German Red Cabbage sugar-free

German Red Cabbage is one of my husband's favorite foods. When we lived on the East Coast there were lots of German restaurants. Well, at least one in every town we lived in anyway (we moved a few times there). When we went to German restaurants we always ate this dish, and we haven't had it in a long time. Since we grew our own red cabbage this year I couldn't wait to make my version of German Red Cabbage, sugar-free.

Optional: Cook 1/2 pound of chopped bacon in a large pan

Add coconut oil and 1 red cabbage (outer leaves removed and chopped) to the pan

Saute over low heat for about 25 minutes, stirring frequently

Add 1/2 cup of apple juice or cider, cover and continue cooking over low heat for about 20 minutes

When the desired tenderness is reached add:

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 ground cloves

3 tbsp coconut sugar or xylitol

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Note: As always, keep xylitol away from pets.

End of August Gardening

Our first two cabbages! Yay! We made some really yummy German Red Cabbage that I will post in a day or two. -photo by Zoe :-)

Pumpkins

Watermelon

Tomatoes

And our stevia -all grown up! :-) It's Ashley's favorite fresh herb to eat.

Grain-free Coffee Cake gluten-free, casein-free, sugar-free

I have to give credit for this idea to Andy, my husband. The other day I made my Vanilla Bean Cake, and he said, "You know what would be really good? If you made this into coffee cake." I thought making a variation of it sounded great. One of the reasons I think everyone loves the Vanilla Bean Cake so much is because it's grain-free. More and more people are asking me for grain-free recipes. My other baked goods are very low-grain, but this one has no grains at all.

Also, I tricked the eye with the topping, which looks like brown sugar, but is not. I pureed walnuts, coconut sugar and cinnamon to get a similar look and taste. Then I crumbled it on top and swirled it into the cake batter. It came out so yummy! I can't wait to try it out on a neighbor. I get such a kick out of that: "This is made of what? Beans? No, you're kidding. This isn't brown sugar? Really?" heehee :-)

Coffee Cake:

Add to food processor:
2 cups cooked white beans, room temperature, so they don't cook the eggs (I make mine myself by soaking dry white beans overnight. In the morning I rinse them well, and cook them. Directions to follow in tip below.)
6 eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla liquid stevia (do not measure over the batter, just in case it spills out)
(What is stevia & why do I love it? Click here )
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup honey

Puree well.

Add:
1/4 cup coconut oil, liquified
(Why coconut oil? Click here )
1/3 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp baking powder

Puree well.

Pour batter into large rectangular greased pan.

Puree Crumble Topping:
3 cups of walnuts
2 tbsp butter, ghee, or coconut oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup coconut sugar (depending on your taste)
1 tbsp cinnamon

Spread the crumble over the top of the batter.
Using a fork or knife, really swirl the topping into the batter.
Then pat the topping down.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Great hot or cold from the refrigerator.

Store in the refrigerator after the first day.

I would also like to offer another tip to eating healthier and saving money—Cook your own dry beans. Buying beans that come in an aluminum can was another big habit that I wanted to break. By purchasing dry, uncooked beans, I not only save money, but they are much easier to digest. The reason beans cause gas is because most of us eat beans from a can that haven't been properly soaked and rinsed before cooking. It's a shame that these canned beans have given beans a bad reputation, because beans are very nutritious and great for all sorts of recipes. Plus, beans come in all kinds of pretty shapes and colors. Here is how to make them yourself.

Pour beans one handful at a time into a large bowl, picking out any pebbles or discolored beans. I usually make 2 cups of dry beans at a time.
Cover beans in water plus a few extra inches of water, and soak overnight, or up to 24 hours.
Pour soaked beans through a mesh strainer in your sink to remove the soaking water.
Place the beans back in the empty bowl and fill with fresh water.
Stir the beans around in the fresh water and strain again.
Add the beans to a pot with enough water to cover plus an extra inch or two.
Bring water to a simmer.
Reduce heat to low and cover for about one hour.
Strain the cooked beans.

Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini gluten-free, dairy-free

I don't know what the zucchini look like in the rest of the country right now, but here in the Colorado Front Range they are enormous! My friend gave me two of hers and this one, above, was about 6 inches wide by about 16 inches long! I can only guess that they are so big this year because of all the rain we've had.

I've been meaning to make Stuffed Red Peppers again, but then the other day someone said his wife made stuffed zucchini by cutting the zucchini in half and scooping out the seeds. I don't know why this never occurred to me before. Perhaps because I never knew zucchini's could grow so large :-)

So today I made Stuffed Zucchini, vegetarian style, and my mouth was very happy. My husband, Andy, said they were good, "but they just tasted vegetarian." haha! He would be very happy if I put meat in everything. Well, you can't always thrill everyone with one recipe, right? That's why God invented potlucks! haha!

Stuffed Zucchini:

Saute:

1 medium sized onion, chopped

4 stalks of celery, chopped

1 cup chopped carrots

When they are tender, season them lightly.

Add sauteed veggies to a bowl with:

2 cups white beans (or cooked ground beef)

4 slices of chopped gluten-free toast

1.5 cups of Creamy Ranch Salad Dressing, but use half as much dill as what's called for in the dressing

Clean zucchini. Trim ends slightly so you have a level end to stand the zucchini upright and cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Lay it cut side up in a lightly greased baking dish. Season with Herbamare, cover and bake by itself at 425 for 20 minutes.

Turn the oven down to 350.

Drain the water which has come out of the zucchini (I used an absorbent kitchen towel).

Fill your zucchini with the stuffing, piling it high.

Cover and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the cover and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your zucchini.

Poached Eggs

We have an Amazon credit card, which is great for getting points on Amazon.com. Usually I use the points to buy used books, but a few weeks ago I had enough points saved to buy myself a big treat -a stainless egg poacher. :-) I know I'm a goofball, but what can I say? I love perfectly poached eggs! Of course, anyone with a pot of water can poach eggs, which is exactly how I used to do it (with the help of some apple cider vinegar), but sometimes the whites would stick to the bottom of the pan, or the yoke would break in the water. Still, getting an egg poacher was a luxury. Some people shop for a nice dress now and then, some people like jewelry, when I get some credit I want to buy an egg poacher. :-)

Here's how I do it:

I fill the egg poaching pan with about an inch of water and put it over
high heat.

Meanwhile, I place the poaching parts on the counter, and put some coconut oil (or Ghee) in each cup, followed by one egg.

When the water begins to boil I lift the poaching parts and place them in the pan, cover with the lid, turn the heat to medium, and set the timer.

For eggs that look like these I let them steam for about 5 minutes.

The link to my fabulous new toy: my Egg Poacher

For more information, read about the Health Benefits of Coconut Oil, by Bruce Fife.

Denver & The Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide, City, O' City & Watercourse Foods

Today we decided to take a day trip to Denver, which is about 45 minutes from Longmont, to do a little gluten-free tour ;-) I recently received my latest Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide, and after looking online at two places I found in the book, and getting directions,
we were off!

First we went to City, O' City, where they had gluten-free vegan blueberry muffins, pizza and these "cookies" pictured below. The cookies were so good, and so big and fat and chewy -they were more like little cakes of coconut and chocolate! Yum!

We continued our tour, not far away, to Watercourse Foods, seen in the photo below. Like City, O' City, they specialize in vegetarian and vegan fare.

We all shared an egg scramble with corn tortillas, and greens with wheat-free tamari. The greens were my favorite -I could have eaten a big bowl of only them!

We also shared this slice of gluten-free vegan raspberry cake. It was way too sweet for our taste buds, which are used to sugar-free food, but it was very good, and very impressive.

I can't wait to consult the guide and see where to go next! :-)