Layered Popsicles

I'm always looking for a way to make food that is fun and interesting for my kids.  Sometimes it's about making things in fun shapes, other times it's about presentation, and other times it has to do with color.  Popsicles are fun, but they had lost their novelty for us, so I came up with this version.

You can make as many layers as you want in as many colors as you want.  Layers can be either fruit/veggie juice, like popsicles, or can be ice cream.  You can use coconut ice cream, peach ice cream (which can be made with other fruit such as pear or mango), or kefir cream ice cream. 

I found that layers work best with both a strong flavor as well as an ingredient to give it a bright color.  Here are some ideas for layers:

orange/carrot
lime/kale or other leafy green, or celery
raspberry or strawberry/beet
lemon/golden beet

If you want to sweeten the layers, heat the juice just enough to dissolve some honey in it (to taste).  If you put a layer of vanilla ice cream between two orange layers, it's like a creamsicle.

To make the popsicles, pour a layer of juice into the bottom of each mold and let it freeze.  Once the bottom layer is frozen (or nearly frozen), then pour another layer of juice or spoon a layer of ice cream in.  Continue this process until you have created all of your layers.  Inserting the stick or handle can be a bit tricky since you can't stick it into an already frozen layer.  The molds that I have have a handle with a small stick, so it just got frozen into the last layer.  If you do it this way, you have to be very careful when removing the popsicles from the molds or they can come apart at the layers.  It would work better to put long sticks in that go through each layer, and have some way of holding them up, such as covering the molds with plastic wrap or foil that will hold the sticks in place.

Tomato Melts

This was a quick and oh-so-delicious impromptu lunch the other day and it would lend itself to so many variations!  The first batch (pictured here) were simply slices of tomato with provolone cheese melted on top in the broiler to a nice brown.  We later experimented with "pizza toppings" such as green olives and mushrooms, but this could also be faux-mexican (with taco meat and cilantro) or an open -faced version of many sandwiches, such as ham and swiss or a tuna melt.  There are just so many possibilities!

Kefir Cream Cheese

Ingredients

2 Tbs. kefir grains (available online, through friends or places like Craigslist)
1 Quart heavy cream

Method

Pour cream over grains in a glass jar. Leave about an inch of head space. Cover. Shake the jar and leave on the counter for 24-48 hours, shaking every now and then. When it is fermented it will taste sour, like sour cream. Strain through a fine mesh stainless steel sieve, pushing the cream through with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. The grains will remain in the sieve and can be reused indefinitely to ferment cream and/or milk. (They will multiply too, and can be eaten as an excellent probiotic source.)

Take the strained, fermented cream and pour into a sieve lined with a quadruple layer of cheese cloth. Tie the ends of the cheese cloth together to form a little package inside the sieve. Put the whole thing (with sieve) over a tall bowl or large Pyrex measuring cup and place in the refrigerator. The whey will drip out into the bowl and the solids will remain in the cheese cloth. After 24 hours, flip the soft cream cheese over into fresh cheese cloth, tie, put back in the sieve over the bowl, and place the whole lot back in refrigerator for another 24 hours.

Remove cheese cloth and place in a jar for storage in the refrigerator.

The Creamiest Ice Cream Ever!

This ice cream is made from kefired heavy cream and is so incredibly luscious and creamy.  The richness out-does Hgen-Daaz but with the tangy flavor of frozen yogurt.  This has become one of our favorite ways to get good fats and probiotics into diet.

To make the ice cream, kefir pure heavy whipping cream for at least 24 hours and strain out the grains (I would use between 2 and 4 pints).  Mix honey and vanilla into the kefired cream to taste, several egg yolks if you want (I add at least 3), and pureed fruit if you want.  Then freeze in an ice cream maker.  This also makes creamy popsicles with the "feel" of a fudge-sicle. 

Raw Egg Nog

I've never actually made real egg nogg before and it was much better than I expected.  It's also pretty easy, and very nutritious.  This is something I plan on enjoying throughout the year!

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs (farm fresh if possible)
1 pint coconut milk or kefir or kefired cream
2 T - 1/4 cup honey, depending on taste
grated nutmeg
bourbon (optional)

METHOD:

Separate the eggs and beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  In another bowl, beat the yolks with the honey, just until frothy and well mixed.  I personally feel that egg nog needs very little sweetness to be delicious, so I use only a few T of honey.  If you are using kefir you may want to add more honey.

Gently fold the yolk mixture into the beaten whites.  Then fold in the coconut milk or kefir.  Fold in bourbon to taste if you are using it.  After you pour it into cups, sprinkle the top with nutmeg.

This recipe makes quite a bit and easily serves 4.

Bacon Cheddar Potted Cheese

When I was a kid, one of my favorite flavors of the holidays was those salty cheese spreads that came in the Christmas food packages.  I loved how they were so creamy and salty, and probably loved them partly because of the MSG.  A friend recently posted a recipe online for one of these spreads and when I saw it I knew I had to make it work for GAPS.  I think this is even better without the MSG.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T coconut oil
12 oz raw cheddar cheese
8 oz bacon (I used Organic Prairie brand)
2 shallots
1 T bourbon
1 cup kefir or homemade yogurt (you could probably use coconut milk if you don't have either)

METHOD:

Chop the bacon and cook in the coconut oil until crispy, remove and set aside.

Fry the shallots in 2 T of the fat left from cooking the bacon, until caramelized.

Chop the cheese into small cubes and put into the bowl of a food processor along with the bacon, and pulse until well blended.  Add the kefir, bourbon, and shallots and continue to blend until the mixture is creamy. 

At this point the mixture is a thick spread or dip, that would go well with veggie sticks, apple slices, crackers, or coconut bread or nut butter bread..  You can easily adjust the consistency by adding in more kefir, if you want a thinner dip.  For an extravagant salad dressing, or dressing for vegetables, you could thin this down a lot with oil and vinegar as well as more kefir.

Celery Cheese Soup

My family, including my formerly profoundly casein-sensitive son, are now able to eat cultured dairy including cheese!  I am amazed at the level of healing that my family has experienced from the GAPS diet.  I am also so grateful to be able to include cheese in our meal planning as it opens up so many possibilities!  This soup is a simple and delicious step into the lovely world of cheese.  The recipe that this is based on comes from the book The Complete Vegetarian Cuisine" by Rose Elliot, and originally called for Stilton, but I used very sharp cheddar and the result was fabulous.

INGREDIENTS:

1 head of celery
1 onion, chopped
2 or more T of butter or ghee
1 quart of meat stock (I used chicken)
1 cup grated cheese
salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

Saute the onions in the butter for 5 minutes or so, until they soften, but don't let them brown! 

Clean and chop the celery, including the leaves.  You may want to save a few leaves for garnish.  Add the celery to the onions and stir.  Then cover, and cook on low for about 10 minutes.

Add the stock and let it simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, until the celery is very soft.

Add the cheese and puree with a hand blender.  A regular blender or food processor will also work but will be so much more work to clean.
 
Adjust the seasonings, and serve a few celery eaves for garnish.