Braised Cabbage and Sausages (grain-free : gluten-free : primal : GAPS)

Braised cabbage and sausage is so simple to prepare, yet so satisfying.  The cabbage gets cooked down nicely in broth and apple cider vinegar, and it pairs so well with sausages. My family really enjoys this dish.

Braised Cabbage and Sausages
Serves 4 

• one medium head of green cabbage, chopped
• 3 Tb apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tb butter, preferably from pastured cows
• one cup (8 oz) chicken broth, preferably homemade*
• 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt (or less if your broth is salted)
• pinch of freshly ground pepper
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 4 sausage links (such as bratwurst, sweet sausage, or chicken apple sausage), chopped into pieces

1. In a 4-qt pot, combine all ingredients except the sausages.  Cover the pot and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, until the cabbage is mostly cooked. Stir occasionally.
2. Add chopped sausages to the pot and stir to combine. If the sausages are already fully cooked, they just need to be warmed through, and will be done in about 15 minutes.  For raw sausages, cook them for at least 25-30 minutes. 
3. For the last 10-15 minutes of the cooking time, remove the lid from the pot and increase the heat slightly. This will allow some of the liquid to evaporate. 
4. Taste the cabbage to check for saltiness, and add more salt as needed. Serve and enjoy!

*My homemade chicken broth includes a bit of chicken fat.  If yours doesn't, you may want to add another tablespoon of butter.
**To make this GAPS-legal, make sure the sausages don't have any added sugar, MSG, or other GAPS-illegal ingredients. We eat Applegate Organics Chicken and Apple Sausages, which don't have any GAPS-illegal ingredients. Nonetheless, you should probably only consume processed meats occasionally while on the GAPS diet.

Applesauce Spice Custard Cake (GAPS : primal : grain-free : gluten-free)

With the arrival of Fall, I was craving a nicely-spiced breakfast, and this fit the bill!  Smooth and creamy, just spicy enough, and with a pleasant tang from the applesauce. This applesauce spice custard cake makes a great breakfast, and it could easily be dressed up for dessert with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Applesauce Spice Custard Cake
Serves 6 generously

• 12 Tb (1&1/2 sticks) butter
• 1/3 cup plus 2 Tb mild-flavored honey
• 6 eggs, preferably from pastured hens
• 3/4 cup sour cream  
• 1 Tb organic vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp organic almond extract (omit if using almond flour)
• 1&1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
• 5 Tb coconut flour* OR 1/3 cup plus 2 Tb almond flour
• 2 cups unsweetened applesauce

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat.  Turn off heat, add honey, and stir a bit.
2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, vanilla, almond extract (if using), spices, and salt.  I like to use my immersion blender to mix it all up together, but you could certainly use a whisk or mixer instead.
3. Add melted butter and honey to wet ingredients and whisk or blend.
4. Add almond flour OR coconut flour and blend until well-combined (or use mixer or whisk until smooth). Using the immersion blender is great because it further grinds the nut flour (which doesn't get particularly fine when I grind it in the food processor).
5. Add the applesauce, and whisk well to combine.  I prefer to use a whisk for this step so the applesauce still remains a tiny bit chunky.
6. Use a bit of cold butter to generously grease an 8X8 glass dish.
7. Pour the batter into the glass dish and bake at 325° for 55-65 minutes. The custard cake is done when the edges are lightly browned and the center is no longer wet with just a bit of jiggle.
8. Remove from oven and cool.  Don't cut into this while it is piping hot. This can be served at room temperature or cold. For a special treat, top with a bit of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. 

*The coconut flour will need to be sifted if you are not using an immersion blender. 

Easy Superfood Appetizer: Creamy Cukes with Beautiful Salmon Roe (grain-free : primal : gluten-free)

Roe, also known as fish eggs, are wonderfully healthy and nutritious.  They are a superfood, and loaded with vitamin D.  Salmon eggs are a lustrous orange color, with a salty, tangy taste.  They pair wonderfully with cucumbers and cream cheese! What a quick, delicious dish.

