I made ghee...

I am following the Whole30 eating plan for the month of September.  
It is a very simple plan for me because I already eat close to that way, yet this challenges me to go further, and to get rid of all sugars, grains, legumes and dairy ( and even wine ).  It will clean up my diet and help reset my metabolism.

This cool pale yellow jar of deliciousness  is called Ghee. It a staple in India  and is very easy to make.

To prepare ghee, melt one pound of  unsalted butter in a pot over medium heat. The butter will melt, forming a white froth on top. Simmer it, stirring occasionally and the froth will reduce slowly and the color of the butter will change to pale yellow. 

Then  cook on low heat until it turns golden. The residue will settle ( and it makes nice crackling sounds) at the bottom and the ghee, which is now clear, golden, translucent and fragrant, is ready. Strain the ghee through cheesecloth or a small strainer to filter it. 

  Your ghee will solidifie when completely cool.  Ghee has a long shelf-life and needs no refrigeration if kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.

Why use ghee?  

I found lots of reasons why people love it.  Here are a few:

*It is devoid of any solid milk particles or water.  Some even say that it is lactose-free.  I am     giving it to my dairy free daughter and she is able to digest it.

*It also has a high smoking point which is great for sauteing or pan frying food.

 *In India it is used for the whole body, including inflammation and it is also known to be good for one's digestive health.

To me it just taste good and one more healthy food  I can include on the Whole30.

Satisfaction

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.  Psalm 63:5

This verse has become my mantra lately.  This is day three of my detox and of just plain eating good food.  When I say good, I mean good for you, and it does help that it also tastes good.  I am following  a yeast-free, grain -free eating program for 30 days.  The purpose is to get rid of yeast, eliminate foods that contain or nourish yeast, and to repopulate my gastrointestinal tract with friendly bacteria. Why do I need to do that?  I'm not sure really, except that I've been praying for God to show how to eat  and to restore my body to it's youthful ache free ways, to restart my metabolism.  I wish I could say I did it in the first place for spiritual reasons, yet it has become more and more of that.

Back in February,  I  prayed about what God wanted me to surrender during this Lenten season that was coming up.  Not getting a clear answer or maybe I wasn't listening well, I gave up my great love, chocolate.  I felt that was hard, a real sacrifice, because I really did (and still do) crave it.  Lent began on February 22 and I still would love a bite of dark chocolate--right now!  But later in the month I felt God speaking to me about more, giving up more.  When I found this eating plan in one of my health books, I knew this was it.

My food is simple.  I eat organic vegetables, beans, eggs, and if I want it organic meat.  So much of the way I used to cook for Nan when she had all her many food sensitivities, but she couldn't even have eggs back then.

As I have gone through these past three days I can see how I have depended on food to fulfill a part of me, a place that would bring me joy, by sipping a glass of Petite Syrah with a nice piece of chocolate.  I could go into the kitchen and indulge in any treat I wanted, a homemade granola bar, a smoothie, whatever.  But not any more.

Right now I am not eating rice, potatoes, milk , any dairy, any baked goods-- GF or not,  corn, any alcohol or any type of sugar, ie honey, maple syrup, etc.

The good news is I can have lots of vegetables, salads, dried beans, eggs, oatmeal, avocados, nuts and nut butters , olive oil, coffee and tea.  In two weeks I will add fruit and butter.  I already like all of those foods, but I like a lot of others too.  That's the catch.


God has shown me that he is the one who will satisfy every longing and that I can sing to him while I fix my dinner and my girls dinner who are not on the plan.  But, my sweet Hart is on this journey with me.  He and I will sing together.







Here is a recipe that I made on Monday.  I noticed that I have three bags of split green peas in my pantry.  I do love split pea soup so I found this vegetarian one and it was really quite delicious.

Two cups of pretty green peas

Cooking the peas in my big red pot

Removing a large cupful of the cooked, but still slightly firm peas.

Pureed peas, my handy hand held mixer.

A satisfying bowl of split pea soup.

recipe by www.101cookbooks.com


Very, very good.

Granola love!

