Frontier Life, circa 1883

Something a little different today:  no recipes, just some thoughts. 

Have you ever heard of the PBS documentary series "Frontier House"?  It's was first aired 11 years ago, but we've watched it on DVD, and in re-runs.  It follows three families who apply and are selected to go to a remote frontier location in Montana for five months and homestead it as if they were living in 1883; so using only the tools and technology of the time.  They wear 1883 clothing, they have to (some of them) build their own cabins (with hand saws and axes), cook on a wood stove, take care of their farm animals, and even attempt to store up enough provisions to survive the winter.  Before they are sent out, they are given extensive training in exactly how to manage day to day life in 1883--think:  how to get by without toilet paper, Tylenol, ibuprofen, and feminine supplies, how to kill and dress out a chicken, how to chop wood, and milk a cow.

It's a great show.  Full of interpersonal drama of course, but for me, the part I really love is the way it gives me perspective, and drags my ideal fantasy about what life was like back then into the harsh light of day.  Here are a few examples:  mice.  Oh yeah.  Thank you Lord for a house where I can sleep undisturbed by the nightly escapades of MICE running around!  Ew.  And, ah yes...a topic dear to my little heart: dishes.  Seriously.  Thank you Lord for hot water that comes out of a tap, whenever I want it.  And for even the most basic thing: dish soap...and, a DISHWASHER!  And electric lights.  And heat.  And air conditioning. And toilet paper.  Thank you Lord for all these amazing gifts.

God must be speaking to my heart about these things, because at the very same time when "Frontier House" happened to air again (right now), I had the urge to pull out and re-read a book that my grandmother wrote many years ago about her life as a child, growing up on a homestead in North Dakota during the depression.  My great-grandfather, get this: immigrated from Norway, along with his brother (not his parents), and came to America seeking a new life of opportunity, when he was...FOURTEEN years old!  The man worked in the logging industry until he had enough money to purchase a team of horses, and head west.  Self-reliant, resourceful, and independent, he homesteaded land, busted sod, grew wheat, trapped and hunted.  Along with my great grandma, they grew all their own food in the garden (AND preserved food for winter!), raised and milked cows, and raised chickens, and sheep, and pigs, hand-washed clothes, and hung them out on a line, heated the water to wash clothes and dishes on a wood stove, cooked every meal, from scratch, and washed every dish by hand, cleaned the house, sewed all their clothes, and raised 4 daughters during the great depression.  Dude.  People were tough back in the day.  I.  Mean.  TOUGH.  I'm trying to imagine what that kind of hard work even looks like.  I'm not sure I could even survive that kind of life.

I don't know about you, but I tend to romanticize about how I would have loved to live in an earlier time, when people were more decent, and respectful, and gentle, and kind, and polite; before the harsh and cruel day-to-day things that plague us as a society today:  terrorism, drug abuse, violence of all kinds....these things are so common today that sadly, I'm not even shocked anymore when see them in the news.  And I'm still not saying that I wouldn't rather have lived back then.  But...it does give me pause to consider the practical, everyday luxuries in my life here and now that I take for granted.  No more crying over dishes for me.  And thank you, THANK YOU(!) Lord, for toilet paper.

My Great-grandpa Olaf, with his four daughters, heading to church in his car, the Durrant.

Beef Chili, Pumpkin Quinoa Cornbread, and a Homemade Cinnamon "Latte"

 

(Cue the cattle drive music):  Howdy y'all!  This menu makes me feel like I'm in some kind of old western movie.  I'm playing the role of "Cookie", the crusty old cow hand, who slaves over a cast iron pot, cooking the beans to sustain the cowboys out on the range.  It's "Cookie" who rings the triangle-shaped dinner bell and hollers his one and only line in the entire film:  "Cooooooooome aaaaaaaaannnd get it"!  Well, actually the chili and corn bread part of the menu are pretty typical fare for old Cookie, but the cinnamon latte...not so much.  His coffee would probably resemble a cup full of chunky blackstrap molasses.

First the "latte".  Well this is so easy it's silly, but it tastes SO good.  It beats any $3.00 latte, hands down.  And I figure it only costs about .50 per cup, or less, depending on what kind of coffee you use.

Homemade Cinnamon "Latte"

• Dollop of REAL whipped cream (I used a pint of heavy cream, and 1 T. pure maple syrup to sweeten--beat with a mixer on medium to high speed until it forms whipped cream)
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• Drizzle of pure maple syrup.

