Please welcome Claudia Vasquez, who is today sharing a beautiful photo tutorial of making the Macaroons from Nourishing Traditions. Thank you, Claudia, for your inspiration and lovely photos!

Inspired by GNOWFGLINS Fundamentals eCourse, I decided to try the Coconut Macaroons recipe from Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions. I bought all the ingredients at my local health food store, and started preparing them on a snowy winter day in February. Once the cookies went in the oven, the coconut scent filled the whole entire house. All my family members came down to the kitchen, waiting patiently for the timer to go off. Cooling time went by extremely slowly, but the reward was worth waiting for! I hope you try this recipe, and if you and your family are coconut fans, like us, I guarantee this recipe is going to be a keeper!

Ingredients:

-8 egg whites

-2 pinches of sea salt

-4 tablespoons of arrowroot

-1 cup organic Grade B Maple syrup

-2 tablespoons organic vanilla extract

-5 1/2 cups organic commercial dried unsweetened coconut meat, finely cut

Preparation: line baking sheets with buttered parchment paper.

Add the two pinches of sea salt…

…to the egg whites…

…and beat until peaks form.

Measure 4 tablespoons of arrowroot…

…add the arrowroot to the white mixture and beat for a few seconds.

Measure two tablespoons of vanilla extract and mix them together with the cup of maple syrup.

Slowly beat in the maple syrup and vanilla, about a minute.

Add two bags of finely cut dried unsweetened coconut.

into the egg white mixture

and fold them with a rubber spatula.

The mixture should look like this.

With a Tablespoon or the smallest ice cream scoop, take small portions of the mixture…

…and line them on the baking sheets. Keep 1/4-inch gap between each portion.

Cookies will expand just a tiny bit while baking.

Bake them in a 300°F oven for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Lower the oven to 200° and bake them for another hour,
or until macaroons are completely dried and crisp.

Let them cool completely before removing from parchment paper. They can be kept in an air tight container, or in the freezer.
Enjoy them!

Please consider guest posting at gnowfglins.com! Read this for more details.

Using up leftover chicken and combining my two favorite sauce ingredients – coconut milk and cumin – this was a delicious, quick, throw-together meal! I served it over cooked brown basmati rice, but it would have been wonderful over mashed potatoes or quinoa, too.

• Butter or unrefined coconut oil
• 1 onion diced
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 2 to 3 cups cooked pastured chicken
• ~2 cups whole coconut milk
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried chives
• salt and pepper to taste
• additional water for consistency

Saute the onions and garlic in a few tablespoons of butter or coconut oil until soft. Add chicken and let it warm up in the butter. Add coconut milk, cumin, and chives. Allow it all to warm up. Add additional water for your preferred sauce consistency. Taste, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

See? Wasn’t that easy? Serve over cooked rice, or other grain or mashed potatoes.

P.S. Yesterday in the Twister, I said I used sprouted pinto beans in this recipe – well, I didn’t. Don’t know what I was thinking when I typed that.

I’m sharing this post in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop, and Pennywise Platter Thursday, hosted by The Nourishing Gourmet.

If I had had time yesterday to participate in the Tuesday Twister (better go add myself now), I would have shared that I made these gluten-free soaked biscuits. They are moist, light, and tasty – even after three days. This is a gluten-free and soaked version of my cinnamon and honey sprouted spelt biscuits.

For the gluten-free flour blend, I used equal parts of these fresh-ground flours: millet, sweet brown rice, hulled buckwheat, and tapioca.

Makes about 24 biscuits

• 2 cups gluten-free flour blend (cannot be warm from grinding or will melt the coconut oil)
• 6 generous tablespoons unrefined, virgin coconut oil, chilled if liquefied at room temp (like during the summer)
• 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar, kefir, Kombucha, yogurt, or whey
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons raw milk, coconut milk, or nut milk (or even water)
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of additional raw milk

Cut coconut oil into flour with a pastry cutter or fork, until coconut oil is the size of peas or smaller. Lightly stir in the raw apple cider vinegar and milk. Cover and leave on the counter for 8 hours or overnight.

The next day…

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix in the honey, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt – gently. If it is not mixing well and needs a bit more moisture to make a workable biscuit dough, add additional milk as needed.

Transfer the dough to a clean, floured surface and roll into a rectangle about 1/2″ thick. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2″ squares.

