Allergy Friendly and Gluten Free Grouse and Dumpling Soup (And Standard Chicken and Dumpling Soup Recipe)

My wonderful friend Tina  makes the absolute best dumpling soup ever! Her dumplings are light and fluffy, not sticky and doughy.  I love this soup!  It is the ultimate comfort food.  So, when our grouse hunt was successful last week I knew I just had to come up with something my kids could eat and enjoy the experience even with their allergies.  I made some modifications and it was fabulous!  I will also post the standard chicken and dumpling recipe below. I made that for dear hubby and used grouse meat instead of chicken. Happy family all around!

Elderberry Cold, Cough and Flu Syrup

It was so much fun picking elderberries with my kids.  We made jars of this for winter and some elderberry desserts too.  Totally worth it! (You can also eat this on pancakes, put in herbal tea, add to warm milk or stir into yogurt if desired.)

Elderberry Cold, Cough and Flu Syrup
2 cups elderberries, washed de-stemmed
1 inch fresh ginger
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup of water
Bring all the above to a slight boil and simmer for 30 minutes to reduce.  Strain through a fine strainer into a glass jar.  Add 1 part juice to 1 part raw local honey and stir to dissolve.  1/2 to 1 tsp for children and 1/2 to 1 TBS for adults.  Take as needed.

Home Remedies for a Burn

There must be a reason I went through this tonight. It could be to  make me I realize I haven't posted about home remedies for a burn yet.  I thought I was being Super Woman by wild crafting chokecherry and elderberry syrups tonight.  Really, I was just being Super Messy Woman. I picked up my on-the-stove-juicer and dropped the bottom part that holds boiling water all over my foot.  My left foot and little toe got the brunt of it, because I couldn't get my sock off fast enough.  Again, you have to use your best judgement. See a doctor if need be, and don't sue me if things go south.  I'm not an MD, just a mommy bear.

What I did

Cool water for 10-15 minutes (5 if a small superficial burn). Mine was the whole top of my left foot, especially the little piggy that goes wee wee wee all the way home.

Frankincense essential oil (I told you I use it in emergencies)

Raw Honey -Yes, raw honey.  I read this article in the New York Times. Here's the Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/health/19real.html?_r=0)

Tea Tree Essential Oil

Coconut Oil

Peppermint Essential Oil-This was the kicker! I haven't used peppermint very often before, but boy, it sure took the pain away and quick. I was very relieved. It still feels nice.

And for extra credit: Some aloe gel fresh from my plant.

I then put gauze over the whole sticky mess (It smelled so good I almost wanted to lick my toes,...almost I said....I didn't lick my toes.) and wrapped it with an ace bandage, because I want all this to stay on overnight.  Shockingly, it doesn't hurt thanks to the peppermint oil thus inspiring to make a special post.  Good night.

Pregnancy and Essential Oils

I've had this question come up twice in the last week, so I figured it would be good to make a post.  I love Rose, Frankincense, Lavender, and Balance essential oils to pamper expectant mommies while Foot Zoning. These oils are my go to oils in general because they are powerful, so multipurpose it is crazy, pregnant woman can tolerate the smells and like them, and I haven't seen contraindications with these oils. 
I also used Geranium on my friend once a week for few weeks before she gave birth to help with post-partum depression.  The cool thing was, she was planning on taking Geranium with her to the hospital since her other two children were born with jaundice. Geranium is recommended for the liver. That baby boy born without jaundice. She never even had to use it on him.  We were both thrilled!
Don't freak out if you have done any of my no no list.  Pregnancy already has so many worries.  Just try to take what I say and apply it going forward if you feel that it is the right thing for you.  Please do use common sense, caution and talk to a doctor.  Don't sue me, if things go south. I'm not an MD, I'm just a mommy bear.
Rose-Smells nice! Pregnancy can make you not like certain things.  Used for: Depression, PMS, hormone balancing, skin issues (itchy belly and stretch marks), burns, antiseptic, as a beauty product,  is antibacterial, and is an all around good oil for woman's issues.  I haven't seen any contraindications with Rose, and it can be used neat.  It is powerful, but calming like lavender.
Balance-I have many people muscle test for Balance.  It is good for people with seizures (I know first hand from a friend who has seizures and this is what she uses for Foot Zoning), it smells earthy like pine trees (so most woman can handle it during pregnancy), and it helps to just bring sanity to a insane time.
Frankincense-again a powerful oil, but can be used neat.  It is the most miraculous oil I have the pleasure to own. Oft times I use frankincense and Pose together. When in doubt or I have a question about anything, I go to frankincense, even in emergencies.  It is good for skin, bug bites, and antiseptic, burns, stings, brain trauma, pain, cancer,  beauty purposes, colds, flu, AMAZING FOR EXPECTANT AND NEW MOMMIES for many reasons I don't even understand yet, and the musky earth tones are well tolerated by pregnant woman. 
Geranium-Good for bleeding, hormones, the liver (thus my jaundice story), skin rashes, is a mild antiseptic, depression, post partum depression, and as a skin beauty product (stretch marks, itchy belly, etc.). 
Uplift , Serenity, and other calming blends with chamomile are also OK. 
Oils to use caution with during pregnancy (You will hear many things from others, this is just what I have learned):
Clary Sage-This is the oil I would use to induce labor as well as using reflexology points on a woman who is ready to give birth. It is ok for PMS, but be careful with pregnancy.
Peppermint essential oil-Again, you will hear different things. The essential oil is very concentrated.  What I do know, is my good friends who own an oil company and know I Foot Zone, cautioned me that it can induce labor and dry up a mommy's milk supply. So, I just don't even go there. Be careful when diffusing especially. I would use lemon instead for nausea and lavender.
Any Blend with Blue Tansy-That would be Deep Blue.  Blue Tansy is not recommended to be used on small children because it is poisonous when digested.  I would use the other oils above to give a message to a pregnant lady with stiff muscles and joints like the ones listed above.
Wintergreen-It is just too controversial to use on pregnant ladies.  It is also in Deep Blue I believe.
Lemongrass-Especially diffused. I have seen so many women (including myself) that have had a reaction to lemongrass. Oddly enough, I call it a hot oil now.  Where I used it got bright red (even with a ton of coconut oil), and had a rash for three days. It burned immediately when I put it on.  I had a neighbor use it, and everywhere she put it did the same thing. She showed me her elbows and arms.  Another friend had the same reaction on her hip.  Anything that burns me and that many people I know should not be diffused, in my opinion, or used on sensitive individuals like pregnant ladies. I know it is often used on people with yeast infections and for pain, but I would wait to address those issues a different way.  Lemongrass has it's place, but boy, that was a lot of reactions coming form a lot of people.  I only know one person who can tolerate lemongrass and I tell her all the time she is the only person I know who can do it.
Oregano-Use caution with this hot oil in general. You can refer to my other posts. If you already have heartburn issues, it can really be bad to take it internally as it will come up on you.
CONGRATS!  Hope this helps.

Gluten Free Brown Rice Sourdough Bread

My brown rice sourdough bread was a success!  Again, I was skeptical about the rice flour thing, but I am desperate because I hate paying $6.50 for a loaf of bread for my allergic kids.  Plus, I LOVE SOURDOUGH! Have I mentioned that before? I cannot take credit for this recipe, only give credit where credit it due so, thank you: www.rodalesorganiclife,com

I tried to take a picture of the finished product, but my kids take pictures with my phone like the paparazzi,  I can't lock the camera from the logon screen, and they messed something with my camera up seriously this time.  Ugh.

I cannot compare this to wheat natural yeast bread, because it just isn't the same. I can say that it was delicious and cohesive.  It didn't fall apart like most of my gluten free bread experiments have done.  I would let it cool well before slicing, and use a nice sharp knife whereas it does have somewhat of the iconic crunchy sourdough crust.

My kids ate this with peach freezer jam (see a former post), cultured butter and soup. They were thrilled to eat bread fresh out of the oven.

Hooray for sourdough, gluten free cooking, brown rice sourdough starter, and successful high altitude cooking!  

Gluten Free Brown Rice Sourdough Bread

Source: http:www.rodalesorganiclife.com 

I started with a brown rice sourdough starter from Cultures for Health.  It came from a local health food store. I fed it according to package directions until I had enough starter for my recipe. Then I followed this recipe I found online:

2 cups actively bubbling gluten-free sourdough starter

2 cups gluten free flour blend, such as Bob's Mill (I used King Arthur)

1 tsp sea salt

1 TBS organic sugar, molasses, or honey (optional)

2 TBS melted organic butter or olive oil (optional...I used butter)

1/2 to 1 cup warm water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix the first three ingredients along with sweetener and fat, if using, until just blended.  Add water a few TBS at a time until you have a pourable batter like a thick cake batter (not a mass  you can handle like wheat-based bread dough).

