WAPF raw milk baby formula, divided and conquered

I started giving our little one the WAPF raw milk formula when no longer got donated breastmilk, around 5 months old, almost 4 months ago. She certainly thrives on it!  But the formula itself has logistical issues. The oil rises to the top, even with warming and frequent shaking during feeding.  At the end there is a nipplefull of oil, which the baby rejects - she got really smart about it. And that's not the only issue - the milk often curdles, especially at the end of a batch, maybe because the milk is mixed with whey. And the nutritional yeast flakes are just too large and clog the nipple.  I would strain the whole batch in a fine mesh strainer before bottling, but somehow the nipples often clogged up. So I decided to "divide and conquer" as soon as the baby started being good at eating solids, around 6.5 months.

The idea is to put all the “annoying” ingredients together into a gelatin which is served as a baby food; the remaining ingredients –  water, lactose, milk, cream, whey – make a lovely milk to be fed in bottles, sweet and creamy. And it doesn't curdle or separate. Together, the solids and liquids have exactly the same amounts of the same ingredients as the wapf raw milk formula, except there is ¼ cup more water and 1 tsp less gelatin.  Use only when baby is ready to have solids several times a day, so that the baby gets all the nutrition that was in a batch of the WAPF formula. 

The solid part is not exactly tasty, but it makes a fantastic base for introducing every other baby food - bananas, squash, carrots, broth, ripe peaches, applesauce, yogurt, etc. (we do GAPS so no sweet potatoes). I've found it very, very convenient to have on hand and she just loves her food!

           Solids (Baby food)

      
          1/4 cup filtered water

          1 teaspoon gelatin

     Sprinkle gelatin onto water in a small saucepan and dissolve on low heat until liquid is clear (doesn't take long because there's so little water).  Turn off heat. Cool down (place saucepan in a pan of cold tap water for a 10-20 seconds, or make the liquids in the meantime) until still warm enough to melt the high vitamin butter oil and coconut oil, but not hot. 

     Add:
¼  teaspoon high-vitamin butter oil
2   teaspoons coconut oil
1   teaspoon expeller-expressed sunflower oil
1   teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
½  teaspoon fermented cod liver oil
2   teaspoons Frontier brand nutritional yeast flakes 
 ¼  teaspoon acerola powder
Make sure the temperature is below 105 F before adding:
¼ teaspoon bifidobacterium infantis
1  egg yolk (optional)

     Stir with a whisk until well mixed.  Pour into a baby food jar. Refrigerate. When it’s gelled, to serve to baby, mash about one third of the gel with a piece of banana in a baby food mill (type pictured here), or ripe peach, cooked squash or carrots, yogurt, etc.  Use at same rate as the liquid. 

       Liquids (Bottles)

    

"Lactose water":  Dissolve ¼ cup lactose in 7/8 cup water over medium heat.  When the liquid is clear (doesn’t take as long as in the original formula with the gelatin), turn off heat, add 1 cup water.  Pour into a glass container for storage. When it cools enough not to kill the probiotis in the whey, add  and 1/4 cup whey. Keep refrigerated. Makes 2 and 1/8 cups.

"Creamy milk": In another glass container, mix the 2 cups farmer’s milk and 2 Tablespoons (or more) cream (use a wire whisk or immersion blender).  Makes 2 and 1/8 cups.

To serve, mix equal parts lactose water and creamy milk in a baby bottle. Warm if desired. 

You should run out of the lactose water, creamy milk, and baby food gelatin at the same time or nearly so. 

If you store the liquids in the same type of bottle, it's easy to keep the quantities in them equal so you run out of them at the same time.

Whole foods!

It's been a while since I entered a post... Lots to do, little time - all GAPSters understand this.

It was during one of those super-rushed dinner-making times that I decided to cut corners to the ultimate and just let my veggies cook in the simmering broth, WHOLE.  Carrots, zucchini and broccoli.  I simply did not have time for slicing or chopping.  All I did was peel the carrots, trim the bottom of the broccoli stem, and nothing to the zucchini (except washing).  Then I dropped them into the ever-present broth and pulled each out at perfect tenderness.  WOW!  Not only did they taste great, they LOOKED great!  The toddlers were much more interested than when I present them neatly (or not-so-neatly) cut up veggies.  We had FUN!  The carrots were handled like corn on the cob by little hands.  A crocodile mouth was cut into one end of the zucchini.  The broccoli was trees. 

And the broth got some extra vitamins, too.

Charlotte's Legal Blondies

My daughter Charlotte invented this recipe.  Very healthy and sooooo yummy!  Tastes like butterscotch.  She cooked it in our solar oven so the temperature is low and the time long.  I think it kept all the ingredients intact and flavorful. 

1 banana

2 cups dates

½ cup coconut oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 ¼ cups almond flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

½ cup chopped pecans

Put banana, dates and coconut oil in blender and process until creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla and process again.  In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients.  Add blender contents and mix well.  Mix in pecans.

Spoon into greased brownie pan.  Bake at 250F for 1 hour.  


Variation: if you want to make Brownies add 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.  I love brownies, but amazingly, the blondies were even better!

GAPS Almond-coconut baking mix and Breakfast Casserole

3 cups almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together well and store in ziplock bag in the refrigerator.


BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

6 eggs
2/3 cup coconut milk
1 chopped onion
1 cup frozen spinach
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped mushrooms
½ cup almond-coconut baking mix
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups shredded cheddar or Gruyère (Swiss) cheese or Parmesan
7 strips bacon*, cut in halves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Heat oven to 350° F.
Cover the bottom of the 8 inch casserole with the bacon.  Bake until crisp.  Turning over is not necessary.  Remove casserole from oven.
Sauté the onions, peppers and mushrooms in a frying pan with a little butter, coconut oil or ghee. After 5 minutes add the spinach and sauté 5 more minutes.
In a medium bowl, mix the eggs and coconut milk.  Add the cheese and the baking mix.
Spoon the onion/spinach over the bacon, then the batter.
Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until it puffs up, browns slightly and no longer wiggles when shaken gently. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

* GAPSters in Ottawa are lucky to have the Sausage Kitchen where they make additive-free, sugar-free bacon.  If you don't have access to GAPS-edible bacon, put 1/3 cup coconut oil or ghee in the bottom of the casserole and place in the oven until melted.  Proceed with the rest of the recipe starting at "Remove casserole from oven."

Asparagus Velouté

A velouté (French for velvety) is a very smooth soup.  The asparagus and coconut flavors blend surprisingly deliciously.  Super easy too - and we GAPSters always have lots of chicken broth on hand!

