Six Weeks with Alice Clark, Dietitian

It was a wonderful time.  We knew it would be good but we didn't know just how good until it was actually happening.  Now I think I should get some of the experience on record so I can go back for a refresher later.  Furthermore, today a friend posted a lament on facebook about many years of struggling with her weight and dissatisfaction with body image.  So I'm inspired to get this information down.

Autumn Flowers from Alice

Alice was a successful Sales Representative then Sales Manager for a Fortune 500 company.  As time went on she realized she had a curiosity for the chemistry of food and how nutrients work in the body.  Also she takes a common sense approach to food.  I share this view that we should eat whole foods God provided rather than adapted or synthetic versions.  Some people call it junk-food.  I call it fake food.  Alice decided to make a career change and go back to school to become a dietitian.  She tells me she has spent 21.5 years of her life in school.

After graduation from Bastyr University in May 2014 as a dietitian, she has multiple rotations of an internship (31 full time weeks on the job practice in dietetics) to complete.  Thankfully one of those was at our local hospital and she needed a place to stay.  A former classmate had kept our phone number as an option for temporary housing.  Yay!

One of the first discussions we had over a cup of tea the evening Alice arrived was regarding the presentation she had delivered earlier that day.  It was about food as probiotics which can be successfully used instead of drugs and supplements to rebuild good bacteria after taking antibiotics.  She directed me to a website called culturedfoodlife to learn more about this subject.  Then when she went home the next weekend she brought back a jar of Yin Yang Carrots from FireFly Kitchens.  I would like to point out this is fermented food you would find in the refrigeration section of your health food store.  For example a jar off the regular shelf of the store of canned sauerkraut will be pasteurized and the probiotics will not be present.

One tablespoon of this on your salad each day will do the trick.

The good bacteria in your small intestine feeds on plant fiber. If you are juicing your vegetables, also eat some that are not juiced.  Fruit is better eaten whole than as a juice so you get the benefit of the fiber which slows down how quickly the sugar is absorbed.

Little did I know that first night that Alice would so generously discuss good health practices throughout her 6 week stay with us.  I am so grateful for all she shared.

Here are more examples:

If you frequently diet on protein and veggies without complex carbs such as garbanzo beans, lentils, split peas etc.  Your liver and kidneys will be damaged.  Don't do this!

Hard vegetables such as carrots, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, beets and so on will be more bio-available if they are lightly steamed. For our family I usually roast them or pan fry with coconut oil.

The last garden harvest of the year was on November 10, 2014.  Hard frost that night.  It was so nice to get about 3 extra weeks of gardening in this year.

Eat plant sourced foods.  At least half your plate should be covered with veggies.  If you boil your vegetables, somehow figure out how to consume the water they were cooked in or you lose the nutrients.

Keep your blood sugar as even as possible by eating 5 small meals per day. This would be the diabetic diet and should include protein, complex carbohydrates such as beans, lentils and vegetables.  Skip the sugar and definitely skip the soda. I remember doing this diet faithfully when I was expecting our first child and never felt better than I did then (after the morning sickness passed that is).

There are two ways our metabolism is increased; by eating or exercising.  It is best to moderately exercise for 20 minutes after eating.

Today during a thank you phone call from Alice I spoke with her of my friend's facebook post.  She suggested two books to help people with this trouble.  "Intuitive Eating"  and "Health At Every Size"  Alice says poor body image issues are poisonous and we must first get help with it.  The gist behind these books is making small doable changes so we can be successful.  It is helpful to take the view that today I am making better choices than yesterday.

So I am inspired to eat smaller portions more frequently which include protein, complex carbs and vegetables.  I have cut down on the sugar.

Check back later.  As I remember more details I will add them here.

Roasted Veggies Inspired by Alice Clark, Dietitian

Alice Clark, our new dietitian friend is spending time with us.  Add chilly fall weather and we are ready to turn the oven on for cozy warmth.  This time it is for veggies instead of cake.

Colorful vegetables I roasted today are purple cabbage, broccoli, yellow beets, onions and red peppers.  The beets take longer so I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and roasted them 20 minutes longer than the others.  Each type of veggies were coated (separately) in melted coconut oil and sea salt.


