Recipe: Italian Green Beans

Another great recipe from Scott of Zukay! Don’t forget – you only have until tonight at midnight to enter to win a case (1 of each flavor) of his fermented salad dressings!! (I’ve tried them, they’re delicious!)

ITALIAN GREEN BEANS

Ingredients:

¾ – 1 lb fresh green beans (or wax beans)

1-2 cloves garlic

½ tsp dry oregano

½ tsp dry basil

½ tsp dry thyme

2 tsp sea salt

culture*

Luke warm water (as needed), preferably non-chlorinated

1 qt. mason jar

Chop up  green beans into 1 inch long pieces and place in bowl. Mince garlic cloves and add minced garlic and spices with green beans in bowl. Mix well.

Place vegetable mixture into 1 qt. mason jar, pushing down on veggies to get as much in as possible. Add salt and culture. Add enough lukewarm water to jar to bring level about ½ – 1 in below top of jar. Put lid on jar, and shake jar to evenly disperse culture and salt. Place in a warm (70 – 80F) place out of direct sunlight, and allow to sit for at least 3 days, and up to 14 days. Once fully fermented, refrigerate.

NOTES:

1. You should place jar in a dish to catch leaking water, as the pressure in the jar can make the jar leak

2. Make sure the contents get fizzy. If they do not get fizzy, discard the contents, as that is a sign that the lactobacilli did not properly ferment the vegetables and pathogens may have been able to take hold

*I put 1 packet of yo’Kefir culture into 1 quart of non-chlorinated water. Add 1 cup of this mixture in place of dry culture and water.

Recipe: Root Slaw

Here’s another recipe that Scott from Zukay sent along with his guest post the other day. It seems super easy and I think I’ll be trying it soon myself! If you try it out, let me know how it goes!

*Also – don’t forget to check out his guest post if you haven’t yet, it’ll make recipes like this seems even less daunting. His giveaway for a case of lacto fermented dressing ends tomorrow night – so make sure you enter!!

ROOT SLAW:

3 medium carrots

3 medium parsnips

1-2 medium size turnips

1 tbsp Celtic Sea Salt

chlorine-free water

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

Culture*

Chop carrots, parsnips, and turnips into smallish chunks. Personally, I don’t peel them, and the closer they are to coming out of the ground, the less necessary that step is. In a food processor, chop up all the veggies to the desired thickness. Mix in salt and spices. Put chopped veggie mix into a quart mason jar, pushing down as hard as possible. Add in chlorine-free water until veggies are fully covered. Close up and ferment!

Fermentation time: At 67 F, my best advice is to ferment for at least 2 weeks. You will need to gas off container on a daily basis, especially for the first week. My experience has been that the raw parsnip taste overtakes the flavor until several weeks has been reached. Also, the veggies soften a bit and are more pleasant to the palate.

*I put 1 packet of yo’Kefir culture into 1 quart of non-chlorinated water. Add 1 cup of this mixture in place of dry culture and water.

Another recipe from Scott: Classic Sauekraut!

Recipe: Homemade Marshmallows

I found a recipe for homemade marshmallows awhile back. Ones that are completely free of refined sugar! It’s made with only maple syrup.

Maple Syrup Marshmallows

3Tbsp gelatin

1/2 cup water

2 cups real maple syrup

1/4 tsp cream of tarter (optional, but helps consistency)

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Combine the gelatin with the water and set aside.

Heat the maple syrup (and cream of tarter) to 250°. If you do not have a candy thermometer like I don’t, this is the hard crack stage – so when the syrup is dipped into ice water it will harden completely.

One word of advice though – syrup boils over easily.

Very easily.

Especially when you’re on twitter while making it.

Once it reaches 250° remove from heat and slowly pour into the bowl with the gelatin. This is where having a stand mixture is beneficial because you are supposed to be mixing it while you pour it in. Of course it can be done with a hand mixer, it’ll just take some creativity! (also, as one of my commentators mentioned, covering it helps with clean up!)

Also, be careful as the syrup is really hot! And sugar burns hurt!

