Maple Roasted Pecans

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh raw pecan halves

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt

1/2 teaspoon Organic Fair Trade Cinnamon

dash Cayenne pepper

Massage ingredients into pecans, spread evenly on baking sheet and bake at 350º for 20 minutes turning once. Remove from baking sheet when done and put in large bowl to cool completely. To discover another recipe idea for Maple Roasted Pecans check out Fabulous Fennel Salad.

A holiday treat anytime of year!

 

 

Maple Pumpkin Pie

1 ½ cups pureed pumpkin

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup whole milk

½ cup maple syrup

1 ¼ tsp cinnamon*

1 ¼ ginger*

¼ tsp nutmeg*

¼ tsp cloves*

(*or 3 tsp pumpkin pie spice)

½ teaspoon salt

1 nine inch, deep dish whole wheat pie crust

Blend all ingredients and pour into pie shell and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 50-60 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

This is an original recipe developed over time out of an undying love of pumpkin pie and a desire to reduce my sugar intake. Since whole wheat pie crusts are not easy to make, I always make at least two at a time and double the recipe for the filling. You can also buy very good whole wheat, spelt or gluten free pie crusts already made in the freezer section of your health food supermarket. When making from fresh pumpkin, cut into chunks and simmer until the skin is soft. This makes them easier to peel. Puree in food processor.

The secret to this pie is the pumpkin itself. The heirloom Long Island Cheese Pumpkin is one of the oldest varieties cultivated in America. Ever since I purchased one in the store and threw the seeds in my compost, they come up every year as volunteers and every year I return the seeds to my compost. And we can thank Ken Ettlinger, a local Long Island seed saver and natural science educator for establishing a regional seed bank in the late 1970's to conserve the genetic resources of Long Island including this variety.

Rich in color, very sweet and arguably the best choice for pumpkin pie I would like to quote D.D. Tooker from an 1855 issue of Michigan Farmer: "The sweet pumpkin or pie squash is the only true article in my opinion for making the most delicious of Yankee notions - pumpkin pie - and I am not alone in my opinions, for I have yet to see the individual who would not agree with me in this matter."

You can purchase seeds and start your own tradition at: Rare Seeds

Awesome Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Celebrating our daughters is an honor and a blessing. So when my daughter turned 36 this year I offered to make a birthday cake for her celebration. I love to bake but she has become the baker in our family and a master gluten-free baker at that. Since the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree she does credit me with introducing her to alternative flours as a result of my own love of healthy baking. She, however, has taken the art to a whole other level. Baking is in her DNA inherited both from me, and the Italian women on her father’s side.

So when I asked her what kind of a cake she wanted, she replied, “gluten-free, dairy-free*, low sugar, carrot cake with butter cream frosting and no pineapple!” Yum. Carrot cake is one of my favorites and she had given me a challenge. As I began looking in earnest through my shelves of cookbooks and at online recipes I was shocked at how hard it was to find a good, healthy, sheet cake recipe, sin the pineapple and too many cups of sugar. Luckily one of my older cookbooks, The Deaf Smith Country Cookbook: Natural Foods forFamily Kitchens, by Marjorie Winn Ford, originally published in 1973, had a basic recipe that I was able to adjust. This resulted in an awesome carrot cake recipe that will hopefully save you time searching for something better. The gluten-free mix of flours comes directly from my lovely daughter, who as I mentioned earlier, is a master gluten-free baker.

*eggs AOK

Yield: 1 sheet cake (9X13)

4 lg. organic carrots, grated fine (approx. 3 C.)

1 cup organic white rice flour

¾ cup + 2 tablespoons almond meal/flour

¼ cup combination of flax seed meal and coconut flour

½ tsp guar gum

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup golden raisins

4 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/3 cup cold-pressed sunflower oil

1 teaspoon fair trade cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cardamom

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fair trade vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp aluminum free baking powder

¼ cup almond or coconut milk

Mix dry ingredients separately from wet ingredients. Add wet to dry and stir well until evenly moistened. Pour into an oiled and floured 9 X 13 cake pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350º. Remove from oven and cool completely on rack before frosting.

Sin-full Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz. package of organic cream cheese, softened

½ cup (1 stick) organic butter, softened

Confectioners sugar to taste (approx. 1 cup)

Whip until smooth and creamy. Frost liberally!

Wild Blackberry Pie

Natalie won "Best Berry Picker!"

Berry Pie on the Fourth of July! The only thing better than summer time berry pickin' in the mountains is getting to eat the pie.

