Whiteley Creek Homestead

carrot apple slaw cranberries pumpkin seeds + sunnies

Here's an easy one. Orange juice-infused slaw sweetened with a touch of honey. Crunchy, chewy, a little sweet. The recipe is from a January 2006 issue of Delicious Living-a free magazine often available at health food stores.  

1/2 cup orange juice (I increased to 3/4 cup.)

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (I omitted the olive oil and subbed 1 tbsp honey.)

1 Granny Smith apple, unpeeled, cored, and shredded (I used 2 Gala apples. Any sweet, crunchy variety like Gala, Pink Lady, or Honeycrisp would be pefect.)

1 pound carrots (about 4 large), peeled and shredded (I used unpeeled carrots.)

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (I omitted.)

3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I omitted.)

1/2 cup dried cranberries (I used apple juice sweetened.)

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (I used 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds + 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds.)

 freshly ground black pepper (I omitted.)

In a large bowl, whisk together orange juice and honey. Add all of the remaining ingredients and toss well to coat with slaw dressing.

 

split pea veggie soup

This split pea soup recipe comes via Rosemary, a guest who stayed at our B&B several years ago. The original name for the recipe is Green Velvet Soup... which it is. Velvety, that is. If it is pureed post cooking. However, I may have pureed one too many culinary delights that I have placed in front of Dick. He reminded me recently that he still has his teeth. So, I made Rosemary's recipe as printed, but I didn't puree it. It is honestly the most flavorful split pea soup on this planet. I am sure of it. (Note: Check out Rosemary's paintings, thought-provoking quotes, and healthy recipes on her blog. She is a gifted watercolor artist who captures life's oft missed details in a world that is so easily blurred in our busyness.)     

Split Pea Veggie Soup (aka Green Velvet Soup if pureed)

1 onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, diced

3/4 cup split peas, rinsed

2 bay leaves

6 cups water or vegetable stock* (I used 2 cups vegetable stock + 4 cups chicken broth + 1 cup water.)

3 potatoes, cubed (I subbed 2 medium sweet potatoes.)

2 medium zucchini, diced

1 medium stalk broccoli, chopped

1 bunch fresh spinach, chopped (I used a large handful of Super Greens.)

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt (I subbed 1 tsp garlic salt.)

Place onion, celery, split peas, and bay leaves in a large soup pot with water or stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Add the potatoes, zucchini, broccoli, spinach (or Super Greens), basil, black pepper, and salt. Simmer 20 minutes. Enjoy as is, or cool then puree in batches in a blender. Super Greens is a mix of five superfood baby greens: red and green Swiss chard, tat soi, arugula, and spinach. *For an equally amazing, flavorful vegetarian version, here's how I adapted the original. For the soup's liquid, I used 32 oz Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth, 1 cube Edward & Sons Garden Veggie Bouillon, and 3 cups water. 

 

 

sweet bees party kit

Oh, I'm in love... with these sweet bees party printables. The kit includes: 1) cupcake wrappers and toppers  

2) drink labels-I hand stamped* the word honey on a label then secured it to my honey jar with several rounds of lightweight jute. 3) garland 4) pennant straw toppers 5) envelope printed on white cardstock with coordinating stationery 6) envelope front printed on brown kraft paper/grocery bag  7) envelope back printed on brown kraft paper/grocery bag  NOTE: Click on photos to enlarge.

I chose to make honey-sweetened carrot cake cupcakes. It is a bee-themed party kit, afterall. The recipe uses almond flour, making them gluten-free, with only 2 tbsp oil and 1/4 cup honey. You can spread with frosting, but it's not necessary. They taste perfectly wonderful with a sprinkle of raw sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. I covered the table with a chicken wire print fabric. I think it looks like a honeycomb, too. I don't remember where I purchased it since it has been lying in my fabric stash for a mere 20 years or so... waiting for the perfect project. Oh, yes. If you hold onto something long enough, you will surely find a use for it one day.    

These hand drawn sweet bees printables are available in my daughter Heather's you-make-do shop. She has created two versions... one kit with a slightly darker color suitable for printing on brown kraft paper/grocery bags to compensate for ink absorption and another kit with a slightly lighter color for printing on cardstock. The brown kraft paper/grocery bag version results in a natural, earthy-looking product.

*The making memories "rummage" upper and lowercase alphabet stamps can be purchased where scrapbooking supplies are sold. I've had my set for several years or more, so I don't remember where I purchased it-probably Joanns or Michaels. The stamps produce an old-fashioned typewriter look. The letters' magnetized backing holds securely to the stamping tool.  

