Homemade Eggnog

As a child, I never liked eggnog.  We would buy eggnog in a carton from the grocery store, but it was too thick and sweet for my liking.  Now I know, from reading eggnog labels the last couple of years, that I probably didn't like the flavors of high fructose corn syrup and thickeners in store-bought eggnog.  

A few years ago I tried Silknog, an eggnog-flavored soy milk.  It's thinner but still has that nice holiday flavor.  We drank it for a couple of years during the holidays, but in the last year I have learned about many problems surrounding soy.  Soy has a very high phytic acid content, and should only be consumed in moderation and properly fermented.  Good sources of fermented soy include natto, naturally fermented soy sauce, and fermented miso.

This year I have been missing my thinner, eggnog drink.  So I started looking around for a real food version of eggnog using raw milk and cream, raw egg yolks (but no raw egg whites, they have enzyme inhibitors!), wholesome sweeteners like maple syrup and raw honey, and as my friend likes to call them "Christmas spices".  Using this recipe as inspiration, I upped the cream and yolks and made delicious eggnog in my blender!  How easy was it? VERY.

You place all the ingredients in a blender, blend them up, and then pour and serve.  If you have seen the way classic eggnog is made, then you'll be impressed with this method.  In the original recipes you are supposed to separate eggs, whip the whites, whip the cream, fold them in at different times, and so on.  I don't have time to mess with that!  And I don't want to eat the raw white anyway.

So enjoy this quick recipe.  It makes delicious, healthy, homemade eggnog that has that not-too-thick texture.  Even R liked it!  And as R would say: "You can really taste the nog."

Homemade Eggnog

1 cup whole milk (preferably raw and grass-fed)

3/4 cup cream (preferably raw and grass-fed)

4 egg yolks (preferably pastured)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of cloves

pinch of allspice

2-3 tablespoons maple syrup or raw honey (I used syrup)

dash sea salt

Bourbon, rum, cognac, to taste (optional)

1. Place everything in a blender and blend for a minute or so.  Pour into glasses and garnish with another grating of nutmeg, or a stirring stick of cinnamon.

Joyous Almond Cups

Whenever I make these peanut butter cups I always end up making these Almond Joy-esque cups as well.  I use the same mini cupcake pan, the same spot in the freezer to freeze the two layers, and we end up with two flavors of cups to choose from for a sweet, but nourishing treat.  This recipe is my version after being inspired, as usual, by a recipe from Kimi over at The Nourishing Gourmet.

Even more so than the peanut butter cups, these joyous almond cups have a lot of coconut oil incorporated into the recipe.  Coconut oil has many benefits.  Coconut oil has a lot saturated fat.  But don't fear.  This saturated fat is good for you.  Yes you read that right.  The saturated fat in coconut oil is comprised of medium chain fatty acids, 50% of which are the fatty acid lauric acid.  Medium chain fatty acids are more easily digested, reducing strain on the liver, pancreas, and digestive system.  Coconut oil benefits a sluggish thyroid by this same logic: it takes less energy to digest coconut oil, freeing up your thyroid to heal and function better.  Coconut oil helps with energy levels and weight loss.  Coconut oil heals you from the inside out.

So when you wonder why I go through all the trouble of researching coconut oil, finding different kinds of coconut oil, and then incorporating it into my diet despite my lack of love for it's flavor, this is why.  I feel better when I have it in my daily diet.  I know the science behind it and am more than happy to have it's help healing my body.

Now let's get back to the treat part.  I make these either with or without chopped almonds.  Sort in the vein of sometimes feeling like a nut...But when I do add the nuts I make sure they are from my soaked and dehydrated stash.  Soaking nuts overnight in salt water helps neutralize the naturally-occuring enzyme inhibitors present in most nuts.  Then dehydrating them returns them back to their crispy state.  The almonds I used in this recipe were soaked, dehydrated, and then toasted for 20 minutes at 300 degrees just to bring out their flavor a little before I chopped them and added them in.

