Happy Spring! Blessed Ostara/Eostre! Happy Easter!

It has been such a long time since I posted anything. I do apologize and I promise that I have a good reason, but I am keeping it close for the moment.

Even though we have about a foot of snow on the ground outside the week before the change of the season was very tangible. It has retreated for the moment, but I am still trying to hold onto that energy.

Eggs are always associated with this time of year no matter what holiday you celebrate and I love the tradition of dying eggs this time of year, but I do not like the food coloring normally used for this purpose, which is why this year I wanted to try some truly natural dyes, made from plants.

Beets stain everything and so that is why I decided to go with beets. The eggs our hens give us range in color from light to chocolate brown and so I knew we needed something dark to see any results.

We started by placing peeled and frozen beets in about 2 cups of water with some vinegar and let it sit for about an hour. I pre-boiled all the eggs we were going to use for this project. I warmed the water/vinegar solution up and we put a few eggs into this beautiful pink water and let it sit for about 10 minutes. There was no result. So we tried going a little longer and nothing. Then we cut the beets into pieces to release more of the pink juices and then boiled them in the water/vinegar mixture for about an hour to an hour and a half, until the beets had lost most of their color and tried again. Again, no result.

I went to my facebook page and asked my knowledgable readers and someone suggested leaving them in the solution overnight. This morning I was worried when I pulled them out because it looked like a thin layer of  shell had peeled off. But what it left us with after we washed them off was what you see above (and below) – this very cool tie-dyed effect! It wasn’t what I thought they would look like, but they are quite beautiful in their own right.

Have some fun with your family this Springtide and experiment with dying eggs using vegetables. Please leave comments letting us know of your successes and failures, so we can all learn something new about this process!

I like talking about ancestral food. I have found through personal experience that by preparing ancestral foods you can connect to the cultures of your birth in a fun and enjoyable way. It is like living history, but with food. My spiritual practice focuses a lot on ancestor veneration, i.e. honoring your ancestors. I have found the most profound way for me to do that is to expand my culinary repertoire and skills to include foods that had significance to those ancestors.

One of the most important days of the year to celebrate the ancestors is December 20th, also known as Mōdraniht or Mother’s Night when the female ancestors of one’s family linse are celebrated and thanked for, well, nothing short of making our lives possible. This is one of my favorite days of the year and I am doubly lucky as I have so many ancestors to celebrate, both from my adoptive and birth families! I celebrate this night by creating a holiday treat, usually a cookie, reflecting a particular branch of ancestry. In years past I have made :

Cuccidata, Sicilian Fig Cookies

Polenta & Sesame Biscotti

Pfeffernusse Shortbread

Last year we made these. I have always known them by their Danish name, æbleskiver, but I came across this recipe for a gluten-free version last year in Pinterest  and when I read the blog post, I knew I had to make these for Mother’s Night as the blogger who created the recipe and I share heritage from Holstein (which has switched around between being part of Denmark and Germany).

Here is what Heidi, the creator of this treat has to say about its origins:

“Förtchen are a traditional Christmas pastry in parts of northern Germany, especially in Schleswig-Holstein and in Denmark. My family’s original fritter recipe is much like a very dense cake-style donut hole.”

And some more tidbits from her Aunt:

“Our German ancestors were from the most northern part of Germany, in an area called Schleswig-Holstein. That part of the country was once a part of Denmark and I suspect that this recipe is somewhat Danish in origin.”

Heidi has a wonderful step by step guide to making these on her blog  she also has a link to the original non gluten free version.

We flavored our æbleskiver by filling them with some chestnut cream we had bought when visiting Quebec City. It was a wonderful holiday treat! My hope is to make them sometime during the season this year, although not for Mother’s night as I like to do something different each year.

I apologize for my extended absence these past few months. It was not an intentional blog break and I am not sure that it is over yet, either. But today I felt inspired to share with you an activity that has become a favorite family tradition for us over the past few years. This activity really kicks of the holiday season for us. It is food focused and a time for celebration with good friends.

