Oh Granola: how I've missed you!

There are so many things you miss out on when you're gluten free and even more when you're grain free. I've been pretty lucky to figure out how to reproduce so many of my favorites. I'm not really sure why it took me so long to even think of this! I love eating yogurt and am a huge snacker so granola used to a staple in my diet. When I was little my Mom would take us to Costco and I would get the granola in the HUGE milk carton and literally pour it into my mouth (of course I'd get yelled at for contaminating everyone's granola). So yesterday when I woke up around 5am and could not get back to sleep (it was awful), I got up and made this-- which was De-licious!

Ingredients:
1 cup Roasted Almonds
1/3 cup Sunflower seeds
1/8 cup Raisins
1/4 cup Shredded coconut
2 tablespoons Sesame seeds
1 tablespoon Molasses
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
2 teaspoons Stevia powder
Coconut oil for skillet (or butter)
**Feel free to add any other seeds or dried fruit

Warm a medium sized skillet to medium heat and add coconut oil. Chop almonds and place skillet. Chop sunflower seeds and raisins and also add to skillet, make sure to stir mixture to heat it evenly. Next add coconut and any other seeds you will be using. After mixing well lower heat to low then add molasses-- you do not want to cook the molasses. Next add stevia and vanilla. Heat mixture for a few more minutes then remove from heat. Turn the oven on to 375. Pour granola mixture onto a lined cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. This will help the granola become more crunchy. Remove from oven and let cool.

Daring Cooks Challenge: Three Spice Liver Pate

This was my first daring cook challenge and it was De-Licious! Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pate recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice. I have enjoyed this pate in so many ways! I've used it in place of ham for eggs benedict, with apple slices, and of course with toasts and mustard. This recipe is pretty easy, although time consuming-- I'd be surprised if you could mess it up!

Ingredients:
1 lb Chicken liver (you can use pork too, but I couldn't find it)
1/2 lb Ground pork
1/2 lb Pork belly
2 cloves Garlic
2 Shallots
1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Coriander
1/2 tsp Cumin
3/4 tsp Salt
1 tbps Pepper
2 tbps Cognac
2 Bay leaves
1 package of Bacon

Preheat oven to to 350. Cut liver and pork fat into small pieces and add to food processor. Add ground pork, garlic, shallots, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Grind until smooth. In mixing bowl, incorporate the meat and liver mixture with the cognac and eggs. Line bottom of baking or ceramic pan with overlapping pieces of bacon. Place a bay leaf on the bottom and then fill with meat/liver mixture. Cover top with another bay leaf and then overlapping pieces of bacon. Place in oven in the larger baking pan and add enough water to cover 2/3rds of the pan containing the meat/liver mixture. Bake for about 1-1.5 hrs. The pâté will contract and the juices will be on the bottom. Allow to cool and soak up the juices. Remove any excess bacon and discard the bay leaves.


I recommend pairing this lovely pate with my Fluffly Almond flour bread-- you can't go wrong :-)

Bacon wrapped Oysters

So I know I have been wrapping a lot of things with bacon lately and frankly I make no apologies :-) I really think that bacon should be a staple in your diet. Assuming you buy sugar free, nitrate free bacon, it has great fats and is so tasty! This recipe is great for appetizers or side dish. It is rich, creamy yet crunchy and has a very unexpected taste. You really cannot go wrong.

Ingredients:
4 pieces of Bacon
8 Oysters (I used canned)
2 tablespoons Cream cheese
2 tablespoons Goat cheese
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

In a small bowl add cream cheese and goat cheese. Place bowl in the microwave for a few seconds-- just long enough so it is soft and can be mixed easily. Add crushed garlic, salt and pepper into the cheese mixture. Lay bacon on a cutting board and cut each piece in half. On one end of the bacon place a dollop of cheese mixture, then add an oyster to the top. Carefully wrap the bacon around the cheese/ oyster dollop and secure with a tooth pick. Place all wraps on a cookie sheet and back at 375 for 15 minutes. If you like your bacon crunchy broil the wraps for a few minutes before removing from the oven. Let cool for 5 minutes then serve. These also keep well in the fridge if you would like to make them in advance. ENJOY!

