Homemade Almond or Cashew Flour

Alternative flours for gluten-free baking can be very expensive. Any time I see them on sale, or when I shop at the commissary on the Air Force Base, I pick up various mixes, because it's the only way to afford them. But, I have learned a couple of ways now to make my own nut flours, both of which are simple and use appliances that most people have in their kitchens.
The first way uses the leftover pulp from making Almond or Cashew milks. You start out by making your milk (I make Almond Milk using this recipe). Spread the pulp out on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and dehydrate in your oven, as low as it can go, until it is completely dry. Let it cool completely, then grind it in a coffee grinder to make a fine powder.
The other way to make nut flour just uses the coffee grinder. You can soak your almonds or cashews and them let them dry before grinding, or if you are in a hurry, just throw them into the grinder. Pulse the grinder until you have a fine powder. It will stick to the sides of the grinder, just loosen it up with a spoon (or your finger) and dump it into a bowl. I store my homemade nut flours in jars.
These flours might not work as well as purchased versions in some baking recipes, but I have used them to make raw cookies, pancakes, and chocolate chip cookies with success.

Gluten- and Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yum! I have been craving chocolate chip cookies for so long! I've made some raw versions a few times, and they were good, but really didn't kill the craving... and then I found this recipe. It was already gluten-free, and I easily converted it to dairy-free, with the help of some coconut oil and a Boom Choco Boom bar. These are nice puffy, light cookies, a little nutty and not too sweet. I think they would be nice with a small glass of almond milk. I enjoyed them with a glass of Lactaid (my dairy problems are lactose-related).

 

Gluten- and Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.

In a large bowl, mix your dry ingredients:

2 3/4 cups of almond flour (you can buy it, but I make my own)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda 

Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add to the well:

2 eggs

1/4 cup maple syrup (I think I might add a little extra sweetener next time)

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 Boom Choco Boom bar, broken into chunks

1/2 cup dehydrated coconut

Mix all ingredients well, and scoop by heaping tablespoons onto your prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until they just start to turn golden brown around the edges, and they don't dent when you push on them. They will be shiny and look wet, but when you touch them, they are dry.

Remove from the cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack, and enjoy!

Crunchy Habit to Try- May 2010

Coming up with a change to make for May was actually a bit of a challenge. I don't like to brag, but I feel like as a family, we already do quite a bit around the house to help the environment. I've used cloth diapers since Noah was about 1 month old, we rarely use anything disposable (no paper towels, no paper napkins, no paper plates...), I already hang my laundry (mostly my diapers) on the line to dry, I garden, I use natural cleaning solutions, natural bath & body products, etc. Finally though, I decided on a change. It's one of those things that I know some friends of mine probably do, but no one really talks about...
I've thought about doing it for awhile. Replacing pretty much the only disposable/single use paper item we still buy with a washable, reusable alternative. I wondered what Dave would say, if he'd do it, etc... then I decided it really didn't matter, because even if only I stopped using this one single use item, it would make a pretty big difference. Yep, I'm talking about toilet paper.

How, exactly, do you stop using toilet paper? Simple- I have about a zillion cloth wipes, little washcloths, scraps of fabric, etc. that I use on Faith's but in place of disposable baby wipes. I have at least 3-4 times as many as I need just for her. In fact, I have so many, that I had a bag of them that we'd used when she was still at the hospital (over a year ago now) that was just taking up space in the cupboard in our bathroom.
So, as I was cleaning out that cupboard and reorganizing it, I decided to just do it, and start using them in place of TP. I had a basket that sat on the back of the toilet and held a couple of washcloths and some little soaps, as a decoration. I took those things out, put the wipes in, and set it down next to the toilet under the TP holder. Then, I took the plastic wipes container that I used to keep Faith's wipes in, and set it next to the basket, to hold used wipes.
When the container is full, I will dump them in with a load of diapers to wash. It's that easy! And, as the only potty-using female in the house, I am naturally the largest consumer of TP in our home, so by replacing my TP use with washable, reusable wipes instead, I hope to make a big dent in our TP consumption! Replace TP with wipes for Noah, even more of a dent! And if I could eventually coax Dave into using the wipes instead, that would mean we would only be using toilet paper for guests!

How's it working so far? I actually prefer the wipes to toilet paper. They work MUCH better for Noah, too... and the roll is definitely lasting longer!

