Making Maple Syrup

I just read a letter about New Englanders readying their equipment for maple syrup season. It reminded me of long ago when we helped Monte's dad make maple syrup in Wisconsin. We didn't do it a lot cuz it's impossible to plan "vacation time" when you never know when the sap will start running.

Tho Monte's cousins have established modern ways of maple syrup making and creating businesses, Monte's dad did it the old fashioned way. He hung buckets on the trees, rather than having hoses run to holding tanks in sheds. Riding the 4-wheeler thru-out the day and night to collect full buckets AND to keep the fire stoked under the large flat boiler pan, was work. It was all done out in the open and not a shed with stove burners. He wasn't doing it for a business, just enough for the family. Emery grew up on a homestead there and maple syrup was their main sweetener, so he'd gotten a bit sick of it. But moving back to the homestead and having Grandkids (and a curious wife of his son - ME) ask about the old day experiences kinda made him want to do it again.

Did you know it takes 40 gallons of sap to cook down to 1 gallon of syrup? The taste of the cold sap with a hint of maple flavor is very good and refreshing. And if you've read Laura Ingals Wilder books you'll know there's something called "sugar snow". It's an extra surge of sap run after the season is basically over - just a bit of freeze and thaw. They'd celebrate by making syrup from it and eating it over snow like a snow-cone.

I'm going to post a string of old photos from our experience.

Travis straining sap into old milk cans in the 4-wheeler

Travis and sap in milk cans on 4-wheeler

Grandpa talking to Travis

Collecting maple tree sap

Grandpa Emery and Heather riding the 4-wheeler

Me with Travis collecting sap from tapped maple trees

Monte's dad - Grandpa Emery

Heather with tree sap collecting pail

Travis by the boiling area checking on the fire

Grandpa Emery, little Dawson, and Travis boiling down the maple sap for syrup

Memories? The brisk out-of-doors with no mosquitoes, tics, or black flies; identifying tracks of animals in the mud; beaver coming out of dens on the breaking up ice ponds; wood smoke; pancakes with fresh syrup . . .

We don't have hard maples in Colorado. We still have some jars left, tho it's been years, that we're saving . . . Not sure for what . . . But it reminds us . . .


Shared with: Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday

Soaked and Dried (Chocolate) Cereal

My pantry shelf with the jars of both plain healthy cereal and chocolate cereal

Some of this post is an older post, but I need to add the chocolate addition (since I was just eating some in my chia seed dairy kefir (did I do a post on that too? Hmmm . . .). I know I've mentioned somewhere about tweaking a chocolate cereal recipe. Monte requested it after having some chocolate granola from the store. My first try was with coco powder. It worked, but I wanted to experiment more. So, I've added some more pictures, and below I'll add what I now do . . .

Healthy 7 Grain soaked and dried Cereal

I've been making this cereal now for months. Everyone loves it - not only as a breakfast cold cereal, but it also makes a great snack. I'm now making it more often cuz I give it to both my sons. I mention it in an earlier post with source links to the health benefits of soaking grains. I'll be talking about these health reasons as well in a future post. That same earlier post also has recipes from my cookbook - how I made "cold" cereal before the knowledge of soaking grains.



You can use any flour. Since I've been grinding grains into flour for over 30 years, whenever I can get more grain varieties into our diet beyond basic wheat I go for it. So I make this cereal with a 7 grain mix I get in 25/50# bags.

When I had a lot of excess raw dairy milk by-products: whether plain soured milk, yogurt, or dairy kefir, that's what I made this with. Now I've narrowed our raw milk usage down to what we really like, and worth the extra cost and benefits of the raw dairy (I'll do a post about this). If I don't have enough dairy kefir, I buy a cultured buttermilk for making this cereal.

HEALTHY COLD CEREAL

1 quart cultured dairy (kefir, buttermilk, yogurt, or soured milk)
2 pounds flour
I weigh the flour now (for lots of things, especially sourdough) since amounts by cup vary depending on whether fresh ground or compacted over time. So cup-wise? Maybe around 8 cups.

Mix this together in a bowl to sit and soak for 24 hours.

The next day, after the 24 hour soak, mix in  -
1 C coconut oil (unrefined- organic virgin best)
1 C maple syrup (grade B is best)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
3 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tb cinnamon




After mixing all together well spread in 2 baking pans. 9x13 would probably work; my 2 pans are 11x17. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You don't want to over bake.

One pan of chocolate soaked cereal

When you want some chocolate cereal too, use the same recipe above. Put half in one pan, then mix into the other half one melted 4oz bar of 65-75% chocolate. Then spread that mixture into the second pan. Bake, crumble, and dry as stated.
 

Divide and crumble 'coffee cakes' for 9 dehydrator trays

Let these "coffee cakes" cool before crumbling into small pieces. You could dry this in a low temp oven at 200F, but you'll need lots of baking sheets to effectively dry. I dry mine in my dehydrator for about 12 hours.

I have ours in a glass canister for easy access and beauty! Try it, you'll like it!



