Chocolate Pots de Creme (dairy free and date sweetened)

My foray into non-Whole 30 foods didn't go quite as well as I previously reported.  A few days after my "cheating" I had a few break outs and gained back a little weight.  I felt even worse after tasting frosting (very little) I made for potluck cupcakes, obviously a dumb idea.  Feeling fuzzy-headed and sluggish were my main complaints. I detoxed by eating tons of raw vegetables for a few days and that has made me feel much better. I just need to figure out what starchy/sweet foods agree with me and which ones don't.  It's all a big crazy experiment anyway since I really don't have any confidence that anyone knows what we should eat.  Sometimes I think about all the people that seem to be thriving on fast food and vending machine fodder and wonder what in the world is the difference between me and them.  Is body chemistry, self control, portion sizes, nurture, nature...?

Anyway, it's Valentine's Day and I knew I would never get through the whole day without something chocolate.  I let Alex stay up late last night because he was thoroughly engrossed in a book, Mousenet, and Penny had fallen asleep super early so I was wasting time reading blogs.  I came across a recipe for Pots de Creme on Pioneer Woman. I usually read her blog only for the photography and homeschooling ideas because the delicious-looking real butter and cheese in her food torture me; but something made me check out this recipe.  I was thrilled to find out that it was already dairy free and so simple!

The amount of sugar in the original recipe is relatively low, coming only from the semi-sweet chocolate, but I wanted to try and make these a little more nutritionally dense.  I took inspiration from the white chocolate both my children love from Organic Nectars.  They use cashews in place of milk powder so I used some cashews to lighten my unsweetened chocolate.  I added my favorite natural sweetener, dates, and changed the flavorings to suit my mood.  Probably these should now have a different name but I have had the real thing and these are better than quite a few that bore that name honestly with real cream.  Be sure to take your time and fully blend the mixture so you get the creamiest texture possible with your blender.  And don't be surprised if you want to eat them all at room temperature once you take a taste.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pots de Creme
Based on Pioneer Woman's Pots de Creme a L'orange recipe
Makes 6-8 servings, halves easily but requires more scraping while blending

6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
3 oz (1/2 cup) raw cashews
6 oz dates or date paste, (~1 cup packed, pitted dates)
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup very hot water

-Add the chocolate, cashews, dates, eggs, salt and vanilla to a blender and blend until everything is combined and the cashews and dates are mostly smooth.  You may need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times to get everything together.
-With the blender running, slowly add the hot water through the hole in the lid.  After all the water is added, stop the blender and scrape down the sides.  Blend again until very smooth, scraping more as needed.
-Spoon into cups or jars.  Serve either right away because it is pudding-like warm from the blender or chill and eat cold, chilled it is very rich and almost like frosting.

Variations:
You could replace the hot water with hot coffee and/or replace the vanilla extract with Grand Marnier, Chambord or other liquor

After nearly 10 years of product loyalty, I gave up using Paint Shop Pro last fall and have been slowly learning my way around Adobe Photo Shop.  I figured I was finally ready to try using some actions.  Here is Penny with PW's Old West action.  You can download her action sets here.  

Dark Days Frittata

For this week's Dark Days of Winter Challenge I give you a cell phone photo of a potluck dish-- not my best entry but at least it's something.  To the potluck today, I brought a frittata made with 9 Bean Rows turnip greens and red onions, eggs from The Saturday Farmers Market at the Village and my home-smoked ham I made with the half hog from Bare Knuckle Farm.  I can't vouch for the salad and apple I had with it but given the company it was quite possible they were local and/or organic.

Visit Not Dabbling In Normal on Sundays for the round up of Dark Days meals. You can also visit our coordinator at Unearthing this Life to see some of our Midwest group entres.  

Dark Days Smoked Paprika Turnips and Kale

To complete this week's Dark Days challenge I made lunch today using turnips, kale and onions from my 9 Bean Rows winter CSA share.  I saw this recipe for Smoky Roasted Turnips on The Food Lover's Primal Palate but didn't feel like waiting for the oven to heat up. I then started thinking about bubble and squeak and so added kale.  A fried egg from our ducks seemed like a good bump of protein.  I had bacon fat on hand but thought the flavor of olive oil would be good with the pimenton and so I used oil from Higher Grounds.  It was delicious and when Penny noticed me eating she ran over and stole a bunch even though there was enough hot pimenton to give a little burn.  She's my little firecracker!

