Cooking Classes at Preparing Wisely

The New Year brings new classes at a new location.  Preparing Wisely is a lovely food storage shop in downtown Mesa, 144 S Mesa Drive Suite G. The owners are wonderful people who have done a great job setting up an accommodating store front with friendly service.  They recently expanded and added a little kitchen area for demonstration classes.  I am privileged to be on their schedule for next year! All classes are free.  Listed below are the classes I am scheduled to teach. Hope to see you there :)

Tortillas            Tuesday, January 10, 11:00 am

Intro to Grains  Tuesday, January 24, 11:00 am

Grain Trio         Tuesday, February 21, 11:00 am

Grain Trio         Tuesday, March 6, 11:00 am

Grain Trio         Tuesday, April 3, 11:00 am

Grain Trio         Tuesday, April 17, 11:00 am

For a full list of classes offered at Preparing Wisely, visit their Event Schedule.

Starting Seeds

It is time to get started if you live in the Valley of the Sun.  This week would be perfect with the warm weather forecast, seeds are sure to sprout in a jiffy.  In most areas of the country, if you want to start early, you have to invest in grow lights and have space to start them indoors.  I love that I can sprout my own starts right outside.  Because there is still a danger of frost for the next couple months, I started in seed trays that can easily be brought indoor on cold nights.  You will also get much better germination in seed trays or pots because they heat up quicker.

I filled mine with a mixture of peat and compost before placing the seeds and sprinkling sand on top to hold them in place. The peat is a light weight growing medium that holds moisture well.  The compost is for nutrients and the sand holds the seeds in place while letting the sprout push through easily.  Now, as I keep the soil moist, I expect good success.

Right now you can plant any winter crops like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, kale, carrot, onions, peas, ect.  In my seed trays, I am starting my summer crop of tomatoes and peppers. These two take the longest to get going, but I should be in high production by April this year!  Happy planting.

GAPS Thanksgiving

Spice Brined Turkey

Gravy

Cranberry Relish

Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

Grain Free Stuffing and Biscuits

Butternut Squash Casserole

Holiday Green Beans

Pumpkin Pie Soufflé

What are we missing?

GAPS Pumpkin Pie Soufflé

I have wanted to post this recipe for a while now, but I couldn’t find it in my files. I had accidently saved it in my general recipe file instead of my GAPS recipe file, which is fitting since this pie pleases everyone alike, but then again, most of my recipes do : -)

On GAPS there are a lot of eat this at this time, 20 minutes before this and at least 2 hours after that and first thing in the morning or before bed... It takes major choreographing at first and can be difficult to orchestrate. One of these situations is that fruit is not supposed to be eaten with meals because it interferes with digestion. This makes desserts tricky because fruit makes an easy dessert without added sweeteners (honey or ground dates). I am so excited about this recipe because it fits the bill and is based on vegetables!

The idea came to me instantly after reading Kami’s post for Squash Bars on her blog Finding My Niche. I made these bars as given and they are awesome for snacks and even treats. I had to call them pumpkin bars because my kids think they don’t like squash. I added a few spices, sweetened it to my liking and poured it on a grain free crust for a pie. The egg whites make it nice and light. I have not tried this without whipping the whites, but would imagine that it would yield a denser pie like the traditional thanksgiving dessert.

I serve this with homemade yogurt cream for us and we love it. For guests and my husband, who has not lost his sweet tooth, I serve it with a good dollop of amply sweetened whipped cream and it gets rave reviews.

I have used both a pie pumpkin and butternut squash in this recipe and feel that the squash was slightly sweeter. Squash is always much easier to find. Either way, just cut them in half, remove the seeds and bake on a sheet pan, cut side down until completely soft. The spices are completely flexible, nutmeg and would be nice as well. Some people like a lot of spice to their pumpkin, so feel free to add more if that is the case. 


This recipe is for a deep dish pie plate or two regular pie plates.  You can pour leftover filling in any baking dish to have some extra treats on the side.  This is also fantastic sprinkled with my GAPS Crumble halfway through the baking time.

8 eggs, divided
2 cups pureed butternut squash
4 tablespoons melted butter
¼ cup honey
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate egg yolks and whites. Place whites in mixing bowl and yolks with cooled pumpkin puree. Whip egg whites until light and fluffy. Combine egg yolks, squash puree, melted butter, honey and spices. Mix well. Fold in egg whites gently. Pour into a deep dish pie plate with optional crust. Bake for 55 minutes for deep dish 30 for regular. The middle should still jiggle slightly . Let cool, then slice and serve. Keeps five days in the fridge.
links; Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

GAPS Shepherd's Pie

One of the best ways to keep your family happy at mealtimes when making drastic diet changes is to remake old favorites.  This shepard’s pie is patterned after our old one, which was laden with grains.

