Cauliflower delight

This can be a finished dish in the still firm, cooked until soft, or even mashed to fit your family's current vegetable allowances :)

Saute onions and a bit of salt until soft in butter or coconut oil. Add thoroughly chopped and smashed garlic.

Add Cauliflower and enough water to cook until desired texture.
Stir to mix and add more butter or coconut oil to allow onion/salt/garlic "seasoning" mixture to be all over the cauliflower.

Don't let it run out of water before it is done, But add a little if needed to keep it from browning on the bottom.
Add cheese if desired. Grass fed (white) cheddar is my favorite because it is a mild blending sharp cheese - if that makes sense at all.

Optional: add cooked bacon, sausage, ham or the like and it can be a great brunch. Also, can add other vegetables or greens from other colors of your vegetable rainbow :)

Gluten - free can get a little tricky. This should help.

This is a chart from this article found online here...
(I would add Chia alongside the flax) -- notice that the number in the notes correlates with the number above it.

Using cut and paste, all of the following is quoted:

There are many gluten free breads available now, or you can make your own using whole foods with this helpful guide from Deb Gully, a chapter leader in New Zealand.

Gluten holds moisture and binds food, so when you remove this, things start to unravel. This is why it is so important to include a binder when using gluten-free flours so the end result will be successful. It seems to be best to use two or more gluten-free flours together when substituting them for wheat flour. A mixture of gluten-free flours gives a better texture and flavor than just one on its own. When baking it is good to have two grainy or crumbly flours and a binding one. But there are some recipes that will work well with only one flour.

Choose 2 of the crumbly or grainy flours: Amaranth Coconut Corn Rice Millet Notes: 1. Good flavour for cakes, biscuits and pancakes. Always needs a binding flour with it. Needs to be soaked overnight in something acidic, like yoghurt, or lemon juice and water. 2. This is a fairly new flour. You can make your own with dessicated coconut processed in a food processor 3. Cornmeal needs to be soaked in lime water, rather than acids. Corn starch or flour can be blended with cornmeal to make corn breads or muffins. Corn is a common allergen. 4. Some people find brown rice hard to digest. White rice is often used as it's easier to digest and rarely allergenic. It is pure starch and not high in nutrients. Either brown or white is good for thickening gravies, sauces and cream pies. 5. Tends to make breads dry and coarse so don't use more than 1/5 of the flour mixture. NOT RECOMMENDED Quinoa: Quinoa needs thorough rinsing, and at least 8 hours soaking before being cooked.

Add a binding flour: Buckwheat Arrowroot Tapioca flour Potato starch Potato flour Pea or pulse flours Notes: 1. Buckwheat groats can be sprouted, dried and then ground into flour that doesn't need further soaking. But if you use ready bought flour, it will need to be soaked in something acid. Use in small amounts as it has a strong flavor and is sometimes difficult to digest. 2. Easy to digest, and the most nutritious of the white flours as it is not refined. A superior thickener. 3. Imparts the "chew factor," excellent used in small quantities. Also good for coating anything that's going to be fried. Again a refined starch and not high in nutrients. 4. Excellent for baking when used with other flours. It is a good thickening agent for cream soups. A refined starch and not high in nutrients. 5. Potato flour is different from potato starch. 6. Use in small quantities only, as they are better soaked. NOT RECOMMENDED Soy: Many gluten-free recipes use soy, but soy contains high levels of anti-nutrients and is difficult to digest.

And/or use 1-2 of these binders: Egg Guar gum Xantham gum Flaxseed "gel" Sago Notes: 3. Some people react to guar gum, so xantham is better. If still no go, try without it, it will just be a little heavier. 5. Good egg replacer in baking: Simmer 1/4 cup flax seeds in 3/4 cup water for 5-7 mins, till thick. Strain the seeds out in a cheesecloth lined strainer --you'll need to squeeze it. Use 4 tablespoons for 1 egg. For extra lightness, whip the "gel" and fold through at the end of mixing.

Add 1-2 of these for flavor & texture & lower carbs (optional): Ground sesame seeds Ground flaxseed Ground crispy nuts Ground almonds Notes: 1. Makes a nice pizza base, with some flaxseed and beaten eggs. 2. Small amounts are nice in gluten-free bread 4. Many gluten-free recipes use ground almonds, but they are not soaked so the enzyme-inhibitors aren't neutralized. Crispy nuts ground yourself are better. Macadamias and almonds are good for a neutral flavor.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Summer 2006.

