Christmas 2012, Part 3-- Ruiz Clan Christmas Dinner (Chuchitos Devoured)

We chowed down on our chuchitos with both my sisters & their families, my grandparents and two of my aunts (Olga & Sylvia) and their families.  My cousin Courtney didn't make it but her brother Justin brought along a pal in her stead, so it was the usual noisy, boisterous, never dull and VERY interesting family dinner!  Did I mention that the food was stupendous?  Salads, salsas, refried black beans, and of course the piece de resistance...chuchitos!!!  We had venison, chicken and vegetarian options.

Boys waiting for instruction

Papirucho (my grandfather) reading our family Christmas newsletter

Dining room table-- including my Aunt Sylvia & Uncle Joe, and grandparents

Yes, my husband being goofy... and check out my parents' amazing NEW dining room!
One of my favorite parts of the do-over is that we enlarged several of my parents' wedding pictures and now they are hanging where everyone can enjoy them.  They look so young!! :)

The Map that threw such a wrench in Nicole's & my plans ...and that has been such a fun conversation piece for my parents

Christmas 2012, Part 2- Greenville SC- Chuchito Making

Guatemalan tradition is to make "chuchitos" (like Mexican tamales) for holidays like Christmas and New Year's.  Chuchitos are cornmeal-filled husks with a kernel of yummy meat & tomato sauce at their center, boiled and served piping hot.  They are a bit work-intensive but not hard... if you know how to do them. Which is the hard part-- they're kind of a lost art!  So my mom had the idea this year to have as many as possible come over and learn from my grandma --known as "Mama Lulu"-- and then enjoy eating the fruits of our labor together as our Christmas feast.

Mom ("Nina" to her grandkids") getting everything ready

Step one:  soaking the corn husks

Mama Lulu washing & soaking

Nicole... being... critical?

Colin & Andrew, supervising with Boy Power

Browning the meat, simmering the sauce, and making the masa (dough)

Tia Anna tending to the adorable nieces & nephew 

Hard to get work done with this much cuteness! 

Mama Lulu & her oldest grandchild (me!)

Simmering one more batch of sauce while 2 batches of chuchitos boil

Explaining how to make strips of corn husk to tie off the chuchitos

Up next-- family photo session and the Meal!!

Yummy Easy Recipe

I just saw this and thought it looked yummy!  It's a recipe for Maple-Vanilla Panna Cruda, along with some tidbits about the origins of maple syrup!

Great Article on Simple Changes to "Healthify" Old Favorites

Love a recipe but know it isn't the greatest for you?  Check out this post over on Passionate Homemaking!  These are all great steps and tidbits to help you take one step at a time towards healthier living!


Along a similar vein, but much more in-depth and thorough is the eBook Healthy Homemaking; one step at a time, by Stephenie Langford (Keeper of the Home).  I have it and immediately thought of about 25 people who would love it!

Off to make dinner, speaking of cooking!  I came home to an empty fridge and an overflowing garden! 

Second "Frontier" Fave: Raw Milk Yogurt

As a follow-up to yesterday's post on Just-Fruit "Frontier" Jam, here is the technique I regularly use to make our yogurt.  Thank you to my friend Randi for the know-how on this one!  I also referred to Nourishing Traditions, Gut and Psychology Syndrome, Internal Bliss and these tutorials (1, 2 & 3).

Step 1:  Get out a half-gallon of fresh, raw, creamy milk from a source you trust-- grass fed and organic are not optional here. 

Step 2:  Gently heat the milk to between 101 and 118 degrees F.  You don't want to go above 118 or else you will start killing the enzymes in the milk (thence kind of defeating the purpose of starting with raw milk, though of course it's still going to be better than most milk).  The first time I did this I borrowed a friend's meat thermometer and stopped at precisely 110 degrees, noting how hot it felt on my pinky.  Since then I guesstimate.  It's about the right temp when you stick your finger in and it feels hot-- too hot to keep in for long but not so hot you scald yourself.  The milk should not be boiling or frothing.   I use a wooden spoon to stir it every so often.  The milk heats up rather quickly.

Meanwhile, have your yogurt starter waiting in the bottom of the jars you'll use.  Most sources recommend about 2 T of yogurt as a starter for a half gallon.  I now guesstimate; a bit more or less doesn't seem to really make that much difference.  You do want enough to jump start the fermentation, but not so much that it all turns to whey.

Step 3:  As soon as the milk reaches 110, pour a little into the jar(s) with the starter in them, and stir.  This warms the starter up a bit so it isn't shocked by the hot milk.  Then pour in the rest of the milk.  Stir gently a few times.  Quickly put the jars into a cooler stuffed with towels for insulation.  Leave to incubate over night.  I usually put it in the fridge in the morning so it doesn't get too tangy.

Optional Step 4- Thickening the Yogurt: I usually do this with half of the yogurt if it's too runny-- strain it through a coffee filter in a strainer over a glass bowl for a few hours.  Keep the liquid (whey) and use it in smoothies, soaking grains, baking or as a probiotic supplement (it's tangy and not bad tasting).  The yogurt remaining will be as thick and creamy as you want it to be.  If you let it keep dripping then you'll end up with raw cream cheese (yum!!).  I don't bother dripping the yogurt we use for smoothies since it gets slushed up anyway! :)

My favorite ways to enjoy yogurt are with just-fruit jam in it and a dusting of cinnamon, or with fresh or frozen berries, cinnamon, ginger and raw honey or Grade B maple syrup drizzled on it.  Eowyn is quite a fan as well!

