Cranberry Apple Sauce - So Easy to Make! (sugar free)

Although this is not really an Irish thing, it has become more popular over the past few years and it seems to be something most people would buy rather than make at home. Cranberry sauce is a staple this time of year for the holiday season as well as anytime you think of eating turkey.

This week we will be having a turkey (the first time in about 10 years!) and it is one of our own. I was delighted that it turned out so well, growth wise anyway and seems to be plenty big. This one dressed out at just under 22 pounds... More than enough!!

Getting back to the sauce... well, I wanted to have a selection of condiments to choose from on the day and that meant getting cranberries. They are readily available in most shops and are also very easy to work with. 

What I like most about cranberries, besides the fact that they are so good for you, is their versatility. You can put many different things with them but my personal favourite would have to be apples. I like apples mainly because they balance the tartness of the berries with a sweeter softer taste.

They also thicken up the sauce very well eliminating the need for any other gelling agents. It's really so easy to make and could also be used as a jam for bread or crackers. Actually with a little cheese....

So, to make cranberry sauce I washed 500gr of berries and chopped up 4 apples (peeled and cored). These all went into a pot with a little water to be boiled down to the desired consistency. I did add a little ground cloves (what's winter without it?) and some agave syrup to sweeten, then blended the results once it was cooked.

Because I was making lots, I also sterilized 2 jars and canned the extra sauce for our Solstice season...and we still have a bowl of it to try in the meantime. It is lovely without being overly sweet or tart - the nicest thing about making this yourself is you can decide on the taste!

April

Cranberry Apple Sauce before blending 

Wild Venison Goulash

Yesterday was another cold clear day - the kind that winter should be made of...it was fresh and healthy  and we need far more of them. With the cold here, often comes some level of damp - which is in itself not a great way to be at any time of the year.

Thus our greater need for warm, nourishing foods such as soups and stews. I make no secret of the fact that I love to make them and equally enjoy eating them. Give me a good stew any day and I am quite satisfied I have eaten plenty and had all the goodness contained within.

Perhaps that is the main reason why I like making them so much - they are so versatile and you can get all your vegetables in one meal into a well organized pot of stew. With this in mind (and to have something different on our plates) I decided to make a Wild Venison Goulash.

For our purposes here, the main difference between goulash and stew (there aren't many!) is that a goulash would usually contain noodles of some kind and maybe less vegetables. To make a meal using venison, it also would have to be marinated and slow cooked.

Starting with 1 kg of diced venison, I simply added it (rolled in spelt flour) to the slow cooker with about 5 onions, lemon juice, crushed garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme and several bay leaves. This I left on high to begin cooking while I added 2 cups of boiling water.

The key here to a nice taste is probably the onion (mixture of shallots and onions) and garlic - there are lots added and the meat gets to cook all day in these juices. After a few hours I added in some, but not too much, carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin and turnip. Just enough to notice there were vegetables in there.

Again I left the slow cooker on for a couple more hours, only this time I turned it down to a low heat setting. Once I was satisfied the goulash was cooked - I added 1 cup of noodles. I would have preferred to make them myself, however, next time I hope to be able to do that.

Within about 1/2 hour, the goulash was ready - at this point you can add some fresh goat's yogurt to the pot or even to individual bowls once it is served. But my children usually like this dish plain - and it was enjoyed all the same, very much so!

It's an easy meal to make and a nice change from an ordinary stew....

April

Wild Venison Goulash 

Creamed Coconut Macaroons - Sugar Free!

I am always trying to improve on a recipe - and when I think of some ingredient that will make an already good recipe taste great, I can't wait to try it out. These past few days I have been waiting until my cleanse was finished so I could play around with some ideas I had for my macaroons.

We are people who enjoy coconut but probably don't eat that much of it. Maybe that's why we still really like it - it's a treat to find it added to a dish or in a cake or cookie. My husband grew up eating coconut macaroons and would name them as one of his favorite treats.

As for me, my available treats would have been far more traditional with fruit cakes, pies and oaty squares being the usual fare. In our house now, we just want to eat well, try new things and improve on the old ones... so with this in mind I have been working on the macaroon.

