Tuesday, October 26, 2010

For Heathy: Grass Fed Bone Broth

                                                         Sam and Heathy last summer



My dear friend Heathy of Sweetly Raw is coming to visit.. she is healing her body using certain items that are impossible for her to bring with her. So I made Heathy a nourishing traditions style bone broth using grass fed marrow bones from Novy Ranch and a grass fed beef shank steak..

My Fabulous Le Crueset Pot!
This is how we do it baby...

Get a large stockpot, if you are lucky, one like my pal AnnMarie had a drawing for at Cheeseslave ! Yep, I won!  Go visit her and tell her Debbie sent you!

Add some amazing grass fed marrow bones ( a gift from my dear buddy Darla), I used around 5-6 lbs of them... add 1/2 cup Braggs cider vinegar and some water to cover, let sit for 30 minutes or so...

Then I roasted a grass fed shank steak from Whole Foods for about 45 mins at 400 degrees..
Start:

Finish:

Make sure you keep a sharp eye on certain family members.

Cover the bones and shank with water.. add the veggies which are
*3 carrots chopped
*1 red onion chopped
*3 celery stalks chopped
*one bunch of parsley (I messed up and added this now.. you are supposed to add it at the last ten minutes of cooking.. oh well.)
*3 sprigs of fresh thyme
* cracked black pepper


Add the veggies to the water and bones..


Make sure you leave about an inch at the top of the pot.
Bring it to a boil....um yeah, mine was full to the top :)

Then lower to a simmer.. and let her sit. 
I leave mine for three days, gotta get all that marrowy goodness out!
I kept stirring it.. about 3 times a day or so..
and Voila'! 
Take the bones out with a slotted spoon or tongs....and any meaty chunks.. for your best friend.
Ok boy, you can eat now!

Strain out the chunky stuff like so:
And you will be rewarded with this golden nectar of the bone..

No, there is not a tree in the broth, it's the reflection from my kitchen window!

Pop this in the fridge, let the fat gather on the top and scoop it off.. then store it in containers in the fridge or freezer.

I plan to give Heathy four jars of this bone broth.. and plan to make some bison broth Weds night.. it will be ready when I see her Friday night!

Malcolm trying to restrain himself..

all that is left is the bones.. which will no doubt be buried in our yard..

Heathy's Bone Broth jars, waiting to be filled.


May your kitchen be warmed by your stock pot simmering and your heart be full of love for your friends, furry and otherwise. <3

love 
deb

Friday, October 8, 2010

From the Genius Mind of Matt Stone: 180 Degree Health Spicy Shrimp Veggie Dinner

Shrimp in Spicy Tomato Broth from 180 Degree Kitchen


I am not afraid to admit to being a bit of a food geek. Meaning I read everything I can get my hands on and try to figure out what the optimal diet is and what to avoid. Like most folks who get the old expiration date stamp, I have struggled with eating foods that were 'healthy' but not tasty. Those days are over my friends, thanks in part to my good pal Matt Stone of 180 Degree Health! As the name implies, Matt does not cotton to the usual FDA Government food pyramid, calories in calories out hoo hah, he flips all that over and reveals the true reasons we get fat and how to get your body to behave. The nice thing is, he's pretty funny and handsome to boot. So that's the kind of guy I like to get all food geeky with!

Check out the video Matt made for Shrimp in Spicy Tomato Broth (the pics are from my doubled batch I made for dinner, I love it with Trader Joes fresh Roasted salsa, OLE!)




Here's how to make it your own self!

Ingredients:
  • 10 frozen shrimp
  • 1/4 cup salsa
  • Splash of water
  • Handful of spinach
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1/4 cup frozen peas
  • Salt
  • 1-2T butter
Directions… Throw it all in a pot and cook it until it’s done – except for the butter that is. Stir that in at the very end.  Takes 5-7 minutes. 
Want a closer look at mine?

Please do visit Matt and tell him Debbie sent you, he may give you a smart ass reply but know that deep in  his heart he is smiling. 

 Thanks Matt for all you do, I love my new audio set, I can listen to your dulcet tones any old time I want to geek out on food and health.  You can get your own 180 degree health weight-loss metabolism boosting audio/ebook here.
It's a steal for all the valuable and cutting edge info Matt provides. And he has a nice voice.

One last thing, want a yummy dessert? Try this!
I made this one up....

Take about 1/2 cup plain yogurt
add 1 Tbls or so of Coconut Manna by Nutiva (you can use coconut oil but it won't taste quite as sweet)
handful of fresh raspberries,
Throw it a bowl and call it dessert!!

Sweet and Spicy Dreams!
deb xo

Monday, September 20, 2010

Buffalo, Broccoli and Bacon Dinner, Peach Ice Cream Dessert!

Quick post on last nights Sunday Dinner.
I am leaning towards Paleo these days.. listening to tons of Robb Wolf podcasts and his book in on it's way!

I found this recipe on Jen's Gone Paleo blog!

I only had a bison roast, not a strip steak, so it ended up really rare.. but so tasty that Sam and Daddy just chowed down. I served them ginger Kombucha from High Country on ice, they loved that too. Gotta be a tad sneaky with those too... anything 'too healthy' makes them get all weird on me.
I like this diluted with water.

