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We celebrated my little man Titus’ second birthday this last week and what a joyous celebration it was. I knew it was my opportunity to experiment further with a healthy use of sourdough to make a chocolate cake. What a surprise! With my sourdough starter, whole wheat flour, and sucanat (as my natural sweetener of choice), the result was a delicious moist semi-sweet chocolate cake that was not sour in the least. I was thrilled to make a healthy dessert. I made two 8 inch round cake pans with the recipe and then cut them each in half to make a four layered cake. I layered it with cream cheese frosting and finally cocoa powder dusted over the top. A healthy cake? Amazing. Here’s my adaption:

• 1 cup fed sourdough starter (I purchased my starter through Cultures for Health and it was alive and well in one week!)
• 1 cup milk of your choice (I used half cow’s milk and half hemp milk)
• 1-3/4 cup whole wheat flour (preferably whole wheat pastry flour for a softer texture)
• 1-1/2 cups sucanat/rapadura
• 1 cup unrefined, virgin coconut oil, melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 cup traditional cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons finely ground coffee
• 2 large pastured eggs

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sourdough starter, milk, and flour. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours. I like to set my sourdough to soaking in the evening and then finish it the next morning. You can sit up to 24 hours but you will have more of a sourdough taste to the mixture which may be less desirable.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 (8 inch) round/square cake pans with butter or coconut oil. Dust with flour to make sure it comes out easily after cooling.

3. To the sourdough mixture, add sucanat/rapadura, coconut oil, vanilla, and eggs. Beat gently until well combined.

4. Add salt, baking soda, and ground coffee. Beat briefly till smooth.

5. Pour cake mixture into your prepared pans and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely before turning over the pans and allowing the cakes to pop out onto your platter of choice.

You may frost between the two layers (which will more likely fall apart at slicing), or divide the cake into four layers (each cake cut in half horizontally) by  inserting toothpicks half way up the side about 2-3 inches apart all around the side circumference of the cake. Take a serrated knife and line it up on top of the toothpicks, using them as your guide, and slice carefully through the center of the cake until it is divided in half horizontally. This technique results in a much more even cut. Here is a picture of this process.

For more inspiration on how to create your own sourdough and a wealth of delicious recipes, check out the Gnowfglins Sourdough eCourse. Thanks to Gnowfglins for the original recipe that can be found here. Highly recommended!

Cream Cheese Frosting with Powdered Sucanat

Did you know you can make a healthy natural frosting by blending sucanat (the whole cane sugar) or rapadura in a blender to make your own powdered sugar? Thanks to Laura at Heavenly Homemakers inspiration, I made my own cream cheese frosting. You may add 1/2 cup cocoa powdered to frosting for more of a chocolate flavor.

1 cup sucanat/rapadura
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place 1 cup of sucanat/rapadura in your blender and blend until light and powdered (about 30 seconds). Combine cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl and whip until creamy. Slowly add your powdered sucanat and vanilla until it reaches your desired sweetness. Spread out over your cooled cake and enjoy!

Want to make an extra special treat for your husband or the special man in your life? These chocolate peanut butter delights will surely bring a smile to his face and increase his love for you! Remember the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and I have found it to be true. They are a true favorite for my hubby! Don’t stop creating special goodies for him and he will be a blessed and happy man!

1 cup peanut butter (creamy is preferred)
2 cups powdered sugar (you can substitute with ground rapadura/sucanat, if desired)
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup butter, softened
6 oz chocolate chips
3/4 Tablespoon paraffin household wax, optional (can be found in the baking section of your local grocery store)

Directions:

1. Mix together the peanut butter, powdered sugar, chopped nuts, and softened butter. Cover and chill in refrigerator till firm.
2. Roll into small 1 inch balls and chill again till firm.
3. Melt the chocolate chips and wax together in a double boiler, mixing constantly until fully melted.
4. Place a toothpick in each ball and dip balls into melted chocolate and set up on wax paper.
5. Chill balls again till firm. Serve and enjoy! Store in refrigerator.

The paraffin wax is an optional ingredient to help increase firmness and presentation. It can be easily eliminated or you can experiment with beeswax as a viable alternative.

Other yummy valentine treats:

Healthy Valentine Day Treats

Want to prepare some more healthy treats for the holidays or your upcoming cookie exchange? Or how about preparing some tasty treats for your neighbors this Christmas?

