The last few months have been crazy busy. If you've been to my main blog over at Life on Purpose and Principle, you know that in the last 2-3 months, I've become a grandmother, moved (drastically downsizing in the process), become a mother in law, helped plan and host my youngest stepson's high school graduation and had company from out of state...twice. Whew. It seriously tires me to reminisce. And in all that busyness, sometimes our food choices were less than optimal. Now that the dust has settled, it's time to re-evaluate what we eat and make some changes.

Looking back, I see how God has gently led me to where I am now. Thanks to my grandmother, I learned how to throw things together, make bread, "get all the goody out" (use a spatula to scrape out every last bit of batter or whatever you've mixed up), and I am thankful for both the instruction and the fond memories of working with my grandma in the kitchen. I began cooking on my own at a young age and loved coming up with my own recipes. 

About four years ago, I had my eyes opened by attending a Nourishing Our Children seminar. I was so mad by the end of it, I wanted to go home and throw out all our food! Since that was not practical at all for this one-income family, I gave away the worst offenders (or just threw it away), and gradually used up what was left, replacing what was used up with healthier alternatives. I began to make my own mixes for taco seasoning, onion soup mix (and yes, it can be made without boullion, and therefore without MSG), cookies, breads, and anything else I might have bought in a box at the store. 

I eased into fermenting with water kefir, dairy kefir, and eventually sourdough. I have to admit to being afraid of making my own lacto fermented vegetables, and so I have not ventured into that arena, yet. I used to be afraid of balsamic vinegar, because it was so dark. I just had no idea what it would taste like and was afraid to try it. Turns out I've been missing out on one of the most delicious (not to mention healthful) condiments I've ever tried. I put that stuff on anything, even eggs. I'd put it on, or in, more things, but my husband doesn't like vinegar in general, and especially not balsamic. Boo. Sometimes I wonder how we connected...we seem to be polar opposites when it comes to many foods.

Eight months ago, I finally yielded to the Lord's leading and went gluten-free. After sulking for several days, I finally put my Big Girl Panties on and dealt with it. And I'm so glad I did! I've lost 20 pounds without doing anything other than not eating grains with gluten, my blood sugar is better controlled, and I just feel better in general. I've seen improvements in my children - my son no longer has paint-peeling gas, his bowel movements are normal, his bumpy rash on his face is gone, and he is somewhat less hyper; my daughter reported feeling less tired, more clear-headed, and no longer itches constantly. She has also learned to not "cheat" - because she feels so terrible after eating something with gluten. I'm glad she willingly makes the choice!

Lately, God's been nudging me to check out the Paleo thing. At first I thought good heavens, I don't think I can handle any more dietary changes and food restrictions. It's hard enough sometimes, especially when well-meaning family and friends don't quite "get it", or going to a get together and the only thing that is "legal" to eat is on the veggie tray...but no dip, since we don't know what is in it.  I'm getting used to bringing our own food, eating what I can and being happy with it, or just not eating, but honestly, it just kind of sucks sometimes. I don't want to have to constantly watch what I'm eating. It's not fair that other people can eat anything and have no health problems! But, then again, perhaps that's what's wrong with the world these days, everyone doing what they want with no thought to the consequences. Maybe it's not such a bad thing to have to be mindful of what you're doing all the time. I'll have to remember that when we go to our daughter's 4H picnic tonight. At least they're having hamburgers, not just hot dogs! 

Several years ago, I did the Atkin's diet and lost about 45 pounds. I don't want to do that again (the Atkin's diet...I have NO problem with losing 45 pounds!) because that diet requires the use of artificial sweeteners and soy, but I do know that cutting out carbs (which for me amounts to a lot of grains in general, gluten-free or otherwise) means I feel better and lose weight. I've found that I love love love Miracle Noodles, and am finding a lot of recipes to make tortillas, and other foods traditionally made with grains, with things like cauliflower instead. 

