Sprouted Wheat Berry Waffles

There is just something about waking up to warm waffles - don't you agree?  Here's how you can feed your family what's typically known as junk food and know that they're getting a very nutritious breakfast that WILL hold them over until lunch, especially if they're topped with plenty of butter or coconut oil.

Spouted Wheat Berry Waffles:

2 cups sprouted wheat berries - how to sprout wheat berries

1 1/4 cups kefir or yogurt

1/2 cup oatmeal (anything but instant)

Blend the first 3 ingredients in the blender and allow to sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. ( I use a VitaMix blender so you may need to add a little more liquid if your blender struggles)

Add:

2 TBL melted butter or coconut oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Make sure your waffle iron is hot and ready to go because when you add the leavening agent you're going to need to pour quickly as the volume quickly grows.

With the blender on md/low add this mixture:

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

Pour onto hot griddle and allow to cook until almost all steam has stopped escaping from the griddle - usually 3-5 minutes.  You'll find these are some of the lightest waffles ever!   Top your waffles with coconut oil or butter and grade B maple syrup. 

Enjoy.

Sprouting Wheat Berries

In recent years I found that if I didn't eat wheat that I felt much better and could eliminate the arthritic pain I was experiencing.  After several months I decided to  experiment with a  fresh piece of bread only to discover it felt as if I had contracted the flu just a short time later.  Nope.  Wheat is NOT for me - most of the time.  I've spent a lot of time researching and this is really much more common than people realize, however, they'll never know how much better they can feel until they've abstained for at least 6 weeks.  There are not too many people who are willing to do that.  So, the next best thing to do is to make sure you're eating only organic non-GMO wheat and to sprout it.  I can even tolerate this kind of wheat on occasion without feeling those ill effects I mentioned earlier.

What most people don't know is that wheat, along with most grains, nuts, seeds, and beans, contain phytic acids /phytates.  Phytic acid needs to be neutralized in order for us to be able to absorb the minerals. Here's an a comment from an article on the www.westonaprice.org website: "Phytic acid not only grabs on to or chelates important minerals, but also inhibits enzymes that we need to digest our food, including pepsin,¹ needed for the breakdown of proteins in the stomach, and amylase,² needed for the breakdown of starch into sugar. Trypsin, needed for protein digestion in the small intestine, is also inhibited by phytates.^{3 "}  Makes you wonder why so many people are gluten intolerant, huh?

SO...

When I can I like to feed my family wheat that I *know* is much better for them.  In order to do this you must sprout those cute little berries to neutralize those phytates that interfere with mineral absorbtion.  It's quite simple to do - really, I promise!  Although I must admit to you that I read a blog on how to sprout berries and it was SO wrong.  I ended up drowning the poor things and and had this stinky bowl of soggy berries on my counters.  It smelled something akin to pig slop. YUCK! 

How to Sprout Wheat Berries(or any grain for that matter):

• Quart Jar (or larger)
• Sprouting Lid or Canning Ring with Cheesecloth (you want the little buggers to breathe)
• Berries

Fill your jar half full of berries.  (You'll not want any more than that because they expand.) Next, you'll want to fill your jar with filtered water and place your lid on the jar.  Give your jar a good shake to make sure all the little berries are fully immersed in the water and then drain all the liquid off of the berries.  Lay the jar somewhere out of the way on its side like this:

This process will take 2-3 days and you'll want to repeat the previous step 2-3 times a day; rinsing the berries with filtered water and then drain the liquid off.  You'll know your berries are ready to stored when you see the actual sprout coming out of the end of the berry, which you can see in the picture below.  Look closely at the neck of the bottle and you'll see little white hairs sprouts.  Ideally you do not want the sprouts to exceed 1".  I like to make it to the 1/4" stage and call it good. :)

There are a couple ways to use your berries now that they've sprouted: dehydrated them and then grind into fresh flour, or you can use them just as they are.  They can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or in the freezer for longer periods of time.  


