Chocolate Peanut Butter Spelt Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

These cookies are soft and gooey. Perfect paired with a glass of milk.

 

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup natural crunchy peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp molasses

1 egg

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 1/4 cup light spelt flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

 

 

Preheat oven to 350F. Prep cookie sheet. I like to lightly butter my pan.

 

In a large bowl beat together the butter, peanut butter, sugar, molasses, cocoa powder, and egg until smooth and creamy.

Stir in the flour, baking soda, and baking powder until smooth.

Spoon dough onto cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

 

Makes about 15 large cookies.

 

 

 

Milkweed Cordial

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our home smelled wonderful this morning while making this!

 

 

 

~Milkweed cordial~

 

6 cups of milkweed flowers (stemsw trimmed)

4 tablespoons of lime juice

2 cups of sugar

6 cups of water

 

 

Rinse flowers after stems have been removed.

Place them in a large pot with the rest of the ingredients.

Bring to a light boil over medium heat. Let boil for about 40 minutes or until it reduces by about a cup.

Strain the cordial.

Can or refrigerate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Spelt Cookies with Chocolate Chips

 

 

 

 

Peanut butter spelt cookies with chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup natural crunchy peanut butter

3/4 cup sucanat or coconut sugar

1 duck egg

1 1/4 cup light spelt or while spelt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 375

In a stand mixer, beat until smooth the butter, peanut butter, egg, and sugar.

Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Spoon onto a cookie sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

bee balm + tarragon chaga iced tea, by Kira

bee balm + tarragon chaga iced tea

In a 1.9L jar add:

1/2 cup of lemon juice

1/2 cup maple syrup

Fill the jar with brewed chaga tea.

Place a couple sprigs of bee balm and tarragon inside.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours and enjoy!

 

Homestead Flat Bread Recipe, by Kira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

6 cups of flour

2 cups liquid (water, milk, buttermilk, or whey)

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp yeast

In a saucepan, heat the liquid until it is warm to the touch.

I like to use water or the whey that is left over after making cheese.

Once the liquid is warm, pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer,

stir in the honey and add the yeast.

Let it stand for a couple of minutes for the yeast to awaken.

When the yeast has started to foam, start adding flour.

I usually use a light spelt, but lately I have been doing a blend of about five cups light spelt and one cup whole buckwheat.

Note:

Liquid and flour measurements will vary a little depending on the type, and moisture content of flour used.

Add a couple cups of flour to the liquid and mix.

Then add the salt and slowly continue to add flour until it has formed a soft sticky dough.(Most of the dough should stick to the dough hook,

but the dough should still be moist and sticky).

In a cool place, covered, let the dough sit for the day or overnight to ferment.

When you are ready to cook you flat breads, pour the dough out onto a floured surface.

Divide and shape the dough into small balls.

Let them rest for a few minutes and preheat a cast iron pan on medium heat.

You can fry the flat breads in a dry pan or use a fat such as butter or lard.

We like to use lard since we have some left over from our pigs and it gives the breads a great taste.

Roll the balls of dough out flat and add them to the hot pan.

Fry them until bubbled and browned, flip and fry the other side.

Store them in a sealed container to help keep them fresh.

But they're best eaten right away.

Here are a few ways that we like to use our flatbreads.

For dipping in soups, stews, chillis, and dips.

Open face sandwiches, topped with cheese, sprouts and hummus or steak. Spinach, melted cheese, and lemony pepper sauce.

Topped like a pizza and broiled in the oven.

Toasted with favourite butters and jams.

For breakfast, serve them with poached eggs and avacodo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh cheese! By Kira.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On my sixth attempt, I finally succeeded at making simple farm cheese.

This cheese is made by heating milk and then adding an acid to separate the protein.

My past attempts weren't total failures; I got some cheese, just not as much as I should have.

The cheese wasn't clumping together properly and I would lose most of it when I strained it through the cheese cloth.

I was talking with my friend the other day about making cheese and she told me she was cooking it on the cookstove.

So that's what I did yesterday.

I cooked the milk on the woodstove and it worked out.

It may have been that I was heating the milk too hot and too fast.

 

Here is how I made cheese.

You need:

- 4 litres of whole milk

- 1/2 cup of vinegar or lemon juice ( I used lemon juice)

On low heat, slowly warm the milk.