Asparagus Velouté

2 cups chicken broth

1 bunch asparagus

2 cups coconut milk

1.  Rinse the asparagus. 

2.  Put about one cup of the chicken broth in each of two saucepans.  Bring both to a simmer on medium heat.

3.  Meanwhile, break the asparagus into 1 to 2 inch pieces with your hands.  Put the all the tips in one saucepan, and the rest except the pieces that are too tough in the other.  Simmer for about 8 minutes, until the asparagus is tender.

4.  Measure the coconut milk in your blender jar.  Add the contents of the saucepan that has the middle of the asparagus.  Process on high until completely smooth.

5.  Pour the blender contents into the second pan.  Mix and check seasonings (salt, pepper).  Serve lukewarm. 

Chia-fennel purée

I've been experimenting with savory dishes based on chia seeds.  This one turned out quite nicely, and is a good substitute for mashed potatoes. Kinda rounds out the meal, especially if you serve another dish with a nice rich sauce that cries for something to sop it up with. And chia gives you a full feeling like no other GAPS-legal food.  I searched through many

Make the chia gel ahead of time: the longer the chia seeds soak, the firmer the gel gets - meaning the less of those expensive seeds you use.  What's more, the longer they soak, the more nutrients you get from the seeds.  You can make the chia-broth gel in large batches to add to mashed carrots, squash, or other vegetable of your choice.  The gel keeps for at least a week in the refrigerator.

Chia-fennel purée


3 Tbs chia seeds
½ cup broth, seasoned to taste

1 onion, chopped
¼ cup butter, ghee or coconut oil
1 bulb fennel, chopped
½ cup broth, seasoned to taste

Prepare chia gel:

Mix chia seeds into broth in a container with a lid.  Stir once or twice then refrigerate 8 hours or more.

Cook fennel:

Sauté fennel in butter in a large pan on low for 5 minutes.  Add fennel and sauté for 5 minutes, then add broth and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring frequently (do not cover pan).

Blend together:

Put chia gel and fennel in blender or food processor.  Process until smooth.  Check seasonings.

Serve warm.

Eggnog Mousse

Looking for another way to add coconut oil to our daily fare, I've been tweaking this recipe to get the creaminess and spice just right.  It is a light, frothy, creamy dessert with that wonderful familiar eggnog flavor.

In addition to guaranteeing 2 Tablespoons coconut oil per serving (estimating that the coconut milk contains at least 15% fat), it's also an easy way to give your family the fantastic nutrition contained in raw egg yolks.  No one in my family likes them in broth, and then if you reheat the leftover broth, the nutrients get altered anyway.  Here the yolks stay cool during the whole process. If you can't do egg yolk, the recipe still works.

With a tight lid, the mousse can keep in the fridge for 5 days - betcha it won't stay around long enough for you to worry about it!

Makes 8 servings.  

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups coconut milk, warmed
2/3 cup coconut oil, warmed until melted
1/3 cup honey or 12 dates
0 to 4 raw egg yolks*
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 package unflavored gelatin

Equipment: blender

Note: for ease in measuring, I measure the coconut milk in the blender jar, then take some out to warm.  The idea is to get the blender contents over 76 F to keep the coconut oil liquid while the ingredients get mixed.

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients except gelatin in blender.  Process on low until well mixed. If using dates, process on high for 1 minute, then turn to low. Remove cover while still running and drizzle in the gelatin.  Process on high for 30 seconds. 

2. Place the blender jar in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3. The liquid should now be very slightly thickened, very creamy, not yet cold.  Put blender jar back on base and process on high for 1 full minute.  This puts air bubbles in the thick liquid to get the fun & frothy mousse texture.

4. Pour into individual serving bowls with lids (individual yogurt containers for example).  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.  Sprinkle with additional nutmeg if desired.

* The egg yolks are not necessary to the recipe.  If raw egg yolks are not part of your diet, you can leave them out; if you only have 2 egg yolks from using the whites elsewhere, just use those, and so on.  I usually  put in 2 to 4 yolks, depending on my egg supply, how desperate I am to get nutrients, etc.

Do NOT let your kids play in the sandboxes!

I've been reading the Stanley Medical Institute research on schizophrenia and toxoplasmosis. This is a well-written news article about the behavior of rats infected by toxoplasma. You may never have heard of "toxo" but recent findings show that it is not a mostly benign parasite as was believed.  And about a quarter of all human beings are infected! There are indications that toxo could be the cause (or at least a cause) of schizophrenia.  Combine this with the fact that toxo reproduces inside our beloved housecats, and that a significant percentage of schizophrenics were exposed to cats in childhood, and it gets pretty scary.  Exposure to cats is not even necessary: toxo oocytes (eggs) are everywhere, in the dirt, the air, even in meat, since the protozoa can infect any mammal (but freezing and cooking kills them).

Toxo oocytes are most abundant in places where cats defecate - like your neighborhood sandbox.

Toxoplasma affects behavior.  In rats, toxoplasmosis causes its hosts to crave the odor of cat urine, causing the rat's virtual suicide by becoming dinner for the feline, where the toxo can finally complete its life cycle.  The parasite acts by forming cysts in the brain, in particular the amygdala, center of fear-related behavior. Is this the reason for the paranoia component of schizophrenia?  Toxo also has the genes encoding two critical enzymes needed to make dopamine, which individuals with schizophrenia are thought to have in excess (Wikipedia has an article titled "Dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia").  Toxoplasmosis is correlated with higher suicide rates, increased activity, loss of concentration, slower reaction time.  All of these traits help the cats catch infected rats, but what happens to the poor humans who get this infection?  "The effects of T. Gondi on rodents' brains are highly specific", says the research paper.  So, schizophrenia would be the effect of very specific chemical activity, meant for manipulation of rodent behavior, on the human brain. 

Some excerpts from the Stanley paper:

From the abstract:

"Toxoplasma gondii [is] a protozoan parasite that causes toxoplasmosis and is carried by cats and other felines. Until recently, toxoplasmosis was thought to be a problem only for pregnant women who, if they became infected with T. gondii during their pregnancy, risked having the organism cause damage to the growing fetus. This is why pregnant women are advised to not change the litter in the cat litter box. Infection with T. gondii in other adults and children was thought to be either asymptomatic or to cause an influenza-like or mononucleosis-like syndrome. It now seems possible that T. gondii may be associated with schizophrenia and perhaps other psychiatric syndromes."

