.  When I cook for clients as a personal chef, I call it a “cook day”, so this is where the term comes from.  It all came about when I decided to finally catch up on making sauerkraut and broth, both of which have been somewhat ignored since moving into our new house.

I also had to make tea for kombucha, our weekly yogurt and finish off packaging the soaked and dehydrated nuts I’d made over the weekend.  I had some time while Elijah slept so I got to work!

I have never made all my ferments and other traditional food items in this way – I usually just spread out making these type of foods over the week.  But it actually turned out really well and I got a lot done.

I ended up making the following:

• Lacto-fermented Sauerkraut with carrots and caraway seeds (followed recipe in Nourishing Traditions without the whey and added grated carrots)
• Chicken broth (let cook for almost 24 hours)
• Kombucha
• SCD/GAPS goat yogurt (we go through about 3-4 quarts of this a week so I make it about twice a week)
• Soaked and dehydrated sunflower seeds, almonds and walnuts

I’m so looking forward to having sauerkraut again.  My husband loves it and eats it a lot whenever I do make it.  But I haven’t made it for quite some time because of all the work with the house.  I bought some Bubbies to tide us over but my husband even thought the homemade was better.  But I did end up using the leftover juice from the Bubbies container to help it a long with the fermentation process.

It feels so nice to have all of the “staples” caught up!

As for our meals the past week, here is our allergen-friendly, GAPS/SCD compliant menu un-plan the past week:

• Summer Pizza with Zucchinis and Basil – used blanched almond flour for the crust
• Zucchini Soup with chicken broth
• Cabbage Wrap Tacos (I make this every week now because Elijah loves it)
• Vanilla Ice Cream (Yum!) (Dairy-free, sugar-free, and egg-free)
• Barbecued Chicken Kabobs
• Cabbage, onion and carrot saute
• Berry Popsicles – (used Wardeh’s idea to use ice cube trays)
• Garden Omelet for breakfast with fresh tomatoes and basil
• Coconut Bread
• Zucchini Crust “Pizza” (was more like a casserole but we loved it)
• Cauliflower Zucchini Soup
• Savory Turkey Meatloaf
• Butternut Squash Soup

Here are some pictures of some of the items above, and I’ll be writing blog posts this week about some of the recipes…

Garden Pizza with almond flour pizza crust

Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream - Dairy, Egg and Sugar Free

Berry Juice Popsicles

I am submitting this (late again) as part of the Tuesday Twister Carnival at GNOWFGLINS.com.  Be sure to check out the other great real food blog posts this week.  Enjoy!

I believe that almost anything is possible with a few ingredients:

• creativity and looking outside the box
• a few helpful kitchen tools
• amazing abundance of foods that the earth has given us

With these few ingredients, you can really come up with anything no matter how limited your diet is.  I really believe this.  Maybe it’s because the more limited my diet has become, the more I have discovered just how many ways there are to make pancakes, tortillas, noodles and other common food items.

Yes, I know, they are not the “same.”  But I tend to believe that different is good, no matter how crazy it sounds to make tortillas out of just eggs or noodles out of cabbage.

About helpful kitchen tools:

I’ve recently acquired some amazing peelers by Swissmar and they are so helpful, I highly recommend them.  My old peeler was simply not doing the job any longer and I was also looking for a peeler that makes vegetables into julienne strips.  I found this trio of peelers from Williams Sonoma for a pretty decent price and they are great!  They include one peeler for regular veggies, one with a serrated blade for delicate produce and one with a julienne blade.

So I’ve been experimenting with the julienne peeler and have used it on carrots, zucchini and beets.  It is really very easy to use and makes great strips for pasta noodles.  Last night I made the beet noodles and they were very good.  Compared to the zucchini noodles, they didn’t get as soggy and held their shape better.

As for peeling the beets, it was a bit more difficult than peeling vegetables that are long like zucchinis.  When I got down to the center of the beet, it became too difficult to keep peeling it so I put the two beet cores into the food processor with the grating devise.  I did this so that they wouldn’t go to waste but the shreds were much shorter than the ones I got with with julienne peeler.

As far as cooking the noodles, if you’re a raw foodie, you can just eat these raw.  I like mine a bit cooked so I put them in boiling water for about 6 minutes and they were nice and tender. 

As far as quantity, I used two large beets and it made a good amount of pasta – I would say at least four servings.

So that’s it!  I hope you enjoy this!

I am submitting this post to the Tuesday Twister Carnival at Gnowfglins.com.  I used to participate weekly in this carnival but it’s been a while, mainly due to being busy with buying the house and other projects.  But I want to start getting back in the habit of contributing!  Thanks Wardeh for hosting!

