Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust

Dinner #2 this week is a broccoli and cheddar quiche with a brown rice crust.  I only put broccoli on half because my husband isn't a fan of broccoli (or any vegetable, for that matter).  This was my first time making a quiche, and my husband's first time ever eating quiche.  The brown rice crust was decent, it was simple and I greatly appreciated that.  I enjoyed this quiche the next morning for breakfast more than I did eating it for dinner.

Both my husband and I agree it would have been better with bacon. Duh, everything's better with bacon.

Chicken Soup & Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

I'm focusing on dinners this week.  By that I mean, I'm trying really hard to actually plan and cook meals, rather than throwing something together every night.

Last night was home made chicken soup and jalapeno cheddar cornbread.

The chicken soup is a little bit of a process, but the results are delicious.  I stick a whole organic chicken + water in a crock pot until the meat is falling off the bones, about 12 hours.  I salvage the broth in a jar, seperate all the meat from the bones, then stick the bones back in the crock pot and cover with water.  I let the bones simmer for about 6 hours, which results in some seriously flavorful and nutritious bone broth.  I then remove the bones and discard, combine the two broths, and then let the chicken & chopped vegetables simmer in it for awhile (since my husband doesn't like vegetables, I kindly left them out this time).  For myself, I scooped out some chicken and broth as is, but for my husband and kids, I added pasta and let simmer until cooked (about 5-8 minutes).  It's a bit of a long process, but the amount of work I actually do is minimal.

I shared the soup with a friend unaware that chicken soup is his favorite food.  When I told him that it was nothing but water, chicken and salt, he was really surprised by how much flavor there was for such simplicity.  He said, "Trust me, it's really good."

The recipe for the cornbread can be found right here.  I ommited the scallions (for husband's sake) and used unbleached white flour.  I thought it was pretty tasty - it was moist, rich, fluffy, and kind of reminded me of the texture of eating cake, but without the sweetness.  My husband wasn't too fond of it. :(

How to have a delicious & sweet pumpkin breakfast:

Although I've made plenty of healthy changes to my family's diet and we are making wonderful progress towards better food choices, I still have a huge weakness: Sugar!  Just because I'm baking with whole, unrefined, natural sugars doesn't magically make sugar good for our bodies.  I'm not sure if Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas is really a good time to start depriving ourselves of our favorite foods, so maybe after the Holidays?  Yeah?  In the meantime, I am still letting us indulge in some delicious, seasonal favorites. :)

Here's how to have a delicious and perfectly sweet pumpkin breakfast:

1) First, buy yourself a baking pumpkin.  Cut it right down the middle and remove all the pulpy strands and seeds (if you like, you can save the seeds and bake them for a crunchy snack). Place the pumpkin halves face down in a baking dish and add 1/2 an inch of water to the pan to keep the pumpkin moist.  Bake at 450º for about 45 minutes, or until you can pierce the skin with a fork.  Seperate the pumpkin flesh from the skin by scooping it out.  Use a blender or food processor to whip into a perfect, creamy pumpkin puree.

Now you have fresh pumpkin on hand for baking!
You can store it in the refrigerator, or freeze in ziplock bags.

2) Next, bake yourself a couple easy french bread loaves.
Don't worry, it really is easy!  The best advice I can think to give you if you're not accustomed to baking your own bread is this: be patient and use fresh yeast.  Your dough has to rise, so don't rush it or try to cut corners.  And if your yeast is old, your bread will be a disaster (speaking from lots of personal experience here). 

Dissolve 2 packages of active dry yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water with 1/2 tsp of honey.  Dissolve completely and let sit for 5-10 minutes.  Once active, combine together with 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 cups of hot water.  Now stir in 7-8 cups of flour (whole wheat, unbleached white, or a combination of both - it's up to you).  Less is more on quantity!  I've never needed the whole 8 cups.

Knead your dough for 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.  Grease a bowl with olive oil, turn the dough over in the bowl once, and let rise until it's doubled.  Punch it down, and let rest for 15 minutes.  Now divide the dough in half and, on a floured surface, roll each half out into a 12x15" rectangle.  Roll up, starting from the 15" edge.  Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet and make 4-5 slashes diagonally across the tips.  Let rise again until double.

