Whiteley Creek Homestead

stewed prunes

I sliced into a loaf of autumn zucchini bread, that I made yesterday, to serve with stewed prunes for Dick's and my breakfast this morning. If you had an aversion to prunes as a kid, give them another go-round. You may discover that your attitude toward them has changed over the years.

 

Stewed Prunes

Makes about six ½-cup servings.

2 cups prunes, pitted or not

2 ½ cups water or orange juice

Combine prunes and water in saucepan. Cover and simmer gently until prunes are soft, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or cold. Among other valuable nutrients, each serving has 4 grams of fiber.

autumn zucchini bread

I have all of my ingredients prepped and measured to make loaves of zucchini bread... seems like a perfect thing to do on a late September day. The colors of the ingredients even look like autumn. I found a recipe on one of my favorite recipe blogs, 101 cookbooks, which I highly recommend for nutritious recipes. (Thank you to my daughter, Lisa, for suggesting that I check out the blog.) This particular recipe needed a little "cleaning up", so I substituted 1/2 cup maple syrup for the 1 ½ cups sugar and added in dried cranberries for some additional natural sweetness. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger so that provides some sweetness, too. I used pureed prunes and applesauce instead of 1/2 cup butter. To pump up the nutrition and vary the texture as well as the visual appeal, I threw in some raw sunnies in place of some of the walnuts.    

 

This is what crystallized (candied) ginger looks like, so you know what to look for.

I draped unbleached parchment paper inside four little bread pans then scooped the batter into them. The paper makes post-baking removal a cinch. You wouldn't need to leave as much overhang as I did... kinda ridiculous.

 

This zucchini bread is seriously... I mean seriously yummy. You'd never believe that it has no butter, oil, or sugar. The subtle little bursts of candied ginger, the sweet chewiness of the dried cranberries, and the crunch of the walnuts and sunflower seeds makes a perfect mix of flavors and texture.

 

Autumn Zucchini Bread

½ cup unsalted butter (I substituted *¼ cup baby food prunes + ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce.)

1 ½ cups sugar (I substituted ½ cup pure maple syrup.)

3 eggs (I reduced to 2 eggs because of the extra liquid from the pureed prunes and applesauce.)

2 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups chopped walnuts, plus a few to sprinkle on top (I substituted ½ cup walnuts, ½ cup raw sunflower seeds, and ½ cup dried cranberries.)

1/3 cup poppy seeds (optional)

zest of two lemons (optional)

½ cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

3 cups grated zucchini (about 3 medium) skins on (If the shredded zucchini is overly juicy, you can squeeze some of the liquid out then refluff.)

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt (I reduced to ½ tsp salt.)

1 tsp cinnamon

Needed: Two 4 X 8 loaf pans or four 3 ½ X 6 inch loaf pans.

Preheat oven to 350°. Line the pans with unbleached parchment paper leaving a couple inches overhang on each long side to lift bread out easily after baking. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a mixer, combine the prunes, applesauce, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla. Gently mix or stir in walnuts, sunnies, dried cranberries, poppy seeds and lemon zest (if using), crystallized ginger, and zucchini. In a separate bowl. whisk together whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to wet, mixing just until combined. Do not overmix. Divide the batter equally among the loaf pans. You can sprinkle a few chopped walnuts on top before baking for added texture and visual appeal, if you like. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. To finish cooling on the wire rack, take loaves out of pans and remove parchment paper to prevent soggy bottoms. Makes 2 -4 loaves depending upon size of pans. *A tiny jar of baby food prunes = ¼ cup.  

