Garden spillover? Tomato Powder!

Posted on March 22, 2013 by roguemama80

Tomato preservation options

We’ve all done it. Planted two or three tomato plants and then suddenly, mid-summer, we have tomatoes coming out of our ears! Here’s another method of preserving your herculean grow efforts – Tomato Powder!
At the height of ripeness dehydrate thinly sliced tomatoes in large batches. The pictured tomato products were made from Amish Paste tomatoes; a super-tasty heirloom variety. The tomato slices need to be particularly dried. On their own they can later be reconstituted in water or oil for various applications.

Dehydrated slices of Amish Paste tomatoes

With a blender, food-processor or (in this case) a Magic Bullet process the dried slices into powder. Reconstitute small amounts of the power for sauces, pastes or just to add rich tomato flavors to other dishes.
The variegated shades of powder in the jar pictured below is caused from the variety of dried tomato batches used in the powdering process.

Tomato Powder made from multiple batches of dried tomatoes

A jar of home-grown tomato powder makes a nice gift as well…

Guilt-Free Tropical Popcorn

Posted on March 20, 2013 by roguemama80

Double Coconut Corn

My oldest and I were in the mood for a ‘zert tonight (That’s Bean-speak for dessert) and I, of course, want to avoid refined sugar….what to do? What to do? Enter Coconut-corn!

3 Heaping Tbls Coconut Oil
1/4 Cup Organic Popcorn Kernels
1/4 Cup Xyla
1/4 Organic Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
2 tsp Sea Salt

In A large pot with a lid heat the oil on medium. Add popcorn kernels – cook till popped, shaking the pot regularly as to not burn the popcorn. Once the corn is popped remove pot from stove and add remaining ingredients. Stir well.

This is a lightly sweet kettle-corn-like dessert with tropical notes from the shredded coconut and the oil. Super yummy!

Raw Goat’s Milk Ice Cream

Posted on March 14, 2013 by roguemama80

Raw Ice Cream

The Bean has a sweet tooth and I love to indulge him in sneaky-sneaky-good-for-you-ways. The afore-pictured “ice cream” is one of his favorites and is healthy enough to serve as a meal. Technically, this is an ice milk but no need to explain the difference to the little ones…

4 C raw goat milk
5 egg yolks
1 tsp liquid stevia
1 tsp pure almond extract
Strawberries

Whisk 1 cup milk with the egg yolks and bring to just boiling. Be sure to rapidly whisk as to keep the egg from “cooking”. Immediately mix in the rest of the milk and remove from stove.
At this point, I add the stevia & extract and then put the mixture back in the fridge. When the mixture is chilled simply pour into ice cream maker (I use an attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer). When the ice cream is finished serve with sliced strawberries. Delicious and something you can feel good about serving to the kiddos!

Shortcut for whey and Greek yogurt

Posted on February 27, 2013 by roguemama80

Plain Nancy’s Organic is a good choice

So the boys and I plan on making some ‘kraut this week a la lacto-fermentation. Well, rather Beans and I are gonna make it and the little Sprout will watch…enraptured by our skills, I am sure….. I don’t have enough milk right now to shake it down for its whey so I chose a cheap and easy alternative.
Taking a carton of organic plain yogurt (I use Nancy’s), I plopped the contents in some fine cheesecloth and suspended it over a stainless steel bowl for the afternoon. It’s important to use a yogurt with live probiotic cultures.

Separating the whey from the yogurt

Once all the whey (or most) has dripped off the yogurt just pour the whey in a container and, likewise, scoop the resulting greek-style yogurt into a dish of its own.

The whey

Greek-style yogurt

Now, while Beans isn’t a huge fan of plain yogurt I can sweeten this stuff with stevia and fruit; super-duper thick and yummy.

And we now have some way-easy whey with which to make our sauerkraut!

Man, I love puns….

