Zucchini and Sweet Potato Curry with Mint Cilantro Chutney

We loved this hearty vegetarian dish! It is so flavorful and went well with Jasmine rice, but you could easily serve with brown rice too. Be sure to serve with a cooking mint infusion!

Recipe

3 tablespoons coconut oil

4 teaspoons curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala

2 onions, chopped or 1/2 cup dried chopped onions

12 ounces sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, chopped finely

1 tablespoon fresh chopped ginger

1 tablespoons tomato paste

1 pound chopped zucchini

8 ounces green beans fresh or frozen

1 cup water

1 (15 oz) can garbonzo beans (optional)

1 can coconut milk

1 quart canned tomatoes crushed or blended

Heat the coconut oil in a large dutch oven on medium heat. Add the curry, garam masala, onions, potatoes, garlic, serrano pepper, ginger and tomato paste until fragrant. Add the zucchini and green beans. Add the water, coconut milk, pureed tomatoes and garbonzo beans if using. Simmer covered until the potatoes are softened. Make the cilantro mint chutney.

Cilantro Mint Chutney

2 cups fresh cilantro

1 cup mint leaves

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 lime juiced

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Blend all ingredients together and add to the curry when finished cooking. Serve with rice.

September 10, 2020

Spicy Chicken Sausage with Chard and White Beans

If you like spicy and hearty this is a great one pan dish. Simple and quick to make. We enjoyed it!

Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound spicy Italian chicken sausage

1 onion, chopped or 1/4 cup dried chopped onion

1 (15-oz) can small white beans or 2 cups pre-cooked beans

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 cups chicken broth

1 package of your favorite gluten free Fussili noodles

12 ounces fresh chopped chard or kale

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a large dutch oven. Add the chicken sausage and cook until browned. Add the onion and saute until translucent if using fresh or add the dried onions, beans, garlic, oregano, fennel seeds, crushed red pepper until fragrant. Add chicken broth and pasta. When the noodles are almost cooked through add the chopped chard until softened. Add the parm cheese. Season with sea salt and pepper and serve warm.

July 18, 2020July 18, 2020

Creamy Chicken and Rice with Broccoli

My family loves this dish! It is comfort food, but with some healthier ingredients. I love that is is simple and can easily be made from your food storage reserves.

Recipe

1 pound organic or naturally raised chicken, chopped

1 package of organic broccoli (I like the frozen from Costco), chopped

2 packages of organic condensed cream of chicken soup

1 quart of organic chicken stock or broth

2 cups rice (white or brown)

1/2 to 1 cup sour cream

Saute the chicken in a large pan with avocado oil or butter. Add the chopped broccoli, condensed chicken soup, chicken stock and rice. Cover with lid and cook on medium heat until the rice absorbs the liquid. If using white rice you made need to take the lid off at the end to help some of the excess fluid cook off. Stir in the sour cream, add sea salt and pepper for taste and serve warm.

July 8, 2020July 8, 2020

Bread and Fermentation Class Open Enrollment

Come and learn about the significance of the gut microbiome and how to care for it with the skill of preserving through fermentation of veggies, salsa, fruit and bread. The workshop is $15. You’ll get to taste lots of delicious fermented foods and take home your own sourdough starter. Class will be held August 1st at 1 PM. Deadline to sign up is July 25th.

Did you know that what you eat and how you live directly impacts your health and how you feel? For every cell we have in our body there are 10x more bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa that are all talking to our mitochondria, coordinating repair and growth. We are only 1% human… the rest of us is an ecosystem that works harmoniously with our body if we are treating them right. Those little critters are the control center of the body, regulating hormones, inflammation, brain chemistry and what we do or don’t absorb. We know that 70% of our immune system is in the gut, where health begins. Our gut health even impacts our brain activity because more gaba and serotonin are produced in the gut than the brain. For every 1 message our brain sends to our gut, our gut sends 9. These messages include the activation of our immune system, the growth of new brain cells and the adaptability of these new cells to learn. More science is finding that our gut microbiome is critical to whether or not we experience chronic illness and impacts the health of our future. Come and learn what foods trigger inflammation and which foods to eat more of. We will learn the simple skill of fermenting vegetables like kimchi and salsa, fruit chutneys and even fermented bread which lowers the gluten content significantly. Seating maximum for this class is 25. No refunds available after the deadline. Cost goes to food purchased for the class.

Class Price – $15

April 28, 2020April 28, 2020

Sourdough Buns

These buns are so good! They are perfect for pulled meat sandwiches or burgers and even a side roll with dinner. I love the crumb and flavor with these.

Recipe

1/2 cup starter

2 cups coconut milk

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 teaspoons sea salt

6 cups white wheat flour or more if needed.

Mix together the starter, coconut milk, oil and salt in a large bowl. You could also use 2 cups water and 1/2 coconut milk powder. Add half the flour and mix well. Add the remaining flour and mix by hand until fully incorporated and the dough is tacky. If the dough is still too wet add a little more flour 1/4 cup at a time. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise on the counter for 12 to 24 hours.

Once the bread has risen and ready to shape, use avocado or coconut oil to oil the counter. Cut the dough into 14 large round balls about 1/4 cup or so each. Pinch the dough together at the bottom of the roll. You could also make more by making them smaller.

Let rise for 1-2 hours until they have doubled in size and are nice a big. Cut the bread to vent and spread the rolls with melted butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

April 3, 2020April 3, 2020

Caring For Your Natural Yeast Starter

It is amazing to me that I have been able to keep my natural yeast starter alive for years. I learned a few tricks that make it easier and happy to share them with you. I bought my starter from a friend who bought it from another friend who said it is a strain that is over 200 years old from Czechoslovakia. Take it for what it’s worth, my experience has been that this is the best mild tasting natural yeast I have ever baked with.

