Lamb Stuffed Acorn Squash

We love Winter Squash, but we mostly stick with Spagetti and Butternut Squash. I ventured out a little and decided to use Acorn which I have only prepared a couple of times. I saw a stuffed Acorn squash recipe recently but I didn't take the time to see what they stuffed it with, I just thought the picture looked delicious. I choose to stuff it with lamb because I could season it with spices I thought would be complementary with the Acorn squash, it was!

Ingredients:

2 Acorn Squash

1 pound ground lamb

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp organic worchestershire sauce 

1 tsp sea salt, plus a little.

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp cardamom 

1/2 tsp nutmeg, plus a little.

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes

Cut squash in half from top to bottom, scoop out the seeds and season with a little sea salt and nutmeg. 

Mix the lamb with the rest of the ingredients and stuff in the acorn halves.

Place in baking pan, I used aluminum foil to "cup" them so they would sit up straight.

Bake in a 375 degree F oven until the lamb registers 155 degrees F, approximately 1 hour.

These were delicious, but I revisited this recipe and made the following changes:

1. I roasted the halves cut side down for 40 minutes in 375 degree oven.

2. While the halves were roasting, I browned the onions in a little coconut oil, added the meat and seasonings plus 1 tsp of Garam Marsala and browned the meat throughly. Lastly, I turned the heat down to low and put a lid on the pan until the acorn squash was done.

3. Once the squash was cooked, carefully scoop out as much flesh as you can without destroying the shell (you will not remove all of the squash because the shell is very thin).

4. Mix the flesh with the meat mixture and refill the the shells.

5. Top with goat cheese and place in the oven on broil until the cheese is browned a little.

This tastes even better than the original and is a lot simpler.

Pressure Cooked Pork Roast

For those of you considering a pressure cooker purchase, get one it's worth it. For those of you who already have one stashed away somewhere, dig it out and start using it again. Lastly, for those of you who regularly use it, keep up the good work and share your recipes! 

Once you understand how it works and feel comfortable using a pressure cooker you will be amazed at how quickly you can get a great meal on the table.

Ok, now for the night before last's dinner.

Recipe: 

1 1/2 lb pork roast

Herbs de Provence (a herb mix used in France made up of marjoram, thyme, savory, basil, rosemary, sage, fennel seeds and lavender)

Sea salt

Fresh milled black pepper

Oil (I used Palm)

Fill the pressure cooker with 1 to 2 inches of water, put in the rack and steamer basket, then bring the water to a boil.

Place the roast (fat side up) in a heat-proof dish that will fit into your steamer basket.

Place the lid on and make sure the release valve is closed. Bring up to full pressure then cook for 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and open the vent to release the steam. Remove the roast.

Coat the top of the roast with Herb de Provence, sea salt and pepper.

Heat up oil in a heavy bottomed pan and brown the fat side coated with herbs until crispy.

Once the top is browned to your satisfaction you are done.

Kale Chips

Before

After

Ingredients-

Kale
Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash kale and pat dry. Strip off stems from leaves and break into bite-sized pieces. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle on salt and pepper then toss to evenly distribute. Bake on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet in a single layer for 10 - 15 minutes until crispy.

Almond Milk

For all of you Almond Milk lovers out there, here is how you can make your own.

Ingredients

1 cup of raw, soaked almonds

4 cups of water

Easy huh?

First place the almonds into a container, just cover with water and put a lid over the container and leave for 24 hours out on a counter.

Next, place the soaked almonds into a blender and add 4 cups of water.

Blend thoroughly.

Line a bowl with a piece of muslin or use a nut milk bag (if you have one you probably already know how to make this). Pour the contents of the blender into the lined bowl.

Strain out the milk.

Squeeze out as much milk as possible.

Looks good.

This is what is left over, I made cookies from the left over meal. They weren't very good so I won't share that recipe. Once I get it perfected I will post it.

Approximately 4 one cup servings

Just in case you were wondering

Carbs: 1.3 grams

Fat: 3 grams

Protein 1.3 grams

Fiber: .7 grams

Minerals: Manganese, Magnesium 

Walking The Talk

I love talking about eating good food and I enjoy teaching others how to do it. While the great majority of what I eat fits my definition of "good", I still eat some not so good items.

Well in the spirit of trying to identify all of the hurdles (or most of them) that occur when trying to eat "good" foods I have decided that I will try not eat anything that does not fit the criteria already established. Criteria: it has to be real (ie. chicken, not chicken nuggets, chicken flavored, etc...), it has to be unprocessed or minimally processed (ie. honey, maple syrup, oatmeal, brown rice, potatoes, not honey/maple flavored, flavored oatmeal cereal, white rice, potato chips, etc...). Maple syrup does receive processing, it is originally sap from a tree which has been boiled down into syrup, that is processing, but it is a far cry from maple-flavored pancake syrup. Please note that if I do use maple syrup, I probably don't use it more than 1-2 times per month and I won't use more than a tsp at a time, it is just about pure carbohydrate. Lastly, it has to be good for you, meaning nutritious, something that builds you up and not tear you down. Not a whole lot of criteria, but it is very encompassing.

