Monday, November 29, 2010

Sausage Rice Stuffing

Here's a stuffing for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.  It's a combination of a few recipes, with the main inspiration coming from Semon and Kornblum (see "References").  They have a couple of rice stuffing recipes.  We liked it on Thanksgiving day, and even more the day after, and the day after. 

2 c brown rice, uncooked
4 c water
1 lb fresh sausage (see "meat" recipes)
1½ c chopped celery
2 c any combination chopped shallots, leeks, and/or green onions
1 egg
2 granny smith apples, chopped (no need to peel; can use a squirt of fresh lemon juice or the butter and salt to keep from browning)
4 T butter, melted
1 T sage
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Put water and rice in a large pot, cover, bring to a boil. Simmer for 50 min or until water is absorbed. Rice will still be slightly crunchy. When rice is done, let cool at room temperature.
2. While rice is cooking, in a large frying pan, cook the sausage until just done (don’t brown), 5-6 min. Transfer sausage into a large mixing bowl or pot.
3. In frying pan, sauté shallots/leeks in sausage grease for 5-6 min, until tender. Add some butter if sticking. Add celery and sauté 2 more min.
4. Add everything to mixing bowl with sausage: rice, sautéed vegetable, egg, apples, sage, and butter. Mix, add salt, pepper, and more sage to taste.
5. Stuff turkey.
6. If there is any stuffing left over, store in refrigerator until there is 1-2 cups of broth from the turkey, or use some chicken broth. Pour broth over the rice and bake in oven.

Serve with gravy or butter.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Potato Leek Soup

This is one of my favorite soups.  It's adapted from Delia Smith with a little Jamie Oliver twist (see references, http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/leek-and-potato-soup-usa-version-imperia).

4 large leeks, diced
2 shallots, diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (bite size)
2 carrots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 T butter
4 c chicken stock (or water)
10 oz milk
salt and fresh ground pepper
For serving: fresh chives or parsley and cream

To prepare leeks:  Chop off roots and dark green tops, just after the spot where the leaves start splitting apart, and discard the outer hard leaves (or keep for stock). Chop in half lengthwise and rinse with water to clean. Then finish chopping.

1. In a large, thick-bottomed pot, melt butter. Add all the veg: leeks, shallots, potatoes, carrots, and garlic. Mix, cook at low sizzle for about 15 min.

2. Add chicken stock and milk. Simmer with lid on for about 20 min or until vegetables are fork tender. Be careful not to turn up heat too high or milk will boil over.

3.  Add salt and pepper to taste (taste test by pouring from a clean spoon onto a tasting spoon).

4. I eat it like this, with a T of cream, and if available, a sprinkling of fresh chives or parsley. If you like, the soup can be pureed before serving. Wait for soup to cool enough that it doesn’t steam when stirred. Then puree in a blender. Return to pot to reheat before serving with cream and herbs.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Vegetarian Recipes

There's a book called "Feast without Yeast" by Bruce Semon, MD and Lori Kornblum, PhD, that is mostly vegetarian recipes that overlap quite well with the Heal Your Headache (HYH) diet. It has information that links some of the foods together from Dr Buchholz's migraine trigger list (such as nuts and fermented foods).  Whether it's the same reason for triggering migraines or not, it's interesting.  I bought the book because it uses honey as a sweetener, as one Amazon reviewer complained, well, because this is in contrast to other yeast-free diets.  Incidentally, migraines also run in Dr Semon's family, and they have long been making the food-migraine connection and avoiding select foods.   

Semon calls for no vinegar in the diet, and recipes use fresh lemon juice instead.   That's the only modification I've made to the Heal Your Headache diet to use these recipes.  I still eat the other allowed foods for HYH (except white vinegar and yeast), and still avoid the other non-allowed foods in HYH (other than fresh squeezed lemon juice).  If you find you don't tolerate some of the vegetables allowed in the HYH diet, you could try only using them cooked.  I find i'm fine with cooked tomatoes, shallots, and green onions, but probably not raw ones.  Semon uses lots of tomatoes in his recipes.

