Meal plans and the week ahead

I'm afraid this week is going to feel like a long week.  I have to work all week, which hasn't happened since October with all of the holidays we've had this month.  My 5-day work weeks feel long, regardless, but especially when I haven't had one in awhile... and especially after having such a short week last week with Thanksgiving.  But it'll also feel long because Kevin is gone again.  The good news is that he'll be home on Friday night and he's hoping he may not have to go back to Virginia next week... keep your fingers crossed! 

Last week was a good week.  Kevin had a productive week in Virginia and we got to spend lots of fun time together with family over the long holiday weekend.  We had Thanksgiving dinner with my mom's family on Thursday and we took a trip to Crossroads Village with most of Kevin's family last night for Christmas at Crossroads.  We got our Christmas tree up and our indoor decorations.  I'm going to pull all the ornaments off our tree and re-do it one night this week, though.  I need to pick up some ribbon that I like first, though.  Then Carson and I can have fun putting the ornaments back on it again.  We need to finish putting up our outdoor lights, too.  I picked up two fresh, local, pastured turkeys on Monday night last week.  I cooked one on Wednesday, which I chopped up and put into containers in the freezer for easy additions to meals.  The other one I butchered up, freezing some turkey cutlets, and grinding the rest and freezing in 1-pound packages.  I also made turkey stock, baked some bread, made sourdough corn muffins and corn fritters and froze some of each, made yogurt, made kefirs, made vanilla wafers, and baked a chocolate sourdough cake (at Carson's request).  I also got some candlesticks painted, did some crafts with Carson, got some sewing projects done and started some new ones, and made some progress on learning to crochet.  And I think I may have just about finished my Christmas shopping.   

We don't have a lot going on this week in terms of plans.  Carson and I will have to do lots of fun, creative things to keep us busy.  Maybe we'll start on some Christmas crafts.  Today we'll go to church and then we'll be putting up some more outdoor Christmas lights.  Thursday I might be going to Detroit for some meetings, but they're not definite yet.  Friday is milk and CSA pickup and Kevin comes home late.  Saturday we may head to Longway Planetarium for a laser show, but we're not sure yet.  We're planning to go to the Swartz Creek Christmas Parade on Saturday night. 

Anyway, here's the plan...

Sunday ~ church; put up outdoor lights
(make sourdough crepes; make deviled eggs for lunches this week; make steel cut oats)
B: scrambled eggs; bacon
L: leftovers
D: turkey crepes; roasted veggies; side salads

Monday ~ Kevin leaves for VA
(re-decorate Christmas tree)
B: steel cut oats with maple syrup and brown sugar
D: turkey and veggie quesadillas

Tuesday ~
(re-decorate mantel; start soft cheese)
B: yogurt with fruit
D: hot dogs; roasted veggies

Wednesday ~
(hang soft cheese; clean out refrigerator door and drawers)
B: muffins from freezer
D: eating at my parents

Thursday ~ Detroit for work? 
(make ricotta; make butter; clean out liquor cabinet)
B: kefir smoothie
D: pizza at my aunt's

Friday ~ milk and CSA pickup; Kevin returns
(soak beans; soak almonds)
B: steel cut oats with maple syrup and brown sugar
D: spinach and sun-dried tomato risotto

Saturday ~ Longway Planetarium?; Swartz Creek Christmas Parade
(clean out cars; dry almonds; make pumpkin ice cream)
B: sourdough pancakes; sausage
L: egg salad sandwiches; raw carrots with homemade ranch dip
D: chili in the crockpot

Traditional Ricotta Cheese

I really try to get the most out of everything when it comes to cooking and food.  So when I saw a recipe on the Fias Co Farm site for making ricotta cheese out of the whey that is leftover when you make a lactic acid or rennet precipitated cheese, I was all about trying it.  So the last few times I've made my soft cheese, I've done just that.  This is extremely easy.  The downside is that you really don't get a lot of ricotta out of a quart of whey.  But this is too simple of a process not to still make the ricotta... plus the resulting ricotta tastes awesome!  I've just been adding it to a container that I've been keeping in my freezer until I get enough to use in a recipe.  I've finally got enough to use and cannot wait to try it next week in a recipe! 

Traditional Ricotta Cheese (made from whey)

You will need:
whey leftover from making a lactic acid or rennet precipitated cheese
vinegar, optional
stainless steel saucepan
thermometer
colander
large bowl or pot into which the colander fits
2 pieces of 90-count cheesecloth or butter muslin

Pour the whey into a saucepan and heat to 200 degrees.  Once you reach this temperature, you should see very tiny white particles (the albumin protein) floating in the whey.  You may add a little vinegar at this point if you'd like (1/4 cup per 2 gallons of whey).  It's up to you, some people do and some people don't.  I've done it both ways and have not really noticed much of a difference.  Adding the vinegar supposedly makes the texture of the ricotta a little more grainy, but I really haven't noticed it.

Line a colander with very fine cheesecloth/butter muslin.  I fold mine in quarters so I have 8 layers (between the 2 pieces) of cloth.  You really need a really fine cloth because the cheese will pass right through if you don't.  Place the colander over a big bowl or pot so you can save the whey for soups or baking bread.  Carefully pour the hot whey through the cheesecloth lined colander.

Tie the ends of the cheesecloth together and hang the ricotta to drain for 2-4 hours.

When it has finished draining, put the ricotta in a bowl and add salt to taste.  Ricotta will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge, or you can freeze it until you have enough to use in a recipe. 

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Baked Spinach

This is a super easy side dish recipe. Its is quite tasty, too!   We have had this a couple of times now.  Its quite tasty as leftovers, too... and I don't say that very often because I'm not a leftover fan.  :)  I found the idea on a Crossfit food blog.  You could make this with any type of greens.  I've only made it with spinach, but it'd be very good with others.  You could also change up the nuts and add cheese and other spices.  This picture is made as it is written below.  But the second time I made it, I used crispy walnuts and added some of my homemade soft cheese into the mixture.  Feta would be good, too.  Or a cheese topping. 

Baked Spinach

1 1/2 pounds spinach
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup crispy pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Saute your spinach in butter until wilted.  Add your crispy pine nuts and garlic. Saute for just a couple of minutes.  Pour spinach mixture into a small casserole dish. 

Whisk eggs in a separate bowl.  Pour eggs over spinach mixture and stir to combine.  Spread evenly in dish.  Bake for 30-40 minutes. 


This post is participating in the Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS, Whole Food for the Holidays: Side Dishes at The Nourishing Gourmet. 

Meal plans and the week ahead

Our luck has run out.  At least in terms of one of us traveling for work.  We found out on Wednesday that Kevin is headed down to Virginia early tomorrow morning and will be home late Wednesday night.  Thankfully, he's able to be home for the holiday weekend.  He will likely be going back to Virginia a week from today and will possibly not be home again until Christmas.  We're hoping he's able to come home at least a couple of weekends.  But we shall see. 

In other traveling (good) news, though... we booked a trip to Arizona to go visit my BFF Jaime!  We'll go at the end of January and I can not wait!  We were hoping to go in the spring, but a flight deal came up that was seriously too good to pass up.  I've been watching ticket prices for a while now and they're usually around $300+/person.  We got tickets for $147/person, including all the taxes and fees!!  Unbelievable!!  Now we get to start planning our trip!

So, today we're headed to church, then we'll be tackling some projects around the house - changing some burnt out lightbulbs, putting up a new outdoor light in the back, paint shopping, priming some shelves, cleaning and rearranging in the garage, and Kevin will be packing.  He's headed out on a 6am flight tomorrow morning and he'll be flying in around 11:30pm on Wednesday night.  Tuesday I'm headed to Sarnia for a meeting all day.  Thursday we're headed to my aunt's house for Thanksgiving.  Friday I'll be headed out early for Black Friday shopping and will be picking up our milk.  Then we'll be following our tradition and putting up our Christmas tree and decorations.  We'll also be going to Christmas at Crossroads either on Friday or Saturday night with some of our family.  We also may go down to hang out with our friends Ben and Kati on Saturday so that Kati and I can do some sewing and she can teach me to crochet. 