From the main text: 

"Assuming that cats defecated in a completely random manner, the researchers calculated that each square foot of ground would be burdened with between 9 and 434 infected T. gondii oocysts each year. [...]  Cats, of course, do not defecate randomly but favor specific outdoor spots, meaning that such spots are inevitably burdened with a very large number of oocysts." 

"Children’s play areas and sandboxes are common places for cats to defecate because they can use the area’s loose soil or sand to bury their feces. [...]each sandbox would contain approximately 85 million viable oocysts at any given time."

"As the cat feces dry, the oocysts may become aerosolized. They can thus be inhaled by a person changing cat litter or just walking in an area where cats have defecated."

" Unwashed vegetables from gardens can also carry oocysts. Studies have also shown that cockroaches and flies can carry oocysts from cat feces to fruits and vegetables." 

"In countries like France, which has a high rate of T. gondii-infected individuals, the most important source of transmission is thought to be undercooked meat. [...] The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis has decreased sharply in the United States and Europe in the past forty years  It has been speculated that this is because of the increased use of frozen meat, since freezing kills the tissue cysts."


"Humans may become infected with T. gondii at any time in life. In immunocompetent individuals, the infection is asymptomatic 90 percent of the time. In the other 10 percent, the "primary infections cause a mild, mononucleosis-like illness with low-grade fever, malaise, headache, and cervical lymphadenopathy."

"It is clearly established that congenital infections with T. gondii, especially early in pregnancy, can produce intracranial calcifications, mental retardation, deafness, seizures, and retinal damage."


" there is evidence that the effects of T. gondii on the brain are highly specific. For example, in experiments in which mice have been infected, the mice may have profound and widespread brain pathology and deficits in motor coordination and sensory deficits, but their cognitive skills remain relatively intact "


"In areas where felines are rare, the prevalence rates of both toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia appear to be low. "

"Antipsychotic medications have been shown to have antiprotozoal activity."

 

Fermented ketchup. Caveat on sauerkraut.

I'm finally getting around to making fermented ketchup, using this recipe:
http://nourishedkitchen.com/homemade-ketchup/

Didn't have homemade tomato paste but used my crockpot to boil down 2 bottles of strained tomatoes.  Took a few hours and needed frequent stirring.  But I was in the kichen all day anyway.  Here I am at 11 p.m. finally putting the ingredients together.  Also don't have any whey right now, so I'm using skj (sauerkraut juice) for my starter.  I'm typing while the sea salt dissolves and I'll give it another stir and taste before spooning into the mason jar for fermentation.

Next time I make sauerkraut I'm going to try this recipe:
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.ca/2011/05/thyroid-goitrogens-and-recipe-for.html
This page has information you should know about sauerkraut.  It may affect your thyroid, so eat it in moderation. 

UPDATE: Trying to find out more about the goitrogen content of sauerkraut has been quite confusing.  Some sources say lacto-fermentation causes the cabbage to have MORE  goitrogens, others say it suppresses goitrogens.  I'd be grateful for some authoritative info on this.

Homemade Laundry Detergent, First Steps in Juicing

Today I made a batch of laundry soap.  There are many recipes on the web; I used #9 from the site http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/.  My first try, a couple of weeks ago, was a fraction of #10 and I found that it required a lot more stirring than expected.  I had chosen that one because it does not involve grating bar soap, but in comparison a little grating would probably take less time!  So #9 looked good to me today.  Until  started grating.  After about 5 minutes DD wisely suggested I try the food processor.  We have a small one that really whizzes stuff up.  It can grind coffee beans and flax seed.  Worked like a charm, the hardest thing to making laundry detergent is now cutting the bar soap into pieces small enough for the Moulinette.  Out of 1 large bar of Marseille soap and a few ends from the bathrooms I obtained 3 cups of grated soap, so I pro-rated the other ingredients: 4 1/2 cups Borax, 3 cups Baking Soda, 3 cups Washing Soda.  Mix well.  I had to run the Borax through a sieve, but the rest was straightforward.  What's great is that I'll only need 1/8 cup per load, so I should get 108 loads from this.

Today I also made fresh apple juice with my juicer.  Our Samson 6-in-1 became part of our household last week.  It juices fruits, vegetables and leaves, including wheatgrass but also makes nut butters, grinds meat, grinds spices, and more.  The apple juice was wonderful, very sweet.  It's not the fastest juicer and everything has to be cut small (apples in 8 wedges) but cleanup is not a problem.  For my first try at juicing, I mixed carrots, coconut, kale, cilantro and beets.   The result was not very popular, I ended up having to drink it all myself.  But the pulp made a very nice spice bread.

SPICE BREAD FROM JUICING PULP

About 2 cups pulp from carrots, coconut, beets, greens, etc.
2 bananas
4 eggs
1 cup melted coconut oil
2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 Tbs baking soda
1 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin or loaf pans with coconut oil.

Mash the bananas.  Beat in the eggs, pulp and coconut oil with a wire whisk.  Mix all the other ingredients together separately (or on top of the wet ingredients mixture).  Pour into greased pans.  Bake for 45 minutes.

A little Kombucha

It's not as hard as I thought!  The actual work is as simple as brewing tea!  It takes only a few minutes, and a few minutes more 15 minutes later, then a couple of minutes an hour later, a few weeks later etc.  And the ingredients are all inexpensive, whereas store-bought Kombucha... not on my budget!

As a GAPSter, I couldn't believe I was buying sugar again!  The sugar is all transformed by fermentation, and although a little remains, Kombucha is allowed in the Full GAPS diet. 

I read several detailed instructions on various websites and came up with this simplified method.  You don't have to make a gallon at a time, just use your largest glass container.  Mine holds 7 cups max, so I make 6 cups to leave some room at the top of the jar. I make three bottles at a time (saved from store-bought Kombucha) but soon I'll divide my SCOBY and not have to wait so long between batches.  SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeasts.  The Wikipedia article on Kombucha is quite interesting if you want to know more.

So, first and foremost, you have to get a SCOBY, which you can do in several ways: ordering one and growing one from store-bought Kombucha are two.  The way I got mine, I posted on wapf-(mycity) that I was looking for one, and got the added benefit of meeting a nice neighbor.

DO keep your SCOBY, or mother, in a jar with some of the last batch's brew.  Close tight so it doesn't dry out between uses.

DO use plain, real tea.  It can be white, green. or black, decaf or caffeinated, but it can't be "herbal", and it shouldn't be flavored: the SCOBY might not like some flavorings.  Flavors can be added after brewing.