Kefiring....Making kefir that is!

I have mentioned in past posts that I have been recently diagnosed with Lyme Disease. Treatment for Lyme is notoriously difficult if you have had the disease for longer than about 4 wks of time-- which I have (about 4-6 yrs actually). So I have started what is going to be a long treatment with pharmaceutical and natural antibiotics . Both pharmaceutical and natural antibiotics are very hard on your digestive tract, killing off your body's friendly bacteria and breaking down enzymes. Even those who are not taking antibiotics need to replenish their bacteria, which is damaged by all the chemicals and pollutants your body is exposed to every day. SO-- I've been back to my 24 hr yogurt making and have started making my own kefir....and I love it!
Kefir has been around for hundreds of years. It is a live bacterial culture much like yogurt, but contains up to 57 different bacterial strains while yogurt usually contains about 3. Why is yogurt so popular then if they only contain a measly 3 bacterial strains? Well the bacterial strains in yogurt are the same strains that are naturally in your digestive tract, while many in kefir are not naturally occurring in you GI. Although they are not naturally occurring, these bacteria are still very beneficial in aiding in your immune function, digestive system, yeast control, and over all enzyme performance (which is basically necessary for all of your body's functions). You can buy kefir bottled in your local health food store, but if you're going to be drinking it every day its much less expensive to make it yourself-- not to mention you dodge additives like: sugar, gums, thickeners, and other things we can't spell. The best part: if you can pour a glass of milk...you can make kefir.
The first step is to get your kefir grains. Now a note-- like most things in life: not all are created equal. You do not want commerically sold powder kefir grains. These kefir starters are not the real thing and will only last one batch. Real kefir grains look like cottage cheese, are stored in liquid and are alive. I got mine on craigslist from a local kefir drinker who had an abundance of grains (they grow, because they are a live). There are water kefir grains, where you ferment with water, or milk grains (you can use goat milk, regular milk or coconut milk). For those lactose intolerant try out the milk any ways-- fermenting the kefir breaks down the lactose and even helps break down casien-- so many are able to tolerate the dairy kefir. SO now on the the kefiring!


1 tablespoon Kefir Grains
2 cups of Milk (you really want organic....its only about .50 more than regular--TRUST ME!)
1 glass jar
1 pastic strainer




Place kefir grains in well cleaned jar and pour milk into jar. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a corner (our of the sun). Let sit for 24 hours then strain kefir into a glass using a plastic stainer (metal harms the kefir grains, so no metal).




Refrigerate for about an hour, add some stevia, or make a smoothie and enjoy! I have mine after dinner in place dessert. Replace the kefir and milk in the jar and repeat process. The grains will need to be in milk constantly so that it can stay alive, if you want to slow down the fermenting process because you have too much kefir, you can put the jar in the fridge which will slow down the fermenting process.
ENJOY!!! Its addictive people

Chipotle Mayonnaise

Homemade mayo can be a bit tricky to make, but once you get it-- it seems super easy and you'll wonder why you ever bought it? This is a great twist on mayonnaise adding chipotle, which is sure to spice up your every day sandwich, or a delicious dip...really you can put it on anything-- I do.

Ingredients:
2 Egg yolks
1 cup of olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons chipotle powder

In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks well with an electric mixer. Very slowly add oil, one tablespoon at a time in, beating constantly until light and creamy. Once all oil is added stir in lemon juice, garlic and chipotle and mix well. Viola all done. Make sure to refrigerate immediately as mayo is notoriously known for spoiling.

