Coming Into Chocolate Zombie Season....

I wanted to wade into the melee here on the subject of chocolate - that's right, that dark, sugary, sweet stuff that we are told is supposedly the nectar of the god's. Well, I for one don't eat it, don't believe it and have been there done that - when it comes to all manner of it.

It bothers me quite a bit to read people's blogs and then read published research again and again on how good this 'food' is for us. How full of this vitamin and that mineral chocolate tends to be and the many options we have to 'take our chocolate'.

If you want to know what I think about it - from a Medical Intuitive perspective, well, keep reading. Otherwise, stop now - because I am going to get graphic.... LOL. Just kidding - but I would like to give you some idea of the energetics of this bean.

So, we have the cocoa bean from which chocolate is derived. It grows on a tree - all you've got to do is watch Dora the Explorer to know you can shake that tree and get chocolate bars raining down like manna from heaven.

And that's one of the problems I have with this so-called treat....it is pushed, peddled, plied, spoon-fed, and even bottle fed to our children starting in the cradle. Everyone is a chocolate pusher - your first birthday cake should be triple fudge and dripping with sugar.

You with me so far? 

Then we move on from there to our teens - munching chocolate for the odd treat until hormones, self consciousness and personality confuse the body and mind. Then, as we 'grow up', for many of us, this 'treat' becomes a meal, a craving and a means to an end in itself.

Chocolate is a drug. Yes it contains caffeine (I am told it is less then coffee) but that's not the point - the point is it contains several ingredients which, when combined within the bodies of many of us, act to stupify, numb and otherwise feed into addictive patterns.

I know and meet many people who cannot stop eating chocolate - have drugged themselves silly every night for years, waking up the next day feeling like a stoned chocolate zombie. This cycle has been stuck on 'repeat' every time they feel they can't cope with...well, anything.

I said I would mention chocolate from an intuitive perspective; what it does is push down human sexuality. Not a bad thing you might be saying...well, it is when sexuality comes with and is linked to,  creativity, life force, spirituality and all those little chemical messengers related to health and well being called hormones.

To be honest, I get tired of reading the merits and benefits of eating 2 squares of chocolate a day. And I hardly know anyone who can keep such an addiction at that level. Besides, just because a drug is legal, doesn't mean it's good for us - 

Personally, I don't touch it - I wouldn't let anything interfere with my experience here on this journey. And I certainly don't want to spend my life in a drug induced haze or looking like a chocolate bunny...

April 

Cat watching from the shadows...

Roasted Guinea Fowl - A change from chicken

While I don't eat chicken and haven't for many years now, recently I have been interested in guinea fowl. It is similar to chicken and I am told the taste compares somewhere between chicken and pheasant. Which makes for quite an interesting tasting meat...

Last night - with nothing else to do (LOL) I decided to slow roast one in the oven to see how it would do. It doesn't smell exactly like chicken nor does it smell gamey - but it does smell like fowl. And it smells very good!

The way I ended up cooking it is also a little different - there isn't much fat on these birds so I wanted to add a little olive oil, but then it's also nice to have some interesting fresh tastes when slow roasted together bring out the best flavours of the meat.

For roasting I chopped shallots, garlic, an apple and half a leek - these were added to the roasting pan. Then I sprinkled some rubbed sage, thyme, sea salt and pepper all over the vegetables and the fowl - this was then placed into the pan.

Once the bird and veggies were ready to go I drizzled olive oil and then some water over top and placed it in the hot oven for 2 1/2 hours. We could smell it cooking away for the next while and it filled the house with a lovely homey odour.

Once it was fully cooked - I took it out (I basted it several times during the process) and had a look. It is lovely and very fragrant for such a small little game bird. And tender on top of all that...if you would like a change to something nicer - give it a try!

April

Oven roasted guinea fowl in shallots & apple 

Return of Life - In the Garden

At the end of this week there is a feast - Imbolc - one of our most wonderful celebrations and in many ways the beginning of the season for us. It is the signal of the Celtic spring and a festival of ewe's milk apparently.

It appears to have had it's origins in the return of lambing, milk and the early rites of spring - so, naturally to follow on from that the best foods to enjoy this coming weekend would be lamb, sheeps and goat's cheese and early spring vegetables.

Right now I am busy planning our menu for each day - making this the most fun time of my entire fast! LOL. We are all looking forward to moving on from this fast and can't wait to eat and shift into this next phase.

One of the most important aspects of this time of year has to do with the return of life - both inside and outside of our bodies. As with the earth, our guts' should also be coming back from it's semi-dormant state with gut bacteria flourishing.

Spiritually this is a time of awakening - animals are bred and expecting baby goats and lambs, the earth is expecting new growth and is busy sending up the first shoots towards the lightening sky. The days are growing longer and we can get going with our kitchen gardens.

There is not a better time of year to plan and contemplate life as it swirls around us. Perhaps in ancient times after the long dark days of winter have shortened with the promise of spring to come - such a re-awakening as this needed it's own special day.

Then again - it's a few weeks since Solstice and Yule Season - it's about time for another celebration....cakes and cookies (all sugar free!) are on the agenda this week. I will keep you posted on my progress.

April

Oregano in the garden

Sage & Coconut Biscuits

Well, once again I find myself with things sitting around my cupboards and I want to be using it up....but also I like to expand my recipe base at the same time. Often we find ourselves stuck in with the way we cook, bake or go about preparing food.

When we venture out of that box and go back to the drawing board some interesting points tend to be raised. First of all you can do nearly anything - with what you've got. I am not one for special ingredients or strange stuff I will never use again or in anything else.

Secondly, we can tend to have some types of food we enjoy but only prepare it one or two ways. I was like that with cabbage, which I posted on yesterday with a lovely slow cooker recipe. But, I am also like that with coconut.

