Baby Wolverine Loaf (dog food)

 Our dog is ...finicky, has allergies, dislikes beef and thinks of dry food as an amusing treat. I don't feel ok about feeding him the canned stuff , so he gets a loaf. Likewise he loves fish, veggies, cheese(mostly when he steals it) and especially lately melon. He gets dog vitamins on top of this for regular meals. 1 loaf last our 11 lb dog six days.

1 c cooked rice (brown preferred)

1 lb turkey (medium to higher fat)

1 c veggies (usually mixed veg, sweet potato, or squash)

1/2 cup oats

1 egg

mix

Bake at 350f 45minutes to 1 hr.

Update... Now he likes beef and constantly begs his grandma for it

Air dry cinnamon dough

I teach young kids these days. This means a need for excellent non toxic airdrying sculpture materials. This has the benefit of being washable, and drying in 3 or so days. You can paint it with tempera paint ,carve it and mould it.  Mix equal parts cinnamon and  jarred applesauce ( or pureed homemade). Knead to combine. Shape your dough and place on a piece of paper to dry. The time depends on thickness. This can be used to make things that last well like 'jewelry' , sculptures and air fresheners. Just make sure to poke a hole in the item if you want to hang it BEFORE it dries and to coat it with a layer of glue if using it as jewelry.  

Gf onion rings

Please understand that these are delicious but not to be undertaken lightly. They are basically a simple pakora. The first time I made them I gave myself 3rd degree oil splotches up my arm for my sister's wedding. Such an attractive bridesmaid! So wear sleeves and follow directions. Keep aloe nearby.

You need a fryer or a heavy bottom pot with more than 4 inches depth..ovens are great, a candy thermometer, a wire basket and tongs.
Allow oil (olive or peanut) to heat slowly to 250f
Slice two onions thickly and separate the rings
Dredge in cornstarch and transfer to batter one at a time (if pressed you can skip this but they will not be as crispy)
Batter:
1 cup chickpea flour plus 1 tsp salt and water to make thin batter 1 1\2 cups about.
Transfer to oil one at a time making sure not to crowd.
Flip after 2 minutes remove onto paper towels after another two
Strain oil with basket between batches reducing temperature to keep down smoking as needed. After frying is complete cover and allow oil to completely cool before sieving and bottling to reuse a few times

Any cheese stovetop mac and cheese

1.Boil your choice of noodles to al dente. Toss with 1 tb butter and set aside. I'm digging on Aldi's gf rotini about now because it's inexpensive and comes in a few shapes.
2. Grate 1/2 lb of cheese (or if pre sliced cut into tiny pieces) (cheddar, harvarti,gouda, parmesan or odds and ends of various cheeses) leave it alone until step 5.
3. Add 1/2 cup beer, milk, or cider to 1 tb brown mustard and if you have it 1 tb nutritional yeast to a 2 qt pot. Bring to a boil.
4. Take another 1/2 cup of cold milk and add  2 tb of either ap flour (not ap gf..it will be terrible)  or gf cornstarch/arrow root flour (for the gf folks). Whisk together until there are no lumps.  Add 1/4 tsp or 10 grates of nutmegs and same of pepper
5. Pour milk and spice mixture into pot and stir until it thickens. Stir in cheese rapidly.
6. Once cheese melts mix in noodles. Serve with veggies.

Apricot (or other stone fruit) preserves

I suck at remembering to can stuff....but this stuff will last a while in the fridge or freezer and it's good on toast, yogurt or ice cream. I don't know why these are 99 cents a pound...It's only may and it was snowing in April. My peas aren't even up yet at the community garden. That said I'm broke, and I love apricot jam.