Here's the plan.

Sunday ~ church; projects
(make vanilla ice cream; make kefirs; make steel cut oats)
B: sourdough cinnamon rolls
L:  mixed greens salads with hard boiled eggs; bacon; cucumbers; carrots; homemade creamy dressing
D: meatloaf; roasted potatoes and veggies

Monday ~ Kevin leaves for VA
(make vanilla wafers)
B: steel cut oats with homemade strawberry rhubarb jam
D: spaghetti with meat sauce

Tuesday ~ Sarnia, Ontario
B: yogurt with granola
D: vegetable beef soup in the crockpot

Wednesday ~ Kevin comes home
B: steel cut oats with maple syrup and bananas
D: grilled cheese; tomato soup

Thursday ~ Happy Thanksgiving!
(bake bread?; feed sd starter)
B: breakfast casserole
L/D: at Aunt Jeri's... turkey; stuffing; mashed potatoes; gravy; corn; rolls; apple pie; dutch apple pie; pumpkin pie

Friday ~ Black Friday shopping; milk pickup; Christmas tree and decorations; Crossroads?
(make sourdough corn muffins)
B: toast with peanut butter and homemade jam
L: leftover vegetable beef soup; corn muffins
D: chicken lentil quesadillas

Saturday ~ Ben and Kati's? Crossroads?
(make yogurt)
B: sourdough corn fritters with butter and maple syrup
L: leftovers
D: Thanksgiving leftover shepherd's pie

Crockpot Dijon Brussels Sprouts

I love brussels sprouts! They're one of my favorite veggies. Kevin and Carson like them most days. I usually just roast them, but I've been looking for some new ways to make them. I saw this recipe posted on A Year of Slowcooking and wanted to try it. These were pretty good. My favorite way to make brussels is still to roast them (although another recipe I've tried recently may tie for my favorite way to make brussels... I'll try to post it soon), but it was good to try a new way. The sprouts on the edge get brown and bit crispy on the outer edge... that was my favorite part!

Crockpot Brussels Sprouts

1 pound brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup water

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Wash and trim the ends off of each Brussels sprout, and cut in half or quarters, depending on their size. Toss into the stoneware. Add butter, mustard, salt, pepper, and water. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, or on high for 2 to 3. Stir well to distribute the sauce before serving.


This post is participating in the GNOWFGLINS Tuesday Twister.

Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing

I hosted Thanksgiving with my dad's family last weekend.  Yes, it was quite early, but it actually worked out really well and gives us a good break between Thanksgiving turkey dinners.  I made a traditional turkey (post coming at some point) with our family's sausage stuffing.  Its just a basic sausage stuffing, but its what we always have had and probably always will have.  Its very tasty!  The recipe below is the base recipe, which is for a 12-pound turkey.  I had an 18-pound locally raised, pastured turkey, so I increased the ratios.  I also wanted to do more than just stuff the bird.  So I made a quadruple recipe.  First, I stuffed the bird.  Then I threw the remainder into my big crockpot to cook.  Stuffing really shrinks down in size as it cooks, so even though it may look like a TON before you cook it, it will reduce in size by about half.  So just keep that in mind if you ever make it. 

As for ingredients, use what you like, but I like to use local, organic, and homemade as much as possible.  I was going to make the bread for the bread cubes myself, but decided last week that I would just buy some loaves from our local organic mill.  They are WAPFers and they use very similar recipes to what I've made in the past, so I feel totally comfortable getting their bread.  I toasted it in the oven to make the bread cubes.  I used my homemade raw milk cultured butter; as well as local, organic celery and onions from my CSA.  I used celtic sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and my home-dried sage.  I used locally made pork sausage with natural seasonings.  And I made my own chicken bone broth.  So I feel like it was a pretty healthy stuffing.  :) 

Sausage Stuffing
(for 12-lb turkey)

12 cups bread cubes/croutons
1 cup butter
1/2-3/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup celery, chopped
1 Tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon sage
1 pound sausage
1 quart chicken stock

Fry sausage. Add butter, onion, and celery. Cook until veggies are softened.

Put bread cubes in large bowl. Pour sausage, butter, onion, celery mix over top of bread and mix. Pour chicken stock over top until moist, but not soggy. Add salt, pepper, and sage. Mix well.

Stuff your turkey with as much as you can fit.  Put remaining stuffing into a crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.


This post is participating in the GNOWFGLINS Tuesday Twister. 

Crockpot Apricot Chicken

I made apricot chicken in the crockpot for dinner a few weeks back. The recipe is from A Year of Slowcooking. I used some homemade preserves that I bought from a woman at the farmers' market. They're made from apricots from a tree in her yard which she grows organically and cans with natural sweeteners. So I felt pretty good about using it to make this dish. I'm glad I tried it, it is very good! We all liked it a lot. It has a sweet flavor, but its not overly sweet. It'd be good to serve with rice so it could absorb some of the sauce... we had a lot of sauce leftover in the crockpot.

Crockpot Apricot Chicken

11 oz jar of apricot preserves (homemade with natural sweeteners)

1 teaspoon dried minced onion flakes (I just chopped some fresh onion and added it)

1 Tablespoon dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon soy sauce (I used worscestershire)
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional, I left this out)
6 chicken thighs or equivalent body parts

Place the chicken into your crockpot. In a small bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients. Pour on top of the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, high for 4-6 hours.

Meal plans and the week ahead

We have another fairly low key week ahead of us, though we do have a couple fun things planned. Today we'll be going to church. Monday morning I have a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but I think I will be told I need a new crown on one of my molars... cross your fingers that I'm wrong. Wednesday I might be making a trip to Sault Ste. Marie for a meeting, but its not definite yet. It'll just be a long day trip, though. I may take Friday off, depending on what is going on at work... but I'll at least be taking the afternoon off so I can make it back in time for the parade... Friday night is Silver Bells in the City in Lansing. Its an annual light parade that ends with the lighting of the tree at the Capitol and fireworks in the sky. We've never taken Carson, even though we've wanted to every year. So hopefully we actually make it this year if the weather is nice. Saturday afternoon we're meeting my BIL, SIL, niece, and nephews at the Sloan Museum in Flint. Then, on Saturday night we're meeting our friends, Ben and Kati, for dinner. Ok, so maybe we have more going on than I originally thought. At least its not too crazy of a week, though.

I'll also have to go pick up our pastured, milk-fed pork once it is ready this week. I need to organize the freezers so that I'm ready for it. Plus, I'm getting two fresh turkeys next week, so we'll have more freezer inventory coming... I need to make some room!

So anyway, here's the plan...

Sunday - church
(make sourdough pull-apart rolls; make extra roasted veggies for soup tomorrow; organize freezers; make hard boiled eggs)
B: greek eggs
L: philly cheesesteak soup in the crockpot (with leftover pot roast from last week)
D: grilled steaks; roasted veggies (beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, red potatoes)

Monday - dentist
(make butter)
B: toast with peanut butter; hard boiled egg
D: roasted veggie soup; sourdough pull apart rolls

Tuesday -
(make steel cut oats)
B: yogurt with granola
D: chicken divan over spaghetti squash

Wednesday - the Soo?
B: steel cut oats with maple syrup
D: leftovers for K/C if I'm in the Soo, if I'm home we'll have butternut squash soup

Thursday - pick up pork? 
B: toast with peanut butter; hard boiled egg
D: baked salmon; roasted veggies

Friday - 1/2 day at work; milk/CSA pickup; Silver Bells in the City
B: steel cut oats with crispy pecans and bananas
D: pork tenderloin; peas and carrots; side salads

Saturday - Sloan Museum; dinner with friends
(make beef broth; make yogurt)
B: sourdough crepes with soft cheese and fruit; local pork sausage patties
L: chicken avocado salad sandwiches; raw carrots and celery with pesto-cheese dip
D: out with friends... Ruby Tuesday?