Shared with: Granny's Vitals, My Cultured Palate, Simple Lives Thursday, Chicken Chick, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, A Better Mom, Hearth and Soul Hop, The Gathering Spot, Homestead Barn Hop, Nourishing Treasures, Traditional Tuesday

Soaked and Dried Cereal

Healthy 7 Grain soaked and dried Cereal

I've been making this cereal now for months. Everyone loves it - not only as a breakfast cold cereal, but it also makes a great snack. I'm now making it more often cuz I give it to both my sons. I mention it in an earlier post with source links to the health benefits of soaking grains. I'll be talking about these health reasons as well in a future post. That same earlier post also has recipes from my cookbook - how I made "cold" cereal before the knowledge of soaking grains.


You can use any flour. Since I've been grinding grains into flour for over 30 years, whenever I can get more grain varieties into our diet beyond basic wheat I go for it. So I make this cereal with a 7 or 9 grain mix I get in 50# bags.

When I had a lot of excess raw dairy milk by-products: whether plain soured milk, yogurt, or dairy kefir, that's what I made this with. Now that I've narrowed our raw milk usage down to what we really like and worth the extra cost and benefits of the raw dairy (I'll do a post about this). If I don't have enough dairy kefir, I buy a cultured buttermilk for making this cereal.

HEALTHY COLD CEREAL

1 quart cultured dairy (kefir, buttermilk, yogurt, or soured milk)
2 pounds flour
I weigh the flour now (for lots of things, especially sourdough) since amounts by cup vary depending on whether fresh ground or compacted over time. So cup-wise? Maybe around 8 cups.

Mix this together in a bowl to sit and soak for 24 hours.

The next day, after the 24 hour soak, mix in  -
1 C coconut oil (unrefined- organic virgin best)
1 C maple syrup (grade B is best)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
3 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tb cinnamon




After mixing all together well spread in 2 baking pans. 9x13 would probably work; my 2 pans are 11x17. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You don't want to over bake.

Let these "coffee cakes" cool before crumbling into small pieces. You could dry this in a low temp oven at 200F, but you'll need lots of baking sheets to effectively dry. I dry mine in my dehydrator for about 12 hours.

I have ours in a glass canister for easy access and beauty! Try it, you'll like it!

Egg Dish / Casserole / Crustless Quiche

I've been a MOPS Mentor Mom for eleven years now. I occasionally bring an egg dish. So I have paper-clipped several 3x5 cards together filed under "E" for Eggs. This dish is a combination of several recipes I like. I'll give you the basic recipe that you can add anything to really.

CRUSTLESS QUICHE

Put 1/2C butter in a 9x13 dish and put in your preheating to 350 oven.
Mix together-
1C milk
6 lg eggs
2 1/2C ricotta cheese (1 pt container is fine)
1/2C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Pour over the melted butter and 1# grated cheese 

This is what I do now. I pull out one of my frozen 1/4# bag of greens (typical 10oz would work fine too) I froze from my garden - so either chard, kale, or spinach. Slightly thaw it and chop. I'll add this to the butter that's melting in the preheating oven. Grate any cheese I want to use up for adding to the dish when ready to pour the mixture over.  Mix all of the above replacing the flour with Masa (a corn flour made from corn soaked in lime water before drying and grinding - I use for corn tortillas and tamales). I sometimes use buttermilk in place of the milk. And add a 7oz can of a green salsa (salsa verde). Add the grated cheese to the dish and pour this mixture over. Bake about 45 minutes till set.

You could add chopped green chilies or layer whole green chilies for a relleno. Use broth in place of the milk. Chopped or stewed tomatoes. Use cottage cheese in place of the ricotta...

Ricotta Pancakes

Ricotta Pancakes

These are high protein pancakes. I typically make only three kinds of pancakes: my sourdough crepes, my rye sourdough pancakes, and these. We don't like the typical doughy pancakes, preferring more crepe/ swedish pancake style.

I made feta cheese and then ricotta cheese from the feta's whey the other day, so these pancakes are using my homemade ricotta.

RICOTTA PANCAKES
1C ricotta
4 lg eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3C oat flour (I had a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of oat and barley ground flour in the freezer bag)(you could blend this flour with the ricotta cheese or the added liquid overnight for a healthier soaked grain - better body assimilation)
2 Tb melted butter
pinch of salt
big pinch of nutmet (I have a nutmeg grinder - so very fresh)
2 Tb powdered egg whites (optional)
(I usually add 1/4-1/2C water, buttermilk, yogurt, or whey to thin them some)

Blend all in a blender. I have my large cast-iron griddle preheating while mixing ingredients together. When the griddle is hot enough, grease it. Pour the pancake sizes you like. Cook on both sides till done.

We always serve our pancakes with grade B maple syrup and homemade yogurt. Fruit too. Cook up some healthy bacon ...

