Monday, August 27, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes - Flour and Diary Free
1/2 banana
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8-1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup ground flax seed
dash sea salt
(opt. thin with almond milk)
Whisk ingredients together.
Batter is thick. Spread thin to 1/4 thick rounds. Can make large pancakes because it holds together very well. If you spread slowly you can create different shapes - I made mine look like roses.
Cook on medium high in ghee (or butter) until puffed up with brown edges.
Serves 2 to 3 people.
Surprisingly, the banana was the dominant flavor and the peanut butter wasn't very noticeable. The consistency is exactly like regular pancakes, which makes them so satisfying.
My problem with most GAPS recipes is the consistency or texture is completely different or worse the flavor does not quite compare. Which such instances, cravings for the "real deal" aren't satisfied. So you are left longing for normal food even though you know it makes you feel bad afterwards!
Just because the appearance is similar or is given the same name DOES NOT MAKE IT THE SAME!
That is why much experimentation and effort must be taken to create healthy and completely satisfying substitutes. I will not accept a substitute recipe that does not match or exceed the original in deliciousness! :)
Good news! I am shopping a camera.
Take care and keep experimenting!
Drink more blessed water. How to: 1. get a glass of pure water 2. look at water 3. think a happy thought or give thanks, and presto! you have blessed water. Good for the body and the soul. Learn why it works here
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8-1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup ground flax seed
dash sea salt
(opt. thin with almond milk)
Whisk ingredients together.
Batter is thick. Spread thin to 1/4 thick rounds. Can make large pancakes because it holds together very well. If you spread slowly you can create different shapes - I made mine look like roses.
Cook on medium high in ghee (or butter) until puffed up with brown edges.
Serves 2 to 3 people.
Surprisingly, the banana was the dominant flavor and the peanut butter wasn't very noticeable. The consistency is exactly like regular pancakes, which makes them so satisfying.
My problem with most GAPS recipes is the consistency or texture is completely different or worse the flavor does not quite compare. Which such instances, cravings for the "real deal" aren't satisfied. So you are left longing for normal food even though you know it makes you feel bad afterwards!
Just because the appearance is similar or is given the same name DOES NOT MAKE IT THE SAME!
That is why much experimentation and effort must be taken to create healthy and completely satisfying substitutes. I will not accept a substitute recipe that does not match or exceed the original in deliciousness! :)
Good news! I am shopping a camera.
Take care and keep experimenting!
Drink more blessed water. How to: 1. get a glass of pure water 2. look at water 3. think a happy thought or give thanks, and presto! you have blessed water. Good for the body and the soul. Learn why it works here
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Garlic Beef Squash Soup
Couldn't think of a better title. Be my guest and suggest one.
It is fun to grow different varieties of heirloom squash - just don't do it on a drought year. Like I did. Farmer's market provided one, unfortunately he wasn't able to provide the name of the variety, only a delicious recipe and description. I was sold.
It was a small round winter squash and had a smooth flesh.
Halve, peel, deseed squash and place cut side down in a dish with 1/2 inch of water. Broil at 400 degrees until really soft. (Don't know how long because I forgot it in the oven and took it out after the house started to smell)
This may not be a complete recipe because my memory is foggy - I don't pay attention to amounts typically or ingredients for that matter.
3 cups homemade beef stock
1 medium sweet pepper
1 medium yellow onion
1 small red onion
1 tsp minced garlic
sea salt and veggie pepper
~3 cups cooked squash
opt splash of apple cider vinegar
Eat chunky or blend smooth. I like to make simple soups and only heat up a bowl amount at a time and add different herbs and flavoring to each bowl. That way I never get tired of a soup.
The weather has been cooler this week and rainy so soup has been nice. Otherwise fresh veggie assortment, bacon, seeds, on fresh salad greens with homemade dressing (aka all-out fancy amazing salad) is my favorite for hot summer days.
