Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

We bought a peach tree a few years ago.  Last summer we didn’t get any fruit, but this year we got 40-50 small peaches. They were not the sweetest, even when ripe, but they were ours, so I decided to peel and freeze them to use in recipes.  I used sucanat and whole wheat flour and it turned out great.

Filling

3/4 cup organic sugar or sucanat

2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

3/4 teaspoon ground organic cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground organic cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground organic nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh organic lemon juice

3 3/4 to 4 pounds organic peaches, peeled with vegetable peeler, halved, pitted, cut into 1-inch wedges

Crumble Topping

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons organic whole wheat or unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned organic oats

1/3 cup cup sucanat  or organic brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) organic butter at room temperature.

3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Stir flour, oats, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until mixture holds together in moist clumps.

Mix in pecans. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.

Stir sugar and next 4 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in lemon juice, then peaches; toss. Let stand at least 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Set rack at lowest position in oven. Slide foil-lined baking sheet under rack onto oven floor (to catch any drips). Preheat oven to 350°F. Spoon filling into either deep dish pie plate or round deep casserole. Scatter topping over, breaking up large clumps.

Bake pie 30 – 40 minutes. Bake until juices bubble thickly and topping is golden. Cool on rack at least 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm or at room temperature.  It’s delicious with homemade whipped cream or raw milk ice cream.

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I’ve made this recipe a number of times now, and it always turns out great.  It’s wonderful served with organic whole wheat (or rice) pasta and organic spaghetti sauce, but they are delicious on their own as well.  It’s fairly quick to make and nice enough to serve to company. Enjoy!

Organic Meatballs

Ingredients

    * 1 pound organic, grass fed ground beef

    * 4 ounces dried bread crumbs – you can use organic whole wheat bread, dried or toasted and ground

    * 4 large organic, pastured eggs

    * 4 ounces whole raw milk

    * 6 ounces grated Romano, Parmesan or a blend of the two

    * 3 ounces grated organic Spanish onion

    * 2 ounces finely diced organic fresh garlic

    * 2 ounces finely chopped organic fresh Italian parsley leaves

    * 2 ounces finely chopped organic fresh basil leaves

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in large bowl. If mixture seems a little loose add more bread crumbs.

Roll meatballs loosely about the size of a golf ball and place on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper and then sprayed with an olive oil cooking spray. Place into preheated oven for approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Enjoy!

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As I’m feeding 3 hungry teenage boys, I look for filling side dishes and this was a great one. I’ve made it a few times now and it’s the most requested dish these days and easy to make as well.  Trader Joe’s has a really nice organic pickle relish and an organic yellow mustard, both were a great addition.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients

* 2 – 3 pounds young organic potatoes, yellow or red,  sliced or cubed

* 2 ribs organic  celery, finely chopped

* 1/2 small to medium organic yellow or sweet onion, finely chopped

* 3 tablespoons organic sweet pickle relish

* 1/3 cup organic, preferably homemade, mayonnaise  

* 3 tablespoons organic yellow mustard

* Celtic or sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Boil potatoes in salted water 10 to 12 minutes, or until just tender. Drain the potatoes and spread out onto a cookie sheet to cool quickly, about 10 minutes.

In a bowl, combine celery, onion, relish, mayonnaise and mustard. Combine cooled potatoes with other ingredients.

Mix well and season with salt and pepper.  Chill in the refrigerator until just before serving.

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I’ve always loved Linzer torte cookies, the buttery, fruit-filled cookies, I had as a kid and these bars are very similar, and even easier to make.  I used organic raspberry preserves but you could use any flavor that you like. 

To toast the nuts, put them on a baking sheet in a 350° oven for 5 minutes. Check if they’re fragrant and lightly toasted, if not give them 2 more minutes. I chopped them in a small coffee grinder but you can knife/food processor chop them as well. They smell wonderful once they’re toasted.

I used a combination of evaporated cane juice and sucanat and I also used half organic whole-wheat flour and half organic unbleached flour. I will try this again with sprouted flour, but as I’ve not made the recipe before I decided to try it out this way first. They were wonderful!

Yields about 48 bars and they freeze well too.

13 oz. (I ½ cup plus 2 Tbs.) organic unsalted butter, room temperature

1-2/3 cup organic evaporated cane juice, rapudura or sucanat

2  organic, pastured eggs

1 lb. (3-3/4 cups) organic unbleached flour or organic whole-wheat flour or a combination of the two

7-1/2 oz. (1-1/2 cups) chopped, toasted organic hazelnuts

2 cups organic raspberry preserves

Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13-inch pan. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar (evaporated cane juice, etc) until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and mix just enough to incorporate. Add the nuts and mix a little longer until just blended.

Press about two-thirds of the mixture into the prepared pan. Spread with the raspberry preserves and then crumble the remaining dough on top. Bake for about an hour, until the top is lightly browned.