Dairy Free Egg Nog

I feel like a little elf in a workshop, making treats and goodies for the holidays.  I have to say that even though I love to cook and bake, I have never made goody plates for friends for the holidays.  But since I’m working somewhat feverishly on the Holiday Menu Planner and the Just Desserts recipe e-book, I don’t know what else to do with all of the baked goods and candies I’m going to be testing and creating over the next week or so.  I’m really looking forward to making gifts out of the treats!

Dairy-Free Egg Nog (also rice and soy free)

Something I have always wanted to make is egg nog.  When I was a kid, we had milk delivered to our house from a milk company. It wasn’t raw but it tasted better than any milk at the grocery store.  During the holidays, we ordered the egg nog and it was the richest and yummiest egg nog ever.  I loved it.

I never tried making it, even after I gave up milk because it just seemed too complicated.  Plus, I have had to give up my fear of raw eggs.  I now know that it is safe and healthy to eat raw egg yolks, if you get the eggs from someone you trust who raises the chickens on pasture.

So, I decided to finally give it a go and made my first batch last night.  I used Baden’s idea to use coconut milk and adapted Wardeh’s recipe to create a dairy-free version.  The result was fabulous and I couldn’t believe how much it tasted like the real thing!  I also couldn’t believe that I used 2 tsp nutmeg to only 13 oz of coconut milk!  The basic ingredients are coconut milk, raw egg yolks, vanilla, and nutmeg and the complete recipe will be part of the Holiday Menu Planner and the Just Desserts recipe e-book.

Gluten, grain and sugar free cut-out holiday cookies

Gluten Free Cut-out Cookies

I don’t think I’ve actually ever made cut out cookies before, except for when I was young as a kitchen helper.  They are much more tedious than I imagined, but very fun to make!  And the recipe that I adapted turned out great.  Elijah loves them and to me, they taste like “real” cookies.  I added cinnamon and other spices to the batter so they remind me of Snickerdoodles.  Yum!

Grain Free Date and Fig Nut Bars

Date Nut Bars

I got this recipe from the Eat Well Cookbook.  It was already grain free and the only thing I changed was I added cardamon and cinnamon.  It reminds me of some yummy date bars I used to make with oats but can no longer eat. 

Coconut Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons

I love coconut.  I know some people aren’t crazy about it but I guess I am.  So one thing I love is Coconut Macaroons.

I’ve made macaroons before, but they had arrowroot powder in them.  So I tried a different recipe this time with honey and nothing but egg whites, honey, vanilla, coconut and a pinch of salt.  They turned out yummy but a bit different than what I’m used to.  I want to try another recipe that calls for ground pecans that looks great!

Once again, this is my weekly roundup post for the Tuesday Twister Carnival at GNOWFGLINS.  Check out the other great real food blogs this week!

Gluten Free Clafoutis

This is my weekly roundup of my kitchen twisting as part of the Tuesday Twister Carnival at GNOWFGLINS.  For other real and delicious food posts, check out the twister here.

Because I was pretty busy, I only tried a couple of new recipes this week, but they were both yummy!

Apple Clafoutis

The first was this Apple Clafoutis that I made based on Kimi’s recipe at the Nourishing Gourmet.  I saw her Cherry version of this recipe over the summer and knew I had to try it.  It took me a while to get to it but inspiration struck over the weekend.

I used apples instead of cherries so that I could use seasonal fruit and it was really a delight.  I used her coconut version of this recipe which works perfectly for the GAPS diet.  I omitted the baking soda but for people not on GAPS, I am sure the baking soda would make it more fluffy than mine turned out.

If you use a bit less honey or other sweetener, I think that this would make a great pastry for breakfast, even though it is traditionally a dessert.

Homemade Yogurt Fruit Leather:

Since I have a dehydrator now, I feel like there is a whole world of foods that I can now make.  One of these is fruit leather which my son loves.

When I was looking through the recipe booklet for the dehydrator, it talked about making fruit leather out of fruit yogurt.  I thought this sounded great!

So I made my first try with bananas, dates and homemade goat yogurt.  I blended everything up like a smoothie and then poured it onto the dehydrator sheet.  I spread it evenly over the sheet and then left it to dry for about 5-6 hours at 135 F.

Then I carefully peeled it off with the help of a knife and cut it into strips.  I thought it tasted good, a bit like banana yogurt.

