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Archive for July, 2008

Another Small Appliance – for my Birthday!

July 14th, 2008 2 comments


For my birthday, my mom was preparing dinner for me and made a batch of yogurt as well. She asked me what else I wanted and I said ice cream! lol
So on my birthday, I got an ice cream maker, and oh boy is it ever good!

My first batch I made a frozen yogurt but plan to experiment to get something closer to ice cream. All I put in was 2 cups yogurt made from 10% half and half, 1/2 cup honey, 1 tbsp vanilla and a dash of salt. I plan to try with 35% whipping cream yogurt, egg yolks, honey, vanilla and a bit of salt. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

For dinner we had beef korma made in the crockpot and a chicken stir-fry made in the wok. Not much else we could do with the limited garage-kitchen. My mom also used the microwave convection oven to make almond butter brownies as my cake. We served it with yogurt as the ‘icing’. I probably could have dripped the yogurt and mixed it with lots of honey to make a proper icing, but it was just fine the way it was.

My boyfriend and close friends organized a party for me on the weekend. It was really nice to have the high school gang together all in one place again. We had planned to do games and activities but ended up just chatting all afternoon. My boyfriend had made deviled eggs for me. I brought another almond butter brownie ‘cake’ and everyone raved at how good it was. I think they were surprised since I told them there’s no flour or sugar. We also had plenty of fruit out and I think I ate too much. I’m a sucker for blueberries.

A few of my friends actually noticed that I looked healthier. Everyone seemed supportive of the weird diet. It was a nice afternoon.

I also got the Wii Fit for my birthday. This ‘game’ is great! It has a lot of yoga poses and strength exercises that are really good for me at least in the short term. It’s just at my pace. I have played it every day so far and was actually sore after one of the workouts.

Categories: Update Tags:

What’s cooking?

July 2nd, 2008 3 comments


Not much lately.. With my kitchen in the garage I have been pretty limited in what I can make. We’re waiting for new cupboards and countertops to be delivered, so in the meantime our old kitchen cupboards along with new appliances are in the garage. It’s functional except for no stove and no water. I have been using an electric wok to poach or hardboil eggs (as shown in picture). Our microwave also works as an oven so I have baked some salmon. I used the crockpot to make some chicken soup. Other than that, I’m living off dinners and meatballs I have frozen, my yogurt, cheese, and bananas.

I have always been one to believe in moderation. Don’t eat too much of one thing type of deal. But lately I’ve been eating way more cheese and I have been feeling great. I have stopped with worrying about overdoing one food, and started listening to my body. I never ‘crave’ cheese and always feel good after eating it. It’s great to bring along in my purse since it travels well. I think the salt in it helps too. Usually if I’m feeling weak and hungry, a piece of cheese keeps me going until I can cook something up. I also have a piece of cheese before bed so I don’t feel weak in the middle of the night. I would even go so far as to call cheddar cheese an adrenal fatigue superfood. Eggs too maybe.

My cheese of choice is an organic cheddar goat milk cheese that tastes fabulous. It’s not colored orange like regular cheddar cheese and has a nice pure taste. I’m going through about 2-3 ounces per day. I need to start buying more than one block at a time. I’m also going through 1.5-2 cups of cream yogurt per day, need to start making more of that too..

Categories: Update Tags: ,

Soups

July 2nd, 2008 No comments

Duck Soup

2 duck legs
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch ginger, sliced
2 cups leafy greens
2 cups broth
2 cups water
1 tsp sea salt

Crockpot method: Place duck legs in crockpot and just cover with water. Cook on low 6-12 hours. Remove duck legs and separate meat from bones. Place meat in a large pot on the stove. Add all ingredients and the broth from the crockpot. Simmer for 15 minutes until onion is soft.

Stovetop method: Place duck legs in a large pot and just cover with water. Simmer over medium heat for 1 hour. Add all ingredients and simmer until onion is soft.

My preference is to cook the duck legs in the crockpot which really tenderizes the meat. I prefer the vegetables to be lightly cooked so I finish the cooking in a pot on the stove.


Bone Marrow Beef Broth
1 lb beef soup bones with marrow
1/2 lb beef stew meat
carrots
celery
large onion
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup tomato juice
filtered water
butter

Brown bones and meat in a pan with butter or oil. Place meat in a crockpot or stewing pot and place bones on top. Fill pot with water to just the height of the bones.

Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic and tomato juice. Simmer on low for 6-8 hours.

Remove bones carefully to not lose any of the marrow in the center. Eat the marrow as is, with a spoon, it’s so delicious!

Strain the stock and remove vegetables, I always return the meat to the stock.

Categories: Recipes, Soups Tags: ,

Fish & Seafood

July 2nd, 2008 1 comment


Easy Scallops

Scallops don’t need much to taste good, just make sure you don’t cook them too long. Pictured here they are prepared as follows and then topped with butter sauce.

1 tbsp butter
scallops

In a pan, heat butter over medium heat. Add scallops and cook a few minutes each side (depending on how big they are) until they are the same color when cut through (not greyish/see through in the middle).
Done!


Butter Sauce
This sauce is delicious with crab, lobster, or scallops.

1/4 cup butter
2 tsp parsley flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon juice

Simmer all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat. Pour over seafood of your choice. This is especially nice with scallops, steamed oysters, lobster, and crab.