                             Red Bell Peppers                                  Walla Walla Sweet Onions
                             Golden Beets                                        Broccoli
                                                                                          Purple Cabbage

After the beets did their initial time I added them to the pan with the rest of the pretty colors and continued to roast for 25 more minutes.  That was perfect for 600 feet above sea level.  Adjust the time for your own altitude if necessary.

As some of you know we have had such an excellent time with Alice living with us.  Our purpose to eat healthy is renewed.  Plant based food is a consistent message from her.  Use small portions of meat for flavoring.  So besides eating more veggies, we've been trying out complex carbohydrates such as French green lentils.  Yesterday I found French blue lentils and we had them in our soup tonight. Yum!

Past Expected Frost, A Garden Bonus

This is the first time in about 15 years of gardening in this climate to go two weeks past the usual first frost date.  Yesterday was October 29th and we harvested green beans, tomatoes and summer squash.  Yum!  The brilliant marigolds still have beautiful color though they aren't as good as a couple months ago.

A week later:  Today is 11-6-14,  Still no frost.  I'm so happy to be getting produce 3 weeks longer than normal. I can't believe it and I'm so happy!

November 9th.  Light frost
November 10th.  Heavy frost

Beet Chocolate Cake

I think this is supposed to be a secret recipe and I can't reveal where it came from.  Best chocolate cake so far in my experience.  It is a rare treat to have my sister come to my house and on her birthday even!  So this is what we served up as a miniature 4 layer cake.

3 large eggs @ room temp

2 cups light brown sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

3 oz melted bittersweet chocolate, cooled

2 cups flour

2 t baking soda

¼ t salt

½ cup buttermilk  (did not have this so used cream and lemon juice)

1 16oz can beets, pureed, (liquid and all…food processor)

1.    Whip butter and sugar until creamy & fluffy in stand mixer.

2.    Add eggs one at a time until smooth

3.    Add chocolate

4.    Sift all dry ingredients

5.    Mixer on low, add buttermilk and dry ingredients in thirds until blended

6.    add beets, and beat until smooth

7.    Fill 9” pans ¾ with batter.  Ungreased, professional cake pans allow best rise with parchment circle in bottom, as sometimes the cake sticks.  Alternatively you can grease the pan but cake will be denser/flatter.  (I used the Demarle At Home One cup round cake tray and made 4 mini cakes.  Bake for 25 minutes at 350)

8.    Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Cake tester/toothpick comes out clean.

9.    Cool on Wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache

16 oz bittersweet chocolate (semi-sweet Guittard pieces—NO choc. chips)

1 ½ cups heavy cream

Heat the cream and add chocolate pieces. Stir until very smooth.  Do not overheat chocolate.  Carefully add rum.  Stir thoroughly.  Adjust consistency by controlling temperature—can cool in a water bath/bowl of ice water surrounding bowl of chocolate.  Consistency should be like that of a light buttercream.  Ice cake w offset spatula for best results and let rest one hour.  Serve slightly warmed with a big dollop of  home-made whipped cream.

Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk, Gluten Free

Saute in 1/4 cup Coconut Oil


3 cups carrots chopped small
2 cups celery chopped small
1/2 of a large Walla Walla Sweet Onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, pressed

Meanwhile in a separate sauce pan, whisk to make a thickened sauce with
4 cups cold water
4 Tablespoons Potato Starch or Arrowroot Starch
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon Better Than Bullion, Chicken Flavor
1 can coconut milk

Combine cooked veggies, thickened sauce and
1/2 of a small chicken baked or fried, cut up in small pieces.

Season with sea salt to taste.

Good for what ails ya!  Took this to friends who were sick with the flu and they could actually eat it.  I was not sure how it would go.

Note:  Made this again 11-20-14 for our housemate who is sick with a cold.  Added 2 Tablespoons Braggs Nutritional Yeast for Vitamin B.   Also I made up a batch of French Blue Lentils  with sea salt for some healthy high fiber.  Because the young ones amongst us won't want the lentils, I pulled 3 cups of soup out of the pan and added it to the lentil pan with about 1/4 cup of lentils.  The ladies will want the lentils and the others won't.

Made this again 2-21-16 for a friend who has a cold.  This time I added 4 small shallots and 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast.  No lentils.