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

We tried spaghetti squash for the first time about six weeks ago. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, but we all really loved it! It really does serve as a great replacement for pasta noodles! We've had it several times now.  I've been trying to use it in different ways and thought about using it in lasagna. So I made one up a few weeks ago... and it was so good! Its a new favorite for everyone in our family. Just replace the noodle layers with a layer of spaghetti squash and use all your normal lasagna ingredients. This is such an easy, delicious dinner! Here's how I made mine.

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

1 spaghetti squash
1 jar pasta sauce
1/2 - 1 pound grass-fed ground beef, browned
veggies
cheese - shredded, ricotta, cottage, etc.

Cut your spaghetti squash lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and reserve in a separate bowl to pick the flesh and then soak and dehydrate for a great snack. Place your squash cut side up in a baking dish. Add some water to the pan. Bake the squash in a 375 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, until the squash is fork-tender. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes or more. Once you are ready, scrape the squash flesh with a fork so that it comes apart all stringy like spaghetti.  You can prepare your squash ahead of time if you'd like - I did mine the night before. 

Brown your grass-fed ground beef in a skillet.  Add your pasta sauce so that it is warmed.  I use homemade pasta sauce, but you can use whatever you'd like. 

In a separate baking dish or lasagna pan, pour a thin layer of pasta sauce across the bottom of the dish.  Next, layer in half of the spaghetti squash. Cover the squash with a layer of whatever veggies you like - I used spinach, kale, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Next, put a layer of sauce.  And finally a layer of cheese. You can use whatever cheese you like. Now start with the layers again, beginning with the sauce and working your way through. The top layer should be a nice layer of cheese.

Bake your lasagna for about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Enjoy!


This post is participating in the Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS.

Meal plans and the week ahead

This week is pretty low-key.  Today I'm headed down to Livonia for a baby shower for the daughter of a co-worker and good friend of mine, Mohammed. Tuesday afternoon I'm planning to go to my local WAPF chapter meeting. Thursday I'm off of work for Veteran's Day. Carson and I will be going out to the Veteran's cemetery to visit my Grandpa and Uncle Barry, who were both in the Army and served in Korea and Vietnam together. Friday is my flex day and we'll be doing Kindermusik and the normal milk and CSA pickup. Friday night we'll be heading over to my Grandpa's house to celebrate his birthday with the family.  We're not sure yet about Saturday.  We may see if some friends want to hang out, or we've thought about going to Grand Rapids.  We need to talk about it a little more and see what we want to do.

I didn't get a lot of extra stuff done last week.  I was mostly just getting things ready for Saturday's turkey dinner with my dad's family.  Which, by the way, turned out perfectly delicious!  So this week I want to get a few things done that I've been wanting or needing to do for a few weeks now.  I've had turkey stock going overnight, so I'll deal with that tonight after its had a full 24 hours cook time.  Its a huge batch, so I'll be able to put some in the freezer and use some this week.  We'll be getting stock in our diet every day this week but Saturday at this point (and its TBD, so we could have it then, too), between the dinners and then leftovers for lunch the next day.  I want to make some more sourdough goods... crackers and cinnamon rolls.  We're out of both.  I also need to make some more granola bars and protein bars.  So I need to make some crispy nuts and some soaked/dehydrated oats.  I've also got some more herbs to dry.  I've got some more apples coming on Friday when I pick up our CSA order, so I want to do some more apple baking, too.  Not totally sure what I want to make yet, other than an apple crisp.  I think I'd like to make some mini apple pies for the freezer, too. 

So anyway, here's the plan...

Sunday - baby shower in Livonia
(make turkey stock and freeze; make steel cut oats)
B: pancakes with strawberry syrup
L: leftovers for K & C, I'll be eating at the baby shower
D: Thanksgiving leftovers shepherd's pie

Monday -
(soak almonds, pecans, and oats; dehydrate sage and chives)
B: steel cut oats with bananas and walnuts
D: kraut bierocks; green beans

Tuesday - WAPF meeting
(dehydrate crispy almonds and pecans; dehydrate oats)
B: sourdough english muffins from freezer
D: lentil soup in the crockpot

Wednesday -
(feed sd starter)
B: sliced apples and cashew butter
D: beef roast in the crockpot with potatoes, carrots, and parsnips

Thursday - Veteran's Day, visit Veteran's cemetery
(make sourdough cinnamon rolls; feed sd starter; make granola bars and protein bars)
B: yogurt
D: white chili in the crockpot

Friday - flex; Kindermusik; milk & CSA pickup; celebrate Grandpa's bday
(culture milk for soft cheese; make apple crisp; make sourdough crackers?)
B: sourdough cinnamon rolls
D: pizza at Grandpa's house

Saturday - TBD
(hang soft cheese; make sourdough crackers?)
B: breakfast casserole
L: tbd
D: tbd

Chicken Bone Broth/Stock

I've been making homemade broth/stock from bones for many years now. But I was also canning it at times and I was still buying a good deal of it, too... or making some from Better than Boullion. I decided a few months back that I will not can stock anymore (I will only freeze it now), nor will I buy broth/stock anymore. I'm trying to work broth/stock into our diets more regularly... especially during the cold/flu season that we are headed into.

I've been making stock once a week now for the last three or four weeks so we've been getting it in our diets about two or three times a week. I'd like to eventually have it in our daily diets. That means I need to change the way I make stock... so I can make a larger quantity at one time. Currently, I just make it in my 6-quart crockpot and I usually end up with 3 or 4 quarts of stock once its done. Thanks to a tip I received at last month's WAPF chapter meeting, I think I'm going to start making it in my big roaster so I can make a larger quantity at one time. That way I can still feel comfortable leaving it on while we're away at work (I just would not feel comfortable leaving it on the stovetop when we're away from the house... even if it were only for an hour). I haven't tried it yet, but I look forward to trying it for the first time later this week when I make turkey stock. I'll update on the outcome.

So why the decision on wanting to incorporate bone broth/stock into our daily diets? Because its just so incredibly good for you! A good broth/stock contains minerals that your body can absorb easily - calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur, and other trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons - stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, which are now sold as supplements for arthritis and joint pain... and they cost quite a bit, too. Fish broth/stock is a great source of iodine and other thyroid-supporting minerals. I haven't tried making fish broth yet, but I'm hoping to get fish heads and bones from my uncle after his fishing trips from now on so I can give it a try.

Most importantly, a good broth/stock contains lots of gelatin from the bones. Gelatin is extremely nutritious. It builds strong bones and cartilage and also benefits your skin, digestion, immunity, heart, and muscles. It has been known to have a positive effect on many human ailments - such as ulcers, tuberculosis, diabetes, muscle diseases, infectious diseases, jaundice, and cancer to name a few. It is a wonderful digestive tonic and an excellent treatment for reducing inflammation.

Feet, hooves, heads, and necks from animals contain the largest amounts of gelatin. If you don't already have a source for these pieces, you should definitely find one. I have found many sources for chicken feet and necks. Not so much for hooves, but I also haven't looked into it much yet... I've also heard that selling calves hooves is illegal in Michigan... but again I can't vouch for this yet since I haven't looked into it yet. According to Sally Fallon, you should use 2-4 chicken feet for chicken stock and about 2 pounds calves feet pieces to get the best results in a large pot of stock.

So how do you make a good bone stock/broth? Below, I've included a recipe from Sally Fallon, which can be found in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. This is how I make my chicken stock. I have been using the carcass of a whole bird, plus 2-3 necks and 3-4 feet. Once I start using my big roaster to make my stock, I'll increase the quantities to adjust for a larger amount of stock.

Chicken Bone Broth/Stock

1 whole free-range chicken or 2 to 3 pounds of bony chicken parts, such as necks, backs, breastbones and wings
gizzards from one chicken (optional)
2-4 chicken feet (optional)
4 quarts cold filtered water
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 bunch parsley
(I also like to add the green parts of leeks... I always wondered what I could do with those green parts aside from throwing them on the compost. Now I just collect them all in a large bag in the freezer to throw into my stocks. It adds a delicious flavor! I also add the leaves from the celery stalks, too!)

