Beef and Bean Wedges ... or Pizza?

I just did a post on how to cook grass-fed beef. It is a different animal! The ground beef is AWESOME. Though a drier meat without the fat developed from feed lot grains (all genetically modified unless organic beef), the ground beef can be used in all recipes. For hamburgers I hate to adulterate too much since the beef flavor is exceptional, but they are drier, so I've started adding a few tablespoons of melted butter (organic or pastured) to a pound of meat.

Beef and Bean ... Pizza?

Last night I made up a recipe we liked. It's a keeper and a very easy quick meal.

BEEF AND BEAN WEDGES
1# of ground beef
1 15oz can of spiced beans (I used Annie's refried beans with green chilies)
1/2 cup Masa Harina
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
Juice from 1 lime

Mix this together well, spread and press flat and even on a pizza pan 12-14". Bake at 375 degrees 15-20 minutes till beef no longer is pink. Sprinkle on 1/4#, about 1 cup, of pepper jack cheese and bake another few minutes. I wanted it to brown a bit, so broiled it. Then add some chopped green onion and tomatoes and serve. We ate it with a salad.


A recipe I found that gave me the idea probably used regular beans. When it suggested 'spiced', I thought of the refried beans I keep stocked for quick bean tostadas. The recipe also used a cup of a cornbread mix. I don't keep mixes in my pantry since I cook from scratch. So what to use . . . Sticking with the Mexican theme of the beans I decided on the Masa Harina. I suppose you could use cornmeal. Most mixes also include some flour and baking powder, and of coarse shortening. I bet fresh or frozen corn could be good too (tho it'll give off some liquid, maybe requiring a bit longer cooking. A dollop of homemade yogurt could be good on top when serving.

Shared at: Dandelion House, Six Sisters Stuff, Frugally Sustainable, Food Renegade, Simple Lives Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Real Food Wednesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Monday Mania

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!

New Yogurt Makings

Yogurt maker, Yogurt in jar, Yogurt Cheese strainer, and Yogurt cheese

My married kids have been making yogurt, but tired of the typical small jar yogurt makers. After searching the internet, I found a 1/2 gallon yogurt maker like mine doesn't exist. I probably got mine over 20 years ago from a second-hand store. After researching I bought them both another yogurt maker, after trying it myself. Though it comes with the small jars, it has an optional taller dome and will fit many sized jars. I've put my 4C Pyrex pitcher in it when making a quart quantity for yogurt ice cream, when needing that little bit more. What we're using now is 4 wide-mouth pint jars to make 1/2 gallon of milk into yogurt. 3 qt jars will fit in this too; or even one wide jar. I like options.

4 wide-mouth pint jars for 1/2 cups of yogurt

I've found non-homogenized milk heated to 145 degrees, so not ultra-pasteurized (eventually I may be getting raw milk! - found a source). Raw milk yogurt makers often don't cook they're milk, but it won't be thick. Yogurt recipes have you heat the milk to 180 degrees. This will help in making a thick yogurt. Then let it cool to 110 degrees before adding your starter. I have my recipe posted here. What I'd add, is that letting it remain in your yogurt maker for 24 hours eats up all the lactose for those who are lactose intolerant.

Heating milk to 180 degrees

I make yogurt every week. I have it every morning with fruit, unsweetened coconut and sprouted flax. I'm using it more and more. Like I have a yogurt cheese strainer. Yogurt cheese is awesome all by itself. It's made a great cheesecake which I'll post about later. Mix in some herbs, or as my daughter-in-love made - mixed with chopped green pepper, pineapple and pecans - a great dip! And then I'm using the drained whey for many things, including my sourdough bread making. More on this later.

Yogurt

My second-hand 1/2 gallon size yogurt maker I've had maybe 25 years

I made yogurt the other day. I've been making yogurt for years. I bought my yogurt maker at a second-hand store and it makes a 1/2 gallon milk quantity of yogurt.

YOGURT

Here is the recipe that consistently works for me-

-Heat the milk to about 180 degrees. I do this in the microwave in a Pyrex glass bowl. Then let it cool down to around 100-108 degrees.
-Mix in the starter, about 6 Tb, and pour into jars in yogurt maker.
-start checking for firmness in about 4 hours

Yogurt Starter

Hmmmm ... starter .... It used to be you could buy almost any plain yogurt in the store to use as a starter. But today, most yogurts have additives which seem to inhibit it's thickening. Some additives, like gelatin, will work, but it seems to take longer for the milk to firm. Your best bet is yogurt in health food stores - and you want live cultures. Read the labels. You can also find powdered starters, usually in a refrigerated section. If you use the powdered starter just follow the directions.