The book is well organized and has over 200 recipes.   They were developed for kids with other medical problems, but I'm finding I get lots of recipes and fresh ideas from it.  Thankfully, he includes useful tips for gradually changing the diet.  With his book, I am looking forward to adding beans and more soups to my diet. I already subscribe to the frequent use of brown rice and potatoes that he suggests, but now have more recipes for these as well.

Buchholz's "Heal your Headache" drastically changed my health, and thus every day life for me and my family.  Semon's book is another great tool (in addition to Heidi Gunderson's cookbook) for applying the diet in HYH and learning more about what's in food and about food intolerances/sensitivities.  Semon is an MD that has helped many patients and one of his own children by using the diet, a very touching story he includes for the readers' benefit.  He seems to have begun with observations and theories and then learned from his experience with many patients, through trial and error and much listening and observation.  Sound like anyone else?  "Thanks!" to both Buchholz and Semon!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Cole Slaw

This is a good side dish for a picnic, pitch-in, or pot luck.  Brought it to a party the other day and enjoyed it.  It's based on a friend and excellent cook's, Barb's, recipe.

Vegetables:
Small head green cabbage, core removed, sliced thin

1 red or orange bell pepper, sliced thin

Dressing:
1/2 c distilled white vinegar
1/2 c apple juice
1/2 c olive oil
1/2 c maple syrup
1t salt
1 t powdered mustard (such as Coleman's)
1 t celery seeds
1 t cayenne pepper flakes

1.  Slice cabbage and bell pepper and set aside in a glass or ceramic bowl.
2.  Combine dressing ingredients in a pot and stir over low heat until salt dissolves.
3.  Pour dressing over cabbage and bell pepper.   Refrigerate.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Curry Sauce

Here's an easy sauce to add punch to chicken or pork that you've browned.  It's my husband's favorite.  It goes well over potatoes or rice and vegetables, such as cooked carrots and celery.

2-3 shallots, chopped
bell pepper, sliced

1 15-oz can coconut milk or 1 pint cream or half and half
1 T sweet curry
1 T spicy curry

1. Caramelize shallots in saucepan for 10 min at a low sizzle in olive oil and/or butter.
2.  Add bell pepper and sizzle for 5 more min to complete carmelization of shallots and to cook pepper.
3. Add coconut milk or cream and curries. Simmer at least 3 min.

Fresh Sausage

Here's a way quick way to make delicious sausage, something I'd craved and didn't want to buy factory made.  It tastes best with ground pork or beef, but it can be made with turkey or chicken, too.  I've been frying it in the pan as a crumble, breaking it apart with a spatula.   Sausage patties would work well, too.  This recipe is by Sally Knitter on ehow.com, http://www.ehow.com/how_4574619_breakfast-sausage-seasoning-mix.html .

Batch of seasoning mix (for several batches):

¼ c each of sea salt, sage, thyme, and nutmeg
1 T cayenne pepper
Fresh ground pepper

1 batch of sausage:

1 lb ground pork, beef, chicken, or turkey
2 t of seasoning mix shown above
Butter and/or olive oil for chicken or turkey

1. Stir seasoning mix together in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix 2 t of seasoning mix with meat (and maple syrup).
3. Fry in a pan until browned. Add oil and/or butter as needed to keep from sticking to pan for turkey and chicken.

Freeze any you won't be using today or tomorrow.  Other spices to experiment with if you like: paprika, ginger, coriander, and celery seed

Finola’s Vegetable Soup

This is my wonderful mother-in-law's wonderful vegetable soup, without any migraine trigger foods.  It transports me back to her kitchen across the ocean.  The parsnip gives it a sweet and tart flavor.  Parsnips look like white carrots.  They seem common in Ireland, but I had never eaten them in the U.S. until after visiting Ireland.  Since the parsnip is the dominant flavor in this recipe, if you find you would prefer a milder taste, you can use 1/2 a parsnip and 1 1/2 or 2 carrots instead. 

