Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

I got an ice cream maker for my birthday.  Woohoo!!  Thanks sis!!

I've been trying to eliminate sugar from my diet so I'm finding regular ice cream much too sweet.  Now that I have my own ice cream maker, I can control all the ingredients from the type of milk, cream and cocoa, to the amount and type of sweetener.  So, I used local dairy and organic, fair trade ingredients.

Not sure this really qualifies as dark chocolate since there is milk and cream in it but it has very little sugar so it tastes like dark chocolate.  If you want to experiment, you can use other extracts besides vanilla.  For instance, orange would be nice.  This is on my list of experiments along with using stevia instead of sucanat (my son's girlfriend is diabetic and can't have sugar).  Other people use honey or maple syrup which are GAPS friendly.  These, however, will change the taste significantly.  I'm not a maple fan so that is off the menu for me.  I'll probably use honey at some point but not in my chocolate ice cream.

BTW, the coffee brings out the chocolate flavor.   You won't actually taste it in the ice cream.  Hubs says he can taste it but that was only after he saw me adding it.  When I used it before he never mentioned it.  Of course, you can always leave it out or add extra for mocha ice cream.

Ingredient
makes 5 cups

3/4c cocoa powder (I've been using Rapunzel)
4T sucanat (also known as rapadura)
1t instant coffee powder (don't use actual coffee because you don't want the water in the cream)
Generous pinch of Celtic sea salt
1 1/2t of vanilla extract (I actually use vanilla powder)
1c whole milk
2c heavy cream

1. Sift dry ingredients, including the vanilla, into the cup of milk in a saucepan.
2. Heat on stove while stirring to get ingredients to combine well.  Sugar and salt should dissolve into the liquid.  Do NOT let it boil.  You can taste test this and add more sugar, coffee or extract if desired.  Just remember you still have to add the cream which will sweeten it up some more and change the taste profile.
3. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
4. Add cream and stir well
5. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
6. Follow your ice cream maker's directions.

Vivaldi Salad con Pollo e Bello

This is a my version of Bertucci's Vivaldi Salad.  I got tired of their portions shrinking to minuscule sizes plus I knew the version I could make at home was healthier since I use all organic ingredients.

If I am doing badly, their are some easy cheats for this one.  Instead of my dressing, use Newman's Own Parmesan and Garlic for the mushroom caps and asparagus, and Balsamic Vinaigrette for the chicken and salad.

You can also double the salad dressing ingredient amounts and save the extra for later.  I always have a jar of this on my dinner table waiting for spontaneous salads to appear.  I use an old Grey Poupon jar.

Ingredients
serves 2

salad dressing and marinade
4T extra virgin cold pressed olive oil
4T good balsamic vinegar
fresh ground pepper
1/2t dried thyme (1t if using fresh)
1/2t dried marjoram (1t if using fresh)

salad base
Organic Spring Mix salad mix (amount varies depending upon how hungry you are)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (preferably free range organic)
2 large portabello mushroom caps
2/3 bunch asparagus

salad options
cherry tomatoes
cucumber slices
sliced scallions
red onion slices
Crasins
feta cheese crumbles
goat cheese crumbles
walnut pieces

1. Place marinade ingredients in jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well.
2. Put 1-2T of marinade in a large Ziploc bag along with chicken.  Add a pinch of celtic sea salt.  Seal and coat chicken well.  Let sit while BBQ heats up.
3. Peel mushroom caps.  Pour some marinade on the caps and massage marinade into cap and gills.
4. Snap off ends of asparagus.  Pour some marinade on the spears.
5. Grill meat, mushrooms and asparagus.  Put asparagus on cool part of grill since the tips burn easily.
6. While meat is grilling plate up salad greens and add all the options that you prefer.
7. When meat and vegetables are done slice up and place on top of salad.  Pour remaining marinade on salad.  

