Socca "bread"

Socca, if you haven’t yet had one, will definitely become a new obsession after you make your first one. Socca, also known as farinata or cecina, is a sort of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe of chickpea flour. Served hot and crispy, this chickpea pancake is a quintessential street food found in Nice, France. Many times it is browned or even blackened around the edges, and it has an almost custard like, tender inside. From what I have read, traditionally it is made in a cast iron pan over hot coals or a fire, but it can certainly be made at home in a hot oven, either in a cast iron pan, cake pans or a pizza pan.


I made this for dinner tonight... WOW! It is so yummy. I added 1/2 tsp rosemary. I let the dough sit for 24 hours to help aid in digestion and release any phytates from the beans. Soaking any of your grains, nuts or beans is the best way to eat, but really as Sweet Brown says "Aint nobody got time for dat!" .. I just do it when I can. I also made my kids some soaked Kamut wheat Pumkin muffins.. .they LOVED them. The hardest thing is remembering to soak something every night. I am going to post some Soaked Grain recipes on my blog when I get some time. Here is the recipe for the Socca.. it cooks up like flat bread and I will use it to dip in my Tomato Coconut Soup. People also dip it in tzatziki sauce. I bet that would be super good.

Socca
Makes about three seven-inch soccas.
1 cup chickpea flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 ¼ cup lukewarm water
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Ghee or coconut oil, for pan

1. In a large bowl, sift chickpea flour, salt, and pepper. Whisk in warm water and olive oil. Let sit, covered, for as many hours as possible (making this before you leave the house in the morning is perfect for making socca for dinner), but at least 30 minutes.

2. Place heavy (preferably cast-iron) skillet in oven and preheat to 450 F.

3. Remove skillet from oven. Add a knob of ghee or coconut oil to the hot pan, and pour batter in a steady stream until it reaches the edges of the pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the pancake is firm and the edges are set.

4. At this point, you can flip the socca, or set it a few inches below your broiler for a couple minutes, just long enough for it to brown. Cut into wedges and serve hot, with toppings of your choice.

No Wheat Wheat thin

 I made these tonight and I love them. I overcooked them.. next time 13-14 mins. I combined a few recipes and here is what I came up with.

Taste like Wheat thins (Gluten Free)

Makes approximately 50 crackers
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c. Sorghum flour
3/4 c. Brown Rice flour
1/4 C arrowroot powder
1 tbs organic sugar 
3/4 tsp baking powder
 1/4 tsp salt
4 tbs Butter, chilled and diced
1/4 c. water, ice cold
coarser salt for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Combine flours, starches, sugar, and salt together. Add butter until small crumb grains form.
• Add water and blend until a smooth dough ball forms.
• Divide into 2 balls. Roll 1 ball between 2 pieces of wax paper; the thinner the dough rolls out, the better (but also note the more delicate the dough becomes).
•  CUT WITH A PIZZA CUTTER AND LEAVE AS IS–THIS WILL BE EASIER... just transfer to cookie sheat as is and
• Bake for 12-15 minutes (or until browned along the edges).

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Soaked Pumkin Muffins

Soaked Famous Pumpkin Muffins

Recipe Type: Quick Breads

Author: Katie Kimball

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 c. pureed pumpkin
• 3/4 c. water
• 2 Tbs buttermilk or plain yogurt
• 1/2 c. melted butter or refined coconut oil
• 1 c. sugar or sucanat
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Instructions

1. Soak white whole wheat flour, pureed pumpkin (optional), water, buttermilk/yogurt, and butter/coconut oil together overnight or for 12-24 hours on the countertop.
2. When ready to bake, add the sweetener, eggs, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 3 spices. Mix well – be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl a few times and beat hard to get everything fully incorporated.
3. Pour into muffin cups and bake 40-45 minutes at 325 degrees F (35-40 with honey). They’ll be a bit more moist than you’re used to with the “toothpick test”.
4. Do not overbake!
5. Allow to rest 5 minutes in the tins, then tip out to cool on racks.

Read more at http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2010/02/19/recipe-connection-soaked-healthy-pumpkin-muffins/#xAoiVEIK3wY3zxCk.99

Cheesecake Cookies

I can't wait to try these on a free meal. Found this on:
http://chickensintheroad.com/farm-bell-recipes/category/crock-pot/

How to make Cheesecake Cookies:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons lemon peel, shredded
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup crushed graham crackers
In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat butter and cream cheese. Add sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla; beat again.

Mix in flour with a spoon. (This is such an easy recipe!) Refrigerate cookie dough for 30 minutes to make it easier to work with.
Prepare pecans and graham crackers. I like to crush stuff with my pretty hammer inside a plastic baggie.

Spread half of the pecan/graham cracker mixture on a piece of wax paper. Lay out half the chilled dough on top of it.

Shape and roll cookie log, coating in crushed nut-crumb mixture.

Repeat with second half of dough. Transfer rolled, coated logs to fresh sheets of waxed paper and wrap.

I use extra-long pieces of waxed paper and just twist the ends to seal.

Chill for about two hours in the fridge, or about 30 minutes in the freezer then slice into lovely little cheesecake rounds.

(You can eat one now if you want.)
Place cookies on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375-degrees for 8-10 minutes. You only want to barely brown the bottoms. Don’t overbake.

Now you can eat them all.
*Makes about 4 dozen.

Homemade toothapaste

Homemade Toothpaste

2 Tbsp. coconut oil

2 Tbps. baking soda

2 Tbsp. calcium magnesium powder

2 Tbps. xylitol or green stevia powder

2 tsp. real sea salt

20 drops essential oil (I use peppermint.)