Brew a cup of coffee, top with the above goodies.  Stir.  Then close your eyes and smell it, oh it's SO beautiful!  Now pretend you have nothing to do but put your little feet up and enjoy the sunrise; make believe you do not have to make breakfasts, lunches, and get everyone ready and hurried out the door...you may have to keep your eyes closed for this part...and enjoy that first sweet sip.  Now open your eyes. Sorry, back to reality...now get those lunches made!! :)

On to the cowboy meal.  Everyone and their grandma has their very own particular chili recipe.  Chili is such a personal thing.  But, I do have two recipes we like, so I'll go ahead and share them, but you know the drill: tweak it to your little heart's content.

Basic Chili with Beans (adapted from "Blue Ribbon Chili" from The Everything Freezer Meals cookbook.)  I see that the original recipe is online right HERE, but it's a big recipe for bulk freezer cooking that uses 5 lb of beef, and has no beans in it.  I have made it and like it a lot, but my family really prefers beans in their chili, so I added them this time.  I also noticed that you really need about 4 times more beef stock (or added water) than it calls for in the original recipe to get the chili to the right consistency.  I have adjusted for that already in my adapted version.  Here it is:

1/2 a yellow pepper, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
1/2 a jalapeno, finely diced

I just have to insert a super-useful tip here:  when peppers and onions were abundant and cheap I sliced a whole bunch and froze them in these little fajita "kits".  I use them for everything, not just fajitas.  It's 1/2 an onion, some green pepper and some yellow pepper strips.  I also seeded and halved a TON of jalapenos and froze them in a big ziplock.  It's so easy to just pop one out to use, all washed and seeded.  And these frozen things are very easy to dice smaller, right out of the bag still frozen.  I do like to let them thaw, or thaw them in the microwave, because they do release a lot of moisture, and I don't like to risk shocking and cracking a hot dutch oven or pan by putting frozen food right into it.  Let them come to room temp before using in your recipes.

Heat a drizzle of oil (you can use a skillet for this part then transfer to a 6 qt pot later, or just use a 6 qt. pot or dutch oven for the whole process...).  Sauté the onion and peppers together until soft, and onion is translucent.  Then add in:

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, pressed--let it warm up for a minute on top of the veggies, then add:
1 lb ground beef

Brown the ground beef.  Remove the whole mixture to drain.

Into a dutch oven or stockpot add:

1 can diced tomatoes with chilis (I LOVE Muir Glenn organic)
Pre-cooked beans (optional), about 15 -20 oz.  (I used JYOTi Organics brand red kidney beans, in a pouch, but you can use canned beans, whatever kind you like...either way, be sure to rinse and drain them before adding to the pot)
1 T. Cumin
1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1 T. Chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp. oregano
1/2 small can of tomato paste
1 T ketchup
1 tsp. sucanat (unrefined cane sugar), or coconut sugar, or maple or honey
2 cups beef broth

Add in your drained beef and veggie mixture, and bring to a boil.  Immediately lower the temp to low and simmer about an hour.

Here's the thickness of mine after simmering.  I covered it loosely while it simmered.  You can use more or less beef broth or water to get the consistency you want.

Another great recipe I have tried and love, comes from Sandra Lee.  It's an all-beef (no bean) chili, made from stew meat (I cut it up into smaller bite-sized pieces) in the crock pot.  HERE is that recipe for you.

Pumpkin Quinoa Cornbread

Here's a treat from one of my all-time FAVORITE cookbook authors, ever.  Ever.  Ali Segerston.  She, along with the very holistically trained nutritionist, Tom Malterre, has written two of the best cookbooks I own.  As in, if all my cookbooks were suddenly destroyed, these are the first two I would immediately purchase again.  Her books and website are gluten free, refined sugar free, and often dairy and egg free as well, but most importantly, DELICIOUS!  And extremely nourishing.  I've worn out the binding on my copy of her first book The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook.  Both Ali and Tom were trained at Bastyr University in Bellingham, WA.  If I could go back and do it all again this would have been my choice too.  (My college degree from a million years ago is in English Literature.  Yes, it was fun, but not as tasty or useful as a degree in nutrition or the culinary arts!)