Home Sweet Home

I was gone for two weeks - my daughter had her second baby - this time a girl - Bridget. What did I do the day I got home? I pulled out my Water Kefir grains and Sourdough starter from the fridge. Soaked nuts to dehydrate. Started the soaking process for Cold Cereal and Sourdough Crackers. And then got a batch begun for sourdough bread (which I'm going to have to post about). Those are now staples I always have on hand.

Bridget Lynn

Healthy Cold Cereal

Homemade cold cereal atop my homemade yogurt, unsweetened flaked coconut, and fruit

As I've said before, I've been reading in depth Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions book I've had for years, and now there's many gals writing blogs with recipes following her (The Weston Price Foundation) - Wise Traditions. This cereal recipe is from Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist. She tells you this is the only type of cold cereal you should be eating - get rid of all that processed boxed cereal!

My cookbook has some cereal recipes. I do them like crackers, rolling thin on cookie sheets, baking till crispy, and then breaking up in pieces. What I'd do differently with them now is soak the grain for at least 8 hours so it's healthier - easier to digest.

Oat and Barley flour mixed with yogurt to soak

This recipe soaks for 24 hours in yogurt - homemade yogurt of course. It's a keeper ... meaning we really like it. Next time I'm going to lesson the cinnamon amount and not use the maple flavoring. And I only used 1/2C of maple syrup. We're getting used to things not so sweet. And I'd like to taste the grain more. The freshly ground grain I made this from was oats and barley. Next time, Monte wants me to use the 7-grain mix. So again, as I've said before, you don't need to use wheat.













COLD BREAKFAST CEREAL
6 C freshly ground flour
3 C plain yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, or clabbered milk

Mix together in a large glass bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and rubber band and leave on the counter for 24 hours.

After soaking, mix the following into the batter -
3/4 C coconut or palm oil
3/4 C Grade B maple syrup(1/2C and 5 drops stevia may be substituted or honey)
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all together and pour, spreading in 2 - 9x13 pans and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (I used my 11x17 pans and baked about 20 minutes since thinner).

Let cool and crumble into small pieces (Sarah calls it "coffee cake" at this stage) and dry it at 200 degrees for about 12-18 hours (my dehydrator's highest temp is 155). Mine didn't take that long to get crispy.

The maple-cinnamon scent was sure strong throughout the house!

Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Mine is in a crock on the pantry shelf for now - it's disappearing fast!

FLAKE CEREAL (from my cookbook)
2C flour
(oat, barley, corn, buckwheat, rye, wheat ...)
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tb honey or molasses or maple syrup
1/2C milk

Combine. At this point, I rolled it thin on cookie sheets and baked at 350 for about 10-20 minutes till lightly browned. But now I'd suggest letting it soak at least 8 hours before rolling it out and baking. Crumble when cool and dry.

Eat these as you would your store-bought cold cereal and enjoy!

Sourdough Crepes

Once done I flip the sourdough crepe onto a plate

I like calendar days that contain stories and meal suggestions. For many years I've made crepes on Fat Tuesday/ Mardi Gras. My blog post on Mardi Gras into Lent is here. My crepe recipe is here. This year I made sourdough crepes.



Actually, since I found this crepe recipe (I bought the A to Z Sourdough eBook) I'm making them quite often. Sometimes for breakfast with unsweetened grated coconut, homemade yogurt, fruit and maple syrup. Sometimes for lunch or supper with leftovers of meats and veggies. These crepes can even be fried crisp like chips - use for nachos!



Before I jump into the recipe I have to start from the beginning, a very good place to start. My sourdough starter is made from rye flour. I used to have a starter I made from potatoes and wheat flour (it might have used a bit of yeast at the beginning, I don't remember) from an Alaska Sourdough book. When I bought Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions book in the early 2000's I started my rye starter. I use this starter for everything including the sourdough pancake recipe I got from the Alaskan book. My starter how-to along with the Sourdough pancakes I've made for years is here.

Starter in jar and crepe ingredients

SOURDOUGH CREPES

1 C sourdough starter

3 Tb butter or oil

3 eggs

pinch of salt



I usually start with melting the butter in a 2C Pyrex mixing bowl, then mix in the eggs and starter. I use a silicone whip, keeping it in to periodically stir while making the crepes.

Pour a few Tablespoons batter and tilt pan to spread batter

Crepe ready to flip, this one looks a bit thicker than I usually make them

Have a very well seasoned smaller cast iron skillet preheated. First add a bit of oil and swish it around by tilting the pan. Then add a few tablespoons of batter depending on what size pan you're using - mine is an 8" (and sometimes I'll use a 6" pan). Wait till the crepe develops little bubbles all over, then with spatula quickly flip it over. It doesn't need to cook on this side for long, like just a few seconds and then flip out onto a plate. The crepes can stack till you're done with all the batter. This amount will make about 10 crepes.



I've put leftover crepes in a zip-close bag and frozen. It works great. No need to put waxed paper between.



Happy crepe-ing. Sharing of crepe filling ideas could be numerous, so how about you? what have you tried, and what's your favorite?

