Well, well, I am finally getting back to this blog. We have had a very busy last month! A road trip in August, school starting, two babies on the move and teething, Tom traveling, and all of the fruit harvesting and preserving we have been doing have kept us busy...to say the least! This doesn't mean I haven't been at work in the kitchen, creating new recipes and updating old ones. I have a notebook full of new recipes that I need to type up.

Tonight I wanted to share a new creation I made last night. A Plum Cake! A gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, sugar-free Plum Cake! Now, the idea had been wandering around in my mind for about two weeks, and then finally, yesterday, the recipe came to me. I quickly wrote it down and into the kitchen I went. It all came out with the usual few tweaks it takes as I was measuring and sifting...and the end result was good, but not quite perfected. After all the kids were in bed and I still had all of the ingredients out, I made it again, this time with one simple change, and it was good, well very good.

We have been picking boxes of Italian plums around Bellingham, they grow everywhere here! Just look around and you will see plenty of houses with plums falling all around, and not being picked. Just knock on doors and ask to pick. Most people are happy to have some help in keeping them from rotting on the ground. Just keep empty boxes in your car in case you spot a tree as you are running around town. We have had our dehydrator going nonstop drying plum slices. They are such a treat to eat in the winter, when fresh fruit is out of season.

Along with the plum cake, we also made a veggie stir-fry with a Ginger Plum Sauce last night for dinner. Just a simple stir-fry with what I had: sweet onions, Italian sweet peppers, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, and a bunch of chard - in olive oil with a touch of sea salt.  We served the stir-fry over brown jasmine rice and drizzled the plum sauce over all of it: yummolischious was the verdict!

OK, so now the recipes:

Ginger Plum Sauce

A beautiful, purple-hued sauce, reminiscent of a sweet and sour sauce! Great sauce to have if you are on the Phase 1 of our 28-Day Elimination Diet.

1 tablespoon kudzu
1/2 cup water
4 to 6 Italian plums, pitted
1 cup apple juice
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 to 2-inch piece of ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt

Place water and kudzu into a small pan and whisk together to dissolve the kudzu. Place all other  ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into pot with kudzu, whisk together. Turn heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes. Pour over whole grains, fish, vegetables, or cooked beans!


Italian Plum Upside-Down Cake

And yes, as always, it is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and this time sugar-free (agave-sweetened)!

2 tablespoons organic palm shortening
2 tablespoons agave nectar
8 to 10 Italian plums, pitted and cut in half

1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond meal flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup organic palm shortening
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup apple juice or non-dairy milk (I used apple juice)

Grease a 8-inch or 9-inch cake round cake pan and line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (I used an 8 x 2.5-inch round glass pan).

In a small bowl mix together the 2 tablespoons of shortening and agave with a fork. Spread mixture evenly over the parchment paper, using an offset spatula or back of spoon. Arrange plum halves, cut sides down, in pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and whisk together. In another bowl, cream together the shortening and agave nectar; add applesauce, vanilla and almond extracts, and beat again. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and beat together with an electric mixer; slowly add the apple juice as you are mixing. Beat for another 60 seconds or so. Spread batter evenly over plum halves. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Let the cake set for a few minutes, then invert onto a plate or platter. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

If you make this, I would love your feedback, please email me with comments! Thanks!

If you have never tried cooking with teff, you are in for a treat. This super tiny, gluten-free Ethiopian grain, is extremely high minerals, namely iron. (Teff is probably most well-known for its appearance as a flour in the flat, pancake-like bread, injera - a staple food in Ethiopian cuisine.) Teff is also high in protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber, making it a perfect breakfast food. Being very easy and quick to prepare, you can make your lunch or get ready for you day while the teff is simmering on the stove, it only takes about 15 minutes.

Although teff originated in Ethiopia, it is now grown in the Snake River Valley of Idaho. The story goes, that the company's founder, Wayne Carlson, was in Ethiopia in the 1970's and spent some time as a guest at a local farm. The farmers were eager to show him their crop of teff among other grains. Then once back in the US, Wayne became fascinated at the geographic and climactic similarities of the Snake River region and Eastern Africa. He then decided to grow teff, asking Ethiopians living in the US to work on the farm, thereby reestablishing the relationship of these people to their native grain.