Some people in my house are not as adventurous as others, so I leave a few cucumbers without the roe on top.  Then I serve them all together and everyone can pick what they like.  My 2-year-old son, who is not very fond of raw veggies yet, likes to just eat the cream cheese and roe off the top.  (He and I particularly love roe.)  This method also gives my 5-year-old daughter the opportunity to see us enjoying the roe, and even try some herself occasionally without any pressure. 

Creamy Cukes with Beautiful Salmon Roe

• Cucumbers
• Cream cheese
• Salmon roe

1. Wash the cucumbers, and peel them if desired.  Slice them about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
2. Smear a bit of cream cheese onto each cucumber slice.
3. Top each one with a salmon egg.  I like to use only only one egg per cucumber, as they have quite a strong flavor that can overwhelm the other flavors if you use more than one!
4. Serve and enjoy!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Vanilla extract is very easy to make at home by simply combining alcohol with vanilla beans and letting it sit for awhile.  Homemade vanilla extract is much more cost effective than buying vanilla extract from the store, so it can save you quite a bit of money if you make many baked goods or desserts. Homemade vanilla extract also makes a great Christmas present!

Ensuring a Strong Flavor
The FDA standard for vanilla extract calls for 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon of alcohol.  That works out to 0.83 ounces of vanilla bean per cup of alcohol.  Some chefs use double or triple strength vanilla extract, which uses many more beans.

To make sure my vanilla extract has a strong enough flavor, I round up from the FDA standard and use a full one ounce of beans per cup of alcohol.  All vanilla beans are not exactly the same size (they are from a plant after all), but with the Bourbon vanilla beans I use, it works out to 6-8 vanilla beans per cup of alcohol.

Cost Comparison
When I buy vanilla extract, I usually buy organic since most others have added sugar. The organic vanilla extract is at least $10 for a 4-ounce bottle (that is $2.50/ounce). The price for my homemade vanilla extract is breaks down as:

• 1.75 L vodka - $25 (I'm sure you could get this cheaper at one of the big-box stores)
• 8 oz vanilla beans - $28 (roughly 50 beans, which is almost perfect for making 7 cups of extract)
• Total: $53 for 56 ounces of extract, or $0.95/ounce

That's less than half the price of storebought vanilla extract!

Choice of Ingredients
Vanilla extract is traditionally made with vodka, and that is all I've ever used.  But some people prefer to use other alcohols, such as rum.  The FDA standard just calls for a minimum of 35% alcohol (which would be 70 proof).

There are also different types of vanilla beans.  So far, I've only used Bourbon vanilla beans, but there are also Tahitian beans (which I think are a little bit smaller than Bourbon beans). Feel free to experiment to see what flavor you prefer.

How Long Does it Take?
Once you combine the alcohol and vanilla beans, you need to let it sit for at least a few months before you start using it. Six months is even better. If you want to make some for the December holidays coming up, you'd better get started soon!

Recipe: Homemade Vanilla Extract
This recipe will make a LARGE amount of vanilla extract.  Why make a small amount when you could make a large amount and have enough to last a good long while?

Makes 7 cups of vanilla extract

• 1.75 L vodka
• half pound (8 ounces) of Bourbon vanilla beans
• Two quart mason jars and one pint mason jar
• A strainer and small brown bottles if you want to give some extract away once it is done

