lotus-lifehttp://lotus-life.postach.io/feed.xml2020-04-30T20:22:49.392000ZWerkzeugButternut Pecan Muffinshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/link/butternut-pecan-muffins2020-04-30T20:22:49.392000Z2020-04-30T17:55:20ZCasey Bauer<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: none; min-width: 1024px; font-size: 15px; width: auto; background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245); transition: all 0.375s ease;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div></div><div>Because of these muffins, I have put another butternut squash on my list for my next grocery foray. They are SO darned tasty, and extra-specially with butter and honey on a cooled muffin. Yum. Props to <a href="https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/butternut-squash-muffins-with-a-frosty-top-recipe-1906606">Jamie Oliver</a> for the inspiration on this one. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-style: italic;">Ingredients</span></div><ul><li><div>1/2 of a large roasted butternut squash*</div></li><li><div>1 cup sugar (or a little more if you like really sweet - I like to ‘save room’ for honey on top)</div></li><li><div>4 large eggs</div></li><li><div>a little bit of vanilla extract</div></li><li><div>1 Tbsp of molasses</div></li><li><div>1/4 tsp salt</div></li><li><div>2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour</div></li><li><div>2 tsp baking powder</div></li><li><div>1 tsp ground cinnamon, and maybe a little nutmeg, and some cardamom</div></li><li><div>approx 3/4 cup chopped pecans (as you like it)</div></li><li><div>3/4 cup melted butter, or extra-virgin olive oil, or combo</div></li></ul><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-style: italic;">Instructions</span></div><ul><li><div>Preheat the oven to 350F. Line your muffin tins with paper cups. </div></li><li><div>In a large bowl, mash up your roasted squash with a fork. </div></li><li><div>Beat in the eggs, and then the sugar, vanilla and molasses. </div></li><li><div>In another bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.</div></li><li><div>Gently mix dry ingredients into wet, adding the butter/oil, and finally the pecans until just combined.</div></li><li><div>Fill your muffin tins and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Check to see whether they done - if the insides are still sticky, put them back in for a little longer. </div></li><li><div>Remove from the oven turn the muffins out to cool on a wire rack. </div></li></ul><div><br /></div><div>*Note: I am presuming here that you have already roasted your squash before you start this recipe. I always wash, cut off the stem top, then slice the long way. Scoop out the seeds and save for later roasting. Roast the two halves on a baking sheet at 350F for about 30-40 minutes - keep an eye on them and take them out when they are starting to get golden. Scrape out the roasted flesh once it has cooled. I like to put 1 1/2 to 2 cups of roasted squash into ziplocks and freeze for later baking (this is a good recipe-sized amount). Then I have it when I want it! Alternatively, you can use a can of squash from the store.</div><div><br /></div>Sweet Potato & Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins - gluten freehttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/sweet-potato-banana-chocolate-chip-muffins-gluten-free2018-10-27T21:10:01.002000Z2018-10-27T19:04:20ZCasey Bauer<div>Moist and tasty! With lots of good food inside. My 7yo has been giving me a hard time about squash, so I’m experimenting with this excellent alternative. I roast my sweet potatoes in advance - peeled, halved the long way, and with a light coat of olive oil. This method certainly will cause some loss of moisture, which you might have to make up for when blending. Keep an eye on the consistency and adjust liquid as needed. Remember that the butter will soften things up as well.</div>
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<div><span style="font-style: italic;">Ingredients</span></div><ul><li><div>1 cup gluten free flour mix (I have been using Arrowhead Mills Heritage Blend)</div></li><li><div>1 cup sorghum flour</div></li><li><div>1 cup buckwheat flour</div></li><li><div>2 T each chia seeds and flaxseeds, ground (coffee/spice mill!)</div></li><li><div>1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds/pepitas, ground (see above)</div></li><li><div>2 t baking soda</div></li><li><div>1 t cream of tartar</div></li><li><div>1/2+ t salt</div></li><li><div>approx 1 t cinnamon</div></li><li><div>approx 1/2 - 3/4 t each nutmeg, coriander and ginger (to your liking)</div></li><li><div>1/2 - 3/4 cup coconut sugar</div></li><li><div>4 eggs</div></li><li><div>1 to 1 1/2 cups peeled, roasted sweet potatoes</div></li><li><div>2 to 3 ripe bananas</div></li><li><div>2 to 2 1/2 cups water (or milk/buttermilk)</div></li><li><div>1 T vanilla extract</div></li><li><div>1-2 T molasses</div></li><li><div>1 stick of butter, melted</div></li><li><div>1/2 cup mini chocolate chips</div></li></ul><div><br /></div>
<div><span style="font-style: italic;">Instructions</span></div><ul><li><div>Preheat oven to 365F</div></li><li><div>Prepare muffin tins (I like the "If You Care" paper muffin liners)</div></li><li><div>Melt butter and set aside</div></li><li><div>In a blender, beat together remaining wet ingredients on low</div></li><li><div>Grind chia and flaxseeds in a coffee mill with a few pulsing whirls, followed by pumpkin seeds</div></li><li><div>Sift/whisk together ground seeds and all other dry ingredients in a large bowl</div></li><li><div>Combine the wet and dry ingredients (don’t over-mix)</div></li><li><div>Allow batter to rest for 5 or so minutes, while the chia and flax soak up excess liquid in the batter</div></li><li><div>Fold in the butter and then chocolate chips</div></li><li><div>Spoon batter into prepared tins (just under 1/2 cup in each)</div></li><li><div>Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean</div></li><li><div>Cool on a rack and eat, or freeze in zip-locks</div></li></ul><div><br /></div>
<div>Makes at least two dozen medium-sized muffins. If you have extra, this batter is great in a greased mini-loaf pan.</div>
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<div>Hint: Allow frozen muffins to thaw at room temp before serving. Pop one in a lunchbox in the morning, and it will be ready for snack-time!</div>
Roasting Pumpkins and other Winter Squash (and seeds!)https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/roasting-pumpkins-and-other-winter-squash-and-seeds2018-10-27T21:10:00.762000Z2017-10-24T13:10:00ZCasey Bauer<div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Have you ever roasted your own pumpkin? How about a butternut squash, a spaghetti squash or a delicata? Roasted winter squash (including pumpkin) is delicious, healthful and versatile. The heat of roasting brings out the natural sugars in the flesh, and creates a soft pulp that can be eaten as is, whipped up with butter, or incorporated into all kinds of recipes. My favorite has to be pancakes, where it adds a creamy texture, flavor, fiber and vitamins—especially valuable in gluten free items.</span></div>
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<div>Roasting your own pumpkin and other winter squash is less expensive than buying canned. It is also not at all difficult, provided you have a good sized, sharp knife of a decent weight. Any winter squash can be handled essentially the same way: rinse the outside, cut in half though the stem end, clean out the insides with a spoon, and roast cut side down on a baking sheet with low sides. I recommend 350F, for 30-40 minutes depending on size and type. Keep an eye on it—when the skin is tanned, the flesh is soft (pierces through the skin easily with a fork), and liquid has started bubbling out from under, your squash is done. Allow them to cool a bit and then flip the halves over. Use a spoon to scoop out the soft flesh. Use it right away, or cool and measure recipe-sized portions (I usually do 1, 1.5 or 2 cups) into ziplocks or other freezer-safe containers, and put in the freezer for later. </div>
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<div>Winter squash seeds can (must!) also be saved and roasted, which is an extra treat. When cleaning them out of the raw squash, I recommend using your fingers to find the seeds and pull them from the tangle of squash innards, set them aside in a bowl, and THEN go back to scrape the stringy bits away from the flesh with a spoon. Pick out the larger bits of strings that may cling to the seeds, but don't sweat it too much. Then add a teaspoon of sea salt and cover with water to soak for an hour or more. After draining, you can allow them to dry a bit, or immediately toss with olive oil and a sprinkling more of salt. Spread the seeds out on a low-sided baking sheet, and place in a pre-heated oven at around 325F for about 10 minutes. Again, keep an eye on them—they are done when they smell and taste lightly toasted, and that transformation happens quickly. If you are not sure, pull one out and give it a nibble. The insides may become scorched before the outsides appear toasted.</div>
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<div>Keep in mind as you carve your Halloween pumpkins that not all pumpkins are for eating. Aside from the question of <i>how</i> your pumpkin was grown (what was in the soil or sprayed on it, that is inside now?), the larger pumpkins we generally prefer for jack-o-lanterns are going to be tough and flavorless. If you want to eat it, go for a sugar pumpkin, which tend to be smaller, or one of the many other pumpkin-like squashes that are sold for eating.</div>
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<div><span style="">There are are some good resources on the web for selecting, storing, preparing and using winter squash and their seeds. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">This article has good advice on selecting squash, but I personally do not recommend bothering with the peeling step that it advocates before cooking: </span><a style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" rev="en_rl_minimal" href="http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-select-prepare-cook-winter-squash/">http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-select-prepare-cook-winter-squash/</a></div>
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Banana-scented Waffles, gluten- and nut-freehttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/banana-scented-waffles-gluten-and-nut-free2017-08-13T18:41:37.574000Z2017-08-13T18:37:31ZCasey Bauer<div>Now nut-free! Great texture- with a little crunch! -and a delicate banana flavor. The little bit of sour cream really gives them an extra satisfying richness, but you can easily leave it out and add in an extra 1/4 cup of water, or milk substitute of your choice. These can also be made as pumpkin waffles through substitution, and tweaking the spices (leave out cardamom, add ginger). </div>
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<div><span style="font-style: italic;">Ingredients</span></div><ul><li>1 cup all purpose gluten free flour blend***</li><li>1 cup buckwheat flour</li><li>1/2 cup sorghum flour</li><li>2 T flax seeds, finely ground</li><li>2 T chia seeds, finely ground</li><li>1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, roughly ground</li><li>2 tsp baking soda</li><li>1 tsp cream of tartar</li><li>1/2 tsp salt</li><li>1 tsp cinnamon</li><li>1/2 tsp nutmeg</li><li>1/2 tsp cardamom</li><li>3 T coconut sugar</li><li>1 T molasses</li><li>1 3/4 to 2 cups water (start with less and check consistency)</li><li>1/2 cup or so sour cream</li><li>2-3 bananas (or 1 - 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree)</li><li>1 tsp vanilla</li><li>6 T melted butter</li><li>4-5 large eggs, separated</li></ul><div><br/></div>
<div><span style="font-style: italic;">Instructions</span></div><ul><li>Pre-heat and grease the waffle iron to medium temp*</li><li>Melt butter and set aside</li><li>Grind chia/flaxseeds in a coffee mill with a few pulsing whirls</li><li>Grind pumpkin seeds in coffee mill to desired texture (doing this step second helps to clean out the flax, which may stick)</li><li><span style="line-height: 1.45;">Sift/whisk dry ingredients together, including sugar</span></li><li>Separate the eggs and set the whites aside</li><li>In a blender, beat together the wet ingredients, including egg <span style="font-style: italic;">yolks</span></li><li>Combine the wet and dry ingredients, adding melted butter last</li><li>If your batter appears too thick, add water a little at a time, to thin (remember the egg whites will loosen things up)</li><li>Beat egg whites until soft peaks form**, then <span style="font-style: italic;">fold gently</span> into the batter (this is where the fluffy-ness comes from)</li><li>Pour 1/2 to 1 cup batter onto hot waffle iron and cook.</li></ul><div><br/></div>
<div>*I find these waffles really need a greased waffle iron, or they stick. I pour a tablespoon of sesame oil into a small dish, and give the iron a quick brush, using a pastry brush, between every 3-4 waffles.</div>
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<div>**Check out this handy <a href="http://foodreference.about.com/od/Tips_Techniques/a/All-About-Whipping-Egg-Whites.htm">egg white whipping reference</a>!</div>
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<div>***I have had good success with Pamela's All-Purpose Flour Artisan Blend, but have recently started using Arrowhead Mills Organic All-Purpose Heritage Blend. My mom is also a big fan of the Namaste brand all-purpose gluten free flour blend.</div>
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, gluten- and nut-freehttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins-gluten-and-nut-free2018-10-27T21:10:00.906000Z2017-08-13T18:18:15ZCasey Bauer<div><span style="line-height: 1.45;">Finally, a food-packed gluten-free AND nut-free muffin. If you grind the pumpkin seeds roughly/incompletely, you get some nice bits of </span>crunch and texture. <span style="line-height: 1.45;">These can also be made as banana chocolate chip muffins, by subbing cardamom for the ginger, using 4 bananas, and </span>leaving<span style="line-height: 1.45;"> out/reducing the pumpkin </span>and<span style="line-height: 1.45;"> applesauce. (</span>You<span style="line-height: 1.45;"> might also want to finely grind the pumpkin seeds in this case.) You can of course leave out the chocolate, but they do help get muffins get into little bellies. Make a big batch, and put them in the freezer for packing in </span>lunch boxes.</div>
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<div><span style="font-style: italic;">Ingredients</span></div><ul><li>2 cup all purpose gluten-free flour mix (I like Arrowhead Mills Organic Heritage Blend, or Pamela’s Artisan Blend)</li><li><span style="line-height: 1.45;">1 cup buckwheat flour</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.45;">2 T chia seeds, finely ground</span></li><li>2 T flax seeds, finely ground</li><li>3/4 cup pumpkin seeds, roughly ground</li><li>2 t baking soda</li><li>1 t cream of tartar</li><li>1/2+ t salt</li><li>3/4 t or more each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger</li><li><span style="line-height: 1.45;">3/4 cup coconut sugar</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.45;">4-5 eggs</span></li><li>1 can/1.5 cups roasted squash or pumpkin</li><li>1-2 ripe bananas</li><li>1/2-1 cup applesauce (depending on number of bananas)</li><li>2 cups water</li><li><span style="line-height: 1.45;">1 T vanilla extract</span></li><li>1 T molasses</li><li>1 stick of butter, melted</li><li>1/2 cup mini chocolate chips</li></ul><div><br/></div>
<div><span style="font-style: italic;">Instructions</span></div><ul><li>Preheat oven to 365F</li><li>Prepare muffin tins</li><li>Melt butter and set aside</li><li>In a blender, beat together remaining wet ingredients on low</li><li>Grind chia/flaxseeds in a coffee mill with a few pulsing whirls</li><li>Grind pumpkin seeds in coffee mill to desired texture (doing this step second helps to clean out the flax, which may stick)</li><li>Sift/whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl</li><li>Combine wet and dry ingredients</li><li>Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes, while chia and flax soak up excess liquid in the batter</li><li>Fold in the butter and then chocolate chips</li><li>Spoon batter into prepared tins</li><li>Bake for around 30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean</li><li>Cool on a rack, and eat, or freeze in zip-locks</li></ul><div><br/></div>
<div>Makes two dozen muffins. If you have extra batter, mini loaf pans are a great solution!</div>
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<div>Hint: Allow frozen muffins to thaw at room temp before serving. Pop one in a lunchbox in the morning, and it will be ready for snack-time!</div>
Gluten Free Banana-scented Waffleshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/gluten-free-banana-scented-waffles2017-02-26T21:24:03.252000Z2017-02-26T21:22:55ZCasey Bauer<div><span>These are my son’s new favorite waffles. They have a lovely texture, and delicate banana flavor. A little bit of sour cream really gives them an extra satisfying richness, but you can easily leave it out and add in an extra 1/4 cup of water, or milk substitute of your choice. These can also be turned into pumpkin waffles through substitution, and tweaking the spices (leave out cardamom, add ginger). As for flour blends, I have had good </span>success with Pamela's All-Purpose Flour Artisan Blend, but have recently started using Arrowhead Mills Organic All-Purpose Heritage Blend. My mom is also a gig fan of the Namaste brand all-purpose gluten free flour blend.</div>
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<div><i>Ingredients</i><br/></div><ul>
<li>3/4 cup all purpose gluten free flour blend </li>
<li>3/4 cup buckwheat flour</li><li>1/2 cup sorghum flour</li>
<li>1/2 cup almond flour</li><li><span>2 tsp baking soda</span><br/></li>
<li>1 tsp cream of tartar</li>
<li>1/2 tsp salt</li>
<li>1 tsp cinnamon</li>
<li>1/2 tsp nutmeg</li><li>1/2 tsp cardamom</li><li>3 T coconut sugar</li><li>1 1/4 cups water</li><li>1/2 cup sour cream (optional- increase water if omitted<span style="line-height: 1.45;">)</span></li><li><span>2-3 bananas (or 1 - 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree)</span></li>
<li><span>1 tsp vanilla</span><br/></li>
<li>6 T melted butter</li>
<li>4-5 large eggs, separated</li></ul><div><br/></div>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div><ul>
<li>Pre-heat and grease the waffle iron to medium temp.*</li>
<li>Melt butter and set aside.</li>
<li>Sift/whisk dry ingredients together, including sugar.</li>
<li>In a blender, beat together the water, sour cream, bananas, vanilla and egg yolks - set the separated whites aside.</li>
<li>Combine the wet and dry ingredients, adding melted butter last.</li>
<li>If your batter appears too thick, add water 2 T at a time, to thin. (Remember the egg whites will loosen things up.)</li>
<li>Beat egg whites until soft peaks form**, then fold gently into the batter. (This is where the fluffy-ness comes from.)</li>
<li>Pour 1/2 to 1 cup batter onto hot waffle iron and cook. </li>
</ul><div><br/></div>
<div>*I find these waffles really need a greased waffle iron, or they stick to the iron. I pour a tablespoon of sesame oil into a small dish, and give the iron a quick brush, using a pastry brush, between every couple of waffles.</div>
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<div>**Check out this handy <a href="http://foodreference.about.com/od/Tips_Techniques/a/All-About-Whipping-Egg-Whites.htm">egg white whipping reference</a>!</div><div/>Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes, with dairy free optionhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/gluten-free-pumpkin-pancakes-with-dairy-free-option2017-02-26T21:23:22.432000Z2017-02-26T21:22:23ZCasey Bauer<div>These have a lot of ingredients, which may be an obstacle, but I have to recommend trying sorghum flour if you have not already. It is inexpensive, healthful and versatile. I also recommend trying your hand at roasting your own pumpkin. Most/all of the dairy is removed from this recipe, and I minimized the amount of “all-purpose" flour, but kept them fluffy and satisfying. I also put in a bit of creamed coconut and flaxseed for extra richness. (If you love dairy, try Gluten Free Pumpkin Buttermilk Pancakes - version 1 or version 2.) See the end for notes on some of these ingredients.</div>
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<div><i>Ingredients</i></div><ul>
<li><font style="font-weight: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-style: normal;">1 cup buckwheat flour</font> </li>
<li>1 cup sorghum flour (if unavailable, sub same amount all-purpose flour)</li>
<li>3/4 cups gluten free all-purpose flour</li>
<li>3/4 cup almond meal/flour</li>
<li>1-2 T flaxseed, ground (optional)</li>
<li>1 1/2 t baking soda</li>
<li>1/2 t or so cream of tartar</li>
<li>1/2 t sea salt</li>
<li>1-2 t each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, coriander*</li>
<li>3 T coconut sugar</li><li>
<font style="font-size: 14px;"><font style="font-weight: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-style: normal;">5 T melted coconut oil or butter</font>
<br/></font></li><li>1 T+ creamed coconut or coconut butter (optional)</li>
<li>1 1/2 to 2 cups roasted pumpkin (or other winter squash)*</li>
<li>2 ripe bananas*</li>
<li>2 1/2 cups water (or buttermilk, or your favorite milk substitute), plus more if needed</li>
<li>3 eggs</li>
<li>1 T vanilla extract</li>
<li>1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)</li>
</ul><div><br/></div>
<div>*Make them banana pancakes by adding two more bananas and some cardamom, and leaving out the ginger and coriander. Mash one or two of the bananas with a fork (not too thoroughly), and put the others in blender, so that there is a bit of banana ’texture’ in evidence. <br/></div>
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<div><i>Instructions</i></div><ul>
<li><font style="font-size: 14px;">Melt coconut oil or butter over low heat. When nearly finished, add <font style="font-weight: normal; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); font-style: normal;">creamed coconut (if using), to soften.</font></font></li><li>In a blender, blend together eggs, pumpkin, bananas, vanilla, and around half of the water (depending on the size of your blender). </li>
<li>In a separate bowl, use a whisk to sift the dry ingredients with spices, sifting the sugar in last.</li>
<li>Heat griddle to medium temperature--around 325F.</li><li>Mix together wet and dry ingredients, including the remaining water. (Add more water if needed to achieve your preferred pancake consistency.)</li>
<li>Fold in the melted coconut oil or butter, and chocolate chips (if using). </li>
<li>Cook pancakes on medium heat until bubbles form and break, and the edges (and even the tops) are dry. Then flip and cook until golden on the other side.</li>
<li>Serve immediately, or cool/dry on a rack before freezing. They will keep a lovely moist interior, and freeze/toast up fabulously.</li>
</ul><div><br/></div>
<div><i>Notes on ingredients</i></div><ul>
<li>Sorghum flour—an "ancient grain"—is inexpensive, healthful and versatile. It is one of the more nutritionally valuable gluten free grains, with higher fiber and protein than rice flours. It has a light color and mild flavor, and is an excellent addition to gluten free flour mixes.</li><li>There are a growing number of gluten free all-purpose flour blends available at stores and online, or you can blend your own pretty easily, if you really get into it. <span>I have had good </span>success with Pamela's All-Purpose Flour Artisan Blend, but have recently started using Arrowhead Mills Organic All-Purpose Heritage Blend, and have been very happy with it in pancakes and waffles—the results are a little bit heavier due to the large proportion of sorghum flour. My mom is also a gig fan of the Namaste brand all-purpose gluten free flour blend. Both Arrowhead and Namaste blends have the benefit of being free of potato starch, which is important if you are avoiding nightshades.</li>
<li>Flaxseeds have many great health benefits. If you have an electric coffee/spice mill, buy your flaxseeds whole and they will keep much longer—particularly in the fridge. Just measure out what you need for a recipe, and give them a few pulsing whirls in the mill before adding them to your mixture.</li><li>Roasting your own pumpkin and other winter squash is less expensive than buying canned, and not at all difficult, provided you have a large, sharp knife of a decent weight. Any winter squash can be handled essentially the same way—rinse the outside, break or slice off stem and then cut in half though the stem end, clean out the insides with a spoon, and roast on a baking sheet with low sides until soft—and the seeds can also be saved and roasted, which is an extra treat. </li>
<li>I like the “Let’s do…Organic" coconut cream. It comes in a little pouch, which you massage smooth, and then cut open to squeeze out. I use what I need, and put the rest in a glass container in the fridge. Then I can take it out to warm up on the counter or place the container in warm water to soften before using, or drop a chunk into the melting butter. I prefer adding the coconut cream and using water, because commercially prepared coconut milk and other nut milks have many extra ingredients of dubious value, several of which are corn-derived.</li>
</ul><div><br/></div>
Gluten Free Waffles using All-Purpose Flourhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/gluten-free-waffles-using-all-purpose-flour2017-02-26T21:19:29.134000Z2017-02-26T21:17:00ZCasey Bauer<div>I have been making this recipe more than my <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/post/fluffy-crispy-gluten-free-sour-cream-waffles">other</a> one, which uses Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix. I like using fresh buttermilk, instead of the dried buttermilk already in the other mix, and the Artisan Blend flour is also less expensive. I am still working with the recipe, so I will make updates here as needed. So far, I find the batter to be a bit thick, and the results to be heavier than my other version. They are still very nice, however.</div>
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<div><i>Ingredients</i></div><ul>
<li>1 1/3 cups Pamela's All-Purpose Flour Artisan Blend*</li>
<li>1/2 cup buckwheat flour*</li>
<li>1/2 cup almond meal/flour*</li>
<li>2 tsp baking soda</li>
<li>1 tsp cream of tartar</li>
<li>1/2 tsp salt</li>
<li>1 tsp cinnamon</li>
<li>1/2 tsp nutmeg</li><li>1 1/3 cup cultured buttermilk or water</li>
<li>1 cup sour cream</li>
<li>2-3 T coconut sugar</li>
<li>1 tsp vanilla</li>
<li>6 T melted butter</li>
<li>4-5 large eggs, separated</li></ul><div>*I have also been tweaking the flour mix, and using 3/4 cup each all-purpose and buckwheat flours, and 1/2 cup each of sorghum and almond flour. The results are a little heavier, but with more nutritional value.</div>
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<div><i>Instructions</i></div><ul>
<li>Pre-heat waffle iron to medium temp.</li>
<li>Melt butter and set aside.</li>
<li>Sift/whisk dry ingredients together.</li>
<li>In separate bowl, beat together the buttermilk, sugar, sour cream, vanilla and egg yolks.</li>
<li>Combine the wet and dry ingredients, adding melted butter last.</li>
<li>If your batter appears too thick, add water or buttermilk 2 T at a time, to thin. (Remember the egg whites will loosen things up.)</li>
<li>Beat egg whites until soft peaks form*, then fold gently into the batter. (This is where the fluffy-ness comes from.)</li>
<li>Pour 1/2 to 1 cup batter onto hot waffle iron and cook. </li>
</ul><div><br/></div></div><div>*Check out this handy <a href="http://foodreference.about.com/od/Tips_Techniques/a/All-About-Whipping-Egg-Whites.htm">egg white whipping reference</a>!</div><div/>Ugh. The flu.https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/ugh-the-flu2017-01-17T18:09:48.273000Z2017-01-17T00:46:00ZCasey Bauer<div>Well, darn it. We have the flu in my house. (Or at least, flu-like symptoms.) Apparently it is on the march through my community, and across the country - it is Flu Season! I am fervently praying that I do not succumb, while also preparing in case I do. Here is what I am doing. These same strategies work for colds, as well.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>For the still healthy:</div>
<div><ul><li><span>Rest</span><br/></li><li><span>Chicken soup/bone broth</span><br/></li><li><span>Herbal tea</span><br/></li><li><span>Homemade ginger-</span><span>lemon tea with honey</span><br/></li><li><span>Avoid caffeine, alcohol, extra sugar, dairy</span><br/></li><li><span>Eat plenty of veggies and fruits</span><br/></li><li><span>Immune support supplement</span><br/></li><li>Sinus rinsing, such as with a Neti pot</li></ul></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>For the sick:</div>
<div><ul><li><span>All of the above, plus…</span><br/></li><li><span>Lots of water, frequently, in small amounts</span></li><li><span>Raw honey, by the spoon</span></li><li><span>Fenugreek tea</span></li><li><span>Homeopathic flu remedies</span><br/></li><li><span>Homeopathic sinus/cold remedies</span></li></ul></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I am also making extra food and putting it in the fridge and freezer, just in case, because it is impossible to cook when you are lying on the floor. Use some care washing bedding when the sick one(s) are getting better. There will be lots of germs all over it. Make sure the recovering person takes a nice hot bath or two, and continues to get plenty of rest and tea and broth, and any other immune supports you are using. The flu virus can continue to live in/on the infected person for several days after they feel better—especially in the nose. If a hot bath is not happening, try heating some water, creating a little tent over your head with a towel, and breathing in the steam.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Chicken soup/bone broth</i></div>
<div>It is at these times that I am so thankful that I make, portion out and freeze large batches of <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/post/making-chicken-bone-broth">bone broth</a>. If you need to start from scratch, pick up a whole/bone-in chicken and either simmer, braise or roast the thing, pick off the meat, and then continue to simmer/slow cook the bones and ALL other non-meat bits in enough water to cover them, for up to two days (<a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/post/making-chicken-bone-broth">instructions here</a>). You can freeze some of the broth for later, and combine the rest with your left-over chicken and some fresh veggies, ginger and garlic. Cook the soup until the veggies are soft. You now have what may be the only thing your poor sick person will need—or be able—to eat for several days. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Homemade ginger-lemon tea with honey</i></div>
<div>Cut a few thin slices of fresh ginger into a small pot and add water for the tea. Heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes (make sure it doesn’t run out of water). Use it now for tea, and/or let it sit and steep as long as overnight. Stir in a little fresh squeezed lemon and (once it has cooled a bit) raw honey, and drink while warm. Ginger is good for soothing nausea and body aches, and is a good immune system support, as are honey and lemon.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Immune support supplements</i></div>
<div>I am fortunate to have a Whole Foods nearby, but there are plenty of options available online. I picked up some Source Naturals' “Herbal Resistance", which has a blend of pretty much every immune supporting herb I’ve ever heard of, and then some. (Plus it was on sale.) But there were plenty of other choices, including a simple echinacea and goldenseal tincture, and of course good old vitamin C (with bioflavonoids). </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Raw honey</i></div>
<div>Pediatricians have recently increased the recommended age for introducing honey to little ones, from one year, to two years, due to concerns regarding a bacteria that can live in the honey and overwhelm a baby’s immune system. For older children and adults, however, raw honey is an excellent support to the immune system, has anti-bacterial properties of its own, and many uses. It is particularly soothing for a cough, and I often give/take it before bed for nighttime coughing, right off the spoon. When you stir it into a tea, be sure the tea has cooled enough that your raw honey will not be cooked, or you will loose a good deal of its benefit.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Fenugreek tea</i></div>
<div>This is a very old remedy for congestion. Fenugreek (methi) seeds are a common component in Indian cuisine, and may be found in Indian groceries, the “ethnic" section of regular grocery stores, or online. The <a href="http://livestrong.com">livestrong.com</a> site has the most straightforward directions I found, <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/340430-use-of-fenugreek-for-colds/">here</a>. You can boil and steep the seeds in water for a quick version, but the more potent—and, incidentally, less strong tasting—version is to soak the seeds in water for 8 hours or so, and then either drink the strained liquid as is, or warm it and add honey to drink as a tea. Either way, this is a very effective remedy for reducing mucus production. I recommend setting it up to soak before bed for taking the next morning, and in the morning (or mid-day) for taking before bed. Because fenugreek has many other medicinal uses, take care and do some research before using it for long stretches. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Sinus rinsing</i></div>
<div>In addition to washing out some of what’s clogging up your head, sinus rinsing can wash out a lot of the germs that are trying to build communities in your nose and sinus passages. Most people use either a Neti pot, or a special squeeze bottle. I personally prefer the Neti pot—a gentle rinse, as compared to the more aggressive cleanse possible with the squeeze bottle. It takes some practice, but once you figure out the right angle to tilt your head, it is not difficult at all, and it will definitely make you feel better. Use distilled or filtered and boiled water, to make sure you are not introducing something else nasty to your insides, warm it to just above body temperature (it should feel warm, not hot) and add the directed amount of the extremely fine salt that is sold for this purpose. This is an excellent way to start the day and end it, particularly when you feel stuffy or sticky, and determined use can keep you from being pulled under by a cold.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Homeopathic remedies</i></div>
<div>I am a big fan of the Boiron line of homeopathic remedies, including their flu remedy, and their Coldcalm, which are both compound remedies (several active ingredients). I also like their individual ingredient remedies—particularly the one for post-nasal drip. Hyland’s is another reputable brand. If you follow the dosing instructions, I find they are quite effective, and have no side effects—unlike Nyquil and such. Amazon and Vitacost are good places to look if you don’t have a well-stocked natural grocer nearby.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Good luck, and don’t forget to wash your hands, get plenty of fluids, and sleep.</div>
<div><br/></div>
A full embrace of integrated pest managementhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/a-full-embrace-of-integrated-pest-management2016-09-18T13:13:19.996000Z2016-09-11T23:31:40ZCasey Bauer<div>Here I am, a year later, battling another round of pantry moths. <span style="-evernote-sentoj-emoticon:true">😔</span> I tried not to let it overwhelm me. Yes, it is a big job, but just break it down into chunks, and try to be mindful and present for each one. It could be like a meditation! </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Sure, ok. But what a lot of work! I did manage to get through the emptying, vacuuming, washing and vinegar-rinsing of the food-containing cabinets, as well as the inspection, cleaning and sometimes disposal of all of the food, and the re-stocking and organizing of all of the food-containing cabinets, all in one day. I now have clean and pretty cabinets, but frustratingly found NOTHING in the way of moth evidence. And as soon as I wrapped up the project, what did I see? A fluttering moth. (Killed it.)</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>In the midst of this, while I was scrubbing and trying hard to channel my despair, my 2nd-grader said, “Mom, why don’t we look on the computer to see if there are any natural predators of the moths?" I’m thinking, “surely not," but I let her lead me to the desk where I typed in “pantry moth natural predator." Hey, guess what? THERE ARE!!! Yes!!! And many thanks to her 1st-grade teacher Ms. Maguire for putting this idea in her head.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Oh, sweet relief. I now have my pantry moth traps in each of the “pantry" cabinets for monitoring, and my order is in to Planet Natural for a <a href="https://www.planetnatural.com/product/trichogramma-wasps/">3-pack of Trichogramma Wasp pupae</a>. I can’t wait until they get here. You may be alarmed at this, but these are not the sort of “wasps" you are probably thinking of. They DO NOT sting or harm humans or pets. Apparently, they are really tiny little things, hard actually to see, and they kill moths by laying their own eggs into the moth eggs, killing the moth pupae. As long as these marvelous little wasps find moth eggs to eat, they grow their colony. Once the moth population has been wiped out, the wasps die off (no more food). Total bonus? They go after clothes moths, too, and I have had problems with those suckers as well. Here is a great blog post from someone who has already had success with this: "<a href="http://random-education-monkey.blogspot.com/2014/06/first-blog-first-post-here-goes-nothing.html">Trichogramma Wasps: How to Get Rid of Pantry Moths Easily and Cheaply</a>". And here is a <a href="http://www.mottenshop.eu/english/what-to-do-about-moths/biological-approach-without-poison/">German site</a> that has some great information (in English) about these awesome little “beneficial insects".</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I think it’s funny that I did not think of this before, since I had already learned to make peace with the spiders and house centipedes who keep the ants and silverfish under control. I was having a bit of a problem with the silverfish, in particular (they gross me out), but I really have had no problems since I started leaving the centipedes alone. I even made my husband rescue one from the sink once, when it was stuck there. (Quick! Scurry away where I can’t see you!)</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Now I think I have made a full embrace of integrated pest management, and the next time I have a pest problem, you can bet (or at least, I hope) this will be my first thought: “What would like to eat this pest?" I think I need a fox or a coyote for those pesky chipmunks.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Follow-up note:</b> I received my little containers with the wasp eggs. They are SO TINY! I noticed a few had hatched after a day or so, and all I could see was some teeny-tiny little dark-gray spots moving around on the edge of the container. You would need good eyes and a magnifying glass to make out anything about these creatures. They won’t have any trouble getting into tight places to find and destroy all of the moth eggs! </div>
Rustic Sourdough Noodleshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/rustic-sourdough-noodles2016-07-31T17:03:03.401000Z2016-07-31T17:01:35ZCasey Bauer<div>This delicious noodle recipe is from the <a href="http://www.culturesforhealth.com/rustic-sourdough-noodles-recipe">Cultures for Health site</a>, though the same recipe is also on <a href="http://nourishedkitchen.com/rustic-sourdough-noodles/">The Nourished Kitchen site</a>, and that one has lots of helpful comments. These noodles are thick, chewy, and delicious, plus they are another great way to use your never-ending sourdough starter. If you prefer your noodles less ‘rustic', feel free to use a pasta machine.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>This recipe requires an 8 hour or overnight proof, so I recommend putting it together the night before you want to eat them. You can also freeze portions of the prepared dough, or freeze the finished (uncooked) noodles, for later near-instant gratification. You should get enough dough for 2-3 meals for a family of four, depending on your appetite and how thinly you roll the dough. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>1 cup sourdough starter</li>
<li>3 cups whole-grain flour</li>
<li>6 egg yolks*</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Preparing the dough</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Pour the sourdough starter into a mixing bowl.</li>
<li>Beat the yolks into the starter. (*If you find you need a bit more moisture, you can add one of your egg whites.)</li>
<li>Add 2 cups of the flour to the mixture, and work it in using clean hands.</li>
<li>Add the rest of the flour a little at a time, working the dough thoroughly with folding and pressing motions, until you can work no more in. (You may not use it all.)</li>
<li>Form a dough ball and let it sit at room temperature to proof, covered so it does not dry out too much, for 8 hours or overnight.</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Making the noodles</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Once the dough has proofed for at least 8 hours, place the dough ball on counter.</li>
<li>Separate the dough into portions. </li>
<li>At this point, you have the option to freeze tightly wrapped portions of the dough. To use the frozen dough, allow it to come to room temperature before continuing.</li>
<li>If you have a pasta roller/pasta maker, you can roll or press out portions of your dough and then feed it through your machine.</li>
<li>If you do not have such a machine, you are about to get in a little workout with your rolling pin: Separate the dough into manageable portions and roll it out until it is very thin. (It will puff a bit when you cook it.)</li>
<li>Optionally, trim the edges to make a rectangle.</li>
<li>Slice the noodles into any shape you like—a pasta maker, pizza cutter, pastry cutter, or sharp knife can all work here.</li>
<li>You now have the options to leave the noodles on the counter or hang to dry before boiling, or boil them immediately for 2-3 minutes, or freeze them for later cooking.</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Notes</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Some flours are thirstier than others, and may require extra moisture. If it seems necessary, you can add an egg white, and/or a small amount of water (try 1 T at a time).</li>
<li>Rolling out the dough can be very hard work, but the noodles are so excellent it is worth it. If you really enjoy homemade pasta, I will tell you that the addition of a pasta maker to my kitchen has rocked my world.</li>
<li>The left over egg whites can be frozen, and can later turned into some very tasty coconut macaroons.</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
Oatmeal pumpkin chocolate chip muffinshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/oatmeal-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins2016-07-18T22:58:52.704000Z2016-07-18T22:46:55ZCasey Bauer<div>Here is another great gluten-free muffin for loading up the freezer! I have packed these about as full of food as I can manage, minimizing the amount of rice-based flour mix (which I do not, personally, consider ‘food’).</div>
<div><i><br/></i></div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>1 1/2 cups Pamela’s Artisan Blend flour mix</li>
<li>3/4 cup gluten free oats, roughly chopped in spice grinder or blender</li>
<li>3/4 cup buckwheat flour</li>
<li>3/4 cup almond or hazelnut meal</li>
<li>2 T chia seeds</li>
<li>2 t baking soda</li>
<li>1 t cream of tartar</li>
<li>1/2+ t salt</li>
<li>1 1/2 t cinnamon</li>
<li>3/4 t nutmeg</li>
<li>1 t coriander</li>
<li>1/2 cup unsweetened, finely shredded coconut</li>
<li>3/4 cup coconut sugar</li>
<li>4 eggs</li>
<li>1 1/4 cups squash or pumpkin*</li>
<li>3 ripe bananas*</li>
<li>1 1/2 cups cultured buttermilk</li>
<li>1 T vanilla extract</li>
<li>1 T molasses</li>
<li>1 stick of butter, melted</li>
<li>1/3 cup mini chocolate chips</li>
</ul>
<div>*you can opt to use more squash/pumpkin, and less banana, as you like</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Preheat oven to 365F</li>
<li>Prepare muffin tins</li>
<li>Melt butter and set aside</li>
<li>In a blender, beat together remaining wet ingredients on low</li>
<li>Sift/whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl - first without shredded coconut and coconut sugar, then with</li>
<li>Combine wet and dry ingredients</li>
<li>Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes, while chia and oats soak up excess liquid in the batter</li>
<li>Fold in the butter and then chocolate chips</li>
<li>Spoon batter into prepared tins (just under 1/2 cup in each)</li>
<li>Bake for around 30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean</li>
<li>Cool on a rack and eat, or freeze in zip-locks</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Makes two dozen muffins.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Hint: Allow frozen muffins to thaw at room temp before serving. Pop one in a lunchbox in the morning, and it will be ready for snack-time!</div>
Sprouted Buckwheat Granola (raw)https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/sprouted-buckwheat-granola-raw2016-08-01T12:09:32.087000Z2016-06-27T16:28:44ZCasey Bauer<div>I love this granola. It is delicious, nutrient-packed, grain-free, and makes a great snack or breakfast. It is a fair bit of work, but I have found that sprouting and dehydrating the ingredients in large batches, one at a time, makes it more manageable. Then I have everything on hand to whip up a batch without a lot of preparation. The quantities below are approximate, and would probably fit easily in a four-tray Excalibur dehydrator, if that helps. I have a five-tray unit, and could fit a bit more if I wished. Once dehydrated, the granola should be kept in sealed containers (to keep out ambient moisture) either at room temp, or for longer periods, in the fridge. It can also be frozen (zip-locks are great for this).</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Pre-processed ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>2 cups raw hulled buckwheat groats - soaked, sprouted and dried</li>
<li>3/4 cup raw unhulled sesame seeds - soaked, sprouted and dried</li>
<li>3/4 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds - soaked, sprouted and dried</li>
<li>3/4 cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds- soaked, sprouted and dried</li>
<li>1 1/2 cups raw pecans - soaked and dried</li>
<li>1 1/2 cups raw whole cashews - soaked and dried</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Remaining ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>1 cup (packed) of dried fruit (I like a combo: chopped dates, raisins, cherries, cranberries, currants, chopped apricots)</li>
<li>1/4 - 1/2 cup applesauce, or 1 small apple, peeled, cored and puréed</li>
<li>3 T coconut oil</li>
<li>3 T raw honey</li>
<li>1 T vanilla extract</li>
<li>1/4 t salt</li>
<li>1/4 - 1/3 cup warm water</li>
<li>spices to taste (I like a tsp or so of cinnamon, plus a little nutmeg, coriander, ginger, and cardamom)</li>
<li>optional: 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked and/or shredded coconut (to be combined with dry ingredients)</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Sprouting/soaking directions:</b></div>
<ul>
<li>Rinse <b>buckwheat</b> groats well and then soak (with sea salt - see below) for 6 hours. Drain and place in a sprouting jar or fine strainer covered by a tea towel. Rinse 2-3 times a day for 2 days.</li>
<li>Set up <b>sesame</b> seeds in a sprouting jar as well, soak for 8 hours, and then rinse 3-4 times a day for approximately 1.5-2 days, or until little white tails just barely start to show.</li>
<li>After the groats and sesame seeds have had 1 day to sprout, begin soaking the <b>sunflower</b> seeds for 8 hours. Skim off seed skins (to the degree possible) at end of soak period, when rinsing, then rinse/sprout for up to 1 day. Caution: do not sprout sunflower seeds longer than 24 hours. They are sprouted as soon as the pointy end extends slightly, 1/16".</li>
<li><b>Pumpkin</b> seeds should be rinsed and soaked 8-12 hours, then set up to sprout for 2-3 days, rinsing regularly each day.</li>
<li><b>Pecans</b> should soak for 6 hours. <b>Cashews</b> should soak for 2-4 hours. They will not sprout.</li>
</ul>
<div>All nuts and seeds can be soaked/sprouted in advance and then dehydrated, in preparation for making granola. Dehydrated ingredients can then be incorporated as indicated below. This will significantly reduce the time required to produce the granola.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Making the granola:</b></div>
<ul>
<li>Pack dried fruit into a small glass measuring cup or other container.</li>
<li>Cover dried fruit in 1/4 to 1/3 cup warm water, and soak for around 20 minutes.</li>
<li>Combine soaked fruit with applesauce, honey, vanilla, warm coconut oil and spices.</li>
<li>Combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.</li>
<li>Stir wet ingredients into dry until thoroughly combined.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div><i>If using a dehydrator</i>: Spread mixture on lined trays and place in dehydrator. Dehydrate at 115F degrees for approximately 2-6 hours, depending on dampness of mixture.</div>
</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>If using an oven</i>: Spread the granola thinly and evenly onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Place in the oven on its lowest temperature, in convection mode, if you have it. Dehydrate for 4-8 hours (depending on oven temp and dampness of mixture). Note that the ideal temp for dehydration of raw foods is 115F degrees or less. Anything over 140F will definitely not be raw anymore, though still very tasty and full of good stuff. By monitoring the temperature and turning the oven on and off over the drying period, you may be able to ensure that it does not get too hot.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Break the mostly dry mixture up into clumps and dehydrate further, until completely dry. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Once dry, let cool and then store in a airtight container, in fridge or pantry.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>For more on soaking and sprouting nuts, seeds, grains and beans, see this <a href="http://www.vegetariantimes.com/blog/how-to-soak-and-sprout-nuts-seeds-grains-and-beans/">article on the Vegetarian Times website by Tess Masters</a>.</b></div>
16 minutes of famehttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/16-minutes-of-fame2016-06-05T16:13:07.547000Z2016-06-05T16:01:27ZCasey Bauer<div>Hey, I got to be on TV! <span style="-evernote-sentoj-emoticon:true">😃</span></div>
<div>Many thanks to my friend Mel Carden, of <a href="http://www.eatforgoodnesssake.com/chef-mel.html">For Goodness Sake Foods</a>, for inviting me onto her local access cable show, “Ate minutes with Chef Mel", on Win-CAM. If you want to check out either of the two 8-minute segments, she has me talking about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QguvQTKuiTU">Sourdough</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QguvQTKuiTU">Bone Broth</a>.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>For more on either topic, click on the <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/tag/broth">broth</a> tag here on my blog, or the <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/tag/sourdough">sourdough</a> tag.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Thanks!</div>
<div>Casey</div>
Gluten Free Pumpkin Buttermilk Pancakes - version 2https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/gluten-free-pumpkin-buttermilk-pancakes-version-22016-07-18T22:54:16.111000Z2016-06-05T14:28:00ZCasey Bauer
<div>
<div>I have found that Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix is quite a bit more expensive than Pamela’s Artisan Blend all-purpose flour. I also would rather not cook with powdered buttermilk, since the process used to dry and powder milk products is very hard on the food itself. Here is another approach to my Gluten Free Pumpkin Buttermilk Pancakes using Pamela’s Artisan Blend flour, almond meal, and buckwheat. These yummy pancakes are a huge hit with my kids and my non-GF husband. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><font color="#942192">UPDATED! Now with more almond meal and buckwheat, and less of the rice-based all-purpose flour. These are yummy, fuel- and nutrient-dense pancakes. Perfect for grabbing out of the freezer for a quick breakfast!</font></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>2 cups Pamela’s Artisan Blend all-purpose flour</li>
<li>1/2 to 3/4 cup almond meal/flour</li>
<li>1/2 to 3/4 cup buckwheat flour</li>
<li>1 1/2 t baking soda</li>
<li>1/2 t or so cream of tartar</li>
<li>1/2 t sea salt</li>
<li>1-2 t each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, coriander</li>
<li>1 -2 cups roasted pumpkin</li>
<li>1 banana, mashed (optional)</li>
<li>2 1/2 cups buttermilk</li>
<li>1 cup water, plus more as needed</li>
<li>3 eggs</li>
<li>3 T coconut sugar</li>
<li>1 T vanilla extract</li>
<li>5 T melted coconut oil/butter*</li>
<li>1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
<ul>
<li>In a bowl (or blender), beat together eggs and pumpkin, then sugar, buttermilk and finally melted oil/butter.**</li>
<li>In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients with spices.</li>
<li>Mix together wet and dry until thoroughly combined.</li>
<li>Add additional water as needed to achieve your preferred pancake consistency.</li>
<li>Cook pancakes on medium heat until bubbles form and break, and the edges (and even the tops) are dry. Then flip and cook until golden on the other side.</li>
<li>Serve immediately, or cool/dry on a rack before freezing. They will keep a lovely moist interior, and freeze/toast up fabulously.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>*If you use a combination of butter and coconut oil, be careful if you melt them together - don’t put them in the microwave together, or the coconut oil may boil up through the butter and explode!</div>
<div>**Using a blender, I blend up the eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin, vanilla and a banana on low, until smooth. To the sifted dry ingredients, I whisk in the sugar, then add the wet ingredients from the blender. Stir until combined, adding additional water if needed, then fold in the melted butter.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Note: If you want to make these without the buttermilk, try substituting milk or a milk substitute for the buttermilk, and leaving out the water until you get to the final mixing stage. Then add only as much water (or more milk) as you need to get your preferred consistency.</div>
Corn, corn, everywhere!!!https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/corn-corn-everywhere2016-03-05T15:41:38.247000Z2016-01-13T18:43:38ZCasey Bauer<div>When I first started eliminating corn from my kids’ diets, to help solve their persistent health issues, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. I figured I had already done most of the work by focusing on whole, fresh, home-cooked foods and cutting out most of the “processed stuff". I thought, “This isn’t so bad. I would rather they did not eat that processed junk anyway." And then, I really dug deep, and found out I was in trouble.</div>
<div><b><br/></b></div>
<div><b>Corn is practically free! So of course it gets used EVERYWHERE to cut production costs.</b></div>
<div><b><br/></b></div>
<div>And I mean: everywhere. Don’t forget that <i>we taxpayers have agreed for decades to send Billions of our tax dollars</i> to support “farmers" via agricultural subsidies. Ha. Please don’t kid yourself that we are actually supporting people who valiantly farm the earth in order to feed the rest of us. Anyone that you might think of as a “farmer" (person) is getting squeezed from every angle by behemoth corporate/industrial agriculture, with the help of ready and willing policy-makers.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>According to <a href="http://www.cheatsheet.com/business/3-disheartening-truths-about-americas-commodity-crops.html/?a=viewall">this 2015 article</a>, referring to <a href="http://farm.ewg.org/region.php?fips=00000&progcode=total">research of the Environmental Working Group</a>, "corn farmers account for the majority of [agricultural] subsidies. In the last 15 years, U.S. taxpayers have paid corn farmers more than $77 billion dollars, and 10% of America’s farmers collect more than 75% of the subsidies." The same article, quoting <a href="http://www.foodsafetynews.com/files/2011/09/Apples-to-Twinkies-USPIRG.pdf">research by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group</a>, advises that "$17 billion of the total $260 billion the government spent subsidizing agriculture went to just four common food additives: Corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, and soy oils. By comparison, the government spent $261 million subsidizing apples, and even less subsidizing healthy vegetables such as spinach or broccoli."</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>And since “farmers" are paid to grow corn, as a commodity it is practically free! Hey, check out this cool free stuff that keeps getting pumped into the marketplace! What can we do with it? Well, we can modify it in so many ways, and substitute it for all kinds of real food ingredients, we can feed it to all the animals, and even make plastic food packaging out of it, and personal care and cleaning products, and we can use it in so many unreported ways in the processing of food, medicine and personal care products! The sky’s the limit!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Worried about eating GMOs? Allergic or sensitive to corn? Good luck. </b></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Pretty much all corn is GMO, at this point. If you see “Organic" or “Non-GMO" corn on a label, that is basically impossible except by legislative and marketing magic. And under hundreds of different names, corn is now hiding in what seems like almost every “food" and other product known to the American marketplace. Avoiding it is really hard!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Corn is not one of the 8 top allergens required to be listed on labels—and you can bet that it never will be, <i>as long as current practices do not face widespread challenge</i>. So, you have to do your own research to find out whether a particular ingredient in a particular product is corn-derived. Sometimes, you can find out from a manufacturers website, or from a list someone else has made (see below), but other times you have to contact the company. This is a good idea, since formulations change all the time. Plus, <i>it tells them that people are concerned and want to know about this.</i></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you are very sensitive or allergic, you should know that in addition to listed ingredients, the wax spray used to make fruits and veggies look shiny may contain corn, as can pesiticides (even “organic" ones), and the gas used to ripen produce, and other treatments used to keep it looking fresh. Production lines are often cleaned with corn starch and other corn-based or corn-containing products. Meats are washed with [generally] corn-derived citric acid before packaging. And the packaging itself is more and more frequently made from corn-based plastic.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>What can YOU do?</b></div>
<ul>
<li>Check your labels and <i>contact manufacturers</i>.</li>
<li>Seek out and purchase local, small-scale, and whole or minimally-processed foods. (Farmers markets and CSAs are a good bet - at least you can meet the farmers and ask questions!)</li>
<li>Support GMO and other <i>food labeling laws</i> that empower consumers to know what is in their food and where it came from.</li>
<li>Remark to friends and in public forums on the omni-presence of taxpayer-subsidized GMO corn in the American economy.</li>
<li><i>Complain to your policy-makers and vote against agricultural subsidies and laws protecting industrial agriculture</i>, which distort the market and—like so much legislation—have produced some really disturbing consequences.</li>
</ul>
<div>If you read this and feel overwhelmed, please remember that <b>informing yourself, perhaps getting pissed off about it, and then mentioning it to others, is a worthwhile and important process</b>. And if you find yourself with an opportunity to speak out in a civic forum, do it! Yeah for you!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Likely and certain corn-based ingredients</b></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Aside from ingredients with “corn" actually in their name (corn starch, corn syrup, corn meal, etc.), the following are almost certain to be made from or contain corn:</div>
<ul>
<li>Food starch</li>
<li>Modified food starch</li>
<li>Vegetable oil</li>
<li>Vinegar</li>
<li>White vinegar</li>
<li>Baking powder</li>
<li>Confectioners sugar</li>
<li>Powdered sugar</li>
</ul>
<div>Following are some other very common ingredients that are relatively likely to be made from or contain corn:</div>
<ul>
<li>Alcohol</li>
<li>Acetic acid</li>
<li>Ascorbic acid</li>
<li>Calcium citrate</li>
<li>Citric acid</li>
<li>Dextrin</li>
<li>Dextrose</li>
<li>Fructose</li>
<li>Fruit juice concentrate</li>
<li>Glucose</li>
<li>Glutamate</li>
<li>Hydrolyzed vegetable protein</li>
<li>Lecithin</li>
<li>Linoleic acid</li>
<li>Magnesium citrate</li>
<li>Magnesium stearate</li>
<li>Maltodextrin</li>
<li>Natural flavors/flavorings</li>
<li>Sodium citrate</li>
<li>Sorbate</li>
<li>Sorbic acid</li>
<li>Spices</li>
<li>Starch</li>
<li>Stearic acid</li>
<li>Sucrose</li>
<li>Sugar (source not identified)</li>
<li>Vanilla (corn alcohol used in extraction)</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div>A few individuals with a lot at stake (a life-threatening allergy to corn, for example) have put in an enormous amount of time and effort to research and record the use of corn in food, medicinal, personal and household products, for the benefit of those who are allergic or sensitive. I owe them a debt of gratitude for the information above, as well as for the list below, which is a non-exhaustive list of other ingredients that could be made from or contain corn. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Potentially corn-based ingredients (not exhaustive)</b></div>
<ul>
<li>Acetic acid</li>
<li>Alcohol</li>
<li>Alpha tocopherol</li>
<li>Artificial flavorings</li>
<li>Artificial sweeteners</li>
<li>Ascorbates</li>
<li>Ascorbic acid</li>
<li>Aspartame (Artificial sweetener)</li>
<li>Astaxanthin</li>
<li>Baking powder</li>
<li>Barley malt</li>
<li>Bleached flour</li>
<li>Blended sugar</li>
<li>Brown sugar (typically the caramel color)</li>
<li>Calcium citrate</li>
<li>Calcium fumarate</li>
<li>Calcium gluconate</li>
<li>Calcium lactate</li>
<li>Calcium magnesium acetate (CMA)</li>
<li>Calcium stearate</li>
<li>Calcium stearoyl lactylate</li>
<li>Caramel and caramel color</li>
<li>Carbonmethylcellulose sodium</li>
<li>Cellulose microcrystalline</li>
<li>Cellulose, methyl</li>
<li>Cellulose, powdered</li>
<li>Cetearyl glucoside</li>
<li>Choline chloride</li>
<li>Citric acid</li>
<li>Citrus cloud emulsion (CCS)</li>
<li>Coco glycerides (cocoglycerides)</li>
<li>Confectioners sugar</li>
<li>Crosscarmellose sodium</li>
<li>Crystalline dextrose</li>
<li>Crystalline fructose</li>
<li>Cyclodextrin DATUM (a dough conditioner)</li>
<li>Decyl glucoside</li>
<li>Decyl polyglucose</li>
<li>Dextrin</li>
<li>Dextrose (also found in IV solutions)</li>
<li>Dextrose anything (such as monohydrate or anhydrous)</li>
<li>d-Gluconic acid</li>
<li>Distilled white vinegar</li>
<li>Drying agent</li>
<li>Erythorbic acid</li>
<li>Erythritol</li>
<li>Ethanol</li>
<li>Ethocel 20</li>
<li>Ethylcellulose</li>
<li>Ethylene</li>
<li>Ethyl acetate</li>
<li>Ethyl alcohol</li>
<li>Ethyl lactate</li>
<li>Ethyl maltol</li>
<li>Fibersol-2</li>
<li>Flavorings</li>
<li>Food starch</li>
<li>Fructose</li>
<li>Fruit juice concentrate</li>
<li>Fumaric acid</li>
<li>Germ/germ meal</li>
<li>Gluconate</li>
<li>Gluconic acid</li>
<li>Glucono delta-lactone</li>
<li>Gluconolactone</li>
<li>Glucosamine</li>
<li>Glucose</li>
<li>Glucose syrup (also found in IV solutions)</li>
<li>Glutamate</li>
<li>Gluten</li>
<li>Gluten feed/meal</li>
<li>Glycerides</li>
<li>Glycerin</li>
<li>Glycerol</li>
<li>Golden syrup</li>
<li>Honey</li>
<li>Hydrolyzed vegetable protein</li>
<li>Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose</li>
<li>Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose pthalate (HPMCP)</li>
<li>Inositol</li>
<li>Invert syrup or sugar</li>
<li>Iodized salt</li>
<li>Lactate</li>
<li>Lactic acid</li>
<li>Lauryl glucoside</li>
<li>Lecithin</li>
<li>Linoleic acid</li>
<li>Lysine</li>
<li>Magnesium fumarate</li>
<li>Maize</li>
<li>Malic acid</li>
<li>Malonic acid</li>
<li>Malt syrup from corn</li>
<li>Malt, malt extract</li>
<li>Maltitol</li>
<li>Maltodextrin</li>
<li>Maltol</li>
<li>Maltose</li>
<li>Mannitol</li>
<li>Methyl gluceth</li>
<li>Methyl glucose</li>
<li>Methyl glucoside</li>
<li>Methylcellulose</li>
<li>Microcrystaline cellulose</li>
<li>Modified cellulose gum</li>
<li>Modified food starch</li>
<li>Molasses (corn syrup may be present; know your product)</li>
<li>Mono and di glycerides</li>
<li>Monosodium glutamate</li>
<li>MSG</li>
<li>Natural flavorings</li>
<li>Olestra/Olean</li>
<li>Polydextrose</li>
<li>Polylactic acid (PLA)</li>
<li>Polysorbates (e.g. Polysorbate 80)</li>
<li>Polyvinyl acetate</li>
<li>Potassium citrate</li>
<li>Potassium fumarate</li>
<li>Potassium gluconate</li>
<li>Powdered sugar</li>
<li>Pregelatinized starch</li>
<li>Propionic acid</li>
<li>Propylene glycol</li>
<li>Propylene glycol monostearate</li>
<li>Saccharin</li>
<li>Salt (iodized salt)</li>
<li>Semolina (unless from wheat)</li>
<li>Simethicone</li>
<li>Sodium carboxymethylcellulose</li>
<li>Sodium citrate</li>
<li>Sodium erythorbate</li>
<li>Sodium fumarate</li>
<li>Sodium lactate</li>
<li>Sodium starch glycolate</li>
<li>Sodium stearoyl fumarate</li>
<li>Sorbate</li>
<li>Sorbic acid</li>
<li>Sorbitan</li>
<li>Sorbitan monooleate</li>
<li>Sorbitan tri-oleate</li>
<li>Sorbitol</li>
<li>Sorghum (syrup and/or grain may be mixed with corn)</li>
<li>Splenda (Artificial sweetener)</li>
<li>Starch</li>
<li>Stearic acid</li>
<li>Stearoyls</li>
<li>Sucralose (Artificial sweetener)</li>
<li>Sucrose</li>
<li>Sugar</li>
<li>Talc</li>
<li>Threonine</li>
<li>Tocopherol (vitamin E)</li>
<li>Treacle</li>
<li>Triethyl citrate</li>
<li>Unmodified starch</li>
<li>Vanilla, natural flavoring</li>
<li>Vanilla, pure or extract</li>
<li>Vanillin</li>
<li>Vinegar, distilled white</li>
<li>Vinyl acetate</li>
<li>Vitamin C</li>
<li>Vitamin E</li>
<li>Vitamin supplements</li>
<li>Xanthan gum</li>
<li>Xylitol</li>
<li>Yeast</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>More Resources:</b></div>
<div><a href="http://cornallergygirl.com/2013/06/03/wheres-the-corn-in-foods/"/>http://cornallergygirl.com/2013/06/03/wheres-the-corn-in-foods/</div>
<div><a href="https://www.glutenfreesociety.org/hidden-corn-based-ingredients/#sthash.ywguxpKC.dpuf">https://www.glutenfreesociety.org/hidden-corn-based-ingredients/#sthash.ywguxpKC.dpuf</a></div>
<div><a href="https://www.glutenfreesociety.org/hidden-corn-based-ingredients/#Lck0TygiVWd0HiA8.99"/>https://www.glutenfreesociety.org/hidden-corn-based-ingredients/#Lck0TygiVWd0HiA8.99</div>
<div><a href="http://www.livecornfree.com/2010/04/ingredients-derived-from-corn-what-to.html">http://www.livecornfree.com/2010/04/ingredients-derived-from-corn-what-to.html</a></div>
<div><a href="https://cornfreelifestyle.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/www-casco-ca_eng_pdf_good_things_come_from_corn_eng_final.pdf">https://cornfreelifestyle.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/www-casco-ca_eng_pdf_good_things_come_from_corn_eng_final.pdf</a></div>
Gluten Free Pumpkin Buttermilk Pancakes - version 1https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/gluten-free-pumpkin-buttermilk-pancakes-version-12016-07-18T22:54:07.576000Z2016-01-11T15:18:00ZCasey Bauer<div>So yummy, and gluten free, and no one would know it. Eat them and feel happy inside. Freeze the extras (this recipe makes a LOT of pancakes) for toasting later. You are welcome!</div>
<div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>3 cups Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix</li>
<li>1-2 t cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, coriander</li>
<li>1 cup or so roasted pumpkin</li>
<li>2 cups buttermilk</li>
<li>1/2 cup of water, plus more as needed</li>
<li>2-3 eggs</li>
<li>3 T coconut sugar</li>
<li>1 T vanilla extract</li>
<li>4-5 T melted coconut oil/butter*</li>
<li>1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
<ul>
<li>In a bowl (or blender), beat together eggs and pumpkin, then sugar, buttermilk and finally melted oil/butter.</li>
<li>In a separate bowl, sift together dry mix with spices.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Mix together wet and dry until thoroughly combined.</li>
<li>Add additional water as needed to achieve your preferred pancake consistency.</li>
<li>Cook pancakes on medium heat until bubbles form and break, and the edges (and even the tops) are dry. Then flip and cook until golden on the other side.</li>
<li>Serve immediately, or cool/dry on a rack before freezing. They will keep a lovely moist interior, and freeze/toast up fabulously.</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
</div>
<div>*If you use a combination of butter and coconut oil, be careful if you melt them together - don’t put them in the microwave together, or the coconut oil may boil up through the butter and explode!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Note: If you want to make these without the buttermilk, try substituting milk or a milk substitute for the buttermilk, and leaving out the water until you get to the final mixing stage. Then add only as much water (or more milk) as you need to get your preferred consistency.</div>
<div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Props to Jeanine at Love and Lemons for her <a href="http://www.loveandlemons.com/2014/10/24/gluten-free-pumpkin-pancakes/">gluten free</a> <a href="http://www.loveandlemons.com/2014/10/24/gluten-free-pumpkin-pancakes/">pumpkin pancakes recipe</a>.</div>
</div>
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, gluten-freehttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins-gluten-free2016-08-19T12:55:02.331000Z2015-12-30T19:11:23ZCasey Bauer<div>This recipe will make a great big batch of 24 yummy, dense, moist and satisfying muffins. They will also happen to be gluten-free! Put at least half in the freezer, and you will have a supply of great snacks.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>3 cups Pamela’s Artisan Blend flour mix*</li>
<li>2 t cinnamon</li>
<li>2 t ginger</li>
<li>1/2 t nutmeg</li>
<li>1/2 t corriander</li>
<li>1/2 t salt</li>
<li>2 1/2 t baking soda</li>
<li>1 t cream of tartar</li>
<li>3/4 cup sugar</li>
<li>4 eggs</li>
<li>1 can squash or pumpkin</li>
<li>1-2 mashed ripe bananas</li>
<li>1 stick of butter, melted</li>
<li>1 cup cultured buttermilk</li>
<li>1/2 cup mini chocolate chips</li>
</ul>
<div>*can substitute 1/2 cup or so each buckwheat flour and almond meal for 1 cup of Artisan flour mix.</div>
</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Preheat oven to 365F</li>
<li>Prepare muffin tins</li>
<li>Mash/beat together (or blend) sugar and wet ingredients, adding butter last*</li>
<li>Sift/whisk together dry ingredients in a seperate bowl</li>
<li>Combine wet and dry ingredients, then stir in chocolate chips</li>
<li>Spoon batter into prepared tins</li>
<li>Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until tester comes out clean</li>
<li>Cool on a rack and eat, or freeze in ziplocks</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>*Alternatively, combine all wet ingredients except for the melted butter in a blender on low, until smooth. Sift together dry ingredients with a whisk, then whisk in sugar. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and stir to combine. Then fold in the melted butter, and chocolate chips, if using.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Hints:</div>
<ul>
<li>These muffins are hard to gauge for doneness from the outside. The first time you bake them, pull out one muffin at 30 minutes, and cut it open to check the inside. Remember that they will firm up a bit more as they cool. I bake them for about 32 minutes.</li>
<li>Allow frozen muffins to thaw at room temp before serving. Pop one in a lunchbox in the morning, and it will be ready for a snack!</li>
</ul>
Breakfast smoothieshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/breakfast-smoothies2015-10-18T17:21:46.209000Z2015-10-18T17:20:43ZCasey Bauer<div>I don’t know why it took me so long to start making the kids smoothies for breakfast. I guess it is because I had a decrepit old blender, and finally replaced it. At any rate, this is our new go-to weekday breakfast, supplemented by one or two waffles or pancakes pulled from the freezer stash. They are quick to make, and quick to eat (drink)! Believe it or not, they are even quick to clean up: rinse out the blender right away, and then run it on high for a few seconds with warm-hot water and a bit of dish soap. I do this daily, and then wash it out properly at the end of the week.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>In order to make smoothies more satisfying and sustaining, a friend of mine adds a scoop of vegan protein powder (made from pea protein). I myself have gotten very daring (or, revisited my childhood), and started adding raw PASTURED eggs. I have to say, yum. You can add a PASTURED egg to perhaps any smoothie recipe. It doesn’t really have a taste as much as a feeling - the resulting smoothie is so much richer and more satisfying, and tastier, than it would have been without it. Please note that I absolutely DO NOT RECOMMEND trying this with ANYTHING OTHER THAN PASTURED EGGS. The reason for this is that common industrial eggs have a very high chance of containing salmonella bacteria. Even “cage-free" and “free-range" eggs have a small chance of containing salmonella. “Pastured" eggs are eggs that come from a chicken who lives the way you imagine a chicken should - in a large yard or pasture, eating bugs and berries, enjoying the sunshine, and strutting around care-free with the other chickens. Know where your eggs come from, and remember that happy chickens make happy eggs. The one precaution you can take with pastured eggs is washing off the shells before using, so that any bacteria that might be clinging to the shells are rinsed off.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you can’t handle the raw eggs, or don’t have access to pastured eggs, consider picking up some protein powder. Another great addition to any of these is pre-soaked chia seeds: mix 2 T of chia seeds in 1/4 cup water and allow it to set up in the fridge overnight. Put half the soaked chia in any recipe below in the morning. The rest will keep for a few days.</div>
<div>
<div><br/></div>
</div>
<div>So now, down to some tasty combos. Our favorites so far are strawberry-banana, sweet potato pie, banana chocolate-almond, and banana eggnog. The common ingredients in all the smoothies I have been making are organic whole plain greek yogurt, bananas, and pastured eggs. After that, the sky’s the limit. Quantities below feed two little kids, plus a little bit for mom.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Strawberry-banana smoothie</b></div>
<ul>
<li>3/4 to 1 cup whole plain greek yogurt</li>
<li>2 bananas</li>
<li>2 pastured eggs</li>
<li>4-5 frozen strawberries</li>
<li>3-5 frozen raspberries (optional, for extra color)</li>
<li>1 T raw honey (for your health)</li>
<li>4-5 ice cubes</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Sweet potato pie smoothie</b></div>
<ul>
<li>3/4 to 1 cup whole plain greek yogurt</li>
<li>1-2 bananas</li>
<li>2 pastured eggs</li>
<li>1/2 cup or more roasted sweet potato (cubed and roasted plain - can then be frozen)</li>
<li>1/2 t or more ground ginger</li>
<li>1/2 t or more ground cinnamon</li>
<li>1/2 t or more ground coriander</li>
<li>2 T raw honey</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Banana chocolate-almond smoothie</b></div>
<ul>
<li>3/4 to 1 cup whole plain greek yogurt</li>
<li>2 bananas</li>
<li>2 pastured eggs</li>
<li>2-3 T almond butter</li>
<li>1 1/2 to 2 T cocoa powder</li>
<li>1 T raw honey</li>
<li>1 T vanilla extract</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Banana eggnog smoothie</b></div>
<ul>
<li>3/4 to 1 cup whole plain greek yogurt</li>
<li>2 bananas</li>
<li>2 pastured eggs</li>
<li>1/2 t or more ground nutmeg</li>
<li>2 t to 1 T vanilla extract</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Peanut butter and jelly smoothie</b></div>
<ul>
<li>3/4 to 1 cup whole plain greek yogurt</li>
<li>2 bananas</li>
<li>2 pastured eggs</li>
<li>2-3 T peanut butter</li>
<li>4-5 frozen strawberries</li>
<li>3-5 frozen raspberries and/or other frozen fruit</li>
<li>4-5 ice cubes</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
Dosa! The wheat-free South Indian specialityhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/dosa-the-wheat-free-south-indian-speciality2015-10-09T01:22:56.372000Z2015-09-13T18:59:16ZCasey Bauer<div>Searching for wheat/bread alternatives for my corn- and wheat-free kids, I have crossed paths with the South Indian specialities, Dosa and Uttapam. These are made from a thick fermented rice and lentil batter; for dosa, the batter is thinned quite a bit, and they come out like toasty crepes, while uttapam are thicker, like pancakes or crumpets. There are other versions as well, such as the steamed Idli, and various fried fritter-like snacks, which use the thick batter with no liquid added at all.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>For anyone who wants to follow along, I will update this post over the coming weeks as I continue to experiment.</i></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>In my research into how to make dosa, I have seen proportions ranging from 1:1 lentils to rice, to 1:3 lentils to rice, with several different types of rice and lentils, additional ingredients, and with many variations in prep techniques. I am starting out by using approximately 1:2. I just bought a new blender, which is able to get the batter a bit smoother then my food processor (it still has some gritty bits in it). I have been making small, rather chewy dosa, using a portion of my quite thick batter diluted with buttermilk. They are like flat english muffins or crumpets, but much more satisfying, and absolutely divine with butter and marmalade.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Dosa batter (plain)</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Measure out lentils and rice in a proportion of 1:2 (i.e., 1/2 cup of lentils to 1 cup of rice). Pick out any rocks; brief rinse optional.</li>
<li>Soak both in non-chlorinated water to cover, on the counter for 4-6 hours. </li>
<li>Using a blender or food processor, grind lentils and rice until smooth in small batches, using as little of the soaking water as is needed to keep the contents moving. </li>
<li>Put batter into a glass bowl or jar large enough to allow the batter to expand (almost double), and stir well.</li>
<li>Cover loosely and leave batter on counter or in a warm spot for 10-20 hours, stirring once or twice, until the batter has expanded, looks frothy, smells tangy, and has a consistency almost like marshmallow fluff. </li>
<li>The batter is now ready to use, or to put up in the fridge, where it will keep for a week or more without care.</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Mini Buttermilk Dosa instructions</i></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Scoop out a portion of dosa batter</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Thin batter with buttermilk until a thin pacake/thick crepe batter consistency</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Heat nonstick griddle to around 300F</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Oil very lightly</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Ladle small portions of batter onto griddle </li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Beginning in the center of each portion of batter, use the bottom of the ladle (or the flat bottom of a measuring cup) to swirl the batter into thin, even circles</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Allow to cook until the bottom is toasted golden-tan (be patient)</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Flip over and press flat with spatula</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Allow to cook on this side untill some toasty patches appear (again, be patient)</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Remove and serve immediately, or allow to cool on a wire rack before freezing</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Notes on dosa-making</b></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I am using Jiva Organics Urad Dal, and Vedica Organics Rice Parmal, both of which I purchased from Amazon.com. From what I have read, it sounds like you can really use any type and combination, so feel free to experiment and see what you get for results, or explore others' recipes.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you have a municipal water, you will need something more powerful than a Britta filter, or you may need to use bottled water. Trace chlorine in the soaking water will kill the wild yeasts in the batter, and prevent the batter from fermenting.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Many recipes suggest soaking and grinding rice and lentils separately from each other, as one grinds up easier than the other, and then you don’t subject the whole business to excess heat from processing. So far, I have not done this, since I am trying to keep it simple, but I might.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Traditional dosa batter is meant to be silky smooth - something made possible by a wet grinder, but unattainable with a food processor. I have had these fine-ground dosa in restaurants, and they certainly are elegant. However, I am happy with the chewy texture that my more grainy batter gives, particularly in the small format dosa I am making.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Be sure to save a bit of your batter as a starter for your next batch. After soaking and grinding the fresh batter, stir into the remains of the previous batch, and fermentation will happen much more quickly.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Traditionally, dosa and its variations are made using only water as the liquid (not buttermilk), and often have fenugreek seeds or other flavorings, which may be soaked right along with the lentils and rice, or blended into the batter just before cooking. Large-format dosa are also served wrapped around all manner of fillings, like a crepe. If you are the adventurous type, I think only your imagination would limit what could be done with this marvelously fluffy, tangy batter. I am anticipating experiments with muffins, quick breads and waffles, and I promise to post updates to let you know how it goes! Please let me know if you have any ideas.</div>
Fluffy, Crispy Gluten Free Sour Cream Waffleshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/fluffy-crispy-gluten-free-sour-cream-waffles2015-10-09T01:01:07.061000Z2015-08-28T13:30:22ZCasey Bauer<div>This recipe, using Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix, has produced the loveliest gluten free waffles I have had yet. They also freeze and toast up very nicely. Adjust the spices to your taste (I usually use more than indicated).</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>2 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix</li>
<li>4 eggs, seperated</li>
<li>1 cup sour cream or whole plain greek yogurt</li>
<li>2/3 cup buttermilk</li>
<li>1 t cinnamon</li>
<li>1/2 t nutmeg</li>
<li>2 T honey</li>
<li>1 T vanilla</li>
<li>6 T melted butter</li>
<li>oil for greasing waffle iron (as needed)</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Combine Pamela’s mix, sour cream or yogurt, buttermilk, spices, honey, and vanilla until smooth.</li>
<li>Melt butter and set aside.</li>
<li>Preheat waffle iron to med/low (I set mine at 4.25 out of 7).</li>
<li>Separate the eggs, dropping yolks into the mix, and setting aside the whites.</li>
<li>Stir the egg yolks into the mix, and then the melted butter.</li>
<li>With a whisk or blender, whip up egg whites until they form soft peaks.*</li>
<li>Fold egg whites gently into mix.</li>
<li>Before cooking the first waffle, you may want to spray/brush waffle iron with oil. You may or may not need to oil between subsequent waffles.</li>
<li>Pour in 1/2 to 1 cup batter and cook.</li>
<li>Remove cooked waffle carefully, and either set aside too cool on a wire rack (if freezing), or serve immediately.</li>
</ul>
<div>*Check out this handy <a href="http://foodreference.about.com/od/Tips_Techniques/a/All-About-Whipping-Egg-Whites.htm">egg white whipping reference</a>!</div>
<div><br/></div>
Letting go - by categoryhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/letting-go-by-category2015-07-24T01:17:36.334000Z2015-07-24T01:12:00ZCasey Bauer<div>If you have read (or read about) “<a href="http://www.npr.org/books/titles/363739801/the-life-changing-magic-of-tidying-up-the-japanese-art-of-decluttering-and-organ">The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up</a>" by Marie Kondo, you will be familiar with one of her most important rules for eventually having less stuff, and being happy about it. That is: you must consider all of your belongings by category, all together at once. That means you gather ALL of your belongings in a given category from everywhere inside (and sometimes outside) your home, and put them in one spot (such as the bedroom or living room floor). Then you handle each item and listen for your inner joy at owning it (or not). The order of categories is important, as you go from easiest to hardest to handle, and get better at it with each round.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I found it extremely helpful to go through the book and list out all of the categories she describes, with a few specific categories of my own. Your list would probably look a little different, depending on what kind of stuff you have. Make it your own, but definitely respect the general order.</div>
<div><b><br/></b></div>
<div><b>Marie Kondo’s tidying order for maximum success</b></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>CLOTHES</div>
<div>tops</div>
<div>bottoms</div>
<div>hanging</div>
<div>socks</div>
<div>underwear</div>
<div>sleep wear</div>
<div>bags</div>
<div>hats</div>
<div>accessories</div>
<div>swim</div>
<div>yoga</div>
<div>exercise</div>
<div>hike/ski</div>
<div>labor (painting, etc)</div>
<div>shoes</div>
<div>coats/outerwear</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>BOOKS</div>
<div>general</div>
<div>practical/reference</div>
<div>visual</div>
<div>magazines</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>PAPERS</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>CDs/DVDs</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>BATHROOM</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>MAKEUP</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>VALUABLES</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>HOUSEHOLD ITEMS</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>HOUSEHOLD SUPPLIES</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>KITCHEN</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>SEWING</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>CRAFTING</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>SPORT/CAMP/OUTDOORS</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>DECORATIVE</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>KIDS’ TOYS/STUFF (do this with the kids)</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>SENTIMENTAL ITEMS</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>PHOTOS</div>
Getting ready to clear out the clutterhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/getting-ready-to-clear-out-the-clutter2016-09-16T01:10:56.945000Z2015-07-24T01:11:00ZCasey Bauer<div>Preparing myself for a life-changing house-wide purge, armed with the bestselling book, “<a href="http://www.npr.org/books/titles/363739801/the-life-changing-magic-of-tidying-up-the-japanese-art-of-decluttering-and-organ">The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up</a>", I found that my biggest hurdle before actually parting with things was <b>figuring out where they were all going to go</b>. I can’t bear to just throw things away that could be useful (hence all the clutter in my house), so I needed to map this out first of all.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Following is the 'cleaning out plan’ that I came up with (with a great deal of help from friend and professional organizer, Betsy Kelly of <a href="http://bkorganizing.com/">BK Organizing</a>). Yours would probably look a little different, depending on what organizations are in your area, and what kind of stuff you have to donate. But hopefully this will be helpful.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<ul>
<li>Get boxes (liquor, pharmacy, book store...) to sort items into categories: electronics, books, bathroom stuff, household, kids, etc.</li>
<li>Have trash bags ready for clothes and linens.</li>
<li>Call to schedule pickup (items can also be dropped off):
<ul>
<li>Salvation Army - happy to take all kinds of donations, including big items, housewares, sports equipment (1-800-728-7825/781-231-0803 or schedule online)</li>
<li>Epilepsy Foundation - clothing and some small household items (888.322.8209 or schedule online)</li>
<li>Mission of Deeds - household items like linens, dishes pots pans, lamps and furniture (781-944-9797)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Young kids toys, clothes, supplies can be dropped off:
<ul>
<li>Cradles to Crayons - takes items for 0-3 yrs old (see below) </li>
<li>Woburn Council of Social Concern - takes some things, like a bike and helmet, or a car seat, in good condition</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Pantry (food) items go to Woburn Council of Social Concern (781-935-6495)</li>
<li>Personal care/hygiene items can go to a shelter. <a href="http://emmausinc.org">Emmaus House</a> may still be collecting new and partially used toiletries, including travel size and full sized items, and making up gift bags for the homeless.</li>
<li>Books/media go to More than Words - bin behind St. Mary’s School, or will pick up - request $ donation for this</li>
<li>Winchester Dept. of Public Works (DPW) will take tools</li>
<li>Winchester Transfer Station takes electronics (lithium batteries, monitors, tax, stereos, phones, TVs)</li>
<li>List of organizations that accept wedding dress donations (and related items): <a href="http://www.donatemyweddingdress.org/">http://www.donatemyweddingdress.org/</a></li>
<li>EnKa Foundation in Winchester will take clothing at their consignment shop</li>
<li>Goodwill truck at Whole Foods takes most everything (no toys)</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-left:40px;"><b>Note</b>: Generally, no one takes stuffed animals or pillows due to concerns about bugs, so plan to throw these away. (On the other hand, a down body pillow in excellent condition that I offered was accepted by Salvation Army.)</div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;"><b>Cradles to Crayons drop-off in Winchester, MA</b></div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;"><i>Liena’s of Winchester </i>45 Church Street, Winchester, MA. Visit website for hours of operation. Accepting new and like-new children's clothing, books, and baby items.</div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;"><i>Winchester private residence</i> at 53 Henry Street, Winchester, MA. Please leave drop-off items on the front porch. For questions, please contact Kelly at (617) 899-2657 or at kjd106@verizon.net. Accepting new and like-new clothing, books, and baby items.</div>
Why I am choosing to have less stuffhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/why-i-am-choosing-to-have-less-stuff2015-07-24T01:09:33.723000Z2015-07-23T01:59:28ZCasey Bauer<div>Some people are wired to be savers. I know I am. So naturally, I have struggled with too-much-stuff ever since I started having to clean my own room. Of course, I did not know what the problem was. I just knew that the prospect of cleaning my room was overwhelming and best to be absolutely avoided, because there was no good place to put it all. I have romanticized my tendency to pack-rat-ism, tried to accept it, sunk in despair, etc., but I know that is all avoidance. In reality, all that stuff pressed on me, and I was afraid to let it go.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Since I married this tidy man of mine (thirteen years ago), I have been confronted with my little problem getting rid of stuff many times. I have slowly built up my determination to address the too-much-stuff in our house, but still felt overwhelmed by the prospect. Then, for my birthday this May, my husband gave me a copy of the bestselling book, “<a href="http://www.npr.org/books/titles/363739801/the-life-changing-magic-of-tidying-up-the-japanese-art-of-decluttering-and-organ">The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up</a>" by Marie Kondo. I know it sounds like a terrible birthday gift for your wife, but I was really pleased. And once I read Kondo’s book (it is pretty short), I was sold. There are many great articles and videos on the “KonMarie Method", so I will refrain from explaining too much. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>One of the crucial steps that Kondo lays out is that of really examining your desire for more order and less stuff, and setting explicit goals and intentions. I thought that maybe I would not bother with that, since <i>of course</i> I wanted to tidy up my life. But once I committed to a specific long-weekend of doing this work, I started to sweat (literally). I was anxious that I would wimp out and be disappointed in the results. So the day before I was set to begin, I sat down and wrote out exactly what I wanted to achieve. I felt better right away, and I referred to it many times during my process, and it kept my motivation high.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;"><b>My visualization for tidying up</b></div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;">Calm and peaceful space</div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;">Everything simple and easy to put away</div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;">Space for yoga, cooking, crafts, etc., on a moment’s notice</div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;">Enjoy the beauty of my house</div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;">Appreciate my possessions, find them inviting (instead of oppressive)</div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;">Easy to get dressed in the morning or for specific activities</div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;">Easy to grab and go: sewing, crafts, camping, sports, etc.</div>
<br/>
<div style="margin-left:40px;">“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful" - William Morris</div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;">“For one gains by losing, and loses by gaining" - Lao Tsu</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Now that I have completed a large portion of my choosing and cleansing process, I think that writing out this visualization is one of the most important things I have done. It is a clear vision of how I want to live in my house, and I can refer to it anytime, forever. THIS will keep me in my new perspective, nevermore to mindlessly keep everything. Suddenly, I understand Lao Tsu better than ever: having more possessions only dilutes their value. Choosing to have less not only increases the enjoyment I have from the things I have chosen to keep, it also helps to free me from the fear of letting go.</div>
Chocolate Buttermilk Sourdough Cakehttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/chocolate-sourdough-buttermilk-cake2016-07-09T14:43:37.885000Z2015-05-19T13:47:10ZCasey Bauer<div>This moist and delicious cake is great plain, but an excellent excuse for frosting as well. My top recommendation is the secretly healthy/paleo/vegan chocolate avocado icing (which also doubles as an amazing chocolate mousse - you should try this) detailed below, or you could make a buttercream or coconut cream icing. I have been speculating about whether I could cream together honey, butter and shredded coconut to make a frosting. Ideas welcome!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>This recipe is based on the <a href="http://gnowfglins.com/2009/09/25/chocolate-sourdough-cake/">Basic Chocolate Cake (Sourdough)</a> from the Traditional Cooking School by GNOWFGLINS (Wardee Harmon), which has all kinds of interesting classes you can take online, if you are interested. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>1 cup active sourdough starter (fed within the past 8-14 hours, bubbling, not deflated)</li>
<li>1 cup buttermilk (or milk or milk-substitute)</li>
<li>1 3/4 cups flour (white, or a relatively light alternative, such as spelt - whole wheat would be heavy)</li>
<li>1 1/2 cups coconut sugar (or other dry sweetener, such as evaporated cane juice)</li>
<li>1 cup butter or coconut oil (or a combination), just barely melted*</li>
<li>2 teaspoons (or so) vanilla extract</li>
<li>1 teaspoon sea salt</li>
<li>1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda</li>
<li>3/4 cup cocoa powder (try to find non-alkali processed- I love Rapunzel brand)</li>
<li>2 large eggs<br/></li>
<li><i>optional</i> <i>ingredients</i> (ideas for playing with flavor):
<ul>
<li>1 teaspoon finely ground coffee or coffee alternative</li>
<li>1 teaspoon almond extract or orange flavor</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Combine the starter, buttermilk, and flour in a mixing bowl until smooth.</li>
<li>Cover and let rest at room temperature for 8 hours.</li>
<li>Optionally, move to the refrigerator at this point, until you are ready to bake. Or, you can put it in the fridge straight away, and then take it out to ferment later. Mixture will need to come back to room temperature before proceeding.</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Once the mixture has fermented</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Preheat oven to 350F.</li>
<li>Grease one 9" x 13" cake pan, or two 8" to 9" square or circular cake pans, and set aside.</li>
<li>In a separate mixing bowl, combine and beat together the sugar, softened butter/coconut oil, vanilla, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, and any optional flavorings.</li>
<li>Add the eggs to the mixture, and beat again.</li>
<li>Combine the sourdough mixture with the chocolate mixture, mixing gently until smooth.</li>
<li>Pour into prepared pan(s).</li>
<li>Bake for 30 to 45 minutes (I baked for 43 minutes), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly.</li>
<li>Remove from oven and set on a rack to cool.</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div>*If you use a combination of butter and coconut oil, be careful if you melt them together - don’t put them in the microwave together, or the coconut oil may boil up through the butter and explode!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I am wondering if this would work in a bundt pan. If anyone tries it, please let me know!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>For frosting, I enthusiastically advocate <b>Secret Avocado Chocolate Frosting</b>:</div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>1 ripe avocado</li>
<li>1/2 cup cocoa powder</li>
<li>1/2 cup maple syrup</li>
<li>1/4 cup dark chocolate mini chips (optional)</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Place avocado flesh, cocoa and maple syrup in a food processor and mix together, stopping to scrape down the sides once or twice. (You can also do this by hand - it just won’t be quite as smooth.)</li>
<li>Stir in the chocolate chips (if using).</li>
<li>Spread the frosting immediately, or firm it up in the fridge if you prefer, or are making it ahead</li>
</ul>
<div>If you think your frosting is too thick, you can add a few drops of water. This recipe makes enough frosting for one single layer cake. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>The GNOWFGLINS recipe includes this <b>chocolate coconut cream frosting</b> recipe. This is enough to frost the top of one large cake. Double it if you are going for a layer cake.</div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>3/4 cup coconut cream (the cream part of a can of whole coconut milk)</li>
<li>1/4 cup raw honey</li>
<li>1/4 cocoa powder</li>
<li>1 teaspoon vanilla</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Combine all frosting ingredients in a blender or food processor.</li>
<li>Blend until smooth.</li>
<li>Chill before using.</li>
</ul>
Processed food challenge, part 2 (going shopping)https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/processed-food-challenge-part-2-going-shopping2016-04-10T21:10:49.194000Z2015-05-05T15:02:00ZCasey Bauer<div><i>I keep trying to write this post, and get lost in it. This is partly because there is so much to say, and partly because my own understanding and strategies continue to evolve. So, what I am trying to offer here is a general but still useful overview, to follow up my <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/post/processed-food-challenge-part-1-cleaning-out-the-pantry">previous “Processed food challenge" post</a>.</i></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Are you trying to cut processed foods out of your grocery list? It is not going to be easy at first. It’s like going to a new grocery store and learning the layout, only worse. Give yourself extra time for your first few trips, if you can!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Whole foods</i></div>
<div><i><br/></i></div>
<div>My husband picked up the phrase, “close to the sun," to describe food that is good for us to eat. The closer, the better! Foods can heal and nourish our bodies, but these powers are diminished with each round of processing, and over time as the food loses its freshness. It is even possible to process foods (or allow them to languish) to the point that they are actually toxic. These, as my husband says, are “far from the sun."</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>In the grocery store, look for foods that are fresh, or preserved in a way that protects their nourishing powers (frozen, fermented, dried, etc - and protected from air and sunlight). Look for foods that do not have a lot of stuff added to give it a special shape, color or shelf-life. A very short ingredient list consisting of <i>actual</i> <i>food</i> is generally a good sign. You are probably going to wander around for a long time, considering the items you usually buy, and wondering what on earth you are going to get instead. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Happy foods</i></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>It matters <i>how</i> your food is grown or produced. <u>You are what you eat</u>, and the same goes for those chickens and cows, and their eggs and milk. What the animals ate, and the stress or comfort of their lives, determines the quality of the nourishment you can get from them. The same goes for produce—the quality of the soil has a <i>huge</i> impact on the nutritional value of the foods grown in it.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>It is truly, deeply sad what we, collectively, have done to the quality of the soil in this country. Buying local and/or organic produce is your best bet, if you can access it. Small scale (i.e., local) farmers are also much more likely to be taking good care of their animals and their soil, and organic growing practices include special attention to soil quality. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>What you have access to is going to depend on where you live, and how much you can budget for food. But if you look, you can probably discover sources of pasture-raised eggs, meats, and even dairy products. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is flourishing all over, and you can sign up for a “share" of the bounty. Farmers markets are a great option, too, and often economical. Even up north, there are some farmers markets that operate in the winter time. Don’t have one in your area? Maybe you can do something about it. Check out <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/">http://www.localharvest.org/</a> to learn about and search for farmers markets, CSAs, coops, farm stands and even locally-minded restaurants in your area.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>One step at a time</i></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>You may need to get some special containers for lunches (for your own fruit yogurt, or for cut up cheese and crackers, etc) instead of pre-made snacks. You may want to experiment with some new techniques and approaches for prep and cooking to find ways that work for your life, and the time you have available. My number one advice is to pick a few areas to work on, and start slowly. Keep experimenting, and you will find what works for you. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>To our good health!</div>
Sourdough Rosemary Crackershttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/sourdough-rosemary-crackers2016-03-05T16:02:23.931000Z2015-04-11T00:52:00ZCasey Bauer<div>Does it seem like craziness to make your own crackers? These crackers are easy and <u>very</u> tasty, and a great way to use excess sourdough starter. They are also a good excuse to make bacon (don’t burn it!) or discover lard. <span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">This recipe is based on the </span><a style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;" href="http://www.culturesforhealth.com/sourdough-bacon-rosemary-cracked-peppercorn-crackers-recipe">Sourdough Bacon Rosemary Crackers recipe</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"> from Cultures for Health.</span></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>
<p><strong>Ingredients:</strong></p>
</div>
<ul>
<li>1½ cups fresh sourdough starter</li>
<li>¾ teaspoon or so sea salt, plus more to sprinkle on top</li>
<li>1 tablespoon or so rosemary, either fresh and finely chopped, or dried and roughly crushed</li>
<li>up to 1 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely cracked (or finely, if preferred)</li>
<li>6 tablespoons (just over 3 oz or 1/3 cup) room-temperature bacon fat, lard, or similar fat </li>
<li>1½ cups whole wheat flour</li>
<li>1-2 teaspoons of granulated garlic, and more salt, to sprinkle on top (optional)</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div><strong>Instructions:</strong></div>
</div>
<div><i>The night before baking (or - i</i><i style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">n the morning)</i><br/></div>
<ul>
<li>Place the sourdough starter in a medium bowl. </li>
<li>Mix in salt, rosemary, pepper, and fat until thoroughly blended.<br/></li>
<li>Add whole wheat flour. Mix well, using clean hands, if necessary. <br/></li>
<li>Knead the dough briefly right in the bowl. </li>
<li>Cover and proof at room temperature at least 8 hours, or overnight.</li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">Note: This dough can be frozen after it has proofed overnight, or you can pop it in the fridge (tightly covered) if you want to wait a few hours or another day to bake. Bring to room temperature before rolling out and baking as directed below.</div>
<div><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"><br/></span></i></div>
<div><i style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">The next day (or - i</i><i style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">n the evening)</i><i style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">:</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Preheat oven to 350°F. (If you have a pure convection heat setting, use this.)<br/></li>
<li>Divide dough evenly into three portions. </li>
<li>Roll out each portion as thinly and evenly as possible on parchment paper. <br/></li>
<li>Score the dough in roughly 1.5" to 2" squares, using a rolling pizza/dough cutter or a sharp knife. </li>
<li>Prick each square 1-3 times with the tines of a fork or pastry tool to keep the dough from puffing up as it bakes. </li>
<li>Sprinkle the dough with additional sea salt, pepper and/or garlic powder, if desired, pressing it lightly into the dough with the palm of your hand.<br/></li>
<li>Slide the parchment paper onto a baking sheet. </li>
<li>Bake for about 10-15 minutes, checking frequently after 10 minutes to make sure crackers are not getting too brown. You may need to remove the outer rows of crackers before the center rows are fully baked, as the entire tray of dough may not bake evenly. (Crackers should be a nice golden color, but <b>not brown</b>, and thoroughly dry—cool and bite one to check.)<br/></li>
<li>Cool on a rack, separating any crackers that did not already break apart at the score lines. (If they are a little thick, they can finish drying on the rack, too.)</li>
<li>Once completely cool and dry, store in an air-tight container at room temperature for a week, or refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.</li>
</ul>
<div>If you want to try making variations, I suggest sprinkling them with parmesan cheese before baking, or substituting sesame seeds for the rosemary. If you have other ideas, please share!</div>
Bone Broth with beef, pork or lambhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/bone-broth-with-beef-pork-or-lamb2016-04-15T20:41:43.090000Z2015-03-20T16:12:37ZCasey Bauer<div>It is high time I posted instructions for making broth with beef, pork and lamb bones! In the meantime, I hope that you have tried making <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/post/making-chicken-bone-broth">broth with chicken bones</a>. Once again, I must quote Katie at <a href="http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/02/18/back-to-basics-baby-step-monday-mission-no-7-make-bone-broth-regularly/">Kitchen Stewardship</a>:</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div style="margin-left:40px;">“Bone broth is one of the best foods you can feed your body and...it is hands down the easiest nourishing food to make in your kitchen." </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Step 1: Get some bones.</b></div>
<div>Buy, cook, and eat some nice steaks or chops (or whatever) <b>with bones</b> in them. Then save every scrap (especially joints and other connective tissues) in a ziplock, in the freezer, until you are ready. You may also be able to get bones and joints from your favorite butcher counter or farmer. If you get large pieces like this from your butcher, it is a great idea to ask them to slice them open, to expose the insides for broth-making. Bones you get this way should be roasted for a few minutes before broth-making, to develop some flavor. You can freely mix together bones from beef, pork and lamb, or other red meat. </div>
<div><img src="https://cdn-images.postach.io/3dfdf2e8-9329-4925-aeba-9ee23795df87/a50556fc-468a-4939-a733-058fcadb8c39/3fa47f10-d77c-4afd-89a8-ec1c1430bfc2.jpg" style="height:auto;" width="324"/><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i>These photos are of chicken bones, but you should get the idea.</i></span></div>
<div><b><br/></b></div>
<div><b>Step 2: Soak everything.</b></div>
<div>When you have enough to fill your pot (or you are just ready), dump all of those frozen bones and bits into your stock or crock pot. (If you have some uncooked bones, it is a good idea to roast them first for a few minutes at 350F, just to brown them a bit. Cool before soaking.) Fill your pot with cold water to cover the bones, and add about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. Allow everything to soak for at least an hour. (If your bones were frozen, give it 1.5 to 2 hours.) If you have some cut off ends of veggies, feel free to throw them in, too.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><img src="https://cdn-images.postach.io/3dfdf2e8-9329-4925-aeba-9ee23795df87/a50556fc-468a-4939-a733-058fcadb8c39/93a95c3b-c96e-4d3f-8e04-757a1c2642f2.jpg" width="350" style="height:auto;"/><img src="https://cdn-images.postach.io/3dfdf2e8-9329-4925-aeba-9ee23795df87/a50556fc-468a-4939-a733-058fcadb8c39/49163db1-5a12-4afe-8f4c-426561b09d8c.jpg" style="height:auto;" width="350"/></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Step 3: Apply heat and time. </b></div>
<div>You have options here. You can get it started at a rolling boil, and skim off whatever floats to the top, before turning down to simmer. Or you can just set it to low, and walk away. Either way, leave it covered except to periodically skim off fat, foam or anything that looks grey floating on the top. Add water if it seems to be getting low (bones are uncovered). If you are using a crock pot, let it simmer continuously for at least two days. If you are using a stock pot on the stove, you can turn it off at night and restart it in the morning. (It is going to simmer for hours anyway, so no worries.) I’ll admit, beef broth does not smell as awesome as chicken broth when it is simmering, but it is great once it’s done.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Step 4: Cool, strain and store.</b></div>
<div>After a couple of days (or so), turn off the heat and allow your broth to cool. Strain out the bones and bits. Now you need to strain it through a mesh sieve and portion out into ziplock freezer bags, or other containers. Broth will keep in the fridge for at least a couple of days, or freeze for longer storage. I like to strain the whole business at once into a large bowl, and then dip out 1, 1.5 or 2 cup portions with a measuring cup. I pour cooled broth into ziplock bags, label them, and place them carefully upright and side-by-side in the freezer. This makes it easy to run warm water over the bag later, and release my chunk of frozen broth into the cooking pot. Sometimes I will put the whole bowl of strained broth into the fridge to deal with it later. My beef broth always gels (which is a great sign), which makes portioning a little harder, but still I can scoop out portions with a thin-edged metal measuring cup.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Step 5: Use it.</b></div>
<div>Run warm water over the sealed bag or container until the frozen broth releases from the surface. Then open, squeeze up and plop the frozen broth into the pot. Add water if needed, and whatever you want to cook: quinoa, lentils, rice, soup, etc. I try to get broth into our dinners this way at least 3 times a week. More often, if I can. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Note:</b></div>
<div>You can re-use bones for a second batch of broth. These big bones (unlike little chicken bones) have plenty left to give, even after two days of simmering. Definitely consider saving bones from your pot for a second round. Just cool and pop them back into the freezer. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>A trick: </b></div>
<div>If you are using ziplock freezer bags, and having trouble getting the broth in without making a mess, try this… fold over the top of the bag just a bit, all the way around, and flatten out the bottom of the bag. It will then sit on the counter with an open mouth, and you can pour into it.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Feel free to let me know if you have questions. You can do this, and I hope you will!</div>
<div><br/></div>
Sourdough Waffleshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/sourdough-waffles2015-10-09T01:01:01.927000Z2015-02-27T02:09:00ZCasey Bauer<div>This recipe is based on a very nice recipe on the Cultures for Health site. It is an easy and satisfying way to use your sourdough starter. These waffles are moist, tasty, a little bit tangy, and great for breakfast or lunch (as sandwich bread!) or an anytime snack. Freeze the extras, and then toast whenever you want one. I have a "defrost" button on my toaster, which is very handy. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Ingredients/preparation:</b></div>
<div>Preheat waffle maker. </div>
<div>In a mixing bowl, combine:<br/></div>
<ul>
<li style="margin: 0px;">2 cups sourdough starter</li>
<li style="margin: 0px;">1 tablespoon (or more) vanilla extract</li>
<li style="margin: 0px;">2/3 cup sour cream, or whole or low-fat greek yogurt (NOT the non-fat stuff)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px;">1-2 tablespoons (or more) honey (raw and local!) or other sweetener</li>
<li style="margin: 0px;">2 eggs <u>beaten seperately</u> and then added to the mix</li>
<li style="margin: 0px;">2 tablespoon melted butter</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>In a small bowl, whisk together:</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li style="margin: 0px;">1 teaspoon baking powder</li>
<li style="margin: 0px;">1/2 teaspoon baking soda</li>
<li style="margin: 0px;">1/4 teaspoon (or so) sea salt</li>
<li style="margin: 0px;">1 teaspoon (or so) of cinnamon</li>
<li style="margin: 0px;">1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg</li>
</ul>
<div><b>To cook:</b></div>
<ul>
<li>Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir until just combined. (Watch it fizz!)</li>
<li>(Hint: if your batter seems too thick, stir in a little buttermilk or milk or water.)</li>
<li>Grease your waffle maker if needed, and then spoon batter in to cook.</li>
</ul>
<div>I like mine a little crispy - I think it complements the tang and density of these waffles. Serve up with butter and maple syrup, or whatever you like best!</div>
<div><br/></div>
Sourdough Coffee Cakehttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/sourdough-coffee-cake2015-10-09T01:01:04.176000Z2015-02-18T04:13:00ZCasey Bauer<div>This recipe is adapted from the <a href="http://www.sourdoughhome.com/index.php?content=kingcake">Sourdough King Cake recipe</a> on the Sourdough Home site. If you don’t make it too sweet, it is lovely and satisfying for breakfast. Consider doubling the recipe and putting half the dough in the freezer after rising. I found the dough even silkier and easier to work with after freezing and thawing.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Ingredients:</b></div>
<ul>
<li>2 tablespoons butter</li>
<li>8 oz sour cream</li>
<li>3 tablespoons or 1.5 oz sugar</li>
<li>1/2 teaspoon salt</li>
<li>1 ice cube</li>
<li>3/8 cup or 3 oz active sourdough starter</li>
<li>1 egg</li>
<li>3 scant cups flour</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div><b>Instructions:</b></div>
<ul>
<li>In a small pot or skillet over medium heat, combine the butter, sour cream, sugar, and salt, stirring until the butter is melted.</li>
<li>Remove from heat and add the ice cube.</li>
<li>Stir, and let the mixture cool to 100 to 105F.</li>
<li>Pour the starter into a medium to large glass bowl.</li>
<li>Break in the egg and combine well.</li>
<li>Add 1 cup of the flour and the cooled butter/sour cream mixture, and combine.</li>
<li>Once this comes together (thoroughly wet), add about 2 more cups of flour, one cup at a time. You want a soft, pliable dough. If you don’t need all the flour for this, don’t add it. If you think you need more, just work in a sprinkle at a time.</li>
<li>With clean hands, knead for about 2 minutes right in the bowl.</li>
<li>Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and give it a couple of minutes to rest.</li>
<li>Knead dough another 10 minutes or so. (Take a break if the dough or your hands stiffen.) Add more of the flour if needed; you want the dough to be soft, pliable, and smooth.</li>
<li>Form the dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl (coconut oil is a great choice), turning the dough ball to cover it with oil.</li>
<li>Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise until doubled. How long this will take will depend on your starter and the temperature of the area where the dough will be rising. If you want flexibility in baking time, you can pop your dough (covered well to prevent drying) into the fridge to delay rising (as they say, “to retard" the rise of the dough). Take it out at least a couple of hours before you want to start work again, and place it in a relatively warm spot until it has risen. You can also refrigerate after rising, but let it warm before working it again.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>While the dough is rising, you can prepare a filling, such as option 1 or 2 below. (Or invent your own—just remember that wet fillings are likely to leak out a bit.)</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Option 1: Cinnamon Sugar Filling</b></div>
<ul>
<li>1/4 cup or more sugar</li>
<li>1 tsp ground cinnamon</li>
<li>optional: 1/4-1/2 cup soaked and drained raisins/dried apples/cherries, chopped nuts, other spices or cocoa (as you like it!)</li>
<li>2.5 to 3 tablespoons melted butter</li>
</ul>
<div>Combine the sugar and spice and set this mixture aside until cake has risen, along with the melted butter, and any fruit/nuts.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Option 2: Cream Cheese Filling</b></div>
<ul>
<li>1 8-oz package cream cheese</li>
<li>up to 1 cup sugar (if you are aiming for a sweet treat)</li>
<li>1 teaspoon vanilla extract</li>
<li>optional: add chopped fresh fruit, soaked dried fruit, 1/2 can of pie filling, or fruit preserves to the cream cheese mixture</li>
<li>2.5 to 3 tablespoons melted butter<br/></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>Cream together all ingredients except the melted butter, and set aside until cake has risen.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Cake Instructions, continued:</b></div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Once the dough has doubled, punch it down. </li>
<li>If you have doubled the recipe, divide it in half at this point. (Half can go in the freezer—just bring it back to room temperature before proceeding with recipe.)</li>
<li>Place dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently roll it out to about 28" by 10".</li>
<li>Spread the reserved melted butter on the rectangle of dough.</li>
<li>If you are using the cinnamon sugar filling, then spread it out over the buttered dough.</li>
<li>If you are using another filling, then apply your preferred filling over the buttered dough.</li>
<li>Roll the dough from the long side like a jelly roll and form the roll into a ring, making sure the edge is down so that the seam won’t show.</li>
<li>Moisten and pinch the edges to seal them (and keep filling/moisture in).</li>
<li>Cover the cake and allow it to rise in a warm place for an hour or so</li>
<li>Optional: before baking, brush the cake with melted butter, or decorate with nuts or dried/candied fruit. If decorating, make and dampen small incisions beneath each decorative piece, or brush first with an egg wash, and/or keep butter away from these spots.</li>
<li>Bake 16 to 20 minutes in a 375F oven until the cake is golden.</li>
<li>Optional: cake can be frosted after cooling.</li>
</ul>
<div>Enjoy this! It is very popular in my house. Well covered, it stays moist and delicious for several days (if you can keep it that long).</div>
Roasting Vegetableshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/roasting-vegetables2015-10-09T01:01:08.479000Z2015-02-13T19:14:00ZCasey Bauer<div>Nothing beats roasting for vegetables, in my book. My husband, who basically hates vegetables, totally agrees with me on this. Over time, my vegetable-roasting repertoire has expanded to include things I never imagined back when I was still intimidated by my oven. Now I am here to tell you: you’ve gotta try it!<br/></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you saw my <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/kale-queen-of-vegetables">kale</a> post, you know we love roasted sweet potatoes, and hopefully you gave it a try. I use basically the same method with everything: wash it, cut it, toss with olive oil and salt, and roast in an open pan for about 20 minutes at 375 to 400 F. Less dense vegetables and smaller pieces cook faster, others-like whole potatoes-take a little longer. Butter is a very nice option, or coconut oil, depending on your taste. Olive oil is the easiest, though. You can add other seasonings if you like, but be sure they can take the heat. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Here are some things I love to roast, in order of popularity at my house:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Sweet potatoes<br/></li>
<li>Potatoes<br/></li>
<li>Apples<br/></li>
<li>Cauliflower<br/></li>
<li>Asparagus<br/></li>
<li>Squash (especially Butternut and Delicata)<br/></li>
<li>Carrots<br/></li>
<li>Beets<br/></li>
<li>Kale<br/></li>
<li>Broccoli<br/></li>
<li>Green beans<br/></li>
<li>Onions</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>Other things that I have not tried yet, but expect to soon:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Plantains (and bananas)<br/></li>
<li>Fennel<br/></li>
<li>Parsnips<br/></li>
<li>Turnips<br/></li>
<li>Artichokes</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>And of course, you can roast tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini and all kinds of other things. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>What is amazing is that you can cook all of these things other ways, but roasting them just does something magical. It brings out hidden sweetness and flavor you had no idea was there. My favorite case in point is cauliflower. I have had it steamed and mashed, and I like it fine, but it is nothing exciting. (My husband hates it.) But roasted, even he goes in for a big helping. It looks better (nice golden toasty-ness), smells better and tastes better. And it is awesome with some <u>coconut sauce</u>: warm up some coconut butter (like nut butter, only coconut) with some regular butter and a pinch of salt, and stir until smooth.</div>
Braised Bone-In Chicken with Tarragonhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/braised-bone-in-chicken-with-tarragon2015-10-09T01:01:05.655000Z2015-02-05T03:26:00ZCasey Bauer<div>On your next trip to the grocery store, do yourself a favor and skip the boneless chicken breasts. Bone-in chicken is cheaper, tastier, and leaves you with the ingredients you need to make a beautiful and nourishing <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/making-chicken-bone-broth">broth</a>. Pick up bone-in chicken legs, thighs, breasts, or even a whole chicken! If you can, choose organic/pasture-raised meat - it is definitely more expensive, but truly a good value if you use every bit.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>This braised chicken dish has got to be my family’s favorite dinner. It is also a terrific starting point for making liquid gold, otherwise known as homemade <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/making-chicken-bone-broth">chicken bone broth</a>, and the world’s yummiest chicken soup (IMO). You can make it with bone-in chicken pieces, such as thighs, legs and breasts, or a whole chicken. If you use a whole chicken and were lucky enough to get giblets, remove them and reserve for broth-making—a ziplock in the freezer works well. It is a good idea to <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/what-are-giblets-65220">identify</a> and pick out the liver first, as liver will make your broth bitter. You can leave the chicken whole to cook, or cut it into pieces with some big heavy kitchen shears.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>You can easily make the recipe below in a slow cooker, or in the oven using a heavy lidded pot, such as a dutch oven. Amounts in the recipe are really up to your taste. I like to fill my pot using lots of carrots and a couple of leeks for a couple of family meals worth of chicken. If you haven’t used them before, leeks and shallots are less pungent and more subtly flavorful than the standard garlic and onions. They are more expensive, though. If you do use leeks, be sure to properly trim and wash them first. You might also want to add a few small potatoes, or some sliced fennel (yummy), or anything else you happen to love that will stand up to long cooking. I tend to be very generous with the tarragon, and if you like, you could add a good squeeze of fresh lemon over everything. Let your nose/taste/imagination lead you.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Braised Bone-In Chicken with Tarragon</b></div>
<div><b><br/></b></div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>bone-in chicken pieces or whole bird</li>
<li>carrots</li>
<li>garlic/onion/shallots/leeks</li>
<li>other veggies as desired (potatoes, fennel…)</li>
<li>cumin seed, whole (whole fennel seed is a good option too, particularly if you are adding fresh sliced fennel)</li>
<li>water/broth/wine/sherry to deglaze (my favorite is Amontialdo sherry, which has a nice nutty flavor, with some water)</li>
<li>dried tarragon or other spices as desired<br/></li>
<li>salt and pepper to taste</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Wash the carrots and cut into chunks—scrub them if you need to, but don’t bother peeling</li>
<li>Peel and chop garlic/onions/shallots</li>
<li>Wash, trim and slice up leeks, if using, and any other vegetables</li>
<li>Preheat oven to 325 F (or turn your slow cooker to low)</li>
<li>In a large hot skillet or deep, heavy lidded pot, add a little oil and lightly brown/sear chicken on as many sides as reasonable, then move to a plate</li>
<li>To the skillet/pot, add a teaspoon or so of cumin seed, the carrots and any other vegetables</li>
<li>Cook briefly, stirring, until all are hot and beginning to soften</li>
<li>Deglaze by pouring in a cup or so of liquid, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan</li>
<li>Simmer briefly</li>
<li><i>If you are using a slow cooker, this is when you move the veggies and liquid to the crock.</i></li>
<li>Lay the chicken on top of the veggies</li>
<li>Season with salt and pepper, and lots of tarragon (2-3 tablespoons for me), or any other desired spices</li>
<li>Cover and cook in the oven for 2 or so hours, or in the slow cooker for around 8 hours</li>
</ul>
<div>Note that braising is a moist-heat cooking method. If this is your first time, check and add more liquid if your pot is getting dry. This dish is great served with roasted veggies, such as <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/kale-queen-of-vegetables">sweet potatoes</a>, cauliflower, potatoes, etc. Rice or <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/quinoa-for-breakfast">quinoa</a> or <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/lentils">lentils</a> are also good choices. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>After you have enjoyed your lovely tarragon braised chicken with vegetables for dinner, pick off any remaining chicken, and reserve with remaining veggies, to make soup (optional). Reserve <u>all</u> bones, cartiledge, and other tidbits from the chicken carcass and dinner plates to make broth (not optional). These bits can be frozen in a ziplock until you are ready. (See <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/making-chicken-bone-broth">broth instructions</a>.)</div>
Sourdough Crepeshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/sourdough-crepes2016-03-05T15:56:33.339000Z2015-01-26T01:35:12ZCasey Bauer<div>Crepes are pretty easy to make (especially if you don't mind what they look like), though they take some time, since they are cooked a one-at-a-time. They are also a very handy use of ‘discarded’ starter (what you need to take out before feeding). They keep well for a few days in the fridge, and can be served almost ANY WAY. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>For a sweet treat, spread/fill with jam, berries, whipped cream, syrup, chocolate, honey, cinnamon and sugar, etc. For savory, optionally omit the sweetener in the crepe recipe and fill with ham, cheese, herbs, ground meat fillings, or whatever! Crepes can be rolled up with fillings inside, or folded fully or partially around them, or simmered in sauce, or as I am hoping to do soon: stacked with fillings as a cake, or even a casserole! Have fun. :)</div>
<div><br/>
<div>This recipe owes particular thanks to the author of the <a href="http://healyeatsreal.com/easy-sourdough-crepes-with-whipped-coconut-cream-good-for-discarded-starter/">Healy Eats Real</a> blog, as hers is the only other recipe I found that does not use milk, but instead has lots of butter. Otherwise, this is my own recipe, which makes around 10-12 crepes. Hope you love it!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>1 cup sourdough starter, at room temperature</li>
<li>2 eggs, beaten, at room temperature</li>
<li>1/4 teaspoon salt</li>
<li>1 tablespoon honey or coconut sugar</li>
<li>4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Heat a 10-inch skillet or crepe pan over medium-low heat (nonstick is very handy)</li>
<li>In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients until completely smooth</li>
<li>Add a little butter to the hot pan</li>
<li>Pour around 1/3 cup batter into the center of the pan, and immediately tilt and turn to spread the batter across the bottom of the pan (pour less at first, and add if needed—crepes should be very thin)</li>
<li>Cook for about 1-2 minutes, until edges begin to come away from the pan</li>
<li>Gently work a spatula under the crepe and flip; cook for another minute</li>
<li>Remove crepe from the pan and repeat with remaining batter, adding butter as needed.</li>
</ul>
<div>If you are making a batch to serve 'immediately', stack the crepes on a plate, and cover with a second plate to keep them warm and moist while you work. If you are making them to save, layer with pieces of parchment paper (or waxed paper) and wrap well to keep them from drying out in the fridge.</div>
Kale, Queen of Vegetableshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/kale-queen-of-vegetables2015-10-09T01:00:55.700000Z2015-01-23T20:18:00ZCasey Bauer<div>Kale is really good for you. You knew that, of course; but have you tried [cooking with] it? My daughter and I love kale. The boys in the house could do without it. But since I am the one shopping and cooking, I say tough luck.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>There are several varieties of kale, but I prefer the Lacinato or “Dinosaur" variety, as I personally think it's the easiest to prepare. When prepping kale, wash the leaves individually, front and back, checking for anything clinging to the backs. Kale has a tough stem and center stalk, which you will want to remove before cooking. If you are working with Lacinato kale, then you can simply grasp the stem with one hand, and place the other hand so that you have two fingers on either side of the stalk, cupping the base of the leaf. Then squeeze your fingers together and pull the leaf through your hand, ripping the both sides of the leaf off as you go. With other varieties, you may want to use a sharp knife to remove the stalk.<br/></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>The most favored recipe for kale in my house is a salty-crisp kale topping for roast sweet potatoes. It is probably also the easiest to prepare. Hooray for that!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Crispy Kale Topping</b></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Sweet potatoes - 2-3 medium, or as many as you think your family will eat (think leftovers)</li>
<li>Kale - 1 bunch</li>
<li>Olive oil</li>
<li>Sea salt</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Preheat oven to 400 F.</li>
<li>Wash and peel sweet potatoes (unless the skin is in good condition), and cut into chunks with a sharp heavy knife. Smaller pieces will cook faster.</li>
<li>Place in a roasting pan and toss with olive oil and salt.</li>
<li>Place uncovered pan in center of oven and set timer for 25 minutes (remember, smaller pieces cook faster, larger longer.)</li>
<li>Wash kale leaves, shake off or drain most the water, and then remove stems/tough center stalk.</li>
<li>Lay out your ‘filleted’ kale leaves on a cutting board and chop them into smallish pieces, say 1"x2" or so.</li>
<li>When the timer goes off/the sweet potatoes are almost done (a fork pierces them easily, and they have perhaps lightly browned), take the pan out of the oven.</li>
<li>Spread the kale over the top, drizzle with more olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.</li>
<li>Place pan back in the oven and roast for another 5-8 minutes, or until the kale is dark and crispy.</li>
<li>Serve and enjoy!</li>
</ul>
<div>I hope you love this as much as I do—for taste, for ease, for its high nutritional value, and for popularity at the table. I personally serve this at least once a week, and it makes great leftovers (just put it back into a warm oven, uncovered). And after you experience the ease and yumminess of roasting for vegetables, you may start experimenting with other veggies. (My experience: all things are improved by roasting!)</div>
Processed food challenge, part 1 (cleaning out the pantry)https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/processed-food-challenge-part-1-cleaning-out-the-pantry2016-04-10T21:10:23.302000Z2015-01-21T16:36:00ZCasey Bauer<div>Happy New Year! Thinking about how to eat healthier? Join the club. :) </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Seriously, what can you do to improve your diet? A great start is to look in your cabinets and start [re-]reading product labels. How many ingredients do they contain? How may can you pronounce? How much violence have they likely suffered before they reached you? Even if it is “organic", how much does the product resemble something you have seen in nature?</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>The industrial processing of food not only frequently adds junk and utilizes chemicals; even for the organic stuff, it is full of high heat and pressure—violence that can crush the life out of food, and in some cases render it toxic. A case in point is cold breakfast cereal. In experiments, rats were fed only whole grains, or only “puffed" whole grains (that’s what they do to make breakfast cereal), which have <u>nominally</u> the same caloric and nutritional value. The rats fed whole grains were fine and dandy. The rats fed the puffed grains dropped dead two weeks into the study. Not only is puffed grain not <u>food</u>, it is clearly toxic. You are better off eating the box. (Here is a very engaging <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/nov/23/food-book-extract-felicity-lawrence">book excerpt</a> published in the UK rag, The Guardian, describing the booming business of cold breakfast cereal in Britain and the US.)</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Like me, you might find this depressing and frustrating. Life moves quickly in my world, and what are we supposed to eat? But there <u>are</u> other things to eat, and once you start removing the offenders, you will get creative. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I have had a hard time myself getting breakfast cereals completely out of our house. I have a pre-schooler who is VERY particular, god bless him. I have gradually cut back, introducing a number of new breakfast options, and over several weeks have been able to reduce cold cereal breakfasts to once or twice a week. But still, there it is. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>There really is nothing but habit to dictate that we must start the day with “breakfasty" things like cold cereal. There are all kinds of great options that are actually good for you, and not too hard to prepare. Snacks are the other really troublesome territory for me, when it comes to processed foods. A lot of us count on processed and packaged foods for quick snacks and treats. Often even more than breakfast cereals, these will be loaded with added sugar and salt, and contain violently processed food ingredients, never mind the ’natural’ and artificial food colorings, flavors, binders, fillers, other additives and preservatives—none of which are actually food! </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you decide to start cleaning out your pantry, please don’t forget that you can donate unopened packaged goods to a food pantry. Usually, any food is better than no food—hopefully this helps you feel better about getting rid of things. You can also take it slow, and just finish up what you have, and then replace it with new, healthier choices when it is gone. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>There is a good chance you already have some healthy stuff on hand, though, so don’t wait to start experimenting. For breakfasts, you could try:</div>
<ul>
<li>Making (soaked) <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/whats-for-breakfast">oatmeal</a>, and make extra for ‘instant’ breakfasts later in the week</li>
<li>Bread and cheese</li>
<li>Homemade waffles or <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/sourdough-pancakes">pancakes</a> (freeze them and toast later for a quick breakfast, or snack)</li>
<li>Cold <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/quinoa-for-breakfast">quinoa</a> with milk and maple syrup (my favorite), or with fruit</li>
<li>Plain whole yogurt with fruit, or a little jam</li>
<li>Fruit and cheese</li>
<li>Homemade <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/sourdough-muffins">muffins</a> (from the freezer!)</li>
<li>Eggs and ham/bacon</li>
<li>Eggs and toast</li>
<li>Boiled (ahead of time!) eggs</li>
</ul>
<div>There are so many options—you (I) just have to get the cereal out of the way. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>For snacks, and lunch, many of the above apply, of course. Other options include:</div>
<ul>
<li>Homemade crackers (not as complicated as they sound—recipe to come)</li>
<li>Hummus</li>
<li>Cheese</li>
<li>Pieces of cold meat (uncured ham, leftovers from dinner)</li>
<li>Fresh or dried fruit</li>
<li>Nuts and nut butters (in moderation, please!)</li>
<li>Cut raw veggies (perhaps dipped in a yogurt sauce)</li>
<li>Cold or warmed up <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/quinoa-for-breakfast">quinoa</a> or rice with <u>anything</u> (sauce, meat, veggies, yogurt, cheese, poached egg…)<br/></li>
<li>Soup (a great way to get <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/making-chicken-bone-broth">bone broth</a> into yourself and your family)</li>
<li>Homemade smoothies or popsicles</li>
<li>Leftovers from dinner (yes, even for the kids)</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Does anybody have other ideas for easy breakfasts and snacks made from real, whole foods? I would love to hear about it!</div>
Sourdough Crumpetshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/sourdough-crumpets2015-10-09T01:01:04.236000Z2015-01-13T21:03:35ZCasey Bauer<div>Quick, easy, tasty, convenient and versatile! Also, dairy free/vegan. :) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumpet">Crumpets</a> are somewhere between a pancake and an english muffin. Make extra and put them in the fridge or freezer, as they are best toasted. With a little extra honey and added cinnamon, they are a lovely morning treat. Without the cinnamon, they can be eaten anytime, any way! This recipe is based on the one from <a href="http://www.culturesforhealth.com/sourdough-crumpets">Cultures for Health</a>.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Note: You will need ‘special equipment’ for these. I bought these <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044FAW1E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">metal english muffin rings</a>, and found they work just fine. Then I got <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KYCEZQO/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_iqeTub0GBBRA9">these silicone ones</a>, which seem to stick a little less and clean up a little easier. (I make a lot of crumpets!) You could also use a can with the top and bottom removed. I am not completely comfortable (personally) with the idea of cooking in a BPA-lined can, but it is a relatively short exposure. Use your own judgement on this one.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>
<div><b>Ingredients</b></div>
<ul>
<li>2 cups sourdough starter</li>
<li>1 teaspoon sea salt</li>
<li>1 teaspoon baking soda</li>
<li>1 tablespoon or so honey (or sugar)</li>
<li>cinnamon to taste (optional)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div><strong>Instructions</strong></div>
<ul>
<li>Pour starter into a medium-sized bowl. If it seems too dry/sticky to relax into forms, stir in a few drops of water. It should still be thick.</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Add salt, cinnamon and honey, and stir until combined. </li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Grease english muffin rings and heat a cast-iron griddle or skillet over low heat.</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Stir baking soda into batter.</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Grease the hot griddle and place the greased rings on it.</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Fill the rings with batter up to ¼ inch deep, and cook until the top is dry. (Patience!)</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Remove the rings carefully. </li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">If you want to eat them immediately, flip and cook the second side for an additional minute or so to toast. Otherwise, remove from griddle and put in the fridge or freezer to toast later! (Sometimes I flip them for just a few seconds before removing.)</li>
</ul>
<div>I find that I need to butter my rings again after cooking two crumpets, so if you make a larger batch, be sure to reapply your grease—just don’t burn your fingers. Serve the crumpets toasted with butter, jam, maple syrup, cheese, nut butter, or whatever else you like. If you will be freezing them, let them cool completely on a rack, so that they don’t stick together.</div>
<div style="text-decoration: none; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; word-break: normal; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div><br/></div>
<div>Makes 8 crumpets</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you really get into this crumpet thing, check out this very serious article in The Guardian on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/mar/21/how-to-cook-perfect-crumpets">how to cook the perfect crumpet</a>. </div>
</div>
Sourdough Muffinshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/sourdough-muffins2015-10-09T01:01:02.365000Z2015-01-10T02:53:00ZCasey Bauer<div>This tasty and flexible muffin recipe is adapted from <a href="http://www.culturesforhealth.com/the-basic-sourdough-muffin">The Basic Sourdough Muffin recipe</a> on the Cultures for Health site. They have l<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">ots of air pockets from the sourdough and soda, and a lovely chewiness/elasticity. Nice crust on top. Yum.</span></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><strong>Ingredients:</strong></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>½ cup sourdough starter</li>
<li>1½ cups white or whole wheat flour, or a combination</li>
<li>up to <span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">½</span> cup water, as needed (depending on wetness of starter)</li>
<li>½ cup (1 stick) melted butter</li>
<li>2 eggs</li>
<li>1 teaspoon salt</li>
<li>1 teaspoon soda</li>
<li>½ cup sugar (evaporated cane juice, coconut sugar, Sucanat, or a similar dry sweetener)</li>
<li>½ to 1 cup add-ins such as fruit, nuts, vanilla, and any desired spices (optional)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Instructions:</strong></p>
<p><i>In the afternoon/evening (or, in the morning)</i></p>
<p/>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Gently mix together starter and flour until just combined. </li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Add water, a little bit at a time, until dough is JUST wet enough to mix (it should be very stiff). </li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Gather the dough into a ball, and cover bowl with a lid or plastic wrap to keep the dough from drying out. </li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Ferment for at least 8 hours or overnight.</li>
</ul>
<p><i>In the morning (or, in the evening)</i></p>
<p/>
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Preheat the oven to 375°F. </li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Whisk together eggs, salt, sugar, and any spices or vanilla you are using, then gently and patiently work in the starter/flour mix, being careful not to mix too much. <span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">(The dough may still be quite stiff at first, particularly if given a shorter ferment time.)</span></li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Gently fold in the soda, then butter and any fruit or nut additions. </li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Fill prepared (greased or paper-lined) muffin tins ¾ full with batter.</li>
<li style="text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-overflow: clip; text-shadow: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-break: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal;">Bake in pre-heated oven for 22-28 minutes, or until golden and not sticky (check, and be careful not to dry them out)</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div><b>Some possible variations:</b></div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>frozen raspberries, vanilla extract, cinnamon, corriander and ginger</li>
<li>chopped apples, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger</li>
<li>fresh or frozen blueberries, vanilla extract or lemon zest, nutmeg and ginger</li>
<li>chocolate chip with vanilla and cinnamon</li>
<li>chocolate chocolate chip with cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla</li>
<li>chocolate banana with cocoa and chocolate chips</li>
<li>or just vanilla, cinamon and nutmeg</li>
</ul>
<div>One recipe makes 12-16 medium sized muffins, depending on how full you fill the tins and how much extra stuff you add in.<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">You can be quite generous with spices in these muffins, as their ‘base’ flavor can be relatively strong. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">All or part whole wheat flour will produce </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;">a less elastic consistency than white flour only. I think that a fruit addition is nice because it adds moisture. </span><font face="Helvetica, Arial">You can also add a third egg to this recipe for a more cake-like consistency and a little extra protein.</font></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>The first time I made these, I used around 2/3 of a cup of raspberries (frozen) and some vanilla, cinnamon, corriander and ginger. I baked them around 24 minutes on a convection-bake setting. The finished product was awesome. The second time, I made apple cinnamon with 1/2 whole wheat flour, and I think I might have baked them too long, because they were rather dry. The next time, I styled them as cupcakes—I added an extra egg, and made them chocolate chocolate chip.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Because everyone’s starter/oven/room temperature/etc. are different, you may find you need to play with these instructions a bit. After many decades of severe intimidation, I have been finding that baking really is at least as much an art as it is a science. Please get creative, and let me know what you come up with!</div>
Sourdough Pancakeshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/sourdough-pancakes2015-10-09T01:01:02.195000Z2014-12-30T02:19:00ZCasey Bauer<div>Here is a sourdough pancake recipe [mostly] from <a href="http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/SourdoughPancakes.htm">What's Cooking America</a>, perfect for using up starter (you might want to bulk up your starter just for this). The batter is a little goopy, so tricky to get onto the griddle without making a mess--but worth it! The texture is excellent. I made these pancakes recently with 3 cups starter and two eggs, and bumped up the other ingredients by about half. I had plenty left over for the freezer. Pop them in the toaster (or just let them thaw) and they make <u>great snacks</u>!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Ingredients:</b></div>
<ul>
<li>2 cups sourdough starter</li>
<li>2 tablespoons coconut sugar or other sweetener</li>
<li>1-2 eggs (your preference—one is just fine)</li>
<li>4 tablespoons olive oil, melted butter or coconut oil</li>
<li>1/2 teaspoon salt</li>
<li>1/2 teaspoon or so cinnamon and/or nutmeg (to taste)</li>
<li>1 teaspoon baking soda</li>
<li>1 tablespoon warm water</li>
</ul>
<div><b>Preparation:</b></div>
<ul>
<li>In a large bowl, combine starter, sugar, egg, oil and salt; mix well and set aside.</li>
<li>In a small bowl, dilute 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 tablespoon of warm water, then <u>set aside until you are ready to cook</u> your pancakes (and the griddle is hot!) to ensure light, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth pancakes.</li>
<li>Heat up a lightly-greased griddle or skillet until fairly hot.</li>
<li>When ready to cook your pancakes, gently fold the baking soda/water mixture into the prepared batter (do not beat). Allow the mixture to bubble and foam a minute or two before using. (The soda is reacting with the acidity of the sourdough.)</li>
<li>Pour or spoon 1/4 to 1/2 cup batter onto the hot griddle for each pancake.</li>
<li>Cook the pancakes 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown and bubbly.</li>
<li>Serve with your favorite toppings!</li>
</ul>
<div>Yields 4 servings.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Some variations to try:</div>
<div>Blueberry Sourdough Pancakes (fold in just before adding the baking soda, or sprinkle onto the raw side of the pancakes before flipping)</div>
<div>Apple Pancakes (g<span style="line-height: 1.45;">rate some tart apples into the batter before adding the baking soda)</span></div>
<div>Banana Pancakes (thinly slice or mash banana into the batter before adding baking soda)</div>
<div>Chocolate Chip Pancakes (fold in a 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips before adding the baking soda)</div>
Sourdough Starter: getting and maintaining onehttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/sourdough-starter-getting-and-maintaining-one2015-10-09T01:01:03.281000Z2014-12-29T13:32:00ZCasey Bauer<div>As I mentioned in my <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/the-wonders-of-sourdough">first Sourdough post</a>, you can make your own sourdough starter, like I did, purchase a starter, or get some from a friend who has one going. The instructions I chose to follow to start my own sourdough are on <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-47337">the kitchn</a> website. I found the day-by-day instructions very reasonable to follow. I recommend these instructions to anyone who wants to try to make their own starter. If you want to purchase a starter, you can get dried starter in a packet (with instructions) from <a href="http://www.culturesforhealth.com/starter-cultures/sourdough-starter.html">Cultures for Health</a>. You can also find someone who will give you a scoop of their starter so that you can begin to grow your own.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>You will need to find a glass bowl or other glass container (as glass will not react with the acidic sourdough) with a lid or cover, big enough to hold at least 4 cups (1 quart), and with an opening large enough to allow you to add flour and water, and mix, and reach in to scrape the sides. Something like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-Storage-4-Cup-Round-Plastic/dp/B0000CFMU0/ref=sr_1_6?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1419733997&sr=1-6&keywords=glass+bowl+cover">this pyrex bowl</a> could work, or there are these great <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chef-Buddy-Universal-Reusable-Silicone/dp/B00LZI5B6E/ref=sr_1_9?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1419734059&sr=1-9&keywords=glass+bowl+cover">silicone covers</a>, which you can put over a bowl that does not have its own lid (such as the smallest one of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anchor-Hocking-4-Piece-Mixing-Clear/dp/B0009V1BLW/ref=pd_sim_hg_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0GAKHV361S3G484TK8GA">these</a>—I love these bowls).</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Once you have an established starter, you will need to feed it AND use it regularly. If you do not, those poor little yeast organisms will drown themselves in the alcohol byproduct of their metabolism. Just to keep the starter alive, you should feed it at least once a week with equal parts flour and filtered water (no trace chlorine, which kill it), after first removing a significant portion of the starter from the vessel. The portion you remove will make lovely sourdough goods for you, whether bread, or waffles, or crackers or whatever. (If you need to discard but cannot bake right now, you can toss or compost.) If you are planning to do some baking, or make a double batch of waffles, you might want to give your starter an extra feeding or two to bulk it up. I don’t always remove starter with each feeding when I am trying to bulk it up for expected baking. Just be careful to always leave around a 1/2 cup or so when baking, so that you can continue to maintain your starter.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you have a nice cool place (generally around 45-55 degrees, you can keep your starter there rather than the fridge. I do not, so I keep mine mostly in the fridge, taking it out to warm up before and after feeding it, and before using it to bake, so that it has a chance to be thoroughly active. I will sometimes leave it out for a day two, while I am giving it multiple feedings, during a period of heavy use. When it is out and active, leave it covered only loosely, so that the starter can both breathe and expand (it can <u>double</u> in size, and then fall). Close it more tightly when you put it in the fridge, so that it will not dry out. Remember that <u>the warmer your starter is, the more active, the more it will need air, and the more frequently it will need to be used/discarded and fed</u>.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>For additional reading, I recommend two little paperbacks that are easy to get from Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Sourdough-Sara-Pitzer/dp/0882662252/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419817904&sr=8-1&keywords=baking+with+sourdough">Baking with Sourdough</a> by Sara Pitzer, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Sourdough-Starter-Store-Bought-Simplest/dp/0938497308/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=00BJ2YTZYSE74MM8KPZR">Simple Sourdough</a> by Mark Shepard. They are very short, and go over the basics of sourdough in an accessible way. Online, there are many articles, blogs, and discussion boards devoted to sourdough. <a href="http://www.culturesforhealth.com/sourdough">Cultures for Health</a> and <a href="http://breadtopia.com/">Breadtopia</a> are great resources. I have also enjoyed sourdough (and other) posts on the <a href="http://nourishedkitchen.com/tag/sourdough/">Nourished Kitchen</a> blog, and <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/search?q=sourdough">the kitchn</a> website, where I found the instructions I followed for my starter.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Despite what you will read from folks concerned about getting precise, reproducible results, once you establish a healthy starter, sourdough is very forgiving. Plus, it is just bread—or waffles, or whatever—and if it doesn’t come out quite right the first time, you will probably still be able to eat the results. Then, just try again a little differently. The yeast organisms floating around your environment will be different than mine, and will give your starter a subtly different behavior and flavor. Your oven, the temperature of your kitchen and fridge, the flour you use—they will all be different. So, your results will be unique! It is a little journey.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I have also noticed that the goods I produce with my starter initially were far more sour tasting than what I am getting now. I started my culture in October, I believe, and it is now the end of December, so it seems to have changed a good deal over the past two months or so. I feel like I am caring for a pet or growing a little life—sometimes I am tempted to give my starter a name, though I have not yet. It seems almost to have a personality, and I have certainly developed a fondness for it.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you come up with a good name for yours, please share. :)</div>
What’s in the pantry? (Sweeteners)https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/whats-in-the-pantry-sweeteners2015-10-09T01:01:02.251000Z2014-12-28T17:19:20ZCasey Bauer<div>As with <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/whats-in-the-pantry-oils">oils</a>, sugars and other sweeteners were an important target in cleaning up my pantry. I had been using Florida Crystals and Turbinado sugar, thinking they were better than plain white sugar. Unfortunately, it turns out they are not quite the improvement I was looking for. I wanted something that had not had all possible goodness processed out of it. Something that would not be toxic!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>In general, sugar is really just not good for us. Even natural “healthy" sweeteners are not good if you eat a lot of them. Consuming sugar causes all kinds of negative cascade reactions in our bodies. It is implicated in so many common health complaints (mood/behavior, headaches, appetite control, metabolism, inflammation), as well as major disease processes. But it is so hard to cut out completely! So I am trying to find a path of mindful moderation: using healthier sweetening options, in conjunction with using less of them in general.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>What I personally arrived at for best options are these:</div>
<ul>
<li>Grade B Maple Syrup, which has far more minerals than Grade A</li>
<li>Raw Honey, preferably local</li>
<li>Unrefined Coconut Sugar, made from the flower of the coconut palm</li>
<li>Unsulfured Mollasses, which is relatively high in minerals</li>
</ul>
<div>All of these are ‘natural' sweeteners, and are unrefined (I am not certain that maple syrup qualifies for this label), meaning they have undergone very little “processing"—or none at all, in the case of the honey. Honey has very important medicinal properties, in addition to being relatively low on the glycemic index as a sweetener. I use mostly honey and maple syrup, but I have also been pleased with the coconut sugar. I can get it for a good price at Trader Joe’s, particularly since I don’t go through it that fast, really. It looks a lot like brown sugar, but does not get hard as a rock. It melts quickly into my coffee, and it does not have a strong taste you have to <i>get used to</i>. If you can find it, Sucanat is also a good option—it is very similar to coconut sugar, but made from sugar cane. (I do still have some organic raw agave syrup in my pantry—it is useful for some things in moderation, and also relatively low on the glycemic index, though still not really <i>good</i> for you.)</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>As we have weeded out processed foods, I have also gradually reduced the amount of sugar in recipes, and no one here has missed it. I also use the natural sweetness of raisins and other dried fruits, bananas, apples, sweet potatoes, etc., in my cooking. Last night, I made a very tasty baked apple-cinnamon-coconut-leftover rice pudding. I did not put that much sugar in it, but the apples and raisins and even the coconut milk made it plenty sweet and satisfying as a dessert. It could have used some slivered almonds, though. Next time.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Good luck! And let me know how you do. :)</div>
The Wonders of Sourdoughhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/the-wonders-of-sourdough2015-10-09T01:00:59.855000Z2014-12-28T03:19:00ZCasey Bauer<div>How do I love thee? Well, just let me count the ways...</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Sourdough has been such a great find in our house. I had basically taken us all gluten-free, owing to both kids seeming to do better that way (and I felt better too). But then I started reading about traditionally-prepared (long-proofed or long-fermented) sourdough as a solution for gluten-sensitive folks. Even for celiacs, evidently. I was so intrigued, I decided to dive in and experiment. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Sourdough is fermented grain. The fermentation process breaks down the proteins and sugars in the flour and makes it more digestible. One of the proteins it acts on is gluten, and evidently it breaks off a particular enzyme that solves the gluten sensitivity problem. There is some interesting writing on the subject: <a href="http://realfoodforager.com/5-reasons-to-make-sourdough-your-only-bread/">5 Reasons to Make Sourdough Your Only Bread</a> from the Real Food Forager blog, an article in the Guardian “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/12/rise-sourdough-bread-slow-fermented-health-benefits">The rise and rise of sourdough bread</a>", and a Whole Living blog post “<a href="http://www.wholeliving.com/183942/our-daily-bread">Our Daily Bread</a>", for examples.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Sourdough ‘starter', or leavening, or levain, is an ancient baking tool, made from flour and water and any number of the millions of naturally occurring yeast organisms all around us. The starter is created by combining flour and water, and then allowing naturally occurring yeasts to grow in the mixture (fermenting!). A portion of active starter is then added to more flour and water, and this mixture is allowed to ferment (rise). Other ingredients can be added to form the dough for any number of yummy baked goods. But for the best—bread—the only other ingredient is salt. And time—let’s not forget to include that! I start planning and prepping for bread-making a couple of days in advance.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Commercial bakers yeast, a single, highly-active strain of yeast, was only developed in the 1850s. Its use has allowed the industrial production of bread in 3-4 hours, at most, from start (mixing) to finish (shelf-ready). The rapid rise of dough enabled by industrial yeast does not allow any time for fermentation to occur. With all of the ‘anti-nutrients’ (components of the grains which inhibit absorption of nutrients) intact, commercially prepared bread seems to give most people a rather heavy feeling in the gut, at the least, while also silently contributing to malabsorption of nutrients. Even the “sourdough" bread purchased at a regular store is unlikely to be fermented—they still use yeast and simply add a bit of ‘starter’ for flavor, or even just a sour FLAVORING! (Someone save us.) Check the list of ingredients to be sure; if it includes yeast, it is not sourdough.<br/></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Out of my concern for gluten sensitivity, and nutrition in general, I have focused my efforts on long-fermented sourdough baked goods. The greatest portion of my sourdough cooking has been with ‘quick-bread’ type goods, such as pancakes, waffles, crumpets and muffins, which use large quantities of straight starter. The bread I am making is fermented—partially in the fridge—for a total of 20 to 36 hours.<br/></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Before I get into my own sourdough experimentation, I want to put a plug in for our local artisinal baker, <a href="http://www.mamadousartisanbakery.com/">Mamadou</a>. Not only is he a terrific person, he makes amazing bread, and almost all of it is made with his own starter, rather than commercial yeast. His sourdough and pain au levain, both long-proofed, have both been big hits at our house!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Keeping sourdough starter is a bit like having a pet. After the initial growth of a starter, which takes around 5 days, the liveliness of your starter can be maintained by using it and feeding it once or twice a week (they say, every 5 days). I have read a lot that makes it sound like a precise science, but in my experience, it has been more of an intuitive art/science blend. Once you get the hang of it, it is not that hard, and VERY rewarding! It is also a lot cheaper than buying baked goods at the store.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I have been making bread, which I find fun and satisfying, every couple of weeks. But 1-3 times a week, I am making quick-baking (and freezer-friendly) breakfast and snack items like muffins and crumpets. Because of this, I tend to feed my starter much more often than I would just to keep it going, bulking it up so that I can take up to 2 cups from it for a single recipe.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Now, if you are still reading, maybe you are thinking you would like to try baking with sourdough yourself. Great! You don’t even need to make bread to make it worthwhile, though it is fun. The fabulous waffles and such are a rich reward. You can <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-47337">start your own</a>, like I did, or <a href="http://www.culturesforhealth.com/starter-cultures/sourdough-starter.html">purchase a starter,</a> or get some from a friend who has one going. In any case, I recommend finding a glass bowl or other glass container (glass won’t react with the acidic sourdough) with a lid or cover, which is big enough to hold at least 4 cups (1 quart), and has an opening that will allow you to add flour and water, and mix, and reach in to scrape the sides. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-Storage-4-Cup-Round-Plastic/dp/B0000CFMU0/ref=sr_1_6?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1419733997&sr=1-6&keywords=glass+bowl+cover">This pyrex bowl</a> could work, or there are these great <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chef-Buddy-Universal-Reusable-Silicone/dp/B00LZI5B6E/ref=sr_1_9?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1419734059&sr=1-9&keywords=glass+bowl+cover">silicone covers</a>, which you can put over a bowl that does not have its own lid (such as the smallest one of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anchor-Hocking-4-Piece-Mixing-Clear/dp/B0009V1BLW/ref=pd_sim_hg_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0GAKHV361S3G484TK8GA">these</a>—I love these bowls).</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>For detailed instructions and actual recipes, you will need to check out my upcoming posts. But I promise to share very soon!</div>