Smoked Paprika Turnips and Kale (with an egg)
Add peeled and cubed turnips to salted boiling water and cook just until tender.  Drain immediately and allow the extra steam to evaporate off.  Soften some sliced onion in olive oil in a cast iron pan.  Add the turnips and sprinkle hot pimenton (smoked paprika) and cracked black pepper to taste.  Cook over medium/high until the turnips and onions are caramelized.  Add in chopped kale and toss to wilt.  Push the vegetables over to one side and add a little more olive oil to the empty side.  Crack in an egg and cook to your taste, I love crispy edges!  Serve with the egg on top for runny yolk awesomeness.

Visit Not Dabbling In Normal on Sundays for the round up of Dark Days meals. You can also visit our coordinator at Unearthing this Life to see some of our Midwest group entres.  

Penny's rainbow nose

Paint covered hands!

I may regret reading this book to her a few days ago.

DB Scones/Biscuits (3 gluten and dairy free versions)

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

Whoops, somehow I kept forgetting to make time to post this months Daring Baker challenge!  This month we were given a biscuit recipe.  Even though I didn't personally eat any of these (due to my Whole 30 pledge) and I couldn't make the provided recipe (because the rest of the house is dairy free and currently wheat free) I still felt like trying out some recipes on the kids and John to see if any would be a hit.  Here are the results...

First, I made these Coconut Flour Bacon Biscuits from Primal Den Mother.  John and the kids weren't impressed though that may be because they were slightly over baked or because of the coconut flour.  I personally like coconut flour baked goods more than they do and from the smell I think I might like these.  

Next I tried GF Buttermilk Biscuits from Food.com.  I used Spectrum butter flavored shortening and So Delicious cultured coconut milk in place of the butter and buttermilk.  They had a good smell but the texture was too gummy and no one was interested in them.

Finally I made the Almond Flour Biscuits from Elana's Pantry.  These were the clear winner.  John and Alex both liked them a lot and they had a good looking texture after baking.  I can see myself having these occasionally after the Whole 30 is over, though I do find that her almond flour baked goods start all tasting too similar if I have them often.  

*For the official Daring Baker scone/biscuit recipe for this month visit our host, Audax, at Audax Artifex or take a look at the DB Scone recipe pdf.

Penny has been crazy about Play Dough lately.

She is our little princess. A tiara picture for you mom!

Alex isn't such a monster, he just seems to want to look like one. 

Dark Days Pork Belly with Chestnuts

If you are a fan of food media you couldn't have missed the adoration that has been heaped upon pork belly in the last few years.  So when I made bacon this fall, with the half hog I purchased from Bare Knuckle Farms, I saved the trim pieces from my whole pork belly to cook on their own.  I had planned on trying David Chang's Pork Belly but it and most of the other recipes for pork belly rely on sugar and often soy sauce for flavor and I am avoiding both for January.  A little more searching brought me to this recipe for Braised Pork Belly.  I loved the sound of the fennel and allspice rub and the fact that it didn't call for any sugar.  I replaced the white wine with Black Star Farms verjus since I'm also avoiding all alcohol and adjusted the spices for the braising liquid somewhat.  After the braising was done I knew some sweetness was needed so I dug out some locally grown boiled chestnuts.  I sliced up the braised meat and broiled it just a little with the chestnuts.  They were wonderful together- sweet, rich, and spicy!   For something green to go with this meal I stir fried pac choi  from my winter 9 Bean Rows' CSA share with local garlic, organic fresh ginger, Eden Foods toasted sesame oil and a few black sesame seeds.  A great meal but I still feel like pork belly is best served as bacon.  Nothing beats bacon!

Visit Not Dabbling In Normal on Sundays for the round up of Dark Days meals. You can also visit our coordinator at Unearthing this Life to see some of our Midwest group entres.  

