Simply Homemade

new blog

2010-09-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

i decided to combine my two blogs into one, so i'm now blogging over at "the joy of becoming"! i'll be posting recipes over there as well as updates about the cookbook!!! so hop on over!!

"ranch" dressing

2010-09-01T16:48:00.001-07:00

i used to love putting dressing on everything. veggies, salad, pizza... you name it. "ranch" is chock full of a bunch of nasty stuff... but today i succeeded in making some dressing that tastes exactly the same!!!

i started with some kefir, wrapped it up in a cloth, hung it up and drained the whey out, and ended up with kefir "cheese". (i'll talk more about this later!)

then i put it in my vita-mix, added about a cup of milk, 2 teaspoons of spike,

a teaspoon of salt and blended it all up.

and voila!! even my incredibly picky sister said that it tasted "just like ranch" and said she wanted to go pick some lettuce for a salad!! enjoy!!

I'M BAAAACK!!!

2010-07-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

well, after a very long absence from this blog... i'm back into business!! i'm going to start working on the cookbook again, and it will hopefully be out soon! i forgot how much i missed cooking!! i hurt my arm and haven't really cooked in about 4 months or so... and it feels so good to be back!!!!!!

keep your eyes out for new recipes and updates here!! here's a bit of an idea of what's coming in the next little while!!

great news!

2009-05-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

I don't really know if anyone looks at this blog,
since I've been a big slacker lately,
but I thought I'd share some good news with those of you who still do!
Since school got out last week,
I've finally have some time to work on the cookbook!

I have done:
*all the dividers (a big deal since I'm doing this all by myself,
with the help of my amazing future graphic designer sister)
* all of the main dishes! (a big chunk!)
* tons of ideas on millions of papers!!

I'm hoping that I'll have it all typed and printed by June 1st!

I'll keep updating all of you and let you know of the release date.
You can pre-order it in a couple of weeks since I need to know
how many to have my dad print.
Well, I'm off to start on breads...
*sigh* that will an even bigger chuck than main dishes!
oh well, the end result is worth it, RIGHT?!

2009-03-04T16:52:00.001-08:00

Here at our house, bread is a staple. we make it often and it gets eaten FAST! I'm no expert at making bread, I have SO much to learn! A couple of weeks ago I had a lesson from the BREAD DR. - my dad. he's absolutely amazing, and just by looking at a loaf of bread he can tell you what went wrong. It's surprising my bread ever turns out, I did pretty much everything wrong, but oh well, live and learn right? I learned from my mom the other day that this recipe was actually my great-grandma McKenna's recipe (just with white wheat)... isn't that neat?

Whole Grain Bread

add following ingredients in bosch mixer or bowl
6 c. hot water (we usually boil it)
2 c. normal tap water
2/3 c. olive oil
3/4 c. honey
2 T. salt
mix together

meanwhile, grind the flour... we grind 2 cups (plastic tumbler, holds about 1 1/2 cups of grain) of white wheat, 2 cups of red wheat and 1 cup of mixed grain. Make sure your grinder can hold that much, or else you might clog the grinder... I do that every couple weeks :) (for information on how to make mixed grain... go to this post)

add the freshly ground flour (should be about 12-16 cups of flour) to the water mixture and let sponge for 20-30 minutes, or until stringy when mixed

when the dough is just about right, get the yeast ready. Get 1 c. of water just right (about 120 degrees) and add 2 T. honey and 4 T. yeast. When it's nice and poofy, add to the dough mixture. let sit for about 5-10 minutes

grind the same amount you did the first time, and gradually add until no dough sticks to the side. make sure that it isn't too sticky, but it DOES have to be a little sticky... I learned that lesson the hard way ;)

let knead for about 5 minutes, cover with a wet rag and then let rise until doubled. At that point divide the dough in half and put one half back into the pan to rise again. Take the second half and divide into 4 loaves. Knead and place in liberally buttered bread pans. Let rise a second time until the dough is about 1 inch above the pan. When it gets to that point, remove the wet rag and let stand for 5 minutes.

meanwhile, preheat oven to 400. When the dough is ready, place in oven and bake at 400 for 10 minutes, this is called.... ummm, well, I'll remember sometime. After those 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 and bake for 21 minutes. The times may be slightly different in your oven, our oven is older than me, and the temperature is slightly off.

makes 8 delectable loaves, ENJOY!

announcing...

