too good to be true

Wake up and uncook

Our kitchen is finally functional again and we have been having a lot of fun playing with uncooking.  It has been a revelation how simple and and satisfying food can be when you let it be itself.  I made up this breakfast one day and it has become our staple.  I love the process of starting a meal the night before and letting everything come alive naturally.  I hope you enjoy this.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups raw hulled buckwheat
• 1/2 raw almonds
• 4 pitted dates
• 1/4 dried cranberries
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 almond milk
• (optional) maple syrup or agave nectar to taste

1. Soak the buckwheat, almonds, dates and cranberries in water overnight
2. In the morning drain the water and add the vanilla, cinnamon and almond milk.
3. Process in a food processor till smooth.
4. Serve with fresh fruit and berries on top. (Erin likes mulberries and blueberries!)

Guest Blogger :: Raw Zucchini Pasta

Hey y'all! It's Bluebirdbaby here! I'm stepping in for Sasa to post this requested recipe from my blog. I should first explain why the raw kick...

Since having the stomach bug a few weeks ago, all I've been craving is raw food. I've never, ever understood those "raw diets" and thought they were too extreme. But I've been essentially eating 95% raw for the last few weeks. It has dramatically changed my health. My energy level has skyrocketed, I sleep better, feel more awake, my skin is clearer, and I am headache and migraine free. Wow. I'm hooked. Luckily, I have a good friend who loves to make me raw treats like cinnamon buns and raw flax crackers. Lucky me!

Anyone who hangs around us at dinner time will know that my favorite foods are pesto and pasta. For some reason I wasn't too discouraged about giving up pasta, because I knew there had to be a yummier substitute. That's when I heard about raw zucchini pasta. And let me tell you, it's even better than pasta! We dined on raw zucchini pasta, homemade pesto, avocados, and cherry tomatoes (a treat for us!) accompanied with some elderflower sparkling water. It was so very lovely.

Here's how to make your own ::

Raw zucchini pasta:

• 2-3 medium zucchinis peeled with a serrated peeler. (Like the middle one in this set) Discard outside skin.

Pesto:

• 1/2 cup fresh basil
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves raw garlic
• optional 2 tbs Parmesan

1. Blend ingredients for pesto in a food processor until smooth.
2. Scoop zucchini pasta into bowls.
3. Top with pesto.
4. Add some kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes and avocados.

Super easy, stove-free meal that is oh so tasty! We hope you enjoy!

Secret Pea Soup

Pea soup is one of my favorites.  It always reminds me of the joys of New England.  Thick fogs,  damp bone chilling cold, pelting icy rain, and endless mud. Pea soup is what will warm the belly and cheer the spirit as we wait eternally for spring in Maine.  The secret here is that this pea soup is extra rich, and full of rib sticking goodness to get us thru any nor'easter.

Secret Pea Soup:

• 2 onions chopped
• 2 carrots chopped
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 Tbs oil
• 2 quarts stock or water
• 2 potatoes diced
• 1 bunch kale chopped
• 1 1/12 cups dried split peas
• 1/4 cup white rice
• 1/2 lb italian sausage sliced thin (optional)

1. saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic till soft
2. add the stock potatoes, kale, peas, and rice and simmer for about 2 hours or longer, adding more liquid if needed, till peas are soft.
3. puree till smooth
4. saute the sliced sausage and add to the soup
5. season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg

We enjoyed this soup on a chilly rainy day and it was just what we needed to keep warm and happy. Now you know my secret.

Everyday Bread

Erin wanted to start baking bread with the little one every week, so I came up with this good everyday bread recipe. It's not a soft bread but works well for bread and butter with tea, or sandwiches. And the added flax gives it a little extra fiber and whole grain taste. I'm going to work on a soft bread next.

Everyday Bread:

Dry:

• 1 cup gluten free oat flour (we grind oats in a coffee grinder)
• 2 cups brown rice flour
• 1 cup white rice flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 1 tsp. xantham gum
• 1 tsp. salt

Wet:

• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbs. oil
• 1 Tbs. honey
• 1 egg
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 Tbs. yeast

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients.
2. Mix all wet ingredients except yeast.
3. Add yeast (sprinkle on top of wet ingredients) and let sit until foamy, about five minutes.
4. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
5. Beat well for about five minutes.
6. Put in warm place, covered with wet towel, for about an hour and a half.
7. Pour batter into greased bread pan.
8. Place in a cold oven and heat to 350 degrees.
9. Bake for about an hour and a half, till brown and crusty.
10. Let cool on wire rack.

