Quicky Brussels & Sausage

Another evening when meal prep didn't really happen, and I didn't get home until right before dinner time. And I needed to wake baby-cakes up. Nooo!

So I did what all hungry mothers do, I opened the fridge and let my daughter pull things out.

Brussels & Sausage

1/4 to 1/2 lb cooked sausage, crumbled
1 onion, chopped
1 half bulb garlic
1 lb brussells
2 cups chicken stock


Chop onions, add to hot cast iron skillet along with a couple heaping tablespoons of lard, or other fat. In-between stirring onions, chop garlic, and add when onions have cooked for a couple minutes. Cut off the ends of the brussels sprouts, after washing, and place, cut side down, on pan. (As pictured.) You may want to squish the onions out of the way a little bit so the brussels can brown. Cook for another couple minutes, then pour broth on top, and pile precooked sausage on top. Allow to simmer on high heat for about 10 minutes, until broth is reduce, and brussels are soft.

Meanwhile, set the table, throw scraps on the floor to keep baby happy, and pull out some parmesan cheese, if desired.

Once stock is reduced and the lovely greenery has changed colors and is very soft, run a knife through the brussels and mix everything up, and add another tablespoon (or two!) of fat. Salt if desired, and serve with a little cheese. Yum yum!

Lemon Salmon Stir-Fry

 

Hurray for quicky yummy meals!

Lemon Salmon Stir Fry

2 pieces salmon
3 ribs celery
2 large carrots (or more small ones)
2 onions
half bulb garlic
1 lemon
few shakes fish sauce
paprika
Dill
a couple tablespoons of lard

Chop all of your veggies while your pan is heating to medium-high. A wok is wonderful if you have it, but I just used my big cast iron skillet. Add some lard and stir-fry onions, then add carrots and garlic, then add celery. Keep the heat high and keep adding fat as needed. The veggies should be moving quickly around the pan to cook evenly. Once all are somewhat transparent (but still have a little bit of crunch,) set aside. 

If your fish was frozen, put in a bowl of warm (not hot!) water to defrost while everything else is cooking. Re-grease the pan, turn the heat to medium-low, and add the fish. Sprinkle with half of the lemon juice, several sprinkles paprika, and a little dill. Let the fish cook until just opaque. Salmon doesn’t like being overcooked. If you put a lid on, there should be no reason to flip. Mix rest of lemon and a couple swishes fish sauce to veggies, along with more fat as desired. Return veggies to pan if needed to warm, and serve over salmon. 

Liverwurst Update!

I like my original liverwurst recipe a lot, but wanted to make some that was more sausage-y and less liver-y. When the opportunity arose to get real pastured pork for cheap, I was thrilled and tried this out.

Liver flavor is still there, but it is very subtle, and when tossed in other items (such as sasuage on pizza or in stew) it is not really noticeable at all!

4 lbs gr. pastured pork
2 lbs liver (maybe less)
1 onion, chopped finely and cooked.

6 tsp salt
4 tsp garlic powder - or 2 tsp finely chopped raw
4 tsp cumin
2 tsp cayenne (less for less spicey)
2 tsp ginger
other sausage spices, as desired. I threw in a tiny bit of sage. & pepper

put liver, onion, and spices in food processor. Add a little bit of pork to processor, then put everything in large bowl and mix thoroughly, shape into patties and fry in ungreased skillet.  - this recipe is very easily halved, I just made a huge batch.

What Does she eat?

My little girl is eating more and more food. We're still working on making sure digestion is in tip top shape, so I focus on the most digestible and nutrient dense foods I can. This is what a typical day looks like for my 18mo.

Breakfast:
-2 mostly raw egg yolks with lots of pastured butter.
I fry a couple eggs on low low heat until the whites are cooked, without flipping. That way there is a little yolk that is more cooked, but most of it is raw and just warmed, and all of the whites are cooked. You can eat raw egg white from what I understand, but I don't like the slimey texture, and I don't trust her gut yet enough to let her eat egg white.
-half-teaspon of fermented cod liver oil (Green Pastures bran)
-Some homemade 24hr yogurt if she is interested.

