discovering raw chocolate at the Devonian Botanical Garden and making raw chocolate at home

18 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by in chocolate-making, raw foods

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My love affair with chocolate has taken an exciting new turn…

Last month I attended a Heart Yoga and Raw Chocolate Workshop at the Devonian Botanical Garden. The class was held in the Ozawa Pavilion overlooking the peaceful Kurimoto Japanese Garden and Lacie Cosgrove was our amazing instructor. We spent the first hour and a half doing a yoga sequence focusing on both the physical and spiritual aspects of the heart. After the yoga, we gathered around Lacie as she taught us about the medicinal and nutritional value of raw cacao and its affect of stimulating and calming the heart. She brought along 6 samples of various blends and flavors mixed in to the raw chocolate and shared some of her secrets of making raw chocolate from scratch. We also had a lovely herbal tea to drink.

I was so inspired that I immediately went to Noorish, (conscious eatery and superfood elixer bar) in Edmonton to buy the raw cacao as well as the two books by David Wolfe that Lacie recommended which contain everything I need to know about cacao (Naked Chocolate and Superfoods). Note: I will need to do separate posts on Noorish, raw cacao, David’s books and more tips of chocolate-making in the near future!

Today, I decided to start with a simple recipe:

Raw Chocolate with Maca and Toasted Almonds

3/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup agave nectar (add 3/4 cup if you like your chocolate to be very sweet)

1 cup raw cacao powder

1 teaspoon maca (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup almonds, coarsely chopped

Toast almonds and set aside to cool. Distribute tiny cupcake paper cups (I buy these at craft stores in the candy-making section) on a plate, or lay out candy molds. Put a few pieces of nuts into each cup.

Place coconut oil in a double boiler and gently heat until it turns to a liquid state. Add the agave nectar and vanilla and whisk to combine. add the cacao and maca and which until smooth. Pour a small spoonful into each cup. Once all cups are filled, put chocolate in the refrigerator to set for at least one hour.

Enjoy! Store in the refrigerator or freezer in an air tight container.

By the way, when it came time to clean my chocolate bowl, I heated up some almond milk and added it to the bowl and whisked the last of the chocolate into the milk. Voila! Hot chocolate! I poured this into two tiny cups, sprinkled a bit of cayenne pepper on top and served this to B. A delicious and healthy treat!

silky sweet potato pie

15 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by in buy local, cook

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I found a great cookbook recently at my local thrift store, called Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source by Terry Walters. This is my first recipe in using this book and I am already loving the focus on local, seasonal cooking. This pie was so easy to make and after trying a piece, my friend B said that this was the best pie he had ever tasted. I am looking forward to trying more recipes in this beautiful book!

Silky Sweet Potato Pie
For the Crust:
1-1/2 cups pecans
1/4 cup chickpea flour (or whatever flour you have on hand- I used spelt this time, but chickpea flour will add a rich and creamy texture to the crust)
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
pinch of sea salt
For the Filling:
3 medium sweet potatoes
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup rice milk (I used almond milk)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon agar powder
Preheat oven to 350 defrees (F). Wash the sweet potatoes, place them on a cookie sheet and bake until soft time will vary according to the size of the potatoes. Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, chop pecans in a food processor until it resembles fine meal. Add chickpea flour and process briefly to combine. Add oil, syrup and salt and process to form dough. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate with canola oil, add dough and press to form an even crust (about 1/4-inch thick). Pierce several times with a fork and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack to cool.
When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove skins and cut into large pieces. Place in cleaned food processor bowl and add maple syrup, rice milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, arrowroot and agar powder. Process until smooth.
Pour filling into pie crust, cover edges with foil and bake for 50 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. Serve at room temperature or cold. Enjoy!
Resource:
Walters, T. (2009). Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.

cabinorganic learns to knit

04 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by in handmade, knit

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I like making a piece of string into something I can wear.  ~Author Unknown

