Vegetable Seasoning (SCD, GFCF)

Our food dehydrator has been a wonderful kitchen tool. I'm beginning to experiment with using dehydrated vegetables as seasoning. My husband thinly chopped a batch of carrots and celery and dried them at 135 degrees until crisp (about 14 hours). I used an electric coffee grinder and ground them, a little at a time, into a fine powder with small bits. I combined equal parts of carrots and celery and used them as a seasoning in a cracker recipe. The results were great. In the future I'm hoping to try out different veggies, like spinach. Plus, we have to hide all veggies in our son's food and this is a great way to do it. If you do not have a dehydrator but would like to try this, Honeyville sells cans of freeze dried veggies. I have not tried theirs but it would probably be the same. You can purchase almond flour from them as well.

Happy New Year!

I started this blog with high hopes of organizing piles of research so that it may be of use to someone else. Then I was going to sprinkle in a few recipes. It appears the opposite has happened. 2009 has been an exhausting year career-wise, leaving little time for family, let alone organizing anything! From where I stand there's not likely to be a break anytime soon. (You'll have to excuse me, I get whiney when I'm weary) 2010 will be a time for rethinking and making changes. This years resolution is devoted to finding a way to enjoy more time with my husband and son. This is going to require me to make some big decisions in my career, but I feel it will be well worth it. As for this blog, there's probably going to be lots of recipes designed for a frantic lifestyle, a time when we need nutrition the most. Our story and the research posts will be a bit sporadic, for now, at least. I have to say I've really enjoyed blogging, it's been my creative outlet. Thank you for reading and I wish you the best in 2010!!

Much Love,

Tracee (Mrs. Ed)

Book Review: Putting It Up With Honey

I don't know why it took almost two years on the SCD before it finally dawned on me to see if there's any good cookbooks out there for honey recipes. I finally peeked on Amazon and found several, including this one which I am very excited about. Putting It Up With Honey by Susan Geiskopf is an absolute gem! It's full of recipes for jellies, jams, fruit butters, marmalades, pickles, relishes, canning fruits and vegetables all using honey. There was even a recipe for ketchup, tomato paste, tomato sauce and more, plus a section about drying produce. There is about 207 recipes and over 90 percent (my guess) are SCD legal! If you are on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet or just trying to eat healthier, this is a great addition to your library.

Caramel Apple Tart (SCD)

Gooey desserts are my thing. This has wonderful goo quality. If you don't have a tart pan this would also work well as a pie, just may need to adjust cooking time.

Crust

This is my current crust recipe, or you can use your favorite.

Prepare crust and press into a tart pan or pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling

2 or 3 Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
Caramel Sauce

Arrange apple slices on prebaked crust and then pour caramel over it. Pour a little or alot, depending on how gooey you want it



Topping

I tried Karen's (at Heal Balance Live) Master Crumb Topping recipe and added about 1/2 cup Pecan Meal to it, chopped pecans would work nicely as well. I froze the leftover topping for later use. Prepare topping and sprinkle over filling.



Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Butterscotch Sauce and Caramel Sauce (SCD)

In my first attempt to make a SCD legal caramel sauce, I was pleasantly surprised to wind up with butterscotch. The next time I made it I wound up with more caramel flavored sauce. So what was the difference? The first batch was made with a mild honey, which allowed the butter flavor to shine through, making the best butterscotch I have ever had. The second time I used a dark honey (I just use what I have on hand), this kept the butter in the background and had a richer caramel flavor. This sauce is great for frozen yogurt and other desserts.

1 cup Honey
4 oz (1/2 cup or 1 stick) Butter, room temp and sliced



Heat honey in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently. In a few minutes it will be slightly bubbled and begin to boil.



When it begins to really boil up and look "foamy", stir constantly for one minute and then let it just boil on its own for about 30 seconds.


Remove from heat. Stirring constantly, add butter, one pat at a time allowing each to be almost dissolved before adding the next. When all have been added, let sauce cool. It will thicken as it cools.