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This is the first time I’ve ever made cheesecake. I had to try a NY style recipe as that’s where I’m from, and this was a true New York Cheesecake. Delicious and organic too! The original recipe I used did not mention a water bath so I didn’t use one. The cheesecake cracked but was still delicious. It’s even better after being in the refrigerator overnight.  To make a water bath you can put a tray of hot water on the shelf under the cheesecake. I will try that next time.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Ready In: 7 Hours 30 Minutes

Servings: 12

INGREDIENTS:

15 organic graham crackers, crushed

2 tablespoons organic butter, melted

4 (8 ounce) packages organic cream cheese

1 1/2 cups organic sugar or evaporated cane juice

3/4 cup organic/raw milk

4 organic pastured eggs

1 cup organic Greek style yogurt or sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup all-purpose, organic flour

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.

2. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.

3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in yogurt (or sour cream), vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.

1. 4.Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking.
2. 5.Chill in refrigerator until serving. Enjoy!

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Chicken with Fennel and Mushrooms 

We had a wonderful pastured chicken and had some fennel from our CSA so I decided to try this. It was a wonderful dish and the leftovers were even better. You can serve it over pasta or noodles, but we just ate it as is, with some crusty bread on the side. Yum!

1½ hours | 30 min prep

SERVES 8 -10

    * 1 lb mushroom, quartered

    * 1/2 cup dry red wine

    * 1/2 cup flour

    * 1 teaspoon salt

    * fresh ground pepper

    * 4 lbs whole chickens, cut up, washed and dried

    * 2 tablespoons butter

    * 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

    * 4 ounces pancetta or bacon, diced

    * 1 medium red onion, diced

    * 1/2 lb fennel bulb, bulb only, cut into strips

    * 1 teaspoon garlic, minced

    * 1/2 cup dry red wine

    * 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaf

    * cooked mushroom, with liquid

    * 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

   1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

   2. Sauté mushrooms in butter in a large ovenproof sauté pan over med-high heat, stirring frequently. When they soften and give off liquid, reduce heat to med, cook until liquid evaporates.

   3. Stir in the first 1/2 cup of red wine. Increase the heat to high and boil until most of the wine evaporates, remove and set aside. Wipe out pan and return it to the stove top.

   4. Brown the chicken in butter and oil (may need to do this in batches) in the sauté pan over med heat, remove and set aside.

   5. Sauté the pancetta in the pan drippings, cooking until it begins to brown. add the onion and fennel, cooking until the onion softens and fennel begins to brown. Stir in garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more. Increase heat to high and stir in the next 1/2 cup wine and sage. Remove from heat and add the sautéed mushrooms.

1. 6.Return the chicken to the pan, cover tightly, transfer to the oven and bake until the meat is tender and the internal temp is 170°F, about 40 minutes. Remove from heat oven and stir in vinegar. 
2. 7.Serve and Enjoy

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When I was growing up in NY we would get this wonderful crumb cake from the local bakery for a special treat. The first time I made this recipe, I knew I found the cake of my youth. It’s a wonderful cake.  The original recipe is here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/blueberry-crumb-cake-recipe/index.html

My new version is below. For the streusel topping I used sucanat for both of the sugars (in the original recipe it calls for ¼ sugar and 1/3 brown sugar) and since I couldn’t figure out what that would add up to, I just added the 1/3 cup and ¼ cups separately.  I always use full fat Greek style yogurt for the sour cream and that’s what I tend to have on hand and it works great.  If you use frozen blueberries, fold them in when frozen and plan on at least a few more minutes of cooking time. You could use any other berry or even chocolate chips as well. As usual, organic is best. 🙂

For the streusel:

1/4 cup sucanat, or rapadura or organic sugar

1/3 cup sucanat, or rapadura or organic sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 pound (1 stick) organic unsalted butter, melted

1 1/3 cups sprouted whole wheat flour

For the cake:

6 tablespoons organic unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)

3/4 cup sucanat, or rapadura or organic sugar

2 extra-large eggs, pastured/organic, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2/3 cup organic Greek yogurt or sour cream

1 1/4 cups sprouted whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:

Combine the ¼ cup and 1/3 cup of sugars, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and yogurt. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers,crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. The time can vary, especially if you are using frozen blueberries.  Cool completely and enjoy!

Yield: 6 to 8 servings 

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Our lemon tree is full at the moment so I wanted to try a lemony dessert. I Found a passion fruit pound cake in David Lebovitz’s new cookbook, Ready for Dessert and changed the recipe to include lemons, sprouted whole wheat flour and sucanat. It turned out great!

Cake

1 ½ cups sprouted organic whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. Celtic sea salt

¾ cup (6 ounces) organic pastured butter

1 cup sucanat, or rapadura or organic sugar

Grated zest of 2 organic lemons

3 large organic eggs, at room tempurature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze

½ cup fresh organic lemon juice

1/3 cup organic powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.  Butter the bottom and side of a 9-inch loaf pan, dust it with flour, and tap out any excess. Line the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper.

