SweetAllium - SweetAllium Blog

Bone Broth

6/10/2015

I spent this past Saturday morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market here in Portland, Oregon, doing a cooking demonstration about delicious, nutritious bone broth. See, I’ve been making bone broth (also called stock) for a couple years now, and it wasn’t until I spent a few minutes with a book called Nourishing Broth by Sally Fallon Morrel and Kaayla T. Daniel, that I realized how much more there was to know about bone broth—how it can be used therapeutically for a variety of specific conditions, and how it changes depending on the bones, the species and cooking time. I shared some of my new knowledge at the market, along with an original recipe for dog biscuits that use the long-cooked softened bones as an ingredient.

Here’s a couple basic recipe for bone broth that you can make at home. Stay tuned for Doggy Biscotti!

Bone Broth - Slow Cooker or Stove Top

bones of chicken, lamb or beef
water to cover
about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar to every half gallon of water

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, cook over very low heat, avoiding a boil, for 24 hours. Allow the pot to cool slightly, then remove the broth and enjoy it in soups, sauces or as a daily tonic with fresh herbs and a small amount of salt. The particulate matter is nutritious as well as the clear liquid, but if you like a cleaner look, you can strain out the particulates with a coffee filter or a few layers of cheesecloth. Bone broth will keep for about a week in the fridge, or it can be frozen for later use.

Continuous Slow Cooker Bone Broth

To keep a continuous batch of bone broth going, follow the above recipe using a slow cooker and ladle out a quart of broth. Replace the liquid with water and a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and allow the broth to cook for another 24 hours before removing additional bone broth. Over time, the bones will soften as the minerals and proteins are dissolved into the broth. The qualities of the broth will change too, depending on how long the bones are cooked and what part of the animal they are from.

German Pancakes - Gluten Free!

2/19/2015

There's something about this time of year that beckons forth German pancakes and halved grapefruits during lazy weekend mornings. My secret for a great German pancake is to use lots of butter in a large cast-iron skillet that is pre-heated in a hot oven. For toppings, powdered sugar and meyer lemon juice are a must!

Enjoy!

German Pancake - Gluten Free

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup white rice flour
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
2 tablespoons garbanzo bean flour
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk or milk substitute
dash of salt
nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 425 ˚F. Place the butter into a large cast iron skillet and pop it in the oven to preheat as you prepare the batter. Thoroughly combine the remaining ingredients and pour it into the hot, buttery skillet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until much of the top of the pancake is golden brown.

Tuna Bites

2/5/2015

Delightful Tuna Slaw on Apple Slices

It was a beautiful fall day when inspiration hit. Wintery hungerings for something creamy coincided with summer's last hurrahs of cabbage and apples. I whipped up something good--so good I had to share it with you--and ate it outside in the sunlit, but crisp fall air.

I love this recipe because it somehow attends to lots of cravings at once: sweet, salty, cheesy, and fresh. It's also easy and quick to throw together and totally packable! (Just keep the apple whole until you've arrived at your picnic destination or the office lunchroom.)

A note about mayo. I get it...maaayo. It was, for me, for a long time, the symbol of everything that went wrong, culinarily, in the early 60s. But after learning more about it's roots as aioli--a rich blend of oil, egg yolk and seasoning--I gotta say I'd give it a not-embarassing B-, especially if you can make it yourself (super yum!), or find it with a healthier oil base, like sunflower or safflower oil. Also, as a valuable bonus, it is creamy, yet lactose free, which is really rad for folks (the majority of us on the planet) who don't digest milk very well as adults. Please check out my cautionary, yet liberating thoughts on cheese and lactose intolerance.

Anyway, here it is, mayo from a jar, right here in the middle of my healthy food blog. Enjoy! I know I will.

Tuna Bites (GF)

1 cup purple cabbage, chopped finely
1 scallion, chopped finely
1 can of skipjack tuna, with some of the water
1/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or walnut oil
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt to taste
1 teaspoon dill
2 apples, sliced into 1/8 inch slices
freshly ground pepper

In a medium sized bowl combine cabbage, tuna, oil, cheese and salt. Top the apple slices with this mixture and season with freshly ground black pepper.

Soaked Nuts!

