Makin' Butter

Today Rob made butter....while I watched. :) With a good blender, it's really a one man (or woman) show.

The hardest part may simply be getting the raw milk to make the butter with. We got ours from an amazing family in El Sobrante - hearty homesteaders they. We own a share of the cow they own and get 1 gallon of milk every week from them (which, by the way, I don't have any negative reactions to! YES!!!)

Butter Recipe:
1) Scoop the cream off the top of the milk.  (You can tell which part is the cream because it will be a slightly different shade of white at the top of the milk bottle).

2) Put the cream in a blender.

3) Once you've got it all scooped off, turn the blender on low for about 10 minutes or just watch for it to thicken up to the consistency of butter.

4) Drain off the buttermilk (the liquid that is leftover) into a container to use in other recipes later. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, squeeze the butter to get all of the buttermilk out (the buttermilk will make the butter go rancid faster).

Once the buttermilk is drained off, rinse the butter under cold water, squeezing the butter in your hands to get the rest of the buttermilk rinsed off.

Once you've done this, then just put your butter in a container and, voila!, you have unsalted butter. If you want salted butter, which we did, then simply mix in a little salt (to taste) and you've got yourself salted butter. The butter is still soft enough to do this with a spoon. 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! And no preservatives or unrecognizable ingredients (Hydrodrexsitol - wha?!

The (Not so Pumpkin) Pumpkin Pie

For those of you who have allergies, food addictions, or any other reason that you don't eat the conventional American diet, you understand what a big deal it is to not only share a food with people who don't eat like you but to impress them. This recipe was the first in a series of recipes that I shared with family and friends. I didn't mention that it doesn't contain refined sugar, butter, flour, or even pumpkin (yes, the name is a bit deceiving). But it truly tastes just like pumpkin pie. I was desperate for a dessert that I could share with other people (since most people don't eat the way Rob and I do). I had gotten tired of constantly explaining why I wasn't eating the cake/pie/candy/cinnamon rolls/cookies/brownies/grandma's secret homemade carmel corn recipe at work, school, church, or any other social gathering. I wanted to enjoy the social connection that comes with sharing and enjoying good food.

Enter Matthew Kenney, the author of Everyday Raw (from which this recipe originates). I found his book while perusing through the food section of the library (which I have done on more than one occasion). At the time, I had no idea that it was possible to make a tasty dessert using only foods I could eat. Seeing this recipe I decided to give it a go. I rushed to the store, bought all the ingredients I would need (which was pretty much everything in the recipe) and quickly got to work. However, this pie is not a quick throw-together sort of pie. It takes at least 2 full days to make, but the wait is so worth it.  Once you sink your teeth into this bad boy. Mmm mm.....I had no idea raw could taste this good.... (Eh hem, sorry about that. :)
The next step was to try it on someone else, someone who ate the standard American diet. Someone who's tastes hadn't changed over the course of a year of not eating refined sugar, butter, corn, corn by-products (i.e. over half the things you can buy at the grocery store), or tomatoes. My opportunity came in the form of an allergy-free Thanksgiving.

Though my allergy's take the cake in breadth and scope, there are other people in our families that are allergic to various things. In talking to Rob's mom, we learned that soy and dairy were problems for other family members. After some talking, she and he decided to do an allergy-free Thanksgiving (and may they live long and fruitful lives as a result). The planning alone took--well I don't know how long it took, but it was quite an orchestration, ensuring that no unapproved foods were brought to the family dinner.

Though I knew what was going on, I had to remind myself that I could eat everything there. It was a Christmas miracle (a month early)! Seriously, it was the most amazing experience ever. I was witty, freakin' hilarious, engaged, and completely mentally there. No mental food comas, hangovers. or silently retreating into my shell because I couldn't think straight (all of which have happened too many times to count when I have eaten food I'm allergic to at social gatherings). To top it all off, I made this pumpkin pie. Everyone loved it. EVERYONE LOVED IT!!!!!! Even now, several years later I still have deep feelings of love and appreciation for this pie that allowed me to sit and chat over a familiar (or so they thought....wha ha ha!) dessert.

