Fermented Brussel Sprouts (Yes KIDS eat them!!)

Since I've gotten back on track with fermenting things again lately, I started wanting to experiment a little, even though I have in the past mostly stuck with a recipe.  For some reason, the idea occured to me that brussel sprouts are kinda like little cabbages, and with proper fermentation, would taste like little round bites of saurkraut heaven.  So I picked up a pound or so of fresh ones and got started.

Fermented Brussel Sprouts

approx 1 lb fresh brussel sprouts, washed and cut in half
1 tbsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. whey
2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled, and smashed
2 tsp. dried fresh dill
water (preferably filtered)

In a large (quart size) mason jar, add your brussel sprouts, then all other ingredients.  Seal, and label the top with the date. The dating is very important so that when you are tired and can't remember what the heck day you did this anyway, you can figure out how long they have been fermenting.  Leave sitting out on the counter for a week. Open and taste. Be careful when you open the jar as it will fizz a bit like a well shaken soda.  If they aren't sour enough, re-seal and leave out longer. If they are good, stick 'em in the fridge. If you are vegetarian or dairy intolerant, you can skip the whey and up the salt.

Entire prep time for this was about 5 minutes.  The look on my daughter's face when she tried one made it worth about an hour of prep time-- she looked like she'd one the lottery. Noone else is allowed to touch the jar. Guess I'm gonna have to get more brussel sprouts... 'cause anything that makes the kids ask for veggie snacks instead of processed food is a winner in my book.

Gluten-Free Salmon Patties... Delishousness

So my most recent craving: salmon patties.  I think, at this point, I no longer ask why I crave random things.  Although I do believe this one was directly related to me making some wasabi mayonnaise and wanting something to dip in it.  I don't think either of my kids had ever had the pleasure known as a salmon patty.. and it was a hit with both!

Ingredients:
1 14.75 oz. can salmon
1/2 onion
1 1/2 stalk celery
1 cup rice chex
2 eggs
1 tsp. dill
1/2 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 tsp. black pepper
dash salt
1 tsp. lemon juice

Dice up your veggies finely.  Smash up the rice chex (I used a mortar and pestle.) Then throw everything in a large mixing bowl and mix well. With your hands.  If you're not into the ooie gooie type of hand mixing, get a child to do it.  Form patties of desired size, I made mine about hamburger size, but do whatever floats your boat.  Stack them neatly in a plate or flat pan and stick in the refrigerator for an hour or two. 

Once you're ready to cook, heat a large skillet with some oil in it. I used olive oil.  Add the patties until pan is full... just like pan frying burgers.

Cook for five minutes on each side.  Serve hot.. plain or with dipping sauce and lemon wedges. Shown here with brussel sprouts, quinoa, and wasabi mayo.

Smoked Turkey Fried Rice

Ever have a day when nothing in your kitchen seems destined to actually come together to make a meal?  That was me the other day.. then I dreamed this beauty up.  The whole family couldn't get enough!


Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. Hungarian paprika
2 cups rice
7 cups chicken broth
1 smoked turkey wing
3 chicken quarters
1/4 cup chopped black olives
2 popsicles (more if desired)
2 stalks celery
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
5 small sweet peppers
2 tbsp. coconut oil

This sounds like a lot.. but came together in about an hour and a half, two hours tops, and I managed to accomplish other things in the meantime (as you'll see.)

You need a really big pot and a large frying-type pan.  Go ahead and chop all your veggies.  Now, turn on the heat  (medium) under the really big pot, and add 2 tbsp. of olive oil.  Let it swirl around for a minute, and add your chopped onion. Cook for about two minutes, then add your garlic and give it a quick stir.  Add the paprika, and stir again. Let it sizzle together for a couple of seconds, and then add your rice. Stir the rice often and saute it for about 2 minutes. Add your chicken broth.  Reduce heat to low.  While the rice is getting acclimated to the chicken broth, chop up that smoked turkey wing and toss it in there.  If you haven't done so already, you need to start defrosting those chicken quarters.  (I forgot in this instance.)  Now stop, take a breath, and open the popsicles for the kids (you wondered what those were for, didn't you?)