Soaked and Dried Nuts and Breakfast Porridge

I've started soaking nuts this year. I've had Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions book for years and am just now getting around to reading all the great information - lots of it! - and doing more and more of it's recipes, believing it's philosophy.

BREAKFAST PORRIDGE

For any recipe utilizing grains, it's suggested to soak them for at least 8 hours. I've had a hand grain rolling machine for years and now have it set up in the pantry. The night before, if we're wanting to cook up a cereal for breakfast, we grind it and soak it. Monte's having fun picking different grains I have in jars in the pantry. His proportions are 1/3 C of rolled/cracked grain to 1 C water. You can add a pinch of salt if you like. Nuts could be added to this soaking mixture. Then in the morning gently bring it to simmering. Differing grains take differing times to soak up the liquid. Then we'll add fruit, unsweetened coconut, whey, and sprouted flax meal to it. And of coarse my homemade yogurt.

Soaking

Why soak nuts? They contain enzyme inhibitors that can put a strain on the digestive system. Let them soak at least 7 hours or overnight (I prefer 12 hours - especially for the almonds). Drain. Spread to dry in either a warm oven (no more than 150 degrees) for 12-24 hours till dry and crisp; or dry in a dehydrator. My oven doesn't go that low, so the dehydrator is back in use.  Other than walnuts, that are susceptible to rancidity so should be stored in the refrigerator, all nuts can be stored in airtight container for months. They make great snacks!



SOAKED NUTS

4 C nuts
2 tsp sea salt
water to cover

Like I said, soak at least 7 hours or overnight, and then dry.

Crispy Pepitas (4 C raw soaked pumpkin seeds with 2 Tb sea salt, tsp of cayenne)

__________________________
Update - summer of 2012. I got an Excaliber dehydrator and am loving it.

"Cocolate Pudding"

OK . . . This may sound totally weird . . .

But it's actually pretty good! I need to credit Mitra Ray from her Juice Plus email for the recipe. I'm making the recipe smaller for just one or two servings.

"CHOCOLATE PUDDING"

1 avacado

1/8 C unsweet cocoa

1/4 C agave nectar or maple syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

(water, coconut milk, rice milk ... to thin it if needed)

Blend this till creamy.

Garnish with fresh fruit.

Elevenses Omelet

Monte and me have fun saying we're "eating our second breakfast" - or little lunch. I just read a book, The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise, where a Beefeater, his wife, and a 180 year old tortoise live in London Tower. Hebe works in the London Underground Lost Property Office, where Elevenses is an anticipated time. Both her and her husband look after their respective unusual menageries. Tolkien's Hobbits have their Elevenses, as does Winnie-the-Pooh and Paddington Bear.



Most current mornings I begin with a probiotic green drink, dissolve a microlingual vitamin D tablet on my tongue, start my beverage of tea or coffee, take my Juice Plus, and ready my bowl of a small portion of fresh or frozen fruit, homemade yogurt, a few drops of stevia, scoops of whey, raw unsweetened dry coconut and dried sprouted flax seed, sometimes adding in a bit of granola or Ezekial sprouted grain cereal. Monte makes oatmeal to go with the same mixture of ingredients, and sometimes I'll have some of his oatmeal. Then I'll read, research, and write, fitting in excercise at some point before being hungry by 10:30-11. My current exercise I'm able to do regularly (mentioned in January 1st post) is 18 minutes with Teresa Tapp DVD (T-Tapp). Occasionally I'll do her total, or step-away workouts, but currently trying her "Hit the Floor" one.

I've always loved eggs. Home-grown are the best! In fact, I'm so missing my chickens, Monte's going to build a coop closer to the house and we'll order chickens again. My preference is soft-cooked, but I like omelets and frittatas as well. My cookbook tells of the science to cooking eggs. I ignore eggs and cholesterol talk. One day coffee and chocolate are bad for you and then they're good ... yadda, yadda, yadda. Most healthy people's bodies know how to metabolize good, whole foods. Cholesterol and lecithin are both in the egg yolk, along with most of all the other egg nutrients. Lecithin neutralizes the cholesterol and organic eggs have more lecithin. We like to have a rooster per about seven hens, so the eggs are fertile as well. Think about it! Nature provides a life-giving fertile germ in eggs, seeds, whole grains ... An egg is one of God's wonderful little whole nutritious packets!

One of my favorite OMELETs is with mushrooms and spinach -

- Saute a few cut up mushrooms

- Mix up 1-2 eggs (3 egg omelettes, typical in restaurants, are too big for me) in a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper, can add a dollop of water, milk, or cream, to have ready.

- Sliver some fresh spinach.

- Sprinkle some ground whole thyme into the sauted mushroom.

Add the slivered spinach and saute another 30 seconds, then scoop the mixture onto your plate.

Pour in the egg mixture, lid the skillet, and turn heat to low, cooking egg mixture thru.

- Grate onto the egg some parmesan or provalone cheese, scoop back in the spinach mixture, fold the omelet in half and deliver it back to your plate and enjoy!