Transfer squares to a coconut-oiled cookie sheet, leaving space between. Put sheet in oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to drying rack. Eat!

Delicious on my best homemade chocolate ice cream, here’s an easy chocolate syrup which features mineral-rich and tasty maple syrup as well as my new favorite kitchen ingredient, Artisana’s coconut butter.

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, Grade B
• 2 tablespoons coconut butter
• 4 tablespoons water, or more for desired consistency

Blend all ingredients together in food processor or blender. Serve immediately – this is when it drizzles best. Chill leftovers. When serving again, let it come to a cool room temperature and give it a quick stir to smooth out the texture. Enjoy!

See all basic recipes.

Scoopable, creamy, smooth, delicious… the best homemade ice cream ever! You can turn this basic recipe into mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream, or strawberry, just to give you some ideas…

Start with the vanilla or chocolate base. This makes 1 quart.

• 3-1/2 cups cream, local and grass-fed preferable
• 3 pastured egg yolks
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Rapadura*, Sucanat*, evaporated cane juice, or dry maple sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder (for chocolate base only)

*Grind the Rapadura or Sucanat in a food processor or blender to a more fine consistency.

Blend all ingredients thoroughly, but not too much to whip the cream. Chill. Add to ice cream maker, following manufacturer’s directions for churning. Be sure to follow these 7 tips for perfect homemade ice cream – one of them especially makes a difference. Add any add-ins during the last few minutes of churning, which is when the ice cream is almost firm.

For soft serve ice cream, eat immediately. For harder ice cream, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for a few hours to harden up.

Suggested topping: Basic chocolate syrup.

See all basic recipes.

I’m sharing this post in FoodRenegade’s Fight Back Friday.

The ice cream I used to make was good – we all enjoyed it. But it was soupy or icy. Well, no more. Our ice cream is now perfect – a soft serve, yet firm and scoopable ice cream without iciness or soupiness. I have mentioned this in a previous Tuesday Twister. It is time to make a post full of what I’ve learned.

I use a Cuisinart ice cream maker, the kind with an insulated freezer bowl. Many ice cream makers are similar to this; two of the tips apply to this type of ice cream maker only, not the old-fashioned kind.

1. Make sure the freezing container gets a good 24-hour deep freeze, so that it is frozen solid.
2. Use more cream and less milk. I am currently using 100% cream, and no milk at all.
3. Use a solid sweetener such as Rapadura, Sucanat or evaporated cane juice. The evaporated cane juice is somewhat refined, the others are not. Using a liquid sweetener (such as honey) with more water content increases the iciness of the ice cream.
4. Grind a coarse solid sweetener in a food processor or blender to make a fine texture. (Rapadura or Sucanat)
5. *Fill the ice cream maker halfway (perhaps 2/3) only. The frozen tub in which the filling gets churned only has so much freeze to give before it is no longer cold. If there’s too much filling, there’s not enough chilling.
6. Add ingredients which increase creaminess, such as egg yolks or avocado.
7. When chilling, choose a cool place in the house to do it. Don’t set the ice cream maker next to a woodstove, crockpot, or working oven. Conserve that freezing power!
8. (I thought of another!) Chill the filling thoroughly to maximize freezing power.

*This tip is the MOST important! My ice cream maker is a 2-quart. I only use it to the 1-quart capacity, or perhaps a little more. If I fill it anymore, we get soupy ice cream. Sonya concurs.

High-quality homemade ice cream is more frugal than eating it out. In 1 quart of ice cream, I spend $5 on local Jersey cream. The other ingredients are usually sugar and egg yolks, which I’d say adds another $1.50 max. This makes the total $6.50.

So in our family of five, a serving of perfect homemade ice cream costs $1.30. I can’t remember the last time we went out for real, gourmet ice cream – but I’m sure we paid more than $1.30 each! When we go out for run-of-the-mill ice cream, we pay more than $1.30 for one scoop.

Conclusion: no matter how you slice it, even homemade, high-quality, perfect ice cream is a steal. So go make some!

Check out my simple recipes for perfectly creamy chocolate ice cream and the chocolate syrup (pictured).

I’m sharing these tips in Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet.