1/29/2015

I've mentioned soaked nuts before in many a post, often parenthetically. I just figured, It's just nuts that have been soaked in salt water and then dehydrated--nothing to write home about. But actually, it is noteworthy in terms of flavor and texture. It turns almonds into mouthwatering almonds, which is a big deal.

It is an extra step to soak the nuts for 4-18 hours (depending on the nut), then rinse and dehydrate for 1-3 days (depending on the nut and your dehydrator). But it makes such a difference--especially for almonds, walnuts and pecans--that it's definitely worth the 5-10 minutes of active prep time at either end of the process.

I've read some health claims about this process reducing phytic acid or enzyme inhibitors--both cases would lead to improved digestion, but it seems the jury is still out on these ideas. I'm convinced on flavor alone.

The Nourishing Gourmet has a nice breakdown of how long to soak and dehydrate--worth perusing for those who like detailed direction and any first-timers. I manage it folk-style (according to our herbalism instructor, "It's okay if you folk it up."): lots of nuts covered generously in water and a small handful of salt, soak for several hours, rinse, dehydrate in my primitive dehydrator with no settings until they have a special, brittle crunch. For me, it makes owning a dehydrator worth it.

Perfect Pie Crust - gluten free and vegan!

1/22/2015

Pie Crust is a tricky thing, isn’t it?

I suspect that even some bakers and pie shops have given up on making a delicious pie crust in favor of just making something that will hold some filling. I see where they’re coming from—a great pie crust requires care in crafting it and experience on the part of the maker. But I think it’s worth it. Maybe not for a business (I have a theory that no store-bought pie is both good and affordable), but I think it’s definitely worth it if you’re making a pie for loved ones. Which is the best reason to make pie after all, right?

To throw a wrench in the whole endeavor, maybe you or someone you are hoping to make a loving pie for doesn’t eat gluten, or animal products. Well, I’ve got you covered.

I come from a lineage that takes its pie crust very seriously, and I’ve managed to convince it’s current matriarch of the deliciousness of this special gluten free and vegan pie crust. An impressive feat, if I do blog so myself.

Deja Vu? Yes, I have blogged about gluten free vegan pie crust before, but after innumerable pies and quiches over the past two years, I've settled on a slightly better variation. Also it was getting hard to find, buried there in 2013. Here's the latest version.

Perfect Pie Crust: Gluten Free and Vegan

2 tbs ground flax seed
2 tbs cool water
1 cup white rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup cool water

Combine the ground flax seed with the 2 tbs water in a tiny bowl and let soak. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well. Cut in the coconut oil until the largest pieces are smaller than the tip of your pinky. Add the 1/2 cup water and combine throughly, kneading a few times if necessary. Split this dough in half and press an entire half into a glass pie shell, making sure there’s a generous amount on the edges—the crust. Bake according to your usual pie or quiche recipe, approximately 350 ˚F for 35-45 minutes.

Fresh Nutmeg Invitation

1/15/2015

Chopped Nutmeg

Just a question: Have you ever ground nutmeg? Or, have you ever chopped a nutmeg in half?

It's just wild. The hard outer crust gives way to a dense brainy-shaped meat inside that is packed with fragrant oil. I once put too much freshly ground nutmeg on my breakfast and experienced an altered consciousness by noon. Too much nutmeg is hepatotoxic, so I'm not suggesting you try it, just suggesting that this is powerful stuff. And so yummy in small amounts.

Consider this an invitation. Go grab yourself a nutmeg and a grater.

I only wish you could smell this chopped nutmeg.

Wojape: Sweet Berry Soup

1/8/2015

Making Wojape: Sweet Blueberry Soup

Hello there Sweet Allium!

For the past several months I've been pouring my blogging energy into a number of posts for the ever-charming, ever-creative Evermine blog, sharing what I can about yummy food, herbalism and how to package it all up as beautiful gifts and favors. It's been a great experience to work with the staff at Evermine, and I suspect my ongoing blog projects for both Evermine and Sweet Allium will reinforce each other.

For example, through my work on a few Evermine blog posts, as well as a cool NPR piece about a Lakota chef reinventing traditional recipes, an old family recipe resurfaced for me--wojape: a delicious sweet berry soup. Wojape is also a perfect example of food as delicious medicine.