The recipe itself is right on target. (All of Ali's recipes are well tested, I've found that they are always spot on.)  I will say this in regards to the ingredients though:  I had to substitute for the sweet rice flour, because that's not something I stock around here.  I happened to have some Aarowhead Mills GF baking mix, so I used that.  And in regards to the corn meal, be SURE to use a finely ground cornmeal.  I used Bob's Red Mill medium grind the first time and I really did not like the coarse texture at all...it had hard little chunks of corn in the finished bread.  Otherwise it was still very good--great moisture, great flavor.   So, round 2:  I tried Bob's Red Mill corn flour because that's the only other corn product I had on hand.  That was an even bigger problem, because it was so fine that it absorbed a lot more moisture, and the bread came out dry as a bone.  Ultimately, we ended up eating the first attempt, the medium grind version, because it was moist and tender and delicious, although the texture of the cornmeal still bugged me.  The dry one was not wasted either...my hubby likes to crumble corn bread into milk and eat it that way.  But for future reference:  It's quite important that you get a nice, finely ground cornmeal.  And be sure that it is organic.  That is important with corn, because, unless it is specifically labeled organic, it is genetically modified. 

See?  If you look closely you can see those too-big, coarse chunks of cornmeal.  Repeat:  do not use Bob's Red Mill Medium Grind cornmeal for this recipe!

 

I think next time I make this I will try soaking the cornmeal overnight in water with a bit of apple cider vinegar in it, then drain it off in the morning before making the bread.  Grains are so much more digestible if you pre-soak them.

Aren't you guys glad that I'm around to "take one for the team" and test all these recipes for you?  I just saved you two corn bread attempts!  :) Man, I don't know if I will ever be able to quit blogging, because I just can't justify letting those mistakes go un-utilized.  Failures are SO valuable.  I'm not about to waste them!
 
The pumpkin really pumps up the nutrition and makes this an unusual cornbread; it adds great moisture, and a seasonal flair.  You could probably experiment with adding pumpkin to your own favorite cornbread recipe.  I'm guessing Cookie probably didn't make his cornbread with the pumpkin and quinoa.  Life's hard out on the range.

Here is your recipe.  Do not repeat my ingredient mistakes, and enjoy! http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2010/11/pumpkin-quinoa-cornbread-recipe.html. 

Seeking Balance, and Easy Pumpkin-Pecan Pancakes for the freezer

I don't know about you, but personally, I want it all.  In regards to life in the kitchen that is.  See, I want my cake and I want to eat it too.  I'm always trying to figure out how to do BOTH of these things:

a.  Make my life in the kitchen easier, faster, and most importantly, doing as few dishes as possible.

And yet, at the same time...

b.  Make everything we eat more nutrient dense, and use super-nourishing whole foods; while excluding foods that are damaging to our health, like refined sugar, processed convenience foods, and gluten.

Those two aims would seem to be polar opposites, wouldn't they?  I mean, after all, "easier and more convenient" usually = "processed" or less-that-great quality and nutrition.

And "more nutrient dense and nourishing whole foods" usually = "from scratch"...in other words..."a whole lotta work".

But see, here's where the creative process lies for me; constantly seeking that balance between eating really well, yet not allowing that commitment to balloon into something that hijacks my life, and sucks up all my time.  Because it easily can.  And does, at times.  That's when I look at yet another pile of dirty dishes and just cry.

Literally.  I cried one day last week.  Over dishes. 

Isn't that ridiculous?   But it's a flashing signal that I've slipped off the edge onto the "too much work" side of the path. 

Other times, I've been known to slip onto the "not enough work" side...and when that happens it's more subtle, but I will see things creeping in, like too much reliance on pre-made gluten free products like GF breads and bars, too many grains and not enough produce...and then the physical signs emerge: a bloated belly, a skin eruption or two, exhaustion, irritability, followed by weight gain.  Those are the red flags that get my attention.  Then it's time to move back to the center. 

That "not enough work" side usually happens when my schedule gets too busy and I start to lose balance in my life. That's when things drop off my daily routines, like outdoor exercise (This is so vital, seriously.  The fresh air and the sun are mandatory to good health.  I'm like the U.S. Mail...neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow will keep me from my appointed rounds!), my Bible study time, and proper nourishment.  These are the three non-negotiables--when I neglect these three daily practices for any length of time I notice my physical, mental, and spiritual health and vitality will start to spiral downward.

When I see those basic things creeping down my priority list it's like an alarm; a flashing light blinking: "re-evaluate, re-evaluate".  If I can look ahead and see that this schedule is just a temporary thing, then o.k., I can ride it for a few days.  But if it's turning into a permanent lifestyle, then whoa, something's gotta change, immediately, and it usually involves saying "no".  I'm an expert at that now, after years of practice.  Setting firm boundaries around my time so that my personal quiet time with the Lord and my health (exercise and nutrition) come first may seem selfish, but I'm here to tell you that without putting those things first I will crash and burn, and then I'm of no use to my family or anybody else.  If I want to be energetic and strong to be a blessing to others I absolutely must lovingly care for myself.  So really, it's not selfish, just a simple fact.  