Who doesn't love granola?  I don't mean the hard, tasteless kind, but the soft chewy oat-walnut-honey kind.  I love this kind on my plain yogurt and on my cereal, whenever I eat any of that.  It's hard to find GF granola, so I make my own. Later I will include the recipe, but this post is about TO DIE for Granola Bars. Again I'm talking about the soft, chewy, slightly crunchy kind (with lots of chocolate chips!!).  My family LOVES these.

It doesn't take long to mix these up and get them right into the oven.

I used a 9 x 13 here, but I think they are even better in a 8 x 8, thicker and softer.

The finished bars! Ready to grab!

So yummy!

Pretty too.  These have butterscotch chips instead of chocolate, because I gave up chocolate for Lent.

They get eaten really quickly.

See what I mean...

Chewy Granola Bars

1/3 c agave
3/4 c honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 c Brown rice flour (or Whole wheat)
1 c walnuts
1/2 raisins (optional)
1/2 c dark chocolate chips
2/3 c Natural Peanut Butter/Almond Butter
2 TBs hot water
2 1/2 c rolled oats

Mix agave, PB, honey, water and vanilla until well blended.  Stir in rolled oats, flour, walnuts, dark chocolate and raisins.  Press mixture into greased 9 x 13 pan. ( for  8 x 8 cook 5 mins longer) Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cut into 24 bars while still warm.  Cool completely before removing from pan.

Thank you Lisa for the recipe!

Good recipe

After having been in Atlanta all weekend, I went to the grocery store to stock up for the week.  My plan was to have Chicken Alfredo for dinner, but once I began to make it, I realized that I had no Parmesan cheese.  And of course it hadn't been on my grocery list so I hadn't bought any either.  Oh, well, what to do?  Send my sweet hubby back to the store or rethink dinner.  Thank goodness for computers.  I got online and found a tomato based recipe for a creamy sauce.  My family loved it, so now it is in the favorites.

Tomato-Cream Sauce for Pasta:

olive oil
diced onion
minced garlic
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 TB dried basil
1 ts Italian seasonings
little salt and pepper
1/2 cream
1 TB butter

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes through pepper.  Bring to boil and then let simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in cream and butter.  Cook for 5 more minutes.

I had sauteed chicken slices in garlic as the sauce was cooking.  I like to serve the plates in my house from the stove, so I put pasta on the plate, topped with the sauce.  Then I put the sauteed chicken on top of that and sprinkled it parsley.  Pretty and delicious!

So yummy and easy too.

Tomato tea

A cure for the common cold... I think I've found it. I woke up Tuesday night unable to breathe and could not go back to sleep.  Since I do not keep over-the- counter or prescription drugs in my medicine cabinet, I went downstairs to seek help from the Internet.  I found a natural remedy and amazingly enough I had all the ingredients on hand.  So at 2 in the morning I, along with my ever loving husband, made Tomato Tea.

1 cup tomato juice
1 tsp minced garlic
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 ts hot sauce
dash of celery salt for taste
Heat and drink.

I went back to bed and immediately my sinuses cleared up and I was able to sleep. ( I will say that I brushed my teeth very well and gargled with Listerine, first)

I made more TT in the morning and again that evening and each time it helped.

PS.  Hart has discovered a really good tomato juice that he enjoys each morning.  He buys it at Save-a Lot and it is Diane's Garden Tomato Juice, all natural ingredients.  I like it as well.

Black bear and brown tomatoes

Today  after I dropped the letters from work off at the post office, I ran into Earth Fare for some apples and large baggies.  As I passed the tempting produce, my eyes taking in  the splendid colors and smells of  the fresh, organic fruits and veggies, I got the needed apples and some brown tomatoes. The first time I had seen this delicacy was at Whole Foods Market with my sister.  She had raved about how good they were, so I had become curious.


 I work on Tuesdays (and Thursdays) for a lawyer friend of mine, so dinner is usually a simple affair for Hart and me, since the girls are already at their Bible Study when I get home.

  Kumato tomatoes, I learned,  are originally from the Spanish Mediterranean 

 They are about the size of a golf ball, a brownish green and dark red color.  

