Ole the Mole'!

While we are the subject of around the world flavors...that are healthy for us!!  I thought I would post a quick and oh so easy Mole sauce......no not as in the ground borrowing animal...but as in the south of the border, spicy with a hint of chocolate.....and by the way, that hint of chocolate will go far in your chili or pork burritos...but alas I forget where I am going with this...

truly, the art of Mole' sauce is an age old tradition, passed from grandmothers on down.....women toiling all day over a stove, a pinch of that and bit of this...

but lets be honest, none of us have all day in the kitchen to prepare for mouth watering artistry, let alone the patience...

okay, that one is probably just me!  But anyone can whip up this simple mole, with one arm tied behind your back or holding a baby...or wiping a nose.....you get the picture?!

YOU can do this!  Pour this over tamales, which is what we did last night, (and no..I didn't make the tamales, a friend did, but one day I will learn, until then...I have been known to buy them in the grocery store parking lot! Yep...I'm not afraid!!) add it to your homemade chimichangas.....which are really easy to make.....burritos, juevos rancheros!  It works!! Even pour it on those frozen bricks, they call food...I promise I won't tell anyone!  But eventually you'll realize that cooking from scratch is just as easy and far superior then opening that plastic wrapper.....

unless of course you have 1 million hungry teenage hole in the stomach horde drop in...then by all means break out the microwave...becasue heaven know that still happens at my house!  We are slowly working the good and REAL food in!


SIMPLE MOLE SAUCE
2 Tbs butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp cumin (my favorite spice by far!)
1 tsp cilantro...dried works perfectly well!
1/2 tsp minced garlic...I get this from a jar!
2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 4 oz can of chopped green chilis

Saute onions in butter, until caramelized ( think caramelized onions are the answer to world peace...or at least calming the warring nations of men!) Mix in cocoa powder, cumin, cilantro and garlic, stir in tomato sauce and green chilis, bring to a boil, turn down immediately and let simmer a good ten minutes, 20 is better and 30 is the bomb!  But hey I know what happens when fists are being pounded on the table!!

Love your mole eatin guts!

Down home cookin meets the world!

It used to be, that on the farm...that you ate what you could grow, cultivate, herd, milk, wrangle, gather and scavenge off the land....

I know, it doesn't sound very fun...or does it.  It does to me...Eating that which came from your own land, but then again I have fallen off my stool a few times and bumped my head!  I like to get my hands dirty and play in the dirt, pick my own fruit...and long, long ago...I helped my cousins with the chickens when I visited her for the summer.  It was my kind of heaven....it still is....

but I digress.

But, I am also thankful for modern technology that has opened our eyes and taste buds to the flavors of the world....

I love me some good sushi, Chinese, Mexican, Iraqi......and now Thai food.  And they are all relatively easy to make....a few delectable foods and a few spices...and wah-laa...magic from the other side of the world!

So combine that with homegrown food and spices from around the globe and you, my friend, will feel like a world class traveler!

Thai Curry Carrot Soup, well, is right at the top of my list for being mmmm, mmmm, good! Not to mention the fact that I had an over abundance of carrots.  Tomato Miso is still my favorite of the minute! and most likely the decade.  Since we have stopped buying soup in a can....I have loved soup even more....and I have tried it out on my neighbors to make sure that I am passing along a winner!

And as a side note...I have to tell you that my hubs sometimes is frustrated by what he finds in the fridge that he says is not food.....serachi chili sauce, fish sauce, green curry paste, Sweet chili sauce, five spice, hoisen sauce...but they are staples when cooking from scratch and making healthy and edible food from around the world!

In the coming weeks, I hope to add several more made from, scratch, no additives, fill your tummy soups to my repertoire....(That's a french word!...see what eating global foods will do to your vocab!)

And did you hear that grown.....that was is Mr Macdaddy.......he is not a soup fan...unless it is cream of Broccoli or Chili...is chili even a soup?

He will be getting over it though....soup is good for you! As Julia Childs would say, Bon Apetit!

Thai Curry Carrot Soup
(adapted from Nourishing Traditions recipe)

2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
4 T butter
2 t Green Curry Paste (I use Thai Kitchen)
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock (homemade, most canned stock is loaded with msg!)
1/2 t grated lemon rind *
1/2 t grated ginger *
sea salt or fish sauce and pepper
all natural sour cream
Saute onions and carrots gently in butter for about 45 minutes or until tender (mine was on medium low with a lid for about an hour, and then I took the lid off and cooked off any liquid and let the onions caramelize a bit). Add curry until well mixed, and add stock, bring to a boil.  Add lemon rind and ginger. Simmer, covered for about 15 minutes. Puree soup with a hand held blender, or add half of the carrot mixture to your blender and puree slowly.   Season to taste and ladle into bowls, add a dollop of all natural cream!

