Whole Grain Sourdough Crackers

Adapted from an adapted recipe at Sarah's Musings.

These crackers are absolutely delightful! They do not last long around here. I can hardly stop myself from eating one batch before the next batch is done! Honestly, I think the lard is a big reason why they are so nice. They are crisp and tender all at the same time! I haven't tried them with coconut oil yet, but that would be a good alternative for you veggies out there! Please use lard from a good source (i.e. pastured animals and with no additives.)

Ingredients:
1 C sourdough starter (use inactive starter leftover from feedings)
1/4 Lard (from pastured pork) or coconut oil
1 C whole grain flour, or as much as you need to make a stiff dough
1/2 tsp sea salt
olive oil for brushing
Coarse salt (such as kosher salt) for sprinkling on top

Equipment:
mixing bowl
prep bowl
silpat liner
rolling pin
pastry brush
pizza cutter
baking sheet (in which the silpat fits)

In a large bowl combine the sourdough and lard and mix thouroughly. (This is easy when the lard is room temperature.) In a separate small bowl, mix the salt and 1/4 C of the flour then add it to the sourdough mixture. Knead it together in the bowl, adding the remaining flour - as much as necessary to make a stiff dough. Cover the bowl with a lid, or place plastic wrap over the dough so that it doesn't dry out. Let it sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours.

After 12-24 hours, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a small portion of the dough (about 1/4 cup) and roll it out on a silpat liner until it is very thin. Then brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. (I tried fine sea salt and it really isn't as good as coarse salt.) Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough horizontally and vertically into cracker quadrangles. Place the silpat on the baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until just golden brown. The crackers will shrink and separate while baking.

Notes: I have made a double batch of the dough, the divided it up into 8 portions after the soaking period and froze those so I could make a quick batch of crackers with less lead time. It doesn't take too long to thaw (maybe an hour or so? I took it out of the freezer before we went to church and when we got home it was room temp.) They came out just as good as the other batches and that portion is just right for one sheet.

Lentil Soup with Kale

I just made this tonight and it was yummy. We ate it with grilled cheese sandwiches. I found this recipe in a parenting magazine.

2 tsp. canola oil
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 lg. carrot, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. green or brown lentils
12 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
8 cups chopped kale
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (I skipped this one)

Heat the oil in a 6-qt. pot over med/high heat. Cook onion, carrot, and celery until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir, cooking for another minute or so. Add the broth, lentils, basil, thyme, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add kale, and cover. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon juice and zest and serve.

Chicken Piccata

This recipe is from a book called: Not Your Mother's Weeknight Cooking. I made this for Saba and Nana and they asked me to post the recipe, so here it is:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded out to 1/4" thickness)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour or oat flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 med. shallot, minced (or 1/4 cup finely diced onion)
1/2 cup chicken broth or dry white wine
1/3 cup lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons)
2 tbsp. chopped, drained capers
2 tbsp. chopped, fresh flat leaf parsley

Sprinkle chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken breasts in flour on both sides.

In large skillet, over med/high heat, melt butter and add olive oil. Saute chicken until golden brown, 2 to 3 min. per side. Remove chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Add shallot to skillet and cook until translucent, 1 min., stirring constantly. Add broth/wine, lemon juice, and capers. Bring to a low boil and stir for a few minutes until reduced and thickened slightly. Return chicken to skillet and partially cover. Spoon sauce over chicken as you lift the lid every few minutes. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes, but be careful to not overcook.

Add parsley to sauce, and plate it up.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

This is a somewhat specialized recipe because it requires sourdough starter. What I really like about it though is that it is a recipe for "discarded" starter, not active starter. A great way to keep from drowning in starter and not let it go to waste! I've adapted the recipe to include soaking of the whole wheat flour in order to eliminate phytates and make it more nourishing. I've also subbed out the oil and sugar for healthier alternatives. (I've been making it with a white flour starter, but a whole wheat starter would surely work just as well.)

Adapted from a recipe by Mike Avery.

Ingredients:

1 C sourdough starter (discarded/refrigerated starter)

1 C whole wheat flour (sift flour prior to measuring)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/4 melted coconut oil or melted butter

1/2 C honey

1 tsp baking soda

~1/2 C blueberries

Method:

In a stand mixer, combine sourdough starter and whole wheat flour. Once the two are thoroughly combined, cover the dough with plastic wrap ensuring that none of it is exposed to the air. Let sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours.

The dough will rise some while it sits. If any of it has gotten exposed to the air and gotten dry, just remove those bits so you don't have little dough nuggets in your final product.

12-24 hours later, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan with papers or grease the cups.

In a separate bowl, mix together all other ingredients except for blueberries and baking soda. Then add those to the dough in the mixer's bowl and mix together. Once all the ingredients are mixed and have come together as a batter, sprinkle the baking soda in the bowl and mix batter again briefly to incorporate. Fold in blueberries and scoop into prepared muffin pan.

Bake for 20 min. Makes 8-12 muffins.