To make the cake, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl by hand), beat together the butter, 1 cup sucanat and the lemon zest on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and vanilla. With the mixer running, slowly add the egg mixture into the butter mixture, stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the eggs are completely incorporated. The mixture may look curdled, which is normal.

Using a rubber spatula, stir the flour mixture into the butter-sucanat mixture by hand until just combined. Don’t overmix. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 mintutes (if you use un-sprouted flour it’ll take about an hour).  Let cool about 15 minutes.

While the cake is cooking, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, very gently stir together the lemon juice and powdered sugar. Reserve  1-2 tsps. of the powdered sugar to sprinkle over the top.

Loosen the cake from the loaf pan by running a knife around the sides of the cake. Invert the warm cake out of the pan, peel off the parchment paper, and turn it right side up onto a plate.

Using a wooden skewer, pierce the top of the cake all the way through to the bottom about 50 times. Slowly spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, it will absorb into the cake.  Then you can dust the top with the remainder of the powdered sugar.

Serve the slice cake as is or with a compote of fresh berries, or whipped cream.

Enjoy!

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David’s new cookbook is fantastic. You can buy it here:

We have three boys in high school and none of them eat as nutrient dense diet as we would like. I’ve been trying to come up with some ideas for snacks they will take on the run so I decided to mix up a big batch of trail mix. I had bags of nuts and jars of soaked (and then dried) nuts in the cupboard so I mixed up a batch. It included (all organic, of course :):  Pecans, Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Almonds, Sunflower Seeds, Raisins, Dried Apricots, Mango and Cranberries. You can of course use what you like and have on hand.

Then I decided to use some of the trail mix to make a batch of fruit and nut bark.  It’s really easy.

Fruit and nut bark

Ingredients:

1 – 12 oz bag Organic Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 to 1 ½ cups trail mix

1 sheet pan, covered with a layer of parchment paper

Directions:

Melt chocolate.  You get do this in a double boiler or in the microwave, either way takes only a few minutes.  If you melt it in the microwave use a glass bowl.  You can also use a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water but be very careful that you don’t get any water in your bowl, even a drop and the chocolate will be ruined.

Mix the trail mix into the melted chocolate and then pour the mixture onto the parchment paper covered pan. Using a spatula spread the chocolate/trail mix mixture out until it’s an even flat layer.

Put the pan into the refrigerator for a half hour or so until the bark is completely cooled.  Then break the bark into bite sized pieces and store the bark in a closed container in the refrigerator.  It was a big hit, and so easy to make.

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I grew up eating rye bread, although it was never as good as this recipe.  This is from Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz – link below.  It’s an amazing book about everything fermented, from Sauerkraut and veggies to beer, wine, yogurt and more.  I made my sourdough starter from the recipe in the book and then I made this bread.  I’m making it for the third time this week – I’ve been making one batch a week –  and we are not tiring of it yet.  It’s a wonderful whole grain rye bread and I grind the rye berries the day I make the bread so it’s extra fresh.   It takes two days to make and there’s no kneading.

Ingredients, for 2 loaves:

2 large or 4 small organic onions

2 tablespoons organic olive oil

2 cups sourdough starter

3 cups pure water

1 tablespoon organic whole caraway seeds

8 cups rye flour

1 teaspoon celtic sea salt

Directions:

Chop onions and sauté in olive oil over medium low heat until nicely browned and carmelized, about 20 – 30 minutes.  Cool

Mix a sponge:  Combine the browned onions, sourdough starter, caraway seeds and 4 cups of rye flour in a large glass or ceramic bowl.  Stir well. Cover and leave to ferment in a warm place (I keep it on the kitchen counter), for 8 to 24 hours until it is good and bubbly.  You can stir occasionally but I always forget to stir and it turns out great.

After your 8-24 hour ferment add the salt and the other 4 cups of rye flour.  Add the rye flour a little at a time, until the dough becomes so thick that you cannot effectively stir it with a spoon.  Cover with a moist towel and leave to ferment and rise for 8-12 hours, until it’s bulk has increased noticeable.

Form into loaves:  Rye dough is sticky and nowhere as cohesive and self-contained as wheat dough.  Wetting your hands will make rye dough easier to handle and form. Form loaves with your wet hands and place them in lightly oiled pans; alternatively spoon dough into loaf pans, then smooth the top with your wet hands. Leave loaves for another hour or two, until they rise noticeably.

Preheat over to 350° and bake.  Check loaves after 1 ½ hours. It will probably take 2 hours or even longer, but check earlier. Test doneness by removing a loaf from it’s pan and tapping the bottom. When it’s done it will sound hollow. If it’s not done, return it to the oven quickly and continue baking.

Cool bread on racks.  Most yeasted breads we buy or make are best eaten fresh and dry out quickly. A major advantage of sourdough rye bread is that it retains its moisture and gets better with age, for several weeks (no kidding). The crust can become hard and dry, but slice through it with a sharp serrated knife to find soft, moist, delicious, sour bread. Dense breads like this are best in thin slices, with organic pastured butter.  Enjoy!

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Sandor’s book is wonderful and you can buy it at Amazon, link below.