Nourished Kitchen» Recipes

Blueberry Almond Crumb Muffins

Jenny — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:33 +0000

The Thing About Blueberries . . . is that they don’t grind their Harleys over the hot desert tarmac, or throw eight-course dinner parties at Monet’s garden in Giverny, or eat jellied eels from a stall in London. Because – let’s face it – blueberries are homebodies. Plump, delectable little delights that know all too well the simple pleasures of laughing till you snort at the kitchen table, sipping chai in your slippers and licking batter off a spoon. And when it comes to freshly-baked happiness, they want to be your muse and your morsel.

So, are you ready to be inspired? These little bursts of indigo-flavored joy are all wrapped up in moist, cakey goodness topped with crunchy, crumbly bits. And even though we are one of those families, I promise no one will ever suspect you didn’t use grains or refined sugar. Blueberry bliss, guaranteed.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Almond Crumb Muffins

ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons almond flour (get it here), divided
1/2 cup coconut flour (get it here or make your own)
6 eggs, preferably pastured
1/2 cup honey (get it here)
3/4 teaspoon organic vanilla extract (like this)
1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt (get it here)
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 tablespoon butter (0ptional)
coconut oil or butter to grease muffin pan

method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease large 6-8 muffin cups with coconut oil or butter.
Set aside 2 tablespoons of almond flour. In a mixing bowl or food processor combine remaining 2 cups almond flour, coconut flour, and salt.
In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, honey and vanilla, then add to dry ingredients and blend thoroughly. Gently fold in blueberries, then pour batter into 6-8 large cups. Pat tops down into rounded heaps and use a brush to dab with with butter. Sprinkle with remaining almond flour for a pretty finish. Bake for 30-40 minutes. The top should be springy yet firm when they’re ready.

YIELD: 6 to 8 muffins | TIME: 5 minutes (active), 40 minutes (oven)

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I admit it. I’m a Mommypotamus addict which is why I was thrilled when Heather – the mommypotamus herself – took me up on my invitation to contribute a guest post for Nourished Kitchen. Heather’s practical advice and lovingly fun voice is a distinct pleasure in the real food community. If you would like to contribute a post to Nourished Kitchen, please contact me. – Jenny

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Sourdough Black Forest Cake

Jenny — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:28 +0000

In our home, one of our favorite cakes for special occasions is Black Forest Cake, a scrumptious torte made from layers of dark chocolate cake, sour cherries, and cherry-flavored whipped cream. As we’ve sought to eat more nourishing and traditional foods, I’ve wondered how best to prepare the rare sweet treat like this one, but with a bit of experimentation (and with a bit of inspiration from other real food bloggers), I’ve stumbled upon a cake we truly love and that I feel excited about serving.

Of course, even though this recipe uses alternative sweeteners and traditional fats, it’s still a treat and should be eaten in moderation. (Don’t moderate your enjoyment, however!) If you don’t have a friend from whom you can pilfer a bit of sourdough starter, you can find a starter online. When I purchased mine, it was ready to use in about five days.)

Sourdough Black Forest Cake

I have given two options for chocolate, as I can’t decide which one I like the best. The melted chocolate increases the moisture content of the cake and makes it a bit denser, while the cocoa option gives the best crumb. Whichever way you choose, it’s delicious!

For the Cake

1 cup sourdough starter (get a starter here), recently fed
1 cup milk, preferably raw
1 3/4 cup whole wheat or spelt flour (get it here)
1 cup unrefined cane sugar (get it here) OR 3/4 cup date syrup
1 cup unrefined, virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled but still liquid
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large pastured eggs
1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt (get it here)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
100 grams (4 oz) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled or 1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

For the Soaking Syrup

1/3 cup filtered water (find a good filter here)
1/4 cup unrefined cane sugar, coconut palm sugar, or raw honey (get it here)
3 tablespoons kirsch or other cherry-flavored liqueur

For the Cherry Whipped Cream

3 cups heavy cream, preferably raw
2 tablespoons kirsch or other cherry-flavored liqueur
1 tsp vanilla extract

For Assembly

2 cups sour cherries, pitted, plus 8-16 cherries for the final garnish
50-100 grams dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao)*, finely grated or curled

Method

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sourdough starter, the milk, and the flour. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 8-24 hours.
After 8 to 24 hours, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease well two 8-inch round or 7-inch square cake pans.
Scrape the sourdough batter into the bowl of an electric mixer (or grab your favorite wooden spoon to mix by hand). Add the cane sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla and mix on low speed. Increase the speed to medium-low and add the eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low and add sea salt, baking soda, and chocolate. Mix just until uniform, scraping the sides of the bowl if needed. If the batter is very thick, add a few tablespoons of milk to thin it. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a cooling rack.
While the cake cools, prepare the soaking syrup and cherry whipped cream. In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the kirsch. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
To prepare the whipped cream, chill the bowl of an electric mixer in the refrigerator or freezer or by filling it with ice water for a few minutes and then drying thoroughly. Place three cups heavy cream into a mixing bowl with kirsch and vanilla extract and beat on high speed using the whisk attachment until soft peaks appear. Remove three-quarters of the mixture and reserve in the refrigerator to layer with the cake. Beat the remaining cream to firm peaks. Spoon into a piping bag and refrigerate.
To assemble the cake, slice each cooled cake horizontally to create a total of four thin layers. Save one of the bottom layers to use as the top layer, since it is flat and smooth on one side. Place one layer on a serving plate and brush it generously with a bit of the soaking syrup. Spoon on one or two large dollops of the refrigerated whipped cream (approx. 1/2 cup) and spread evenly. Scatter one-third of the cherries across the cream. Place the next cake layer on top and press down gently. Repeat as with the previous layer with the soaking syrup, whipped cream, and cherries, then do it again with the third layer. Place the final fourth cake layer on the top, making sure the flat side of the layer is face-up. Soak with the remaining syrup and spread the remaining whipped cream all over the top and sides of the cake.
Scatter the grated or curled chocolate on the top and sides as you desire. As a final touch, pipe the firm cream into rosettes around the edge of the top of the cake and place a cherry on top of each rosette. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to three hours. Flavor-wise, the cake is even better the next day, but the whipped cream will droop within a few hours, so for the sake of presentation, serve within hours of assembling.

