My thai peanut sauce

I *really* love thai peanut noodles! I especially love making it at home because I can put way more sauce on than they'd ever give you in a restaurant ;)

We usually put this over gluten free noodles with lightly steamed broccoli, kim chi, raw red peppers, and chicken. We also use it as a dip for spring rolls. And when there's leftovers the kids dip veggies in it.

I'd say its about medium spiciness. But we like spicy so, adjust if you don't like it hot. Also if your not fond of coconut milk you could leave that out and thin with water of chicken broth. I don't think the taste of it is overwhelming though.

In a food processor:
First chop 3 cloves garlic
Then add the rest and process well
3/4 c natural peanut butter
Juice of one lime
1/4 c full fat coconut milk
2 1/2 T tamari (if you can do wheat use nama shoyu because you won't be heating the sauce)
1 T hot sesame oil
1 T hot sauce (franks is our fave)
1 T raw apple cider vinegar
1 T raw honey
A big handful of cilantro, probably 1/4 of a bunch that you'd get at the store

Chop 4 green onions to sprinkle on top


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tamale heaven

ok just a warning, ive only ever eaten the tamales i made and one other time a friend made basically the same recipe. so i dont *really* know what they are supposed to taste like. they might not be traditional but i know these ones are DAMN good!

something to note also is that masa is a prepared corn flour, it has been treated with lime which produces the same result as soaking flours...better digestibility

soak your corn husks in water for 15 minutes. i used about 20 but it depends how you fill them

3 cups masa
3/4 tablespoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
mix together

3/4 cups shortening, i did two scoops refined coconut oil and a scoop palm oil
mix that in pretty good so theres no more big chunks of oil.

1 jar of salsa regular size
1 can of beans , i used black once and refried pinto once they were both good
1 pound of cooked ground beef
mix that in and add water or broth until it soft but still thick. kinda like playdough but maybe a little softer.

get out your husks and use the ones that are too small to wrap to be your ties. peel them into strips. put about 3 spoonfuls in and shape it so it will fit and roll easier. (sorry this part is hard to describe, if you dont get it there is a you tube vid :) ) fold the small end of the husk over the masa mixture and roll from one side. it should form a roll that is closed on one side and open on the other. tie it with a piece of husk.

for me the hardest part was to get them to all stand up while steaming. you cant let water get in the top. i put some pot tops in the pan to take up some space and hold the tamales up. steam them for a half hour to 45 minutes. they will start to poke up out of the top and be very firm when they arre done.

we put salsa or hot sauce on them or just ate them plain. i read some where that they freeze well too. and my kids loved making them and eating them!

creamy green winter soup

this soup is SO good! its thick and creamy even without any dairy added and the herbs give it a rich warm wintry taste. its pretty frugal and super nourishing. i was going to add this recipe to a carnival about soups over at the nourishing gourmet, i forgot as usual, but i figured i'd put it here anyway. i dont have many main dish recipes that can be written down easily since im always just throwing stuff in so i might as well take advantage.

remember as always, these measurments are estimated
1 3-4 pound roasting chicken or other chicken parts suitable for making stock
chopped chicken
2 quarts of stock
1/2 stick of butter
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 small potatoes, cubed
2 cups green cabbage, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon ground rosemary, 6-7 sprigs in a mortar and pestal
1 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoons salt
yogurt for garnish

start with a roasting chicken, it could be left over if theres still enough meat left for the soup to have some chopped up in it. or it could be raw, you could use chicken breasts and pre-made chicken broth, but doing it yourself will be cheaper and WAY healthier. pre-made broth has no gelatin which just might be the most important part!

anyway, i like to simmer my stock for at least 10 hours to get all the good stuff out, but a couple will do the job if you dont have time. when its done strain it out and let the chicken cool so you can chop it up.

in a new pot melt a half stick of butter and saute 1 chopped onion and 1/2 c chopped celery until soft.

add stock, bring to a boil, add potatoes and let them boil 8-10 minutes then add cabbage and frozen spinach, chicken, and garlic. after its back to boiling again turn it down to a simmer.

add herbs, keep in mind these are roughly estimated so taste it and make sure it tastes good! i like to taste the thyme and salt and pepper the most and have the others blend into the background.

after its being simmering 10-15 minutes and the flavors have all come out blend it in a food processor, blender, or with an immersion blender until creamy and then throw it back into the pan.

we love to serve this soup with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream in the middle. the slight sourness makes it perfect.

pel'meni

i know, theyre not exactly gorgeous and evenly shaped but they tasted damn good! pel'meni are russian sourdough egg noodles stuffed with a filling. i used sauteed leeks, ground beef and potato to fill mine, and then we put melted butter and sour cream on them. this was my first time making noodles with a soaked flour dough and they came out pretty good. they werent as stable as i would like. i definitely didnt boil them as long as the recipe says. after a few minutes they were falling apart. they were so worth the experiment though, i'll keep tweaking it and tell you what happens the next time! heres the recipe