Joyous Almond Cups

coconut base:

1/2 cup gently melted coconut oil

1/4 cup gently melted raw honey

1 1/4 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1/2 cup chopped almonds, preferably soaked and dehydrated, then toasted for 20 min. at 300 degrees

chocolate topping:

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 tablespoons raw honey

3/4 cup coconut oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon coffee liqueur

1. Make coconut base: Combine melted coconut oil and raw honey.  Whisk well to combine.  Add shredded coconut and almond extract.  

2. Using a small ice cream scoop, divide among 24 mini cupcake molds.  Sprinkle each one with a little of the chopped almonds, dividing evenly.  Place in the freezer on a level surface for 30 minutes to harden.  

3. In the meantime, make chocolate topping: combine cocoa powder, honey, and coconut oil in a glass bowl set over simmering water.  Whisk until coconut oil is almost completely smooth.  Remove from heat and continue whisking, adding vanilla and coffee liqueur.

4. Remove frozen coconut bases, and spoon a little of the chocolate topping on each cup.  Place back in the freezer for another 30 minutes until frozen and set.  

5. To remove, pop out with a spoon or butter knife immediately after removing from the freezer.  Store in the freezer, or else they will melt.  To eat, I like to remove from the freezer and let sit for a few minutes to soften.  Enjoy with cold, whole raw milk, yum!

(cross-posted at k-land)

Peanut Butter Cups

I love these peanut butter cups.  I made them last February for R for Valentine's Day.  I wrote the other day about looking for candy for Christmas at the store, but coming up empty.  Even in my compromising mindset I couldn't find anything that would work.  So I am making a few different candies and confections to help satisfy M's and E's sweet teeth on that magical morning.

But back to the peanut butter cups.  I have tweaked the recipe just a bit.  I watch Ina Garten on the Food Network quite a bit, and on her show Barefoot Contessa she occasionally shows how she tests recipes.  Ever since she explained how chocolate is enhanced by a little bit of coffee I have been paying attention to how she pairs them in different recipes.  She says that you do not end up tasting the coffee, but the chocolate tastes better.

Sometimes she uses leftover brewed coffee, sometimes it's instant coffee or espresso granules, and sometimes it's coffee liqueur.  I have Kahlua, so I have used that recently in any chocolate recipe I make.  I just eyeball between a teaspoon and a tablespoon.  I don't know enough about how they make instant coffee crystals to use them confidently, and I don't brew coffee at home.  (The caffeine affects my adrenals and such.)

Oh, and one last thing: after I use up the natural peanut butter in the jars in my fridge I want to make my own peanut butter.  It's very handy to have peanut butter around, so I think it's worth the trouble to soak peanuts in salt water, dehydrate them and then put them through the food processor.  The point of doing all of that is to avoid the enzyme inhibitors present in peanuts and nuts in general.  The soaking process neutralizes the enzyme inhibitors, helping you to not only digest them better but absorb more nutrients from the nuts.

Peanut Butter Cups

peanut butter base:

3/4 cup natural peanut butter, preferably from soaked and dehydrated peanuts

1/4 cup gently melted coconut oil*

2 tablespoons raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup chopped nuts, preferably soaked/dehydrated/roasted at a low temperature (300), optional**

chocolate topping:

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon coffee liqueur

1. Mix peanut butter and coconut oil together until smooth, using a rubber spatula.  Add honey and vanilla and stir until smooth.  Using a small ice cream scoop, divide among the 24 mini cupcake molds in a mini cupcake pan.  Put into the freezer for 20 minutes or so while you make the chocolate topping.

2. In a glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stir chocolate, honey, vanilla and coffee liqueur with a wooden spoon until almost smooth.  Remove from the pot and set onto a hot pot holder while you continue to stir until completely smooth.

3. Remove mini cupcake pan from freezer and spoon chocolate mixture onto each peanut butter cup, smoothing a little with the back of a spoon.  Place back into the freezer until solid, about 20 minutes or more.

4. Remove with a spoon or butter knife.  They should pop out with a little elbow grease, as long as they are completely solid.  If they mush together at all, put them back into the freezer for a few minutes and try again.  Store in the freezer until you want to eat them.

5. To eat, I like to take a few out and let them rest on a plate for a few minutes to soften.  And, of course, my favorite way to eat them is with a cold glass of whole, raw milk.  Enjoy.

