I’ve been having fun blending my own teas. This is a strong tea that is sweet and satisfying. Give it a try.
Add the following into a mesh or cloth tea strainer:
1 tsp orange spice black tea (or plain black tea and a few pieces of dried orange peel)
1/2 tsp roasted dandelion root
1/4 tsp unsweetened, flakes coconut
1/4 tsp cocoa nibs
Cover with boiling water. Steep at least 15 minutes. Sweeten with a touch of sugar or honey.
Enjoy!
This cake is not only cute, but delicious. He certainly brightened up our Easter table. And he’s allergy friendly too. This cake is free of eggs, nuts, and dairy. I made it with sourdough, but if you don’t have a sourdough starter, you can easily make it without. Modifications for the non-sourdough version are written below the picture of the recipe card.
Regular (not sourdough) Bunny Cake:
To make this cake without sourdough, simply omit the sourdough, and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Use 3 full cups of flour and use 2 tsp of baking powder instead of baking soda. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.
This is delicious and healthy. Try it!
Orange Spice Chocolate Cake:
This is an egg and dairy free recipe.
This recipe makes one large 9×13” casserole dish. For a square 8×8” dish, divide the recipe in half.
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 tbls cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
Mix all the above ingredients well.
Next stir in….
2 cups finely grated carrot
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix these until the carrots are completely coated with flour.
Now add….
2/3 oil
2 cups water with 3 tbls frozen orange juice concentrate dissolved in the water
Combine all the ingredients and pour in your casserole or cake pans.
Bake on 350 for 35 minutes.
This batter bread is delicious, savory, and filling. Trying as a surprise side dish with dinner. It’s great way to use up your extra sourdough starter.
Garlic Herb Batter Bread:
3/4 cup sourdough starter
1 tsp. salt
1 cup water
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbls garlic powder or granulated garlic
1 tbls Italian seasoning
handful of sliced black olives
Add all purpose flour 1/2 cup at a time until the batter resembles a stiff buttercream frosting.
To bake, spray a casserole with oil. Pour in the batter and let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes.
Try this with your mature sourdough starter. (Note: If your starter is not mature yet, you can still make this. Double the starter and baking soda and decrease the water half.)
1 cup activated starter (this means starter that has been fed within the past 2 hours)
1 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
3 mashed bananas
Mix all these wet ingredients. Then add….
2 tbls cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp baking soda
Handful of chocolate chips
Add flour until the dough resembles a stiff buttercream frosting.
Pour into an oiled or buttered casserole. Let it rise, covered, in a warm place until it reaches the top of the pan, or about 2 hours.
Remove the cover and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Poured into casserole. Ready to rise.
Risen for two hours. Ready for the oven.
If you have someone in your household that can’t eat anything, then these pancakes are for you. Only five ingredients. My son will verify that they are quite tasty. Only prerequisite is that you need to be able to have a gluten based grain.
2 cups flour (For added nutrition use sprouted grain. I use sprouted spelt.)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbls baking powder
1/4 cup oil
2 cups water
If using whole grains mix and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Stir vigorously to develop the gluten until it is a smooth, stretchy batter.
Cook at medium high heat on a lightly oiled skillet. Freeze excess or store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Enjoy!
We’ve been playing with sourdough at my house lately. If you’d like to learn how to make your own, I highly recommend the Art of Homemade Bread Class taught by Carolyn Thomas at Homesteading Family. She has a whole section on sourdough that is excellent. She breaks it down into simple steps that so that the follow through is easy.
My daughter even decided to do sourdough as her science experiment this year. We have had 10 different starters growing at our house. Which means we have been baking A LOT!
Here is my latest favorite.
Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Batter Bread:
Add 3 approximately 2.5-3 cups of immature (or mature) starter to your mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, and about 1/2 cup flour. Stir to combine. Let this mixture sit and bubble while you butter your casserole and chop your apples.
Generously butter a glass casserole dish and set aside. Peel and chop 3 apples. Pour the chopped apples into the bowl with the batter, and add 1 tsp of cinnamon, dash of cloves, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 cup cream, 1/4 cup mild tasting oil, 1/4 brown sugar. Stir to combine. Then add flour 1/4 cup at a time until your batter is stiff like a cold buttercream frosting. It may not take much flour if your starter is thick. I added less than 1 cup to mine. Once you have achieved the right texture, pour into your prepared baking dish and sprinkle 1/4 cup of brown sugar over the top. Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes. Then back at 400 for 40-45 minutes.
About 3 cups of immature spelt starter.
Buttered casserole.
