More chicken broth!

This homemade broth is so easy to make. And yes that is chicken broth- dark brown, opaque, with a layer of chicken fat on top. Nothing like the clear watery chicken broth that comes out of a can or box. It's rich in flavor but not over powering. It can still be used the same way you use the store bought stuff. It makes wonderful chicken soup- you can feel it's healing powers! Check out my previous post for all the details! !

Check out this blog: Mark's Daily Apple he's got a great entry about Bone Broth!

Almond Flour Biscuit

I have been craving something bread like for days. So I decided to try this Recipe from Paleo Comfort foods. It has a short ingredient list which I always like. I omitted the cinnamon because I will be the only person to eat all eight biscuits (over time of course) and I wanted to be able to use them in a variety of fashions. I plan to freeze the remaining ones.




Here is the recipe
 2 cups Almond Flour
1/2 tsp baking Soda
3 TBsp Butter
2 Large eggs
2 TBsp Honey
1 tsp vanilla
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

First, I mixed the flour and butter until it was crumbly pea sized pieces. Then I added all the wet ingredients together and mixed. The honey was hard to incorporate with the eggs so eventually I just dumped the whole thing in the mixer. Then I realized I forgot to add the baking powder, so I added that.
The dough tasted really good but also was really sweet. The cooked biscuits were much less sweet then the dough so I was happy about that.

Next I scooped out about 8 portions onto the cookie pan. I was surprised about how much they raised and expanded during cooking. They turned out nice and big and brown.

I was very pleased with how they felt when I bit into them. Springy and yummy. Sweet but not to sweet. They are a great treat for someone who is looking to have a little change from the regular Paleo fair. They are great with butter or plain. I love them!


Recipe is from Paleo Comfort Foods by Julie & Charles Mayfield, Strawberry Shortcake.

Dinner with the neighbors

Yum.

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Flank Steak Marinade

This is my favorite marinade. My Mom is famous for this marinade, it is often requested for that special dinner. So I decided to Paleo-fy the recipe.
Asian Marinade for Flank Steak
Flank steak (average size, thawed)
12oz Tamari sauce (like soy sauce, but gluten-free, seriously it tastes the same as soy sauce to me)
1/4 c Honey
2 Tbsp Sesame seeds
1 tsp Sesame Oil

(In the above picture I did not warm the tamari and incorporate the honey so I am recommending that for the recipe below.)
Gently warm the tamari and honey on the stove top in a pan. Just enough to melt the honey. Do not boil or over heat. Cool. Score the steak in a crisscross fashion to help the marinade penetrate and out in a 13x9 baking pan.  Pour the mixture over the steak. Sprinkle Sesame seeds and sesame oil on steak. Let marinate for 2-4 hours. Then cook on the grill for best results. On medium heat for about 7-10 minutes on each side depending on thickness. The ends are generally well done and the center cuts are medium rare. Don't over cook it. Important: Cut the meat across the grain so that the pieces are about an 1/4 inch think and 6-8inches long. Everyone loved it. This is a wonderful thing to serve guests.

Homemade Chicken Broth

Homemade anything always feels more nourishing to me. I love the smell of a homemade broth. It's super simple. Most of us work during the week. Using a crock pot for this nutritious recipe is the best way to go. That way you can easily cook your broth for 24- 48 hours or more. A nice long slow cook yields the best broth. 
You will need :
1 whole Organic Chicken
Crock pot
One and half gallon Water
additional options: it's great to use scraps of onions, celery, carrots. You can freeze these as they are used for other recipes then pull out when you are ready to make broth ( I got this tip from my Naturopath, Elinor Jordan ND.) I often just use just the chicken bones and scraps. It makes a great broth all on it's own.

Cook the Chicken: Be sure to take out the giblets and such from the body cavity of the raw chicken. Rinse the chicken in the sink. Place in the pan sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the Organic Chicken in your oven at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hrs or until the meat falls from the bone. Set aside to cool and remove meat or serve to your family reserving the bones for broth. 

