Mac n' Cheese with Sweet Potato Noodles

First off, let me just say, this is one of those things that just does not photograph well. I tried several different angles and no matter what, it just looked like gloppy orange stuff in a bowl. The photo definitely does not do this justice! It's definitely worth the taste test!

This recipe was invented out of the need for a quick dinner, one which did not use grains. Donald and I haven't cut out grains completely, but we're trying to greatly decrease how many we're ingesting. Our weightloss progress seems to pick up drastically anytime we greatly decrease our grain intake. As I stood in my kitchen tonight, with this fact fresh on my mind, I struggled to think of something quick. Pasta sounded wonderful and I was desperately trying to resist. We've also been upping our intake of raw cheeses and I wanted to incorporate that into our dinner. I knew people had used zucchini as noodles, but did not have any on hand. So I tried to think of what vegetables I had on hand that could be used as noodles. That's when I thought of it. Sweet potatoes.

What you need:

1 small-medium Sweet Potato
1/2 C of Half & Half
Some of your favorite all natural/organic Sausage (we used 2 chicken apple sausages)
Scant 1/4 C of your favorite Cheese (I used raw cheddar and  raw pecorino romano)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Peeler
Sauce Pan
Medium Fry Pan

Fill sauce pan with water and put on to boil.

Chop up your sausage into bite sized rounds. Pour the half & half into fry pan and turn on medium low. Add sausage to the pan with the half & half.

Peel the sweet potato. Once peeled, take the peeler and use it to cut strips of sweet potato. These are your noodles.

Once boiling, add the sweet potato noodles to the water. Cook for 2-4 minutes, until the noodles can easily be bitten through.

Drain the noodles and put aside.

Once sausage is heated through, remove it from the half & half, which will have reduced some. Turn the heat off of the fry pan.

Shred or cut cheese into small chunks. Add to warm half & half. Stir until cheese has mostly melted. Salt and pepper to taste. If you're using raw cheese, its important to keep the heat very low/off during this step so that it will retain it's healthy raw properties.

Once cheese has melted, add in noodles and toss with cheese mixture. Then add in the sausage and toss again. And that's it, you're ready to eat!

Homemade Eggnog

It's that time of year again! We loooove eggnog in this house! Since the last holiday season however, we've become clean eaters. We grabbed a carton of the store bought stuff a few weeks ago and it just didn't seem the same, plus we knew that it was chocked full of refined sugar and chemicals.

It turns out that eggnog can actually be a healthy drink, full of vitamins and nutrients, if its made at home with whole foods! It's a beverage that is even recommended by Weston A Price.

Definitely the healthiest version is made with raw milk and raw cream, but not everyone has access to it (e.g. it's illegal to sell in Nevada). Pasture-raised eggs are an absolute must though, no matter what version you make, because you will be consuming the yolks raw. Check with your local farmer for fresh, pasture raised eggs (EatWild.com is a great resource for finding local farmers.) They can also be found at places like Whole Foods and Marlene's, but probably won't be quite as fresh as from the farm.

Comparing a normal cage free brown egg yolk to the pasture raised egg yolks. See the color difference? Pastured yolks are orange and firm, while normal cage free are yellow and break easily.

This article, in the "How to cook your eggs or not" section, explains why it's safe to eat pastured eggs raw. This blog post also explains the benefits of eating raw pastured eggs and why its safe.

So on to the recipe!

What you need:

1 1/4 cups whole milk (non-homogenized and not ultra-pasteurized preferred)
1 3/4 cups half & half (not ultra-pasteurized preferred)
1 cup heavy whipping cream (not ultra-pasteurized preferred)
4 pastured egg yolks (The only place I could find them this time of year was at Whole Foods)
3 Tbsp organic maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Start by separating your egg yolks from egg whites. (Make sure to keep your whites for a great macaroon recipe coming soon on the blog!)

