One morning, when I was very ill and not interested in food much at all, I woke up with this combination of ingredients in mind that I felt like I could actually willingly eat.  The kids went out and harvested what bits of kale they could that were sticking out above the snow.  And Steve mixed up the salad, just the way I asked.

healing salad

Start with fresh kale, torn into quite small pieces, in a bowl.  Add a bit of olive oil, a splash of balsamic or apple cider vinegar and an optional sprinkle of fine sea salt.  Massage them all together.  Toss with grated carrot, apple chunks and raisins.  When I made it again last week (as pictured above) I added some ripe pear as well.  So simple.  So good.

The fruits of summer, warmed, sweetened and spiced to create a winter time treat.  Much of the fruit that I froze during the warmer seasons has been prepared with way.

I take my frozen fruit and put it in a pot.  The one above was a mix of peaches, blueberries and strawberries.  I find that berries and stone fruits work particularly well.  Add a good, heavy drizzle of honey over top and slowly heat to melt.  Sprinkle with ginger and cinnamon.  Stir occasionally.  As everything starts to melt and juice collects in the bottom, but before the sauce gets hot, stir in a couple spoonfuls of arrowroot powder (or tapioca or kudzu or whatever makes you happy).  Make sure it is all dissolved.  You don’t want any gooey clumps!  As it heats, stir more frequently, until the sauce thickens.  Serve warm or cold.

Lunch one day last week.  With beans in lieu of eggs for those with allergies.

I like for the majority of the salads that I make to stand on their own, without dressing.  Also for them to be protein rich, a little fatty and filling.  And no I don’t worry about all of that fat in the least, to be perfectly honest.  Out of curiosity a couple of months ago I joined an online program where you could record your food intake in great detail and get the nutritional breakdown.  It gave you a set calorie goal.  You could set it for weight loss, gain or maintenance.  And even with it set so that I should supposedly be loosing 2 lbs a week, I could never even come close to the goal.  Without changing my eating habits at all and while being scrupulously accurate about what I was consuming, most days were around half the calories I was supposed to be consuming.  It’s eating low in sugars and carbs that makes the difference.  I don’t believe fat to be the demon that others think it is.  So, if I feel like, say, cooking my veggies in bacon grease to give them a rich flavor, I don’t think twice about it.  And I’m perfectly comfortable with that.

But back to the salad…I was actually really craving fat that day.  Something about the dark and damp and cold of winter, it seemed like just what I needed.  And eggs.  We don’t have them often, but from time to time, I really like some.  I remembered when I was little, my mother would sometimes make a different sort of egg-salad, mashing the hard boiled eggs with butter instead of the typical mayo concoction.  hmmm….

First I filled bowls with baby spinach.  I’m loving baby spinach right now.  Next I chopped up a whole bunch of leeks and sauteed them (yes, in a bit of bacon grease, it’s true!).  And generously layered that atop the spinach (all the kids deemed this their favorite part).  Then we topped the whole thing with hard-boiled eggs, mashed with salt, pepper and a bit of ghee.  While we don’t do well with dairy, everyone in the house seems to tolerate my home-made clarified butter fairly well.

The meal ended with everyone begging me to make it again soon.  The flavor combination was just right.  So nice when you can call a salad a treat!

I used to cook this in a covered crock in the oven, but more often then not now, I use the crockpot.  You can of course use either method!

Peel and cube whatever kind of squash you have around.  Slice the apples of your choice.  You can peel them as well, but I never bother.  You want about equal amounts squash and apple.  Layer them in your crockpot or baking dish.  As you can see from the picture above, I go right up to the top and then some.

Next add a couple of pats of butter, ghee or coconut oil, a spoonful of blackstrap molasses (about a tablespoon full for a whole crockpot), and a good glug or two of maple syrup (maybe a quarter cup?).  Top with a teaspoon or so of nutmeg and a pinch or two of allspice or clove.  Add half a cup or so of water, cover and cook.

I tend to cook it on low, overnight.  It wonderful at this time of year to wake up to the house smelling delicious and have something warm and spicy to serve along with breakfast.  Other days I might get it in early in the day, to go with dinner that night, especially if it’s going to be a busy afternoon.

The kids tend to eat it as it is, but I like to mash everything up on my plate with a fork so that all of the flavors get mixed together.  I think there is too much goodness that gets lost in the juices other wise.  But this may just be my own personal quirk.

This one sort of strays from the simple philosophy just a bit.  It’s still pretty basic and easy to make, but it’s a little more processed then most of the recipes I’ll be sharing here.  It’s a great family favorite.  I regularly get requests from extended family and friends to make it as well.  And I had a request to share it here, so here goes.