2009-02-03T20:42:00.000-08:00

Happy February 3rd everyone!!

Sorry for the long absence, school and life have been super busy! I just wanted to drop a short note to tell 'ya all that I'm in the process of making a cookbook! I'll keep everyone posted on how it's coming and when you can buy one if you want! I'm trying to earn some money for a life-changing and expensive adventure I'm going to embark on in the next couple of months. Let me know if you have any brilliant ideas for me! I am so excited and hope that you are too!!

~ the assiduous chef :)

Butter Pie Crust

2008-12-26T22:37:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, we made a new crust with BUTTER! It was oh-so-good! Pumpkin pie is the family favorite, it was gone fast, which means it was pretty good!

Butter Pie Crust
2 c. flour (I used spelt flour)
1/4 t. salt
2/3 c. cold butter
4+ T. ice water (I used lots more than this, but I don't remember the exact amount)

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter or two butter knives until mixture resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle ice water over mixture. Stir with a fork until just moistened.

yum, doesn't that look delicious!?

sorry, I couldn't resist!!

hot chocolate

2008-12-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

temperatures are dropping and it's time to make hot chocolate! This recipe is super easy to make and so good (not to mention nutritious!).

* get a pan big enough for desire amount of hot chocolate
* in the pan add 1/2 c. honey and 1/4 c. cocoa
* stir together and melt on medium heat
* add 10 c. milk
* stir together and warm through
* if it gets that thick scum on the top, just scrape it off, it's not poisonous!

if you want to make a smaller amount:
* stir together 1/4 c. honey and 1/8 c. cocoa
* add 5 c. milk and warm

ENJOY that wonderful feeling that comes from drinking hot chocolate!

peanut butter granola

2008-12-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

This recipe is SO easy to make, and so tasty... it seems that as soon as I make it... it's gone!! We got this recipe a couple of years ago from a dear, dear friend... and it is SO yummy!!!!!! Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Granola

5 c. oatmeal (not quick)

5 c. rolled six grain (if you don't have this, just use more oats)

2 c. coconut flakes

1 1/2 c. rapadura (or brown sugar)

1 t. salt

3/4 c. peanut butter

1 c. coconut oil (or other oil)

1/2 c. honey

2 t. vanilla

Directions:

* mix all dry ingredients together except the salt (I find it mixes better if you add it to the wet ingredients)

* combine all the other ingredients... be careful not to heat it too hot, as you don't want to damage the oil

* stir heated mixture into dry ingredients

* place on dehydrator trays

Cooking Instructions:

* dehydrate until crispy, usually 18-24 hours

* Cool and store in glass jars.

* I don't have the directions any more for cooking in the oven, but I think you just cook it at 350 degrees until crispy (about 1/2 hour ?), and you need to turn it every so often.

Do any of you have any delicious granola recipes... we need some more!!!! If you do, please send them my way!!

rhubarb strawberry muffins

2008-12-15T13:38:00.002-08:00

This spring our very generous neighbor brought a huge bundle of rhubarb (my mom said it could be my wedding bouquet, hehe ;), which my dad promptly made into Rhubarb Crumble. Then I decided that I’d make some muffins with the left over, and here is the recipe!! This was my very first attempt with this recipe, and I changed it (just like I always do!) but they turned out so well for an experiment! My dad actually came into the breakfast table as he was getting ready for work (armed with a bag) and said "This is a ROBBERY!!"... he must've liked them!!

Rhubarb Strawberry Muffins

In a large bowl, add and combine well:

2 eggs

3/4 c. honey

1/4 c. oil

1/2 c. plain yogurt

1 t. vanilla

1 3/4 c. chopped fresh rhubarb (remember to only use the stalks, the leaves are poisonous!)