As promised, here’s the jerky recipe I’m (loosely) following. I looked around for ground meat jerky recipes after I read that commercial jerky is often made with ground meat. We knew that jerky was pretty soft, and we thought it would work better for the people in my family that have teeth issues… sensitive teeth or braces. (I’m sorry, Dr. Price, but we learned about you too late.)

The great thing is I have used this jerky on pizza as pepperoni. It is already pretty soft, but during the pizza baking, it absorbed liquid from the tomato sauce and turned out soft and chewy. I think I should have done a thinner batch of jerky for it to be really pepperoni-like, though.

See all Basic Recipes.

But anyway, I looked around for recipes. I ended up following one that I found on a message board. So, thanks to “Christine” for the inspiration. This is doubled from her recipe because if I’m going to make jerky, I’m going to make jerky.

• 3 pounds grass-fed ground beef (or venison, or lamb, or buffalo… )
• 2 teaspoons unrefined sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (original recipe calls for 8 times this amount, which is too peppery for me)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder or granulated garlic (feel like making your own?)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin (or more!)
• pinch of cayenne pepper (original recipe calls for much more)

Blend all the ingredients together in a big bowl. You may as well use clean hands.

Taking a portion at a time, press the meat mixture into about 1/8″ thickness on a piece of natural parchment paper that is the same size as your dehydrator tray. Or use the ParaFlexx sheets that go with an Excalibur dehydrator – see Resources for sources. You could also use a rolling pin to spread it out, but I find I can never get the thickness consistent, so I prefer to take extra time and press the balls out into a sheet myself, like so:

When a sheet is full, square up the edges to your liking, using your fingers. Then use a butter knife to score the meat into jerky-size pieces. Don’t use a sharp knife or you’ll cut through parchment paper or Paraflexx sheets!

Transfer the whole shebang to a dehydrator tray and put the tray in/on your dehydrator. Repeat until you’ve spread out all your meat mixture. This recipe fills 4 to 5 trays of my 9-tray Excalibur dehydrator, depending on the thickness I achieve.

Set the dehydrator’s temperature to 145 or 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on thickness, expect total drying time to be 12 to 18 hours. Flip over mid-way, which is usually when the jerky is curling up from the bottom and not sticking to the tray’s liner any more.

You have to play with how much it “cooks” – and keep in mind that coming out of the dehydrator it is going to be much softer than it will be when it cools. I look for there to be no more pink and try to get it out of the dehydrator while it is still really soft. It always surprises me how much it hardens up once it is out.

Tear apart the pieces and put them in a bowl or tray to cool fully. Then store in a cool, dark place in an airtight container. Or in the refrigerator if not using up within two weeks.

Wow, I wish I could get a good picture of the jerky! It tastes wonderful, and is a great snack or a great lunch on the go. We’ll be having it for lunch today when we are out on our “day in town.”

If you’d like a great recipe for jerky made from cuts of beef, try this one from Ann Marie @ Cheeseslave. I tested it with beef cut with and against the grain, and we preferred against the grain by far (because of those sensitive teeth). I completely omitted the Worcestershire sauce and the jerky was fantastic! Pictured below is a shot of both kinds of jerky side by side. Again, (my) jerky is not very photogenic.

So, there you go. What you add to this jerky recipe, for spices? If you make it, be sure to come back and let me know what you did!

See all Basic Recipes.

I’m sharing this post in Real Food Wednesday and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

I had reason to clean my freezer yesterday – it was getting repaired and I had to empty it out. I found 8 ears of corn purchased from the local pastured poultry farm. They grow some wonderful tomatoes and corn, in addition to the poultry.

The corn is a non-GMO heritage variety, grown from seeds they save year after year. I bought a few dozen extra ears of corn in the summer, steamed them and froze them for later. Later turned out to be yesterday.

So there they were come dinner-time, asking to be cooked. Creamed corn? I looked online for homemade creamed corn recipes, but in the end ditched that idea because my husband isn’t a fan of sweet side dishes. This corn is plenty sweet.

You can start with cooked or uncooked corn for this recipe. I started with pre-steamed corn. If you want to go for the creamed corn, add a cup of raw cream or raw whole milk and perhaps a bit of honey – depending on how sweet the corn already is.

By the way, this recipe is very simple.

