1 September 2015
This morning we harvested our concord grapes and tomorrow we plan to cook them on the stove-top before turning the juice into jelly. Our home will be filled with the heavenly aroma of these beauties!
September, I’m so glad you’re here to stay a while.
1 November 2014
This autumn we planted three varieties of garlic. Now we get to wait for the summer harvest to find out which we like best and add home-grown garlic to some favorite dishes – it’s perfect in steak sauce, mashed cauliflower, fermented green beans, and a host of others.
As if its vibrant flavor wasn’t good enough, garlic is full of anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-oxidant properties, which make it an especially good thing to have on hand.
Before breaking apart the garlic heads.
Burrowing the garlic clove into its winter home, pointy-side up.
Cloves ready to be covered with a blend of dirt and home-ripened compost.
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
—Genesis 8:22
18 March 2014
This crisp is our all-time-favorite berry dessert. It’s simple to make, quick to assemble, and ready to eat as soon as it’s golden and crispy. Actually, we find this dish so immensely delicious that we jokingly say a large pan makes just four servings. (At least I thought we were joking…)
It’s perfect for breakfast and dessert and can be tossed together for spur-of-the-moment guests or even just as a sweet treat after a busy day.
The original recipe base was Sheri Graham’s “Berry Coconut Crisp,” but with a few tweaks and some multiplication, we customized the recipe for our family… and now for you all, too! The recipe below fits perfectly into the Trim Healthy Mama plan as an S treat.
Baked Berry Crisp (S)
Gluten-Free | Grain-Free | Dairy-Free | THM: S | Serves: 8-10
6-8 cups raspberries and/or strawberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup blanched almond flour
1 cup golden flax meal
2 tablespoons coconut flour (optional, helps thicken the batter in case of extra juicy berries)
¼ cup homemade Truvia*
4 tablespoons gelatin powder
4 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¾ cup coconut oil, melted
¼-½ teaspoon stevia (to taste)
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread berries in a 9″ x 13″ baking pan and evenly sprinkle stevia on berries. In a medium bowl, mix remaining ingredients and crumble the mixture on top of the berries. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
*Homemade Truvia can be made by combining ¾ cup erythritol and ½ teaspoon stevia.
**Non-THM cooks can substitute homemade Truvia with honey or coconut sugar.
4 February 2014
There was a birthday at our home last week, which was an occasion that called for, as all birthdays do: cake. And we sure did find a winner of a recipe! A cake unlike any other that is rich, lightly moist, full of body, and full of chocolate.
Enter “Special Occasion Chocolate Cake” from page 384 of Trim Healthy Mama, topped with the fluffy and rich “Chocolate Frosting” from Paleo Indulgences (ignore the worldview behind the title, please). A recipe combo that I think would also be perfect for creme-filled cupcakes.
- If you have food sensitivities, you’ll be glad to know that these recipes are gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free, making for a happy tummy.
- If you’re a Trim Healthy Mama, this cake is an S.
The simple decorating is spread icing with cocoa powder sprinkled on top. Whenever I add icing to a cake, I’m reminded of the day years ago when we decided we wouldn’t be doing fancy cake decorating in our kitchen again… that was quite the adventure.
And the candle holes are for extra beauty, attesting to the joyful celebration of Breezy’s birthday.
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints,
for those who fear Him have no lack!”
—Psalm 34:8-9
24 September 2013
It’s the third day of Autumn. The temperatures are dropping, the sun takes its rest in golden skies, and the fields are being harvested. We’re surrounded by reminders that this beautiful season is upon us.
Apples and pears are being picked, friends and neighbors are getting out their scarves and boots, raspberries are ripe, the grape jelly has been put up from this year’s harvest, the trees are well on their way to a full bloom of what is fondly called Autumn colors.
Just as there is a time to plant there is a time to pluck up what is planted. “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
There’s something peaceful and exciting about each new season – as one goes, another comes.
We look back at what God has taught us and brought us through and look forward to what He has in store for the future. We see His merciful hand at work every step of the way, knowing that His works are good and His ways are righteous.
With each new season – and each new day – comes a reminder of the faithfulness of the Lord. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22) “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:21-23)
His promises never fail.
8 August 2013
With zucchini in full harvest, now’s the perfect time to whip up a batch of zucchini bread! Mum recently created a scrumptious gluten- and grain-free version of our favorite traditional zucchini bread recipe – you’ll find it below.
To enjoy this treat year-round: simply shred fresh zucchini and freeze it in two cup portions, that way you can thaw and toss in the shreds (already measured!) when you’re ready to bake a batch of bread.
Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread
GLUTEN-Free, GRAIN-Free, DAIRY-Free
3 eggs
1 ¼ cups coconut sugar
2 cups zucchini, shredded
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
½ cup coconut flour, sifted
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Beat eggs until light and fluffy; add coconut sugar, zucchini, vanilla. Continue mixing while slowly adding coconut oil. Mix dry ingredients together and add to the egg mixture. Mix until well blended; add nuts.
Pour into two greased loaf pans or line pans with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour. Let cool in pan and then transfer to serving plate.
(It’s awfully delicious while still warm, though… I have to admit that I was rather distracted mid-photoshoot by making a snack out of the subject.)
Enjoy!
(Looking for the traditional, gluten-filled version? Find it here.)
13 June 2013
We’ve enjoyed picking these juicy red beauties from our strawberry patch this week. God has blessed us with an abundant and oh-so-delicious harvest!
P.S. There’s a give-away of Breezy’s “Teach Them Diligently” chalkboard art print and an opportunity to help a family in need!
21 May 2013
The sliced potatoes frying in the skillet looked in need of some fresh chive. I quickly slipped outside to the edge of the garden and cut some of the green beauty that was blowing in the strong Indiana wind.
After a quick rinse and a few chops of the knife, the chives were tossed into the skillet to join the potatoes! It made for a delicious side dish at dinner last evening.
“Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.”
—Proverbs 15:16-17
6 April 2013
Years ago I enjoyed my first scone at a local tearoom. My grandmother had taken me there as a surprise for my birthday – at the table we had a lovely array of tea, sandwiches, and cranberry scones with lemon curd. At that first bite, scones became a favorite.
We’ve tried a few delicious scone recipes and these blueberry scones are right up there at the top (competing with lemon scones for first place). Since finding this recipe, I’ve lost count of how many batches we’ve made.
Blueberry Scones
GLUTEN-Free, GRAIN-Free, DAIRY-Free
(Based on this recipe from Nourishing Flourishing – thanks, Katie!)
2½ cups blanched almond flour (we use Honeyville)
2 Tb. arrowroot powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. sea salt
1 farm-fresh egg
¼ cup honey
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tb. vanilla
¾ cup frozen blueberries
Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Fold blueberries into the well-mixed batter.
Divide dough into eight equal portions on a parchment-lined baking sheet. With wet hands, shape dough into triangles about ¾″ thick, leaving space between each for baking.
Place in 350°F oven for about 15-18 minutes, removing when edges and tops start to brown. Best served while still warm from the oven.
Whether accompanied with tea (or coffee) or as a Saturday morning breakfast, these blueberry scones make for a perfect treat! Enjoy!
