Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category
Rustic Apple Tart
Rustic Apple Tart
We’ve been getting a lot of wonderful apples from our CSA and as the kids weren’t eating them all, I was looking for some apple pie recipes.
The filling was from a recipe from The Pioneer Woman’s cookbook that I changed up to be more WAPF friendly. I used a crust that I found on Bon Appetite and switched up as well, recipe below. I had a small bit of caramel sauce on hand and drizzled a little on top. This makes two pies. It was amazing.
Ingredients:
5 peeled and sliced organic Granny Smith apples
2 Tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
1 Tbsp. organic lemon juice
1 cup Rapadura or Sucanat or Organic Sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2- 9″ round pie crusts, or 1 recipe for homemade (below)
1/2 stick of pastured/organic butter
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Stir together apples, flour, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Set aside.
3. Roll out pie crusts into large circles and place on a baking sheets.
4. Place half apple mixture on one crust and the remaining on the other.
5. Fold over the edges of the crust so that it covers 2-3 inches of the apple mixture.
6. Dot the tops of the pies with chunks of butter. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and bubble. Slice with pizza cutter and serve in wedges. Enjoy!
*Top with jarred caramel for extra sweetness, if desired.
Homemade Pie Crust
Yield: Makes 2 pie crusts
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry, unbleached all purpose flour, or a combination of the two
1 1/2 teaspoons Rapadura or Sucanat
1 tsp. celtic salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled organic/pastured unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup chilled lard or chilled non-hydrogenated solid vegetable shortening (like organic Palm), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water
Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl.
Add 5 tablespoons ice water and mix with fork until dough begins to clump together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough together. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If necessary, soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.
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My New Favorite Soup Recipe
The Best Butternut Squash Soup
My husband and I had a bad cold over the holidays. While resting we ended up watching some of Jamie Oliver’s Christmas cooking shows on the cooking channel. We love his recipes and this one looked delicious. He has it up on his website – link below – so I was excited to try it. I added a few notes as well.
It’s sweet & creamy from the coconut milk with a wonderful mix of spices. It is one of the best soups we’ve ever had.
Jamies says:
I like to think of this as a happy soup. The amazing heat from the chile will really get your endorphins going and the rice is so comforting. It’s just what you need in the cold winter months. The secret to making it so good is to really work the seasoning at the end, and pimp it up with some beautiful fresh lime juice. You can vary it by using noodles instead of rice, or adding some pulled chicken or sweetcorn, but as it stands, this is a great veggie dish.
ingredients
• 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth, preferably free-range or organic and homemade
• 6-7 lime leaves (you can use Kefir leaves, but I just took a few from our lime tree)
• 3 fresh red chilies, deseeded (I used one Jalapeno, and removed the seeds)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 large thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• 3 sticks of lemongrass, trimmed and squashed with the back of a knife
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a small bunch of fresh organic cilantro (also called fresh coriander)
• olive oil
• 1 heaped teaspoon five-spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 organic onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 large organic butternut, halved, deseeded and cut into 1 inch chunks (you don’t need to peel it – the skin cooks up wonderfully)
• 7 ounces organic basmati or jasmine rice, washed
• 2 x 14-ounce cans organic coconut milk
• Juice of 3-4 organic limes
• Optional: 1 fresh red organic chili, finely sliced
Get a high-sided pan or wok on a medium-high heat to get nice and hot, and pour your broth into a small pan on a low heat to get warm. To make your fragrant soup base, add the lime leaves, chilies, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and a pinch of salt to a food processor. Chop the top few leaves off your bunch of coriander and pop to one side, then add the rest to the processor and blitz for 30 seconds or so until fairly fine. With the processor still running, add a few good lugs of olive oil, the five-spice and ground cumin. Tip this mixture straight into your hot pan, you can add a splash of broth to loosen it if you want, and fry and stir for a couple of minutes so it starts smelling fantastic. Add your sliced onion, then cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the squash to the pan and stir well, then pour in the broth. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the squash is lovely and soft. At this point, add the rice and give it a really good stir. If it looks a bit dry, you can add a splash of water here. Continue to simmer for about 8 minutes until the rice is almost cooked, then add the coconut milk and bring back to the boil. Simmer for a couple of minutes until hot through and thickened a little. I like to squash up some of the squash at this point too.