 

tiger in a jar beet cake

Upon watching this beet cake video created by Matt and Julie, husband and wife duo via their Tiger in a Jar venture where they "document life through film and pictures," the simple act of  measuring flour or cracking an egg will never be the same. Artistic expression. It's a beautiful thing. 

beet cake from tiger in a jar on Vimeo. The song is "Babe" by Evenings.

The cake is deeeeeliciously light and moist with a chocolate flavor and an ever-so-slight hint of beet... only because you know they're in there. The batter rises nicely and doesn't fall in the middle post baking.

The cake's two main ingredients are beets and melted chocolate. Although the batter is red from the beets, after baking it magically turns a deep dark brown. I sprinkled the top with hazelnuts instead of powdered sugar. 

Here's the original version of the tiger in a jar beet cake:

Here's my reduced fat and sugar tweaked version:

2 cups pureed beets (The 4 beets shown in the photo above produced just the right amount.)

4 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used 1 3.5 oz bar Green & Black's Organic Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa Content.)

2 cups flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour, but experimentation with alternate flours will produce alternately happy results.)

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter (I used 1/2 cup homemade butter + 1/2 cup homemade raw applesauce.)

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (I reduced it to 1 cup which I found to be perfect. The beets add their own natural sweetness.)

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

powdered sugar for dusting the cake's top (Instead, I used thinly sliced hazelnuts. Beets are earthy. Hazelnuts are earthy. A perfect pair. It also adds a wonderful crunch.)

Steam beets or simmer in a little bit ofwater until fork tender. Cool, then purée in a food processor or blender with the leftover simmering liquid. Melt chocolate in a bowl set into a larger bowl of
hot water. Whisk dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Mix in applesauce, eggs, and vanilla then add pureed beets and melted chocolate. Pour batter into a 9-inch round springform pan. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle cooled cake with powdered sugar or hazelnuts.

 

 

 

 

homemade raw applesauce

Here's an easy one. Make your own naturally sweetened applesauce in the time it takes to open a jar of the store-bought variety. The bonus is that it's uncooked and the peels are included, so the nutrition is equivalent to eating a raw apple. I served it this morning atop buckwheat/quinoa pancakes with just a drizzle of real maple syrup. Sooooo good.

Homemade Raw Applesauce

4 apples of a sweet variety (i.e., gala, pink lady, fuji, honey crisp)

1 cup water

1 tbsp lemon juice, optional

1/4 cup raisins

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

Core apples, then cut into chunks. (Do not peel.) Place in a blender along with the remaining ingredients. Very quickly, it will look like applesauce. For a chunkier consistency, blend only briefly.

Did you know that there is a set of measuring spoons for when a recipe requires a  pinch, dash, or smidgen? Ace Hardware sells the set. Surprised? Nah.

 

 

fairy blossoms straw toppers and cupcake liner garland

I'm still hanging on to the coziness of winter, but my mind does begin to wander a wee bit now and again to thoughts of June's fresh, new growth. This bouquet of straw toppers came together as quickly as a stroll to my summertime cutting garden. Snip around the edges, punch a hole, insert a straw. That easy. I put one in Dick's green smoothie this morning. Show your love.    

Oh, and a fairy. In amongst the blossoms, there's always a fairy. Move slowly and gently so as not to startle her. You'll see her. 

The blossom straw toppers, fairy cupcake toppers, plus additional sweetness can be found in my daughter Heather's fairy blossoms party play kit. The paper straws are available in my daughter Jessie's online fort and field shop. Jess sells purple/white and green/white striped straws that would be oh-so-pretty with these blossoms, too. Sub plastic straws? Uh... no.

I also used a blossom and leaf from Heather's fairy blossoms party play kit in this cupcake liner garland. I made three garlands and hung them vertically at varying lengths in my window where the sunlight adds to the happiness.

To make the garland, thread yarn into a large-eyed needle to connect varying sizes of cupcake liners, paper doilies, blossoms, and leaves. Cut a paper straw into segments and insert one into a hole punched into a blossom and one into a leaf. The straw acts as a spacer to vary the span between various materials used in your garland. Nestle one cupcake liner inside another, turn some upside down... have fun with it.  

 

 

 

green smoothie girl seminar

I first "met" Robyn Openshaw, aka Green Smoothie Girl, when I visited her blog of the same name a couple years ago. Last evening, we truly met when I attended her seminar in Orlando.

A simple trick that I learned from Robyn's smoothie demonstration is to whirl the greens and the liquid first, then add the fruit and whatever else you're tossing in (i.e., protein powder, flax, chia seeds, hemp). I had been putting the fruit in first then piling the greens on top. Because of their light weight, the blender struggled to draw the greens downward to incorporate them into the fruit. I made a green smoothie today using the new method. Easy peasy. What took so long to figure that one out? I also discovered a new favorite product at the seminar... sprouted ground flax.

