nicole's farm kitchen

jello pot gummies

2025-01-19T17:47:00.000-08:00

These are very mild pot infused gummies, which is about all I need to help me drift off to sleep.

1 cup fruit juice (I used crab apple juice)
1 cup jelly (I used grape jelly)
4 pks Knorr gelatin
2 packages jello (This time I used strawberry)
1 tsp sunflower lecithin
1/2 cup canna budder

mix the juice with the gelatin & jelly. Let sit about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan mix the jelly, sunflower lecithin and canna butter. Warm until everything melts together nicely.

Add the gelatin mix to the saucepan and heat until completely dissolved.

Pour with tiny ladle into your moulds, This recipe made just over 100 gummies. (or you can pour into a cake pan and cut into shapes after they solidify.)

Refrigerate 15 minutes until solid, pop out of the moulds or cut the sheet candy, and put into airtight containers or resealable bags in the freezer. They only last a week in the fridge, but pretty much indefinitely in the freezer.

Golden Gossip Pear Chutney

2024-09-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

We love love love chutney, and as we try new kinds, I just love them more. Call me crazy, but we sometimes will use the immersion blender in a car of chutney to make a fruity BBQ sauce. Don't knock it! We love it.

1 lb carrots, peeled and shredded
2- 1/2 cups sugar
2-1/4 cups water
5 inch piece cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp mustard seed
2 tsp ground cloves
3 tbsp gingerroot, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped, pitted dates
3 - 4 lbs pears, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 cups cider vinegar
1 lb onions, chopped
1/4 cup bottled lemon juice

Place the carrots, sugar, water and spices into a large stainless pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Put the rest of the ingredients except the lemon juice into the pot and bring to a nice simmer. Cook stirring occasionally until the pears are soft and the mixture has thickened somewhat. This should take 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile sterilize eight pint jars in your water or steam canner, and have your rings and caps ready to go.

Add 1/4 cup lemon juice to the chutney and stir in.

Ladle chutney into a hot jar to within 1/2 inch of top of jar. Remove air bubbles and adjust head-space, if required, by adding more chutney. Wipe jar rim with white vinegar on a paper towel, removing any food residue. Centre sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining chutney.

If you are using a water bath canner, make sure the bottles are completely immersed with an inch of water above. Cover. Bring to a full boil. If using a steamer canner, cover and bring the canner up to temperature. Reduce the heat to medium-high but keep the water boiling. Pints need 20 minutes of processing time and 250 ml jars (jam jars) require 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit 5 minutes in the canner.

Remove from the canner to a protected work surface and allow to cool for 24 hours before labelling and storing in a cool dark place.

zucchini fritters in a big way

2024-09-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

What do you do when the garden explodes? You question your springtime choices. And you start finding creative ways to preserve, use and generally avoid feeding them to the chickens. As much as I love the chickens, I'd rather enjoy my garden bounty myself!

So, when the zucchini plants produced an over-abundance of fruits, and the zucchini relish and zucchini salsa in the pantry is already making the shelves sag, I was thinking of creating foods we love, and freezing them ready to reheat. Zucchini fritters, chocolate zucchini cake, muffins and cookies all came to mind.

Below I have written out the recipe for Zucchini Fritters. This recipe is especially for my sister Thérèse. <3

2 lbs zucchini
3 green onions
2 eggs
3/4 cup GF flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp parsley
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup grated cheese

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Grate the zucchini into a bowl, add a teaspoon of salt and let sit 10 minutes or so. Drain out the moisture by wrapping in a tea towel and squeezing.

Drop the zucchini, chopped green onions and eggs into a large bowl, and mix.

Measure out the flour, baking powder, seasonings and grated cheese in a small bowl. Add to the zucchini and mix well until completely blended.

Using a 1/3 cup measure, or ice-cream scoop, drop well spaced scoops of the mixture onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten into small pancakes and bake 12 minutes. Flip each cake over and bake another 10-12 minutes.

Serve with mayo or sour cream, or chill and freeze for zucchini futures!

Plum Blueberry BBQ Sauce

2024-09-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

My new favourite condiment for everything! This is a little spicy, sweet, tangy and fruity and thankfully requires very little attention other than the odd stir to keep it from sticking. Using the fall fruit and vegetables just makes me happy. This made about seven pints of sauce.