Use a whisk attachment to the mixer and start whipping. Add in the salt and vanilla and continue to whip until light and fluffy. After 5 – 10 minutes it will stop expanding and is done. (notice how I switched attachments? You need a whisk!)

Pour into a buttered 9 x 13 pan and let set until completely cool, or a couple hours.

Once cool, cut into squares. To make it easier, you can butter the knife or run it under hot water occasionally to keep it from sticking.

These marshmallows do stick and although I didn’t want to use any refined sugar, I did resort to powdering them with powdered sugar to keep them from sticking together and becoming one giant marshmallow clump. I did try to use cocoa, but didn’t care for the taste much, but that’s another option should you need it. And one that would work perfectly if they were to be used in hot cocoa!

These marshmallows do taste maple-y, of course. But they are rather tasty!

Enjoy!

This post is linked to: Simply Indulgent Tuesday

** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.

Recipe: Classic Sauerkraut

This recipe was sent to me by Scott from Zukay. I can’t wait to try this out myself! Also – don’t forget to enter to the giveaway for the Zukay salad dressings!

CLASSIC SAUERKRAUT

FOOD:

1 large head of cabbage

2 tsp caraway seed

2 tsp sea salt (I prefer Celtic Sea Salt)

Non-chlorinated water

EQUIPMENT:

1 Quart mason/ball jar

Large metal bowl

Potato masher

Peel off any older, discolored cabbage leaves. Cut cabbage into quarters, and thinly slice into ¼ in thin, long strips. Place all cabbage into large metal bowl, add salt and caraway seeds, and wait 5 minutes. Mash with potato masher until cabbage starts to expel water and becomes flat and soft (about 5 minutes of mashing). Once this is done, put cabbage into quart jar. Push down hard onto cabbage, until cabbage juice covers sauerkraut. If there is not enough liquid from the cabbage itself, add non-chlorinated water until cabbage is fully covered. Close lid tightly and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 1 week, and up to 6 weeks for full flavor.

Note: Give at least one inch of space at top of jar to allow for expansion from gassing from fermentation.

** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.

Try It Tuesday: Lentils

The Basics

Lentils are part of the legume family, and one of the characteristics of a legume is it’s ability to absorb nitrogen from the air and convert it into protein within the plant own seeds. They grow in pods, are flat, are about the size of a pencil eraser, and can be sold whole or split in half.

Nutrition

For such a small ’seed’, these lentils are packed with great nutrition! They are high in fiber which can help manage and prevent blood sugar spikes after a meal. And of course the lack of your blood sugar spiking is fabulous for keeping your hormones in check! They also boast excellent amounts of folate (otherwise known as folic acid), with just one cup of lentils bringing you over half your daily needs. Lentils are also high in manganese (which plays a role in reproductive health), protein, and iron.

(an in depth nutritional profile)

How to Prepare

Like other legumes, lentils contain something called phytates as well as other enzyme inhibitors, that prevent our bodies from absorbing nutrients and can actually take nutrients from us. In order to render these harmless, it’s as easy as soaking for a few hours before cooking. Pour lentils into a clean jar or bowl, cover with warm water, and add 2 Tbsp whey (or other acidic medium like vinegar or lemon juice) per 2 cups of lentils. Soak for about 8 hours, then drain and rinse. Place your rinsed lentils in a pot and cover with water. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until bite tender.

Lentil Soup Recipe

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 diced carrots
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 medium sized cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp basil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes – or 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 2 – 3 cups of soaked lentils
• 8 cups liquid (a mix of water and broth – I used half and half)
• 1/2 cup spinach
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• pepper to taste

In a large pot, add oil, onions, carrots, and celery and cook until onion is tender and translucent. Stir in garlic, oregano, and basil, cooking  for an additional 2 minutes.
Stir in lentils, bay leaf, water/broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at about 1 hour (testing at 30 minutes and again at 45 minutes to make sure the lentils don’t over cook)(also, don’t add the salt in until the lentils have finished cooking as it will prevent them from softening). Just before you’re ready to serve, stir in spinach, and cook until it wilts. Finally stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

The Verdict:

Level of difficulty – Easy

Cost - Approximately $.40 per 2 cup serving (a very cheap meal indeed!)