I did end up spilling the beans (I was never one for keeping an awesome discovery bottled up), after everyone had enjoyed and raved about the pie. Just for those cynics out there, I have made this pie for other social gatherings that weren't made up of family members and they loved it too.

[Side note: As is the case with most recipes, the better the quality of ingredients, the better the recipe is going to be. Not everything needs to be organic, but because of the amount of pesticides in herbs, at least try to buy the fresh thyme organic. It's not the end of the world if you don't, but it does make a difference.]

With no further ado, here it is:

PUMPKIN PIE WITH THYME (an epic gastronomic orgy!)

Crust 2 ½ C. pecans, soaked overnight & dehydrated @ 118° for 24 hours 2 Tbsp. Maple syrup 1 Tbsp. coconut oil 1 Tbsp. date paste (I substitute strawberry jam, b/c I have no idea where to find date paste) 1 pinch of salt Filling ½ C. cashews, soaked 4-6 hours          ½ Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme ½ C. maple syrup ¼ C. Agave ½ C. coconut oil ½ C. + 2 Tbsp. carrot juice ½ tsp. vanilla extract ¼ tsp. salt ¼ vanilla bean, scraped* 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon 1 ½ tsp. nutmeg  *Having never scrapped a vanilla bean in my life, I had to look into how this was done. By taking a sharp knife, slitting the 1/4 bean from top to bottom, you can pull it open and scrap out the inside of the bean. Easy peesy, beany squeezy (yeah, I don't know. Enjoy!)

Crust Place prepared pecans in food processor. Pulse, or chop, into small crumbs. Mix pecans & other ingredients well by hand. Press into 9-inch tart pan to desired thickness. Dehydrate 48 hours (instead of dehydrating, I leave the oven on warm overnight and it seems to work just fine). Chill crust in freezer for 15-30 minutes before filling. If not using crust mixture, store extra in container in the freezer. Filling Bend all ingredients except thyme until very smooth. Stir in thyme. Fill candied tart crust & chill in freezer overnight. Remove pie from tart pan, cut into slices & wrap in plastic wrap.

Garden Wrap and Avocado-Pistachio Pesto (deelightful)

Avocado-Pistachio Pesto

1/2 Tbsp. crushed garlic (about 1 medium-sized clove)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 C. shelled pistachios (shelling this is what takes the longest)

2 C. basil, lightly packed

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 C. chopped ripe avocado

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix the garlic and salt together. Add the pistachio nuts and process into small pieces. Add the basil, lemon juice, avocado, and olive oil and process until mixed well. 

The only difference between making this recipe with as food processor as opposed to without is that everything that would be mixed in the processor is chopped fine by hand or with a hand chopper. 

This recipe makes about 1 cup and whatever you don't eat can be stored in the fridge for a few days to a week. It works well as a leftover, if you have any (Rob and I usually double the recipe) to take for lunch the next day.  

Garden Wrap

2 large collard green leaves

1 recipe Avocado-Pistachio Pesto

1/2 C. peeled, chopped cucumber

1/2 C. seeded and chopped red bell pepper

1/2 C. mushrooms

1/2 C. sprouts

Cut the leaves away from the thick center stem of each collard leaf to make a total of 4 flat pieces. 

Spoon the Avocado-Pistachio Pesto across the bottom edge of the shorter width of each leaf. Top with cucumbers, bell peppers, mushrooms, and sprouts. Roll up into a wrap and serve. 

Can also be served in a tortilla or in a sandwich. 

Protein, it's an uphill battle

Having been raised in a family that ate meat regularly, the change to eating vegetarian (well, mostly since we still sometimes eat fish) has been fraught with difficulty. This has been mainly because of working out hard, eating every 2- 3 hours, and not knowing how to get the necessary protein without meat. At first I just tried to eat a lot of eggs. But eating eggs for 2 - 3 mini meals every day gets old REALLY fast. I then thought, Beans! Beans have lots of protein! But, honestly, how many AMAZING bean recipes can you think of that don't include any milk, tomato, or corn products? Me neither.

