The Importance of Rest and Rejuvenation

I picked parsley from the garden the other day.  What?!  It's February!

This warm--or at least snow-less--winter has really messed with my sense of "hibernation."  Just in the last couple of weeks have I finally felt like things are slowing down in our house/family life.  I tried to page through a seed catalog last weekend, which is usually a fun activity for me in the depths of winter.  But I just couldn't get excited.  In fact, I felt somewhat anxious.  Perhaps this warm spell--which is all I hope it is instead of the new norm--makes me feel like it's time to plant already and that brings me some unusual stress as I feel like I still haven't properly recovered from the last growing season.  Interesting how the weather affects me like this.  I didn't realize how vital those dark, snowy, cold days are for me to put all garden plans aside and breathe before commencing once again.  Give me a couple more weeks and perhaps I'll feel better, but for now I'm leaving the seed catalogs lie as I continue to experiment with using my preserves and tinkering with new gluten-free baked goods.

I've known about the health-benefits of soaking grains since I put Sally Fallon on my list of culinary/nutrition heroes nearly a decade ago.  Admittedly, I don't always soak or sprout my grains before cooking, but the notion popped back into my head recently.  Knowing I had a good amount of millet on hand, I went hunting for a sprouted millet pancake recipe.  I adapted this slightly from the original source, but was happy with the results.

Soaked Millet Pancakes (Gluten-free)
Makes about 6 medium pancakes

I love the warm spices in here--like coriander--that I wouldn't typically use for baked products--especially not pancakes.  Choose which spices you add; I stuck with coriander and lemon peel.

1 c. whole dry millet grains
1 t. baking powder
1 t. ground coriander (or other spices/seasonings--like nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, allspice, lemon zest, etc.)
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. xylitol or maple syrup
1 T. ground chia seeds or ground flax seed
1/4 t. salt
2 T. melted ghee
Water
Optional: sunflower seeds or other chopped seeds/nuts

Rinse millet and place to soak in water overnight or for at least 5-6 hours.  The millet will soften, but not necessarily sprout. (In the original recipe, the Quinoa will sprout!)  Drain and rinse well.  Transfer to a blender or food processor adding just enough water to cover.  Add salt, seasonings baking powder, salt, oil, vanilla, and xylitol/maple syrup.  Blend until well mixed and grains have been chopped up.  It will be thick batter.  Let sit for 5-10 min. for chia to absorb liquid.  Heat griddle and grease with butter, coconut oil, or oil/fat of choice.  When ready, spoon ladlesful onto griddle and let cook until bubbles pop up.  Flip and lightly brown other side.  Serve with warm maple syrup or fresh mashed fruit.

The last time I grocery shopped I rediscovered wraps.  Most of what I can find at the store are wheat based so those are for my family to enjoy.  I'm currently experimenting with a gluten-free flatbread that's pliable enough to roll.  I can't wait to figure it out!

Mixing som GF wrap batter

GF wrap.  Still in the experimental stage.  Stay tuned.

So far the GF flatbread only worked for a melt.  Need more pliability!

In an attempt to keep my little one from getting cabin fever, I asked her to make egg salad with me as she so enjoyed last year after Easter.  She enjoys using the egg slicer after I peel the eggs.  I'm still sneaking veggies into her foods so take note.

Dill Cauliflower Egg Salad
Makes 4 c.

Another easy food rocessor recipe.  I adapted this from Process This! by Jean Anderson.  Used my homemade cucumber pickles, but could have also used some homemade pickled cauliflower as a substitute.  I am still using some of the purees I prepared and froze last fall.  This would be a great opportunity to use pureed cauliflower.

Wrap it up!

4 large scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks (include some green tops)
1 small rib celery, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 c. cauliflower florets (or 1/4 c. frozen/thawed cauliflower puree)

12 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled, chopped

2 t. dried dill

2/3 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. bread and butter pickles
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1-2 T. milk, if needed to thin

Add scallions and celery to food processor and pulse 5-6 times.  Add dill, mayo, pickles, mustard, salt, and pepper and pulse quickly to combine.  Add eggs and pulse quickly a few times.  Transfer to a bowl and thin with milk if needed.  Adjust salt and pepper, to taste.  Enjoy in a wrap with local microgreens or sprouts, pickled cauliflower, and even a slice of ham if you wish.

Ham and Egg Salad Wrap

Kids love wraps too!

In other cabin-fever-fighting news, we built a "reading cave" for Vera this week.  One of my fellow craft bloggers brought up the idea that with Pinterest being so big these days as a way to put all of your craft/cooking/etc. ideas in one place, it's possible to...

"gorge ourselves on great ideas that we want to try out "one day." But what happens when that day never comes? When we become so overwhelmed by all the amazing ideas out there that we feel inadequately crafty ourselves?"