Tried remaking my maple pecan bread recipe, but misread my own recipe and use whole eggs instead of just yolks! Used less maple syrup this time and added cinnamon and 1/2 more baking soda. Unfortunately with the eggs mistake I had to add regular all-purpose flour to make it work (too low on almonds to make more flour). It puffed up and made a nice big dense loaf. Oh well, an edible mistake.
The hard thing with beef broth based soups is that beef broth is such a dominant flavor. You have to work with it, you diminish its strength by working with and conversely bring attention to it if you try to mask it. Chicken broth is much easier to work with and a lighter flavor - pairs nicely with nearly all vegetables. My favorite soups have the fewest ingredients and taste more complex and delightful than a soup with a lot of seasoning or flavors.
Take care and enjoy!
It is fun to grow different varieties of heirloom squash - just don't do it on a drought year. Like I did. Farmer's market provided one, unfortunately he wasn't able to provide the name of the variety, only a delicious recipe and description. I was sold.
It was a small round winter squash and had a smooth flesh.
Halve, peel, deseed squash and place cut side down in a dish with 1/2 inch of water. Broil at 400 degrees until really soft. (Don't know how long because I forgot it in the oven and took it out after the house started to smell)
This may not be a complete recipe because my memory is foggy - I don't pay attention to amounts typically or ingredients for that matter.
3 cups homemade beef stock
1 medium sweet pepper
1 medium yellow onion
1 small red onion
1 tsp minced garlic
sea salt and veggie pepper
~3 cups cooked squash
opt splash of apple cider vinegar
Eat chunky or blend smooth. I like to make simple soups and only heat up a bowl amount at a time and add different herbs and flavoring to each bowl. That way I never get tired of a soup.
The weather has been cooler this week and rainy so soup has been nice. Otherwise fresh veggie assortment, bacon, seeds, on fresh salad greens with homemade dressing (aka all-out fancy amazing salad) is my favorite for hot summer days.
Tried remaking my maple pecan bread recipe, but misread my own recipe and use whole eggs instead of just yolks! Used less maple syrup this time and added cinnamon and 1/2 more baking soda. Unfortunately with the eggs mistake I had to add regular all-purpose flour to make it work (too low on almonds to make more flour). It puffed up and made a nice big dense loaf. Oh well, an edible mistake.
The hard thing with beef broth based soups is that beef broth is such a dominant flavor. You have to work with it, you diminish its strength by working with and conversely bring attention to it if you try to mask it. Chicken broth is much easier to work with and a lighter flavor - pairs nicely with nearly all vegetables. My favorite soups have the fewest ingredients and taste more complex and delightful than a soup with a lot of seasoning or flavors.
Take care and enjoy!
Stacked Eggplant Tomato Bake
Once again without a camera. Oh well, procrastinating on buying one because the idea of forking out $300 isn't looking to favorable. ...Maybe go cheaper?
Last week I broke my diet. Ate pizza, sweet stuff, cereal! Satisfied my rebellious side and really, really became convinced that I feel better and prefer my grain/processed dairy-free diet. I, the prodigal eater, return to GAPS more steadfast and humble.
The problem arose because I would allow myself to get too hungry. Ravenously looking in the fridge and not having any healthy QUICK options I attacked old food choices. Having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich may not seem like a big crime, but its a gateway food.
I probably wasn't drinking enough water and my cravings took over. So now, I have to start over pretty much to regain the healing I had achieved. Warning to those starting a health diet - be very aware of the strength of cravings and the amount of rebellion and "i don't care I want normal food" that it can spark. It was a revealing experience.
Also healing is going to start from the inside. Focus on that instead of being frustrated by slow or non visible results with skin or whatever. Once I broke the diet I then realized how many small symptoms that had disappeared while on the GAPS diet that I hadn't even noticed were gone! My digestion and mental clarity had improved but because I was focused on wanting results with clearer skin I completely overlooked those major improvements.
Moral of the story: pay attention to all little health gains, have a meal plan and always have healthy food available to grab.
A lot of variety is good, because sometimes you just don't want another glass of broth. But mostly try to drink a lot of water and good homemade meat broth or fresh vegetable juice.