Today we are joining Domestic by Design in sharing a few favorite holiday treats that have been adapted to make them more healthy and nutritious! Check out the fun Real Food Cookie Exchange Carnival and share your favorite recipes! Since cookies are a special treat at our house, we mainly stick with unbleached white flour (or half and half with sprouted wheat), as it gives more tasty, fluffy results. But you can certainly use whole wheat flour if desired. Other than that, I like to use coconut oil and natural sweeteners to give them a more nutritious nature. Here is one of our new favorites!

These cranberry cookies are fabulous! They are soft, rich and flavorful with a splash of red color to make them a perfect holiday treat.

Cranberry Orange Coconut Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter or coconut oil, softened (half butter & half coconut oil works best!)
• 1 1/2 cups rapadura/sucanat (you can certainly cut back to about 1 cup if using orange juice concentrate or dried cranberries)
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons orange juice or orange juice concentrate
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour or whole wheat flour (increase baking soda to 1.5 teaspoons)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chopped cranberries, fresh or dried (fresh is preferred)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened dried coconut flakes

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter/coconut oil, sweetener, orange peel, orange juice, and vanilla until smooth and light.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, stir to mix, then beat on low speed until dough comes together, about 1-2 minutes. You may have to add 1 more Tablespoon water or orange juice to get it to come together. Mix in cranberries and coconut flakes.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on an greased baking sheets.

4. Bake in a 350° degrees until cookie edges just begin to brown, 12-15 minutes (shorter baking time will yield a chewier cookie; longer baking time will yield a crispier cookie). If baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.

Yield: 3-4 dozen.

Some of our other favorite holiday treats, that would work beautifully on a cookie platter for your neighbors:

Healthy Homemade Fudge
Healthy Peanut Brittle
Gingersnap Cookies

Happy holiday baking!

This is my favorite side dish for our holiday celebrations! It is simple, nutritious, and always receives rave reviews! Yes, it is certainly a bit of dessert with dinner. Yum! It’s even better prepared a day in advance, giving it more time to mesh the flavors.

• 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 3 apples – peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/2 cup sucanat/rapadura
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2  teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil (coconut oil adds wonderful flavor to this dish!)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

With the holidays just around the corner, we cannot miss out on a large pot of mashed potatoes! They are truly delicious when topped with gravy or simply eaten on their own. Mashed potatoes are a huge hit for our family, and we serve them with roast chicken, beef burgundy, and many other meat dishes. I find most mashed potatoes to be dry and flavorless…but not when prepared with these simple ingredients! Don’t skimp on the butter – it makes a world of difference!

8 large yukon gold potatoes (yukon gold make the most golden delicious mashed potatoes)
1 cup potato water (reserved from cooking liquid – can be replaced with chicken broth or cream for even more flavor!)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (can use cream cheese or sour cream, as desired)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup butter (or 5-6 Tablespoons)
1 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper

Directions:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Place in a large pot and fill with water just until the potatoes are covered. Cover and bring to a boil. When boiling, remove lid and allow to cook for about 35-40 minutes, until potatoes are easy to prick with a fork due to softness and falling apart. Allow to cool slightly.
2. Carefully drain the majority of the water, reserving approximately 1 cup. Place all the potatoes and reserved 1 cup of the potato water in a mixer. Turn the mixer on and blend until all the potatoes are nicely mashed.
3. Add mayonnaise, minced garlic, butter and salt. Continue to mix until thoroughly combined. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Add more liquids if necessary to make a creamy consistency.

Keep warm till ready to serve! Yum!

Yield: 6 servings.

Every year our family purchases 12 lovely pastured chickens from a local farm. Chickens that have enjoyed the great outdoors to their hearts content makes the most nutritious bird. Only 12 chickens? Yes, I use one chicken each month and make it stretch for at least four or more meals for our family of four. It is a great frugal way to get the most value and nutrition by purchasing them whole. You get all bones which make fabulous broth! Here I am today to share our method of preparing multiple meals from one chicken at one time.

Roasted Chicken

The first step is to thaw the whole chicken and prepare it into a scrumptious roast while a batch of mashed potatoes, gravy, and a side salad!

Ingredients:

1 large chicken (4-6 pounds)
2 Tablespoons softened butter or coconut oil
2 Tablespoons melted butter, coconut oil, or olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon parsley, oregano, or basil (or combination)
sea salt and pepper
Rosemary

Directions:

1. Wash and pat dry the exterior and interior of your chicken. Remove any giblets that may be in the cavity and set aside for your broth.

2. Combine the 2 Tablespoon butter with garlic and parsley/oregano/basil seasonings. Carefully peel back the skin at the back of the neck and rub the butter seasoning mix all around the meat, between the skin and meat. This will give the meat a wonderful moist texture. You can skip this step if you are in a hurry and the meat will still be fabulous with just the outside oil and seasoning!

