Food

So a few years ago, when I was blogging here regularly, I was all into Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. I had a new baby, and breastfeeding had not worked out, so I used her raw milk formula for our little girl. The results have been amazing by the way- she had gorgeous skin, clear bright eyes, a strong constitution and is very smart. But, I may be a bit biased :)

Over time I began to get overwhelmed and stressed with many things, and let things go by the wayside little by little as far as food preparation. I realized that there really were no differences in our health when we ate 'perfectly' and when we didn't. And, in fact, sometimes I felt better when we ate no no food. So I completely dropped Nourishing Traditions.

The things that I've kept going are : we still eat full fat foods, whole milk and dairy products, meat with fat on it etc. I still use good fats which are butter, coconut oil and olive oil. We eat some organic things, we eat whole grain bread which I make homemade sometimes, and we eat plenty of fresh and frozen produce, no canned. But that's it really. I am getting to the point where I want to slowly add some things back into my life that I used to do, like keeping a sourdough starter. I miss the sourdough bread! And, I want to try water kefir again. Milk kefir is rather unappealing to me now, for whatever reason, water kefir is quite versatile, like making a healthy soda. Sounds good for the general hot weather we have most of the year here.

Other than that I have no desire to do so much food preparations as I did before. I don't soak grains, I do soak beans most of the time, I don't buy raw milk but I would like to get back into that. We grow a vegetable garden as organically as possible. But, we're fairly normal. We drink sweetened iced tea year round, I drink coffee with sugar and cream, we use boxed macncheese, potato chips, prepackaged things for lunches like containers of applesauce, string cheese, lunch meats, regular mayonnaise, white sugar in cookies or desserts and so on. And it's ok.

I cook from scratch at least 80% of the time. We may eat fast food a few times a month depending on the circumstances. We eat regular meat from the grocery store. It's just not worth the time and expense and stress that it causes to round up all of the so called healthy foods. The key for me is listening to the Greater One that lives in me, and not making myself adhere to restrictions He didn't put on me. Lately I've been getting the impression we should add or subtract some things in our diets, and the measuring stick for me is, if it doesn't cause me stress, then it's generally from the Lord.

I think I need to do a colon cleanse (by Dr. Schulze) and start taking some really good vitamins. I am also going to switch our refined sweeteners to healthier ones, gradually....that combined with eating homemade fiber filled bread and garden produce will go a long way in helping our bodies work properly. I cannot emphasize enough that stress about food negates whatever good you are trying to do. I experienced it a couple of years ago and it was very eye opening. Stress is more harmful that bad food. If you are stressed about diet and food, let it go!

That being said, here is our supper menu for the week:

Monday- homemade hamburger helper type meal, salad
Tuesday- barbecue pork loin, baked beans, corn on the cob
Wednesday- salmon patty burgers (we call them Krabby Patties, yes we succumbed to spongebob!) oven fries
Thursday-pinto beans, yooper macncheese, fruit salad
Friday-baked tacos, mexican pinto beans, fresh avocado salsa and chips
Saturday-baked ziti, steamed broccoli, garlic bread (homemade)
Sunday-leftovers or ramen noodle soup!

Kitchen Happenings

So what's been going on in my kitchen lately? I actually took some pictures last night!!

We had homemade chicken noodle soup- super for immune boosting.




And delicious whole milk yogurt topped with this berry sauce- raspberries, blueberries and blackberries sweetened with sucanat and thickened with arrowroot powder.




Here's my brewing cupboard- an every growing kombucha mushroom that I need to pull out of there and make a new batch of! And a jar of kefir, almost ready to refrigerate.



I have 2 cups of steel cut Scottish Oatmeal soaking in water and whey for today's breakfast. Yum. No comparison to regular rolled oats.




Here are my herbal brews! I finally got them going! I have two large jars of immune booster and 1 of sleepy time. I'll give the recipes later.



I also made a large pitcher of herbal tea since the tinctures aren't ready yet. This is a mix of elderberries, echinacea tops and roots, yarrow, mullein and catnip. I HIGHLY recommend buying herbs from www.bulkherbstore.com You get a LOT of herbs for the price. I was absolutely floored when I saw how much I got in each bag!!!


