forget the fact that it's minus 50 degrees and i'm freezing my butt off getting in and out of the hottub - bahahahahahah!
we like to eat seasonally and locally as much as possible. but we always give ourselves treats during the winter - here's a fruit salad with pineapple, strawberry, apple (at least they were local) and grapes.
what a treat! a better treat is being able to go and get fresh mint out of the greenhouse!
i can't recommend strongly enough having a greenhouse or a hoophouse over the winter. in our unheated greenhouse we are able to keep green onions, mint, parsley, oregano, rosemary, catnip, sorrel, sage, lavender and bitter vetch. by growing sprouts in the sprouter, we can get lots of delicious and healthy food even in the winter.
i've mentioned that we're dairy-free (except for butter, eggs and a bit of aged cheddar every now and then), as well as gluten-free. i cheat every now and again and can handle a little bit of gluten but we have switched to quinoa pasta, brown rice pasta (which we loooove!), quinoa flour, almond flour and coconut flour. and we can honestly say that we don't miss the wheat at all!
quinoa flower is a little tricky to work with - hence the look of this meat pie!
no matter. you should have seen the messes we made when we first started making our own sushi!!!! this pie came out looking mighty fine to me!
and please take my advice - regardless of what flour you use - let the pie sit or you get this mess on a plate.
we didn't care - it was fricken deeelishous!
and it seems that tractor-dura was sipping on the good stuff last night. he's now known as "drunk-dura".
that's how crazy the frost heave is here - when jambaloney parked drunk-dura it was flat!
as you already know, jambaloney makes the best rice on the planet! we often have stirfries - this one with korean sticky rice.
but every now and then the man gets a craving for steak - and i love having a poached egg on steak.
and some more info on dairy-free - i thought i would die without my milk, 18% cream in everything, all of my processed cheeses, my sour cream, my cream cheese, my cottage cheese - it has not been easy because i like melted cheese on melted cheese with my sour cream! but jambaloney keeps his eyes open and looks for things that could help with that. he found 2 Tofutti products that i actually enjoy. one is called Tofutti Sour Supreme and the other is Toffuti Better than Cream Cheese.
as you know, we do not advertise on our blog or receive free samples of stuff. so if i say i like the stuff - it means i like the stuff.
and using almond milk in your organic cereal feels just like eating cereal - who knew???
Lastly - a BIG THANK YOU to Deborah Harvey who commented on our last post and recommended a book about menopause and natural options vs. HRT. Deborah - i ordered 3 of his books and have ordered 2 bottles of progestelle - i can't wait to try it. if any ladies are interested in my opinion of the books and the progestelle - you can contact me here or through email - kymberzmail@gmail.com
now we are off to make coconut bars - imagine? i've never liked sweets in my life but that's because they were all made with wheat. the quinoa flour, coconut, flour and almond flour is changing all that.
Vandura looks to be sinking into the ground.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a big fan of milk, so I prefer soy milk for my oatmeal. On cold cereal, I like an almond/coconut blend. I've also discovered some wonderful vegan cheeses that totally satisfy my cheese cravings. It may not be gluten-free, but I love using spelt flour for muffins. And, I can tell you about some wonderful things you can do with silken tofu! (jalapeño 'mayo', maple cream, chocolate pudding)
ReplyDeleteHi Kymber :) Your pie looks AMAZING. And so does your fruit salad AND the steak and eggs!!! :))) I applaud you for going gluten and dairy free. I mentioned (maybe?) that I went vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free for a year trying to cure my IBS diagnosis (success!) but in all honesty, I couldn't keep it up. I found out what hurt my insides and I avoid it now. I'm sure you guys feel much healthier without all that stuff that most of us just can't do without!
ReplyDeleteYou hardly have any snow! When I lived in Summerside, there wasn't much snow and I know the coastal areas have less, but I thought the Cape got more for some reason. You do get that ocean wind right? I remember it from P.E.I. and had a hard time adjusting!
And you have a winter greenhouse! (I love you both for that!!!) I definitely will have one in my future. The idea of fresh produce year long is something I long for. Right now I'm lucky, we have a little market two towns over :). On my monthly shopping trips I load up and we eat the fresh stuff during the first few weeks of the meal cycle, then frozen after that.
I hope you're having a great week and staying on the upside of your driveway!!! :)
The hoop house/green house is interesting. In my less realistic moments, I fantasize about moving to Montana away from people. It snows, of course, and is cold (and thus is not a favorite of The Ravishing Mrs. TB) but comforting to know you can get fresh vegetables all year.
ReplyDeleteI vote for Drunk-dura.
Much Love, TB
Sweet Kymber,
ReplyDeleteI think you should have a very unique name for your new tractor. Something that's very catchy :-) Having this tractor is going to make a world of difference with the work around there on your property. Will you be driving that baby as well? We're in the process of looking for a tractor deal as well. In time, we will be getting one. There's just so much work a person can do by hand......a tractor is a must!!!
You're already three steps a head of many when it comes to gardening. I miss putting up my greenhouse this season. I'll have to wait until we move out to our new place.
Great looking fruit salad, nothing beats fresh grown local fruits or vegetables.
Care to share your coconut bar recipe?? I would love to try it out. Also, I need to try out these flour types you're talking about.
Sending hugs and love to you both.
Sandy
Working with non-gluten flours can be tricky, but they still are delish! I have a little greenhouse project on my list for this year - I really miss fresh anything over the winter. Can your wonderful Jambaloney share his sticky rice method? I love sticky rice, but my efforts have been disappointing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's what I need to grow in my hoop house - herbs! I have to admit that our winter was so mild that I didn't really need one this year. My arugula all bolted in February! A greenhouse though, would be great.
ReplyDeleteGreat post about the foods. I really love almond milk (but since I have goats, I don't need to buy that!)