cooking marathon returns!

I went back through my old posts with the intention of organizing my past recipes a bit better.

I did make some headway on that, although some of those recipes need to stay in the archives. A few are just embarrassing. :)

Anyway, I had forgotten that I used to do these cooking marathon posts. The thing is, I don't do all that many cooking marathons anymore. I still cook in bulk a lot of the time, though, and I will often make two or three things in a day, but rarely will I devote the entire day to cooking.

I've made quite a lot of food over the last two days, however, so I will share that with you. Cooking marathon returns!

Yesterday it was still hot, although not quite hot enough to keep the apartment shut tight, thank goodness. Air quality has been an issue, due to the Station Fire here in SoCal. We kept the windows open while I cooked a whole butternut squash in the oven. If you've never cooked squash this way, I highly recommend it. My hands aren't a fan of cutting up anything as hard as that, so it's very nice to just set it in a small glass pan, prick it with a fork, and leave it for about 90 minutes at 400.

At the same time, I made some hard boiled eggs. When they were done, I rinsed out the pan and then used it to start a large batch of SCD ketchup. You just reduce Campbell's tomato juice to the thickness you'd like. I posted about how to make ketchup here, and that's one of the posts I wish would be lost to the sands of time. I now simmer it in a very large pan with a mesh screen on top and I leave it alone. I bought the screen for $2 at Ikea. So now I don't have to watch it at all anymore!

Later in the evening, I pulled together what was left in the produce drawer and made a vaguely Mexican skillet meal. I really can't share the recipe, because I haven't truly yet succeeded in making anything taste really Mexican. I used some nice lean ground beef and chopped up some green onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos. I then heavily seasoned it, but like I said, it wasn't all that great. :)

The next day (today), we went shopping. First, I made Karianne's bread, and left it out to cool (after Clark begged a piece, of course).

We bought the following SCD legal items while out:

--almond butter
--coconut milk
--goat milk cheddar
--2 pounds frozen spinach
--red peppers
--yellow peppers
--1 bunch red leaf lettuce
--1 bunch romaine
--6 bunches green onions
--bok choy
--tomatoes
--zucchini
--organic raspberries (99 cents for a little container, yay)

Now, the almond butter, coconut milk and goat cheddar will likely last at least two weeks, but most of the other food will likely last around 10 days (if we're lucky).

Due to my bargain hunting ways, this trip did not break the bank. At Trader Joe's, the almond butter is $5 per jar. The coconut milk is 99 cents a can. The goat milk cheddar is around $10 per pound (I don't buy it often; it's more a treat for my son), which is half the price of any other goat cheddar.

The most expensive produce I purchased was the yellow peppers and the frozen spinach. Both were $1.29 per pound.

OK! Next, I left the spinach on the counter to thaw, and then I decided to be brave and bold and try a triple batch of totally safe mayo in the blender. It worked! It was also delicious so *cough* it's already half gone *cough*.

My last cooking task of the day was meatloaf. I took the now-thawed spinach and dumped both pounds of it into a large bowl. Then I realized it was really really wet, and I figured that wouldn't work well for meatloaf, so I decided to drain it. I dumped it into my colander over another pan and drained it just by pressing down with my hands, since I was short on time.

Once that was done, I put what was left of the spinach back in the big bowl, along with four pounds of beef, about 1/2 a cup of SCD legal ketchup, and spices and seasonings. I made four small meatloaves and tossed them in the oven at 400 for about an hour and a half (I think I accidentally set the oven at 375, which is why they took so long. Argh.)

They turned out OK. Nothing to write home about, but they'll be adequate for the coming week.

So that's all for me. *sigh of relief* I guess it kind of was a marathon, wasn't it?

karianne's grain free bread

I've been hanging on to this recipe for a while, and I've been looking forward to sharing it with you!

Months ago, on the Pecanbread mailing list, member Karianne (who has Asperger's) posted a recipe for a loaf of specific carbohydrate diet bread.

It was so simple it was hard to believe.

Many of us scrambled to try this bread. We had to do some recipe conversion, since Karianne lives in Europe, but we managed!

This bread is moist, delicious, holds its shape well, and can be toasted.

And it's made from almond butter! No flour required.

Karianne made hers with cinnamon. I left it out and made a few more tweaks to be more like a sandwich bread, but I'm still going to call it hers. Thank you, Karianne, for your amazing recipe!

KARIANNE'S BREAD

1 16 oz jar of almond butter
1/2 c cooked butternut squash
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp baking soda
5 eggs
1/4 tsp salt (if almond butter is unsalted)

Beat ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Pour into a parchment paper-lined loaf pan (or well greased loaf pan). Bake at 325-350 degrees for one hour.

The bread will be firm to the touch and a knife will come out clean when it's done.

Storage: Allow bread to cool completely (this is important). Place loaf in a large ziploc bag on top of a folded paper towel. Squeeze air out and store in refrigerator.

Here's what it looks like coming out. Believe me when I say it's very solid. It will not fall apart!



And here's my little guy enjoying it!



Now go make some bread! The recipe is very forgiving, so try some different ingredients out with it. It's awesome!

salads and a new blogger

I eat salads at least once a day, sometimes twice. So I thought I would post my of-the-moment salad ingredients.

On the menu this week:

Broccoli slaw (2 pounds for $2 at Smart n Final, yay!)
Romaine lettuce
Some kind of green curly leafed lettuce
Radishes (cheap and tasty)
Cilantro (also cheap and tasty, and good for detoxing, I understand)

The dressing I've been making is olive oil, cider vinegar, and spicy mustard. Salt and pepper, and garlic and onion powder (from Penzey's, since their spices are SCD legal) occasionally make an appearance as well.