The pea soup request is up next. Followed by my famous granola. Thanks for all your requests.

Easy Peasy Sunny Soup

Good to eat, quick to make...this sunny soup will surely brighten any day. We enjoyed this out on the back porch while watching Elisabeth fish in her kiddie pool.

Sunny Soup:

• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 sweet onion diced
• 2 yams, peeled and chopped into small chunks
• 1 quart veggie or chicken broth
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 tbs. curry powder

1. Put about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil or butter into the bottom of a soup pot.
2. Heat oil, add garlic and onions. Cook until translucent.
3. Add chopped yams, stirring frequently for about two minutes.
4. Add broth and cook until sweet potatoes are soft.
5. Add coconut milk and curry powder.
6. Using a hand blender, puree the soup until it's smooth.

Leave me a request for more recipes! What are you looking to make?

Chicken Pie...Oh My!

One of my favorite dinners when i was a kid was chicken pot pie.  We usually had it on Friday night when my parents went out.  It was always a fun dinner with the baby sitter,  the chicken pot pie was warm and rich and filling. And we knew we were going to get to stay up late so we could just relax and stuff ourselves.

Recently Erin revealed that she had a secret craving for pot pie too.  And then we got invited to our friend's next door for a pot luck dinner.  So it seemed like the perfect time to make up a chicken pot pie from the past.

Pie Crust

Dry:

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 potato starch
• 1/2 cup white rice flour
• 1/4 tsp xantham gum
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 sticks cold butter

Wet:

• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cold water

1. Mix flour, xanthum gum and salt.
2. Cut in butter.
3. Beat eggs, add water and mix in flour.
4. Chill for one hour.

Pie Filling

• 1 pound chicken, diced
• 2 onions, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 3 celery sticks, diced
• 3 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 package frozen peas
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 3 Tbls. potato starch
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 1 tsp. sage
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute onions, carrots and celery until soft.
2. Cook the potatoes in the chicken stock until soft. Add frozen peas and cook till done. Add spices.
3. Mix potato starch into 1/4 cup cream.
4. Add stock (with potatoes and peas) to the vegetables.
5. Add diced chicken and simmer until tender.
6. Add cream and potato starch and bring to a boil.
7. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
8. Grease a deep dish pie pan. Roll out 1/2 the dough and line the pie pan.
9. Roll out the top dough.
10. Pour the filling into the pie dough. Cover with top dough, and place pie pan on cookie sheet.
11. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
12. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

The pot luck dinner took place in the middle of a snowstorm.  Everybody managed to make it there and we had a wonderful time.  Elisabeth pretended she was a kitty, and the food was amazing.  Eating chicken pot pie with friends in a snow storm was just like being a kid again.

A Sushi How-To

Sushi is amazing. It is simple, and delicious, bite sized, and really good for you.  It looks complicated but is really fun to make.  It is especially fun for kids to help, and it makes a perfect snack or lunch.  Start by preparing:

Sushi rice

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup japanese sushi rice
• 2 tbs agave nectar
• 2 tbs rice vinegar

1. put the water and the rice in a pot and bring to a boil
2. reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until all the water is absorbed.  the rice should be sticky.
3. scoop into a bowl and let cool.
4. add the rice and agave nectar and mix well.

While the rice is cooling, you can chop the sushi filling.  We like to use carrot, cucumber, avocado, smoked salmon, and Erin really likes cream cheese, even if it is not very Japanese.  You can use almost anything: scallions, burdock root, umoboshi paste, whatever sounds good.  Cut everything into long thin strips and set aside.

finally you will need four sheets of nori, a bamboo mat, a bowl of cold water to dip you fingers in, and a bowl of wasabi mixed with water.

Lay the nori sheet on the bamboo mat, place a scant 1/2 cup of rice in the lower half of the nori.

Dip your fingers in the water and spread the rice over the nori so it covers two thirds of the sheet

 

Place the filling in the center of the rice.

 

Like this

And dip a finger into the wasabi mixture and spread along the upper edge of the nori sheet

Lift the bottom edge and start to roll the sheet up.

Use the bamboo mat and roll back and forth to make a tight cylinder.