Wheat-free Eggplant Parmigiana – the kind that’s supposed to induce labor…

Posted on February 9, 2013 by roguemama80

Wheat-Free Eggplant Parmigiana

So everyone has an old wive’s tale about how to naturally induce labor. In the middle of my 39th week of pregnancy I am not above non invasive attempts to start things along by eating inordinate amounts of fresh pineapples or watching the whole Series 0ne of Downton Abbey while walking on my treadmill. Enter the Scalini’s Eggplant Parmigiana….
Scalini’s is an Italian restaurant in Georgia who’s claim to fame is an eggplant parmigiana dish they say will get labor going within 48 hours of eating. If you can’t make it physically to their restaurant they are awesome enough to post a copy of their recipe on their website. Here is their original recipe.
Because I thought their original recipe was just too much for my household, I cut it roughly in half. I also made some revisions to the ingredients to make the parmigiana wheat-free as well as choosing organic products and produce.

Scalini’s Marinara Sauce (REVISED)
1 Tbs Chopped Garlic
3 Tbs Olive Oil
1 32 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 Large Yellow Onion – chopped fine
1c Fresh Italian Parsley – chopped
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1c Fresh Basil – chopped
Pinch of Rosemary
Pinch of Ground Thyme
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil for about 10 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients except the crushed tomatoes. Saute for another 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and allow to simmer for an hour.

Best marinara EVER!

Scalini’s Eggplant Parmigiana Recipe (REVISED)

1 Large Eggplant
1c Brown Rice Flour
2c Almond flour
1/4c “Italian Seasoning”
1/2c Romano Cheese
1/2c Parmesan Cheese
12oz Mozzarella – shredded
1c Ricotta Cheese
Marinara from previous recipe
Olive oil

Wash eggplant and slice into 1/4 inch slices. Lay out on paper towels and allow to dry out for at least an hour. Mix Italian Seasoning with almond flour. Heat olive oil in skillet. Coat slices of eggplant in rice flour, dip in egg and then coat with almond flour mixture. Fry in skillet until each side is golden brown. In a baking dish layer eggplant, cheeses and marinara until about a quarter inch from the top of pan. I had some seasoned almond flour left over so I sprinkled that on top of eggplant slices as well. Top the parmigiana off with remaining mozzarella. Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for another 10 minutes.

I ate this eggplant parmigiana over 45 hours ago – No sign of labor yet. However, The parmigiana is incredibly delicious and the marinara is perhaps the best sauce I’ve ever had. I may not have had my baby but I was one very satisfied pregnant lady. Nom Nom.

Real Food Snacks – DIY Trail mix

Posted on January 30, 2013 by roguemama80

Organic pumpkin seeds, almonds, date pieces, raisins & dried apricots

With a preschooler you always have to have snacks on hand. You never know when they are going to get hungry, and a healthy, energy-giving snack can mean the difference between finishing your errands and having to deal with a DEFCON 1 meltdown. In my family we LOVE trail mix. Nuts, seeds and dried fruits produce a tasty pick-me-up that never fails to make my Bean happy. We have found that by purchasing our trail mix ingredients separately from the bulk natural foods section of our local supermarket or co-op we not only get to customize what goes into our trail mix – but we wind up paying a lot less. The trail mix we blended in today’s pictures are made from all organic ingredients and cost less than $5/lb. The only prep required was cutting up the dried apricots. The next time you want to stock up on portable snacks, consider making your own trail mix blend.

Beans loves his trail mix!

BREAKFAST OF WELLNESS: Raw Kefir Smoothie

Posted on January 27, 2013 by roguemama80

Raw Kefir Smoothie with organic strawberries, bananas & chia seeds

In the dreariness of January we sometimes need a cup of sunshine to perk us up. Enter raw kefir smoothies! We cultured our raw goats milk with a kefir culture we purchased at Grains, Beans & Things. After bringing our milk up to room temperature, we inoculated a quart jar of it with our chosen culture and allowed it to sit out on the counter for 48 hours. Our end product was slightly sour and not too thick. I would prefer to make my kefir with kefir grains as opposed to the cultures. If you live in the Southern Oregon area and have extra grains you’d like to share please comment!
So, using the beloved Magic Bullet we blended our kefir with organic strawberries, bananas, chia seeds and a few drops of liquid stevia. Oh, so good smoothie of probiotic goodness!!!

