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Featured in the 2013 Christmas Edition of the
NRHEG Star Eagle:
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Saturday, January 18, 2014
NRHEG Star Eagle: A Christmas Story of Love and Hope
We've been featured again! I graduated from NRHEG, so this is the "hometown" paper, the NRHEG Star Eagle. :) They did a fantastic job with this article - while I was immensely pleased to be featured in our local town paper & magazine, they did get a lot of the details incorrect so this has been a chance to get it out there, with the "right" story!
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Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Nightshade free pepperoni!
Yes, that's right. I searched online for a nightshade free pepperoni recipe and came up with nothing truly nightshade free. I did, however, find several recipes for vegan "pepperoni" made with beets (and nightshades). So today's experiment: Nightshade FREE pepperoni!!
I modified the existing recipes to not only be nightshade free, but to my own taste:
1/2 a large beet, quartered and sliced thin
Sauce:
1/2 c. water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
grind together, either in a coffee grinder, or a mortar & pestle:
1/2 tsp dehydrated onion flakes
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp sage leaves (dried)
Layer beets in a baking dish. Stir sauce ingredients together, and pour over beets, stir to coat. Spread the beet slices out, but no need to be single layer. Bake at 325F for 20 min, and flip the beets. Bake an additional 10 - 15 minutes, then stir, and repeat until beet slices are soft and edges begin to curl, with most of the liquid absorbed.
I had my doubts that this would taste like pepperoni, but I was wrong! Okay, it's not exactly like pepperoni, but it is pretty close! And delicious!!
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1/23/14 Editing to add: I tried them on a nightshade free paleo pizza. They were very tasty on pizza,but the pepperoni flavor wasn't strong enough; it was more like eating a veggie pizza. Next up I tried marinating hamburger in the recipe above - but while that amount of fennel is perfect for beets, it overpowers the meat. Good thing I like fennel! 3rd attempt was the same recipe, only doubling all the spices/herbs except the fennel, which was cut to about 1/8 tsp, and using venison burger. THAT was excellent!! Not perfectly pepperoni-like, but close!
1/2 a large beet, quartered and sliced thin
Sauce:
1/2 c. water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
grind together, either in a coffee grinder, or a mortar & pestle:
1/2 tsp dehydrated onion flakes
1/2 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp sage leaves (dried)
Layer beets in a baking dish. Stir sauce ingredients together, and pour over beets, stir to coat. Spread the beet slices out, but no need to be single layer. Bake at 325F for 20 min, and flip the beets. Bake an additional 10 - 15 minutes, then stir, and repeat until beet slices are soft and edges begin to curl, with most of the liquid absorbed.
I had my doubts that this would taste like pepperoni, but I was wrong! Okay, it's not exactly like pepperoni, but it is pretty close! And delicious!!
________________________________________________
1/23/14 Editing to add: I tried them on a nightshade free paleo pizza. They were very tasty on pizza,but the pepperoni flavor wasn't strong enough; it was more like eating a veggie pizza. Next up I tried marinating hamburger in the recipe above - but while that amount of fennel is perfect for beets, it overpowers the meat. Good thing I like fennel! 3rd attempt was the same recipe, only doubling all the spices/herbs except the fennel, which was cut to about 1/8 tsp, and using venison burger. THAT was excellent!! Not perfectly pepperoni-like, but close!
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Thursday, January 2, 2014
Paleo Chocolate Covered Cherries
Original version: 60 maraschino cherries, 3 Tbsp of butter, 3 Tbsp of light corn syrup, 2c of powdered sugar, and 1 lb dipping chocolate.