If you are using a whole chicken, cut off the wings and remove the neck, fat glands and the gizzards from the cavity. Cut chicken parts into several pieces. Place chicken or chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot (or crockpot or roaster) with water, vinegar and all vegetables except parsley. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. This allows the vinegar to work the bones, making them ready to extract all the gelatin and minerals. Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 8 hours (if you are using a crockpot on low, you should let it go 18-24 hours). The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be. About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley. This will impart additional mineral ions to the broth.

Remove whole chicken or pieces with a slotted spoon. If you are using a whole chicken, let cool and remove chicken meat from the carcass. Reserve for other uses, such as chicken salads, enchiladas, sandwiches or curries. (If I use a whole chicken, I take the meat off the bones after a couple of hours, otherwise the chicken gets a weird texture and we don't care for it. Then I put the bones back in to cook... but most of the time I'm starting my stock with only the carcass/bones/pieces, not a whole bird.) Strain the stock into a large bowl and reserve in your refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and congeals. Skim off this fat and reserve the stock in covered containers in your refrigerator or freezer.

For more information, Sally Fallon has a great article that I'd highly recommend reading - Broth is Beautiful. As well as Kaayla Daniel's article - Why Broth is Beautiful.


This post is part of the Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS. 

Meal plans and the week ahead

Happy Halloween!! This is going to be a fun week! This morning, we're heading to church. Then we'll be going over to my SIL's house later on for dinner and trick-or-treating. Tuesday I'm off of work for Election Day - gotta go vote!! Wednesday I'm having dinner out with some friends. Friday I'm off to prepare for Saturday, but I'll also be taking Carson to Kindermusik since I think we'll miss one of the days later in the semester... and I need to do the normal milk and CSA pickup. Saturday, we're having my dad's family over for Thanksgiving... yes, its really early, but this way we're not eating a ton of turkey and stuffing all in one weekend... and we can actually have some down-time over the holiday weekend. So it actually works out really well! 

Here's the plan...

Sunday ~ church; trick-or-treating at SIL's
(chop cabbage and veggies; prep Monday's dinner)
B: greek eggs
L: split pea soup in crockpot; muffins from freezer
D: pizza at SIL's

Monday ~
(make steel cut oats; thaw chicken)
B: peanut butter banana smoothies
D: cabbage roll casserole

Tuesday ~ Election Day!
(prep brussels sprouts; prep other veggies for soup Thurs.; start chicken stock in crockpot after dinner; start turkey thawing in fridge)
B: steel cut oats with maple syrup and banana
D: crockpot rotisserie chicken; crockpot brussels sprouts

Wednesday ~ dinner with friends
(strain chicken stock and reserve for making stuffing on Saturday)
B: steel cut oats with homemade strawberry jam
D: Kevin & Carson - leftovers; Sara - dinner at Don Pablos w/ friends

Thursday ~
(prep veggies for stir-fry on Fri.; prep veggies for stuffing on Sat.)
B: yogurt with granola
D: chili chicken and veggie soup

Friday ~ off, milk/CSA pickup
(prep food for Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday; clean; prep quiche for Sat. morning)
B: yogurt with granola
D: stir-fry with leftover rotisserie chicken, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and corn

Saturday ~ Moore family Thanksgiving
(start turkey stock in roaster after dinner)
B: quiche with ham, swiss chard, onion, and swiss cheese
L: leftovers/misc.
D: turkey; stuffing; gravy; mashed potatoes; green bean casserole; corn; brussels sprouts gratin; dutch apple pie; rolls

Soft Cheese (like Chevre/Goat Cheese)

I've been dabbling in the world of cheese making for the last month or so now. I have tried a couple different cheeses, first of which was soft cheese. I followed Wardeh from GNOWFGLINS' instructions in her guest post on Edible Aria, as well as some guidance received via email and facebook. Wardeh has been a tremendous resource to me - in more areas than cheese-making, but I especially appreciate her guidance with cheese. I'm not sure I'd have tackled the cheeses I have so far, nor plan to do the cheeses that I want to try very soon, if it was not for her. So, thank you, Wardeh!

Soft cheese would be called chevre or goat cheese if I used goat's milk, but since I use raw cow's milk, its just soft cheese. It is one of the easiest cheeses to make... hence why I chose to start with it. :) You don't need any fancy molds or presses. Just your ingredients, a jar, some cheesecloth, a large bowl, and a way to hang the cheese. I've now made soft cheese three times and will be making it again this weekend. Its great to use plain (spread on toast, sourdough english muffins, sweet muffins, as fruit dip, etc.), mixed with herbs for a delicious spread on crackers or veggies, as sour cream, salad dressing, or in dishes. We've really enjoyed the results when using it in cooked dishes. Its such a nice, mild, creamy cheese.

The recipe I follow makes about 3 cups of soft cheese. It will keep for about a week in the fridge and it freezes well. Depending on my meal plan for the week, I will keep 1-2 cups of it fresh in the fridge and freeze the remainder for use the following week or whenever. Here is what I do... it may sound like a long process, but the active time is very minimal and does not take much skill at all.

Soft Cheese

1/2 gallon of raw goat or raw cow milk
1/8 teaspoon all-purpose mesophilic culture (MA or MM)
1/4 cup clean, filtered water
double strength organic liquid vegetable rennet
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

You will also need:
cloth napkin and rubber band
stainless steel or other non-reactive colander
stainless steel pot or other non-reactive large bowl into which the colander fits
2 pieces of 90-count cheesecloth or butter muslin

DAY ONE:

On day one, pour the milk into a half-gallon mason jar. Then, sprinkle the mesophilic culture on top of the milk and stir with a wooden spoon (do not use metal).

In a separate jar or cup, put the 1/4 cup of water. Add one drop of the double-strength liquid rennet and stir well. Take one tablespoon of this solution and add it to the jar of milk. Stir the milk well with your wooden spoon. (If you are using regular strength liquid rennet, mix one drop with the water, but add 2 tablespoons of the solution to the milk and stir well... I just use the double strength since that's what I bought after seeing what Wardeh uses... maybe someday I'll try the regular strength.) If you think you will be making more soft cheese within a week or two, keep the rennet solution in the refrigerator. Otherwise just throw it away.

Cover the jar of milk with a cloth napkin and secure with a rubber band. Let sit out at room temperature to culture for 24 hours.

DAY TWO:

Once the milk has cultured for 24 hours, it should resemble the consistency of a thick yogurt. Put your colander inside your pot or bowl. Layer the two pieces of cheesecloth or butter muslin in the colander. Gently pour the cultured milk into the cheesecloth. Tie up the cheesecloth, making a sort of bag to enclose the curds. You can just leave this in the colander as is, or hang it above the colander/bowl setup. I hang mine after I've let it drip in the colander for about an hour. Leave this at room temperature for 24 hours, during which time the whey will drip out and the curds will thicken.

DAY THREE:

Untie the cheesecloth and check the consistency of the cheese. It should be thick, but spreadable and not dry. You may let it hang longer if you wish the cheese to thicken more.

Once your cheese has reached your desired thickness, transfer to a clean bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt. Stir. Adjust amount of salt to taste. Pop the cheese into the refrigerator to chill. You may freeze some if you don't think you'll use it within a week or two.

Make sure you save the whey that has collected in the pot/bowl. Keep this in the refrigerator for up to 6 months to use in lacto-fermentation or add to soups. 

I end up with a quart of whey, plus three cups of cheese from this recipe.


This post is shared as part of the GNOWFGLINS Tuesday Twister.