NOTE: If you avoid chocolate due to its high content of theobromine, a stimulant, you may substitute roasted carob powder (get it here) or carob chips.

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This post was generously contributed to Nourished Kitchen by Kresh Faber of Nourishing Joy. Kresha is a mother of three and finds her joy in loving joyfully and purposefully. If you would like to contribute a post to Nourished Kitchen, please contact me. – Jenny

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Salted & Smoked Salmon Roe

Jenny — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:18:23 +0000

Salmon roe is one of my favorite foods (and my husband and son share my love of those beautiful translucent little orange balls of briny goodness). And every time I post to Nourished Kitchen’s facebook page, extolling the many virtues of roe (and oh, there are many), I receive two reactions: disgust and unadulterated adoration. Of course, most of the folks disgusted by the idea of eating roe have yet to actually try it which I always find peculiar. How can you adopt such a strong and unyielding position without even minute experience?(...)
Click here to read the rest of Salted & Smoked Salmon Roe (1,035 words)

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Serious Comfort Food: Bacon, Chicken and Green Beans

Jenny — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:00:21 +0000

Bacon, Chicken and Green Beans has an almost-Asian flavor to it, which was a delightful surprise to my family who has been on the GAPS diet for about 2 years now. Since we don’t eat soy in any form, including soy sauce, we’ve been missing those Asian inspired dishes.

This recipe uses bacon, and you’ll want to find a good source of bacon. We are pig farmers, and can tell our butcher that we want our bacon nitrate and sugar free. It will be difficult (if not impossible) to find a sugar-free bacon in a store, but you can probably find a good, thick sliced, nitrate-free bacon.

For maximum nutrition, make sure to get your chicken from a farmer who allows the birds to roam on grass. Part of the reason we are all lacking in Vitamin D is because we do not eat animals that were raised in the sun. Find out what kind of feed the birds were supplemented with, as well. Feeds that are free of corn and soy are becoming more readily available these days, which is a good thing! If you have an estrogen-induced cancer, you’ll want to avoid soy-fed chicken, because the estrogen in the soy may cause your cancer to grow. Corn fattens the chicken very quickly, making for a profitable; but unhealthy product. Soy and corn were never meant to be food for poultry, as they must be processed by humans before they can be consumed.

This time of year, I don’t think any of us have green beans growing fresh in the back yard. That is why this recipe calls for frozen green beans. There are many good sources of organic, good quality green beans. If you enjoy this dish, maybe next year you will want to set aside some of your own beans in the freezer so that you can make it again.

Bacon, Chicken and Green Beans

Ingredients:

1 pound bacon, chopped
1/4 cup butter or ghee (buy it here), optional
2 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
24 ounces frozen green beans
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup full fat coconut milk (buy it here or make your own)

method:

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, cook bacon and set aside on paper towels.
Cook chicken in remaining bacon grease. Add butter or ghee to the pan if there is not enough grease. Add garlic and onions and reduce heat to medium, stirring until the garlic and onions are tender. Add in green beans, and cooked bacon, cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in cheese and coconut milk until mixed well.

YIELD: 4 to 6 servings | TIME: 10 to 15 minutes (active), 25 to 30 minutes (stovetop)

Love this recipe? This is a guest post by Brenda of the Well-fed Homestead. Brenda and her family operate a small farmstead and she blogs about her experiences on the GAPS diet. While my family is away, celebrating the holidays with our favorite winter tradition – soaking in hot springs, Brenda offered to share her knowledge and her recipes with you. She’ll be answering questions about this recipe, so if you’ve got something to share, leave a comment for Brenda. If you have a guest post you’d like me to consider, please contact me.

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Grain-free Shortbread with Salted Caramel

Jenny — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:07:30 +0000

Last week I shared my recipe for Grain-Free Shortbread Wedges, crumbly and buttery and just in time for the holidays. Now it is time to share how I morph that recipe into delectable shortbread bars that are delicious on their own, but go completely over the top when dipped in caramel and sprinkled with sea salt. They are perfect on their own, but really shine when paired with afternoon tea, or piping hot coffee or hot cocoa.

