Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce

Sometimes slow is fast.  That's the case with this wonderful invention: the slow-cooker.  It takes a little effort on the front end, and then you get to enjoy the fantastic aromas in your home through out the day and the glory of an effortless evening meal.  Yes, I'm excited.

Here's a phenomenally good slow cooker recipe to try.  I got it from a cookbook entitled "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook."  It's excellent!  

Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce

Serves 4

 One 2-pound boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat and cut into 2 or 4 pieces

2 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips

1/3 c. teriyaki sauce (or make your own with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos and honey)

2 TBSP. rice vinegar

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ c. creamy peanut butter (chunky works too)

 For serving:

½ c. chopped green onions

¼ c. chopped dry roasted peanuts

2 limes, cut to make wedges

1. Put the pork, bell peppers, teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, and garlic in the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW until the pork is fork-tender, 8 to 9 hours. 

2. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and coarsely chop or shred the meat.  Add the peanut butter to the liquid in the cooker; stir well to dissolve the peanut butter and blend with the liquid to make the sauce.  Return the pork to the sauce and toss to coat the meat evenly.

3. Serve in shallow bowls over rice or rice noodles, and sprinkle each serving with some of the green onions and peanuts.  Pass the lime wedges.

Soft Drop Sugar Cookies

My dad and I like to plan the menu for any of our big family gatherings.  He was the first person in my life to show me the joys of cooking.  So, for this Christmas, he delegated the desserts to me.  And by the way, I can't wait to see my sisters!!!  To experiment for the upcoming festivities, my kids and I made a batch of soft drop sugar cookies tonight... which we made half-way healthy.  I striped the tops of each cookie with melted dark Wilbur chocolate, and everyone was suddenly happy just looking at them... and ecstatic eating them.  

Here ya go!

Mix wet ingredients.  Mix dry ingredients.  Mix them all together with electric mixer.  Drop by the tablespoon onto a baking stone or cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 8 min.

1 c. butter (soft)

2 eggs

1/2 c. plain whole milk yogurt

1/2 c. whole milk 

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. agave nectar

1 squirt of liquid stevia extract

1/2 c. granulated organic sugar or raw (I used granulated fructose)

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 c. sprouted organic wheat flour

2 and 1/4 c. unbleached organic white flour (I used the kind that has the germ added back in)

Enjoy!! 

A fresh taste for your leftover turkey!

Hi.  Here's a perfect use for your leftover turkey.  My neighbor and friend just made it today and gave me some.  God bless her!  I had no idea what I was going to make for supper tonight.  And I've been craving fresh vegetables and salads, so this hit the spot.  The recipe is here:  http://www.recipehouse.com/Amy's-cookbook/recipe/1/Asian-Chicken-Slaw

Asian Chicken Slaw

Healthy main dish salad for the summer or anytime!

Ingredients

1 (16 oz.) bag cole slaw mix 1 lb. cooked chicken, shredded 2 c. broccoli florets 1 c. snap peas 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 1 c. sliced scallions 1/2 c. chopped cashews Dressing:

1/4 c. soy sauce or "Bragg's Liquid Aminos" 2 TBSP. white vinegar 2 TBSP. peanut butter 1 TBSP. honey 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger (or from a jar) 1/2 c. olive oil 1 TBSP. sesame oil

Instructions

In a large bowl, toss together the coleslaw mix, chicken broccoli, snap peas, red pepper, and scallions. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss the salad with the dressing. Top it off with the chopped cashews.

Cooking in season

Hi guys, 

Gotta share a cookbook with you.  I just got my first cookbook that is specifically laid out by seasons so I can buy fresh and local foods and know what to do with them when they are freshest and highest in nutrient density.  Yeah!  How inspiring!  It's called "Simply In Season" and here's the link:  http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/

I happened to purchase it at the Hans Herr House in Lancaster... talk about inspiration for doing things the old fashion way.  Actually, I was just glad for electricity when I left that field trip.  It was a cold day with Lucas's kindergarten class.  But they were troopers.  Cold weather is a good reason to snuggle!  Random thoughts.  Snuggle on!

