I just made butter!

And I can't believe how easy it was to make butter.  I bought raw cream from my local trusted dairy farmer and whipped it up by pouring it into my kitchen-aid mixer, setting it at medium speed, and waiting for 5 minutes.  That's it.  I would tell you a bunch more directions if there were some, but that's totally it.  I added nothing and took away nothing.  Sweet cream butter emerged. It made a soft whipped butter that tasted very fresh.  

Now, if I had to start with raw milk, then I'd have to separate the cream first.  This is the tricky part, I'm assuming.  My Amish friend told me to put the milk into a wide pitcher or gallon pail in the frig. and keep skimming off the cream with a ladle a couple times a day for about 3 days, and once you get all the cream, keep it cold, and then whip it in a bowl or shake it in a covered jar until it forms butter.  Pour off any excess liquid (skim milk) and wash the butter in cold water and squeeze out all the liquid.  I haven't tried this yet.  

Butter got bad advertisement over the years of the no-fat and low-fat diet fads.  Ugh.  I remember when I believed that butter was bad for me.  That's also when I was inhaling large plates of pasta and icecream in the college cafeteria... and never seemed satisfied.  Always hungry again.  A little butter goes a long way in satisfying my appetite and giving a feeling a peace and completion at the end of a meal or snack.  It also has a lot of health benefits.  I've learned a lot of helpful information from the Weston A. Price Foundation, and this is a small section from an article on their website called "Why Butter is Better": 

"Actually butter contains many nutrients that protect us from heart disease. First among these is vitamin A which is needed for the health of the thyroid and adrenal glands, both of which play a role in maintaining the proper functioning of the heart and cardiovascular system. Abnormalities of the heart and larger blood vessels occur in babies born to vitamin A deficient mothers. Butter is America's best and most easily absorbed source of vitamin A.  Butter contains lecithin, a substance that assists in the proper assimilation and metabolism of cholesterol and other fat constituents.  Butter also contains a number of anti-oxidants that protect against the kind of free radical damage that weakens the arteries. Vitamin A and vitamin E found in butter both play a strong anti-oxidant role. Butter is a very rich source of selenium, a vital anti-oxidant--containing more per gram than herring or wheat germ."    http://www.westonaprice.org/Why-Butter-Is-Better.html

Food, Inc.

This movie is a "must see."  I'm going to set up a movie night (free) and if you're interested in coming, let me know.

Thank you everybody!

Hi old friends and new friends,

Thanks for all your smiles and excitement about the article in the Lancaster newspaper on Saturday morning (LancMoms section).  My kids and I had fun reading it too!  Many of you told me that you were inspired to keep on trying new things in pursuit of good health and I'm right there with you.  

Over the past week, I've been researching nutrition data for the whole food (technically a grass) called sugar cane.  There's some good mineral content in there.  Since I don't have access to fresh cane juice, except via mail order, I also wanted to know nutrition data on sugar cane's evaporated states: rapadura, sucanat, evaporated cane juice, molasses, turbinado, demerara, brown sugar, white sugar, etc.  and how much (if any) of these retained the  God-given nutrients of calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc... found in the fresh cut cane.  I'm fascinated.  And I'll write about my findings soon.  You can purchase any of these at natural food stores.

I made one of my most favorite winter treats for supper tonight: ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES.  I mentioned this before, but just had to pay honor to these flavorful nutrient-dense morsels once again.  My baking stone was blossoming with color when I stacked it up with raw cubed beets, carrots, brussel sprouts, and sweet potatos that were dipped in olive oil.  I salted it with celtic sea salt and baked at 400 for about 30-40min.  Simple.  Delicious.  God-food is amazing.  P.S. I know that brussel sprouts grow above ground... but the rest are roots.  :)

Keep drinking pure water.  

Amy

"White Whole Wheat" Pizza Dough Recipe

Is it white or is it wheat?  It's whole wheat and the wheat grain is light in color, so the variety is called Golden Hard White Wheat.  I love this recipe from www.101cookbooks.com  

White Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

4 1/2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cups water, ice cold
a few tablespoons chopped herbs (optional)
Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. By hand stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed. Add the herbs. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl (to me it looks like a tornado). Add a touch of water or flour to reach the desired effect. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky.

Transfer the dough to a floured countertop. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces and mold each into a ball. Rub each ball with olive oil and slip into plastic sandwich bags. Refrigerator overnight.

When you are ready to make pizza (anytime in the next few days), remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before making the pizza. Keep them covered so they don't dry out.

At the same time place a baking stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (you can go hotter, but I like the results I get at 450). If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.

Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal and get ready to shape your pizza dough. Uncover or unwrap the dough balls and dust them with flour. Working one at a time, gently press a dough round into a disk wide enough that you can bring it up onto your knuckles to thin out - you should be able to pull each round out to 12-inches or so. If the dough is being fussy and keeps springing back, let it rest for another 15-20 minutes. Place the pulled-out dough on the prepared sheet pan, and jerk the pan to make sure the dough will move around on the cornmeal ball-bearings (you don't want it to stick to the pan).

Add your toppings (less is more!) and slide the topped pizza onto the baking stone. Bake until the crust is crisp and nicely colored. Remove from the oven. I always finish with more freshly grate parmesan and a small drizzle of good quality extra-virgin olive oil.

Sugar Cane

Hi guys!  A week ago, Steve brought home a 5-foot stalk of green sugar cane (grown in the USA). He bought is from Weis Market in Lancaster.  I had fun whacking at it with a big chef's knife, then we sliced back the outer hard layer and chopped a few pieces to chew on.  Tasty fresh sweet clear juice fills your mouth.  Then spit out the fibrous stuff that's left.  My kids loved it.  White sugar is devoid of all nutrients.  It is more of a substance than a food because it contains zero nutrients and is addictive.  Sugar cane juice and rapadura (evaporated sugar cane juice) have some calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and Vit. A to give our bodies energy rather than a buzz and a crash.  Brazil is one of the largest growers of sugar cane and producers of rapadura.  Rapadura can replace white sugar in recipes on a 1:1 ratio and you'll find it in most health food stores.  Use only natural sweeteners like rapadura, maple syrup, agave nectar, honey, and stevia.  And use them sparingly.  I'll post more on this topic.

The Ministry of Brazil listed nutrition data for 100 grams rapadura, which is ½ c.

http://www.agencia.cnptia.embrapa.br/gestor/cana-de-acucar/arvore/CONT000fjighhp202wyiv80sq98yqyvgmia8.html

Potassium        10-13mg

Calcium           40-100mg

Magnesium     70-90mg

Phosphorus     20-90mg

Sodium            19-30mg

Iron                 10-13mg

Manganese      .2-.5mg

Zinc                 .2-.4mg

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Hi!  I don't usually do two posts in one day, but today is different.  Why?  In honor of chocolate covered strawberries... that's why.  I saw the Valentine sign outside Byer's Butterflake Bakery today which advertised this ingenious combination of foods, and so I got curious as to what I could do with my Costco bag full of frozen strawberries and dark Wilbur chocolate bar.  I put 20 rock hard strawberries on a baker's cooling rack with a paper towel underneath, let them drip and thaw, patted them with a paper towel lightly, and then dipped them in melted dark chocolate (made by double boiler).  Promptly put into frig. and enjoy after 10 minutes of cooling & hardening time.  You end up with great looking and tasting morsels but keep a napkin handy because the center is very soft and juicy.

P.S.  I didn't add anything to the chocolate... I just melted it slowly stirring constantly.  Easy!

Expressly Local

Below is an email I just got from one of my new favorite food stores called "Expressly Local."  The store owners are not only very nice... they dedicated to local and organic food.  It's located on King St. across from Mc'Donalds.  Park on the street.  It's worth the trip!  Local tender organic spinach in the winter, raw milk, Ethiopian food, beautiful root vegetables, frozen meats, nuts, breads, etc.  Wow!  Nutrient-dense food.  Bring your own bag (reduce waste).  

~ Amy

Greetings!  Please join us for our Grand Opening Celebration Wednesday, February 3 through Sunday, February 7th!  
We would like to suggest that you consider first attending the showing of the film Food, Inc, what do you really know about where your food comes from?  Tuesday, February 2nd at 7pm in the Stahr Auditorium of Stager Hall at Franklin & Marshall College-- part of their series of thought-provoking movies and discussions looking at the ways we grow, process, and buy our food. 
We will have samples of food throughout the celebration, giveaway food baskets, opportunities to meet our producers, and demos...here's the itinerary:  

Wednesday, February 3rd, open 7:45am-7pm: 
3:30 pm--  Ribbon Cutting with Rick Gray and our lenders, Community First Fund, and their invited guests, ourfood producers, our  friends (that means you) and, of course,  Abundant Earth and Gursha who share our beautiful space, and the owner and developer of our building, architect Eugene Aleci.
4:00-7:00pm-- Soup and Vegetarian Dinner for sale, and samples, from our in-house chef Etayehu (a-tie-you) ofGursha Organic Ethiopian Edibles.
7:00-8:30pm-- we are hosting the monthly social for Susquehanna Sustainable Business Network.

Thursday, February 4th, open 7:45am-7pm:

Food samples throughout the day.

Friday, February 5th, open 7:45am-9pm:  (Downtown's First Friday!)

Food samples throughout the day.

5:00-9:00pm--  First Friday!!
**Soup and Dinner for sale, and samples, Gursha Organic Ethiopian Edibles.
**Music by Bill Finlay and Doug Smith, both do acoustic guitar with vocals.
**Wildcraft Floral Design, meet the owners, purchase a bouquet, order for Valentine's-- Wildcraft always includes a sprig of wild to give a unique twist to their creations.
**Demo of clear toy lollipop making with Andy Duncan of CTC Lollipop Company.

Saturday, February 6th, open 7:45am-6pm:

Food samples throughout the day.

8:00 am-- sample silver dollar pancakes with Christina Maser.
9am-2pm-- Brunch and Soup for sale, and samples, Gursha Organic Ethiopian Edibles.
11am-1:00pm-- Samples from Happy Hal's Jalapenos.
Throughout: Meet the folks behind Homegrown Edible Landscaping Company and learn about urban sustainability-- eating and producing food locally, rain water catchment, composting systems.  Rain barrels and mini cold frames for sale.  

Sunday, February 7, open 9:00am-2pm:

Food samples throughout the day.

1:00pm-- Drawing for food baskets.

Please stop in and visit for any or all of the celebration!
-- 
Peace and Good Eating!
Cheryl and Kharran

Expressly Local Food 
213 W. King St. Lancaster, PA  17603
717.295.1850
Hours:  M-F 7:45-7, St 7:45-6, Su 9-2, 
First Fridays till 9pm