And here is a kitchen tip. When I open a bag that doesn't have resealable thingie, I use clothespins! Works great- much better than the little twist ties and cheaper than buying 'Chip Clips'. I do also save the twisties from bread packages as well.


And I must close the post with a baby picture :)



And maybe another....

Sourdough bread

Early this morning I got up and tried out Candy's bread recipe again. The last time I didn't have homemade buttermilk and had the Hodgson Mill brand of whole wheat flour. The result wasn't the best :(

So, I planned better this time around. I made my own buttermilk per her instructions so it was ready by yesterday afternoon. Then I took my sourdough starter out an fed it and let it sit overnight last night. I woke up at my usual early time (by myself) and started working on it.

My buttermilk was so thick, like yogurt! I used 3.5 cups of that, 5 cups of starter because mine isn't homemade and is from white flour, so I wanted to use a bit more in case it didn't leaven as quickly as Candy's. I didn't have maple syrup or honey so I used some natural sugar. I kept everything else the same. I ended up just using 8-10 cups of flour- Gold Medal brand whole wheat flour.

I kneaded the dough at least 15 minutes, maybe more, to fully develop the gluten which is what makes a whole wheat bread not taste so heavy. I only made three loaves out of mine since I only have three loaf pans- they'll be big loaves I guess. I put them in buttered pans and covered them with a wet towel. That was at 7am and they are now fully risen at 1:57pm. So, about 6 hrs of rise time. I'm about to bake them and we'll see how it works out.

For anyone not familiar with sourdough, it is so easy to make. And the bread is easy too because there isn't any waiting for the yeast to bloom, you don't have to let the whole batch rise, then shape into loaves, then rise again etc. Most sourdough bread recipes are simply starter, flour, salt, sugar, some butter/fat and water. Very easy and the dough comes together nicely, which is a big plus for me, because I hate sticky dough!! Yuck...

I will do my absolute best to take a picture later, but no promises. I've been awful about picture taking lately, sorry, so busy!!!

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Ok, here are some pictures. Here are my fully risen loaves.

You've probably read what Candy says about not being able to get all the loaves the same shape. Well, neither can I.

And here are the loaves baked up and sliced. This bread is GREAT!!!!! The key I think is the homemade buttermilk and how you bake it. 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then I did 30 minutes at 325 degreees.

The bread doesn't have a sour taste at all, just yummy all purpose soft bread. I sliced a loaf and put in a plastic gallon baggie, then wrapped the other loaves in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. I think they stay moister if you leave them in whole loaves for the freezer.

So there it is, truly amazing bread. Thanks Candy!

Going Meatless

Well, some of the time. Back when I was on a very strict eating plan (before children, B.C.) we only ate meat maybe twice a week. I felt great and was losing weight! Anyways, personally, I really like meat and as long as you can get good quality meat it is a health giving food.

But, most of us can't get good meat because of price or lack of availability. However I would encourage anyone to go to www.localharvest.org and you may be able to find good meat sources. I was surprised to find several farms nearby that sell free range chicken, turkey, eggs and beef. I have to find out if we can afford it yet though...

Anyways, in trying to cut down the grocery bill a bit, I've been including more meatless meals. I finally seem to have figured out how to cook beans so that can live with each other, LOL. And my mother-in-law gave us a couple of pounds of organic navy beans and split peas. Free stuff! My goal is 3-4 meatless meals per week.