Fortune Cookies (gluten and dairy free)

We were invited to a Chinese New Year celebration yesterday and I was determined to bring fortune cookies that Alex could safely have.  Friday night I fought with three different recipes: two that were gluten free by design and one wheat flour recipe with gluten free flour blend as replacement.  All of them were flops and I was fairly discouraged and a bit angry about wasting some of the last of our eggs.  Our chickens and ducks have mostly stopped laying now.  :(   But the next morning I screwed by courage to the sticking place and gave it one more try.  This time I altered a recipe I already knew worked and success was mine!  I was even happier with how my stir fried pork with mushrooms served with sesame cabbage came out.  I will have to make that again since it was Whole 30 compliant and I'd like to post it.  The pork and cabbage helped me survive the challenge of not eating even the smallest taste of fortune cookie.  Thank goodness the kids make great taste testers!

Fortune Cookies (gluten and dairy free)
Adapted from this recipe which came from this recipe
Makes ~18 cookies

57g coconut oil
57g powdered sugar
2 egg whites, room temperature
48g tapioca flour
17g corn starch
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

-Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  
-Line a couple of baking pans with parchment paper. If your pans are rimmed I suggest flipping them over and working on the back side so that spreading the batter is easier.  Set out a muffin tin to use while forming cookies and print and cut out your fortunes.  I used a lot from  this list of fortune cookie messages but my favorite is "Your fortune lies in another cookie".
-In a stand mixer, cream the coconut oil and sugar until light in color and smooth.  Add the egg whites and extracts and beat until incorporated.   This will be extra tricky if you don't have your egg whites at room temperature.  
-Add the tapioca starch, corn starch and salt and beat until a smooth batter forms, you will probably need to scrape down the bowl a few times.
-Oil your parchment with spray oil or a little melted coconut oil.  On one half of the parchment take a little less than a tablespoon of batter and spread it evenly with an offset spatula into an ~4 inch diameter circle.  Repeat on the other side of the baking sheet.  If you don't feel confident about this step you can trace a circle in pencil on the reverse side of your parchment paper to use as a guide or you can make a circle stencil out of thin cardboard (think cereal box) and then spread the batter just inside the template.
-Bake for 4-5 minutes until  light golden brown on edges, bake only 2 cookies at a time.
-Immediately after removing from the oven take a fortune and place it on the center line.  Then fold the cookie in half keeping the folded edge flat and not squashed.  Then bend in the two corners and place the cookie inside a muffin tin cup to keep it from unfolding as it cools.  This does some practice and hands that can take some heat.  This image was helpful for me to learn the fold though if you Google other recipes you'll see a lot of people using coffee cups to help fold.  The coffee cup technique wasn't helpful to me but you may be different.
-Repeat with the remaining batter. Be sure to cool off your cookie sheet and reoil your parchment after each batch.  Do not add fresh batter to a warm cookie sheet.  
-After the cookies have cooled store them in an airtight container.  

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Dark Days Roast Duck and Root Slaw

It's hard to put into words what raising your own animals for meat is like.  There is a sense of pride but also a weighty feeling of duty.  The excitement of fuzzy little ducklings and the annoying stink and mess as they take over your garage...the fun of seeing your kids chasing a big flock of ducks in your front yard and realizing this many animals eat a lot more food than the four birds you had before...the repeated discussions with your son and husband about how, "Yes, some of the birds are going to be for meat."  And then finally  butchering day comes.  Could I really do it?  Is it going to to be hard?  Is it going to be scary?

With four ducks and a rooster under my belt I personally have those questions answered and found it to be a rewarding experience.  I plan on getting more meat ducks again this year.  Maybe a little later this year so I can butcher in the fall instead of late summer and definitely a designated meat breed (Pekin or Muscovy) instead of the multi-purpose Buff ducks we got last year.  With our ducks I have made duck stock, duck confit, pan-seared duck breasts and just this weekend I roasted the one bird from the freezer that I left whole.  All of it was more delicious than anything store bought and I hope I did them justice.  Thank you to those ducks and all the animals that we use for food.  Also a huge THANK YOU to Joan and her son from Olds Farm.  They let me practice at their duck butchering and the experience was invaluable.

I used Roast Duck with Citrus Pan Sauce as a base recipe for my roast duck.  I stuffed the cavity with a Rennie Orchards apple and spiced the steaming water with just 1 tablespoon toasted coriander seeds along with 1 inch piece of sliced fresh ginger and 1/2 teaspoon cassia buds.  For the sauce I used the reserved steaming liquid and 1/2 cup verjus to deglaze the roasting pan then strained it to remove the spices.  To the strained reduction I added a diced apple, 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger and a pinch of dry mustard.  I cooked this until the apple was tender and served it on the side.  It was subtly spicy and tart to go with the rich duck. *A note of caution, be very careful when you prick the skin the second time, after steaming.  I was a little too enthusiastic and should have gone shallower with my pricks.