Conversely, the "too much work" side occurs when I lose my focus on purposing to make my time in the kitchen really, really effective--purposing to make double or triple batches, and freeze the extra, purposing to "keep it simple, sister" (I don't like to call anyone stupid, even myself! ;)  That "too much work" side usually stems from a lack of organization and vision...it's when I'm just going one day at a time, one meal at a time, rather than seeing the bigger picture of the entire month.  Strangely, the core issue here is not what you would expect: it's actually laziness!  This is when I procrastinate, and put off the work of planning and prepping. When I neglect to address this topic head on, each meal sneaks up on me.  Instead of being prepared I am scrambling and caught off-guard, and that ALWAYS results in lost time and wasted effort.  It's just plain frustrating.  Since we have to eat, three times a day, every day, it feels like I'm confronted and forced to continually figure out what we are eating every few hours of my life(!) instead of just once for the week, or the month.  I'm a slave to it over, and over, and over, and over, instead of just addressing it once, then enjoying freedom from having to think about it the rest of the month.

A balanced life (in the kitchen, and out of the kitchen) does not just happen. I have to fight for it. 

It means being ruthless about my priorities, fiercely protective and respectful of the time required to live well, and shrewdly calculating about what really is, and is not necessary.  Not just in regards to food, but in regards to the "stuff", and activities I allow into my life.  It requires a constant awareness, and a bit of cool detachment, to stand back, analyze, and make the choices that need to be made.  Bring the ax down where it needs to be brought down.  Let go where I need to let go.  Sometimes I fall asleep a little, and then the "alarms" go off, and I wake back up.

So today I'm awake, alert, and dead-center baby.  I'm on target with good, nourishing food, made simply, and in an organized fashion.  Not "too much work", and not "too little".  I'm on point, no messing around.  Oh, it feels goooooood. 

Pumpkin-Pecan Pancakes

I slightly tweaked a recipe found here at: http://www.pamelasproducts.com/pumpkin-pancakes-with-butter-pecan-syrup/ to exclude refined sugar.  I switched the canola oil to olive oil, and used rice milk instead of water, for no particular reason, other than habit.  I also added chopped pecans and switched up the spices.  The pumpkin packs a nice punch of beta carotene, and the pecans add some lovely texture, and a bit of nice added protein and fat.  I really appreciate using a convenient GF baking mix every once in a while, to simplify and speed along the preparation of these tasty little cakes.  The baking mix is full of starch and very carb-y of course, but when I treat pancakes as a special treat, not an everyday staple, and just eat a couple, alongside some nice protein like eggs, I can be o.k. with that from time to time.  Nice balance of increasing nutrition, while decreasing steps.
See!?  I'm learning. :)

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 T. oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 c. water or milk--dairy, rice, or whatever kind you like
• 2 T. pure maple syrup

Mix wet ingredients together, then add dry ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c. Pamela's Gluten-Free baking mix
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I used Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus spice blend)
• 1/4 c. finely chopped pecans

Oil for the pan--I used Spectrum Organic Palm Shortening, but you could use coconut oil or whatever you like.

Heat your skillet to medium-high and fry up your pancakes.  (Please check the original recipe link above for helpful tips on baking GF pancakes.) 

To freeze:  As your pancakes come off the pan, place them on a baking rack to thoroughly cool.  Then place pancakes in a single layer inside a ziplock freezer bag, then, if you desire, you can place a piece of parchment paper on that layer, and then add a second layer of pancakes to prevent them from sticking together, but that's not absolutely necessary.   Simply warm frozen pancakes in the microwave or toaster oven when ready to eat.

These are delightful topped with butter and applesauce, or a drizzle of pure maple syrup for a special treat.  

These are great for making a quick PB and J sandwich...you could just leave out the pecans, and instead spread the pancakes with almond, cashew, or sunflower-seed butter and some sort of fruit, like sliced bananas, or applesauce, or some no-sugar added fruit preserves.  That could go in the lunchbox for a fun fall treat, or wrapped in a napkin and tucked into a little hand...with a cup of some sort of milk in the other hand (dairy, almond, rice, whatever you drink in your house). 

I imagine these pancakes would also make a great outer layer for a breakfast sandwich, made with a fried egg and some sort of breakfast meat layered up, like bacon.  That's a nice handful 'o protein to start the day when you're running out the door.  It would be fun to make them smaller if you are going to try this...like English muffin size.