Brush on 1 beaten egg or melted butter, then bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

This bread makes wonderful toast in the morning for breakfast, a great side for dipping in home made soup, and it also makes moist, soft, delicious PBJ sandwiches. :)

3) Now you're ready to make that pumpkin breakfast!

In a saucepan, combine 1½ cups water and 1½ cups sugar of your choice (rapadura is what I recommend) over a medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved.  Whisk in 4 tsps of cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp ginger, ½ tsp of cloves, and 4 tablespoons of pumpkin puree.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, without letting it boil.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

While it cools, start your french toast.  Beat eggs and milk as you normally do to make french toast, then add pumpkin puree, cinnamon and nutmeg into the mixture.  The amount will vary depending on how much you're making - I always eye ball everything and make it according to my own taste.  For my family I did: 2 eggs, a splash of milk, 1/2 cup of pumpkin, 2 tsps cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg.  Using slices of your homemade french bread, dip both sides of bread in mixture and cook over medium heat on a butter-greased griddle.  Cook on each side for several minutes, until both sides are golden brown.

Once your syrup is cool, strain it through a fine mesh strainer into a glass bottle or container of your choice.  To make a latte, combine 2 ounces of hot coffee, 5 ounces of steamed raw milk, and 2 tablespoons of syrup.  Amounts can be adjusted according to your taste.  Leftover mixture can be stored in the fridge.

This is how much I had left after making three lattes (no, I didn't drink 3!  I shared!)

Now drizzle 100% pure maple syrup over your pumpkin french toast and enjoy with your hot, fresh pumpkin latte!  So yummy!

Day 29 - Meal Plans & Coconuts

I painted a giant rectangle of chalkboard paint in my kitchen last night for this purpose:

Meal planning!

This is mostly to organize what I'm going to feed my son and to help with shopping lists so I know, specifically, what I need from the market.  It also helps me better organize what needs to be soaked and when to soak it (I'm getting pretty good at this soaking grains stuff).  I've never been very good at following meal plans exactly to a T, I'm known to switch meals/days, so I'm not too formal about it.  As long as I know what I can make, I'm good.

Saturday night, I had set out flour to soak for pancakes on Sunday morning.  I made a big batch, so Monday's breakfast was reheated pancakes that I had froze the day before. Sunday night, I set out the flour for the tortillas to soak overnight.  This afternoon I kneaded the dough, seperated into 16 balls (I doubled the batch on purpose), rolled them all out, and cooked two at a time on the griddle.  I made a pan of beef enchiladas and froze the rest of the tortillas (to be used for tacos and burritos later in the week).

Mari came back from the store with a coconut, and I had one that I had bought from another day, so I decided to finally figure out what to do with it. 

First, I pierced the eyes by hammering a screw driver into them, and drained the coconut water into a jar.

Then we put the coconuts in zip locks bags and Mari slammed them down on the patio to break them open.  This resulted in several small pieces.  Next time, I hope to try the hammer method to hopefully get a cleaner break into two pieces.

We were munching on it raw, until I googled various things to do with coconuts and I discovered how easy it is to make coconut milk!  I followed these instructions and it turned out perfectly sweet, creamy and delicious.  And so nutritious!  I think I will make this often and slip it into the kid's food frequently for the helth benefits.

"Coconut is rich in trace minerals including manganese which is essential in metabolism, healing and collagen formation, copper which plays a role in immunity and bone health as well as selenium, a nutrient which is critical to thyroid function as well as developing healthy skin, nails and hair. Beyond these trace minerals, coconut is a potent source of lauric acid – a wholesome and nourishing saturated fat with strong antimicrobial properties which may help to bolster immunity."

