Tag Archives: Specific Carbohydrate Diet

Caveman Pancake and Very Berry Sauce

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caveman-pancake

Here are two Caveman Pancakes just out of the oven. This version of Caveman Pancake has become a family favorite. Top with butter, honey or berry sauce for a special breakfast.

This recipe is safe for someone on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

I have been making a version of this pancake for many years. The original recipe came from Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet by Elaine Gottschall but I have changed the recipe beyond recognition.

In the most recent version, I have replaced half the nuts with dried coconut and replaced the bananas with the same amount of sweet squash. You can also try replacing half the nuts with sunflower seeds. This version of Caveman Pancake has become a family favorite.

2T organic coconut oil or butter
3 organic cooking apples, slices
4 pinches sea salt
1c dried organic coconut, ground into flour
1c dried organic walnuts or pecans, ground into flour
8 whole pastured eggs
1-2c organic sweet squash, cooked and pureed
1tsp organic cinnamon, ground (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350?F. Take two cast iron fry pans and put an equal amount of fat in each pan and heat over medium flame. Add an even amount of sliced apples and one small pinch of sea salt to each pan. Saut? the apples until lightly browned and reduce the temperature to low. Don’t over cook the apples.

In a food processor, puree the sweet squash into a thick paste. Pour the pureed squash into another bowl. Clean and dry the food processor and grind the dried coconut into a fine powder. Pour the ground dried coconut into another bowl. If desired, replace 1/2c of the nuts with 1/2c sunflower seeds. Grind the nuts into a fine meal. Don’t grind too much or the nut meal will become nut butter. Add back the ground coconut, eggs, pureed squash, cinnamon and two pinches sea salt. Blend well until you have a smooth batter. Add more squash to get the right consistency. Pour the batter over the saut?ed apples and cover with a lid. Sprinkle the top of the pancake with extra cinnamon, if desired. Cook over a low temperature for 5-7 minutes.

Remove the lid and transfer the two cast iron fry pans from the stove top to the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. Press lightly on the top of the pancake. If the pancake springs back it is done. Don’t overcook or the nuts will get a burnt flavor. Remove from the oven and let the pancake sit for a few minutes before serving. Cut each pancake into quarters and serve with butter.

The pancake is quite sweet to my taste with just the apples and squash. If you would like a sweeter pancake, add honey and/or berry sauce. If you have any leftovers the pancake is nice cold with thin slices of butter on top.

Very Berry Sauce
2c organic frozen blueberries, raspberries and/or blackberries
1/8c organic frozen cranberries (optional)
1-2T local honey (optional)

In a sauce pan gently heat the frozen berries until warmed through. Use whatever frozen fruit you have in the freezer but berries are best. If desired, stir in the honey after cooking. Pour on top of the caveman pancake for a special breakfast treat.

Seasonal Foods: Rhubarb Crumble

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rhubarb-bounty-1

Rhubarb grows like a weed in my garden — but I’m not a fan of this sour stem — until now!

This recipe is safe for someone on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

One of the wonders of eating local foods is looking forward to those seasonal foods that come just once a year. In the last few weeks, I have been enjoying asparagus. I only eat asparagus in the spring when it is in season. I look forward to local asparagus every year and eat my fill. Of course, loaded with butter, sea salt and garlic!

Rhubarb is another story altogether. Rhubarb grows like a weed in my garden. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of this earlier seasonal food. The biggest thing I dislike about rhubarb is the tradition of loading this stem with sugar to make it edible. Since sugar doesn’t even come into my household, that’s not an option. As I contemplated the bounty of rhubarb on my kitchen counter, the answer came to me. My sweetest dried fruit in storage is raisins.

This is the recipe I came up with. My girls liked it so much they asked me to make more the next day. This “dessert” can also be eaten as a healthy “breakfast”. It is good with raw cream or raw whipping cream.

rhubarb-bounty-2

It’s great to be able to eat fresh foods from the garden while using storage foods from my pantry.