3. Place chicken in a roasting pan, dutch/french oven, or any oven safe pan you may have. Preferably the more fitted the container the better for keeping all the juices together. Place the chicken breast side down into the pan.

4. Cover chicken with half the melted butter/oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary as desired.

5. Place uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

6. After 1 hour, rotate the chicken and sprinkle on the remaining butter/oil and season as desired and return to oven for an additional 1 hour.

7. Chicken is done when the legs pull away from the body of the chicken and if you cut in between the leg and body and the juice runs clear.

8. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

We slice up this chicken and serve with this yummy gravy:

Chicken drippings
1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and whisk together till smooth and thickened. Season to taste.

We don’t eat a lot of meat at any given meal, but make it stretch further by eating more vegetables. As you can see in the photo, I serve the roast chicken over mashed potatoes with a side of broccoli and squash. This really helps to get the most amount of meals from one chicken.

After we have this fabulous chicken for dinner, I place the entirety of the remaining chicken in the fridge overnight. In the morning I prepare the following two dishes at once, because it saves time and energy. Sometime the next day, de-bone the chicken and remove all the chicken meat and place in a separate bowl. Set aside two cups of meat for Chicken & Dumplings, and two cups of meat for Chicken Curry or another dish of your choice. These can be placed in a half gallon jar in the fridge till ready for use. Any additional meat is used for chicken sandwiches to send with hubby for lunches.

Chicken Stock

Bones from 1 whole chicken
Gizzards or feet (optional)
1/2 cup white vinegar
12-16 cups filtered water
1/2 onion, chopped in half
2-4 carrot peelings
2 celery sticks and tops
1 bunch parsley (or 1 Tablespoon or so dried parsley)

Homemade chicken stock is full of healing properties.

1. Place all the bones in a large stock pot. Leave a small portion of the chicken on the bone if you desire to make a chicken soup. Add the reserved giblets, chicken feet, or any additional bones you may have reserved.

2. Fill the pot with approximately 12-16 cups of filtered water.

3. Add white vinegar and allow the mixture to sit for 30 minutes. Vinegar is necessary to draw out the minerals, particularly calcium, magnesium and potassium, into the broth. During this time, you want to prepare your vegetable additions.

4. You can use any older looking vegetables, carrot peels, onion peels, celery tops, potato peels, etc. I love making stock because nothing goes to waste! Many times I will store a bag of peelings in the freezer from other dishes that can be thrown in for the stock.  I will actually peel my ingredients for my next recipe, a double batch of Chicken & Dumplings, and use the peelings for my stock. I use approximately 4 carrot peelings, 1/2 onion (cut into wedges), 2 celery tops and 1 celery stalk cut in half, and 2 potato peelings. There is no need for perfection here. I use what I have on hand and it all goes in.

5. After adding the vegetables, bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 12-24 hours.

6. About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add 1 bunch of parsley.

7. After it has cooked, cool completely. Then drain the broth from the vegetables and bones. I will discard the vegetables and remove any additional meat on the bones for a chicken soup or other purpose before discarding the bones. I will freeze half of the stock by placing in a large gallon size freezer bag. This will be used for soup for another meal.

The remaining stock I will use for soup within the week – Garden Chowder or Zuppa Tuscana are regular delicious soups at our house!

Making Your Own So

Chicken & Dumplings

In the picture above, you see all the chopped veggies that I prepare for my Chicken & Dumplings dish. I have just peeled them all for my stock and use the remaining vegetable chopped nicely for this dish. I use the reserved two cups of chopped chicken for this recipe. I can then prepare this right away or cover and place in fridge for the evening meal. I can easily make a double batch of Chicken & Dumplings in two separate 8 x 8 pans and freeze one for another busy day.

Chicken Curry

With the additional 2 cups of reserved chopped chicken meat, I will often make Chicken Curry - another delicious and nutritious meal. Another favorite would be Chicken Enchiladas that could also be made with this meat.

Finally, any remaining meat makes some fabulous lunches for my husband throughout the week. Roasted chicken sandwiches with mayo, dijon mustard, cheese, pickles, lettuce and any other toppings make a full satisfying sandwich!

So my whole chicken has made 1 roast, 1 batch of chicken stock (enough for at least 2 soups), 2 main dishes, and enough for a few additional chicken sandwiches for lunch! I would say we used everything possible on that chicken!

How do you use your chicken?