Shortbread is one of my favorite recipes to make. The ingredients are wholesome and simple, plus the finished bars are not too sweet. I find that I need less sweetness these days now that I eat real food on a regular basis. A small amount of good quality honey is all it takes to make these shortbread bars the perfect bite after a holiday meal. And since shortbread is traditionally lightly sweetened, these grain-free shortbread bars are perfect to pair with a touch of sweet caramel on occasion.

Grass-fed butter is rich in vitamin K2, which is responsible for proper absorption of vitamins A and D. I prefer using grass-fed butter in cookies and baked goods because the vitamin K2 is not broken down in the heating process. So when I eat my salty-sweet shortbread bar, I know that it is at least my best version of a homemade treat that won’t make me sick.

Grain-free Shortbread with Salted Caramel Glaze

almonds, cream, honey and sea salt

for the shortbread

1 3/4 cups almond flour (buy it here)
1/4 cup coconut flour (buy it here)
1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt (buy it here)
1/4 cup honey (buy it here)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold, cut into small pieces (buy it here)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the salted caramel

1 cup heavy cream, not ultrapasteurized (find a source)
1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt (buy it here)
1 cup honey (buy it here)

special equipment

candy thermometer (like this)
parchment paper (like this)

to prepare the shortbread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, and salt. Pour honey over the top. Add butter pieces and vanilla. With a pastry blender, or with your hands, combine ingredients until they form small crumbs. The dough should stick together if you pinch some in between two fingers. Lay out a long piece of parchment and dump the crumbly dough into the center.
Between two pieces of parchment paper, roll the dough out into a long rectangle. Using the pizza cutter or a knife, cut the rectangle lengthwise in half, then cut across every 2 inches or so creating a pair of shortbread bars end to end with each cut. Using the small spatula, transfer the bars to a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and immediately slide parchment to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before dipping into caramel.

to prepare the caramel

Prepare a shallow pie plate by filling it halfway with cold water. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small saucepan, heat the cream and salt over a medium heat until bubbles start to form alongside the edges of the pan. Add the honey and stir until completely heated through.
Turn the heat up and bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Attach the candy thermometer to the side of the pan, taking care that the thermometer not touch the bottom of the pan.
Lower the heat to medium to keep the mixture at a slow simmer. Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes or until it reaches 255 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn off the heat.
Carefully lower the saucepan into a bowl half-way full of cold water. Mix with a wooden spoon as the caramel cools and thickens. Tilt the saucepan to the side so that the caramel pools on one side. Dip completely cooled shortbread bars halfway into the caramel and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt immediately.
Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator to harden completely. Store in an airtight container.

Love it? This is a guest post by Kendahl of Our Nourishing Roots who generously contributed this recipe to Nourished Kitchen as a way to keep your appetites tantalized while I take my family on a mini-vacation to the hot springs. If you’d like to contribute a guest post to Nourished Kitchen, shoot me an email.

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Love and joy come to you, and to your wassail too!

Jenny — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:23:15 +0000

I love a traditional wassail, and I make it three times a year – on the first day of snow, on the longest night of the year and on New Year’s Eve. And today marks the longest night of the year and the shortest day. We’ll celebrate with wassail and by lighting a candle that will burn all day long and into the dark, dark night. Wassail, like the celebration of the winter solstice, is steeped in ancient tradition and it is that ancient tradition, as you might imagine, that I love – that otherworldly feeling of connectedness to past and future generations all in one heady sip of spiced cider and brandy. So it’s this – a traditional wassail recipe – I offer to you as my yuletide gift and I pray you use it in the very best of health.

Traditional Wassailing (and, incidentally, Toasting)

Wassail, first started as a greeting or as a toast. Waes hael, revelers might say holding up a mug of spiced cider. Eventually, as things go, wassail referred less often to the greeting and more often to the drink. Similarly, the toast that was traditionally floated atop the wassail eventually became our toast; that is, when you hold up your glass and announce, “Let’s have a toast,” or ”I’ll toast to that,” you’re paying homage to this very old ritual of floating a bit of toast in a spiced ale, a mulled wine or a traditional wassail as an honor or in celebration.

Wassailing itself – the habit of visiting neighbors, singing carols and sharing drink – is a long-standing tradition related to another ritual of the seasons, mumming. Mumming, despite having fallen from favor most everywhere, is still practiced in my community where a troupe of masked revelers travels from restaurant to restaurant on the autumnal equinox singing songs, performing for restaurant patrons and drinking their fill from the wells of the bars. You can see more pictures of this week-long harvest festival here and here. And so it is with wassailing, too, except that in some areas of England, wassailers didn’t travel from house to house performing for a drink; rather, they’d venture out of the home with a trimmed bowl of wassail and would offer it in the street for a few pennies.

But in my favorite of the wassail traditions, the spiced cider was offered as an ancient honor to the trees. In wintertime, wassailers would prepare the traditional wassail – soaking pieces of bread, cake or toast in it – and travel from apple orchard to apple orchard in effort to ensure a good harvest for the coming year. Wassail-soaked pieces of bread or toast were then buried at the trees’ roots or hung in the trees’ branches to appease the tree spirits and feed them well until the next harvest.