Creamy Celeriac Soup

Long time no see.  After some much needed sunshine  I seem to be on the upswing.  Gotta love vitamin D.  For me it seems to be my wonder drug.

Carrying on a tradition I started last year, I picked up one vegetable that I have never eaten while shopping at Whole Foods this week.  I seem to gravitate towards the weird looking ones.  I've been meaning to try celeriac (celery root) for a long time now.  I keep hearing about it on the Paleo blogs as it can be eaten pureed as a substitute for mashed potatoes.

Source

I fell in love with it the moment I cut it open.  It smells like the garden just after a spring rain.  The inside is riddled with holes near the roots but the flesh becomes solid as it approaches the top.

This recipe is easy and the amounts are rough.  If you boil it too long (as I did) and it gets too thick just add some more liquid such as stock, milk and/or cream to thin it out to the desired consistency.

Ingredients
serves 2

1 small celeriac
2c Basic Chicken Stock
large pat pastured butter (Kerrigold is the most readily available)
1/4-1/2c heavy cream (pastured or raw)
Celtic sea salt
fresh ground pepper

1. Use a paring knife to peel the celeriac.  Dice into 1/2" cubes.  Rinse with water and drain.
2. Put in pot and cover with chicken stock.  Bring to boil.  Turn down and simmer for at least 20mins until the cubes are soft.
3. Remove from heat.  Either add to blender in batches being very careful with the hot liquid or use an immersion blender and puree it right in the pan.
4. Add pat of butter, pinch salt, pepper and cream.  Stir to mix thoroughly.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Add more cream and/or milk to thin to desired consistency. Serve.

I've seen nutmeg and/or cinnamon used in some recipes.  I left it out here but I might use some nutmeg in the future when I'm feeling adventurous.

BTW, it tastes like celery and parsley combined.  Very good and a big hit with everyone in my family.

Holding Pattern

Sorry I haven't posted much.  I've been in a major relapse going on three months now.  I'll be back later when I'm feeling better and cooking again.

Garlic Cauliflower

This is a simple but really good side dish.  If you are on the fence about cauliflower but love garlic, this might turn you into a cauliflower lover.

If you can't find Boursin cheese in your area, any soft cheese with garlic and herbs will do.

Ingredients
serves 1-2

1/4 large head or 1/2 small head cauliflower
1T Boursin garlic and herb cheese

1. Cut flowers off head of cauliflower.  Discard core.
2. Cut into bite sized pieces and put in pan.
3. Add about 1" of water to pan.
4. Cover and bring water to boil.  Shut off.  Do NOT remove cover.
5. Let sit for 10 mins until steam is no longer escaping from pan.
6. Florets should be easy to pierce with a knife.
7. Drain off water.
8. Stir in cheese until melted.
9. Serve.

Rosemary Butter

Last summer, after a 30+ year hiatus, I started eating cows again.  As much as I had missed eating steak, I'm glad I missed 30 years of feedlot meat.  Growing up, beef was one of my favorite foods.  Of course, in England, cows are all free range and grass fed.  That is how cows are supposed to be raised.  Feedlots became the norm in the US in the 1970s although they had been around before that.  Feedlot beef tastes different than grass fed and is much less healthy for human consumption.  Being brought up on grass fed beef, that is what I prefer.  To read more about the health benefits of grass fed beef go here.

One of the first dinners I learned to cook as a teenager was broiled steak.  I would marinade it in pickle juice and stick it under the broiler for about 5mins a side which would yield a tender juicy medium well steak.  Of course not cooking beef for 30 years I've had to learn all over again.  There are tons of videos on YouTube, the most amusing being Jamie Oliver's version where he gently strokes the steaks with fronds of fresh rosemary.

Being more practical, I decided to make a rub for my steaks instead.  This incorporates everything into one topping that can be made days ahead of time and then rubbed onto the steak before cooking.

You will need a mortar and pestle for this.