Regardless of how you use them, it's just plain NICE to have a little ace tucked up your sleeve.  And the best part is, you only have to wash the dishes ONCE.  And you get to eat pancakes many times.  Hooray for small steps that make a big difference.

Cinnamon Cranberry Applesauce--UPDATED 10/28/13

The final farmer's market of the year is upon us; Saturday will be the last day, outdoors.  The vendors have already been dwindling, as frost approaches.  A few will remain, at an indoor venue, for as long as they can, but at that point it will be down to a lot of late-variety apples and squash.  The last Saturday in October is always the close of a season's chapter. 

It's always a little melancholy to wave good-bye for the winter to the vendors who are such a regular, twice-a-week fixture in my life from May to October.   For someone like me who loves good food and good conversation, and especially good conversation about good food, well... the farmers market is the place to be. 

This year I have had conversations with vendors on all topics food related:  gardening, dehydration, recipes, and cooking techniques...I even learned some valuable tips on how to cook wild game, along with the opportunity to hear stories of their own family's hunting adventures.  Even more special, whenever I see the lady whose family produces our beef, she gives me a hug. :)  She knows my name, and I know hers.  She shares pictures of her family and their beautiful ranch; I share my favorite beef recipes. 

These are the people who lovingly nurture the food that goes into my family.  When I ask God to bless our food at the dinner table, I often pray for the hands that produced our food.  I know those hands, and those faces; I've seen their farms, and heard their stories.  I pray for their harvests.  These folks are the ones that prepare the soil, remove the weeds, feed and water, protect from bugs, and finally harvest the food that feeds me and my family.

Well, onward.  Soon it will be time to move into the season of sorting through the grocery store offerings in the produce department, and ultimately deciding to go frozen, dried, or canned in many cases. 

But for now, we still have fresh local apples, so that's what I'm cookin' today, in honor of the last market day.

Chunky Cinnamon Cranberry Applesauce

Applesauce is more art that science.  You have to just play with it a little, til you get it just how you want it.  I made a batch today with leftover cranberries I happened to have in the fridge, and as I went along I took note of times and measurements so I would be able to document this "recipe" and share it.

• 10-12 medium to large apples, ripe, washed, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 to 1 cup fresh cranberries, (sort out any soft wrinkley ones), rinsed and rough chopped
• water
• 1 T. lemon juice
• Honey to taste--(I used 3 Tablespoons)  
• Cinnamon to taste (I used 1 tsp.)
• Pumpkin pie spice blend (I used Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus spice blend) to taste (I used 1/4 tsp.)

Combine apples (just roughly chopped into about 1 " chunks) and cranberries, in large pot (I used a 6 qt. enameled cast iron dutch oven).  Add lemon juice and water (about 1 " to start with...) in the bottom of the pot. 

Turn heat on medium-high and cover until it gets boiling.  Uncover. Stir.  Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and let it simmer.  Don't go too far away, you want to keep checking on it and stirring it, so it doesn't dry out and stick to the bottom.

When the apples start to get soft, begin mashing them.  (I used a Pampered Chef Mix and Chop tool, pictured below).  Just keep stirring, if it starts to look like it needs more water, keep adding it in, enough to keep the applesauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan, and the consistency you want. 

As the apples start to cook down and turn into sauce, just keep adding water bit by bit as you think you need it.  As it thickens, bubbles will sort of "blop" to the surface, keep stirring it off the bottom.

From the time I turned the heat on until it was done, was about 45 minutes.  I like the consistency to be "applesauce-y", but still with some soft chunks of apple in it, sort of apple pie-filling-ish.  When you are happy with the consistency, go ahead and add in your cinnamon to taste (and whatever other spices you want, like the spice blend I used...but go lighter and taste it, my measurements may be too spicy for you.) and add your honey, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and taste it.  You may need more or less than 3 T. of honey, depending upon the sweetness of your fruit. 

Then take it off the burner, cover it with the lid, and let it sit on a cool part of the stovetop for 15 minutes.

Transfer to large glass or stainless steel bowl and refrigerate.

I like to package this up into 1/2 cup portions in small containers with lids,  and just line them up in the fridge for lunches and snacks.  This recipe makes about 9 cups, so about 18 servings.  Another option is to put the cooled applesauce into freezer containers and freeze.  It is really a nice thing to have on hand for emergency snacks or to use in baking, like muffin and bread recipes that call for applesauce.  You can easily blend it, either in a blender, or with an immersion blender right in the pot, if you prefer a perfectly smooth applesauce.

This really is a fantastic dessert to have in the house this time of year. It's super-simple, and it doesn't take long at all to make.  If your apples are organic and you wish to leave the peel on, go right ahead!  The peel contains lots of great nutrients.  My family doesn't care for the peel in our applesauce.