On the side, I made a root slaw similar in to this Super Red Slaw.  In it were julienned beet, carrot and turnip with a half of a red onion, thinly sliced.  To dress it I used Black Star Farms verjus, Eden Foods ume plum vinegar, salt, pepper, fresh grated organic ginger, and dried spearmint from my garden.  It was good but I prefer the version with cabbage.  The vegetables came from 9 Bean Rows and vendors of The Saturday Farmers Market at the Village.

Visit Not Dabbling In Normal on Sundays for the round up of Dark Days meals. You can also visit our coordinator at Unearthing this Life to see some of our Midwest group entres.  

The pot of gold at the end, duck fat!

Dark Days Lunches (with a little cheating)

It wasn't easy to pick a meal this week to dedicate to the Dark Days Challenge.  For some reason I kept changing my plans at the last minute and adding in an ingredient that made the meal not quite qualify.  So in place of one fully local plate I give you my past two lunches, each with one glaringly not locally sourced ingredient but lots of local flavor.

First we have yesterday's Sunshine Chicken with roasted roots.  I used a whole chicken from Hubbell Farm, which I broke down, the wings are pictured.  I shared this recipe back when I first started blogging and my family and I still love it.  Of course it calls for lemons and my lemon tree croaked right after I got one batch of fruit from it but they are in season and organic.  The root vegetables I roasted this time were turnips, beets, parsnips and onion-- a very good combination.  They came from 9 Bean Rows and vendors of The Saturday Farmers Market at the Village.  I cooked the roots in Hubbell Farm's turkey shmaltz.

And today's lunch was lamb arm chops from Starlight Hill Farms served with a variation on this cherry tomato salad.  I used kale, turnip greens and red onion from my 9 Bean Rows winter CSA share but couldn't resist the totally out of season cherry tomatoes John brought home.  I dressed the salad with verjus from Black Star Farms, lots of dried spearmint from my garden (re-hydrated in the verjus), salt, pepper and Higher Grounds olive oil.  You can see the distinctive oil label glowing in today's fantastic sunshine in the background of the photograph.

*Both of these meals fit the requirements of my January Whole 30

Visit Not Dabbling In Normal on Sundays for the round up of Dark Days meals. You can also visit our coordinator at Unearthing this Life to see some of our Midwest group entres.  

Chicken Livers and Onions

In addition to following the Whole 30 rules for January I also pledged to eat at least one meal a week with organ meats.  Why should you consider eating organ meats?  A big reason for me is wanting to respect the animal that gave its life for you by wasting as little as possible but there are also plenty of health benefits.  While I will eat beef liver occasionally and I liked the beef heart we got with our quarter steer, my favorite and one of the easiest organ meats to find and prepare are chicken livers.

When I was a kid my parents served chicken livers in their spaghetti sauce and I still love them that way, although now on top of sauteed zucchini.  While in college and while dating John I was coming out of my vegetarian years and learned a new way to eat chicken livers. The Metro Detroit area is teaming with good Middle Eastern restaurants and a favorite of ours back in "the dating years" was the Pita Cafe in Oak Park, MI.  At the corner of Greenfield and 696, we passed this restaurant on the way to and from our two homes too many times to count.   Great hummus, good lentil soup (smooth or chunky), juices, and fantastic chicken livers made up our meals there.

They served their chicken livers fried with onions, jalapenos, and lots of olive oil with a side of rice pilaf topped with parsley and toasted almonds.  Lemons were served on the side to squeeze on. You had to be careful to ask for the dish "mild" or they would blow your head off with the jalapenos!   I've updated this to use my Sorta Gremolata from my freezer and keep the dish Whole 30 compatible.  I'm also an even bigger wuss about spicy food now but feel free to overload yours with jalapenos!