1. Acquire 2.25 lbs stone fruit. Wash your fruit. Be thorough. Don't peel it. Chop for completely smooth preserves or slice for chunkier ones. Do not use the pits (the pits of stone fruits like cherries, peaches, apricots, etc usually contain cyanide )

2.Take 1 cup water and mix in 1 1/2 cup sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. The sugar should dissolve and the mixture should still be clear. Watch this carefully so the sugar doesn't burn and turn to rock hard caramel.
3. Once down to a simmer add 1/3 cup lemon juice, then all your fruit.
4. Stir every few minutes until fruit liquefies and reduces to mush. Continue until spoon thick. Add 1 tb almond extract and stir. Take care not to splash as 3rd degree burns can result.
5. For smoother jam shove through a sieve with a spoon or food mill.
6. Pour into containers and cool before use.

mon petit choux (for the love of brussel sprouts)

Brussel sprouts on the stalk look like an amazing alien creature. They are green and most delicious in spring or early fall. Delicious alongside anything umame,as well as roasted potatoes they are also full of actual nutrients. They just went on sale for 50 cents a 6 oz bag at our local fruit market.

My two favorite methods are roasting  or as a weird mixed slaw which is picnic safe as it contains no mayo:

Roasting
1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Take 6 oz brussel sprouts Remove any funky leaves, then rinse.
3. Peel a thin slice off the the stump. Then Make an x in the stump. If very large, skip this step and slice head in half. If you want slice half a sweet onion in with this.
4.Drizzle olive oil (2 tb) on a casserole dish or roasting pan, add two cloves garlic sliced thin. Toss to coat.
5. Put in oven for 20 minutes turning half way through. Remove and salt to taste pref with a large flake salt.
6.Drizzle with one of the following dressing options and serve:
   
Maple Ginger Soy
 3 tb  soysauce (tamari for gf folks) ,2 tb maple syrup (honey works too) and 1/2 inch ginger grated plus a pinch of dried ginger. Mix allwith 1 tb water.

Lemon and oil:
Mix1/2 lemon's juice (2-3 tb) with 2 tb olive oil. Toss to coat. You could add 1-2 tb leftover pesto from another night.

Lemon soy
Mix Juice (3-4 tb) of a lemon with 3 tb tamari/soy sauce.

Butter and thyme/rosemary
Melt 3 tb butter , add 1 tb leaves removed from stalk.



Brussel slaw
1.Wash and remove stumps from 8 oz sprouts.Slice into shreds.
2.Wash and slice 2 green onions
3. Optional half a tart apple,cubed
4. 1 grated carrot
5. Optional 1 tb poppyseeds,
6. Optional4 oz fresh broccoli crown sliced into tiny florets. If choosing this option double the dressing.
7. Optional 1 oz. Bacon or coconut bacon or shredded parmesan, &/ or 1/4 tsp smoked salt
8. Optional 1/4 cup currants or raisins
9. 1/2 cup dried cranberries
10.2 tb walnuts, sunflower seeds or pecans
12.Dressing-follows below
13. Toss all together, S&P to taste

Dressing for Brussel slaw
Mix 1 Tb brown, whole or spicy mustard, with 3 tb maple syrup (or one of honey+1 of water), 3 tb cider vinegar, and 2 of olive,or sunflower oil.

Drink your greens

scurvy is bad.

2 handfuls of any of these: spinach, kale,swiss chard, if you are in the mood for tart use sorrel,etc...

Add 1\2 cup milk or milk sub.

And 1\2 cup sweet juice like orange or apple

Then chop up an apple.

Blend all

You can also add ginger chopped into the greens 

Dill rice

1. Cook 1 cup rice in a tb of butter until edges of rice go translucent. May add 1\4 chopped onion while sautéing
2. Cook as normal.For me this means add 1 tsp salt and add to two cups of water in the rice cooker or cover with same on the stove top at medium heat
3. When rice is done add 3tb tb dill chopped fine and stir to fluff.

Strawberry or other fruit milkshake

This is what I do for breakfast when I don't want food or I want as can't have a milkshake. Its cold and sweet and portable.