Years ago, when Rob and I were working as personal trainers we used to drink protein powder mixed with milk as a mid-morning, post-workout snack. Since that protein powder was whey based and anything cow's milk is not an option, we went back to the drawing board. The following are examples of what we tried in our quest to find a palatable, mixable, on-the-go protein shake.

Rice Protein -  No amount of mixing this with any combination of fruit could cover up its unmistakable chalky texture. It coats sticks in your throat just enough to give you a constant cough for part of the morning afterward. Though a small spoonful worked well in oatmeal, it did not as a drink.

Hemp Protein - though it was palatable in soy milk, it did not mix well at all. The first two thirds of the drink didn't taste amazing, but was good enough. By the time you get to the last third, the hemp protein dregs are concentrated in every sip you take making swallowing (due to the graininess and taste) difficult.

The Ultimate Meal - Though it says "tastes great" on the side of the can, it tastes anything but. It smells like pond water and tastes about the same. Like the rice protein, NOTHING can make this shake taste good. If you've ever gone swimming in slow-moving or standing water, that algae-ish smell? That's what this tastes like. Try as I might, I couldn't distract myself enough to keep from dry heaving after every swallow, and I'm not exaggerating at all. Even after mixing it with two bananas, mixed berries, and a peach I still had to follow each swallow with a chaser or water and some bread in order to keep it down.

Feeling REALLY discouraged and bad for having spent so much money on all of these protein powders, we found one!!!!  It's a wheat protein, so obviously not a solution for anyone who has a level of gluten intolerance, but it is the ONLY thing that we have been able to find. It is palatable in water, tastes fine in milk and delivers the needed additional protein we both need. HOORAY!

Because we have friends and family that can't have gluten, we're going to try an egg protein powder we found. I'll let you know how that works as the protein powder saga continues....

Seitan Recipe - as requested

For seitan, I use the basic recipe from the side of the Bob's Red Mill, Vital Wheat Gluten bag with a couple of my own variations.

By the way, this recipe make 184 grams of protein!!  All for a cost of about 2 dollars!  Just go TRY to buy chicken at that price.

Ingredients:
2 C Vital Wheat Gluten
1/2 tsp. Dry Sage
1 tsp. Marjoram
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 7/8 C Water (this will make a lot of sense in just a second)
6 C Broth or Water (Chicken broth produces Chicken-flavored seitan, Beef broth makes beef, etc.)

* In a dry mixing bowl, combine the wheat gluten with all the spices.
* In a glass, liquid measuring cup, pour in the soy sauce
       (I usually eyeball this, since 2 Tbsp is equal to half of a 1/4 C...I know, it's weird, but that's just how my mind works).
* Then, if you're measuring cup holds 2 C like mine does, put water in with the soy sauce until it comes up to the 2 C mark (hence the "1 7/8 C water").
       The soy sauce/water proportion doesn't have to be exact, but you should always end up with 2 C total liquid.
* Mix together.  You'll quickly find it necessary to knead it.  Try to knead it while in the bowl if possible - much less messy.
* Knead only a minute or so.  The more you knead, the more elastic it will be.
* Let the dough rest while you bring 6 Cups of liquid to a boil in a large pot (mine holds 6qts - trust me, you'll need that extra space in there)
* Once the liquid is boiling, cut the seitan into slabs, stretch them out, and cut each slab into strips.
* Place the strips into the boiling liquid as you cut them.
* Put the lid on the pot, reduce heat to low, and cook for about an hour or more.
* Do NOT open the lid during this time.  It will take a long time for the liquid to return to simmering heat if you do, and the seitan will be under-cooked.  If you have a glass lid, you'll see that the seitan expands with the heat, and fills nearly an entire 6qt pot.
* After an hour or so, drain the seitan, and either use that evening or freeze.  It doesn't keep more than a couple of days in the fridge.
* This cooked form can be sauteed, fried, minced, or just put in a sandwich as is.