DO use the best water available - filtered or spring.  Chlorine is not good for the SCOBY.

DON'T boil all your water.  Sterilization is not important, and boiling drives all the oxygen out of the water, which is necessary for the fermentation. Plus, boiling only half the water means faster heating up, and faster cooling down.

DO rinse your container with vinegar, as well as your hands if you handle the SCOBY.


Ingredients:

6 cups water
3 tea bags
1/3 cup sugar
one SCOBY
optional :1/4 to 1 cup of flavoring: ginger, cranberry juice (Just Cranberry), other 100% juices or freshly pressed juice, lemon, lime, etc.

Preparation time: about 5 minutes, + 3 minutes, a half-hour later + 10 minutes, 2 weeks later

1. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil.  Turn off the heat and drop in the tea bags.  Cover.  Infuse for 15 minutes.

2. Stir the sugar into the still hot tea until dissolved.  Pour the tea into your large glass container.  Add the remaining 3 cups of water and allow the brew to cool completely to room temperature.

3. Add the SCOBY and the liquid it was kept in. Close the container using a clean cloth and a rubber band.

4. Put the container in a cupboard to ferment.  Don't put it in the same cupboard as other ferments such as sauerkraut, because the yeasts in the SCOBY may contaminate them.  Brew for 14 to 21 days.

5. When it is ready there will be a wonderful aroma like apples when you open the cupboard door.  When you uncover the container, you'll see the mother will have grown a "baby" - a new layer of the "mushroom".  Pour the Kombucha into bottles with tight-fitting tops, but keep enough brew to cover your SCOBY.  You can add the optional flavoring into these bottles, not the main brew containing the SCOBY.  For example, put a die-sized piece of fresh ginger in the bottle, or a couple of teaspoons of freshly squeezed lime juice.  Or both.  Close tightly, and leave the bottles in the cupboard to ferment for 5 to 10 more days (depending on the temperature inside the cupboard). During this time the Kombucha will get fizzy.   

6.  Start your next batch of Kombucha immediately, or keep the mother in enough brew to cover, in a closed container in the cupboard.  You can separate the layers and make two batches now, or just use the larger mother just like before.



7.  After the 5 to 10 days, store the bottles in the fridge. Serve cold.

Bettercestershire

Ok, bad one, sorry, couldn't resist.  And I am aware the first syllable in Worcestershire isn't even pronounced "worse."  My DH bought some Lea & Perrins Worcestershire even though sugar is listed as an ingredient, so what else can a faithful wife do but create a GAPS-legal taste-alike?  The thing is, it really is better for your health, so there's more to the name than a bad play on words!

I can't really give you exact amounts because the process involved pouring a bit more vinegar, a bit more honey, tasting, adding more of this or that, and tasting, tasting, tasting.  Using the genuine L&P as my guide of course.  But I can give you (while recording for myself) the list of ingredients, with my educated guess at how much actually went in:

Ingredients:

Vinegar (ordinary, not Balsamic which is not GAPS) about 1/4 cup
Coconut Aminos similar quantity
Honey maybe 1 teaspoon
5 cloves garlic. crushed in a garlic press
5 pieces of fresh onion cur into garlic-clove-size pieces and crushed in the garlic press
quite a few drops of Hot Scotch Bonnet sauce
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp mustard
1 capsule fermented cod liver oil, contents thereof
1/2 tsp Marmite*

* I'm pretty sure you can omit the Marmite!..  it just sits there on my shelf so I thought this could be a way to use it.   I'm not actually certain it's GAPS-legal.


1.  Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until the honey and the Marmite are dissolved  The FCLO is my substitute for anchovies, one of the L&P ingredients.

2.  Filter out the garlic and onion pulp using a permanent coffee filter.

3.  Taste and add more honey, salt, etc. as desired.  

(4.  Pour the L&P down the drain and refill the bottle with Bettercestershire.)

(5.  Don't tell anyone you did this.)

UPDATE: After going a couple of weeks with this horrid secret between DH and me, I 'fessed up and made him take the taste test.  He was really surprised at how close the Faux stuff  tasted. 

Thai-style Salmon Head Soup with Cilantro and Shrimp

This turned out very nicely, so I'm recording how I made it before I forget!

My latest kitchen gadget is a simple mandolin and I LOVE it!  The razor-sharp blade makes thin even slices of almost anything firm enough to be sliced at all. Here, I used it to make almost paper-thin slices of red bell pepper, green pepper, and ginger, which made lovely translucent colors floating in the white broth. 

Fish broth is made very quickly and should never be simmered at length like chicken or beef broth.  The broth can become bitter if simmered too long.  This recipe is easier than it looks. 

The bell peppers in this recipe are what I had on hand tonight, but they could be replaced by others like broccoli, green beans, carrots, which you would cook al dente in some of the broth rather than add raw like the peppers.  Avocado slices would be a nice addition just before serving, too.

Ingredients

2 Salmon heads with part of the neck
2 quarts filtered water

1/2 of a sweet green pepper (optional)
1/2 of a sweet red pepper (optional)
3 to 5 cloves garlic depending on size and how garlicky you like stuff
3 cups coconut milk (approx)
2 tsp salt or to taste
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger root
1 lb fresh or frozen shrimp, with or without heads, peeled or unpeeled (optional)
2 Tbs chopped lemongrass (optional)
6 to 10 mushrooms, fresh or dried (optional)
6 to 10 sprigs fresh cilantro
6 green onions 
hot cayenne pepper to taste
3 lemons or limes or 8 key limes


Directions:

1.  If you have dried mushrooms, soak them in a bowl of boiling water.  If you have fresh mushrooms, cut them into thick slices and saute them for 5 minutes in coconut oil.  If you have no mushrooms that's ok too.  

2.  Rinse the fish heads. Put the heads in the large pot with the water, bring to just under boiling and simmer for 20 minutes.  Do not boil!  

3. Strain the broth into a large container and return to the large pot.  Let the strainer contents cool down in a bowl.

4. Meanwhile, slice the peppers thinly (a mandolin does this superbly), peel and slice the ginger very thinly (mandolin!), and slice the spring onions as finely as you like, green and white parts (but not the wilted or tough parts of the green).

5.  Prepare 2 extra containers for picking the heads apart.  In one container, put the flesh, which is mostly in the neck (collar?), but there's also a lovely piece in the cheek and other bits here and there in the head.  In the other container, put all the soft gelatinous or fatty tissues you can pick off the "bones" (it is cartilage).  You can put the eyes in this bowl (they're are said to have a wonderful flavor - I'm too chicken to taste them...!).  Discard the hard parts.  The skin has a lot of fat under it, so put it in the fatty tissues container (that fat is home to all those great omega-3 fatty acids). 