My version: a package of frozen dark sweet cherries (approx. 30 cherries), and what I'm guessing amounted to 1/4 c (unrefined) coconut oil, 1/4 c maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 c arrowroot powder, 1/4 tsp xanthan gum, and a 10 oz package of Enjoy Life Chocolate Mega Chunks. I'm pretty good at eyeballing measurements. :)
I melted the coconut oil with the maple syrup and vanilla extract, then added a little arrowroot powder not only to thicken, but to give that slightly powdery texture that powdered sugar would give. It blended up nicely and I thought about putting it in the fridge to cool so it would be easier to apply to the cherries . . . but I am impatient. So I added xanthan gum. Now, I did not mean to use that much xanthan gum - the bag spilled. It gelled the mixture a little more (okay, a lot more) than I wanted! I will note that some of the coconut oil, I estimate about 1 Tbsp, refused to mix in no matter how much I stirred. Actually it wasn't a bad thing that the mixture gelled that much - it was fairly easy to apply it to the cherries, which were still frozen. With the coldness of the cherries, the coconut oil hardened back up quickly and the mixture stayed on the cherries nicely. Then I melted the chocolate and dipped the coated cherries, and placed them in mini-muffin paper cups. The chocolate began to cool and the frozen cherries began to melt, so while the first half of the finished batch looked great, the second half was not particularly appetizing-looking!
If I had been thinking, I would have used either a double boiler or a heating pad to keep the chocolate all melty, and kept the coated cherries in the freezer or at least on cold packs to keep them frozen for easy dipping. But at least they tasted great! They were even better the second day.
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Wednesday, December 11, 2013
You ever throw together a dish and wonder what you're thinking??
That would be my lunch today. I really didn't have a plan in mind, just started throwing things together, adding as I went. The end result . . . well, it wasn't the most appetizing looking . . . probably should have sliced rather than shredded the zucchini for a main dish, or better yet, pureed the zucchini for soup instead . . . but it turned out amazingly good!!
This started out with me wanting to use up a partial zucchini and a box of smoked baby clams. What to do with that?? First I added coconut oil for frying. Then freshly grated ginger root. And because I wanted sweetness with the ginger, I added honey. And because I like lemon with ginger and honey, I added lemon juice. Then garlic, just because I like garlic, and it goes well with lemon and ginger. Then I thought it should have a creamy sauce, so I added part of an avocado. Then at the last second I tossed in a chunk of French type goat cheese for an even creamier sauce. Black pepper sprinkled on the top of that . . . I put a little on my plate, wondering if this would taste good, or just plain weird . . . hahaha, it was SO good I went back and ate the rest!! (And I'm not ashamed to admit I licked my plate!!)
This started out with me wanting to use up a partial zucchini and a box of smoked baby clams. What to do with that?? First I added coconut oil for frying. Then freshly grated ginger root. And because I wanted sweetness with the ginger, I added honey. And because I like lemon with ginger and honey, I added lemon juice. Then garlic, just because I like garlic, and it goes well with lemon and ginger. Then I thought it should have a creamy sauce, so I added part of an avocado. Then at the last second I tossed in a chunk of French type goat cheese for an even creamier sauce. Black pepper sprinkled on the top of that . . . I put a little on my plate, wondering if this would taste good, or just plain weird . . . hahaha, it was SO good I went back and ate the rest!! (And I'm not ashamed to admit I licked my plate!!)
Now that I think about it a little, I think next time I would puree the zucchini and make soup. Maybe a wee bit of shredded zucchini swirled with melted goat cheese on top to pretty it up. :)
EDITED TO ADD, Round #2:
Pureed the zucchini this time. I don't know why, but this garden zucchini had turned yellow instead of staying green. So the darker flecks should be green, but are yellow instead. Or, you could peel the zucchini, but I don't bother to do that. Topped with bacon, green onion, and pepper. So delicious!!! :)
EDITED TO ADD, Round #2:
Pureed the zucchini this time. I don't know why, but this garden zucchini had turned yellow instead of staying green. So the darker flecks should be green, but are yellow instead. Or, you could peel the zucchini, but I don't bother to do that. Topped with bacon, green onion, and pepper. So delicious!!! :)
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Monday, November 25, 2013
Mmmmmmm . . . Venison!!
I just had a plateful of fresh deer kidneys, oh yum!! Braised them, then steamed them over low heat to finish. I used one of my favorite sauces, a cherry wine/rosemary/garlic/meat juices glaze. Added a little spicy brown mustard in there too.