A friend of mine and I recently discussed the trend of replacing "off limit" foods with something similar, made with "legal" ingredients. She wondered why do we do that instead of just not eating those things anymore. Why do we feel the need to replace everything with something similar? I see her point, because sometimes we just trade one thing for something else that may not be good for us. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I think that food is, for some people, something that is very intimate - it's a relationship. If you broke up with your boyfriend, you wouldn't want to replace him with a potted plant, even though it may be healthier for you. You want to find another boyfriend, another person to connect with. Someone similar, but without the traits you hated in the guy you dumped. 

Humans are also creatures of habit! For some, there is so much comfort in the routine and ordinary it's hard to change. And there's also the fact that some of the things we eat we just don't want to eliminate because we really like them that much. But when your health is compromised, you have to make a choice. 

I have seen a gradual improvement in my health, but it's time to take it to the next level. I KNOW I feel better when I don't eat a lot of carbs - I am not ravenously hungry all the time, am satisfied longer between meals, and often have more energy. I'm also on a budget, so "going Paleo" is going to require good planning and stewardship. I know that God provides when He calls us into anything...whether it's overseas missions or just something as mundane as diet (I can't tell you how many times I've been blessed with gluten free foods, either just given to me or finding them dirt-cheap at the store!). I've recently found Miracle Noodles for 30c a bag at a local discount grocery store. 

So, what now? Research. Try new recipes. Do the best I can with what I have. Don't beat myself up when the budget says we have to eat rice this week...several times. Be thankful for what I have, and that God loves me so much He wants to help me be healthy. And try not to miss ice cream too much. And keep hoping that after a season of being grain-free, I can try introducing soaked grains again, because I do so love a good sourdough. Sourdough pancakes were a favorite around here...we even named our sourdough - Jack (after "Sourdough Jack" Mabee). I miss Jack. A lot. 

My next bunch of posts will likely be Paleo recipes, either that I've tried or want to. I'd love to hear from you and your experiences with the Paleo lifestyle! Please share your stories, recipes and tips in the comment section!

The Best Cornbread Ever...Seriously!

My husband is not as "into" food as I am. Food is just something you have to have to live, nothing to get excited about, really...at least for him anyway. I'm just the opposite...it's not just something you have to have to live, it's something to experience. Being a very sense-oriented person means that every aspect of a bite of something to eat is experienced...the way it looks, smells, and feels is just as important as how it tastes. 

If my husband says something is "very good", that is akin to receiving a Michelin Star in my book.  I've learned to not get offended if I just get an "it's good" or "it's OK" when I ask him how supper was. It's just not a big deal to him. I've also learned to relish those rare "very good" compliments and strive to get them more often.

This little number below really surprised me because it garnered a "wow this is really good" (a wordier version of the Very Good), which really amazed me because my husband does not particularly like cornbread. I'm not really crazy about it myself, although alongside a hearty bowl of chili or bean soup it's simply amazing, or can be anyway. I've been looking for "the" cornbread recipe and I think I've found it in this Gluten Free Buttermilk Cornbread Muffins recipe from The Baking Beauties, a site I plan to further explore as the tagline reads "gluten free recipes for everyday living."  While I like a good corn muffin, I just didn't feel like washing my muffin pan so I baked it in my lovely cast iron skillet. Mmmmmm. One of these days I'm going to get a cast iron muffin pan...

I loved this cornbread because it was moist, not dry and crumbly, and just had an amazing flavor. I used butter, "homemade" buttermilk (aka emergency buttermilk because I had none on hand...the old vinegar in milk trick), butter, and gluten free all purpose flour by C.C. Dolch Bakery. It contains millet, white rice and tapioca flours, tapioca starch and xanthan gum. I've been very happy with this flour so far.