6.  Pour about 2 cups of the broth into the medium pot and add the shrimp.  Simmer until just cooked.  Pour 1 cup of the broth into the small pot and add the lemongrass, if using, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes.

7. Put the soft tissues in the blender with 2 cups of broth and the garlic.  Liquefy.

8.  Pour the contents of the blender into the large pot which has the rest of the broth, and also add the coconut milk, salt, thinly sliced peppers, green onions and ginger root, the salmon flesh, and the shrimp with its cooking broth.  Strain the lemongrass-flavored broth into the soup.  Add hot cayenne pepper to taste and correct the salt to taste.  Reheat the soup gently. 

9.  Meanwhile, wash the cilantro and discard any wilted leaves.  Lay in a bunch with all the stems in your supporting hand.  Chop the leaves into approx one inch pieces.  Add to the soup just before serving.

10. Juice the lemon/limes and add to the soup just before serving.




I wish there was a way I could figure out how much n-3 fatty acids was in a cup of this broth!  All I know is I read somewhere that some of the commercial fish oils are extracted from fish eyes, so I know the fatty acids are in there.

Cilantro Pesto for chelation

Cilantro Pesto:

1 bunch cilantro
5 cloves garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup Brazil nuts (about 15)
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup raw flax seeds
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt

Wash cilantro and discard wilted parts.  The roots are ok to leave in, just wash well.
Put all the ingredients in a blender and process, starting on the lowest setting and increasing to the highest setting until grainy but well mixed.  You'll have to push down occasionally. 

Store in jars in the refrigerator. Keeps for weeks. 

Mix with yogurt for a great veggie stick dip.

Rockin' n' Rollin' the Butternut

Here's my way to cut Butternut Squash - I'm not very strong so I tend to look for the easiest way to do things.  Necessity is the mother of invention, right?

Note: I often just pop the winter squashes, all of which are tough to cut and peel, into the oven, steamer, or dry crockpot, WHOLE, until tender.  Then cutting and peeling become very easy (after sufficient cooling).  But this time I wanted to make Fries so I wanted to cut the raw flesh. 

First, lay the squash down on its side.  Cut about 1/2 inch from the stem end, rocking/rolling the squash back and forth with your supporting hand (left hand for many) as you hold the knife steadily with your skilled hand.  This is easier than trying to hold the squash still and gesticulating with the knife, I promise.  

Then, cut the cylindrical part of the squash into about 3 thick slices (logs) in the same manner, rocking and rolling the squash again to help the knife go through.  For fries, I cut the logs to be as thick as the length that I wanted the fries to be.  Leave the bulb-shaped end aside for now.

(My go-to, much faster way to cook B.S. is to slice this part into medallions about 3/4 inch thick, dot with ghee or butter, and bake until tender in a 375 F oven. I keep the bulb part for soups.)

Peeling: taking one log at a time, lay it on the larger flat side and cut off the peel using the same knife, going down against the cutting board.  If you always lay whatever you're cutting on the largest, flattest side and direct the sharp edge of the knife toward the cutting board and not your fingers or palm, you'll never need a band-aid (or stitches). 

Put the peels in a pot.  There's a lot of good squash there, we'll make Velouté de Butternut Squash!

Cut the log into fries: First, slice it into 6 to 8 pieces, depending on the size of the squash and the thickness you want your fries to be. The important thing is not what size you choose, but getting all the slices as even as you can, because the too-thin fries will burn while the too-thick ones will just be mushy and not crisp.

 Then, make little stack of two slices at and make the final cut through the two slices at a time:

In the photo, four stacks of 2 slices each are laid on the cutting board.  "1" is the stack before cutting, "2" is the stack as it is being cut, and "3" is the stack after being cut.  TMI?  It took less time to do the cutting than it did to write this!  But the result is a pretty even bunch of French Fries.  Put them in another pot, in which you've dolloped some coconut oil (or whatever fat or oil you choose).

Now let's deal with the bulb: lay it on the cut side.  It's nice and flat, so it won't roll around while you cut it, reducing the risk of injury.  First, cut it in half.  

Then, lay each half on the largest cut side, in line with the principle of reducing the risk of injury, and cut the flower end off, taking off about 1/2 inch. Add the peel to the others in the pot.

Then, cut each half of the bulb into wedges, lay each wedge on its side, and cut it in three.  Put the middle piece in the pot with the fries, and the other 2 pieces in the pot with the peels.

Put the fries pot on a little heat, just enough to melt the coconut oil, and toss to coat them, then spread them out on a baking sheet.

Here's a photo of the pot - holding quite a lot of "peels" and the fries, on the baking sheet.  In reality, I had to bake them in batches, because they need to be far apart from each other, or they won't get crisp.

Bake them in a hot oven (400 F) until golden-brown.  Watch carefully, they burn quickly!  

We didn't find a need to add salt, they were so delicious!

 

For the Velouté: add 4 cups chicken broth, cook until very tender, process in a blender until very smooth.  Add a sprinkle of nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with a dollop of yogurt.

The fries disappeared before I could get a photo!

"Cornbread" Mix

Oooo.  Everyone LOVED this mock cornbread last night, and it was super-easy.  I adapted it from a grain-free but not SCD/GAPS legal recipe, and added the hemp for that grainy cornmeal texture.  If hemp is too expensive substitute 1/2 cup flaxseed meal + 1/2 cup ground nuts of your choice. 

So this morning, another batch is baking as I write, and since I am quite certain I'll be making more soon, I've combined the dry ingredients for 4 batches, iow made my own cornbread mix.  Here's the recipe:

"Cornbread" Mix:

2 cups almond flour
1 cup hemp hearts (or substitute part flaxseed meal, part ground nuts for less $$$)

1 cup coconut flour

4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground turmeric

up to 1/2 tsp salt

·        Scoop/spoon ingredients into a large ziplock bag. 

·        Mix thoroughly with a wire whisk or by shaking bag.

·        Store in refrigerator. Makes 4 batches.

"Cornbread"

1/4 cup dripped 24-hour yogurt

2 Tbs ghee, melted butter or melted coconut oil

2 eggs

1 cup "Cornbread" Mix

up to 1 Tbs honey, as desired

1 cup coconut milk

grease for the pan (butter, coconut oil, bacon fat)

·        Preheat oven to 350F. 