Once you make yogurt, you can use your own homemade yogurt for starter. I always plug in my yogurt maker, with the empty jars in it, when I begin the yogurt making process for it to start heating. I'll put my yogurt starter in it at this time too, in one of the jars, to take off its chill.

When the starter is mixed into the cooled-down milk, pour the mixture into the jars in the yogurt maker, place the cover on the yogurt maker. Start checking after a few hours. Mine usually sets in 3-4 hours. When I start a fresh batch with the powdered starter it takes longer. Look for a slight firmness of the milk. It will firm up a bit more in the refrigerator. The shorter the time, the sweeter it is. If you forget and let it incubate longer, it gets tart, but still tastes better than store-bought yogurt.

I love the taste of plain homemade yogurt. You can add jam, fruit, frozen juice concentrate, maple syrup, wheat germ, ground flax seed ... whatever you like. I've already posted a Yogurt Ice Cream recipe. Whenever a recipe calls for sour cream or mayonnaise I'll sometimes use yogurt. It can also be substituted for sour milk or buttermilk.

You want the good bacteria that yogurt provides - a 'live', active yogurt with its acidophilus, thermophilus, and bulgaricus. 'Friendly' bacteria helps aid food digestion. Yogurt is a predigested form of milk and it tends to 'crowd out' bacteria associated with indigestion. Lactose intolerant people can often eat yogurt. I've made yogurt with Lactose Free Milk, and it works - if you are super lactose intolerant.

When I was a kid, I was sick and on antibiotics a lot. My homeopathic grandmother told my mother to keep feeding me yogurt. "Thank you Grandma." Antibiotics kill the good bacteria along with the bad. Yogurt boosts the immune system and has a natural antibiotic effect.

When in Wisconsin we used to visit Monte's aunt and uncle who lived on a dairy farm. The yogurt Aunt Ruby made from their fresh milk she called "filabunk" (sp?). I brought home some starter from her and used it for awhile. All cultured things are their own starters. Buttermilk nowadays is no longer the by-product of butter making, but cultured. Sour cream, Kefir ... wine ... all have their own cultures, like differing yeasts.

Now to go mix me up some yogurt, dried sprouted flax seeds, and fruit - my second breakfast!
___________________________
Update 8-1-2012

I've read that the probiotics we want in yogurt should be re-fed. So either use a new starter every batch or after 5 batches of using your own yogurt as starter. This (click) is what I consistently use.

Another think I've learned is to incubate your yogurt longer if you are lactose intolerant - 24 hours.

I've also updated making yogurt in newer posts. Just click on yogurt label to find.

Yogurt Ice Cream

Whenever Monte and me are in Ft Collins Colorado, visiting our son Travis, wife Sarah, and now little Emery, we always want to visit a family operated Yogurt Ice Cream place. They sell by the weight and there's lots of flavors and topping choices. The mechanism instantly freezes fresh yogurt, and it's not too sweet (unless you add tons of sweet topping). So I got to thinking ...

YOGURT ICE CREAM

Why not make our own yogurt ice cream. I make yogurt all the time. So with the last making, before even refrigerating it, I mixed

- 4 cups of the yogurt with

- 3/4 cup of sugar till it dissolved and refrigerated it till ready to make ice cream

- (I suppose a bit of vanilla flavoring would be good too)

For years we had a hand-crank ice cream maker - not the kind needing ice and salt - but an insert you keep in the freezer. We still have it for an extra, but it doesn't work as well (dented or something for an improper fit). Now we still have one with an insert for the freezer, but it's electric. While the guys were still enjoying sitting on the deck talking and watching the birds, and I was putting away pizza and salad makings, I dumped the yogurt mixture into the machine and let it run till it was frozen thick. We ate it along with the fresh strawberry grilled dessert pizza.

Our favorite frozen desserts have been pureed fruits - like mango and lime juice. Last year we did some with our garden's currents and greenhouse grapes. Lazy me no longer likes to make up the cooked ice cream bases. Last night's yogurt ice cream was fantastic! We'll be doing it all the time now. Monte often likes to cook up older fruit sitting about and old jam jar bottoms into what he calls a Swedish word for a fruit sauce- 'crem'. This would be good on the yogurt ice cream. The next time I make this I'm going to try substituting the sugar with 1/2 the amount using Agave Nectar.

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.