GLUTEN FREE CORNBREAD MUFFINS (or cornbread, if you feel lazy)

ingredients:

• 1/2 c butter
• 2/3 c sugar (or less if you want)
• 2 eggs
• 1 c buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 c cornmeal
• 1 c gluten free flour 
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp salt

method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin pan and set aside.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Stir in sugar.
3. Add eggs and stir to combine.
4. Stir in buttermilk.
5. Add dry ingredients, and stir until few lumps remain.
6. Scoop into prepared muffin tin. (or pour into greased, preheated cast iron skillet)
7. Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (30-40 minutes if using a skillet or baking dish instead of muffin pan)
8. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack. Best served warm.

chef's notes:

I used my favorite and trusty cast iron skillet in which I put about a tablespoon of beef tallow and put in the oven while it was preheating. It baked for about 35-40 minutes and turned out with a lovely crust, a little brown on top, and ooooh so yummy. The only change I would make is to omit the xanthan gum called for in the recipe because my all purpose flour already contained it. This is one recipe I don't feel the need to tinker with! Although I could see myself adding cheese or chilies or something like that some time, but honestly it's just perfect like it is.

Our Gluten-Free Table Today

I have to admit I have not planned well for meals this week...I've gotten lazy over the last several days weeks months to be honest. And I surely wasn't prepared for planning gluten-free meals! What a blessing kind and generous friends are, let me tell you. Each day, I'm kind of "flying by the seat of my pants" and trying to pray about what to make, but it is so easy to just slip into "well, what sounds  good right now?" (along with the new "and how do I substitute the gluten ingredients in it?"). It's a process. 

Today, I am quite certain gluten should not be a part of my diet, and my son's for sure, and most likely my daughter's. I accidentally consumed something with gluten in it last night and I have felt terrible all day...the same way I felt after absentmindedly eating Hidden Valley Ranch - tired and hung-over-ish, no motivation aside from a strong desire to crawl back into bed and sleep. Blech. I don't think there's much gluten-containing foods worth feeling like that. Well, except for cheesecake, maybe. And my mom's Old Fashioned Cream Pie....

Other clues are that my son was, although active and boyish, not "spastic" and driving me out of my gourd all day. His BM today looked more like a normal one, his face looks less bumpy. And, for my daughter, the doctor's office called and said her TSH test was a little elevated and they want to recheck in eight weeks. I so want to save her from ending up like me so if her diet is contributing to the elevated TSH, tiredness, brain fog, etc. then I want to fix it now while she is young! I also need to really watch for soy, although we don't eat as much soy as we used to. Just something else I need to be vigilant in watching for when reading labels.

We ate fairly well today, I think:

• Breakfast was scrambled eggs and fresh apple slices. I like sharp cheddar melted on top and smothered in homemade salsa and sour cream (the eggs, of course!)
• Lunch was Millet Meatballs in Quinoa Rotini Pasta and homemade spaghetti sauce, sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a side of fresh veggies. Very tasty! I was a little unsure if I'd like the Qunioa/corn pasta, but it was practically like "real" pasta. I love that it is made with Quinoa!
• Supper is in the oven right now:  A hybrid Tater Tot Casserole. I quit buying canned soups ages ago, so it was a cornstarch-thickened gravy made with beef broth, sour cream  and nutritional yeast, browned ground beef, and green beans.  I am not sure if Tater Tots are safe yet (and I don't have any in the house, anyway), so I made mashed potatoes to put on top. All in one lovely, cast iron skillet too. Love those one-dish meals!

Here's how I made the Millet Meatballs (I just threw it together, so measurements are not guaranteed to be accurate!)

Millet Meatballs

ingredients:

• one free range egg
• 1/4-1/3 cup of leftover cooked, seasoned millet
• 1/4 pound or so of ground beef
• Miss Tink's House Seasoning
• 1-2 Tbs nutritional yeast
• 1-2 Tbs olive oil or fat of choice

method:

Whisk together egg, Miss Tink's, and nutritional yeast. Add millet and mix well, then add ground beef and mix very well. Form into meatballs. Gently heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet and brown meatballs on all sides until cooked through, or brown all sides then finish cooking in a 350 degree oven until cooked through, about 20 minutes. These can be seasoned however you like, of course...more garlic, some spicy hot pepper, even add shredded vegetables like carrot or zucchini. The kids and I loved them and there were none left over! I forgot to count how many it made, but my best guess is about 15 walnut-sized meatballs.