Food is a very touchy subject, and without parameters I know I have the tendency to touch any and all of it, much to my detriment. I dearly want all of us to live an abundant life that our Lord speaks of in John 10:10. Too many of us are not living abundantly, but are being robbed of health and vitality by the choices that we make. I want to help in this area by providing a map, a road map to help you navigate through the minefield of bad food choices.

The Bible is full of food metaphors, Ps 34:8 says "Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed are all who trust in Him". The Lord is good indeed, He has provided us with so much that is good for us and good to us. Let's choose what builds us up and turn our backs on what ever tears us down.

Red Bell Pepper Goat Cheese Salad

I made this salad to go along with dinner 3 times in the past seven days, it is good!

Ingredients: 

1 red bell pepper

1 large sweet yellow onion, sliced 

4 oz. goat cheese, divided into 4 slices.

4 cups mixed baby greens

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Roast pepper for ten minutes.

Place sliced onions which have been generously drizzled with olive oil into oven and roast an additional 10 minutes.

Remove the pepper from the oven and place into a plastic bag for 5 minutes. Turn onions and return to the oven for an additional 10 min.

When onions are done, turn oven to broil and broil the goat cheese until it has brown spots on top.

While cheese is browning, peel, core and slice red bell pepper. Don't burn your cheese, it browns quickly.

Arrange the pepper and onions on the baby greens and top with cheese. Dress with a little olive oil and  balsamic vinegar. Yum!

Fermented Foods - sauerkraut and dill pickles

I started my sauerkraut and dill pickles two days ago. Pickles are simple: wash 4 pounds of pickling cucumber well and trim the blossom end 1/8 inch (I trim both ends, I didn't pick them and I wanted to be sure). Make sure you use pickling cucumbers, they are not waxed, are the right length (4-6 inches) and they are nice and bumpy. You will not have a problem with selection if you grow them yourself.

Use 5 heads of fresh dill, 2 tbsp of pickling spice (you can mix your own or use store bought), I added an extra tbsp of mixed peppercorns and an extra tbsp of ground ginger and an extra bay leaf (we like them spicy!). In addition, add garlic cloves, I used two elephant garlic cloves, you can use 4 regular. Mix 8 cups of water, 1/2 cup of canning salt (do not use table salt) and 1/4 cup vinegar. 

Using a pickling crock or a large glass jar layer spices,cucumbers and garlic. Fill the jar with the water, salt and vinegar solution. Weigh down the contents to make sure the cucumbers stay under the brining  solution, fermentation is an anaerobic activity, you don't want the cucumbers exposed to air. Check daily to see if you need to skim any scum off of the top, brining takes about 2-3 weeks and then I move them to the refrigerator.

Now for the sauerkraut.

You need 20 pounds of cabbage and approx 1/2 cup of salt and a large crock or jar.

Remove the outer leaves and rinse the cabbage well, quarter and core. Shred the cabbage into 1/8 strips.

That was a lot of cabbage to cut. I have used a meat slicer in the past, I didn't feel like pulling it out and the having to wash it. This is what happens with most gadgets, that's why it's important to have good, sharp knives round.

Mix 5 pounds of shredded cabbage with 3 tbsp of canning salt (don't use table salt and consider using natural sea salt). Let sit for a while until juices form.

Start packing in jar but tamping down with the back of a large spoon, it was easier to use the end of a French rolling pin. Continue until you fill the jar, I was able to get the entire 20 pounds ( more like a little over 15 once it was trimmed and cored) into 1 5 gallon jar.

I left it for two days hoping that enough brine would be formed from just the salt and the juice from the cabbage, but I wound up having to prepare a brining solution by boiling 4 cups of water and dissolving 3 tbsp of canning salt in it. I let the solution cool to room temperature and I poured it over the cabbage. I then put a piece of muslin that had been washed well (you can boil it in water, then carefully wring it out) on top and used a spoon to wedge it down the sides. You want to keep the cabbage under the brining solution so it will ferment properly.

I placed several saucers on top of the muslin and inverted the lid which has a knob on top, this keeps the cabbage from floating on top of the solution. Check daily to see if you need to skim the top. 

Fermentation will take approx 6 weeks, then you can divide into smaller jars and store in the fridge. You can also can in a hot water bath, but please know that you will lose all of your probiotics if you do.

I like sauerkraut's flavor, but the only reason I make it and teach others to do the same is for the probiotics. If you are only going for taste, it is easier to purchase it at the store. This tastes much better than your generic sauerkraut, but there are some pretty good tasting ones in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.