1. Count out your beans.  You will need about 20-22 beans for each quart mason jar and 9-10 beans for the pint jar (depending on the size of the beans). If you are using some other type of vanilla beans besides Bourbon beans, you may want to weigh them to make sure you are using around an ounce of beans per cup of alcohol. 
2. With a sharp paring knife, slice each bean in half lengthwise. Then use the flat side of the knife blade to scrape across each bean half. This will release the vanilla bean "caviar" onto the knife, as shown in the picture. To streamline this process, I find it works well to slice all the beans at once, then scrape the caviar out all at once.
3. Put the vanilla "caviar" into the jar.  Then cut the scraped out seed pod in half or even in quarters so they will fit easily inside your jars and be fully submerged in the liquid.
4. Once you have sliced and scraped all of the beans for each jar, simply pour in the appropriate amount of vodka.  For the quart jars, pour in 3 cups of vodka.  For the pint mason jar, pour in the remaining vodka (which is a little less than 1.5 cups).
5. Put a tight lid on the jars and store them in a dark place.  Every so often, swirl the liquid around in the jars a bit.  I store my jars in a dark kitchen cabinet, and swish the liquid around whenever I get other items out of the cabinet.  If you don't want to store the jars in a dark place, make sure you use dark colored bottles, such as amber bottles.
6. Let the bottles sit for at least 3 months; 6 months is even better!  Just remember to swirl the liquid around occasionally to get the most out of the vanilla beans.
7. Once the beans/caviar have been steeping in the alcohol for about 3 months, you can start to use the vanilla extract. I like to leave the beans and caviar in the jar and just take the extract from the top. Or, you can strain some extract into small amber bottles and give it away as gifts.

Is White Rice Better Than Brown Rice? (including a recipe for nutrient-dense white rice)

White Rice versus Brown Rice
Previous to our GAPS diet, my family ate grains that had been traditionally prepared, such as brown rice that had been soaked before cooking to remove anti-nutrients.  Now that we are transitioning off the GAPS diet, we have found white rice to be much easier on digestion and less problematic overall than brown rice. Brown rice seems rather hard to digest, and it can bring back some of our old complaints (like my joint pain). 

It took a bit of a mental adjustment for me to be willing to consume white rice.  Weren't all of the health benefits lost through the removal of the bran and germ from the rice? One conflicting opinion that I trusted was from Chris Kresser, an integrative medicine practitioner who is generally amenable to grain-free/paleo diets.  In his Personal Paleo Code, Chris writes that,

"Studies that have compared the amount of nutrients actually absorbed from eating white and brown rice have shown that humans absorb more nutrients from white rice.

Why? Because the “antinutrients” in brown rice...- like phytic acid - interfere with the absorption of the nutrients it contains. White rice doesn’t have that problem.

This is why I believe white rice is an acceptable food, and my experience with patients suggests that it is generally well-tolerated.

...White rice is safe to consume without any preparation. Whole rice is preferred, but rice noodles and other rice-based products are permissible in moderation."

With my adrenal issues, I have found that consuming white rice and potatoes in moderation really helps with my energy levels. By itself, cooked in water, I find white rice to be rather bland.  How strange that I am now having to acquire a taste for a refined food after years of eating whole foods! To make white rice taste better and even more nutritious, I like to cook it with pastured butter and homemade chicken stock.

Recipe: Nutrient-Dense White Rice
Makes 4 cups 

• 1 cup white basmati rice
• 3 Tb butter, preferably from pastured cows
• 1 and 2/3 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade
• 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt

1. Combine the rice, chicken broth, and salt in a medium pot.  Bring to a boil and skim off the foam.  Discard the foam.
2. Reduce the heat and add the butter.  Once the butter has melted, stir once.  Then cover the pot and reduce the heat to very low.
3. Allow to cook over very low heat for 20 minutes.  Then use a fork to take a tiny bit out of the pot and taste it.  If the rice is still crunchy at all, you may need to add another 1-2 Tb broth or water, and cook for a few minutes more. Do NOT stir up the rice during this step.
4. Once the rice is nicely soft, turn off the heat.  Leave the rice covered for another 10 minutes, and then fluff the rice with a fork.
5. Serve and enjoy!  We find it to be especially tasty with a pat of butter and plenty of salt.

Mussels in Red Wine Sauce (GAPS : primal : grain-free : gluten-free)

Mussels are a relatively mild-flavored seafood.  They pair wonderfully with red wine and some of the remaining garden-fresh tomatoes and basil.  Mussels are amazing nutritionally since the whole "animal" is eaten! 