First "Frontier" (i.e. Low-Tech) Fave: Jam

As many of you know, I long for the days of the homesteader, and dream of one day having our own little farm on a few acres of land, growing enough to feed a sizeable brood of people-chicks as well as a cow, a few goats, chickens, a dog or two and a passel of cats.  In the meantime, we have one child, no pets, and a small city lot.  I make up for the lack of mouths to feed by taking in as many guests as possible-- we have several adopted "family" members regularly around our table, and, like my mama taught me, I find great joy in making sure nobody goes home hungry or lonesome.  I also try to do as much "low-tech," DIY as possible.  (I'm even venturing into the realm of furniture and jobs involving... hacksaws, gulp).  If Ma Ingalls couldn't buy it, I don't like using it.  Usually.  The occasional frappucino is an exception.

Slowly I'm adding more and more kitchen jobs to my own bag of tricks (though it's nice to know I can grab them from a store shelf in a pinch).  It started with buying dry beans instead of canned, moved on to getting a little coffee grinder to grind my own grains, trying my hand at fermentation of water kefir, soaking, seasoning & drying my own nuts, and most recently expanded to making my own nut butters, nut milk & nut pulp (and nut milk lattes, yum!).   Two new successes and now-Szrama staples are raw milk yogurt and fresh fruit preserves.  They are SO simple and low-tech that they make me happy, and I thought I'd share them with others since I had difficulty in tracking down precise instructions online.


In the spirit of eating seasonally, Eowyn & I recently picked a bumper crop of local strawberries-- juicy, sweet, and red.  Along with pies, strawberry ice cream and plenty of strawberries & cream, I sliced & froze a gallon for smoothies, then tried my hand at jam-making.  The following technique is a result of a plea for help on FB, and I am indebted to my friend Megan for the knowledge.

Just Fruit Jam

Step One: wash your berries. Aim for a mix of very-ripe (sweet!) berries, moderately ripe berries, and a good many underripe (still have green tips) berries.  The less ripe, the more natural pectin they contain.

Step 2: Cut the berries in half and bring to a boil.  I left mine on the heat about 30 minutes, stirring almost constantly.  In the mean time wash and sanitize your glass jars.

Step 3:  Boil your lids & rings.  Keep them boiling until you slap them on the jars.  (I used a few standard metal lids for giving away, but mostly used reusable plastic Tattler lids.)

Step 4:  Prepare your hot water bath.  You need to have enough water boiling to cover 1" over the tops of your jars, and there needs to be something keeping the jars off the bottom of the pot.  I used my pasta insert and it barely fit in 6 jars & their water.

Step 5:  Pour the cooked fruit into the jars, leaving about 1" headroom and wiping down the rims.  Put a lid on top and a ring screwed on securely but not as tight as it will go.  Immerse the fruit into the hot water bath and boil for 10-15 minutes.

Step 6:  Pull jars out and allow to cool over a 12-hr period.  Their lids should all sink in, indicating an airtight seal.  If one doesn't, refrigerate it and let it be the first one you eat!

Step 7: Admire! Ta-Da!! I did a second batch with mulberries and a few crisp apples cooked with the strawberries.  My thought was that the mulberries add sweetness and the apples add pectin, so we'll see how the texture between the pure strawberries & mul-straw-apple berries compares.

EDIT:  It's been a few months, and we've popped open and enjoyed two VERY YUMMY jars of this jam!  THe mul-stra-apple jam is very "normal" in texture, quite sweet, and very yummy.  I loved finding chunks of fruit in it, but some folks may want a more uniform texture-- I'd suggest using a potato masher (boiled to sanitize) right before putting the fruit into jars.  Still haven't tried the just-strawberries yet.  Will update when I do!

A Few Good (GAPS) Meals

These are meals we've either eaten or that I have planned for this coming week.  I've used Internal Bliss, the cookbook that came with the GAPS book, Nourishing Traditions, and recipes I've adapted for GAPS-friendliness (substituting almond meal for breadcrumbs, things like that).  When we've had company over (which has actually occurred quite frequently, and Ryan's parents were here for 8 days!), I usually added a garden salad and garlic bread, and E & I just didn't eat that.

I'll do it this way-- rather than listing out each meal as a meal, I'll just list the main dishes, sides & desserts separately.  Especially in the first 2 weeks, I rotated the same few dishes quite a bit.

Main dishes: 
-- baked salmon (lemon, garlic, paprika, sea salt, pepper, olive oil),
-- roast chicken (butter, fresh herbs from the garden, sea salt & pepper) baked with veggies (carrots, broccoli, onion, celery, and squash)
-- beef-broth soup
-- Jean's Meatloaf with homemade tomato sauce
-- spaghetti squash "noodles" with fresh tomato sauce
--meat (chicken, duck, pork loin) roasted with veggies (broccoli, carrot, onion & carrot)
-- nut pancakes (made with pumpkin, eggs & peanut butter) spread with chicken or tuna salad (onion, celery, homemade raw mayo, dill weed, sea salt, garlic powder, lemon juice)
-- almond crust sausage pizza
-- ommlettes (bacon & cheese, cheese, sour cream & veggie...)
-- eggs & bacon or sausage (Eowyn's favorite)
-- smoothies!!-- two favorites have been "pumpkin pie" and "peanut butter"-- now that we can eat fruit the variety is endless
-- curried chicken (also curried beef) with carrots, onion, broccoli & zucchini-- SO GOOD!
-- Mexican-style green salad (greens, tomato, salsa, cheese, sour cream, beef bologna)