My grandmother patiently taught me to knit when I was 10 years old. I never finished that first project and after my grandmother passed on two years later there was no one else in my life that knitted. Years later, I tried crocheting and did manage to finish one afghan while living up in Inuvik, NT. I loved the hours of sitting quietly, with yarn and needle hook in hand and my thoughts free to wander… Just a few months ago, I become inspired by a few friends to begin knitting once more. I was impressed at how my hands remembered the stitches even after all of these years. Pictured below is a scarf that I knitted last month with organic cotton yarn. I haven’t cast off yet (or added fringe to the ends) as I am trying to decide if I will finish it (and either wear it or give it away) or if I will unravel it and make something new.

Knitting is very conducive to thought.  It is nice to knit a while, put down the needles, write a while, then take up the sock again.  ~Dorothy Day

A knitter only appears to be knitting yarn. Also being knitted are winks, mischief, sighs, fragrant possibilities, wild dreams. ~Dr. SunWolf

Below is my new project. It is another small project- great for beginners- another scarf, this time for a friend of mine. I chose a simple pattern as the yarn is quite fuzzy and adds a lot of texture on its own.

Apart from yoga, meditation, reading, it has to be one of the most serene things to do…  ~Carole Berman and Jennifer Lazarus, about needlepoint

Knitting is a boon for those of us who are easily bored.  I take my knitting everywhere to take the edge off of moments that would otherwise drive me stark raving mad.  ~Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, At Knit’s End:  Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much

I love knitting! I love those quiet and deeply relaxing moments where I knit just a row or two before moving to another task. Or better yet, those long afternoons where I can sit by the fire and knit for a few good hours. I carry a large purse and always have a book with me wherever I go. Now I carry a book and my knitting…

Everybody tells me that they would love to knit, but they don’t have time.  I look at people’s lives and I can see opportunity and time for knitting all over the place.  The time spent riding the bus each day?  That’s a pair of socks over a month.  Waiting in line?  Mittens.  Watching TV?  Buckets of wasted time that could be an exquisite lace shawl.  ~Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, At Knit’s End:  Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much

Knitting is equally enjoyable with a friend or group of friends. Yesterday, E came over to the cabin and we knitted by the fire for a few hours while catching up on each other’s busy lives. She is also a beginner knitter and we are learning together. She is working on a scarf for herself and chose a funky deep purple yarn with sparkles woven in, which perfectly matches her winter jacket. We had a good laugh about her school friend’s comments about E taking an “early retirement” with her grandmotherly hobby (she is 11 years old). But soon we will show them how “cool” knitting is, especially when we are able to wear our new creations.

All my scattering moments are taken up with my needle.  ~Ellen Birdseye Wheaton, 1851

I have always loved making things with my hands… quilts, crafts, gifts and now knitted projects. I am looking forward to knitting my first sweater soon and love that I can pick exactly the yarn and pattern and size I want. With the winter slowly arriving, it is nice to have new indoor projects to keep me busy and learning!

I am looking around for a few good books with easy patterns for us. In particular, I have seen some that have funky patterns for children and teenagers (for E). If you happen to know of any great knitting books, blogs or websites, please feel free to write in and recommend them! In the meantime, I’ll be here… knitting…

There is no right way to knit; there is no wrong way to knit.  So if anybody kindly tells you that what you are doing is “wrong,” don’t take umbrage; they mean well.  Smile submissively, and listen, keeping your disagreement on an entirely mental level.  They may be right, in this particular case, and even if not, they may drop off pieces of information which will come in very handy if you file them away carefully in your brain for future reference.  ~Elizabeth Zimmerman

pickerel in brown butter sauce

28 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by in buy local, cook

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Pickerel is such an easy fish to prepare and eat. It’s not too fishy, has a nice firm flesh and goes with any side side I can think of. Here is another great recipe from High Plains: The Joy of Alberta Cuisine. This is a simple yet flavorful way of preparing your pickerel. I double the amount of lemon juice in the sauce as I like mine very ‘lemony’. Today, I served the fish on a bed of brown rice with a side of salad.