Time -

• 2 minutes prep to soak, 8 hours soaking
• 15 minutes prep
• 50 minutes cooking

Taste - I was very surprised at how much I liked this! I’d never tried lentils before and was a bit hesitant. While they do have some of the same texture that beans do, it didn’t bother me near as much, maybe because of their size. And this recipe (adapted from one I found at allrecipes.com) is extremely tasty! My husband really liked it as well and I think this soup will become part of our regular meal rotation!

So what have you tried recently? Have a new recipe or food to share? Blog about it and link up below!

** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.

Healthy, Grain Free Brownies

Mmmm, brownies.

Everyone always looks for a bit of “healthy” baking. The problem is, most of us just try and substitute whole wheat flour for white flour, which brings a bunch of new problems into play. One being, as a society, we eat way to many grains.

Soaked or unsoaked, to many grains just aren’t good for us. Our bodies were just not made to ingest so many of them! And going gluten free is definitely a step away from our over hybridized wheat, but the problem still remains since we then just eat gluten free grains.

And don’t even get me started on how much refined sugar we consume.

To tell you the truth, I don’t bake very often. Don’t get me wrong, I love to bake. It brings back wonderful memories of my childhood. But I also know what it does to my body! So I rarely ever bake sweets, and even limit my baking of muffins to every couple of weeks or so. But when I saw a recipe for no flour brownies that I could convert so it was even healthier, I knew I had to give it a try!

Healthy Grain Free Brownies

• 2 cups black beans (or 1 can of no salt added)
• 3 lightly beaten eggs
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (or melted butter)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey (or other equivalent sweetener) (next time I want to try palm sugar!)
• 1/2 cup chopped up bittersweet chocolate (or semi-sweet chips if you don’t mind the added refined sugar in them)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts -optional

Making these could NOT be simpler. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8×8 pan. Toss all but the final 2 ingredients (the chopped up chocolate and walnuts) into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Fold in the chopped chocolate and walnuts. Pour into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

The Verdict:

Level of difficulty – Easy

Cost - $3.88  ($.25 per serving for 16 servings) (when I made them w/ coconut oil and raw honey)

Time - approximately 5 minutes prep, 30 minutes baking

Taste - I was really surprised at how good these were! What a great way to hide beans in a dish! The texture was smoother than a brownie made with flour would be and because I used bittersweet chocolate, they weren’t as sweet as what we would normally be used to. My husband was none the wiser about these until I told him what was in them, and we all enjoyed a sweet treat! I will definitely be making them again once my “30 Days of no Sugar” is over. (and yes, I know I am allowing myself honey, but these are just to sweet and decadent to help me get rid of my cravings for sweets!)

I would totally recommend you try these! They are full of good, real foods.

This post is linked to: Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Real Food Wednesday

** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.

How to Make Sourdough Pancakes

Last weekend I went searching for a recipe for sourdough pancakes after watching a t.v. show last weekend where they were supposedly really good. And the recipe I found looked super easy. Though I was hesitant at the taste!

Let me tell you, they did not disappoint! These have to be the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten!

No joke.

I used my spelt sourdough starter and they didn’t taste “wheaty” at all. They don’t fluff up like traditional pancakes, but they are still very light and not dense at all.

Start by feeding and setting your starter out the night before. You want it at room temp in the morning.

Preheat your pan to a medium heat.

Mix the baking soda and water together and set aside.

Mix the remaining ingredients together until well combined. Right before you’re ready to start making them, add the water mixture and gently fold in. (and have fun watching the rising action!)

Once combined, pour about 1/4 cup onto the pan for each pancake.

Now, knowing when to flip is essential, you only have one shot when it comes to pancakes. See these bubbles?

You want to wait until they pop and stay open.

Flip and cook for just a bit more until it’s golden brown.

Stack, top with plenty of real butter, a bit of syrup, and enjoy!!

You won’t be disappointed with these!! And the best part is you’ll benefit nutritionally because essentially, the starter has been “soaking” for quite some time and the enzyme inhibitors in the flour is gone.

