Ohhhhh....mom you are going to LOVE this post!

So what is the first thing I think of to do, as I study late Saturday night and need a break?.... make liver pate :)

I am currently following the GAPS protocol, which has been really helping me with a foundation of what to eat in order to heal (thank you B. for directing me to it). In it, she emphasizes eating liver and organ meats to get all those dense nutrients that are hard to get anywhere else. I had been hearing through an online support group I am on with GAPS where it has helped them with their energy levels (due to Vit B). I decided this weekend would be a good time to try it, as I have midterms starting next week. 

I have NEVER had liver before, and had no idea how to make it. I've just heard "stories." I got advice from my Grandpa on how to make it, and went online to see different recipes. I ended combining several recipes, than adding some things for my first experience. I don't have exact measurements, but this is what I did. 

I have to say, it's interesting ordering liver at the butcher counter. The lady next to me started to tell me her favorite liver recipes, then became so inspired that decided to get some herself. The guy behind the counter looked like he couldn't understand what the excitement was with it. 

Soak liver in lemon juice for 3-4 hours (supposedly this is to take away the bitter taste. Rinse the liver off afterwards.

 During that time, cut up 1 med onion and parsley.

 Here is the liver rinsed off - I ordered only 1/2 lb. Had no idea how much that really was.

 Cut the liver up into smaller sizes.

 During the past week or so, I had been collecting the fat from the meat stock I had been making. I take some of the fat and put it in the skillet (you could also use butter, or some other kind of animal fat).

 Cook the liver and onions.

I added some meat stock to the skillet, as it looked a bit dry. I let it cook for a few minutes. Then I cut up one avocado, for use later. (this is something I decided to add on my own...)

 Here it is all cooked up, and looking great!

 Put the meat mixture, some parsley, more animal fat in (I ended up putting the rest of the supply in) and avocado into the blender, or food processor, and blend till "pate" consistency. It looks like a chip dip!

Wahla! Here is it. And the verdict on taste... It tastes really good. It has a great dip flavor. I was really pleased with the results, and it will not be hard at all to eat this a little during the week.

Black Bean Brownies

Yesterday, our ward had an Emergency Preparedness Fair. They asked for some of us to make an item that could be taken from food storage. I looked online and found this super easy recipe that was supposedly taken from a Weight Watchers recipe. So for all those out there following the points plan, this is only 2 points per serving. What I learned from this (since I can't eat it), is that you can use black beans in place of oil and eggs in a recipe. Plus it will add more fiber and protein to the snack :)

Black Bean Brownies

1 box brownie mix

1 can (15 oz) black beans

Open the can of black beans, rinse well. Place the beans back back in the can. Add enough water to cover beans. Put in blender or food processor and puree. Add puree to brownie mix, and then bake according to package directions.

You DO NOT add the eggs or oil that the recipe calls for, JUST the black bean puree!

Bake as indicated on the box.

Makes 20 brownies-- 2 Weight Watcher Points each!

Got Ghee?

A Naturopathic doctor I saw last year introduced me to ghee. This is clarified butter, used in a lot of Ayurveda cooking. What's great about ghee is that it is lactose and casein free. I prefer the taste to butter, as it is a bit sweeter. It also has a very high melting point, and can be used in a variety of cooking. In addition, there are a lot of health benefits from it.

In the book "Healing with Whole Foods" by Paul Pitchford, he says this about Ghee,

"A unique feature of clarified butter (ghee), which is butter with the milk solids removed, is a healing property not found in other saturated fats. According to Ayuvedic teachings, clarified butter enhances the ojas, an essence that governs the tissues of the body and balances the hormones. Ample ojas ensures a strong mind and body, resistance against disease, and is essential for longevity. Clarified butter promotes the healing injuries of gastro-intestinal inflammations such as ulcers and colitis.

The ability of clarified butter to support physical and mental renewal has been substantiated to some degree by science. According to Rudolph Ballentine, M.D., clarified butter contains butyric acid, a fatty acid that has some antiviral and anti-cancer properties, and which raises the level of the antiviral chemical interferon in the body. Butyric acid also has characteristics found to be helpful in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Ayureveda also describes clarified butter as one of the finest cooking oils; it increases "digestive fire" and thereby improves assimilation and enhances the nutritional value of foods... Can be used when cooking with high temperatures, especially abaove 320F."

I had been buying ghee at the stores, as someone told me that it was difficult to make. Recently I have been learning how easy it is to make. I made my first batch last Friday. It turned out great! And now it will only cost me 1/2 as much instead of paying for it at the stores. You just need butter and time.

Ghee (recipe adapted from the book "The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia" by Rebecca Wood)

Ingredients

1 pound cultured unsalted organic butter

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and slowly melt over medium heat. When the butter comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered and undisturbed, for about 30 minutes. As the temperature reaches the boiling point of water, the butter's water content vaporizes, foaming and making tiny, sharp crackling noises. It will be ready when the crackling noise stops and the sound becomes a rounder, boiling sound. The foaming almost ceases; the butter turns a lovely, clear golden color and the white sediment (milk proteins and salts) that forms on the bottom turns a light tan color. Immediately remove from the heat since the ghee can easily burn. (If it burns it will begin to foam rapidly again and turn brown instead of golden.) Cool slightly. Pout hot ghee through a stainless steel mesh strainer (or place paper towels or a coffee filter in a colander to help strain it.) When cool, cover tightly. This will stores for 4 months or more at room temperature. Can also be refrigerated - but will become solid (which is what I do anyway). Makes 1 1/2 cups or 13 oz.

Here are some additional sites that have posted pictures on how to do it, and a video:

Pictures: http://blog.asmartmouth.com/2008/10/10/homemade-indian-ghee-if-you-dare/

Video: http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-ghee-clarified-butter-241324/

Blueberry Muffins - Wheat/Gluten/Dairy/Sugar (kinda) free

I am trying to find a variety of different foods to eat, to get myself on a good rotation diet. As I seem to react to a lot of different flours, I decided to experiment with coconut flour, as I haven't had any of it for a VERY long time. One of my favorite blogs - Elana's Pantry, had a recipe for Blueberry muffins using coconut flour. I adapted it to meet my present needs. They turned out really good! I took out the sugar, but added fruit (so there is still sugar, just not as intense as other forms). I also am not able to eat eggs right now. I found out that you can sub. 1/2 a banana or 1/4 cup of applesauce for 1 egg. As I am still not sure if I can tolerate apples at this time, I decided to venture with the banana. Although next time, I think I would do half bananas and half applesauce. The mixture became really thick with the bananas.

So for all my family members venturing out on the gluten/wheat/dairy free circuit, here is something to try:

Blueberry Muffins

1/2 cup Coconut Flour

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

6 eggs (replaced it with 3 bananas)

1/3 cup agave or honey (I omitted this due to sweetness of coconut flour and bananas)

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbsp Vanilla (check ingredients on vanilla - sometimes they will add additional ingredients)

1 cup Blueberries (frozen or fresh)

1. In a small bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda

2. In a large bowl combine eggs (banana or applesauce), oil, vanilla, and agave (if you so choose to).

3. Combine dry ingredients with the wet ingredients

4. Add blueberries and stir (to prevent blueberries from dropping to bottom, dust them with some coconut flour)

5. Place in muffin cups

6. Bake at 350degrees fro 20-25 minutes

Yields 12 muffins

I cooked mine in mini muffin pans. To make the cup liners, I cut up some coffee paper filters I found. I also made them in a mini bundt pan. I just cut up coffee filters to line these as well. To make it more fun, I also added some unsweetened coconut flakes I recently purchased. It added a nice crunch for a topping.