2 kg plums, pitted and halved
1 litre blueberries
3 celery sticks diced
four medium onions peeled and diced
6 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
1 orange zest and juice
100 ml maple syrup
1 tablespoon instant coffee or cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons dried hot peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
1 tablespoon Spike seasoning
1 teaspoon ground cumin
600 ml cider vinegar
550 g light brown sugar

Put all the ingredients in a large stainless pot and stir. Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. Blend the sauce with an immersion blender until nice and smooth. Bring it back to a gentle boil and cook until the sauce has thickened. It took a couple hours for me to be happy with the consistency. I put the sauce through a food mill with the smallest mesh to get out all the blueberry seeds & celery fibre.

Prep eight 500 ml jars and lids. Process in a water or steam canner. Label and store in a cool dark place. I had a couple not seal very well, so they are in the fridge for Saturday's big bbq and corn fest! Can't wait.

Cannabutter Chocolate Truffles

2024-03-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

I love a little piece of chocolate before bed, especially when I add a small amount of cannabutter for the relaxation of an edible ... without the huge price tag!

If you prefer to just make these without the THC, just substitute the cannabutter with regular butter. I completely took the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction and adjusted it for my needs.

Make sure all your cannabutter treats are very clearly labelled so friends don't pop by and accidentally eat three or four of these before they realize. Sorry about that Doug, but the cookies were just cooling on the counter!

Ingredients

    8 ounces of high quality chocolate, very finely chopped
    2/3 cup whipping cream
    30 grams Cannabutter
    1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    toppings: (optional) unsweetened cocoa powder, sprinkles, crushed nuts, melted or tempered chocolate

Instructions

Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Set aside.

Heat the heavy cream until you see little bubbles around edge of the pot. Don’t overheat, this should not boil. You can use stove or microwave.

Add the cannabutter to the heavy cream until melted. Pour this mixture evenly over the chipped chocolate and without stirring, allow it to sit for 5 minutes minutes. Add the vanilla and stir until the chocolate has completely melted.

Forming the truffles:

Method 1
Immediately after stirring everything together and before it hardens too much, pour the mixture into silicone candy moulds and freeze about an hour. Pop out of the moulds, label and freeze in bags.

Method 2
Pour chocolate into a shallow glass baking dish & set in the fridge for an hour or two. Scoop the set truffle mixture into 1 Tablespoon-sized mounds. I weigh out the amount for consistency. Roll each into balls. This gets a little sticky, so keep the mixture cold. Roll each into toppings, if desired.
Label clearly. Cover tightly and store truffles at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. If freezing, don't use toppings.

Notes: Truffles taste best at room temperature! Thaw in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature, if desired, before enjoying. I usually pull them out a few at a time and keep them in the fridge for treats.

Ketchup Verde Picante

2022-11-24T13:43:00.004-08:00

What do you do when you have too many green tomatoes?

You get creative!

I have been very lucky this past summer to have been able to take a little vacation during June, lasting into the first week of July. Needless to say, the garden just had to wait.

Our starter tomato plants were well cared for by our house sitter, but they didn't get out into the garden until very late. Luckily we had a long long summer and I was starting to get ripe tomatoes on the vine for a month before first frost.

When I picked all the green tomatoes, there were four big boxes of potential goodness from just four little plants!

6 pounds green tomatoes, washed and chopped
3 pounds onions, chopped
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoons mixed pickling spices, in a tea egg or cheesecloth bag
3 Tbsp dried jalapeno peppers
1 Tbsp dried Thai peppers
3 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
2 cups white vinegar

1 cup honey
1/4 cup pickling salt *to taste

To make this fabulous condiment, place everything but the honey and salt in a large stock pot and bring carefully to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for three hours. Remove the spice bag!

Using an immersion blender, blend the veggies until rather smooth. If you care to remove the seeds, you can put them through a food mill or sieve. It makes a smoother end product but doesn't effect the flavour.

Put the ketchup back into the large pot, bring to a slow boil and add honey and salt to taste. Simmer until it is thickened.

Meanwhile, prep your jars and lids for canning in a hot water bath. You will need enough jars for about 8 cups of finished product.

Carefully fill sterilized jars to 1/2 inch from top, wipe the rims and cap with sterilized lid & ring. Place back into the water bath, making sure the water is 2" above the jars. Cover and bring to boil. Boil 15 minutes. Remove from water bath and let them sit until cool before labelling and storing in a cool, dark place. If any of the jars have not sealed, put them in the fridge and use within 3 months.

Yummy Fruity Gummies

2021-10-24T15:55:00.003-07:00

I've made a few different gummy candies using different kinds of juice, including black current, blueberry, and now with crab apples. The results were just delicious, with a look and texture of old fashioned Turkish Delight, and the tart flavour of crab apple. Time to write out my methods!

Why did I use pectin? I know lots of people are having success with gelatin gummies, but I wanted to use only fruit juice, sugar and pectin. While they are not as simple to make, they freeze better, taste better and suit my vegetarian friends.