Coming up next: How to use those berries just as they are to make waffles.

Flax Seed Crackers

Flax Crackers

For those of us who are looking for a gluten-free or even a grain-free cracker:

This recipe is for a garlic and onion flavored cracker – to make it with different seasonings omit the garlic, onion powder and rosemary and use whatever herbs or spices that sound good to you :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups ground flaxseed -  Ahem: Costco
• 1 cup water - might not take the full cup so gradually add 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp rosemary - preferably fresh
• 1 tsp coconut oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until an even dough forms. Spread evenly onto parchment paper about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Gently cut dough into squares on the baking sheet - you just need to score the dough so it snaps after it’s baked. Bake for 20-30 minutes until crisp and edges are browned but not burnt. When the crackers are almost done you can brush the tops with coconut oil and then sprinkle with some kosher salt.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 cups pecan/ almond meal or finely chopped nuts
2 TBSP sweetner of you choice
1 tsp cinnamon
3 TBSP butter, melted

Filling
3 - 8 oz blocks of cream cheese softened
1 C. Sweetner of choice
1 TBSP Vanilla Extract
3 large eggs
1 - 15 oz can solid pack pumpkin (or 1 pint homemade)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice OR 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp each of ginger & nutmeg,
and 1/8 - 1/4 tsp cloves(depends on if you like the flavor).

Preheat oven to 325.

1. Make crust by mixing all dry ingredients and adding the melted butter.
Press into a spring form pan. It is hard to press, so just do it gently, it
will want to stick to your fingers.

2. In a bowl combine the cream cheese, sweetner, and vanilla and beat
until smooth.

3. Add eggs and beat well.

4. Add pumpkin and spices and mix well.

5. Gently pour pumpkin filling over the pecan crust.

6. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Turn oven down to 300 and bake for an
additional 10 minutes. It will still be a little jiggly in the middle even
when it is done. This cheesecake does get a little brown on top.

7. Remove from oven. If you do NOT like a soft cheesecake then wait to eat
until it is totally cool. This cheesecake tastes AMAZING warm though, and
warm it has a soft pumpkin pie like texture. It is GREAT cold too.

8. Garnishing option: whip some whipping cream stiff, sweeten with vanilla
cream stevia. Put dollops of cream on the cheese cake with pecan halves in
the middle of each dollop. You could also serve each piece with a generous
serving of whipped cream and a sprinkle of pecans.

Pork Roasted the Way the Tuscan Do

Brent and I took a cooking class a couple of years ago from the world famous chef, Joanne Weir.  We had so much fun with her and her food that evening and come away learning a thing or two a well.  Joanne and I were instant friends as we had the unruly curly hair thing in common.  The main course that she cooked for us was Pork Roasted the Way the Tuscan Do and I have to admit: IT was incredible.  I've made it several times at home and everyone in our family loves it. I would highly encourage you to not skip on the fennel pollen! It's not easy to find and you'll probably have to order it, but I can assure you that it will be well worth it.

Homemade Egg Noodles

Yesterday I was cleaning out the fridge and there was the remains of a rotisserie chicken. I decided to boil it down and make some chicken stock to put up in the freezer for a later date; however, the hubby had other plans. When I was away from the kitchen he started adding spices to the pot. For those of you that know Brent, he loves to get his hands into ALL things kitchen, unless of course it involves hot soapy water, or soapy water of any kind. After adding the spices he would walk through the kitchen claiming how wonderful it smelled and that he sure would like some homemade chicken noodle soup. So, what does this wife do? Yep, you guessed it! I commenced to making soup. I started by adding some vegetables to the broth and then making egg noodles. I have a recipe that I've used forever, but I don't really deem it as healthy as it could be. So, instead of using white flour or even wheat flour, I used some sprouted wheat berries that I had in the freezer. I put those bad boys in the VitaMix, added some coconut oil, a few egg yolks, some sea salt and let it do its business. Within a couple of minutes I had a very runny dough, so I turned it out on a floured surface and worked in some organic unbleached flour. Just enough to get a really nice consistency. I then rolled rolled the dough to a 1/8" thickness and cut into strips. Because I was experimenting with my sprouted wheat berries, I was uncertain as to how they would turn out. You'll notice that just one noodle is missing, that's because I had to cook just one to make sure we had a winner before I tossed them all in the pot.  OH...what a winner it was!

