CHOCOLATE COCONUT ICE CREAM

True story.  I'm at the grocery store the other day picking up a few things in preparation of my son's 7th birthday party.  I'm at the checkout line when a charming older man strikes up a conversation about the weather (of course), which led to a discussion about maple syrup making.  Turns out he lives off the grid and taps his own sap and cans the maple syrup.  The cashier is ringing me through and I decide to stick to only spending what I actually have in CASH (bizarre I know!)  This inevitably means I have to remove a few items from my bag, which unfortunately included a wee carton of coconut ice cream.  My new friend then offers to pay for my ice cream, which I gratefully decline.  So, before you know it, I'm at home digging cans of coconut milk out the cupboard and making (even better) chocolate coconut ice cream for the party.  I left the supermarket without ice cream, but happy about the generosity of kind strangers, and the homemade version we ended up with instead.

CHOCOLATE COCONUT ICE CREAM

2 cans organic coconut milk (full fat)

1 tsp organic vanilla extract

1/2 cup local maple syrup

4 organic egg yolks

6 oz organic semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cups organic cocoa powder

1/2 cup organic milk (almond, goat or cow)

Method:  In the top of a double boiler over medium heat, melt chocolate chips.  Gradually whisk in cocoa powder until smooth.  In a bowl whisk egg yolks and maple syrup.  In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring coconut milk and milk to a simmer.  Gradually whisk into the egg mixture.  Return the mixture to the saucepan and stir in the chocolate.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Do not boil.  Let cool to room temperature.  Stir in vanilla and refrigerate overnight.  Stir cream mixture.  Transfer to an ice cream machine and freeze according to machine directions.  To serve, let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes until it is soft enough to scoop.

PRINT RECIPE

RECLAIM YOUR KITCHEN (and your health!)

     After a long day of work, whether at the office or at home caring for children, you’re probably pretty exhausted.  Sometimes the last thing you want to do is cook - and for many of us this means reaching for convenience foods or eating out in restaurants more often than we’d probably like.  These fast foods are quick and easy, but they can get expensive and take a toll on your energy levels and well being.

     Cooking at home is the first step to take if you're interested in eating healthier and cutting costs.  Home cooking is hands down the best way to save money. Whether you're considering dining out or bringing home prepared food, you're paying for someone else to do something you can do yourself — and, with a little practice, probably do better. Buying prepackaged frozen foods or restaurant meals means you are paying for the processing, packaging, and advertising of that product — none of which adds value to the food itself. So, when you cook, you are saving money, and when you cook sustainably, you're taking those savings to the next level. When you buy locally raised and produced food you're not footing the bill for transporting ingredients across the country or around the globe. Another way to save money by making your own meals is  “using the whole thing.” The bones from tonight’s chicken and the trimmings from fresh vegetables can be transformed into a mineral rich stock, the ultimate “must have” in every kitchen and the basis for a pot of delicious and nutritious homemade soup. If you compost and do any gardening, some of your dinner waste can be repurposed as free fertilizer too! 

     Another benefit to cooking at home is that you have more control over what goes into your body. By buying organic, sustainably raised or minimally treated meat, dairy and produce, you can reduce your consumption of food contaminated by chemical fertilizers, hormones, or antibiotics. Your food will taste much better too because it won’t contain artificial colours or flavours, texturizers, preservatives, or packaging. Making homemade meals from fresh foods means they will taste superior to frozen foods and will be more nutritious.  When you leave it to corporations to cook for you, your food will be of lower quality (they will use the cheapest ingredients they can get away with) and it will be full of salt, sugar, or fat. Cooking at home means you can keep an eye on these types of ingredients which is especially important for people with medical conditions or food allergies.

     Another amazing thing about cooking is that it activates your body’s powers of digestion.  Taking the time to prepare your food will help your brain get your digestive juices flowing. During the first phase of digestion, called the cephalic phase, the sight, sound, smell, and thought of food triggers the brain to transmit signals down your central nervous system to prepare your body for digestion.  So not only will you meals cost less, taste better, and have higher nutritional value, but you will actually absorb more nutrients from your food with better digestion!

     What percentage of your meals are cooked at home? And I don't mean fish sticks and frozen pizza!  How can you take a small step to upgrade your choices, even if for only one or two meals per week?  I could go into a long list of foods that are better to eat or worse to eat, but at this point, as long as you cook it yourself from scratch, nothing is out of bounds. Happy cooking!

CHICKEN BROTH

Properly prepared chicken broth is a storehouse of nutrients liberated from the bone and connective tissues which accelerates overall healing and supports our own bones, teeth, joints, digestion and immunity.  Pretty amazing for leftovers!

