Books, Documentaries, Reviews: Jennifer McGruther’s THE NOURISHED KITCHEN

Books, Documentaries, Reviews: April 29, 2014

The Nourished Kitchen

Jennifer McGruther

WOW!

Here’s a terrific new cookbook that’s playing off of Sally Fallon Morell and Dr. Mary Enig’s book Nourishing Traditions. Morell and Enig are part of The Weston A. Price Foundation organization.

My friend Rose Thomas, aka “Chicken Rose” to my family as there are others named Rose in my life, dropped by the other day for a cup of tea. I told her that I had just gotten a really nice new cookbook, and as soon as I picked it up to show her, she said “I just got it too. On my Kindle.” But she had a lot of fun actually holding the book in her hands and said so.

So, it’s a book that’s “in the wind” on a number of whole-foods sites.

The author is from Colorado–in the mountains–and seems to have a kind of rural setting. So there are discussions of foraging for strawberries, wild greens, and cooking wild game. We might not be able to get elk, but we can get deer and rabbit here in Maine. And our berry gardens are superb.

There’s a terrific chapter on cooking and fermenting ancient grains. And a resource section that tells where to buy them.

There’s an exciting chapter on fermented foods–with some exciting combinations of ingredients.

Indeed, what’s piquing my interest the most are the different combinations this cook is using in her every day foods.

The section on desserts have some healthy, interesting, delicious looking combinations.

This one is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

PS: Those are salt-preserved Meyer lemons on the cover–an “asset” I keep in my refrigerator all the time. I cover with a film of olive oil that is delicious drizzled over any kind of baked fish. A tablespoon of the chopped lemon and oil put into smashed potatoes with butter adds a delicious sparkle to the mixture.

Turkey Tracks: Spring Peepers

Turkey Tracks: April 26, 2014

Spring Peepers

I’ve been really busy with spring projects and spring clean-up.

So you have not heard from me much this week.

The amazing Stephen Pennoyer has taken on many of the projects neglected for the past five years. He is a meticulous carpenter and all-around building expert. And he’s been the most wonderful gift in my life as he has taken on jobs that most people would shudder at doing–things like digging drainage ditches for underground pipes and digging big and deep holes to sink new fence posts in–all into earth covered with gravel and littered with land-fill stones. Always, he is cheerful–no matter the frustration. And, always, he figures out a way “to do it right.” I’m “the helper” and am called on to hold posts steady. Or, help lift something that needs more than two hands or just a big more carrying poundage.

I’ll start posting pictures as he finishes the many jobs we have underway.

Meanwhile, Melody Pendleton was here painting a big downstairs room.

And Riteway Rugs picked up the big Karastan downstairs. It’s been over 11 years since it has been cleaned.

Those are only A FEW of the ongoing projects.

Meanwhile, I cleaned out (and repaired rusted out chicken wire) on the chicken coop and cage. That always a HUGE spring job.

I am thankful that it’s a rainy day. My body needs a rest…

* * *

The peepers–tiny, tiny frogs–have had a terrible time this year.

First they emerged out of the icy mud only to have a serious refreeze. Many of us were afraid they had been killed.

Here are some images: Peepers image – Google Search.

And here is a video I did the other night so you could see how LOUD they are:

Turkey Tracks: Mid April Update

Turkey Tracks: April 18, 2014

Mid April Update

I’ve had a busy few weeks, and it’s been fun.

First of all, Rosie, my Copper Black Maran has decided to lay her super dark brown eggs again. Aren’t they pretty?

Rosie is the last CBM I have. Remember that we lost her rooster to the fox last spring…

CBMs are not great layers, but they are big, happy hens and very social.

It might be time to think about getting some more from Tom Culpepper in Georgia…

Along with the beef broth–which is on the blog post just before this one–I made a shredded veggie lacto-fermented mixture, as mine is all gone now. I used cabbage, including a red one which will make the mixture such a lovely red in a few days, garlic, carrots, and a bunch of kale. Here it is in the bowl, all kneaded until it is juicy and ready to load into jars:

I have two kinds of jars I like to use–a regular old wide-mouth Mason jar and a fancier Fido jar with a bailer and rubber sealer. I thought I’d have enough mixture for a half-gallon jar, but no. Thus the quart jar:

Here’s a little video of Pumpkin, my rooster, who is amazing with the hens. You can hear him telling them to “come eat this food,” and if you watch carefully, you’ll see him pick up food and hold it up for them to see that it’s “ok.”