You will need a heavy pot with high sides so it doesn't boil over, a candy thermometer, and a 9x9 pan lined with parchment paper, and sprinkled with sugar. (and some patience)

2 cups crab apple juice
4 cups sugar
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 box (2 pouches) of liquid pectin
2 Tbsp cannabutter (optional add 1/4 tsp Sunflower Lecithin)

icing sugar for dusting

Prepare a small cake pan with parchment paper and sprinkle with a little sugar. Set aside.

Mix the crabapple juice, sugar, butter & lemon juice in a heavy bottomed deep pot and bring to a hard boil. Add the pectin and bring back to a boil. (If you are using other fruit that doesn't have natural pectin, you may have to double the amount of pectin you add)

Skim off any floating bits as it cooks but you will not likely need to stir while it boils. Continue to boil until the liquid is very shiny and the temperature reaches 240ºF. This may take quite a while.

Remove from heat and stir, removing any foam that remains. Stir and stir as it cools. Once it is very thick and cooled a bit, you could add 2 Tbsp of cannabutter melted with liquid Sunflower Lecithin and mix thoroughly. Recently I used CBD Dream cannabutter, as it is a gentle mix of CBD and THC.

Pour into the cake pan and place the pan on a cake rack to cool until room temperature. Cut into small squares or diamonds and roll in icing sugar. Store in the fridge in parchment paper lined covered dish for up to a month. I usually just freeze these and eat them directly from the freezer.

Smoked Rainbow Trout

2021-03-29T22:19:00.007-07:00

Got fish? Here are four smoked trout recipes we have created to share with our friends and families. Gently smoked with alder, apple and Pacific Blend.

We are fortunate to live in a place where we can catch some amazing rainbow trout, weighing in at between 5 - 10 lbs each. Unbelievable fun for us to go fly fishing with friends in the late winter and early spring, mostly finding success with a Woolie Bugger trout fly. But you have to be warmly dressed and ready for rain. No "fair weather fishing" here! Once the lake warms up in the summer, the fish are too soft to use.

The rainbow trout we have been catching are more like salmon than trout for size, but has the delicate flavour of rainbow that you just don't want to lose through too much seasoning, or improper handling. The size of the fish, and the need to process them quickly presents an opportunity to be very creative so as to not waste a morsel of food. We gut the fish as soon as they are caught and keep them in a cooler with ice, even on the lake.

As soon as we get home, I sharpen my knife and fillet the fish for eating, smoking and sharing. (I make broth from the heads, bones and fins, and when I strain the broth, I grind the solids together with oats, apples, eggs and flour to make dog cookies. Recipe to follow)

In order to have evenly cooked fish, it should be consistent thickness and size. The fillets of these trout have a variety of thicknesses, with the tail and rib areas being half the thickness of the top of the fish. Separate these, and you will have an easier time.

I sharpen my knife again (important) and then cut the tail & rib areas into 3 - 4" square slabs, and after removing the pin bones along the thickest part of the flesh, cut the rest into 1" cubes for smoked nuggets. I prefer the nuggets skinned, but leave the skin on the slabs and fillets.

Each recipe uses a different, but similar method for brining the fish. The first two are dry brine and the last two are a liquid brine. Once you have your fillets or nuggets cut, rinsed and patted dry, choose the recipes that suits your tastes.

#1 Salt & Pepper Smoked Trout

2-3 lbs trout or salmon fillets, rinsed and patted dry.

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 cup kosher salt

1 Tbsp pepper

Mix the sugars, salt & pepper to make the dry brine. In a bowl or container, layer the fish fillets, coating with the rub as you fill it up. Cover and refrigerate for 8 - 10 hours.

Drain. Rinse very well. Pat dry and place on racks or cookie sheets far enough apart that they are not touching. Allow them to dry in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight to develop a pellicle.* When the weather is cold, like it was when I made the last batch, I put the dehydrator in the window, turned it on fan mode and air-dried the fillets for a couple hours to get the same effect.

*"Pellicle (cooking), a skin or coating of proteins on the surface of meat, fish or poultry, which allow smoke to better adhere the surface of the meat during the smoking process." (Wikipedia)

Preheat your smoker to 180F. Arrange the pieces skin side down on greased smoker racks and add a mild smoke like alder, apple or your own preferred flavour. Checking every half hour or so, smoke for about 3 - 4 hours or until the internal temp is about 140F.

#2 Smoked Trout Nuggets

3-4 pounds thick portion of trout cut into 1" cubes

3-4 cups brown sugar

2 cups coarse kosher salt

2 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Rinse and pat dry your trout nuggets. Mix sugar, salt and spices to make your dry brine.