Home Made Whole Wheat Bread

Maybe you have had this whole wheat bread making technique down pat for many years, but I did not until recently.

For our wedding gift so many years ago, Dad and Mom gave us a Bosch Kitchen Center and Magic Mill Wheat Grinder.  Mom makes bread often and it always turns out perfectly.  When I made bread from white flour it turned out pretty good but not as good as mom's.  But what I really want to do is make whole wheat bread instead of white.  Even when I use Prairie Gold White Whole Wheat which of course I grind fresh about once a week or so...the bread still turns out too dense and heavy and doesn't raise very well.

So why did this secret ingredient escape my attention for so many years?  I finally discovered it and now I too can make prize winning whole wheat bread which even my children will eat...the ones who want store bought bread and the more high fructose corn syrup the better they think.  Did you know it's really hard to find store bought bread without high fructose stuff?  Especially in that size the kiddos like the most?

So here is a recipe that works for me.  Can you pick out the secret ingredient?  Write it in the comments if you think you know.

3 cups fresh ground Prairie Gold Whole Wheat from Wheat Montana
6 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten from Bob's Red Mill
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2.5 cups very warm 125 degree water
1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup local raw honey
1 large lemon, juiced
3 cups fresh ground Prairie Gold Whole Wheat from Wheat Montana

In a Bosch Kitchen Center using a dough hook Mix together the first 3 cups of flour, vital wheat gluten and active yeast.  If you have veggie water left over from something, this would be a great place to use it.  Add the warm water and mix for about a minute.  Make sure it all got mixed in.  Cover and let rest for 10 or 15 minutes.
Add sea salt, coconut oil, honey and juice.  Run mixer for a minute.  Add the remaining 3 cups flour about a cup at a time.  Knead on low speed for 10 minutes . The dough should be smooth rather than sticky.

Warm the oven slightly but turn it back off before it gets hot.  Place the dough in a Demarle shape tray or bread pans such as the Demarle mini loaf tray.  If you use a regular bread pan you will need to grease it or use parchment paper.  With Demarle, no greasing should be done.

Let raise until it is how you want it to look in the end.  It will not raise during baking.  This should take about 30 minutes or so depending on how warm the oven is.

Now turn the oven to 350 degrees and time it for 23 minutes for the mini loaves or 30 minutes for large loaves.  It will begin baking as the oven is heating and it is done quick like.

Home made Pesto with Coconut Oil, The Best Yet

 Harvesting basil, pattypan squash, tomatos and leeks.

The basil in our garden is at the use it or lose it stage.  Even though it is a very busy day I decided to enlist the help of one of the children to pick the leaves off the stems.  Great help indeed.

Many of you who know me personally are aware of my recent understanding of the amazing benefits of coconut oil because of the book I read by Bruce Fife called, "Coconut Oil Miracle."  If you are trying to take good care of your health and wellness naturally, I recommend this book.

So I didn't use a recipe this time just went from memory of times I've made it before.  Taste tested and added more of this and that until I came up with a flavor I liked.  Also, I'm usually trying to cut down on garlic because otherwise the family won't eat it...just me and then they can't stand to be near me.

8 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
4 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Combine ingredients in a food processor until creamy textured.  Freeze in Demarle Small Savarin tray, then bag in a zipper bag.

 Reflecting the blue sky from the window.  The Demarle savarin tray is black.

Makes 20 Small Savarin squares.

I can't remember when I've tasted a better batch of pesto but then I've never made it with coconut oil before so I suppose that is the secret ingredient that isn't so secret anymore.

Here it is after it is frozen:

Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes

Oh just you wait.  Most of the day today was taken up with making this recipe and it was the best dessert EVER.  Of course that included three trips to the store to get the best chocolate available in town at the Huckleberries Health Food Market. It is shocking to spend $25.00 on chocolate and that did not include the other ingredients such as a pound of butter, a pint of cream plus other ingredients.  You see as I went along I kept thinking of ways to make this better and better.  It was amazing. 

 Later I went back to the store for three more packages to make the ganache.