Here's my recipe:


 2 cups flour (organic and sprouted is the best, IMO)
1-2 Tbl butter, lard, or coconut oil (saturated fats are far superior to vegetable oils)
3-4 egg yolks (from free range chickens of course)
1 tsp salt
2-4 TBL cream, half and half, milk, or water (or more if necessary)

There are two different methods to mix your dough:  #1: Cut the fat into the flour, making a well in the center of flour mixture and then adding the remaining ingredients  and mix by turning in the flour. 

#2 You can also place flour in a food processor, adding fat and eggs and then add enough liquid to form a ball. 

When you have a nice soft dough, roll out to approximately 1/8"-1/4" thick depending on how you prefer your noodles.   I use a pizza cutter to create my noodles, but if you don't have one you can roll the dough up and then use a knife and cut "rolls" that you unroll into strips.  The noodles can be cooked immediately, or allowed  to dry for a later use.

** This recipe freezes well

Tuesday's Tip

I'm sharing my "tip" today in the form of another recipe with the "tip" being how to get more lacto-fermented foods with probiotics into your family.

I've been trying different mayonnaise recipes for the past few months and this one, IMO, is the absolute best.  Homemade mayonnaise is SO much better than store bought. Store bought mayonnaise is typically full of oils like canola and soybean,  and a litany of other ingredients that I have no idea what they even are. 

Homemade Mayonnaise

3 egg yolks (very fresh, room temperature)
1/3 tsp. sea salt (it needs to have color to ensure you're getting the trace minerals)
1/3 tsp ground coriander

1 TBL dijon mustard
A tiny dash of stevia powder to sweeten it (or about 1/4 tsp raw honey)
1  TBL lemon juice
1 TBL whey (Whey extends the life of the mayonnaise and make it a more nutrient dense food; however, you can make it without.)

1/2 cup organic expeller pressed coconut oil (melt if solid)

1/2 cup organic extra virgin olive oil

**If you have a stick blender, I highly recommend you use it. While you can use a regular blender, I've found the the stick blender produces a better consistency than the blender.  

Blend egg yolks for 30 seconds and then add remaining ingredients minus the oils and blend until well blended.  Next, gradually add your oils in a steady stream while blending so that they emulsify.  You should notice the consistency gradually changing as you add the oil.  If you do not, you've added the oil much too fast.  

If you've added the whey, you can sit on the counter for up to 8 hours and allow it to ferment for lacto-fermented, probiotic food and then refrigerate. 

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bars

Fall is in the air and I definitely get in the mood for all thing fall: sitting around a fire in the evening, caramel apples, hearing a marching band play,  and of course pumpkin.  I had  my first taste of pumpkin last week in the form of a pie with whipped cream (minus the crust of course) and ever since then I've been wanting more pumpkin !  I stumbled across this recipe and with some modifications, I've decided that it's a keeper.

I think the next time I make it I'll use peanut butter, bananas and add a few chocolate chips and I'm sure the hubby will love me!