1 whole chicken (preferably free range/organic) or 2 to 3 pounds of bony chicken parts (such as necks, backs, breastbones and wings leftover from dinner)

Gizzards and/or feet from one chicken (optional)

4 quarts cold filtered water

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

1 bunch parsley

sea salt

Optional add-ins (Nova Scotia kelp, reishi mushroom, shiitake mushrooms)

Method:

If using a whole chicken, cut chicken parts into several pieces. Place chicken or chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot with water, vinegar and all vegetables except parsley.  Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 8 hours (I like to leave it overnight on low).  The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavourful it will be.                

     About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley. This will add additional mineral ions to the broth.  Remove whole chicken or pieces with a slotted spoon. If you are using a whole chicken, let cool and remove chicken meat from the carcass. Reserve for other uses, such as chicken salads, enchiladas, sandwiches or curries. Strain the stock into a large bowl and reserve in your refrigerator until the fat rises to the top and congeals. Skim off this fat and reserve the stock in covered containers in your refrigerator or freezer.

PRINT RECIPE

SOURDOUGH BAGELS

I pretty much never make loaves of sourdough bread anymore.  These bagels are just so good everything else pales in comparison.  A little more time consuming than a standard loaf, but so worth it.  

SOURDOUGH BAGELS

4 cups organic sourdough 

4 organic eggs, beaten

4 Tbsp avocado oil

1 cup organic milk (even works with homemade almond milk)

4 Tbsp organic coconut sugar

4 Tbsp local honey

2 tsp sea salt

3 cups organic whole wheat flour

3 cups organic unbleached white flour

organic sesame or poppy seeds

Method:  Pour the culture into a large mixing bowl.  Add the eggs, oil, coconut sugar, salt and mix.  Add the flour one cup at a time until the dough is stiff.  Then turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and satiny, and no longer sticky.  Add more flour as necessary.

Place the dough in a large bowl covered with a plate or lid, and let sit for 8-12 hours or overnight at room temperature.  

Divide the dough into 30 equal balls.  Roll each ball into a 15 cm rope and pinch the ends together.  Proof for 1 hour on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 375*.  Bring 4 litres of water to boil in a large pot and add the honey and some salt.  Drop the bagels, 2 at a time, into the water.  Remove them with a slotted spoon after they rise to the surface, drain on a rack and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.  Place bagels back onto the cookie sheets and bake for 25 minutes.  Let cool on wire racks.

Print Recipe

OMEGA MELTS

Ok, so sardines are pretty much a superfood - one of the most concentrated sources of omega-3 fatty acids, full of vitamins B12 and D, as well as a very good source of phosphorus which is vital for bone health.  But lets be honest, how many of us eat them on a regular basis, and enjoy it?  That's what I thought.  Well, I am happy to announce that I have a sardine recipe that you will crave.  Once you try it, your going to ask yourself why you never thought of it before.

OMEGA MELTS

1 can of Atlantic sardines

1 can wild or organic salmon

homemade Omega Mayo, to taste (recipe follows)

2 organic green onions, chopped

1 organic carrot, grated 

1/4 cup lacto-fermented veggies, chopped (I used purple sauerkraut)

sea salt and pepper 

1 cup organic raw cheddar cheese, grated

5 slices organic sprouted or sourdough bread, lightly toasted

Method: Preheat oven to broil.  Drain some of the oil off the cans of fish.  Place the fish in a bowl, along with all the ingredients up to the cheese.  Mash and combine with a fork.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle a bit of cheese onto each slice of bread.  Spread some of the fish salad on each top of the cheese.  Then top with the rest of the cheese.  Broil until the cheese starts to brown.  Enjoy.

If you aren't eating bread these days, this Omega Mash can be served with carrot sticks, stuffed into an avocado or red pepper, or rolled up in nori.

Don't be alarmed by the bright yellow hue of this kick ass mayonnaise.  You see, that is what something made with real eggs is supposed to look like.  Not only do eggs from pastured, organic, free range hens taste better, they are chock full of more goodies like Vitamins E, A, Omega 3's and Beta Carotene than confined factory farm eggs.  I supercharge this mayo with even more Omega 3's by adding flax and hemp oils.  A wee bit of coconut oil makes a nice thick and creamy spread too.

Most homemade mayonnaise only lasts about 2-3 days in the fridge, but this baby is lacto-fermented and so extends it to 2-3 weeks.

OMEGA MAYO

3 egg yolks (organic, pastured etc)

1 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar or lemon 

(great way to use up herbal vinegars if you have them, I used Red Clover)

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp local raw honey

1 tsp organic dijon mustard

1/8 cup organic hemp oil

1/8 cup organic flax oil

1/2 cup organic light olive oil

1/8 cup organic coconut oil

1/8 cup organic avocado oil

1 Tbsp organic whey liquid

Method:  Place egg yolks, apple cider vinegar, salt, honey, whey, and mustard into the base of your vitamix or food processor.  Blend on very low as you slowly drizzle in the oils.  When the mayo emulsifies, thickens and chokes the blender, it's done.  Pour into a jar and allow to sit on the counter overnight.  Refrigerate.