Teff comes in different varieties - brown or ivory, both delicious! If you can not find teff in your local co-op or health food store you can buy it online here, in 5 or 25 pound bags.

This morning I topped our teff porridge with fresh, juicy white nectarine slices, ground raw almonds, and a drizzle of raw agave nectar. My 3-year old loves this stuff, she eats bowlful after bowlful. In fact, I have to cut her off and offer her something else so there is enough for the rest of the family!

Right now the peaches and nectarines are in their peak season, so try topping your teff with one of those. I like to use nuts to add "staying power" which will get me through a busy morning without getting hungry.


You can grind raw almonds in a coffee grinder, small food processor, or the dry container for the Vita-Mix. Drizzle with a little agave nectar or pure maple syrup for a touch of sweetness!

Here is the recipe (we make a double batch of this to feed 2 adults and 2 children):

Teff Breakfast Porridge

3 cups water

pinch sea salt

1 cup teff grain

In a medium pot, bring water and sea salt to a boil. Add teff and stir a little. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, covered. Towards the end of cooking time, stir occasionally.

Yesterday was breezy and cool here; just didn't feel like much of a summer day. We did make it out to an organic berry farm to pick raspberries and blueberries. I think we picked 9 pounds of blueberries and 5 pounds of raspberries.  We freeze them to use during the rest of the year. Last summer we picked several times and got a total of 80 pounds of blueberries, which was enough to last us through the beginning of June this year. We are shooting for 100 pounds this year, especially since we have added two new family members who will be eating blueberries soon enough!

When we arrived home in the early evening, everyone was cold and hungry. What better time than to make a big pot of warming chili! Since I hadn't planned on this meal I didn't have any beans soaking, but I did have a few cans of Eden Beans in the pantry. The recipe is entitled Vegetarian Chipotle Chili and is on page 159 of our cookbook.

I created this recipe when my daughter, Lily, was about 1 1/2 years old. It was October I think, and I had tasted something with chipotle chili powder in it and couldn't get that taste out of my mind. I remember soaking a big bowl of beautiful dark red kidney beans, cooking them, and chopping and adding ingredients to my big stock pot. The end result was fantastic, but could I ever recreate it? That was when Tom decided to stand over me with measuring utensils in hand and catch what I was throwing into the pot. Finally we were able to recreate it and it has been a favorite of ours now for years. We hope you enjoy this easy recipe as much as we do! Hint: serve it with brown rice with a sliced avocado on top.

(A gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free meal)

A baked chicken dinner was one of the rotating meals that my dad would make for us when my mom went back to work when I was 13. It was usually chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and steamed broccoli.....and maybe some fresh fruit and yogurt or a boxed cake mix for dessert.

So this is my comfort food meal and a meal that the girls love. Tonight it was a Baked Organic Chicken with Fresh Garden Herbs, Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes, Gravy, Steamed Broccoli, Balsamic Roasted Beets, Mixed Greens with a Honey-Apple Cider Vinaigrette, and a Gluten-Free Seed Bread. Although this may seem complicated, it is really very easy as each component to the meal is quite simple with few ingredients.

Baked Chicken with Herbs

1 organic chicken, rinsed
chopped celery
1 small onion, chopped
1 whole head garlic, chopped
fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley, lemon thyme)
Herbamare and black pepper

Place the chicken in a baking dish. Add all other ingredients to the bottom of the pan and into the cavity of the chicken. Sprinkle the top with Herbamare and pepper. Add about an inch of water to the bottom of the pan. Place into a preheated 425 degree oven for 20 minutes or so, then reduce the heat to 325 or 350 degrees, bake for about 1 1/2 more hours, depending on the size of the chicken, and until the juices run clear. Let chicken set out on the counter for about 10 minutes then transfer to a platter or plate to carve. Follow instructions below for making gravy.

Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes

Cut into chunks a few (3 to 5) large Yukon gold potatoes, boil until cooked through. Now here is my trick: drain off all of the water except for maybe 1/4 inch in the bottom, leave that and add a few tablespoons of olive oil and some Herbamare or sea salt. Leaving a little of the cooking water in the pot eliminates the need to add any milk. Now whip it all up with and electric mixer right in the pot! That's it!