I chose to use a roast instead of ground meat since we are finding a lot of uses to ground meat lately and I wanted to change it up.  The potatoes are replaced by cauliflower.  I would love to do smashed butternut squash, but my kids are not fans.  We stick to cauliflower, but call it potatoes.  This confuses the kids a bit when I say that potatoes are not on the diet, but these special ones are, but it gets them to eat the food easier.

This dish saves well and freezes well and is easy to make in large batches. Sometimes I change it up by adding green beans or tomatoes or cheese on top, but this is our basic standby recipe with all those things I typically have on hand (sometimes I have to leave out the peppers).  It is also easy to make it really heavy on your faves and lighter on the not-so-faves.  Carrots seem to be most kid friendly.  I personally love onions.  Peas are nice on the GAPS diet because they are one of the few legal starches. 

I like to use a bone in roast so that the stock is extra flavorful. A nice flavorful stock is really important in this recipe.  Vegetables do bring a lot of flavor to the party, but the broth penetrates everything with meaty goodness.  Looking back, I used to make this recipe with a powdered soup base to get that flavor punch.  It is such a sad thing that bullion and powders have taking the place of such an incredible traditional food.  Once you get in the habit of making broth, you wonder why everybody doesn’t do it.  Speaking of, I just picked up a new crock pot this week, can’t wait to get another pot of stock going.

2-3 pound roast

6 cups water

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons salt

2 heads cauliflower

1/3 cup beef stock (from the meat pot)

½ cup butter

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil or tallow

1-2 onions, chopped
8 carrots, peeled and chopped

1-2 peppers, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons white bean flour

2 cups beef stock (from the meat pot)

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup frozen peas

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Boil roast for three to four hours in six cups of water, one bay leaf and two teaspoons salt.  Cut cauliflower into large, even pieces.  Place in a pot with 1/3 cup beef stock, cover and simmer on medium low heat for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a large fry pan on medium high add oil and onions, cook for five minutes or until they begin to brown.  Add carrots, bell peppers and one teaspoon salt, turn heat down to medium low and simmer for ten minutes.  Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook for two minutes, then mix in two cups stock. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add black pepper, peas and meat to vegetables. Stir in parsley, reserving some to garnish the top then, check for seasoning and salt to taste. Remove cauliflower from pot with slotted spoon and place in a blender or food processor with one teaspoon salt and ½ cup butter.  Pulse until broken up and grind briefly to make mostly smooth.  Fill a large casserole dish with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon cauliflower mash over meat evenly. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley and serve.

Real Food Kitchen Tour on Cheeseslave!

5 years ago my kitchen went from a one-butt kitchen to a crowd-of-butts kitchen.  I used to have one counter of work space that was laid across a dishwasher and butted up against a sink, which was next to the stove.  If someone was in the kitchen it was full.  The fridge was the only thing accessible. It was exciting to dream up the possibilities that an addition offered.  We designed it ourselves; it has all the features I love.  Take the tour today featured at Cheeseslave.

GAPS Crumble

Life without rolled oats is rough.  Okay, not really, but I really wanted to make me a darn good apple crisp.  I feel like I nailed the crumble, but can’t post the whole recipe yet because the apple filling part wasn’t top notch.  I am thinking I might experiment with gelatin to thicken the sauce.  Without anything it is too soupy.  Cornstarch and arrowroot are not GAPS legal.  I tried a little bean flour, I may have just added too much, but the texture was slightly gritty, which I assume is what coconut flour would be like to.  Shoot me some suggestions if you have any, I sure don’t mind experimenting on this one, because even when it’s not perfections, it’s still pretty darn good.

In the meantime, try out this crumble on other baked goods.  I stuffed it in some cored apples and baked them for a super easy breakfast.  It also made a delicious topping on my pumpkin pie soufflé.  Half way through baking, I sprinkled the crumble on top and it was nice and golden by the time the pie was done.  I also think it would be wonderful to dress up muffins and make them a little fancier I have had good success with this Banana Muffin recipe.  Do tell what you like to add crunchy toppings to.

1 cup almond flour

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/4 cup dates, chopped

.

Combine all of your ingredients into a bowl and mix until crumbly.

GAPS Chili

The only thing that makes this stand out as diet food is the lack of cornbread. Chili has so many variations and is such a typical cool weather dinner. It is nice to have a few mainstream recipes that everybody recognizes in your back pocket.

This is a robust, thick and rich version. It has a nice balance of meat and vegetables. Since it simmers for a good amount of time, all the flavors meld and you don’t taste one vegetable in particular.

I had made a double batch of this and froze half of it. Just as we were sitting down for our second meal of chili two days in a row, we were invited to family dinner, where chili was on the menu. So I thawed out the other half and we ate chili three days in a row, nobody complained. I am looking forward to making this again.

