Homeopathic Pear-Blackberry Pie for Successful Living

Preheat Oven to 425
Bake 10 Minutes
 Decrease heat to 350
Bake another 40 Minutes

 Combine:
 4 Sliced Pears
 a little box of blackberries
 1/2 c sugar
1/2 a lemon squeezed
 1/2 t rosewater
 1/4 t nutmeg
10 sprays rescue remedy
10 drops lavender chamomile
 1/2 t maple extract

 pour onto an unbaked pie crust

Sauerkraut

I've been wanting to try different fermentation methods, so I figured I should try making my own sauerkraut. Cabbage is cheap, and preparation is quick. First chop up your vegetables. I used 1 small head red cabbage 1 small head green cabbage 3 carrots 1 onion 1 head of garlic salt to taste combine all the chopped vegetables in a bowl and squeeze and knead with your hands until everything is pretty juicy. It takes a while. Mash your vegetables and juice into jars, making sure the juice covers the vegetables. Close up your jars and let them sit 2-5 day. Every so often you should open the jars to release the pressure that will build up during fermentation. Mold may appear on top-- simply skim it off. The vegetables beneath will still be good.

Cucumber Lemonade

I had this drink at Bubby's restaurant in Soho and I couldn't help but try and recreate it.

Puree together:

2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped coarsely
2 lemons
2 t sugar (or more to taste)
1/2 cup or more water or seltzer water depending on how thick you like it (I like mine bordering on sorbet consistency)

No Knead Bread

This is quite possibly my new favorite bread recipe. I've made it twice so far- once plain, and once with rosemary. It comes from Jim Lahey's cook book My Bread. This recipe is really easy, but is no good for anything on short notice, as you need to let it rise at least 14 hours.

Combine:

3 c brad flour
1 1/2 t salt (I've been adding a tiny bit more)
1/4 t yest

Add:
1 1/2 c cool water (between 55 and 65 degrees)

Stir together with your hands or a wooden spoon

The dough should be sticky- if it isn't, add a couple more tablespoons of water

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise 12-18 hours at room temperature, out of direct sunlight

After the first fermentation, dust a board with flour - scoop the dough out onto it

The dough will be loose and stick, but don't add more flour.

Form the dough into a circle

Dust a tea towel with cornmeal, bran, or flour and wrap th dough loosely inside of it

Allow to rise in a warm spot for 1-2 hours or until poking the dough leaves an impression- the dough will be almost doubled

Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 and place a covered 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 heavy pot inside- I have also split the dough into two sections and baked 2 loaves in smaller pans.

Open up the tea towel and dust the dough with more flour, bran, or cornmeal. Quickly place in the pot.
Cover and bake 30 minutes
Uncover and bake an aditional 15-30 minutes until the dough is dark, but not burnt.

Remove bread from its pot and let sit at least an hour while it sings before cutting or tearing.

Baked Latkes with Chunky Applesauce

Latkes are something that I absolutely adore. I had a sweet potato and two regular Idaho potatoes laying around as well as couple apples that were starting to look a little funky, and this was the result. I just wish I had a little dollop of sour cream to go with it.

Baked Latkes are exactly the same as the fried ones, so pick your own adventure

preheat oven to 450 degrees

grate:

4 potatoes
1 onion

squeeze out any extra liquid

1 egg
1 t salt
pepper
4 T flour

mix together with potatoes and onion
squeeze out any extra liquid

put a generous amount of oil in a baking sheet/pan with edges
make latkes into patties in the oil, flatten with a spatula

bake 10 minutes (or until bottoms are golden brown and crispy)
flip and bake another 10 minutes

for the apple sauce, just cut up some (I used 3) old apples, sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top (depending on the taste of the apple), and a squeeze of lemon if you so desire. add water up to about an inch up the pan. simmer until soft. drain excess liquid if it's there.

Dahl

This is my first try with dahl- I'm all about the cheap dried legumes nowadays- I think it turned out very nicely. I'm eating it atop jasmine rice with some kale and sriracha

Saute together:

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
oil

add:
1 c lentils
water to cover
1 t cumin
1 t coriander
2 t curry
1/4t cayenne
1/2 t grated ginger
1 t salt

boil for about 15 minutes or until lentils are soft, stirring often
add more water if necessary
adjust seasoning as needed

Roasted Squash (or pumpkin) Seeds

For me, nothing heralds in the autumn months like gourds. Tonight it was Indian Squash Soup (recipe to be posted soon) accompanied by these dandy seeds.


Bake 15 minutes at 275, stirring regularly

Clean pumpkin or squash seeds and place on cookie sheet

drizzle with oil

sprinkle with:
cumin
curry
salt
cayenne pepper