Dinner tonight was pan fried flounder, oven roasted sweet potato slices and fresh brown tomato salad.  Very delicious. 

The lettuce is from my garden.  I cut herbs of parsley, rosemary and a bit of mint, chopped them finely.  Then I added a minced garlic clove and olive oil, which I drizzled on the tomatoes.  Feta cheese topped it all off. 

.And I saw a very unusual sight on my way home tonight--a black bear.  He was in a tree in someone's yard, probably very scared and thirsty.  People were on the sidewalk pointing to him and the police had already been there I heard.  Poor guy.  I guess he wished he were back at home in the forest, alway from noisy traffic, people staring and dogs chasing him.  Hope they rescue him soon.

Soft Pretzels

There is nothing better smelling than bread cooking in my oven and for someone who is wheat and gluten free it is a smell that I don't often get to experience .  It is tortuous anyway!  But on this Friday afternoon, Nan, my 14 year old daughter was in the mood to "cook something".  And since she and her older sister have a teen function tonight that required them to bring a snack, I told Nan she could cook something for the party, serving two functions at once.  We looked beyond the usual chips and dips, cookies and brownie recipes, especially since Nan is hypoglycemic and can't have sugar, and I found the perfect recipe for soft pretzels.
The recipe is quite simple, and she is used to making bread, having made pizza dough before.  I will say it was time consuming process because the pretzels had to rise for 45 minutes, then immersed in almost boiling water for 30 seconds and a final baking at 475 for ten minutes.  But it was well worth the wait and I am sure they will all be gobbled up quickly tonight.  Ahh, for just one taste....

The pretzels rose for 45 minutes.

The hot water bath.

The finished product with cinnamon sugar.

Closeup of pretzel with kosher salt.

Nan with her creation.

Soft Pretzels for 12

1 1/3 c hot water
2 1/2 ts dry yeast
1 1/2 ts sugar
Mix these well and let proof for 5 minutes.

4 c flour
2 TB butter
3/4 ts salt
Add ingredients to yeast mixture and mix well, I used my kitchen aid mixer for this.  Cut dough into strips and roll into ropes and shape into pretzels.  Place on greased baking sheet, cover and let rise for 45 minutes.

4 c water
1 1/2 ts baking soda
In a cast iron or other non aluminum pan, bring water and baking soda almost to a boil.  Gently lower pretzels into water for about 1 minute, turning once.  Do not let water boil.  Remove pretzels and return to greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake at 475 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy a hot pretzel--just like the ones in the mall!

Homemade Yogurt

A good breakfast  is yogurt with walnuts, fruit and a drizzle of honey.  If  I'm really hungry I'll have a gluten-free muffin as well.  It's quick, easy and nutritious.  I love Stoneyfield Organic plain yogurt, but it's expensive so I decided I'd like to make my own.  I was in Goodwill and as I was perusing the appliance section I came upon a  Salton yogurt maker for just 2 or 3 dollars.  I figured since it was intact and cheap, I could take the risk of whether it worked or not.
After a good scrub, the ceramic cups are dishwasher safe, I searched for  recipes and found one from the Salton  website that I liked.  I successfully followed the instructions and poured the ingredients into the 5 cups of the yogurt maker and plugged it in.  Voila!   Ten hours later I had rich, creamy yogurt and it's delicious too.

        

My Goodwill Salton Yogurt Maker

                                                  

Plain Yogurt Recipe

1quart organic milk

1 TB plain yogurt (this is your starter).

Bring milk to a boil ( heat until 185 degrees).

Cool milk until it reaches 110 degrees.

Add the TB yogurt starter.  Stir well.

Pour into the 5 serving jars, cover.

Plug in yogurt maker and set the dial for 10 hours.   

