Whatever change you’re bringing into or maintaining in your kitchen, whether it’s eliminating gluten, dairy, sugars or carbs in general, the stumbling block often seems to be “what’s for dessert?”

Simply not having dessert is always an option. But, as I’m fond of saying, deprivation is not a great way to approach health. Nutritionally we don’t need sweets, but that doesn’t mean they don’t satisfy an important need in our lives. To go from eating dessert every day to never having dessert is likely to leave some part of you in distress.

Be kind to that part of you. It’s that part of you, me and my family that I’m loving when I create everything-free desserts. (Okay, almost everything-free. Some cross sensitivities are hard to cover in every dish.)

This recipe is GAPS and SCD friendly, low carb, gluten and dairy-free, chemical-free, and free of all sugars. It has nuts in it, but could be made without the nuts, too, if they make you react. You’d just miss the crunch.

Enjoy!

Paleo Rhubarb “Crisp”
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Welcome to my first video blog!

This is a short version of a longer video on making mayonnaise. The full length version will be available with future online e-courses, the first coming up this fall.

Enjoy!

Kim Chi

Ingredients:

• 1 small head of napa cabbage, ½ inch sliced
• 1 head baby bok choy, ½ inch sliced
• 1 medium sized daikon radish, julienned
• 1 bunch green onion, sliced coarsely
• 2 jalapenos, sliced thinly
• 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced finely
• 1/4 – 1 tsp cayenne pepper, or ground red peppers
• 1 – 2 Tbsp of good quality mineral salt – Celtic or Himalayan sea salt, or Real Salt

Directions:

Measure out about 2 tsp salt per pound of vegetable (for this quantity of vegetable that will likely be around 2 tablespoons).

Scatter the salt on the chopped veggies and toss to distribute. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave it for and hour or two. When you come back the vegetables should have released their liquid.

Massage a little with your hands to help the process along. Stuff the mixture into one or two quart mason jar as needed, leaving about an inch space above the vegetable, and lay a grape leaf over the top of it if you have one. Liquid should rise above the level of the vegetable. Cap jar tightly.

Leave jar on your counter or in a cupboard for 3 – 7 days. Burp the jars daily to make sure the pressure doesn’t build up too intensely. If the ferment looks very active to you, open it slowly over a sink, or wrapped in a kitchen towel – they can spray pretty hard! Press the vegetables down with a fork or spoon. Taste.

When the kim chi tastes tart and sour to your liking, put it in your fridge or cool basement. The flavors will continue to develop over time. Enjoy!

Simple Bone Broth

Ingredients:

• Bones, skin, feet and non-liver organs of chickens or other meat. Or a whole chicken.
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup lemon juice or apple cider vinegar per gallon total volume of bones and water

Directions:

If using bones from a red meat animal, roast the bones at 350 degrees for one hour until browned and caremelized. This is not necessary for poultry.

Crack the bones if you can, using the bottom of a heavy pot (optional). Place bones and lemon juice or vinegar in a pot or slow cooker. Add water just to cover. Soak the bones for at least an hour in the cold acidulated water.

Bring to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the top. Turn down to a low temperature. Ideally there should be barely any bubbles rising, hardly any movement in the simmer. The slow cooker on low may even be too hot, but I use it anyway, it’s so easy.

Cook for 6 – 12 for poultry, 24 – 72 hours for larger animals (red meat). If using a whole chicken, remove the chicken after cooking an hour or two and pull the meat from the bones to use in other recipes. Return the bones and skin to the broth and continue cooking. The longer the broth cooks, the more minerals will leach into the broth, making it a rich mineral supplement. Sometimes the gelatin breaks down with the longer cooking with the poultry or with the higher heat, so you might lose that benefit. The bones should be crumbly to the touch, at least at the ends.

Another method is to cook the bones for eight hours. Strain and reserve broth. Add water and acid to the bones again, and cook eight more hours. Repeat, if you have the patience. Each successive batch will be less gelatinous, more neutral in flavor, and rich in minerals.

Optional – Bring finished broth to a boil, simmer, and reduce by half. Cool. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Pop the broth cubes into a zip lock bag and store in the freezer. Use in sauteeing veggies, pop a few in when cooking grains, and, of course, dilute a bit for soups. If you’ve reduced it, remember it’s concentrated. Especially if you’ve used a lot of chicken feet! They make a very dense broth.

Ingredients:

• 1 can coconut milk of choice – Native Forest brand recommended, no BPAs, or Natural Value, no gums or thickeners (recommended for GAPS/SCD)
• culture of choice – Custom Probiotics (recommended for GAPS/SCD), Cultures for Health Vegetal Dairy-Free starter, or HMF Superpowder are all good, available online. Look for dairy free.

Directions:

Pour a little coconut milk into a pint sized mason jar. Mix in culture of choice – a smidgeon of the Custom Probiotic, a quarter tsp of the HMF powder. Add the rest of the coconut milk. Cap tightly. Shake well. For Cultures for Health Vegetal Dairy-free starter, follow the manufacturer’s directions.

Keep warm in a yogurt warmer, in an oven with the light or pilot on, in a dehydrator set at about 95 – 100 degrees, or wrapped in a heating pad set on low. Shake occasionally. Yogurt will be mild after one day, a little more tart after two.

Alternate method – mix in culture of choice as described above and shake well. Leave at room temperature for 4 days, shaking occasionally. This method will result in a thicker product, with a slightly fizzy flavor.

Recipe: Edible Face Scrub

Amazing magic today – we’ve had a swarm of bees in our backyard pear tree for a week. Thought it was a hive that we’d never noticed (clueless about bees here, except knowing they are vital to the health of the earth).

A visiting friend explained the swarming behavior this morning. She explained that when a suitable hive spot was found the swarm would take off with the queen all at once, and abandon the tree. What we thought was a hive, a mass about 10 inches across and 18 inches from top to bottom, was actually a cluster of bees. Holy moly! That’s a lot of bees.

Here's what they left behind!

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