Chicken Livers and Onions

Rinse and dry your chicken livers well.  Lately I soak them in a brine for a few hours but I haven't decided if it makes a big enough difference in the taste.  Slice a couple of sweet onions.  Heat up a skillet and add fat of your choice.  I used chicken fat but have used olive oil in the past.  Fry the onions with salt and pepper until caramelized.  Remove the fried onions from the pan and set aside.  Add more fat if needed and fry the chicken livers until done.  Don't forget to season them and don't overcook them!   Toss the onions and livers together and top with defrosted "gremolata" balls.  *If you don't have the "gremolata" you could substitute some chopped parsley with garlic, lemon zest and juice. Finish with some toasted chopped almonds and a squeeze of lemon juice. Wonderful served with a green salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.

Dark Days Roasted Pumpkin Hash with Chorizo and more

More snow today.  From the signs in the coop, I think the weather was bad enough that even the ducks slept inside and it has to be pretty bad out for them to bother going in.  Weirdly one of our barred rocks is molting.  Talk about bad timing, we're in the middle of a cold snap!  She looks awful with all the new feathers sprouting out of her neck, blech.

Unintentionally, I managed to have all of my three meals today SOLE and completely Whole 30 compliant as well.  For breakfast I had a kale and baby lettuce salad.  For the dressing I made a creamy salad dressing with egg yolks from my chickens, organic flax seed and olive oils, a little organic lemon, mustard and Black Star Farms verjus.  I need to get some anchovies for my creamy dressings, they would have put it all over the top!  The kale and lettuce came from my 9 Bean Rows winter share that started last week.  I'm SO looking forward to their vegetables!

For lunch, I had a hash made with roasted cubed pumpkin (leftover from this soup), onions, sage (dried from my garden) and  some of my homemade chorizo sausage.  I took a picture of the hash before I chopped up the sausage and added it to the pumpkin but I attest that it was delicious though less attractive served that way.  Finally, dinner was beef and root vegetable soup.  I used some thin cut short ribs from Gallagher's Centennial Farm with a slew of root vegetables from 9 Bean Rows and vendors of The Village's Saturday Market.  The soup was very similar to the goat borscht I made before but with beef and without cabbage.  I flavored it with dried rosemary and winter savory from my garden, a  picture of the ingredients i used this time follows.

Dark Days Pumpkin Hash with Chorizo
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.  Cube pumpkin or winter squash into ~3/4" cubes and toss with a diced half an onion, olive oil, crumbled dried sage, salt and pepper.  Roast for ~20 minutes stirring occasionally, until golden brown.  While the pumpkin is roasting pan fry some chorizo sausage.  *Now that I'm thinking about it, I could have just added the sausage into the oven and saved myself a pan to wash.  When the pumpkin and sausage are fully cooked, slice the sausage and toss the two together.  Enjoy!

Visit Not Dabbling In Normal on Sundays for the round up of Dark Days meals. You can also visit our coordinator at Unearthing this Life to see some of our Midwest group entres.  

The ingredients for my Dark Days Beef and Root Soup, the process was similar to this goat borscht

Dark Days Lamb and Kraut Salad

My lamb from Starlight Hill Farms arrived this weekend so for this week's Dark Days meal I made some pan-fried blade chops with kraut and kale salad.  The kraut and kale salad was inspired by Mother's Kitchen's recipe this week. I also used her kraut recipe to make my homemade sauerkraut, made this fall with cabbage bought at the farmer's market.  For the salad, I used Red Russian Kale and the sweetest little white turnips both from Blackbird Gardens, bought at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons' Saturday market.  I skipped the onion and carrot, used organic flax seed oil and added some anise seeds because I have become very fond of them with sauerkraut.  Thanks Cynthia for your Kraut and Kale Salad and Homemade Sauerkraut Instructions.

Visit Not Dabbling In Normal on Sundays for the round up of Dark Days meals. You can also visit our coordinator at Unearthing this Life to see some of our Midwest group entries.  

I noticed today that the star is even more crooked than it was when I first put it up and that we have a Christmas spider in residence.