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I can't think of anything to go with our supper tonight, and honestly don't really care to make anything else. I just want to get done with the day and crawl into bed, into my nice, fragrant, freshly laundered flannel sheeties. I just love Fall!

Good Gluten-Free Eats to you!

Gluten Free? What Can We Eat, Then?

My initial response to the Go Gluten-Free directive from on high was not a very becoming one. All I could think about was what I couldn’t eat, how expensive GF products are, and how tight my grocery budget already is. It’s just not fair and it sucks. Fortunately, God has blessed me with wonderful friends who are encouraging and helpful. And, after a few days of not checking my blood sugar, since it was upsetting me too much, I felt a little better about the situation and started trying to look at what I can eat instead. Here’s what we’ve eaten for the last few days…

Our first, official gluten-free meal was...

BEEF STROGANOFF I chose this because my wonderful friend, The Homesteading Hippy, listened to me whine and cry and did her very best to get me to put my BGPs on (Big Girl Panties). Then she stopped by bearing gifts of delicious free range eggs, gf Tinkyada pasta, bone broth, two different Bob’s Red Mill gf flours, millet, quinoa, flax seeds,  and a fun Funky Monkey treat. She is a great monkey. The best. I didn’t make this recipe PRECISELY, and I can’t quite remember what I did that was different, but it was a matter of time…and I already had the stew meat cooked in the crockpot so that eliminated the whole flouring/browning the meat part. It was really good, and I was very impressed with the pasta! I can’t stand whole wheat pasta anyway, the texture is just all wrong. But the brown rice pasta was practically the same as regular pasta, it just took a little longer to cook. The flavor was great and it made me feel a bit better because I LOVE me some pasta and the thought of eschewing noodley goodness forever was quite upsetting.

I also had made some gf Pumpkin Honey Spice cookies to take to my mom’s group at church that evening. They were really good. I highly recommend using xanthan gum for gf baking, as these cookies turned out very nicely, like “real” cookies. I added chopped pecans and they were very delicious.

I had planned on making this yummy-sounding Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Breakfast Bake for breakfast the next day, but when I was out riding on the Harley with my wonderful husband, bless his heart, who hated seeing me so upset but just didn’t know what to do about it (nothing really, unless he’s hiding a magic wand somewhere…) and thought a nice ride on what was probably the last nice day of the year would help, I had a profound…and humbling…thought. For most of my life, I’ve been making my own choices as to what I eat. It obviously has not been working out so well – I’m overweight, have high blood pressure and high blood sugar. Food is integrally connected to all of those issues. So, maybe, I should ask The Big Guy what I should eat instead of relying on “what sounds good.” After all, He created this body of mine and knows better than I do what it needs to work well. As I laid down to sleep that night, I prayed about breakfast and unfortunately, it was not that yummy sounding quinoa dish. It was a fried egg and apple slices. Not what I wanted but it was completely satisfying anyway. I also had some chia seeds and bee pollen (courtesy of another wonderful friend, who has been gf for over 15 years. I had called her too and she gave me great advice and ideas, then also gave me a bunch of stuff that she felt God wanted her to give me. What a blessing!)

The next supper was hamburger patties in a gf brown gravy, cooked millet, and broccoli. I toasted the millet first before cooking it in beef broth, and felt like I should have invited The Road Runner for supper. It was, after all, a big pile of bird seed there in my skillet. I had the urge to put a sign in it and wait to drop an anvil from the cliff nearby.