It all started 3 years ago when we met a pair of young farmers at our local farmers market. They were growing food on a small diversified farm and had some options for meat shares. We liked the idea of buying a whole animal and then stocking our freezer with healthy meat. This is when I met Cole Ward, The Gourmet Butcher. He was doing a workshop on breaking down lambs and so Roberto and I decided to take the course using the lamb we bought from the farmers.

I have talked about Cole in the past, but I don’t think enough can ever be said about him. Over the years he has become a great teacher to Roberto and I, but those he has taught probably number in the hundreds. He has an immense wealth of knowledge being in the business of butchering for over 50 years. He has such a passion for his art and for teaching others the little known skills of breaking animals down into primal and gourmet or retail cuts. He believes in small local farms and farmers that raise animals who get plenty of sunshine, and exercise and are fed without antibiotics, GMOs and hormones.

At that first workshop with Cole, Roberto and I first met our very dear friends Corey and Kurt. We hit it off immediately – foodies can pick each other out of a crowd! Since that day 3 years ago, we have been cooking and eating delicious food with these guys and having a great time. We all care deeply about where our food comes from, and supporting local farmers and we love to cook, have fun in the kitchen and do foodie projects together.

So for the past two years we have bought a whole pig with them and have brought Cole back each time to help us break it down. After several hours breaking down the pig, we all sit down to an amazing lunch prepared with some of our fresh pork, drink some wine and share stories. Then the next day we get together again and spend the day making various kinds of sausage. Each year we experiment with different kinds so that in 10 years or so we’ll know exactly which ones to make! We grind the meat and fat, mix in giant quantities of spices (that usually cause sneezing fits), drink wine and just laugh together. Sometimes there is even dancing to German Oompah music! Or hog casing jump rope.

This year though we made the best Breakfast Sausage yet and made for the second year in a row the same Italian Sausage (my grandfather’s recipe) and Smoked Kielbasa recipe. Those I will share with you today, in a lazy sort of manner. But I just want to say, I love this yearly ritual. It is a great time to catch up with friends, be thankful not only for the friendships but sharing this task together. We talk about food and work together on something that truly has meaning. It is a way to support local farmers who are raising animals humanely and healthy. It supports your local economy and rewards people who are doing things the right way. It harkens back to the days when butchering an animal for food was a communal thing, something to be celebrated and respected. It is something I recommend to anyone that eats meat to try at least once. Maybe you’ll end up loving it as much as we do and will make it a yearly tradition of your own.

If you are interested in learning how to butcher an animal, Cole is the best in the business. If you can’t make it to a live workshop he has an amazing DVD series that goes through all the steps for various animals: beef, pork and lamb. Then he and his friend the amazing Chef Courtney Contos create delicious recipes with those cuts. He also has a blog  and a facebook page  both of which are full of lots of wisdom, tips and recipes.

These are the books we use to make sausages:

Home Sausage Making: How-To Techniques for Making and Enjoying 125 Sausages at Home

Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage

RECIPES:

Pap Pap’s Italian Sausage

Ingredients for each pound of pork/fat mixture. For sausage your meat should contain 30% fat:

1 level tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 TBL fennel seed
pinch of cayenne pepper

METHOD: Knead well until thoroughly mixed. Sausage can be eaten right away but tastes better if it sits in the fridge for 24 hours for flavors to marry. Store in fridge or separate into smaller packages and freeze.

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Best Breakfast Sausage

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Smoked Kielbasa

Doesn’t that sound just dreamy? It is hard to believe that something so sexy as a chocolate tart with fresh figs can be grain, dairy and refined sugar free. You also wouldn’t guess that it is extremely easy to make, not very time consuming and requires no baking! This is such a no-brainer it could be a weeknight dessert, but you might want to leave it for the weekend so it feels more like an indulgence.

