Better Than Stir-Fry Recipe

This is a recipe that I created last night and it got rave reviews from my family. In fact, I made it again tonight because we all loved it so much! This recipe doesn't call for a specific quantity of each item, so feel free to be creative.

Ingredients
Peppers, sliced
Summer Squash, sliced
Peas
Mushrooms, sliced
Garlic, crushed & fresh
Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Coconut Oil
Spiral Pasta, cooked (I used brown rice pasta)

The first three ingredients I had in my freezer (I did not thaw them prior to adding them to my wok) from this summer and you could use pretty much any vegetable that you want. I just combined all ingredients (except the pasta) in my wok, turned on the heat, and used my bamboo spatula to help mix it up while it was cooking. Just as it looks to be done add the pasta and stir until heated and mixed thoroughly.

Since many of you know we are soy free I want to make note of why we choose to use Bragg's liquid aminos since the primary ingredient is soy. The soy used in Bragg's is GMO-free and it is a fermented soy product. We still limit how much we use it, but for the occassional stir-fry it works great!

I chose to use coconut oil, but palm oil would also be a good option. Just remember when choosing oils to use the general rule of thumb is to use "solid" oils for high temp cooking and "liquid" oils for room temp and moderate cooking. Also, learn about the different oils and fats. Here is a good article to get you started.

Healthier No Bake Cookies

Since going gluten free I have been looking for some good recipes for sweet treats! It's hard to go to birthday parties and other events without your kids feeling left out when they can't have cake! We don't use white sugar, so I wanted something I could adapt to use honey. I've taken an old favorite and changed it! I plan to make some batches, freeze them, and pull them out to bring to birthday parties with us. I also have a cake recipe I plan to do the same with.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups honey
4T Cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk (I like coconut milk - YUMMY)
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 t. real vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter (can substitute other nut butters)
3-4 cups quick oats (I use gluten free)

Combine honey, cocoa, butter, milk, salt, & vanilla in a sauce pan. Bring to a full boil & stir constantly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat & stir in oats & peanut butter. Start with just adding 3 cups quick oats and add up to a cup more until it is nice and thick. Drop by the spoonful on wax paper and let cool until set. I like to put mine in the fridge or freezer, especially during the summer, to help them set up quicker.
Enjoy! :-)

Making Raw Milk Yogurt

I don't have a double boiler so I improvise! I put a half gallon canning jar of milk (not quite full) in a pan of water on my stovetop. I constantly stir the milk while it is heating up until it reaches 110 degrees. I add 2 Tablespoons of my last batch of yogurt and stir well. Pour into 4 pint sized jars and add a heaping Tablespoon of yogurt to each jar as well. Mix well. Put the lid on tightly and put in an Excalibur dehydrator at 95 degrees for 8 hours. Remove from dehydrator and then refridgerate!

In order to start making it you will need to buy a good quality organic plain yogurt (I used Stoneyfield Farms brand) to use as your culture. After your first batch you can use some from a previous batch to make more. :-) About every 4 weeks I buy another tub of yogurt as my starter as I have found that the yogurt somehow ferments after about 5 weeks of using the previous batch (I make yogurt weekly).

Honey Hot Cocoa

For those of you who have given up white sugar a friend of mine came up with a good hot cocoa alternative! This recipe is from my dear friend E.M. (not sure if she wants her first name posted, so I'm posting her initials for now). I am planning on making some later this evening!

Honey Hot Cocoa
1/2+ cup honey (I add a bit more because I like mine sweeter)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cocoa
*Heat in a pan for 5 minutes or until it turns into a syrup.

5+ cups milk (to your preference - I like mine more milky)
*Add this to the syrup mixture and heat through.

tsp vanilla extract
*Remove from heat and add this lovely addtion. Serve hot or refridgerate and serve cold. :)

Edited 1/12/09 for honey and milk quantity. :-)

Kombucha

I got a Kombucha Scoby a few weeks ago and we've been enjoying homemade Kombucha! It's SO yummy and it's been fun experimenting with different teas. If you can get your hands on a Scoby it's worth trying. Here are the instructions:

You need a gallon jar (a sun tea jar will work fine).

Bring a gallon of water to a boil.
Turn off heat and add 1 cup of white sugar.
Stir until dissolved.
Add 8 tea bags (not herbal tea – green tea and black tea work great) and let steep for 15 minutes or more.
Let cool and toss out the tea bags.
Take your gallon jar and add the scoby along with 1 cup of your previous batch (if you don’t have a full cup add some Apple Cider Vinegar until you have a full cup).
Once the tea has cooled completely pour it into the gallon jar on top of the scoby and liquid (if you use loose leaf tea instead of bags be sure to strain it).
Cover jar with cloth and secure with a rubber band.
It’ll take 7-15 days before it’s ready. You can start tasting it at any time and when you like the flavor it’s ready!

When it’s ready I’ve found it’s easiest to strain all of the tea into a sun tea pitcher. Leave the scoby in the original jar and add back 1 cup of the kombucha.

Put the Kombucha in the fridge and enjoy! Then follow the instructions above to start a new batch. You can keep using the same jar over and over again. It’s rare for Kombucha to go moldy, but if it does it will have a soft fuzzy mold (it’ll definitely look like typical mold – you won’t question it) and then you’ll know that batch is contaminated – throw it out if this happens! You’ll have a new Scoby start to form with each batch. You don’t want to separate your baby Scobys for the first few batches, but then you can separate your Scobys and share with friends!

It really is super easy!

Kefir

I have fallen in love with Kefir! The best way I can explain it is that it is very similar to yogurt, except it has more probiotics! I make a Kefir smoothie almost everyday. I just throw Kefir, honey, a banana, and a bag of frozen strawberries in the blender! It tastes so yummy, plus it is super healthy! I have lots of kefir grains, so if anyone is interested in getting some let me know. You can make kefir with raw milk and pasturized milk, but not ultra-pasturized milk. I take a canning jar and fill it about 2/3 of the way with milk, add the grains, put the lid on loosely, and let it sit for a day or two. I occassionally tighten the lid and carefuly turn the jar to "mix" it and then loosen the lid again throughout the couple days. Then I strain it and put the kefir grains into another jar 2/3 full of milk and start all over! I typically rinse my grains between uses with room tempterature water, but that is not a necessary step.

How To Make Cottage Cheese

So, many of my friends have asked me how I make cottage cheese. It is seriously the easiest thing ever! I take raw milk and leave it in a loosely covered pan on my counter for about two days. Then I heat it to 120 degrees farenheit, strain it (I use a very fine strainer, but most people recomend cheesecloth), and then you have cottage cheese! It is so easy!