Sides
-- carrots julienne
-- roasted mashed carrots (with sea salt & cultured cream... wow)-- so sweet they taste candied!
-- cream of brocolli soup (homemade stock, cultured cream, broc & onions)
-- grilled cheese apples  (SO good!!  just slice apples, top with cheese, and broil/toast/bake!)
-- kale chips of various flavors
-- steamed broccoli with garlic & herbs
-- jalapeno cheese buscuits
-- hazelnut & seed crackers
-- real (lacto-fermented) saurkraut (cabbage & carrots) & pickles (just salt, water, peppercorn & pickling cucumbers)
-- zucchini sauteed in tallow (yum!)-- Eowyn adored these and ate them like chips
-- fresh fruits & veggies like always  (including the first lettuce from our garden!)
-- apple sauce with liver (Eowyn alone eats this... and she loves it.  I am not quite so brave.  I do intend to learn to cook and like liver, though... soon.)

Desserts
-- nut pancakes (made with pumpkin/squash, eggs & peanut butter)spread with butter & all-fruit jam or maple syrup
-- strawberry ice cream, coconut ice cream (coconut milk, cultured cream, raw milk & maple syrup)
-- strawberry-rhubarb custard pie (the crust was the trickiest, but I managed & will post a recipe soon); also blueberry-rhubarb custard pie
-- mulberry crumble
-- dried fruits (I'm starting to make my own in our dehydrator)
-- "Lara bars" (the easiest "cookie" ever, and the best way to sneak nutrition into your diet
-- hazelnut milk latte
--  stewed apples (apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger & butter)

If anyone wants any particular recipes, feel free to ask!

GAPS Intro

Many of you know that Eowyn & I (and, when he eats with us, Ryan) are on a long-term diet called the 'Gut and Psychology Syndrome' diet, or GAPS diet.  Its goal is to heal the gut, in four ways:  (1) giving it a "break" from anything hard to digest during the Intro stage, (2) replenish the bacteria ("gut flora") necessary for proper digestion, immune function, overall and mental health (3) starve off opportunistic yeasts & harmful bacteria ("bad gut flora"), and (4) provide foods rich in healing properties and nutrients.  It's been used to successfully treat many types of chronic conditions, from dyslexia to autism (ASDs) to epilepsy to acid reflux.  Quite a tall order for a diet, which is why those who go on it expect to stick to it for at least 18 months- 2 years, longer for long-established problems.  Properly-prepared gluten-free grains may be reintroduced if desired after that point (2ish years) in addition to GAPS-approved foods.

So what kinds of foods hurt the gut?  First off, SUGAR-- so no refined sugar in any forms, and limited natural sugars (in the earliest stages of the Introduction diet dried fruits & most fresh fruits are eliminated).  Also grains, raw fibrous veggies at first (until the gut is mostly healed) improperly prepared beans, nuts & lentils, and anything processed (no MSG, no artificial flavorings, no propa-hexa-muta-gora-bora-bora... you get the idea).  Fertilizers, pesticides, and other remnants of commercial farming make their way into foods and upset guts trying to heal, so as much as can be bought organic should be.  The fresher the better, too!

What heals the gut?  Lots of bone broths & stocks, fermented foods (saurkraut- which I HAVE learned to like, natural pickles... AMAZING, yogurt, kombucha, kefirs of all kinds), ginger, coconut & natural, whole-food fats (ghee, butter, tallow, lard, olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil, and cream once dairy is introduced).  While pasteurized dairy is not allowed, raw milk & cream, and fermented dairy products like yogurt, sour cream, pima cream & most cheeses are encouraged.  I've had fun learning to make my own of most of the above-- thanks to modern appliances, most is REALLY easy!  (For those familiar with Weston A. Price's work, or with the Whole/Traditional Foods or Slow Cooking movements, it's like a WAPF diet without grains and most beans, with extra emphasis on fermented foods.)

Anyway, it is a learning curve, and many people get about a month into the diet and get super bored.  If you're used to cooking a lot of grain-based meals it's definitely intimidating.  Eowyn & I went through the six-step Introduction Cycle in 2 weeks, which is kind of the minimum suggested.  While both of us had warning signs of imbalanced gut flora-- for me, my Celiac's disease, bad morning sickness during pregnancy, recurrent ear infections (3 in as many months after 20 years without them) and the beginnings of renewed yeast imbalances (urg, after being free for 4 years!!!) were signs.  For Eowyn, signs that my bad gut flora had been passed on to her (through delivery and subsequent breast-feeding) were severe enough acid reflux to be prescribed medication (HUGE RED FLAG IN BABIES!!!), and food reactions (to blueberries, to peanuts, to wheat, to who knew what).  What's motivated me?  Well, the recurrent ear infections were getting annoying, and my doctor was about to refer me to an ENT, because "adults aren't supposed to get ear infections."  While regular chiropractic care was keeping the fluid draining enough to delay infection, I could still feel the fluid in my ears all the time.  Also, if I do get pregnant in this coming year, I'll do ANYTHING to avoid morning sickness, and ANYTHING to try and pass on GOOD gut flora to my next baby!! 

I highly recommend Dr McBride's book Gut & Psychology Syndrome, for anyone interested in nutrition, mental health, learning disabilities, and child-rearing in general.  Actually, truth be told I think all moms should read it.  In our generation, it's become normal to be prescribed anti-nausea medication during pregnancy and to need to either radically change your diet while nursing (no dairy, no chocolate, no peanuts, etc) or give your baby Prevacid for 5 months, and food intolerances or learning disabilities in kids are ubiquitous.