I make a run up to Belfast to the Belfast Coop every ten days or so. The Coop carries the dog food I use: raw ground WHOLE chicken–bones, skin, organs, the works. The girls THRIVE on this food. You’d never know to look at them that they are 11 and 12 years old. Here’s what their good looks like:

I have an old pair of boots that I bought for $10 at a kind of shoe-thrift store back in Virginia over 15 years ago. They are my “chicken boots”–and survive ice and mud in rough weather. I think I’ve gotten and will continue to get my money’s worth. I’m still using heavy gloves when I go out for chicken duty morning and evening:

Remember this rug I braided on the fashioned loom? It’s still going strong…

The wild turkeys have broken up into small bands now. I have one male who is hanging around with his band–probably because they are still feeding on discarded coop bedding and the odd treats I throw to the chickens. At night he roosts in one of the pines just beyond the stream. And he calls to me when I come out to lock up the chickens.

Here’s one video I took of him the other day. He’s perpetually “puffed up” these days:

And one of him with some of his hens. His tail is looking a bit ragged. I heard two males fighting at dusk up on the hill last week–they seemed to be hitting heads/necks/wings. Hard to tell :

Soon the hens will sit on eggs, and I will not see much of them until next winter–except for the odd crossing across a road here and there.

Turkey Tracks: Beef Bone Broth Today

Turkey Tracks: April 17, 2014

Beef Bone Broth Today

This morning I started a beef bone broth.

A good bone broth is chock full of all sorts of minerals and fats that your body LOVES!

I started with beef bones, celery, onions (skin on if they are clean), carrots. I cook them at about 400 until they are brown and toasty. Stir once or twice.

The white circle in the middle of the bone is the marrow–and that’s from where gelatin comes. Gelatin is, again, chock full of nutrients that are good for you.

Here’s what the bones look like after cooking:

DO NOT DISCARD THIS FAT IT IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD FOR YOU. Good fat provides a constant, steady source of energy–unlike the energy from sugar which yo-yos you up and down and causes problems with your hormones, like how your insulin reacts.

Put the ENTIRE contents of this pan into a large pot and add water, something acid (a little wine or vinegar helps extract the minerals), and some salt.

Look at the lovely dark color of this broth:

I will simmer this broth for 12 to 24 hours. Add water as needed. Turn it off when you leave the house or when you go to bed. It can sit overnight UNCOVERED in its pan overnight. Just reheat in the morning and start simmering again.

When you’re ready, strain the broth. I have a big strainer I like to use. Throw away the bones and spent veggies. DON’T GIVE COOKED BONES TO DOGS.

Use the broth, or freeze some of it. Don’t fill a Ball Jar too full or it will split open in the freezer. Leave plenty of room.

I’m going to make a hearty stew with this batch of broth–leeks, roasted tomato sauce from my stash, mushrooms, lamb stew meat, some dried tomatoes and zucchinis I dehydrated last summer, carrots–and that is as far as I have gotten in thinking about the stew today.

Turkey Tracks: Two Quilts Mailed

Turkey Tracks: April 17, 2014

Two Quilts Mailed

Long years ago now I made a quilt for a family new baby boy–a quilt with a fish theme–that got lost in the mail.

Meanwhile, that baby now has a sister–and neither are babies any more.

So, this winter I set about making them each a long-overdue quilt–with a “fishy” theme.

These quilts are meant to be used, loved, washed, and used some more.

Here’s the boy’s quilt. It’s called “Seahorse Seas.”

I quilted with Anne Bright’s “Ocean View” which has sea horses, shells, and sand dollars in the pattern.

See?

Here’s a piece of the focus fabric:

I mixed in some 9-patch blocks in coordinating fabrics:

Here’s the front striped border and the binding out of the focus fabric:

I like the backing rather a lot:

* * *

The girl’s quilt is from a pattern by Joan Ford in her “Quilt Your Stash!”–a little magazine that I picked up in Portland some years ago.