I thought it was prime time to show that my numerous Pins aren't for naught so we kicked out this lighted cardboard box.  I strapped on daddy's headlamp, grabbed some packing tape and a blunt edge to poke holes and within 10-15 min. we were in business.  Now V has a new cozy hideout in which to page through library books, eat a snack, or fall asleep (if I could be so lucky!)  How are you beating the winter blahs this year?

V's reading cave

Using MORE Preserves Creatively...

I don't have much to say for myself lately other than I've been cooking a lot.  Craft projects have been laying idle, nothin' much doin' outdoors (unfortunately), and no progress made with paging through seed catalogs for 2012's growing season.  What's been consuming me mostly is the final plan for our kitchen remodel which should start by the end of this month.  That should produce some interesting posts--or at least before and after photos.

A couple of recipes that drew special attention I made for Sunday dinner this past week with our in-laws.  Slow Cooker Curry Chicken was the center of the plate--and put me at ease as far as preparations went--but this coleslaw garnered the most hoorays.

Marinated Coleslaw
Serves 4-6

It's amazing what can happen when one chooses to leave the sugar out.  As my mother-in-law agreed, many people think everything needs to be so sweet, but we all really enjoyed the sheer sourness of this simple slaw (that can mostly be prepared in a food processor, if available).  And I used more of my pickles from 2011 as well.  The cabbage is still storing well from our Thanksgiving CSA box.  I love the texture of Savoy!


1/4 head Savoy cabbage, shredded (by hand or with slicer plate of food processor)
1/2 c. pickled ramps, chopped by hand or in food processor
1/2 c. pickled green peppers, chopped by hand or in f.p.
2 carrot, peeled and grated by hand or in f.p.

Combine all vegetables and set aside.

Dressing:
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
1 t. salt
1 t. ground pepper
1 T. Dijon style mustard

Boil all ingredients in a saucepan for about 3 min.  Stir well.  While hot, add to the vegetables.  Let sit about 15 min. Taste for seasoning.  Serve!

Nice and sour!

Butternut Squash Cake with Chocolate Icing (Gluten-Free)
Serves 12-16

The original recipe from Better Homes and Gardens used sweet potatoes in cupcake form.  I adapted it as a gluten-free cake using some of our cellared winter squash and coconut oil instead of butter for the cake and icing.  The texture turned out very well, though it was slightly more dense than usual--likely because of the coconut oil and not the gluten-free status.

Have your Gluten-Free Cake and Eat it Too!

2 c. all-purpose gluten-free flour
2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. xanthan gum
1/4 t. salt
1 c. coconut oil, room temp.
1 1/4 c. granulated xylitol (or sugar)
3 large eggs
1 lb. butternut squash, roasted, peeled, and mashed
1/4 c. milk (cow's, almond, etc.)
1 t. vanilla extract

Icing:
12 oz. semi-sweet gluten-free chocolate chips
1 c. coconut oil, room temp.
1/2-1 c. powdered sugar (depending on desired texture)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and line a 9-inch baking pan with parchment (I think a springform pan makes it easiest.)  In a medium bowl, combine flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt; set aside.  In large bowl, beat coconut oil with an electric mixer on medium for about 30 seconds.  Add xylitol; beat until light and fluffy, about 2 min.  With mixer on low, beat in eggs one at a time, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl between additions.  Add butternut squash, milk, and vanilla.  Beat on low until combined.  Add flour mixture to xylitol-egg mixture; beat on low just until combined.  Pour batter into baking pan and bake 40-45 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for several min. then remove from pan and let cool fully.

For icing, in double boiler, melt chocolate chips.  Remove from heat and cool 15 min.  With electric mixer on low, beat chocolate 30 seconds.  Beat in coconut oil.  Add sugar gradually, beat until smooth.

To assemble:  Cut fully cooled cake in half cross-sectionally.  Spread/pour/coax chocolate icing over cake layer then place second layer on top and repeat icing.  Let set then cut and serve.  Icing will eventually solidify at room temp. for more of a "ganache" like coating.

Using Our Preserves Creatively

Peach Thumbprints

Last class season I had planned to teach a couple of Urban Homesteading courses called "Using Your Preserves Creatively" to encourage food preserves to think outside the box in using their beautiful jars of local fruits and vegetables.  I love to make jams and jellies, but personally I don't eat them much on toast.  In the past I've posted recipes for working some of these fruit preserves into cobblers and crisps or as a substitute to "fruit-on-the-bottom" yogurt, but I experimented with even more ideas this past week.

Thumbprint Cookies (Gluten-Free)
Makes 15 cookies

This is a fun recipe to make with kids, especially when you get to the thumbprint step.

