Sparky Carrots and Cauliflower
Ingredients:
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets (approx 5 cups)
1 bunch carrots, cut in half and half again (approx 7 carrots)
2 tsp bacon renderings
1¼ tsp sea salt, divided
3 tbsp grass-fed butter
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1 tbsp minced garlic (approx 3 cloves)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp parmesan
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400˚. Put florets and carrots on separate sheet pans and toss each in 1 tsp of bacon renderings. Sprinkle each with ½ tsp of sea salt. Place in hot oven for 15 minutes. Turn vegetables with a spatula and return to the oven, rotating the sheet pans as well. Roast for an additional 10 minutes.
In a small saucepan, combine butter, rosemary, ¼ tsp sea salt, ¼ tsp pepper. Melt butter over low heat and continue to simmer for 3 minutes. Add Nutritional Yeast, stir, and remove from heat.
Combine vegetables. Pour butter mixture over top. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and toss to coat. Serve warm.
Balsamic Kale with Caramelized Onions
This dish is perfect for company because everything can be prepped and cooked ahead of time. The kale is simply added in the minutes before service to maintain the bright, green appearance. I noted where you can “pause” in the recipe below.
Ingredients:
2 tsp bacon fat
1 medium red onion, peeled & sauté sliced (approx 2 cups)
1 tbsp minced garlic (approx 3 cloves)
½ cayenne pepper, minced (or 2 dashes cayenne pepper)
½ cup roughly chopped soaked pecans
¼ cup dried currants
½ tsp sea salt, plus a pinch
¼ tsp fresh cracked pepper
6 tightly packed cups 1-inch pieces of dinosaur kale, washed & lightly damp (approx 1 large bunch or 2 small)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions:
In a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, melt bacon fat. Add onions, reduce heat to medium-low and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cayenne. Sauté for one minute, stirring constantly. Add pecans, currants, ½ tsp sea salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Stir to combine. Sauté on medium-low for 2 minutes.
(At this point, the heat can be turned off until just before supper, or continue to the next step.)
Over medium heat, add kale and remaining pinch of sea salt. Use tongs to turn constantly until kale wilts. When just wilted, turn heat off. Add balsamic vinegar. Turn with tongs to coat. Serve warm and immediately.
Johnny Appleseed Bread
During the last few minutes of baking, this bread may puff up in the middle of the pan. Don’t fret! It will sink right back down when it cools. Using a Fuji or Gala apple is important, as Granny Smith won’t have enough juice.
Ingredients:
2 cups crunchy pumpkin seeds
2 Medjool dates. pitted
2 cups roughly chopped Gala or Fuji apple (approx 1 large apple)
3/4 tsp ground fennel
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 x-large egg
2 tsp ghee, plus more for the pan
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350˚. Locate an 8×8 glass pan and grease with ghee.
In the bowl of a food processor, add pumpkin seeds and process until finely ground. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.
In the same bowl of the food processor, add dates and process until finely chopped, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as necessary. Add apples, process until finely chopped. Add back the ground pumpkin seeds, fennel, sea salt, egg and ghee. Process until combined.
Spread into the prepared pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until sides are lightly browned and center passes a toothpick test. Cool slightly before service. Johnny Appleseed Bread is even better the 2nd day!
Cloud Icing
Ingredients:
1½ cups honey
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp cream of tarter
Instructions:
In a small saucepan with tall sides over medium heat, add honey. Cook, until honey reaches 240˚, which is known as a soft-ball stage. The honey will spin a thread when dripped from a spoon.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine egg whites, sea salt and cream of tarter. While the mixer is running on high speed, pour the hot honey mixture slowly into the egg whites. Beat the mixture for approximately 5 minutes, until the mixture is stiff, but still soft.
Honey Panna Cotta with Kefir
Vanilla beans can get expensive, but they can be found economically online with a quick search. However, if you can only get the pricey ones, cut it down to one or two vanilla beans, it will still be delicious!