Joan Ford stopped with the flying geese border–so I added the outer border, and I like it a lot.

This quilt is called “A…’s Pretty Fish”:

The background is a deep navy blue.

Here’s more of that border–and the pantograph is “Circle of Life,” by Patricia E. Ritter–ordered from the Urban Elementz web site.

Here are some fish:

And, more fish:

And another shot of that terrific flying fish border. I think that border is what drew me to this quilt the most…

The backing is a bright red floral…

It’s always fun to mail off one quilt, let alone TWO!

Turkey Tracks: April Update

Turkey Tracks: April 7, 2014

April Update

We are finally getting some warm weather, and near me, the Megunticook River is thawing out fast. I was a little shocked when I went by Megunticook Lake Sunday on my way to see Rose Thomas as the Lake is still pretty frozen. This view is from the top of Barrett Cove, looking north. (This lake is 15 miles around and filled with interesting islands and “necks” that jut out into the water.)

The ice looks bluer towards the middle though, suggesting thinness.

Chickie Diva Queenie has been healed up for some time. I have only been waiting for the night temps to get warm enough to risk her in the coop. She can’t take any more frostbite probably ever in her life.

She did not seem unhappy in her kitchen box, but on a bright sunny day last week, I put her outside. She prowled the yard, scratching and digging, but not getting near the other chickens, who did not seem to notice her. That night, she came to the back door and when I opened it, she came right in, and hopped in her box.

The next day, I put her out again, and she wanted to come right back inside. I had planned to clean out the coop, so I gathered up the buckets and the shovel and started to work.

What followed was shocking!

The chickens found her and immediately attacked her. Even the rooster. They weren’t trying to dominate her. They were trying to kill her.

I rescued her from where she had wedged herself behind the sandbox and the house wall. Her comb was torn again, and she had wounds on her feet again. She was dazed and stunned and so happy to be put back into her box.

I consulted with the chicken whisperer Rose Thomas, and we formulated a plan to integrate her into Rose’s flock, which is larger and far less territorial.

So, on Sunday, I took her to Rose.

Rose’s chicken house is a lot bigger than my little coop, and there are MANY egg boxes. Diva Queenie put herself into one and seemed quite happy.

Rose has three roosters at the moment–Guy, the father of my rooster Pumpkin; the brother of Pumpkin; and Merlin, a guina rooster who is ferocious.

Rose distracted her flock by throwing them some scratch feed to them while we put Queenie into the chicken house.

I called Rose this morning. Queenie is just fine and is out in the yard with the rest of the flock.

* * *

Look at these–I have 12 out of 15 done and have another one half done now.

Here’s a close-up of one:

This large “hexie” is made from the kite shape you can see with the dark blue. I first saw a quilt made with these medallions at Alewives, a quilt shop in Damariscotta Mills, Maine. The hexies get linked by big diamonds, and the pattern comes from the book Material Obsession 2 by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke. Other blog entries here show their TWO quilt versions using this block. Rhea Butler made the quilt at Alewives.

I’ve finished the red/green quilt, which remains nameless so far. It’s loaded on the long arm. It’s pretty big–I used 7 yards of fabric for the backing–a Kaffe Fasset I bought on sale about a year ago. And I had to piece a column of about 20 inches to get enough width for the long arm–which was fine as I used up a lot of orphan blocks. I really draw the line at buying 9 yards of fabric for a quilt backing when I’m only missing ten or so inches. With the long-arm, I need about 5 extra inches of width on the sides, but I could always put on a temporary outside border that would come off when the quilting was done as well.

I am going down to Manchester, New Hampshire, with Gail Galloway Nicholson this week to the big MQX show (Machine Quilters Expo)–where we will both take some classes. I am taking both pantograph and free-motion quilting classes for the long arm. So…it seems to make sense to wait until I get home to quilt this quilt. The pantograph class may change how I currently quilt with a pantograph. Also I ordered a different green quilting thread as I did not like the color I thought I would use. Funny how that happens…

So, here’s my current project:

I am sewing together colorful 5-inch blocks from my stash. I will put a 3-inch border on this grid and use it to cut out “Lil Twister” blocks. Here’s a clue of what I am talking about:

Lil Twister block images – Google Search.