Ingredients
makes 2 tablespoons (which is enough for an 11oz steak)

2t of dried rosemary
pinch coarse Celtic sea salt
pinch fresh ground pepper or two peppercorns
2T organic pastured butter (cultured if you can find it)

1. Place rosemary, salt and pepper into the mortar.
2. Cover mortar with free hand while slowly grinding the spices with the pestle.
3. Grind into a find powder.
4. Soften butter with a fork or spoon in a separate dish.
5. Stir spices into butter and mix until fully incorporated.
6. Massage into dry room temperature meat before cooking.  
7. Make in larger batches and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or wax paper to save for later.  Will keep indefinitely if kept away from air and refrigerated.  Allow to soften before use.

Optional add in: 

Add a small clove of garlic to the mortar once the spices are ground fine.  Mash with pestle.  This will make an herb paste that you can incorporate into the butter.  This will introduce a very strong garlic flavor to the butter and may be too much unless you adore garlic like I do.

Yogurt Whip

I've been eating sliced fruit topped with yogurt for years.  My favorites being sliced bananas, strawberries and/or kiwis topped with vanilla or strawberry yogurt.  Now that I'm on a full fat sugarless kick it is next to impossible to find off the shelf whole milk yogurt that doesn't have some form of sugar added to it.  Bums me out.

During the fall I did dabble in making my own yogurt with great success using Viili room temperature culture from Cultures for Health and mixing in mango puree.  However, due to a sudden illness in December that has lingered and a bad med reaction this past week I haven't had the energy to get back to making yogurt from scratch.

Not wanting to forgo one of my favorite healthy snacks I did manage to find full fat plain organic yogurt in large tubs.  So I got that and some bananas and strawberries.  And today I made this which turned out absolutely delightful.  Making it in the food processor adds air into the yogurt making it light and fluffy and a wonderful treat.  Of course, with the banana it doesn't need any sweetener at all so this has no added sugar.  Woohoo!  Success!!

Of course, I've listed a ton of substitutions so feel free to get creative.  I'm seeing all sorts of odd combinations in the supermarket.  I can hardly wait until the local farmer's market opens again so I can experiment with different kinds of in season fruits.

This can be made in slightly larger batches and kept in mason jars in the fridge for later use.  I would only make enough for a day or two since berries tend to not last very long once they are chopped up.  Of course this doesn't last long in my house anyway so I haven't tested the upper limit on storage yet.

On another good note, having the fat combined with the fruit slows the absorption of the fruit sugars into the blood stream.  Way less of a blood sugar spike after eating it and the sensation of fullness lasts longer.  According to WAPF the fat also aids in the digestion of the vitamins in the fruit.  For more about fats in the diet see: Weston A Price Foundation website.

Ingredients
serves 1-2

1 banana
generous handful of strawberries
1-2c organic, plain, whole milk yogurt

1. Wash and hull strawberries.
2. Peel banana.
3. Puree fruit in blender or food processor.
4. While processor is running, add enough yogurt to fully incorporate fruit.
5. Don't worry about it being lumpy.  So you actually have a chew an odd piece of fruit here or there.  Eat up or store in mason jars in fridge for later.

Substitutions for the fruit:

• Fresh pineapple or canned in its own juice
• Organic, no sugar added, applesauce
• Other berries such as blackberries or raspberries
• Kiwi and banana
• Mango or papaya with shredded coconut
• Orange or clementine segments (but the covering has to be removed from the segments)
• Peaches, plums and/or nectarines (pits removed of course)
• Figs, persimmons or pomegranate seeds for something exotic
• Shredded organic coconut
• Lemon curd (except this has sugar in it unless homemade)

Substitutions for the dairy:

• Full fat organic coconut milk (comes in cans or frozen: if buying cans looks for BPA free)

Add ins:

• Extracts such as vanilla, orange or lemon
• Powders such as vanilla or cocoa
• Local organic honey
• Expeller pressed organic coconut oil or coconut cream
• Nut butters such as almond or cashew