Applesauce recipes are all over the place...you can search the internet with the specific ingredients you want to include (maybe you want to use pear, or blueberries...maybe you want to sweeten with pure maple syrup instead of honey...) or look in just about any cookbook for further information.

Here's what mine looked like when I called it "done"..

I just gotta dedicate this post to K.W. who taught me the art of applesauce making, without a recipe! ;)  Thanks for the great memories dear friend.

* UPDATE:  Here's a smooth version.  I increased the lemon juice to 1 1/2 T., omitted the cinnamon, and used 1 tsp. Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus Spice Blend instead.  Also, I did not need ANY honey whatsoever.  It was plenty sweet all on it's own.  Just apples, spice blend, and water.  When the apples were soft I just used and immersion blender right in the pot to puree the applesauce.  Very simple, and delicious.  Just be careful to keep the immersion blender immersed under the surface of the applesauce as you blend.  You don't want hot applesauce splashing up onto your skin.

French Dips in the crock pot

Well, well.  Look what I found in the grocery store today.  You know what this means...

It means the holidays are on their way.

I've had trouble finding these handy little spice packets in the past, so I snapped some up, even though it will be a little while before I use them.  Actually I have an event coming up in two weeks that I will want a crock-full-o-spicy-cider for, and there's enough in this one box to probably get me through Thanksgiving too...but maybe I'll need more before Christmas.  I'm thinking mulled wassail in the owl crock...oh it's too adorable. :)  And the added bonus is that the house smells so ridiculously good when people arrive.  It's just festive.  And really: juice, spices, turn on the crock.  I'll post you a recipe when I make it in a couple weeks.  I LUV to take it in a thermos too, for outdoor stuff between Thanksgiving and Christmas, like Christmas tree hunting in the woods.

But as for now...I made the most unusual thing yesterday:  French Dips in the crock pot...not a whole roast, but a roast that was thin-sliced (carne asada style, ask your butcher to do that for you) and cooked in beef broth with onions, garlic, seasonings, and wine.  It was really weird to make French dips with sliced meat, rather than a whole roast.  I've never even thought around doing that before. 

This recipe comes from Stephanie O'Dea.  I found it in her book Make it Fast, Cook it Slow, but she also has it posted on her website HERE .  She adapted it from someone else, so there are two versions on that webpage.

Here's something odd though...in Stephanie's photo the broth the meat is cooked in, or "au jus" as it is used in her recipe, is clear.  Mine was cloudy...?  I did not use the beer, because I could not find a gluten free beer, and I did not have any sherry either, so I just used the beef broth and 1/4 c. of merlot.  I also used 3 lb of beef instead of 2.

Stephanie's recipe simply gets everything directly into the crock pot, but, I went ahead and sautéed the onions in the butter in a stainless steel pan on the stovetop until translucent, then added the garlic to warm it.  I put that in the bottom of the crock pot, then deglazed the pan with the wine, and added that to the crock pot.  Sliced beef on top of that, then the pepper, Worcestershire, and 1/2 tsp sucanat (instead of the sugar).  Then the broth.  Mine was done in 5 hrs, but next time I'd check at 4 hrs.  (As always, the recipe cook time would have been WAY too long...it recommends 7-9 hrs.  Check it much earlier.)

So, since my broth was cloudy, I wasn't big on using it as au jou, and no one really wanted that anyway, but it was nice to have the beef kinda "wet" or "soggy" on a toasted bun.  It was a nice juicy sandwich.  I put swiss on one half of the bun, and butter on the other, and then toasted it in the toaster oven, and when it was all nice and toasty I took it out and piled on the beef.  The beef was nice, but needed salt and pepper, and personally, I like my roast beef sandwiches with ketchup.

 Here's what the beef looked like going in...the sautéed onions and garlic and wine are underneath.

 

Here's what it looked like on my lunch sandwich today, with gluten free bun, and slice of swiss cheese.

 

Do make sure you check on it about every hour after the first three hours, because I think 5 hrs was a little long.  Without the broth it was a tad dry, but with the broth it was good.  However, I would probably prefer just a little less cook time, like maybe 4 hrs.

 



The nice thing about having this beef done up and in the fridge is that it's a quick re-heat for lunches, which is why I made 3 lbs, so it would last a few meals.  It was quicker and easier in my opinion than doing a whole roast, but if you prefer a whole roast, Stephanie has a great recipe for that too.  HERE is one I have made many times, and it's really good--"Red Wine and Cranberries Glazed Pot Roast".  Remarkably, the cook time on that recipe is quite accurate.  I have found 8 hrs. on low to be just about right. 

