Gluten Free Apple Pie

Whole Grain Gluten Free Pie Crust

• 1/3 cup butter* from pasture raised cows
• 1 cup whole grain, gluten-free flour**
• 1/4 tsp. unrefined sea salt
• 1 - 2 tbsp. cold water (I use my local milk)

When making a whole grain pie crust, I have found it much easier to make it in a food processor.  The pie dough melds together really well and rolls out nicely.  I have tried many methods: fork, fork and knife, pie pastry hand blender, etc.  The best whole grain pie crust, for me, is made in a food processor.

I put in the flour, sprinkle the salt in, add butter in cold slices, and put the lid on. Turn the food processor on and drizzle the water or milk in through the top. When the dough balls up and is rolling about inside the canister, shut off the processor.

To roll the dough I sprinkle a bit of oat flour onto my pastry cloth and use the cotton sleeve on my rolling-pin. I bought my cloth pi making set at Evan's & White's Hardware store, Potsdam.

Roll out the pie dough and put it into the pie plate.  I make a second recipe for the top crust.  I have found it works best, for me, to make one crust at a time in the food processor.  If I am going to make a lattice top, like the pie above, I just make a little extra dough and make one batch only. (Approximately 1 1/3 cup flour plus maybe and extra tbsp., 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 2 tbsp. cold milk.)

Apple Filling

• 4 very large, organic Braeburn apples, or whatever your favorite flavor of organic apple.  I prefer Pink Lady apples... but they are expensive so I save them for eating and buy a cheaper apple for pies.
• Slice into thin pieces, leave the nutritious peels intact on the apples
• 1/2 cup unrefined sucanat sugar
• 1 to 3 tsp. pure Ceylon cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• oat flour, say 1/4 cup, to thicken the apple juice so the pie is not runny.

Mix apples with rest of ingredients.  Fill pie crust and top with 2nd crust or lattice top. Pop into the oven and bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes at 350 F.  Apples should be gently bubbling inside the pie, not running liquid all over the oven.

*I have been using Kerry Gold Butter from Ireland.  I am not thrilled about using something transported from so far away. Local food is better!

I wish we had a farm cooperative in Northern NY that produced butter from pasture raised cows.  However, I received a "tip" from Jessica Prosper of Prosper's Farmstead Creamery!  I just ordered (from Nature's Storehouse Wholeshare) 5 lbs of pasture raised butter from a farm cooperative in New York State:  Kriemhild's Dairy.  They are not in Northern NY State, but hey, they are not in Ireland either!  Thanks for the tip Jessica!

**I use mostly gluten free oat flour in pie crusts.  This one also had millet, quinoa, teff, and amaranth flours.  Then I added in a 1/4 cup of dark buckwheat flour.

The oat flour will make a smooth crust.  Add in the millet, quinoa, amaranth, and teff and the crust gets textured... grainy.  If you are not used to this in whole grains, I am just warning you!  The buckwheat flour has a very strong flavor.  Very yummy, but again, if you are not used to this flavor it is a big leap from refined, white flour pie crust pastries.  I find them flavorful, a true taste sensation as compared to white flour crusts that to me taste like baked wall paper paste. Enjoy the yummy, new flavors on your taste buds.

The pie is very yummy and full of whole-cell regenerating, healthy, whole foods. No refined flours and sugars depleting the health of the body cells in my home!   I encourage you to read and learn about feeding your body cells with whole food to prevent and heal lifestyle related diseases.  It is nature's plan!  

Coffee: Getting Rid of the Acid Reflux Issue

Coffee: Getting Rid of the Acid Reflux Issue

A big complaint I hear frequently:  "I have given up my beloved morning coffee as it creates and exacerbates gastric acid reflux problems the entire day.  I do not want esophageal cancer from reflux."

Hey, who can blame anyone?  Cancer is not something we warmly invite into our lives.

2 things to try: (see lifestyle info at bottom of post)

1.  Spice blend: add a pinch or two to each cup of coffee.

Equal parts of cardamom, ginger, and unrefined sea salt.  Put these together in a small jar and keep next to your coffee stores. Remember to use with each cup of coffee.  Keep a small jar in your purse, coat pocket, or glove box for coffee on the go.