4 cups of berries
1/4 cup minute tapioca
1 cup organic sugar
1Tbsp. lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of cardamon
1 Tbsp. organic unsalted butter
2 pie crusts

Mix fruit, tapioca, sugar, lemon juice and spices in large bowl and let stand for 15 minutes. Fill pie crust of your choice with fruit mixture. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust, seal and flute edge. Cut several slits in crust. Bake in preheated 400º oven 45-50 minutes or until juices form bubbles that burst slowly. Cool until set.

Natalie and Jamie fresh from the field

Gooseberry Jam

Natalie picking gooseberries

Thanks to my English friend, Rachel, and her garden I was able to make gooseberry jam with my granddaughter this summer. It was a new experience for both of us and I couldn’t have done it without her help. Picking, tailing and stemming enough gooseberries to make jam is no small undertaking. Then, I had difficulty deciding which online recipe to follow. It seems Canada and Britain has it all over the US for gooseberry recipes. I picked the easiest and it turned out perfectly.

We used the dark, ripe wine colored fruits that have a distinct taste somewhat like a cross between a grape and a raspberry. The jam cries out for wild game and pairs well with meat. Try it with pork, marinated and baked chicken thighs, goose, turkey, lamb or buffalo. And beyond that it is simply a delicious preserve to have on your shelf this winter. No pectin is needed as these berries are high in natural pectin.

abandoned nest in gooseberry bush

4 cups gooseberries (2 pounds) - Wash, tail and stem, discarding any that are soft or damaged.

4 cups raw organic sugar (2 pounds)

1 1/4 cups water

Thorny gooseberries

Place gooseberries and water in a large pan, bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat until the gooseberries are tender, approximately ten minutes. Stir in sugar and simmer until dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook rapidly until setting point is reached, about 15 minutes. Mash with a masher during cooking. Ladle into sterilized jars and seal.

To test whether the jam has set: take the saucer from the freezer and drop a small spoonful of jam on to it. Allow it to cool for a minute then push your finger through the jam – if it wrinkles it’s ready; if not, boil for a few more minutes. Continue testing until the jam is ready. (Always remove the jam from the heat while you’re testing so that if it’s ready you won’t overcook it.)

Thea facilitates healing herbal retreats at ClearfieldCottage perched above Rachel’s garden. Meals are prepared from the garden and are local, seasonal and organic.

photos by Thea

Calendula Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup sweet Vidalia onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup Granny Smith apple, chopped

1/2 cup raw peanuts, chopped in food processor

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cumin

2 pounds carrots, chopped

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 tablespoon dried calendula petals

In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium low heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté until they turn translucent. Add apple and peanuts, cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin. Continue to cook for 3 minutes. Add carrots and cook for 5 minutes over a low heat, stirring intermittently. Pour in stock, cover

and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add calendula and simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before pouring into a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Return to pot and stir in coconut milk. Cook over a medium low heat for 5 minutes. Do not let it come to a boil. Serves 4 - 6.

Calendula is a mildly bitter herb and therefore good for the liver. The flowers are medicinal and can be used as a spice to add color and a subtle, yet distinctive flavor reminiscent of saffron. Sometimes called poor man's saffron, or Egyptian saffron, it is similarly employed as a yellow dye for fabrics, cheese and cosmetics. Learn more in my book, Wisdom of the Plant Devas: Herbal Medicine for a New Earth.

You can also learn more in my work-at-your-own pace class, Love Your Liver: Spring and the Wood Element.

Bright & Beautiful Butternut Curry Soup

eeny, meeny, miny, moe

photo by Thea

2 medium butternut cut in half length wise

4 tablespoons peanut oil, or 2 Tbs. sesame oil & 2 Tbs. coconut oil

2 Tbsp. curry powder

2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp red pepper flakes

6 garlic cloves

2 quarts chicken broth

1 can unsweetened coconut milk

juice of 1 lime

sea salt

black pepper

½ cup chopped cilantro

Bake squash face down in baking dish for one hour at 400 degrees.  Let cool.

Meanwhile,  sauté curry powder, ginger, cumin and red pepper flakes until fragrant. Add garlic and sauté until it begins to color.  Remove from heat.

Scoop flesh from squash, discarding seeds, and put ½ in blender with ½ broth and ½ spices.  Process until smooth and transfer into soup pot. Repeat with remaining squash, broth and spices.

Add coconut milk, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste and heat through.  Add cilantro just before serving.