Alright! Today's recipe:
preheat oven to 400 degrees.
1 medium eggplant peeled, cut in half and 1/2" thick slices (precook to speed up bake time)
1-2 large heirloom brandywine tomatoes
1 banana pepper deseeded and sliced
opt 1 hot banana pepper deseeded and sliced
3-5 garlic cloves quartered
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt (liberal) and veggie pepper
In a 9"x9" glass dish drizzle olive oil, one layer sliced eggplant, half banana pepper, half of thick slices of tomato, half garlic cloves, sprinkle with salt and pepper, lightly drizzle with olive oil. Repeat to create second layer and to use up remaining ingredients.
Cover with foil and bake til eggplant is tender about 45 minutes. The tomatoes produce so much juice you could add chicken broth and create a soup or don't add anything and just blend (strain out seeds)
Enjoy!
Little animals are excessively entertaining. Kittens and baby chicks, contrary to assumptions based on size, are very durable.
Last week I broke my diet. Ate pizza, sweet stuff, cereal! Satisfied my rebellious side and really, really became convinced that I feel better and prefer my grain/processed dairy-free diet. I, the prodigal eater, return to GAPS more steadfast and humble.
The problem arose because I would allow myself to get too hungry. Ravenously looking in the fridge and not having any healthy QUICK options I attacked old food choices. Having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich may not seem like a big crime, but its a gateway food.
I probably wasn't drinking enough water and my cravings took over. So now, I have to start over pretty much to regain the healing I had achieved. Warning to those starting a health diet - be very aware of the strength of cravings and the amount of rebellion and "i don't care I want normal food" that it can spark. It was a revealing experience.
Also healing is going to start from the inside. Focus on that instead of being frustrated by slow or non visible results with skin or whatever. Once I broke the diet I then realized how many small symptoms that had disappeared while on the GAPS diet that I hadn't even noticed were gone! My digestion and mental clarity had improved but because I was focused on wanting results with clearer skin I completely overlooked those major improvements.
Moral of the story: pay attention to all little health gains, have a meal plan and always have healthy food available to grab.
A lot of variety is good, because sometimes you just don't want another glass of broth. But mostly try to drink a lot of water and good homemade meat broth or fresh vegetable juice.
Alright! Today's recipe:
preheat oven to 400 degrees.
1 medium eggplant peeled, cut in half and 1/2" thick slices (precook to speed up bake time)
1-2 large heirloom brandywine tomatoes
1 banana pepper deseeded and sliced
opt 1 hot banana pepper deseeded and sliced
3-5 garlic cloves quartered
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt (liberal) and veggie pepper
In a 9"x9" glass dish drizzle olive oil, one layer sliced eggplant, half banana pepper, half of thick slices of tomato, half garlic cloves, sprinkle with salt and pepper, lightly drizzle with olive oil. Repeat to create second layer and to use up remaining ingredients.
Cover with foil and bake til eggplant is tender about 45 minutes. The tomatoes produce so much juice you could add chicken broth and create a soup or don't add anything and just blend (strain out seeds)
Enjoy!
Little animals are excessively entertaining. Kittens and baby chicks, contrary to assumptions based on size, are very durable.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Failed Flourless Crepe Turned Mediocre Pancakes
Success is merely overcoming many, many failures.
Tried:
2 eggs
1 T almond milk
1 tsp olive oil
1/8 t agave
1/8 t vanilla
Consensus: it was boring and tasted too much like egg to be an adequate substitute for delicious, perfect crepes. In my picky opinion.
Using a recipe was a bad idea, so making up entirely from imagination should work, right? Unfortunately, this case was 'no' or 'nein' as the Germans would say. (Can't use Italian, because they are not any fancier and use 'no' too)
Started with 3 eggs, 1 cup rice dream, 3 T sour cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 3/4 cup rough coconut flour. Wouldn't stick together, but had a really nice light taste. Next time do the same but use finer flour, less almond milk, more vanilla and eggs. Maybe it could turn out, just maybe.