Not enough eggs?

Some gluten free recipes have, for example, a little coconut flour and 6 eggs.
Very Yummy and nutritious (have you found a good source of eggs?), but for the holidays when eggs start running a little short, it is good to know why and what different ingredients are used in a recipe.

This site -link- has a great bit of info and explanation.

Useful Information To Know About Substituting Eggs:

Eggs have three main functions in cooking and baking; they add moistness, they bind ingredients together, or they leaven. How do you know what the egg is in your recipe? If the egg is the main liquid ingredient, it adds moistness. If the recipe has one egg but a fair amount of baking powder or soda, (or if there are no other components in the recipe that would be able to hold the other ingredients together, like bread crumbs, nuts, flour) the egg is the binder. If there are no other rising agents, the egg is the leavening.

Note:

To maintain the integrity of your recipe, you shouldn't try to replace more than two eggs.

If A Recipe Uses Eggs For It's Liquid Properties Alone:
Two tablespoons per egg of any liquid, like juice, milk or soy milk, will do just fine. To add moisture and flavor to baked goods requiring eggs, substitute ½ (half) mashed banana or 1/4 (one-fourth) cup of applesauce or pureed fruit for each egg. Keep in mind that because these add moisture to a recipe, you might have to bake for a bit longer than the recipe calls for.

To Achieve The Binding Properties Of Eggs:
Use one mashed banana per two eggs in baked sweets.
Try blending two ounces of silken or soft tofu per egg with the liquid in the recipe.
One tablespoon of arrowroot or one tablespoon soy flour and two tablespoons water mixed together also work when added to the ingredients.
Try a mixture of 2 tablespoons flour, two tablespoons water, ½ (half) tablespoon oil and ½ (half) teaspoon baking powder.

To Achieve The Leavening Effects That Eggs Provide:
Add an extra half teaspoon of baking powder per egg. Or, you can substitute an acidic liquid (buttermilk or thinned and beaten yogurt) for the liquid required in the recipe. To avoid a bitter final product, limit the amount of baking powder of baking soda to one teaspoon per cup of flour.
Consider the way you want to make your batter. Add air to lighten by creaming together the sweetener and the fat before adding dry ingredients. Whipping the liquid ingredients together in a food processor for 30-45 seconds works, as well.
Other Tips For Light, Eggless Baking:
Successful eggless baking will be more successful if you don't take for granted the type of flour you use. For example, whole wheat flour contains gluten, which can make a chewy end product.
Try replacing some of the whole wheat flour with whole wheat pastry flour or any other flour that doesn't contain gluten, like brown rice flour, buckwheat flour, soy flour, corn flour, millet flour, amaranth flour, or quinoa flour. Keep in mind, however, that gluten helps baked goods rise, and substituting with a low-gluten flour may not always work.

For egg-based recipes such as quiches and custards, however, the substitutes should be used for only half of the eggs. And the fat that's added prevents them from working in recipes calling for beaten whites, such as meringues and souffles.

Good, Better, Best?: Targeting the BEST (links still to be added)

In my efforts to balance "good, better, best" with a budget, availability (which is actually usually based on effort one is willing to exert = pray for strength to do your part in improving health) and practical time use, I am constantly having to make choices.

I believe that all of the foods we use here are great foods! And the possible edible nourishing creations are endless. YUM! :)

However, I have drafted a list; based on my own opinion, drawn from what I have learned of certain whole foods and their applications in our bodies as well as their value and potency in what we have available to us.

If we implement these SUPER foods in our daily meals,
regardless as to any other changes we make,
then we will have a higher quality and amount of benefit
to balance the percentage that is less ideal...
Am I making sense?

Below is my list of SUPER Whole Foods.
Using this, I have created a label called "SUPER Foods". The recipes with this label are more super than not because they contain a higher ratio of these particular foods than of foods that are not the.... superest... in that recipe! :)

THE "SUPER FOODS" LIST!:

(links are to where the cheapest source I know of--- A local farmer or coop/store may have a better price in your area - such as all grass-fed beef cuts/bones.)