*You can use virgin coconut oil (which will taste like coconut), or expeller-pressed coconut oil (which will have neutral taste).  I prefer the expeller-pressed, but I have tried it both ways and the coconut flavor does work in this recipe.

**(I didn't add these, E can't chew them very well; he choked on a swiped cashew yesterday when I wasn't looking, scary!)

(cross-posted at k-land)

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Okay, so I have wanted to make chocolate hazelnut spread for a long time.  I don't like that Nutella has sugar in it, nor milk powder and soy lecithin.  Plus, I like soaking my nuts before I eat them, that way the enzyme inhibitors are neutralized and they are much easier to digest.

Soaked, Dehydrated, and Roasted Hazelnuts

4 cups raw, organic hazelnuts

sea salt

filtered water

1.  Get out a large glass jar and fill halfway with filtered water.  Add 2 tablespoons sea salt and stir with a wooden spoon.  Add hazelnuts and cover with a cloth or coffee filter.  Let sit at room temperature overnight.

2.  The next day, pour out water and put hazelnuts onto a baking sheet or dehydrator sheet.  If using a dehydrator, dry at low heat, less than 150 degrees.  You can do this in the oven if you oven will set a temperature that low.  Or you can set it as low as possible and open the oven every now and then to let the temperature drop.  Dehydrate either way for 12 hours or more, until the nuts are nice and dry and crisp.  How do you know they're done?  Taste one!

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

2 cups (soaked, dehydrated, and roasted) hazelnuts, cooled

1/2 cup raw honey

1/3 cup organic cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoon Homemade vanilla

1 teaspoon coffee liqueur (I used Kahlua)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup coconut oil, gently melted (I used expeller-pressed so there is no coconut flavor)

1.  Place hazelnuts, honey, cocoa powder, vanilla, coffee liqueur, and sea salt to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times to combine.  Then turn on the processor and add melted coconut oil in a slow, steady stream.  Add more or less coconut oil depending on the consistency you want.  Serve.

Real Chocolate Chip Cookies

M has been begging me for chocolate chip cookies.  I had not found a good real food recipe yet, so I didn't have one on hand when he asked.  I spent some time perusing Teh Interwebz for a good recipe to modify, but nothing really spoke to me.  Then I remembered that my sister T has a good recipe in the Martha Stewart Cookies book that I had made before.  So I tracked that one down, modified it with real food and it turned out beautifully!

I haven't been making much food in the past several days, since developing a nasty cold given to me lovingly by my boys.  It was nice to mix up some cookie dough and make the house smell warm and homey while knowing that the next morning my little M would wake up to cookies for breakfast.  I didn't worry about the fact that they were eating cookies for breakfast, and here's why:

grass-fed butter is good for you

palm shortening is good for you

sprouted whole grain flour is good for you

sea salt is good for you

pastured eggs are good for you

rapadura is good for you (in small amounts, not at every meal)

cacao nibs are good for you

I made these cookies, and they were not only good for my kids, but tasted pretty good too.  The recipe yields a flatter, chewy cookie.  The rapadura and homemade vanilla give a nice earthy, carmel flavor.  The cacao nibs give a nice chocolatey crunch.  Enjoy it with glass of crisp, clean raw milk and afternoon snacktime is a big hit.

This recipe makes quite a bit of dough.  Feel free to freeze half the dough in logs wrapped in plastic wrap and then placed in a freezer bag.  That's what I did.

Real Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks (1 cup) grass-fed butter (I used Kerrygold)

1 cup palm shortening* (I used Tropical Traditions, it's made by non-exploited workers)

3 cups rapadura, or other whole sweetener* (I used Rapunzel I bought from Azure Standard)

4 large eggs (I used duck eggs.  Yes, duck eggs!)

2 teaspoons Homemade Vanilla Extract

3 1/2 cups sprouted whole grain flour (I used soft white wheat berries)

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (I used Celtic Sea Salt)

2 teaspoons baking soda (I used aluminum-free from Food Wise)

1 1/2 cups cacao nibs (I bought these in bulk at Whole Foods)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.  In a stand mixer, cream butter and palm shortening until creamy.  Add rapadura and cream together until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  

2.  Into a large bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda.  Whisk with a wire whisk to remove lumps and sift ingredients together.  Add to wet ingredients in stand mixer slowly.  Mix until combined.  Fold in cacao nibs.