In other news, I was recently contacted by a gluten free (non SCD) blogger who goes by Ariana, so stop by her blog over here if you're interested and would like to follow her food escapades. :)

In other news, I have been having difficulty with images, which is why I haven't posted too many recipes lately. I would like to blame this on the fact that I have to use my husband's digital camera -- I have to ask him to download the images, and then ask him to put them on my computer, since I don't have my own camera. But the real problem is that I didn't have good image editing software. Now I do, and once it's installed, you should be seeing a few more recipes!

I'd still like my own camera though. :)

Enjoy the rest of your week and I hope to post more soon!

veal

I myself think that most veal cannot be trusted, so I do not eat it.

However, I am a fan of a certain BBC America show called The F Word. In a very recent episode, one of Gordon Ramsay's friends, Janet Street-Porter, raised two veal calves to raise awareness about British veal. There's an interview about it here.

I was absolutely touched by this episode. The animals were well cared for, and we as the viewers were able to accompany them to a small, family-owned slaughterhouse.

I wasn't sure I'd be able to watch, but I did.

Up to the moment the animals were stunned with a captive bolt gun, they were under no stress at all. They were not frightened. They were calm and placid up to the end.

I was completely impressed.

I think many people feel that those of us who do eat meat are "for" factory farming. I myself am not. Most people who believe in real food are against factory farming. It's unhealthy for the animals, which in turn is unhealthy for us. I certainly do not want to eat food that has been made to suffer unduly. But in addition, meats that are conventionally raised are just bad for us in general.

The fat in conventionally raised beef, for example, has a terrible profile. It's very high in omega 6 fats, which is not good for you.

In order to get meat that is high in omega 3 fats, the animals need to be fed a species-appropriate diet. The feed that beef cattle are generally fed -- corn and soy -- is not what they'd be eating in the wild.

Currently, my finances do not allow me to buy the quality of meat I would like to buy. I do the best I can with what I can afford, and I take fish oil capsules to raise the levels of omega 3 fats that I consume.

But I do applaud The F Word for its unflinching view of slaughterhouse practices, and its commitment to local, healthy, and sustainable ingredients.

tropical traditions coconut oil... free book offer

Tropical Traditions sent me a big jar of their gold label coconut oil to try out and report my findings.



I've always wanted to incorporate more coconut oil into my diet, but I've had trouble doing so before. I was never really sure what the heck I was supposed to do with it. I was also concerned that the flavor would be overwhelming.

First off, I just want to say that the coconut oil was packaged beautifully in a very sturdy box. I was impressed as soon as I opened the box.

They also sent me a copy of their book, Virgin Coconut Oil. In it is the rather harrowing account of how they brought virgin coconut oil to the United States (they were the first exporter in the Philippines to do so).

There's information on how their coconut oil is different from the refined products in stores, on the way they continue to use traditional methods to harvest it, and on coconut's antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial properties -- which should pique the interest of anyone on SCD!

They also assured me that their coconut oil is 100 percent coconut and thus suitable for SCDers. They also provided me with a link to other specifically gluten free products. Please feel free to contact them regarding any further product information -- they have been very communicative!

The book also has lots of first-person accounts on the many ways coconut oil has benefited people, and there are a ton of recipes in the back.

I have to say, I enjoyed my trial period. Here are some of the ways I ended up using coconut oil:

Cooking: I tried coconut oil in a few Indian skillet meals that already called for coconut milk. It added a sweeter flavor, without adding additional carbs from sugar or honey.

I do not like the smell of coconut oil when it first heats up, but I did try scrambling some eggs in it as well. I sprinkled a bit of salt and cloves on them. Cinnamon would be good too along with a bit of honey. They taste like french toast eggs!

Cradle cap: My son is six years old and still has cradle cap. It's not too surprising -- he has gut dysbiosis, and cradle cap is fungal in nature. I've treated my son's head for a while with coconut oil, and guess what? Refined oils do not work on it at all. I tried the Tropical Traditions coconut oil and it worked fine. So it's definitely up to snuff in that regard.

Eating it straight: I decided to try eating it straight from the spoon, as others have reported doing. I was pleased to notice that the coconut flavor was pronounced, and there was a definite sweetness to it. It tasted surprisingly good this way.

Body moisturizer: My son has always had extremely dry skin. I tried the coconut oil on myself first, and I was pleased to note that the coconut smell was not completely overwhelming, and it faded within a few hours even further. If you are careful and don't use too much oil, it absorbs quickly. I was surprised at how little I needed.

Face moisturizer: Whoa, nelly. A very teeny bit goes a long, long, long way. Please keep this in mind.

Hair conditioner: I tried a small amount in the shower and ended up with an incredibly slippery tub. Use with care!

Here's a little video interview with Brian Shilhavy, CEO of Tropical Traditions:



You can visit the Tropical Traditions site and check out their other products too. They have sales all the time! I want to try their coconut cream next -- I hear you can use the coconut cream to make very inexpensive coconut milk.

How to get your free book!

Tropical Traditions has a Referral Program, so if you place an order with them as a first-time customer, please select “Referred by a friend” and in the box that says “How did you hear of us?” enter my sponsor ID number, which is 5376580. By telling Tropical Traditions that I referred you, you will receive a complimentary copy of the book Virgin Coconut Oil: How it has changed people’s lives and how it can change yours! by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy with your first order!

Hope you give it a try! I'm really glad I did, and I will definitely be ordering from them again soon!

win free organic coconut flakes

Fellow blogger Christy at Christy's Creations is giving away a WHOLE gallon of organic unsweetened coconut flakes from the good people at Tropical Traditions.

I would kill to have some of these. All the coconut you buy in the store is SWEETENED. Ew, gross. No thank you.

Enter to win here!