Next is a list of meals that have worked for us, lest anyone think we are starving (and for anyone who's on GAPS and would like some fresh ideas!).

PS- so far, Eowyn has shown NO reactions to any of the foods she seemed to react to before!!  She's eating all sorts of nuts, including peanuts, all berries, and hasn't had red cheeks or diaper rash at all!  Praise the Lord!

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup, GF version

My mom makes this wonderful soup, and Eowyn and I have been gobbling it up.  Any recipe that contains broccoli which I will gobble deserves to be shared; let's just say it ain't my favorite veggie.  But, I am resolved to find at least one method of preparation for each and every formerly-hated vegetable that I truly can enjoy.  So for carrots, it's being cut up and put in a pot pie, or roasted along with sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and onions.  For cauliflower, it's being baked in a cheesy-oniony sauce.  For cabbage, I've found a tomato soup that uses quite a bit, as well as cole-slaw & colcannon (soon I'm going to have to make lots of saurkraut).  This is my new favorite way to get in my broccoli:

Broccoli- Cheddar Soup, GF (with dairy-free option)

3 cups chicken broth (or water saved from boiling or steaming veggies)

1 onion, chopped

4 cups broccoli, chopped

dash of garlic powder (or 1 minced/pressed garlic clove)

1 t dried thyme (or 1 T fresh thyme)

2 bay leaves

4 T unsalted butter, olive oil, coconut oil or palm shortening (non- hydrogenated, of course)

2 T cornstarch OR 4 T rice or corn flour (optional)

1/2 t sea salt

ground pepper to taste

2 c full-fat milk (could use coconut milk for a different flavor, or almond milk)

2 c shredded cheddar cheese  (could substitute with cubed red potatoes, added in first step)

shredded chicken, turkey, ham or bacon (optional)

1. In large saucepan, mix broth, onion, broccoli, garlic, thyme and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are soft (~10 min). 

2. Remove bay leaves.  Puree soup to desired consistency, either with immersion blender, traditional blender, food processor, or by using a potato masher. 

3. Melt butter in saucepan.  If using a flour, whisk in along with salt & pepper.  If using corn starch, first dissolve in 1/2 c of the milk, add the salt & pepper, then whisk into butter.  Add cheddar, stirring until it dissolves.

4. Add to broccoli mixture and cook until blended.  Add in meat if desired.  Serve with corn chips, gluten-free crackers or croutons.

This soup is great re-heated, and is thick enough for my toddler to feed it herself (fairly =D) effectively.  Nice and filling, too!  We are planting lots of broccoli & cabbage in our garden this year, so we'll be using this soup more than once, I guarantee!

NB:  as always, I recommend using organic animal products, and local/pesticide-free produce when possible.


What recipes do you like for veggies you always thought you hated?

So, Are You Allergic to Wheat, or Do You Have Celiac's?

My body cannot process gluten, the main protein in wheat, spelt, rye and barley.  It makes me ill in a whole host of ways, from a brain-fog that makes words on a page suddenly and totally non-sensical, to hallucinogenic dreams in which I can't open my eyes but keep trying to wake up, to itching in every mucous membrane, to digestive pain, to eczema, to absolute mind-numbing fatigue, to raging thirst.  It isn't fun.  People often ask me "so, what will happen if you accidentally eat gluten?  Will you, like...die?"  My answer is usually "No- not right away.  But it will make me sick and icky-feeling for about 2 weeks."  (Not worth a cheat!)

Technically, there is a difference between "food allergy" that causes a histamine reaction (an immediate Ig-E allergy) and a food intolerance like Celiac Disease.  A histamine reaction comes from Ig-E (immunoglobulin E, a type of antibody)s in a body pegging the trigger (sea food for instance) as an invader, and swarming to get it out.  Ig-Es bring on extremely powerful reactions.  This leads to itchy eyes, runny nose, swelling and in severe cases, anaphylaxis (throat swelling shut).  Allergy tests look for Ig-E reactions (on skin or in blood) to tiny amounts of potential allergens.  Food intolerances are more tricky.  They aren't mediated by those antibodies, so they won't show up on an allergy test.  As this mother puts it,

After two doctors told me my son didn't have any allergies, the GI doctor finally found the genes for celiac which explained why he had gone from the 95% of weight to the 5% of weight after we introduced gluten (wheat) and dairy into his diet. Technically, he didn't have a life threatening IgE allergy. One doctor even told me, "we have a death and disease model" meaning if you are not going to die from something immediately after eating it, it isn't a problem. But my son was wasting away and his brain was starving for nutrients. 

Celiac disease, and other food intolerances, involve immune reactions in the gut, where the food particles are changed into intestine-bombs instead of being digested: 

Upon exposure to [gluten] the enzyme tissue transglutaminase modifies the protein, and the immune system cross-reacts with the small-bowel tissue, causing an inflammatory reaction. That leads to a truncating of the villi lining the small intestine (called villous atrophy). This interferes with the absorption of nutrients, because the intestinal villi are responsible for absorption. (Wikipedia)

A really succint and helpful summary is here.