I based this tart on a recipe from a new cookbook called Paleo Indulgences. Like I said the Paleo Gods have been shining down on me and put me in the good graces of the folks over at Victory Belt Publishing who send me the latest and greatest in Paleo cookbooks for review. I have really been so fortunate to receive these books free of charge. The books may be free, but the opinions I have are all my own. The good thing is that I have not been disappointed yet. These books have all helped me to eat Paleo for the past three months and given me such a variety of wonderful recipes to use in my kitchen, I don’t feel like I am missing a thing!

For the first month and a half of going Paleo I hadn’t eaten any sugar outside of fresh delicious summer fruits. But my mom came to visit in mid-September and I wanted to make some treats while she was here. So we looked through Paleo Indulgences and decided on the chocolate tart, mainly because Roberto is such a fan of chocolate. After the sweetness of my palette had changed it was nice to have a dessert that serves 8, yet only has 2 TBSP of sweetener, and maple syrup at that! But I am sure it will satisfy any sweet tooth, especially if you are a chocolate lover.

Paleo Chocolate Cream Tart with Fresh Figs (adapted from Paleo Indulgences)

INGREDIENTS:

Tart Shell:
1 ½ cups almond flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup coconut oil, melted
1 TBS pure maple syrup
Pinch of sea salt

Filling:
½ cup coconut oil, melted
1 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
1 TBS pure maple syrup
1 can of coconut milk
1 TBS of Frangelico

Garnish:
Pint of fresh figs, sliced
Cinnamon for dusting

METHOD: Chill the can of coconut milk overnight or at least a few hours, this separates the fat from the water.

Place all tart shell ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until well incorporated and starting to stick together. Place mixture into a tart pan (or you can use 4 mini tart pans). Press firmly along the bottom of the pan(s) and part of the way up the sides of the pan(s). Place on a baking sheet and chill for about an hour, or until firm.

Meanwhile, place the filling ingredients, except the coconut milk fat into the food processor and pulse until well mixed and smooth. In a separate bowl, whip the coconut milk fat and Frangelico together – scoop out the fat on the top of the can, leaving the watery part in the can and whip the fat and Frangelico just like you would whipped cream. Then fold this mixture into the chocolate mixture.

Pour filling into the tart shell(s) and refrigerate for another hour. Serve with sliced figs on top.

Will store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for 3 months.

Entered into the Fig Love Blog Hop.

This is the third entry in the series about curing fresh olives at home. Through a program by The Foodie Blogroll and Penna Gourmet Foods, I was selected to receive a free five pound box of olives for home curing. Penna was looking for bloggers who were into preservation, canning, etc. and since that sort of thing is right up my alley, I was happy and honored to participate.

You can read about my first experience curing olives a few years ago. It didn’t go very well. But it did set me up with a lot of knowledge for this time around, which was very helpful. One of the main issues with my first batch was that the olives were mushy. So instead of pounding or cracking them to release the bitterness, I sliced them. The results are much firmer and crunchy olives. The second major issue I had the first time was with the olives remaining bitter even after soaking them in water for almost 2 months. Most olive curing recipes tell you to soak in water for 2-4 week max, but even after 2 months the olives were still inedibly bitter. I fear that extra soaking time didn’t help in the soggy olive department either.

To start this off right, I must say that the olives I received from Penna were absolutely gorgeous. Bright green and gigantic! There were only a few that had bruises or imperfections that I discarded right away. So I have to say the quality of these olives were fabulous. So a day or two after the olives arrived I began preparing them for curing.

This time I decided to follow the instructions from Penna that they have on their website for Mediterranean Partida Style, which looked similar to the recipe I tried the first time. But alas after almost two weeks of soaking them in water and changing out the water each day, when I tasted the olives they were still very bitter.