I’m going to start by saying that I never measure the ingredients for this.  Last time I made it, I tried to get general measurements to share with you here.  Also, I cook large.  Really large.  For one thing we have a decent sized family.  And you know that old adage about the way growing boys eat?  So not a joke.  Or an exaggeration.  In fact, in my experience, everyone has been down-playing it all this time.  And since this is a favored dish, they go at it with an extra will.  Secondly, I like leftovers.  They make for a quick, easy, and nourishing lunch during the busy home-schooling day.  The more days a week that I can just pop something in the oven or re-heat it on the stove, the better.

Generally this amount serves as dinner for the 6 of us one night and either breakfast or lunch for the children and I later in the week.

Chicken Dippers

I start with 3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast and chop it into strips.

I dip each piece individually into a bowl of water, then dredge it in my flour mix.

For the flour mix, I use potato flour.  You can use any flour here and it will turn out delicious, but I’ve found potato flour to be particularly good.  The flavor combination is excellent and it makes a really nice, crisp coating.  To coat this much chicken, I use around 2 1/2 cups of flour, mixed with a tablespoon or so of sea salt and maybe 2 teaspoons of either chili powder or cayenne pepper (you’ll have to experiment with this depending on how spicy you like things.  This is just about right for my family and gives a nice color to the finished chicken as well).

I cook this in two cast iron skillets at once, to save time.  Start by heating the oil of your choice in the skillet.  It should be enough to completely cover the bottom of the pan.    Using tongs, arrange the flour coated chicken in a single layer in your preheated pan.  I keep the burner at about a medium heat for the entire cooking process.  Cook until nice and browned on one side and then flip and cook the same on the other side.  Remove the cooked pieces to a platter (you can drain them on something if you like) and repeat the process with the remaining chicken.

My kids call these chicken dippers because they like to dip them in mustard to eat.  They like them cold as leftovers too, so they make a good picnic food.  Enjoy!

Thinly slice your yams and coat them with oil and spices.  You can also peel them before slicing, but I never bother.  This time I used chili powder and ginger and that was a particularly pleasant flavor combination.  Don’t forget the salt.  Arrange them in a single layer on a cookie sheet (or cookie sheets, if you are making many).  Bake at 450 until they are browned on one side, maybe 15 minutes?  Flip them and cook until brown all over.  Enjoy!

simple cookery- the art of preparing nourishing meals with the most basic ingredients.  A series of not-so-much recipes, as ideas, techniques, flavor combinations. 

This dish was somewhat revolutionary for me.  I’m somewhat known for throwing together random things in the kitchen and coming up with a meal.  Still when a dear friend prepared this on a visit to our place one day, it was like a epiphany for me.  So simple!  So easy!  So delicious!  Why hadn’t I thought of that?!?  I started wondering where else I was over-thinking and over-working our meals.  I’ll admit this inspired several weeks of take all the vegetables you have, add in the protein you have, maybe a little seasoning and cook it up, meals for me.

My friend says that this is the best way to stretch out a pound of fish, and I have to agree.  You start with your veggies.  Potatoes, onions, carrots and celery would be traditional choices.  I usually forgo the potatoes in favor of something a little more nutrient dense.  Many times I’ve made it with cauliflower or yams.  I’m sure there is any number of vegetable combinations that would work here.  Chop everything up and put it in your pan with a spoonful of fat.  As always, I think cast iron is the best choice.  I have an enameled dutch oven that I use for this type of dish.  For fat, use whatever you have on hand that sounds good to you, butter, the oil of your choice.  Personally, I use the traditional bacon grease.

So, heat up your fat and vegetables and cook, stirring often, over say a medium heat for a few minutes and let things start to soften up.  I usually add in a sprinkle of salt.  I’m sure it’s just in my head, but I swear that salt makes onions cook faster.  Add some broth (or water in a pinch), about enough to cover the veggies.  Cover and simmer until everything is just about done.  You can add in a bay leaf if you like.  I like to tear up some dulse and toss it on top.  It adds lots of nutrients and trace minerals, a punch of color and a deeper, richer flavor.  I also tend to add in a bit of tarragon at some point in the cooking process, just because I like tarragon with fish.

We usually use tilapia.  It’s very mild, readily available and not terribly expensive.  Chop up your fish while the vegetables cook.  Add it in when they are close to done.  The pot will be so hot at this point that it shouldn’t take long to heat all the way through.  Stir it in and let cook for a couple of minutes.  Once everything seems done, add in enough milk (of whatever sort pleases you) to bring it to the desired consistency.  A really creamy canned coconut milk is particularly lovely.  Warm everything up, season with salt and fresh cracked pepper and serve.  And it’s that simple!