Crackers

http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2011/03/homemade-ritz-crackers-recipe.html

I made half this batch today, minus the sugar. I used olive oil for the oil. It worked great. I rolled it out on my regular sized silpat, and it took up most of the space. Then I took my pastry wheel (first time using it even though I bought it like 5 years ago) and cut through it all. I poked each cracker with a fork too. I carefully moved the silpat onto a baking sheet. Then baked at 400 F for a while. I forgot to time it, I just checked it until it was starting to lightly brown in some spots.

I don't know how long these will keep for, which is why I only made half the batch. I wanted to use lard or coconut oil, or something more shelf stable so it will last longer. Maybe next time. Now I have crackers I feel ok giving to the baby.

After this I will try sourdough, perhaps, to break down the wheat a bit more. And after that, maybe a gluten free cracker that I can eat.

Shepherd's Pie III

This is a blend of two different recipes. I wanted to "hide" liver in this, so wanted it to have more of a gravy in it. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/775643/cottage-pie & http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_shepherds_pie/

1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb liver (presoaked in milk, then ground or chopped in processor, being careful not to make it a paste)
whatever vegetables. Celery, carrots, onion, pepper, green beans, other root veg, etc.
2 T gf flour (rice/potato/tapioca)
1-2 cups broth
1 T tomato paste
1 T worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Get liver soaking in milk. It helps remove blood and some of the livery taste.

Boil 1.5-2 lb unpeeled potatoes.
Meanwhile, saute veggies in butter or coconut oil. Add beef and brown. (My cast iron worked well since there was adequate fat and I didn't push the beef around too much initially).

Add 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce, and 2 Tbsp gf flour blend (i like trader joes). Once flour is incorporated, add 1 cup broth. Once broth is heated, add liver to the saute pan. Let cook for 10 minutes. I think I added a second cup of broth too since it looked dry at some point.

When potatoes are done, mash with butter and milk (and s&p). Put it all in a 2 quart (minimum) casserole dish. Spread (plop) potatoes on top, and sprinkle cheese if desired. Bake until bubbly (20 min or so).

Coconut Fish Pie

http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2013/04/coconut-fish-pie/

This was not pie-like at all. It was more like soup. The first night I served it, we ate it like soup and it was not as appetizing that way. When I served the leftovers, I served it over white rice. That improved the dish a lot.

I used cod for the fish. The flavors were all good, but the presentation could have been better. I would have preferred the fish whole with the mash on the side, for example.

Red Enchilada Sauce

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/08/red-enchilada-sauce/

This was a success! It worked well with gluten free flour too, I used the trader joes blend. It took more like 10 minutes. Also, I used coconut oil and it worked well.

Kimchi

So I made Kimchi. I followed this recipe: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2013/03/shou-chings-moms-kimchi/

The napa cabbage I used was 3 lb. Daikon radish was a bit over 1 lb, and carrot also a bit over 1 lb. One bunch of green onion. Two cloves of garlic. And 1-2 tsp fresh grated ginger root (approx the same as the amount of garlic I used).

I did everything in the food processor, using the shredder attachment for radish and carrot, and the blade for the other stuff. I skipped the chili powder and instead put in 5 dried red "super chilies" to get pulverized with the other stuff by the blade. (The chilies are from a csa veggie box I got last fall. Each dried chili was about 2 inches long and narrow. They are pretty hot!)

Then I salted the cabbage as directed, but probably didn't put a whole teaspoon per layer. Then after everything was mixed I added a tiny bit more salt, just so it tasted "pleasantly salty".

I put it all into a 2 liter fido jar and left it to ferment 7 days on my counter (but it might have been 8 days..I forget exacly which day I made it!).

And that's all.

Notes for next time: push the carrot/daikon through the shredder next time so the shreds are bigger. They were a bit too fine the first time because I tried not to push them down much.

Canning Dried Pinto Beans

I had a bunch of dried pinto beans that a friend gave me and were sitting around unused. I thought I might try to pressure can them. The basic method is here: http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2013/04/how-to-can-dry-beans.html. I skipped the boiling step (based on some reader comments about the final result being too soft). So I just soaked them overnight and them put them into pint mason jars, added hot water with 1 inch headspace, then put them in my instant pot cooker/canner for 75 minutes.

That is the first batch. I made 8 pints of it. I opened one of the pints to check softness and it seems to be a good texture and not too soft.

I am going to sprout the rest of the beans. I plan to pressure can half of them (after sprouting) just like described above. Then after that, I will try to ferment the rest and try to can that. I haven't figured out yet if I ferment the raw bean, or the cooked bean.

Update:
The sprouted beans turned out just fine too.

Chopped Liver Pate

So here is another recipe for pate I tried: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2012/02/chopped-liver-pate/

I definitely like it better. I specifically bought refined coconut oil so there would be no coconut smell or taste. David is not excited about the cilantro so probably won't eat it, but he really liked the first liver batch so he can have that!

The flavors are more mild in this recipe. I think I should soak in milk for all future recipes. Also, I cooked it on low heat (#4 on my burner) so the butter just simmered away and did not burn. I think the low heat helps keep the liver flavor milk, or so I have read.