 

I wrapped one loaf for my friend Debbie, whose birthday is today. The acorns are plunking like raindrops onto the walkway between our railroad car tearoom and the backporch, so I snatched one to tie onto the top for an autumn touch.  (A helpful hint: I removed the loaf from the pan to cool on a wire rack and peeled the paper off after a little bit so it could cool completely and not get soggy. When the loaf was cool, I wrapped a fresh piece of parchment paper around it and placed it into a clean foil pan.) Deb and I celebrate our birthdays together each year since they are 4 days apart, so we are meeting up tomorrow. I am preparing lunch. Besides the homemade zucchini bread, I'm giving her three waffle-weave dishcloths housed in a retro looking box, a dozen free-range chicken eggs with deep orange nutrient-packed yolks, and a pound of locally-raised ground buffalo. I'm thinking that she hasn't tried buffalo before. 

 

 

 

Ann Louise Gittleman

There are just not enough bars in South Dakota... the bars indicating a strong cell phone service signal, that is. As we traveled west across the plains of South Dakota, wound our way through the Black Hills, then today began our trek east back to Minnesota, cell phone service has been hit and miss. Disappointedly, I was not able to access this nonrequired conference call tonight that was set up through Clayton College of Natural Health where I am earning my Bachelor's Degree in Holistic Nutrition, but I'm pleased to learn that Ann Louise Gittleman is an adjunct professor at the college. In fact, she earned her doctorate degree from CCNH. I purchased Ms. Gittleman's book Fat Flush Plan several years ago, which I am so impressed with. It is a good primer to get one started with the basics of a healthy lifestyle... nothing wacky... just good old-fashioned wholesome nutrition and exercise. I'm hoping the session will be recorded with access to the recording provided at a later date.

Conference Call
Wednesday, September 23
7:00 p.m. Central Time

 

	Ann Louis Gittleman, PhD — CCNH adjunct professor for Holistic Nutrition

Join CCNH Adjunct Professor of Holistic Nutrition, Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD for this week’s discussion, Your Thyroid: The Metabolic Master Mind. Learn how to properly assess thyroid function and address deficiencies naturally.

Mount Rushmore Nat'l Memorial South Dakota

I took my first online test today for my ORT 100 Orientation Course while sitting in a cozy coffeeshop. I scored 100/100. It was the atmosphere I am positive. I am now working on an essay for ORT 100 that is due next. I am to "construct an essay that details a practice related to living a natural health lifestyle and explains how you employ it in your own life path." More than the content, I will be graded on the use of an academic essay format that includes a thesis statement supported by paragraphs with sub-points and a conclusion. Oh, yeah, I can do this, but maybe some inspiration from Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial might help. 

Many changes have occurred at the monument since we visited years ago when our grown daughters were little. The architect responsible for the designing the impressive entry, amphitheater, walkways allowing a closeup view of the sculptures and access to the Sculptor's Studio, as wall as a facility housing a museum, book store, restaurant, and gift shop should be commended for envisioning a tribute fitting the grandeur of Lincoln Borglum's work. 

The detail in Mr. Borglum's sculptures is indescribably impressive. Look at President Roosevelt's spectacles!

I liked how this view from inside a cave along the walkway at the base of the scupltures framed Presidents Washington and Jefferson and,

outside the park, President Washington's profile was one final visual to tuck away as a memory of our afternoon at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.

spearfish canyon south dakota

Traversing the country in a travel trailer has considerably advantages. A big consideration for us is being able to pack and prepare our own food. For the most part we dine in but, when an opportunity for a good meal at a local nonchain restaurant presents itself, we jump on it. One such place was a restaurant called Cheyenne Crossing located outside Lead, South Dakota at the entry to Spearfish Canyon. We ordered a taco salad to share between us. The ingredients were fresh and flavorful, but every bite... oh, I know Dick grew weary of my saying after each and every bite, "Oh, this is good. This is so very good." It was the Indian Fry Bread that was underneath the huge mound of perfectly seasoned lean ground buffalo meat, lettuce, pinto beans, tomato/salsa mixture, and grated cheese that sealed the deal. The fry bread was reminiscent of the "sinkers" my mom made when I was growing up. She would always save out a little hunk of dough when she made homemade bread which she tore into small hunks then dropped them into hot oil. The delicately golden dough was slightly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. That was what the Indian Fry Bread at Cheyenne Crossing Restaurant was like. After finishing off our taco salad with a slice of from scratch made-on-the-premises carrot cake... oh, it was heavenly and so worth the calories and fat, we headed down the road through Spearfish Canyon for some of the most beautiful scenery in this country.    