This week's plan was:
Monday- shepherd's pie using 1 lb ground beef and lots of smashed taters on top, broccoli, cupcakes for Sarah's b-day
Tuesday- we ate whole wheat waffles with cinnamon apples and turkey bacon
Wednesday- homemade baked beans, potato salad, corn
Thursday- French onion soup (with toasted homemade sourdough bread and cheese on top) and potato-cheese pierogis
Friday-spaghetti with 1lb meat, salad and maybe a dessert
Saturday- not sure yet, birthday party day, maybe something in crockpot
Sunday-tomato soup and grilled cheese

For breakfasts we've been eating eggs, hot cereals and today was French toast. I've stopped buying turkey ham and bacon so much and limit it. Monday I made biscuits, bacon and fruit since we were out of eggs. Lunches are interesting. One day I cut up some homemade venison summer sausage (father-in-law's), cheese, deli turkey, grape tomatoes, pink grapefruit and carrot sticks, piled it on a plate and let the girls pick how much they wanted to eat. They ate the whole plate! There was a lot of food too. One day I made tuna salad eaten with saltines and fruit.

So, how do I pick what meals to make and such?

Well, sometimes I look online, but then I get confused because there is SO much to look at. I mainly started thinking back to the meals I used to make and pray. I think of what meals we like that can be meatless too, like spaghetti doesn't have to have meat in it.

Here is a list of meals that are good and meatless:

macaroni and cheese

potato soup-can be made so many different ways

burritos with beans and rice or lentils

chili with beans and veggies-no meat

egg quiches or fritattas

any kind of veggie soup and the French onion soup too

baked potatoes with toppings! (broccoli, cheese, veggie chili etc)

cheesy lasagna

cheese enchiladas

baked beans, tater or pasta salad

Cheese and eggs are protein and can be considered a type of meat, but they are generally cheaper than meat. It's easier to find good quality eggs at an affordable price too. Stretching meat is a good skill to have too. We all know it's a better deal to buy a whole chicken and use it a few different ways.

1. Roast chicken and serve with veggies, rice etc.
2. pick all meat off, put carcass in pot of water with veggies and let simmer a long time to make stock.
3. Use meat to make chicken salad, chicken soup, chicken and dumplings, mix with beans for chicken burritos,make chicken pot pie etc.
4. make soup with stock

Or, cook a roast and use the leftovers for stew, stroganoff, sandwiches etc. I only buy roasts when they're on sale though.
Well, this may not be anything new, but it's what I'm working on.

In My Kitchen Day 4

Ok, this will be my last kitchen day. I skipped breakfast and lunch pictures, since they were repeats, however I did make tuna salad for lunch, but it didn't look too lovely :)

So, before lunch I heat about 9oz of whole milk and half and half together, and put it in this little saucepan to heat to 160 degrees with the candy thermometer. The kind of yogurt I make is called Caspian Sea Yogurt, and it's really easy and really good. I haven't made a large batch yet, but I plan to soon. The yogurt has a good consistency, isn't very tart, and you can make it richer with the addition of extra fat. (cream or half and half)

While that was heating I started the tea for making kombucha. I got my big pot out and measured 8 cups of water. I put it in the pot and turned the burner on high to get the water boiling.
Unfortunately while that was coming to a boil my milk almost boiled over and got too hot! I had to strain it because it got scorched. I always do that!
I think it will be ok, so I just pour it into the jar to cool down. The water is boiling so it's time to add the sugar. This time I am putting in a cup and a half of sugar in hopes that the brew will need a longer brewing time. Remember last week it was ready in four days!

This is the kind of tea I use. I am brand loyal to Lipton tea bags- it's just the best tasting in my opinion and it's the only kind my mom used. I also added an herbal peach tea bag too. This makes great regular iced tea- we love our iced tea!

Now we have to let that cool before we can put the scoby in. Time to get back to the yogurt. It is just barely warm to the touch now, so I add 2 T of yogurt from the previous batch.

Next I put a coffee filter on top held in place with a ring from the canning lid. It will set in 12-18hrs, then it goes into the fridge. I find the consistency to be perfect- not really thick and firm like custard style yogurt, but not runny. Mine is usually done in 12 hrs, so I will most likely put it in the fridge just before bed tonight.

The tea has cooled enough now, so I get my pickle jar washed and pour in the tea.
Then I get my 'mushroom' from the fridge that we put in there last week. In it goes with some of the kombucha from the previous batch. I put another coffee filter on top and secure with a rubber band before put it in the cupboard. And that's that!
I will have more pictures of dinner and bread making later. Again we are now getting the blue underlined words here but I don't know why, sorry. I am going to try making two loaves of bread today.To be continued ;)

In My Kitchen Day 3

What a busy day! I've been doing extra cooking, painting the walls of a room, cutting out fabric for dresses and rearranging toys and stuff. I haven't really had time to get the pictures up till now.