Chewy Molasses Cookies (redone grain free)

When I was younger I teased my mother for eating dried dates by saying they look like cockroaches. It had something to do with the translucence and papery skin, which I still find a little eerie, but recently dates have come to my rescue.  In this year's attempt to tackle wheat free baking I have found that dates, and date paste, are my favorite secret weapon for making good grain-free cookies.  This recipe is the first of two cookies that make use of my current favorite method. Using my ever evolving baking strategies I updated a favorite Christmas cookie of ours, the Chewy Molasses Cookie.  The flavor is still there though the sweetness is toned down to match our current tastes.  In my opinion this allows the zing of the spices and molasses to shine brighter.  I suppose I could still compromise and coat the outside of these in sugar but since they were so well received by both kids I think I'll keep them as is.   One experiment I would like to try is to double bake them at a low temperature like biscotti to see if I can get a crisp version as well as this chewy one.

Chewy Molasses Date Cookies 
Makes ~3 dozen small cookies, made using a 1 tablespoon scoop

7 ounces date paste (or ~1 1/3 cup packed pitted dates)*
3 ounces coconut oil (~1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon)*
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon molasses
1/2 cup almond meal*
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line your baking sheets with parchment.
-It is best to have all your ingredients at room temperature.  Add your dates, coconut oil, eggs and molasses to a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth paste.  If you are using pitted dates double check them for pits and expect this to take a little longer.
-In a small bowl whisk together all your dry ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients to the date mixture and process until combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
-Spoon tablespoons of dough onto your lined baking sheets leaving at least an inch and a half of spreading room.
-Bake for 8-10 minutes until puffy.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets before removing.  It's best to release the cookies with an offset spatula before removing.  
-Baked cookies freeze well but I have found that coconut flour baked goods like these tend to not store well for long periods at room temperature.

*Ingredient information:  I get my date paste from Country Life Natural Foods.  It is relatively dry compared to most homemade versions I've seen but it's great for baking.  My kids prefer no coconut flavor and so we use the expeller pressed oil from Wilderness Family Naturals.  I've used both Bob's Red Mill and Honeyville almond flour/meal in these and both work fine.

I'm adding these to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays on Simply Sugar & Gluten Free

"Gremolata" Balls for the Freezer

To stash the last of my fresh parsley from my garden I made this. It's only sort of gremolata because I added lemon juice and olive oil in an attempt to have it last better in the freezer.  I tried it out on top of roasted beef marrow bones and it was fantastic!  The verdant and piquant flavor cut through the richness of the marrow.  I plan on using the rest of my stash to garnish stewed meat or soup, similar to the uses for gremolata on osso bucco or like pistou in soup.

"Gremolata" Balls for the Freezer
Take a couple of cups of fresh parsley and pulse in a food processor with a couple cloves of garlic.  Add the zest from one lemon and the juice from 1/2 lemon with enough olive oil to moisten.  Salt and pepper to taste and add more garlic or oil until you like the flavor.  Scoop tablespoons onto a cookie sheet, freeze until solid, then store in an airtight container (zip bag, etc).  Serve on top of stewed meat or as a last minute addition to perk up a bowl of winter soup.  To serve: place a still frozen ball in soup or allow one to defrost slightly and then spread on top of stewed meat.  Also very good in place of parsley salad with roasted marrow bones.

Enjoying some Enjoy Life Freebies

If you are a parent of a food allergic kid it is unlikely you haven't heard of the brand Enjoy Life.  For us their chocolate chips have long been an essential staple.  They have been especially helpful since we have mostly eliminated soy this year and soy-free chocolate is very hard to find.  When we heard the news of their new Mega Chunks, we ran out to buy some as soon as our local co-op had them.  So I gladly accepted some free goodies and in exchange I'm mentioning them here.  We received a package of the Mega Chunks and something new for us, their Double Chocolate Crunch Granola.

The Mega Chunks don't disappoint.  They are the same chocolate as their mini chips in a useful bigger chunk size.  While I'd personally love it if they came out with a bittersweet version with less sugar I can't deny that my kids think their chocolate is great.  The granola however isn't something I think we'd buy.  Penny kinda liked it but Alex and I thought it was too hard.  It reminded me of Grape Nuts in texture and had a floury rice flavor.  We aren't granola eaters to begin with so take that into consideration.  I will come clean and recommend their new Crunchy Sugar Crisp Cookies.  I know, I know-- I rail against store bought cookies!  But these are really good tasting basic sugar cookies and they beat out the gluten-free sugar cookies I've so far tried to make.  Everyone has to eat their words sometimes, including me, not that I won't keep trying to top them ;)

Here is Alex sharing his own taste test of the Mega Chunks:
 

And Penny with some granola

We received these products free of charge but this is our honest review of them.
See more about Enjoy Life at: The Enjoy Life website, Enjoy Life blog and of course on Facebook

Going Whole Hog 2011

Going whole hog figuratively but half hog literally, this year I purchased a half pig from Bare Knuckle Farm and had it broken up into primal cuts to further process myself.  I cured and smoked bacon and a whole ham and with the help of friends made a bunch of fresh sausages to stash in the freezer.  