Eggs in Traditional Wassail

You’ll note that the traditional wassail recipe listed below also includes egg. Egg is often included in traditional alcoholic beverages including both wassail and, of course, the more easily recognized egg nog. Egg is rich in nutrients like choline and biotin, but it’s the saturated fat found in egg that proves to be its greatest benefit as it relates to alcohol. Alcohol challenges the liver, but saturated fat helps to mitigate the effect of alcohol on the liver, meaning that moderate and occasional consumption of alcohol in conjunction with foods rich in healthy fats – like eggs, may help to offset any potential damage. Life is, after all, about balance.

Traditional Wassail Recipe

apples, oranges, spices, cider and eggs

ingredients

4 small apples
1 cup unrefined cane sugar (buy it here), divided
1 orange
about 13 whole cloves (buy it here)
2 quarts hard apple cider
1/2 cup brandy
1 tablespoon powdered ginger (buy it here)
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg (buy it here)
6 allspice berries (buy them here)
2 cinnamon sticks (buy it here)
6 eggs, separated
toast, optional, to serve

special equipment

butter muslin (buy it here)
100% cotton cooking twine (buy it here)

method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Scoop out the core of the apples without fully penetrating the apple – a melon baller works well. Fill each apple with about a tablespoon of unrefined cane sugar. Place the apples in the baking sheet. Stud an orange with thirteen cloves and place it in the baking sheet. Bake the apples and orange together for forty minutes.
While the apples and orange bake, pour apple cider and brandy into a heavy-bottomed stock pot and warm over moderately low heat. Whisk in powdered ginger and grated nutmeg. Do not bring the wassail to a boil.
Cut a small square of the butter muslin and place allspice and cinnamon into the square; tie with 100% cotton cooking twine and float this sachet of spices in the wassail as it warms.
Beat egg yolks until light in color and set aside. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg yolks into whites, then temper the eggs by slowly pouring one-half cup wassail into the eggs. Remove the spice sachet from the wassail and pour in eggs. Transfer to a punch bowl. Float baked apples and oranges in the wassail and serve by the mug, topping each much with a small slice of toast if desired.

NOTES: If you don’t consume alcohol in your home, you can substitute soft cider for hard cider and brandy. But, then, where’s the fun? You may also omit the eggs and serve the wassail just as it is – spiced hard cider. We often prepare the wassail without eggs, bottle it and give it away to friends as gifts.

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How to Bake with Coconut Flour: Tips & Tricks for Using this Gluten-free Flour

Jenny — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:13:00 +0000

Have you heard about the benefits of baking with coconut flour? As the interest in grain-free diets continues to rise, many cooks are looking to coconut flour for their baking. Baking with coconut flour presents unique challenges as coconut flour does not perform the same as grain-based flours in baking; that is, baking with coconut flour requires special techniques before it will yield good results. So print this post out and pin it to your fridge – so that if you decide to try your hand at baking with coconut flour your well-equipped to work with this unique, but deeply nutritive alternative to wheat.

What is coconut flour and how is it used for baking?

Coconut flour is a soft flour produced from dried coconut meat. It is a natural byproduct of coconut milk production. Just as you can make homemade coconut milk, you can also make coconut flour in your own kitchen if you were so inclined. To save time and effort, I typically purchase my coconut flour in bulk online (see sources).

When coconut milk is pressed from coconut meat, bits of solid coconut meat are leftover and this coconut meat that is leftover after the production of coconut milk is then dried at a low temperature and ground until it produces a soft, fine powder which is then suitable for baking. Popular among those adhering to grain-restrictive diets such as paleo diets, the GAPS or SCD diet or any grain-free diet, coconut flour can offer a gluten-free and protein-rich alternative to traditional grain-based flours.

Benefits of Baking with Coconut Flour

Coconut flour is rich in protein, fiber and fat which makes it exceptionally filling.
Coconut flour is also a good source of lauric acid, a saturated fat thought to support the immune system and the thyroid. Like most healthy fats, lauric acid also promotes good skin health.
Coconut flour is an exceptionally good source of manganese which helps you to better utilize many nutrients including choline and biotin (found in eggs), vitamin C and thiamin. Manganese also supports bone health, nervous system function, thyroid health and helps to maintain optimal blood sugar levels.
Coconut flour is not grain-based, and, as such does not present many of the issues that accompany grains. Coconut flour is gluten-free and, while it does contain food phytate, the mineral-binding effects of phytates in coconut are virtual nonexistent so coconut flour does not need to be soaked (read more about soaking coconut flour).

Baking with Coconut Flour: What you need to know

In baking, you cannot substitute coconut flour for wheat or other grain-based flours at a 1:1 ratio. They are not equivalent.
Coconut flour is extraordinarily absorbent and very little coconut flour is needed to successfully produce a recipe. In baked goods, you generally want to substitute 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup coconut flour for 1 cup grain-based flour. You will also need to increase the number of eggs. In general for every one cup of coconut flour you use, you will need to use six beaten eggs in your recipe in addition to approximately one cup liquid such as coconut milk. When baking with coconut, it is best to use established recipes rather than waste considerable expense and time with experimentation.
If you are frying or sauteing and need to dredge meats or vegetables, you can use coconut flour in an amount that is equivalent to wheat flour.
Coconut flour is clumpy. To produce a fine-textured result, the coconut flour must be thoroughly beaten with the other ingredients in your recipe.
Coconut flour is dense and can also be dry. Every flour has its peculiar characteristics and baked goods made with coconut flour tend to be dense and dry. To reduce dryness, make sure you’re using plenty of eggs and you can also add cooked, pureed or mashed fruit or vegetables to your baked goods to increase the moisture.