Everyday Minerals/Everyday Naturals Makeup

I have been looking for a better, natural makeup for quite awhile now. I've tried several different kinds, but really haven't been all that happy with them. I was very interested in a brand that my SIL recently tried - Everyday Minerals/Everyday Naturals. Mary was very happy with their face makeup - you can read her review here. I was almost out of a few different eye shadows, so I decided to place an order and give them a try. I ordered five eye colors to start with so I could get 2 different looks. I also ordered some brow color, lipstick, a face powder brush, and a face powder sample set (which was actually free).   

I've been very happy with everything and have placed another two orders for some new looks (more eye colors, some blush, some bronzer, another lip color, more face powder samples, and some more brushes). I really like the coverage and vibrancy of the eye colors. The color stays put all day and doesn't get all gunked up in the crease of my eyelid like many other brands have. I don't generally wear foundation or concealer or anything, but you can try a face powder foundation kit free with any order so I've had a chance to try a few different powders. I've been quite impressed with the bases. Like the eye colors, they stay put all day... the face in the mirror at the end of the day actually resembles the face that you created that morning. I still prefer to wear no foundation makeup, but on the occasions when I want to wear it, I'm very happy to have this in the drawer.  I've also been very impressed with the blush and bronzers.  The lipstick is very nice, too.  I do wish it was a long-wear lip color, though. 

All of the Everyday Minerals/Everyday Naturals makeup is organic, vegan, and eco-friendly. All of their products are rated 0-3 by the EWG. They do no animal testing. All makeup ingredients are sourced in the United States and are made in Texas (they do source their containers from Taiwan and make the brushes in Korea, though.. but I'm happy their makeup is all sourced here).

All of the makeup is also very reasonably priced. It was very refreshing to see some good, healthy makeup that is available at such great prices! Each of my eye colors was only $6.50 or $7.00, which I think is amazing compared to the prices I have been paying! They're always offering free gifts with purchase (in addition to the free face makeup samples) and have run some really great sales (I got 25% off, plus free stuff on one of my orders!).  Shipping costs are also very reasonable and orders ship very quickly.

I am very excited about this makeup! Thank you, Mary, for making me aware of it! I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a new makeup that contains healthy ingredients that are not going to poison your body.

Meal plans and the week ahead

This is going to be a nice, low key week by the looks of it. I was supposed to be in Quebec again this week, but I'm able to stay home instead - yay!!  It will be very nice to have a low-key week to get lots accomplished in advance of our crazy week next week. I'm actually looking forward to doing some heavy duty cleaning in the house this week. For the last few weeks, we've just been doing light cleaning in most of the house (exceptions being the kitchen and bathroom are always cleaned well).

So anyway, here's the plan this week...

Sunday -
(strain chicken stock; clean fitness room and basement playroom; make granola; make butter; make apple pie)
B: scrambled eggs with veggies
L: italian wedding soup with kale in the crockpot
D: italian style spaghetti squash; creamed spinach and swiss chard

Monday -
(roast butternut squash)
B: yogurt with grain-free apple cinnamon granola
D: baked chicken tenders; sweet potato fries; green beans from freezer

Tuesday - in Detroit
(clean bedrooms and bathroom)
B: pumpkin or cornbread muffins; fresh fruit
D: butternut squash soup; pumpkin muffins

Wednesday -
(clean living room and family room)
B: pumpkin or cornbread muffins; fresh fruit
D: loaded baked potatoes with local sour cream, raw cheddar, chives from garden; lettuce salads with veggies and homemade creamy dressing

Thursday -
(clean kitchen and dining room)
B: apples with cashew butter
D: leftovers

Friday - flex day; Kindermusik, milk and CSA pickup
(start beef stock in the crockpot; make yogurt; make soft cheese)
B: scrambled eggs with veggies
D: baked local whitefish; roasted brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower; lettuce salads

Saturday -
B: sourdough pancakes or sourdough crepes
L: lettuce salads with veggies, hard boiled egg, and homemade dressing
D: mummy meatloaf; garlic-spinach mashed potatoes; roasted carrots

Meal plans and the week ahead

We're headed to church this morning. Then we may go on a little color tour, possibly making a stop at a cider mill or heading down to Kensington Metropark. I also have to pick up some fresh chickens - I ordered another four whole birds, 40 feet, and 20 necks. I totally forgot about picking them up yesterday, so I'll go pick them up later this afternoon. Tomorrow I'm headed to Sarnia, Ontario for a couple days, staying over just one night. Wednesday I'll be in Windsor all day. Thursday Kevin may go mountain biking. Friday night we might meet up with my SIL, BIL, and nephews at Crossroads Village for trick-or-treating if the weather is nice.  And Saturday we're headed to Almar Organic Orchards with my mom's family for our monthly family day. We'll go back to my Grandpa's house for dinner, playing cards, and hanging out.

Here's the plan for the week...

Sunday - church; color tour?; Parshallville?; Kensington Metropark?; pick up chickens
(cut up chickens and freeze; freeze feet and necks in packages for stock)
B: scrambled eggs with cheese and veggies
L: picnic
D: crockpot chicken noodle soup

Monday - in Sarnia
B: yogurt and granola
D: leftovers

Tuesday - in Sarnia
B: muffins from freezer
D: at my parents'

Wednesday - in Windsor
(boil eggs)
B: pumpkin scones or muffins
D: crockpot baked potato soup with ham from the freezer

Thursday - Kevin biking?
B: hard boiled egg; fruit
D: chicken divan over spaghetti squash

Friday - Crossroads Village with Poiriers?  
(make yogurt)
B: scrambled eggs
D: grilled salmon; roasted veggies

Saturday - family day/night at Almar Orchards and Grandpa's
B: sourdough pancakes
L: leftovers
D: at Grandpa's house... we're having homemade chicken noodle soup (with homemade noodles and broth... mmm!) and other things that are TBD, I'm bringing pumpkin muffins (I'll be modifying the recipe for soaked whole grains, coconut oil, and healthy ingredients... I'll post the result)

The Impact of Fruit on Digestion

I've been listening to some of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's lectures lately.  They all focus on food and digestion.  Much of it I've heard in one way or another before, but in the lecture I was listening to a few days ago, she was talking about fruit.  I hadn't really heard much about how fruit impacts digestion, so I found it interesting.  Here are a few of the highlights that I wanted to share. 

Don't eat fruit with meals.  There are a few exceptions - lemons, avocado, tomatoes... basically any of the non-sweet fruits.  Dr. Campbell-McBride advises that you do not eat any sweet fruits with your meals, as it really interferes with digestion.  Especially in the digestion of meat - you should really avoid having fruit with meals that contain meat.  We usually have fruit with many of our meals - we all love it and it serves as our dessert.  I'm going to make some changes so that we don't have fruit with our meals anymore and see how it impacts our digestion.  I am pretty sure we'll find it right in line with this concept as I think back to the last few days and think about how I felt after different meals that did or did not contain fruit.  I just never put two-and-two together, I guess. 

The best time to eat fruit is first thing in the morning.  Your digestive system is better equipped to handle it in the mornings, so it just digests bests then.  We tend to eat fruit in the mornings quite often, so I guess we'll continue doing so. 

Eat fruit as a snack between meals.  Eat it by itself as a snack a couple hours before and after your larger meals.  And don't combine it with other types of food, just plain, fresh, raw fruit.  This is easy enough, we all love fresh fruit as a snack. 

Eat only ripe, local fruit.  Fruit you find in the grocery stores are undigestible for your body because they were not picked at the peak of ripeness.  Fruit needs to be fully ripe when picked to be digested well... if it ripens off the tree or bush, it is undigestible for your body.  Fruit is very good for your body, as long as you are eating it when it is best and fully digested, which means it fuels your body best.  Fruit will cleanse your body.  It is full of antioxidants and detoxifying substances.  We try to eat fresh, local, sustainably-raised fruit as much as possible.  Its tough sometimes, living in a northern climate with a short growing season, but you don't need a lot of variety at all times of the year.  Apples over-winter quite well in cold storage and I try to freeze and dehydrate a good deal of fresh, ripe fruit.  This year I froze blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, pears, apples.  I dehydrated blueberries, strawberries, peaches, apricots, and apples.  I also canned a few things, even though I know they're nutritionally lacking.  I buy very few fruits from the grocery store - normally just bananas, lemons, limes, and pineapple, grapes, and avocado on occasion - the rest I get from my local farmers.  I'm sure we'll pick up some oranges or clementines this winter, but I'm hoping that's about all we'll need to buy from the store. 