1/4 c. chopped frozen strawberries (I might add more, as you only OCCASIONALY found one!)

In a smaller bowl, combine well:

2 c. flour (1 1/2 c. ww, 1/2 c. mixed)

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. cinnamon

Combine wet and dry mixtures and fold together gently until just mixed. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

raspberry cream cheese muffins

2008-12-15T13:38:00.001-08:00

hmm, what can I say about these muffins... I just LOVE cream cheese, and so to have muffins with cream cheese is just ideal! They are sweet, creamy and just so delectable!!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins

2 c. flour

1/2 c. Rapadura (or brown sugar)

2 t. baking powder

3/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

4 oz. cream cheese (home-made)

2 beaten eggs

3/4 c. milk

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/2 t. vanilla

1 c. fresh or frozen raspberries

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender, cut in cream cheese until the mixture has crumbs the size of peas. In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, butter and vanilla. Add all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just till moistened (mixture will be lumpy). Fold in raspberries. Spoon into muffin tins (2/3 full). Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

pumpkin muffins

2008-12-15T13:37:00.002-08:00

I really think that these muffins taste just like the (used to be) delicious cookies that you can buy at the store... moist, chocolaty and delicious!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 egg

1/2 c. honey

1/3 c. butter

3/4 c. milk

3/4 c. pumpkin

1/2 c. chocolate or carob chips

2 c. whole wheat flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. ginger

Mix together all wet ingredients. Add all dry ingredients and mix together. Do not mix too thoroughly. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

banana muffins

2008-12-15T13:37:00.001-08:00

These muffins are very good, I just love the blend of carob and bananas, especially when they're warm!

Banana Muffins

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. honey

2 eggs

2 c. mashed bananas

4 t. baking powder

2 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. salt

3 c. flour

1 c. chopped nuts

1/2 c. chocolate/carob chips

Cream together butter and honey. Add eggs and mashed bananas. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Do not mix too thoroughly. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

berry muffins

2008-12-15T13:36:00.003-08:00

Oh boy... these muffins are heavenly!! My very picky 15 yr old brother would eat the whole batch if I would let him! When I make these muffins, I usually make a couple dozen, only to have them gone before evening!

Berry Muffins

In a large bowl, add and combine well:

2 eggs

1/4 c. butter, melted

1 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

In a smaller bowl, combine well:

2 c. flour

1/2 c. honey)

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 c. chopped berries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 c. chopped nuts (opt.)

Combine wet and dry mixtures and fold together gently until just mixed. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes (might not need to cook this long!). Remove from pan and cool on rack.

bran muffins

2008-12-15T13:36:00.001-08:00

These are so tasty fresh out of the oven with melted butter and honey... yum! Just the thought is making my mouth water! This recipe makes 60 muffins, but will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks if kept in an air-tight container.

Bran Muffins

1 c. butter

1 c. honey

4 eggs

5 c. flour (3 ww, 2 mixed)

5 t. soda

1 1/2 t. salt

6 c. bran (wheat)

2 c. hot water

1 qt. buttermilk

Cream butter and honey, adding eggs. Stir in dry ingredients and buttermilk. Add hot water and bran. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes in greased tins. Remember, if stored in an airtight container, batter will keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

applesauce muffins

2008-12-15T13:35:00.002-08:00

These are so delicious! They have lots of spices in them and have tons of flavor!!

Applesauce Muffins

2 eggs

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. oil

1 c. applesauce

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/8 t. allspice

1 3/4 c. flour (could use 1 c. ww and 3/4 mixed)

Cream eggs, honey, oil and applesauce together. Add reamaining ingredients and mix together. Do not mix too thoroughly. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes (we always start out with 10 minutes as our stove tends to cook really fast.)

cornmeal muffins

2008-12-15T13:35:00.001-08:00

These are so good with chicken and rice soup on a cold and wet day, or when you are feeling slightly under the weather!