10 oz milk and 1/2 cup frozen fruit of choice
1 tb vanilla
Insert blender. Blend til smooth.
Pour
 Stir in 1-2 tb sugar  or maple syrup and/or chia if desired. Chia makes it a better breakfast.

Blush

Mix together tapioca starch 4 tb, 1 /2 tb cocoa powder , optional pinch bronze mica and 1 tb Australian red clay until thoroughly blended. Apply sparingly.

For a pressed format, clean an old compact well. Allow to dry . Mix together 3tb blushto 1 tb vodka optional add 4 drops glycerin  Press mixture into compact. Allow to dry (usually takes 2-3 days)

buttered cabbage

Its spring or fall or winter and you have a cabbage staring at you from the back of the fridge as you eat mushrooms or if you aren't me potatoes and sausage. That cabbage can be tasty and healthy-ish in under 15 minutes. First  remove funky outer leaves and throw in compost/trash. Slice it in half. Then slice in thin ribbons. Toss these in a skillet with 1\2 chopped onion 1 tb caraway and 2 tb butter. Sauté until bright green. Serve. Wrap the other half head for later.

Orange carrots

These are bribes for small children to eat veggies and I have fed them to no less than five of the kids I used to watch. My mother used them on me also.

Preheat oven to 350 . Take one bag peeled carrots or 1 lb carrots peeled and cut into 1/4 ths and cut into chunks . Add 1\2 cup orange juice ( frozen and canned it recommended)and 1\4 tsp cinnamon, add one tb of bake 30 min until carrots are fork tender. You could drizzle with honey or not...they will still be gobbled up

Orange carrots

These are bribes for small children to eat veggies and I have fed them to no less than five of the kids I used to watch. My mother used them on me also.

Preheat oven to 350 . Take one bag peeled carrots and cut into chunks or one 16 oz bag baby carrots. Add 1\2 cup orange juice and 1\4 tsp cinnamon, add one tb of butter. bake 30 min until carrots are fork tender. You could drizzle with honey or not...they will still be gobbled up

Easy florentine tomato soup

Take  1 jar marinara sauce you would eat and pour into your pot add entire container of same size of milk and 1 of water.add 5 oz of spinach fresh or frozen. Cool until thickened. Add parmesan or asiago as garnish.

roasted beets, mint and goat cheese

Wash and prick holes in 3 medium beets.Wrap in foil. Put in oven while cooking other things at 350- 375. Cook until tender 30-45 minutes. Allow to cool and remove from foil.warning,do not slice until cool unless you like resembling an axe murderer. 1/4 the slices and toss with 1/2 package goat cheese or 3 oz feta (the honey goatcheese thats 2$at aldi also works well here. Dress with olive oil,salt and pepper and if desired balsamic vinegar. Add chopped mint leaves,dry will work in a pinch. Eat on its own or as a salad topping.

Salad mushrooms

Wash and slice one container button mushrooms. Add three tb lemon juice, bottled is fine. Add salt and pepper  to taste, 2 tb olive oil.put all ingredients in a jar with one green onion sliced. Shake and wait at least 20 minutes.Refrigerate up to one week. Use as dressing layer in salad jars or on mashed potatoes or along side noodles or salad greens.

detangler spray (for hair)

This can be used instead of conditioner for average hair or in addition to for dry hair and can be rubbed on dry winter skin to moisturise lightly.

You will need a clean spray bottle (Unless you implicitly trust the manufacturers of what ever was last was in it AND washed it out really well..I'd pony up the buck for a spray bottle)
Pour this in there
1  cup rose water (bc it has the glycerin, smells pretty and is shelf stable)
1- 2 tb skin appropriate oil (from lightest to heaviest... argan, apricot,almond, olive, avocado)
10-15 drops of essential oil for scent...you can totally skip this
shake before each use.

spray on skin or hair that needs moisture.

freezer primping..how to get the most from a cold place

rule 1.
label stuff- After they freeze most soups look alike . Greens and herbs are even more impossible.  Also knowing when it's dead will help avoid tragic mishaps.