My Goals for this Blog

I decided to write an actual post about what I intend to do here, in hopes of forcing some accountability on myself to actually do what I say!

1. Write at least one post, hopefully 6 days a week (one for each weekday, and one for the weekend).
2. Post at least 1-2 new recipes each week.
3. Post current crafting projects, as they are begun, and post progress pictures of projects until they are completed.
4. Post one "Small Change" (aka: Crunchy Habit) each month, with progress of how each change is going.
5. Post resources on each page, with a goal of posting something for each category each week. 

I hope to start writing tonight!

Gluten- and Dairy-Free Pork Schnitzel with Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage

Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Pork Schnitzel with Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage (pictures to come!)

Schnitzel Recipe:

4-5 boneless pork loin chops, pounded thin

1 egg, beaten

1 cup finely ground almonds

garlic powder, salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste

1 Tbsp olive oil

2-3 Tbsp corn starch

1 cup water

1. Thaw your pork chops if frozen. Place on a cutting board (one that can be sanitized), and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Pound the pork chops, one at a time, with the flat side of your meat tenderizer.
2. Crack the egg into a shallow dish that will fit one of the flattened pork chops, and beat it well. Put the almonds into another shallow dish and season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper (and/or whatever seasonings you would like).
3. Working one at a time, place the flattened pork chops first into the egg, coating well and then letting the excess drip back into the dish, and then placing them into the ground almonds. Make sure the pork chops are well coated with the ground almonds, and when all of the chops are coated, place them on a plate and refrigerate about 1/2 hour. (This will help the "breading" to stick.)
4. Heat a large skillet over med-high heat, and add the olive oil to the skillet. Place the pork chops into the skillet and brown well. When the first side is well browned, flip and brown the other side. When both sides are browned, remove the pork chops from the pan to a clean plate (not the plate the raw chops were on in your refrigerator!).
5. In a glass measuring cup, mix the corn starch and the water. Pour these into the skillet the pork chops were cooked in. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the browned bits incorporated into what will become your gravy. Continue stirring well, bring to a boil, and cook until thickened. Season as desired.
6. When the gravy is done, add the pork chops back to the skillet, turn the heat down, and cook them until they are done completely through.

Serve with Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage.

Red Cabbage Recipe:

1 small to medium head of red cabbage

2 apples (I used organic Braeburns), peeled and thinly sliced

2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into matchstick pieces (optional)

1/4-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar

1. Thinly slice/shred your head of red cabbage, and place it into a saucepan. Repeat with apples, and carrots if you choose.
2. Add cider vinegar and brown sugar, and mix well.
3. Turn stove to medium, place lid on pan, and cook until cabbage is soft, stirring occasionally. Taste, and adjust cider vinegar and sugar amounts, if needed.

Serve with Schnitzel or other German food.

What's for supper? April 6, 2010

Cornish Game Hens with Roasted Cauliflower, Carrot, and Garlic Puree, and sauteed Spinach

Cornish Hens were on sale the other day at the grocery store, so I picked up a few of them. They are a great, faster alternative to a roast chicken, and I especially loved cooking one just for Noah and myself to share when Dave was gone for his army training.
I treat the hens basically the same as I would a regular chicken when cooking them. First and foremost, you want to take them out of the wrapper and rinse them well under cold water. Pull off any stray feathers, run water into the cavity and just really rinse it out.
After that, you'll want to pick a baking pan that is an appropriate size for the number of hens you will be roasting. I am roasting 3 hens, so I am using a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Place the rinsed hens into the pan, and pat them dry.

Next, you'll want to stuff the cavity with whatever you'd like. Since I'm on the Paleo diet and am not eating grains or bread, I stuffed each of these simply with some chunks of onion, some pieces of celery, a couple of baby carrots, a couple of cloves of garlic, and some dried rosemary leaves.

You won't want to leave the birds floppy during baking; in order for them to bake nice and evenly, you should truss them. You don't have to use twine or anything else to truss them, you can do it completely without anything extra or special. First, flip the wings up and behind the hen's neck. I always think of it like the chicken is relaxing, holding its head with its hands... Anyway, the wings will look like this picture if you do them right:

To truss the legs, you'll want to find the excess skin that is between the base of the cavity and the legs, and you'll make a hole in that skin, either with your finger or a knife.

Now put the legs through the holes you've made on each side of the chicken, so that the chicken is crossing its legs and they are secure.