I didn’t think my daughter would like it, as I found it to be so-so, definitely something to get used to, but she LOVED it. Mister liked it well enough to have two helpings. And, the best part of feeding Mister millet is that millet contains…TRYPTOPHAN!!!! That’s the stuff in turkey that makes you sleepy. Anything to calm Mister down is definitely a plus in my book! I seasoned the millet (which took longer than it said to cook, and I kept adding more broth to it) with my favorite all-purpose seasoning mix, Miss Tink’s House Seasoning, a little extra paprika, some nutritional yeast and parsley. Maybe some other things too, but I can’t remember now. It was good with the brown gravy over it, and the leftovers I plan to use to make meatloaf or meatballs. I cooked the hamburger patties in my big ole cast iron skillet, which left nice browned bits on the bottom, and not gobs of grease since I got them from the local butcher and it’s really good meat. To this, I added beef broth and thickened with a spoonful of cornstarch and a spoonful of the gf all-purpose flour. I had seasoned the burgers with Miss Tink’s, and was delighted to find that I didn’t need to add any other seasoning to this gravy, which thickened up nicely and had a great, browned flavor. Just what I was going for! We also had cottage cheese (read labels!! Apparently anything that says “modified food starch” can be a problem) and cucumbers with homemade ranch dressing. Very delish.

I really wish we could have chickens, we’ll be eating a LOT of eggs, I think. I need to start my day out with mostly protein and a little carbs, so anything that is grainy of any kind probably won’t be a good idea. Scrambled eggs with cheese, salsa and sour cream for breakfast the next day. Lunch was leftover beef stroganoff and fresh veggies for me, leftover millet and a fried duck egg for the little kids with fresh fruit for dessert. Supper was oven baked french fries, fresh carrots, broccoli, celery and cucumbers with ranch dressing, cheese cubes of colby and monterrey jack.

We (the kids and I) observe the Sabbath on Saturday, so that is a no-cooking day for me, unless it’s in the crockpot. We munched on leftover veggies, cheese, and some very tasty fresh pears from a local farmer’s market. I had no idea what to do for supper for most of the day, but then had an inspiration. In my crockpot, I put about 24 oz of already cooked great northern beans and juice, about a cup of beef broth, sliced up a few baby carrots and some onion, and about a quarter of a pound of raw ground beef. Seasoned with a bit of Miss Tink’s and set it on high. It turned out to be a very tasty, hearty bean soup. My family is not as crazy about beans as I am, but we all thought it was pretty good. The fact that my husband said it was “really good” means it was exceptionally tasty. Before serving, I stirred in about two tablespoons of nutritional yeast, some more paprika, a touch more salt and some smoked black pepper. Served with cottage cheese, applesauce and some bbq potato chips that I’m relatively certain do not contain any gluten.

Today, it’s been munchies and leftovers and my best Monkey has invited us over for supper. I’m quite happy to not have to think about what to make, although I was planning a Pizza Pasta casserole with Quinoa/corn pasta that I’ve been wanting to try anyway for a while. 

The best advice I’ve gotten about gf cooking is from my friend who’s been gf for 15 years: “Just think about what you want to make for a meal, then find ways to replace the things that have gluten in the recipe.” Simple, although I’m sure there will be challenges. Like pizza, for example. And tortillas. I found a great recipe for thin pizza crust that is just absolutely my favorite pizza crust now, but I don’t know how using gf flour will work in it. There’s only one way to find out though, roll up my sleeves and give it a shot.

It’s still frustrating though, because I just want to eat without thinking about what I’m eating. I have so many other things to manage, I don’t want one more on my plate…especially one that is expensive, time consuming, and may require eating odd things. But, if our health improves then it is all worth it in the end. It’s the “in the middle of it” part that I don’t enjoy.

