Grated Beet and Fennel Salad

2 to 3 beets

1 fennel root

2 or 3 carrots

dill weed (optional)

handful of sunflower seeds or pinion nuts (soaked for 2 to 3 hours and dehydrated)

apple cider vinegar

olive oil

sea salt

Grate beets and fennel.  In a separate bowl, grate the carrots.  Add the sunflower seeds or pinion nuts.  Splash apple cider vinegar and olive oil over the beets and fennel.  Add sea salt.  Just before serving add grated carrots to retain the orange color.  Many variations can be made from this salad.

Recipe: Naked Chef

Coconut Fudge

Variation to Sally Fallon's Nut Butter

Mix in processor.

4 or 5 dates

1 cup crispy nuts (I like walnuts and pecans)

2 Tbls raw honey

1 tsp Finest Quality's Madasgacar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste

3/4 cup Virgin Coconut Oil

pinch grey sea salt

Spread in shallow glass dish and chill.  The quantities are approximate but pretty close.  The recipe in NT calls for 2 cups of crispy nuts. 

Recipe: Joan Lulich

Sauteed Celery Root

Celery root

Spelt flour

Organic coconut milk

Sea Salt

VCO (virgin coconut oil) for sauteing

Peel celery root and cut into discs, approximately 1/2 thick.  Bread with coconut milk and spelt flour.  Sprinkle with Celtic sea salt.    Saute in VCO at low heat, turning many times.  It takes about 20 minutes.   For variations, add your favorite herb.  This is delicious.

Recipe: Joan Lulich

Cultured Cream Cheese

This is what I do when my batch of yogurt is nearly gone and I want to make a new batch.

1 or 2 cups of homemade yogurt
cheesecloth
large strainer
mixing bowl

Put the strainer over the edges of the mixing bowl so there is room under the strainer. Line the strainer with cheesecloth, folded two times (four layers of cheesecloth). Put the yogurt into the cheesecloth-lined strainer.

Find a pot lid that will cover the yogurt and fit inside, over, or around the strainer. Put the whole contraption into the refrigerator overnight. The whey will drain out of the yogurt into the mixing bowl.

You can save the whey for use in cooking or lacto-fermenting if you like, or just discard it. When the whey has stopped draining, what's left in the strainer is cream cheese! It should be firm enough that you can coax it out of the cheesecloth with a spatula, and it will hold its shape. Add a little sea salt if you like, or leave it sweet. Store it in a covered container. It will be good for up to a week.

Anna’s Bulgarian Yogurt

From the Weston A. Price website http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/yogurt.html:

I have had the great fortune of living close enough to a Bulgarian friend, Anna Pavlova, to get a container of yogurt every so often from her as a starter. If you don’t have a Bulgarian friend, a company in California sells a Bulgarian-style Yogurt Starter®. (See http://www.natren.com/ and look in their specialty items.) This wonderful product is a combination of 50 percent Streptococcus thermophilus and 50 percent Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Each bottle is decorated with the picture of a Bulgarian woman. 8 cups milk (I prefer whole raw milk)1/4 cup yogurt from a previous batch or 4 teaspoons of Natren yogurt starter as directed on the bottle2 glass quart jars with lids, sterilized

Over low heat, slowly bring the milk to at least 180°F, or until a ring of bubbles forms around the edge of the pan, but don’t boil.
Let cool until you can keep your finger in the milk while you count to 10.
Divide yogurt starter or reserved yogurt between two wide-mouth quart-size sterilized glass jars. Pour in about 1/4 cup milk and stir to incorporate the starter.
Fill the jars with the rest of the milk and screw on the lids.
Wrap the jars in a warm blanket and let sit overnight in a warm place or for at least eight hours.
Unwrap and place in the refrigerator. I know you will enjoy this creamy, healthy yogurt.

Shanny’s Favorite Meat Pie (w/gluten free option)

Note: for those of you averse to using flour, you can top the pie with potatoes smashed with liberal amounts of butter, then sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Parmesan-cheddar pie crust (see recipe, below)
6 tablespoons butter or lard
2 cups diced vegetables (onions, green peppers, carrots, peas, corn, or greenbeans…even lima beans will all work). Leftover vegetables are fine.
1/2 cup pan drippings and/or leftover gravy -- use more if you’ve got it, up to a cup. If you don’t, simply double the amount of butter.
2 tablespoons flour or arrowroot
2 cups meat stock
¼ teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, or 3/4 teaspoons fresh
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups diced leftover meat
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter or lard in a skillet over a medium flame. Sauté the fresh vegetables. Once they’re crisp-tender, feel free to add in any leftover vegetables as well, and cookuntil they are warmed through. Remove them from the pan and set aside.

Add the butter and pan drippings or leftover gravy. Heat, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted and is no longer foaming. Sprinkle the flour or arrowrooton top and whisk thoroughly until a paste forms. Slowly pour in the meat stockand bring to a boil. Reduce the flame intensity and simmer until the sauce is thick, about 7 minutes.

Mix in the mace, rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir in the diced cooked meat and the vegetables, then pour into a deep-sided pie dish or 9X9 baking pan. Roll out the pie crust on a floured surface until it is 1/4inch thick, then carefully lay it over the top of the meat and vegetables. Don’t fret if the crust crumbles. Just work it backtogether and slide it on top. Crimp the edges, then poke a few holes on thesurface. Whisk the egg yolk with the water, then brush it over the crust of thepie. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned.

Parmesan Cheddar Pie Crust

I often double this recipe, then store the extra crust in the freezer foranother use.

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
¼ pound (one stick) butter
¾ cup cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
¼ cup ground walnuts

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Dice the butter, then use a pastry cutter or fork to blend it into the flour mixture. Using your hands, thoroughly mix in the cheese and nuts until the mixture forms a solid ball. Chill untilready to use, but allow it to soften at room temperature before rolling it out.

Note: This dough will be quite crumbly when you roll it out. Don’t panic. Nothing has gone wrong. Just push it back together and keep working it.

From Shannon Hayes http://www.grassfedcooking.com/articles/prudentcarnivore1.html

GRILLED LAMB KEBABS WITH CUMIN AND CINNAMON

1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 3 1/2-pound sirloin half leg of lamb, bone removed, fat trimmed, meat cut into 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
6 12-inch metal skewers

Whisk oil, cumin, pepper, salt and cinnamon in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add lamb to dish and toss to coat well with oil mixture. Let marinate at room temperature 1 hour or refrigerate 1 1/2 to 4 hours, tossing occasionally.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat) or preheat broiler. Thread lamb pieces onto skewers, dividing equally (about 5 pieces per skewer). Grill or broil lamb to desired doneness, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes for medium-rare.

Bon Appétit July 2000 2000-06-28 10:05:21.0