My husband brought me home a duck to cook a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to cook it right so I went hunting for a good recipe. You don't cook it the same as a chicken I discovered. I found this recipe and followed the instructions to the letter. Perfect duck!
http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2009/02/11/the-best-way-to-roast-a-duck-hello-crispy-skin/
I remind my readers to buy your duck or any meats from sources that you know are raising the animals in ethical, free-range, organic conditions.
The duck turned out fabulous, but I did make one change.
The recipe for the orange sauce I changed to the following:
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbls. orange juice
1 Tbls. coconut aminos (not soy sauce, I don't use soy at all in my kitchen. This is healthier and tastes very much the same.)
1 1/2 Tbls. Garam Marsala (adjust to taste)
I had been looking for something to try the Garam Marsala in and this was absolutely perfect. The flavor was out of this world! Garam Marsala is a curry from the south of India. It has such an intriguing smell and flavor. I have fallen in love with this spice!
Now for some additional fun I had some of the orange sauce left over and decided I would mix it with some home made mayonnaise and make a Waldorf Salad with it. It was a hit! Now I just want to make more sauce to make another Waldorf Salad. What a wonderful flavor combination!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Adventures with yogurt
I visited my daughter one weekend and discovered to my delight she was buying raw milk. To my further delight I learned she was making her own yogurt and butter from the milk. I was thrilled and intrigued. I grew up eating the yogurt my mother made but I had never tried my own hand at it. Well if my daughter could do it, there was no reason for me not to try!
I bought a yogurt maker to help me keep a steady reliable temperature. Basically it is just a warmer and nothing more. The MAKING of the yogurt is quite simple and only takes minutes.
Being a raw food enthusiast I wanted to make RAW milk yogurt. I learned this is a little tricky and the yogurt turns out quite thin and runny compared to regular yogurt you buy at the store, but I was not to be dissuaded. I used raw goat's milk my first time out and it turned out quite pleasant, but runny as expected. The trick is to warm the milk to 110 degrees F and no warmer, then add your starter and pop it in your yogurt warmer. There are several methods to heat and warm the yogurt to allow the culture to grow but I am not going to go into them. To make my own life easy I bought a yogurt warmer and I love it!
So how to make a nice thick raw milk yogurt? I called my mother to tell her of my adventures and she shared an important nugget with me "Don't you know I used gelatin in my yogurt?". Well of course I had no idea! But here's my problem with that. I stopped buying any meat or animal products from CAFO farms 2 years ago. CAFO is Confined Animal Feeding Operations, or factory farms. I feel they are unethical and inhumane in the way they treat their animals. Gelatin comes from cow hooves and bones and I am QUITE sure they are from CAFO operations, so gelatin was not an option for me. However I did have another option, I had Agar Agar. This is a gelatin made from sea plants, so no problems with CAFO there! It is tasteless too so it would not affect the flavor of the end product.
The first try with Agar Agar was ok, yes the yogurt was thicker, but not as thick as I wanted, so the next batch I used 4 times as much. FAIL! The yogurt came out with the texture of school paste! OK, so I backed off and used 1 tablespoon on the next batch and it was a little rubbery in texture, but thicker than my first batch, so I am getting somewhere with it. The flavor was good and not like paste at all. I think probably 2 or maybe 3 teaspoons for a quart of yogurt will be the perfect batch. Next try will be just right!
This last weekend I made raw milk yogurt from Cow's milk but I let it ferment 4 hours too long by accident. It was a thin runny yogurt like my first attempt and rather more sour in flavor from fermenting too long. But it was not unusable. I discussed it with my husband and we started talking about making a dip out of it and I got a brilliant idea, cucumber yogurt dip! Yes!
I used a yogurt cheese cloth bag and poured my thin runny yogurt in it to strain off some whey. (I used the whey to soak my brown rice for the evening meal, double plus!) I pureed two cucumbers, chopped up onion and garlic and added dill and about a teaspoon of lemon juice. Voila! Yogurt cucumber dip to die for! Yum!
