Food

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Fall Recipes: Pumpkin, Spiced Chai and more…

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“Don’t you just love New York in the Fall?”

Anyone ever see You’ve Got Mail? It may be a cliche one-liner, but there is something special about Fall. The leaves change, the air is crisp, you pull out your favorite sweaters and hats, and curl up on the couch in the evenings with your favorite afghan spread across your lap. Add these recipes to your list of fall favorites. They are delicious and they fit the season perfectly.

Pumpkin Butter

Pumpkin Butter on homemade spelt biscuits

Pumpkin Butter on homemade spelt biscuits

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Allergy-Friendly Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread 001

Spiced Chai Tea

Christmas Chai Tea

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Quinoa Cornmeal Breakfast Pudding

9.16.13 015 This yummy porridge combines protein packed quinoa and cornmeal to make a delicious and versatile breakfast dish. You can make a whole batch ahead of time to eat on all week. Or make a double batch and freeze half for later.

Start by soaking 2 cups of whole grain quinoa overnight. (Note: I recommend soaking even if your quinoa is pre-rinsed and says ready to cook. It will cook much faster and ensure that there is no residual bitter taste which can happen if not soaked/rinsed properly.)

Drain and rinse in a collander.

Pour the 2 cups of rinsed quinoa into your saucepan and add the following.

2 cups of cornmeal
1 tbls. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
2 tbls. butter (or coconut oil, or other oil/fat of your choice)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar (or honey)

Stir these ingredients together to combine.

Now add enough water to cover the quinoa/corn mixture. Probably about 5 cups.

Cook over medium heat stirring often until the mixture is thick and the quinoa is less white and slightly transparent. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in the 1/2 of dried cranberries and pour into a loaf pan or casserole dish. (Note: It is best to store this mixture in a glass casserole dish or steel loaf pan and not in cast iron. Long-term storage in cast iron may cause the cast iron to rust due to moisture. Also, I was running out of cranberries when I made the batch pictured above so there’s not many showing.)

At breakfast time scoop out the serving size that you want and heat with a little cream and brown sugar to taste if needed.

Or you can change things up a bit and cut the mixture into slices, coat with flour and fry in a bit of oil for a gluten-free granola bar on the go.

You can see my other Allergy-Friendly Recipes by clicking here.

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Allergy Friendly: Stir Fry!

Beef stir fry with ginger and garlic.

If you can’t have sesame and soy eating Chinese, Korean or other Oriental dishes is out. Here are some my favorite ways to adapt your favorite Chinese food to make them allergy friendly.

These recipes are free of soy, sesame, egg, dairy, nuts and either corn or wheat.

Start with a pot of your favorite rice cooked according to the package directions (I like brown rice).

Beef Stir Fry:
Next saute 1 1/2 lbs of  your favorite cut of beef cut into thin strips with salt and pepper. Throw a 6 cloves of garlic, 2 tbls. of fresh ginger root into the food processor and process until minced and add to the pan. Now add your favorite veggies – onions and peppers, broccoli and carrots, string beans, etc. Cook until the beef is done and the veggies are fork tender.

Chicken Stir Fry

Chicken Stir Fry

Chicken Stir Fry:
Begin by cutting uncooked chicken breasts into strips and saute with your oil of choice. Chop your favorite veggies – mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, onion, etc. Add the veggies to the pan stirring often. Next, prepare your sauce. Combine 2 cups of chicken stock, 1/4 cup of vinegar, 3 tbls. honey, salt/pepper (to taste), 2 tsp. garlic powder, crushed red pepper (optional). Whisk to combine. Add 2 tbls. of corn starch and stir into the sauce to thicken. (If you can’t use corn starch, then add some extra oil to your meat before you add your veggies and sprinkle 2 tbls. of flour (wheat or spelt) over the chicken. This will coat the chicken and combine with the fat to make a roux which will then thicken the sauce when you add it.) Pour over the meat and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring until thickened.

Click here to see my other allergy friendly recipes.

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Crock Pot Cooking: Tips and techniques for creating one-pot meals

Rival Crock Pot

Rival Crock Pot

The convenience of crock pots for me is that it’s a one-pot dish. You throw it all in to cook in the morning and by dinnertime (when everyone is melting down and you’re exhausted) dinner is ready.

However, this means that I have a hard time finding crock pot recipes that I will actually make. Most recipes that I come across require cooking the meat beforehand. Frankly, I’ve never understood that. If I wanted to cook the meat in the skillet, then I would cook the meat in the skillet and not cook it first so that then it could cook in the crock pot all day. So, if it requires cooking meat or sauteing beforehand then it’s pretty likely that it’s not going to make it to my dinner table. I do have a few recipes that I’ve used and liked (click here and scroll down to see a recommendation for my favorite little crock pot book). But, most of the time I end up modifying a recipe that I’ve used before or just making one up as I go along  based on what I have on hand.