One of the greatest pleasures I receive out of homemaking is the beautiful privilege we have to always be learning something new. As wives and mothers, our passion is to serve our families to the best of our abilities as we strive to provide a nourishing home environment for them. Learning new things about health, nutrition, organization, homemaking, and everything in between helps maintain the joy in our work. I have been learning all about sourdough over the last two months, and it has been delightful. I had so many misconceptions of the process – from believing it to always result in sour products, to the extended duration to prepare home baked sourdough goodies in this manner (learn more about sourdough myths here). I was utterly and completely wrong.

Today I made a dozen sourdough English muffins, a spice cake, and crackers all within 30 minutes. And it took 10 minutes to mix up the sourdough starter and flour the night before to let the ingredients sour overnight.

Sourdough is very simple. You almost cannot go wrong with it. And it has wonderful benefits for our bodies – making our grains more digestible by breaking down gluten, and neutralizing phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. Sourdough is a process that is detailed throughout Scripture before the invention of commercial yeast – so the use of sourdough is a work of making organisms come alive from flour and water. It’s incredibly exciting to watch.

urdough Starter

To start, I chose the simple process of purchasing a sourdough starter from Cultures for Health (just $11.99). You can make your own, but the results can be a mix of success and failure. Beginning with a starter will assure greater success and speeds up the process tremendously. It takes one week to establish a lively active starter. Cultures for Health offers many different sourdough starters – from rye flour, to white flour, to the gluten free brown rice starter.

Wardeh at Gnowfglins offers a spectacular Sourdough eCourse that has been tremendously helpful in learning the process of sourdough…but the main benefit is the wealth of recipes she has included for simple sourdough delicacies – bread, English muffins, donuts, tortillas, cakes, etc. The Sourdough eCourse does offer all the practical steps for establishing your own sourdough starter as well.

I found success in feeding my starter every 12 hours or twice a day to get it established (morning and night). I used a glass quart size jar. As the jar would get full, I would scoop some out and place it down the disposal. This is important for good abundant yeast development. I worked on it for about two weeks (as I was out of town for part of this time and just wanted to get a good solid start) before sticking it in the fridge. It was nice and bubbly. At times I fed it 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, and other times I fed it 1/4 cup water and 3/8 cup flour. There are different recommendations for the feeding of your starter, but either way it worked just fine. It was flexible. If I missed a feeding, I would add more flour to water to sweeten it a bit. And you can use practically any assortment of flours – wheat, spelt, kamut, etc. to feed your starter.

How to Use Sourdough?

1. Once it was established, I placed it in the fridge and feed it once a week. I found Wardeh’s idea of doing a weekly baking time to be the easiest manner of continuing to nurture my starter but also provide some yummy simple pastries for our family.

2. I pull out my starter in the morning, give it a feeding (normally 1/2 cup each of water and flour or up to 3 times the amount of starter to make larger batches of baked goods), and then let it sit covered with a cloth napkin for the day. You will want to pour off the black liquid (also called the cooch) at the top of your starter for a less sour taste when you feed it.

3. In the early evening, after sitting for 8 hours, I mix up a batch of English muffin, and one or two other recipes. This week it was spice cake and crackers! I then cover up the individual mixtures with a cloth napkin, label them (so to avoid confusion), and let them sit at room temperature overnight.

4. In the morning, after 12 hours or so, I add the remaining ingredients and bake! I love it! Once I have made my goodies, I just put the remaining sourdough starter in the fridge (always preserving 1 cup for next time!). Sticking to a 12 hour souring time assures a less sour final product. In fact, with this routine, I found there was no sourness to worry about! Everything just tasted yummy and light.

I also love how you don’t have to make a batch of sourdough items every week. If you have a busy week, simply feed the starter (1/2 and 1/2), let it sit out for a few hours, and then put it back in the fridge until you have more energy to put it to use.

Beyond the health benefits, with the exception of sourdough bread, most sourdough recipes requires no additional rising! The overnight fermenting is all the rising you need. I made sourdough cinnamon rolls and I just rolled them out, layered on the fillings, rolled them back up and baked immediately. And your products expand as they bake, keeping them light, fluffy, and oh so yummy! Traditional whole wheat products will be more dense than white flour, but sourdough whole wheat products are a night and day difference.

The Sourdough eCourse also offers video tutorials, helpful hints, and twenty different recipes! Wardeh offers several different membership plan options to make the eCourse accessible for all budgets and time schedules.

If you are interested in starting a new healthy adventure, definitely check out sourdough and the wonderful helpful resources through the Sourdough eCourse!