Both are examples of the body over-reacting to something that shouldn't trigger a response at all, but they are different enough to require different tests.  I appreciated this blog post by a mother whose children have many food intolerances (and she's into Real Food too!).  Most people don't know about Celiac disease, and they think that you are being picky if you say you're "intolerant to" something... so I'll probably go on being incorrect but understood and telling waiters and chefs that "I'm allergic to wheat and soy." :)

[[And parents, if you notice that your child has red cheeks, diarrhea, is irritable or sleepless, vomits, gets eczema or a rash after eating any certain food, or has ANY developmental delays, disorders or learning disabilities, or just "fails to thrive" but tests "negative for any food allergies," you might want to try cutting it out, seeing if he improves, and getting a doctor familiar with non-IgE mediated food intolerances.  Just because it doesn't show up as an allergy on a blood test doesn't mean that it couldn't possibly be a life-threatening intolerance.]]

Gluten-Free Flour Tip

I mentioned in my last post about using corn flour (Maseca-- in the Hispanic foods section) and corn starch as easily available & affordable GF flours.  For buckwheat, quinoa, gluten-free oat and millet flours, you don't need to spend a fortune buying all those little Bob's Red Mill bags; they're probably already rancid when you open them, anyway.  Instead, find a bulk source of grains (I get them at a food buying club; if there are health food stores near you, they probably have sources, or could even point you towards wholesalers in your area where restaurants buy their grains.  Another bulk source is Amazon, believe it or not!), buy a little coffee grinder ($25 or less), and dedicate it to grinding your own flour!  It's really that simple.  Dump in some grains or groats, pulse until fine, use immediately or freeze.  That's all. 

Think about it; even if you have a little trouble tracking down the grains, you will save a TON of money over buying pre-ground flours, and the taste & health benefits are worth it.

For quinoa, you will need to rinse the grain really well before grinding them, so allot time to let the grain air dry, or just rinse a big batch when you buy it, and let it air dry before you store it.

The only flour I've found difficult to grind this way is rice flour, so I pick that up at a local Asian market, or I just do without it.  Buckwheat flour, which I grind as I need it, really works wonderfully!

GF Crash Course

Yet another friend is experiencing relief and greater energy thanks to a gluten-free diet, and asked me for some recipes.  Here is my answer to her, in the hopes that it helps someone else!  Feel free to forward this to any GF newbies, people hosting GF guests, or to link up to this post any time!  It's here to help!!

With gluten-free baking, the smaller the better.  GF flours don't rise very well, and tend to be very crumbly and/or dry out very quickly, so small things like muffins, little waffles, pancakes, mini-quiches, etc., are better than loaves of breads.  You also have to handle the dough differently-- no rolling it out then picking it up; it just doesn't stay together like that.  You have to usually pat it into place on/in whatever you'll cook it in, or put it on parchment paper or a cutting board, then do a sleight-of-hand-dump-over-the-top routine.  It's a talent. :)

I've also found that using the whole grain by soaking it overnight helps make things gum together better than using flours. So does adding in ground flax seed-- it contains a LOT of oils and really helps things gel. Keep a box of it in your fridge at all times and add it to EVERYTHING. Certain flours are "thirsty," meaning they take a LOT more liquid than usual-- corn flour especially-- but I actually like using these since I prefer to sweeten with honey or maple syrup instead of sugar, and often use oil or applesauce instead of  butter (because we go through an obscene amount of butter, and buy organic... so it saves us money for me to bake with some oil instead of always butter).  To buy corn flour, look in the Hispanic section for sacks of"Maseca" or "Masa."  It's cheap, and as an advantage it comes from corn soaked in lime water then ground-- much more nutritious and digestible!!  Your kids will also love chanting "maseca."  I speak from experience. 

In buying dairy products such as sour cream or yogurt, you MUST buy the all-natural (preferably full-fat) version to avoid modified food starch & other yukkies. Thankfully, most Krogers carry a store all-natural brand.  Cottage cheese is the toughest to find.  Daisy whole-fat, large curd brand is the ONLY one I can find that doesn't have modified food starch, aka gluten.  It is also free of all the other nasty crap in the other cottage cheese brands.  'Round here, Meijer is the only store that carries it... though I'm sure you could find all-natural brands at health foods like Whole Foods or Rainbow Blossom.

The following are some of my favorite bread-like things.  I've culled them from various sources, and adapted them enough that I think I can claim them as my own by now. :)

GF Oatmeal Muffins (originally from Sina Shuey)

1 c gluten-free rolled oats (Bob's Red Mill is the easiest to find; Kroger carries it)

1 c buttermilk (I use whole milk plain yogurt thinned with water and it works GREAT.  You can also use soured raw milk, or whole milk soured with whey, lemon juice or even apple cider vinegar, or sour cream thinned with water in a pinch)

1 egg

1/3 c butter or applesauce or 1/4 c oil

1/2 c b. sugar or 1/3 c maple syrup

1 c GF flour (I use 1/2 c corn starch, 1/2 c Maseca corn flour)

1 t baking powder

1/2 t sea salt

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 c ground flax seed (can leave it out, but I never do)

1 t xantham gum (when I use maple syrup, flax seed, and soak the oats over 2 hours I can leave this out)

1 t cinnamon

ginger, nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves to taste

"add ins" as desired:  raisins, chocolate chips, chopped apple, cranberries, strawberries, etc.

Soak the oats in buttermilk (in a NON-metal bowl) overnight, or at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add all wet ingredients to soaked oats.  Dump in the dry and stir with a fork.

Bake in greased muffin tins for ~14 minutes; watch for drying out!

Serve plain or with butter... yum.

Old- Fashioned Southern Corn Bread (straight off the corn meal sack)

2 T bacon drippings, butter or oil

2 c stone-ground corn meal (OT a cornbread mix!)