Makes 4 bowls of soup

3 shallots, chopped
3 mushrooms the size of button mushrooms, washed (use water and paper towel), sliced (hard stems discarded)
butter and/or olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 carrot, chop all remaining veg same size
1 parsip (no larger than the carrot), chopped
a little cabbage, shredded
optional: 1 small zucchini, cubed
1 large potato with peal, cubed
1 quart chicken stock
1 t rosemary
1 T fresh parsley
Salt and fresh ground pepper
1 T cream per serving

1. Wash all vegetables and chop the shallots and mushrooms. Then proceed to the next step.
2. Caramelize mushrooms and shallots (15 min at low sizzle in olive oil and/or butter; can be translucent or browned on edges when done) on opposite sides of large fry pan.
3. Meanwhile, if chicken stock is frozen, put it in a pot where soup will be cooked over low heat to thaw. Chop the garlic, carrot, parsnip, zucchini, cabbage (shredded), potato, and parsley. Chop all vegetables the same size.
4. Transfer onions and mushrooms into the soup pot. Turn up the heat slightly and sauté the garlic and remaining vegetables for about 2 min.
5. Pour contents of fry pan into the soup, turn up heat to simmer, and add rosemary and parsley and a little salt and pepper. When vegetables are fork tender, remove from heat. Check after the first 5 min., if vegetables were chopped small, it may be done already.
6. If you have time, let soup cool a little before pureeing, so steam isn't putting pressure on the lid of the blender.  Pour soup into blender and puree until the consistency of a thick smoothie. Add salt and pepper to taste. To taste test: use 2 spoons: keep one clean and pour into a 2nd you can keep reusing to taste.
7. Add 1 T cream to each bowl when serving. Mix. The cream not only tastes good, it’s supposed to make more of the nutrients in the vegetables bioavailable since some nutrients require others to be absorbed.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Soy Sauce

Once you have beef broth, you can make "soy" sauce!   This one is a stroke of genious.  Thanks, Heidi Gunderson!

http://migrainefreecooking.blogspot.com/2010/08/soy-sauce.html

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Chicken, Beef, and Vegetable Stock

Stock is called for in various recipes for cooking chicken or gravy, as a base for soups and Heidi Gunderson's "soy sauce" coming soon (check website, too:  migrainefreecooking.com), and can be substituted for water when cooking rice or quinoa.  We started buying whole cut-up chickens for grilling, and the backbone and neck come included for cooking stock.  When we roast a whole chicken, we save the carcass for stock.  For for making beef stock, cut-up bone can often be bought in the butcher section at the grocery store.  For vegetable stock, the base is chopped tomatoes.  I made some vegetable stock, but never use it.  Of course it would be great for vegetarians.  I use a couple of 8-cup glass measuring cups for cooling the meat stocks.  The method shown here is based on Delia Smith's Cookery Course (see references).

Chicken Stock
1 broken-up bird carcass
5 c cold water or enough to cover carcass
1 carrot, cut in chunks (more if not using parsnip)
1 bunch (~5) green onions or 3 shallots, cut in chunks
1 celery stalk, cut into large chunks
1 leek, cleaned & cut into chunks (or more onions instead)
1 parsnip, cut into chunks, optional
8 whole black peppercorns 
a few parsley stalks
a pinch of thyme
1/2 heaping t salt

1.  Put everything in a large pot (tall and skinny is better than short and wide); bring to a boil; skim scum off top.
2.  Reduce heat, simmer with lid slightly off for 2 hr.
3.  Strain through a sieve into glass bowl or measuring cup.  Discard everything in the sieve.  Cool in fridge over night, uncovered.
4.  Skim fat off top and discard.  Don't worry about whether the chicken stock came out gelatinous or not.  It's great if it does. 
5.  Freeze leftovers.   I like to use 1 and 2-c size containers.

