Spiced Up Sweet Potato Pancakes with Honey and Toasted Pecans

Sweet potatoes! Something to get excited about! No, really, they are! Made by the earth (not some factory), they're loaded with nutrients, including a LOT of Vitamin A and beta-carotene.  These pancakes are topped with locally grown honey and toasted pecans (also courtesy of the earth) and they're delicious. Nothing in them comes from chemically loaded processed foods devoid of nutrients and they contain no refined sugars. No cravings caused by junk food here plus they contain the nutrition your body wants.

SPICED UP SWEET POTATO PANCAKES

1/2 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato

1/4 cup organic wheat flour

2 eggs

1 packet of stevia

1/4 tsp aluminum free baking powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground ginger

Milk of your choice (I used unsweetened cashew milk)

Mix the potatoes and eggs and flour together until no lumps remain adding just enough milk to make it a pourable batter. Add the remaining ingredients and cook just like any other pancake. This recipe makes 3 but 2 were plenty for me. Top them with honey and toasted pecans (I toasted mine by putting them in a dry skillet and shaking them around on the hot stove burner until they were crispy). Yum!!

Organic Wheat and Sunflower Seed Bread and in defense of...BREAD

I love bread! BUT I don't eat bread unless I make it myself. Is that over the top? Maybe, but maybe not. Commercially prepared bread is processed (the earth didn't make that!), has no naturally occurring nutrients and is loaded with chemicals and refined sugars depending on what kind you buy. I do know that if I eat processed food, including bread, it sets me up for craving. I want to avoid that because I don't want to fight thinking about food 24 hours a day until I go through withdrawal and the processed food I ate that set me up is out of my system. I also know that if I eat processed bread I begin to have gut issues beginning with an almost immediate cramping sensation. I used to think perhaps it was gluten. Now I think it may not be gluten but it may be something that's in the processed bread. So, I make my own. And, since I only eat the bread I make myself, I don't eat a lot of bread. Therefore when I do take the time to make it I want it to be something I'm going to enjoy. This past weekend I made this...

ORGANIC WHEAT

AND SUNFLOWER SEED BREAD

Makes one loaf

1 cup of warm (100 - 110 degrees) filtered water

2 tsp yeast

1 tsp honey

3 cups of organic stone ground wheat flour

1/8 - 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds, toasted (use less or more seeds depending on how seedy you want your bread)

1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water and let it set until the yeast begins to bubble (about 5 minutes).

Add the flour, sunflower seeds and salt. Stir until it's all incorporated enough that you need to use your hands to work it in well. Turn it onto a floured board and knead, using additional flour if necessary, until it's an elastic ball and not sticky (around 8 minutes should do it).

Put the dough into a large oiled bowl, flip the dough over so it's oiled on top and cover with plastic or a clean, dry dish towel. Let rise for a couple of hours in a warm place until double. Punch it down and let it rest for about 20 minutes. Shape it into a loaf and place it into an oiled loaf pan and let rise again until it's at least double and loaf shaped. Bake in a 350 degree oven for around 35 minutes until it's nicely browned and makes a hollow sound when you tap it. Let it cool on a rack and take it out of the pan. Or, better yet take it out of the pan while it's still hot and spread some REAL butter on it and maybe a little honey. Your own bread - doesn't get much better.

Slow Cooked Roast Chicken with Leeks and Rosemary

My grandparents raised chickens and once in a while on Sunday we would have fried chicken made from one of those chickens. It was delicious! They were raised as free range chicken, never given antibiotics on a routine basis the way chickens from factory farms are and actually got to live their lives outside eating bugs and whatever else chickens eat. We'd gather eggs from the yard and play with baby chicks in the spring. I realize it's not easy to find an organically raised chicken and they're expensive (or at least they are in my area) but give it a try. For this recipe, it's worth it!

SLOW COOKED ROAST CHICKEN

WITH LEEKS AND ROSEMARY

1 frying chicken

6 small  to medium leeks (you'll need about 2 cups chopped)

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

salt and pepper

Gravy recipe is below (optional but it's REALLY good)

Roughly chop the leek tops and the whites(I did the leeks the night before because I'm always in a hurry in the morning). Reserve about 1/4 cups of the whites and finely chop those for the gravy. Wash and dry the chicken and salt and pepper the cavity. Stuff the cavity with the chopped leeks, the rosemary sprig and 1 teaspoon of the garlic. Place the chicken on a rack in the slow cooker (you can also wad up pieces of aluminum foil and place the chicken on top of that instead of using a rack). Tie the chicken legs together with cooking twine, place in the slow cooker and spread the remaining minced garlic over the top of the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on low for about 8 hours.

Gravy

After cooking and removing the chicken to a platter (it should be falling apart tender at this point) take a ladle of the broth from the cooker and put it in a small pan. Add the finely chopped leeks and 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic and cook until the broth is reduced by half and the leeks are tender. Add 1/4 cup of organic flour to 1 1/2 cups of organic chicken broth. And that and 1/2 teaspoon of poultry seasoning to the leeks and cook until thickened. Just before serving add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white wine and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the gravy over the chicken or smashed garlic potatoes. Add a side of a green veggie and you have a delicious dinner made by the earth (and you)!

