Every year for the past ten years, we’ve held a garage sale at our house over mother’s day weekend. It was tradition in the neighborhood we had lived in. Last year was the last garage sale as we’ve moved to an acreage and it’s gotten …
I am so happy right now! I’ve been outside in a tank top all morning shoveling dirt and getting my garden soil prepped for planting. Yeah, I realize that sort of work isn’t necessarily fun for all but I LOVE it. AND it’s only …
I dream of sipping warm sumptuous soup in the long winter months. It’s so soothing and extremely good for you. I was recently reading an article (well, more like 4 or 5) and apparently “souping” is a thing. Like the “juicing” craze that happened a few years back for anyone who was dieting, but now with soup. Honestly though, I can get behind a souping craze for multiple reasons. Soups are primarily vegetable based and use the whole food so you’re getting the fiber as well as the nutrients. If it happens to be a soup made with a bone broth you’re getting a super packed nutrient dense combo with the dissolved gelatin/marrow from the bones which benefits your digestive tract and give you a healthy glow. This roasted garlic cream of mushroom soup has all that and then some.
Roasting garlic brings out a sweet nutty component to the garlic and creates a deeper flavor profile which is less pungent. Combining this with sautéed earthy mushrooms like oyster mushrooms, shitake and cremini make it exquisite. Roasted garlic cream of mushroom soup gets its creaminess from pureeing a portion of the mushrooms and you can also add coconut milk or almond milk to give it a traditional “creamed” look. Of course, you can use dairy cream if you don’t need it to be dairy free. This soup is so flavorful and is so much more nutritious and easy to make than canned versions making this the perfect one to use in all of those casseroles or hot dishes that typically use canned soup. Try it in this recipe in place of the cauliflower mushroom mixture for an all-Minnesotan healthier tater tot hotdish!
Eating your veggies for dessert? Okay, I’m sold! Yes, I’ve officially boarded the pumpkin pie train. I’ve honestly never made a pumpkin pie since my all time favorite holiday pie is sour cream raisin or even mincemeat (I know, weird). Given that my husband absolutely MUST have pumpkin …
It’s gloomy and threatening to rain. I guess that could be a metaphor for what I’ve felt like the past few days too. This past weekend, I unfortunately discovered I still can’t really tolerate having milk without suffering afterwards for multiple days. I tempted fate by …
T.G.I.F!!!! This weekend has much to look forward too… more grape picking, more grape juice making (maybe some wine making), some fall cleanup and after the work is done, a trek to the pumpkin patch and a bonfire at my brother’s acreage. My family is always such a treat to spend time with. My siblings and I all share a love for being outside in the dirt, working with plants or doing other outdoor “chores” and building big huge bonfires to share stories, food and enjoy the simple life. That’s just how we roll. I love them.
Coconut curry chicken is one of those foods that I love to share. It’s a comforting dish that feels suitable for a chilly fall weekend as it brings a creaminess and a touch of heat to the palate. Thai cuisine is one of my all time favorites. Give me an authentic Thai dish and I’m a happy girl. Made with fresh basil, red peppers and creamy coconut milk, this coconut curry chicken is no exception. Slurping it up with chopsticks is completely optional 😉
This weekend’s valentine treat assortment begs for a little ice cream love. The kind that’s a little exotic, creamy delicious, and goes with chocolate. This coconut lemongrass ice cream conjures up distant memories of when I used to travel for work visiting sweater and outwear factories. After the day’s …
After my last post on coconut milk kefir, I know some of you were asking “what the heck do I use kefir for besides as a beverage?”. I’m going to answer that with this post on Bircher Muesli a.k.a. Swiss oatmeal. Bircher Muesli is …
Yiy, what a week. I’m certainly glad last week has passed and we’re on to greener pastures. Halloween was fun though. We took the kids to my mom and dad in-law’s neighborhood to do some hardcore trick-or-treating. The kids filled their buckets to overwhelmingly full and we all got a brisk walk in the cold air. Cold air is highly motivating and will wake you right up! After that, I was ready for the long drive back to my mom’s farm for the weekend while the kids got to stay here with my husband’s parents. Judging by the look on my dad in-law’s face when we arrived back to pick the kids up on Sunday, I’m pretty certain they went to bed early and slept like the dead. Watching three kiddos will do that to you!
After posting a recipe for water kefir last week, I promised I’d post this recipe soon for all of you on how to make coconut milk kefir. You can use this exact same method for regular dairy milk kefir too. Just use dairy milk instead of the coconut milk. Traditional kefir made with dairy milk, can often be found in larger supermarkets but I have yet to see any retail version of coconut milk kefir. Kefir is a probiotic beverage consisting of an incredibly healthy blend of beneficial yeast and bacteria. Both water kefir and milk kefirs have similar health benefits as their probiotic strains are very similar but not identical. Coconut milk or dairy milk kefir is actually easier to make than water kefir as you don’t have to add any sugar to the milk prior to culturing. It’s literally a two ingredient thing – either coconut milk or dairy milk and milk kefir grains. Milk kefir grains look a lot like chunks of cottage cheese:
To make the kefir, pour 1 can of coconut milk (or 1 pint of dairy milk) into a mason jar. Add 1 teaspoon of milk kefir grains and cover jar with cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Secure the filter in place with the metal jar ring or a rubber band. When choosing coconut milk to use, it should be the canned variety (not the beverage that comes in a carton in the dairy case). The coconut milk should contain only coconut, water, and guar gum. Guar gum is optional and is okay as it doesn’t affect the culturing process but any other additives will cause it to not culture properly. Once you’ve covered your jar, let it culture at room temperature 12-24 hours.
I like mine a little more tangy so I go for a full 24 hours. It should have a tangy, slightly sour taste like that of a plain Greek yogurt but runnier. While it’s culturing, it will thicken and may separate. I find that dairy milk kefir will often have the whey separated at the bottom of the jar. This is totally fine. Just stir it back in. After culturing is complete, strain the grains out with a plastic mesh strainer. No need to rinse your grains between batches. You can start a new batch right away or if you wish to take a break from making kefir, you can place the grains in another jar covered with dairy milk (yes, even if you do coconut milk kefir it needs to be stored in dairy milk to keep refreshed). These little guys will keep in the fridge for several weeks before needing to change the milk or begin another batch. After 3-4 weeks, I would either start another batch of kefir or at least strain and add new milk to keep your kefir grains happy. If properly cared for, they can last indefinitely. Note, if you wish to keep it dairy free for the new batch of coconut milk kefir, be sure to rinse your stored kefir grains in water before adding them to your new batch of coconut milk kefir.
Okaaaaayyy….. after posting about rich moist chocolately blueberry espresso brownies last week, how could I possibly resist making a creamy caramel sauce to go with, well, rich vanilla ice cream and maybe those brownies on the side? Too much to resist! Let me tell you, …