This recipe has worked great for us.  But, I'm still a little new to the seitan world, so if anyone out there has a better recipe for seitan, please share it with all of us in the comments below.

Pizza Dough (with my variations)

Here's the pizza dough recipe we found:

Right out of the book (single batch):

1 C warm water

1 1/2 Tbsp sugar (or substitute)

1 (1/4 oz) package active dry yeast

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 C flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. olive oil for greasing the bowl the dough rises in

* Combine water, sugar, yeast in a small bowl.

* Set aside for 10 minutes.

* Meanwhile combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.

* Add olive oil and yeast  to dry mixture.  

* Mix and knead for 10 minutes

* Form dough into a ball and let rise until doubled in size (about an hour)

* Punch down dough, and knead again for a minute or so.

* Let rest anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours

* Cut in two and stretch into rounds.

* Bake at 500 degrees.

                                                              

I've found this to be a little dry and "bread-y", not moist and pizza-crust like.  Also, it only makes two rounds.  Michelle and I nosh that in a heartbeat, and then there's no leftovers!  So, here's how I do it:

* Combine the following in the mixing bowl you intend to use for the whole process

       2 C warm water

       3 Tbsp agave

       2 scant Tbsp of yeast

* Mix this well to dissolve all of the yeast, and let sit for 10 minutes.

* After 10 minutes it should be all foamy and frothy - perfect!

* Dump in 1 1/2 C of whole wheat flour, and 1/2 C of white flour (2 C total)

* Turn on your nifty hand mixer and mix until smooth

* Add 4 Tbsp (same as 1/4 C) of Olive Oil (don't worry about going liberal on this one)

* Add 2 tsp. Sea Salt

* Back to the hand mixer until smooth again.

* Add another Cup of white flour and about a Tbsp or two of Wheat Gluten.

       (the extra gluten is completely optional - I don't always use it)

* Hand mixer again - get it smooth.

* At this point, the mixer should be having a hard time with the thickness of the dough, transfer to the table.

* Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time to keep it from sticking to your hands (I hate sticky hands!)

* After another 5-7 minutes of kneading, I find that I use a total of about 4 - 4 1/2 cups of flour.

* Grease a bowl with at least 4 tsp. olive oil, and put the dough inside.

* Cover the rising bowl with plastic wrap and a towel, and place in a warm oven for about 20 minutes

       (but not warm enough to melt a plastic bowl - a very embarrassing experience, trust me)

* After rising, punch down and knead for a minute

* Cut into 4 equal portions

* Knead each portion just to get it round again

* Heat oven to 450 degrees

* Stretch out the first round, and place it on a hot baking stone

* Set timer for 6 minutes

* At the three-minute mark, poke holes in the dough where you don't want it to inflate (like the middle)

* While the first is cooking, stretch out the second, and so on.

* After all the rounds are cooked, arrange the toppings as you wish, then turn on the broiler.

* With the rack in the middle, broil each pizza for about 45-60 seconds only.

Voila!  A pizza masterpiece that has every salivary gland struggling to keep up.

Happy cooking!

Date Night Pizza

Last night, for date night, we made one of our favorite recipes...Pizza!  Now, I know what you're thinking, "how it the name of Laszlo Berczeller can you make a pizza without tomatoes or cheese?!"  Well, we've found a few recipes that knock the socks off any of those ho-hum pizzas you're probably used to.  There's Balsamic Glazed Onion on Goat Cheese, Basil Zucchini on Goat Cheese, and Manchego Spinach tossed in Balsamic Vinaigrette.  For the pizza dough, I use a recipe we found in a vegan recipe book somewhere; and with a few variations, it's absolutely incredible!

Give 'em a shot.  Once you've tried it, I doubt you'll ever go back.