So, today we sort of slept in, or at least didn't get up till almost 7:30. Yeah, that is sleeping in at this house :( I didn't have anything planned for breakfast, which isn't a good thing, but I flipped through one of my favorite cook books, and decided to make cinnamon roll biscuits. I've never made them before and usually on Saturday is when I make us something special for breakfast.

I got my wonderful kitchen aid mixer out, what a blessing, and put the dry ingredients in. Then I dropped in the cold butter cubes.
After the dough was ready I rolled it into something like a rectangle, buttered it and sprinkled sucanat (Evaporated cane juice) and cinnamon on liberally.
Next you roll it up in a log and start slicing. I wanted to get them all in one pan so I packed them in. I still didn't get them all in one pan though. (oh, and I used Bob's Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour)
I popped them into the oven and started making scrambled eggs.
Then I made a glaze for the cinnamon rolls. I melted 1 T butter, added 1 cup of powdered sugar, 4-5t milk and a drop of vanilla extract. Like I said, a special treat :) The biscuits are done and ready to be 'glazed'.
And that was breakfast. My husband took the older two girls with him to run some errands, so it was just me and Sarah for lunch. She ate some Gerber graduates things and I had leftover stew, which by the way was great! It came out sooo good- the deer meat didn't taste 'gamey' at all. Dee-lish! However the trash was stinking up the house, so after taking it outside I started some simmering potpourri- orange peel, cinnamon sticks and ground cloves.





This afternoon, around 3:30-4pm I started a new batch of kefir. Last time I put less grains in and it took about 30hrs, so I wanted to time it to where it would be ready tomorrow night.
I put approximately 2 cups of milk into my honey jar, then about 2T grains.

Then I put the kefir in the cupboard to do it's thing- this is where it lives.



Next I made some raspberry bars for our church potluck tomorrow. They are so good and so easy to make. To view the recipe, go here.
All ready for the oven!

For supper tonight we are having salmon patties and pasta salad. I was going to make oven fries, but I was getting tired and didn't feel like peeling potatoes. I tried the oven browning method again. I don't like salmon patty mixture in a loaf pan, but I don't like having to stand at the skillet cooking the patties and turning them. So, I oiled up the sheet pan with olive oil, put all the patties on it, then topped each one with a bit of butter.

After about 20 minutes on one side I cranked up the heat to 425 and turned them to the other side for about 15 minutes. They came out great!

I started the pasta salad while they cooled off- chopped celery and red onion, sliced grape tomatoes, canned white beans, Italian dressing and macaroni.
Well, that's the end of day 3. I will not be doing anymore tomorrow, and I will probably do just one more day next week so I can show how I make yogurt and kombucha. As you can see, I do cook a lot of different things, but much of our food is still pretty 'normal'. I'm not perfectly strict about our diet- I can't be! I can't keep track of it all the time.

One more thing, this is what our sunset looked like tonight- so pretty!

In My Kitchen Day 2

Well here is a picture of the bread I made last night. I tried to slash it so it would break open like it has before, but I really need a razor blade to cut through the sticky dough. I think next time I need to use less starter or make two loaves!


After I turned it out onto the towel I went to bed :)

This morning my husband got going earlier than me and started the coffee pot for me. Thanks! So I set to work toasting the fresh bread and frying up eggs in coconut oil, which is really good by the way :)


Coconut oil is an exceptional fat. I don't have time to go into it, but I can tell you it's antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal. Many people who have candida albicans overgrowth are able to get rid of it by eating virgin coconut oil. It is healing to the gut and many who have thyroid problems find the coconut oil helps them a lot. This tub costs about $10 and lasts anywhere from 1-3 months depending on what I do with it. Mostly we fry eggs in it, butter bread with it, or I will use it in baking.