Rhubarb Filling
6-8c garden rhubarb stems, sliced on the diagonal
1/4c organic butter
1-2 large pinches sea salt
1c organic raisins

Topping
1c organic walnuts
1c organic sunflower seeds
1/4c organic butter, cut into small cubes
1/2tsp sea salt
1tsp organic cinnamon, ground
1/2tsp organic allspice. ground

Melt the butter and sea salt in a stainless steel pot. Add the sliced rhubarb and cover. Cook at a very low temperature and stir occasionally to avoid sticking. Water will start coming out of the rhubarb. When this happens add the raisins. Soften and cook the rhubarb and raisins for about 15-20 minutes, then remove from heat. The sweetness of the raisins will contrast the sour of the rhubarb nicely.

In a food processor, lightly grind the walnuts and sunflower seeds together. Add the sea salt, spices and butter and lightly grind until the butter is incorporated with the nuts and seeds. The consistency should be crumbly. Do not over grind.

Pour the rhubarb filling into a 12″x12″ glass baking tray and flatten. Add the topping over the filling and lightly flatten. Cook at 300?F for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. This dessert is good warm or cold. Add a big pad of butter, if eaten warm, or for breakfast.

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Rhubarb Crumble is good warm or cold. If eaten warm add a big pad of butter. If eaten cold, try some raw cream or raw whipping cream.

Christmas Fruitcake, Raw Cashew Marzipan with Orange Peel Glaze

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christmas-fruitcake

This Christmas Fruitcake is very easy to make. The marzipan and orange peel glaze dresses up this traditional favorite. Fruitcake is a very dense food; a little goes a long way. If you cut this piece in half you would have a traditional serving size for fruitcake.

Christmas Fruitcake is easy to make and is safe for someone on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The fruitcake can be eaten right away or can be bathed in pear brandy for weeks or even months before consuming. Fruitcake is an excellent emergency or travel food. It can take the place of granola bars and is a good food for high energy activities during the cold winter months. A little goes a long way. Fruitcake can be stored for months in a cool, dry place. If you use pear brandy be very careful to find a producer that uses only fruit and does not add any sugar.

At this time of year, I would highly recommend the frugal householder to save all the peels from organic Mandarin oranges. This “waste product” can be transformed into a delicious addition to your baking that can be used for the rest of the year. The peels have a delicate, bitter flavor. Dry the peels with a dehydrator or use the peels fresh in baking. Also, try drying the waste peels from organic lemons and limes. If the peel is very thick try using a fine grater to get the outer portion of the lemon or lime.

Fruit Cake
1, 1/2c organic prunes, chopped
1, 1/2c organic raisins
2-4T quality pear brandy or 2tsp organic vanilla extract (optional)
1T organic butter, for greasing bread loaf pan
1c organic pecans, chopped
1c organic walnuts, chopped
1c organic almonds, chopped
1/2c local raw honey
3 pastured eggs
1c organic almonds, finely ground
1/2tsp sea salt, finely ground
1/2tsp organic whole allspice, finely ground
1/2tsp organic nutmeg, finely ground
1/2tsp organic cinnamon, finely ground
1 fresh organic Mandarin orange peel, finely minced (optional)

Chop up the prunes into small pieces. Put all the dried fruit and orange peels into a bowl and add the pear brandy or vanilla extract. If you have time, let the alcohol soak into the dried fruit overnight. Preheat the oven to 275F and heavily butter a glass bread loaf pan. Chop up the pecans, walnuts and almonds and add the nuts to the dried fruit. Mix the honey and eggs into the dried fruit and nuts. In a food processor, grind the almonds into a fine flour. Don’t grind too much or the almonds will become butter. Add the sea salt, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add the almond mixture to the wet ingredients and mix very well. The batter will be very thick and it might be easier to use your hands for mixing. Work the batter into the bread loaf pan. With your hands, press firmly down on the batter until the cake is a flat brick without air pockets. Cook for 60-70 minutes. Let the cake cool completely before adding another 2T pear brandy on top of the fruitcake.

soak-fruit-brandy

If you have the time, soak the dried fruit and fresh orange peels in the pear brandy overnight.

mix-wet-ingredients

After mixing the nuts in with the dried fruit, add the honey and eggs. Mix very well. When you add the ground almonds use your hands for easier mixing.

ground-almond-flour

This is how ground you want the almonds before adding the spices. Don’t grind too much or you will have nut butter.