3 Opal apples. Use a sweet apple like Fuji, Gala or Braeburn, rather than tart.
Peeled and chopped.
Add to batter.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Be prepared. The baking soda will make the mixture foam and bubble.
All combined.
Poured into pan, covered and set to rise for 30 minutes.
Fresh out of the oven.
How to make batter bread with a mature starter:
You can also use a mature starter to bake batter bread with just a few modifications. Take 1 cup of your mature starter and add 1 cup of warm water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 cup flour. Let this mixture sit and activate for 2-2.5 hours. While it sits peel and chop the apples. Add the apple, cinnamon, cloves, oil, and 1 tsp baking soda to the batter mixture. Stir and add flour until the dough is a stiff batter. Sprinkle brown sugar on top and let it rise 2-3 hours. Bake 400 for 40 minutes or until the dough temperature is 190 degrees.
I’m so thankful for these little homemade chicken bullion cubes. My son has been sick the last two days. He won’t eat much when he’s ill, but he’s always up for chicken soup. I can feed him homemade bone broth in an instant any time I need to by just reconstituting with boiling water. This is one of the most rewarding things I make. And if dehydrated it’s shelf life is a good long time if refrigerated. You can specific instructions on how to make them by taking a peek in the Pantry.
Most people see fall as a time to rake the leaves and put the garden to bed. But, I’ve come to enjoy fall as one of the most exciting times in the garden. It’s when you’ll find me snipping dead flower heads off and sorting seeds. I save them for the following year if I need to fill in plants, or enjoy giving them away to friends. Don’t overlook this harvest. Just think of the yield you could have in the year ahead from one tomato seed. The multiplication values are amazing when you stop to consider the number of seeds can be produced my one simple seed in one growing season. Save your seeds and share them with friends!
Rose Campion seeds
These little brown paper envelopes are great for seed sorting and sharing.
The flower heads on Rose Campion produces a prolific amount of seeds.
Rose Campion flower head.
Crush between your finger and the seeds just pour out.
See the white little cone shaped things? Those are the seeds.
Echinacea hides her seeds among all these prickles.
You’re looking to save the white, not the black spiny parts.
Lavender
Crush the lavender flowers and the seeds just fall out.
We have lots of birthdays in the fall. So, I’ve been working to develop a frosting that works for our allergies as well as those of our friends so that we can all enjoy the same dessert. I think I’ve landed on a keeper.
It has very simple ingredients, and comes out smooth and creamy. And unless you are allergic to chocolate, it should work for almost any allergy except for corn, because it does require powdered sugar. I’d prefer to substitute another sweetener, but haven’t come up with an option that adds sweet and bulk at the same time.
Ingredients: Cocoa powder, oil (I use light olive oil), water, pinch of salt, 1/8 tsp vanilla, powdered sugar.
Now, you’ll note that I didn’t give measurements on lots of the ingredients because it all depends on the yield you need. So, here are some ratios, and sequences to follow. This is a good recipe for just eyeing it, and when it looks right, stop.
This icing is rich, and chocolatey, and delicious.
As a general rule, I like to solve problems in life. And as a general rule, these are the only times that I would consider myself to be creative. I get to practice this a lot in my kitchen figuring out recipes and food substitutions for my food sensitive kid. So, in my life, creativity only expresses itself out of some need.
Yesterday, I was forced to be creative in my kitchen for lunch and dinner because 1) I forgot my what my original meal plan was. And 2) Neither backup plans worked either.
Now, this is where most people would pull out a box of Mac & Cheese and call it good. That’s great if you have an easy option like that. But, about the only things I can buy pre-packaged for our food sensitivities are flour tortillas and graham crackers. That doesn’t make for much of a dinner.
So, I had to use what was on hand and make it ready within about 30 minutes. What I came up with is below. Not my best cooking ever, but it was hot, healthy, and homemade, and I’m proud of that. How do you show your creativity in the kitchen?
This was lunch. Flour tortillas, crisped in the oven to be quesadillas, lentils cooked and smashed to substitute for refried beans, leftover Jalepeno lime chicken from the the fridge, topped with homemade herbed ricotta, seasoned toasted pumpkin seeds, my homegrown herb garlic dehydrated cherry tomatoes, and some fresh chopped Jalepenos. It was actually tasty.
See below: Dinner consisted of turning the innards from our carved pumpkin into pumpkin bisque courtesy of our Instant Pot, cooked sausages from the freezer, and cabbage sautés with onion. It made for a good fall combo.
Have you come up with any creative meals lately?