3.  Drop by large spoonfuls (2-3 tablespoons) either with a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop.  Space at least 2 inches apart to give them room to spread.  Bake two cookie sheets at a time with racks placed in the upper and lower thirds of your oven.

4.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden.  Remove from cookie sheets and let cool on cooling racks.

Red, White and Blue (Coconut) Cupcakes

I have had some coconut flour ready to be used for a while now, so I made these cupcakes over the holiday weekend. The cupcakes were moist and full of berries. I am going grain-free for a little while, so the fact that they are grain- (and dairy-) free was nice so I could have some. I had to have them with a glass of (raw) milk, and they were delicious!

Red, White and Blue Cupcakes (from The Nourishing Gourmet)

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs, gently beaten with a fork
1/3 cup of honey
1/3 cup of coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup of fresh or frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. In a medium size bowl, place the coconut flour, sea salt, and baking powder. Whisk to remove any lumps.

2. Melt honey and coconut oil in a small saucepan, just until melted. (If you have over-heated it, let cool before combining it with the eggs.) Combine wet ingredients (eggs, honey, coconut oil, vanilla), and combine thoroughly into dry ingredients.

3. Fold in fresh or frozen berries. In papered or lightly greased muffin tins, put about 1/4 cup of batter in each muffin tin. Make sure to have some of the blueberries and some of the raspberries in each muffin indentation.

4. Bake for 375 degrees until the muffins are lightly browned on the top and a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the middle of the muffin (20-28 minutes).

Vanilla Oatmeal with Pan-Fried Cinnamon Apples

Finally, I have made a delicious soaked oatmeal. I have to give a major H/T to my friend G for it though. My problem with soaked oatmeal has been how much honey and maple syrup it took to make the oatmeal good. It never occurred to me that pan-fried apples would sweeten it up without massive amounts of sweetener. Now I can add this to the breakfast staples. The ratio is all you need to know to soak oatmeal: for each cup of oatmeal use one cup of water, one Tablespoon of acidic medium, and one or two dashes of salt. The next morning, cook in another one cup of water for each cup of oatmeal you started with.

Vanilla Oatmeal with Pan-Fried Cinnamon Apples

The night before, in a glass bowl:
3 cups of oatmeal
3 cups of filtered water
3 T. whey, lemon juice, whole yogurt, buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, or other acid (I use whey, but Kimi Harris over at The Nourishing Gourmet says lemon juice gives the best flavor)
1 teaspoon sea salt

Cover with a towel and let soak between 12-24 hours.

In the morning, in a cast iron skillet:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or coconut oil (I do a little of both!)
3-4 peeled apples, cut into bite-sized pieces
sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg

Saute over medium heat until apples are browned and softened, stirring occasionally, and the sauce reduces down to a glaze. In the meantime, start oatmeal:

In a saucepan:
3 cups of water
all the contents of your glass bowl from overnight soaking

Bring oatmeal to a gentle bubble and stir constantly. It should only take 3-5 minutes to cook your oatmeal because of the soaking process.

Towards the end of cooking, add:
2 tsp. vanilla
sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg (yes, in addition to the sprinkles on the apples)
up to 1/4 C. honey

Your apples and oatmeal should finish close to each other. Add the apples from the skillet to the saucepan. Stir all together and serve hot. If you like, add some yogurt on top of each bowl of oatmeal, perhaps with a sprinkling of nuts or dried fruit.

Cinnamon Vanilla Ice Cream

This is very similar to my other recipe for Vanilla-Maple Ice Cream, but in this one I used rapadura for sweetener and added cinnamon. Lovely spicy ice cream, the boys have enjoyed it today.

Cinnamon Vanilla Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups cream (I used raw)
1 1/2 cups milk (I used raw, whole)
3/4 cup rapadura
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1. Whisk together and set in fridge for 2 hours or so to let flavors mingle and sugar dissolve.
2. Whisk once more, turn on ice cream maker, and pour in. After ice cream sets up, put into a container and freeze overnight to get firm ice cream. Otherwise it will be like soft-serve.