Meanwhile, here's the recipe before the changes:

Found online and at the end are a few notes I made as the day went along:

From the menu of . . . McCormick and Schmick
190 Marietta St. N.W., Atlanta
404-521-1236

600 Ashwood Parkway, Altanta
770-399-9900

Q: I have recently eaten at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant. It has the most wonderful dessert. If at all possible, I would like to get the recipe for that dessert. It's called Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cake With Raspberry Sauce.
- Jerrie Wright, Atlanta

A: Rex Horrell, executive chef at the restaurant at the CNN Center location, was happy to share the recipe for this dense, flourless chocolate cake. He recommends using very high-quality chocolate for best results.

Hands on time: 25 minutes (Ha!  All day is more like it) Total time: 1 hour and 25 minutes  Serves: 12 (Actually 24)

Ingredients:

2 cups (4 sticks) butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped
5 eggs
6 egg yolks  Yes folks that IS 11 eggs in all.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees on a convection setting. In a saucepan, heat butter, milk and sugar to scalding, stirring frequently. Make sure butter is melted. Remove from heat and add chocolate, stirring until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a bowl, whisk eggs and yolks together. Gradually whisk eggs into chocolate mixture, beating until completely combined.  (I skipped this next paragraph and used the Demarle Bouquet Tray 3 times).
Line an 8-by-2 1/2-inch springform pan with buttered parchment paper, making sure the paper circle comes up 1/2 inch on the side of the pan to seal. Pour batter into the pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes. The sides will be puffy and slightly cracked. The center will be soupy but will set as it chills. Refrigerate overnight. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and release springform.

Chef Horrell bakes the cake in a convection oven. If using a conventional oven, bake at 350 degrees and add 20 to 30 minutes to the cooking time. The cake is served with a sweetened raspberry sauce

 Using great ingredients

 Including fresh eggs from our neighbor's chickens:

Today's notes:

Recipe and notes were found online and here are a few notes I made as the day went along:

Made 9-8-14 for Derrick and Kate and Ermyl.  Used Theo Chocolate because Kate cannot have Soy Lecithin.  Ermyl needs to do gluten free.  Dave needs raw dairy rather than homogenized so how do you make a high end chocolate dessert to suit all three of their diet restrictions?  Well thank goodness they can all eat eggs.  Whew!

Fill the shapes to the top…these don’t puff up. 

 Convection oven at 325 degrees for 18 minutes in Demarle bouquet tray.  Then cool for an hour before removing from tray.  Top with Ganache and whipping cream.  Then fresh Ogalala strawberries from the garden.

Ganache recipe:

3 - 3.5 ounce bars Theo's Dark Chocolate 70%

1/2 cup  plus 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream (no substitutes please)

Combine in a double boiler over hot water and heat until chocolate is melted.  Place a dollop in the center of each bouquet muffin.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut

My husband pulled a package of frozen halibut from the freezer today for lunch. My parents go to Alaska and fish then share with us.  Thanks Mom and Dad!  This halibut was from this year's trip.

 This recipe was in a cookbook I've had for several years.  Though I had never tried this halibut recipe I had some confidence it would be great because I had made the beurre blanc sauce a few times and that recipe alone was worth the purchase of the cookbook. 

Beurre Blanc Sauce before the shallots were strained out.

Furthermore, for the first time in my life I had a good supply of macadamia nuts.  It was SOOOO good and a must try recipe especially for those of you who have Alaska halibut in your freezers...you know who you are.

MACADAMIA CRUSTED HALIBUT
McCormick and Schmick's Recipe

Serves 2

Fish and Crust
2 (5-6 oz.) fresh halibut fillets  (I had enough coating for all seven fillets in the package)
1 cup macadamia nuts (chopped small in a mini food processor)
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs (Kikkoman brand made from whole wheat bread.  This brand had the least additives)
1 tablespoon ground pepper (I got tired of grinding so used pre-ground for about half of this)
1/2 cup all purpose flour (I used fresh ground Montana Wheat Prairie Gold)
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used Avocado Oil this time)
1/2 cup Beurre Blanc Lemon sauce (see recipe below)  (I did not use lemon this time)
1/4 cup Major Grey's chutney



Roast the macadamia nuts in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. (My macadamia nuts were pre-roasted so I skipped this step). Combine the nuts and Panko breadcrumbs in a food processor (the mixture should be a little coarse), and place on a large plate or in a pie pan.