I have also strained off my yogurt and made a cream cheese with it when it is dry enough. Flavored with organic herbs it is a delightful spread.
I am thoroughly enjoying my yogurt adventures. I don't know why I waited so long in my life to try making this wonderful food. How satisfying to eat this product I made myself!
I bought a yogurt maker to help me keep a steady reliable temperature. Basically it is just a warmer and nothing more. The MAKING of the yogurt is quite simple and only takes minutes.
Being a raw food enthusiast I wanted to make RAW milk yogurt. I learned this is a little tricky and the yogurt turns out quite thin and runny compared to regular yogurt you buy at the store, but I was not to be dissuaded. I used raw goat's milk my first time out and it turned out quite pleasant, but runny as expected. The trick is to warm the milk to 110 degrees F and no warmer, then add your starter and pop it in your yogurt warmer. There are several methods to heat and warm the yogurt to allow the culture to grow but I am not going to go into them. To make my own life easy I bought a yogurt warmer and I love it!
So how to make a nice thick raw milk yogurt? I called my mother to tell her of my adventures and she shared an important nugget with me "Don't you know I used gelatin in my yogurt?". Well of course I had no idea! But here's my problem with that. I stopped buying any meat or animal products from CAFO farms 2 years ago. CAFO is Confined Animal Feeding Operations, or factory farms. I feel they are unethical and inhumane in the way they treat their animals. Gelatin comes from cow hooves and bones and I am QUITE sure they are from CAFO operations, so gelatin was not an option for me. However I did have another option, I had Agar Agar. This is a gelatin made from sea plants, so no problems with CAFO there! It is tasteless too so it would not affect the flavor of the end product.
The first try with Agar Agar was ok, yes the yogurt was thicker, but not as thick as I wanted, so the next batch I used 4 times as much. FAIL! The yogurt came out with the texture of school paste! OK, so I backed off and used 1 tablespoon on the next batch and it was a little rubbery in texture, but thicker than my first batch, so I am getting somewhere with it. The flavor was good and not like paste at all. I think probably 2 or maybe 3 teaspoons for a quart of yogurt will be the perfect batch. Next try will be just right!
This last weekend I made raw milk yogurt from Cow's milk but I let it ferment 4 hours too long by accident. It was a thin runny yogurt like my first attempt and rather more sour in flavor from fermenting too long. But it was not unusable. I discussed it with my husband and we started talking about making a dip out of it and I got a brilliant idea, cucumber yogurt dip! Yes!
I used a yogurt cheese cloth bag and poured my thin runny yogurt in it to strain off some whey. (I used the whey to soak my brown rice for the evening meal, double plus!) I pureed two cucumbers, chopped up onion and garlic and added dill and about a teaspoon of lemon juice. Voila! Yogurt cucumber dip to die for! Yum!
I have also strained off my yogurt and made a cream cheese with it when it is dry enough. Flavored with organic herbs it is a delightful spread.
I am thoroughly enjoying my yogurt adventures. I don't know why I waited so long in my life to try making this wonderful food. How satisfying to eat this product I made myself!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Greetings to all who are dedicated to healthy eating and living!
My husband and I made significant changes to our diet 2 years ago and the health benefits have been wonderful! I had been gaining weight significantly for some time and was having no success getting it under control. My health was suffering as well as my self-esteem. My husband likewise was suffering health and weight issues and we were getting nowhere.
I stumbled upon some wonderful books by Kevin Trudeau and others and began to piece together what I believed was the cause of my health issues. I took a long hard look at what we were eating and began making important changes. These changes had an immediate effect on my health and the weight began to come off fairly easily. To date I have lost 75 pounds, have no health issues and take no medications.
I do not and will never diet again! I made significant diet CHANGES and will never go back to eating the old unhealthy ways again. My health and well-being would suffer too greatly if I did!