So, here are some tips on coming up with your own crock pot meals.

Crock Pot Cooking Tips and Techniques:

  • Meat: If cooking meat with the bones in season with basic spices – salt, pepper and garlic (whole cloves with the skins on, read more about that here), cover with liquid so that you can use all the yummy bone broth. Visit the Pantry for directions on how to turn your homemade broth into bullion cubes.
  • Veggies: If cooking only veggies (like baked potatoes, mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes – read my other crock pot cooking article – click the Crock Pot Cooking category in the sidebar – for directions on how to cook these in your crock pot), then only add enough water to just cover the bottom of your crock pot by about one inch. You don’t want then to turn to mush. Since a crock pot is a sealed cooking system the veggies will cook with their own liquid and so it needs very little liquid added.
  • One-Pot Meals: These are my favorite meals to cook in my crock pot. If cooking meat and vegetables together put the meat on the bottom, especially if it contains bones. Add water, but just enough to barely come to the top of the meat. If adding veggies, add whole vegetables (i.e. whole potatoes) or large chunks if possible so that they are easy to remove whole. If adding rice, add extra liquid but only about half as much as what is the package directions say. And add a little bit of oil/fat to keep the rice from sticking to itself and the sides of the crock pot as it cooks. Always cook meals with rice on the low setting otherwise it can burn or stick on the sides of the crock pot.
  • Sauces and Stews: These are usually the chop it all up, toss it all in, stir and put the lid on kind of meals. However, I recently found a easy way to convert those “cook the meat first” recipes so that you can avoid cooking the meat first in a separate pan. Recently as I was in a make-it-up-as-I-go mode, I turned my crock pot on high, drizzled a little olive oil in the bottom and put my chopped meat in (Italian sausage in this case). This allowed the meat to start browning for about a half hour or so until I got all my veggies washed and chopped. So, I started washing and chopping and would occasionally give the meat a little stir. Just before I added all my veggies, I added a heaping tablespoon of flour which then absorbed all the fat from the meat and olive oil. This became my roux and will automatically thicken your sauce or stew as it cooks. I was very excited about this method as I’ve always hated having to thicken crock pot dishes at the end of cooking. If you can’t start with a roux as I did, then you can also dissolve a little corn starch in cold water and pour that in your crock pot at the end of the cooking period, stir and let it cook about five minutes longer to thicken.
  • Beverages/Desserts: These can be very yummy in the crockpot. Cobblers, bread pudding, apple butter, hot cider or hot chocolate. Usually they only need a few hours too cook at the most. If you’ve never cooked these in the crock pot I think it’s best to follow a recipe the first time and then improvise after that if you want to. For recipes that use milk or cream always cook on low or add during the last hour of cooking to avoid scalding the milk.

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New Family Favorite: Scrapple

8.17.13 004 Try our new favorite breakfast recipe – Scrapple. It’s traditionally  known as a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe but it’s actually something that I grew up eating even though that’s not at all my heritage. My grandmother made it for us. So maybe it was one of Maggie’s recipes. I don’t know.

Scrapple is basically a mixture of sausage and cornmeal. It may sound strange but it’s actually quite tasty. I had never made it for my kids, but in our search for more breakfast variety (since we eliminate eggs, oats, peanut butter, and some fruits for at least part of our family) I turned to my childhood and tried it. My kids like it and I like that it’s a good source of protein in the morning.

I had to call my mom to find out how to make it. She typically uses breakfast sausage (like Jimmy Dean) but our local store doesn’t carry a brand of breakfast sausage that I like. So I used sweet Italian sausage with some added seasonings and turned out quite well.

sausage simmering

sausage simmering

Start with….

1 lb. Italian sausage (sweet or spicy)
8 1/2 cups of water
1 medium sauce pan

Fill the sauce pan with the water and crumble the sausage (remove the casings first if necessary) by hand into the water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Now add….

1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbl. sage (note you may want to use less if you are nursing as sage reduces milk supply)

Stir. Then gradually add…

3 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup flour (all purpose, white spelt, whole wheat)

8.16.13 012Combine the cornmeal and flour in a bowl. MIx. Gradually add the cornmeal/flour mixture to the boiling water while stirring quickly. There will be some clumps of cornmeal but just keep stirring until all the cornmeal has been incorporated. You should now have a very dense, thick mixture. There should be no remaining liquid. It should be so thick that a wooden spoon will stand up on end in the mixture. If the mixture doesn’t seem that thick then add more cornmeal. Turn the heat off and immediately pour into a loaf pan (not cast iron as the moisture will cause it to rust). Let it cool completely and then refrigerate overnight so that the mixture will set.

In the morning, cut into slices about 1/2 inch thick and dip into flour to coat on both sides. Fry in a little bit of oil until crisp. Eat and enjoy.

Note: Once chilled, the scrapple should slice easily and hold together. If it falls apart and is still mushy when you take it out of the loaf pan then you need to add more cornmeal.