Now, to season the bird. My absolute favorite way to do a roast chicken is to rub it all over with butter. Since I am not doing dairy (and I don't want to die of a heart attack, as much as I love doing it the butter way), I used olive oil instead. Rub all over the outside of the chicken, and then lift up the skin and rub under the skin as well. This helps make the skin extra crispy, and keeps the meat really moist, too.

After you have the hen nicely rubbed down with oil, season it with the spices of your choice. I mixed up a spice rub that is a combination of lots of different spices, including garlic powder, thyme, marjoram, paprika, salt, pepper, and a little bit of a *secret* ingredient- cinnamon. Again, rub the spices both on the outside and under the skin.

Now your game hens are ready to roast!

Put them in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, depending on the size of the birds. To brown the skin, turn the oven up to 400 degrees for the last 5-10 minutes of roasting time.

To roast the veggies for the puree, simply clean them, cut them into pieces (they can be fairly large), and spread them on a baking sheet. Remember to save any of the parts you cut off to use in stock! For tonight's supper, I am roasting cauliflower and carrots, and a head of garlic to puree with them to make mock mashed potatoes.

Drizzle or brush the veggies with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast them in the oven at 400 degrees until they are done (maybe 15 minutes).

Let the veggies cool, then put them into your food processor and pulse it to make a rough puree. I don't know about other husbands, but mine doesn't want to feel like he's eating baby food, so I just puree the veggies to the point where they're still pretty chunky. Put them in a serving bowl, and warm them before you eat!

To make the spinach, wash the leaves well, pull off the stems, and throw them into a big, hot pan with some olive oil and garlic (and whatever else you want in it- the other day I did some turkey bacon, garlic, and onion). It will take A LOT of spinach to cook into an amount that will feed more than one person. I can feed Dave and I each a small side of spinach from one big bunch. Since Noah doesn't eat it, that works well for us.
Put a lid on the pan, and just let the spinach wilt down. Once it is mostly wilted, then you can stir it around and mix the olive oil and flavorings into it. Sprinkle with salt or whatever other spices you want, and serve. Spinach only takes maybe 5-10 minutes total to prepare and cook, so save this for the last thing you do, right before you serve supper.

Enjoy your supper! I know we will enjoy ours :)

Here are the leftover carcasses and the veggie bits and pieces, turning into stock!

Kale chips

I've seen lots of recipes for these lately, and I've been saying for a week that I was going to turn the two bunches of kale in my fridge into chips, so today I finally did!

These were SO easy, and turned out really yummy for my first time trying them! I can totally see these becoming a staple snack item at my house, even if I'm the only one who eats them... although I think if Dave and Noah tried them, they'd probably like them too :)

To make them, you need 1-2 bunches of kale. When you're picking out a bunch of kale at the store, make sure it is crisp, not limp, and I have heard that kale is one of those veggies that you really should buy organic if you can. I have some seeds planted out back, and I'm really hoping they come up and grow well, because I love kale!

Start out by trimming the stems from your kale leaves, and then tear up the leaves into 2-3 inch pieces. I didn't wash my kale before cutting it, I just threw the pieces right into my salad spinner to clean them.

Don't throw those stems away though- collect them in a bowl to clean and then add to your next pot of stock! I had just cut up some celery before this, and I am making Cornish Hens for dinner tonight, so I threw the stems and the celery ends into a stock pot to wait for the hen carcasses after dinner, they should make some nice stock.

After your pieces are cleaned and spun dry in your salad spinner, put them either in a large bowl or a zip-top bag. To my kale pieces, I added 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of pomegranate infused red wine vinegar, some kosher salt, and some garlic powder. Then I closed the bag and shook it all up to coat the kale pieces.

When your pieces are nicely coated and seasoned how you want them, spread them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or if you don't have any parchment paper, you can spray it with cooking spray or drizzle it with olive oil.

Now put the pan into a preheated 350 degree oven, and let the kale roast. I didn't pay attention to how long it took, but it was probably at least 15-20 minutes, and I shifted and sort of scooted the kale around a few times in that length of time, to make sure it was cooking evenly.

Now let your kale chips cool off a little bit, and then enjoy! These are a great, super healthy alternative to potato chips or even popcorn, for someone who can't eat those things... but don't believe it when you read recipes and they say "these taste just like regular chips!"... it's not true, and if you expect them to taste like potato chips, you probably won't like them!