We'll be making some changes in the way we incorporate fruit into our diets.  It will be interesting to see how it impacts each of our digestion.  Of course, we won't stick to these principles all the time - there will be times when we're out and about and choose not to stick to these - but we're going to try to when we're home.

Meal plans and the week ahead

We have a normal week this week with no traveling. Kevin thought he may have to be on another work trip this week, but he doesn't, which is nice! This afternoon, we'll be going over to my BFF's mom's house to visit with Jaime and Jeff before they had back to Arizona. Tuesday I'll be going to my local WAPF chapter meeting in the afternoon. Wednesday Kevin may go biking. Friday i.s my flex day. Carson and I will go to Kindermusik and then head out to pick up our milk and CSA order in the morning. In the afternoon, I may be going into my niece's classroom to do an activity on maps and bridges with her class. Saturday we're planning to be in East Lansing for MSU Homecoming tailgates if the wweather is nice.  We're not going to the game, just going to walk around and see our friends that will be in town.  My nephew's first birthday was postponed till Saturday due to some colds, but we're not sure if we'll make it back in time for the party, or not. 

Last week was productive, even with Kevin gone.  I made cultured butter.  I froze a lot of squash and pumpkins.  I think I'll get a couple more jumbo butternuts and maybe a couple more sugar pie pumpkins this week and call it good for the year.  I also made a large batch (gallon) of sauerkraut.  I decided to buy a Picklemeister since its much more efficient than doing it the way I did last time (I never posted it, but last time I did it the way the Wild Fermentation book describes it, which can also be found on the Nourishing Gourmet blog).  I'm very excited to see how the kraut turns out at the end of this week.  I also made and canned a lot of applesauce last week.  I've got another batch to do today and maybe one more next weekend if I order more organic apples, but then I'm done for the year.  I think that's really the last of my canning that I'll do this year.  I also did quite a bit of dehydrating last week - squash and pumpkin seeds, apple slices, and parsley.  I think I've dehydrated enough apple slices for awhile... I have 4 half-gallon jars full of them.  I have about 2 quarts of squash seeds and about 1 quart of pumpkin seeds.  And I have a quart of dried parsley.  I ordered more parsley this week so I can dry another quart and that should get me through the year, I think. 

This week, I'll do another batch or two of applesauce.  If I order more squash and pumpkins, I'll roast and freeze those, as well.  I'll be making a gallon of kim chi at the end of the week, after I pick up our CSA order.  I'll be chopping and freezing celery and onions and blanching and freezing more carrots.  I'm also planning to do some baking with my sourdough... right now I'm thinking pumpkin sourdough bread and I'd like to make some sourdough crepes. 

Sunday ~ Bev's house
(feed sd starter; make kefirs; make and can applesauce; make baked oatmeal for week; make pumpkin sourdough bread?)
B: sourdough english muffins (from freezer) with herbed soft cheese
L: TBD
D: baked pork chops; roasted butternut squash with cheese and sage; applesauce

Monday ~
(make sourdough crepes)
B: baked oatmeal
D: sourdough crepe tacos

Tuesday ~ WAPF
(chop and freeze celery and onions)
B: sourdough crepes filled with homemade soft cheese and home-canned apple pie filling
D: TBD soup in the crockpot

Wednesday ~ Kevin biking
(blanch and freeze carrots)
B: baked oatmeal
D: sourdough crepes filled with scrambled eggs, cheese, and veggies

Thursday ~ Don Pablos with friends
B: yogurt with apple cinnamon grain-free granola
D: I'm going out with friends, Kevin and Carson will eat at my parents' house

Friday ~ flex; Kindermusik; milk/CSA pickup; activity for niece's class?
(roast and freeze squash/pumpkins?; make kim chi; start new cheese?)
B: fried eggs; toast with jam
D: crockpot apricot chicken; roasted veggies

Saturday ~ MSU Homecoming tailgates; Jonah's birthday party
(make and can applesauce?)
B: sourdough pancakes
L: at tailgates or at Jonah's party
D: grilled steaks; roasted veggies

Meal plans and the week ahead

This week is not going to be quite so chaotic, although Kevin is gone to VA/NC/TN this week for work. But we don't have quite so much going on.  Today we might make a trip to the farmers' market, but maybe not since I have quite a bit to keep me busy as it is.  Kevin leaves very early tomorrow morning (has to leave our house by 4am) for his trip.  He flies home late Thursday night.  Friday night, we may go to the Davison Pumpkinfest - we'll see how the week has been and what the weather is like.  Saturday we have my nephew's first birthday party. 

I've been baking and freezing lots of squash lately.  I ordered a ton of it from the CSA last week.  So I've been doing 3 or 4 each day to try to get through them.  I'd do more at once, but can only handle separating so many squash seeds in a day.  So I only do a few each day.  I've also been working on apples this weekend... drying slices and making and canning applesauce.  I've got more organic apples coming on Friday in the CSA, so I'll do more next weekend, too.  I want to make some apple pies and freeze them, as well.  I'm planning to make some scones with fresh organic pumpkin and soaked grains this week.  I may do a few other things, too, but we'll see how much time I end up with this week.  I will probably need to make another batch of yogurt next weekend and I may do a new cheese, too.  I made soft cheese this past weekend (post to come soon) and want to try making some ricotta cheese soon, I think.  I'm also going to start sanding a bookshelf for Carson's room - stripping the paint from it so I can prime and paint it soon.  I'm planning to start sanding today and will hopefully get a little time one or two nights this week to work on it some more. 

Anyway, here's my plan...
 
Sunday ~ farmers' market
(make egg salad or hard boiled eggs for lunches this week; roast butternut squash and freeze; soak and dry squash seeds; dry apple slices; make and can applesauce; prep meatloaf; start sanding bookshelf for Carson's room)
B: scrambled eggs with veggies and cheese
L: leftovers
D: grilled porterhouse steak; lettuce salads with veggies and creamy salad dressing; applesauce

Monday ~ Kevin leaves for VA/NC/TN
(roast seminole squash and freeze; soak squash seeds)
B: sourdough cinnamon rolls
D: salsa meatloaf; steamed veggies

Tuesday ~
(dry seminole squash seeds; roast buttercup squash and freeze; soak squash seeds)
B: yogurt with fresh fruit
D: leftover meatloaf and veggies

Wednesday ~
(dry buttercup squash seeds)
B: sourdough english muffins (from freezer)
D: eating at my parents' house

Thursday ~ Kevin comes home really late tonight
(prep meatballs; roast sugar pie pumpkins and freeze; soak seeds)
B: yogurt with fruit and seeds
D: TBD soup in the crockpot

Friday ~ Davison Pumpkinfest?
(dry pumpkin seeds; soak flour for scones; roast rouge v'if pumpkin and freeze (reserve some for scones); soak seeds)
B: yogurt with fruit and seeds
D: meatballs stuffed with homemade soft cheese (instead of gorgonzola); garlic spinach mashed potatoes

Saturday ~ Jonah's birthday
(make pumpkin white chocolate scones with soaked grains; make raw macaroons with half carob; make yogurt?  start cheese?)
B: scones
L: at birthday party
D: cabbage soup; side salads; sliced apples

Meal plans and the week ahead

This week is going to be kinda crazy again. Another week of work travel, but this time for me. I'll be leaving early Tuesday morning for Montreal, Quebec. I'll get home late Thursday night. I'm kind of looking forward to it and kind of not. At least its a quick trip. Today we're having my dad's family over for a mid-afternoon meal, visiting, and picture taking. We've been clearing out the bushes, small trees, and brush near the barn lately. I thought the weathered barn would be a cute back drop for pictures. So I've set up a nice little set up with straw bales, pumpkins, and indian corn in front of the barn so we can get some cute fall pictures of the great grand-kids on the Moore side. I hope the kids are all in good spirits and we get some cute shots! Tomorrow I'll be packing and prepping for my trip. Like I said, I'll be gone Tuesday through Thursday. Friday is my flex day, Carson's Kindermusik class, milk and CSA pick-up, and we'll be going over to my SIL's house in the afternoon for the Grand Blanc homecoming parade and dinner. Saturday's plans are sort of up in the air. We have to take Denver back to the vet for a check-up, but other than that, we're not really sure. We may go to my nephew's football game in the morning, we may go to a couple farm tours in our area, we may go to the orchard, or we may just stay home and work and play outside. More than likely, that's what we'll do since we have been and will continue to be so busy.