I had two eggs, runny in the middle, which I used to hate, and ended up eating two slices of the bread I made with butter, cinnamon and raw honey. Better than regular cinnamon sugar toast!
So I said I wasn't going shopping with children anymore. Well sometimes there isn't any other choice, so that's what I did today.

My husband works for Brookshires, a grocery store chain that's mostly in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and some in Oklahoma. I like going there because it's smaller, less people, usually better quality than our walmart, they sack your groceries and take them to the car and the carts are better. I do not like that their prices are high than most everywhere else, especially on some items like specialty items. (organic and things like that) Sometimes they have good deals, like today was buy one package of chicken breasts and get one free.

I loaded up the chillins' and drove the 3 minutes to the store, LOL.

Here are the kids in the cart; I like the set up where they can see where they are going and not where they've been. I generally have better luck with them behaving well at Brookshires. Walmart is a circus.

I didn't take many pictures in the store because most of the time people were around and I didn't want questions about why I was taking pictures. Check out the price of this milk I buy. However in February we are switching back to the raw goat milk, so it will be double that.


And this is the kind of eggs we buy. For a long time they were only $1.49 per dozen, now they are double that! Oh well, good nutrition pays off in the end.



I'm not sure why everything is underlined and I can't get it to stop, so we'll just have to deal with it for now.

Here we are at the checkout with all of our groceries.



Sarah is quite unhappy as you can see. They ALL started crying right after I took the picture. That was a lot of fun-not. After I got home I realized that one of my gallons of milk didn't make it with me. I called the store and they actually delivered it to me! I can't say how thankful I am that I didn't have to get everyone back in the car and go back up to the store.




This was the girls' lunch. I let them pick it out at the store. Lunches just aren't my thing. It's either leftovers or from the freezer/can. If I want to be healthy I make tuna or egg salad with veggie/fruit sticks. In the grand scheme of things, eating a not so healthy lunch once or twice a week isn't going to kill us :) I ate leftover rice and chicken and meatloaf :)

Sarah enjoyed her lunch :) We also had a small piece of the coconut banana cake I posted about earlier.


Everyone is asleep now. It's getting close to 3pm and I need to start the stew. I have deer meat in the freezer from my father-in-law in Upper Michigan. I've never cooked game and only eaten it once I think. So here we go. I have no recipe, I'm just making it up here, and am trying out my Pampered Chef stoneware cooker again.

Here's the meat- kinda looks like liver or something.
I cut it up, tossed it in some flour and salt, poured olive oil in my cooker, then put the meat in it.

I had preheated the oven to 425 degrees, then I put the meat in for about 10 minutes. Then I stirred the meat around and let it go a few more minutes. While it cooked I chopped all the veggies.
The meat browned up pretty well with this method. I added some dried thyme, worcestershire sauce, all the veggies and then poured water up about half way in the pan. I covered it and stupidly grabbed the pan with my bare hands! Luckily I yanked my hands away quick enough I didn't get burned. I will not be adding potatoes to the stew, I'll just serve it with bread and a salad and that should be plenty :)

Alright, time to check the kombucha. It was looking like it might be ready already so I tasted it. Yep, it's ready. I only started it on Tuesday! I guess I need to add more sugar next time or something...So, now I have all this kombucha in my fridge!

Here's the mushroom from the previous batch(on the left, good ones on the right in the bowl). He's not looking too good, so I'm throwing it out. The new one goes in the fridge till next week. We're overflowing with kombucha and kefir right now. From left to right- two batches of kombucha, our milk, the kefir, juice, yogurt...the kefir grains and kombucha scoby are in there too.
I snapped a picture of me too, since you all haven't seen a recent picture of me. I haven't changed, except I am wearing jeans here.
Well this may be all I do for today. These posts are getting rather long. Hopefully tomorrow my husband can take some pictures of me doing stuff- we'll see, I may not have time depending on what we end up doing- my visionary husband!
By the way, all the pictures are 'clickable' and will open into a larger image. Also there are lots of typos- sorry, trying to do this fast when I can!!