1 cup lima beans, dried
2 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pound ground meat
1 large onion
3 celery stalks
3 medium carrots
2 pablano peppers
½ cup butter
2 tablespoons navy bean flour
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 bay leaf
3 cups beef stock
48 ounces crushed tomatoes

Soak beans in two cups water and two tablespoons lemon juice for 24 hours. Brown ground meat in a large pot; add onions, celery, carrots, and peppers. Stir vegetables and let heat through. Melt butter in pot and sprinkle flour on vegetables, stir to coat. Add garlic and spices. Stir in stock and tomatoes and heat to a simmer. Rinse soaked beans and add to the pot. Simmer for one hour. Serve with homemade sour cream.
links; Simple Lives Thursday, Creative Juices Thursday,

GAPS Pie Crust

Baked good are a little tricky on GAPS. You are not supposed to have too many, which is good because they are expensive. Almond flour is the typical grain replacer and runs ten times the price of my old spelt flour. Making my own is not very time effective; soaking and removing skins, dehydrating and grinding without making it into butter… I admit to stretching it when I can.

I have found that white navy bean flour is really handy to have on hand. You do need to soak and dehydrate, but there is no tedious picking off the skins and grinding is a breeze as they can go through a regular wheat grinder. Beware that the end product has a strong bean flavor, but cooking seems to dampen that somewhat. Besides using it to stretch out my almond flour, I have found that it works great to thicken sauces and stews.

This crust is great for pies like pumpkin and apple. It would also work for many bars like lemon, pudding or other layered bars. Lining the dish with parchment paper is the safest way to go to get nice slices, but I have gone without and it wasn't too problematic.

1/2 cup soaked and dehydrated navy bean flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons water

Combine flours and salt. Cut in butter with a fork until evenly distributed. Add water and mix thoroughly. Press into glass, deep dish, pie plate. It helps to dampen your hands a bit as the dough starts to stick. Try to get it as thin and even as possible. I don’t do any fancy edges; just work the dough about half way up the dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes until bottom and top begin to brown a bit.
links; Menu Plan Monday, Monday Mania

GAPS Moroccan-Spiced Stuffed Acorn Squash

Squash has been taboo around our house.  Only myself and the baby eat it with pleasure.  When you ask my eldest two what food they dislike the most, squash was sure to be their answer for four years running.  In fact, it is the only food that they have ever shown consistent distaste for. I had to be careful to call summer squash zucchini, not to taint it for the kids. If I ever used squash for anything, it had to be completely unrecognizable and called “pumpkin.”  A short while into the GAPS diet, I started using more and more squash.  They saw me buying it and cutting it all the time, but when it got to the table it was “sweet potato fries” or “sweet potato pudding” or “mashed sweet potatoes” or “pumpkin bars” or “pumpkin muffins” or “pumpkin crunch” or “vegetable noodles.” Yeah, I use a lot of squash.

This recipe laid it all to rest.  There was no hiding that they were being served squash for dinner, the one thing they detested the most.  They grit it and bore it and ended up admitting, that squash was no longer something they disliked.  Still, when I scraped out the last bit of squash from the skin and brought it to his lips he said “no, thanks.”  It still felt like a win, and this recipe is definitely a keeper!

I have been trying to make large portions of our tried and true recipe to reheat for another meal, or freeze for later.  I was able to put away a weekend’s worth of food for my kids that I gave my mother in-law to feed them while I was away.  It made things easy for her and kept me from worrying about what they were eating.

This makes a large amount, 8 servings.  But it is so good that it doesn’t go as far as planned.  I ate 2 servings for dinner tonight, probably could go for a third after typing this out.

4 acorn squash, halved and seeded

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 banana pepper (optional)

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons curry powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 pound ground meat, browned

1 cup meat stock

1/2 cup raisins or chopped apples

½ cup butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

Place squash, cut-side down on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, until flesh is tender. I cook these earlier in the day, turning off the oven after 15 minutes and leaving in the oven until dinner to keep warm.  Heat oil in large fry pan on medium high heat and add onions, brown slightly before adding celery, carrots and peppers.  I used the banana pepper for a little heat, any pepper would do here, you could also use cayenne.  Salt the vegetables well and let the pan come back up to heat before adding spices.  After about one minute, when the spices are nice and toasted and fragrant, add the cooked meat of choice (or even lentils) and broth.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.  Leave the lid off to reduce the liquid.  Once the pan is nearly dry, add the apples and melt a whole stick of butter (yeah, baby!) in the pan. When the butter has melted, place the minced garlic in the pool and stir to coat the entire mixture.  Turn off the heat.  Salt the cut side of the squash, plate and fill with meat and vegetable mixture.
Links; Real Food Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday