Fresh Organic Peach BBQ Sauce

I love barbeque sauce. LOVE.  So when I came across a recipe in my inbox for peach BBQ sauce I was all over it.  Our tiny peach tree produced it's largest crop of peaches this year.  And although we valiantly fought off the squirrels for our harvest, we ended up splitting the crop with the squirrels about 50/50.  Even still, it was quite a haul for us.  Our peaches were on the tiny side, but were sweet, juicy and delicious!

The following recipe is quite large as I wanted to can quite a few jars & stock up. This recipe yields 6 pints. You could certainly decrease the measurements for a smaller batch, or even make a very small batch and keep it in the fridge.

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs fresh organic peaches
• 2 organic white onions
• 3-4 cloves garlic (I like a lot of garlic, but prepare your sauce to your own taste)
• 1 1/2 cups organic brown sugar
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (This gives a nice little kick of an aftertaste- again, to your own taste)
• 4 tsp paprika
• 3 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 balsamic vinegar
• 5 tsp molasses

Instructions:

1. First blanch the peaches and remove the pits.  To blanch the peaches put them in boiling water for 60-90 seconds, remove with a slotted spoon and immediately submerge in ice water.  Drain and remove the skin with your fingers or a paring knife.  Discard the peach pits (at this point when I glanced down at my pile of peach pits I had the uncontrollable urge to indulge in a 90210 marathon... Get it...? The Peach Pit? oh, I crack myself up....).
2. Next, puree the peach flesh, onions and garlic in a food processor or blender.  Combine all ingredients in a pot and simmer, loosely covered, on medium heat for about 20 minutes.
3. Then, prepare/sanitize jars and lids.  You could do either pints or half pint jars as you prefer.  I chose to do a combination of both.  Ladle the sauce into the jars and process in a hot water bath for 25 minutes.

Recipe adapted from: simplebites.net

Cahsew Ricotta

Homemade Vegan Cashew Ricotta

Cashew Ricotta, where have you been all my life?!  How did I not know of this awesome-ness?  This cashew ricotta is so good, I like it better than any traditional ricotta I have ever tried in the past and my carnivore husband loves it, too!  Healthful and very easy to make, this is it for me.

I read through some other recipes before creating my own and several of them suggested the need to soak cashews overnight before making the ricotta.  Two things- 1) I am not that patient 2) especially when I am hungry.  I did not soak my cashews overnight, but I did soak them while I gathered the other ingredients and set up the food processor (maybe 15 minutes?).  Also, I used the water from the soaking bowl with the nuts in the food processor.


Of nutritional note:

Cashews are an excellent source of fiber, protein and "good fats". The fats found in cashews are essential fatty acids (aka Omega-6, or linolenic acid and Omega-3, or Oleic acid), which means that although we need them, a body cannot make them itself. We need to include these types of fatty acids in our diets for many reasons, one of which is maintaining heart health. Oleic acid helps to lower cholesterol in the blood, lowers LDL (bad cholesterol) and raises HDL (good cholesterol) levels.  Linoleic acid helps to lower blood pressure and strengthen blood vessels.

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw cashews, plus soaking water
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon flax meal
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• scant 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning blend

Directions:

1. Place cashews in a large bowl and cover with water.  Soak at least 15 minutes.
2. Whirl cashews and garlic in food processor adding a little of the soaking water at a time until the desired ricotta-type consistency is reached.
3.  Add all other ingredients and blend.

Of course, then you can spread it on lasagna noodles and enjoy!

Andouille-style Sausage

Homemade Vegan Andouille Style Sausage

This recipe was shared with me by my dear friend, Jolie- and I can't thank her enough! It is such a crowd pleaser and even hardcore carnivores love it. I was intimidated to attempt homemade vegan sausage on my own at first, but as soon as I made it I felt foolish for my hesitation.  That was it?  The recipe really is very simple, ingredients get a whirl in the food processor, shaped and steamed- easy! 

Also, I like to think of this sausage recipe as a sort of base, the flavor can be changed easily by switching up the spices.  Think of making an Italian style sausage, or chorizo type, or Irish type with potato and sage.  Once the sausage has been steamed, it can be served in the link form, sliced up and browned in a pan on the stove or even tossed on the grill (handy to bring to a BBQ!).

Of nutritional note:

This version of Andouille-style Sausage (chickpeas/yeast/gluten) provides approximately 20 g protein and 80 calories ... Compared to a link of sweet Italian Sausage that provides only roughly 13 g protein, and 126 calories.  This Andouille-style sausage brings home all the rockin' flavor and is nutrient dense- meaning that the nutrients & nutrition values are high and the calorie count is low.  This is what food should be.

About the ingredients:

What is vital wheat gluten?

• -Wheat gluten is the MAIN PROTEIN of wheat
• -Made by washing wheat flour dough with water until all the starch dissolves, leaving insoluble gluten as an elastic mass which is then cooked before being eaten. This elasticity works to bind this sausage and give it the unique texture.
• -Soy and meat alternative
• -First developed in China and is popular in Asian, Buddhist & vegetarian dishes (aka Mock duck)
• -1 OUNCE contains 21 g protein!

What is nutritional yeast?

•  -It is a deactivated yeast, much like brewer’s yeast
• -High in protein, fiber
• -low in fat, sodium
• -Just 2 tbsp contains about 9 g protein and 4 g fiber
• -Also a COMPLETE PROTEIN, which mean that it has all 9 essential proteins that the body can’t produce

Also, regarding the chickpea flour: you can make your own by putting 1/4 dry chickpeas in a spice or coffee grinder, or I have seen that Bob's Red Mill brand is on the shelf at most grocery stores.  Of course, store-bought can be anywhere from $4-$6 and homemade will only run you a little pocket change.

Homemade Vegan Andouille Style Sausage

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• a generous sprinkling of fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp chipotle powder, OR a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 4 gloves of garlic
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• optional: 1/2 cup olive tapenade (I think this adds a wonderful texture and flavor)

Directions:

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to mix.
2. Place peppers/powder, garlic, and 1/4 cup broth in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.
3. Add the contents to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with a fork.
4. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a roll about 5 inches long- they wont be perfect- and wrap in a piece of foil like a tootsie roll and twist the ends.
5. Place in steamer basket, cover and steamer for 40 minutes.

Uncle Sam Wants YOU- To Grow Your Own Food

 

... Well, at least he did, once upon a time! I recently read somewhere on the internet that the first grocery stores didn't really appear in America until 1946.  While I am not certain that this date is exactly accurate (groceteria.com cites dry-goods stores around 1859, Piggly Wiggly opening in 1916, chain grocery stores emerging in the 1920's, and supermarkets in the 1930's and 1940's), it really got me thinking and the sentiment is still true- there were not always grocery stores, super-centers, or convenience stores on any given city block.  So where did the food on the dinner table come from?  In large part, right out side the kitchen door.

Indeed, there once was a time when the American government all but begged good citizens to grow their own food, eat a largely plant-based diet, and practice as much self-sufficiency as possible! Don't have any yard space? Not to worry, the government and companies would even offer an allotment of land to be worked for growing food. Further, those who didn't subscribe to these practices were seen as downright unpatriotic and not-so-subtly frowned upon socially.  Sounds a little different from the now familiar consumer driven culture we live in now, hmm? We would all do well with little history lesson and a heaping helping of appreciation for the Victory Garden. 

Here is a great round-up of some powerful Victory Garden posters:

Wait, what? Sugar? From nature? You mean to tell me that sugar can come from nature
and doesn't need to be a processed, refined food product
that scarcely resembles any kind of real food??
Looks like someone should let that unpatriotic,
sad ol' Mrs. Waster in on that secret too...

 Read it again: "You can use the land you have 

to grow the foods you need".

 Most of our homes are surrounded by 

enormous lawn space.  Lawn- just grass 

that begs to be manicured and maintained. 

Think of how much food could be grown in that land!

Of course, Victory Gardens are sexy. Duh.

For their sake, feed children vegetables 

and fruit- real food.  Teach children that food 

comes from the earth, not a grocery store or a drive-thru.

"Grow your own- be sure" takes on a whole new meaning today.  When you grow your own YOU have the control of what you are eating.  YOU decide if you eat GMO's or not, organic or not- no food labels required!

Homemade Lara Bars

As we are updating our kitchen, one of everyone's favorite additions is the pantry.  We've never had a real pantry before!  The kids (at ages 2 and 4) feel so independent when they can open the door and help themselves to a snack.  Knowing this, I have stocked the shelves at toddler level with snacks that I don't mind them helping themselves to- even when I am not looking.  Their shelves hold things like sunflower seeds and nuts, raisins, banana chips, fruit leather, and "baby food" packets of fruit/vegetable smoothie types.  I love that even when given a choice, my kids will usually prefer snacks a Lara bar, Cliff bar or Z bar over a candy bar!

I am a firm believer in making as much of the food we eat from scratch as I possibly can, and every day I get a little closer to eliminating our dependence on processed foods.  To clarify my view of processed food, I heard once in a documentary "processed foods are any food that goes through a building before it gets to you".  This statement really hit home for me, and a light bulb went off over my head! Such a simple truth that had never occurred to me.  So here we go, one more step in reducing the amount of buildings between my family and our food...

Instructions:
This style of snack bars really couldn't be easier to make!  I wish I had known this years ago- I will never pay $$ for the store-bought ones again!

• Combine ingredients in food processor beginning with nuts/seeds, then fruit, then lemon juice (driest or hardest to softest).
• Press firmly in a glass baking dish (metal would probably work just as well, but I don't have one so I can't attest to how easily the bars would remove).
• Chill and cut out. I only chilled them because I was afraid that they wouldn't hold the "bar" shape.  I am not entirely sure this step is necessary, but we were happy with the results!
• That's it!

      

      Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup banana chips
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

      

      Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1 1/2 cup dates
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

    

      Ingredients:

•  1/2 cup pistachios
• 1 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 1/2 cup dates
• 1/2 dried cranberries
• 1/2 dried goji berries
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Our Family's Favorite Juice Recipes

I could go on for days about the seemingly magical healing and health benefits of juicing! But, today, I will spare you and just share these tried and true recipes- for now ;)  

This is a collection of our family's favorites.  

Most of the following recipes are from The Complete Book of Juicing, by Michael T. Murray- which I will highly recommend to everyone.  Not only does this book offer a wonderful variety of recipes, but it also includes personal stories and my favorite- good, hard science and nutrition!! Click here for the link to buy this book from Amazon. You might also find it at your local library, as that is where we found it at first.  We borrowed it so many times that we knew we needed our own copy!

Some of the other recipes I have included in our list are ones we have concocted, and some are from other internet sources that we hand wrote out so long ago I have no idea whom to credit at this point.

Immunity Juice:

·         2-3 carrots

·         1 Granny Smith apple

·         1 handful of parsley

·         2 cloves garlic

This is the stuff!! It has an excellent track record among our family and friends for knocking just about anything out of your system! When someone is feeling under the weather, we often double or triple the recipe (enough to make a full pitcher) and have them drink it all day long (along with lots of water and warm tea with honey).  The next will be a whole new world :)

When I first read this recipe, I was very skeptical of the garlic.  Once I tried it though, I must confess I was pleasantly surprised! It sort of just lingers as a mild aftertaste, and is actually quite tasty.

Mean Green:

·         6 kale leaves

·         1 cucumber

·         2 Granny Smith apples

·         ½ lemon (peel the yellow rind, but leave as much of the white as you can)

·         4 celery ribs

·         1 thumb size piece of ginger root

The Mean Green is the basic powerhouse of greens, and tastes really good! Really!

Beet Rejuvinator:

·         3-4 carrots

·         1 cucumber

·         1 lemon (peeled of the yellow rind, but leave as much of the white as you can)

·         1 thumb size piece of ginger root

·         ½ beet (with greens)

I dislike beets. Truly, madly, deeply.  I have tried and tried, but I just can’t do it.  But, I think this juice is good!  I have tried to vary the recipe here and there, and skipped some ingredients that I may not have had on hand, and I do not advise it if you don’t like beets.  Stick to it this way- I think it’s the cucumber and lemon that calm the beet flavor to a place I like it and get all of the beet benefits (calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, liver health) in my body!

Basic Breakfast:

·         3 carrots

·         2 apples

·         1 thumb size piece of ginger root

Sunset:

·         1 sweet potato

·         1 carrot

·         1 red bell pepper

·         2 beets (with greens)

·         2 golden delicious apples

·         1 orange (peeled)

While I was doing a juice cleanse, this juice came into play as a bit of a mood booster.  It resembles some sort of a tropical cocktail.  Pour it into the right type of glass and you might find yourself on a mental vacation! I looked forward to it as an afternoon treat.

Femme Fatale:

·         1 fennel bulb (with greens)

·         2 apples

·         2 celery ribs

·         Optional: I add ½ beet with greens for the extra iron

The healing properties of this juice are nothing short of magical. I can personally attest to this.  For years I have had menstrual problems (that have sent me to the emergency room and countless OBGYN appointments), and my OBGYN and other doctors have basically said there isn’t anything they can do for me short of a procedure to burn the lining of my uterus. Yes, you read that right.  Sometimes western medicine and the type trial and error surgical approach to wellness deeply terrifies me.

When the going gets rough for me, a good helping of this juice is nearly miraculous.  On one occasion, this juice all but stopped my heavy bleeding in its tracks.  What I have learned from this is that something in my glandular system is off balance (even though doctor’s tests show nothing abnormal), and when I get a needed dose of phytoestrogens things begin to balance back out.  I would much rather address things through food/juice/nutrition that be sliced open and have the lining of my uterus burned out! Who wouldn’t?

From The Complete Book of Juicing:

“This drink supports the female glandular system.  Both fennel and celery contain what is known as phytoestrogens.  These plant compounds compounds can occupy binding sites for female hormones and exert hormone like effects.  This drink is helpful in a wide range of conditions specific to women, including menopause and PMS, because of the phytoestrogens as well as the important nutrients contained in the juice (such as the potassium, magnesium, folic acid and vitamin B6).”

 

Potassium Power:

Savory-

·         1 handful  of parsley

·         4 carrots

·         1 handful spinach

·         2 celery ribs

·         1 tomato

Sweet- *make this one in the blender*

·         1 peach

·         2 oranges (peeled)

·         ½ papaya

·         1 banana

Tummy Tonic:

·         ½ thumb size piece of ginger root

·         1 small handful of mint leaves

·         ½ fennel bulb (with greens)

·         2 Granny Smith apples

This juice soothes upset or sour stomach.  It has helped friends suffering from IBS, helped me when I had gallstones, alleviated mild nausea (would probably be good for morning sickness during pregnancy, though go easy on the fennel with its phytoestrogens), and has even soothed heart burn.

Bruschetta:

·         2 Tomatoes

·         2 cloves garlic

·         2 big handfuls of basil

Kitchen Sink:

·         1 celery rib

·         3 carrots

·         3 radishes

·         1 apple

·         1 cucumber

·         1 tomato

·         ½ c broccoli (with stems- most of the nutrients in broccoli are found in the stems!)

·         ½ green bell pepper

Tangy Cabbage:

·         2 pears

·         2 apples

·         2 wedges cabbage

·         2 carrots

·         1 lemon

·         1 lime

Sayonara Soda! Homemade Ginger Ale:

·         1 thumb size piece of ginger

·         1 lemon

·         1 Granny Smith apple

·         1 cup sparkling water

Ginger Ale will help to soothe an upset stomach, plus it tastes good!  Imagine the possibilities of homemade “soda”.  You could make any flavor of juice and add sparkling water- and it will be GOOD for you!