Canton Village Quilt Works has a very nice tutorial on how to use the Lil Twister tool.

Turkey Tracks: Household Dramas

Turkey Tracks: March 30, 2014

Household Dramas

SMOKE ALARM

The smoke alarm outside my bedroom went off last night about 3:30 a.m. LOW BATTERY. That alarm talks to you in a voice that can raise even a deaf person like me from a dead sleep. Rey Rey jumped off the very high bed (I hope she used the nearby chair) and followed me through the house-check I made to make sure there wasn’t smoke anywhere, etc. And to get the ladder downstairs so I could reach the alarm upstairs on the third floor. Rey Rey ducked into her bed downstairs–a laundry basket with soft old blankets under the table in my office–and had to be retrieved when the drama was all solved and the offending alarm removed from the ceiling for the night–which meant another trip up and down three flights of stairs.

It took me forever this morning to figure out how to open the battery door… Went online for the manual to figure it out, but couldn’t find a clue–which means most anyone with any brains should know how to open the darn thing. Only, I didn’t want to break anything by forcing plastic parts. The little door pulls and kind of swings out. The online ad said one could change the batteries without removing the device from the ceiling. Ha! I’d like to see someone do that. And it’s easy enough to unscrew it anyway.

Now I suppose I should check the other alarms as I suppose they might all have low batteries. But, that will be a task for another day…

Meanwhile, Rey Rey is still a total wreck–made more so when the new batteries went in and the device “talked” again in the piercing, scary voice.

She retreated to the rug in front of the sink–the next best thing to my lap as it is “my” spot in the kitchen–where she sat shaking with terror and refusing to look at the camera.

BEAUTIFUL DAFFODILS

See those beautiful daffodils on the kitchen counter?

A wonderful friend brought them to me this week–along with a big bunch on the dining room table.

And I have had swollen lymph nodes under one arm, other swellings, an allergy runny nose in spurts off and on ever since. It took me a few days to figure it out–but it’s those flowers.

I started washing my hands really good to get rid of whatever pesticides I had gotten on my hands from the flowers–and gathered up those beautiful, gorgeous, sunny flowers and threw them on a snow bank.

And my nose has stopped and the swellings are going away…

But I will miss the daffodils and will be so happy to see my own bloom in the meadow this year.

Again, maybe this is a lesson in “slow” flowers/food and staying in the seasons…

CLOGGED DRAINS IN GARAGE

So, today is the day that the documentary TOXIC HOT SEAT is being shown at THE STRAND in Rockland, Maine. I had a leisurely breakfast, dressed with care (the pretty blue sweater I save for “good”), and went to the garage to leave. At the last moment, as it was pouring rain, I changed my pretty shoes for sturdy rain shoes.

There was at least four inches of water in the garage.

The drains were plugged.

Water, water everywhere and threatening the bottoms of the refrigerator and the freezer.

I went back to the house, changed into LL Bean tall boots, took off my pretty green scarf (a present from DIL Corinne during her pre-wedding parties) that matched my pretty green raincoat that I treasure but that is at least 15 years old, got a toilet plunger and tried to open the drains.

No luck.

I called my wonderful neighbor Chris Richmond, who came down with adorable and growing-fast son Carleton in about 30 seconds. What a great feeling that was.

Chris had no luck with the plunger either.

Chris determined that the drains were iced up and tried to find their outside outlet–and set about redirecting water flowing down the hillsides into the drainage ditches along the driveway–which had become plugged with too many leaves. (Next year I’ll do a better job of blowing leaves out of those drains–and maybe get Tom Jackson to deepen them again. After ten years, they’ve silted up quite a bit.

Meanwhile, Carleton and I “broomed” water out of the garage doors so that it flowed down the hill. As I only had one big broom, Carleton worked with a snow shovel while I followed him him with the big broom. (I will be buying another broom forthwith.)

Chris had brought some de-icer pellets and put those down the drains, but it may take some time for them to “work.”

And I went to Renys and bought one of their last de-icer bags and put more down the drains. And I will go back in a bit to see if I need to put in more.