I love coconut - and use it shredded in several dishes such as muesli, cookies and cakes. I also like the coconut milk in rice dishes and a couple of soups I make. But that seemed to be it really - so yesterday I set about playing around in the kitchen with blocks of creamed coconut.

And the results were quite interesting! I ended up with a lovely biscuit that the kids loved and I can't wait to taste. It looked very much like a scone but I was told it was sweet and creamy tasting with a different texture from a floury scone.

To make these biscuits I did the following!

2 1/4 cups spelt or barley flour 

200 g creamed coconut

1 tablespoon rubbed sage

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup water (hot)

1/2 cup goat's yogurt or sour milk

sea salt

In a saucepan I poured the 1/2 cup hot water and added the coconut block - this was gently heated on the wood stove while being stirred until it was uniformly melted. In the meantime I preheated the oven to 180C and placed a piece of parchment over a baking sheet.

Next I measured out 2 of the cups of flour into a deep mixing bowl and added the other dry ingredients (soda, salt and sage). This was sifted around to mix thoroughly. In another small dish I placed the goat's yogurt - I ended up using half yogurt and half sour milk. (add 1 teaspoon cider vinegar to make the milk sour).

After mixing the milk mixture in with the coconut I added this to the flour in the deep mixing bowl. It will blend nicely into a soft ball which you can then turn out onto a floured surface. Use the extra flour to handle the dough sprinkling a little over top to keep it from sticking to your hands.

Flatten it down a little and start punching out round circles (sort of like cookies or scones) and placing them onto the cookie sheet. Once the dough is used up, sprinkle some more sage over top and put them in the oven for about 15 to 17 minutes. 

They turned out wonderfully (I made them twice with different flours) and smelled like they had butter inside - but they don't, it's just lovely coconut!

April

Sage & Coconut Biscuits 

Slow Cooker Red Cabbage, Apple and Onions

One of the only vegetables I get kind of stuck in a rut with, is cabbage. I really enjoy it - but sort of always cook it one or two ways and that's it. Usually I grate it into a coleslaw type of salad or roast it in the oven with veggies.

But we also like it as part of a stir fry too and often throw it in there. However, we don't eat near enough of this lovely vegetable and I have been mulling over how to use up the two I had in the vegetable box for the last week.

So, today I decided to pull out my handy slow cooker (what a godsend that thing is!) and see what it does with my red cabbage. Right now I am enjoying the smell of it - mostly because I am not eating right now, but also because it does smell very nice.

To make this most simple dish I chopped up the cabbage (not too finely) and started layering it with chopped apples and sliced onions and garlic. This time I used both red and white onions because I wanted to use them up.

Once the vegetables were in the crock pot I added about 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Then with the pot on high - I started adding some spices. The ones I usually use with cabbage are coriander, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Next I sprinkled on some sea salt and ground black pepper then added in 1/2 cup of water because it seemed like it needed something to keep the cooking process going. Lastly, 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of butter to sweeten the dish and that is it.

It's a very simple but lovely tasting side dish to have with nearly any meal and goes really well with meats, especially goose and any wild game such as pheasant or venison. 

April

Red Cabbage dish

A Day With Food....

It was a food day today....we had food everywhere and I loved every minute of it! Of course, I did not taste anything, but I have made these dishes long enough and often enough to know exactly how to get them right. 

Even though I am still deep into my detox, it is no deterrent to cooking, baking and appreciating others' enjoying good food. Cooking is an art - or at least it should be and in some places it is considered as such with only those who truly have an affinity towards it, handling and preparing the meals.

Yet, I remember times in my own life where I would have lulls in even wanting to prepare and handle food. There were days (months) when I could not imagine chopping vegetables or spending any time preparing something nourishing.

And so I did not - instead I would have ordered a take away, or had some other prepared meal that was more salt, sugar and preservatives then any real ingredients. Not to mention being made entirely by machines in factories churning out 'product' by the metric ton.

A day like today served as a gentle (fun!) reminder of how far I have come in my own life and along my food journey gaining a real education in not only preparing great food from only vegetables and a little fish or meat - but also knowing where this food comes from.

Perhaps my next step in this process is to expand my own garden now, to endeavour to grow and produce even more of these items myself. Only then will my learning be complete. 

Next Cookery Class this Sunday!!

April

Rosemary Sea salt bread....

Come on, Be a Rebel - Cookery Class with April Danann!!

Again this year I am happy to be offering a few cookery classes for anyone who would like to know a little more about what I am baking, making, cooking and eating. If you are in the West Cork, Cork or surrounding areas - come on out for some fun in the kitchen!

I refer to my style of being off the food grid as Rebel Food - because I make as much as I possibly can from scratch. In fact if I can't make it, we usually don't have it. But, as most things are so easy to make ourselves, this is rarely an issue. 

We eat very well without sugar, processed foods, chemicals, toxins or preservatives while gaining a deeper connection to the energy of the land and our own spiritual selves. Our food is the vital link to sustain us and build that bridge inwards.

Food is a dynamic thing - the seasons change, our tastes change, our physical needs fluctuate throughout the year....and the food we are eating should also shift and change with those requirements. Ours is such a basic approach to a healthy diet and really all about common sense.

When it comes to food in in the winter I like warming soups and stews, for instance. I also love hearty breads with cheese, jams and nut butters. Any of these dishes can be made day in and day out with variety, abundance of flavour and packed full of nutrients.

If you are needing a little boost to your routine, some recipe ideas to try out, wanting more support in the kitchen with your own creations - come on out and cook with me this week on Thursday or Sunday in Leap, West Cork.

Perhaps it's time to find the Rebel in you!

April

24 January 1pm to 5pm Leap, West Cork

27 January 11am to 3pm Leap, West Cork