2 t bk powder

1 t bk soda

1 t salt

2 T honey

1 egg (or 1 T white vinegar in a pinch)

1 3/4 c buttermilk (or yogurt thinned with water-- you want it to be kinda chunky; thick)

Put grease, butter or oil in cast iron skillet or deep-dish glass pie pan in 400 degree oven until bubbling.

Meanwhile, mix corn meal, powder, soda and salt.  Add in egg, honey and buttermilk.  Batter should be thick.

Pour into the hot pan, right in the middle of the hot oil/butter.

Bake @ 400 for 20-30 minutes or until brown and cracked.

Variation:  add in 1 c shredded cheese (cheddar or pepper jack), 1 T chili powder (or more to taste), chopped bell or jalapeno peppers & whole kernels of corn (I dump in 1 c frozen corn).  I usually add in an extra egg and 1/2 t extra of baking soda to help the heavier batter rise.  I love it!! 

Pre-Soaked Pancakes (originally from John & Jessica Moody)

Day 1 (the night before)

3/4 c water

3/4 c yogurt (or 1 1/2 c buttermilk)

2 T coconut or olive oil

3/4 c millet berries

1/2 c rolled GF oats

1/2 c brown rice

1 t vanilla extract

Blend for 3 minutes on high.  Leave in glass container overnight.

Day 2 (following morning)

1 egg

1 t sea salt

1-2 t bk powder

1/2 t bk soda

cinnamon

Add and blend one more minute.  Do not over blend.  Pour on hot, well-oiled griddle as per your usual pancake-mixin' routine.

Variety:  substitute 1/2 c buckwheat groats or amaranth for brown rice or millet berries.  Can also try with (rinsed!!) quinoa grains or wild rice for a nuttier flavor. Can add in sliced bananas, frozen or fresh berries, chocolate chips, etc.  These just make pancakes trickier to flip (they stick more), so have LOTS of butter on hand to grease that skillet!

Cottage Cheese Pancakes (from Ryan's first-ever company retreat)

1 c cottage cheese

1 c sour cream

1 c rice flour  (can use some GF oats too if you like)

4 eggs

Mix- batter will be lumpy.  Pour onto well-oiled griddle...

These are high in protein and will fill you UP!  Great with peach butter & creamy butter... oh yes...

My favorite Double Crust GF Pie Crust (great for chicken pot pie!- adapted from Mrs. Mohler's "famous" pie crust recipe)

1 c cornstarch or tapioca starch/flour

1 c rice flour (I usually substitute 1/4 c of this with ground flax seed) or buckwheat or millet flour, or a combo

8 T butter

2 T olive oil

1/3 cold milk (or my favorite: cold orange juice- it provides a light sweet tartness that is great!)

1 t xanthan or guar gum

1 t salt (can omit if using salted butter above)

Bake as needed.  For pumpkin pie, add in pumpkin pie spice (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg & ground cloves or allspice) and 1 t maple syrup.

Emergency One-Crust Pie Crust

1/2 c butter

1 1/2 c rice flour

4 T cold water

Mix, then press directly into pan.

Dairy-Free GF Pie Crust

3/4 c rice flour

1 t honey

1/4 t sea salt

1/2 t xanthan gum

1/3 c butter or oil

2 T cold water.

Mix, then roll out between aluminum foil sheets for easy(er) transfer.

Another breakfast favorite (recipe has been referred to dozens of friends with rave reviews all around) is baked oatmeal from my friend Emily-- just make sure you use GF oats. I've used this pita recipe several times and it's good. I make my gyros like my friend Jenny does, except I add in cumin, coriander, cinnamon & other middle-eastern curry spices, as well as using 1/2 ground lamb, 1/2 ground beef.  Everything on here is amazing.  But as she's a chef, married to a chef, sometimes the recipes are a bit too involved for me... Go here to my staple meat-loaf recipe. Lastly, in a pinch, Pamela's Gluten-Free Bread Mix is my favorite.  You can make it in any bread maker on the white wheat setting.

Using Veggies as Frugal Fillers

This post on one of my favorite sites (Keeper of the Home) is great, especially for those who are trying to lessen processed foods, and/or grains.  Since I don't like to cook separate gluten-full, and gluten-free meals for my family, and gluten-free baking is expensive and rather unwieldy, I'd rather do something else.  This post is all about using readily available, inexpensive fruits & veggies in our meals.

Enjoy.

PS-- AND THE WINNER IS ....Jeannette!  A code for 50 free photo cards will be in your email inbox. :)  Check out her blog here.

(Each entry was given a random number, then I used a random number generator to pick an entry.)

Turkey Enchiladas (gluten & soy free)

In the spirit of Thanksgiving leftovers, here is my newest favorite recipe. Ryan swears he can taste the turkey, but I sure can't.  My friend Sina originally engineered this recipe for shredded chicken, and I'm guessing you could even do it with beef or fish.  The key element is the homemade sauce.

This is the one time of year when the entire Szrama household enjoys poultry, since we shell out the bucks to buy me a soy-free, pastured gobbler from Tropical Traditions (believe me, I use EVERY BIT of that bird, even the neck, bones & organs!).

Enchilada Sauce (makes ~3 cups)
2 T butter or cooking oil
2 T maseca (corn-flour), rice flour (or wheat flour)
2 T chili powder
1 t cumin
14 oz. chicken or turkey broth (just under 2 cups)
8 oz tomato sauce (I did 4 oz. tomato paste thinned with 4 oz water)
1 t sea salt
1/4-1/2 t garlic powder, to taste

Melt butter in med. saucepan.  Stir in flour & chili powder.  Cook for 1 min.  Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Cover until needed.