Now my mind is busily turning over what kind of treats I might be able to proffer to thank Chris and Carleton!

I am a lucky woman to have such nice neighbors.

Turkey Tracks: Winter Deer Eating Evergreens

Turkey Tracks: March 28, 2014

Winter Deer Eating Evergreens

Here’s a familiar sight from my kitchen windows any time in the late afternoon these days:

Sorry about the blurry picture, but you can see how bold these deer are these days.

They are eating all the junipers along the wall–which had just started growing and drooping artistically over the wall after being planted TEN YEARS ago.

There are eight deer in this group: two mothers and five young ones. Did one mother have triplets???

I went outside and talked to the ones who did not immediately flee up the hill. You can see how healthy they look. Their winter coats are plush, and their eyes are bright and alert.

The junipers have been reduced to nothing but bare sticks. They look like an infestation of gypsy moths had flown through.

And all the small white pines sprouting alongside the creek bed have been munched up to their tops. They look like lollipops.

Critters have to eat…

Turkey Tracks: The Red and Green Quilt Is Taking Shape

Turkey Tracks: March 25, 2014

The Red and Green Quilt Is Taking Shape

Looky, looky:

I’m loving the interesting secondary patterns that are forming.

This quilt started as a “leader/ender” project–an idea pioneered by Bonnie Hunter as a method to work on two quilts at once. Basically, when you get to a point while sewing where you might cut your thread, you feed a “leader/ender” block through the machine instead. So, for some time I sewed together dark and light green half-square triangles cut from my 3 1/2-inch strips–until I had sooooo many of them. Then I fed through four-patches of light and dark reds and greens from the two-inch strips. This quilt is being made entirely from my stash that I cut up this summer.

The block is a “Contrary Wife” block–and was inspired by Bonnie Hunter’s “Blue Ridge Beauty” quilt, which I made in green shades last year. (It remains one of my very favorite quilts in the whole world.) I think I had a lot of light/dark green half-square triangles started so just continued to make this quilt. I’ve wanted to make a red/green quilt for some time.

You MUST have the light square in the upper left corner when you put this block together for the light and dark rows to line up within the lattice pattern.

I’ll do some borders, of course. Probably a dark red thin border at first–and maybe a wider bright red border next. Who knows? The fabrics will come out of my stash.

Turkey Tracks: Georgeanne Davis’s “Purely Pancakes” Can Be Gluten Free

Turkey Tracks: March 24, 2014

Georgeanne Davis’s “Purely Pancakes” Can Be Gluten Free

Update: Since I posted this blog entry, I’ve come to realize that ricotta cheese is even nicer in the pancakes. It’s dryer. AND, you don’t need to whip egg whites. I just mix up all the ingredients and fry up the pancakes. Whipping the egg whites makes the pancakes almost too light…

I got back from Virginia on a Monday two weeks ago, and the next day set out to retrieve neighbor Sarah Rheault from the Owl’s Head Airport in Rockland.

I got there a few minutes early and idly picked up last week’s copy of THE FREE PRESS.

Georgeanne Davis’s column on pancakes caught my eye, and I confess, I extracted that page from the rest of the paper. After all, it was old by now…

I was drawn to the recipe for Cottage Cheese Pancakes, but thought the Potato Latkes and Asian-Style Pancakes looked good too. All of these recipes could be made gluten free without much ado I thought.

* * *

So, this morning I made the Cottage Cheese Pancakes–and boy was I happy!!! They were light, fluffy, and totally delicious and garnished with Margaret Rauenhorst’s maple syrup, local raw butter, and served alongside some bacon. (I used the bacon fat to grease the pancake pan.)

I HALVED the recipe and used coconut flour instead of wheat flour. I think I could have used brown rice flour or, even, the gluten free local pancake mix I keep on hand–Fiddler’s Green Fiddle Cakes. Next time I’m going to try the brown rice flour, just to see. HALVING the recipe gave me enough pancakes for two people, easy.