Amy

stevia

If you have discovered the massive benefits from kicking the sugar habit, then you're probably grateful to be living with less headaches, less joint aches, greater energy, better sleep, clarity of thought, and fewer illnesses.  But the taste of sweetness is still one of my favorites.  I just taste it in more things than just sugar now.  I taste the natural sweetness of wheat, fruit, rice, and vegetables like I've never tasted it before... now that I'm off the refined-white-sugar addiction.   But I still want a sweetener sometimes, so I try as many natural sweeteners as I can.  Stevia is an amazing green leaf herb which is about 30 times sweeter than sugar.  My kids and I really like "SweetLeaf" liquid stevia (vanilla creme flavor) to sweeten our unsweetened raw whole milk yogurt.  It is highly concentrated in it's sweet flavor, but contains no sugar.  So you only have to use a few drops to sweeten a whole bottle of water, cup of tea, or bowl of yogurt, etc.  Most stevia extract (powder or liquid) has a bitter after-taste, but this particular liquid stevia is really sweet and the bitterness is barely noticeable.  I also use it in homemade icecream.  There are a bunch of other flavors (like lemon drop, peppermint, raspberry, etc.) or there's plain liquid stevia with no flavor added.  This little 2 oz. dropper bottle of vanilla creme liquid stevia cost me $13.53 from Miller's Natural Foods, and it was well worth it.  I think it will last me about a year.  

    

What's up with kale?

Did you ever go to a salad bar and see those leafy curly dark green robust leaves that were garnishing the edges of the refrigerated trays... highlighting the likes of iceburg lettuce?  Ironic really.  That's kale.  So often taking the lesser role of decoration rather than being recognized as the nutrient-dense food it is.  Get to know kale.  It's time.  It's easy to grow.  It resists pests heartily.  And it keeps growing after frost.  I like to cut it out of the garden, strip out the main vein, wash it, chop it, and boil it for 1-2 minutes, then drain, and toss with butter.  My 4 year old loves this vegetable!!  It tastes great!!  Sorta like broccoli but more mild.  And full of things your body will LOVE.  It's a part of the cabbage family.  You can also cut it up and eat it raw in a salad.  Or saute it with garlic and sea salt then add some soup broth.  Very good!  Here's some data from wikipedia:  Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties and is anti-inflammatory.^[2]
Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium.   

What to do with pumpkin in season?

Yesterday, I was walking from "Miller's Natural Foods" to the nearby farmer's stand when a bug flew in my eye.  Bam!  Way in.  Ow.  It's just one of the risks you take when you shop outside.  I bought a big 8 pound long-neck pumpkin for $2.50, slung it over my shoulder, walked back to my car with one eye open, and found a hand sanitizing wipe to clean my hands, dug around in my eye for about 3 minutes (no lie), successfully extracted the bug, and headed home with clear visibility.  Ahhhh... that was a relief.  Anyway, it turns out that an 8 lb. long-neck pumpkin yielded about 5 lbs. of cooked mashed pumpkin, which was about 9 and a 1/2 cups.   *I washed it and cooked it by cutting off the ends, cutting it into 6 big pieces, taking seeds out, and boiling it for about 45 minutes.  After boiling, I took off the skins, and mashed it up.  At this point, you can use it or freeze it.  So, what can you do with it?  Try these delectable muffins.  I like to make a triple batch and freeze them for kids' lunches.

Pumpkin Muffins

 1 c. unbleached white flour

1 c. wheat flour or sprouted wheat flour

1 TBSP. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground ginger or ground cloves

1 c. pumpkin (canned or cook your own pumpkin*)

1/3 c. milk

2 eggs

1/3 c. coconut oil (or lard or butter)

½ c. agave nectar or maple syrup or honey

¼ tsp. stevia

1 c. chopped walnuts

 Mix up all dry ingredients.   Mix up all wet ingredients.  Combine wet and dry ingredients. 

Put in muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for 25 min.

Or to make pumpkin bread, bake in greased bread pan for 1 hour.

Serve with fresh organic butter.  My kids like to put the butter on top and they say it's icing.