What a week! The end of week 4 means I'm almost a third of my way through this challenge. Things are going well, though I am starting to miss fresh veggies. I wiped out a bed of carrots this week, and am hoping the spinach plants that I have been leaving alone since those week 1 fish tacos can hang on. I have plenty of frozen spinach, etc. but you know it's not the same. This week I had a short-lived craving for a pop that has since left me. Also I wanted cauliflower last night. Oh, and fresh peas. But these are not things that will break me.
My weight loss has slowed, which is a good thing considering I have 8 more weeks to go. I've lost 16 pounds now and holding steady with that. During this week I noticed something new; my skin has changed. I couldn't figure out what the difference was until a couple days ago. My skin is smoother and there is an evenness in my skin tone that is now quote noticeable to me today. This is the kind of thing I doubt anyone else has noticed, but it's another sign for me that my body is doing great.
Day 22
breakfast: persimmon pancakes with crabapple syrup
lunch: persimmon pancake with crabapple syrup, mulberries
dinner: drum fillets with thyme, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, spiced crabapples
My weight loss has slowed, which is a good thing considering I have 8 more weeks to go. I've lost 16 pounds now and holding steady with that. During this week I noticed something new; my skin has changed. I couldn't figure out what the difference was until a couple days ago. My skin is smoother and there is an evenness in my skin tone that is now quote noticeable to me today. This is the kind of thing I doubt anyone else has noticed, but it's another sign for me that my body is doing great.
Day 22
breakfast: persimmon pancakes with crabapple syrup
lunch: persimmon pancake with crabapple syrup, mulberries
dinner: drum fillets with thyme, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, spiced crabapples
Day 23
breakfast: pan corn tortillas with butter, mint tea
lunch: pan corn tortilla tacos with egg and spinach, spiced crabapples
dinner: rooster fingers on flatbread with pear chow-chow and mayo tartar sauce
I took the pan bread recipe (that I've been using for tacos) and used cornmeal instead of my gluten free flour, and they turned out fine...a good corn tortilla alternative. Also I made a simple flatbread that worked wonderfully for the funky rooster fingers (think chicken fingers) with a tartar sauce. This was one of my favorite meals this week because it was some kind of comfort food tostada thing.
breakfast: pan corn tortillas with butter, mint tea
lunch: pan corn tortilla tacos with egg and spinach, spiced crabapples
dinner: rooster fingers on flatbread with pear chow-chow and mayo tartar sauce
I took the pan bread recipe (that I've been using for tacos) and used cornmeal instead of my gluten free flour, and they turned out fine...a good corn tortilla alternative. Also I made a simple flatbread that worked wonderfully for the funky rooster fingers (think chicken fingers) with a tartar sauce. This was one of my favorite meals this week because it was some kind of comfort food tostada thing.
Day 24
breakfast: mulberry and applesauce smoothie
lunch: leftover rooster fingers on flatbread with pear chow-chow and mayo tartar sauce
dinner: carrot soup, farl with butter and carrot top pesto
We had some freezing rain and low temps in the forecast, and I was worried that my carrots growing in Intimidating Minnow's beds would freeze and that the tops would be useless. So I picked what was left of them for a pot of carrot soup (broth made with tomato peels and herb stems) and made more carrot top pesto, some of which went into the freezer.
breakfast: mulberry and applesauce smoothie
lunch: leftover rooster fingers on flatbread with pear chow-chow and mayo tartar sauce
dinner: carrot soup, farl with butter and carrot top pesto
We had some freezing rain and low temps in the forecast, and I was worried that my carrots growing in Intimidating Minnow's beds would freeze and that the tops would be useless. So I picked what was left of them for a pot of carrot soup (broth made with tomato peels and herb stems) and made more carrot top pesto, some of which went into the freezer.
Day 25
breakfast: pickled egg in beet juice, farl with mulberry syrup
dinner: leftover carrot soup, toasted farl with butter and carrot pesto
snack: apple chips
Remember my recent trade with Laura...forsythia jelly in exchange for pickled beets? Well, I saved the pickling juice from the beets and pickled an egg. One of my favorite things my grandma makes is pickled beets and eggs, all in one big jar. So of course I had to make this little serving for a breakfast! The mulberry syrup was the leftover juice/llight syrup from the canned mulberries I ate recently. I just poured the leftover goodness into a sauce pan and reduced with some added sugar. The syrup turned my farl into something sweet and nothing was wasted.
breakfast: pickled egg in beet juice, farl with mulberry syrup
dinner: leftover carrot soup, toasted farl with butter and carrot pesto
snack: apple chips
Remember my recent trade with Laura...forsythia jelly in exchange for pickled beets? Well, I saved the pickling juice from the beets and pickled an egg. One of my favorite things my grandma makes is pickled beets and eggs, all in one big jar. So of course I had to make this little serving for a breakfast! The mulberry syrup was the leftover juice/llight syrup from the canned mulberries I ate recently. I just poured the leftover goodness into a sauce pan and reduced with some added sugar. The syrup turned my farl into something sweet and nothing was wasted.