Ingredients:
3 vanilla beans, split and seeds removed
2 cups heavy cream, divided
3 tbsp +1 tsp bovine gelatin*
5 tbsp cold water
4 cups kefir
¾ cup raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine vanilla beans and pods with 1 cup of cream. While stirring to prevent the milk from scalding, bring to a boil and immediately remove from the heat. Set aside for just 10 minutes. While mixture cools slightly, use a fork to combine gelatin and water into a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes.
After cream mixture has cooled slightly, but is still quite warm, whisk in the gelatin mixture until fully combined. Then, strain using a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl to remove vanilla pods and any remaining small gelatin clumps. The seeds will go through, but the pods will stay in the strainer. Add the remaining cup of cream, kefir, raw honey and vanilla extract.
Ladle the mixture into 10 1-cup ramekins (however any vessel will do) and chill for at least 1 hour until set. Serve cold.
* I used Bernard Jensen gelatin for this recipe. Different types of gelatin behave differently.
Sauerkraut Quesadillas
The combination of sauerkraut and quesadillas sounds a bit odd, but it totally works. The sauerkraut is added after cooking to preserve the probiotic content of this traditional food. Try different combos of cheeses and sauerkraut flavors. I put some of our favorites below.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp grass-fed butter
2 sprouted large tortillas
1 ½ cup shredded grass-fed cheese, pepper jack or mild cheddar
1/4 cup traditional plain or caraway sauerkraut
Instructions:
In a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, melt butter and swirl to coat the pan. Add one tortilla and spread the cheese overtop. Add the second tortilla. Cook until underside is browned, approx 3 minutes. Flip. Cook until other side is browned, approx 2 minutes. Remove from heat, carefully peel back top layer and spread sauerkraut evenly overtop of the cheese.
Cut with a pizza cutter into slices and serve warm with a side of salsa.
Kefir Strawberry Ice
The mixture should be like soft-served ice cream when poured into the glass container to freeze. If it is too loose, like a smoothie, add more strawberries, as the texture will depend on the size of the strawberries used.
Ingredients:
5 cups whole frozen strawberries
2 cups raw plain kefir
¼ cup raw honey
juice of 1 lemon
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients into a high-speed blender. Use a spatula to scrape down the sizes and encourage the mixture together, when necessary. Pour into a glass container. Freeze to desired texture. If completely frozen, allow the dessert to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping.
30-Second Hand Treatment
This rub may also be used as a body rub in the shower, but I find that fine sea salt works better in that application. And, it also makes the floor of the tub a bit slick, so use caution. This recipe can be easily adapted. For example, dried Chamomile flowers (relaxing) or even coffee (invigorating) can substitute for the lavender.
Ingredients:
1 cup coarse sea salt
1 cup unrefined sesame oil
3 tbsp dried lavender
5 drops essential oil of lavender
Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir well. Store in the sealed container at room temperature.
Honey Walnut Butter
Many folks put cinnamon in Walnut Butter, and you certainly can! I just happen to prefer the simplicity of only the flavor of honey.
Ingredients:
1 lb soaked walnuts
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp raw honey
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350˚. Spread walnuts on a sheet tray and place in preheated oven. Roast for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool fully, approx. 10 minutes.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine cooled walnuts, sea salt and raw honey. Process until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as necessary.
Store in the refrigerator.
Fancy Figs
Our amazing chef for the Apricot Lane Farms WWOOFer program, Ofelia, inspired this dish. She thinks it’s so simple that it almost isn’t a recipe, but I disagree! Simple combinations of fresh ingredients are the best.
1 cup Mascarpone cheese
4 soft Medjool dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
2 dashes cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
pinch lemon zest
10 figs, cut in half (stem to bottom)
raw honey, to drizzle
Instructions:
To a small bowl, add Mascarpone cheese. Using a hand mixer, beat until the cheese looks like thick whipped cream, approximately 20-30 seconds. Add dates, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest. Mix on medium to combine. Scoop approximately 1 tablespoon onto the center of each fig. Place figs on a serving platter and drizzle with raw honey. Enjoy!