For the Asian pancakes, I think I’d use coconut, for the oil and either the brown rice flour or the pancake mix for the flour. I think coconut flour works ok in small lots rather than a whole cup size… That’s just me though…

* * *

It’s two hours later, and my tummy still feels warm and happy. What’s not to like about 3 eggs, cottage cheese, butter, and bacon for breakfast? Lots of good protein and fats. Also, apparently real maple syrup has a lot of good minerals in it. Who knew? I’ll reheat the three/four remaining pancakes for breakfast tomorrow… In the oven as I gave away my microwave some years ago.

Here’s the column from THE FREE PRESS, March 6th (17):

Home & Garden: Purely Pancakes

by Georgeanne Davis

Call them crepes, latkes, blintzes or just plain pancakes. All are appropriate fare on Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Tuesday and more familiarly known as Mardi Gras, which occurred earlier this week. Mardi Gras, literally “Fat Tuesday,” is known for its hedonistic celebrations and elaborate parades, especially in New Orleans in the U.S. and Rio’s Carnival. Mardi Gras is in fact the final day of lush living for Catholics before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Traditionally, at midnight on Shrove Tuesday, the Lenten fast of 40 days begins.

Why pancakes? Starting back in medieval times, pancakes were a way to use up milk, fats and eggs, which were forbidden during the fasting period. Today’s pancakes can be topped with a melting lake of butter or cloud of whipped cream, but they can also be primarily made up of vegetables – perfectly in keeping with leaner Lenten fare. One of our family’s favorite all-time pancake recipes contains no fat. Cottage cheese pancakes, originally from the “Tassajara Bread Book,” the kitchen bible of the back-to-the-land movement in the 1970s, are still unbeatable for any meal of the day.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes à la Tassajara

6 eggs

6 Tbsp. flour

1⁄4 tsp. salt

2 cups cottage cheese (nonfat, low-fat or full-fat)

Separate eggs. Beat egg whites until stiff and set aside. Mix yolks with flour, salt, and cottage cheese, then gently fold the egg whites into this mixture. Fry like regular pancakes on a lightly greased skillet. Serve topped with applesauce, jam, or just enjoy plain with a swipe of butter.

Potato pancakes, or latkes, make a perfect last-minute supper or brunch fare. Starchier potatoes are usually preferred for latkes, but we like to use Yukon Golds or our own Nicolas. Sweet potatoes work well, too.

Potato Latkes

1 pound potatoes

1⁄2 cup finely chopped onion

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1⁄2 tsp. salt

1⁄2 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 250°. Peel potatoes and coarsely grate by hand, transferring them to a large bowl of cold water as you grate them. Soak potatoes for a few minutes after the last batch is added to water, then drain well in a colander. Spread grated potatoes and onion on a kitchen towel, gather it up and twist towel tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Transfer potato mixture to a bowl and stir in egg and salt. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Ladle two tablespoons potato mixture per latke into skillet, spreading into three-inch rounds with a fork. Reduce heat and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes. Turn latkes over and cook about 5 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt. Add more oil to skillet as needed. Keep latkes warm on a wire rack set in a shallow baking pan in oven. Latkes can be made ahead and reheated on a rack set over a baking sheet in a 350° oven for about 5 minutes. Serve with applesauce and sour cream.

Another savory pancake is Asian in origin, found in Japan, Korea and China. Hold the syrup and use the accompanying dipping sauce for these.

Asian-Style Pancakes

2 cups flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more as needed

5 scallions, cut into 3-inch lengths and sliced lengthwise

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated

1 small yellow or green squash, grated

Dipping sauce:

1 tablespoon rice or white vinegar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

In a medium bowl, mix flour, eggs and oil with 1-1⁄2 cups water until a smooth batter is formed. Stir in scallions, carrots and squash. Place an 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat, then coat bottom with oil. Ladle in about a quarter of the batter and spread it out evenly into a circle. Turn heat to medium and cook until bottom is browned, about three minutes, then flip and cook for another two minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. Drain pancakes on paper towels. In a small bowl, mix together vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Cut pancakes into small triangles and serve with dipping sauce.

	celiamalm on Happy Birthday Soup
	celiamalm on Spring Garden Time
	louisaenright on It’s A Sunny Sunday
	Tracy on It’s A Sunny Sunday
	Andrea R Huelsenbeck on Yeah! The Improv Quilt Is Off…