10 drops trace minerals

Overnight Sourdough Waffles

Overnight Sourdough Waffles 

 HOLY SMOKE! Super amazing! They are filling, but don't cause me to feel bloated like most wheat/yeast things.This soaking process also breaks down (or predigests) proteins in the grains, making them easier on your digestive system and the fermented grains to neutralize phytic acid and release nutrients in the grains for absorption. AND .. they are DELICIOUS. My pickiest daughter who only eats crackers and cheese loved them and had them three times in 2 days.

This post is such a great way of helping to understand more about sourdough and this post was copied and pasted from: http://heartfelthomemaking.blogspot.com/2012/05/overnight-sourdough-waffles.html

This blog is my new favorite for healthy homemade goods.

Ingredients:
Overnight Sponge

• 2 cups of White Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 Tbsp Evaporated Cane Juice
• 2 Cups Kefir
• 1 Cup Sourdough Starter (unfed)

Waffle Batter

• All of the overnight sponge
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

The night before you will want to mix up your sponge.  In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, kefir and starter. Cover and let sit out on the counter overnight.  No need to worry about it going bad.  All the good bacteria in the kefir and starter.  I love mixing this up the night before.  Makes getting breakfast on the table much simpler.

In the morning your sponge should look, well spongy.  It will have risen and have lots of lovely little bubbles in it.

Now you are ready to add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well.  If you are not used to working with sourdough batters this will seem a little strange to you.  They have a very elastic consistency to them.  It can take a bit to get everything incorporated well.  Just stick with it.  It will come together.

Now all you have left to do is cook your waffles.  We use a Belgian waffle iron.  This recipe will make about 6 waffles yummy waffles.  We top them is pastured butter and local maple syrup!

Sourdough English Muffins

 There are many health benefits for using Sourdough rather than tradition yeast breads. I will post links later but I want to share some amazing sourdough recipes I have found.  My family loves bread so much but after reading so much on how "bad" wheat is, it was stressing me out b/c seriously what will my kids eat if they don't eat wheat and dairy? So we are trying to make small changes.. never perfect, but focusing on small changes.
Here is a recipe I can't wait to try.

Erin’s Sourdough English Muffins

• 1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin)
• 1 cup liquid (water*, milk, fermented dairy, coconut milk…)
• 2 cups flour (your choice)
• add-ins like seeds, dried fruit, or chopped nuts… (optional)
• 1 tablespoon raw honey (or any other sweetener)
• 3/4 to 1 teaspoon sea salt of choice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

*Note: The English muffins will turn out if you use water instead of full fat or fermented dairy and if you add more flour initially for easier kneading. However, the results will not be as soft on the outside or as tender on the inside once you’ve finished the cooking.
Place 1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin) into a medium size bowl. Pour onto that the 1 cup of liquid. This is the first place where the recipe is very flexible. Your liquid could be water, milk, any fermented dairy, coconut milk… Stir to combine starter and liquid. In this photo, I chose to water down some of my homemade yogurt. If your sourdough starter is very stiff, you might need an extra 1/4 cup of liquid. I have never added extra liquid.

Once combined, add 2 cups of flour to the mixture. This is the second place where the recipe is very flexible. Use any combination of flours. I have used white wheat, whole wheat, and rye. I know there are a lot of spelt users out there and sprouted flour users, too. It’ll all work! The only flour I question is rice flour, but if used in combination with another flour, it might even work.

Stir well to combine. Along with the flour, I often add in a couple tablespoons of ground flax seed or poppy and caraway seeds (when I make delicious rye sourdough english muffins). The soaking affects the seeds as well as the flour. So, great! Cover and let your dough sit overnight, even up to 24 hours.


I’ve added these pictures to show you the thickness of my dough. The stiffness changes every time I make this recipe. Sometimes it is more wet. It really does not matter too much. In the morning, you will be able to tell that your sourdough has been at work.

On top of your soaked dough, sprinkle 3/4 teaspoon salt (I use 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt), 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 tablespoon honey. Use a wooden spoon to push/cut/stir in your newly added ingredients. Don’t worry about incorporating it perfectly; you will be kneading it in just a moment.
This next part of the directions might feel a little strange, because you are kneading something that could be quite wet. I pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto my counter and spread it around with my hand and then rub my hands together. I then dump out my dough onto the oiled spot and knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes. The purpose of this kneading is to incorporate the honey, baking soda, and salt. After this, I take a pizza cutter and separate my dough into 8 equal portions.

As you can see, the dough is quite wet. Up until this point we have not added any new flour. At this time, I do find it helpful to dust my hands with flour before I shape each muffin. You might prefer to use all-purpose flour for this dusting, or sprouted flour where the sprouting has done the work of soaking. I usually use what is on hand… whole wheat. Whatever.
With dusted hands, pick up a portion and gently shape it into your muffin. My muffins are usually about 1 finger thick and maybe 2-1/2 inches wide. Sometimes they are nice and round. Sometimes not. Size and shape are not important here. Place your muffins on a lightly floured or cornmealed (greased might work if you want to stay away from newly added flour) sheet of wax paper or parchment paper. Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

About 5 minutes before you want to griddle/skillet your muffins, set the heat to mediumish. I usually set my cast iron to 4, the front of my stovetop griddle to 5 1/2, and the back of the griddle to 4 1/2. Each place distributes heat differently. You will figure out what works best for your situation. You don’t want the muffins to brown too quickly because the insides need a chance to cook. I also have found that I do not need to grease my skillet/griddle. Do what you think is best here as well.
Carefully transfer the muffins onto your heat source. Cook the muffins for about five minutes on each side. You can take a little peek every now and again to make sure the bottoms are not getting too brown. When it is time to flip, do this carefully. Your muffins will plump up beautifully, and you do not want to deflate them by being too rough. Cook for the second five minutes. Now, if you find that the outside edge of your muffin is not as done as you like, feel free to pop these into a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes. I do not bother doing this.