In days of old, when the children were home, our mornings, once having eaten, looked like: me reading aloud and them doing a handiwork, when not on my lap or playing on the floor when they were young. Handiwork like carving, needlework, crafting, or sketching - always honing skills and thinking of gift-giving ... like to the Grandparents. On my other blog I'm going to be talking about the bookmaking we did.



Good morning! Good Day!

COUSCOUS

Monte wanted me to share his creation. We had some couscous leftover from a supper, so the following morning he simply added some egg till it held together and then dropped spoonfuls onto a heated oiled griddle or skillet, flattening them out. Cook on both sides till golden brown.



We've tried it a few times more. He's added a no-salt seasoning full of herbs. I've added some cinnamon and vanilla, and of course topping them with maple syrup.



Love the simplicity, since couscous with added hot water is done in a minute. And love the bit of crunch!

________________________



A salad we really like is with couscous. My taste buds were having quite a craving for it for awhile.



In a bowl put

1 cup couscous and 1 tsp salt.

Mix in 1 1/3 cups of the hottest tap water and come back and stir it occasionally while mixing up the rest of the ingredients.



Anything can be mixed in, but for starters, try this:

Chop 2 cups loose parsley

Mix with

1 Tb fresh lemon juice

1 Tb olive oil

6 green onions chopped (green tops included)

4 cups spinach cut in ribbons



Make dressing and add as much as you like:

2 Tb fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup half&half



I like to add cherry tomatoes

&/or roasted red pepper chopped

or mint, making the dressing of orange juice, zest and vinegar

. . . . . . .



I only use olive oil in all my cooking. I buy three kinds. The cheapest kind in a large container is virtually flavorless. A virgin kind I use for sauteing. Then I have a more expensive extra virgin kind for salads, and other times it's not cooked, and for dipping bread in - yum!!!! Good flavored olive oil with a seasoning and great whole grain bread--I crave! but can't eat a lot of or I'd be a fattened cow.



I always have a pretty wooden bowl or basket of lemons and limes. We use these ALL the time--whether just in water or squeezed onto salad alone with the good olive oil...



I also love green onions.



I love lots of things...

Breakfast Bread/ Challah & Sukkot

Last weekend I baked bread for gift-giving. The Jewish Fall Festivals were in my thoughts: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot (click on each of those and they'll take you to posts about them on my other blog). The calendar days stories are so ingrained within me ...

In my cookbook, my Dinner Rolls recipe makes great Challah bread. It's a bread made with eggs and eaten every Sabbath and for many festivals. Original Challah has seven ingredients and it's shaped as a braid. For Rosh Hashanah it's formed into a circle. For Sukkot, as a harvest festival (what I believe the pilgrims, with the first Thanksgiving, were celebrating), raisins are often added. So I thought of my Breakfast Bread in my cookbook with soaked raisins and a whole orange pureed in the bread's warm water. So I made it and in the process decided I'd give some of the bread to some people at church. I also copied my blog posts on the Jewish Fall Festivals, ending with Simchat Torah, to give with the bread, along with a bag of Kale Chips (recipe posted here). For another Holiday - St Lucia Day, with it's traditional buns, you can add 1/4 tsp of safron threads, lightly crushed, to my Dinner Roll recipe or the Breakfast Bread recipe below. They are shaped like an 'S'.

I gave my gifts and by Sunday evening we had an invite from a Rabbi from a local Messianic Church - they refer to themselves as Fulfilled Jews. So I waited to post about all this and the bread recipe until we celebrated Simchat Torah with them Thursday evening, which ends Sukkot. I was so excited! I'd been to this church last year - where my CSA farm share was delivered each week. So I'd seen their sukkah booths in the parking lot. This year I asked to look inside. Apple tree branches, with some attached apples were hanging from the rafters and pictures adorned the particle-board walls. There was a couch, table and chairs, sleeping cots, and harvest produce as decoration (read my posts in above links). I'd given one gift to Ron, who loved my writing - so he called a Rabbi friend, and talked to him about me ... There's a book they read and pray from during the week of Sukkot, like Passover has it's book. Once that was done some old Torah's were brought out and the dancing around the room began. I was standing clapping the rhythm watching the Torahs passed around and more and more people joining the dancing. Eventually the Rabbi handed me a Torah to dance with too! They had tambourine circles with the star of David in the center and streamers and the kids started dancing with them. Many of the families had been sleeping there all week. We left talking about the impressions ingrained for the kids, and the dedication, especially in today's society.

My Bosch Bowl

BREAKFAST BREAD/ CHALLAH

Put 3 C hot water in a blender along with
1 C raisins and
1 whole orange, quartered & seeds removed (do not peel - I'd use organic)
Let these soak awhile and then puree, then pour into the mixer bowl. Add
2 Tb instant yeast (that's what I use)
1/3 C oil
1/3 C honey
4 C whole wheat flour (mine is fresh ground)
Pulse this a bit to moisten most of the flour. Then put the lid on and let sponge 10 minutes.
Then add -
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, room temp
& enough flour to clean the bowl.