·        Grease an 8-inch square Pyrex pan (or melt the butter in it by placing in the oven 2 minutes).

·        Measure first five ingredients (in bold) into a medium bowl

·        Mix with a fork until well mixed.  

·        Add the coconut milk 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well with the fork and occasionally a spatula. 

·        Pour into the greased pan. 

·        Bake 40 minutes. The top will turn quite brown but it is mushy if undercooked.

Coconut milk sugar composition

Ever wonder what sugars are in coconut milk?  I know it doesn't have very much, or I wouldn't have to add dates to make yogurt.  But the exact composition was a mystery to me, and I've spent several hours looking for it, never finding it... UNTIL TODAY.  I found this Australian Food Standards website.

The website gives the composition of coconut cream, defined as the liquid extract of mature coconut meat, presumably not using water.  So it's more concentrated than coconut milk, but if you pro-rate it it works out to, per 100 grams coconut milk:
Fructose, 0.1 g
Glucose, 0.3 g
Sucrose, 1.6 g
Total: 2 g, which is the amount listed on the box of Aroy-D coconut milk on my shelf.

So there it is: coconut milk contains sucrose, theoretically not allowed on GAPS. But it's a very small amount compared to most fruits, including bananas (6.5g of sucrose!). There's a great table showing the breakdown of sugars for a long list of fruits here.

Dried dates have about 60g sugar per 100g, which is usually pretty evenly divided between fructose and glucose, and that's what make them a good sweetener for GAPSters.

One-bowl recipe for Crumpets and Biscuits

These crumpets are delightful for breakfast or anytime with a cup of tea, are made in under 45 minutes, and use only one bowl.  I use a Pyrex 1-quart measuring cup, so I can melt the butter directly in the mixing bowl while preheating the oven.  Less mess, less cleanup!  If you don't have the Pyrex 1-qt measuring cup, use an oven-proof bowl -- glass, ceramic, or metal. 

For plain biscuits just omit the last three ingredients - those are the staple bread substitute at our house.  I often do both, adding half the indicated honey, cinnamon and currants after first dropping 8 plain biscuits on the cookie sheet.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick) or 1/3 cup ghee
2 eggs
1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
2 1/2 cups very fine almond flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 cup currants

Directions:

1. Put the butter in a medium-size ovenproof mixing bowl and put the bowl in the oven.  Turn the oven  to 325 F to preheat. 
2. If the eggs are cold, set them in a mug of warm water to bring them to room temperature.

3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
4. When the butter is melted or almost melted (one to four minutes depending on how cold it was), remove from oven.  Do not overheat. If you're using ghee melting will take much less time.

5  Add lemon juice/vinegar (I usually use ACV) and eggs.  Mix well.

6. Add 1 cup of almond flour and mix very well.
7. Measure the remaining 1 1/2 cups almond flour into the bowl, then sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the flour.  Mix very well.
8.  Add the honey, cinnamon and currants, mix well, or not so well, as desired.  You might like it with streaks of honey/cinnamon!
9.  Use 2 soup spoons to drop onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.  Make about 18 blobs. Shape is not important.
10.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

They should still be somewhat moist when you take them out.  They will firm up as they cool.  Keep in a basket or bowl at room temperature.  Unlike grain-based breads, these don't dry out.  Though to tell the truth, they never stay long enough to tell!

Day 7 of week's challenge

Day 7 – Monday

0630 – Quickly bake ONE-BOWL BISCUITS for breakfast: 

2 eggs

1/3 cup ghee

3 cups almond flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup currants (optional)

2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1. Warm eggs by placing them in a bowl of very warm water to cover.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix eggs and ghee in medium mixing bowl.
3. Add 2 cups almond flour, salt and baking soda.  Mix well.
4. Add remaining cup of almond flour and optional ingredients.  Mix well
5. Form into biscuits with 2 spoons or by rolling in your hands.  Makes 16 to 18 biscuits.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

0900 Transfer pork ribs from freezer to fridge for tomorrow.    Remove beef shank meat and bone marrow from crockpot.  Cut meat into bite-sized pieces and marrow into tiny pieces.  Put the shank fat back into crockpot, the meat and marrow in a container to refrigerate.

1600 Turn oven to 350 F.  Stab Kabocha squash a couple of times, put in pyrex casserole dish in oven. 

1700  Remove squash from oven to cool.  Chop 2 onions and sauté in duck fat.  Add meat, ½ cup tomato sauce., dried cranberries, pinch of caraway seeds.  Stir well.

1730.  Cut a lid in the top of the Kabocha squash, remove seeds.  Put meat sauce inside squash.  Top with sliced cheese, put in oven. 

1745  Wash lettuce, spin and break into salad bowl.  Cut 1 tomato into bite-sized pieces, open an avocado and spoon out bite-sized pieces.  Add to salad bowl.  Pour in 2 Tbs pickled veggies juice and 2 Tbs olive oil, toss.

2000 Turn off crockpot to cool.

2200 Strain broth and put in mason jars.  Reserve bones for the next broth-making.

Days 5 and 6 of week's challenge

Not much to report. Saturdays are usually busy cooking days - making sauerkraut, pickles, kombucha, bread and biscuits - but I've just been coasting, living on food that was prepared before or "instant" food like avocados, coconuts, bananas.  Sundays are usually my coasting days unless I have time to make pancakes for breakfast, but I now wake up 2 hours later than I used to (to make up for the 2 or 3 times I get up to make the baby a bottle and feed and burp her), so this one was no exception.  Also I've caught a cold and the runny nose and stuffy head have sapped my energy.  I thought my immune system was operating on High!  Maybe not getting a good night's sleep since the baby came home has something to do with it.  Maybe it's simply that the baby is now my #1 priority and food has taken 2nd place.

Sunday evening, put beef shank into crockpot with a few marrow bones, water to cover, 1 Tbs salt, cook on Low overnight.  

Day 4 of week challenge

For one week, I'm writing down everything I do to prepare food.  Not the buying, not the eating, just the cooking.  It's been mostly about making dinner, since breakfast is usually each person on his/her own, and lunch is usually leftovers from previous dinner. 

Friday.

