Category: Kitchen Gadgets

Favorite Kitchen Tool: Yogurt Jars

9/24/2015

As I'm sure you know, the right kitchen tools can make a huge difference in your cooking. One of those tools for me is the glass jar that goes with the Yogourmet yogurt maker.

In fact, I love these jars so much that I have three of them! Three? You might ask. Doesn't that seem a little excessive?

Well, quickly after starting the SCD I realized that having two yogurt makers would lighten my cooking load and I invested in another one. With two I could make two half gallons of yogurt at a time, and that meant less standing at the stove...In the same time it takes to make a half gallon of yogurt, I could make a gallon and divide it between two jars.

So where does the third jar come in? Once I've finished one jar of yogurt I can wash it and make another double batch of yogurt using that jar and the extra I have stowed away in the cupboard. Then I never have to run out of my precious yogurt!

I started out with the plastic containers that came with the yogurt maker, but became a little concerned about what might be leaching out of the plastic when it is heated up. So these glass jars give me peace of mind and are also a little easier to handle because of their shape.

Some people can't tolerate the SCD yogurt because they are allergic to the dairy proteins, and they can thankfully still successfully follow the SCD without it.

For me, I have tolerated the yogurt really well and use it in a variety of recipes such as breads, dressings and sauces, ice cream, smoothies, or as a snack with honey and chopped pecans.

I love my yogurt! How do you use SCD yogurt? Do you have any tips for preparing, storing, or using it in recipes?

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Cauliflower Rice & How We Combine Dinner For Everyone

1/29/2015

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First, separate the cauliflower into small to medium florets that can be easily pureed, wash them, and put them into the food processor.

Puree the cauliflower until it is almost completely pureed. Throw out any leftover florets.

Over medium heat, coat a pan with around 2 tablespoons of butter (add more to taste). Add the pureed cauliflower and cook for around 5 minutes.

Add chopped green onions if desired. You can also experiment with other spices and vegetables.

Here is our table - You can see how we mix SCD and non-SCD foods for everyone. The main dish chicken, Cauliflower Rice, avocado slices, buttered broccoli are for everyone. The corn bread and tortillas are for the non-SCDers.

Have you tried Cauliflower Rice yet? It really is amazing! The mild flavor, great nutrition, and close similarity to regular rice make this a great side dish for almost any meal. I've been trying to make more of it because it's so healthy and well-received by the family, not to mention quick!

Wednesdays are really busy around here, so I try to put something in the crockpot at lunch time and yesterday it was salted chicken tenders with legal marinara sauce and onions. When we got home from swimming lessons, I was able to whip up a quick dinner by adding some sides to the chicken.

To make Cauliflower Rice, you take a whole head of cauliflower and cut off the florets into small chunks that can be processed and wash them. Then put the florets in a food processor and puree until almost all of the florets are chopped (you will usually have a few that just won't be chopped - you can toss those).

As a side note, I love my new food processor! It's easy to fit together with few parts or confusing attachments, it holds a lot - 12 cups!, and it works with liquids too - a rare find in food processors.

After the cauliflower is pureed, put it into a pan coated with about 2 tablespoons of butter (you can add more to taste). Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Salt it a couple of times after stirring, to taste.

I added about 1-2 chopped green onions to it from my freezer stash (if I have extra green onions, I chop them and put them in a freezer zip top bag. It's so handy to pull out for recipes like this!) You can also get creative and add other vegetables or spices that you thing would go well with the meal you're serving. For example, try adding cumin, paprika, and onions to a Mexican meal.

Cook it for about 5 minutes, or until you see it just starting to turn light brown. I was able to get the table set while it was cooking.

I often hear the question of how to feed family members who are not on the diet while still making the diet easy for me, so I want to show you my dinner table - For everyone to eat, we had crock pot chicken, Cauliflower Rice, sliced avocadoes (salted and peppered), and cooked broccoli with butter, salt, and pepper. For other family members, I served corn bread leftover from the previous night with butter and honey, and had some corn/wheat tortillas out in case anyone wanted to make a chicken taco.

And that's how we pretty much do it - main and side dishes I can eat plus a few easy non-SCD sides for others when needed/wanted.

Yum! I hope you can enjoy some Cauliflower Rice soon!

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Jim's Aebleskiver Pancake Balls

12/19/2014

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Solvang, CA

Jim made these wonderful Aebleskiver Pancake Balls for our early family Christmas this year, and they were GOOD. I'm always happy to get another bread-y recipe! Especially from Jim, whose SCD fluffy pancakes are popular for good reason...

When we were first married, Jim took his Grandma's recipe for authentic Danish Aebleskiver and re-worked it for the SCD. He served them to me for breakfast and I could hardly get enough! They are so light and fluffy, it's actually hard to tell the difference between the SCD recipe and the regular one. (So they tell me...)

Somewhere between two moves and three kids we lost the recipe, but I kept thinking about them. So when I saw him whipping them up again for Christmas breakfast I was so happy!

His Grandma Alma was a hospitable Danish lady who loved to cook and entertain. She and Grandpa Gunny were Danish through and through, and retired in Solvang, a darling little Danish town in California. They were friends with one of the town's bakery owners and it's said that he liked some of her recipes so much that he used them in his bakery!

Jim has fond memories of Grandma Alma with her Aebleskiver pans set up on the outside grill (because the recipe can create some haze in the house), flipping Aebleskiver as fast as her little arms could go, and he and his brother and sister gobbling them down and running back for more!

He says they are best broken in half with jam slathered on top of each bite. I had mine with honey this time, and they were great! With orange juice and fruit and SCD yogurt & honey, if you're hungry enough, you'll have a wonderful breakfast.

As a little Christmas gift to you, we wanted to share them! You'll find the new recipe, along with a jam recipe, here.

The pan is the important part, of course, and you can find a great cast iron version here.

This could be a fun Christmas tradition!