Pickerel in Brown Butter Sauce

1/2 cup flour (I use spelt flour or whatever freshly milled flour I have on hand)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1-1/2 lb. pickerel fillets

3 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 cup butter

juice of half a lemon

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a shallow dish. Dredge the pickerel fillets in the seasoned flour, coating both sides well and shaking off any excess flour.

Heat canola oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. When fat is sizzling, add the fish and panfry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Remove fish from pan and serve on a warm platter. Add remaining butter to pan and cook until it begins to brown. Mix in lemon juice and parsley then immediately pour sauce over fish and serve. Enjoy!

Resource:

Chavich, C. (2001). High Plains: The Joy of Alberta Cuisine. Calgary, AB: Fifth House, Ltd.

 

autumn passing

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in appreciate the seasons

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Winter is nearly here but before I get too excited about skiing and snowshoeing and dark cozy evenings by the fire I wanted to share a few autumn moments here around the cabin.

Just a few weeks ago we were surrounded by gorgeous walls of yellow as the leaves of the aspen poplar trees began to change color. Then a few days of strong winds blew all of the leaves to the ground. Each autumn it shocks me just how intensely bright and beautiful these leaves become.

As the grasses and woods turn brown, Lucy has suddenly become perfectly camouflaged. She is back to her joyous leaping through the tall grass and chasing the spruce grouse.

Below is the view of the lake from the cabin. In spring and summer I can’t actually see the lake because the trees leaf out and block the view. I don’t mind as I love the privacy and I can still smell and hear the water all summer long. I also spot many kinds of water birds as they pass through this time of year. Last week we had a large group of swans at the water’s edge.

October is my favorite month of the year. I love the warm colors, the smell of leaves decaying (nutrition for next year), the sights and sounds of migrating birds by the hundreds… I love warm sweaters, wool socks, crackling fires and long scarves. I also love the early darkness as I can reacquaint myself with the stars and moon.

The outdoor projects are done for the summer, the garden has been harvested and put to bed for the winter. I am spending more time indoors now, reading, writing and getting back to my yoga practice. These changing seasons remind me to be grateful for all that I have and to look forward to more beauty and adventures in the new season to come.

homemade granola- there is no turning back!

18 Thursday Oct 2012

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I have to warn you… Once you make your first batch of homemade granola there is absolutely no turning back. Store-bought will never taste this fresh and good. Your friends and family will gobble this healthy breakfast up in no time and beg you to make more. It really takes very little time to make it and it is cheaper to make it yourself using your own favorite ingredients. I like to make a double batch and store it in a glass gallon jar on the counter. Serve this with milk or yogurt and fresh berries for breakfast or eat it as a snack later in the day.

Granola

4 cups large flake oats

3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds and/or pumpkin seeds

1 cup raw almonds, walnuts, pecans or macadamia nuts (or a mixture of these)

1-1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1-1/2 cups dried fruits, such as raisons, currants, dried

grated zest of 2 oranges

3/4 cup maple syrup or honey

1/4 coconut oil

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (F). Combine oats, nuts, dried fruit and zest in a large bowl. Heat the coconut oil and maple syrup in a small saucepan on low heat until warm. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Divide mixture between 2 cookie sheets and spread into a thin layer. Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow mixture to col completely before storing in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Yield: about 10 cups of granola

and finally… apple jelly

09 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in cook, preserve

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At last, here is the crabapple jelly recipe I’ve been using for over a decade. It’s from Jean Pare’s Company’s Coming series on Preserves. I’ve tried adding a single bird’s eye chili on each jar for color and a bit of heat but usually I stick to the classic recipe. Crabapple jelly is my absolute favorite along with raspberry jam.

 Crabapple Jelly

4 ½ lbs. crabapples, or tart apples, such as Granny Smith

7 cups water

5 cups of the prepared juice

3 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh or bottled

3 ¾ cups sugar

Remove stems and blossom ends from apples. Coarsely chop apples with peel and core included. Turn into large pot. Add water. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Cook for about 50 minutes until mushy-soft. Drain several hours or overnight in a jelly bag.