In the days preceding the seminar, Robyn had spent time with Hippocrates Health Institute co-directors' Dr. Brian Clement and Dr. Anna Maria Clement in West Palm Beach. Dr. Brian, who began working under the Hippocrates Institute founder Dr. Ann Wigmore in the 1970s, was guest speaker at last evening's seminar. He shared a DVD of our body cleaning out toxins and rejuvenating itself... a truly amazing ability, as long as we don't overload our system and give it more than it can handle. It was actual footage of the cleansing process... not animation. It reminded me of a colony of bees. Each worker knows its job and diligently, tirelessly performs it with utmost precision. To watch our body toil so hard for us, why would we not want to do our part and feed it properly and give it rest? Exactly.

cranberry orange relish

It began with a cranberry orange muffin recipe in my November/December 2011 issue of Clean Eating Magazine. The muffins turned out quite good, but it was the cranberry orange relish component in the muffins that got my attention. The naturally sweet relish is perfect for a mid-morning or afternoon snack, a brown bag lunch, and a crunchy addition atop a bed of mixed leafy greens.

A sweet apple variety, an orange, and dried cranberries provide the sweetness... no other sweetener needed.

Cranberry Orange Relish

1 cup frozen cranberries

1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped (I used 1/4 tsp ground ginger.)

1 large or 2 small oranges, peeled, segmented and chopped

1 sweet, crunchy red apple (e.g., gala, pink lady or fuji), cored and finely chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries (I used Eden Organic's apple sweetened.)

2 tbsp walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, optional

In the bowl of a food processor, blend 1/2 cup frozen cranberries, ginger, and 1/2 large or 1 small orange until coarsely chopped. In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup frozen cranberries, remaining orange, and apple. Fold in processed cranberry-orange mixture, dried cranberries, walnuts, and coconut. Refrigerate. Makes 4 cups.

 

ace hardware nostalgia

Oh, I do love Ace Hardware Stores. Throughout the years, they haven't changed. No matter where one is located across this country... in cities and small towns, the atmosphere is the same. Walking through the door instantly transports one back in time. It's being greeted at the door with a friendly "Hello," and "Can I help you find something?" It's the homey items that line the store shelves.

A small, independently-owned business like Ace Hardware requires small town banter... exchanging pleasantries. It's just expected. "Have your baby chicks arrived at the post office yet? How's your crop of tomatoes this year? We just stocked the cutest canning jar lids in aisle 5." From today's visit, I came home with two fun treasures. First is a magnetic hook for the side of my fridge to hang my mitten booklet that holds "to get" lists. (The three handy dandy kitchen charts, that I printed onto magnet sheets, came from marthastewart.com.)  

In addition, to add color to my world, I snagged this ceramic "paint can" on a 50% off display of valentine-themed items. The words, LOVE LIFE, is carved into its side. I lined the bottom of the inside with a circle of red felt to cushion the sharp points of pencils and pens. 

A few other little handy kitchen tools from my Ace Hardware outing will show up in future posts. Count on it.

fat flush soup

Several years ago, I read The Fat Flush Plan by Ann Louise Gittleman. I am now revisiting her insights into cleansing the liver to boost its ability to function at its highest level. Nothing weird. Just maximizing nutrients that detoxify. For example, this Fat Flush Soup from Gittleman's blog... We finished it off so quickly that I nearly had nothing left to take a photo. A more apt name for this recipe might be chili rather than soup.   

Fat Flush Soup

2 tsp. olive oil

1 ¼ lbs. (I used 1 lb.) lean ground beef, turkey or chopped chicken*

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

1 large red, orange and/or green pepper, seeded and chopped

1 large zucchini or yellow squash, chopped

8 oz. mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 46 oz. bottle reduced-sodium tomato or vegetable cocktail juice (I used a 32 oz. bottle of R.W. Knudsen Very Veggie Juice.)

1 can (15 oz.) pinto, garbanzo or black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14 oz.) crushed tomatoes (I used diced.)

1 Tbs. fresh lime juice

1 Tbs. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/4 cup each fresh cilantro and parsley leaves, chopped (I didn't have any cilantro. I subbed 1 tbsp dried parsley for the 1/4 cup fresh.)

In a skillet coated with the olive oil, thoroughly cook beef, turkey or chicken, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; drain, if desired. In the same skillet, cook onions, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and garlic 5 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in next 6 ingredients and cooked meat. Add up to 1 cup water to thin soup, if desired. Cover; bring soup just to a simmer (do not let boil). Reduce heat to medium-low. Let simmer 20 min., stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro and parsley. Cover; let simmer 5 min. more. Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese, if desired. Soup can be stored up to 5 days in the refrigerator or frozen. *Or for vegetarian option, omit meat and add another can of beans. Makes 10 to 12 cups.