I cooked a quick lunch of these mussels in red wine sauce last week for myself and the kids.  My 5-year-old was skeptical (she's unfortunately reached the age of being suspicious of new foods, and especially anything too "chewy"), but I prepped her ahead of time not to make a big deal about it since her little brother will follow whatever he sees her do.  Her 2-year old brother and I loved this dish.  My son ate 8 mussels on his own!

I must admit that we enjoyed this with a few pieces of toasted, buttered crusty sourdough bread (which we buy from a local bakery once every few months as a treat). The juices are just so good to sop up with the toast.  But this dish would also be great without the bread, just eaten as a soup.

This recipe was based on one from Gorging Gorge, but I did make a few changes to the recipe.

Mussels in Red Wine Sauce
Serves 3-4

• 3 Tb butter, preferably from grassfed cows
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 very large ripe tomato, or 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (or substitute canned tomatoes in the winter)
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
• celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup dry red wine, such as chianti (or substitute vermouth)
• 1 pound precooked mussels (frozen or partially thawed are fine)*
• 1/4 cup tightly packed chopped fresh basil leaves

1. Melt the butter in a 4-quart pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and a sprinkle of salt.  Saute for about 10 minutes, until it is nicely translucent.
2. Add the chopped tomato and garlic to the pot.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes, until the tomato starts to break down.
3. Pour in the red wine and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and let the wine cook down for a few minutes. 
4. Add the mussels.  Since they are pre-cooked, you only need to cook them for a few minutes to fully warm them.  I nestled them down into the sauce and cooked them for about 3 minutes.
5. Add the fresh basil, stir it in, and turn off the heat.  Put a lid on the pot to let the basil wilt for about 2-3 minutes.
6. Ladle into bowls and enjoy! Don't forget to discard any mussels that are not opened up.

*I don't have access to fresh mussels where I live. If you can get fresh mussels, feel free to use them!  You'll just need to increase the cooking time by about 5-7 minutes.

Once a Month House Cleaning

This is part one of a series on Once a Month House Cleaning.  Click here for part two.

I admit to being a bit of a neat freak, but I feel agitated when my house is in a state of disarray.  Once my first baby was born, keeping our house clean started to feel a bit overwhelming. This only increased once I had a second child and started homeschooling in earnest. I did an okay job of keeping our home clean, but a few things kept falling through the cracks, like scrubbing the bathtubs. And I always felt like I was running behind.

About a year ago, I read a blog post about once a month cleaning. I thought it was worth trying, and I am so glad I did. Once a month cleaning has revolutionized the way I clean our house.

How Once a Month Cleaning Works

The idea is that, once a month, the whole house gets cleaned. I devote a couple days to cleaning at the beginning of each month, and the rest of the month I can relax and not worry about it! Cleaning day can be a bit intense, but I relish in getting everything done in one week rather than having nagging cleaning tasks always in the back of my mind.

In between house cleaning sessions, little things are still done to maintain the neatness of the house, such as sweeping the dining room floor and doing a nightly 5-to-10-minute clutter pick-up of toys, books, etc. If guests are coming over towards the end of the month, I'll also give the guest bathroom toilet a quick scrub and wipe.

Advantages of Once a Month Cleaning

• Important cleaning tasks no longer fall through the cracks. For instance, our bathtubs now get scrubbed every month, whereas previously they sometimes weren't scrubbed for many months.
• I can stop feeling stressed about cleaning by knowing that everything will get cleaned once a month.  This has been a huge de-stressor for me.  Instead of constantly feeling like I am behind and should do more, I can relax and know that everything will get cleaned soon.
• It helps in setting the appropriate priorities.  For only one or two days a month, I focus on cleaning.  For the rest of the month, I have plenty of time to focus on homeschooling, playing with the kids,spending time with my husband, and cooking nourishing meals for my family.   

My Once a Month Cleaning List
Our home is relatively small at 1250 square feet, with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.  When I first started once a month cleaning, since I had a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old, it took me 2-3 days to complete my cleaning.  Now that the kids are a bit older, I can easily finish before lunch on the second day.