I have also made this recipe as pumpkin muffins. Instead of blueberries, mix in 1/2 C pumpkin puree (I add it to the same bowl in which I'm mixing the egg, honey, oil etc.). In addition to the cinnamon, I also added about 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground coriander and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg. Adjust spices to your liking,

Whole Grain Blender Pancakes/Waffles

This Sue Gregg recipe is one of our regular breakfasts. It's a great way to incorporate a variety of whole grains in your diet. There is no flour in these pancakes! I always do the two stage process and start my batter the day or night before. This will get more nutrients from the grains if they soak in an acidic medium (the yogurt or buttermilk) for several hours. (Oats should soak 24 hours). Complete explanation below. Check out the link to her webpage for more details about this recipe including FAQs and troubleshooting... although I've never had any problems with it.

This is copied and pasted from her webpage (with extra info left out):

AMOUNT: 3 - 4 Servings ( 8--6" pancakes or 3 to 4--7" waffles )

1. Place in blender; blend at highest speed 3 minutes (less in a Vita-Mix or Bosch), while adding enough liquid to maintain a vortex:

1 cup buttermilk or yogurt [or kefir] thinned with water to same consistency or 1 1/4+ cups for waffles--a thinner batter is best
(Non-dairy allergy alternatives: rice, coconut, almond milk, apple juice or apple sauce + 1 Tbsp. vinegar)
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional, but recommended)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional for flavor, omit with buckwheat)
1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats or whole oats or other grain
1/2 cup buckwheat, brown rice, corn, millet, or other grain

These are raw whole uncooked grains, not flour! We urge you to experiment with millet, barley, spelt, and Kamut® grain for varied tastes and textures. Avoid bothersome allergies. For those who are gluten intolerant try the gluten free grains: brown rice, corn, and millet.

2. Cover blender and let stand at room temperature several hours or overnight for improved nutrition. Optional but recommended: See The Two Stage Process.(below)

3. Preheat griddle on medium-high (until water drops sizzle on surface), or waffle iron at highest temperature.

4. Just before baking, add and reblend for 1 to 3 or more minutes until smooth:

1 egg (or alternative)
1 tablespoon flax seed (Optional for added nutritional value)
additional liquid (as needed to keep batter churning)

5. Blend in thoroughly, but briefly, "sifting" these through a small strainer (assist with rubber spatula, if needed):
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
1 teaspoon baking powder*
(*Optional: With the Two Stage Process the baking powder can be omitted and the baking soda increased to 1/2 to 1 teaspoon as needed).

Technique tip: If you can successfully drop the soda & salt into the spinning blades at the bottom of the vortex, you can omit sifting.

6. Bake on hot griddle or in waffle iron (3 to 5 minutes until crisp), lightly sprayed with non-stick olive oil spray as needed.

* * *
The Two Stage Process Optional for enhanced nutrition and smoother batter. After blending let the batter rest for 6 or 7 hours or overnight at room temperature. Remember you will add the egg later. However, if you've already added the egg, be sure to refrigerate the batter. Soaking the batter gives enzymes time to release nutrients (especially calcium, magnesium, and iron) bound up by phytates in the grains. In addition to maximizing nutritional value the two stage process allows the batter to soak up liquid, consequently, producing an even smoother batter.

Preheat the waffle iron on highesttemperature or griddle on medium high (until drops of water sizzle)
Add egg and reblend on highest speed 1 to 3 minutes or until smooth

About Whole Grains:
Try them all.
brown rice (waffles are light, crispy--our favorite)
oats (rolled or whole) May need to cook a little longer. Blend well to produce a smoother batter with coarser grains.)
buckwheat (raw, sprouting or toasted, very flavorful) Reduce to 1/2 - 1 cup--this grain expands. Omit vanilla.
millet (waffles are especially light)
barley (hulled, not pearled--reduce to 1/2 - 1 cup)
corn (dry whole, not meal)
Kamut®grain, spelt (allergy alternatives to wheat)
triticale, rye (tend to be heavy. blend with lighter grains)

Sweet Potato Dollars

Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best! This is from Nourishing Traditions.

Serves 4

3-4 sweet potatoes
3 T melted butter
3 T extra virgin olive oil
sea salt

Peel potatoes andslice crosswice at 1/4 inch intervals into "dollars." Brush two cookie sheets* wth mixture of butter and olive oil. Arrange the dollars in one layer and brush with the remaining butter and oil. Season lightly with sea salt. Bake about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

*Forgive me for not understanding the physics of baking, but I used one silpat lined cookie sheet and one glass baking pan. I highly recommend the glass baking pan!! The dollars which baked on the glass browned nicely on the bottom and were even crispy! (watch them closely near the end, some were almost burnt at 45 min). The ones on the cookie sheet, while tasty, were rather soft and soggy. This is probably why my baked sweet potato "fries" never came out very good in the past.

Sugar Free, Microwave Hot Cocoa

Yes, I drink hot cocoa in the summer. Sometimes I need the extra chocolate in my system.

2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. Splenda
dash salt
8 oz. very hot, but not boiling milk
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Microwave the milk. While that's heating, combine cocoa powder, Splenda, and salt in a mug with a small whisk. (If you don't have a small whisk, you could combine these in a bowl and use a regular whisk.) Add a small amount of the hot milk to this mixture and whisk vigorously, tilting the cup or bowl so as to get every last bit of cocoa powder moistened. This makes a kind of slurry. Slowly add the rest of the hot milk, whisking constantly. Then whisk in the vanilla and enjoy. You may have a bit of sludge at the bottom of your cup. I eat this with a spoon.