Place the roll on a wooden cutting board and repeat with the other three nori rolls, using any variation of fillings.  Cut the rolls into half inch slices with a very sharp, thin knife. A serrated bread knife works well, or a good japanese sushi knife.  Wash the knife if it gets sticky.

Place the pieces of sushi on  a platter and serve with tamari sauce and wasabi paste.  Eating this with your fingers while sitting on the floor and watching a movie is especially good.  Let me know how you like it.

Honey Yummies for your Yummy Honey

 

 These are what all my honeys got today.  This is my recipe for love.

Honey Yummies

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup honey or agave nectar
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup cocoa nibs
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 Tbs flax powder
• 1 Tbs sesame seed
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 10 oz dark semisweet chocolate
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

1. mix everything except the dark chocolate and cream together in a large bowl
2. scoop out a level tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball
3. if it is too soft, add more cocoa powder, if it is too firm add a little more sweetener
4. place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and chill for an hour
5. meanwhile melt the chocolate in a double boiler until it melts
6. slowly pour in the heavy cream while beating constantly with a whisk
7. when the balls are chilled, dip them one by one into the melted chocolate to coat, and place on wax paper to cool. if the chocolate seems too thick, beat in a little more cream until it coats the balls well
8. let cool until the chocolate coating hardens.
9. find your sweetheart and give them a big smooch and plate of honey yummies

Happy Valentines Day!

Book Review-Food Rules

I am reading a wonderful book by Michael Pollan called Food Rules; An Eater's Manual.  It is not a cookbook or a diet book or really like any book on food I've read before.  It is a very simple, and very wise, and very funny look at what is and is not food.  And it is pretty much everything you need to know about what to buy, how to cook, and what to eat.

The first section is called, simply,  "What should I eat?".   Rule one,  "Eat food".   Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food, don't eat anything with ingredients a third grader couldn't pronounce, avoid foods that are pretending to something they are not.  This pretty much eliminates alot of what is sold in supermarkets as food.  But is leaves us with so much to choose from.  Plain, simple food that has been nourishing us forever.

So what kind of food should we eat.  Section two says, "Mostly plants, especially the leaves.  I really like Rule 19: "If it came from a plant,  eat it.  If it was made in a plant, don't."  Next time you go shopping notice how much of our food is industrial.  Even health foods, despite being made with good ingredients, are still made in factories and shipped thousands of miles. And I like Rule 35, "Eat sweets as you find them in nature".   I remember in the Little House on the Prairie books what a treat it was to get fresh fruit.  And I remember as a kid visiting my aunt in Florida and how magical it was to pick an orange right off the tree.  And how sweet and good it tasted.  I forget sometimes what a miracle a fresh strawberry is.  And how lucky we are to find so much sweetness all around us.

The last section is "How should I eat?".  The answer, "Not too much"  was a revelation to me.  I love to cook and I love to eat,  alot!  Never really to excess, but maybe more than I need.  I know that often I am not eating to live, but for recreation.  And it is good to be reminded, as Rule 47 says to "Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored.  I also like Rule 51, "Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it.   Which brings me around back to what I hope this blog is all about, the simple joy of fresh food, made with love, and shared with those you love.

I will leave you with the very last Rule, which is to break the rules once in a while.  I enjoy this book so much because it does give simple, clear, easy to remember reminders without taking itself too seriously.  Food means so much.  It is what we are made of,  it is our connection to the earth and it is what brings us together.  And it is fun. 

Good Morning Frittata

The little one and i got up extra early Saturday  morning and found a nest full of eggs.  The chickens appear to have spring fever.  So we got busy and made this for breakfast while mama got some beauty sleep.  Elisabeth is a master egg beater and does a good job with toast too.  We welcomed Erin, who was looking extra beautiful, with coffee and cheers and enjoyed a long happy morning,

 

Frittata

• 6 eggs, just laid, beaten with 2 tbs water
• 1 Tbs butter
•  bunch of spinach,  chopped
• dozen cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup kalmata olives, halved
• 4ozs feta cheese, crumbled
• fresh basil, chopped
• salt and pepper

1. melt butter in cast iron pan and swish around edges
2. add spinach and tomatoes and olives and eggs and cook over low heat until the sides begin to set
3. run a spatula around the edge, and allow the liquid from the center to flow under the bottom
4. add the feta and basil and continue cooking until eggs are firm and just a little runny on top
5. place pan under broiler till  the eggs puff up and are browned
6. let cool a few minutes and cut into four pieces