My once a month cleaning list includes:

• Living Room
• Dust
• Vacuum 
• Horizontal surface organization 
• Clean windows/glass doors (visible smudges only)

• Kitchen
• Dust 
• Wipe stovetop and front
• Wipe counters 
• Clean sink 
• Clean toaster oven 
• Clean window (visible smudges only)
• Wash dish drainer 
• Wash compost pail
• Clean trash can lid 
• Wash rug 
• Clean fridge water dispenser 
• Wash butter dish
• Sweep and mop floor

• Bathrooms
• Dust
• Clean mirrors
• Scrub bathtub
• Scrub toilet
• Wash sink and counter
• Sweep floor

• Master Bedroom
• Dust
• Vacuum
• Clean windows (visible smudges only)

•  Study
• Dust
• Vacuum
• Clean windows (visible smudges only)
• Horizontal surface organization

•  Kids' Room
• Dust
• Vacuum
• Clean windows (visible smudges only)
• Horizontal surface organization

I'll be blogging more about how to make Once a Month Cleaning work soon.  Do you have a specific schedule or routine for housecleaning?

This is part one of a series on Once a Month House Cleaning.  Click here for part two.
 

Blackberry Ice Cream (primal : grain-free : gluten-free : GAPS option)

Creamy, beautiful, and smooth: this blackberry ice cream is so good!  I combined blackberries, a touch of lime juice, raw milk and cream, and unrefined sweeteners to make a great, fresh taste.  This is our new favorite flavor of ice cream.

Blackberry Ice Cream
Makes about 5-6 cups of ice cream

• 1 pint cream, preferably raw and definitely not ultrapasteurized*
• 1 cup whole milk, preferably raw*
• 3 raw egg yolks, preferably from pastured hens**
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup of mild raw honey and maple syrup (honey and maple syrup combined give the ice cream a great flavor; for GAPS, use only honey)
• 1/4 tsp celtic sea salt
• 1 Tb fresh lime juice
• 1 Tb organic vanilla extract
• 10 oz frozen blackberries***
• Needed equipment: blender, fine-mesh strainer, and optional ice cream maker

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender.  
2. Whir for several minutes, until well-combined.
3. Set a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl.  Strain the liquid to remove the blackberry seeds. As the strainer gets clogged with seeds, you may need to stir the liquid and seeds around a bit to get the rest of the liquid to strain through. 
4. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can follow these instructions to make ice cream without a machine.
5. If you do have an ice cream maker, pour the beautiful purple liquid into your ice cream maker and follow the instructions for your maker.  I use the Kitchen-Aid ice cream maker attachment, and it works great! NOTE: if you use frozen blackberries, it will set up VERY quickly in just a few minutes.
6. Transfer to the fridge to freeze solid for several hours. Enjoy!

*Coconut milk can be substituted for the raw milk and cream to make this recipe GAPS-legal.  But, most people can also enjoy raw milk and raw cream on the GAPS Diet once they can well tolerate fermented dairy (such as kefir and yogurt).  On her FAQ page, Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride says, "The GAPS patients cannot drink raw milk right from the beginning: they have to introduce all fermented dairy products (gradually and slowly) first before trying the raw milk. Large percent of recovered GAPS people can introduce raw milk without any problems (having introduced all the fermented dairy first)."
**Since the egg yolks in this recipe will be consumed raw, it is a good idea to make sure the eggs used are from a trusted source.  Salmonella is typically only an issue with unhealthy hens.  Washing the eggs before you crack them will also reduce any potential salmonella risk, since it actually comes from bacteria on the OUTSIDE of the egg shells. 
***Except during our local berry season, I find that frozen blackberries have far superior flavor to the fresh ones sold in grocery stores. 

Beef and Bean Layered Bowl (GAPS : primal : grain-free : gluten-free : nut-free)

This recipe is a simple combination of two foods we already enjoy: ground beef taco meat and basic white navy beans.  Top them with some garnishes and both my husband and daughter LOVE this meal!  This meal reheats well, and freezes wonderfully for easy lunches.