Pumpkin Bars

1 cup of almond butter (or any nutbutter of your choice)
3/4 cup canned pumpkin (you can also use cooked squash, or ripe mashed bananas)
1/2 tsp cinnamon ( you may not want to add cinnamon and nutmeg if you use bananas)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1/3 cup honey or sweetener of your choice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend.  Pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan and top with chopped walnuts (optional).  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Coconut Blueberry Muffins

Coconut Blueberry Muffins -- Gluten-free and Sugar-free




3 eggs
2 TBL milk
2 TBL butter
8 Pkgs Truvia (or you can use 1/4 cup honey)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup blueberries



Mix all your first 6 ingredients and then stir in your coconut flour.  Mixture will be lumpy and appear a bit soupy, but never fear!  Stir in the blueberries and add to muffin tins.  Bake at 400 for 16-20 minutes.

My Mother's Day Dinner

Have a little heart....chicken fried beef heart that is!

I decided to spare you from seeing this from start to finish for I feared that I might lose some of you. 

This was MUCH better than I ever anticipated!  In fact, I still cannot get over how incredibly good this meal was.  We smothered it with caramelized onions and cream gravy. To quote my husband when things are REALLY good, "That'd make a puppy pull a freight train!"

Thanks, Babe, great dinner!

Tuesday's Tip

Hard boiled eggs can be less than desirable with a dry overcooked yolk, especially when the membrane around the yolk turns green. Do you all know what I'm talking about? If my camera wasn't ill at the moment I would show you, but I would imagine that many of you can picture it. (My camera has been fixed and I've updated this post!) My tip today is how to boil the "perfect" (in my opinion) hard boiled egg. Thanks to Uncle Bill P. for this "tip" he shared with Brent and me years ago.

#1 Fill your pot with water and set on stove to boil.

#2 While waiting for your water to boil, using a pushpin, make a hole in the more rounded end of the egg. Ok, I know they're both rounded silly, but one end is a little more pointed than the other and that is NOT the end you want to use!  Don't be afraid, I've yet to break an egg, but I've never tried to put a hole in the wrong end either.

#3 When you water has come to a rolling boil place your eggs in the water.

#4 Set a timer for 8 min.

#5 When timer goes off, rinse with cool water and enjoy the most delicious hard boiled egg ever.

***All eggs are not recreated equal -- stay tuned, that's another post!

Gnocchi -- One of the rewards of early training

When the girls were younger they always wanted to help in the kitchen.  As many of you know, that requires plenty of patience because every job takes twice as long with a little one helping.  And, I'll have to admit that too many times I didn't have the patience that I should have.  But, in spite of my impatience at times I am now reaping the benefits of all those years of allowing the girls to sit on the counter tops  stirring a pot of soup or playing in the flour as we made biscuits or cookies.  What a rewarding feeling to sit  down to a home-cooked meal in your own home and you haven't even been in the kitchen.

Yesterday was one of those days. Ashley spent many hours in the kitchen using up all those potatoes that were in our pantry to make gnocchi.  It's a recipe that I started making a couple of years ago and we all love. So, being the industrious woman that she's becoming, she decided to make as many recipes as she could to use up all the potatoes before they went bad. She made both white and sweet potato, which are both delicious, but the sweet potato are by far my favorite.  Sweet potato gnocchi with Alfredo sauce just cannot be beat.  The bonus was that  not only were we able to enjoy them last night, we will  have the opportunity to have them many more nights with little effort because of the many that she put up in the freezer.  She's a keeper!

Potato Gnocchi
Makes about 75 pieces

Cook:
1 1/2 lbs white or sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks

Knead in:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
1 egg
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp olive oil
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

The recipe calls for you to boil the potatoes and then bake them in to oven to dry them out.  We've found that baking the potatoes, either in the microwave or the oven is much easier.

After cooking the potatoes and while they are still warm, push them through a mesh colander or use a potato ricer and rice onto a clean work surface.   You need to form the riced potatoes into a donut shape to cool. The texture should be mealy and dry not moist.  Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the cooled potatoes.  Then put the egg and oil in the donut hole so they don't run.

Fold the mixture into itself to combine.  Knead as little as possible.  Over working the dough will result in tough gnocchi.  Make a loaf out of the dough and cut into 5 slices. Roll each slice into a long rope, using additional flour if needed. You want the ropes to be approx the diameter of a nickel and then cut into 1/2" segments.

