GAPS/SCD

After killing several batches of water kefir grains, I finally settled on the following technique for feeding my water kefir grains. (We don't drink the liquid, but I use extra grains for culturing watery beverages like coconut water. Meanwhile, the grains stay alive in their primary medium of sugar water.)

1/4 cup water kefir grains
1/4 cup sucanat
5 raisins
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 slice unjuiced lemon
filtered water to cover, and mostly fill a 1-quart jar, with at least an inch of headroom

This is based on a recipe from The Grassfed Gourmet, which promised really tender meat, perfect for leftover cold-chicken lunches. Except that our chicken was a REALLY tough bird, so I cooked it around the clock. Probably if you have a tender one, then you should try 8 hours or so. The meat was delicious! And the vegetables and juices were good too.

I made this yesterday, slightly adapted from Elana's Pantry (oh what a beautiful blog that she maintains!) I want to make it every week now--it's easy to make ahead, feeds five or six people, and has fantastic taste.

These are still a work in progress, while I try to understand the physics of chocolate and how to make it come out Perfect...but we're enjoying all the experiments (and I'll keep updating this recipe once I figure out the Perfect Version). They're truly yummy and decadent, after nearly three years of cooking without any sugar at all.

I based this recipe on Patty's http://www.lovingourguts.com/hootenanny-pancakes-2/ , and everyone in this family loves it. To our now-very-sensitive taste buds, it is like a decadent dessert. ;) Which is kind of is! I have made it deliciously buttery, or nearly as deliciously dairy free--and you can make your own version quite easily, I'm sure.

In the middle of the night recently, during one of my daughter's too-numerous-to-count Wakeful Periods, I thought these up. And they're really tasty! Kind of like a bite of very flavorful, creamy strawberry ice cream.

1 cup strawberries
2 tbsp. water
6 pitted dates
1/2 tbsp. gelatin
1/2 c. "refined" coconut oil (the kind that doesn't taste coconutty)

I recently adapted this recipe and we liked it a lot; serves four sparsely.

MEATBALLS:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. shredded carrots
2 cloves minced garlic
few sprigs parsley, minced
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, shredded (optional)

This was SO so good, even though I adapted the recipe (to eliminate the flour used in the original recipe, for dredging the fish, and then to eliminate the dredging/frying step entirely). I think the breading could be improved, actually (the spectacular part of this recipe is the sauce, which tastes great over plain old unseasoned, non-breaded cod filets); my friend had an idea to use partially-ground sesame seeds mixed with coconut flakes, which might be less-dense than the macadamias I used.

Lately I've been trying to make a large pot of stew once per week that can be stored in four half-gallon jars; we heat one jar's worth and divide among four people each morning for breakfast. This stew was better than most I've been making, and is dead easy (at least considering how much you get). I adapted the recipe from "Cooking Provence," by Antoine Bouterin

This recipe is actually adapted from the cookbook "Cooking Provence," by Antoine Bouterin, but Tony is the one who told us about it. And it's SO good! Worth the little extra work and the slightly longer ingredients list. For the final cooking, you can simmer on the stove, dump everything into the crockpot and forget about it, or transfer to an ovenproof pot and bake in the oven at 325f for about two hours, covered. All the vegetables can be cut into bite-size pieces, for a very appealing and easy-to-eat dinner (or breakfast!).