Coconut Flour Recipes & Cookbooks

Where to Buy Coconut Flour

You can find coconut flour at most well-stocked health food stores, but it tends to be expensive for a small amount. You can typically save money when purchasing organic coconut flour in bulk online.

Do you have tips for baking with coconut flour?

Don’t be quiet! If you have tips for baking with coconut flour or favorite recipes to share, join the conversation by leaving a comment.

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Everyday Whole Food Supplements for Resilient Health.

Jenny — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:22:36 +0000

I believe that nourishment should come from food, not supplements. And that sentiment has drawn a bit of ire from Nourished Kitchen readers in the past few weeks who feel that routine vitamin and mineral supplementation is a necessary aspect of wellness. I disagree, and we don’t take daily vitamins in our home.

Our bodies, you see, are meant to receive their nourishment not from pills and isolated formulas of minerals and (often synthetic) vitamins, but from honest-to-goodness real food which is, of course, not to say that those who are suffering from particular health conditions won’t achieve benefit from consuming supplementary vitamins and minerals as prescribed by a health care practioner. For most of us, though, we should get our vitamins and minerals from food and not supplements as nutrients are better absorbed from foods rather than pills. Further, when consuming vitamins and minerals in isolation you are likely to miss other nutrients complementary to the isolated mineral or vitamin pill you’re swallowing. That is, vitamins do not occur in isolation in nature; rather, vitamins occur in complementary groups and it is these companion vitamins, minerals and healthy fats that give the greatest benefit to our bodies.

Nonetheless, we could all use a bit of nutritional insurance policy – boosts of concentrated vitamins and minerals. And, for this reason, my family chooses to consume whole food supplements with their naturally occurring array of vitamins, minerals and healthy fats rather than isolated vitamins, minerals or multivitamins. Whole food supplements, like fermented cod liver oil or dessicated liver capsules, provides that concentrated level of vitamins, minerals and healthy fats but in a minimally processed way. These aren’t multivitamins, folks, but whole foods brimming with concentrated nutrition. As such, they contain their full and natural complement of associated vitamins and minerals so that you get your boost of nutrition, but in the most natural state possible. It’s real food, folks – just beautifully concentrated.

Our Everyday Whole Food Supplements

Fermented Cod Liver Oil / High Vitamin Butter Oil

In accordance with the dietary guidelines of the Weston A Price Foundation, we consume fermented cod liver oil and high vitamin butter oil daily, usually as a blend. Fermented cod liver oil, unlike straight fish oil, is processed gently and retains its naturally-occurring array of vitamins – particularly vitamins A and D. Indeed, cod liver oil is the most concentrated food source of both vitamins A and D. It is, in the truest of meanings, a superfood. Further, fermented cod liver oil It is strongly anti-inflmmatory and contains a potent dose of omega-3 fatty acids. The docasahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are extraordinarily difficult to assimilate from plant-based sources1 of omega-3 fatty acids like flax seeds, but provide a formula for resilient health. Clinical studies suggest that EPA can help to lower overall systemic inflammation, decrease risk of depression and provide potential benefit for psychological disorders like schizophrenia and help to ameliorate symptoms associated with hyperactivity. DHA offers similar benefits including some protection against Alzheimer’s disease, and the inhibition of cancer.

When Dr. Price administered cod liver oil to his patients, he did so in conjunction with high vitamin butter oil. High vitamin butter oil is produced from the vitamin-rich cream of grass-fed cows. It is a powerful source of fat-soluble vitamins including vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin K₂. Vitamin K₂ is a potent cancer fighter and known to support bone health. High vitamin butter oil also contains the Wulzen factor (stigmasterol) – which may be useful in the prevention of certain cancers and which also promotes joint health. When taken together, fermented cod liver oil and high vitamin butter oil work together – almost synergistically. That is, the arachidonic acid (AA) – an omega-6 fatty acid - found in high vitamin butter oil helps to balance the EPA and DHA found in fermented cod liver oil thus promoting a good ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids.

What’s in fermented cod liver oil and high vitamin butter oil blends?

Healthy Fats: DHA, EPA, AA, Butyric Acid, Stearic Acid, Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Lauric Acid, Myristic Acid
Vitamins: A, D, E, K₂.
Minerals: Zinc, chromium and iodine (in trace amounts).
Other Goodies: Wulzen Anti-stiffness Factor, Lecithin

How to take it and where to buy it:

How we take it: At the suggestion of our nutritionist, my husband and I both take 1 1/2 teaspoons of a fermented cod liver oil / high vitamin butter oil blend daily. My husband and I take it off the spoon, and chase it with a big gulp of water or herbal tea. Our son takes 1 capsule of fermented cod liver oil / high vitamin butter oil daily.
Where to buy it: You can buy it online (see sources).

