I don’t like “Organic”

 

 

 

The Quest to Find the Perfect Organic – Isn’t Always A Smooth One

Did you ever taste a cookie you didn’t like?  Probably.

What about ice cream, do you enjoy EVERY flavor? Probably Not.

We all have our own unique tastes and preferences.  Many Australian children grow up loving Vegemite a dark viscous yeast spread that would make the average American child run screaming from the kitchen.  These same Aussie youngsters may find peanut butter peculiar.

It’s all a matter of what you grow up with, what you are accustomed, tastes,  and preferences.

I’ve noticed  a tendency for people to dismiss a whole entire category of foods & products strictly because the have had a bad experience with one item in the category.

• They will eat one Organic Cookie that isn’t to their taste and swear off ALL Organic Cookies.
• They will try an Organic Moisturizer that causes a breakout and swear off all Organic Moisturizers.

My simplistic definition of Organic is something grown without the use of pesticides.

• Don’t like a particular Organic Cookie?  It’s the recipe!  It has nothing to do with lack of pesticides on the oatmeal used in the recipe!
• If a moisturizer makes you breakout – it likely wasn’t the right formulation for your skin and had nothing to do with the lack of pesticides used for one of the ingredients.

Once you’ve decided to make the transition to organic and natural products – expect it to take time to find the perfect formulation for your skin, the right recipe for your taste buds.  Don’t give up because you don’t connect on your first attempt.

Additionally – when you are trying something new take advantage of retailers with excellent return policies, such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes.  Keep the receipt and they are more than happy to take a return on a product that wasn’t right for you.  So you can try it and take it back if it doesn’t work out.

Share Your Organic Journey with Us!

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100% Whole Grain Buttermilk Pancakes: Recipe

This recipe is from scratch friends.  Yes pancakes can be made without a store bought mix!
As long as I don’t add fruit it passes the hubby test too – either he’s getting used to my cooking or my cooking is getting better.

It’s a good thing!
I use primarily organic ingredients -  it will work either way of course.

The recipe will make about 20 smaller (4″) pancakes.

This apple cinnamon pancake is sprinkled with a powdered sugar – chosen by the children instead of maple syrup, so it would be just like their favorite restaurant.

1 2/3 cup Sifted Whole Grain Pastry Flour (sifting optional)
1/3 cup of Oat Bran
2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp of Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 Eggs
1 3/4 Cups of “Butter” Milk (Almost 1 3/4 cups of Milk with 2 tbs of Lemon Juice or Vinegar – total liquid 1 3/4 cups)
2 Tbs Melted Butter
2 Tbs Oil – I prefer Grapeseed Oil
1 – 2 Tbs Ground Flax Meal

Sift Flour Before Measuring.
Add the remaining Dry Ingredients and combine well
Beat your eggs and add to the wet ingredients.

Add 90% of your wet ingredients to your dry and mix until still a little lumpy. Add remaining liquid until you get to your favored consistency. The thinner the mix, the thinner the pancakes and the thicker mix will give you a thicker pancake.

Heat your cooking surface and prepare with a small amount of oil (I’m trying to move past the spray oils), a splash of water that dances will tell you the surface is ready.

I use a 1/4 cup measuring scoop for pouring my batter onto the fry pan.

If you want to add fruit – this is when I do it. I sprinkle it right on top of the poured mix. When there are plenty of bubbles – it’s time to flip.
Added diced white nectarines – yum!
Apple Cinnamon – Dice apples, sprinkle with cinnamon add a few Tbs of water, cook in microwave until fruit is tender.

This was SO easy to do, I don’t know why I kept thinking I needed a mix. It took all of 3 extra minutes to gather the extra ingredients. The first time I made it I didn’t add the flax, I knew hubby was eating them and didn’t want to scare him away. The next time, he wasn’t, so I threw it in. The truth is, once cooked you can’t tell it’s in there. The speckles blend in with the toasty color of the pancake tops.

Enjoy.

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Pumpkin Pie & Apple Crumble: Recipes

By Tania Reuben

 

While Dude won’t touch pumpkin pie, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it!

With something in the range of 90% of all pumpkins grown used for decoration then trashed, I like to use our Halloween Sugar Pumpkins for the pie.

We bake our pumpkins.  Start by cutting the pumpkins in half, scrape the seeds and stringy bits, then bake upside down in a cookie sheet for about 45 minutes at 350 Degrees.

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

2/3 Cup of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg Pinch of Ground Cloves
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
1 1/2 Cups of Pumpkin
1 1/2 Cups of Evaporated Milk (Non Fat)
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup of Brandy

1 ready made whole wheat pie crust (a worthwhile shortcut in my books).

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 450 Degrees.

Take the baked pumpkin and scoop the pulp, puree using a mixer or food processor, place it in a sieve lined with cheesecloth to remove the excess water, allow to sit in the fridge at least 4 hours.

In a large bowl combine sugar and spices. Add pumpkin and mix well. I do this in the Kitchen Aid Mixer. Add Vanilla, evaporated milk and egg. Mix until smooth. Fold in brandy.

I like to pre bake the pie crust, line the crust with parchment paper and fill the crust with beans or rice. Bake for 15 minutes.

Pour the pumpkin into the par baked crust and bake for 10 minutes at 450, then reduce the temperature to 325 and bake for an additional 45 minutes. Keep your eyes on the crust, you will likely need to cover the edge with thin strips of foil to prevent over browning.

The pie is done if you can insert and remove a toothpick or knife and it comes out clean.

Apple Crumble

Another favorite in our family. We love apple pie and I figure it’s worth saving the calories, skipping the crust and making a crumble.

We love more topping than many crumble recipes, so if you prefer less cut the topping in half.

Filling
5 Cups chopped peeled apples
1 1/2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice
3/4 Cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
3/4 Cup sugar or 2/3 Cup of agave
2 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour, add 1 extra Tablespoon if using agave.

Topping
2 cup oats (1/2 old-fashioned & 1/2 quick-cooking although either will work)
2 Tablespoons of Flax Meal
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg

1 1/2 Cup packed brown sugar

2/3 Cup whole wheat flour
3/4 Cup melted butter (I’ll often use 1/2 Earth Balance)

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre Heat oven to 350 Degrees

Filling
Peel and chop the apples.
Combine all ingredients, use most, but not all of the sugar. Then test the filling for sweetness, depending on the tartness of apples you may want to increase or decrease the amount of sugar.

Topping
Combine all the dry ingredients and mix in melted butter until crumbly. If it’s not crumbly enough add additional butter up to 1/4 cup.

I prepare this in advance and store the topping and filling in separate Zip-Loc bags for up to 4 days. Before the turkey comes out of the oven pour the filling in the bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish, add topping.

Before you sit down to eat, pop the crumble in the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes, almost the exact amount of time it takes to eat your dinner!

Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream or we like Haagen Daz Frozen Vanilla Yogurt.

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