Flip the defrosting chicken, and stir the really big pot.  Empty the dishwasher.  Now, add your celery, tomatoes, and sweet peppers to the pot.  Stir it gently to mix everything together.

Now take your chicken that is hopefully defrosted by now and get it ready for the frying pan.  Melt your coconut oil in the pan and sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken.  Get the coconut oil hot-- medium to medium high heat.  Add the chicken.  Cook for five minutes before flipping.  Use a splatter screen or shoo small people and animals out of the kitchen.  Meanwhile, go recycle the grocery bag that mysteriously appeared just now in the kitchen floor.  Come back, and flip the chicken again.  Cook until you can poke a knife in it and the juices run clear (not pinky clear.)  Remove chicken from the pan and drain if so desired.  Peek at the rice. Is it reducing? If not, you may want to crank up the heat a bit.. just keep in mind you'll have to stir more often to keep from burning the bottom.

Shred the recently fried up chicken.  Toss it in the pot and mix it all up, also adding the olives.  Once the rice is ready (I always taste it to tell for sure) serve it up with sour cream and hot sauce as condiments.

This was gone so so quickly... I don't even think we had leftovers.

Ranch Dressing

Now my kids both eat salad.. my two year old delights in it despite trying to avoid most things green. But one thing the hubby and both kids agree on is ranch dressing. My husband even dips pizza in it!  For a long time, bottled ranch has been a non-negotiable in my house.. the barest mention of it brought hard stares and mean looks, all pointed in my direction.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but have you ever read the ingredients of one of those bottles?  I can't pronounce half of it.  And while I do believe in salad dressing and veggie dip, I don't believe it has to be full of crap.  

Salad dressing is good for you, actually, a little fat with your vegetables helps your body absorb the nutrients.

So last night I got all experimental and made some homemade ranch dressing:

The verdict?? I WON I WON I WON!!! I never have to buy Ranch dressing again!! 

Once again, Mommy is victorious! (Good thing none of them read my blog....)

So here, go make you some:

1 cup buttermilk

3 serving spoons full of plain yogurt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. rice vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. dried dill (I dry my own.. so I had to scrunch it up tiny)

1 tsp. dried parsley

3/4 tsp. powdered garlic

tiny sprinkling of salt

Stir well. You can play around this to make it thicker (add more yogurt) tangier (add more vinegar) etc.  I'm gonna try a spicy version next. :-)

Non fried Refried Beans

Ah ! The joy of a quick dish when you plan ahead! For this I used beans I had previously soaked, cooked, and thrown in the freezer, onions I had chopped and frozen, AND chicken broth I had made and frozen.

My family often enjoys Mexican night... but I've never mastered refried beans from scratch, even when actually frying them.  But today is my lucky day, because I have some deliciousness working that will be unrivaled.

Or something.

What I tasted a minute ago was quite good.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups pre-cooked kidney beans
1 cup chopped red onion
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 piece bacon, cut up
1 tbsp. dried cilantro
2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. sea salt

In a large pot, throw it all together.  Stir up.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to low to let the flavors meld.  Cook when everything reduces to mush. Pre-cooking and freezing the beans seemed to give these beans the exact texture I wanted.. like refried beans at the Mexican joint down the street.. but they had a heck of a lot more flavor.

Southern Belle Lamb Pho

And here we go, with a southern girl from Georgia making up something she has no business making-- Vietnamese food.

But the thing is, my daughter and I LOVELOVELOVE Pho.  And my husband won't eat beef, which really restricts us from going out as a family for it.  So I created a lamb version at home.. and lo and behold, the hubby and the boy both adore it too.  My daughter turned 8 last Wednesday, and is having a friend over tonight, so she asked me to make it for their special dinner. Hope the friend is up for trying something new.

Pho, for the uninitiated, is a fantastic broth and noodle soup, typically made with beef and served with assorted herbs and condiments so that you get to make your own flavor. My daughter calls it "decorating" the soup.