So here's the plan for meals this week. Kevin and Carson will eat up the leftovers while I'm gone.

Sunday ~ Moore family over
B: sourdough pancakes
L & D: pot roast with yukon gold potatoes and carrots; butternut squash; chocolate sourdough cake with coconut cream frosting

Monday ~
B: yogurt with apple cinnamon grain-free granola
D: split pea soup in the crockpot

Tuesday - Thursday ~ Montreal
(start milk culture for soft cheese and feed sourdough starter on Thursday night)

Friday ~ flex day; Kindermusik; pick up milk and CSA order; Grand Blanc homecoming parade
(feed starter; hang soft cheese to drain; roast squash to freeze; soak squash seeds; make water and dairy kefir; make cinnamon roll dough; dry apples; make and can applesauce?)
B: yogurt with apple cinnamon grain-free granola
D: at SIL's house

Saturday ~ Denver to vet; rest is TBD... nephew's football game? farm tours? orchard? stay home and work outside?
(dry squash seeds; make creamy salad dressing; make and can applesauce)
B: sourdough cinnamon rolls
L: peas and cheese tortellini
D: sloppy lentils over spaghetti squash; roasted veggies; lettuce salad with veggies and creamy salad dressing; fresh apples

Growing Connections, Part 2

It has been a busy week and I haven't had the time to update on the next part of my experience at Growing Connections this past Sunday. But here it is and please bear with me as I work on parts three and four.

After Jordan Rubin's opening keynote session, the conference split into three paths. The first path was titled Weston A. Price 101 and began with a session on the basics of nutrition. The second path was titled Weston A. Price 201 and began with a session on salt. The third track was titled Children's Health and began with a session on vegetarianism. I sat in on the salt discussion. I've read some of the basics about the need for salt in the diet, but haven't delved into it as much as I have other topics. So I figured I could learn some good stuff at that session... which I did. I'll cover the basics and the new stuff (to me) here.

Growing Connections - Part 1

On Sunday, September 19th, I attended the Healthy Traditions Network's annual Growing Connections conference in Birmingham. Healthy Traditions Network is the local Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) chapter for the metro Detroit area. It was a great experience for me - getting to meet lots of awesome people with amazing stories, hearing so much great information, and, of course, the fabulous and huge REAL food farmers' market!

Meal plans and the week ahead

This week won't be as busy as the last two have been, but we still have lots of fun things happening. Today I'll be going down to Birmingham for the WAPF Growing Connections annual conference. I'm really looking forward to it... I'm not sure which I'm more excited about... the conference itself or the huge organic, real food farmers market!  Kevin is going biking one night this week, but I'm not sure which one yet. Thursday I'm going up to Foxy's for their grand opening open house... that's where I've been taking Zumba lately. Friday I'll be off first thing in the morning to take Denver to the vet to get his stitches removed, then I'll be going in to work afterwards. And Saturday we'll be going to the Grand Rapids area. Our plans for the day are a little up in the air still.  We'll definitely be going to ArtPrize, and will possibly be doing a farm tour at Grassfields Cheese, and/or a farm visit to my brother-in-law's uncle's farm... Voogt Farms... where we get our beef. Its going to be a fun day! I sure hope the weather is perfect!!

The cooler weather lately has made us hungry for lots of different soups, so I'm planning to make a couple this week. I used to hate soup, but I have learned to love it. Its so easy, flavorful, and good for you. I often make a big batch on Sundays in the crockpot to take for my lunches at work, but they've been a lot of broth based veggie and chicken soups. So I'm getting bored with them and I've put some favorites on the menu this week.

Here's the plan...

Sunday - Growing Connections conference
B: scrambled eggs with veggies and cheese
L: leftovers for Kevin and Carson
D: rotisserie chicken in the crockpot; squash; beans; melon

Monday -
B: yogurt and granola
D: leftover squash-veggie-beef-sausage soup

Tuesday -
B: yogurt smoothies
D: chili in the crockpot

Wednesday -
B: sourdough english muffins with butter and honey
D: crockpot philly cheesesteak soup

Thursday - Foxy's open house
B: yogurt with granola
D: chicken divan; squash; steamed veggies

Friday - Denver to vet
B: hard boiled eggs; fruit
D: crockpot broccoli three cheese soup

Saturday - Grand Rapids ArtPrize and farm tours
B: sourdough pancakes
L: on the road
D: on the road

Homemade Yogurt

Ok, I've had this post saved in my drafts for much too long now.  So even though I'm still updating it and adding pictures along the way, I figured I'd just go ahead and post it.  Be sure to check back for updates as I post them every now and then.

I've been making my own homemade yogurt for a few months now.  I've tried quite a few different ways of making yogurt and mostly follow the method described on Kitchen Stewardship.  I've posted about my flop using the crockpot.  I'm not going to go into detailed posts about other ways I've tried, rather I'll tell you the way that works best for me and maybe mention a few things I've tried along the way.  I'm sure I'll also try some different things along the way, so I'll come back to this post and update if/when I do.

Making homemade yogurt may seem daunting, but it is actually so very easy to do.  Everyone should try it.  It may sound like it takes a long time to make it, but very little of that time is active time and you don't have to be home for most of it. You can expect about 15 minutes of active time and you'll need to plan a time when you're home for about an hour and a half to two hours.  We eat a lot of yogurt in our house.  We all love it.  Carson and I love it plain or with a slight honey or vanilla flavor.  Kevin likes to stir homemade jam into his.  And we all love it with fresh fruit and granola.  And I love knowing that its so good for us, feeding our guts with healthy probiotics!

Canned Pasta Sauce

Back in mid-August, I canned a couple batches of pasta sauce. I used my SIL's recipe for sauce, with a couple modifications. I didn't make it quite as sweet as she does, with a little less brown sugar and no cloves. I also was sure to add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to each jar, as you should with any tomato based canned item, to ensure the proper acidity. I am very excited to have this on hand for pasta dishes - it was so delicious pre-processing!

Vanilla Rum Plums

Week #4 of Nourished Kitchen's Preserving Summer's Bounty Challenge focused on preserving in alcohol. Alcohol is naturally antimicrobial and is well-suited to preserving fruits. I've heard of this being done from many blogs and people that I know (usually cherries in brandy with the folks I know that do it). I've wanted to give it a try for a couple of years now, but just never had. So, I decided to give it a try at the end of August, during week #4 of the challenge. I just used the recipe sent in our Week #4 email from Jenny at Nourished Kitchen. I picked up some dark rum and then some plums at our local farmers' market. I did two different pints, one with dark purple Stanley plums and one with a lighter purple-pink sweet plum (I can't remember the variety now). I made them both the same way and I'm excited to pop them open this winter to taste them... and see which one we like best.

Sourdough - Bucket Method

Last week I tried out some new things we've been learning in the GNOWFGLINS Sourdough E-Course. This was a lesson a few weeks back and I've been anxious to try it. This is based off of the methodology presented in Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day (ABin5). I've made several different recipes and types of bread from ABin5 and I love the method. Its so easy. Just mix up the dough one day, stick it in a food-grade bucket or bowl with lid, and pop it in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake some bread. This works great for my busy, working and commuting mom life and I have missed the ease of this method for the last 9 or 10 months. I've wondered about modifying the recipes to make them healthier, but never devoted the time to thinking about it, let alone trying it out.