Dessicated Liver Capsules

Liver and other offal were prized among traditional peoples who enjoyed resilient health; however, they’re not too friendly to most modern tastebuds. And while I try to serve my family organ meats at least once or twice a week , it doesn’t always come together. Still, we don’t want to miss the many nutritional benefits of liver so we consumed dessicated liver capsules daily. Liver is extraordinarily rich in vitamins – particularly vitamin A, vitamin B12 and folate. It is also a good source of trace minerals and co-enzyme Q10 which is traditionally thought to support cardiovascular health. Co-enzyme Q10 is also a potent antioxidant and researchers are now examining the link between co-enzyme Q10, oxidative stress and life span. Heart and liver are the most concentrated sources of co-enzyme Q10; however, if heart and liver don’t make it to your dinner table too often, you might consider supplementing with dessicated liver capsules. They’re easy to take, and as a food, they contain all the benefits of liver without the flavor. Which is not to say, of course, that you should skip organ meats and rely fully on dessicated liver capsules; rather, consider them an insurance policy – a little nutritional boost to start your day.

What’s in dessicated liver capsules?

Vitamins: A, B3, B5, Folate, Choline, Betaine, B12.
Minerals: Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Copper, Selenium.

How to take it and where to buy it:

How to take it: My husband and I consume three capsules daily; our son consumes two capsules. Six capsules equate to one ounce of liver. If you do not routinely consume organ meats and offal, you might consider taking the full dose.
Where to buy it: You can buy it online (see sources).

Therapeutic-grade Probiotics

We also consume a therapeutic-grade probiotic at every meal in addition to our regular retinue of fermented foods. Health begins in the gut and probiotics help to build a healthy array of intestinal flora which then help us to make and absorb vitamins, train the immune system and build immunity. Further, probiotics help to boost the body’s detoxification process. We typically take Bio-kult which contains 14 species of beneficial bacteria and about two billion active probiotics in each capsule, but any therapeutic-grade probiotic with a similar array and concentration of beneficial bacteria should work. Probiotics are valuable to anyone whose normal and healthy intestinal flora have been compromised – usually by formula feeding during infancy, antibiotic use or the use of other pharmaceuticals like the birth control (in effect, almost all of us). Probiotic supplements in conjunction with fermented foods and a healing dietary protocol of whole foods can help to restore the body’s natural balance.

What’s in therapeutic-grade probiotics?

Other Goodies: Beneficial bacteria – and lots of ‘em.

How to take it and where to buy it:

How we take it: My husband and I consume one capsule each at breakfast and at dinner, and our son consumes one capsule at breakfast.
Where to buy it: While I’ve found many, many probiotic supplements at my local health food and vitamin stores, they are not typically therapeutic-grade probiotic supplements. I purchase my probiotic supplements online (see sources).

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Date-sweetened Gingerbread Men for a Christmas Tree Hunt

Jenny — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:41:11 +0000

We headed into the woods this weekend to hunt for our Christmas tree and a log for our yuletide fire. Living close to nature as we do, after all the National Forest is within walking distance of our home, we relish the turning of the seasons and, perhaps, feel their urgency more than most people. With the darkest day of the year approaching and what promises to be another six months of blanketing snows, we took the time to welcome the season with a Christmas tree hunt and a picnic on snowshoes.

When my husband and I first began dating eleven years ago, we had little money and a lot of time. (I imagine not much has changed since then except that, since welcoming our boy into our lives, we’ve even less time.) But with little money and a lot of time, we took our dates outside – into the wilds on snowshoes. It was lovely those first few years – the two of us tramping through the pillows of snow from which naked aspens shot up defiantly.

We’d pack a picnic – usually crackers, a hunk of cheese and a thermos of hot chocolate, warm cider or a bottle of cheap wine. And we’d eat, and kiss, under a cloudless bluebird sky nestled among the aspens and conifers who could, in their secrecy, hide my blushing cheeks. Those, dearest readers, were the greatest indulgences of our early love. That is, until we eloped to Amsterdam.

Of course, time goes by, and before you know it you get lost within the machinations of your life. Babies are born. Business must be done. Family must be visited and, before you know what you lost, you’re exhausted.

So this weekend, Christmas tree permit in hand, we packed up the car, the kid, his friend and a picnic in an effort to reclaim some of the wonder we lost to the doldrums of life. And ever the chronicling blogger I am, I posted to Nourished Kitchen’s Facebook page that we were off.

Snowshoeing, if you do it right, can take a lot out of you. Depending on the depth of the snow, the pitch of the hill and the speed at which you travel, it can be physically demanding, but wonderously fun nonetheless. So, just as we did when we first started dating, I always pack a picnic – something light to eat that can help break up the day, satisfy the belly and appease the little ones.

First, I made my favorite gingerbread men (and for you who adhere to the GAPS diet, you’ll be happy to know it is a gingerbread man recipe even you can enjoy). I’m particularly partial to this gingerbread man recipe because it is satiating, and only slightly sweet. It’s a simple combination of blanched almond flour, date sugar, eggs and organic spices which I typically buy in bulk here. Almond flour and eggs provide protein and good quality fats while date sugar isn’t much of a sugar at all and is, rather, simply dates that have been thoroughly dried and ground into a powder.

And, along with our date-sweetened gingerbread men, I packed fresh apples, a hunk of beautiful artisan-crafted raw milk cheddar cheese and a thermos filled with warm goats milk, spiced by a sprinkling of nutmeg and sweetened by a bit of blackstrap molasses.