In a bowl or container, layer the fish fillets, coating with the rub as you fill it up. Cover and refrigerate for 8 - 10 hours.

Preheat your smoker to 120F. Arrange the pieces skin side down on greased smoker racks and add a mild smoke like alder, apple or your own preferred flavour.

Every hour raise the temperature in the smoker by 20 degrees until it's 180 F.

Checking every half hour or so, smoke for about 4 hours.

#3 Maple Orange Trout

3 pounds trout fillets, cut into portions, rinsed and patted dry

2 cups cold water

1 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup demerara sugar

1/4 cup coarse kosher salt

zest of one fresh orange (best not to use dried peel)

Glaze:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup orange juice

Mix the water, syrup, sugar, salt and peel in a big bowl. Mix to dissolve the sugar & salt. Submerge the trout fillets in the brine, mix and refrigerate 8-10 hours depending upon how thick they are.

Preheat your smoker to 160F. Arrange the pieces skin side down on greased smoker racks and add a mild smoke like alder, apple or your own preferred flavour. After the first 15 minutes, brush with the glaze every half hour. Smoke for about 3 hours or until the internal temp is about 145F.

#4 Maple Candy

2-3 lbs trout nuggets cut in 1" cubes and rinsed

1 cup demerara sugar

1/2 cup coarse kosher salt

1/2 cup dark maple syrup

2 cups water

Glaze

1/2 cup dark maple syrup

Mix the liquid brine in a large bowl or covered container, and add the trout nuggets, stirring to submerge. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours.

Preheat your smoker to 220F. Arrange the pieces skin side down on greased smoker racks and add a mild smoke like alder, apple or your own preferred flavour. After the first 15 minutes, brush with the maple syrup glaze every half hour. Smoke for about 3 hours or until the internal temp is about 140F.

PLEASE NOTE: The rainbow trout we are catching are not native, but escapees from the local fresh water fish farm. Whenever we catch a native cut-throat trout, we release them.

mango icecream

2020-08-23T09:57:00.004-07:00

With the kind of dietary issues Will has, we have been unable to buy commercial ice cream for quite a while, but I bought this very easy to operate and fast little ice cream maker, and started the experimentation to perfect an ice cream that doesn't include the many forbidden ingredients.

With lactose intolerance, low FODMaP's diet, and low Histamine diet we cut out most dairy, sugars, fruits and berries that you normally get in ice cream. But this recipe not only works, it's delicious as well.

1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 can coconut milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Slowly add coconut milk, stirring with a whisk. Heat to a boil over medium heat. Boil for one minute.
Mix egg yolks in small bowl. Slowly add the hot pudding mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly until well blended. Pour back into the saucepan and reheat over medium. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut oil and vanilla.
Chill custard mix until cooled. Stir in finely chopped mango.

Now to turn this delicious custard into ice cream!

I have a low tech Cuisipro ice cream maker that does the job in about 20 minutes, but you can just put your bowl of mango custard in the freezer and stir it up every couple hours until too thick to stir.

I thought this blog's solution's were pretty spot on as well https://www.saveur.com/make-ice-cream-without-a-machine/

fall harvest cake

2020-08-20T19:16:00.004-07:00

I have to admit that the hazelnuts & honey are from last year, but the applesauce, blueberries and blackberries are this year's crop. This is a lovely dense cake, definitely not sweet!

1 cup Gluten-free flour
3/4 cup light buckwheat flour
3/4 cup hazelnuts roasted and finely chopped
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup yogurt or mayonnaise
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup melted butter
4 eggs (beaten until light)
1 Tbsp lemon or orange zest
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup blackberries
3/4 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9" spring-form pan with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flours, hazelnuts, baking powder and salt. In large mixer bowl combine the yogurt, applesauce, honey, butter, beaten eggs, lemon zest and vanilla and beat until creamy. Add dry ingredients and mix only until combined. Pour into spring-form pan and top with the berries. Keep most of the fruit towards the outer edge as they seem to creep to the middle of the cake while cooking!

Bake in centre of 350 F oven for 55 minutes.

cornbread with fresh corn

2020-08-06T12:28:00.005-07:00

Fresh corn from local farmers is in the stores again! I just had to try adding fresh corn to my corn bread recipe. (I heard about this on Season 5 of Queer Eye) So delicious!