SUPERSEED COOKIES

I love it when you have your cookie and eat it too.  These tasty little treats are chock full of nutrient rich hemp and chia seeds - full of protein so you won't crash and burn.  Totally nourishing, very satisfying.  What more can you ask for in a cookie?

SUPERSEED COOKIES

1/2 cup organic shelled hemp seeds

1/4 cup organic unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup organic chia seeds

3 organic eggs

1/2 cup organic coconut flour

1/4 cup organic coconut oil, melted

1 tsp organic ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup local maple syrup or honey

1/2 cup organic chocolate chips

1/4 cup organic raisins

Method: Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Stir well and allow to stand for 5 minutes until the coconut flour absorbs all the liquid.  Form into flattened rounds.  Bake in a preheated 350* oven for about 15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Print Recipe

BARE BONES OF WINTER

We are in the thick of winter.  Deep drifts of snow encase our home, and our activities revolve around the warm, cozy fire.  Trekking out to the deep freeze in the barn, I unearthed from deep beneath piles of pork chops a package of lamb ribs from this fall's slaughter.  

Soups are a regular feature on our dinner table these days.  Warming and comforting, soups almost seem necessary for surviving the long winter.  They are also a great way for using up those challenging cuts of meat and frozen packages of summer's bounty.

SCOTCH BROTH with Winter Roots, Barley & Lamb's Quarters

Grass Fed Lamb - 

either leftover from a roast or any bits and bobs you having around

1 organic leek or 2 onions, chopped

2 sticks organic celery, chopped

2 organic carrots, chopped

organic avocado oil or butter

1 small rutabaga, peeled and chopped

1 organic potato, peeled and chopped

1/2 cups organic pearl barley, rinsed

1-2 cups cooked wild lamb's quarters or spinach, chopped

3 litres organic bone broth ( I used chicken)

sea salt and pepper

Method:  If meat isn't already cooked, preheat oven to 350*.  Place lamb in a pan and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for about an hour.  Remove from oven, allow to cool.  Remove meat from bones, reserving bones to use in soup.

Saute the leek or onion, carrots, and celery in the oil until softened.  Add the stock and bones.  Simmer on low for about 30-45 minutes.   Remove the bones and then add the rutabaga, potato, barley and lamb's quarters,  and simmer gently for about an hour.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy.

PRINT RECIPE

WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY.....

we definitely played.  My dad whisked away my eldest son for a few days, and so my husband and I have been leisurely accomplishing things we never seem to manage to with two kids around.  I harvested some nettle from the garden and made homemade pasta. Seriously good served with a filet of salmon in a balsamic mustard glaze.  I said, "Honey, you know what they say....the way to man's heart is through his stomach....".  A great way to say I love you. 

FRESH NETTLE PASTA with Fresh Tomatoes and Blue Cheese

The idea for using fresh tomatoes and blue cheese came from Hugh Fearnsley-Whittingstall's cookbook Three Good Things.  

1 1/2 cups unbleached organic white flour 

2 cups organic light spelt flour

3 organic eggs, beat lightly

1/2 tsp sea salt

6 cups fresh nettle 

Method: Wash the nettle to remove grit.  Remove leaves from woody stems and place in a pot with 1/4 cup of water.  Bring to a boil and then reduce, steaming until tender - about 4-5 mins.  Drain well and allow to cool.  Be sure to squeeze out excess moisture.  Chop finely.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer add the flour, salt, eggs and nettle.  With the paddle, stir for 1 minute on #2.  Switch to hook and mix for a couple of minutes.  Add more flour if necessary.  Then knead by hand for a couple of minutes.  Allow to rest in a covered bowl for 30 mins.  

     Use a pasta machine to make pasta.

SAUCE:  2 tubs of cherry tomatoes, quartered

1-2 cloves of garlic, sliced

sea salt and pepper

good olive oil

nice wedge of European blue cheese

Method:  Combine all ingredients and allow to macerate for at least 30 mins.  When pasta is cooked, toss with the tomatoes and then crumble on the blue cheese.  Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.  Stir lightly and serve.

SALMON with Balsamic Mustard Glaze

1 nice wild salmon fillet

4 cloves organic garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp organic white wine

1 Tbsp local honey or maple syrup

1/3 cup organic balsamic vinegar

4 tsp organic Dijon mustard

sea salt and pepper to taste

fresh organic oregano, chopped

Method: Preheat oven to 400*.  In a small saucepan combine the garlic, wine, honey, vinegar, and mustard.  Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or until it starts to thicken.  Allow to cool and then brush the salmon with half the glaze and sprinkle with chopped oregano.  Bake in oven for 10-15 mins.  Reglaze halfway through cooking time.