The milk was on the woodstove for about an hour while I stirred frequently.

I brought the milk up to about 170F and held it at that temperature for about 15 minutes.

Remove the milk from heat and gently stir the lemon juice in.

The milk will separate almost instantly into whey and curd.

Strain the curd with cheese cloth lined in a colander.

Once most of the liquid has drained, tie the ends of the cloth together and hang it for about an hour to finish draining.

Add salt to the cheese and it is ready to eat!

We feed the whey to the dogs and chickens.

 

 

 

 

 

Butchering in the Kitchen, by Kira

Yesterday we processed some chickens.

When the weather isn't cooperating I clean the birds inside.

It's not a fancy affair.

Once Andrew kills the birds and lets them bleed out,

he brings them in for me to clean.

I start with a clear working area.

Over the counter is a big window facing the duck coop where I have been watching the blue jays quarrel over the ducks' feed.

The sinks get cleaned and one emptied while the other is filled with hot soapy water.

The draining tray off the sink is cleaned and ready for use as well.

I have clean cloths, sharp knives and a bucket (for inedible parts) by my side.

Sometimes we skin the birds and other times we pluck.

Yesterday I just skinned them since we were working indoors.

I start by skinning the bird and removing the wings, feet, and head, all of which finds it's way into the bucket.

Sometimes before the skin and feathers make their way into the bucket,

we pick feathers for crafts and feather hair clips.

At this point, the kids like to gather around the bucket and examine the remains. Next the viscera are removed from the carcass.

We keep the liver, heart, and gizzard, then eat these fried in butter after the butchering is done.

Once everything is removed, I rinse the carcass in cold water, bag it and freeze it.

The leftover parts are either buried in the garden or taken out back into the woods for the forest animals to enjoy.

Nothing wasted.

Here it is.

A Gold Laced Wyandotte ready for the freezer.

Grown out, they weigh about 4lbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Favourite Breakfast, by Kira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This has been my favourite breakfast lately, savoury, spicy and fresh.

Three fried eggs

A little sharp cheese, grated

A handful of sprouts

A tablespoon of organic extra virgin olive oil

A dash of hot sauce

And a pinch of sea salt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sprouted Lentils, by Kira

I do a lot of sprouting, especially at this time of year.

We try to hibernate during the Winter and trips to town are few and far between.

Lentils are an easy way to eat something alive and fresh.

I have been buying organic dried lentils bulk so I always have them on hand.

They are easy and quick to sprout.

All you need is:

a large glass jar (I like the 56 oz size) with the lid ring.

A piece of cheese cloth or other loose cloth cut to cover the jar opening.

Organic lentils.

I like to use green lentils, but french lentils work well too.

Note that red lentils will not sprout because they are normally processed.

Rinse your lentils.

I usually rinse enough to fill the jar one third of the way.

Put the lentils in the jar and fill it with water to cover the lentils by about 3cm.

Place the cloth over the jar and screw on the ring.

Let the lentils sit overnight to hydrate.

The next day, pour the water out through the cloth.

Fill the jar with fresh water and pour it back out to rinse the lentils.

Let the jar sit upside down for a few minutes to drain.

You don't want extra water sitting in the bottom of the jar as the lentils may rot.

Rinse the lentils once a day.

They should sprout within a day or two.

I keep my sprouts on the kitchen counter.

If your house is on the warm side you may want to keep your sprouts in the fridge once they have reached the sprouted size you want.

We eat sprouts on sandwiches, in stir frys and one of my favourite ways to eat them is tossed with a little roasted sesame oil and salt.

 

Perfectly Roasted Garlic, by Kira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perfectly Roasted Garlic

Preheat the oven to 375 deg.F.

Cut the tops off the garlic bulbs.

Place the garlic into a cast iron frypan or similar oven safe container.

Drizzle all the heads with lots of olive oil.

Cover lightly and roast for 40 minutes or until the bulbs are golden brown and the cloves squeeze out easily.

Squeeze the garlic out of it's paper and store it in a glass jar along with the left over olive oil in the bottom of the pan.

We have been enjoying our roasted garlic on pizza!

 

 

 

 

Spiced Honey Spelt Doughnuts, by Kira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We usually make doughnuts when we are rendering lard.

This past year we didn't have pigs, so there was no fresh fat to render.