Combine prepared juice and lemon juice in a large pot. Add sugar. Stir on medium-high heat until it comes to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for about 40 minutes, stirring once or twice, testing for jelly stage near the end. Skim off foam if necessary. Pour into hot sterilized jars to within ¼ inch of top. Seal. Makes 3 half-pints.

Resource:

Pare, J. (1994). Company’s Coming: Preserves.  Edmonton, AB: Company’s Coming Publishing Limited.

apple butter

04 Thursday Oct 2012

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I used to have a crabapple tree in my backyard when I lived in St. Albert. Every autumn I would make crabapple jelly, crabapple butter and spiced apples for apple strudel. A few weeks ago, a dear friend and neighbor invited me up to her farm just up the hill to pick crabapples. B and I filled quite a few baskets full and I have been busy making the butter and jelly, as well as many batches of apple sauce (which I froze) and a large batch of dehydrated apples. After all of that, I still have a large bowl of crabapples sitting on my counter… Perhaps I can bake a pie tomorrow?

Apple Butter

4 lbs. tart apples, quartered

2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh or bottled

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Remove stems and blossom ends from apples before cutting into quarters. Place in a large pot, including seeds, core and peeling. Add sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Stir. Let stand until apples release some juice. Cover. Heat slowly. Bring to a boil. Cook gently, uncovered, stirring often, until apples are tender. Press through a food mill. Turn pulp into an enamel roaster. Bake, uncovered, in a 325 degrees (F) oven, stirring every 30 minutes, until thick, about 2 to 2 ½ hours. TO test for doneness, cool a teaspoonful on a chilled saucer. It should stay smooth. This may also be cooked in a large pot on top f the stove, stirring often. Pour into hot, sterilized jars to within ¼ inch (6 mm) of the top. Seal. Makes 4 half-pints.

Resource:

Pare, J. (1994). Company’s Coming: Preserves. Edmonton, AB: Company’s Coming Publishing Limited.

the season for jams and jellies…

01 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in appreciate the seasons, cook, preserve, wild berries

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Since early August I have been been busy picking berries as they ripen in the wild and preserving them in jams and jellies.  I love making preserves! I love the process of turning berries into little jars of sunshine, the satisfaction of a cupboard filled with preserves and the way the entire house smells like pie when the jams and jellies are cooking. I also love giving these jewels away as gifts as it is rare to enjoy wild berry preserves unless your lucky enough to find them at the farmers market or you pick and preserve them yourself.

Above is this year’s gooseberry jam. Click here for the recipe.

Here is this year’s rosehip jelly. One batch set beautifully and the other did not. I will simply label the watery one as ‘rosehip syrup’ and use it for pancakes and waffles. Click here for the recipe.

This raspberry jam is not from wild berries but from fruit from a dear friend’s backyard. Click here for the recipe.

Here is some high bush cranberry jelly in progress and below is the final jellies, just in time to serve with Thanksgiving turkey. Click here for the recipe.

I have also made apple butter, apple jelly and two batches of chokecherry jelly. I will post those soon with the recipes. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying this beautiful season!

presto…pesto!

22 Saturday Sep 2012

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If you like basil you’ll love pesto! This is a highly concentrated sauce that can be added to many dishes for  burst of flavor. I often add pesto to homemade pasta, salmon and on my poached eggs. Although traditionally, pesto is made from basil leaves, I’ve also seen pesto at the farmers markets, made from cilantro, arugula and dandelion leaves.

Pesto

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons pine nuts

3 tablespoons grated pecorino romano cheese

2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put basil and salt into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process briefly, then add garlic, pine nuts and both cheeses. With the machine still running, pour in the oil in a thin, steady stream and process until well incorporated.

Serve pesto over hot, cooked pasta or salmon and serve! Enjoy!