2. Grease a baking pan or line the pan with a single sheet of parchment paper. Us a loaf pan to make sandwich bread (which is what I did), or a round oven-safe casserole dish or mixing bowl to bake a country-style loaf.

3. Pour the batter in to prepared baking pan, cover it with a wet tea towel (don't let the towel touch the surface of the batter), and set it in a warm place to rise 4 to 8 hours (or longer if that's how your schedule works). Your batter should have risen at least a third by this time.

4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake your bread for about 40 minutes. The bread is done when it no longer jiggles in the center and the internal temperature is at least 200 degrees F.

5. Remove it from the oven, let it cool for about 15 minutes, then turn the loaf onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.

6. With any luck you have a tasty loaf with lots of small air pockets inside. Eat it up in a day or so, or slice it and store it in a sealed container in the freezer.

As I said, gluten-free baking is more of a nuance than standard baking. If your bread turns out too dense, you may want to make sure your starter is really active before you mix your next batch.  If it's too crumbly, try adding a little more fat and maybe a beaten egg (I would do 1 TBS ground flax if need be, but I didn't need any extra fat or anything other than what is listed on the regular list. Mine was just fine the first try) to the batter next time. Either way, don't waste a bad loaf ! (Mine was great though!) Slice your not-so-great efforts and dry them out to make breadcrumbs for cooking or use it to make bread pudding.

Broccoli Slaw

This salad is fabulous.  It works because it is super cheap (can you say $1.99 a bag at Walmart or the grocery store), and it is unique and nutritious.  Since I have been asked for the recipe, here it is. EASY!
Broccoli Slaw
1 bag broccoli slaw (premade in the salad section)
1/4 cup veganaise (I use the soy free from the health food store)
2 tsp sugar (I use 2 packets of stevia or 2 tsp raw sucanat)
1 1/4 tsp vinegar (I use raw apple cider vinegar)
Mix all the dressing ingredients together and pour it on the broccoli slaw. Le t it sit in the fridge for at least two hours to meld the flavors.  Enjoy at a potluck, family party, or for an easy dinner salad.

Best Ever Light and Fluffy Brown Rice Sourdough Pancakes

Since I am going to start raving about this, I might as well post it now. I purchased a brown rice sourdough stater from cultures for health. Yes, you feed it brown rice flour just like you would feed a sourdough starter wheat. So, IT HAS NO GLUTEN!  I was a little skeptical because brown rice flour is an interesting consistency.  But, I LOVE sourdough, and my one sons is not ready for wheat natural yeast yet.  Can I say, after feeding it according to directions over the last week, the pancakes I have been making exceeded my expectations. They were light, fluffy, and awesome.  The other recipes I read on the internet said that the pancakes will not bubble, and will be more dense.  I, however, used my tried and true proven Alaska Sourdough recipe from Ruth Allman's book that I bought in a bookstore in Alaska and my pancakes are heavenly.  Even at high altitudes.    (Everyone has warned me that high altitude baking is hard.  Everything I've done with natural yeast has been a success so far.  I love love love natural yeast aka sourdough!!!! Natural yeast even worked for me at high altitude in Colorado.) If you are my neighbor, family member or friend, let me know and I will give you some starter for free!

Start your brown rice sourdough starter and feed according to package directions.  Mine took about 4 days to be ready to cook with.  Hug it and love it and name it and make it your very best cooking friend forever.
Pancakes:
2 cups of brown rice sourdough starter (feed your starter and put it back where you keep it for the next time)
4 TBS cooking oil (I use safflower)
2 TBS sugar (this makes the pancakes brown, I use coconut sugar)
1 egg (a no no in my house, so I use 1 TBS sprouted, ground flax)
1/2 tsp salt (I use Real Salt)
1 tsp soda (non-aluminum follow the directions carefully for the baking soda)
Into the sourdough dump, sugar, egg (ground flax), oil and a salt. Mix well. Dilute soda in warm water in jigger glass, (I don't know what a jigger glass is, but it's what the recipe says.  Odds are, being a Mormon, I don't have a jigger glass.) stirring with the little finger.  Fold soda gently into batter. DO NOT BEAT! Stir with easy rhythmic motion turning the spoon. Notice the deep, hollow tone as batter thickens and doubles in volume with bubbles.  Dip better immediately to hot iron.

Thank you God for sourdough, and thank you Alaskan Sourdough sage Ruth Allman.   I love your handwritten book Ruth (she literally hand wrote it), and you make me feel like a pioneer woman. Next stop: Brown Rice Sourdough Bread and trying this recipe in the waffle iron. We shall see how it goes! I'll let you know.