Day 26
breakfast: fried egg with sage sandwich on farl, rose hip tea
snack: Kentucky coffee bean coffee, apple chips
dinner: venison meatballs with basil tomato sauce, cornmeal muffin
Back in December, Intimidating Minnow and I walked out by the river to pick up Kentucky Coffee Tree pods. Inside were some beans that, if eaten without roasting, are considered toxic. It's not so different from some other wild foods (think elderberries which you don't want to eat raw). So these pods of beans have been sitting in a cotton bag in my dining room for about a month. The pods dried out nicely. I popped the beans out and made coffee, a substitute used by the South during the Civil War when real coffee beans were not available. The process was pretty easy, and after roasting for three hours, Intimidating Minnow and I went to Styx Hot Tea and Pacer Tailbone's house to shell, grind, and taste test. The aroma reminded me of tiramisu, and the flavor is perfectly fine...coffee flavor, smooth with no bitterness.
breakfast: fried egg with sage sandwich on farl, rose hip tea
snack: Kentucky coffee bean coffee, apple chips
dinner: venison meatballs with basil tomato sauce, cornmeal muffin
Back in December, Intimidating Minnow and I walked out by the river to pick up Kentucky Coffee Tree pods. Inside were some beans that, if eaten without roasting, are considered toxic. It's not so different from some other wild foods (think elderberries which you don't want to eat raw). So these pods of beans have been sitting in a cotton bag in my dining room for about a month. The pods dried out nicely. I popped the beans out and made coffee, a substitute used by the South during the Civil War when real coffee beans were not available. The process was pretty easy, and after roasting for three hours, Intimidating Minnow and I went to Styx Hot Tea and Pacer Tailbone's house to shell, grind, and taste test. The aroma reminded me of tiramisu, and the flavor is perfectly fine...coffee flavor, smooth with no bitterness.
Day 27
breakfast: fried egg (cooked in leftover venison meatball crunchies), cornmeal muffin with elderberry jelly
snack: apple chips
dinner: leftover venison meatballs, cornmeal muffins with elderberry jelly
An egg barter today! Eggs for elderberry jelly and dried sage. Thanks, Crystal!
It was wine bottling day too! Intimidating Minnow and I bottled pear wine and pear/crabapple wine. More cures for what ails us.
breakfast: fried egg (cooked in leftover venison meatball crunchies), cornmeal muffin with elderberry jelly
snack: apple chips
dinner: leftover venison meatballs, cornmeal muffins with elderberry jelly
An egg barter today! Eggs for elderberry jelly and dried sage. Thanks, Crystal!
It was wine bottling day too! Intimidating Minnow and I bottled pear wine and pear/crabapple wine. More cures for what ails us.
Day 28
breakfast: applesauce and blackberry smoothie
lunch: leftover venison meatballs with basil tomato sauce, cornmeal muffin
dinner: pan corn tortilla tacos with eggs, spinach, garlic bulbils, carrot top pesto, and salsa
The above mentioned tacos were really weird, but I was using up some leftover ingredients in the fridge that needed to be eaten.
breakfast: applesauce and blackberry smoothie
lunch: leftover venison meatballs with basil tomato sauce, cornmeal muffin
dinner: pan corn tortilla tacos with eggs, spinach, garlic bulbils, carrot top pesto, and salsa
The above mentioned tacos were really weird, but I was using up some leftover ingredients in the fridge that needed to be eaten.
Recipes:
Pan corn tortillas: Mix 1 egg, 8 tablespoons milk, and 3/4 cup cornmeal (1/4 cup more cornmeal than the flour pan bread version I posted earlier). Pour into a lightly greased skillet the size of pancakes, turning the skillet to thin the batter as you pour. Flip when slightly bubbly. You should get four pieces or three pieces and a baby to snack on.
Flatbread: Mix 2 cups gluten-free flour (with xanthan gum), 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter, and 3/4 cup soy milk. Knead a few times, roll into two balls, and flatten balls into rounds about a quarter inch thick. Cook in skillet with some olive oil until browned on both sides.
Kentucky Coffee Tree coffee: Properly identify the Kentucky Coffee Tree and pick up pods. Let pods dry, letting the green goo inside the pods dry up also. Remove beans from pods and wash very thoroughly, removing any little funiculi you see on the beans (the white squiggly part that might be coming out of the bean). Pat beans dry and roast in a roasting pan (with lid on...some will explode about an hour into roasting) for three hours at 300 degrees. Knock shells off the beans with a rubber mallet. Grind the beans in a coffee grinder.
Venison meatballs: Mix with hands 1 pound ground venison, 1 egg, 1 small cornmeal muffin (or two if you have them to spare), 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/4 cup gluten-free flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, dried basil, and dried thyme. Roll into 1" balls and cook in canola oil on the stove until fully browned and cooked through.
Image credit: me and Cale
Pan corn tortillas: Mix 1 egg, 8 tablespoons milk, and 3/4 cup cornmeal (1/4 cup more cornmeal than the flour pan bread version I posted earlier). Pour into a lightly greased skillet the size of pancakes, turning the skillet to thin the batter as you pour. Flip when slightly bubbly. You should get four pieces or three pieces and a baby to snack on.
Flatbread: Mix 2 cups gluten-free flour (with xanthan gum), 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter, and 3/4 cup soy milk. Knead a few times, roll into two balls, and flatten balls into rounds about a quarter inch thick. Cook in skillet with some olive oil until browned on both sides.
Kentucky Coffee Tree coffee: Properly identify the Kentucky Coffee Tree and pick up pods. Let pods dry, letting the green goo inside the pods dry up also. Remove beans from pods and wash very thoroughly, removing any little funiculi you see on the beans (the white squiggly part that might be coming out of the bean). Pat beans dry and roast in a roasting pan (with lid on...some will explode about an hour into roasting) for three hours at 300 degrees. Knock shells off the beans with a rubber mallet. Grind the beans in a coffee grinder.
Venison meatballs: Mix with hands 1 pound ground venison, 1 egg, 1 small cornmeal muffin (or two if you have them to spare), 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/4 cup gluten-free flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, dried basil, and dried thyme. Roll into 1" balls and cook in canola oil on the stove until fully browned and cooked through.
Image credit: me and Cale