0900  Put chicken in crockpot on Low, sprinkle generously with sea salt.  Cover.

1100 Add ground turmeric, paprika and a little hot cayenne to the chicken - gives it a nice color and great flavor.

1215 Pretty late to start cooking lunch, but was busy with baby.  Wipe mushrooms with a paper towel, slice, sauté in ghee.  Meanwhile, wash and chop broccoli. Cut "bark" off broccoli stems and chop too.
1235 Remove mushrooms from skillet, add the broccoli and more ghee.  Toss frquently.
1300 Put mushrooms back in with broccoli, add salt and a crushed garlic clove. Serve with leftover spaghetti squash and meat sauce for lunch.But first a generous helping of picled carrots, green beans, broccoli, onions and garlic,with a drizzle of EVOO. 
1430  Chicken is cooked, but not too cooked.  Put skin on baking sheet for "chicken chips."  Remove all the meat from the chicken in the crockpot,  Return all the bones and cartilage to the crockpot, add 2 qts water, turn on High. Store the meat for later use, put skins in fridge.
1510 Done with sorting chicken,
1700 Turn crockpot to Warm,  Take open box of Aroy-D coconut milk from fridge, notice half of it is lovely clump of mostly oil, guess you couild call it coconut cream, and the rest is liquid.  Pour the liquid into a glass bottle, label it Lite coconut milk with yesterday's date (when the box was opened).  Spoon the "cream" into Vitamix blender (about 3/4 cup), add remainder of frozen mangoes DH left in fridge to thaw several days ago, must use soon, about 1 cup. Add 2 tsp Martinique rum. Process on High.  Pour into pudding cups, cover, refrigerate (found great glass pudding cups WITH LIDS (plastic) at a dollar store).
1720 Decide to make salmon for dinner.  Preheat oven to 375 F.  Defrost 4 salmon fillets in microwave, one at a time, about 2 mins each.  Meanwhile, clean up and dig into fridge to look for a side veggie to cook.  Find fennel bulb. Put salmon fillets in small square Pyrex, smear with coconut oil, sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning.
1735 Place salmon in oven.  Slice the fennel bulb.  Place slices on baking sheet.  No oil,, no seasonings.
1740 Put fennel in oven.  Peel one carrot, then keep peeling to make slivers for the tossed salad.
1745 Put baking sheet with chicken skins in oven (was in fridge).
1750 Remove salmon from oven. Continuing with carrot, switch to slices.  Put carrot slices and slivers in salad bowl. add previously fermented (pickled) carrot slices and 1 Tbs of the juice.  Add freshly crushed garlic clove and 2 Tbs EVOO.  Top with lettuce and sprouts.
1805 Fennel has brown tips. Remove from oven.  Wash cilantro, about 1/2 bunch.  Dry in salad spinner.
1810 Process cilantro in small but fast food processor until chopped fine.  Add about 1/2 cup previously fermented whipping cream yogurt and salt to taste, process until it's a lovely green sauce for the salmon (should also have put in capers, whole, or even pureed into the sauce).  Transfer to puddung cup to serve with salmon.
1820 Puree fennel in same processor without washing.
1830 Serve!
Crockpot still has simmering chicken broth, which I'll leave all night.

Day 3 of week's challenge

Thursday

Forgot to write that yesterday, I took out a package of ground beef (extra lean, yuck) to thaw.

1300 – Have to go out but need to take a headstart on dinner: pop a whole spaghetti squash in the crockpot, set on Medium.

1630 – Get home.  Spaghetti squash is just right!  Pure luck.  Chop finely one large onion and 5 garlic cloves.  Take beef fat reserved from a too-fatty beef marrow bone broth, melt in frying pan, add onions, sauté until tender, add garlic and sauté 1 minute.  Remove onion and garlic from pan, add 2 Tbs coconut oil (I’m out of beef fat) and brown the ground beef, breaking into bite-size pieces with a spatula.  Meanwhile, finely chop the beef marrow (reserved from above-mentioned broth, DH does not like in soup).  Add to the browned ground.  Add 1 cup tomato sauce (bought in glass bottles) and 1 tsp dried oregano.  Cover and simmer.  Meanwhile, drop 2 roma tomatoes in boiling water in small saucepan for 30 secs.  Peel, chop into big chunks, add to ground beef, simmer 5 more minutes until tomatoes are just tender.

1730.  Slice some of the bread made yesterday and toast twice in toaster-oven, until somewhat dry on the surface.  Let cool, then rub with a peeled garlic clove and spread with ghee – garlic bread!

1745  Open spaghetti squash by cutting a door in the side.  I serve it just like that, using a pasta spoon.  Because, I’m out of time!  Quickly put together a green salad with previously washed lettuce. 

Not a big cooking day, just got by on leftovers most of the day.  There just isn't that much time with the baby here (3 weeks old yesterday) and I'm glad I have lots of sauerkraut and pickled vegetables on hand, and have perfected making yogurt and kombucha before the baby was born!

Day 2 of Week Challenge

I’m going to attempt to write down everything I do to prepare food for one week.  Not what I eat, which includes munching on previously made foods and drinks.  Just the cooking.

Wednesday

1030 Look for a better ghee recipe. This one looks good.  Lots of pics and explanations.

1045 Start making ghee by putting 1 lb butter (regular unsalted, can’t afford organic) in my small 1 qt crockpot, turn on High, leave uncovered.  The recipe says to use a heavy saucepan but to watch carefully.  With an infant to take care of, watching is unpredictable so I’m giving the crockpot a try. 

1145 Mix leftover chicken livers cooked with onions and sweet peppers with some of the broth made yesterday and some of the beans cooked yesterday, for lunch.  Press and mix in a garlic clove just before serving.

1100 – 1500 Check ghee every half hour without disturbing.  Looks just like the pictures on the blog.  Great!

1500 Cut up 2 turnips, 2 carrots and half a butternut squash into tiny dice for tonight’s soup. 

1530 Ghee looks great but no brown stuff at the bottom yet. 

1600  Yes!  Brown stuff at bottom of pot, crackely foam at the top, and golden liquid in between.  Remove crock from heating element and set in a pan of cold water to cool down.  Smells wonderful!  Like butterscotch.  Next instruction is to strain it in a permanent coffee filter.  I’ll wait for it to cool down completely first.  Turn off soup.

1700 It’s a bit late to do so, but start making Lois Lang’s Luscious Loaf bread – from Breaking the vicious cycle with my additional instructions.  I make this so often (but am so forgetful) that I’ve photocopied the page and taped it to the inside of a cabinet door.  The additional instructions are, 1. Line the loaf pan with parchment paper.  2.  Put 3 eggs in a bowl of warm water to bring to room temperature so the melted butter (I’ll use ghee) doesn’t harden.  3.  Preheat oven to 350 F, etc as directed, skip the instructions to butter and flour the pan, and change “shape the loaf with wet hands” to “drop the batter onto a wet flexible cutting board, curve the board into a cylinder and roll the dough around until it has the right length for your pan, roll into the pan.”  Remainder of instructions unchanged.  Except, no need to run a knife or spatula around the edge, I just lift the loaf right out of the pan, and the paper doesn’t stick to it at all. 

