Playin' Around

Been messing about a bit lately!

My big experiment has been trying to reproduce the Ukrainian method of milk-firing pottery. I started with a fired pot, mainly red in color, and I gave it a few baths with whole milk. Then I stuck it in my oven, turned it up all the way (550°F in my case,) and let it bake for about an hour.


The baking period caused the milk to turn dark brown and permanently fuse to the pot!

Paleo? Autoimmune Protocol? There's a New Forum!

Just an FYI for any of my friends who are on a paleo diet or trying to navigate their way through healing an autoimmune condition - there is now a non-Facebook based forum with sections for both standard paleo AND STRICT AIP!!!! Yayyyyyyy!!

The Paleomom Community

You'll also find there a LOT of promotion for the host's new book that details the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol in exhaustive detail. If you suffer from an autoimmune condition (or previously thought to be autoimmune condition, like fibromyalgia) you should absolutely check it out. It's not easy, most definitely, but feeling healthy is really really worth it.

Hope to see you there!


- Stell

"Thank You" Turkey Cakes (AIP Compliant)

I didn't even bother taking a picture of these. They're brown and green and lumpy and bumpy....but tasty enough that my son David declared them "amazing!!"

So, if you're jonesing for the reminiscent comfort of a hearty turkey dinner, these might help you out some.

On to the recipe!

Smoked Fish 'n Kale Cakes (AIP-Compliant)

Yeah. Still not pretty. But they taste good, are easy to make, and you don't have to cook anything else to get a complete meal! Can't beat that, for sure.

On to the recipe!

Cinnamon Garlic Lamb Cakes (AIP-Compliant)

Yes, yes, I know. They don't look great. None of these meat/veggie/root patty-type foods look very pretty. But ya know what?? They are fast, easy, AIP-compliant, and taste good. So there. And if you like shish kofta (spiced lamb kebabs) you'll probably like these, even though the cumin is missing (because seeds. Dammit.)

Ok, the recipe:

Smoked Whitefish Cakes

This week at work, Matthew made whitefish cakes for the hot bar menu. They were REALLY GOOD, but I only got a bite to taste test, and then kept forgetting to buy some...and then they were gone. So tonight we made some for dinner!


I haven't got a clue how Matthew made the ones at The a Grain Train, 'cause I was furiously baking at the time, so I just made these up. Here's how.

AIP-friendly Breakfast Hash

I just started myself of the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet, and will likely be sharing some recipes as I discover them.

This particular one-dish meal started as an attempt at a potato-free breakfast side dish, created by my friend Jenna. She threw together some bulk sausage, sliced parsnip, green onion, and parsley and served it up as an accompaniment to eggs. It was love at first bite.

At home, we would make it and serve it with eggs (yellow) and green veggies (green) to make a pretty, well balance plate. But after a while, we realized that we could get pretty and well-balanced just by varying the vegetables we throw into the pan.

So, without further ado, I present my Breakfast Hash Formula.

Magic Mayonnaise

What's so magic about this mayonnaise? In a nutshell, it's so fast and easy, it practically makes itself. No joke. All you need is a pint mason jar and a stick blender, and you'll be able to astound yourself with how magically you can make mayonnaise with good oils, good eggs, and lacto-fermentation to naturally preserve it.

"Heavenly" Soaked Granola

"Mom! Did you make this yourself?! This is HEAVENLY!" - Bobby, age 8

First, the recipe.

Making Butter

Butter-making was one of those things that I knew was supposed to be pretty easy, but I never bothered trying it, because, well....why should I?

But then I started getting raw milk and cream directly from the farm I bought herd-shares from. All of a sudden, I actually had a REASON to learn this supposedly simple process, because whatever I made was going to be better than whatever I could buy.

So, I learned. I looked stuff up online, got the general idea, then dove in. And by golly, it WAS simple. I'm not saying it's not work, because it is. And I'm not saying that I didn't have difficulties, because I did. But I figured it out, and I'll pass on what I learned to you.

Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt Cups

Making yogurt at home is easy. Most of us know this. However, getting your family (and sometimes even yourself!) to actually EAT your homemade yogurt can be a trick, because the flavor and consistency is rarely like what we're used to buying in the store.

This is how you make like-store-bought yogurt cups, with your own pastured milk, no GMOs, and no refined sugar.

Fun With Sourdough

I figured since I posted how to *use* sourdough starter to make bread, it might be handy to know how to make the starter in the first place.

Ok, first off, this is how I made a sourdough starter that worked for me. I'm pretty sure there are loads of people who can and will detail how I'm DOING IT WRONG, but this is how I did it.
Here's the super complicated process:
Put a half-cup of water and a half-cup of flour in a bowl.
Take a whisk and stir it up. Walk around your kitchen while you whisk. Visit the fruit bowl. Go hang out where you keep your bread. Stand by an open window. You're trying to capture some native yeast spores in your sticky flour paste.
Now cover it loosely and let it sit for 24 hours.

Super complicated, I know.

Baking Bread

"Mom, when I move out and have my own apartment, can I buy bread from you?" - Emily, age 14

This is how I make my sandwich bread, and it works for any proportion of whole wheat bread flour to white bread flour. I usually use 100% whole wheat. I make two loaves at a time.