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There’s new cast iron in my kitchen!


This lovely 5 Quart Dutch Oven found it’s way to my kitchen this summer as a gift from my wonderful family. I had an old enameled cast iron sauce pan that I loved. But, I had used it so much that the enamel was starting to chip and it was only 3 quarts and I was finding that as my family grows I couldn’t make a big enough batch of rice and have enough left over for another meal. This pot is just the right size, and if you’ll notice, the lid doubles as another 10″ pan, casserole or baking dish. Very handy for biscuits and rolls. To see my complete list of cast iron, visit the Cookstove. (See my Disclosure page for info on Amazon links.)

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Crock Pot Meal: Sausage Stew

I invented a yummy sausage stew this week. Here’s the recipe.

Note: This recipe is for an 8-quart crock pot or two 4-quart crock pots. Adjust for your crock pot size.

7.29.13 048drizzle of olive oil
2 lbs. Italian sausage (sweet or spicy)
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
6-8 carrots peeled and sliced
1/2 lb. fresh green beans, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
half of a large yellow onion, chopped
one head of garlic, minced
one can tomato paste
heaping tbls. flour
salt and pepper to taste
water (fill halfway up the crock pot)

Turn the crock pot on high and let it begin to warm.  Drizzle some olive oil in the bottom of the crock pot. Add your sausage removing the casings and cutting into chunks with kitchen shears. Let the meat begin to brown while you chop your veggies.

When you are done chopping your vegetables, sprinkle salt, pepper and a tablespoon of flour in the sausage. Stir until the flour has disappeared by absorbing the oil. This is a roux and will thicken the stew for you.

Now throw in all your chopped veggies, and fill the crock pot half way up with water. Put the lid on. Cook on high for four hours or low for 6-8 hours.

Enjoy! Mmmm.

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Crock Pot Cooking: baked and mashed potatoes

I love my little red crock pots.

I love my little red crock pots.

I’ve been cooking my baked potatoes in my crock pot for the last year. It was a great discovery for me as I can throw them in early in the afternoon while the kids are napping and know that they will get done in time for dinner. And I don’t have to heat up the house by turning the oven on. And my latest discovery is mashed potatoes. Sounds strange for crock pot cooking I know, but it works great and I find it more convenient than using the stove. Tips and directions are on the Cookstove. Click on the link and then scroll down.

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Homemade Granola

130602_0009Everyone asks me for my granola recipe when I come back to Texas to visit. So here it is in written form so that I can just refer people to my blog instead of writing it down all the time. Enjoy some yummy breakfasts and feel free to adjust the ingredients to your taste. Yum yum.

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Cooking with Garlic Skins.

130705_0000You may have a puzzled expression on your face after reading the title of this post. However, I state it in all seriousness. Recently I’ve stopped peeling my garlic. Yes, you read that right. Now, I don’t do this for everything that I use garlic for. However, when it comes to making broth I’ve started throwing my garlic cloves in peels and all. I was just reading up on how onion peels and garlic peels are high in quercetin which is helpful in preventing allergies and stopping allergic reactions. Since members of my family struggle with this I thought it would be useful to give it a try and stop throwing that precious quercetin away. So, whenever I’m making broth I toss in those cloves skins and all. It saves me a lot of prep time peeling all those little garlic cloves. I do peel and discard the skins when cooking anything that requires chopped garlic, but if you’re going to simmer anything like broth or herbal remedies where you are going to strain the cloves out, try leaving them on. It’s definitely easier and hopefully has added health benefits too.

Do your own research on quercetin. Prescription for Herbal Healing has a good section on it explaining it’s health benefits. And if you have issues with food sensitivities or allergies like our family does, check out my Allergy-Friendly Recipes.

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Homemade Boullion Cubes

Cubes after they have dried.

Cubes after they have dried.

I love making homemade chicken stock in my crock pot. But sometimes it’s hard to store the stock or use it up before it goes bad. Here is a great way to save it. Homemade boullion cubes. I know it sounds crazy but you really end up with hard little cubes of goodness and nutrition. It’s so easy to just toss them in and they make your meal delicious! Click here to read how to make them.

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Fermented foods…. sound strange and scary? Add some spice to your table with this fermented relish.

8.19.12 005My favorite seasonings – garlic, jalepeno and onion. So, I decided to try them as a fermented relish. Add a little bit of it to anything that needs some spice. It’s one of my new favorites. And if you’ve never tried fermented foods, it’s easy. Click here for directions.

And if you’re nervous about trying ferments check out the book Fermented Vegetables by the Shockey’s. It chock full of delicious recipes to inspire you and gives you the knowledge you need to be creative and come up with your own.

Still not sure and need a little hand holding? Homesteading Family’s Fearless Fermenting course is a video course that will walk you through the process of fermenting all sorts of vegetables. Carolyn gives you good recipes to try and helps take the fear out of fermenting.