Beef and Bean Layered Bowl

• Ground Beef Taco Meat (recipe follows)
• Basic White Navy Beans (recipe follows)
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Chopped avocado
• Sour cream
• Salsa

1. Make your layered bowl as follows: beans followed by a sprinkle of cheese, followed by beef. Top with more cheese, avocado chunks, a dollop of sour cream, and a scoop of salsa.  
2. Serve and enjoy!
3. If you'd like to freeze any leftovers, leave out the avocado as it gets a bit strange in the freezer.  But the cheese, sour cream, and salsa are all fine in the freezer.  Also, perhaps add a bit of the bean juice, as freezing can seem to dry things out upon reheating. We prefer to freeze in glass Pyrex dishes, that way they can be reheated directly in a toaster oven at about 225-250 degrees.  It can take quite awhile to reheat, but there is no work involved.   

Ground Beef Taco Meat

• 1 pound ground beef, preferably from pastured cows
• 1 medium white onion, chopped 
• 3 fresh cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-2 Tb butter, beef tallow or refined coconut oil
• Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1&1/2 tsp dried cumin
• On a busy night, you can substitute 1 Tb onion powder for the onion, 1/2 tsp garlic powder for the fresh garlic, and omit the tallow

1. Melt butter (or tallow or coconut oil) in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and a little sprinkle of salt.  Saute for 10-15 minutes, until the onion is translucent and soft, with a bit of browned color. 
2. Crumble the ground beef into the skillet. Add the dried spices, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.
3. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beef is nearly done.  Add the fresh garlic and cook for another minute or two, stirring as needed to make sure the garlic gets lightly cooked.

Basic White Navy Beans

• 16 ounce bag of dried white navy beans 
• Filtered water and a pinch of baking soda, for soaking the beans
• Filtered water and/or chicken broth
• 1.5 tsp Celtic sea salt  

1. Soak the beans 12-24 hours in plenty of filtered water with a pinch of baking soda.
2. Drain and rinse the beans in a colander.
3. Combine the beans, salt, and plenty of filtered water/broth.  More liquid can be added as needed while the beans cook.
4. You can cook the beans in either a slow cooker set on HIGH, or on the stovetop over low heat.  Once the beans come up to a hot temperature, skim the foam off (and discard). Depending on how fresh the beans are and how long they were soaked, they will need to cook for 2-6 hours.    
5. The beans are done when they are nicely soft, with no crunchiness. I like to make a large batch of beans periodically, and freeze most of them (along with the bean juice so they don't dry out in the freezer).  The beans can then be thawed and used easily anytime I need some beans for a recipe.  

Winners of 9 Subscriptions to Real Food and Health Magazine!

There were 57 entries to the giveaway for subscriptions to Real Food and Health magazine! I used a free random number generator to select the winners (nerdy, I know).  The winners are:
3-month subscriptions to Real Food and Health:

• Number 7 - Kate Vieregge, who commented, "This sounds like a great magazine and I would love to win a subscription!"
• Number 17 - Maureen, who commented, "Love to learn about new real food resources!"
• Number 38 - Bethany Carpenter, who commented, "I can't get enough of learning about nutrition right now! Thanks for the opportunity to win and for sharing the knowledge you are gaining."

6-month subscriptions to Real Food and Health:

• Number 8 - Lisa P., who commented, "This magazine sounds very interesting - I'd love to win."
• Number 13 - Anonymous, who commented, "This looks super! I'd love to win."
• Number 41 - Hayley, who commented, "This magazine looks great! Thank you for sharing. You are so inspiring :)"

one-year subscriptions to Real Food and Health:

• Number 22 - Jennifer, who commented, "Thank you for this opportunity! I would love to win this."
• Number 1 - Laura, who commented, "I would very much like to win a free subscription to Real Food and Health magazine!! Thank you for this opportunity and for all your great posts!! :)"
• Number 3 - MamaTia, who commented, "Woohoo!" 

Congratulations to all the winners!  All winners must send an their e-mail addresses to me at nourishedandnurtured@gmail.com no later than September 25th so I can get your subscriptions to you!