To conclude, I wanted to share with you one of the easy recipes offered in this course: Sourdough English Muffins (pictured at the top of this post). This recipe is not only easy, but scrumptious! It is delicious toasted with butter and jam, and as a bun for salmon melts, hamburgers, or various sandwiches. I love how it can serve so many purposes. Erin, from Alaska, compiled this recipe and shares it on the Sourdough eCourse.

Erin’s Sourdough English Muffins

• 1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin) – fed within the last 12 hours
• 1 cup liquid (milk, fermented dairy, coconut milk…) – I have used raw milk, kefir, and coconut milk with equal success!
• 2 cups whole wheat flour or any flour combination (and more if needed) – I found I had to use 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour consistently
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Combine your sourdough starter, liquid, and flour in a medium size mixing bowl. Gently combine until all ingredients are incorporated.
2. If mixture is still significantly sticky, add more flour by 1/4 cup till you get a get a moist dough that combines together well into a ball. You will have good results whether it is more wet or dry. Both work well. The flour will absorb the liquids as it ferments, so less is more.
3. Cover bowl with a cloth napkin or plate and allow it to sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. (More time will make them more sour in taste).
4. After the souring process is complete, remove lid and add honey, salt, and baking soda, and kneed into the dough till well combined.
5. Transfer to your counter-top, and cut the dough into eight equal balls. Dough may be wet and sticky, but it is fine.
6. Turn on your stovetop grill to medium heat. In the meantime you can shape each ball into a flat muffin (about 1 inch tall and 3 inch wide). I prefer actually doing this on the grill top to avoid them sticking to the counter-top.
7. Once the grill is heated, transfer balls to the grill and spread them out with the fingers into round flat English muffins. They will puff up significantly as they cook. You may have to adjust the temperature if they begin cooking too fast.
8. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until the bottom is nicely brown and the sides are no longer sticky. Cool and serve!

There you have it…my sourdough routine and the yummy English muffins – a great recipe to start with!

Learn something new today, dear sister. Whatever it might be. This is a way that we beautifully reflect the creative nature of our Creator.

I have done the strenuous work of preparing applesauce for several years by laboring over chopping, cooking, pureeing through a food strainer (a great tool, but still extra work), and finally cooking again and seasoning. It takes a lot of time and effort and required a huge family crew. When this year came around, I knew I must simplify the process. My children love applesauce and it makes a lovely quick, easy, and healthy snack.

With my new technique, applesauce preparation was a breeze! No peeling and no straining! No need for any extra special equipment, just a blender or food processor. I used my favorite tool – the Blendtec – but you certainly can use what you have on hand. You may have to prepare smaller batches, but it will still readily save you a lot of time and effort. Plus, keep the peels on will give you more nutrition, since the majority of the vitamins are directly under the skin! You also are cooking the apples far less (just heating to warm before processing) and thus preserving more nutrition there. I made two dozen jars in just over an hour!

We also used the Tattler reusable and BPA free canning lids this time and were very pleased with the results. They do take a little extra effort, in that you have to tighten and then unscrew 1/4 inch before processing, and then tighten immediately after removing from the water bath (which can be very hot and difficult to accomplish without a thick towel), but I believe the re-usability factor out ways any disadvantages. I had one lid pop off while tightening and one pop off in the processor, so I assume it just takes a bit of time to get used to the process. I love how they are BPA free as well, so we don’t have to be exposed to this unnecessary toxin which is present in the standard Kerr/Ball canning lids. (Thanks to Stephanie at Keeper of the Home for her review of this product!). For my local friends, the Tattler lids are available at Mirador Community Store in Portland.

Here’s my video tutorial:

Directions:

1. Prepare your water bath by filling with water 3/4 way up the side of the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. In the meantime, sterilize your glass canning jars in the dishwasher by running them through a cycle. Place a small pot on the stove with the canning lids to sterilize as well. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer while you can the applesauce.
2. Cut your apples into large chunks, removing the core and seeds. No peeling is necessary!
3. Place the apples in small quantities in a food processor or blender and add approximately 1/2 cup before pulsing/blending the mixture until smooth. Add more water as necessary.
4. Transfer pureed apples to a large stock pot and season as desired with sugar and cinnamon (we use about 1 Tbsp cinnamon and 1 Tbsp or more sucanat for a large stock pot full of applesauce). Heat sauce until just warm.
5. Once the applesauce is heated and sweetened, pour carefully into your sterile glass quart size canning jars (a funnel is ideal for this process). Place hot lids on jars (whether your standard Kerr/Ball canning lids or Tattler lids).
6. Place jars in a boiling water bath. Once water bath is full of jars, cover, and return water to boiling point. Once it is boiling, process for 20 minutes. Transfer to the counter to cool completely.