Measure everything into a small mixing bowl or blender. Blend for about a minute, until the yolk are well incorporated and everything is frothy.

I then poured mine into a quart sized mason jar. You can pour yourself a glass right away or you can stick it in the fridge and let the flavors develop some more. The spices usually rise to the top, so make sure to give it a good shake or stir before pouring a glass.

The recipe is definitely adjustable! The ratio of milk to creams can be played with to suit your taste, as well as the spices and sweetness. This recipe makes just a about a quart and can be easily cut in half or doubled to make more.

Probiotic Lemonade Recipe

Do you remember that whey I told you not to throw away after making homemade yogurt? Here is one of the many uses for it: Probiotic Lemonade. It's a great way to get additional good bacteria in your and your family's tummies and an excellent alternative to things like fruit juice, because it has a lot less sugar.

A few notes: It will seem like a lot of sugar is called for in this recipe at first, but the good bacteria in the whey will eat most of the sugar during the fermenting process. Also, if you do not have enough or any whey, simply grab a carton of yogurt and strain it through a cheese cloth like I describe here.

What you need:

1 cup fresh lemon juice (3-6 lemons)

1/2 cup living whey 

1/4-1/2 cup sugar (organic cane sugar is healthiest, but not essential)

1/2 gallon of filtered water

1/2 gallon sized glass container or jar with lid

Citrus juicer

Knife

Cut and juice lemons. When I bought mine, I picked out the largest lemons I could find since they were priced per lemon and not per pound. I bought 5, but 3 ended up producing just over a cup of juice. It helps if you roll the lemons between your palm and the counter first to loosen them up. I also added a bit of the pulp back into the juice because I'm a fan of citrus pulp in my juices.

I then dissolved a 1/2 cup of sugar into the lemon juice, mixing very well.

Pour the juice and sugar mixture, whey and some filtered water into the glass container. Put lid on and give it a good shake.

Fill the container the rest of the way with water, leaving 1-2 inches head-space at the top. Put the lid on and shake well again.

Set the container in a warm place in your kitchen with a towel covering the bottle. I chose the top of my refrigerator.

Let it sit for 2-5 days. The longer it sits, the tarter it will become. If it's too tart, you can add a little of your preferred sweetener to each glass. If you leave it for 4-5 days, it will most likely become bubbly.

I tasted ours on day 2 and it was tart, but refreshing. I decided to leave it out longer to see if it would get bubbly.

On the evening of day 4, I stuck the bottle in the fridge to chill over night. I could definitely smell the fermentation at that point. In the morning, I poured myself a glass and took a reluctant sip (mind you, this was my first attempt with this recipe too). I was pleasantly surprised! It had a slight fizz and tasted similar to kombucha! I really like it and immediately poured myself a glass to go with my breakfast. Our WAPF diet recommends having something fermented with every meal to help aid in digestions, so this is an easy, tasty way to accomplish that. I will definitely be adding it to my list of regulars! 

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta cheese is incredibly easy to make and so much tastier than the store version! There are two ways to make it: with lemon juice or with leftover whey.

Method One with Lemon Juice

What you need:

1 quart of Half and Half (I often double the recipe and use a half gallon)*
2 tbsp of lemon juice
Salt

Kitchen thermometer
Cheese cloth or thin kitchen towel
Strainer
Soup pot
Large bowl

Start by pouring the half and half into the soup pot. Cook over medium heat till it reaches 180 degrees. While it is heating up, line a strainer with the cheese cloth or thin kitchen towel. Put the strainer over a large bowl to catch the whey.

Once the cream has reached 180 degrees, take it off the heat and add 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Let it sit for about 5 minutes.

This is what the mixture will look like at the end of 5 minutes. The acid in the lemon juice curdles the milk, forming curds and whey.