The most important change I believe we made was to completely remove all foods that had or might have Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). I learned how harmful these foods are to us and our environment. How do you avoid GMO when most foods at the store today contain GMO? The only way I know is to commit to eating only 100% organically raised foods. Get to know the producers of your foods. Buy local from farmers who you know and trust. Visit your local Farmer's Markets to see what is available, but be careful; just because it is local does NOT mean it is organically raised! Join an organic produce co-op if you have any available in your area.
Pesticides and GMO foods are toxic to our bodies and harm our health. I am committed to finding ways to cook and eat that do not include these toxins. I make everything myself now and do not buy anything prepared in a box or a can. I make my own sauces, dressings, breads, desserts, soups etc. I began this blog to share what I do so others can learn how easy it is to make this shift.
We have been brain-washed to believe the microwave mentality that we have no time to make our own foods. Here's a shocker - I threw away my microwave altogether for health reasons! *GASP* How do I do it you ask? We THINK we are saving time by buying processed foods and cooking with the microwave oven, but in most cases it really does not take that much longer to cook from scratch or warm things up in a pan. I plan ahead more and freeze more and I make large batches.
This blog is an outlet for us to share our tips and thoughts as a supplement to our web page. My husband and I own a business selling organically raised meats, cheeses, eggs, herbs and spices and salts at the local Farmers Markets. We are dedicated to being a part of the solution!
I hope you will benefit from the things we share here. We are passionate about fighting to eliminate or at the very least LABEL GMO containing foods so people have a real choice about what they are eating. I post news articles concerning food news on our Grow Foods Market Facebook page. Check it out and "like" us!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/GROW-Foods-Market-Green-Raw-Organic-Whole-Foods/154805117892421
Visit our home page http://growfoodsmarket.com/ for more information about our business and the Farmers Markets at which we sell our products.
Healthy Living to all!
I stumbled upon some wonderful books by Kevin Trudeau and others and began to piece together what I believed was the cause of my health issues. I took a long hard look at what we were eating and began making important changes. These changes had an immediate effect on my health and the weight began to come off fairly easily. To date I have lost 75 pounds, have no health issues and take no medications.
I do not and will never diet again! I made significant diet CHANGES and will never go back to eating the old unhealthy ways again. My health and well-being would suffer too greatly if I did!
The most important change I believe we made was to completely remove all foods that had or might have Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). I learned how harmful these foods are to us and our environment. How do you avoid GMO when most foods at the store today contain GMO? The only way I know is to commit to eating only 100% organically raised foods. Get to know the producers of your foods. Buy local from farmers who you know and trust. Visit your local Farmer's Markets to see what is available, but be careful; just because it is local does NOT mean it is organically raised! Join an organic produce co-op if you have any available in your area.
Pesticides and GMO foods are toxic to our bodies and harm our health. I am committed to finding ways to cook and eat that do not include these toxins. I make everything myself now and do not buy anything prepared in a box or a can. I make my own sauces, dressings, breads, desserts, soups etc. I began this blog to share what I do so others can learn how easy it is to make this shift.
We have been brain-washed to believe the microwave mentality that we have no time to make our own foods. Here's a shocker - I threw away my microwave altogether for health reasons! *GASP* How do I do it you ask? We THINK we are saving time by buying processed foods and cooking with the microwave oven, but in most cases it really does not take that much longer to cook from scratch or warm things up in a pan. I plan ahead more and freeze more and I make large batches.
This blog is an outlet for us to share our tips and thoughts as a supplement to our web page. My husband and I own a business selling organically raised meats, cheeses, eggs, herbs and spices and salts at the local Farmers Markets. We are dedicated to being a part of the solution!
I hope you will benefit from the things we share here. We are passionate about fighting to eliminate or at the very least LABEL GMO containing foods so people have a real choice about what they are eating. I post news articles concerning food news on our Grow Foods Market Facebook page. Check it out and "like" us!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/GROW-Foods-Market-Green-Raw-Organic-Whole-Foods/154805117892421
Visit our home page http://growfoodsmarket.com/ for more information about our business and the Farmers Markets at which we sell our products.
Healthy Living to all!
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