*I used dried lemon rind and fresh ground ginger from Spice world that I keep in my fridge!) AND I just read the ingredients more diligently for the ground ginger...it has soybean oil in it.....WON'T be using that stuff anymore....fresh ginger it will be!

And since we are talkin' Thai...here's another recipe that really won me over to curry!

Thai Green Curry Chicken (From Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste bottle)

In a large saucepan simmer one 14 oz. can of Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk (no additives!) with 1 t Green Curry Paste ( start with a small amount and add more if you want more heat!) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add two skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut up in bite size pieces. Add 1 t 2 t of fish sauce, 2 t brown sugar, 1/4 c bamboo shoots, 1/2 c frozen peas and 1/3 c chicken stock. Simmer ten minutes stirring occasionally. garnish with fresh basil and serve hot! with rice.

And I have to admit, that we ate most of the chicken that night, but I saved the broth and ate it the next day for lunch....it was soooo tasty! And don't forget...healthy!!!


Lover yer guts!

and eat from the farm...and around the world!

I have included this post in:

Ultimate Recipe Swap - Life as a Mom
Monday Mania - The Healthy Home Economist
Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays  - At the Well

Second Chance Saturday

I thought I would recap what I have learned this past week......

at least for myself...so I don't forget....

because I am getting that way....or maybe I'm not...I forget!

* The kiddos and the hubs do NOT love every recipe I make...but they are good sports and try most things.  They did not like Natural Buttermilk Bread.....nor did my friend....but they do love Naturally Fermented Sour Dough Bread.  Along with sour dough pizza dough...it was a winner along with sour dough pancakes....you can find the recipe below!

The kids insist that when they go to granpa's...he make them.....one or two is never enough!

*That some of my neighbors think that I get drunk off of sour dough bread...I don't...for the record....nor do I drink the fermented starter that you can find out how to make it here.

*That we as adults do not eat enough eggs, butter or cream.  Yes you are reading that right!!  EAT MORE!  In the last four weeks, I have lost over four pounds, and I have eaten at least one fried egg in the morning with cheese, slathered my homemade bread with real butter...made from real milk of real cows.....there is longer a place for margarine in my house. Say it with me...THERE IS NO PLACE FOR MARGARINE!

*Peeps don't like when you talk about not vaccinating your kiddos!  They go ballistic..... it is becoming comical!

* I have eaten fried food......fried eggs, homemade tortilla chips, pork chops and veggies...all fried...in coconut oil and butter...and even a little bacon grease.  Our bodies need saturated fats!!  Please eat them and love yourself for doing so!!  It will make your skin healthy!

*The longer I go without sugar, particularly white sugar and high fructose corn syrups...the more disgusted I am with a bite that one of my kids insist I have.....I do NOT crave them.... and they just do not taste good on my palate.  Even fruit is not on my list of desired foods, excluding tomatoes...they are my favorite.  But one or two pieces of fruit during the day is about all I eat....as do the twins.  MORE veggies! MORE meat!

*We need to cook spinach, broccoli and cauliflower... DO not eat it raw.  No more putting it in smoothies and veggie juices or throwing it on salad and sandwiches for me! Some veggie greens contain a chemical called oxalic acid.  Oxalic acid is a very irritating substance to the mouth and intestinal tract.    It also blocks iron and calcium absorption and may contribute to the formation of kidney stones.   The good news is that oxalic acid is completely neutralized by a light steaming or cooking. Thanks to Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist who is amazingly smart!

*I was already onto soy and was declaring it a no go for my house..though I love edamame! But I don't eat those enough to cause a problem.  But with the twins being off milk, more then a few moms have proposed that I use soy milk! WRONG!  It's all I can do to not shout it out!!  And contain my expletives about soy...jk...you know me better then that....but soy should be avoided unless the soy is fermented as in soy sauce, miso and tempah.

*Coconut milk has probiotocs and is so yummy!!! The babies love it and are thriving on it!

*and finding raw grass fed milk is near impossible......I need the cow...do you think the HOA will mind?

* but most of all, I have learned that there is still a long road in front of my learning curve!  But I have loved every minute of it...even my failures!  Learning how to cook almond and rice flour crackers was comical...but good thing my kids will eat things that aren't very pretty...but I did it!

And so can you...just a couple changes a week and you will see huge benefits in your health!!

love yer guts!!

enough to share my sour dough recipe with you!

1 cup starter
1 cup flour
1/2 cup water
Mix well and let sit out covered, in a glass bowl


In the morning, add 2 T honey, 1 1/2 baking soda, 1 egg and 2 T melted butter.

Cook on well greased griddle (coconut oil works great!)

Smother with real butter and real maple syrup..or coconut syrup and everyone is happy!