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Make sure your bread loaf pan is very well buttered. The trick to a fruitcake that stays together is to press firmly down on the batter to remove any air spaces before cooking.

Raw Cashew Marzipan
1c organic cashews, ground into butter
1/4c organic macadamia nuts, ground into butter (optional)
1/4c local raw honey
1tsp organic vanilla extract or almond extract

With a food processor grind the nuts into butter. When the nuts start to form into a ball, add the honey and vanilla extract and mix well. Continue to mix and scape the sides of the food processor until all the ingredients form into a ball. The ball will be oily and can be put into the fridge until you are ready to roll out the marzipan and place it on top of the fruitcake. The marzipan should seal the fruitcake from the air.

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Grind the cashews and macadamia nuts until they are processed into butter. It will form a ball in the food processor. Add the honey and extract. Mix well until you have a smooth, silky paste.

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The marzipan will easily form a soft ball. Refrigerate before rolling out the marzipan.

Orange Peel Glaze
1 organic Mandarin orange, squeezed for juice (optional)
1 fresh organic Mandarin orange peel, very finely sliced
1/4c local raw honey
1T pear brandy (optional)

Take an organic?Mandarin orange and squeeze out the juice. Save the peel. Please be sure to use an organic orange to avoid toxic chemicals. Cut the peel into long, very thin slices. Put the orange juice, sliced orange peels, pear brandy and honey in a 1c glass Pyrex cup. Bring some water to boil in a pan and gently heat the glaze in the Pyrex cup for about 10 minutes. When ready, the glaze will have a pleasant orange flavor. When the glaze is mostly cooled pour on the top of the marzipan and return the fruitcake to the fridge to cool. The fruitcake will keep for weeks in the fridge or can be eaten right away.

honey-brandy-peels

Simmer the honey, brandy, orange juice, and orange peels until the glaze picks up the delicate, bitter flavor of the peel.

When the fruitcake has completely cooled pour the brandy on the top. Roll out the marzipan and completely cover the top of the fruitcake. Pour the glaze on top of the marzipan and arrange the orange peels. Store in a cool place.

Updated January 5, 2013: I have been having a discussion with friends about traditional portion sizes for sweets. In our modern times of super-sized everything, it is hard to know what would be a traditional serving size for sweets. When I was a child, wedding fruitcake was cut into very small pieces, about an inch by an inch. If you cut the piece of fruitcake in the first photo in half you would have a traditional serving size. This means a bread loaf pan would give you 32 serves. Maybe if we go back to traditional portion sizes for sweets we can stop the emerging epidemic of diabetes.

WAPF Kamloops Chapter Meeting: Crunchy Kale Chips

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kale-chips

Crunchy Kale Chips are a great substitute for potato chips or popcorn. My youngest daughter and I love them. We like the Kale Chips sprinkled with some cider vinegar just before serving.

I love potato chips. How I have missed potato chips and popcorn on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. While I was at the Weston A Price Foundation Kamloops Chapter meeting on October 9, 2012 Maureen Lefebvre’s sister introduced me to Crunchy Kale Chips. I must admit I became a convert overnight! Who would have thought kale could taste so great?

Please remember that there will be a meeting of the Weston A Price Foundation Kamloops Chapter on the second Tuesday of each month. Please call Maureen to confirm you are coming. If you can’t come, call anyway and tell us why you can’t come. We would like to find a time and location that is good for everyone.

When: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 (Second Tuesday of Month)
Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Where: 1831 Shumway Rd, Kamloops, BC (Just past the Barnhartvale Hall)
Contact: Maureen Lefebvre at 250.573.6017

The video for the WAPF meeting will be the second hour of The Oiling of America. There will be a discussion after the video. If you cannot make the meeting but would still like to see the video, here is an full online version. We hope you can make it for the meeting and discussion.