rule 2- Wash produce and leaves before freezing.In an ideal world you might slice up the stuff or blender your herbs and throw them in ice cube trays and then in freezer jars but you are very likely tired and need to make dinner. If you rinse off the herbs and shake most of the water off before shoving them back into the produce bag they gave you at the the store you can use scissors to remove the parts you need later. Whenever you find red or yellow peppers cheap they should go in here or be added to pasta sauce. If you are concerned about herbs going off before you finish a bunch put them in cold storage

rule 3
keep a scrap bag/bin
bits of onion, cabbage leaf, asparagus stumps, half a tomato, and a half eaten corn cob make good soup if you know where they are and how to use them. Keep your cheese ends and bones/shells in different bins from your veg. if you save eggshells for making coffee or for boosting your garden store them in yet another bag. Only freeze leftovers if you can think of ways to use them later...otherwise this is freezer hoarding

rule 4 you'd be surprised what goes in here. Butter is protected from overuse and onion smell, large amounts of oat flour as it goes rancid awful quick after grinding, flax, sesame seeds, bread and beans can be stored in the freezer if you are willing to deal with texture changes and any jars of lemon curd you plan on eating more than a month out from making it (the fat protects the eggs in it from going weird), homemade cookie dough or pastry crust also fits in well. Dried mushrooms and seaweed also stay fresher longer in the freezer.

rule5
Figure out a system that works for you. I tend to put often used pre prepped ingredients in the door with butter and a jar of ground flax and bread to the upper right. Your diet and therefore your plan should look different. Whatever your plan try to clean it out at least once a season to prevent realizing you have 5 year old flax in there. 

gf green tea cake and green tea or strawberry buttercream frosting

Green tea cake 

altered from http://www.thevintagemixer.com/2013/07/matcha-green-tea-pound-cake-recipe/

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a loaf pan or line with parchment paper.

mix together

1/4 cup coconut oil or butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk (you may use regular milk)
1 cup sorghum flour(or whole wheat pastry for those who are not gf)
1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder or 2tb ground green tea
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tb vanilla
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown on the outside and a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting (if desired) green tea or strawberry buttercream
1 stick ozs room temperature butter (fully soft) or same amount quality margarine
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1ttb milk

1 tbsp matcha or ground green tea (or 3 tb strawberry preserves or  2 tb pureed strawberries or raspberries in which case omit milk)

cream together sugar and butter until fluffy and uniform.

mix in fruit or matcha

blend until uniform.

pour into piping bags/ a bowl/zippie bags and chill 1/ hr

frost your cooled cake.

adorn with some mint or thin fresh fruit slices

If you need to avoid gluten be especially careful on checking baking powder, sorghum flour and powdered sugar as many brands are co-processed with wheat flours

oat flour

In my area oat flour is 3.50-5 dollars for a 22 oz bag, hence my previous tendency to avoid making ground oat dishes despite really liking them and of course the stellar nutrition of oats. A 32 oz container if rolled oats is 1.30$. I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me before that I could make that a 32 oz container of oat flour for shortbread, cookies and quickbreads by using our old spice/ coffee grinder for 5 minutes. If you are celiac please make sure your oats are gf as cross contamination in fields or on rollers is dangerous for you. Since there are currently no gmo oats on the market  this means I can indeed go grab the cheapest rolled oats and still not expose my household to that crap. We've barely used the spice grinder since Rabbit got a burr grinder for coffee 2 years ago...except when I mix up packets of spice mixes like curry powder or enchilada seasoning.

To make oat flour :

1. Wash the grinder cup and cover really well. Spice smells will stick to oats like crazy. Allow to dry well as introducing grains to dampness encourages mildew and mold.

2. Attach the basin and fill 3/4 full.

3. Press to grind until you reach the desired texture, in my case about 30 seconds.

4. repeat until you have enough for the next week or two's use or for the recipe

5. if storing make sure the jar or tin is clean, airtight and dry