2.  Cold brew coffee into a concentrated extract and use to make your hot or cold coffee beverages.  (For a iced coffee delight I over indulged in while visiting Costa Rica, click the link.)

Cold brewing is lower in caffeine and much lower in acid.  Less acid is good for the gut and esophagus!

Tools for the brewing:

How to:

Cold-brewing coffee is easy.  Get yourself a 1/2 gallon mason jar with a lid and a strainer.

Combine one cup of coarsely ground beans (organic, fair trade, and shade grown... of course!) with four cups of cold or room temperature water.

Give the mixture a stir or put lid on and give a good shake.  I shake this anytime I pass by it on the kitchen counter.

Let the magic of infusion go to work. You are making cold, cowboy coffee!

I let the mixture magically infuse for 12 to 24 hours.

After 12 to 24 hours, strain the solution through a coffee filter, a fine mesh sieve, or layered cheesecloth so you don’t get a mouth full of grounds. No need to be completely cowboy about this!

Filter the mixture, once or twice, and you have delicious coffee.

Good for 7 to 10 days in your refrigerator.

When heating for hot coffee, gently heat, please.  Boiling is not kind to your cold brew!

Finished!   To make in the quart jar, just cut recipe in 1/2.

Enjoy your cold brewed coffee, hot or cold.

PS  There are many "recipes" out there and they all vary.  First time I made cold brewed coffee it was 1 pound of coffee, ground up, to one full gallon of water.  I cut the recipe in 1/2 and used a gallon glass jar.

My advice with all recipes and all cooking:  be creative, play around, and find what works for you!

PPS: Lifestyle Healing: Acid reflux is a warning check engine light on your body's dashboard. Addressing what has created the reflux in your life will help you to self heal and get rid of the underlying causes of the problem. Problem gone and addressing this problem and ridding its root causes will prevent it from becoming a bigger problem, a deeper degenerative disease.

Lifestyle Healing Info: http://www.paulayoumellrn.com/free-health-info/

Self Healing Classes to dive deeper & fix yourself!  http://www.paulayoumellrn.com/home-study-classes/

I LOVE Fast Food!

Yes, you read that correctly:  I LOVE fast food!

Those who know me are saying, "no way, can't be!"  Let me warn you, it is not the type of fast food you can pick up at a drive thru.

I like whole food meals I can whip up quickly.  Some days I need to with 2 kids, 4 cats, 1 dog, and my busy health promoting lifestyle.

Last eve I decided I wanted pizza.  Getting healthy pizza out is not an easy task, better handled at home.  Generally, I plan for this and have the dough rising several hours before dinner prep time.

This conundrum has entered my life before:  want pizza now!  This is why I created the following whole food, easy pizza.  I made last eve's, pictured above, with fresh ground amaranth, millet, and quinoa flour.  This made for a grainy textured crust.  Very yummy, in my eyes (or should I say mouth?).  Any whole grain flours will work.  If you are looking for a more traditionally textured crust use 1/2 spelt flour and 1/2 oat flour, whole grain, of course.

The dough is like quick bread.  I let it sit for 5 minutes and then decide if I need to add a bit more flour to thicken it up.  It needs to be a sturdier dough than say, banana quick bread batter.  I then drop it on a floured pizza stone and roll it out with my pie crust rolling pin, dressed in it's 100% cotton tee (purchased locally through Evan's and White Hardware:  http://www.evanswhite.com/).  The messy dough rolls out easier with a well dressed rolling pin, floured as well.