Pour it into the strainer lined with cheese cloth and let it drain until desired consistency. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

*if you are going to increase or double the recipe, the ratio is 1 tbsp of lemon juice for every 2 cups of cream


Method Two with Whey

What you need:

1 quart Half and Half
1 cup living whey (e.g. from yogurt)*
Salt

Kitchen thermometer
Cheese cloth or thin kitchen towel
Strainer
Soup pot
Large bowl

The process is pretty similar to method one.

Combine half and half and whey in soup pot. Stir well.

Heat to 180 degree. Do not stir while heating.

While it is heating up, line a strainer with the cheese cloth or thin kitchen towel. Put the strainer over a large bowl to catch the whey.

Take pot off the heat and let sit for 10-15 minutes or until the milk curdles.

Pour it into the strainer lined with cheese cloth and let it drain until desired consistency. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

*There will be a good amount of whey left over after the ricotta has drained. This is not the same kind of whey that is left over after yogurt making. The ricotta whey does not have any live cultures in it like the yogurt whey does, so it can't be used to ferment anything. It does still have a lot of protein and flavor though and can be used in place of water in things like baking recipes, soup stock, etc. I have baked with it, but have yet to try it in a soup stock, although I've heard that it creates great flavor!

Homemade Yogurt

One of my new found loves is homemade yogurt! I had heard a few people mention making yogurt at home, but I thought they were a little crazy. I tend to be cautious when it comes to things like meat and dairy sitting out on the counter. I was also concerned I'd end up with food poisoning, so you can imagine my hesitancy with homemade yogurt.

I finally caved when I found a recipe for yogurt in my Nourishing Traditions book. I bought this book when I first started eating clean and following the Weston A Price Foundation diet lifestyle (also known as WAPF). It's one of my favorite books right now and I would recommend it to anyone! It has been an amazing resource over the last year and has greatly improved my health, so I knew I could trust it when I saw that yogurt recipe.

What you need:

1/2 gallon of whole milk or half & half (make sure NOT to get ultra-pasteurized, as it won't set properly)
1 cup of plain yogurt with live cultures/bacteria
Soup pot
Cooking or candy thermometer
9x13 glass pan
Plastic wrap
Towel

Pre-heat oven to warm setting.

Pour milk or cream into soup pot and turn on medium, stir occasionally. Heat milk to 180 degrees, turn off burner, let cool to 110 degrees, stirring occasionally.

Once milk has cooled to 110, stir in cup of yogurt, mixing well.

Turn off oven and turn on oven light.

Pour milk mixture into a 9x13 pan, cover with plastic wrap, put in oven, and cover additionally with a dish towel.

Let mixture sit over night or for at least 10 hours. (I usually put a sign on the oven during this time that says "DO NOT TURN ON" ...just in case.)

In the morning, you will have a wonderfully thick, rich yogurt! If yours does not turn out as thick as you'd like or has whey (yellowish liquid) around the edges or top, it's easy to thicken! Grab a big bowl, a large strainer, and some cheese cloth. Line the strainer with 2-3 layers of cheese cloth, put it over the big bowl and pour the yogurt in. Let it sit covered until you achieve your desired consistency and then put in a container. You will have whey leftover in the bowl from straining. DO NOT THROW IT AWAY! It's great for you and you will see whey used in a lot recipes on our blog. Simply put it in a glass jar or container with a lid (I usually use a mason jar with some plastic wrap and and a canning ring). It will last in the fridge for a month easily.

You will get a full half gallon of yogurt, which I put back into the Costco sized container I have saved. Not only is this fresher and healthier, its a bit cheaper too! From the Costco price, I save about $0.50/container. If I'm comparing to normal grocery store prices, I easily save $3-4 a container!

From this, I normally make a Cultured Cream Cheese (post to come) and I'm experimenting with Yogurt Cheese. We also use our homemade yogurt in place of sour cream on things like baked potatoes or in dip (I make a killer Avocado Yogurt Dip with it). To spice up our plain yogurt in the mornings, we like to add organic maple syrup, fruit, or homemade jam. Yum!