~ * ~

I'm happy to report that my son is getting less picky and more open to trying new food!  He has been regularly eating bananas, which is new for him.  And when I offer a new food, he at least tastes it before he decides if he likes it or not. This past week he's been eating lots of apples and watermelon and even ate a few bowls of grapes.  The other day he ate two full bowls of jasmine brown rice and didn't even seem to notice or care that it wasn't white rice.  At dinner tonight, he ate all of his enchilada (didn't even complain about the whole wheat tortilla) and ate a whole side of corn with it!

Day 26 - Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Needed to use some bananas before they went bad so I came up with these.

They are especially good warm and smothered with butter.

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup butter
¼ cup coconut oil
½ cup palm sugar or sucanat
2 eggs, beaten
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease muffin tin.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt.

Separately combine butter, oil, and palm sugar. Stir in eggs, bananas and pumpkin.

Combine mixture with flour mixture and stir just to moisten.

Pour batter into muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes at 350.

Day 25 - Salsa and Pizza and Brownies

I've been devouring my lacto-fermented salsa the last few days.  It is so good!  I went to Costco a few days ago and got a big box of ripe mangos that I need to eat before they go bad,  so everyday I cut up a mango and add it to a bowl of salsa.

What is "lacto-fermenting" and why is it good for you?  Lacto-fermentation is when the starches and sugars in vegetables and fruit convert to lactic acid by a friendly lactic-acid producing bacteria.  When you lacto-ferment vegetables, it increases the vitamins, is more digestible, and you get a plethora of good bacteria. 

“The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented vegetables enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. These beneficial organisms produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anticarcinogenic substances. Their main by-product, lactic acid, not only keeps vegetables and fruits in a state of perfect preservation but also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestine.” - Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions, pg 89

This is very new terroritory for me and I still know very little about it, but I do know this salsa tastes amazing.  I hope to venture more into lacto-fermenting in the future.

~ * ~

Last night I finally made some food my whole family was able to enjoy.  First, I made "granola bars" - I melted honey and peanut butter together over a low heat, then added rolled oats, poured in a pan, sprinkled with shredded coconut, and let chill in the fridge for a few hours.  They tasted like pure peanut buttery goodness.  My husband and son loved them - the whole pan is already gone!

For dinner I made whole-wheat pizza with organic tomato sauce and organic raw mozzarella cheese.  I've had the privledge of growing up eating the world's best pizza: my mom's home made recipe!  So of course I was comparing mine to hers.  And you know what?  They actually tasted pretty similiar, except that my crust was "wheatier" and I had less cheese on mine (organic raw cheese is expensive, so I was stretching it as far as I could!)

The one on the left is black olives and the one on the right is spicy venison sausage.  A friend of mine gave us some meat from a deer her husband killed -- thanks, Steph! -- and it was PERFECT on this pizza.  My husband's favorite food is pizza, so when I saw him gobble it down and he gave me endless compliments, I knew I had done something right.

For dessert, we had whole wheat brownies sweetened with coconut palm sugar.  They were dark, rich and enjoyed with a glass of raw milk.  They didn't last long either, so no photos. :)

~ * ~

I had some grass-fed beef and soaked pinto beans that I needed to use STAT, so I threw them in the crock pot with some things I had on hand: celery, carrots, and tomato sauce.  I let them simmer all day and the end result looks and smells exactly like spaghetti sauce.  I haven't tasted it yet, but I have some whole wheat spaghetti noodles in the pantry.... looks like I know what to make for dinner tomorrow. :)



Day 20 - Pumpkin Spice Latte

Although it really doesn't feel like Fall here in southern Texas, it is the middle of September and I am ready for pumpkins and soups despite the lingering high temps.

It rained briefly this morning (for the first time in many months!), which put me in the mood for coffee, and I decided to try making this pumpkin spice latte I read about.

First, I brewed some coffee in my french press:

Next I readied my ingredients: pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.  I couldn't use a fresh pumpkin because I haven't seen the baking pumpkins out at the stores yet, just the carving ones.

These were all blended with 1 cup of raw milk, 2 tablespoons of raw honey, and 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup, then added to the coffee.

Delicious!  And no high fructose corn syrup like the artificial flavoring syrups at the coffee house. :)