Hot Fudge Sauce made with Coconut Sugar and Honey!

Here's a quick and easy (Refined Sugar-Free) recipe for Hot Fudge Sauce!

1/2c Butter
3T Cocoa Powder
3/4c Coconut Milk
1c Coconut Sugar
1/3c Honey

Combine and bring to a simmer over medium heat - simmer for 7 minutes. Remove from stove then add 1/2t vanilla and blend for 1 minute in your blender - Yield 2 cups of Hot Fudge Sauce!

NOTE: be careful not to fill your blender over 1/2 way when blending hot stuff - the steam can make the lid pop off and make a painful mess - I have a vitamix with a steam releasing lid so I don't have to worry.

Salted Carmel Sauce made with Coconut Sugar!

Yes, I get the occasional craving for a sweet treat too! But just because I want something soothing and sweet, doesn't mean that I abandon my convictions regarding food choices!

We planted several tiny apple trees nearly 10 years ago when we bought our house and they are finally producing beautiful apples!! And who doesn't love Carmel and Apples?!?! I know I have always loved carmel apples - I remember my grandmother buying me those 3 packs of carmel apples in the grocery store.... But the challenge is we don't eat "sugar" or "corn syrup" - that makes it tough to make a carmel....

Coconut Sugar - Have you ever had it? I encourage you to seek some out and I'm sure it will become a staple of your pantry. But I must caution, just because it's better than refined sugar options, it's still a sweetener and you still must use self-control! Coconut sugar has similar properties to sugarcane sugar, but lower Glycemic Index and a more complex flavor similar to brown sugar.

I treat myself with having coconut sugar in my coffee on Friday, Saturday and Sundays (Mon-Thur I have stevia) and along with coconut milk - I think it's the most heavenly coffee ever!

Tonight was my 2nd time making Coconut Sugar Salted Carmel Sauce and it's not going to be the last time!! Here's my recipe:

1c Organic Coconut Sugar
2T water

Combine in small pot and bring to a simmer over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Once it starts to boil/simmer DO NOT STIR! You can lightly swirl the pan or using water on a pastry brush- wipe the sides of the pot to wash any melted carmel down.  I keep a candy thermometer in mine, but have not be focusing on a specific temperature as a stopping point but just the 5 minutes - which seems to be around 250 degrees.

Remove your pot from the stove and wisk in - in small amounts since it will bubble up:

1t Ghee or Butter
1/2c Organic Coconut Milk
1/4t Vanilla
1/4t Sea Salt

Makes about 1-1/4 c carmel sauce, will be runny at first but refrigerate to thicken.

I started using Ghee (clarified butter) as opposed to just butter to eliminate the dairy milk solids - to make it a pure fat. I've been reducing my dairy intake as Ghee is a great way to keep the taste without "diary" - for those following Paleo or dairy-free diets some consume Ghee but not butter.

Sauerkraut - Part 1

Sauerkraut is so simple to make and when you make fermented sauerkraut at home it's SO GOOD FOR YOU! There's lots of media attention regarding the benefits of incorporating probiotics into your diet - don't just rely on pills, use real food to boost your friendly-gut-bacterias!

Today we started 2 gallons of Kraut.. this post is how to get started, look for more posts as I track it's progress...

Here's a step by step of how we're making ours, required supplies are pretty basic and the process is really simple. Shred cabbage, sprinkle salt, pound to release liquid, cover and let sit...

Today we bought 6 medium heads of cabbage at the farmers market and gathered our supplies. We got our antique kraut shredder from Ray's parents and our 2 gallon crock from my grandmother. (you can use a food processor with a slicing blade or just hand-cut your cabbage too! and you don't need a crock any non-plastic or non-metal vessel will work!)

We cut each head of cabbage in half and removed the core....

Ray shredded each half....

 Then we'd put about 2 inches of shredded cabbage in the bottom of the crock and sprinkled liberally with Celtic sea salt...

 Then pound your salted cabbage, you are trying to get the cabbage to release it's liquid. We use the wooden plunger for our kitchen-aid mixer's meat grinder attachment along with our fists in a punching motion...

 Keep  pounding the cabbage until the liquid released will cover the shredded cabbage when you press it down..