In my cookbook I walk you through bread making. With whole wheat flour, I get the flour incorporated in, in a minute, because flour added later will make the bread dry and sawdusty. I stop the machine and feel the dough. It shouldn't be sticky but a bit tacky. Let it knead for 5-6 minutes (with whole white winter wheat - otherwise 10 minutes). Then I oil the counter top and my hands and dump the dough out, forming it into a nice round blob. Cut the dough into however many loaves you want to make and shape. This recipe can make 3-4 one pound loaves. I braided mine. Let rise on greased baking sheets.

Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
You could use this dough in loaf pans, or make cinnamon rolls.

Here's another link about Tashlich. And then tomorrow on the Christian Calendar is Guardian Angels Day, click and read about it - are you thankful there's guardian angels? We've passed Michaelmas Day. I should post a pic of Michaelmas daisies that bloom this time of year.

Crustless Quiche (can add zucchini/green chillies ...)

Mistress Karey,

somewhat contrary,

how does your garden grow?



I've been harvesting zucchini and beans primarily. Next week will be the broccoli. I planted more salady type seeds all over in gaps - next to the greenhouse too. It's a southern exposure and a warmer mini-climate than the rest of my gardens. I had a cold frame there that kept us in greens thru most of the winter. I'm making a pvc pipe protection for that space now. It's a raised bed lined with rocks and I think I'll put water bottles in it for further warmth.

Elk are bugling. We've had a bear visitor. It's cooling off. Supposed to go down to 36 degrees tonight. We've got guests again. Three men. One, Monte's long time partner in geology, Stan from AZ, gets the guest room. Two new acquaintances from California say they want to sleep in the bunk house! We'll see ... I'm waiting on going out to eat - they want to treat me. Tomorrow I cook.



I'm a MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) Mentor Mom - been one for almost ten years now. The new year has begun. I brought an egg dish I somewhat created. I had to take a small bit to taste and see if it was good ... it's a keeper. What I added was a grated zucchini and chopped roasted green chilies.



I always get a bushel of green anahiem chilies roasted about this time of year. LOVE that smell in the vehicle! I bag up 3 chilies per sandwich bag and put about 8 of those sandwich bags in a gallon ziplock bag for the freezer. The 3 chilies are the equivalent of a 4oz can of chilies. I don't remove the blackened skins till I'm ready to use the chilies, and then chop or use them whole.

Crustless Quiche

1/2 C butter, melted (could probably use oil)

1/2 C flour (I've used whole wheat, spelt, or even masa)

1 C milk

6 lg eggs

1 pint ricotta cheese

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt



Mix all this together and pour over 1# grated cheese (like jack - I typically have colby-jack) in greased 9x13 baking dish.

Bake 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees.



Like I said, I put a grated zucchini and 4 oz chopped green chilies in the greased dish, and then put in the grated cheese. I left out a cup of the cheese to sprinkle on top. Pour the egg mixture over the cheese, mix it around a bit. Top with the extra cheese and bake.



I'm betting all kinds of things could be added to this dish. Like you could use cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Cumin could be added, and maybe cilantro. Or go a more Italian route with basil and zucchini and tomato and some parmesan cheese on top. Alone as is it's a great brunch dish!



This Velveteen House is turning moreso into a retreat center for science, with me on call for cooking. I often get paid in some way. I like it. Young adults are less frequent now that Dawson's living by school.

Quinoa & Buckwheat Salad (or Cereal) with Fruit and Nuts

Yummm... I am eating this salad and loving every bite! I get daily recipe emails from AllRecipes.com. I may not keep all the recipes by adding them to my recipe box at that site, but they give me lots of ideas. I got the idea for this recipe from the email that came in today. I altered it a bit and made a smaller proportion.

QUINOA SALAD with FRUIT and NUTS

They cooked 1 1/2 C quinoa with 1/4 tsp salt and 3 1/2 C water, having been brought to a boil and then simmering covered until tender, about 20-25 minutes. Then allow to cool for 20 minutes.

QUINOA & BUCKWHEAT HOT CEREAL

This reminded me of a hot cereal Monte and me often crave - Quinoa & Buckwheat with yogurt and maple syrup. It's in my Hearth & Home cookbook. Now my understanding of quinoa, besides it being a revived high protein South American grain, is it needs to either be rinsed first or toasted. Quinoa is an acquired taste. It is very unusual. And buckwheat isn't even a grain, but a vegetable, tho it falls in the grain category - probably because it's used as such. For our cereal I toast 1 C Quinoa and 1 C buckwheat, stirring occasionally (you'll hear the quinoa popping) then add a bit of salt and 4 C water, bring to a boil, and then simmer covered, cooking till tender. We store what's left in the fridge for more breakfasts.