Ann Arbor's Finest Molasses Crinkles

I made these tonight, and even though they are more likely enjoyed in the fall I am sure they will disappear quickly from the cookie jar.

Quick notes: grass-fed butter gives you vitamin k2, sprouted flour reduces phytic acid, rapadura is whole cane sugar with all the vitamins and minerals found in the plant.

Ann Arbor’s Finest Molasses Crinkles

from The M Den in Ann Arbor

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened (I used Kerrygold, it is grass-fed)
1 cup packed brown sugar (I used rapadura)
¼ cup molasses (I used unsulphured)
1 egg
2¼ cup sifted flour (I used sprouted flour)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cloves
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup granulated sugar, for dipping (I used rapadura)

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg; combine. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to the mixing bowl and blend well. Remove bowl and chill for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. (I skipped the chilling, and just scooped directly onto the cookie sheet with a small ice cream scoop.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove dough from fridge and roll into 1-inch balls. Put sugar into a shallow bowl and dips the tops of the balls in. (I just sprinkled the rapadura on top.) Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy! Go Blue!

Real Food Links

First I read Nourishing Traditions, which I talked about in my previous post, and then:

• I found the Bountiful Baskets co-op
  
• I found the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 (full list) to help with produce shopping
  
• I found information about raw milk that eased my mind
  
• I found raw milk in my area (and you can too here)
  
• I found The Nourishing Gourmet, and subsequently Cheeseslave
• I found Real Food Media which is a network of real food bloggers
  
• I found a budget breakdown of how to afford raw milk/dairy, pastured eggs/chicken, grass-fed beef
• I found an Arizona Local Food website with tons of links and information
  
• I found local ranchers and farmers for grass-fed beef
• I found a farmer's market (Phoenix Public Market) on Saturday in Phoenix for pastured eggs from Chile Acres, produce from Maya's Farm and grass-fed beef from Doublecheck Ranch (not the best price, but they carry suet and broth bones)
  
• I found a Sunday farmer's market in Ahwatukee for grass-fed beef (best price I have found)
• I found a list of good cod liver oils, various brands; also, a CLO explanation here
  
• I picked the Green Pastures brand, and found their website had the cheapest price for bulk buying
  
• And finally, the crowning glory: I found Azure Standard: they carry the cheapest organic grains, wholesome sweeteners, pastured eggs, raw cheese, natural parchment paper, canning supplies, pastured meat, cod liver oil, spices, and stainless steel baking supplies that I have found in all my local and internet searching. I cannot recommend them enough.

(cross-posted)

Nut Butter Cookies

I was inspired by these cookies and decided that I had to modify it and make my own. They looked so simple and delicious. Only five ingredients! Four if you just use one kind of nut/seed butter.

Nut Butter Cookies

2 cups nut butter (roasted and salted)
1 cup rapadura (or maple sugar or palm sugar)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
6 T. cacao nibs (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until dough comes together.
2. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop into balls, then roll into balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie with the back of a fork.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or so.

Vanilla-Maple Ice Cream

I have a really basic ice cream recipe that I use: 1 cup milk, 1 cup cream, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla. I like it because you can just change the vanilla for whatever flavor you like and it works. If I am being fancy I love to do mint leaves, crush them into the sweetener to infuse, add the milk and cream and let sit in the fridge for a few hours. Then strain and freeze in an ice cream maker. Plus, this recipe is easy to remember and makes the ratio clear for basic ice cream.

But now that I am taking refined sugar out of the family diet and using organic raw dairy, I need to tweak it a little. As far as natural sweeteners go, I think sorghum, molasses and maple syrup will work well since they are already liquid and will blend easily. I may try rapadura and letting it dissolve into the cream and milk before freezing. I cannot think of which sweetener to try with my mint ice cream though. I will experiment and let you know what works best. A list of nourishing sweeteners is here.

I ordered some raw cream along with my raw milk this week, both are full of vitamin k2. And I have a lovely grade B maple syrup I buy from Amazon in my fridge for pancakes. The combination of maple and vanilla seemed like a good place to start for my first nourishing ice cream venture. Let me tell you, this vanilla-maple ice cream is soooo good!