Sourdough Pancakes

2 cups sourdough starter
1 Tbsp maple syrup (or equivalent sweetener)
1 beaten egg
3 Tbsp coconut oil (or melted butter)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp water

Preheat pan to a medium heat. Mix the baking soda in the water and set aside. Mix starter, egg, oil, and salt until well combined. Add water mixture right before your ready to place on pan and stir gently. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until the bottom is a nice golden brown and the bubbles have popped on top. Flip, cook a bit more, top with butter and syrup, and enjoy!

** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.

Cast Iron Cookware part 3: recipes

If you missed it, part one is How to Season and part two is How to Use!

One of the reasons I love my cast iron pans is that they go right from stove top to oven! While I don’t do this all the time, it’s very convenient when I have to. And even for the recipes that don’t actually use the stove top first, the heavy pans provide a wonderfully even baking surface.

One of my favorite recipes I’ve tried recently in the cast iron pan has been a pineapple upside down cake.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

For the ‘top’:

• 4-5 pineapple rounds, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sucanat
• optional – cherries and pecans to place between the pineapple rings

For the cake:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (I used spelt)
• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2  cup butter or coconut oil
• 1/2 cup sucanat sugar or other sweetener (rapadura, maple syrup, etc)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the 4 Tbsp butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Once melted add in the sucanat and stir until combined. Cook a couple minutes until the mixture is nice and bubbly. (helps make it nice and kinda crispy on top)

Place pineapple slices in pan.

Continue to cook another couple minutes, turn the slices over, and turn off heat. (if using, place pecan slices into pan now as well)

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside. Next, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter, and the 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time and then stir in vanilla. Alternating between the flour mixture and the buttermilk, add them into the creamed mixture, stirring just until combined.

Pour over the pineapple slices.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the sides and quickly tip over onto a flat plate or cutting board. Place cherries on top if using.

To make it a bit healthier (though it’s still a dessert!): Try using all whole wheat flour and/or soaking the whole wheat flour in yogurt overnight and then omit the buttermilk.

Other cast iron recipes:

Quince Cake from The Nourished Kitchen (she said it works great with pears too!)

Cornbread – though I use 1/2 white rice flour and 1/2 brown rice flour, not the soy flour!

And there is a slew of recipes here at What’s Cooking America

This post is linked to: Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Ultimate Recipe Swap

** Please do not construe my posts as medical advice, because *ahem*, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am but a student of Nourishing Nutrition and Natural Health. I only hope to ignite a passion within you to do your own research and begin your own journey to better health. And to make sure you don't miss a single post, you can add my blog's RSS Feed to your reader or you can sign up for free updates by Email.

How to Make Nourishing Stock/Bone Broth

“A big stock pot is the best gift a bride can receive.”   Francis Pottenger

Throughout the ages stock and/or bone broth has been used to help heal the body. It’s used during colds and flus, known as “Jewish Penicillin”. It’s been used to help with digestive disorders, acid reflux, ulcers, and celiac. And nothing tastes better than making your very own stock. It nourishes the body and it nourished the soul.

But if you’re anything like me, making your own stock just seems…….hard.

For some reason it took me the longest time to start making my own! I’d find different directions, different ways of doing it, different recipes. Some people have an exact way of doing it, others just toss stuff in. Some folks wait to toss in the veggies till the end, some do it right away.

Then there’s the whole talk about geletin and how to achieve it.

Well, let me tell you….it’s easier than you think.

What you need:

• leftover chicken bones
• some celery, carrots, and onion
• bay leaf
• vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)

Once your chicken is cooked and you’re done with dinner, place a stainless steel veggie steamer in the bottom of your crockpot. (You can also use a stock pot on the stove, but I like mine to simmer overnight and don’t feel comfortable with an open flame while I’m sleeping)

(You don’t have to use a steaming basket, but it makes it so much easier to get out the ‘yuck’ when it’s all done)

Place your leftover chicken into the pot. Use the bones, skin, and any leftover meat. Have the chicken feet? Toss them in too. Don’t have them? Don’t worry, I never do either and it kind of grosses me out thinking about it. Though I should use them for health benefits.