Crunchy Kale Chips

10-12c organic kale leaves, remove the stems
4-6T organic extra virgin olive oil
2-3 large pinches of sea salt
1 organic bird’s eye pepper (optional)
organic cider vinegar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the stems of the kale and compost or feed to the animals. If the kale leaves are very large, rip the leaves into two or three pieces and put in a large bowl. Drizzle the olive oil all over the kale pieces. The trick is to make sure each piece is completely covered with olive oil. Use your hands to rub each piece until completely coated. Put the kale into a large glass baking tray and sprinkle with sea salt and the hot pepper. Cook the kale for 30 minutes and turn over the kale. Cook for another 15 minutes. Do not over cook the chips. When the chips are mostly dry you can turn off the oven and just let the chips sit in the warm oven to cool or you can leave the chips on the stove-top. Both methods will ensure very crispy chips. When you are ready to eat your cooled chips try sprinkling some organic cider vinegar on top.

oven-kale-chips

Here are the chips half way through the cooking process. Remember to use a timer and stir the chips every 5 minutes. Let the chips cool for a crispy chip. Sprinkle chips with cider vinegar before serving.

Harvest Bounty and Pickling: Crock Pickles

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Now doesn't that look delicious! These cucumbers have been pickling for only three days. We tried them and they are great! This recipe is so easy anyone can make their own pickles.

I have just found a book by Janet Greene called Putting Food By. It is all about preserving food by canning, freezing, pickling, drying, and curing. It includes the newest canning procedures. It is an excellent book and I highly recommend it for anyone new to food preserving.

putting-food-by

This is an excellent book on preserving food.

Crock Pickles
This recipe is based on Little Cucumber Crock Pickles found in Putting Food By. This is a very easy recipe for someone new to pickling. I have changed the recipe to be safe for someone on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The raw cider vinegar adds some live culture to these pickles.

3-4L organic raw cider vinegar, enough to cover the cucumbers
1/3c local raw honey
1/2c organic whole mustard seeds or 1/4c fermented whole seed mustard
1c sea salt
5kg of organic pickling cucumbers, small and medium size
4-8 heads garden fresh dill flower heads (optional)
4-6 garden fresh grape leaves (optional)
1-2 heads of organic garlic, peeled (optional)
2-3 whole hot red peppers (optional)

Take a clean 10L crock and lay the grape leaves, garlic, hot peppers and dill flower heads on the bottom of the crock. In the crock, mix the salt, honey, mustard seeds and half of the vinegar. Add the well washed cucumbers. Add enough vinegar to cover all the cucumbers. Use a plate and granite stone to weigh down the cucumbers in the solution. Nothing should be exposed to air. After a day, pour 1/2c to 1c of sea salt on top of the plate and stone. You can start eating the pickles in just a few days. If you add more pickles later add more salt to the top of the plate and rock.

crock-pickles-1

Here is the crock with the plate, stone and salt weighing down the pickles in the pickling solution. The more salt you use the longer the pickles will last.

The raw cider vinegar does have a live culture, but I am not sure if the high salt content will kill the live culture. Nevertheless, these crock pickles will not be as nutritious as lacto-fermented pickles. If you are trying to improve your gut health and want to ferment your pickles, here is a recipe for Lacto-Fermented Horseradish Dill Pickles. Eat lacto-fermented pickles within two months or they may go soft.

pickle-jar

These pickles came out of the crock. Making pickles will save money and are better than commercial pickles.

Homemade pickles will be of better quality than any commercially prepared pickles. Making your own pickles will help you avoid additives that are found in many brands of commercial pickles. Also, you will produce less garbage and less recycling. If you are interested in reducing your garbage and recycling please read Solidarity… Of a Sort.

Frugal Tip: After you finish eating the pickles, do not throw out the pickling juice. Reuse the pickling juice for the vinegar portion of homemade salad dressing. Pickling juice can also improve the flavor and texture of home canned vegetables.