Beef Stock
3 lb beef marrowbones, in pieces
Same vegetables, herbs, and seasoning as chicken stock above, plus
2 additional stalks of celery (3 total)
1 bay leaf
5 c cold water

1.  Optional, for dark stock:  Roast bones with vegetables in a roasting pan on top shelf of oven for 45 min at 450 deg; baste occasionally.  Bone and vegetables will be brown on edges when done.
2.  Place everything from roasting pan into stock pot.  Add water, herbs, and seasoning.
3.  Simmer with lid slightly off for 2 hr.
4.  Follow chicken directions 3-5 for cooling, skimming fat, and storing.  Beef fat will not be gelatinous.  Beef stock is the base for Heidi's Gunderson's "soy sauce".
 
Vegetable Stock
5 c cold water
Same vegetables, herbs, and seasoning as chicken or beef stock above
 
1. Put everything in a large pot and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat, simmer with lid slightly off for 2 hr.
3. Strain into glass bowl or measuring cup. Cool to room temperature.
5. Freeze leftovers.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Apple, Blueberry, and Rhubarb Pies




Last year we visited Mackinaw, Michigan, and they had homemade pies everywhere.  The fresh sweetness of the fruit and the comforting, buttery crust were the prefect finale to dinner. Those pies inspired me to start making pies. 

After I made this apple pie a couple of times, I went ahead and bought one of those apple corers/slicers/peelers.  Crank the handle a few times and your apple is ready.  It's a great time saver.  The crust recipe is from "Dinner in Minutes" and the rhubarb pie is adapted from allrecipes.com (see references). 

Pie Crust:
2 c flour
1 t salt
1 T sugar, optional
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) butter
4 oz (1/2 package) cream cheese
¼ c + 2T ice water
optional:  milk, sugar for top of crust

I use a stand-alone mixer.  If you use a food processor, follow directions written for a processor.
1. Put flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Cut butter and cream cheese in small slices into the flour mix.
2. Mix at low speed until dough resembles bread crumbs.
3. Add a little water, mix at low speed; repeat until dough forms one big ball.
4. Knead slightly with hands. Don’t overknead.
5. Split in half, cover (wrap in plastic wrap), and chill in refrigerator for at least 20 min.

Apple Filling:
6 c or 3 lb apples, peeled and sliced
2T flour (or tapioca flakes)
3/4 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
¼ t each of mace, cloves, and allspice
1 T butter

Blueberry Filling:
¼ c four (or tapioca flakes)
1 c brown sugar
1 T butter
For Apple or Blueberry Pie:

Bake at 400 deg F, 40-50 min
1. Preheat oven and mix all ingredients except butter together. Let sit 15 min.
2. Lay rolled pie crust on bottom of pie pan. Pour in apple or blueberry mix.
3. Dot with butter.
4. Optional: Lay top crust over fruit. Sprinkle with sugar and cut small holes for venting.
5.  Bake

Rhubarb Filling:
4 c rhubarb, chopped
1/4 c flour
1 c brown sugar

For Rhubarb Pie:

Bake at 450 deg F, 15 min;  reduce to 350 deg F, bake 40-45 min
1.  Preheat oven and  mix flour and sugar in a small bowl. Keep rhubarb separate.
2.  Lay rolled pie crust on bottom of pie pan.  Spread 1/4 of sugar and flour onto bottom of pie crust, then the rhubard, then sprinkle the remaining sugar and flour on top.
3.  Roll out pie crust top and lay over the fruit filling.
4.  Optional:  Brush top of crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar.  Raw sugar or demarera sugar work well.
5.  Bake.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Cheesecake

This is my husband's and my birthday cake. This cheesecake is delicious, though rich enough that a small slice will do, and doesn't call for any sour cream. It's based on Delia Smith's from her "Complete Cookery Course" (see References). She's a well known chef in the UK. Since my mother-in-law's cooking is so wonderful and she uses it, I picked up a copy for myself.