This past weekend was our annual deer hunting weekend with friends. I have to say I really, really love our friends!! They helped us fill our tags, so we brought home 4 deer for our use, and 1 for a relative. But because there are lots of tasty deer bits that most people don't use, we also brought home 13 hearts, 7 kidneys, 3 lungs, and 1 liver. We somehow didn't come home with any spleens, but the season's not over yet so I'm still hoping!
We LOVE deer heart and kidneys! The lungs were an experiment for our dog, Lola. We raw feed her, and already know she doesn't tolerate much fresh liver but she does fine on dehydrated liver and dehydrated lungs (via the local pet food store) so we wanted to see how she'd do with fresh lungs. Fine, so far!
After we dropped our deer off for processing, I called back to see if they'd also save the tongues for us (yes - yay!!). Now, tongue is one of my most favorite cuts of meat - so rich and tender! Deer tongues are fairly small - not sure if they're really big enough for a meal - but even if they're really small they'll make a nice treat for Lola.
It's funny, even the employees at the butcher shop looked at me funny when I said we save all that stuff - most people don't. Somewhere along the years, most people decided that organs were "icky" and not worth eating when in fact they are much more nutritious than the muscle cuts! And did I mention delicious??
Cavemom's Cooking volume 2 will have lots of tasty venison recipes! :)
This past weekend was our annual deer hunting weekend with friends. I have to say I really, really love our friends!! They helped us fill our tags, so we brought home 4 deer for our use, and 1 for a relative. But because there are lots of tasty deer bits that most people don't use, we also brought home 13 hearts, 7 kidneys, 3 lungs, and 1 liver. We somehow didn't come home with any spleens, but the season's not over yet so I'm still hoping!
We LOVE deer heart and kidneys! The lungs were an experiment for our dog, Lola. We raw feed her, and already know she doesn't tolerate much fresh liver but she does fine on dehydrated liver and dehydrated lungs (via the local pet food store) so we wanted to see how she'd do with fresh lungs. Fine, so far!
After we dropped our deer off for processing, I called back to see if they'd also save the tongues for us (yes - yay!!). Now, tongue is one of my most favorite cuts of meat - so rich and tender! Deer tongues are fairly small - not sure if they're really big enough for a meal - but even if they're really small they'll make a nice treat for Lola.
It's funny, even the employees at the butcher shop looked at me funny when I said we save all that stuff - most people don't. Somewhere along the years, most people decided that organs were "icky" and not worth eating when in fact they are much more nutritious than the muscle cuts! And did I mention delicious??
Cavemom's Cooking volume 2 will have lots of tasty venison recipes! :)
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Saturday, November 9, 2013
Another wild edible find! Puffball mushrooms!
Yesterday my husband told me he found these giant ball things in the woods; initially he thought they were rocks but was surprised to find out they were light and squishable. When he described them to me, I said, "oooooooh puffballs!!! If you see them tomorrow, pick 'em up!!"
So here today, we now have two large puffball mushrooms:
So what to do with puffballs? First, you need to determine if they are edible. If they are squishy or smell bad, pass them by; they are too old and will be inedible. If they are firm, cut them in half. The inside will look like foam or a marshmallow - you want to see white. Also, when cutting them in half, look carefully to see if there's what looks like to be another mushroom inside of it - definitely toss that one out!! That one is poisonous. Now, if the inside flesh is yellow or green or brown, toss it out, it's too old. The inside flesh should be firm, like foam, too, and should bounce back after being touched. If it leaves an impression, like memory foam, it's too old, toss it out.
The puffball on the right, the bigger, more brown one, was too old. It was squishy and green/brown in the center. It got dispersed into the yard in hopes some may grow next year. The smaller puffball on the left was just about perfect! The outer edges were beginning to turn yellow in spots (under the visible indents in the picture) and were at the point you can still cut that off and have a perfectly good mushroom. Peel the outer layer off and then slice as you please.
So what do they taste like? Some say they are mild with almost no flavor, and some say they are very earthy, and some say they have a unique flavor that is hard to describe. Being as this is the only puffball I've ever eaten, I can only tell you what *this* one tastes like. In my opinion, it's more of a truffle flavor, less like a mushroom flavor. Earthy with a hint of an anise-like aftertaste. Most of the recipes I saw online called sautéing them in butter with salt, pepper, and garlic. I sliced up the puffball and tried a few slices fried up this way. I can honestly say I didn't care for that combination. The anise-like aftertaste just didn't blend well with garlic and butter. The fried mushroom consistency was like that of French toast though, so that was my next attempt.