I still need to pray about our meals, because left to my taste buds, I’m sure I’ll still make poor food choices. But it is nice to know that a gf diet is not a Death (to enjoying food) Sentence. There is a whole, wide world of foods out there that don’t have gluten, why should I be content to sit in my little SAD box (Standard American Diet…which I have mostly walked away from, but still have a bit of that lingering mentality to cast off)? I should not. And so, here we go…

The Perfectionist Kitchen...Grace Under Fire

I wish this was my kitchen, but it's from
www.remodelingmyspace.com

Do you struggle with perfectionism? I always believed perfectionists live in those House Beautiful centerfolds, have perfectly behaved families, and never have a hair out of place. Then I discovered that I was one. And believe me, House Beautiful couldn't be paid enough to photograph my home, my family is not perfectly behaved, and I often have hairs out of place...in fact, it's almost noon as I type this on a cloudy Saturday morning, I'm still in my PJ's, and my hair is stylishly coiffed in a frightful Why-Yes-I-DID-Just-Roll-Out-Of-Bed 'do.

And yet, I'm busy working in my kitchen...the room that currently looks like a scale model of a nuclear testing ground. I've made sourdough pancakes, fed my starter, mixed up some healthy(ish..it's not soaked) granola that is currently infusing my home with the most delightful aroma of oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, honey, butter and coconut ( you can find the recipe here, at Kitchen Stewardship!), and I just started some dough in my breadmaker to make the bratwurst buns we need for tomorrow's outing to a local park to hunt for mushrooms and just enjoy spending the day together. I'm very happy that my 16 year old stepson will be joining us...it will help make for a wonderful Mother's Day!

I'm taking a coffee break...enjoying some freshly ground Starbucks House Blend, sweetened slightly with sucanat and lavishly lightened with some raw cream from local, happy, organically grass-fed cows. Mmmmm...

So, back to the perfectionist kitchen oxymoron...I've learned that "perfectionist" doesn't always mean one does things perfectly and always "has it together". In fact, it can mean just the opposite, because the inability to do something perfectly paralyzes the perfectionist, and nothing gets done. 

I had a long day yesterday...not enough sleep, I've started babysitting for a three year old girl so I toted two three year olds around with me on grocery/errand day (wow...that's a challenge!), came home, made homemade pizza (thank God for 5-Minute pizza crust...), tried to make some sourdough English muffins (emphasis on TRIED. I don't want to talk about that one.), had a daughter who chose to lose out on allowance rather than do her dishes...and I just didn't have the energy to do them, even though starting the day off with a clean kitchen is so much more inviting and efficient. So, I went to bed. And got some rest, which I really, really needed. I wasn't too worried about the dishes running off in the middle of the night, or someone breaking in and stealing them....or washing them for me (now that would be wonderful, though...)

I did neaten the mess up before bed...sounds kind of odd but you know what I mean...stack the dishes, wipe up some crumbs, little things that only took a few seconds and not much energy. 

So, I find myself facing the day, and the mess, early this morning after taking my daughter to a Girl Scout function for the day ("I'll do the dishes tomorrow, mom..."). I know that I want to get these things accomplished today:

• make granola
• make granola bars
• make buns for our picnic lunch Sunday
• move Little Mister's toys up into his new room
• catch up on laundry
• clean up the kitchen, including mopping the floor

A To-Do list is always a little like shopping for clothes for me...I take a big pile of garments into the dressing room, spend forever in there trying them on, then come out with one or two that I like. I know I will not, realistically, be able to get all that done today. So, I have to decide...do I clean the kitchen first? It's tempting, since it is usually easier to work on clean, uncluttered surfaces...but then I'll have to clean the kitchen twice. I don't like to do it once, why make myself do it twice? Do I do laundry first? Well, I could start some, but my stepson beat me to the washer and honestly, I feel a bit ADD today, I'm not sure I could remember to stay on top of it! 

My choices then, are, get the kitchen in Perfect Order and then start cooking....or do nothing. Yep, that's how my mind works...all or nothing, most of the time. If I can't do it perfectly, then I just don't do it. It's something I've struggled to overcome for years. So, today, I decided to do something completely different and allow myself to consider a third option: start cooking anyway, in spite of the less-than-perfect conditions. And to remember to give myself some grace...I'm a very real person, I don't have it all together, I can't actually be perfect.