• 8 ears of corn
• 4 to 6 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Hold the ears of corn upright on a plate that has a bit of a lip to it to catch fluids. Moving downward with the knife, cut the kernels off. Scrape the ear with the knife to release any juices (you’ll get lots of “cream” if the ears aren’t cooked yet!).

Warm the butter or oil in a sauce pan. Stir in the corn and its cream. If uncooked, the kernels will be tender in a few minutes. If already cooked, give them time to warm up and get flavored by the butter, which will also take a few minutes. (Here’s where you add dairy cream or milk and let it simmer, if using.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Optional: Sometimes I will saute diced onions and garlic in the butter and then add the corn and seasonings. Also very yummy!

Anyone else have corn, or other summer veggies, in the freezer waiting to be used? What else would you add to this dish? It is pretty simple, but oh, so delicious! We ate it along-side pan-fried wild salmon, and quinoa that I reheated in red palm oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.

We love water kefir! I can see why people call it a natural soda. But it is better than soda! Not only does it give you all sorts of probiotic goodness, it is not as sweet and doesn’t leave you with a sickly sweet upset stomach. With proper care, the water kefir grains can probably last longer than you, making this a frugal – not to mention healthy – way to break a soda habit!

See also: What’s So Great About Water Kefir?

I have done a little experimenting with flavors, but I could use some more ideas. My family likes the plain water kefir best, with just a bit of vanilla added. I enjoy the lemon/ginger best.

Rehydrating the Grains

Unless someone shares grains with you, you’ll have to purchase water kefir grains. They arrive dehydrated (see Resources for sources). Rehydrate according to the package directions. It takes 3 to 5 days in sweet water to rehydrate them and get them going again. The package from my source gives enough grains to make around 3/4 gallon of water kefir at a time.

First Fermentation

After the grains are rehydrated, mix 3/4 gallon of water with 3/4 cups of sweetener in a gallon jar. The less refined the sweetener, the better – the water kefir grains love minerals!

For more information on water, sweeteners, and minerals, see also: What’s So Great About Water Kefir?

If using a dry sweetener (such as Rapadura – raw, unrefined sugar), it must be dissolved in hot water first. Bring the 3/4 cup Rapadura and 2 cups of water to a boil to dissolve the Rapadura. Let it cool a bit, then add 10 more cups of cold water to lower its temp. It should be comfortable to the touch, not hot at all, when using it with the water kefir grains. Add it to the jar.

Add a half (rinsed) pastured egg shell to the jar. Thank you Cheeseslave for this tip; my grains love those egg shells! Put the grains in the jar – either loose or in a little muslin fabric bag (see Resources for sources). Swirl it all around gently. Cover the jar with a paper towel or cloth napkin and secure it to the jar lip with a rubber band. Let it sit for 3 to 5 days until desired sweetness is left – the longer you go, the less sweet. It may or may not be bubbly.

Pour off the water kefir liquid into another gallon size jar or two half gallon jars. If not following the forthcoming directions for adding flavor during a second fermentation, add 1-1/2 tablespoons of vanilla per 3/4 gallon of water kefir to make a simple cream soda. Refrigerate and drink as is. Use the grains to start a new batch of water kefir.

Second Fermentation

(The grains should be removed by this time.) Add fresh or dried fruit, or fruit juices to the jar. (See next for flavor ideas.) This second ferment should be done without air. Add a new half of a rinsed (pastured) egg shell. Cover the jar opening with plastic wrap and then the jar lid. Leave out at room temperature for 1 to 3 days. When you’re happy with the flavor, strain the liquid free from any bits of fruit and the egg shell. Refrigerate the soda or bottle it. I’ve never bottled it. I just put it in the fridge in a lidded pitcher and we drink it up quickly! The water kefir tends to get more bubbly during this stage. But, as I said before, it may or may not get bubbly.

Flavor Ideas

• 1/2 cup raisins plus 1-1/2 tablespoons of vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped, pitted dates plus 1-1/2 tablespoons of vanilla
• 1/2 cup dried fig pieces plus 1-1/2 tablespoons of vanilla
• 1 cup organic grape juice
• 2 to 4 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, plus 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus a splash of vanilla
• dried peach slices (a friend’s idea and I can’t remember how many she used – maybe 6?), plus splash of vanilla

So that’s my simple process for making water kefir, and some ideas for flavors. Now it is your turn. How do you flavor your water kefir? Do you make it differently? Is there some flavor combination you’d like to see?