I made this recipe with brown sugar this time. It has more of a caramel taste. When it's made with white sugar, it has the familiar, classic cheesecake taste.

Crust:
6 oz shortbread cookies, ginger snaps, or tea biscuits (check ingredients)
6 T butter

Filling:
1 1/2 lb cream cheese (3 packages), softened (knead if straight out of fridge)
3 eggs
1/2 c + 2T white or brown sugar
1 t vanilla
Optional: fruit (strawberries, blueberries, or kiwi peeled and sliced)

Bake at 300 degrees for 30 min. Chill at least 2 hr.
1. Preheat oven. Melt butter and crush cookies. Stir cookie crumbs into butter. Spread and press into bottom and sides of pie pan or cheese cake pan to form the crust.
2. In electric mixer, mix cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until creamy smooth.
3. Pour filling into the crust. Bake (see "bake" above). Next, turn oven off and let pie cool inside the oven. Then chill at least 2 hr in fridge to make firm. Optional: top with fruit.

If you use a cheese cake tin, Delia says you soak a clean dish towel in hot water, wrap it around the sides of the tin and hold for a few seconds, then lift the base out.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Pizza


Pizza is frequent dinner fare at our house. The kids can help by sprinkling on toppings they like, once they're convinced this is fun.

Jamie Oliver's grape rosemary pizza is so delicious it deserves special mention.  Ingredients for a migraine-free version are shown below.  (Jamie's site:  http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pizza-recipes/red-grape-pizza-with-honey-rosemary-and).


For each pizza:

1-2 large tortillas, depending on amount of toppings (check ingredients)
1/2 c tomato sauce (see "Staples")
sliced American cheese
1 T fresh basil or 1 t dried

Pizza topping suggestion:
1/4 chopped red, orange, or yellow bell pepper
8 olives, roughly chopped, Kalamata or black (check ingredients)

Other toppings you could use:
carmelized shallots(cook in olive oil and/or butter at low sizzle for 15 min, will be translucent or browned on edges, lightly salt),
hamburger,
cooked spinach (1 min in boiling water with lid off),
mushrooms,
cooked broccoli,
roasted asparagus,
sauteed shallots,
sprouts,
dabs of ricotta cheese.

No tomato sauce:  basil pesto could be used as a base instead (basil, olive oil, and roasted pine nuts blended in a food processor or with morter and pestle)

Toppings for rosemary grape pizza:
(No tomato sauce)
1 large sprig fresh rosemary cut and crushed together with extra virgin olive oil
sliced American cheese
1 t honey drizzled off the end of an oval teaspoon
half a handfull of red seedless grapes, halved

General Pizza directions:
Bake at 400 degrees, 15 min.
1. Preheat oven.  Lightly brown torillas in medium size fry pan on stovetop with olive oil or butter to make a crispy crust.  Pizza's will be soggy without this step. 
2. Place tortillas on baking sheet. Spread tomato sauce, then sprinkle on cheese and basil.  Alternatives with no tomato sauce:  Jamie Oliver's pizza above, basil pesto pizza above.
3. Add pizza toppings. Bake (see "Bake" above) until cheese is melted and crust is crisp.

Spaghetti


tomato sauce recipe (see "Staples")
12 oz whole wheat spaghetti noodles
Optional:
a few slices of fresh mozerella log, cut into small cubes
basil

1. Top cooked noodles with tomato sauce. I like including the optional beef, carrots, and zucchini to make a hearty spaghetti Balinese, like Mrs. Buchholz does in her recipe in "Heal Your Headache".
2. If desired, top servings with cubed mozzarella and sprinkle with fresh or dried basil. Microwave individual servings to melt cheese.