Keep adding additional cabbage/salt in 1-2 inch layers, and keep pounding.

 Our 2 gallon crock held 6 heads of shredded cabbage.. In order for the cabbage to ferment into sauerkraut you need to allow it to sit with the cabbage fully submerged underwater. Use a plate or other flat item that fills up the crock but can be pressed down (I used the lid from my rice cooker, it fit in the crock perfectly! If the weight of the item you are using as a submerged lid isn't heavy enough to keep the liquid above the cabbage, apply weight like a gallon jug of water or a brick.

Cover the entire top of your crock with cheese cloth and allow it to sit at room temperature and out of direct sunlight... every couple days check it out to make sure everything is submerged and to skim any foamy stuff that may collect on top...

Pumpkin Spice Latte

I'll admitt it, last week during a lunch time trip to Target - I splurged on a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks and it was AMAZING! Those warm-fall flavors got me thinking - I can make this at home and it can be healthy!

The recipe I came up with is a Pumpkin Spice Creamer you can mix up ahead of time and just use it in your coffee throughout the week.. best part it's low carb, dairy and sugar free! I think we could even call it is paleo-ish!

1-3/4 cup Organic Coconut Milk (13.5 oz can)
1/4 cup Organic canned Pumpkin 
1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
Yield 2-3/4 cups

Add everything to a bottle and shake it up really well - it will turn a beautiful light orange color!
You can use it as-is and add sweetener separately in your coffee - but I like to streamline things, so I added stevia (to taste) driectly into the creamer mix - you could use coconut sugar also - but I'm carb-concious so stevia works for me! (you can put the rest of the canned pumpkin in the freezer in 1/4 cup baggies to use in weeks to come!)

Use your homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte creamer in your coffee - it will keep in the fridge for a week, if it lasts that long :)  Let me know what you think!

 The total recipe has 24g effective carbs (29g carbohydrate - 5g fiber = 24g) If you use 1/4 cup per cup of coffee that's 11 servings with 2.2 carbs per serving!!

DIY Dry Shampoo for Brunettes

I've always wished I was one of those lucky ladies that could just wake up in the morning and have my hair look clean! However I'm not. My dark brown (and gray) hair that's been washed in the morning starts getting oily and flat looking by dinner, let alone the mess it becomes after I slept on it.

I've tried many brands of dry shampoos with less than ideal outcomes. Most are white powders that make me look (grayer) than I do already or like I have a wig on. And if the color wasn't bad enough it stripped all the shine from my hair and still just laid there doing nothing. So I came up with my own amazing recipe for Dry Shampoo for Brunettes you can make at home for just a few dollars!

Here's my recipe:

1/4c organic corn starch
1/4c cocoa powder

Mix them up, I store mine in a old spice jar with a small hole shaker lid, shake a little powder into the lid and using an old make up brush - apply to the roots of my hair. I leave it sit for about 30 minutes then I brush my hair with a natural (boar) bristle brush to spread it through my hair and remove excess.

Now, it's not like fresh-washed-clean hair but looks perfectly fine pulled back in a ponytail or head band! It's awesome to skip a day from washing my very long thick hair!!!

Enjoy!

DIY Toothpaste

Super easy toothpaste with all natural stuff you (should) have at home! My teeth feel so clean and smooth. Just be prepared it's not sweet and bubbly like the store bought tube of toothpaste. This will get firm and you just rub your toothbrush through it!

This recipe fits nicely in a 1/4 pint canning jar:
3T Aluminum-Free Baking Soda
3T Organic Coconut Oil

Optional Additions to your taste:
Essential Oil (Peppermint, Cinnamon, Wintergreen or Spearmint are all good)
Liquid Stevia

Mix everything well. It was warm in our house tonight so our coconut oil was nearly liquid, if yours is solid just warm up on your oven on the lowest temp setting and only until it's soft enough to use.

Enjoy!!!

Canned Meadow (Button) Mushrooms

If you consult any present day canning recipe book or do a search on the internet - you'll read all the warnings about attempting to can wild mushrooms at home - poisonous mushrooms are dangerous as is canning, put the two together and people get really freaked out.. that being said let's move on... I have been canning mushrooms for over 10 years, both meadow mushrooms and maitake turn out wonderful!!