Now, here comes the important part. Pour in a Tbsp or two of vinegar and let sit for an hour before turning on the heat.

The vinegar actually helps draw out the good and nourishing stuff from inside the bones. This also helps make your stock ‘gel’ when it cools. If it doesn’t gel, don’t worry about it, it’s still healthy and good for you. The gel-ing just means you have extra nourishment there.

The gelatin in it though is rich  in proline, hydroxyproline, and glycine (non-essential amino acids that most people are not healthy enough to produce themselves). It helps with the detoxification process in your body and is important for pregnant women and children.

Then chop up some veggies and toss them in as well. If you have organic onions, go ahead and toss in the skins! (just wash them first) It’ll make it a nice golden color!

*As an added note, I have read that adding the veggies about halfway through is the ‘correct’ way to do it, but I never remember later so I do it all at once.

Go ahead and top with some sea salt and pepper as well as a bay leaf or two.

Now pour in about a half gallon of water or so. Enough to cover everything in the pot.

Turn crockpot on high and cover until boiling. Skim off any nasty stuff that comes to the top and then turn down to low.

Let simmer.

I like to let mine simmer at least overnight and normally for about 24 hours. The longer it simmers, the more flavorfull it’ll get!

When you’ve decided it’s simmered long enough, pull out the straining basket, then pour through a mesh strainer to get all the little bits out as well.

You can then use it as is or place the pot of stock in the fridge to cool so you can skim the fat off the top.

But fat is good for you and helps your body absorb nutrients. So don’t go crazy trying to get every last bit. But I also don’t like to feel like I’m slurping pure fat when I eat my soup, so I skim some off if it gets crazy thick on top. The above pot I did not skim at all!

You now have some fabulous homemade stock!

You can use it up right away or freeze/can it for future use.

This post is linked to: 2009 Stock Exchange

Crockpot BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Now that the weather is turning cooler here in Michigan, I’ve noticed I’m using my crock pot more and more. Plus it’s a fabulous way to cook some great meals without a lot of effort. And one meal I’ve come up with, we’ve enjoyed quite a few times over the last month or so.

Crockpot BBQ Beef

4 lbs beef (roast/short ribs/stew meat)

2 cups tomato sauce

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup unsulphered molasses

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp worchestershire or fish sauce

1 Tbsp dried onion

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Place beef in crockpot (best if cooked on low). Mix all of the other ingredients together and pour over beef. Cook all day on low. If using a roast, you can pull it apart during the last hour of cooking to increase the BBQ flavor throughout the beef.

Our favorite side with this dish is homemade au gratin potatoes, though the potatoes are not the quickest dish to make! So serve with your favorite potato or rice side along with a veggie!

Other ways I use my crockpot:

• Roasting whole chickens – I just place the whole rinsed chicken into the crockpot and let cook all day on low. Add in a bay leaf, salt, pepper, and maybe some onion and garlic for added flavor.
• Making chicken stock – after the whole chicken is done roasting, I put the bones, skin, and any extra ‘gunk’ from the chicken, any carrots, onion, and celery I have sitting around, along with a Tbsp of apple cider vinegar and let sit for an hour. Then cook on low at least overnight. I usually let mine simmer on low for about 24 hours.
• Regular ‘ol beef roast - I just toss in a beef roast, cut up a few carrots, stalks of celery, potatoes, and either leeks or onion along with some salt and pepper and let sit on low all day. So easy to do! If you’re short on time in the morning, just cut everything up the night before (place the potatoes in water so they don’t brown – just strain in the morning) and toss it all in the crockpot in the morning. One thing I do if there is a bone in the roast is I add in a Tbsp of apple cider vinegar and at least a few cups of water to make some bone broth as it cooks. Great for soups and gravies for future meals!

This post is linked to Nourishing Crockpot Carnival over at Passionate Homemaking. Head on over there to see some other great whole foods crockpot recipes!

And don’t forget to subscribe to my feed! I’ve got lots of new ideas and recipes coming for the new year!

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