(As you can tell from the pictures, it will require a more flour for the sweet potato version as they are more fragile, but so worth it!)

If you have a gnocchi board this is where you would roll them on the board to give them the little grooves that have.  A fork will also work as you can run the gnocchi down the tines to create a similar look.

Next you boil the gnocchi in batches until they float, which takes about 2 minutes.  Toss them in olive oil to prevent them from sticking, spread over a  baking sheet in a single layer, cover and chill for up to two days.  We've never made it more than a few minutes at this point, until yesterday that is. :)  In the past we've eaten them right out of the water after they've been tossed in oil. 

You can eat gnocchi many different ways.  Our favorite is with Alfredo sauce, but we also like them plain or sauteed in some browned butter and a fresh herb.  Experiment, you'll love them too!

Tuesday's Tip

Today's tip is how to satisfy that chocolate craving free of grains and sugar.




FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
Serves 8
3/4 cup chocolate powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

5 egg yolks, at room temperature
1/2 cup Xylitol
5 egg whites, at room temperature
pinch of sea salt
1 cup chocolate sauce


This is a delicious, moist and rich cake
Butter and flour two easy-remove 9-inch cake pans. Place butter, chocolate powder, water and vanilla extract in a glass container set in a pan of water over a low flame. Melt and blend well. Beat egg yolks with Xylitol for about 5 minutes with electric beater. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with pinch of salt until stiff. Mix chocolate mixture with egg yolk mixture and then fold into egg whites. Divide batter between two pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from pans. Remove one layer to a serving dish and place other layer on top. Frost top with chocolate and let it dribble over the sides.
(I personally like to put sauce between the layers as well)



CHOCOLATE SAUCE
Makes 2 1/2 cups
2/3 cup chocolate powder
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup maple syrup (or sweetener of your choice)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup cream, not ultrapasteurized

Place all ingredients in the top half of a double boiler. Cook gently, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until well amalgamated.

One of My Secret Recipes

This post is dedicated to Dave Bishop :)


If there was one thing that I remember about my mom that she did extremely well, I'd have to say it was her ability to make cinnamon rolls. I don't have her exact recipe, but this one is equally delicious and it's all about the stuff in the middle, IMO. I've made these many times through the years and there are never any leftovers, so I'd have to say that's a pretty good indication that they're worth the effort.

2 pkg instant dry yeast
1/2 c. sugar
2 c warm milk
1 1/2 c warm water
1/2 c butter
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 TBL wheat gluten
2 TBL dough enhancer
8-10 cups flour

1 c butter softened
brown sugar
white sugar
cinnamon

These directions would be for those who already know how to make bread:

Mix yeast, sugar, salt and liquids, and then add flour until desired consistency. Knead for 8 min. Allow to rise in a well oiled bowl until double, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Punch dough down and divide into half. Roll each half on a well floured surface into a rectangle approximately 1/4-1/3 inch thick.

Spread each half with 1/2 cup of butter:

And then liberally sprinkle with cinnamon:

Next, sprinkle white sugar over the cinnamon. Should look like a light snow:

Next, add a generous amount of brown sugar:

After spreading out your brown sugar, begin rolling your rectangle away from you. I like to roll the long side of my rectangle, but if you'd rather roll the short side you'll have some enormous rolls!

Next, cut your rolls in 1"-1.5" increments:

Place in a well greased pan and allow to rise until double:

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until lighten browned. I always add frosting to ours and either use a quick powdered sugar glaze, cream cheese frosting, or a caramel frosting.

I'm so sorry that I don't have the finished product to show you, they were eaten before I had a chance :)

Tuesday's Tip

For those dropping by from the Daily Meme, please feel free to scroll down to find the link in the box and use Tuesday's Tips for your blog.