Oh, and I found that both of my ice cream makers (yes, I got two for Christmas one year: this one and this one) can hold a larger size than this recipe, so a recipe and a half is the perfect size. Enjoy!

Vanilla-Maple Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups raw cream
1 1/2 cups raw whole milk
3/4 cup organic maple syrup (grade A will be lighter, grade B more robust/vitamin-rich)
1-2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Mix ingredients together well and pour into an ice cream maker to freeze. It should take about 20 minutes if your bowl is properly frozen. It will look like soft serve ice cream. Immediately transfer to a container and place in freezer to ripen for the next day or so. Serve with a piece of vitamin k2-rich shortbread cookie!

Healthy Shortbread (not kidding!)

I found two shortbread recipes over the holidays that I wanted to try, but since they used alternative sweeteners and sprouted wheat flour I chickened out when baking for family and friends. Now that I am making it for me and the boyz (R, M, and E) at home, I feel more confident to try it out. Plus, that jumbleberry pie from a few days ago turned out wonderfully.

First I tried The Nourishing Gourmet's Scottish Shortbread Cookies recipe. Then I tried Cheeseslave's Sprouted Flour Shortbread Cookies with Grass-fed Butter recipe. Below are my versions of each.

Scottish Shortbread Cookies

1 cup plus two tablespoons of sprouted wheat flour
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/4 cup of maple sugar
1/2 cup of cold butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Set out an 8 by 8 pan.

In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, arrowroot powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk a little to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and then “cut” into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter. Do this until the dough resembles small crumbs.

Using your hands gently start forming this mixture into a ball. At first it will be really crumbly, but keep gathering it together and gently kneading it together. It should form a ball within a minute or two. If it absolutely will not stick together, you can sprinkle a little water over it.

Press evenly into the ungreased pan.

Then cut the shortbread into desired amount of squares.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the dough is set and the sides browning just very slightly. Remove from the oven. Recut lines in warm pan. Let cool completely in the pan, then remove.

Classic Round Shortbread

1 3/4 cups sprouted wheat flour
1/4 cup rice flour
2/3 cup palm sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
8 ounces unsalted grass-fed butter, unsalted, cold

1. Set oven rack to middle. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Add flour and arrowroot powder, all but 1 tablespoon sugar (reserve for sprinkling), and salt to mixing bowl. Mix at low speed until combined.
3. Cut very cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes.
4. Add butter cubes to flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough looks like wet crumbs. All the butter should be mixed in thoroughly.
5. Press crumbly dough into glass pie pan. Use your fingers, and then the bottom of a glass to press down on the surface and make it smooth and level.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and place shortbread in oven.
7. Bake 20 minutes.
8. Remove pan from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes.
9. Set a 2-inch biscuit cutter in the center of the shortbread. Press down hard. Pull up, leaving the center circular piece intact.
10. Using a sharp knife, cut the outer ring into 16 equally sized wedges.
11. Using a skewer or other pointy-tipped implement, poke holes in the top in a decorative pattern.
12. Return shortbread to oven and continue to bake until golden, about 40 minutes longer. You may want to put an extra cookie sheet underneath to catch the butter dripping.
13. Remove from oven and sprinkle shortbread evenly with reserved 1 tablespoon sugar. Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
14. Cut at scored marks into wedges. Let cool for at least an hour.

Store shortbread cookies in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

Homemade Jumbleberry Pie

I finally bit the bullet and committed to make a completely nourishing pie. In honor of R's birthday yesterday, complete with rapadura for sugar and sprouted wheat flour for white flour, the pie was a hit among the entire family, even those not avoiding sugar or white flour. I also used grass-fed butter and organic frozen berries from Trader Joe's.

I say this is a nourishing pie because if you buy grass-fed butter it is full of vitamin K2. You can google vitamin K2 and get a lot of information about it, but I like these two links here (basic K2 info) and here (list of vitamin K2-rich foods).

The rapadura is full of nutrients because it is the only form of sugar processed without ever being separated from the molasses. It is considered a whole food.

