Berry Breakfast Pizza

Dough for 1 pizza (or ready-made pizza crust)
2 cups plain whole natural yogurt
Zest and juice from one lemon
2 ts honey
2 TBs butter, melted
fresh or frozen berries such as raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries
cinnamon and
2TBs Rapadura

On the evening before, drain the yogurt (place a white plate towel over a strainer and drain the whey into a bowl).
The next morning brush pizza dough with melted butter and bake at 375 degrees for about 8 - 10 minutes. Let cool a bit and sprinkle with cinnamon and Rapadura. Mix yogurt with lemon zest, 2 TBs of lemon juice and honey. (Add more honey if you like it sweeter). Spread yogurt on the pizza. Top with berries. Sprinkle a little more Rapadura on top. Enjoy.

Deer Steak with Butter Zucchini Tomato Sauce

1/2 Lb deer (thanks to the Food Bank) or beef steak
4 TBs butter
1 zucchini, peeled and chopped in bite size pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 big tomato, chopped
Salt and pepper
Oregano
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (ideally from raw milk)
1 bag good cheese ravioli (ok, I know that's not from scratch ;))

Bring ravioli or noodle water to a boil. In a heavy cast-iron pan fry steak very briefly in grape-seed oil (only about 1 min. on each side). Place meat on a plate and keep warm. Using the same pan sautee onions in butter on medium-low heat until soft. Add garlic and zucchini, fry a couple of minutes. Add tomato. Season with salt and pepper and oregano. Cut steak into fine slices. Prepare the ravioli (or noodles) according to package directions. To serve arrange pasta on a plate, top with steak and zucchini/tomato sauces. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I served it with Arugula leaves.

Carlotta's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

For all you cookie lovers out there, this recipe is bound to please your taste buds!
Amount: about five dozen
Ingredients:1 stick soft butter
2/3 cup honey
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoons nutmeg1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups Quick Oats, uncooked
1/2 raisins (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut, shredded (optional)
1. Beat the egg until smooth, adding butter and honey. Set aside until later.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Then add the oatmeal, raisins, chocolate chips, and coconut, mixing with a wooden spoon until well blended.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring until everything is evenly mixed.
5. With a tablespoon, drop onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, closely together. If the dough doesn't hold, dampen your hands, and press together.
6. Place the cookies sheet(s) into oven, and bake for 10 - 12 minutes.
Enjoy!! --Posted By pastor's girl to Pastor's Girl's Ponderings

Special Spelt Gnocchis - with Chicken

2 LBs russet/Yukon gold potatoes
2 cups spelt flour
salt
2 large eggs
pepper
nutmeg
cooked chicken pieces (or other meat)
4 TBs butter
Sage

Cook potatoes - unpeeled - until very soft (about 25 minutes). Drain and let them cool a bit. Peel and mash them. Add flour and eggs, salt, pepper and a little bit of nutmeg. Mix with a fork until well combined. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Knead dough on floured surface until soft and smooth. Divide dough into smaller pieces (5 - 6-). Roll each piece into a long rope about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 1-inch gnocchis. Press fork on top of gnocchis to leave ridges. Bring water and salt to a boil in a big pot. Add half the gnocchis and simmer gently until they rise to the top. Give them about 30 seconds longer and remove them with a slotted spoon. Add the other half of gnocchis.
Melt butter in a sauce pan until slightly browned. Add sage and fry until crispy. Add chicken. Pour sage butter and meat over the gnocchis. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with a green salad.
Either tomato or gorgonzola sauce with spinach are also great with these gnocchis.

Black Bean Tacos

Soak 1 cup of organic black beans with 2 TBs of whey and 1 ts salt overnight.
The next morning drain the beans, cover with water and boil. Skim off the foam and season with 1-2 smashed garlic cloves. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours. Add water when necessary.
Mix chopped tomatoes, 1 small chopped onion, cilantro, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, chopped jalapeno peppers, pepper, salt and keep in the refridgerator for at least one hour.
When ready to server fry corn tortillas in oil, fold and keep warm in oven. Fill with beans, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese, avocado slices. We found that plain yogurt also works well, in case you're out of sour cream :)

Good for you Soup

Left-over meat, cut in bite-size pieces (kind people gave us some deer steak)
1 medium-size onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 bell-pepper, chopped
1/2 cup or more corn
2 cups beef broth (ideally home-made)
1/2 LB rice noodles any shape
1 clove garlic
2 1/2 TBs tomato paste
salt, pepper
parsley

Sautee onion in butter or olive oil until soft. Add carrots, celery, meat and broth. Simmer of 1 1/2 hours or longer until meat and vegetables are soft (chopped potatoes would work well too). Add bell-pepper and corn as well as tomato paste, garlic, noodles, salt, pepper and 1 cup more water. Cook until noodles are done and add more water until desired consistency.
Serve with sour cream and/or cheese.