I like a chewy cookie, it's not a biscuit - it also needs to be sweet but not overly and distinctive without being overwhelming. This type of cookie lends itself to this situation because it can easily be made the way your family likes it.

This morning I made some Creamed Coconut Macaroons using the following recipe;

Creamed Coconut Macaroons

1 ¼ cups whole spelt flour

½ cup ground almonds

1 ½ cups desiccated coconut

1/2 cup grated creamed coconut

1 cup goat’s milk

¼ cup maple syrup or apple concentrate

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Turn your oven on to 180°C and prepare a large flat baking sheet. You can butter and flour it or cover with parchment paper. 

In a deep mixing bowl, measure out the flour, desiccated coconut, grated coconut, ground almonds, nutmeg and salt. Sift together until well mixed. Then pour in the maple syrup and milk – continue stirring until mixture is thick and sticks together well.

Using a wooden spoon, drop medium sized amounts onto the baking sheet until you have used up all the batter and these are evenly spaced. If making smaller ones you can space them closer together. 

Bake in the hot oven for 14 -16 minutes until golden brown on the outside. These are spicy and chewy, great as a snack anytime....

Enjoy!

April

Creamed Coconut Macaroons

Digestion and Hearing Voices...

Today I felt like having some fruit salad - I know it's winter, but my body just needed some extra vitamin C and the fastest way to get it is to eat some fresh herbs and fresh fruit. So, today I am doing just that. 

Fruit is also fairly easy to digest - and when you have just spent 21 days fasting, perhaps sticking with digesting fruit for the first couple of days or so is always best. This morning I put the fruit salad in my porridge - which is another food that is easy on the gut, and it was heavenly.

Years ago I would not have given as much thought to paying attention to my body, listening, watching and following it's instructions as I do now. To a certain extent as an intuitive, I have always had to listen, but not always have I followed through.

When it comes to food, this is one of the most common misconceptions on the planet. I actually have people tell me - 'my body needs sugar', or I really 'feel' like a cup of coffee. And for the most part they have convinced themselves that these voices, feelings, senses really do come from their body tissues.

Of course, they do not. Your body's first priority is to preserve life - yours. Not one single organ, tissue or cell in your body would ever request some type of poison as a fuel. Ever. 

These 'voices' or desires come entirely from the entities (aka fungus, yeast, nasty bacteria, molds, low vibration viruses) who run the show inside your gut. The worst part is they have been managing your digestion, absorption and breakdown of food as well. 

Or in the case of nearly everyone - the utter and complete lack of the above normal physiological functions. When there is an overgrowth or imbalance within the gut this results in a dysfunction and routinely affects everything. Both inside and outside of your body.

So, getting back to cravings....you are probably not craving anything more then green leaves, fresh herbs and nice vegetables. It all comes down to who you listen too....

April

Fruit Salad...Yumm!

Cake and the Magic of Life...

So, right now we are in the middle of some sort of a cooking, baking, foodie craze...apparently there are more cooking shows, new cookbooks, recipe sites and blogs then ever before. And that is all great, right? It keeps us focused on eating well and using our food to get healthy....

Oh, I forgot, 99% of these shows, blogs, books and what not have nothing to do with eating well, healthy meals or removing rubbish from your diet. In fact, the latest fad to hit the airwaves is the cake and baking madness with impossible techniques, equipment and ingredients.

No one enjoys nice cake more then me, especially with a great cup of dandelion coffee. But that is just it - I would make it myself, it is sugar free, organic, whole grain, fresh, made from unprocessed everything and actually still registering on the food pyramids.

I was out and about at the weekend and could clearly see the evidence of this baking craze - with heaps of new recipe books, baking pans, measuring cups and each shelf topped off with icing sugar or some other type of poison. 

Not to mention the use of colorings, additives, tins of ready made this or that, chocolate laced, sweet and full of empty calories. So, what is this all about anyway? Yet another way to get you looking at food, thinking about food and perhaps making high calorie meals?

I don't think so. I think it's about making you think - that cake looks perfect, I can't possibly make that so I still want it and I will go out and buy it. Just like everything else out there - it comes in a box and all you have to do is fork it into your mouth.

I just finished reading a study that found people who watched cooking shows ate more calories from sugary sweets during and immediately afterwards. Whereas people who watched a nature show did not. 