Turkey or Chicken Enchiladas
3 c. enchilada sauce
2 c. shredded, cooked turkey/chicken
1/2 c thinly sliced green onions (I omitted these)
1 c diced tomatoes (optional)
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese-- use combo Monterey Jack, mozzarella, cheddar
1/4 c plain yogurt or sour cream
1/2 c diced chili or bell pepper
1/4 c fresh cilantro (I omitted this)
12 6" corn tortillas
aprox. 1/2 c butter, for frying

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 baking dish.

In med. bowl, mix turkey, veggies, sour cream, 1 c cheese and 1/2 c enchilada sauce.  Mix well.  

Heat 1/2" oil in pan. Fry tortillas one at a time until soft (aprox 10 sec. per side at med-high heat).  Stack in baking dish.

Spread small amount of enchilada sauce on bottom of baking dish.  Spread 2 heaping tablespoons of the chicken mixture in each tortilla and roll it up.  Place seam side down in baking dish. Once all tortillas are filled and rolled, pour remaining sauce over top.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes.  Garnish with extra sour cream, green onions, cilantro as desired.

RUF Chili

This past week we managed to surprise my friend Jenny with her first birthday party ever (25 is a big year, you know).  I served up a pot of chili which I learned to make in college.  It became the staple of our RUF "core group" meeting eatings. :)  It's the type of chili anyone -even single college guys- can make and enjoy.  Thank you, Eric, for passing it on!

By request, I'm putting the recipe on the blog. Of course, you can vary which beans you use, or make them from dry instead of canned. The one I served last week had some canned beans and some which I'd previously cooked up from dry beans and had frozen.

RUF Chili

2 (15 oz) cans (or 3 cups cooked) pinto beans

2 (15 oz) cans (or 3 cups cooked) black beans

2 (15 oz) cans (or 3 cups cooked) great northern or navy beans

1 large can (28 oz size) (3 1/2 cups cooked) baked beans* 

1 (28 oz) jar salsa (as hot as you want)

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatos or 1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomatoes (~3 tomatoes)

between 1/2 & 1 cup of filtered water (to taste)

(optional: browned ground beef or chuck-- we didn't add this in RUF b/c several members were vegetarian)

Rinse the pinto, black & white beans, then dump into your stockpot.  If desired, brown beef and add to pot. Add the can of baked beans, tomatoes & salsa. Add water to thin to taste, taking into account how long you will let the pot sit out/on the heat (longer time = more water needed)

Heat to boiling.  Serve with sour cream and grated cheddar or colby jack cheese.  

YUM!!

*(Bush's Vegetarian Beans are gluten & soy-free)  However, I usually make our own beans (were you surprised?).  I'll post my recipe for them later-- I love it because I can either use the crock pot or the oven.

Some pictures are here.

Cream-Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins- GF version

My buddy Blythe just posted a recipe for pumpkin muffins that featured an irresistible blob of rich, gooey cheese smack dab in the middle of 'em.  She bragged to me about them over the phone, too, and my mind began watering. Her fall cravings became mine.

I bought an extra tub of yogurt at the store to make my own cream cheese, and planned to debut these for book club (10:30 Sat am). I don't usually do NEW recipes for other people, especially not timing them so they are literally coming out of the oven and into my car... but it worked out quite nicely this time.  :)  The muffins were moist, tasty, and not too crumbly or dense (often problems with GF muffins).  One friend- a self-proclaimed 'gluten-free-food snob' put it (name ommitted to protect the tactless ;D) "hey! these are pretty good, for gluten-free food!"  So I guess they won't be winning any awards, but they sure beat just watching everyone else eat.  :) Blythe's muffins had a crumble on top, which I left off for simplicity's sake.  That and the fact that I didn't have any sugar in the house. :)

Cream-Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins- GF version

2 c gluten-free flours (1/2 c coconut, 1/2 c cornstarch, 1/2 Maseca corn flour, 1/2 c freshly ground buckwheat flour) 

1 t xantham gum

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1/2 t celtic sea salt

1 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t ground ginger

1/2 t ground cloves

1/2 t ground nutmeg

1/2 c maple syrup (could possibly use 3/4 c sucanat or sugar, but because the GF flours I used are particularly "thirsty," you'd probably need to add a little water)

3 T unsulphered molasses

1/4 c melted butter or oil

3 eggs

1 c canned (or stewed/pureed) pumpkin

1 t vanilla extract

3/4 c yogurt (I did vanilla-flavored) thinned with water

Filling:

4 oz cream cheese (not softened!)

2-3 T (raw, local) honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or line with muffin liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, xantham gum, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a separate smaller bowl, fork the honey into the cream cheese till nearly smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk thesyrup, molasses, oil and eggs until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla, and thinned yogurt.  Mix into the dry ingredients in batches.  Make sure you scrape up the bottom to get everything well-mixed in!

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Place a scant tablespoon of the cream cheese in the center of the muffin. (I used my fingers to press it in.). Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean. 

Baked Potato Soup

I'm craving this soup again...

Baked Potato Soup (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Serves 3

Ingredients
6 slices farm-raised organic bacon
1/3 cup butter or oil
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (GF:  3 T cornstarch)
3-1/2 cups (whole) milk
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 green onions, chopped (or ~1/2 c white onions, i.e. a small onion)
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
chives to garnish
 
 
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain, crumble, and set aside.

In a stock pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir the cornstarch into the (cold) milk, stirring until it dissolves (adding it directly into hot stuff will give you lumps). Add this gradually to the butter, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Mix in bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.  Garnish with cut chives after serving into bowls, if desired.