Black Bean Bruschetta

Slices of Ciabatta or other rustic bread
1 cup of cooked black beans (or 1 can)
1 clove of garlic
1/3 cup of Tahini
2 TBs olive oil
parsley

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add oil to reach desired consistency - should be of peanut butter consistency. Add salt, pepper and parsley.
Toast bread slices in the oven or toaster.
Rub with an extra clove of garlic, sprinkle with some olive oil. Top with black bean mousse and tomatoes.

Perfect Popcorn

Tonight - it is Sunday evening movie night - J.J., our popcorn master, tried this recipe from Simply Recipes: Perfect Popcorn Recipe and it resulted in the best popcorn he has made so far and J.J. has made a lot of popcorn!
3 Tbsp canola, peanut or grapeseed oil (high smoke point oil)
1/3 cup of high quality popcorn kernels
1 3-quart covered saucepan
2 Tbsp or more (to taste) of butter
Salt to taste
1 Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan on medium high heat.
2 Put 3 or 4 popcorn kernels into the oil and cover the pan.
3 When the kernels pop, add the rest of the 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels in an even layer. Cover, remove from heat and count 30 seconds. (Count out loud; it's fun to do with kids.)
4 Return the pan to the heat. The popcorn should begin popping soon, and all at once. Once the popping starts in earnest, gently shake the pan by moving it back and forth over the burner. Once the popping slows to several seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid, and dump the popcorn immediately into a wide bowl.
With this technique, nearly all of the kernels pop (I counted 4 unpopped kernels in my last batch), and nothing burns.
5 If you are adding butter, you can easily melt it by placing the butter in the now empty, but hot pan.
6 Salt to taste.
Makes 2 quarts, a nice amount for two people, or for one hungry one.
Additional tips: From the comments section
a If you add salt to the oil in the pan before popping, when the popcorn pops, the salt will be well distributed throughout the popcorn.
b If you leave a little crack open in when you cover the pan, the steam can escape and the popcorn will be drier and crisper.
c Fun toppings for the popcorn - Spanish smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, cayenne powder, chili pepper, curry powder, cumin, grated Parmesan cheese.

Pasta Spinach Alfredo - Creamy

Carlotta made this last night - it's one of her favorites

1 cup heavy cream, not homogenized
¼- ½ cup butter, ideally from pastured cow milk
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (ideally made from raw milk)
1 ts salt
¼ ts ground black pepper
1/4 ts nutmeg
1 package frozen organic spinach
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic

You will need to:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes (or as pasta package directs) or until al dente; drain.
Sautee onion and 1 clove of garlic for about 10 min. Add spinach and cook on low-medium heat until defrosted. Season with salt, nutmeg, pepper a little bit of rapadura.
Combine heavy cream and butter in a Dutch oven or large, heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally; be careful not bring mixture to a boil. Stir in Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and 1 crushed clove of garlic. Toss with cooked pasta and serve immediately on plates and top with spinach and additional grated cheese.

Greek Style Grass-fed Beef Burger with Zaziki

1 lb grass-fed beef hamburger
1 small onion, minced
1 clove of garlic
3 oz Feta cheese, diced or crumbled
4 TB cooked spinach
1 egg
salt, pepper, 1/2 ts cumin
Mix hamburger with onion, crushed garlic, egg, spices, spinach and feta cheese. Add seasoning and form hamburger patties as you like them.
Fry in cast-iron pan until brown on both sides. Don't overcook these burgers - they should be at least medium! Serve with Zaziki and tomatoes, lettuce and your favorite hamburger buns.

German Pancakes - Mit Dinkel

2 cups of spelt flour
4 eggs (omega 3 rich, free range)
Salt
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup of (sparkling - optional) water
butter for frying

Mix flour well with salt. Add eggs and slowly pour in milk and water. Stir well.
Let the dough rest for at least 30 min. I soak the spelt flour in a mix of 1 cup yogurt and 1 cup water overnight.
Heat a cast-iron skillet on medium heat. Fry pancakes in butter on both sides until golden brown.
These pancakes are very filling and great with soups. They are also a great lunch/dinner all by themselves especially when you add fruit (apples or blueberries) or bacon and pears before you turn them.

Zaziki - Greek Sauce

1 cup of good, plain whole yogurt with live cultures
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 big or 1 small cucumber, seeded, peeled and grated or diced
salt, pepper
1/4 ts cumin
1 TB olive oil
1 ts dill (optional)

Mix yogurt with garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, olive oil and dill. Add cucumber and chill. Tastes even better the next day. Great with pita bread.