Take the pan off the heat, give it a good stir, then taste and season carefully with salt and pepper. To give it a bit of twang add the lime juice – the amount you need will depend on how juicy your limes are, so keep tasting it as you go. Scatter with more sliced fresh chili and your reserved coriander leaves before serving.
If you’re making this for a party, what I like to do is to hack the top off a massive pumpkin, scoop out the insides, then bake the shell in the oven for 40 minutes at 220˚F. You can then use this as a receptacle for your hot soup, and as long as it’s an inch or so thick, it should keep warm for a good hour or so. Have it sitting out at the party with a load of little cups and bowls lined up next to it and a bunch of lime wedges, and let everyone help themselves!
Here’s the link to Jamie’s site if you want to download the recipe in PDF. Enjoy!
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/soup-recipes/party-squash-soup-usa-imperial-version
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Our Favorite Rugelach
Our Favorite Rugelach
My grandmother used to make this for us every year for Hanukkah. She passed away a few years ago and didn’t pass along her recipe so I finally found this one that I altered a bit. My family loves it. It’s actually pretty easy to make and I make the dough one day and the cookies the next. Happy Holidays!
For the dough:
1 cup organic small-curd cottage cheese
2 cups organic all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. celtic salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted pastured butter, cut into ¼ inch slices
For the filling:
½ cup organic sugar
1 tsp. organic cinnamon
4 tbs. organic Raspberry jam (you can use any flavor you like)
1 cup organic chopped walnuts
To make dough:
In a food processor, pulse flour and salt just to combine. Scatter the butter over the flour; pulse off and on until the butter seems to disappear into the mixture. Scatter the cottage cheese, in bits, over the mixture. Then pulse off and on just until a cohesive ball is formed.
Divide the dough into quarters; shape each into a flat disc and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. (I leave it until the next day)
Adjust over rack to lower third of the oven. Preheat over to 350º. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl mix cinnamon and sugar.
Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator and set aside for 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 10 to 11-inch circle. (this is my kids favorite part, like making pizza according to them! )
To make filling:
Spread 1 tablespoon of jam evenly over the dough; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar and ¼ cup walnuts. Gently press the walnuts into the dough, but not too hard or the dough will stick.
With a sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal pie-shaped pieces. Starting with the wide end, roll up each piece. Place 1 inch apart, point down, on the baking sheet. Bake 15 to 25 minutes, or until light golden brown.
Cool the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then with a spatula, transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.
Repeat with remaining dough and filling, using fresh parchment paper.
Store cooled cookies in a air tight container. Makes about 5 dozen (1 ½ inch) cookies. Enjoy!
Note: Since Rugelach freeze well, you can prepare cookies and bake only what you need. You can wrap well and freeze the rest to bake at another time.
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Stove top Lasagna
Stove top Lasagna
I’ve been making this recipe for years and it’s a family favorite. When you want a quick and hearty meal, this is a great one. This is an especially good recipe for during the busy holiday season.
1 pound grassfed ground beef
1 (26-ounce) jar of organic spaghetti sauce (I used TJ’s)
1 (14 ½ ounce) can organic tomatoes, whole, pureed, anyway you like
2 cups organic ricotta cheese or organic cottage cheese
1 large pastured egg, beaten
1 (12-ounce) package organic, thin to medium egg noodles Read the rest of this entry »
Sprouted Flour Banana Bread & an update on S510
Sprouted Banana Bread
This is very nice and easy banana bread recipe. It was delicious, the kids loved it and it stayed fresh and moist until we finished it a few days later. Happy Thanksgiving, hope everyone has a very happy and healthy holiday.