I have to say, I love my facebook readers. They are always an invaluable source of information and help when I need it. So I put a call out to my readers asking them if any had ever cured olives before and I got some very helpful advice from Maha from Maha’s Fine Egyptian Cuisine . She rescued me and this batch of olives by telling me how they cure olives in Egypt. Since I had already soaked the olives in plain water for 10 days, I decided to just follow her directions from there. But if you are just starting with your fresh olives, you can skip soaking them in plain water, and just start at step 1:

Always rinse the olives in fresh water prior to preparing and discard any olives that are terribly bruised or have any holes.

1) Make a couple of cuts with the knife on each olive and then soak the olives in salted water : use ½ cup salt to each liter of water, for one week covered on the counter.

2) Then take the olives out of the salted water and put it in jars with alternating layers of the following mix: chopped garlic cloves, diced Chinese celery, hot green peppers sliced (jalapeño will be good here) & slices of carrots.

3) After filling jars with the layers of the previous mix and layers of olives, prepare the following liquid to fill the jars with: 1 cup salt+2 cups lemon or lime juice+3 cups water (all mixed together) I use the lemon or lime shells that I used for lemon juice to cover the top of the jars and press very hard then I fill the jars with the above liquid of lemon juice, water and salt.

4) Leave some room in the jars to cover with some olive oil on the top because the oil will keep everything from rotting. Also don’t be shy on the salt because the salt will preserve everything and will not let it be mushy. Cover with a plastic wrap then cover tightly with the lid of the jar. Leave on the counter for 2 weeks and then you can eat the best pickled olives in your life.

These olives are very delicious and fresh tasting. I did mostly layers of hot pepper and carrots. I am not a fan of celery, so I omitted that. Would I cure olives myself again? It is really fun to cure olives at home, but I am not sure that I am the best olive maker but if I do it again in the future, I am definitely going Egyptian!

Other posts in the series:
Curing Olives at Home: Part 1
Curing Olives at Home: Part 2

Do you enjoy pumpkin spice coffees but don’t want all the chemicals and corn syrup? You don’t have to miss out on this favorite seasonal treat; consider making your own spice blend!

I started this kick by accident two years ago when I was grinding a special spice blend for my Pfeffernusse Shortbread Cookies  in my coffee grinder and forgot to clean it out. Next time I made coffee it had this wonderful spice that brought me right back to Yuletide in Norway. So I started making more and putting a pinch in my coffee in the morning all winter long.

Just this morning I was lamenting the fact that I can no longer enjoy Pumpkin Spice coffee drinks when I go out (I have been lamenting this seasonally for years now), since the syrups are full of corn syrup and other artificial flavors. I love Autumn, I love pumpkins and I love pumpkin spice everything this time of year! So I decided to make my own spice blend!

I have been enjoying Teecino as an alternative to coffee, it is an herbal coffee comprised mostly of ground roasted roots, like chicory and dandelion and nuts as well as dates and carob. The one I get is called Dandelion Vanilla Nut and it is 100% gluten free (unlike some of their other flavors). This lends itself nicely to the spice blend that I created, making a delicious, warm and seasonal beverage!

Of course no gourmet coffee experience is the same without a nice delicious treat to go along side, so here is also another recipe from Practical Paleo for Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cranberries! The perfect healthy Autumnal treat!

Pumpkin Coffee Spice Blend:

INGREDIENTS:

2 tsp whole cloves
2 allspice berries
½ star anise
2 tsp cardamom
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon

METHOD: Place all ingredients in a coffee grinder and pulse until ground. Don’t worry about cleaning out the grinder!  Makes about 6 servings, use about ¼ tsp of spice blend per cup of coffee. Place spice mixture in the coffee filter with your coffee grounds for brewing.

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins adapted from Practical Paleo

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs
¼ cup canned pumpkin
¼ cup butter or coconut oil melted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 TBS pure maple syrup
1/3 cup coconut flour
Pinch of salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
¼ cup fresh cranberries

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all ingredients (except cranberries) in a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer. Then gently fold in the cranberries. Scoop evenly into a muffin pan (line pan or use a silicon muffin pan). Bake for 35-40 minutes. Serves 6.