Roe on Roasted Golden Beets
Whenever I look up how to have roe I see recipes for sushi or breads that just don’t work with SCD. I roasted some golden beets the other day and thought maybe I should try it on that. Turns out it was pretty good! Pictured here I just had plain sliced beets with roe, but you can add some butter and salt for more flavour.

4-5 medium golden beets, whole
1 jar fish roe
salt & pepper (optional)
butter or ghee (optional)

Place beets in a glass baking dish. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Note that beets can be stored in fridge for a few days and used as desired. Slice one beet into 1/4″ slices. Lay slices on a plate and put a pat of butter on each. Top each with a small spoonful of roe. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.



Baked Salmon with Cherry Tomatoes

salmon steaks
cherry tomatoes, halved
parsley
red pepper flakes (optional for spiciness)
garlic cloves
salt & pepper
butter or ghee

Place salmon skin side down in a baking dish. Sprinkle spices on top. Place tomato halves cut side down over the fish. Dab butter in the middle of each piece of fish. Bake at 350F until done, about 25 minutes for 1″ thick salmon steak.


Bhuna Shrimp
One of my favorite dishes at a local Indian food restaurant was Bhuna Shrimp. However, I couldn’t be sure it was gluten-free (although it was SCD legal) and so I’ve taken to making it at home myself. It’s super easy and I can control how spicy it is.

1 or 2 little hot peppers, diced finely
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
juice of a lemon (or about 2 tbsp)
1 1/2 pounds shrimp
1 onion
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup spinach, torn to pieces (or frozen)
1/2 cup water, boiling

Marinate the shrimp in the spices, lemon juice and vinegar. Heat the butter in a skillet and saute the onion. Add the shrimp with marinade and the hot water, let it simmer until the shrimp is mostly cooked. Add the spinach and simmer until just done.


Steamed Fish
2 green onions
1 inch ginger
1 fish (tilapia, bass, or other small 1-2 lb white fish) with head and tail intact
oil or butter
sea salt
cooking wine

Wash fish. Make 3 slices on each side flank of the fish. Rub salt on fish. Slice up onions and spread on fish. Grate or slice ginger and spread on fish.

Place fish on a steamer tray in a big pot with water in the bottom. Pour some cooking wine over the fish. Steam for about 10-20 mins (10 mins per inch thickness). It’s done when the flesh separates easily when poked with a fork.

Heat oil in a pan and pour over fish.

The best part of the fish to eat is actually in the head. The cheek muscle below the eye of the fish is my favorite. Above the eye along the top of the head into the body is a lot of meaty flesh with no bones, my second favorite.


Simple Salmon
1 lb salmon fillet
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
sea salt
butter (or coconut oil)

Place salmon in a glass baking dish. Pour lemon juice over, sprinkle with salt and add chopped garlic. Dot with butter or coconut oil.
Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.


Ginger Salmon
1 inch ginger
2 green onions
1 lb salmon fillet
sea salt
butter (or coconut oil)

Place salmon in a glass baking dish. Grate ginger all over salmon. Sprinkle with salt and added chopped onion. Dot with butter or coconut oil. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes.

Categories: Main Dish, Recipes Tags:

Beverages & Juices

July 2nd, 2008 3 comments

Basic Ginger Tea

1 inch ginger, cut into chunks or slices
1 cup water
2 tsp honey

Simmer ginger in water in a small saucepan for 5 minutes. Pour into a mug. Remove ginger pieces. Add honey and stir.

This is the perfect tea for any stomach ailment especially when nauseous.


Beet drink

by Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions.
This is how I make it, on a smaller scale. I hope it’s ok to repost this recipe on the web.

2-3 small beets
2-3 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp whey

Chop beets into large chunks and place in a 2 cup jar with a lid. Pour salt and whey over them. Fill the jar with water but leave space at the top. Leave on the counter for 2 days then place in fridge. I drink about 1/4 cup at a time of this, it’s a great liver tonic.


Almond Milk

1/2 cup almonds (I use ones with skin on, blanched are fine too)
1 cup warm filtered water
salt
2 cups cold filtered water
1-2 tbsp honey
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt

Soak almonds in warm salted water overnight or about 8 hours. This makes them more digestible. I do this in a glass jar. Then drain the almonds.

Mix almonds and cold water in a blender or in a drink jug with an immersion blender. Pour everything into a nut milk bag. Squeeze the liquid back into the jug.

Add 1-2 tbsp of honey and 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt. Stir well. Enjoy! Refrigerate any unused portion and it will keep a couple days.

Pretty simple, just need to get a nut milk bag. I’m not sure how I would make this without a nut milk bag. To clean the bag, rinse it under water to get rid of the nut bits and then it can go in the dishwasher. I get tired of washing that thing by hand.


Lemonade

1 lemon
1 spoonful of honey
1 cup warm water

Squeeze all the juice of the lemon into a glass. Add honey & warm water and stir until mixed. Add ice cubes if you like a cooler drink, but this is nice warm.


Carrot and celery juice

1-2 large carrot or about 1 cup
1-2 celery stalks
pinch salt

I find straining the juice through a fine mesh strainer works well. My juicer tends to leave some pulp, which isn’t so good on a sensitive digestive system.

If the juice seems too bitter, use more carrot and less greens.

Categories: Beverages, Recipes Tags: