P&PS

Back before I discovered I'm lactose intolerant I used to make my own yogurt.  It was something I loved doing not only because it was easy and thrifty but because it felt like I was doing something good for myself.  When I cut out dairy I felt a bit lost for a while.  I tried making dairy free yogurt, but while it worked, it wasn't the same experience.  Kombucha sounded promising but I can't tolerate caffeine, so I considered giving up on this particular probiotic avenue until I discovered water kefir. For those of you who are unfamiliar with water kefir, it has the same probiotic and digestive benefits as milk kefir or yogurt without dairy.  The consistency of water kefir is similar to that of soda or carbonated water.  While initially I missed the creamy goodness of yogurt, thinking of water kefir as a totally different experience (aka extra healthy juice) really hooked me. Not only is water kefir addicting, it's really easy to make. To make your ...

I really love these brownies so I thought I would post my modified recipe here for anyone who’s interested. To start, the recipes I based my brownies off of is this recipe for fudgy pumpkin brownies , using this paleo coconut flour brownie recipe in place of the recommend gluten free brownie mix. The Brownies 3/8 cup coconut flour 1/2 cup carob powder 1/3 cup coconut oil 3 eggs 3/4 cup coconut milk, canned 1/2 tsp stevia (see notes below) 1/4 tsp baking soda pinch salt The Pumpkin Mixture 1/2 cup coconut cream (I used the cream off of a can of coconut milk) 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 1 egg 1 1/2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice 2 tsp lemon juice (apple cider vinegar also works) 1 tsp stevia (see notes below) A quick note on stevia. I use nunaturals stevia which doesn’t have any filler in it. Depending on the brand you use, you’re going to want to use more stevia, in my experience generally about twice as much, but you’re going to have to play around particularly with the brow...

 For those of us in the U.S. Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching. The grocery stores are packed with people looking for a good deals  on turkeys and those of us with allergies and dietary restrictions are wondering what we’re going to eat over the long weekend while everyone else is happily subsisting on turkey sandwiches. Some substitutions are more straightforward, coconut milk or oil for dairy, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, or parsnips and turnips for mashed potatoes, but what about other things: stuffing, pumpkin pie, gravy? I’m trying out a couple of recipes this year and I thought I would share what I’m planning. Since there’s only a couple of us we’re baking turkey breasts instead of a whole turkey, but we usually roast an un(store)brined turkey. We’re having the usual mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, squash, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and desserts: apple, pumpkin, and pudding pies. Along with this, I’m taking sweet potatoes and some coconut oil to stand in for the ma...

When I sat down to write up this post I fully expected to have another tale of cooking!fail to tell you about.  I had after all messed up big time.  I expected to have a good laugh, eat some mediocre food and move on with my day.  Boy was I wrong. It all started as most kitchen adventures do, in the local food co-op.  I had finished up my shopping and had turned down an aisle to make my way to the register when I saw it: the maroon paper bag proclaiming ‘no sugar added’!  I looked at my overflowing cart and thought I don’t really need muffin mix.  Normally I’d have everything I need to make muffins at home in the cupboard, but I’ve been packed for the move that’s never happening for ages and I’d be lucky if I had any baking soda left let alone muffin mix, so I waivered.  I thought it had to have something else in it, something that would make me put the bag back down but it didn’t, so I splurged, and splurged some more on some blueberries. Today, sin...

Recently kale’s become quite a phenomenon, which is fine by me, even if finding kale chips in the snack food aisle still weirds me out.  It’s quite possibly my favorite green, not because it’s packing with all sorts of awesome stuff but because it tastes so good, particularly when it’s been dehydrated or toasted up.There are lots of kale chip recipes out there, but my favorite ones will always be the ones at Making Love in the Kitchen .  The idea behind making kale chips isn’t any different from making fries or any other sort of roasted goodness, which is a good thing because I’ve been bending the rules.  It’s a bit like playing a game of chicken, how much kale can I fit in one glass baking pan, at how high a temperature before the kale burns between checks (generally at 10 – 15 minute intervals).  The best results will always be at the original 300* with a thin layer of kale cooked until crispy.  If you’re up for eating mass amounts (or would like to have som...

I tend to shy away from posting recipes because I’m not a food photographer. I make food to eat it.  It doesn’t tend to last long enough to photograph.  There’s also a part of me that thought it’d all been done before.  Looking for allergy friendly recipes, however, I realized that’s not true.  There’s not nearly enough allergy friendly recipes out there, particularly when taking multiple allergies into account.  As such, I’m willing to try and undertake the task of attempting not to stuff my face the second food comes out of the oven.  Good recipes deserve good photos. Baked Chicken Meatballs (adapted from this recipe at smitten kitchen) 1/3 uncooked brown  rice (or amount to make 1 cup cooked) 1/3 coconut (or other non-dairy milk) 1/3 water You may need to adjust the amount of liquid to suit the rice you’re using. Combine in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes until rice is soft.  Stir occasion...

I can't find my henna mix anywhere. I've been lamenting this fact for a week now and I can't stand it any longer. I've ordered another batch. My roots are long enough that my bangs match my eyebrows. I am not impressed. I'm thinking this go around I'll be adding 3TBSP of cloves to my mix to cut down on the wretched smell that is vinegar mixed with lemon juice and henna. Perhaps I could get by without the vinegar. Lemon and henna smells nice. Lemon is acidic. I think I may declare this a grand experiment...again. I like this plan. I do.

Making your own stock is a beautiful thing.  For one, anyone who’s had anything fresh from the garden knows it hardly compares to what you could buy in the store. Stock is the same way.  Add to that the fact that you can make your own stock from items you already have and items you’d normally discard: onion skins, carrot tops and peels, bits of discarded celery (I’ve made a habit of freezing these as I  go along so they’re ready when I need them), and if you’re making chicken stock the carcass left over from the roaster you bought or that big dinner you had the other day.  Other than that you need a large soup pot, some water, a strainer, and a stove.  Easy. For chicken stock set aside any remaining meat, break up the carcass and add it to the pot, for vegetable stock skip this step, then add the vegetable bits you’ve saved to the pot as well.  Cover with water.  Bring the pot to a boil and then lower to a simmer.  Leave uncovered at a simmer...

I’ve got a couple of book/movie posts coming so I figured I should post something a bit more typical of me before I got started with all that.  I’ve made mention to several people that I’ve started making my own crackers.  This tends to be met initially with surprise and then curiosity.  When I first came across the recipe I was quite surprised myself; I’d considered making pretzels but had completely skipped over crackers. The recipe I’ve included in this post is one shared by an Alberta 100-mile dieter with a knack for picking out some awesome recopies.  The original post for anyone interested is here . I’ve learned a couple of things having gone through this process quite a few times now: When using whole wheat flour add the extra liquid required (I use about double) but hold off on adding extra flour until after you’ve let the dough set for 10 or so minutes. Do chill the dough.  It makes rolling it out immensely easier. I prefer my crackers crispy...