We pick meadow mushrooms in our yard every year (we are 100% sure they are edible) They taste like the white button mushrooms from the store but have a stronger flavor - so much better. I throughly cleaned the mushrooms and separated only the best mushrooms for canning. Be aware mushrooms shrink to about 1/2 their fresh volume once cooked... it takes a lot of mushrooms to fill big jars so I always stick to 1/4 pint jelly jars, which is the perfect serving size for us.

Put a pot of water on the stove to boil (as large as needed based on the quantity of mushrooms you have to can) Once water is boiling, add cleaned mushrooms, time for 5 minutes then drain.

In a separate pot or 220 degree oven, sterilize canning jars and warm flat lids in a small pot of water on medium/low. Also prepare another pot or tea kettle of clean boiling water.

Pack drained/boiled mushrooms into sterilized jars, adding a scant 1/8t salt per 1/4 pint, then top each to 1/2 inch head space with boiling water. Wipe rims and fit with 2 part lids. Pressure Can for 40 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. After depressurized, remove lid, pick out jars and allow to cool for 12 hours - discard any that did not seal...

I cannot guarantee that my directions are deemed safe by our government and I can't take responsibility for the mushrooms you gather.. but for me this works perfectly!!!

DIY: Tub and Soap Scum Remover!!

Ok I have a little bit of a "dirty" secret... I have a big garden tub in our master bathroom that rarely gets used and even more rarely gets cleaned. It's WAS a disaster, until this morning. In literally 10 minutes total time, it's sparkling clean with very little effort.

Here's my recipe for the best Tub Ring and Soap Scum Remover:

• Mix equal parts of White Distilled Vinegar and Dishwashing Soap in a spray bottle. (I found that a recycled spray cleaning bottle worked better than the $1 store spray bottles for a finer mist spray)
• Spray Vinegar/Soap mixture liberally on your tub/shower and let sit 30+ minutes (I forgot about mine for at least an hour!!) Then I just wiped away the scumminess and rinsed with water. 

I was completely shocked at how well it worked!! and the best part is,  since everything in the spray I make is non-toxic, I'm not afraid of getting it on my skin, no need to worry about toxic fumes or wearing those awful rubber gloves!!!

NOTE: It also works on other scummy areas of your home, like inside your oven or on your cook top!

How to Peel Fresh Hard Boiled Eggs

If you think it can be challenging to peel a hard boiled egg from the store, you can't even imagine how difficult it can be to get a fresh egg to peel nicely. For the first couple years we had fresh eggs from our own chickens, my only way to get an easier peel egg was to let our eggs age in the fridge for a month before even attempting to hard boil and peel... But I've finally came up with a process that works pretty darn good!

1. I age all of our eggs for a minimum of 24 hours at room temperature in the kitchen before putting them in the fridge.

2. Put eggs in a pot and fill with cold tap water

3. Add some white distilled vinegar (I just pour some in, maybe 2T)

4. Bring to a boil over high heat

5. As soon as the water comes to a full rolling boil, put a lid on the pot and turn off the heat.

6. Let them sit for 10 minutes - set a timer or you'll forget about them like me!

7. Drain the eggs, put the lid back on the pot, and swirl the eggs clockwise to gently crack the shells

8. Rinse eggs with cold tap water, changing the water to chill the eggs quickly. Let them sit in the cool water (or put in the fridge to keep cold to peel later)

9. Peel! 

I've had success with very fresh eggs - like get them from the coop in the evening and then hard boil first thing in the morning with great peeling success!

DIY Weed Killer

Weeds - Yep! We've got 'em too! and I've been struggling for an environmentally friendly solution... FINALLY! I've found it!

Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 11:00 am

Sunday, April 29,2012 at 4 pm

As you can see my homemade formula worked very well, better results than I had see previously in my chemical weed killing days.... Here's my recipe:

1 Gallon Distilled White Vinegar, 4-5% acidity

2/3 cup Epsom Salt

Combine all and mix well (I just mixed everything in the vinegar gallon - take out a little vinegar if you need to get get all the salt in... then fill up a sprayer of choice, and generously apply to any plant you want to kill on a bright sunny day. This will kill everything, not just weeds.. so be careful (like with all weed killers) to avoid getting it on plants you want to keep!