How do you make the Triple B Dinner?
*Preheat the oven to 415 degrees *
 Use about a 1 lb bison steak(lightly salt and pepper each side) , 2-3 strips of uncured bacon (cut into 2 " pieces), grab an oven proof pan and your choice of veggies. I used broccoli (about one head of florets), asparagus would be good too.
Brown the bacon, then sear the bison for about 2 minutes each side. 
Then pop the whole deal into your preheated oven.
Let it bake for about 5-7 minutes ( I doubled this and it was still mostly rare, mine was really thick)
Remove from oven, put the bison on a plate, then add your veg to the pan and put back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes, with the bacon still in the pan.
Remove the pan and then take the broccoli off, sear the bison one more time and VIOLA'!

Dinner is Served!

This fed the three of us, with about 1/3 of the rawish bison leftover.

Even though this was satisfying to me, I knew that Daddy would be sneaking Sam off to the ice cream shop if I did not whip up some good sweet stuff.

So I put about one cup of frozen peaches, white and  yellow varieties, about 2 frozen bananas and a tablespoon of my newest secret ingredient: Nutiva Coconut Manna. It's made from the whole coconut and it is TASTY!
Blend that all up in the Vitamix, you get a creamy, tasty, kind of peachy keen ice cream!

They loved it and Baskin Robbins was foiled again. 
Yeah for the Real Food Team!


Hope you try this at home, it is super easy and awesome!
Thanks to Jen!
I hope to keep us as paleo as possible, working on it..
This mornings breakfast for me:
2 pastured eggs, scrambled with baby spinach, topped with Trader Joes Roasted Salsa, yum!



with love 
deb

Friday, September 3, 2010

Real American Heroes! The Series Begins! PART 2 Blackbird Tribe!

So bright and early we set out from Palm Springs to Casa Paradiso AZ!  It's a long lonely stretch with no radio reception and Sam kept asking how much longer??? Four or so hours later...
Malcolm was not a fan of the driving.
We Arrived! Dolly and Anthony, Andrea and Selim were there to greet us. After unloading our stuff and giving out the goodies (raw cheezeits, savory/sweet almonds, bison, raw milk, raw cream) we headed out for Singh Farms.
What an incredible farm it is!

Sam, Dolly and Anthony at Singh Farms. It was VERY hot!
and those 'mountains' in the distance, HUGE amounts of compost!  This is where Dolly and Anthony got the compost for their food forest.
Sam LOVES Dolly!
we all do!

We saw so many awesome trees, plants, and even chickens!

This was the area where they do demos..


                                        Sam at the chicken coop
Singh farms was a vacant lot when they started, in the desert.. and now? A Lush forest of trees, fruit, veggies and flowers, amazing!
                                    Anthony and Sam looking at the before/after of the farm area.


We bought a big organic watermelon and headed back home.  Sam really wanted to see the baby chicks and go swimming too!  But first, an art project ensued..
  Malcolm has a good eye.. 


Soon it was time for dinner prep...
  
                                                Anthony, Sam, Dolly and Charlie




Anthony is tending tons of plants and trees, he showed me a few new ones, like this gorgeous melon, hanging off a tree!
I cannot remember if this is a kiwi? But have you ever seen anyone happier than Anthony in his garden? ever? Just glowing!


Selim, the Dog whisperer. 
His secret? Steak. Works like a charm! Charlie, Max, Lucky and the new kid, Malcolm


Sam feel in love with Prudence. She spent hours with the chickens, helping Andrea and feeding them. I wish we could have some here, but we found out it is not allowed :(

Here is a short video taken in the coop, it was not quite finished but still very cool!

                                                      Dolly showing off the latest fashion trend, chickens!


The Tribe gathered for dinner! What a fun time, good company and delicious eats too.


Sam and I out back on the patio. Even though the sun had set, it was still very hot. About 90 degrees at night and very humid. The woofies spend tons of time in the pool to cool off.


                                          Family Friend Paula, me, Dolly, Anthony and Sam


We are so lucky to have such wonderful generous friends to visit and spend time with!  And and if you are wondering what Sam was up to with her art project, let's just say it was a labor of love...

We were off to bed rather early.. Sam was almost sleeping on her dinner plate.. stay tuned for Day Two at Casa Paradiso!
Oh and if you want to taste the best raw vegan or non vegan chocolate truffles, go to Blackbird Naturals and tell them Sam sent you!
Next Post:
More fun with the chickies and Andrea the Chicken Healer/ coop builder!

                                   Andrea and Prudence Hanging out with the chicks

Friday, August 20, 2010

First Class Real American Heroes: PART ONE Anthony and the Blackbird Naturals Tribe!

Oh what stars fell on me that I am so blessed to have such amazing friends!?  Once again, I headed out to hot sultry Phoenix, this time driving with Malcolm and Sam in tow.

Let me just say, it was melting hot and very humid in Palm Springs!  Malcolm was not a fan.

 Sam loves swimming so she was hunky dory as long as she was in a pool.

Not much relief when night fell.. but it was beautiful.....

Early the next day, we set off across the arid sands for a four hour journey to paradise, Casa Paradiso to be exact!

Next Post: Leaving Palm Springs.. feels so good! We get to Paradise and meet the Family!

xoxoox
deb sam and malcolm the wonder pooch who now hates the car xoxoxoxoxoxoxo