Ingredients
* 3 or 4 ripe organic bananas, smashed
* 1/3 cup melted organic pastured butter
* 3/4 cup sucanat, rapidura or organic sugar
* 1 pastured egg, beaten
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 1 tsp. baking soda
* Pinch of Celtic or sea salt
* 1 cup sprouted whole-wheat flour
* 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F Read the rest of this entry »
Meyer Lemon Cornmeal Cake
This rustic cake can be sliced and served or toasted before serving. You can serve it with any kind of fruit compote, fresh fruit, ice cream or cream. It was delicious.
To make a simple compote place fruit (I used plums) that have been peeled, pitted and sliced into a stainless steel pan. For 12 plums I used ½ cup water and ½ cup sucanat. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for twenty minutes, then cool before serving.
If you don’t have Meyer Lemons around you can substitute regular lemon, orange or even tangerine zest.
Yield: Makes 8 servings
1 1/4 cups organic whole wheat flour
3/4 cup organic cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon celtic or sea salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Rapadura, sucanat or organic sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted pastured butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons (packed) finely grated meyer lemon peel zested – finely grated
4 large organic, pastured eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole-milk organic plain yogurt
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
Butter 9 x 5 x 3-inch metal loaf pan. Dust pan with flour; tap out excess.
Whisk 1 1/4 cups flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.
Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and meyer lemon peel in large bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with yogurt in 2 additions, beating just until blended after each addition. Spread batter evenly in pan.
Bake cake until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.
Transfer to rack; cool in pan 5 minutes. Run knife around cake edges to loosen. Invert cake onto rack, then invert again on rack (top side up). Cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.
Cut cake crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices; serve with plum compote/ vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
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Fresh Tomato Sauce
We’ve had a great bumper crop of tomato’s this year, so I pulled this recipe out of my files. We’ve made it every summer for a number of years now and it’s always a treat.
Ingredients:
• 6 tlbs. Organic Olive Oil
• 1 medium organic Onion cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 medium organic carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
• Celtic salt or sea salt and fresh cracked organic pepper to taste
• Hot Pepper flakes to taste (optional)
• 5 cloves organic garlic, chopped
• 4 pounds ripe, fragrant organic heirloom tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 1/4 C chopped organic Basil
Preparation:
Heat large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the onion, and carrot and season with a pinch of salt and red pepper flakes. Cover and gently cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Cover again and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are very juicy, 10-15 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.
Add the basil and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in remaining Olive Oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary. If it’s too acidic, you can add a pinch of rapadura, if it’s too sweet a drop of red wine vinegar.
If you would like a thicker sauce cook down until it reaches the desired consistency.
Serve over any type of pasta – we use organic whole wheat or organic rice pasta – and enjoy!
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Grass fed Lamb Burgers
Curried Lamb Burgers with Mint Raita
We bought some wonderful grassfed ground lamb and as we love Indian flavors we decided to try these burgers. They were amazing. My husband said it was his favorite burger ever. They were easy to make and delicious too.
Makes 6 Burgers
Ingredients:
Raita
* 1 cup organic plain whole-milk yogurt (preferably Greek-style)
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh organic mint
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh organic cilantro
* 1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated organic lime peel
* Coarse kosher salt
Burgers
* 2 tablespoons organic olive oil
* 1 1/4 cups chopped organic onion
* 1 teaspoon coarse celtic or kosher salt
* 2 teaspoons organic curry powder, mild or spicy, your choice
* 1 3/4 pounds ground pastured, grassfed lamb
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh organic cilantro
* 1 teaspoon organic black pepper
Preparation:
Raita
*Mix yogurt, mint, cilantro, and lime peel in small bowl. Season to taste with coarse salt and pepper. Cover; chill until cold, at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
Burgers:
* Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt. Sauté until onion is tender, about 8 minutes. Mix in curry powder and stir 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Cool onion mixture to room temperature, at least 15 minutes.