I used an egg, a spoonful of coconut milk, some cinnamon, washed raw sugar, and a wee bit of salt. Dipped the slices in that and cooked them on a griddle, then topped them with maple syrup - just like French toast. Now, THAT was pretty tasty! I still got that earthy taste, but it didn't clash with the rest of the ingredients. In fact, I'm not sure most people would even know it was a slice of mushroom, and not toast!
I had just finished eating the "Puffball French Toast" when giving my son his lunch. In his lunch, he had some of a leftover apple/mushroom side dish that had been oven roasted with lamb steaks (recipe in Cavemom's Cooking). Of course, I ended up eating a little of his lunch, too, and found that those flavors blended well, so I'm looking forward to the next time I make that lamb recipe; I'll try adding the puffball slices to that.
I read that puffballs don't keep well in the fridge, so my choices were either eat it all, dehydrate it, or freeze it. Puffballs are HUGE, so there was no way I was going to eat it all! For freezing, most said to cook it first. I'd read the same thing about Morels, but froze mine raw and was very happy with how they thawed, so I froze the leftover puffball slices the same way I froze the Morels - single layer on a cookie rack over a cookie sheet until frozen, then remove and place in an airtight bag.
So here today, we now have two large puffball mushrooms:
So what to do with puffballs? First, you need to determine if they are edible. If they are squishy or smell bad, pass them by; they are too old and will be inedible. If they are firm, cut them in half. The inside will look like foam or a marshmallow - you want to see white. Also, when cutting them in half, look carefully to see if there's what looks like to be another mushroom inside of it - definitely toss that one out!! That one is poisonous. Now, if the inside flesh is yellow or green or brown, toss it out, it's too old. The inside flesh should be firm, like foam, too, and should bounce back after being touched. If it leaves an impression, like memory foam, it's too old, toss it out.
The puffball on the right, the bigger, more brown one, was too old. It was squishy and green/brown in the center. It got dispersed into the yard in hopes some may grow next year. The smaller puffball on the left was just about perfect! The outer edges were beginning to turn yellow in spots (under the visible indents in the picture) and were at the point you can still cut that off and have a perfectly good mushroom. Peel the outer layer off and then slice as you please.
So what do they taste like? Some say they are mild with almost no flavor, and some say they are very earthy, and some say they have a unique flavor that is hard to describe. Being as this is the only puffball I've ever eaten, I can only tell you what *this* one tastes like. In my opinion, it's more of a truffle flavor, less like a mushroom flavor. Earthy with a hint of an anise-like aftertaste. Most of the recipes I saw online called sautéing them in butter with salt, pepper, and garlic. I sliced up the puffball and tried a few slices fried up this way. I can honestly say I didn't care for that combination. The anise-like aftertaste just didn't blend well with garlic and butter. The fried mushroom consistency was like that of French toast though, so that was my next attempt.
I had just finished eating the "Puffball French Toast" when giving my son his lunch. In his lunch, he had some of a leftover apple/mushroom side dish that had been oven roasted with lamb steaks (recipe in Cavemom's Cooking). Of course, I ended up eating a little of his lunch, too, and found that those flavors blended well, so I'm looking forward to the next time I make that lamb recipe; I'll try adding the puffball slices to that.
I read that puffballs don't keep well in the fridge, so my choices were either eat it all, dehydrate it, or freeze it. Puffballs are HUGE, so there was no way I was going to eat it all! For freezing, most said to cook it first. I'd read the same thing about Morels, but froze mine raw and was very happy with how they thawed, so I froze the leftover puffball slices the same way I froze the Morels - single layer on a cookie rack over a cookie sheet until frozen, then remove and place in an airtight bag.
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We've been featured!
Holiday 2013 Issue!
We are on page 40. :)
 |
| credit: Albert Lea Magazine |
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