1 cup gluten-free flour

1 cup medium cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup Silk coconut milk mixed with 1 tsp cider vinegar

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar kernels of fresh corn cut from one cob (about 3/4 cup)

Mix the coconut milk with cider vinegar and set aside. Melt the butter in a cast iron frying pan. Cut the corn kernels from the cob.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Stir together until completely mixed but no more. Pour into the still warm cast iron frying pan, and place in the middle of the preheated oven.

Bake 25 minutes.

Serve warm and crispy! Will smothers his with maple syrup!

zucchini fritters & ranch dressing

2020-08-05T16:39:00.001-07:00

There are so many recipes for zucchini fritters on the internet but I usually just go with a variation of potato latkes, potato pancakes. DELICIOUS!

Even on the low FODMaP diet and low histamine diet, Will can get away with these if he opts for crab-apple jelly instead of ranch dressing on top.

1 medium zucchini (about 8")

1/2 tsp salt

1 green onion (opt)

1 egg

2 Tbsp GF flour

1/2 tsp thyme or mild herb

a little pepper

2 Tbsp oil for cooking

Grate the zucchini and sprinkle on the salt, mix a bit & wrap in a tea towel or cheese cloth. Let sit a few minutes in a bowl, then wring all the liquid out of the zucchini. It's amazing how wet those suckers actually are. Discard the liquid.

Drop the zucchini in a bowl and add the onion, egg, flour, seasonings and pepper.

Heat oil in a fry pan and drop tablespoons of the zucchini batter in, flattening them out a bit with a damp spoon.

Cook at medium high until nicely browned and flip. Cook the other side and serve with either ranch dressing if you are a normal human being or with crab apple jelly if you are Will.

:-)

Ranch Dressing YUM!

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cream

1 tsp dill weed

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp chives

1 clove garlic, very finely chopped

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Blend all these ingredients in a 500 ml jar and enjoy!

Crab Apple Jelly (also yum)

I use this recipe from Canadian Living: https://www.canadianliving.com/food/recipe/crab-apple-jelly

vanilla cupcakes with buttercream icing

2020-06-14T10:16:00.004-07:00

We have been working really hard around here during the last three months isolation, renovations, gardening, landscaping... and we deserved a treat! so I made coconut milk ice cream last night and these delicious cupcakes this afternoon.
Easy and delicious, and with the butter cream icing, they are the best I've made.

Vanilla cupcakes

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup GF Flour mix
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup milk (or alternative)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F and place liners in 12 medium cupcake pan.
In a large bowl, beat the sugar with coconut oil until well incorporated. Add eggs. Beat another minute. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum, and add to the bowl. Add the milk and vanilla. Mix for another minute.
Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake liners. Bake 20 minutes at 350F until lightly browned and centre springs back when touched.
Cool 5 minutes, remove cupcakes from pan and cool on a rack before icing.

Buttercream Icing

2 1/2 cup GF icing sugar (Typically Canadian icing sugar is GF)
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 to 2 Tbsp milk (or alternative)

Mix icing sugar with butter on low speed. Add vanilla & 1 Tbsp milk. Gradually add enough of the milk to make it smooth and spreadable. Add more milk if too thick, more icing sugar if too thin.
I piped the icing sugar onto the muffins for a nicer finish.

Spaghetti Squash Soup

2020-03-08T16:23:00.001-07:00

The past few years we have been growing a very prolific spaghetti squash that are perfect size for small families, the Small Wonder from West Coast Seeds. About half the size of regular spaghetti squash, the big ones get to as big as 4 lbs, but most are between 2-3 pound. We planted six seeds last spring and ended up with 50 squash!
Our neighbours and friends have been helping us go through this bounty, but by March or April our spaghetti squash in the cold room start to fail. We are now working to freeze the 25 squash remaining. I have made biscuits, cake and soup from these and the rest have been baked, chilled, scraped, drained and frozen in one meal bags, or blended and frozen in muffin tins.
This is the fabulous soup I made for lunch yesterday.

1 small spaghetti squash, cut and split lengthwise, seeds removed
1 pound home made sausage meat
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (I used chantrelles we fried and froze last fall)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 cup sun-dried (or oven dried) tomatoes, chopped
2 carrots, grated
2 quarts stock: poultry or veggie is good
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon Thai pepper flakes, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Bake the squash halves face down in a glass pan with about 1/2 inch of water for 35 minutes at 375F. Cool and shred with a fork.
Cook the sausage meat until browned in your favourite soup pot. Add onions, mushrooms, garlic and cook until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients including the cooked squash and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
Serve with a biscuit! so delicious!

gluten-free golden squash biscuits

2020-03-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

We LOVE our biscuits, and with the addition of squash, these are more moist and fluffy than most!
Always in high demand, these are extra-special-delicious with pureed spaghetti squash instead of the usual pumpkin.

1-3/4 cups gluten-free flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter
3/4 cup pureed squash
1/3 cup milk substitute with 1/2 tsp cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425° F. Lay a piece of parchment paper or silicon sheet on a cookie sheet.
Mix the milk substitute with cider vinegar in a cup. Set aside.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter until it resembles course crumbs. Combine the pureed squash with milk mixture. Add to the large bowl and stir only until combined.
Knead the dough on a floured work surface until it sticks together, about 10 times or so.
Flatten with your hands to about 3/4 to 1" thick and cut out little 2" biscuits. Place on the prepared cookie sheet and place in the middle of a preheated oven for about 18 - 20 minutes.
Serve hot. Also delicious toasted the next day (if you have any leftovers!)

Gluten-free Carrot Muffins

2020-01-17T21:33:00.000-08:00

Adjusted for the low histamine diet, Will has to avoid the usual cinnamon & nutmeg in his carrot cakes and muffins.

2 c GF flour

1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ginger
3/4 c white sugar
1/2 c golden brown sugar
1/2 c mayonaise
4 eggs
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 c milk substitute
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups peeled and grated carrots

Preheat oven to 350 and prep 15 muffin cups
mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
Mix the sugar with mayo, eggs, vinegar, vanilla & milk. Stir in carrots. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix only until combined.
Pour into the muffin cups and let sit about 10 minutes. (Secret trick for gluten-free baking.) After 10 minutes, place muffin tins in middle of preheated oven.
Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Test. Remove from oven when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, and cool before icing. I like cream cheese icing, but the first few just had butter melted on them! So good!

Will's Cornbread

2020-01-16T23:18:00.000-08:00

the trick is preheating the buttered cast-iron frying pan

2 cups cornmeal
1 cup gluten-free flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
t tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (Make with milk or substitute: premix 1 1/2 cups milk substitute with 1 Tbsp cider vinegar and let sit a few minutes)
1/2 cup butter, melted in the cast-iron frying pan

Do not turn the oven on yet.
Mix the milk substitute with cider vinegar and let sit. Melt the butter over low heat.
Mix the dry ingredients in medium bowl. Beat eggs with the milk & vinegar, then add the butter. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well. Set it aside, just while the oven heats. the GF flours will benefit from a bit of a soak.
Preheat the oven to 375F with oiled cast iron pan set in the middle to heat it up.
When the pan & oven are hot, carefully pour the batter into the pan and place in the middle rack. Bake 40 minutes until browning a little and cooked in the middle.
Serve with butter & maple syrup.

Country Pork Ribs

2019-12-13T22:09:00.001-08:00

I had a small crisis when my pressure cooker finally failed after years and years of service. Luckily my friends had been exclaiming about how the new "Instant Pot" is a fabulous replacement for the traditional pressure cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker and slow cooker (and likely six other small appliances)
The six quart Instant Pot Viva was on sale at Canadian Tire so we picked one up and have been experimenting with great success. Way easier and far less hassle than a pressure cooker on a burner.

This recipe has been created especially to work for a low FODMaP diet, and a low histamine diet, both of which we are dealing with on a daily basis in our house. (here's another great link about how to reduce histamines in your body https://drinkpurewine.com/blogs/histamine-intolerance-side-effects/complete-guide-to-managing-your-histamines.)

I served this to some of our closest friends tonight and they insisted I share the recipe. Would have taken a picture of the gorgeous rib dish but there wasn't a drop left..... so I took a photo of them eating butterscotch brownies and playing music instead.

1 rack pork country style ribs **
1 tsp salt
1 tsp galangal power and/or lemon grass powder
4 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp fresh ginger cut in thin strips
1 cup water

Cut the ribs into 2" cubes and sprinkle with salt and galangal and/or lemon grass powder. Chill. Preheat the oven to 350F with an oven-proof dish hot & ready for the pieces of browned pork. Preheat olive oil in the Instant Pot on "saute". When hot, start browning a few pieces of the pork at a time in the oil. Don't try to cook too many at once as it will just steam, not brown. As you brown the pork pieces, place them in the pre-heated oven. Once all the meat has been nicely browned, (and is in the hot oven,) turn off the Instant Pot and carefully pour off the fat.
Pour the brown sugar, vinegar, ginger and water into the pot. Heat on "saute" until bubbly. Switch off.
Place the pork pieces back into the Instant Pot, put the lid on and turn the valve to "sealing". Turn on "Pressure Cook" for 35 minutes.

When done, switch off and let the pot sit for 10 minutes, while you preheat the broiler and prepare a pan.
Then release the pressure by switching the valve to "venting". Carefully place the pieces of pork on a broiling pan and place under the preheated broiler. Watch carefully to make sure you don't burn them! Meanwhile heat the sauce left in the Instant Pot until reduced by about 1/2.
On a nice serving dish, place the pieces of pork. Pour some of the sauce over and serve the rest of the sauce in a gravy boat.
Optional: top with sliced green onion. Serve with steamed rice and carrots.

** It is important to prevent histamines from forming as you are preparing the meal. So, be sure to keep the meat as cold as possible before putting it into the hot pan, and don't cook over low heat. You need to heat the meat as quickly as you can. Once the meat dish is cooked, serve immediately, and chill leftovers as soon as you have served the dinner.

moist and sweet zucchini cake with streusel topping

2019-08-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when the zucchinis suddenly spring up from "I'll pick it tomorrow", to "where did that come from" overnight.
That's what's happening in my garden!
This recipe will take care of one good sized (about 9" zucchini) shredded and drained. I make all my food gluten-free, but if you use wheat flour, you shouldn't add the xanthan gum.
Delicious and moist, this cake is the best zucchini cake I've ever tried.

1. Preheat oven to 350F & line the cake pan with parchment paper,
2. weigh out butter + coconut oil and warm gently,
3. grate the zucchini and let it drain in a sieve.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Beat the eggs and add the melted oils and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Squeeze the water out of the drained grated zucchini and mix well into the batter. Pour into prepared cake pan.

Mix Streusel ingredients with a pastry knife until butter is incorporated.

sprinkle Streusel topping over cake until even and place in 350F oven for 50 minutes.

2 1/2 cups Gluten free flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

4 eggs
1/2 cup gently melted butter
1/2 cup gently melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini, drained and the moisture squeezed out before measuring

Streusel topping:
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup quick oats
3/4 cup golden brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup gluten-free flour
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x13" pan with parchment paper.
Grate zucchini and set in a sieve to drain. Over very low heat melt the butter and coconut oil.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy, add the oils and vanilla and beat another couple minutes. Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Squeeze the moisture out of the grated zucchini and add. Stir well.
Spoon into the prepared cake pan.
Mix the streusel topping in a medium bowl with a pastry knife or your fingers until crumbly and the butter is well incorporated. Sprinkle evenly over the cake.
Bake at 350F for 50 - 55 minutes or until a tester inserted near the middle comes out clean.

Fresh Apple Cake

2019-07-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

First apples of the season for us are the Transparent Apples. They are delicious, but not my favourite to eat raw. They make the smoothest, easiest apple sauce, and this fabulous cake.

3 cups Gluten-free flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp guar gum

3 eggs beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup butter

4 Transparent apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside
Gently melt the coconut oil and butter together and add to the eggs and vanilla.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Add the apples and mix.
Pour into prepared pan.
Place in the middle of preheated oven and bake 60 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan on a rack for 1/2 hour before removing from the pan. It's a little fragile when hot.

Bonus recipe: Apple Sauce
Wash and quarter a big bowl of apples. No need to peel or core if you have a food mill. Otherwise, I would suggest getting an "Apple Master" to peel, core and slice the apples.
Place apple pieces in a large, heavy-bottom pot with 1/2 cup of water. Cover. Cook gently, stirring once in a while until it boils and the apples start to melt.
Turn off the heat and let sit, covered until they are quite mushy.
Run through a food mill to remove the peels and cores. Add honey or sugar and cinnamon to taste.

Gluten-free Lemon Muffins

2019-06-25T22:17:00.002-07:00

Super simple and absolutely delicious. I had to reassure my family that they are gluten-free!

1 1/4 cup Gluten-free flour
1/4 cup corn starch (or tapioca starch)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs
3/4 cup mayonnaise (or sour cream)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
zest and juice of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix for Glaze:
1 cup icing sugar
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 F.
Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Stir them together just until mixed. Fill 12 muffin cups just about full.
Put them in the hot oven at 425 F for just 3 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 F for 15 minutes.
Cool a few minutes before drizzling with lemon glaze.

Kale Caesar Salad

2019-04-07T09:31:00.001-07:00

Kale is the one veggie I can rely on all year round in my garden, and although some of my friends consider it a weed, I love it. Kale chips, steamed kale, shredded into stir-fries, but especially salad.
This is the best Kale Caesar Salad recipe I have ever done, so give it a try while the plants are still tender. YUMMY!