Tomato Sauce



I wish I could post aromas. There's a tradeoff when switching to cooking from scratch instead of grabbing pre-made items off the grocery store shelf. Benefits of cooking, besides better health, are the scent of sizzling shallots or simmering tomato sauce and the fresh, delicate taste of this sauce. I often make double batches and freeze the rest for later. For making a couple personal size pizzas later, freeze sauce in 1 c containers.

Ingredients

Optional, any or all:
1 lb ground beef (ground round works nicely, it's 15% fat)
1 carrot, finely shredded
1 zucchini, finely shredded
1 celery stalk, chopped

Basic sauce:
3 shallots, chopped
2 T olive oil
3 large tomatoes, mixed smooth in blender
14 oz can diced tomatoes or Roma tomatoes (or 3 more large tomatoes blended if tomatoes are in season)
1 t salt
½ t fresh ground pepper
1 t basil
1 t oregano
¼ t thyme
1 bay leaf
A pinch of garlic powder

Quick Sauce:
Same as basic sauce, except use a 14 oz can of tomatoes and 12 oz tomato paste. Simmer only 20 min, adding water as needed.

Directions

Optional:
1. Brown hamburger with shallots in large, deep skillet. Add carrot, zucchini, and celery and simmer 3 min.
Or:
1. Heat olive oil in large pot on medium heat. Cook onions until tender, about 6-8 min., never reaching more than a slow sizzle.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer uncovered 30 min. for 3 fresh tomatoes and 60 min for 6 fresh tomatoes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Jamaican Jerk Chicken



This is adapted from a cookbook called "Dinner in Minutes,"* about which we joke, "How many minutes?" This recipe is, however, pretty quick and one of our favorites. When it's not good weather for grilling, this sauted recipe is just as much a treat.

In her latest cookbook, Julia Child* uses clarified butter (ghee) for sauteing. Due to a higher smoke point, it doesn't burn as easily as olive oil or butter. Instructions for making your own clarified butter can be found on the web. We purchased a jar at an Indian market for much less than the same amount of butter would have been.

1 shallot, chopped
1T+1t brown sugar
2 t freshly ground pepper
1 t salt
½ t nutmeg
2 t thyme
¼ t allspice

2T olive oil or clarified butter
4 chicken breasts

1. In a small mixing bowl, mix shallot, thyme, sugar, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and allspice. Poke holes in chicken, rub seasoning onto both sides of the meat with a soup spoon and your hand.
2. Marinate 20 min. to several hours. I avoid marinating as long as 24 hrs since some sources report increased tyramine levels as meat is marinated longer.
3. Heat oil or ghee in skillet. Sauté chicken on each side 5-10 min. (medium high heat for for 5 min, then medium). Be sure to brown the meat and carmelize the shallots. Test thickest part of chicken for doneness with meat thermometer or slicing open. Juices should run clear, and there should be no pink. Meat will still be juicy and moist.

Top chicken pieces with a generous portion of pan scrapings when serving! Brown rice and carrots or green beans accompany this dish well, with more pan scrapings on the rice. *(Linda Gassenheimer, 1995; Julia Child, 2009)

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Breaded Baked Chicken



This is our homemade breaded chicken. For breading, I use store bought organic bread crumbs. If preferred, a couple methods for making bread crumbs are 1) my mother-in-law's way: lightly toast bread, cool, and grate with a cheese grater, or 2) my old way: pulverize untoasted pieces of bread in a food processor.

4 chicken breasts
4 T butter, melted
1 c bread crumbs (from bread at least one day old)
Sprinkling of salt & fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 T Italian herb mix or rosemary
optional:  sliced American cheese, broken into small pieces

Bake at 375 deg, 45 min or until completely cooked when sliced
1. Preheat oven. Melt butter and pour into a pie or cake pan.
1. Combine bread crumbs, salt & pepper, and herbs in a separate pie pan.
2. Drag each piece of chicken through melted butter, then bread crumbs.
3. Place in a 9”x13” casserole dish or pan.
4. Bake (see "Bake" above).
5.  optional:  5 min before done, top with American cheese.