*Place lamb in large bowl. Add onion mixture, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, cilantro, and 1 teaspoon cracked pepper. Blend mixture gently; shape into six 1/2-inch-thick patties.
*Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place burgers on grill. Cook until grill marks appear, about 4 minutes. Turn burgers over. Cook burgers to desired doneness, about 4 minutes for medium-rare.
*Serve with rice, pita bread or even a bun, with the Riata on top, or on the side as you prefer. Enjoy!
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Grass fed Onion Burgers
Grass fed beef is much better for us to eat. Most commercial beef is only raised on grass for a short time (if at all) and then confined and fed grains. Cow are herbivores, and they tend to get sick on a grain diet which then leads to them being given antibiotics, which it seems like we also get through the meat.
Grass fed beef is also more nutritious. It’s got a lot of beta carotene, vitamins A and E and it’s a natural source of omega 3 fats high in CLA. CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) is a good fat that has many great health benefits. They have been shown to be good for your heart, brain and there are studies showing that they may reduce the risk of cancer. In a study in Finland, women who had the highest levels of CLA in their diet, had a 60 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those with the lowest levels of CLA. It’s also a leaner meat with a wonderful true beef taste.
When we first started cooking grass fed beef it was a challenge. As it’s lean it can dry out if you overcook it. Stanley Fishman’s book Tender Grassfed Beef, link below, made a huge difference for us. Every recipe I’ve tried out of the book has been wonderful and now that I understand how to cook grass fed beef I experimented with this recipe. It turned out great and is our favorite way to make burgers.
It’s a simple recipe and the measurements are approximate.
1 lb. Organic Grass fed Ground Beef
1/2 – 1 small organic onion
½ tsp. celtic sea salt
½ tsp. organic black pepper
I usually take the beef out of the refrigerator about a hour before I plan to cook it, it makes it easier to mix in the onion, especially if you use your hands like I do.
Grate the onion into a bowl, add the beef and the salt and pepper. Mix well and form into 3 or 4 patties as desires. You can grill them or pan fry them, about 3-4 minutes per side until they are done to your preference. They are so flavorful that we don’t eat them on buns; just a little organic Catsup if you like it and they are delicious. Enjoy!
For other great grass fed meat recipes, I highly recommend Stanley’s book, Tender Grassfed Beef.
There’s a link to it, below.
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Duck with Cherry Sauce
I’ve never made duck before but have loved it the few times I’ve eaten it out. I thought it would be hard to make so I was hesitant to try it, but this was fairly easy. I found a great source for pastured skin on duck breast, and made this recipe. It was great and my husband who’s never eaten duck before really liked it as well.
Yield: Makes 4 servings
1 cup organic soy sauce
1 cup Sherry
4 6-ounce pastured duck breast halves – with skin on
12 frozen organic sweet cherries, thawed, halved
1 cup organic chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 cup organic beef stock, preferably homemade
1/2 cup ruby (or tawny) Port
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 teaspoon organic cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons water – you could also use arrowroot powder
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) organic/pastured butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, room temperature
Whisk soy sauce and Sherry in medium bowl to blend. Using sharp knife, make diagonal cuts at 1/2-inch intervals in duck skin (not through meat). Place duck, skin side up, in glass baking dish. Pour marinade over. Cover duck with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.
Bring cherries, chicken stock, beef stock, Port and thyme sprig to boil in heavy medium saucepan over high heat. Simmer until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 – 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat heavy large skillet – I used cast iron – over medium heat. Remove duck from marinade. Add duck breasts, skin side down, to skillet. Cook until skin is crispy, about 10 minutes. Turn duck over and continue cooking to desired doneness, about 5 minutes for medium. Transfer duck to work surface.
Add cornstarch mixture to Port-cherry sauce. Bring to simmer, whisking constantly. Add butter 1 piece at a time, whisking until butter is melted before adding next piece. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Slice duck breasts thinly on diagonal and fan out on plates. Spoon Port-cherry sauce over duck and serve. Enjoy!
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