• Fermented cod liver or skate liver oil
• Raw butter oil
• "Blend" (those two combined)
• Butter 1,2, OR (if you are off dairy) clarified butter or ghee
  
• Coconut oil (I use flavor/scentless expeller pressed) and/or Palm Shortening
• Broth made from Bones (or grass fed raw milk in season)
  
• Organs -- grass fed
• Grass-fed, in the pasture, animal fats (and gelatin) with any meats
  
• Eggs from soy-free, GMO-free, free ranging, omnivorous healthy birds
  
• Sauerkraut - naturally fermented (and other naturally fermented foods)
  
• Seaweed such as Kelp, (selected because they add no noticed taste by the most discerning seafood haters.) and wild seafood in general. oh, The bounty of the sea!
  
• Bok Choy, Kale, Collards, Dandelion Greens (any easily found greens!, but these are Calcium superstars and low in Oxalic Acid see chart in book)
• Chia (Soaked with lots of water)
• Amaranth, Buckwheat (better if sprouted or soaked)
• Sprouted and/or soaked whole grains and legumes (so many beans!), whichever ones work for you.
• A variety of every color of fruit, vegetable, herb,... of every plant you can grow in your garden or entice yourself to eat. Eat your rainbow. Try Heirloom, or even older! Our modern world has shared its variety and bounty as it has grown so small.
  
• Onions and garlic have to be included as their own. I think every continent's people have utilized them to make their food edible since the beginning, and when I try to count up their wonderful properties, then they are simply one of my favorite foods.
  

All plant foods are, of course, more beneficial if grown free of chemical 'additives' such as pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers, etc. This is made possible, in large part, if they are grown in a soil/compost rich in nutrients and biodynamic benefits. (See Dirt, the Movie for an introduction to soil and entertaining portrayals; Botany of Desire:plant selection. both are on Netflix)
When plants are fed richly in an environment that does not kill either the amazing microorganisms or the visible little critters around and especially in the soil, then these plants are fed by intricate and galactic alterations that are overwhelmingly abundant and largely still unexplored. This kind of husbandry makes for a strong, complex plant internally that gives it a strong resistant to previously destructive pests and plagues AND give us the amazing taste and nutritiously beneficial experience that we all wish for. (think of GGr'pa's home grown tomatoes or the best strawberry or apple you ever had, lettuce that actually tasted GOOD, potent herbs, and good quality essential oils) One term for this is High Brix.

Healthy animal products should be consumed by us only when they are eating 100% growing pasture or wild forage (wild seafood,...).

For the SUPER, SUPER example; A healthy cow eats grass, but during the winter may have to eat cut/stored hays. So the ideal products are those obtained once the cow has once again returned to eating grass for more than a week. These meats and organs are significant in their CLA, K2 and other notable Fat oriented nutrients as well as beautiful characteristics demonstrating other nutrients such as a delicious bright yellow butter (with a lower melting point) or splendidly flavored meat flesh. Naturally, the organs would be more desirable as well.
Spring butter has been considered sacred by the nearly by-gone Mountain Swiss people for centuries because of it's being so exceeding and particularly beneficial.

Crucial Nutrients Diagram

Click to enlarge

Fat Soluble Vitamins such as A, D, K2 are found in safe ratios in
Healthy animal's Fats that are fermented or from fast growing/plentiful green grass
and in very desirable abundance and ratios in
Green Pasture's Fermented Cod Liver oil and Butter oil Blend.
Minerals are found in Bone Broths, Dark Green Vegetables, and Raw Dairy.
There are 7(+) DIFFERENT CALCIUMS which we need all of in varying ratios throughout the body. Herbs are prob the best DIY way. Supplementing with them needs to be done with specific cautions.

See this link's chart here for more examples and great super foods that exemplify this diagram:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai3zK3S0SNBWdHE2bFNUeEVnZEY4TFppZTRmaDN5Nnc
(I would give credit for the origination of this diagram if I could - over 4 years ago I saw a chart with Vit A, D, K2, Ca, Mg, and types of fat (?) linked to an article discussing their ratios. I have not been able to find it since WAPF made their new site (although it may not have been on their site, merely a time marker). I finally decided recently to create my own but to also include these other important factors of water soluble Vitamins, phosphorous, flora, enzymes, and the mention of other nutrients to open the door to possibilities that may play a prominent need in your family's ratios.)