Vanilla Extract

Vanilla beans are available at most health food stores and spice specialty stores.

3/4 c Vodka
Vanilla, about 2-4 beans (however many come in a packet), sliced lengthwise

1. Pour vodka and vanilla (entire bean, pod and seeds) in a glass bottle. I washed out a soy sauce bottle and marked a "full" line with indelible ink for adding more vodka later.
2. Shake, store in a dark cupboard. Wait 2 weeks before first use, shaking occasionally. Shake just before using. Add more vodka as needed.
3. Replace vanilla beans after 6 months.

(Ruth Yaron, 1999. See "References".)

Granola



I like cereal and look forward to eating this granola in the morning with milk. I always eat fresh fruit with breakfast; fresh berries in the granola are nice. I started making my own vanilla since I use so much, see "staples" list. I also started buying herbs and spices in bulk from a spice shop and sesame seeds from a health food store.
Parchment paper is wonderful for easy cleanup and, in this recipe, to prevent the granola from sticking to the pans. It can be found in the store next to aluminum foil. I save used paper and reuse.

5 c rolled oats
1 c raw sunflower seeds
1 c raw sesame seeds
1 c flaxseeds (I use roasted whole, ground flaxseed is fine)
1/2 c wheat germ
2 t cinnamon
1 c vegetable oil, sunflower oil works well
1 c honey
2 T vanilla

Bake at 350 °F, 18-20 min, until toasted light brown
1. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In very large bowl, stir together oats, coconut, sunflower, flax, and sesame seeds, wheat germ, and cinnamon. A wooden spoon works well.
3. in 2 c glass measuring cup, mix together oil, honey, and vanilla.
4. Pour liquid ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients. Stir with large wooden spoon. Spread onto 2 cookie sheets. Bake (see "Bake" above).
5. Let cool completely. Then break into bite size pieces.

Store on a shelf in sealed containers.

Blueberry Popovers and Crepes


Blueberry Popovers

This is a quick, easy recipe! “Popovers” might not be very accurate. These muffins don’t puff. They do pop into hungry mouths easily at our house, though. They work nicely for company because they’re basically the same tasty recipe as crepes after adding milk, recipe below, but you aren’t stuck at the stove flipping cakes for half an hour. I’ve also used them instead of cupcakes at my son’s preschool on his birthday, with kids’ complements. These can be made without blueberries, too, but once I put them in, I never looked back.

Makes about 24 popovers

2 c milk
1 c flour
½ t salt
1 T sugar
4 eggs
4 T melted butter
1 ½ c blueberries, ice melted under running water if frozen

Don’t preheat the oven.
1. Butter two 12-cup muffin pans. Even non-stick surfaces stick, so best to butter.
2. In large bowl, pour in milk, then add flour and wisk. Flour mixes easily with cold milk.
3. Add salt, sugar, and eggs. Wisk. Add melted butter. Wisk.
4. Pour batter into each muffin cup until 2/3 full.
5. Place muffin tins in oven and turn oven to 400 deg. Place muffin tins side by side on the same rack. Bake for 30 min.
6. Loosen edges carefully with a table knife. Keep warm until ready to serve by turning off oven and leaving door ajar.



Crepes

Makes about 14 crepes

Same ingredients as popovers except use an additional ½ c milk.
Optional: 1 1/2 c blueberries or apple cubes with cinnamon

1. Mix ingredients as instructed for popovers with an additional 1/2 c milk. Stir in optional fruit.
2. Heat one or two 8” frying pans on medium heat.
3. Lightly butter pan before each crepe (using butter or clarified butter, which doesn't burn as easily). Make one crepe at a time by pouring 1/3 c batter into pan. When bottom of crepe is golden brown, flip to cook other side.

Serve with butter and sugar or maple syrup.