It was a stretch...I had to keep stopping myself from switching over to Clean Up The Kitchen Perfectly First mode, but I was able to get some things going...now my kitchen looks really bad! See, you won't find this in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I'm sure...

...kind of looks like squirrels were cooking in there. Highly distractable squirrels who have had one too many cups of coffee...

But, I can take some comfort in knowing I will only be cleaning it once today. And if I can get myself away from this computer, I just might be able to get more than I thought accomplished. 

Beating perfectionism, one baby step at a time...and making some darned good granola in the process...that's my day today...what habits or tendencies do you have that hinder you in the kitchen? How are you overcoming them?

Blueberry Bliss: Whole Wheat Pancakes with Blueberry Compote

I woke up  wanting pancakes, and after perusing my latest copy of Woman’s Day this morning, I had a plan – pancakes with blueberry compote (pg 182 of the May 2011 issue or you can click here for a slide show presentation of the article “How to Make Pancakes”).  Of course, since I’ve basically eschewed White Death Flour, I make 100% whole wheat pancakes now. I decided to look for a new recipe since I’d just been adapting my normal pancake recipe by substituting whole wheat flour. I found this delicious recipe at AllRecipes.com and made a couple adaptations to suit our real-food lifestyle…

Whole Wheat (Blueberry) Pancakes

I left the blueberries out of the pancakes and made Blueberry Compote instead…recipe follows the pancake recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder (aluminum-free)
• 1 egg (pastured)
• 1 c milk (raw)(+ up to 1/4 cup more if needed)
• 1/2 tsp salt (sea)
• 1 tbs artificial sweetner raw sugar
• 1 tbs melted coconut oil (no oil called for in original recipe)
• 1/2 c blueberries

METHOD:

Sift together the flour and baking powder (I’m too “efficient” for that…just mix them together well!), set aside. Beat together the egg, milk, salt and sugar in a bowl. Stir in flour until just moistened, add coconut oil and blueberries and stir to incorporate.

Cook pancakes on a hot griddle or cast iron skillet. The most important part of making great pancakes is PATIENCE! You simply MUST wait until it’s the right time to flip them…when the top is bubbly and the edges look dry, then it’s time to flip. It’s hard, I know…I’m still guilty of premature pancake flipping from time to time…I don’t like to wait…

Serve with your favorite pancake toppings…might I suggest:

Organic, pastured butter made from raw cream and this fabulously easy and delicious Blueberry Compote recipe with a drizzle of fresh, raw cream…

BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

The link above will take you to Woman’s Day magazine’s website, where you’ll find a slideshow showing how to make perfect pancakes. This recipe is on step 4 of the slide show, or on pg 182 of the May 2011 issue of Woman’s Day

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 c frozen (or ideally, fresh organic) blueberries
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbs raw sugar (I actually used less and it was still delicious…adjust for your taste)

METHOD:

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and syrupy, 5 to 6 minutes

Bon appetit!

GIVEAWAY ALERT: Nutrimill Grain Mill Via Kitchen Stewardship

If you've ever wanted your very own grain mill, here's your chance to win one! I bought a big ole bag of wheat berries several months ago, and I can tell you that there is nothing like freshly milled whole wheat flour! I don't currently own a grain mill, so I'm reallllyy hoping to win this one! They're a little salty. But, definitely worth the investment if you can shell out the dough for one. But, until I get one of my own, I'm ever so grateful to my dear friend, Heather the Hippy Homesteader, for letting me stop by and grinding my grain for me in her grain mill. She is a super friend, let me tell you! She also needs to get her hippy butt back home...but, I digress...

Want to try and win this awesome Nutrimill Grain Mill from Pleasant Hill Grain? Head on over to Kitchen Stewardship by clicking the link below and enter the giveaway. There's multiple entries available for a few moments of your time. While you're there, be sure to look around and check out the terrific information and recipes available there! It's one of my favorite places on the web. Good luck!

KITCHEN STEWARDSHIP