So after quite a bit of research online, and looking at twenty or so recipes, here is mine:

What You Need:
a large soup pot or dutch oven
1-2 onions
1 piece ginger about 3 inches long
1 tsp. whole coriander
1 tsp. fennel seed
4 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
8 whole cloves
4-5 green cardomon pods
a lot of water
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. minced garlic
about 6 chunks lamb stew meat
2 lb. lamb that you can slice VERY thinly or lamb shabu shabu
1 pkg. rice noodles
fresh cilantro
fresh basil
bean sprouts
2 limes
2 fresh jalapeños
Chinese hot sauce
Hoison sauce (we have also subbed A1 in a pinch)
Soy sauce

Directions:
Plan to be home all day.  This is NOT a 30 minute meal.

Early in the day, heat your large pot on the stove. Peel your onion(s) and throw in the bottom to char.  Thickly slice the ginger and throw it in too.  You will need to stir pretty constantly. You want to get the flavor in the pan but not burn the heck out of it.  Once they are nicely seared, remove.  Throw the lamb stew chunks in the pan and brown.  Once they are browned a bit (it doesn't have to be all sides), add the ginger and onion back in and fill the pan almost to the top with water.  Bring the mixture to medium heat and let simmer for 4-6 hours.

Go do something else.  Laundry, propping your feet up, or taking a nap are my suggestions.

Go check on the pot. Some people skim it at this point. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't depending on how the top of it looks.  This next step, you can either put the spices in a mesh bag (like making a big 'ol pot of tea) or you can throw them in there.  I do a mix between the two-- I use a tea ball each for the coriander and fennel because they are smaller, and then throw in the cinnamon, star anise, garlic, cardomon, and cloves.  Let the soup continue to simmer.  Toss in a little salt if you are into that sort of thing. Let it simmer at least another hour or two.  Then taste it, you should have a rich, flavorful lamb broth.

Once the broth is good enough for your taste, you can do one of three things-- leave it alone, strain it, or fish out the things you don't want to eat. I typically strain it into another pan and throw the onions back in.  In a separate pan, bring water to boil for your noodles. I like to boil them separately because otherwise, the noodles soak up all of your broth and you are left with something more like a casserole than a soup.  Keep your broth warm on the stove.

Go ahead and set out your sauces, and slice your limes and jalapeños.  On a large plate or platter, arrange the cilantro, basil, bean sprouts, limes, and jalapeños.

Cook your noodles and strain.  Now, take your thinly sliced lamb and toss in the broth.  If it is sliced thinly enough, you can even skip this step and throw it in your bowl (the traditional way) but that freaks my family out as it winds up medium rare (I love it that way.)

(shown here: lamb shabu shabu)

To serve, take a bowl and put a heap of noodles in the bottom.

Top with broth, and then "decorate" with the condiments of your choice.

If you are gluten free.. you should be good to go with this one as long as you use gluten free soy and hoison sauces.

A Setback

I had been extremely gung ho on cooking traditional foods. We were all happy, healthy, and then... fast forward a year and a half and I discovered couponing. I could go to Publix and come out with 8 bags of groceries for $7.  Um, yeah.  So we started eating a lot of processed food, and.... started being sickly.  So we backed off on that, but still trying to figure out the gluten free world, I still didn't do a whole lot that is traditional except for making chicken broth.  I also started off as a stay at home mom and now work full time.  But then...

About 3 weeks ago, all four of us got a virus that I affectionately refer to as the "death flu." My husband at one point ran a fever so high he was hallucinating.  That was pretty scary.

So we are on the road to traditional healthy eating again. I'm sure it won't be without its hiccups, but I am feeling better already.

Some steps we are taking:
-soaking grains before cooking
-making fermented foods
-taking cod liver oil
-making lots of bone broths and using them
-reducing processed food in the home to almost zero
-drinking raw milk when available
-eating grass fed and pastured meats and eggs when we can



So I say all this to say that I learned last night the youngest loves to help make sauerkraut. Glad to know I've got an apprentice.

Transferring the washed cabbage to the crock.

Salting and pounding the cabbage.