BACK to the SALAD

So I basically made the above cereal recipe instead of their suggestion. Their mixture with the below ingredients was said to serve 10. I used 2 C of my cooked cereal for 2 servings, eating as a main dish, rather than a small side (we Americans need to think of veggie side dishes moreso as the main meal with meats as sides - I like to grill marinated meats and slice some of it to add to salads). With their quinoa proportion I'll give you the rest of the salad ingredients and you can mix what amount you want.

-1 bunch green onions, chopped (I used a bunch of chives)
-3/4 C chopped celery
-1/2 C raisins (I used craisins - and probably more)
-1 pinch cayenne pepper
-1 Tb vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
-1 Tb distilled white vinegar (I don't ever use this kind of vinegar for any cooking, only with my textile art when dyeing - I used a mixture of rice and balsamic vinegars)
-2 Tb lemon juice (I used lime, cuz that's what I already had cut. And I used less, using more of this proportion with my vinegars)
-2 Tb sesame oil (I used toasted sesame oil)
-1/3 C chopped fresh cilantro (I probably did more)
-3/4 C chopped pecans (I toasted them)
-(I added some fresh minced garlic)

Mix it all together and let set at room temp for an hour to allow the flavors to blend. I bet this would even taste better as a left over!

I get a weekly email recipe from SplendidTable.org. Our NPR radio station no longer carries this program, but I used to listen to it all the time. I've gotten great recipes from Lynne Rossetto Kasper. I also have a recipe box at FoodNetwork.com - I can add recipes to this box, which is a great place to have things organized. But now I'm doing this blog in the hopes of organizing my kitchen escapades!

Sourdough Pancakes

I'm currently at my son Travis and Sarah's home, sitting at the dining table with the back sliding glass door open to the back kitchen garden. We came yesterday for a 4th of July family bar-b-q meal using my grandpa's sauce on ribs. I'll have to post that recipe - it's in my cookbook Hearth & Home. We spent the night ... were going to go to fireworks, but it was pouring rain. Sarah's Mom and Dad drove in last night from TX and we made sourdough pancakes for breakfast.

Sarah's sourdough starter came from my starter (below). The pancake recipe comes from an Alaska Sourdough book.

Monte making sourdough pancakes

The Alaskan sourdough is made from potato water, sugar and flour (maybe yeast initially?). I've never made sourdough using milk like some recipes use. The current recipe I'm using is from the book Nourishing Traditions  by Sally Fallon. She claims the best results for sourdough starter are obtained from rye rather than wheat flour. And that's fine with me since we consume so much more wheat than any other grain. Her reasoning is because rye contains a lower phytate content (don't ask me what that means cuz I haven't researched it yet).

Rye Sourdough Starter

Start with mixing 2 cups rye flour and 2 cups water and cover the bowl with cheescloth and let sit out on the counter (I've got my bowl covered with a dish towel and rubberband). Each day for a week add another cup each of rye flour and water (or if you do have potato water left over from boiling potatoes, use it), then it's ready for bread. (I'm still working on creating a favorite sourdough bread.) Once your starter is created you can jar some of it up and refrigerate it, then take it out the night before, or a day or two ahead depending upon how much you need, for your next batch of pancakes.

So, from the Alaskan cookbook-

Sourdough Pancakes

Start griddle heating.

Mix together:

(I typically double the recipe all the time and it feeds 4-6 people)

2 C starter (I've been using 4C in a 2 quart pyrex bowl - it'll bubble up, so bigger is better)

2 Tb (sucanat) sugar

1 egg (I've used both 2 or 3  when doubling, and either works)

4 Tb oil

1/2 tsp salt

Mix together: 

1 tsp soda

1 Tb warm water

and fold into batter and let set a bit to rise.

Using a ladle, pour the pancakes to cook on an oiled griddle.

They are best with maple syrup. Sometimes we'll make up a rhubarb sauce. I often cook up berries or old fruit, adding in any old jams needing to be used up. The fruit syrup is good with yogurt (I always have homemade yogurt on hand). Leftovers are good - spread with almond butter and raspberry jam, and roll them up for a quicky meal when running errands.

The Alaskan cookbook tells historic stories and it's said a special place was always made in their cabin/tent/cave/home for their starter and that they'd rather live a year without their rifle than without a sourdough starter. I also found it interesting that a ball of starter could be stored in the midst of flour in a flour sack, like if you were crossing the prairie in a wagon. Think about it ... no stores, no yeast (except for wild yeast, and that's another story that I have from my own experience) you'd sure love biscuits and bread rather than just crackers or tortilla like flatbread all the time.

Sourdough Pancakes

I just ground more rye flour for the sourdough starter I began almost two weeks ago. I've not had sourdough around for several years and we've been missing it - primarily for sourdough pancakes - our favorite!

I have a cookbook called Alaskan Sourdough I got years ago, though it's currently packed in boxes with most of my cookbooks in the garage because we dismantled a wall that the bookshelf was on almost two years ago, opening up the kitchen and great room more - and I'm seeing what I can't live without. I google recipes now and look on FoodNetwork.com, SplendidTable.org and find most anything I want. Like I googled sourdough pancakes and the first entry was from that Alaskan cookbook of mine.