1730  While the bread bakes (for 1 hour), take chicken meat cooked yesterday out of fridge.  In a small saucepan, mix about ½ cup of the chicken broth and legal “mole sauce” previously made.  Pour over chicken meat, mix, and put in oven next to bread. 

1745 Make a salad, same as Tuesday’s, except with avocado chunks and tomatoes.

1755 Check soup for seasonings, turn heat back on to warm up just enough to serve.  Pour into bowls and add 1 raw egg yolk to each bowl, mix well.  Save egg whites for next batch of crepes.  Reheat leftover vegetables as side dishes.  Should have made guacamole, terrific side for chicken with mole sauce. 

2100 Hm. Ghee has hardened.  Place crock into pan of hot water.

2130  Strain ghee through permanent coffee filter placed in 2-cup pyrex measuring cup.  Pour most of the ghee into a glass jar, because the measuring cup is too full.  Scrape everything out of the crock into the coffee filter.  looks and smells GREAT!  Thanks, Radhika!

Week's worth challenge

For one week, I’m going to attempt to write down everything I do to prepare food.

Tuesday

0800 – Open crockpot to concentrate the beef marrow bone broth that has been simmering for about 20 hours – 3^rd use of the bones, kept them in freezer in between.

0900 – Google scd coconut crepe recipe using the egg whites left over after adding yolks to DH’s broth.

0930 – Put navy beans to cook in small crockpot (1 ½ cups, soaked 24 hours) with nothing but water to cover.

0930 – DD & I start making crepes.  Alter the recipe because of missing ingredients, plus I want to make 4 times the recipe, since I have 4 egg whites.  Make more changes after tasting the first crepe - too mealy.  What’s “1 Heaping TBS of coconut flour” times 4, anyway?  Blame the original recipe.  Add more water (¼ cup), more coconut milk (¼ cup) and 2 tsp rum, for taste (the alcohol evaporates in cooking, but the rum gives the crepes a yummy yeasty taste).

1000 – ladle beef broth into mason jar.  Leave about ½ inch broth in crockpot because wearing baby (DGD), can’t pick up the crock.  Put whole chicken in crockpot, cover with salt and sprinkle with rosemary.  Change heat to High.

1025 – eat a crepe prepared by DD wrapped around shredded swiss cheese and salad sprouts.  Yum!  The elasticity of the cheese blends well with the mealiness of the crepe.  Leave the rest of the batter for dinner, surely DH will be impressed?  They don’t have the chewiness of real crepes, but have a nice flavor and a beautiful golden color.

1030 – start writing this post.

1040 – Clean up.  Notice beans are still cold, plug in crockpot…

1050 – Non-Food Related Activity (NFRA)

1145 – Think of dinner menu:

• Chicken-carrot broth (w/ egg yolks stirred in j.b.serving)
• Crepe chicken wraps with greens in yogurted whipping cream – or should I use the crepes for dessert?  Crepes with mango and whipping cream yogurt?
• Carrot sticks (DGS’s fave shape) cooked in chicken broth.
• Tossed salad with skj vinaigrette (regular vinaigrette using half skj, half ACV)

Go pick up crying baby.  Decide to go with the chicken-filled crepes and a lighter dessert. The crepes will replace the squash replacing starch for once.

• Coconut yogurt mango smoothie, nearly frozen in individual pudding cups. With a dollop of whipping cream yogurt with vanilla & eensy bit of honey.  No bananas in the smoothie since they made DH sick last week.  Sprinkling of nutmeg. 

1200 Sprinkle paprika and turmeric over chicken.  Peel and cut carrots.

1205 NFRA

1315 Resume cutting carrots.

1325 Open coconut.  Spoiled coconut!  grrr…

1330 NFRA

1500 Transfer chicken breasts, legs & thighs, and wings from crockpot to pyrex dish.  Pull out bones and return them to crockpot. Cover chicken meat.  Add carrots and 2 qts water to crockpot. Cover.

1508 NFRA

1630  Make coconut yogurt-mango smoothie.  (1 cup cy, 1 cup thawed frozen mango chunks, blend in Vitamix).  Pour into cups, freeze.  Clean blender jar.

1645.  Make crepes with remaining batter.  Batter is still too thick, add more water.  Meanwhile, wash greens, cut off stems.  Slice stems.  Cut leafy parts into large pieces, sauté in duck fat in a large skillet, cover.  Toss occasionally.  Turn off heat after completely wilted.

1720 Take carrot sticks out of crockpot with slotted spoon and place in serving dish.  Cover.  Add sliced stems to crockpot.

1730 Chop some of the chicken meat and add to the greens.  Check that mixture is not too hot, add whipping cream yogurt, stir, spoon onto crepes, roll crepes, stack them in serving plate.  Cover with an inverted bowl to keep warm.

1745 Squeeze half lemon into salad bowl.  Sprinkle with salt.  Crush in 1 clove garlic.  Add 2 tsp skj + 1 Tbs evoo.   Mix.  Add lettuce and sprouts. Toss.

1800 Serve! 

1930 Cleanup.  In the madness that characterizes dinnertime in a household with three DGC aged 19 mos, 15 mos, and 2 weeks, the soup didn’t get served.   A headstart on tomorrow!

2000 NFRA

2100  Strain the broth, pour into mason jars.  Put the strained stuff in a container. Transfer cooked beans to jars and refrigerate everything.

So here’s the final crepe recipe.  And Yes! DH was QUITE impressed, wants crepes to be regular item.

Coconut flour crepes

4 eggs

4 egg whites

½ cup coconut flour

1 cup water

¾ cup coconut milk

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp rum (for flavor – optional)

fat for the pan (coconut oil or ghee)

small frying pan (bottom is about 6” diameter)

In a bowl, combine all ingredients except the fat for the pan.  Mix until smooth. 

Let it sit while preheating frying pan to low/med low.  Add 1/2 tsp ghee or coconut oil, swirl the pan around to coat entire bottom.  Pour about 1/8 cup (2 TBS) of batter to the pan, swirl the pan to coat the bottom but not all the way to the edge (for easier turning).  When the edge of the crepe is golden, turn and cook the other side briefly. The exact time depends on the heat, but these cook pretty fast.

Use with sweet or savoury fillings.