Lunch:
-a few tablespoons of mushed up vegetables that I'm eating, sometimes
-as much chicken, especially organ meats, as she wants to eat - maybe a 1/4 cup
-a few tablespoons homemade yogurt
as much homemade stock as she wants to eat
- several big spoonfuls of milk kefir. 

Dinner:
-1/8 c yogurt
and
-2-3 ice cube size pieces of a pureed soup
or
-pre-chewed meat that we are eating
-mushed up veggies we eating, sometimes
- several shreds of raw liver (I keep grated frozen liver in a container so I can just pull out a little and let it thaw while we're eating. She eats it like its dessert!)

I let her eat as she desires, when all of her food starts moving to the corner of her tray, then I know she'll only eat a few more bites that I feed her and be done. Some days she is all about yogurt, other days she like veggies, but I know I can trust her desires to keep everything balanced. When I remember, I give her sauerkraut at the beginning of the meal. She is still nursing a lot, but I let her drink water if she wants too.

For more information about feeding baby a Weston Price way, check out this article.

Happy foods for a happy baby!

Goodies to read

The FAQ section on the GAPS website has been greatly expanded. Lots of good information there.

Life is a Palindrome has notes from a series of talks from Dr. NCM. Even more info.

Also - know someone with heart problems? Put Your Heart in Your Mouth is the book for them. Dr. NCM is also coming out with another GAPS book - Gut and Physiology. The original GAPS book has also been updated and expanded.



I wish you continued healing through diet!

Pink Vegetable Soup

 All little girls like pink, right? So all little girls will happily eat their vegetables when they are pink, right? I don't know if that is true, but my daughter did love this soup. And I was happy to get beets in her.

3 cups stock, additional filtered water to cover
3 large turnips
2 beets
1 bulb garlic
5-7 ribs celery
1 small butternut squash
3 small carrots
parsley - fresh or dried
2 onions

additional veggies as desired
salt to taste
1-2 tsp dried mustard
pepper

Chop all your veggies, dump everything in pot, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or longer, until everything is soft.

I used turkey stock, which added a rich flavor, but you could use almost any stock. The sweeter veggies balance out the more bitter ones, and the beets make the whole soup pink!

Making Stock

I really like this mom's description of making stock. It is basically what I do.

Here are some additional notes about stock:

I have good jiggly stock in only 12-18 hours - depending on how diluted it is, whether I started with frozen bones or cooked chicken, whether it is first or second (or third?) batch... etc. I usually do try to go longer though. 24 hours is more ideal. The main thing is low low heat. A crock pot or a stock pot on top of cast iron pan will help have lower heat.

Cracking the bones helps release the marrow and minerals, any vinegar will help release minerals, and you don't need a huge amount. Just toss a little in with water and let it sit half hour or so before starting to heat. If it's already hot, and you don't have time to soak with acid, no big deal.

Once your tired of letting stock simmer, strain if desired, and drink/make soup, or save. Put in thick jars, and completely cool in fridge before freezing (if freezing) and freeze slightly tipped so you don't explode your jars. I have found that those nut jars or jars from my prepared-sauce days are thicker than mason jars, and freezing them tipped slightly makes a world of difference.

All the mushy bits and bones that completely disintegrate can be ground up (processor) as added bonus to thicken soups or use like bullion cubes. Organ meats I didn't/couldn't sneak into main course are easily hidden in this paté. You can even use it to make gravy!

Any kind of bones will work - however, certainly better raised animals will yield more nutrients and less toxins - esp. in regards to fats. Toxins are primarily stored in fat. You can bones for really cheap (or free!) if you find the right source. The best bones are the weird ones - knucke bones, heads, feets, legs, etc. Feet are especially good for gelatin.

You can get multiple batches of stock from the same set of bones, later batches will be much weaker. You will probably want to reduce the stock after making it.

Some people flavor the broth while they make it (with dried seasonings, trimmings from other veggies, onions, carrots, garlic, etc.) Salt should be added after finished simmering. I typically don't season my stock - I just season the dish I prepare with it.

And finally - stock is the best source of calcium and other minerals. Gelatin is incredibly healing, and stock is often referred to as the "elixir of life" - Whether you are just trying to be healthier or just save money - you WANT to add stock to your daily meals.