First, my starter is fed with a biologically grown whole wheat white flour (no pesticides are used). You could use an organic white flour too. I have tried other grains and it just doesn’t do as well. White flour is best.

Second, when adding water to your yeast you must never use chlorinated water. This kills the yeast 9 times out of 10. If all you have is chlorinated tap water let it sit on your counter for an hour so the chlorine dissipates.

Before each use stir your starter. If you haven’t used it in a while pour off the liquid (ethanol) and scrape off any gray dough. Stir and use. If it has been a month (or two) between uses consider taking out ½ cup, discard the rest, and feed with 2 cups flour and 2 cups water to renew and boost. (You may need to transfer to a bowl). Leave on the counter overnight, it should bubble up and smell good. From there you can use it. Do not keep your starter in any metal container. Glass or ceramic is best.

Feed it after each use. Make it thick enough so a stirring stick or spoon can stand on it’s own so it has plenty of food to eat and keep in the fridge. We make 6 loaves of bread at a time. This takes out 1 and 1/2 cups of the starter from the jar. I usually feed it 1 cup water and 1 and a half cups flour to make it thick. The measurements do not have to be exact. I put plastic wrap over mine because it does need some air to grow unlike other fermented foods. From the picture above you can see that I have removed the rubber liner on my large jar. I allow the lid to sit un-closed on the jar and place in the fridge.

If you are interested in purchasing some of my sourdough starter in a quart sized Mason jar for $8 send me a message from my contact page. Starters are for sale for pick up only in Utah.

February 26, 2020March 12, 2020

Update! Early Bulk Food and Herb Order

I moved my bulk food storage order to March 12th. Please have your orders and money in by NOON on that date. Orders are for pick up only in West Jordan Utah.

List here for items and prices https://rootedemily.com/food-storage/

I also have a new page with bulk herbs and other items with prices https://rootedemily.com/starwest-botanicals-bulk-herbs-spices-tea-blends-extracts-and-more/

This will be the only time we place an olive oil order for the year.

Let me know if you have any questions.

February 11, 2020February 11, 2020

Cold Remedy Chicken Soup

I love this soup! I love the process of it too! From cooking the whole chicken for a few hours during the day with organic vegetables and herbs to actually making the soup itself. This soup is nutritionally dense, supports the immune system and digestion. We love to eat it with homemade sourdough bread!

Recipe

For the Chicken and Broth

1 whole organic chicken

10 cups purified water like Reverse Osmosis

1 tablespoon sea salt

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 onion, quartered

2 ribs celery

2 carrots

1 leek

1 small 3×5 or 4×6 muslin bag or mesh tea ball filled with 1 tablespoon each of all or your choice burdock root, dandelion root, milk thistle seeds, astragalus root, echinacea root. (you could even throw in the herbs and then strain. I like to put them in a bag because I throw it into the soup for a second decoction).

Cook the whole chicken with the salt, peppercorns, veggies and herbs on medium heat simmering for a few hours until the chicken meat is tender and falls off the bone. Strain into a bowl and shred the chicken. Set the chicken aside and measure out 8 cups of broth. Set aside.

For the Chicken Soup

2 tablespoons avocado oil

1 small onion chopped

1 head garlic chopped (set half aside)

2 tablespoons ginger finely chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 large celery root chopped (or parsnips or even potatoes if you want)

6 large carrots chopped

4 celery stalks chopped

1 bunch flat leaf parsley chopped

On medium heat add the avocado oil to a large dutch oven pot. Saute the onion, half the garlic, ginger, salt and pepper for a few minutes. Add the carrots, celery, celery root and saute for a few more minutes. Add the broth and the muslin bag of herbs again. Simmer on medium until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bag of herbs and add the chicken and chopped parsley. Check to see if the soup needs more salt. Serve warm.

February 11, 2020February 11, 2020

Feel Good Soup

I got this recipe out of the book, Made Whole by Cristina Curp and made it my own with a few adjustments. I love her cookbook, it’s full of yummy paleo friendly recipes. When I tried it I was surprised at how good it was and how fast it came together. It tastes like stroganoff in a lot of ways. Yum!

Recipe

1 tablespoon avocado or coconut oil

1 pound ground turkey

2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms

6 cloves of garlic chopped

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black ground pepper

pinch of nutmeg

2 tablespoons coconut vinegar

1 quart bone broth

1 can coconut cream or milk

2 cups riced cauliflower

3-4 cups baby spinach

3 tablespoons collagen peptides

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Heat a large dutch oven pot over medium high and cook the turkey with the avocado oil. Add the mushrooms, garlic, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper and saute for a few minutes. Add the vinegar and scrape any brown bits. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the coconut milk, cauliflower rice, spinach, collagen peptides and nutritional yeast and heat through. Serve warm.

November 28, 2019November 29, 2019

Coconut Cream Pie

Creamy and sweet! If you love coconut you are going to love this pie with it coconut graham cracker crust!

Recipe

For the Crust

12 graham crackers crushed

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup organic sugar

pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend the ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Press into a 9-inch pie plate and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.

For the Filling

1/2 cup organic sugar

1/3 cup corn starch

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 3/4 cup organic milk

4 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups sweetened coconut

Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, salt and milk in a medium saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and pour some of the milk mixture slowly into the eggs. Return to the saucepan and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the vanilla. Strain through a sieve into a medium bowl. Add the coconut and mix well. Pour into the crust and cool. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

For the Topping

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Whip the ingredients together with a hand held mixture until it forms peaks. Spread onto the pie and sprinkle with toasted coconut.