The real test is always when I give Elijah something new to try.  My husband actually was the first to give it to him in the morning while I slept in.  When I woke up, Elijah said:

“Yucky…throw it…trash…yucky!”

Yes, he was talking about the fruit leather.  My husband said he tasted it, then dropped it on the floor a couple times and then thew it in the trash can.  And then said, “Yucky, yucky!”  (Btw, he’ll be 2 the end of December).

So that was try number one.  Then I decided to bring some with us on our morning out to do some errands.  I gave him a piece and he put it on the arm of his carseat and said yucky.  He kind of placed it there like he was saving it for later.

Then I took a bite, then my husband, and then Elijah decided to devour the last of the two pieces I brought.  I am not sure what changed but suddenly he liked it.  Or maybe he just didn’t want us to eat it!

I have given it to him a couple times since and I have yet to figure out if he likes it or if he thinks it’s “yucky.”

For me, I think the banana taste is pretty strong when it’s dried so this probably wasn’t the best choice to start with.  But I did think it was good start.  I’d like to try strawberry next time, and I’m pretty sure he’ll like it better because he loves strawberries.

Anyway, that is my little story about the fruit leather!

Zucchini Pasta Noodles

It ’s been somewhat of a crazy busy week.  The main thing that threw my schedule off was that my computer crashed last Tuesday night.  My husband ran the anti-virus software on both of our computers Tuesday evening and when we woke up Wednesday, neither of our computers would boot up.

Long story short, my computer is running again thanks to my husband.  But it took some time to get programs reinstalled, etc.   We still don’t know what happened with the spyware…

I was planning on working Wednesday morning, but I couldn’t so…. I made chicken broth and yogurt instead.  It was kind of weird.  Usually I’d be a bit frantic, running around trying to figure out how to get my work done.  But I felt like the situation was beyond my control.  It was actually nice to get the chicken broth started from the chicken carcass and meat from the night before.  I also was glad to get the yogurt going since it takes a whole day to ferment in the dehydrator.

I actually have to attribute my mood and ability to deal with the stress to the GAPS diet.  I have to admit that by the end of Wednesday, I was very tired.  But for the most part, I know I dealt with this much better than I normally would before I went grain-free.

The other thing that kind of astonished me when I thought about my week is that I cooked a wonderful meal every night and was able to plan ahead for the next day even though I was super-busier than normal.  However, I didn’t take one picture this week of food.  I guess that was the thing that got dropped amongst the busy schedule.  (The picture of the zucchini pasta is an old picture).  Here is what we ended up having for dinner each night.

Tuesday – Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Rosemary with Roasted Veggies

Wednesday - chicken stock;  Chicken and Veggie Soup with Cabbage;  Goat yogurt

Thursday - Zucchini Noodles with Beef Marinara

Friday - Egg Frittata with Zucchini and Cashew Cheese (used left over zucchini “cores” from zucchini noodles);  Banana Walnut Muffins

Saturday - Shepherd’s Pie with Mashed Cauliflower
This was simply yummy.  I couldn’t believe how much the cauliflower tasted like mashed potatoes!

Sunday - Jamaican Spiced Chicken Thighs and Steamed Broccoli

Monday - Crab Cakes with Coconut Bread and Sauerkraut
The Crab Cakes were inspired by the crab meat that my in-laws brought to us on Sunday.  They turned out really yummy;  I used almond flour, eggs, mustard, and some spices.  Then I baked them instead of frying them at 350 for about 20 minutes or so, broiling them in the last 5 minutes.  They went incredibly well with the sauerkraut we’ve been enjoying.

Tuesday - Pizza with Ground Turkey (Almond Flour pizza crust);  Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Part of my week was doing an interview with Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS.com.  She’s also doing a FREE give-away of the Thanksgiving Menu Planner, which is ending tonight, PST.  Sorry – it’s been another busy day and I didn’t realize this offer was ending tonight!

This is also my Tuesday Twister post for the week to contribute to the Tuesday Twister Carnival at GNOWFGLINS.  Check out the other great posts!

Have a great week!

However, I really feel like this obsession is actually a healthy one for me. Because I presently feel healthier than I have – physically, emotionally and mentally – than I have for a while. I feel as though the GAPS diet is like taking a chill pill for me. I really need to write a separate post about this because it’s a long story. But I will just say here that I am finding that being grain-free, starch-free and sugar-free is giving my mind, heart and body a much needed break and time to heal in a way that it just hasn’t had a chance to for many years.

Like I said last week, I’ve been in the kitchen a lot. I was actually in the kitchen all day Sunday this week except for a walk that I took with my husband and toddler. But it doesn’t really tire me out because I love it so much. It doesn’t even feel like work to me, until I get tired of doing the dishes.