Easy Pizza Crust

1 cup warm water or organic milk, not hot 2 tbsp. melted butter, preferably from grass fed cows (like the milk mentioned above) 1/2 tsp. unrefined sea salt 2-3 tsp. baking powder 2 1/2 to 3 cups whole grain flour*

-preheat oven to 350F -warm the milk and melt the butter in the milk -add 1/2 the flour amount, sea salt and baking powder -mix well -add more flour until you have a somewhat non-sticky dough

-place the dough into the center of a pizza pan that you have buttered or sprinkled with corn flour (or both) -press dough down and shape into a flat circle -using a rolling pin that is very well floured (I use a cotton sleeve on mine), roll out dough to the edges like a pie crust.  Keep pressing the edges into a nice, neat circle to prevent the cracked edges that you see in the above pizza picture! -pre-bake the crust for 15-20 minutes until it is starting to look crispy but not quite cooked, on the stone it does take 20 minutes -remove and add the below sauce, toppings of choice, cheese and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes to finish cooking and melt the cheese.

Avoiding grains? *Dough can be made with bean and/or nut flours, the texture will be different, obviously, but you will get used to it.  Be grateful you have created an alternative you can enjoy!

Avoiding Gluten? Skip the spelt flour. Use only gluten free grains. Make certain your oats are certified gluten free, organic too. Glyphosate pesticides used in non-organic farming practices are very destructive to gut health, immune health, whole body-whole earth health.

Pizza Sauce:

1 quart jar of canned tomatoes 1 can tomato paste, I like Muir Glen Organic paste.  It is an intensely tomato-y tasting paste Italian herbs: rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil and parsley  - local if possible local onions and garlic

-saute' the onion in butter until gently but well cooked -add canned tomatoes, I put tomatoes and paste in the blender and puree as I can my tomatoes with the skins on -pour a generous pile, say 1 tbsp. or so, of each herb into your hand, one at a time.  Over the pot, rub your palms together and 'grind' the herbs into the pot of sauce. -slow cook the sauce for an hour or two -peel garlic cloves to your taste, chop or press into the sauce, at this point the heat is off so garlic is gently 'cooked' by the heat of the sauce only -use as much as needed to slather the above pizza crust -use the leftover sauce over your favorite pasta adding meat, cheese, beans, whatever you please

Need a quicker sauce choice? Try Muir Glen Pizza Sauce in the can.  It is very yummy right out of the can; meaning it needs zero "doctoring" with spices!

Please check out the article about my book, written by a Central NY journalist - Samantha House.  Every step forward with my book is one step closer to finding a publisher interested in publishing the entire series:  The Whole Food Kitchen Series! http://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/everything-in-its-natural-state-longtime-cny-nurse-shares-health/article_87363e8b-2f26-5af5-8da6-adabb55846c9.html

Enjoy!  Paula

Whole Food Carrot Cake Recipe

Because so many of you asked 

for this... here it is!

Whole Food Carrot Cake

3 eggs 

3/4 cup buttermilk (I used raw goats milk soured with 1 tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar)

3/4 cup butter from grass fed cows

3/4 cup sucanat sugar

3 tsp. vanilla

3 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. unrefined sea salt

2 cups whole grain flour (oat, spelt... whatever you please)

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

2 cups shredded carrots

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 cup raisins

1 - 8 oz can pineapple with natural juice, no added sugar (I used the organic canned pineapple from the Coop, it is  a 14 oz can.  I will use the whole can the next time I make this yummy cake)

(All ingredients organic and naturally raised)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

1.   Soak the cup of raisins in the pineapple juice.

2.   Beat eggs, then beat in buttermilk and butter.  I gently heat the butter to melt it.

3.   Blend in sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.

4.   Mix in flour, b. soda, b. powder, and salt.

5.   Shred carrots on a cheese grater and blend into batter.

6.   Add coconut and walnuts.

7.   Chop pineapple pieces in blender to a puree and mix into batter.

8.   Add raisins and the pineapple juice and mix in well.

9.   Butter two 8" round cake pans, divide batter evenly between two pans

10. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until cakes is pulling from edge of pans and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool until just warm and turn out on cooling racks.  When completely cool, frost the bottom layer, add the top layer and frost top and sides completely.

Frosting

Organic heavy cream, two 8 oz containers

Organic Neufchatel Cheese, one 8 oz package 

2 - 4 tbsp. dark maple syrup

1 tbsp. vanilla

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer to whip into frosting consistency.

Enjoy this super yummy cake for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!  Paula