Cheese-Its

Ahh the taste of these is prefect! That cheesey flavor with some twang at the end. These aren't quiet as crunchy as the normal cheese-its but they sure hit the spot.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup Pureed white navy beans
1/3 cup Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon White wine
1/3 cup Corn starch
1 1/2 teaspoon Mustard powder
1 Egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Preheat oven to 325. Combine beans and grated cheese together. Microwave mixture together at 30 second increments, mixing in between. When cheese is melted add white wine, corn starch and mustard powder. Make sure mixture has cooled a bit before adding egg yolk-- you don't want to cook the yolk. Place mixture on greased cookie sheet and place parchment over the batter and begin to kneed and flatten out the the batter until it is a thin layer on the sheet. It should look like a giant pancake. Place baking sheet in oven for about 15-25 minutes until light browning occurs. Flip over the mixture and place back in oven to brown other side of crackers, this helps them become more crispy. Careful not to over cook.

Afternoon crackers

This is a great recipe for your everyday cracker and are super quick to make, great with some peanut butter or hummus.

Ingredients:
1 cup of re-fried pinto beans (get fat free)
4 teaspoons egg
4 tablespoons corn starch
4 tablespoons flax meal
2 teaspoons of stevia
2 teaspoons of honey

Preheat oven to 350. Add re-fried beans with corn starch, flax and egg in large bowl and mix well. Add stevia, honey and egg to mixture and mix until batter is smooth. Line baking pan with tin foil and grease. Pour batter into pan and spread smooth, so that the thickness is about as thick as your favorite cracker. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes. Remove the tin foil and place on cutting board. Cut cracker squares to your size preference-- if crackers are not crunchy enough place back on pan and broil for 1-2 minutes (careful not to burn). Put your favorite jam or peanut butter on crackers and E-N-J-O-Y!

Sweet potato pesto bake

This is one of my Mom's favorite recepies. It also can be made with butternut squash which makes for a smoother, sweeter version. But in honor of the end of sweet potato month I thought I would make this delicious bake.

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
4 tablespoon of pesto
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons Olive oil

Preheat oven at 400. In a large pot place peeled sweet potatoes until soft. Mash or place potatoes in a food processor and puree. Place 1/2 in a small casserole dish and place 2 tablespoons of pesto evenly on top; on top of pesto place 1/8 cup of parmesan evenly over pesto top off the parmesan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place the remaining sweet potatoes on top of mixture creating a second layer. Add pesto, cheese and oil. Cover dish and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Portobello Pizza

These are a great alternative to regular pizza. They can be a great side dish, appetizer or snack. The Parmesan cheese really ramps up the flavor while still being low fat and low calorie.

Ingredient:
4 Portobello Mushrooms
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/3 cup ground turkey
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoon chopped basil
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 small block of Parmesan cheese

Mix turkey, tomato sauce, and spices. Remove the stumps of the mushrooms and fill with tomato mixture, spread it out evenly. Cut slices of Parmesan and over the top of mushrooms so you cannot see the tomato mixture. Place mushrooms on cookie sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, making sure the turkey has fully cooked.

Delicious Coleslaw

This is really delicious. It can be served as a side dish or as a light entree. It is quick and easy and also keeps well.
Ingredients:
2 Carrots
1 1/2 Zucchini
1/4 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of sliced almonds
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons of creamed horse radish (adjust to personal taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil
dash of salt and pepper

Grate carrots and place in pan with 1 inch of water and bring to boil. Boil for about 3-5 minutes. Drain water and place carrots in bowl. Grate zucchini and add to carrots, along with raisins, almonds, salt and pepper. Make sure the carrots have cooled before adding yogurt sauce. Add yogurt sauce to veggie mixture. Cool and serve.

Beet, Celery root and Squash chips!

When i get back to the US the 2 things I am buying are a juicer, and a deep fryer. Yesterday I made some chips using beets, celary root and butternut squash. I sliced them very thinly and put them in a pan with about half an inch of sun flower oil. Make sure you over the peices with the oil and that the oil is hot enough. Cook each peice for about 3 minutes, the beets may take longer. If you dont cook them enough they will be mushy and not crunchy-- so use your judgement. Once you take them off the pan, place on paper towel, to remove some grease and add sesonings. The best thing is that you can make these go with any meal by choosing your falvoring. I used sage, salt and pepper so it would go with my chicken soup. You could use rosemary, or spicy peppers for somthing different. Now all i need is some gaucamole and then I can make nachos :-) I'll save that for next week!