I have really been into smoothies and chia or avocado puddings this summer. Since going Paleo 6 weeks ago, my sugar intake has gone way down, and I have found myself being drawn more towards fresh fruit this season. Some of my favorite smoothies have been papaya with cardamom and cinnamon and this one, which is actually more of a pudding than a smoothie.

Roberto is the smoothie maker in the family, I just tell him what I want in mine and he whips it up in the vitamix. We usually have a smoothie after dinner on most nights.

Once papaya season was over, I started getting mangoes. For some crazy and fateful reason, the day Roberto made the first mango smoothie, he added an avocado to the mix. The result was amazing, the best treat of the season! As anyone who has made a smoothie with avocado knows, the consistency is more of a pudding that a smoothie. With the addition of lime juice, and the color of the avocado, this dessert is reminiscent of a key lime pie filling. As the season draws to a close, be sure to get in one of these delicious smoothie-puddings! You won’t regret it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup coconut milk
1 mango
1 avocado
2 pitted dates
Juice of 1 lime
½ tsp cinnamon
Ice

METHOD:
Place all ingredients in the blender in the order they appear (except the ice). Go from low speed to high slowly to make sure that all the ingredients blend well together in a smooth consistency. Once it has been blended add 1-2 ice cubes at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Serves 2.

One month ago, today, I started eating Paleo. I guess I should really say, Primal, but I’ll get to that later. My reasons to try the Paleo way of eating (I will never say diet!) are many-fold and something I had wanted to try for a while now. But let’s just say that I was recently diagnosed with a thyroid problem which caused me to put on some pounds in a very short period of time. During that time, I received a review copy of Practical Paleo: A Customized Approach to Health and a Whole-Foods Lifestyle from the publisher. A few months ago I had done a review of Eat Like a Dinosaur: Recipe & Guidebook for Gluten-free Kids by The Paleo Parents, and I got on the publisher’s list. That turned out to be very fortunate for me, because in Practical Paleo, Diane Sanfilippo, BS, NC, a nutrition consultant, and blogger at Balanced Bites, gives 30-day meal plans for many health issues, including but not limited to Thyroid, MS, digestive health, blood sugar regulation, heart health and cancer recovery.

It felt like fate that this book basically fell into my lap right when I got my diagnosis. So I decided to try it. I thought it would be a challenge. I remember back when I was doing the 4-Hour Body Slow Carb program, it was a struggle. Often I did not feel satisfied after meals and I was craving sugar a lot. I figured with Paleo, and cutting out beans, it would be worse. But I really wanted to try it and see what the fuss is all about. Paleo is touted as being so healthy and life changing by those who love it, and hated with such fervor by those who don’t. I never let other people’s opinions sway me, instead I figure out the truth for myself. Granted, before I started the plan, I ate many Paleo meals throughout the week. Plus I have been used to eating whole foods, since I follow Weston A. Price Foundation Guidelines.

I found a lot of things that surprised me about eating Paleo. For one, I was satisfied after every single meal. I found the dishes easy to cook and actually taking less time in the kitchen to make than I normally would. Plus the food is delicious and varied (like you don’t eat the same dinner twice for a whole month!). But the most surprising thing about it is that I found myself eating WAY MORE vegetables than I used to, and I am already a big veggie lover. But each day I was surprised to discover how many different varieties of vegetables I had on my plates of food. Shopping for food was focused on produce. Granted, we do have a lot of meat in our freezer, but still, I was pleasantly shocked by the amounts of fruit and veggies I was eating. Paleo is not all about bacon people, in fact we normally have bacon only once a week (on Pancake Sunday). Another surprise was that although I didn’t eat any sugar other than fruit for 3 weeks, I found I didn’t crave it. Until my sauerkraut fermenting away started making the room smell like brownies…but I have found some really delicious Paleo brownie recipes!