Make the Broth: Put bones of one whole chicken into the crock pot and cover with 1 1/2 gallon of water. Be sure to cover the whole carcass chicken with water. I like to set the crock pot on high until I go to bed then down to low for over night. In the morning I check it again to see if too much water has evaporated. Generally I do not add more water. About a half gallon of water will evaporate over the 24+ hour cook.  This is one reason I love using the crock pot. It's safe to leave it for overnight or for the day while I am at work. The crock pot can be working on extracting all that goodness while I am going about my day.





Finished Broth: Once you have cooked your broth to your liking then turn off crock pot. I usually turn it off when I get home from work and before I have started cooking dinner. Then it can cool for an hour or two and not scold me while I am handling it. Do not let the broth cool too much. The fat should still be liquid.Use a skimmer (see picture) or cheese cloth to filter out all the debris (bones, skin etc.) I find it easiest to filter into a separate bowl. My skimmer sits on the edge of the bowl so I have two hands to work with. It may seems over the top to dirty another dish but you just spend two days making this super healthy food for your family, don't chance loosing any of it by spilling it trying to decant it into a jar. the decant with a measuring cup or other tool with about for pouring


Storing your broth:
Your broth will last for about 5-6 days in the fridge. Or you can freeze it for future use. I like to reuse an Organic Apple juice glass jar to store my broth for a few days. Notice that the broth is opaque and not clear, also there is a layer of fat at the top. That fat is healing to the intestines, joints, and other organs. Anyone who has read Rob Wolff's The Paleo Solution knows how important fats are to our health. This is a healthy source of fat and other nutrients that are removed from a store bought broth.  Enjoy! You can add chicken from original chicken to the broth to make a healthy healing chicken soup. Check back for my Chicken Soup Recipe!

Start Planning your Garden

Int the Pacific Northwest It's time to begin planning your garden. Growing your own food is rewarding and relatively easy. That is if you like playing outside in the dirt!
I filled my garden bed with brown leaves that will compost down and augment the soil. I will order seeds from an organic seed company. We will start seeds inside in the next couple of weeks. Right now in Olympia we can plant many varieties of peas including Sweet Pea (flowers.)
We will plant:
Romaine Lettuce
Carrots, purple and orange
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Kale
Onions
Peas, snap
Peas


We are already growing:
Apples
Blueberries
Raspberries


Send me pictures of your garden!

Falling off the Wagon.

On Sunday we had a fabulous Baby Shower for a friend at my house. Everyone ooo'd and aww'd over the new pregnant Mama. Fun was had by all. I was in charge of food and there was not a Paleo menu . But I thought, I can make it work for me, too. So I served Salmon, Fried Rice, Salad, Raw Veggies with Hummus, and crackers with Spinach dip.

So I did not set myself up for success. I missed lunch, doing last minute house cleaning and snacked on veggies as I prepared food. I did not eat any protein after my sausage breakfast. I kept saying in my head- "later I will eat something protienish." And then it happened- Damn those Ritz crackers! I tasted one and thought "oh they are as good as I remember!" Now for those of you who don't know I have been gluten-free(ish) for about three years. I have had months and months without gluten and then fall of the wagon for one reason or another. In the past it was always a horrible struggle to return to the gluten-free ways. I would have days of suffering and struggling. Talking myself out of "just one (gluten-filled) bite." Oh and the Fried Rice was gluten-free but not grain-free, obviously. In the interest of full disclosure- I had some of that too. Urgh.

BUT! With Paleo it has been so much easier to recover! I have noticed that I have been able (very happily and with great anticipation) to return to eating Paleo. It feels so right in my body. I also notice have less of  a struggle with cravings. I wonder if it's because my body is not being sent signals from other grains like rice, quinoa and such. I am clearer in my system I can feel that for sure.  Although last night I struggled in my body. My symptoms are sore muscles and stiff joints. My body get really systemically inflamed when I eat gluten. I upped my fish oils and took some Cucurmin (Turmeric) to help my body release the inflammation.