A new way to make lamb. June 23, 2008

I just have to post this recipe. If you’re looking for a new way to make lamb chops, this is it. There’s not much better than a piece of tender fatty meat covered in sweet and gooey sauce.

Sesame Lamb Chops with Honey Raisin Sauce

4 lamb chops
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup diced shallots (I used several cloves of garlic)
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup raisins
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (I used ground cumin)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)

 Heat a large skillet coated with olive oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the lamb evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add lamb to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side. Remove lamb from pan.

In the same pan, add 1/4 teaspoon salt and shallots; sauté for 1 minute. Stir in broth, raisins, honey, cumin, and cinnamon. Add lamb, turning to coat. Simmer 3 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

I think this is good for company. It looks and tastes impressive but is very easy.

Coconut Oil June 14, 2008

If you like fried plantains, you’ve got to try them thinly sliced and fried in Coconut oil with a little bit of sea salt. Fry them on medium-low heat until golden brown on each side to give them a bit of a crisp on the outside.

If you go to the store to look for virgin, unrefined coconut oil, which is what you want, you’ll notice it’s very pricey. Here’s the best deal I’ve found. And I’ve looked everywhere. http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkoil/a-c.html apparently everyone else knows how good a deal this is because they’re out of stock again.

Coconut oil is one of the few types of fats that is good for you……..really good for you. If I were disciplined enough I’d be taking several tablespoons of it a day. But it doesn’t really taste very good alone.

• Lowers LDL cholesterol
• Increases weight loss
• Protects against chemically-induced cancers
• Anti-bacterial and anti-fungal
• Great skin moisturizer

We buy it by the gallon and keep one in the bathroom to use as a moisturizer for us and the kids. We keep the other on our kitchen counter for frying. It’s a very stable medium chain fatty acid, so it doesn’t go rancid like other seed and vegetable oils. When you ingest rancid oils they act just like free-radicals in the body. And most packaged products are already rancid to some degree when they hit the store shelves.

We started buying coconut oil when I was pregnant with Isaac and I couldn’t stand the coconut smell. I don’t know if I’ve gotten used to it or it was just my pregnant nose, but I don’t smell it any more. The kids eat it every night after their bath when we rub it on them.

Favorite cookies June 13, 2008

We make these alot. Mostly because the recipe calls for homemade cream cheese and we have alot of this around the house because we’re always making whey for our fermented veggies. And our guests always like them.

This is taken from page 488 of Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.

Rugelach                                                                                                                                                      makes 18-24

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup homemade cream cheese
• 2 cups freshly ground spelt, kamut or whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup rapadura sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup crispy pecans, finely chopped

You can substitute store bought cream cheese, regular or brown sugar, and raw or roasted pecans, almonds, or walnuts……..but it won’t be as “nourishing”.

Mix butter, cream cheese and flour using an electri beater and leave in a warm place for 12 to 24 hours. Mix in Rapadura, vanilla and salt. Using unbleached white flour to keep from sticking, roll out dough on a pastry cloth to 1/4 inch thickness. Brush with mixture of melted butter and cinnamon and sprinkle with pecans. Roll up 1 1/2 turns and cut dough lengthwise. Roll another 1 1/2 turns and cut lengthwise. Repeat once more. You should now have three long rolls. Cut the rolls crosswise into 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch lengths. Place individual pastries on a buttered cookies sheet and bake at 300 degrees for about 45 minutes. These store well in freezer or refrigerator and the flavor improves with time. Eat cool or reheat before serving.

Made according to the directions, they are free from phytic acid because the flour is soaked and the “crispy nuts” are soaked (pg.512 of Nourishing Traditions), and the rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice) is rich in minerals, unlike refined sugar. Plus they’re yummy.

Give them a try and let me know what you think.