Sprouted flour is neutralized of it's phytic acid, so you can absorb all the good trace elements in the grain like calcium, magnesium, etc. You can buy sprouted flour, make your own, or ask me to show you and we will have a sprouting party. You do need a dehydrator and a grain mill if you want to make your own. (Basically you soak wheat berries overnight in mason jars with sprouting lids or screens, then drain and rinse a few times a day until the sprouts are showing in the wheat berries. Then you dehydrate at a low setting (95 degrees or so) for 8-12 hours. Then grind in a wheat grinder.)

Berries, being full of antioxidants and also pesticide-free and GMO-free if bought organic, are just plain delicious.

Double Pie Crust
adapted from Cheeseslave's recipe

3 cups sprouted wheat flour
3 and 1/4 sticks (26 Tablespoons) of grass-fed butter, cut into small pieces, very cold, preferably straight from the fridge
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons rapadura (or Sucanat, maple sugar, palm sugar)
3/4 cup ice water

1. Make pie dough: Mix flour, salt and sugar with a whisk in a bowl to sift.
2. Take butter out of the fridge and sprinkle small pieces over flour mixture. Using a combination of a pastry cutter and your hands (or just your hands), cut in the butter until the crumbs are between the size of peas and olives. Add ice water a little at a time, blending with your hands, until the dough comes together.
3. Lay out two pieces of plastic wrap and put half of your pie dough on each. Using your hands under the plastic wrap, form each pile into a ball, then flatten and wrap up in the plastic wrap. Put in the fridge for 30 minutes. You can also make this ahead of time and store in the freezer for a few days, moving it into the fridge for a few hours when you are ready to use it.
4. Make pie filling:

Jumbleberry Pie Filling

Mix together:
5 cups of berries--I eyeballed equal amounts of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries
3/4 cup rapadura (or Sucanat, maple sugar, palm sugar)
1/3 cup sprouted wheat flour
2 tsp. lemon zest (optional) (I forgot this)

Continue with pie assembly:
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. When ready to roll out, pull ONE flattened ball out of fridge and roll on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Have your pie dish ready so you can properly estimate how large to roll your dough. When dough round is the right size, use your rolling pin to move it by rolling your dough around the rolling pin like a scroll and gently transferring it to unroll over the dish. Ease it into the dish and press down flush.
6. Pour filling into pie. Set aside.
7. Take out remaining ball of pie dough from fridge. Roll out on a floured surface, not as big as the last round since it only needs to be on top of the pie. Transfer over to filled pie. Press edges together with fingers. Cut excess off of edges of pie with a sharp knife. Press edges again with a fork, dipped in a little flour if sticking to pie dough edge. Poke decorative holes into top of pie with sharp knife. Brush entire top of pie with whole milk. Sprinkle with coarse sugar (I used a little turbinado sugar I am trying to get rid of; you could use rapadura, but it would look darker). Cover edges with foil to prevent over-browning.
8. Bake for 25-50 minutes, longer for frozen berries. Then remove foil and let bake completely uncovered for another 20-30 minutes or so until the pie looks perfectly brown. Cool on a wire rack.
(Serve with real whipped cream sweetened with rapadura, or homemade vanilla ice cream made with raw milk and raw cream. Yum!!!)

Eli's Birthday Cake

Nourishing Cake (adapted from this recipe)

1 cup butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled I used half butter, half coconut oil
3/4 cup buttermilk I didn't have any so I did half whole milk and half whole milk yogurt, then added a splash of raw apple cider vinegar
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups whole rolled oats
¾ cup honey I did half honey, half rapadura*
2 eggs
1 t. sea salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1 cup raisins, chocolate chips or other dried fruit I doubled the recipe and made three small cakes: 1. Eli's Cake: candy-coated chocolate pieces and finely chopped almonds, 2. cinnamon raisin, and 3. chopped dates and chopped almonds)

*(but 1 c. rapadura equals 3/4 c. honey, so I did 1/2 c. rapadura and then eyeballed the honey somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 c.)

Stir together butter/coconut oil, buttermilk, flour and oats in a glass bowl. Cover with a cloth and allow the grains to soak on your counter overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Stir in honey, eggs, salt, baking soda and vanilla. Fold in raisins, chocolate chips or dried fruit. Pour into a buttered 9×9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.