Gravy

Because I put about an inch of water in the pan with the chicken along with the celery, onions, and herbs, all I need to do is strain that out (with a fine mesh strainer right into a small pot) and add a little arrowroot powder and voila: rich gravy! Tonight I used about one tablespoon arrowroot. Be sure to mix it in a little bowl with about 1 to 2 tablespoons of cold water before you add it to the hot liquid, otherwise it will clump up. Then whisk it over medium heat until thickened. Add salt if needed.

Balsamic Roasted Beets

We have beets growing in our garden. The girls have been picking them so I thought I better use them. You can find this recipe in our cookbook on page: 206.

Honey-Apple Cider Vinaigrette

I don't have a recipe for this because I just threw it together until it tasted right. I used olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, sea salt and ground black pepper. Whisk it together in a small bowl and toss it with a bowlful of mixed organic greens. We used greens from a local organic farm. I topped the salad with a few handfuls of fresh cherry tomatoes.



Gluten-Free Seed Bread

This is a new creation of mine, (a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free yeast bread that is tender and squishy like whole wheat bread) but I still need to perfect it, so I am not yet ready to give away the recipe, but let me tell you it was delicious and everyone enjoyed it! Check back in the future and I may post it once I get the recipe just right!

Two posts in one day, you would think I spent all day in the kitchen. Though I didn't, we had plenty of time outside today gardening, pitting cherries, and playing with the babies and girls! I wish I had the time to post more often and share recipes, as I have made some delicious meals this past week, including..... a yellow split pea dal with rice, homemade halibut fish sticks with roasted potato wedges and steamed veggies, raspberry salmon and a raspberry cake, and a big batch of black bean enchiladas. I will put some of the recipes on our upcoming newsletter, so check that if some of these sound interesting to you.

Tonight I made a meal with some of the fantastic fresh vegetables we bought at the Farmer's Market yesterday. I also made a chocolate-cherry ice cream using coconut milk, agave nectar, cocoa powder, and fresh cherries. We have been picking lots of cherries from our friend's tree, so I am finding ways to incorporate them into my recipes. Though we pit and freeze most of them to use during the fall and winter.

Ok, I will get to the meal:

Fresh Wild King Salmon with Garden Herbs

This is very simple.....take a fresh piece of salmon and rinse it off. Place it in a baking dish skin-side down, sprinkle the top with Herbamare, then chopped fresh garlic, then fresh garden herbs. I used snipped chives, lemon thyme, thyme, and rosemary. Drizzle the whole thing with olive oil and top with fresh lemon slices. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes (depending on how thick it is).



Baked Yukon Gold Potatoes

I started the baked potatoes about 40 minutes before I put the salmon in the oven, this way they are both done at the same time.

Cooked Quinoa

2 cups quinoa
3 3/4 cups water
pinch sea salt

Rinse quinoa well under cool running water, drain, then place into a 2-quart pot. Add water and salt, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes. (Start the quinoa when the salmon goes in the oven).

Fresh Market Vegetable Stir-Fry

I used my 14-inch stainless steel wok for this. The big wok provides plenty of room for everything to cook evenly and not get mushy. The only veggies we used were what we picked up at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. Onions, heirloom carrots, cauliflower, summer squash, snow peas, and savoy cabbage. We seasoned it only with Herbamare and used olive oil to saute. The key to a good stir-fry is to have your wok hot before you add the veggies (but not too hot or the oil will smoke), I use medium heat. Have everything chopped and in piles on your cutting board. Heat your oil, then add the slowest cooking vegetables first (carrots, cauliflower, onions) then on to the fast cooking ones (snow peas and cabbage). The whole thing shouldn't take long, only about 5 to 8 minutes or so. Remember to keep those veggies moving, that is the meaning of the word: stir-fry!


Chocolate-Cherry Ice Cream

I used my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker to do this. We usually buy the Coconut Bliss ice cream from the co-op, but this time I wanted to try and make it myself. It turned out delicious and truly decadent! A few days ago I made a beautiful pink-hued ice cream using fresh strawberries and coconut milk that was just as good.

1 can plus 1/2 can of coconut milk
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup cocoa powder (Dagoba is gluten-free)
1 tablespoon vanilla
a few handfuls of fresh pitted cherries, chopped

Place all ingredients EXCEPT CHERRIES into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions. During the last 5 minutes dump in the chopped cherries. Freeze until firm, a few hours.