badlands south dakota

My classroom has moved... After making our way west across Minnesota into the prairie of South Dakota last Wednesday and Thursday, we arrived in the Badlands. I have read, completed assignments related to my college cousework, and prepared for tests while absorbing the geography and history in the most amazing locations.

After setting up camp in Badlands National Park, we biked, sipped tea while watching the sun dip behind the rock formations, looked through a huge telescope at Planet Jupiter set up near the park's lodge after darkness fell, and listened to a presentation on nocturnal animals at the park's amphitheater. The ranger explained that animals work different shifts just like people do at their jobs. Nocturnal animals work the night shift sometimes having to work overtime to complete their work (finding food).  What a perfect way to explain this concept to children by relating it to their parents' work schedules! The next morning we were accompanied by a ranger on an 8:30 guided hike for an up close and personal view of the rock formations to learn how they were formed.

I just couldn't resist taking a photo of the stark contrast between the ridiculously gigantic motor home parked across from our campsite in the Badlands and another camper staying in a super tiny tent driving a teeny tiny electric car... only in America.

   

abandoned homestead

The next chapter in Dick's and my life? This looks like a good fixer upper. I fell in love with this abandoned homestead in South Dakota enroute to the Black Hills on Wednesday. There was not a farm as far as the eye could see on this country road that we chose to navigate across the state... just prairie. 

Somebody raised their family here...

St. Cloud Road Trip

This morning, after I served guests breakfast, Dick and I left for St. Cloud. I spent quite a chunk of time there during my college years, so I came to love the city. The Good Earth Co-op for homemade soup and a chunk of whole grain bread,  followed by a leisurely stroll through each aisle to add items to my cart that I do not have available to me at the three health food stores in Brainerd, is always a must. Today I brought home pluots (plum and apricot cross), a heavenly fragrant herbal orange spice tea, organic "sunny fruit slices" (like candy orange slices except they come in many different fruity flavors and are mini bite-size pieces) that are always so fresh, 4 lbs of buffalo meat which I can get at our Brainerd Farmers Market but only one day a month and sometimes I'm not able to make it in that day, a little chunk of nitrite-free hormone-free antibiotic-free ham to slice and brown a little for breakfast alongside deep-orange yolked eggs that only come from free range hens that can eat bugs, worms, seeds, and other naturally occurring outdoor things... I can't wait for breakfast, and 6 ears of organically-grown sweet corn. 

Leaving the co-op, we headed down Division St. toward Waite Park for our annual stop at the Great Harvest Bread Company for their Pumpkin Swirl Bread and Cinnamon Swirl Bread. Although the Cinnamon Swirl is available year-round, the Pumpkin Swirl is only available September through Thanksgiving. To see the building that the bakery is housed in is worth the trip alone. To truly appreciate its architecture, you need to realize that it is located in a large city along a busy street... not out in a field 20 miles from the nearest town or even in a town with a population of say 35.

 

Next stop was Plato's Closet that I had learned of upon asking a Good Earth Co-op employee and a customer there where I could find thrift shops. They both suggested Plato's Closet, Goodwill, and Savers... all on Division St. in close proximity to each other. Since Dick was accompanying me on this road trip, I knew I must choose just one of the three. He's patient... to a point. Plato's Closet it was where I found a warm quilted fleece-lined winter jacket.