With that, we ventured into the woods, where we met friends and neighbors who all sought that perfect Christmas tree. We tramped through the snow, discussed the abominable snowman and when my husband disappeared for ten minutes the children were convinced he’d been eaten, wanted to leave him for dead and head to the car with a fervent urgency only a 6-year old can muster. They settled down, though. My husband rejoined us, we found the perfect tree (a 13-foot spruce!) and while he chopped down the tree and packed the sled we all settled in for a little snack before heading home.

And I hope this recipe, humble as it is, brings you as much joy as it did our family.

Gingerbread Men

almonds, date sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves

for the gingerbread men

3 cups almond flour, plus extra for flouring your working surface (buy it here)
3 cups date sugar (buy it here)
5 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt (buy it here)
3 tablespoons powdered ginger (buy it here)
1 tablespoon powdered cinnamon (buy it here)
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg (buy it here)
1/4 tsp ground cloves (buy it here)
dried currants, to decorate the cookies

equipment

stand mixer or mixing bowl with beaters
rolling pin
gingerbread men cookie cut-out (like this one)
baking sheet lined with parchment paper or baking stone
cooling rack

method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Beat almond flour, date sugar, eggs, sea salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together until they form a solid lump of dough.
Flour your working surface and rolling pin. Spread the gingerbread men dough onto your work surface and roll until about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out with a gingerbread man cookie cutter. Decorate with currants and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or a baking stone and bake until fragrant and slightly browned at the edges – twelve to fifteen minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container for storage as the gingerbread men will become brittle if left out too long.

YIELD: 12 to 16 gingerbread men | TIME: 5 minutes (active), 12 to 15 minutes (baking per batch)

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Perpetual Soup: The Easiest Bone Broth You’ll Make

Jenny — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:51:15 +0000

Bone broth is a staple of my family’s diet. As with healthy fats, heirloom vegetables, grass-fed meats and a good old-fashioned fermented cod liver oil, we consume a lot of bone broths – usually aiming for one quart per person per day, at the recommendation of our nutritionist. Broth, you see, is a nutritional powerhouse. It is extraordinarily rich in easy-to-assimilate minerals, amino acids and goodies like glucosamine chondroitin. Its gelatin helps to heal the gut, which is why it plays such an integral role in the GAPS diet, and it provides powerful medicine – particularly in combating colds and flus.

And, you did read that right: we do aim for one quart per adult per day (the little one of the household gets at least a pint). That’s a lot of broth. Let me do the math for you. That’s between two and three quarts per day, averaging to about four and a half gallons of broth each week for our family. Yes, as you might imagine, soups and stews are a big part of our day, more so in the winter than in the summer. When I serve breakfast, I serve it with a mug of broth and another mug of broth sits at my desk as I work.

It’s a beautiful thing, really, and I credit good broth, fermented cod liver oil and of fermented foods with the resilient immunity my family enjoys each flu season. We also use these unconventional techniques to fight the flu and build immunity.

So how do we make enough broth?

So if you’re wondering just how I manage working at home full time, homeschooling our 6-year old with making four and a half gallons of bone broth each week, I’ll tell you. I slow cook it. I call it perpetual soup. You see, my six-quart slowcooker (kinda like this one) is my cauldron. That is, it is always on – bubbling away and ready to nourish my family with the bounty of the bones that stew away every hours of every day.

Once a week, I place the frame of a roast chicken into the slow cooker, cover it with filtered water (We use a Berkey to filter our water, and you can find them online.), toss in a few bay leaves, black peppercorns and vegetable scraps, turn it on and call it good. As I pull broth from the slow cooker, I filter it through a reusable coffee filter which helps to strain out any floating herbs, chicken skin or pieces of bone and results in a beautiful clear broth. As I remove broth, I add water and continue the process throughout the week – ensuring that by the end of the week every bit of goodness has been pulled from that chicken frame.

And, in case you’re worried about the cost of keeping your slow cooker on twenty-four hours a day, every day of the week, the estimated cost of running your slow cooker is about $0.01 to $0.03 per hour – for a total cost of $1.68 to $5.04 for the week. Undoubtedly worth it. Learn more about energy-wise cooking here.

Perpetual Soup or Bone Broth the Easy Way

chicken bones, sweet bay, peppercorns, vegetable scraps

ingredients

1 whole chicken or the frame of a roasted chicken
2 sweet bay leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
any vegetable scraps you have on hand (see note for recommended vegetables)
filtered water (see sources for a good filter)

equipment:

6-quart slow cooker (like this one)
fine-mesh sieve or reusable coffee filter (like this one)

method:

Place one whole chicken or the frame of a roasted chicken into your slow cooker with sweet bay, black peppercorns and any vegetable scraps you have on hand. Cover with filtered water and cook on low for one week.
After twenty-four hours, you may begin using the broth. As you need broth or stock, simply dip a ladle or measuring cup into the slow cooker to remove the amount of stock you need. Pour it through a fine-mesh sieve or, preferably, a reusable coffee filter which will help to clarify the broth. Replace the broth you remove from the slow cooker with an equivalent amount of filtered water (see sources for a good filter). If you’re using a whole, fresh chicken, you may also remove chicken meat from the slow cooker as desired for stir-fries, in soups or in recipes like Asian-style lettuce wraps.
At the end of the week, strain off any remaining broth and discard or compost the bones. The bones from your chicken should crumble when pressed between your thumb and forefinger. Their softness is an indication that much of the nourishment from the bones – minerals, amino acids – have leached from the bones and into the broth you’ve enjoyed all week long. Wash the insert of your slow cooker and start again.

