A Refreshing Summer Salad

This is the time of year we get a few too many melons in our CSA share, which means I need to be creative so it does not go to waste.  We have been enjoying smoothies with most of our melon, but I wanted to incorporate a sweet and savory dish into our season of melons.  I came up with this cooling combination, and added a little heat from jalapeno for a nice contrast.  You can exclude the jalapeno if you wish, it will still make a refreshing treat!

Cantaloupe and Cucumber Salad with Jalapeno Lime Dressing

2 cucumbers, peeled, cut into pieces
1/2 large or 1 small cantaloupe, peeled, cut into pieces
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1/2 jalapeno, sliced (more or less, depending on your preference)
1 teaspoons course sea salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

In a large bowl combine cucumber and cantaloupe.   In a blender add lime zest and lime juice, jalapeno, sea salt, and olive oil.  Blend for about 30 seconds to combine.  Add cilantro to blender.  Blend for about 10 seconds.  Pour over cucumbers and cantaloupe.  Stir to coat.

Garden Harvest and Healing

This is an exciting, but busy time of year.  Yesterday I harvested several vegetables from the garden, and my husband found a handful of raspberries from our very sad raspberry plants.  I love fresh green beans.  So far my favorite green recipe is this Chicken Salad recipe with Jerk Dressing!  The flavors are amazing!  It made the most perfect picnic food.  We also enjoyed making our first batch of sauerkraut.  With about 4 heads of cabbage I made a little over a gallon of sauerkraut.

We have been experiencing some great progress in our healing on the GAPS diet.   The first few weeks were rough, but now we are three weeks into our journey and feeling much better.  My bloating is completely gone and I no longer have major sugar cravings.  However, I do miss eating potatoes, especially with the fresh ones coming from the garden.  I intend on making our time on GAPS diet as short as possible, but I realize healing can take time.

Campfire Traditions: S'mores

This is one of those occasional treats.  For nostalgic purposes, l put together this tasty treat for my family.  Using Nourishing Gourmet's recipe I made honey sweetened marshmallows (read tips on toasting your marshmallows).  They are quite rich so I paired them with deep, dark chocolate bar, Green & Black's Cocoa Chocolate Bar, Dark 85%.In place of the graham crackers I adapted the almond cookie recipe from Nourishing Traditions.  Including an egg helps create a firm cookie.  Don't forget to get messy.  No campfire s'more is complete without a little chocolate and marshmallow on your chin!

Almond Cookies
Makes about 18 cookies

1 1/2 cups almond flour
1 cup arrowroot
1/4 cup rapadura or sucnant
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil (softened)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  In a bowl combine almond flour, arrowroot, rupadura, and sea salt.  Stir to combine.  Add remaining ingredients.  Stir to combine (I have my boys help me with this step) or use paddle attatchment on mixer.  Form into walnut-sized balls and place onto lightly buttered cookie sheets or parchment paper.  Place in oven for 5 minutes, then remove from oven and press cookies lightly with a fork.  Return to oven and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Carefully move cookies to cooling rack and cool completely.  

Adapted from Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats

A Little Sweetness

Strawberry season is finally here.  Several batches of honey sweetened jam are preserved, aw well as some dehydrated and some saved in the freezer.  This year I hope to have enough to last us through the winter.  A bit of strawberry jam in the cold months is a reminder that warm weather will be on its way!  Preserving a seasons harvest is work.  I certainly feel that I put in more hours than I would for a full time job!  But it is definitely worth the taste of freshly preserved produce all year long.  It is a treat we can enjoy in addition to the butter on our pancakes!

This is a journey, and often a struggle, finding ways to feed my family nourishing food on our modest income.  I hope to record my budget saving ideas and tips I find along the way.