Cornmeal Muffins

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. mixed flour

1 c. corn flour

8 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. salt

1/4 c. honey

4 eggs, beaten

2 c. milk

1/2 c. oil

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Beat eggs with milk and oil; add to dry ingredients. Mix lightly. Bake in a greased muffin tins for at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until well done. ENJOY!!

muffins

2008-12-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

When we very first started changing our diet, one of the first things that we made were muffins, and lots of them!! In fact, every time my mom would make some, my dad would sing "Do you know the muffin mom??". We also have a muffin recipe book entitled "Wild about Muffins"... now I don't know that you would say that we are WILD about muffins, but we certainly love them a LOT!! You can pretty much do anything you want with muffins... make them savory or sweet, tangy or pretty tame!! This week I'll be posting some of our very favorite muffin recipes, and I hope that you enjoy them!! Please leave a comment if you've tried one of the recipes or have a question, I'll try to answer ASAP!

7 grain mix

2008-12-15T13:26:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago we came across a book called "Cookies For Dinner" (get on this website, and contact them to order this book). You may think that's an awfully strange title, BUT Faye's reasoning is that if you make cookies with the same ingredients as waffles (whole wheat flour, honey, etc.), then it's pretty much the same as eating one! It also works the other way around... no mother would think of feeding her child a sugar laden cookie for dinner, but they have no qualms about feeding their children a waffle made out of white sugar, white refined flour and coated with syrup that's chock-full of sugar!

Before Faye wrote "Cookies for Dinner", she was very, very ill. She had a huge list of illnesses and couldn't even walk to her mail box without resting. She was eating a fairly decent diet consisting of brown rice, whole wheat bread and oatmeal (among with other things). But she realized that she wasn't eating them together and had the brilliant idea (that came from Heavenly Father!) to combine them. So she came up with the following grain mix:

Barley, Brown Rice, Buckwheat,
Corn, Millet, Rye and Oat Groats

(We purchase the above from a local feed store, and also from Azure Standard. We don't really worry about getting organic, because that would just about break our budget!)

To mix the grains up, we get a 5 gallon bucket and put in equal measurements of all the different grains until our bucket is about 3/4 full. Then we roll the bucket around to mix them up really well, then it's ready to grind! We have an electric Whisper Mill (it's kind of old, and not available by the same name, so if you're looking into getting one, my mom recommends a Nutrimill), we also have a hand-crank Country Living Mill for emergencies.

When you cook with this grain mix, you still have to add wheat, but we prefer not to add it to our bucket, and we just grind that separately. When you are cooking something and you want to add some mixed flour, you have to ALWAYS add more wheat flour then mixed flour. If you don't, you'll end up with a VERY crumbly mess!! For example, when something calls for 6 cups of flour, you would add 4 c. of wheat flour and 2 c. of mixed flour.

Cooking with mixed grains adds a very different texture, really helps with the flavor and has extra health benefits than just whole wheat flour!!

a glimpse into my pantry

2008-12-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

Before I start posting recipes, I thought that I should talk a little bit about the ingredients that I use.

Oils: There are some good oils, and some bad ones and here is what we've decided to use: Olive Oil (extra virgin), butter, and coconut oil. My mom has done a lot of research about oils, and someday I might explain why we've decided what we have, but for now here is a list of what we've gotten rid of: shortening, margarine, canola oil (and other vegetable oils, anything besides olive).

Sweeteners: This is a hard one to start changing!! I have such a sweet tooth, and sometimes look longingly at things I used to eat, but if you eat them (ew!), be ready for a shock! They don't taste anything like they used to!! We have decided to use: Raw Honey (from our own hives), Maple Syrup (be careful where you get this one from, as some people use formaldehyde in the processing! We get ours from a small farm in New York where they use the old method of extracting), Rapadura (this is a sugar that is processed using a VERY old method from India. I don't think it's been heated, and it still has all the molasses in it.), Stevia Powder (this one I don't use a lot as it has a slight bitter taste, but it's good for making toothpaste and things that you need a dry sweetener for. It is also SUPER sweet, so you only need a tiny bit.), Molasses (we use black strap molasses, as it hasn't been processed as much, you can certainly tell as it is SO strong!! That is good though as you only use a TINY bit for cooking gingerbread men!), and Agave Nectar (made from a cactus, this one is safer for diabetics as it doesn't cause their blood sugar to spike. I am hypoglycemic and I notice that this makes a huge difference in how I feel!!).