Hot outta the oven--we used peach preserves

1 c. butter
1/2 c. granulated sugar/xylitol
1/2 t. almond extract
2 c. all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. homemade jam/jelly


Cream the butter, sugar/xylitol, and extract for about 2 min.  Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl then combine with creamed mixture until dough forms.  Chill dough 1 hour.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Shape dough in balls;  place on a lined/greased baking sheet.  Make a small indentation in the center of each ball with your thumb; bake 5 min.  Remove from oven and fill each indentation with 1/4 or so of jam/jelly.  Bake an additional 10 min.  Cool for 2 min.; transfer to a rack.


Slow-Cooker Four Grain Breakfast Cereal with Fruit Preserves (Gluten-Free)
Serves 4-6


You can take liberties with the whole grains you use here.  Also, the water could be completely substituted for milk of your choice.


2 c. water
2 c. milk (cow's, almond, rice, etc.)
1/2 c. quinoa
1/2 c. millet
1/2 c. amaranth
1/2 c. steel-cut oats
1/2-1 c. homemade fruit preserves
1/2 c. chopped nuts


Milk
Maple Syrup (optional)
Supplemental toppings: hemp seeds, drizzle of flaxseed oil, flaxmeal, seeds/nuts


Put all ingredients into a slow cooker.  Before going to bed, turn on low.  Cook for 8 hours (b/c I know we all sleep for at least 8 hours, right?!)  Stir upon waking and serve with additional milk and optional toppings.  


My husband's first client at his new job is what I call a sustainable weight loss company.  One of the perks is that he gets a free session of this plan, which is also helping him learn how/why to market this company in his new communications position.  Along with the regimen comes a spiral-bound book filled with lots of new, healthy recipes.  The dietitian that he's working with  has been sending him meal plans on a weekly basis.  Admittedly, I was a bit unsure about how I'd feel having someone else tell me what to cook from day to day.  But now I realize it's made my life a bit easier because I can pick and choose which of those suggested recipes I will try for our evenings meals.  Our favorite so far was a pasta dish last night.  Again, I was able to incorporate some of my preserves--both frozen and canned.  And it also lead us to a delicious cilantro pesto recipe that we'll most certainly use next summer when the cilantro is overabundant in our garden.


Pasta with Cilantro-Lime Pesto (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
Serves 2


I adapted this recipe to be gluten-free, but one could use any kind of pasta.  In fact, the original recipe called for orzo, a rice-shaped pasta.  This dish is actually vegan as well.  I was tempted to add cheese somewhere as I'm often tempted to do, but the creaminess of the pesto satisfied any cheesy cravings I thought I was having.  This dish is also good cold and would be great for a picnic.


8 oz. brown rice spaghetti
1 c. fresh cilantro
1/4 c. lime juice
2 t. olive oil
2 T. pine nuts
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (we love lots of garlic, especially in winter, but 1 clove will suffice)
Salt, to taste
1 c. black beans (canned/rinsed/drained or dried/soaked/cooked)
1/2 c. chopped roasted red peppers (I used homemade)
1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed/drained

Cook pasta fully in highly salted water.  Drain and keep warm in pot.  In food processor with blade attachment, puree cilantro, lime juice, oil, pine nuts, and garlic to make pesto.  Season with salt as needed.  Add pesto, beans, and corn to pasta pot and toss to fully combine.  Serve immediately or chill for later.

Staying Active in Winter

V sledding with Daddy on their last Friday home together

I was mentally beating myself up a bit yesterday because we didn't get outside on account of the snowstorm...and didn't get outside as much as I would have liked in the past week.  There is still lots of time for winter fun, of course, but I know that both V and I would benefit from at least a walk on a bright sunny winter day like this.  It's time to let the Vitamin D do it's thing.  Yesterday we were literally inside all day, but in past weeks at least we've ventured out, even if it was to drive to a place where we spent time inside.  I'm working on getting better at this and have some hikes through the snowy woods and other outings in mind--though I'd like to be more spontaneous.

The newest "farm animal,"
Harvey the gecko

On Sunday we headed down to Illinois' Lake County to our friends' organic farm for the annual Founders' Dinner.  Not only is it a celebration of all the kind-hearted folks who put forth the funds to get their farm started over a decade ago, but coincidentally (or not) a gathering of most of our closest friends and their/our families.  We look forward to this annual event as it's often the only chance we all have to be in one room and see how the kiddos have sprouted over the last year--and the kids think it's pretty much a blast to run around together for a few hours as well.  Oh, and the food's not so bad either.  What an understatement.  Our hosts always provide the entree, which in the past has been pork from their own hogs or chickens from a nearby farm.  (Next year's they're hoping to have their own pastured lamb to tempt us!)  This year's meat procurement brought our farmer friend (actually one of Ben's best friends...and half of the reason that Ben and I met) up north to Milwaukee mainly to buy some grass-fed Piedmontese beef from another fellow farmer at the Milwaukee County Winter Farmers' Market, but also to rather spontaneously join us for dinner.  On Sunday, he turned this near-perfect ground beef into a few hulking meatloaves, complete with bacon laid carefully across the top as well as some extra mixed into the loaves.  Yum, 'nuff said.  After mingling, watching kids run wild, and a few people sequestering themselves in a room where another friend had hooked up a portable TV to watch the Packer playoff game (otherwise, there's no television in the farmhouse), we enjoyed a lovely feast, sipped wine and cider, and listened to our fearless farmers give the year-in-review for 2011.