The Alaskan sourdough is made from potato water and sugar and flour (maybe yeast initially?). I've never made sourdough using milk like some recipes use. The current recipe I'm using is from the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. She claims the best results for sourdough starter are obtained from rye rather than wheat flour. And that's fine with me since we consume so much more wheat than any other grain. Her reasoning is because rye contains a lower phytate content (don't ask me what that means cuz I haven't researched it so I don't know).

Start with mixing 2 cups rye flour and 2 cups water and cover the bowl with cheescloth and let sit out on the counter (I've got my bowl covered with a dish towel and rubberband). Each day for a week add another cup each of rye flour and water, then it's ready for bread, which I've not made yet, and may not get to make, as the demand for the pancakes rules! and I don't have enough starter left for bread.

So, from the Alaskan cookbook-

Sourdough Pancakes

Start griddle heating.

Mix together:

2 C starter (I've been using 4 in a 2 quart pyrex bowl - it'll bubble up so bigger is better)

2 Tb sugar (double)

1 egg (I've used both 2 or 3 and either works)

4 Tb oil (double, using 1/2 cup, and I'm using olive oil)

1/2 tsp salt (double)

Mix together: 

1 (2) tsp soda

1 (2) Tb warm water

and fold into batter and let set a bit to rise.

Using a ladle, pour the pancakes to cook on an oiled griddle.

They are best with maple syrup. I often cook up berries or old fruit, adding in any old jams needing to be used up. The fruit syrup is good with yogurt (I always have homemade on hand, look for my recipe). Leftovers are good. I haven't done it lately, but I used to spread leftovers with almond butter and raspberry jam, roll them up, and put in a sandwich baggie for a quicky meal when running errands.

The Alaskan cookbook tells historic stories and its said a special place was always made in their cabin/home for their starter and that they'd rather live a year without their rifle than without a sourdough starter. I also found it interesting that a ball of starter could be stored in the midst of flour in a flour sack, like if you were crossing the prairie in a wagon. Think about it ... no stores, no yeast (except for wild yeast, and that's another story that I have from my own experience) you'd sure love biscuits and bread rather than just crackers or tortilla like flatbread all the time.

AEbleskivers

I don't know how on the computer to make a capital A and E flow together with the right line in the A as the vertical line in the E, but that's how it's written. English spellings are usually just Ebleskiver. 'Aebleskiver' is Danish for 'apple slices', which used to be (or applesauce) put in the middle of these spherical pancake balls.

You need a special pan that has hemispherical indentations in it. It's best with a heavy, like cast iron, pan. Over the years we've tried several kinds and I now just stick with the cast iron one.

How in the world did someone think of this? I read a funny speculation of the Vikings with their many battles having many indents in their shields and they loved pancakes. So without the convenience of frying pans, they greased their shields and poured the batter over them over the fire.

We make these for all holidays and birthdays and Heather requested them for her last morning home. So I made them last week and will do them again for Christmas brunch. Their taste is a cross between a pancake and a doughnut.

I always start preheating the pan while I'm making the batter.
Here's the recipe I've developed -
4 eggs separated
4 tsps sugar
1/4 C oil (I use olive oil or you could use melted butter)
2 C buttermilk (sometimes I just add buttermilk powder to water)
1/2 tsp salt
2 2/3 C flour (I use white whole wheat or pastry flour I grind)
1 tsp soda
2 tsps baking powder

I beat the egg whites first till stiff and then put them in a dish while I mix up the rest in my Bosch bowl and then gently add in the whites.

In the preheated pan, and now set on medium, put oil in each indent about half full. I find the first ones always need more oil, but then can use less as we're making more. Put batter, about topping the indent, in each. You can use a skewer to turn them, but I've gotten used to using two little forks. When you turn them the middle batter, still liquid, spills into the indent to cook for the other side making actual pancake balls. I'm a clean cook, so I always push the stuff that spills out of the indent back into the balls as I'm turning them, so the pan stays pretty clean. It takes awhile to get the hang of this. But they are so good and worth making.

Years ago, growing up in Tucson, my mom made loquat jelly that we'd serve with these. We always serve them with real maple syrup, melted butter, and then some cooked fruit sauce, like berries. Traditionally they're dusted with powdered sugar, but I'm never one to add more sugar when it doesn't seem necessary. Then we always have bacon and/or sausage with them.

We often invite a family for Christmas day brunch. When our kids were young and we'd moved to Evergreen we had a family we developed a regular tradition with - them coming for Ebleskivers and cross-country skiing, then going to their house for supper, ice skate, and watch movies, and sleep over. Though we've not gotten together for years now, I've never forgot little Kim and Kevin calling them "Able skiers".

At Christmas time, I always have fruit soup and rice pudding around that we'll serve with these. I'm heading out today to get the ingredients for making fruit soup and potato sausage.