Not only has this been a project I've wanted to try for awhile but it's also a way for us to have locally, responsibly raised, pork sausage without the risk of sneaky milk powder, which my son Alex cannot have.  For all my pork preparations I followed the instructions in the book Charcuterie by Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman.   This book is amazing!  The directions are detailed, easy to follow and very helpfully they include a basic ratio for fresh pork sausage.  The tough part was deciding what flavor sausages to make.  

We ended up making a maple breakfast sausage (with my maple syrup), a basic herb garlic sausage (sage and rosemary from my garden), a chorizo-like sausage with smoked paprika, a garlic chive/ginger sausage (similar to the meatballs in this soup), and apple/anise seed.  I already owned the KitchenAid meat grinder attachment but went ahead and bought the sausage stuffer attachment in spite of the bad reviews.  At times burping out the bubbles of air got a little tricky but by creating a raised platform to catch the stuffed sausages I thought it worked decently, worth the space and money saved compared to buying a dedicated sausage stuffer.  You can see my set up in the photos.  I also highly recommend the food tray attachment.  Why didn't I know they had that sooner!
Here are some things I'd like to remember/try for next year:

Sausage

• Mentally prepare yourself for the lewd *sausage* jokes your husband will make repeatedly, there is no stopping him.
• Have a pot of soup on for the meat cutting.  We were starving and needed a break from our sausage testing nibbles. 
• Buy hard cider for the apple sausage 
• Get some beef to make hot dogs at the same time
• Don't bother with the breakfast sausage sized casings unless making hot dogs too.  Instead make sliceable logs of breakfast sausage.
• Don't forget to make a dried cherry sausage
• Make and hot smoke some kielbasa

Ham

• Weigh the ham before sticking in brine to accurately get curing time.  I forgot and had to guess.  The ham was still edible (and good) but it was half ham and half pork roast.  
• Add some cloves, maybe other spices to ham brine.

Bacon

• Borrow meat slicer from mom and dad
• Don't wait until next year to get another pork belly, homemade bacon is so awesome!

This year's sausages: maple breakfast, herb/garlic, apple/anise seed, garlic chive/ginger, and chorizo-inspired

My setup for sausage stuffing

The sausages with Charcuterie.

Note the labelled tags for quick reference, I highly recommend doing this.

With my mommy duties, I couldn't participate in most of the recent event in our town, Pigstock TC.  A pork enthusiasts dream, you can read more about Pigstock in this My North article. I did get to go to one of their events open to the public, a breakdown of a half hog, and took a bunch of photos.  It was incredibly helpful and maybe next year I'll do the job myself.

For a description of what is happening in each photo, go to the Flickr set

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I added this post to the Make Your Own Mondays 

at Natural Family Awareness

Pumpkin Donut Holes (redone GF/DF)

I made these last week to bring to our orchard trip because even though the place we visited doesn't sell donuts it is ingrained in me that cider must equal donuts.  Besides, it had officially been at least 3 months since my last donut frying and four times a year seems reasonable to me.  These are a work in progress because the batter is too loose to make into rings and can only be scooped into donut holes but that doesn't stop them from being delicious!

GF Pumpkin Donut Holes
Thanks to Comfy Belly's Pumpkin Muffin recipe for giving me a starting point.
Makes ~ 3 dozen holes

1/2 cup roasted pumpkin puree (or use canned pumpkin)
3/4 cup maple syrup
4 eggs
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
6 tablespoons arrowroot starch
6 tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup fine maple sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional for coating the finished donuts
+Fat to fry in, I used rendered beef tallow but of course you could use another high heat fat/oil.