But actually, it's best not to use many sweets, or sweeteners! Once you decide to come off of refined sugar (white sugar), you'll find it's almost like going through drug/caffeine withdrawal! It's hard, but once you are sugar free for awhile, you'll find you don't crave it anymore!! OH, and you really aren't supposed to use raw, natural, turbinado, sucanat or florida crystals as these are just refined sugar with a little bit of molasses added back in to give it color. That said, we do use a little bit of it as there are some recipes we just haven't been able to make work (but we are trying to wean ourselves!).

Grains/Flours: We don't buy flour from the store anymore as we buy grain in bulk and grind our own. This makes things super fresh as they were only ground (at most) a week before. I'll do another post on the grain mix that we use, but for now I'll just say that we use whole red and white wheat, spelt (a ancestor of wheat, naturally bug resistant which means no pesticides!!), and a 7 grain mix that I'll talk about later. These grains make a HUGE difference in how your food turns out... if you use all wheat, your cooking will turn out heavy and dry, BUT add a mixture and you have baked goods that almost look store-bought!!

Salt: you may think that this is a silly thing to talk about, but the iodized salt that you buy in the store isn't doing you any good, and in fact may be doing you harm. We use a salt that is mined in Utah. Yes, even though it is from the middle of the US, it is Sea Salt. That is because Utah was once upon a time covered in a huge lake (salt water). This salt is naturally pink and OH SO GOOD!! I don't like to use other salt AT ALL! Check out this website to read more about this wonderful salt... REAL SALT (not to confused with fake salt!).

Milk: Last but most definitely not least (in my book), is milk!! Most of my siblings and I have had severe allergies to milk all of our lives. In fact, I could eat ice cream and at once get a severe ear ache! It is no fun to be allergic to milk, as it is in everything! We did rice milk for a long time (made our own), and soy milk for awhile (stay away from soy like the plague! This messed up my body SO badly!!)... But after many years of not using milk or milk products, we have once again begun using them (for about 4 yrs), we are able to use butter and cheese from the store, but not milk. We have been so blessed to be able to get raw milk (used to get cow's milk, but now we use our own goat's milk), and haven't had ANY of the old problems come back!! Milk is a wonderful thing, and if you study the diets of the ancients... most had diary products as a staple in their diets! I have recently been learning how to make many diary products at home, and they are SO much better than store bought!!

I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into my pantry!

2008-12-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

I've had so many people ask me to share recipes with them, or to type up different recipes... and while I love to share recipes, I don't have time to type them all up, copy them and send them out to all the people that have asked! This way I can share delicious and simple recipes, all at the same time with everyone!!

Ever since I was small, my mom has been trying to help our family eat healthy, and has been changing different things in our diet. We've made some HUGE changes (as well as some mistakes ;), and all been made so much healthier, just by changing our diet and adding a few things. We've gotten rid of our allergies (to many, many things) and we feel SO much better!! We've had so many people help us by giving us recipes and tips... so now we are trying to do the same!!

The biggest mistake that people make in eating is getting away from eating whole foods. Everything is instant, pre-cooked, and pretty much dead from all the processing that it has done to it! The way that I cook is simple, and from whole ingredients!! I love looking back to the old ways of doing things, and striving to incorporate their ways into mine. They ate simple food and led healthy lives!! Exactly what I am trying to do!!

Without a prayer, all my cooking flops... so I know that all of these recipes are made delicious by Heavenly Father!! Without His help, I wouldn't be able to cook anything, and I am so grateful that He helps me in everything, even my cooking!!