All in all, this was a nice, simple, mid-week dinner, with veggies and dip on the side, and leftover thin-sliced cranberry cake topped with fresh pears for dessert.

A crock pot baking experiment: Cranberry Coffee Cake

Yes, I did.  I bought another crock pot.  My crock count is now up to 6.  It's an addiction.  But, better crock than crack, I always say.

I believe this may be the cutest thing I've ever had in my kitchen.  I bought it SOLELY because I love the owls.  They are so retro, and remind me of the 70's kitchens of my childhood.  The only thing I need now is a macramé plant holder with wooden beads on it, and some Bee Gee's music playing in the background.  It doesn't hurt that I got a smokin' deal on this crock...it was on sale for $19.99, and I also had a 20% coupon, which brought it down to $15.99.  I couldn't pass it up for that, especially considering you never know when I might break two of my other 4 qt crocks and need an extra one for a crockin' emergency.

Just to put a little something in this new crock (to make it feel at home, don'tcha know...), I bought some fresh cranberries and decided to make a crock pot cranberry coffee cake.  Christmas morning breakfast is always my jurisdiction, so I was thinking this coffee cake might be something I could mix up (topping, cranberries, and dry ingredients) the night before, then in the morning stir in the wet ingredients, pop it in the crock, and go about my business.

This cake is from Amy Green over at www.simplysugarandglutenfree.com.  You can view it right: HERE . 

Well, hmmm.  I don't know.  It wasn't my favorite.  It was pretty dense and rich, but that might be because I used full-fat dairy when the recipe called for low-fat.  And I used a combo of butter and olive oil in place of the coconut oil.  Eh.  It was alright. 

I think if I were to make this cake again I'd reduce the oil and bake it in a 13 x 9 in the oven.  I'm just not at all sold on baking in the crock pot.  For one thing it was way too deep.  The cake ended up being like 4 inches tall.  And crock pots always cook hotter on one side, which browned the cake way too much on one side.  Plus, it's just not all that conducive to good baking because the outsides get done LONG before the middle gets done.  I think crock pots do best with things that can be stirred every once in a while, to help stuff cook evenly. 

So there ya go.  I wouldn't say it was a failure.  It's still good to eat, just in very thin slices, slightly warmed in the microwave, topped with fresh pears.  Now that's pretty good.  It really was more of a pound cake, in my opinion (again could be the fault of my full-fat substitutions).  But, I think I'm going to stick to the oven for baking from now on, and keep searching for that perfect gluten-free, refined sugar-free cranberry cake.

Do you happen to have that perfect GF, refined-sugar free, cranberry cake or cranberry bread recipe?  If so, send it to me!

Maybe I'm just in one of those moods, but man, my life's recurring, consistent theme is always "simplify, simplify"...and today I'm thinking that I need to go further in this respect, in terms of getting food done around here.  I'm finding that the crock pot just doesn't help me that much in terms of saving me time and effort unless I have purchased ingredients in bulk, and pre-prepped them ahead of time.  For instance, I had a Lime Salsa Chicken recipe ready to go in the freezer.  On Friday I took it out and put it in the fridge to thaw.  And on Sunday I popped the off my freezer container, and dumped the lime salsa chicken into the crock pot.  That's it.  Then later we ate.  Now THAT'S  what I need more of. 

It doesn't help at all, like today for instance, when I made French Dips in the crock pot.  I still had to slice onions, sauté them, with garlic, measure the other ingredients, add the beef, clean it all up...it was still cooking dinner, but just earlier in the day, which don't get me wrong...helps...some.  But when something is totally made, and all I have to do is literally, bake or crock it...that's a whole other level of awesome.  That's pretty much like someone else cooked.  It's like..."who made this fabulous lime salsa chicken?? Oh yeah, it was me."   I gotta find more ways to avoid the constant barrage of dishes.  I made pumpkin muffins too yesterday, and I was in the kitchen all day.  Well, half the day.  But still. Other stuff is not getting done around here, and I'm just tired.  A meal that is made, in the freezer, and just needs to be baked or crocked...THAT is what I am turning my attention to next.  I need to free up a little time for deep cleaning and fall garage and yard clean up. 

So.  do you have any good freezer recipes?  I have several.  And I am, as of now, seeking them like a blood hound hot on the trail. 

As always, I'll keep you in the loop.