I'm looking forward to some freshly picked strawberries to put on my yogurt:)

Sausage Making 101

Bright and early this morning, Hart and I began the process of making our own sausage, something we've never done before.  I've had the desire to try this lost art for a while and for Christmas I received the Kitchen Aid Meat Grinder attachment (I picked it out).  But life got busy and I set it aside for when we'd have the right moment to give it a try.  January went and February was almost gone as well, when I looked at my calendar and decided we might have this weekend free.
  Hart researched techniques and recipes.  I ordered the casings.  We bought the necessary ingredients and we were ready to give it a try.  Now we only needed a large block of time.  I voted for early Saturday morning, when we would both be fresh and energetic and our teenagers would still be asleep, so no need for any urgent carpooling.
Hart actually got up much earlier than I did and he began the process by getting all of our tools--bowls, grinder and attachments, and meat very cold.  He had read that it would go through the meat grinder easier if all things were very cold to start with. He also soaked the casings in cold water for about two hours.
I arose around 7 am and came down to a cup of coffee and a slab of very cold pork that needed to be cubed.  Not exactly my dream way to wake-up but by the time I had cubed 6 lbs of ice cold pork I was indeed awake!  Our first recipe was called American Farm Sausage.  Our next recipe was Italian Sausage.  Considering that this is the first time we have attempted to make sausage everything went really well.  We learned a few things and by noon we had about 10 lbs of sausage drying, waiting to be wrapped for future cooking.

We cut up a 5-6  lb pork shoulder into cubes.  

Hart is getting every last bit off of the bone.

The cubed pork and 2 lbs of cut up bacon.

We also used a 3 lb pork tenderloin.

My trusty Kitchen Aid mixer with new meat grinder attachment.

It worked great!

The cubed meat was put onto the tray and pushed through the opening with a special tool.

Next we added spices and seasonings. Plus a cup of red wine for the Italian and a

 cup of beer for the Farm sausage.

Mixing it all together by hand, boy was it cold!

Hart is threading the pork casing onto the sausage stuffer on the mixer.

The sausage mixture is placed onto the tray once more and pushed through.

It comes out of this tube and on to which the casings are threaded.

                                         My job was to guide the sausage as it was being filled

Lovely coils of sausage.

Hart then gently twisted the sausage, careful to let air bubbles escape.

A mornings work produced about 10 lbs of sausage.

Italian is on the left and American Farm is on the right.

The sausage must air dry for two hours before it can be packaged.

Packaged and ready to be refrigerated overnight so that it can "bloom".

Then it can be eaten or frozen for later use.

But we are cheating and having some for dinner tonight.  Shhh...

Slow Cooking

The other day I knew I'd be late getting home, close to supper time and I wanted dinner to be ready when I walked in the door.  That's when I turn to my trusty crock-pot to do the cooking for me.  I also wanted something new, I get bored easily making the same recipes over and over.  I reached for my recipe box and out fell this card for Slow-cooker Beef and Bean Burritos.  I've had this recipe forever but have never made it.  Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand and when I got home that evening there was a tender and tasty meal waiting to be served to the family. Yum!

Slow-cooker Beef and Bean Burritos

1 (2lb) London Broil
1 pkg taco seasoning ( usually make my own)
1 c. chopped onion
1 TB white vinegar
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 (16 oz) can fat free refried beans
12 (8") flour tortillas (I used the gluten free version of corn tortillas)
1 1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 1/2 c. chopped plum tomatoes
3/4 c. sour cream

Rub seasoning on meat.  Place in crock pot.  Add ingredients through green chilies.
Cover and cook for 9 hours on low.  Remove meat, saving liquid, shred with 2 forks.
Combine meat and liquid.
Warm beans and tortillas.  Spread 2 TB beans down tortilla.  Spoon 1/3 c. meat, 2 TB cheese, 2 TB tomatoes, 1 TB sour cream and roll up.  Makes 12

I didn't use the refried beans, but added a can of pinto beans to the crock pot to cook with the meat.  I liked that.  Also you can vary the toppings and amounts.

My family loved this!

!
We used corn tortillas instead of flour.