A few of the many girls enjoying dinner (and this blondie on the L
eating lots of green salad!)

Winter Salad with Herbed Kefir Dressing


This was my contribution to the Founders' Dinner meal.  I had a hankering for a creamy "ranch" dressing the other day and came up with this "healthier" option.  The salad is a loose mixture of your choice of greens, herbs, and sprouts.  This may just be my new favorite greens mix for the season.


Salad:

Green and red leaf lettuce, torn
Spinach, torn
Butterhead lettuce, torn
Radicchio, shredded
Savoy or regular green cabbage, shredded
Red, Black, and Watermelon Radishes, thinly sliced
Flat-leaf parsley, torn into bite-size pieces
Cilantro, torn into bite-size pieces
Broccoli sprouts (or other sprouts)
Baby greens (chard, mustards, spinach, kale, etc.)

(I used the slicer blade to shred the radicchio and cabbage in the food processor, but these could also be done by hand with a well-sharpened knife.)  Wash and spin dry all ingredients and toss to combine thoroughly.

Dressing:
Makes 2 c. and lasts for quite a while in the fridge

1 c. plain whole-milk kefir
3/4 c. mayo (or 1/2 c. mayo, 1/4 c. sour cream or plain whole milk yogurt or some combo of these three)
6 T. sliced scallions (green and white parts)
6 T. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. dried tarragon
1/2-1 t. Herbamare seasoning
2 T. arame seaweed (optional for a little more nutrition!)
Salt and pepper as needed, though the Herbamare has sea salt in it

In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients.  Alternatively, mix all in a food processor.  Funnel into a bottle or shake in a Mason jar and serve.

Lacing cards

As we said our goodbyes at the end of our lovely dinner with friends I picked a fellow craft blogger's brain about how she maintains her productivity with four young children (and a henhouse) to tend.  She modestly told me she takes her work bits and pieces at a time, but also gave me some ideas for how to bring Vera more into the crafting world with me so we can sew together.  I loved lacing cards when I was a kid, but had honestly forgotten about them until this friend refreshed my memory.  The day to use some of the random potential craft pieces I've been squirreling away for years finally came.  I always save the pieces of card stock that stabilize packaged items such as men's undershirts or sheets, etc.  For this project I cut them down to size then dove into my "bookmaking" box to find some scraps to use as images on the cards.  My yarn supply is never lacking so I also found coordinating colors to sew each card.  The only hang-up was that my hole-puncher wasn't long enough to reach every bit of border where I wanted a punch on the cards.  I did my best and Vera seems to be enjoying her new "sewing" projects thus far.

I carved out a bit more time this week to finish a garment I started last week.  I keep thinking that these outfits will be perfect "school clothes" for Vera in the fall.  This vest and skirt set is made from more flannel from my mom's stash.  With a random button from the flea market and some lining fabric begging to finally be used, it came together with very little expense (p.s. the pattern was from the thrift store and the elastic also from my mom's stash.)

Sewing school clothes for V

Cool button from the antique flea market

I also finally finished a shirt dress I'd started months and months ago, an idea I clipped from a Martha Stewart book.  I started with a tired flannel that Ben turned over to me.  I had to improvise a bit with the collar because of where the buttons fell so I chose to do a more "rustic" serged edge.  The buttons are mismatched red characters from the flea market as well.  It's a bit big on Vera right now, but will likely fit her when she's officially a primary school student.

Once Daddy's shirt, now V's dress

...with red buttons down the front

Though we haven't gotten outside much this week, we have managed to keep our hands busy inside baking and tasting new recipes.  Vera helped me with these "brownies" yesterday.

Gluten-Free Apple Butter Bars

Apple Butter Bars

Makes about 9 bars

1/2 c. butter, room temp.
1/2 c. granulated xylitol or sugar
1/2 c. apple butter (I used some Cardamom Apple Butter from this past season's larder)
1 large egg
1 c. gluten-free all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. ground cinnamon
3-4 apples, peeled and diced or 1 c. dried, plumped and snipped apples (the option I used)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Cream together butter, sugar/xylitol, and apple butter in a mixing bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and combine well.  Spread into a greased 9-inch glass pan and bake about 30-35 min. or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  Sprinkle with sugar/xylitol after baking if desired.  Best if served warm.

Hopefully we will get out into the snow this afternoon and perhaps enjoy some of these bars warmed up with a cup of hot cocoa when we come in.