After 2 weeks, I went back to the doctor, and I had lost 3 pounds (don’t know what I weigh now, as I have to go back to the doctor to find out. We have no scale in the house). I feel less tired and run down and it feels like I am starting to develop a store of energy reserves. Something I haven’t felt in a long while. I feel more alert. I am never ever bloated after meals. I really didn’t think by limiting all grains and beans, I was going to feel all that different. But I do.

One thing I have not done is cut out dairy products, which is why I mentioned earlier that I should probably say I am Primal as opposed to Paleo. I have tried several times cutting dairy out of my diet and to no effect. It just wasn’t the magic bullet for me. Plus, dairy is absolutely part of my ancestral diet, and isn’t that what Paleo is all about? Although through this Paleo experiment, I don’t eat as much cheese as I used to, and I am only eating sheep and goat milk products on a daily basis. I drink kefir every day, use raw goat milk and often have a little raw goat milk cheese…And on Fridays, as is tradition at our house, we still have gluten-free pizza night, with real local mozzarella (cow), which is a nice treat and hasn’t seemed to bother me at all.

Even Roberto has been enjoying this way of eating, which is a huge shocker! He stopped eating bread and pasta for a little over a week and now he finds he doesn’t crave it anymore. He might have a slice or two of local sourdough bread every other day or so, but he used to eat near half a loaf every day! So this has been really good for all of us.

I have even found on the occasions that we go out to eat; I don’t even really want the grains, I am not tempted by them on the menu. So I always order Paleo dishes, even my sushi rolls (I order without the rice). I have found that this has really cut down on cross-contamination (with gluten) issues. So I never come home with swollen fingers or toes. Another really nice perk.

If you are brand new to Paleo or even cooking and eating a whole foods diet, this book is very helpful. There is a whole section on stocking a Paleo pantry, why everything we have been taught about good nutrition is wrong, a guide to fats and oils, how to eat Paleo at restaurants and parties or on the road, there is also a very detailed FAQ. All sections are super useful and easy to understand for non-scientific minds like mine.

So what about the food? I know that is the most important part. I have already said it is delicious. But here are some of my favorites so far: Spaghetti Squash Bolognese, Sweet Potato Pancakes, Zucchini Pancakes, Lemony Lamb Dolmas, Pumpkin Pancakes ( we have these every Sunday), Chinese 5-Spice Lettuce Cups, Braised Short Ribs with Candied Carrots, and this delicious recipe for Duck with Cherry Sauce. So if you have been thinking about trying the Paleo way of eating, I highly recommend Practical Paleo. Even if you don’t want to go Paleo, but just like good, nourishing easy to prepare, family friendly meals, I highly recommend it! Who knows, maybe you’ll find you love being Paleo, too!

I don’t know how long I will eat this way. I haven’t really gotten to that yet. For now, I am just going to enjoy all the recipes in the book and worry about the other stuff later.

Duck with Cherry Sauce (from Practical Paleo)

INGREDIENTS:

2 duck legs (I have also used duck breast for this recipe, in fact that is what is pictured)
¼ tsp each of dried rosemary and dried sage
½ tsp sea salt
¾ cup frozen or fresh cherries or ½ cup dried cherries that have been reconstituted in warm water for an hour (I used dried cherries, but I think it might be better with frozen or fresh)
1 sprig of fresh rosemary

METHOD: Preheat oven to 320 F. Season the duck generously with the spices. Place duck in an oven safe skillet or roasting pan and put in the oven. Roast for about 60-80 minutes until the skin is brown and crispy and the internal temperature of the duck reaches 165 F.

While the duck cooks simmer the cherries with the rosemary sprig in a small sauce pan over medium heat until the shape of the fruit begins to break down. Once the cherries have a soft consistency with liquid around them, remove the rosemary sprig and mash the fruit with a fork, or blend for a smoother texture. Set sauce aside.

Top the roasted duck with the cherry sauce to serve. A lot of fat from the duck will remain. Strain the fat and save it in the fridge for cooking later. It is ideal for roasting potatoes or other root veggies. Serves 2.