Big pot of Stew

Day before yesterday, I made a big pot of Brunswick Stew.  I used turkey that was leftover from a meal I had made when Lauren and Jered were here.  Actually, Jered didn't eat with us as he went to the Carolina game at UNC-Chapel Hill  with Mary, Claire and Witt.  But the rest of us enjoyed a delicious turkey meal, with stuffing and a new rice dish I made.  But anyway, I had quite a bit of turkey leftover and Brunswick Stew came to mind when I was trying to decide what to do with it.  I put the turkey carcass in my biggest pot, covering it with water and let it simmer for a half the day, which left a nice broth.  After removing the the bones from the pot I added  chopped onions.  As that was simmering I boiled potatoes in another pot.  I did not remove the skins and once they were done I roughly mashed them.  Into the pot the potatoes went along with lima beans, corn and a large can of crushed tomatoes and the leftover turkey, which I shredded.   For seasoning I used a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and A-1 Steak Sauce.  Unusual spices I know, but in my mind I was recalling my favorite recipe, which is in a cookbook I no longer have.  It's the St. Francis Episcopal Church Cookbook that was given to me when I was newly married.  I looked online for a similar recipe but could only find ones that used barbecue sauce.  I happened to have a bottle of A-1 steak sauce on hand, a small new one in the back of my pantry, perhaps for an occasion such as this.  I carefully read the label to make sure it was gluten-free and it was.  But I was surprised at the list of ingredients in the bottle.  There was the usual corn syrup, yuck (but it only contributed 2 grams of sugar) and other seasonings.  I didn't know it included orange paste and raisin puree among the ingredients.  I guess that's what gives  the unusual taste to the steak sauce.  I let the stew simmer the rest of the day and once it cooled, I refrigerated it for the next day, which was nice  because the girls and I are in Greensboro from 7:45 am to 7:00 pm.  How nice it was to come home to a hot bowl of stew!  I quickly made corn bread with honey and we were ready to eat in 30 minutes.
 I will have to ask my mother-in-law if she has her copy of the cookbook since she is the one that gave me mine in the first place.  I'd be interested to see if I forgot anything.

I was able to make 4 quarts.

Endive

Posted by Nancy on March 23, 2010 at 8:17 PM

Another new veggie-for me- I've tried is endive.  I searched Harris Teeter for this one, but they didn't have it. I then went to the Fresh Market going over and over the produce section.  Finally I asked and yes they did have it, hidden in the ice under the asparagus.  Who would have guessed!  For this I used a recipe one I found from my one of my favorite cooking sites, Cooking Light

It's an appetizer.

Endive Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Walnuts:

 This takes walnuts, honey, balsamic vinegar, OJ, 2 heads of endive, 2 navel oranges, chopped fresh chives and cracked black pepper.

Take 1/3 c. coarsley chopped walnuts and  combine with 1 TB honey, spread on a baking sheet covered in Pam and bake at 350 for 10 mins.

Combine 1 TB honey, 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar, and 3 TB OJ in a small pan, boil over high heat until reduced to 3 TB.

Fill each endive leaf with 1 orange section.  Top each with 1 ts. cheese and 1 ts. walnuts, arrange on a plate.  Drizzle the vinegar mixture evenly over leaves and sprinkle with chives and pepper.

Yields 8 servings--2 leaves each

Ca

Baking day

Posted by Nancy on March 29, 2010 at 10:28 PM

On Friday, March 26th, my mom, sisters and I gathered in Hickory to bake 50 pans of cinnamon rolls!  We made the traditional cinnamon, brown sugar and butter recipe and also a delectable chocolate bun that my sister, Kellie came up with.  Ann also made a couple of pans of sticky buns.  All of this was for Ann's daughter, Hannah, who is going to India with YWAM (Youth with a Mission).  Ann sent out an email to her friends in Hickory asking for cinnamon bun orders and she received this wonderful response.  We had fun rolling and baking together. My sister, Jane from Charlotte was a part of it too.  One of the best parts was when Kevin, Ann's husband arrived home for lunch with two bottles of wine!  We finished the baking, surprisingly, around 1, then sat around and sipped the wine, while we unwound.  We  hope to do this again, as we dream of starting our very own baking business.

Mom (Margaret), Ann, me, Kellie and Jane