2 big handfuls of kale leaves (about 2 quarts)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 anchovy fillets, minced (about 1 Tbsp anchovy paste)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 green onion, sliced thinly

Remove the thick stems from the kale. Roll the leaves into little bundles, and slice into 1/4 inch strips. If there are any florets, chop them in as well. Toss in olive oil and let stand to soften the leaves while you make the dressing.
Mix mayonnaise, anchovies, garlic, cheese, Worcestershire and lemon juice. Stir into the kale (you may have to use your hands) and then sprinkle the green onions slices on top.
Some people add croutons, but it's not my choice.

pudding and cookies

2019-03-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

We love eggs! This time of year we are getting eggs from our chickens, ducks and turkeys, so we have lots of eggs. These two recipes I always make at the same time, because it uses up the yolks for the vanilla pudding, and the whites for the meringue cookies. Two of Will's favourite desserts. Enjoy!

Meringue Cookies

3 large egg whites

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Dash salt
2/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 250°.
Separate three room temperature eggs. Set aside the yolks for pudding. Put the egg whites in a small bowl with vanilla, cream of tartar & salt. Beat with mixer on medium until they look frothy. Turn the mixer to high and add the sugar slowly, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep on mixing until stiff & glossy.... about five minutes.
With your largest cookie sheet, line it with parchment paper.
Using a pastry bag & large start tip (or like I did the first few times, cut a tiny star in the corner of a food-safe plastic bag) Pipe 1 1/2 inch cookies. I do them pretty close because my cookie sheet isn't very large and I want to do these in one go!
Bake for about 40 minutes. Turn off the oven. Leave the door shut until cooled completely. Usually an hour or two is fine.
Remove from cookie sheet when absolutely cool. Store in air-tight containers. Makes about 5 dozen.

Vanilla Pudding

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 cups coconut milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Slowly add coconut milk, stirring with a whisk. Heat to a boil over medium heat. Boil for one minute.
Mix egg yolks in small bowl. Slowly add the hot pudding mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly until well blended. Pour back into the saucepan and reheat over medium. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut oil and vanilla.
Pour into dessert dishes and chill.
Makes 4 servings 4 oz each.

Venison Sausages

2019-02-16T20:05:00.002-08:00

Will got a new (used) crossbow and on his first hunting trip with this bow, with his first arrow, he managed to get a Texada Island black tail deer. These Texada deer are very small, but big enough for him to cube 15 pounds of meat for sausage making.
The next cool thing that happened was that our friend Patches sold us one of his young heritage pigs for roasting, but instead, we cut it up to make two hind quarter roasts, ribs and then cut the front shoulders into 15 pounds of sausage meat as well.
Yesterday I ground and mixed these meats, and made three fabulous kinds of sausages!

GENERAL SAUSAGE MAKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Be sure to keep everything very cold while working.
With a medium plate on your grinder, grind the meats together.
Mix the seasonings and spices with the liquid. Pour over the ground meat and mix thoroughly.
Refrigerate 4 hours to set the seasonings.
Remix and either stuff into casings or divide into one pound packages.
Label and freeze.

Smoked Breakfast Sausages
7 1/2 lbs venison
7 1/2 lbs fatty pork
250 ml jar smoked pickled peppers, minced (including the juice)
2 Tbsp pickling salt
2 Tbsp poultry seasoning
2 Tbsp ground pepper

Drunken Deer Sausages
2 1/2 lbs venison
2 1/2 lbs fatty pork
1/2 cup brandy
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp pickling salt
1 Tbsp ground pepper
1 tsp mace
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger

Bangers
5 lbs venison
5 lbs fatty pork
4 eggs
2/3 cup gluten free panko
1 1/2 Tbsp pickling salt
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne

Almond Crusted Halibut

2019-01-08T22:33:00.000-08:00

We served this tonight with spinach salad and gluten-free pasta with a light mushroom & veggie sauce. So delicious!

4 serving sized pieces of halibut
1/2 cup almond slices, chopped finely
2 Tbsp millet flour
2 Tbsp corn meal
2 Tbsp tapioca flour
3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
zest of 2 lemons
juice from 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup melted butter
juice from the other lemon reserved for finishing

In a small bowl, mix finely chopped almonds, millet flour, corn meal, tapioca flour, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and melted butter.
Pat the halibut dry with a paper towel and season with salt & pepper.
Preheat the broiler and set the rack a few inches below.
Heat a large oven-safe pan on high. Add a little vegetable oil, then sear the halibut for about a minute or so per side (depending upon thickness) until it is nearly done.
Top each piece with 1/4 of the almond crust mixture.
Place the skillet in the oven to brown under the broiler. Do NOT walk away. It will go from uncooked, to perfect, to burned before you know it!
Squeeze the other lemon over the fish.
Serve right away.