White Bean Soup with Baby Turnip Greens and Sage

This soup, a hearty lunch or comfort food supper, is a blend of earthy vegetables, flavors and nutrients. In my local area more and more organic foods are being introduced into the grocery stores, including organic dry beans. The baby turnip greens and sage I was lucky enough to be able to pick from our garden but you can use any greens you want (spinach is good!) and the fresh sage can usually be found at the grocery store. If not you can substitute 1/2 tsp of dried sage.

WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH

 BABY TURNIP GREENS AND SAGE

1 1/2 cups cooked white beans, drained

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

3 fresh sage leaves

1 cup roughly chopped loosely packed baby turnip greens (or greens of your choosing)

1 stalk of celery chopped

1 carrot chopped

1 T olive oil or coconut oil

black pepper

grated Parmesan cheese

Saute the onion, garlic, celery and carrot in the oil until the onion is translucent. Add the greens and the sage and cook until the greens are wilted. Add the beans and the broth, bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Using a potato masher mash the soup vegetables until roughly mashed and the soup is nicely thickened. Ladle into a soup bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Serve with rustic bread or croutons.

Date Nut Cracked Wheat Cereal and reasons for organic and non GMO

I've made the switch to organic and non GMO as much as I possibly can because no matter how you feel about genetic engineering (the earth didn't make that!), the plants are sprayed with RoundUp (the earth SURE didn't make that!).  Since companies who produce GMO  and RoundUp laced products won't label them, if it isn't labeled as organic or non GMO, I won't buy it. Is that limiting? No so much. Companies are beginning to understand that a lot of us are voting with our money and are offering more organic. Companies that are proud to produce non GMO (thank you non GMO companies!) are labeling them as non GMO. Since the representatives that were voted in to represent human beings are instead representing big food and big agriculture, I'm voting with my shopping currency. And I feel I'm far healthier in the process. If the earth didn't make it, I'm not going to buy it or eat it.

This morning I made a simple bowl of cracked wheat cereal made by Bob's Red Mill and added a couple of things like dates and walnuts, cinnamon and honey. 

DATE NUT CRACKED WHEAT CEREAL

3/4 cup of water

1/4 cup of organic cracked wheat cereal

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 to 2 dates, chopped

1 tablespoon of walnuts

2 tsp of honey

Bring water to boil and cook the cereal until the water is absorbed and its become tender. Stir in the cinnamon. Add the dates, the nuts and the honey. I topped it off with about 1/2 cup of Silk non GMO (YAY!) cashew milk and a bowl of blackberries on the side.

This was delicious! I'll definitely be doing this one again.

Spiced Peach Pancakes and is it really a gluten sensitivity?

When I used to eat processed food before I knew better (our food supply is supposed to be healthy and safe, right? FDA and USDA tell us that and they wouldn't lie...much) and I ate pancakes made from processed flour with refined sugar my stomach felt like I'd swallowed a soft ball. So, I blamed gluten. I certainly can't speak for anybody who does have a real gluten problem (my son does and it makes him SICK) but when I stopped eating pancakes (or anything) made from processed flour and refined sugar I stopped having the softball in the belly issue. Plus, I wasn't craving sugar and processed snacks 20 minutes after having eaten even though I was stuffed. I've also lost 24 pounds since March by eating real food and NO dieting and no craving. And, I CAN have pancakes! I just make them from organic stone ground flour and add (for this one) fresh organic fruit. And, they're delicious. I also discovered that pancakes don't need added oil or eggs, either. At least this one doesn't.

SPICED PEACH PANCAKE

Pancake (makes one)

1/4 cup stone ground organic flour 

1 tsp aluminum free non GMO baking powder

1 tsp of local honey

dash of salt 

1/4 cup filtered water

Mix and pour into a hot, lightly oiled (I used coconut oil) griddle or skillet. Cook until bubbly on top and flip. Continue cooking until brown on the bottom and done.

Spiced peach sauce

One large or two small organic peaches peeled and cut into chunks

1/2 tsp of organic apple pie spice 

1/2 tsp of natural arrowroot

1 tsp of honey if you prefer the peach a little sweeter (mine was fine without it)

Microwave the peaches for 45 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 45 seconds. Let cool until the sauce begins to thicken and pour it over the pancake. 

Delicious, organic, non GMO and made by the earth. IF THE EARTH DIDN'T MAKE IT, DON'T EAT IT!

Jalapeno and Cilantro Potatoes and Eggs

When I was a kid I had a babysitter who had one front tooth (the one on the left, I think) didn't wear a bra and definitely should have, a husband who just sat in a chair and stared straight ahead (I wonder why) and 5 children (she and chair-sitter must have liked each other at least 5 times) BUT she made the best damned fried potatoes! I've never been able to replicate those but these aren't too bad.

Jalapeno and Cilantro Fried Potatoes for One

1 medium to large organic (ORGANIC) potato scrubbed  and baked (or microwaved). If it's not organic peel it and boil it.

After cooking the potato cube it and put it in a small skillet with two teaspoons of melted coconut oil. Add 1 tablespoon of red bell pepper and 1/2 to 1 tsp of chopped jalapeno (depending on how hot you like your potatoes) and cook until nicely brown. After browning toss in 1 tsp of chopped cilantro and top with two poached farm eggs from farm raised chickens (look for a local farmer, do the both of you a favor), add salt to taste.

This makes a great breakfast or brunch or light supper. Delicious!

If the earth doesn't make it, don't eat it!