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...

Creamy Coleslaw

I don't know about you, but I love coleslaw! I worked to perfect a wonderfully sweet-tangy coleslaw recipe that's similar to what you've had our at chain restaurants and kept full of real food ingredients! Here's my recipe:

1/2c Mayo
1/2c Sour Cream
1/3c Sugar (I use honey and/or coconut sugar, since we no longer use sugar)
3T Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed (I've used red wine vinegar and it's good too)
2T White Vinegar
1t Sea Salt
1/4t Black Pepper, fine ground
1t Onion powder

Mix everything together and toss over shredded cabbage/carrot. The dressing will work on about 1 med head of cabbage or 1 bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix.

Enjoy!

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!!!

Roasted Tomato Soup

Hayley's Homemade Roasted Tomato Soup with Feta Crumbles!

I hated tomato soup until I tried this recipe. After making a big batch of this you'll never want to purchase the canned-crap at the store again! The recipe I'm posting is for a single batch, with great success I've doubled, tripled and quadrupled it! Today I made a triple batch with 15 pounds of tomatoes fresh picked from our garden!

20# of tomatoes picked 8/17/12

5lbs of fresh tomatoes, wash, core, and quarter
1/4c fat of your choice (tallow, lard, coconut oil, etc)
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

2T Butter
1c chopped onion
1-2T sugar or honey
2c water
Crushed Red Pepper, Salt and Pepper to taste

In a 9 x 13 pan (or other similar pan with sides) combine the tomatoes, fat, garlic and liberally salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 450  on the middle rack for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Some tomatoes may get browned and will become very juicy!

15# of tomatoes roasting in the oven 8/17/12

While your tomatoes are roasting in the oven, In a large pot over medium heat, add butter and onions. Cook about 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add 1T sugar, and a pinch of crushed red pepper, cook 1 minute, then add 2c water... simmer over med/low. Add in the roasted tomato/garlic mixture and simmer for 10 minutes.

Fill your blender no more than 1/2 way with the hot tomato soup and puree until smooth. I then pour my soup into another clean pot through a fine mesh colander to be sure i don't have any seed or skin lumps - the extra step is what makes the soup velvety!! (be very very careful if your blender does not have a steam escaping lid - over filling your blender will cause a huge mess of very hot liquid exploding out of your blender!!! We have a vitamix and its lid vents the steam so I don't have to worry but most normal blenders do not - I recommend blending very small batches as a precaution!

Simmer your blended, strained soup over low until it's your desired thickness. Season with additional crushed red pepper, sugar, salt and pepper to your taste. We like about 1/3t crushed red pepper and 1 1/2T sugar - it's a little spicy!

Add some cheese or cream if desired into your bowl! We love a grilled cheese with feta, mozzarella and pesto dipped in this soup!!!

If you make a big batch - you can freeze it or, like me, I can pint and quart jars (pressure can 40 min at 10# pressure using standard 2part lids and sterilized jars)

Meatza - Thanks to Divine Health!

Tonight Ray and I enjoyed a "Meatza" after I got my inspiration from Divine Health's posting..
I've been going back and forth regarding my "issues" with gluten and am finally back on the anti-gluten program. I'm not a huge pizza fan (i know it's shocking - but I'm not a sandwich fan either) but the "Meatza" recipe sounded amazing!!!!!! Recipe in our house = Idea. I just can't "follow" a recipe, I just read them and then do my own thing.. no disrespect but I want everyone to add their own special twist to what I do too, that's what makes what you cook your own.

Here's what I did tonight for our "Meatza"...

The Sauce:
In a small skillet over medium heat, lightly cook 2 pressed cloves of garlic in coconut oil. Then I added in a 1/4 pint of my homemade tomato paste (recipe to be posted later this summer!!) and 1 pint of canned pureed tomatoes, cook over medium/high to thicken for about 30 minutes - stirring frequently. Add Salt, Pepper, Basil, Crushed Red Pepper to taste.....

The Crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Combine 1 pound of grass fed organic beef with 1 free range-organic egg, about 3/4c grated Parmesan cheese (I don't measure, just grate and figure it out!) and salt/pepper.... spread on cookie sheet with sides (jelly roll pan) .. easiest way was to put the meat crust mix on the pan then top with parchment paper and use your fingers to press the meat out into a large oval (about 1/4 in thick). Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. I used my pampered chef cookie sheet with sides that's been seasoned well over the past 10 years.

Toppings:
Top your baked crust with sauce and lots of grated mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes. Yes it will be runny and messy... it's ok. Top with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and more Parmesan cheese - let cool for at least 10 minutes......

It's not pretty, I know.. but sometimes things that taste amazing don't look so pretty and we're ok with that!

This is a "Fork Pizza" and I can tell you that after we each ate 1/4 of the "Meatza" we were already thinking about making 1/2 pork sausage and  1/2 beef next time, cause we just love pork! and by the time we both ate our half... we were wishing we could go back in time and eat it all over again, since it was so amazing. It's meals like this that remind me that I truly love eating this way and it's so much better tasting that bread-pasta-gluten crap!!!

Divine Health did a great job with this "Recipe-Idea" thank you so much for sharing!!!

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!!!

Chanterelle Mei Fun

One "Chinese Food" Ray and I really enjoy is Pork Mei Fun, so I came up with a healthy and gluten-free version we make at home using fresh ingredients. Since we found a bunch of fresh wild Chanterelles, I made Chanterelle Mei Fun!! It's really easy and quick! Here's my recipe:

What I made tonight was A LOT for just the two of us, I suggest this recipe as a meal for 4 people :)

Coconut Oil

Butter

Tamari Sauce (Gluten Free Soy Sauce)

Mei Fun Noodles (Brown Rice Noodles)

2c Ham, chopped 

1c Onion, chopped

1c Celery, chopped

1c Carrots, peeled chopped

1c Frozen Peas

2c Cabbage, sliced thin

2c Chanterelle mushrooms, chopped

6 eggs

Salt and Pepper

In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook Mei Fun noodles for 3 minutes, then rinse with cold water - set aside to drain. In a large skillet, add coconut oil and butter (about 2T each) lightly saute ham over medium heat, then add onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms... when veggies are just begining to soften season with Tamari, Salt and Pepper to taste.  Add cabbage then remove from heat and set aside. 

In a separate skillet, prepare scrambled eggs (leaving egg in large pieces). In pot that you cooked Mei Fun noodles, heat over medium heat,  1T butter and coconut oil then add Mei Fun noodles gently tossing. Add cooked veggies, frozen peas and scrambled eggs - toss gently and stir fry - adding more Tamari, Salt and Pepper to taste.... Enjoy!