We wanted to spend a good portion of this pre-autumn day traveling country roads so, as we worked our way back home to Brainerd without a definite route in mind, we ended up in the town of St. Stephen. A  longtime friend, Marguerite, has a sister, Georgia, that worked as a teacher for years at the elementary school there, so I wanted to search it out since I'd never seen it before... heck, I've never even been to St. Stephen. Taking a few wrong turns... the town is about the size of Pillager (Minnesota) where I taught... we asked for directions and learned that the school had closed about three years ago. The students now attend school in Sartell, a town next to St. Cloud. The building was renovated into apartments. Isn't this just the cutest school building? My friend's sister had taught 1st grade for many years then 3rd grade. She was the only teacher at each of those grade levels and she had somewhere like 13 students.  

 

The guy standing by the truck in the photo is an apartment renter. After chatting with him, I learned that there are 8 apartments in the entire building. One renter has the entire upper floor residing in a 3-bedroom apartment. The basement has two apartments and the first floor has 5.

  

The paned door leads up to the large top floor apartment. It was easy to conjure up images of the bustle of activity when school was in session. I wish I would have taken a photo of the original long row of coat hooks still attached to the wall down the first floor hallway. It would have been fun if blackboards had been left intact on the walls but the resident I talked to said they were not. Sad.

A farmer near Pierz was raking his hay into rows to prepare it for baling.

 

A simple but fun day of adventures... just the way I like it.

dragonfly on borage

Click on this photo to see the adorable little dragonfly in the top left corner resting on my borage.

double broccoli quinoa

Another keeper from the 101 cookbooks blog... Double Broccoli Quinoa. It wins a "Best of Show" County Fair Ribbon, in my opinion, for the super foods tastily packed into one dish: quinoa, broccoli, avocado, and almonds. Quinoa simmers for 15 minutes while cooked broccoli, garlic cloves, almonds, Parmesan cheese, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, and milk is put in a food processor...

 

 and whirled up to make pesto.

 

The pesto is added to the cooked quinoa to create the most wonderful flavor. Tossed with steamed broccoli florets for a bright spot of green color then topped with sliced avocado, crumbled feta or goat cheese, and almonds for crunch... ready to dig in.

 

Double Broccoli Quinoa

3 cups cooked (regular or red heirloom variety) quinoa*

5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems (1 head)

3 medium garlic cloves

2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 pinch of salt

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

¼ cup olive oil (I used 2 tbsp.)

¼ cup heavy cream (I used milk.)

Toppings: sliced avocado, crumbled feta or goat cheese

Cook quinoa* according to package directions and set aside. Note: Quinoa comes in white (traditional), Inca Red (heirloom), and black varieties. I haven’t run across the black. The white has 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein and the red and black have 4 grams fiber and 6 grams protein per serving.

Steam the broccoli just long enough to slightly take the raw edge off. Remove from heat and lift steamer basket from pan so that it doesn’t continue cooking. (If cooking in a pan with a little water instead of a steamer, drain broccoli in a colander.) To make the broccoli pesto, puree 2 cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, ½ cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream (or milk) and pulse until smooth. Just before serving, toss the quinoa and the remaining broccoli florets with about ½ cup of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed. You might want to add more of the pesto a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, some sliced avocado, and feta or goat cheese. Serves 4 – 6.

 

*Quinoa is coated with saponins, a bitter tasting, naturally occurring coating that repels birds during its cultivation. It produces soap-like foaming when quinoa is shaken in water. Most boxed/pre-packaged quinoa has been pre-rinsed for convenience, and cooking instructions suggest only a brief rinse before cooking, if at all. If quinoa has not been pre-rinsed, the first step is to remove the saponins, which requires either soaking the grain in water for a few hours or rinsing the quinoa under running water for several minutes in either a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Soaking also causes the quinoa to germinate which boosts its nutritional value. Germination activates its natural enzymes and multiplies its vitamin content. Quinoa has a very short germination period. Soaking in a glass jar of clean water for only 2 to 4 hours is enough to make it sprout. I soak it overnight while I sleep so that it's ready when I need it the next day.