Added shy 1/2 c of ground almonds and 1 egg. Still no good. Then a touch more vanilla and sprinkle of nutmeg. In a way, worse. Slapped self in forehead and add 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (first time in months)! Holds together, but is now even more bland. Drizzle in a little agave. Helped, still can't eat more than one bite.
Not wanting to waste any more expensive almond or coconut or milk I decide it would be a good idea to try baking it. Dumped in 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, more vanilla, more agave and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Good idea: tried frying a bit of the batter before subjecting it to the oven. Puffed up just like a classic pancake with crispy edges, tender center and all.
Baked only a little bit in the oven, it was another bad idea. Unless you like the taste and texture of styrofoam. "Saved" the rest of the batter by transforming it into round puffy pancakes and soaked in a pond of delicious maple syrup.
Did I mention that I started making this at 10 P.M. after getting home from drawing class and didn't get done until 12:00 A.M. only to have the results of a slight stomach ache and hurricane-mess of a kitchen?
Wondering if I am actually only good at creating "food fillers" to compliment condiments I sometimes secretly contemplate eating straight from the bottle--maple syrup being the most recent example.
Decided I can't look at recipes online anymore and especially NO cake decorating or gourmet food shows online...or even movies featuring food! Because then it makes me want to make it, but I am trying to stick to a very restricted diet and don't have the chemistry background or time to figure how to make a spectacular look/taste-a-like. Rant aside, thinking I shall stick to fresh vegetable juice mixes (that allows for some experimentation and creativity) and easy to make up homemade broth based soups.
Until next time...I'll keep writing to myself.
Experimentation is the only way to arrive at a better future, oh, and learning from the past. (I may recant this statement later)
Colorful Roasted Bell Pepper Soup (con foto)
I started by having excess peppers to use from il mio giardino and google images of roasted pepper soup. That is where I got the inspiration for splitting the soup into two - it didn't provide a recipe though! The basic recipe I did start with I couldn't help but completely depart from it.
Please note, I altered the amounts to more basic forms of measure. So 2 yellow peppers rather than explaining how I used 1 giant one and 2 small banana peppers. With that said, you can experiment with different pepper types - tip: avoid habaneros and jalapenos.
Roast at 450-500 degrees:
halved and deseeded 4 green, 2 red, and 2 yellow bell peppers on a baking sheet for 10 minutes or until skin is bubbling and blackened. Put in large bowl and cover with plate, set in fridge while preparing soup bases.
Sautee:
3 T Ghee or butter
1/2-3/4 c yellow onion chopped
4 T - 1/8 c celery
Sea Salt & Veggie Pepper to taste
When soft add:
3 lrg cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 c homemade chicken broth
Add peeled green pepper halves. Blend until smooth. Stir in 1-2 tsp honey or agave
and splash lemon juice to taste. Set aside.
Sautee:
4 T extra virgin olive oil (opt. little rich flavor olive oil)
medium yellow onion
small red onion
medium carrot minced
1 1/2 c homemade chicken broth
sea salt and veggie pepper
After carrot is soft add 1 lrg garlic clove minced
Add peeled red and yellow peppers
Blend until smooth and set aside.
Ladle green soup on one side of bowl and red soup on the other side. Thin sour cream or yoghurt with water and drizzle a design (watch videos about espresso designs for inspiration and how to)
Important: Drizzle with Cholula Hot Sauce (brings the flavors together and is a nice contrast to the cool sour cream). Chives or parsley or some fresh herb for garnish.
a Voilá!
As always, keep experimenting and sharing!
Have to figure out how to cook a bone-in fish tonight and what to do for a side dish...
Without a dog on watch, cats will surely multiply. Mamma mia!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Green Power Juice!
Celery
Lettuce
Lime
Pear
Speaking of green. Season 8 of Weeds might be too cheesy to tolerate.
Lettuce
Lime
Pear
Speaking of green. Season 8 of Weeds might be too cheesy to tolerate.
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