See also: What’s So Great About Water Kefir?

This post is part of the Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet.

I wanted a granola recipe that combined the benefits of soaked oats (or other flaked grain, if oats are off your list) and soaked nuts. Soaking the grains neutralizes phytic acid, a mineral absorption blocker. Soaking the nuts starts the process of  germination, de-activating enzyme inhibitors. A raw granola that does this is a highly nutritious and a great source of digestive enzymes!

There are many ways to go about this, with varying degrees of complexity. My goal was to make it as simple as possible. I aimed to start all ingredients soaking at the same time; and not to call for already soaked ingredients, just in case they aren’t on hand. I also aimed to make it flexible to the pantry, using what you have on hand. At the same time, I chose many ingredients that I knew to be rich in digestive enzymes, making this a hearty breakfast or snack that will help digest itself and any other foods you serve at the same time. We love it in kefir!

If you’ve already got soaked and dehydrated nuts/seeds on hand and want to use those, Cheeseslave has a raw granola recipe that works the granola that way – and it includes coconut oil and sprouted flour! Elana’s pantry features a raw grain-free granola that is made similarly to mine. So between these, I think you’re covered.

Makes about 1 gallon. For the nuts, seeds, and dried fruit – choose raw, organic and unsulphured.

• 3 cups assorted raw nuts and seeds (I’ve been using 1 cup each of almonds, filberts and pumpkin seeds)
• 1-1/2 cups flour-free date pieces or pitted whole dates, chopped (or raisins or fig pieces)
• 8 cups thick rolled oats, gluten-free if necessary (or other flaked grain such as spelt – not GF)
• 6 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar, Kombucha, kefir, or yogurt
• 1-1/2 cups water, plus 5 cups water, plus 8 cups water
• 5+ tablespoons dried cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon dried ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• assorted dried fruit (optional)

Put the nuts and seeds in a medium bowl along with about 5 cups of warm water (to cover generously). Cover with a towel and let soak overnight in a warm place, 8 to 12 hours.

Put the date pieces in a small bowl, along with 1-1/2 cups of water. Cover with a plate or towel and let soak overnight, 8 to 12 hours. You may also use fig pieces or raisins. The figs are an excellent source of digestive enzymes, and I believe raisins are, too, since grapes are on the list.

Put the rolled oats in a large bowl, along with 8 cups of warm water and the apple cider vinegar (or Kombucha, or yogurt, or kefir). Cover with a plate or towel and let soak overnight in a warm place, 8 to 12 hours.

When the soaking time is complete, drain the nuts and seeds, discarding the water. Coarsely chop with food chopper or food processor. Put in a large mixing bowl.

Blend the dates, their soaking water, and all spices and salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add this paste to the large bowl with the nuts and seeds.

Drain and rinse the oats in a fine colander or sieve. The drier you can get them, the quicker the dehydrating will go. Add them to the big bowl with the date paste, nuts and seeds. Toss gently to mix well.

Spread thinly (1/4″ or less) on dehydrator trays that are covered with unbleached parchment paper, plastic liners, or in the case of an Excalibur dehydrator, the ParaFlexx liners. This amount of granola fills almost 5 trays of my Excalibur 9-tray dehydrator (see Resources for sources).

Dehydrate at less than 115 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 to 24 hours. With the Excalibur dehydrator, you can start out dehydrating at 145 degrees Fahrenheit for the first 2 hours, which will kick start the dehydrating but not make the internal temperature of the granola go over 118 degrees – the temperature at which enzymes die.

About halfway through the dehydrating time, check to see if the granola peels easily off the paper or plastic lined trays. If it is does this without much stickiness, turn it all over. It is easiest to keep it in big sheets, if possible. Continue dehdyrating until the granola is dried out to your preference. Test frequently.

When done, remove from dehydrator and place in a big bowl. Break up the sheets into bite-sized chunks. With small amounts of the granola in a big bowl and using the pestle of a mortar & pestle works well to crush the granola sheets. Mix in assorted dried, raw fruit pieces (or save the fruit and add to the bowls when serving). Let it cool fully before transferring to an airtight glass jar for storage.

When ready to eat, place in bowl and add fresh or dried fruit, along with raw honey and raw milk – the latter two are excellent sources of digestive enzymes!

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, this week hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.