Cinnamon Apple Chips

I was blessed this week with not one, but TWO boxes of apples, from two different friends.  One was waiting in my car when I came out of church last Sunday, and one arrived by courier, from a friend who lives out of town. 

Needless to say, my garage now has the heady aroma of an apple orchard at harvest time.  I've found that apples and squash both keep fairly well in the garage, where it is cooler than the house, but not as cold and humid as the fridge.  And we don't park in the garage until we get a lot of snow on the ground, so it functions pretty well as a cool-storage area for such things.

But, those apples can't last forever...hence: cinnamon apple chips.

I may have mentioned this before, but to me, food dehydration is therapy.  I can easily lose myself in it.  It's a fun, meditative, and strangely addicting hobby. Something about taking fresh food, cutting, and arranging it on the trays, then coming back later and finding it transformed is just magical to me.  I love that I can take things that are ripe, abundant, and in season and cause them to go "dormant" for a while...just waiting for a mid-winter day to be brought back to life; a little ray of summer sunshine in the dark months.  I love that I can salvage fruit that is a bit too ripe for fresh eating.  In fact, I think fruit that is a tad over-ripe is really all the better.  It's sweeter and makes exceptional treats in the dehydrator.  Apples that are juuuuust past that perfect crisp eating texture are phenomenal for dehydrating.  Once dried into chips you'd never know.  Same for bananas...when I find them in the store marked down for quick sale because they are getting "too ripe" I get excited, because that means sweet banana chips will be in the lunchboxes the following week.

If you want your apples to retain their beautiful golden color, they need to be pre-treated before going onto the dehydrator trays.  You can dip them in various solutions, including:  ascorbic acid, citric acid, a fruit juice solution such as lemon or lime, or pineapple, or a honey solution.  The best books I have found on this topic are Preserve it Naturally, by Excalibur, and The Dehydrator Bible, by Jennifer MacKenzie, Jay Nutt, and Don Mercer. 

In this round of apple dehydrating I chose to pre treat my apples with a pineapple juice solution: 1 c. of juice mixed with 1 qt. filtered water.

 

First wash and dry your apples, then the easiest thing to do is to use an apple peeler/corer/slicer to achieve nice even slices in just a couple of seconds and few turns of the crank.  I find though, that mine tends to take too much apple along with the peel, so I usually peel them with a regular veggie peeler, then disable the peeler on my peeler/slicer/corer, so that it just slices and cores.

 

 

I cut the apple rings in 1/2, then into the dip they go.  I just leave them for a minute or two, then remove to a strainer to drain.

Then they go onto the trays, and this time I sprinkled them with a mixture of pure maple sugar granules and cinnamon.  These are a real treat, and should be considered dessert in my opinion.  I also just left some plain, but they are still very sweet just from the natural sweetness of the apple and the pineapple juice.   Personally, I like them best plain, with crispy (soaked and dehydrated) pecans or walnuts, and a cup of green tea in the afternoon for the perfect pick-me-up snack.

 

 

I dehydrate my apples at 125 degrees and they usually take about 6-7 hrs for a nice leathery apple snack, or if you want them crispy like chips, you would need to go an hour or so longer.

After things come off the trays it's good practice to "condition" them...that simply means to put them in a bowl with a lid, or a ziplock bag or whatever, and let them sit for a day.  That give them a chance to all come to the same humidity level...so if you had some a tad thicker and more moist, and some thinner and more dry, they all kind of help each other come to the same dryness level before you package them up for storage.  They never last long around here, so I just store them in glass jars with lids, or ziplocks.  For long term storage you could dry them until crispy, add an oxygen absorber packet and/or vacuum seal them in jars or vacuum seal bags.  For more info on that please see one of the two books I've listed above.

If you've never dehydrated before, can I just encourage you to give it a try?  In a world of prepackaged "fruit snacks" and foil covered, refined sugar-filled, preservative-filled "treats", let us remind ourselves what real "fruit snacks" taste like, sans all the garbage. 

Fruits of all kinds are simple and fun to dehydrate, and if you're feeling really adventurous, you can always give nuts and jerky a shot!  Next time I make jerky I will blog it for you.  I'm not the best jerky maker ever...I've had successes and I've had failures.  And I don't mind revealing those failures here, so we can all learn from them.

I had a conversation with my cousin today regarding jerky.  He makes his out of ground meat (wild game), with a thing called a "jerky gun", which presses the meat into perfect little strips.  I have never tried that.  I usually just go with steak strips, marinated and then dried.  But he's got me intrigued!  I may need to invest in a jerky gun, just for the sake of research, and in the name of good blogging.  Stay tuned.