Say “hello” to millions of my “little friends”!

Grain Free, Sugar Free Chocolate Brownies

Posted on January 24, 2013 by roguemama80

A little bit of grain-free heaven

Here’s a recipe for my grain-free, sugar-free brownies. These goodies are seriously fabulous! When eaten warm they are gooey like regular brownies. But if you chill these “brownies” they are almost like eating chocolate cheesecake in their consistency.
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 Can Coconut Milk (Full Fat)
1 Cup Coconut Oil
2 Cups Almond Flour
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
6 Droppers Liquid Stevia
1/3 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350

Directions:
1.) Melt the coconut oil
2.) Mix the cocoa into the melted oil till the cocoa has melted thoroughly into the oil
3.) Add the stevia to the chocolate/oil mixture
4.) In a different bowl combine coconut milk and eggs – mix well

5.) Combine coconut milk mixture with cocoa mixture
6.) In ANOTHER bowl mix the salt and baking soda with the almond flour
7.) Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients

8.) Grease an 8×8 pan with coconut oil & pour in “brownie” batter
9.) Bake at 350 for 45 minutes
10.) EAT!!!!

Real Food Supper ~ sneaking greens into your kids’ meals ~

Posted on January 22, 2013 by roguemama80

Coconut-fried chicken thighs, brussel sprouts and cilantro rice

If your kid is like mine, there is a lot of negotiation that goes on at the dinner table. Mainly on the topic of vegetables….especially GREEN vegetables. While I can coax my son to eat a few brussels sprouts, I have to find creative ways to integrate larger amounts of veggies into his food that he will eat with gusto. Cilantro Rice is one such creative method. The Bean loves rice. Rice and beans are his favorite foods – ones that he will ALWAYS eat – no ifs, ands or buts about it. So I have come up with clever ways to add large amounts of greens to the Bean’s rice. Enter The Magic Bullet… Blend up a cup of organic cilantro, 2 Tbsp water, 1 tsp lime juice and 1/2 tsp salt. Pour the mixture over cooked rice (I cooked my rice in bone broth). The Bean loves it. It seems that he doesn’t mind the TASTE of greens, just the texture…

Blending the cilantro

Rice with the cilantro mixture

Here’s a Real Food dinner recipe from the other night.
Cilantro Rice – as prepared above.
Coconut-fried chicken –
1 lb of boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs cut into inch-sized bites. Drench chicken in beaten egg and toss in a mixture of organic rice flour, sea salt and pepper. Fry in coconut oil.
Brussels Sprouts – Slice 2 lbs of brussels sprouts in halve and saute with a half cube of butter.

Dinner was a success and the Bean ate all of his food – getting a great does of detoxifying cilantro in the process!!

All Gone!

Juicing in January

Posted on January 20, 2013 by roguemama80

Refreshing Juice Blend

Its a freezing but beautifully clear January day here in the Rogue Valley. The Bean & I thought we’d share one of our more mild tasting, refreshing juice blends. Using a cucumber and an apple as a base we add a handful of carrots, several stalks of celery, small bunches of both cilantro & parsley, several large kale leaves and a few beet stalks & greens.

The Bean helping juice

I use an oldie-but-goodie- ACME juicer I bought used last year off of craigslist. We love it. I’m pretty sure it cost me $30. There always seems to be just a ton of reasonably priced used juicers on craigslist. – I love craigslist (if you haven’t already noticed) –
Beans loves “helping” with the juicing process. His participation usually guarantees that he will drink a glass of juice (no matter how tart or bitter) because he feels an ownership of the juicing process. I’ll throw an extra apple or half beet in the mix if the juice is just too potent for the kiddo.
So grab some veggies and get to juicing. Its a real pick-me-up in these winter months…

Give your body what it needs

Rogue Mama

The lifestyle and discoveries of a quasi-crunchy Southern Oregon mama

Category Archives: real food