YIELD: As much or as little broth as you want, my family consumes about 2 to 3 quarts of broth each day. | TIME: Perpetual.

NOTE: Vegetable scraps are not necessary for perpetual soup; however, if you’d like to use them, take care to use the ones recommended as prolonged cooking with certain vegetables may yield a bad flavor to your broth. I recommend using parsley and parsley trimmings, onion, garlic, celery and celery leaves. Do not use carrot scraps (it makes the broth too sweet) or beets, broccoli, turnips or any other brassicas which introduce a bitter aftertaste to your broth.

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My Favorite Things (November 2011)

Jenny — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:14:15 +0000

After surviving the whirlwind that was November (Hello Wise Traditions Conference, technical glitches and visits to relatives … oh my!), things have started to settle down in the high country and I’m excited to share with you some of the things that have made my November special. And I know you’ve seen me hem and haw about starting the GAPS Diet, after hearing Dr. Campbell-McBride talk, but we’re finally biting the bullet and are officially slurping our way through the myriad soups and broths of the GAPS Introduction Diet, using this ebook as our guide.

Things I’ve loved in November

Road trip food like yogurt with persimmons, mint, pepitas and honey.
I’m pretty sure I’m magnesium deficient (it kinda explains those mad chocolate cravings I get). Check out this post on Magnesium Deficiency. I’m planning on ordering some topical magnesium oils.
Finally getting an answer on whether or not we should soak coconut flour.
Gain-free crackers with cheddar and herbs.
Ordering twenty-five pounds of organic almond flour.
Ordering more fermented cod liver oil and high vitamin butter oil (it gives me good skin.)
Kelly’s take on Why we need a raw milk institute.
Learning that canned soups can spike your BPA levels by 1200% (we don’t eat them anyway, but YOW!)
The Growing Younger Series by Donna Gates (Today is the last day to sign up, by the way.)
Lacto-fermented purple eggs.
These healthy breakfast ideas.
Butternut cupcakes with cardamom buttercream.
Classic Russian Cooking (for some serious, traditional foods).
Watching my kid watch Happy Feet 2.
Finding quince in my CSA box.
These perfumes.

What was the highlight of your November?

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How to Slow-roast the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey (with Video!)

Jenny — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:18:56 +0000

After years of overdone and tough birds, I was entrusted with this recipe – passed from my husband’s grandmother to his mother, from my mother-in-law to my husband and, eventually, he shared it with me. You see, my husband, taught me to cook. And while it must be some level of a sin, a betrayal to share such beloved and time-worn recipe with you – and publicly at that – I know you’ll fall in love, just as I did. And that, dearest real food lovers, is worth it.

It is an old-fashioned recipe and one that’s likely to send food safety experts who malign traditional slow-roasting with nearly as much fervor as they malign raw milk. They warn against overnight roasting and slow temperatures of less than 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Of course, I’ve never been one to mind the food safety experts; after all, it’s under the guise of food safety that artisan cheesemakers have been shut down and their product confiscated despite clean tests while Cargill has been allowed to sicken the the nation with tainted turkey. So, yes, I’ll stick with my husband’s grandmother’s recipe. She’s happily in her 70s and the occasional slow-roasted turkey doesn’t seem to have done her any damage.

Slow roasting: A Necessity for Pastured & Heritage Turkeys

If you’re accustomed to the tender meatiness of conventionally raised or industrial breed turkeys, preparing a pasture-raised and heritage breed turkey presents somewhat of a learning curve. You see, they just don’t cook the same way. Industrial breeds such as the broad-breasted white turkey have been strategically bred, generation after generation, to meet the industrial agricultural model; that is, they have huge breasts, shorter legs and are fatter than heritage breeds. When raised according to conventional methods that lack in access to bugs, grubs, green grass and sunshine, they grow fatter yet and sicker, too.

By contrast, traditional heritage turkey breeds tend toward leanness – even the dark meats. Further, when turkeys are raised on pasture – as they should be – the additional activity can increase that leanness. When these birds are cooked according to conventional methods which include high heat and shorter cooking times, their protein-rich meat can sieze resulting in toughness. So as we approach heritage breeds and traditional farming practices, we must also approach cooking with tradition in mind.

Slow roasting, whereby poultry, is cooked gently at a low temperature for a long period of time (overnight for turkeys and several hours for smaller birds like chicken) resulting in an extraordinarily succulent bird whose skin reaches a deep golden-brown color and whose meat literally falls of the bone. And if you’re game for trying this traditional method, I’ve included a simple video that illustrates this technique as well as an easy 4-step recipe that will wow your family and your guests this Thanksgiving.

Video: How to Truss & Slow-roast a Turkey

Are you reading this post in an email? You’ll have to click through to see the recipe and video. Emails don’t play videos, silly. And if you want more real food holiday goodness, be sure to check out Happy & Healthy Holidays – an online series with 30+ videos, 200 recipes and meal plans for the holidays.

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Click here to read the rest of How to Slow-roast the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey (with Video!) (349 words)

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