At my dad's house growing up, wojape was what we'd make on special occasions to top our waffles, something like a fruit compote, but the original recipe is much more refined--a stand-alone berry pudding made of food foraged on the great plains. I remember that my grandmother, who had grown up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, then in my memory, aged, wheelchair-bound, and without an appetite, came to life when my dad placed a bowl of wojape in front of her at the table.

The original recipe for wojape (or wojapi) calls for chokecherries and used timpsila, a root, as a thickener. These days a common recipe for wojape replaces the chokecherries with dark berries or cherries, adds sugar, and uses cornstarch as a thickener.

I've made my family recipe, akin to the common recipe, too many times to count, but I recently reworked the recipe, with, as usual, an effort to remove sugar and processed foods. Also, because my culinary interests are ever-bending toward diets for diabetes and pre-diabetes, and because so many people in my family and so many Native Americans struggle with diabetes, I couldn't help but lend my herbal knowledge in that direction. The result is a blueberry-based wojape (blueberries are a superfood, for everyone, but also for people with diabetes) that is thickened and sweetened with freshly ground cinnamon (cinnamon reduces insulin resistance and helps to lower blood sugar) with optional powdered maca (maca is an Andean root, food and medicine, known for hormone balancing). Personally, I love the flavor of maca, which is sweet and slightly bitter, and I find it balances out the tartness of the blueberries.

Before a few months ago, I used my frozen blueberries exclusively for smoothies. Smoothies are hot right now, but smoothies are super cold--too cold for me. In these winter months a hot meal is what feels good, so this wojape is exactly what my body seems to want. I love to bring it with me, hot, in a wide-mouth thermos to enjoy it at school or when setting out on weekend travel.

Want to give my revamped wojape a try?

Blueberry Wojape

4 cups frozen blueberries (If you have fresh blueberries, don't be silly, just eat them fresh!)
2-4 tablespoons water
2-4 tablespoons freshly ground cinnamon
2-4 tablespoons maca powder (optional)

Combine the first three ingredients in a small pot over low heat, stirring occasionally. After the berries are completely thawed and the liquid boiled down a bit, remove from heat and stir in the maca powder. Makes 2 servings.

Blueberry Wojape with Cinnamon and Maca

Gluten Free Banh Mi

8/29/2014

Did you notice that Sweet Allium has long needed an update? Yes? Well, we can blame this new little sandwich, because I've been spending most my summer with this gluten free banh mi, either making it, eating it, or teaching other people how to make it for me.

Before we dive in, I have to comment on the inherent irony and ambiguity of the string of words here--gluten free banh mi--since "banh mi" really only means bread. But, my sense is, to Americans who don't speak Vietnamese, the term suggests all the magic of a sweet, garlic, basil, chile, cilantro, vinegar and umami explosion, in sandwich form. And now, sans the bulky bread.

Shall we get into it? This recipe was adapted from this fabulous pork meatball banh mi entry at Epicurious. A few changes have been made to accommodate the moist crunch of lettuce as a replacement to the dry knaw of baguette. Despite what the the image below may suggest, spicy mayo is the way to go! Also, don't be too picky about the veggies you use for the pickles. While carrots and daikon radish are classic, and root vegetables are preferred, just use whatever you have locally and in season. I've used, zucchini and broccoli with good and moderate success, respectively.

A few Gluten Free Banh Mi ingredients (clockwise from top): asian pesto, romaine leaves with mayo, chicken sausage, cilantro

Gluten Free Banh Mi Sandwich (gluten free, dairy free)
serves 4-6

Prepare the sweet pickles.
3-4 cups of 1-2 types of vegetables, slivered or julienned, so they'll lay nicely in a long sandwich
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

Combine the ingredients into a large bowl and mix periodically for 30 minutes, or set overnight.

Make the asian pesto.
1 small fistful of basil leaves
3 green onions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon chile flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine the ingredients in a food processor and puree, adding a small amount of water if necessary to keep the contents mixing.

Prepare the spicy mayo.
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoons hot chile sauce (like Sriracha, to taste)

Assemble the sandwiches:
1 lb loose chicken sausage, or ground chicken
12-16 large leaves of romaine lettuce
1-2 cups chopped cilantro
1 avocado, thinly sliced (optional)

Fry the sausage and, once cooked, combine 1/2 or the full amount of the asian pesto with the hot sausage and remove from heat. Use more pesto for a stronger flavor, or, to soften the flavor of the pesto, allow it to cook with the chicken for 1-2 minutes before removing the sausage from heat. Allow the sausage to cool slightly before assembling the sandwich.

Wash and dry the lettuce leaves, taking care to keep them whole. Remove 1-2 inches of the white bulky stems from the lettuce, and nest two leaves together. Spread the top leaf with spicy mayo, then arrange a modest layer of sausage, then pickles and finally top with a generous amount of cilantro. If you've got an avocado, between the chicken and the pickles is a perfect place for it.

Eat it like a taco! Also, if you're serving several people, it might be classy to present the sammies along with extra fixings on the table so each guest can customize to his or her own taste.

Avocado Aioli

5/29/2014

Avocado Aioli

I stumbled across this fabulous combo trying to make goddess dressing without nutritional yeast. I'm not sure what I was aiming for, actually, since I realize now, I have no idea what goddess dressing is. So. Out of the ether it came, I suppose. A freak miracle.

It looks just like many other dips, but there's so much more to the story than how it appears. Brightly lemony, garlic-ly pungent and decadently creamy, this is one of my heavy hitters at this point. Guaranteed to impress. Bringing this to a dinner party or potluck is not advised if you are hoping to avoid attention. Additionally, this recipe will make anyone fall in love with you; it will likely change the course of your career for the better; it will improve grocery checkout line decisions as well as bestow incredible results in Chinese cookie fortunes.

So why not? Aioli, ho!

Avocado Aioli (vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free)

The ratios of ingredients in this recipe are crucial in order to achieve a bursting, lemony, pungent, creamy dip. Too much avocado might be the easiest mistake to make. Correct for this by adding more garlic, lemon and salt. In life, I urge you to not be shy with garlic--here, parsley subdues what I call a garlic cologne effect. I've had great success with throwing in all of the juice from a Meyer lemon, but if you are going to sub any other kind of lemon, you might not need as much, and adding the juice slowly is a good idea.

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 head of garlic
1/2 medium sized ripe avocado
juice of one meyer lemon
1/2 bunch of parlsley, chopped coarsely

In a food processor, first blend together the sunflower seeds, salt, garlic and olive oil-- the things that you wouldn't want to chomp down on in a dip. If you need some more volume for the food processor to do its work, add a little of the avocado and some of the lemon juice. Once this is blended as smoothly as possible, add the rest of the avocado half and the lemon and combine. Lastly, add the parsley and blend until it is well-chopped but not pulverized. Makes enough for 3-4 people to devour in minutes with chips or carrots. Also, freezes well!

Riddle

5/15/2014

On a recent road trip my sweetie offered up a riddle to me and my best gal-friend, Jacqui. Wanna give it a shot? Here it is:

A man and his son were in a serious accident. The man and his son were rushed to two separate hospitals. As the boy was delivered into the operating room, the surgeon said, "I can't perform this surgery; this is my son." How is this possible?

Here, I'll let you think on it for a sec over a pretty picture.

Before I give you the answer, I have to mention, this riddle was maybe the dozenth that we'd heard that car trip, and Jacqui and I had kinda been killin' it. Maybe it was our assume-nothing medical training (we're in our 3rd year of naturopathic medical school), or maybe we're just a couple of smarty-pants, but we'd immediately gotten the correct answers to most of the riddles that day.

Our immediate response to this one (because we're so progressive and open-minded) was: the son had two dads. Not a bad answer. But the published answer was: the surgeon was the boy's mother.

Of course, the irony of sitting with two female medical students who hadn't considered the possibility that the surgeon could be a woman was not lost on my sweetie. Before he gave us the answer he urged us to try again, and watched in disbelief as we fumbled for an explanation as delightful as the great gay- or multiple-dads scenario.

So maybe despite being women who are studying to be doctors, we still aren't as open-minded and progressive as I thought. I just hope that actions do speak louder than words.