I've always loved baked potatoes, but could never get the "perfect" skin until my brother, who used to be a manager at Red Lobster, shared this tip with me. Now, I, too, can make a pretty mean baked potato!

How to make the world's best baked potato, at least IMO:

Scrub and dry potato
Cut a slit in the top
Liberally rub lard over the skin of the potato
Roll in kosher salt (Table salt will not work, as it will be way too salty)
Bake directly on rack in oven @ 350 for 1- 1 1/2 hours, or until soft.

Tuesday's Tip

Today's tip will be a recipe. I recently fixed this recipe for my family and they all declared it a new family favorite. As usual, I didn't exactly go by the recipe, but I promise I'll share what I changed.

Mango Chicken

1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 mango, peeled and sliced
1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
2 TBL melted coconut oil or butter
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
pinch of nutmeg
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 cup chicken stock
Juice of 1 lemon
1 can whole coconut milk

Preheat overn to 350F.
Strew onion slices in a large baking dish. Arrange mango slices in a layer on top of onions and place chicken pieces, skin side up, over mango. Mix together coconut oil(or butter), salt, pepper, paprika, nutmeg, and lemon rind in a small bowl and brush on chicken pieces. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until chicken is nicely browned.

Remove chicken and mango slices to a heated platter. Pour chicken stock into the dish and bring to a boil over high heat, scraping up coagulated juices. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring in lemon juice and coconut mile. Strain into a small saucepan and continue to simmer to allow the liquid to reduce and thicken slightly.

I didn't have mangos the first time that I made this, but I did have Fisher & Wieser, Mango Ginger Habenero sauce. I poured approximately 3/4 cup over the onions and followed the remainder of the recipe, almost ot a T ;-)

We had to remind Blair that she needed to use a fork and knife to eat this dish....I only wished I had a photo to share of her eating this with the sauce up to her elbows.

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Tip

I'm sure many of you have tried this and this may be old news, but for me it is something that I've done in the past and forgot all about it! So, I thought I'd share my new discovery!

Make up a pizza crust recipe and divide. Wrap each section in Saran and then place in a Ziploc baggie to freeze. You can thaw the dough in the microwave on defrost. We use .5 lb for one crust, turning frequently. (Watch carefully if you use this method, you do not want to cook your dough.) You can have pizza on the table in under 30 min!

Pizza Crust

2 TBL yeast
2 C. Water
1-2 Tsp salt
3 TBL olive oil
5 C. flour (I only used unbleached flour and love to use whole-wheat)

Mix wet ingredients with yeast and then add flour. Knead dough for 6 min, and then let rest for 10 min. Bake at 500 for 10-15 minutes.

If you have Lifetime electric skillet or another waterless electric skillet, this crust works wonderful! We roll the dough out in a cold electric skillet that is sprayed with olive oil, and then add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place the lid on skillet, turn up to 350, and 10 minutes later you have a crispy crust pizza!

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Tip

Want to be able to make a quick lunch or dinner for the next day?

This is a great way to use up that leftover steamed rice that no one wants to eat, or if you have a family like ours, we make plenty rice so that we will have leftovers to fix this dish.

Ingredients:

• Day Old Rice (two or three day old works too)
• Oil, Vegetable and Sesame (don't leave out the sesame oil, it is VERY vital to the flavor)
  
• 1-2 Eggs (more if you'd like it)
• Any vegetable that you would like to add: Chopped Carrots, Peas, Scallions, Edamame, etc.
  
• Soy Sauce
• Salt and Pepper
• Leftover Chicken, Pork, Shrimp, or Beef
  

In a large skillet or wok, scramble an egg or two. Set egg aside. Add oil to your pan(make sure it's good and hot) and then add your rice and vegetables. Be creative and add whatever you'd like. Fry rice and cook vegetables until tender. This usually takes less then 5 min. Toss your scrambled egg into your rice mixture, and then season your rice with soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Enjoy!