I was so excited when I read about the lesson a few weeks ago! Wardeh's friend Christina had done the trial and error and had modified the recipe to make sourdough bread with whole grain flours! Yeah! So of course, I had to try it. I mixed up a bucket of dough last week and had intentions of trying a few different ways of baking it... english muffins, cinnamon rolls, and a loaf of bread. I decided part way through the week that I'd actually just make one big batch of rustic english muffins since I didn't have the time for the other two on other nights like I'd hoped. So that's what I did and now I have a good supply of delicious sourdough english muffins in the freezer and for eating fresh. We love them!

Meal plans and the week ahead

We have another busy, but really fun week ahead of us. Today we're just going to the farmers' market and taking it easy. We were planning to go fall raspberry picking, but we decided it was too much with everything else going on. Kevin leaves Monday for Germany. Tuesday afternoon I'll be going to my local chapter meeting for WAPF. Wednesday I'll be in Detroit for meetings during the day. Thursday is the big fall farmers' market on the lawn of the Capitol. Friday is my flex day, our first day of Kindermusik for this semester, CSA and milk pickup, and Kevin comes home. Saturday I'll be picking up 12 chickens that I ordered from a local farm. Then we'll be meeting some friends at the orchard for some fun in the afternoon. And then we'll be going over to my grandpa's house for family night. We'll be doing family day/night with my mom's family once a month now - its going to be so fun! I'm very glad to have such a close extended family!

I ordered some things so that I can try out making a couple different kinds of cheese soon. They should arrive this week, so maybe I'll be able to make some soft cheese (would be chevre/goat cheese if I was making it with goat's milk) this week. I'm excited to give it a try. I also have ricotta, feta, queso blanco, and kefir cheese on my list to try out soon. There are three or four different cheese classes that are held each month in our area and I've been trying for months now to fit one of them into our schedule, but it never works. I've done some reading on cheese making and I'm not sure I even really need the beginner level cheese classes. I think I'll be able to do it myself, no problem. We shall see, I guess. Maybe I'll take one of the intermediate or advanced level classes at some point down the road.

Anyway, here's the plan this week...

Sunday ~ farmers' market
B: sourdough english muffins with yogurt cheese and honey
L: salads
D: beef roast in crockpot with potatoes, cabbage, and carrots

Monday ~ Kevin leaves for Germany
B: yogurt with granola
D: grilled cheese and home-canned tomato soup; raw veggies; applesauce

Tuesday ~ WAPF local chapter meeting
B: dutch baby pancakes from freezer
D: eating at my parents' house

Wednesday ~ meetings in Detroit
B: sourdough english muffins with butter and homemade jam
D: leftover beef roast with potatoes, cabbage, and carrots

Thursday ~ farmers' market on the Capitol lawn
B: yogurt smoothies
D: eating at my parents' house

Friday ~ flex day; Kindermusik; CSA and milk pick up; Kevin comes home
B: scrambled eggs with cheese and veggies
D: TBD... something in the crockpot

Saturday ~ pick up chicken order; orchard trip; family night
B: fried eggs; sourdough english muffins
L: TBD
D: at my grandpa's house for family night

Making the Switch to Raw Milk

We finally made the switch to raw milk last month and I cannot tell you how excited I was about it (and still am)! I had done a lot of research into it a little more than a year ago, after my first taste of raw milk at the Grand Blanc farmers' market (much of this post was actually written back then and has been sitting in my blog drafts until we actually made the switch). It is seriously the best tasting milk ever... so creamy and smooth and sweet... like milk is supposed to taste! I wish it would not have taken me more than a year to finally sign the papers to buy a couple cow shares. But life got in the way, as it often does, and other things took priority. Then I had my gall bladder attack in July and my entire focus on eating switched back to where it was a year ago, focusing in on the Nourishing Traditions and WAPF way of eating... only this time I have been more proactive at actually making the bigger changes.

Meal plans and the week ahead

We have another fun week ahead of us again this week. This entire month is a really busy one for us... we pretty much have plans every flex Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from now till mid-October. I'm not quite sure how we're going to fit in all the fall chores and clean up with all the fun stuff we have planned. But we'll figure it out. We got a good start yesterday. I cleaned up both of the front gardens, cutting back the perennials, trimming the tree and bushes, and weeding. I need to do the side garden still... maybe I'll go out and do that one this morning to get it done. Then I'll just have the backyard gardens.

We are headed to the lake this afternoon for a family party for Labor Day. We may be heading out to Grand Rapids for Kevin's Grandpa's birthday tomorrow, depending on what the plans end up being. Tuesday I am going to Zumba. Wednesday I'll be stopping at the Allen Street Farmers Market. Thursday is Kevin's bike night. Friday is CSA and milk pickup. Saturday we are headed to Grand Rapids to meet my SIL and niece at the Children's Museum in the morning.

Like I said, Friday I pick up milk and our CSA order. All the fall produce is coming in and I'm so excited about it! This week, I've ordered more broccoli, green beans, celery, onions, roma tomatoes, zucchini, butternut squash, sugar pie pumpkins, and rouge vif d'etampes pumpkins. I'll be blanching and freezing the broccoli and beans, chopping and freezing the celery and onions, and roasting and freezing (with some kept for eating, too!) the squash and pumpkins. I'm not sure if I'll get to the squash and pumpkins this week, or not... but they'll be ok if I don't. And I'll be making the lacto-fermened roasted tomato salsa with the romas... I ended up not doing it last week and just canned roasted tomatoes instead. I got everything else done that I had on my list last week, too... plus a few other things... which you'll hopefully be seeing on the blog soon!

I'm not really sure what else I'm going to do for extras yet this week. I need to give it more thought and I'll try to update once I figure it out. :)

Update... I think I know what I'm going to do this week... I'm going to try a new method for sourdough bread from the Sourdough E-Course. I'll use this new method to make some new english muffins (we're out from the last batch I made), bread, and maybe some cinnamon rolls, too.

Sunday ~ family party
(make sourdough bucket dough)
B: scrambled eggs with veggies
L & D: family party at the lake

Monday ~ Labor Day, Grand Rapids?
(make sourdough english muffins with bucket method and possibly bread and cinnamon rolls)
B: yogurt with fruit and granola
L: in GR?
D: TBD... some kind of soup in the crockpot

Tuesday ~ Zumba
B: muffins from freezer
D: tacos

Wednesday ~ Allen St. Mkt
B: kefir smoothies
D: baked pork chops; roasted buttercup squash; corn on the cob; fresh fall raspberries

Thursday ~ Kevin's bike night
B: yogurt with granola and berries
D: grilled salmon; grilled zucchini; carrots; fresh melon

Friday ~ milk and CSA pickup
(blanch and freeze broccoli and green beans; chop and freeze celery and onions; roast squash and pumpkins to freeze?)
B: muffins from freezer
D: whole wheat couscous with sun dried tomatoes, spinach, roasted veggies, and yogurt cheese

Saturday ~ GRCM
B: scrambled eggs with veggies
L: picnic in the park
D: TBD... most likely something in the crockpot

Chocolate Sourdough Cake

I've mentioned before that I'm taking the GNOWFGLINS Sourdough E-Course, but I haven't posted anything yet that I've made as a result of the e-course. I made this chocolate sourdough cake before we left for vacation. The recipes for the e-course that week included this chocolate cake and also a spice cake. I'm planning to make the spice cake very soon and I think this will be my go-to chocolate cake recipe from now on. This is SO good! Its so moist and flavorful and just delicious! I ended up making the cream/yogurt cheese frosting rather than the chocolate coconut cream frosting because I was having trouble finding coconut butter. I'll have to order some and try it again with the chocolate frosting. But it was very tasty with the cream/yogurt cheese frosting!