Under the Weather?https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/under-the-weather2015-07-23T02:12:56.401000Z2014-12-21T19:58:07ZCasey Bauer<div>Apple Tea is an excellent health tonic made with raw honey (preferably local) and unfiltered apple cider vinegar. It is good for helping to fight off viruses, as well as for allergies. I am not sure why it works, but possibly something to do with changing your pH balance (the vinegar) and the local pollens and other natural soothing and health-promoting properties of honey. You can look it up.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div>
<ul>
<li>1 T Bragg’s organic unfiltered cider vinegar</li>
<li>1 T raw honey</li>
<li>1/2 cup cold water</li>
<li>1/2 cup hot water</li>
</ul>
<div><i>Instructions</i></div>
<ul>
<li>Mix the honey and vinegar with cold water until mostly dissolved</li>
<li>Then mix in the hot water (this way the honey doesn’t get cooked)</li>
</ul>
<div>Drink 2-4 times a day when feeling poorly, or as often as daily as a health tonic. Adjust proportions to taste.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>In addition to Apple Tea, if you are not feeling your best, you should be eating (or drinking) lots of <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/making-chicken-bone-broth">homemade bone broth</a>! Don’t miss my earlier post on that. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Get well soon.</div>
<div>Casey</div>
Quinoa (for breakfast!)https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/quinoa-for-breakfast2017-01-23T18:33:36.676000Z2014-12-21T16:37:00ZCasey Bauer<div>Quinoa is a cheap, nutritious, easy-to-cook pantry staple. It was an important crop of the ancient Incas, and has been a staple in South America for thousands of years. These days, it is widely available in North America. Hooray!</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>High in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, quinoa is technically a seed (not a grain). However, it easily takes over for grains in my kitchen. It comes in red and the more common, plain ‘white’—my family prefers the white. I often make it to go with dinner (under a stew or skillet dish, in a pilaf, or on the side), but my favorite way to eat it is for breakfast. I always make extra when preparing dinner, then pop the extras in the fridge. In the morning I spoon some cold into a bowl, drizzle maple syrup on it and a generous splash of milk. It cooks so quickly, though, it would be easy to prepare fresh as a hot cereal. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>To prepare quinoa:</b></div><ul>
<li>Measure out 1 cup of quinoa and rinse thoroughly in a mesh sieve.</li>
<li>Allow quinoa to drain while you warm up a tablespoon or so of olive oil or butter in a pot (with a cover).</li>
<li>Plop the quinoa into the pot and stir until somewhat dried (maybe a couple of minutes).</li>
<li>Drop in your chunk of frozen broth, and add any water necessary to make up 2 cups of liquid. Add a pinch of salt.</li>
<li>Bring to a gentle simmer, and cook covered for about 15 minutes.</li>
<li>Remove from heat. Can be served immediately, or not!</li>
</ul><div><br/></div>
<div>Alternatively, you can keep it simple and skip the toasting step (where you stir the quinoa with oil to dry it). </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Here is a link to all kinds of breakfast quinoa options: <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/deenashanker/ways-you-never-knew-you-could-eat-quinoa-for-breakfast">24 Delicious Ways To Eat Quinoa For Breakfast</a>. And I also once saved a lovely looking recipe for which I sadly cannot identify the author/URL. But here it is, in case it inspires you. :)</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Breakfast Quinoa with sweet potato and maple syrup</b></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><i>Ingredients</i></div><ul>
<li>1 1/4 cups water</li>
<li>1 cup quinoa</li>
<li>1 tablespoon butter</li>
<li>1/2 cup sweet potato puree*</li>
<li>1 tablespoon maple syrup</li>
<li>1/3 cup milk</li>
<li>1/4 teaspoon cinnamon</li>
<li>Pinch of salt</li>
</ul><div><i>Directions</i></div><ul>
<li>Make ahead: prepare quinoa, and roast/cool/scoop/puree the sweet potato the night before.</li>
<li>To prepare: Melt butter and stir in sweet potato puree, maple syrup, milk, spices and salt until well combined. Add quinoa and stir gently.</li>
<li>To serve: Top with maple syrup, nuts, etc.</li>
</ul><div>*For sweet potato puree:</div><ul>
<li>Prep — Do not peel. Leave whole if roasting.</li>
<li>Cook — Roast in a 400 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes.</li>
<li>Puree — Scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor or blender.</li>
</ul><div>(Alternatively, you can peel, cube, coat lightly with olive oil and roast the sweet potato for about 30 minutes, and then smash it up or puree if you like.)</div>
<div><br/></div>
Lentilshttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/lentils2015-10-09T01:00:58.176000Z2014-12-10T19:53:00ZCasey Bauer<div>Are there lentils in your pantry? Have you cooked them yet? They are so easy, so versatile, so tasty and so good for you. What are you waiting for?</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>My favorite lentil for everyday cooking is the French Green Lentil, which has a lovely blue-green mottled look when dry. It is a little more expensive than the standard brown or green lentils, but still very economical. When cooked, these lentils appear more like a faded black-bean (brown-grey?) and can indeed be substituted in most places you would use black beans. The important thing with lentils is to cook them with that broth you have started making. This is a great way to get all that goodness into your and your family’s bodies.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>The basic technique for cooking lentils is as follows:</div>
<ul>
<li>Measure out 1 cup lentils and rinse in a mesh sieve.</li>
<li>Plop lentils into a pot (that has a cover) and add 2 cups of liquid. This is where you can drop in that chunk of frozen broth, and add any additional water needed. (If you have not ventured into broth-making yet, add some store-bought ‘broth’, or herbs or other seasoning here.) </li>
<li>Turn on the heat, cover and simmer for around 25-30 minutes. Check them to see if most of the liquid has been absorbed, and then turn off the heat.</li>
<li>Salt to taste and serve.</li>
</ul>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Tip: you CAN pre-soak your lentils, for an hour or up to twelve. It is not strictly necessary, but will reduce phytic acid (improve digestibility), and shorten cooking time. Soak them in plain/filtered water on the counter at room temperature.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I always make extra lentils, as I find they are terrific leftovers. They can be incorporated into a pilaf (with ground meat, cumin seed and raisins, for example), or soup, or casserole, or burritos, or just on the side of the plate. I love serving them with a little sour cream or plain whole yogurt, which adds a probiotic, fermented component to your dinner, tastes yummy, and helps the lentils stick to your fork. :)</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you like the pilaf idea, here is a great recipe for <a href="http://gogingham.com/2012/09/spiced-lentils-with-pork/">lentils with ground pork</a>, which I found inspiring.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you want to really go nuts, you can also sprout them and then lightly steam. <a href="http://www.sarahwilson.com/2011/05/lentils-how-to-really-eat-them/">Here are some ideas.</a></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>And finally, here is what WikiPedia has to say on the matter: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentil">Lentils</a>.</div>
Choosing cookwarehttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/choosing-cookware2015-10-09T01:00:56.533000Z2014-11-23T13:44:07ZCasey Bauer<div>Most people are well aware that bits of teflon coating in their food is not desirable. I was also concerned about the scratches in some of my hard anodized aluminum pans, allowing aluminum beneath the hardened surface to leach into my food. I have now pared down my kitchen cookware/equipment, so that my collection now consists primarily of:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Cast iron (two skillet sizes, a square griddle and a large covered pot)<br/></li>
<li>Enameled cast iron (several sizes)<br/></li>
<li>Enameled steel (baking dishes)<br/></li>
<li>Stainless steel (large sauté pan, stock pot, and a large, lightweight mixing bowl)<br/></li>
<li>Glass (baking dishes and mixing bowls)<br/></li>
<li>Ceramic (baking dishes and mixing bowls)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>My cookware is much more organized now, too! I am impressed with how useful those two cast iron skillets are. I have been able to cook eggs without sticking, and braise veggies… just about anything that fits. I saved a lid from an old anodized aluminum pan, and it fits perfectly over my larger skillet - useful for wilting greens, etc. Keep in mind that stainless steel will react with acidic foods, so they are not a good choice to pair.</div>
<div><br/></div>
I kept a few items that I could not bear to part with, since there is just so much I can take.
<div>
<ul>
<li>Slow cooker, 6 quart enameled crock*<br/></li>
<li>Crepe pan, teflon coating (no scratches)<br/></li>
<li>Waffle iron, teflon coating (no scratches)<br/></li>
<li>Electric griddle, teflon coating (no scratches)<br/></li>
<li>Wok, anodized aluminum (no scratches)<br/></li>
<li>Plastic mixing bowls**<br/></li>
</ul>
</div>
<blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;">
<div>*There is some controversy over whether heavy metals may leach from enameled crocks under long-heat conditions, particularly with acidic foods.</div>
<div>**There is a decent chance I will eventually part with these too, but they are handy and lightweight.<br/></div>
</blockquote>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Possibly over the top, I have also strictly limited my use of the microwave, out of concern for the degrading of nutrients. (Many are already aware that they should never heat breast milk in the microwave, because it will destroy or alter many of the most important nutrients.) It takes a little more planning, but I find it is not such a big inconvenience.</div>
Making Chicken Bone Brothhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/making-chicken-bone-broth2016-04-15T20:39:14.582000Z2014-11-22T20:15:00ZCasey Bauer<div>You can make your own broth. It is not hard. In fact, you really should <b>consider making this one change to your cooking habits</b>, if nothing else: make and use your own bone broth.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none;">
<div>“Bone broth is one of the best foods you can feed your body and...it is hands down the easiest nourishing food to make in your kitchen." </div>
<div>- Katie at <a href="http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/02/18/back-to-basics-baby-step-monday-mission-no-7-make-bone-broth-regularly/">Kitchen Stewardship<br/></a></div>
</blockquote>
<div><a href="http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/02/18/back-to-basics-baby-step-monday-mission-no-7-make-bone-broth-regularly/"><br/></a></div>
<div>After enjoying a nice dinner of <a href="http://lotus-life.postach.io/braised-bone-in-chicken-with-tarragon">braised bone-in chicken</a>, or maybe just a rotisserie chicken, save all of those bones and bits. Gather <b>every speck</b> of bone, cartilage, skin, and stray bits - including those left on dinner plates! If you only have a small amount, toss them in a zip lock or other container in the freezer until you accumulate enough to fill at least the bottom of your slow cooker.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Instructions</b></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>When you are ready, toss all of those bones and bits into a slow cooker and then fill the pot with cold water. If your chicken came with “giblets", throw them in too! (All except the liver, which makes broth bitter. Give that to your favorite dog/cat, make “dirty rice", fry and eat, or toss it.) </div>
<div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>If you have some cut off ends of veggies, such as the dark green ends of leeks, or onion peels, or something almost past edible, rinse and throw those in too for flavor and vitamins. (Once you try broth-making, you will almost certainly want to start saving the cut-off ends of veggies, and bones from all your meat in the freezer. This is the time to pop these frozen veggie ends and chicken bones into the crock pot as well.)<br/></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Add a couple of tablespoons or so apple cider vinegar to the water and bones, and let it sit for an hour. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Then turn the pot on to low and go to bed.</div>
</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Your house will smell amazing for the next couple of days while it simmers. During this time, add water occasionally, and skim off and toss fat, any foam, and anything that looks yucky and floats to the top, using a spoon. At some point on the second day, try breaking open your bones to expose the marrow, and let that get into the broth.</div>
<div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>At the end of two days, you will have crock pot mostly full of incredibly good stuff. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Allow it to cool, and then ladle through a sieve into glass jars for the fridge (for the next couple of days), or in 1-2 cup portions into labeled/dated small freezer bags (zip locks) to freeze. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>And finally, the reason we did all this [not very] hard work: <b>USE IT!</b> Replace part or all of the water called for in cooking rice, lentils or quinoa, or use it as a base for a sauce/gravy, or my favorite: make chicken soup with it, using leftover chicken and veggies from that braised chicken dinner. (This is our household favorite dinner.) Just run the zip lock bag under warm water for a moment, and then dump your frozen chunk of goodness into the cooking pot.</div>
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</div>
<div>I hope that this inspires you!</div>
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<div><img src="https://cdn-images.postach.io/3dfdf2e8-9329-4925-aeba-9ee23795df87/efebc558-a4fa-4a93-b1fd-203357886e68/0bb917d1-e277-4f81-9678-a535c911479c.jpg" width="635" style="height:auto;"/></div>
<div><img src="https://cdn-images.postach.io/3dfdf2e8-9329-4925-aeba-9ee23795df87/efebc558-a4fa-4a93-b1fd-203357886e68/c44e4fa3-9ac6-4d69-bc81-7dee0fc28327.jpg" width="636" style="height:auto;"/></div>
<div><img src="https://cdn-images.postach.io/3dfdf2e8-9329-4925-aeba-9ee23795df87/efebc558-a4fa-4a93-b1fd-203357886e68/0b4e0d77-78a0-4008-b35b-2589160bde32.jpg" style="height:auto;" width="637"/></div>
What's in the pantry? (Oils)https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/whats-in-the-pantry-oils2015-10-09T01:00:52.776000Z2014-10-29T21:03:34ZCasey Bauer<div>Overhauling the pantry meant tossing a lot of things out, and making major updates to my grocery list. One of the first things I did was toss out oils that quickly turn rancid, and therefore include bleaching and deodorizing in their processing (yuck!), and which are also high in unsaturated fats, which turn out NOT to be so good for us.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Preferred Oils</b> </div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Butter, cultured and pastured<br/></li>
<li>Coconut Oil, expeller-pressed<br/></li>
<li>Sesame Seed Oil, expeller-pressed<br/></li>
<li>Olive Oil, extra virgin<br/></li>
<li>Pork Leaf Lard, pastured (if you can get it!)<br/></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Any butter is better than margarine, or other oil-based butter substitutes, but if you can get pasture-raised and/or cultured butter, that is best (and seriously delicious). Coconut oil is one of a few tropical oils that are naturally high in saturated fat, and stable (do not turn rancid easily). Sesame seed oil should be used in moderation, but is handy to have in the pantry. Pasture-raised pork leaf lard is full of vitamin D and other nutrients, and if you can get your hands on some, you can use it for sautéing, baking, you name it. I found two good posts on rendering lard, if you are interested—one is <a href="http://www.myhumblekitchen.com/2011/02/how-render-lard-the-right-way-snow-white/">using a crock pot</a>, and the other is <a href="http://nourishedkitchen.com/how-to-render-lard/">on the stove top</a>. I can get packets of pork leaf lard from my meat CSA farmer.</div>
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<div>Don’t be shy about cooking with oils. We NEED the saturated fats and vitamins they contain in our diets! In fact, it is hard for our bodies to use the nutrients in our cooked vegetables without a saturated fat accompaniment. So, braise that kale in pastured butter!</div>
What's for breakfast?https://lotus-life.postach.io/post/whats-for-breakfast2015-10-09T01:00:56.360000Z2014-10-29T19:04:34ZCasey Bauer<div>Along with cleaning out my pantry, breakfast is one of the first big challenges I tackled. What would we do without our old favorite standby, cold breakfast cereal with coconut-almond milk?
</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I started with overnight-soaked oatmeal (“porridge"), and also started serving more (pastured!) eggs. Granola was still an option, but I ditched the nut milk, since it has all kinds of extra stuff in it. Going back to cow’s milk, I found that there are at least a couple of brands at Whole Foods that are not homogenized, and hopefully only lightly pasteurized - my preference being High Lawn Farms whole milk. (High Lawn Farms specializes in raising Jersey Cows, whose milk is much higher protein than the usual Holsteins.)</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>After a lot of reading, and some trial and error, I can recommend the following oatmeal porridge recipe, based on <a href="http://thenourishinghome.com/2012/04/soaked-oatmeal-wgluten-free-option/">one from The Nourishing Home blog</a>.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>Soaked Oatmeal Porridge</b></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>
<div>In the afternoon or evening, combine in a non-reactive bowl (glass or ceramic):</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>2 teaspoons lemon juice<br/></li>
<li>1 cup regular rolled or steel cut oats (look for gluten-free oats, if that’s you; do NOT use the quick cooking kind)<br/></li>
<li>2-4 T buckwheat cereal (for the gluten-free) or rye flakes<br/></li>
<li>warm water to cover</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>Let this stand, covered, on the counter over-night.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>In the morning, rinse the oats and buckwheat cereal in a mesh sieve. This washes out most of the sour taste from the lemon juice.<br/></div>
<div><br/></div>
</div>
<div>Plop the mostly-drained cereal mixture into a pot and add:</div>
<ul>
<li>1 1/2-2 cups water (buckwheat will absorb more water)<br/></li>
<li>a generous pinch of salt</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>You can also flavor your oatmeal at this point. I like to add some combination of:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>dried fruit (raisins/apples)<br/></li>
<li>fresh fruit (apples, banana)<br/></li>
<li>spices to taste (ground coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>Cook on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until you have the consistency you like. Feel free to add more water if it seems like a good idea. Serve with honey (raw and local!) or maple syrup (Grade B, Dark Amber, which has the most minerals) and milk over the top! You can also top with nuts and fresh berries.</div>
</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div><b>For Leftovers</b></div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>Make your life easier, and make extra! Leftover oatmeal can be kept in the fridge for a few days, then warmed up in a pot on the stovetop with a little water <u>anytime</u>. You can even freeze it. Hooray for “instant" home-cooked oatmeal. :)</div>
My Food Journeyhttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/my-food-journey2015-10-09T01:00:52.699000Z2014-10-29T13:20:08ZCasey Bauer<div>Plastics and chemicals have always made me uneasy, so for a long time I have worked to cut them out of my life and house. Cleaning products, personal care, produce - I read labels and articles and gradually found an approach that worked for me: non-toxic, fragrance-free, mostly organic, and ‘do I really need this?’. </div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I cook for my family most nights, and have been a member of two CSA’s for a few years now - one for meat (year round) and one for produce (32 weeks), so we were eating a lot of pastured meat and eggs, and produce grown with organic and IPM practices.<br/></div>
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<div><br/></div>
<div>But one day, as I was in line at Whole Foods, watching my selection glide down the conveyer belt, I realized that I was still buying a lot of mass-produced, processed foods. The packaging might say “organic", but how virtuous are those boxes of cereal and containers of flavored yogurts, really? That is when I decided to get really serious. (Some say crazy.)
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<div>Lucky for me, I had a little more time on my hands than I was used to, having just finished my Masters degree. This is good, because cutting out processed foods meant figuring out a whole new bag of tricks for kids’ snacks, lunches, and breakfast. There were some dark days, when I couldn’t figure out what to eat for lunch, so I skipped it by default. :( Complicating things for us is that we are also mainly gluten-free, as that seems to help both kids with digestive issues, and it feels better for me, too.</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I started reading Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon, and delving into the Weston A. Price Foundation website. The amount of information and the gulf between them and conventional approaches to food were daunting, but I settled on a small number of steps I could take right away:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>First, I would start experimenting with soaking my grains--starting with oatmeal for breakfast--to reduce phytic acid and increase nutritional value. <br/></li>
<li>Second, I would prioritize broth-making, using the bones from our lovely pastured meats to make what amounts to liquid gold.<br/></li>
<li>I also started dabbling with incorporating fermented foods into our diet, for their extraordinary nutritional and digestive benefits.<br/></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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<div>Changing the way you approach food is hard work! But after a few months of scrambling, trial and error, I feel I like finally have my head above water. It seems like time to share what I have learned (am learning)! Thank you for being interested, and may my efforts also be of service to you. :)</div>
Beginninghttps://lotus-life.postach.io/post/beginning2015-10-09T01:00:52.543000Z2014-10-29T02:50:42ZCasey Bauer<div>What it comes down to is that I want to live a long, healthy life, and I would like to take my family (and friends) with me. And I believe that you are what you eat (or otherwise ingest).</div>
<div><br/></div>
<div>I decided to start this blog in order to share my discoveries, and any wisdom I have gained and can convey, from my food journey. I expect it may grow beyond that, but for now, I will start with my search for sustainable, excellent health through food and cooking.</div>