Home Sweet Home

I was gone for two weeks - my daughter had her second baby - this time a girl - Bridget. What did I do the day I got home? I pulled out my Water Kefir grains and Sourdough starter from the fridge. Soaked nuts to dehydrate. Started the soaking process for Cold Cereal and Sourdough Crackers. And then got a batch begun for sourdough bread (which I'm going to have to post about). Those are now staples I always have on hand.

Bridget Lynn

Sourdough Cheese or Plain Crackers

Rye Sourdough Cheese Crackers

I've been making homemade crackers for years. In fact I've got four recipes in my Hearth and Home cookbook I wrote seventeen years ago. Plain wheat thins and adding grated cheese have always been my favorite. I've often brought them places along with homemade mustard and/or a good cheese. The only thing I'd change now-adays would be soaking the flour in the liquid overnight, as the more I read the more I think that's the healthiest way to make anything with flour, unless you use sprouted grain flour. And as I wrote in my book ... think beyond wheat flour. We consume enough wheat in breads - everything else can be made from other grain flours. Our favorite crackers now are -

SOURDOUGH CHEESE CRACKERS

1C sourdough (click here for recipe)
1/3C melted butter or olive oil
1 1/4-1/2 flour
Mix this till a stiff dough, not too sticky, but tacky. Cover the bowl and let it soak for at least 8 hours.

When ready to make the crackers, preheat the oven to 350. I usually grease the counter with olive oil and my hands, then flatten the dough onto the counter. The hope, is to not be too sticky. If it is then you'll have to mix in some more flour till not too sticky. My sourdough is made with rye flour. When adding the flour I use a 7-grain flour. Once the dough is flattened on your counter, add -

1/4 tsp each salt, garlic, and onion powder (any seasoning you desire)
1/4 tsp baking soda

Knead to incorporate, then knead in
1/2C grated cheese

Divide in half and roll out thin to cookie sheet edges. Score, cutting into small squares - I have a fluted rolling tool, or you could use a pizza cutter. Bake 15 minutes. I often just turn the oven off at this point and leave them in the cooling oven. You want them to be crispy-done.

Any cheese can be used. We love flavored goudas - like smoked, or chipotle. Another favorite is with a garlic cotswold. I've even used a fancy cheese that had strips of stilton blue cheese - that was great too!

I have some old cracker tins I store them in. My other tin has crackers made from sprouted wheat flour, or was it flour soaked in yogurt ... I don't remember. Homemade crackers are so easy to make, why buy them!!!!

In case you don't have sourdough started and are dying to make crackers, here's my Wheat Thins recipe from my book -

3C whole wheat flour (any grain actually)
1/3C olive oil
1C water
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients together. You could add other spices or herbs. Knead as little as possible till it makes a smooth ball. At this point I'd roll thin on ungreased baking sheets, cut into squares and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until crisp. But now I'd let it sit covered for at least 8 hours before rolling out and baking. Sometimes, depending on your oven, if outer edges are getting too brown, remove them and return to baking.

Soaked and Dried Nuts and Breakfast Porridge

I've started soaking nuts this year. I've had Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions book for years and am just now getting around to reading all the great information - lots of it! - and doing more and more of it's recipes, believing it's philosophy.

BREAKFAST PORRIDGE

For any recipe utilizing grains, it's suggested to soak them for at least 8 hours. I've had a hand grain rolling machine for years and now have it set up in the pantry. The night before, if we're wanting to cook up a cereal for breakfast, we grind it and soak it. Monte's having fun picking different grains I have in jars in the pantry. His proportions are 1/3 C of rolled/cracked grain to 1 C water. You can add a pinch of salt if you like. Nuts could be added to this soaking mixture. Then in the morning gently bring it to simmering. Differing grains take differing times to soak up the liquid. Then we'll add fruit, unsweetened coconut, whey, and sprouted flax meal to it. And of coarse my homemade yogurt.

Soaking Nuts

Why soak nuts? They contain enzyme inhibitors that can put a strain on the digestive system. Let them soak at least 7 hours or overnight (I prefer 12 hours - especially for the almonds). Drain. Spread to dry in either a warm oven (no more than 150 degrees) for 12-24 hours till dry and crisp; or dry in a dehydrator. My oven doesn't go that low, so the dehydrator is back in use.  Other than walnuts, that are susceptible to rancidity so should be stored in the refrigerator, all nuts can be stored in airtight container for months. They make great snacks!

SOAKED NUTS
4 C nuts
2 tsp sea salt
water to cover
Like I said, soak at least 7 hours or overnight, and then dry.

Crispy Pepitas (4 C raw soaked pumpkin seeds with 2 Tb sea salt)

Roasted Squash Seeds

I'm baking one of our volunteer winter squashes right now just to see what it's like. All season we've watched them grow, not knowing what they are. This month they turned orange ... so are they pumpkin? They're not large, so could they be the smaller sugar pumpkins for pie? I actually make 'pumpkin' pie from all winter squash. I've got some recipes in my cookbook, including "Impossible Pumpkin Pie" which was the first pumpkin pie my kids liked.

Since winter squash season has just begun I thought I'd tell you about roasting their seeds. I can't throw away the seeds! I think my method of making crispy seasoned winter squash seeds is unusual. Most recipes have you toss the seeds with oil or melted butter and season and bake on a cookie sheet, stirring occasionally. Rather than mess with a lot of loose seasonings, I prefer to simmer the flavor into the seeds. I'll even do the seeds of a squash I bake whole.

ROASTED SQUASH SEEDS

Measure the amount of seed from any winter squash, then in a saucepan, barely cover them with water.
Per cup of seeds use about
1 tsp of a seasoning salt
(like a premixed kind, or mix salt with granulated garlic and onion)
(Add some olive oil or butter to the pan)
Bring to a boil and let simmer, stirring occasionally till almost simmered dry.

Spread on a cookie sheet. Since the oven is/was probably on for baking the squash, put the tray in the oven. If the oven is on, occasionally stir them and check for crispiness. If the oven's been turned off, I'll often just leave the tray of seeds in the oven till the next morning.

Baked Kale Chips

WOW!!! Another recipe from AllRecipes.com. My first words after first tasting, and eating more and more while waiting for my Artisan bread to finish baking and we'd sit down to eat supper - "Addicting"! What a good thing to be addicting: kale!! Kale is probably the most nutritious green you can be eating. All year round we add kale to our salad making. I blanch and freeze my garden kale for adding to stews, soups, lasanga ... or just sauteing.

BAKED KALE CHIPS

1 bunch kale
That's all they say. Most store bunches seem about the same size year round. I should weigh a bunch to see how much kale it actually is. You should wash and spin dry store-bought kale. They cut out the thick stems and rip up; I just ripped the leaves up and away from the stem, putting them in a large bowl for tossing with -
1 Tb olive oil
1 tsp salt
Bake the spread kale on parchment lined baking sheets at 350 for 10-15 minutes, till edges brown but not burn.

I sprinkled them with granulated garlic too. Next time we don't want to use the salt, just the garlic, or our Chef Prudhomme's spunky Italian Seasoning. We froze some and it remained crispy! So guess what? ... I've still got tons of kale in the garden! and I'm going to make tons of these kale chips, bag in sandwich bags, and freeze in a box or one of my freezer baskets - so they don't get squashed.

I'm munching on a bag I test-froze right now as I'm writing this post. Yummmm .....