Season the flour with the salt and pepper, and place on a second plate.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a tablespoon of water or milk. I used a little 55% cream instead of milk.

Dredge the halibut fillets in the flour, then the eggs and then the nuts. Pat the fillets to ensure the nut mixture sticks to the fish.

Pan fry the fillets 3 to 4 minutes per side in oil over medium high heat. Remove the fillets and allow them to drain briefly on paper towels. Combine the butter sauce and the chutney and pour over the halibut.

Beurre Blanc Sauce and Chutney combined:

Beurre Blanc Sauce 
6 ounces white wine (I used Vermouth this time)
3 ounces white wine vinegar (I used Champagne Wine Vinegar this time)
3 whole black peppercorns
1 shallot, quartered
1 cup heavy cream (I had 55% cream from a local dairy)
9 ounces cold butter, cut into pieces

Combine wine, vinegar, peppercorns and shallot in a non corrosive saucepan. Reduce until the mixture is just 1 to 2 tablespoons and has a consistency of syrup. Add the cream and reduce again until the mixture is 3 to 4 tablespoons and very syrupy. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in butter, about 2 ounces at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each piece to melt in before adding more. If the mixture cools too much, the butter will not melt completely and you will need to reheat it slightly.

To make lemon butter sauce, replace the vinegar with 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

I made this again June 16th, 2017 because my friend brought some macadamia nuts from Hawaii.  It was so good again.  This was the last of the halibut brought to us from my parents who fished in Ketchikan, Alaska.

 

Oven Fries From Bintje Potatoes

 Bintje potato plants shortly before harvest

For those of you who visit regularly, you will have seen a few references to Bintje potatoes in previous posts.  I've been waiting for the harvest to write this post.

The story started on March 19th 2014 when I was in the local kitchen store "Providence Fine Living".  This is my favorite store in town and I've gotten to know and enjoy interacting with the proprietor, Ivan.

Well just maybe the story started 19 years ago when I planted regular potatoes in the garden.  I didn't do that again because it was not worth the potato bug fight.  I had to be out there every day killing the bugs by hand unless I wanted to use pesticides...which i did not.  They just gobbled up the plants.

The story picks up again last summer when we left Moses Lake at 5 in the morning and saw the spray planes flying over the potato fields just before harvest; spraying herbicide on the (commercially grown) potato fields to kill the plants.  Ummm...I think that herbicide goes straight into the potato.

Based on these two experiences I decided I needed to reduce potatoes in my diet except for a very rare occasion.  After this experience I occasionally bought organic fingerling potatoes at the grocery store.

The story picks up again, as I said, on March 19, 2014 when I went in to purchase a birthday gift for my daughter.  Ivan asks if I have my garden planted? 

Oh the beets, lettuce, spinach and peas are in.  Most of the garden is still a mess of weeds from last year but I planted what was cleaned up so far.  He said he wasn't done with the clean up yet so had not started planting.  I say if I wait until all the clean up is done I won't ever get the seeds in the ground.

 Baked Bintje potatoes...the largest ones we had this year.

Then he asks if I am planting potatoes and I say no and I won't because I don't like the potato bugs.  "He says, I plant potatoes and don't have potato bugs."  I look at him like he is joking.  He continues on to say something about how our current culture has moved away from quality to quantity (though I only partially agree with this).  When he was growing up in Denmark they planted Bintje potatoes and he continues to do so getting his organic seed potatoes from a certain catalog.  Well since he could not remember which catalog at that moment, I went home and got on the Internet and found  a supplier of organic Bintje potatoes just a couple hours away in Le Grande, Oregon.  It was on Etsy.

We planted those potatoes in early April and then harvested them the end of July.  We have so enjoyed them.  Yes they are better than potatoes from the super market and better than any I've ever tasted.  You will see a post about Lefse recently.  It was the best ever.

Oven fries:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cut the smallest Bintje potatoes (1 to 2" ones) into small slices.
3. Coat in 1/4 cup grape seed oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
4. Spread in a single layer in a baking sheet with sides. (Pampered Chef Clay Jelly Roll Pan)
5. Bake 15 minutes, turn the fries over and Bake 15 minutes on the other side.

Bintje potatoes become part of the decor at our house...notice that the wheat berries do too.