Personally, I would recommend you throw out the televisions (yes, bring it to the curb) clear out your cupboards of all the rubbish and start over with the basics. Get back to talking to each other, cooking with realistic ingredients and baking a cake without sugar, caffeine, chocolate or processed anything. 

Then watch the magic that happens (p.s. it's called 'life')....

April

Borage in the garden

Root Vegetable Mash

This is such a simple dish - something so mundane and ordinary that many of us probably have forgotten or never even got to realize how delicious and wonderful this type of dish can be. What I am talking about here is root vegetable mash....

I know I have been fasting for 21 days and am now in my final few hours of drinking only herbal teas, water, lemon juice and maple syrup. Yes, perhaps my brain is gearing up now for some solid foods...but this dish is what is on my mind and has been one of my favorites for many years. 

One of the things I like about vegetable mashes is how versatile they are - you can gently cook up nearly any selection of vegetables at any season and create a new dish. You can also add many types  of garnish or herbs to it as well.

At this time of year I really like the taste and flavour of gently roasted carrots with turnip, and am in heaven when they are purple, yellow or white carrots. I would chop them up small enough to cook easily, pour water and olive oil over top then sprinkle loads of thyme, sage and rosemary over them and roast in the oven.

Alternatively they are also very nice steamed on top of the stove, where they cook faster and then mashed simply with butter, salt and pepper. Of course you don't have to use these particular vegetables there are so many to choose from that you might create a different side dish every day of the week.

Yesterday I slow roasted parsnip, beetroot, carrot, pumpkin and shallots for my daughter and the smell was divine. It got me thinking about some of my favourite vegetable dishes - and there are so many to choose from.

You can combine nearly anything as well as cook them in various ways to bring out the best tastes - I like sweet potato mashed with roasted fennel or celeriac. When you add a little butter or cream, some seasonings - the taste is incredible.

But then so are fresh garden peas mashed with roasted caramelized carrots or parsnips - sprinkle with a little mint or oregano. You might also enjoy cooked spinach mashed with roasted garlic and sprinkled with toasted nuts...

Like I said - you can get really creative here and get the absolute most from your vegetables. 

Enjoy!

April

Veggies ready to roast.... slow!

Fig, Date & Walnut Loaf

I have loads of figs here and have been looking for ways to use them up - dates are no problem because we love them in date squares. I haven't tried making fig squares...perhaps that is next. However, I do like figs in breads and loaves as well as when making coconut balls.

With this in mind I decided to try my hand at making a loaf with figs and dates that would not be too heavy - I wanted it to be light, soft and while not overly sweet, just a nice tasting loaf. Sort of a dessert bread but also a bit of a treat.

What I also like about figs and dates is that they are so good for you full of necessary minerals and vitamins. I remember a time when this was my only indulgence during the week...and I looked forward to it like a little slice of heaven.

Well, they are still a slice of heaven - and divine when added to any recipe. Yesterday I made a little loaf of Fig, Date and Walnut bread for my taste tester to try out - and it got a thumbs up. So, now I can't wait to try it myself next week. 

Only a few more days to go with this detox and it's back to eating for me for a few days, then back to detox again. It is detox season and I like to give this all I've got - that's the only way to get the best results.

To make the bread I started out as usual with my 3 cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt - but then because I was using figs and dates I decided to use cloves and nutmeg in place of cinnamon. Just for a little stronger flavour as well as the warming effects. 

Next I added chopped figs and dates to 1 cup of milk as well as some grated lemon, lemon juice and 1/4 cup of date syrup. In another bowl I whisked a duck egg which I then added to the soaking figs and dates. 

Once I was happy that the figs and dates were soaked, I poured this milk mixture into the flour blend and stirred until it was nearly mixed - when I added 1/3 cup of water and 2 tablespoons oil. I continued mixing until all was blended and then spooned the dough into loaf tins. 

Lastly I pressed chopped walnuts into the top of each loaf (to get them to stick) and put them into the hot oven. After baking for 30 minutes (mini loaves) it was done and smelled wonderful - next time I think I will omit the egg and add a little butter instead of the oil. Just to see if I can get the loaf even softer. But, it did turn out very nice as it is. 

April

Fig, Date & Walnut Loaf