But we did have some in the freezer from last year.

And every doughnut should be cooked in lard!

So simple; I just added some sweet goodness to a basic bread dough recipe.

Spiced Honey Spelt Doughnuts

6 cups of spelt light flour (you may need a little more or a little less)

1/3 cup of honey

1 3/4 cup of water

1 tbsp yeast

2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp of grape seed oil

1 tbsp true cinnamon

2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp cardamom

Heat the water and honey until the honey dissolves.

Place the liquid in a bowl.

Put the liquid into the bowl of a stand mixer.

(Or just a bowl if you mix it by hand.)

Add the yeast and let it sit until it starts to bubble.

Slowly mix in half the flour, grape seed oil, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon,

and salt.

Slowly add rest of the flour until the dough forms a soft ball.

Cover and let the dough rest for an hour.

Spiced coconut sugar

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cardamom

1 tsp nutmeg

Grind all four ingredients with a mortel and pestle and set aside.

Cooking

Heat enough lard in a cast iron fry pan to generously cover the bottom of the pan.

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

Cut off small pieces and shape them into little balls and lightly flatten them.

(Try not to work the dough to much.

Overworkng will cause the air bubbles to burst and your doughnuts will be flat.)

When the lard is up to temperature ( about 375 degrees) you can start frying.

Fry for about a minute or until the bottom is golden brown then flip them and fry until that side is golden.

Put the spiced sugar into a paper bag or a container with a lid.

Once the donuts have cooled slightly, place them in the bag and shake them up with the sugar to coat them.

Doughnuts are best eaten when fresh.

They are also tasty dipped in coffee or along side a glass of fresh milk.

 

 

 

 

 

Citrus Pear Tart and a Happy New Year, by Kira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had such a wonderful Christmas.

There were visits from family and friends, great food, music, and snowshoeing.

I have started my seed list and will be placing my orders soon.

Andrew is hard at work finishing off the school house so that it will be ready to host Spring workshops.

Final plans are being made for the small goat barn that will be built once the snow melts.

This year will be busy, exciting, challenging, and rewarding.

To celebrate, I thought I would share this delicious recipe again,

with a few alterations.

This time, I used an all butter crust.

It's usually a mix of lard and butter.

The citrus juice is half mandarin orange and half grapefruit.

I used double the nutmeg and cinnamon.

There are no currents in these tarts either.

The rich, citrus, nutmeg and cinnamon sauce is perfect for these cold wintery days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

Honey Spelt Shortbread Cookies, by Kira

 

 

 

 

 

These cookies are simple and delicious.

Ingredients

1 cup of butter

1/3 cup of honey

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of spelt flour

1 cup of arrow root flour.

Preheat oven to 300F

Using electric mixer, mix the butter, honey, and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Add in the flours until combined.

Press dough into dry cast iron pans. Score the surface of the dough into wedges.

Bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.

Let cool completely and cut into wedges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paisley Frost & Minty Winter Tea, by Kira

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the rain turning to snow, we have found ourselves spending more time outdoors.

The once familiar forest behind our home has turned into a magical white land,

fresh and new to explore.

With cold runny noses and rosy red cheeks we have been poking around the woods, looking for tracks and checking out snow flakes.

Not far, there is a favourite big rock with mounds of green moss,

frozen into perfect form.

Fern loves how Jack Frost paints white paisley frost across the black ice on the creek.

Our winter walks have been followed by a hot tea in front of the woodstove; either a cup of chaga with maple syrup or a fresh minty tea from our garden.

The bees love our summer tea garden as much as we do.

There is calendula, peppermint, spearmint, catnip, bee balm, oregano, chamomile, sage, and lavender, each blossoming throughout the summer and harvested in the fall.

I hung and dried the herbs in the kitchen, then packed them into jars for the Winter.

They are great for adding to baths, infused oils, and of course, tea.

For our Minty Winter Tea:

6 cups water

Two calendula heads

One tablespoon catnip

One tablespoon bee balm

One teaspoon chamomile

Two tablespoons peppermint

Raw honey to taste

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and let cool slightly.

Add the herbs to the water and let stand for about five minutes.

Strain the tea into cups and sweeten with a little raw honey.

This is best enjoyed after a cool Winter walk,

or with a good book and a cozy blanket.