-Warm your fat/oil, you will need at least an inch but preferably two inches in a heavy pot.  I use a enameled cast iron dutch oven to fry in.
-Mix the pumpkin, syrup and eggs by hand or in a food processor.
-Whisk together the dry ingredients and add to the wet.  Process or stir until combined.
-When the fat reaches 350 degrees F, scoop tablespoon sized blobs of batter carefully into the hot fat.  Add more blobs but do not overcrowd.
-Turn the holes gently with a wire spider or slotted spoon.  Fry until dark golden brown, ~ 1 1/2 minutes.   For the best results time a sacrificial hole and cut it open at one minute to see if the interior is cakey and cooked through.  Then judge how much more than one minute you may need of frying time.
-Remove the donuts and drain on a wire cooling rack set over a baking sheet to catch any dripping grease.
-After they have cooled enough to handle quickly, roll them in maple sugar and cinnamon mixture.  They are also good with a chocolate glaze.

*In search of a vegan pumpkin donut made with wheat flour?  Here is my recipe from a few years ago.  For a gluten-free and vegan option, I am fairly certain that these recent donuts would work well with flax eggs (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 2 tablespoons water = 1 egg) but I haven't tried it yet.

Some Halloween pictures to share as well, one of the family

Me and my little devil, Alex

Angel Penny and John the dark wizard

Autumnberry Ketchup

For several years now I've been all talk, claiming that I'd try to make something other than jam and fruit leather with the plentiful autumn olive berries, aka autumnberries, we have around our property.  Well this year the Spice Rack Challenge, mace, gave me a second reason to push myself to make some ketchup.  Mace if you don't know is the outer covering of nutmeg and is similar in flavor.  Though it is sometimes found in sweet recipes I find mace more suited to savory dishes.  Seasoning for pot roast or a pinch added to faux cheese sauce (made with nutritional yeast) are two of my favorite ways to use mace.  And you often find it in the spices in ketchup.  

I based my experimenting on a cherry ketchup recipe I found online from Jose Andres.  After making one batch with the exact same spice amounts I found his recipe a little too assertive and made some adjustments.  I love the resulting milder condiment.  It is very similar in taste to good store bought ketchup though my son Alex still found it too "mustardy".  I guess a few more batches are needed to fit his palate.  This shouldn't be a problem, we have enough berries on our land to fill a pool!

Perfect with homemade fries
(cooked in beef tallow, from my Gallagher Farms steer)

Autumnberry Ketchup
Based on several basic ketchup recipes online and this cherry ketchup from Jose Andres.
Makes ~1 1/2 cups

24 ounces of autumnberry pulp* (~3 cups)
1 teaspoon whole mace (or 1/3 teaspoon ground)
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground dry yellow mustard
1 inch piece of cinnamon stick

1/2 teaspoon whole allspice berries

5 whole cloves

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

-Add your prepared autumnberry pulp and the salt and spices to a saucepan.  Bring to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes.
-Add the vinegar and cook until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
-Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove the whole spices.  Store in the fridge until use.

*Instructions for autumnberry pulp:
Rinse and drain the berries.  Place in a pot with a tiny amount of water and cook covered over medium heat until the flesh is loose and the seeds squish out easily.  Strain the pulp either with a chinois, mesh strainer or a food mill.  I prefer the food mill.  Chill until use.  Be aware that the pulp may separate into the red skin material and a milky liquid.  If it does, stir it well before measuring for a recipe.

More autumnberry recipes
Autumn Olive Jam and Leather
Spiced Autumnberry Jam
*I also found a good article on mace at the Kitchn.  It has a great photo of mace covering a whole nutmeg.  
**Updated to add some more information about autumnberries/autumn olive:
Autumnberries are also known as autumn olive (scientific name: Elaeagnus umbellata) and are found in various places across the US, most heavily in the mid-west and New England. They are prevalent in my part of Michigan and thrive in nutrient poor, dry, disturbed areas. Here is a good link with pictures and information on how to identify the plants: Information on habitat and identification of autumnberry (aka autumn olive)

I've been busy sewing more this month. I just finished this jacket for Penny. She has a major Hello Kitty addiction.

And is also fond of apples.

We went to Rennie Orchards.  The kids loved their teepee.

Any hike means eating a ton of autumnberries off the bushes that are everywhere.

Alex's new photo expression, *maybe* it is a slight improvement over the tongue out and other crazy faces of the past months.

I added this post to the Make Your Own Mondays 

at Natural Family Awareness