Beans, Beans...

A friend just linked to this post comparing dry and canned beans.  I'd never thought of making a whole bag of dried beans and freezing the extra!  DUH! 

This website looks really helpful, too, so I'll be checking it out periodically!

Water Kefir

One of the main "missing ingredients" in the American diet these days is fermented foods.  With the advent of canning and refrigeration, there isn't a "need" to preserve food in the old-fashioned low-tech ways like pickling or fermenting.  Both of these take advantage of little friendly bacteria in the air (Lactobacillus) which are happy to start digesting your food for you, releasing a ton of extra nutrients in the process, as well as making your food last longer.  If you think about it, every culture has its own fermented foods:  French with raw-milk cheeses and wines, Latin American with salsas of many kinds, Koreans with kimchi, Africans with sour gruel (ogi), Turks with kefir, early Americans with pickled veggies and sourdough breads, Germans with saurkraut, etc.  These all provide organisms which we desperately need to digest our food and defend our bodies.  If we don't have enough good bugs in us, the bad bugs take over, basically. Personal example:   I used to have a chronic yeast imbalance all over my entire body-- seen in skin problems, fatigue, and so many other ways.  The drugs I took for that, though, wiped my body clean of ALL yeast... and then I got a bacterial infection... antibiotics wiped my sistem of ALL bacteria, and I got an even worse yeast imbalance... you get the picture.  It wasn't until I used probiotics like those in kefir, kimchi, and yoghurt (both fermented milk products) to build my "good bugs" up, in conjunction with natural anti-fungals like cinnamon and garlic, that I finally found relief (and have kept in balence for 4 years now!).

Anyway, I am trying to add fermented foods into our diet and consume some every day if not at every meal.  My hope is that my daughter will grow up with a healthy internal "gut flora" from day 1.  Right now the easiest way to add fermented "foods" to our diet has actually been through drinks!  Sure, we enjoy sour cream, yogurt, and home-made cream cheese, but the main way Eowyn and I stay fortified is in our cups.  You may have heard of kefir, basically a drinkable yogurt.  Well, there is a such thing as water kefir, which provides the same benefits without having to mess with the milk aspect. My friend and neighbor Ruth has had great success brewing this for her family, and she offered to supply me with some starter grains in a muslin bag.  With much trepidation, I set out.  Here are photographs of the first few steps:

1. Purifying the water-- any extra chlorine in the water will kill the kefir grains, and carbon-based filters mess it up, too, so you can either boil tap water (letting it cool to room temp), let it set out overnight (the chlorine will evaporate), or aerate it with a blender (to make the chlorine vaporize faster).  As you can see, I chose the blender option:

2. Feeding the starter.  Kefir grains are formed of living organisms so they must be fed.  Here I dissolve 1/4 c organic sugar into 1 c boiling water.  Notice that everything I use is glass or plastic.  Metal utensils can damage kefir grains. Yes, they are kinda finicky.

3. Adding the kefir grains-- after adding enough cool water to the water-and-sugar mix to fill a quart-sized mason jar (with about 1" head room), I let it cool to room temperature.  Temperature is crucial; apparently too hot will kill them... too cold puts them to sleep (which is great when you want to take a break). The kefir grains are in a muslin bag to protect them.  I rinsed them off really well before adding them.  Cover it loosely with a cloth (keep out flies), and let it sit at room temp for 24-48 hrs (longer means more of the sugar is eaten= less sweet taste).

4. not shown:  flavoring the kefir.  After it's fermented to your liking (I did only 24 hrs to minimize alcohol content), you remove the kefir grains (rince & add them to a new batch),  and add flavors.  Let ferment- it gets nice and fizzy at this point!- another day, then remove fruit pieces and add any vanilla.  I tried several recipies; our favorite being ginger-lemon (2-4 T freshly grated ginger, 1/4 c lemon juice, with a splash of vanilla added the next day.  I tried a plain vanilla as well as an apple-juice one.  Ruth's kids love grape-juice-flavored kefir.  Once you've done all this, the kefir needs to be stored in the fridge or somewhere else cool.

If you want to try it, read a great tutorial here.  Ruth got her kefir grains from cultures for health... and if you live in the area, I'd be happy to share some of my very-healthy and growing grains with you!  Just ask!

I drink the kefir straight, starting with just 1/4 glass per day to get my body used to it.  Now I can drink pretty much as much as I want.  For Eowyn, I give her only about 1/4 cup per day, diluted in 8 oz or more of water.  She LOVES the stuff, crying if I tell her it's all gone.  I've gotten to the point where I crave the fizzy, slightly sour taste.  It is a great thirst-quencher, and helps digest meals. 

One other fermented drink that is super-easy to make, and very kid-friendly, is ginger "beer."  Our friend Blythe shared some with us, and Eowyn had a total melt-down when I finished my cup of it and she got no more sips.  I remember reading in the Little House on the Prairie books that Ma sent ginger-beer out to the workers on hot days because it wouldn't hurt their stomachs like water would.  Now I know what she meant!!  Here's an article with quite a few fermented drink recipes.

Lately, we've been enjoying a friend's home-brewed kombucha (a fermented tea).  Eowyn does like that (super-diluted, sometimes mixed with diluted juice), too, but she makes a really funny face after every sip, before going back for more... kinda like she does with pickles or lemons.

I'm so glad she's getting a taste for GOOD foods early on instead of empty calories like soda, candy, or straight fruit juice!