I was again testing recipes for the Thanksgiving Menu Planner and my deadline is this Thursday so I have had to hustle the past couple of days. I also experimented with some new foods and am finding that I am in love with steamed cabbage. We had it two night in a row, both times with a mushroom sauce I made with leeks and creamy cashew sauce.  Both times it was eaten too fast to get a picture.  It reminds me of eating noodles and I really love it just with a little butter, salt and pepper on it.

With that said, I’m finding that I am eating way more vegetables than I EVER have in my entire life. With all the grains and starches out the picture, I’m being forced to try new things – like cabbage – and I am even thinking about giving brussle sprouts a try. I think I may try roasting them.

Soaked and dehydrated Nuts and Seeds

I also finally got around to soaking and dehydrating all of my nuts.  I now have a dehydrator (borrowing from a friend who isn’t using it) so this was really very simple.  I had tried doing it in my oven but they ended up getting burnt because it wouldn’t go below 175.  So I soaked my cashews (not truly raw), almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.  Then I drained them and dried them in the Excalibur Dehydrator for about 12 hours.

I have to say this process not only makes the nuts and seeds more digestible, it makes them much tastier too.  I especially love the walnuts and pecans, and so does my husband.  The bitterness that is normally in raw pecans and walnuts is gone through the soaking and drying.  I used the pecans in the pecan pie and it is so yummy, I think I will have to freeze the rest to keep myself from eating it all

Here’s the Thanksgiving Menu Planner test-recipe line-up:

Grain and Gluten-free Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Crust

Pumpkin Pie: (Gluten, Grain, Dairy and Sugar-Free)

This is the same pumpkin pie I made last week but I decided to make it with a coconut crust this time.  Reason being I had a request for a nut-free crust so I thought I would give this a try.  I wasn’t crazy about it at first, but it is growing on me since it has been in the fridge and had a chance to set up more.  I think the other crust I made would actually be a better compliment to the pumpkin, but for people who can’t have gluten, grains and nuts, this is a great alternative.

Gluten-free and Dairy-free Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie:  (Gluten, Grain, Dairy and Sugar-Free)

I have never been much of a pie fan.  But they seem to be growing on me lately.  I don’t like the normal flaky pie crust but I do like the gluten-free nut crusts I’ve been making.  I used it with this pecan pie and it is very yummy.  This one is for sure going on the menu planner because it’s delicious and I had several requests for gluten, grain and dairy free pecan pie.

The original recipe for the pie filling came from Nourishing Traditions and I tweaked it a bit to be grain and dairy free.  I adapted Elana’s recipe for pie crust but ended up adding extra almond meal (I used almond meal instead of blanched almond flour and it turned out great.)

Kale Chips

Kale Chips

I have always heard of the infamous kale chips but had never tried them myself.  After watching this video, I was sold on the idea of crunchy greens.  I was even going to put them on the menu planner as a snack for before dinner.  But I have to be honest that I was not nearly as excited about them as Dani Spies is about them.  They tasted like burnt kale to me.  They also left a bad taste in my mouth.  I have read that some people add lemon juice to take away the bitter flavor as well as add garlic powder.  With these two added ingredients, they might become edible, but for me, I think I’m going to try dehydrating some carrots and green beans for some crunch.

Gluten and Dairy free Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole (Gluten, Grain and Dairy Free)

I never realized how popular green bean casserole is for the holidays but I ended up getting a handful of requests for it for the menu planner.  I guess it’s never been a favorite of mine, but when I made up this gluten, grain and dairy free version, I really loved it.  I ended up finding a recipe that called for “real” ingredients instead of stuff from a can.  I then adapted it to be gluten, grain and dairy free.  It turned out yummy on the first try.

Goat Yogurt (SCD recipe)

Goat Yogurt success

This week I followed the recipe for GAPS/SCD goat yogurt and it turned out great.  It is very sour because it requires 24 hour fermentation but that is easily remedied by honey or fruit.  I also used goat yogurt as a starter (1/3 cup) instead of a powder starter.  In the picture above, I cooked some frozen strawberries until they were soft and then added it to the yogurt. I love the swirls it made and it tasted very yummy.  Elijah loves it and we already need to make more.

Once again, this post is a contribution towards the Tuesday Twister Carnival at GNOWFGLINS.  I love doing this post because it pulls everything together from the week that I’ve been working on.  Since I’m too busy to do separate posts for everything right now, I love summing up my week this way.  Thanks Wardeh!