William Davis, MD, on Wheat Belly

The book Wheat Belly by the Cardiologist William Davis has been on my Wish List for months now, and I have read many favorable things about the book, and the connection of modern wheat to our obesity crisis. Just yesterday I came across a series of 6 YouTube videos where he explains the basis for his book.

I thought some of you may be interested in watching them if you have a lull in this hectic holiday season. By the Way, he has a cookbook, Wheat Belly Cookbook: 150 Recipes to Help You Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health that will be released Dec. 24.
 

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VklT8uL8yo

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYBvDee69lk&feature=BFa&list=UL3lq_5o9_iy4

Part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMJaXx4DAOg&playnext=1&list=PL57233F3B3DBB6113&feature=results_video

Part 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLVjiDIwhuo&list=PL57233F3B3DBB6113&index=4

Part 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0NKcJfcPw4&list=PL57233F3B3DBB6113&index=5

Part 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lq_5o9_iy4&list=PL57233F3B3DBB6113&index=6

His Blog

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/

I've been trying to eliminate a lot of wheat from my daily fare, but it's hard... wheat is IN everything! However, I have ordered some Einkorn flour to mix with almond or coconut flour for those few things I'm not yet willing to give up.

Apple Pie from scratch

Photo by jfeuchter

"To make an apple pie from scratch, one must first invent the Universe."

~Carl Sagan

Baking and Other Cooking Equipment Challenges

Everyday cooking is not usually a big challenge for me... well until lately anyway. Over the last year (due to family disharmony) I have been cooking more and more often in a makeshift corner of my office, outfitted with a 2 burner hotplate, a crock-pot and a coffee pot. I do bigger things like baking and canning in the regular kitchen at the other end of the house, occasionally burning things in the oven because I don't hear the timer this far away. 

However, at the beginning of November my sister killed the oven while I was out of town, and now I'm trying to learn rudimentary baking in a small counter-top convection oven in my space. (I bought the oven a year ago, just didn't make space for it then.) The area around the oven gets very hot, too hot for comfort, so I moved it to the brick hearth by my wood stove. I need something heat-proof to sit it on so it's higher, though... these old bones don't like working at floor level!

It's a real challenge to try and bake in it, as everything has to be adjusted for size/quantity, and watched carefully once in the oven... recipe temperatures don't always work out just by automatically lowering the temp by 25º, and most of my bakeware won't fit. Best so far are an 8x8 square or round commercial pan which heats more evenly. The instructions say not to use glass pie pans or loaf pans in it, I'm fearful of damaging my pottery bakeware, and I refuse to buy disposable aluminum pans. Certainly my Thanksgiving turkey won't fit either, even though it's a very small turkey.

I've already burned the tops of muffins even though the centers were still uncooked. Same for a small cake. It makes me very hesitant about more "trial" baking with Thanksgiving just a day away. My stuffing/dressing recipe has cornbread in it, and I have always made my cornbread in a cast iron skillet in the oven. 

Thinking on it though... my grandmother made cornbread, biscuits and who knows what else over an open fire when she and 2 sisters homesteaded 160 acres in Colorado and lived in an Army-type walled tent. 

If she could manage, I'm sure I can figure it out too. In actuality, I'm considering it good practice in the event of extended power outages. Whatever I learn to cook on a hot plate burner should translate to cooking over a fire with some minor tinkering. Even the cardboard smoker I made could act as an oven with some adaptation.

Cranberry Pear Clafouti

OhMyGod~... This is one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth!!! YUM! YUM! YUM!  
 
If you are not familiar with a clafouti, you are not alone... neither was I, except reading the name occasionally on food blogs. This one I made, my very first, blew me away with the taste. I had thought it might be good, but turned out to be one of the best damn desserts I have eaten in my whole life!

According to Wikipedia, a clafouti, or clafoutis, is a baked French dessert of black cherries in a buttered dish, covered with a thick flan-like batter and baked. The clafoutis is dusted with powdered sugar and served lukewarm.

The clafoutis originates in the Limousin region of France... and while black cherries are traditional, there are numerous variations using other fruits. I have fresh cranberries on hand for Thanksgiving, and still a lot of pears in my root cellar, so I decided to adapt a recipe I found for a Cranberry Pear Clafouti. The batter is a Yorkshire pudding style, made with eggs, sugar, cream and a little flour. The result is like a thick, puffy pancake baked over the fruit.

My adaptations were mostly in the method of cooking, although I did substitute half and half for the evaporated milk, and also increased the amount of pears, and flour.

I put about a cup of cranberries and three diced medium-size pears (peeled and cored) in a skillet, along with 1/3 cup of sugar and about 1½ tablespoons of butter. The online recipe called for only 1 pear, no butter, and baking the fruit about 20 minutes until soft. I only have a counter-top convection to work with at the moment, and decided it was easier to pre-cook the fruit in a skillet instead.

The cranberries were fairly quick to burst in the pan, and the cranberries and pears both softened in about 15 minutes on medium heat. The butter kept the sugar and fruit from sticking to the pan until they gave up some of their juices.

Next, drain the juices and set aside. The fruits don't have to be very dry, but not swimming in their juices either. Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF. Notice I used a different pan for baking. I'm using a small countertop convection oven until our oven gets repaired (or we get a new range).

In a bowl, mix 2 large eggs, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1½ teaspoons vanilla, ⅓ cup half and half, and ¼ cup sugar.

Spread the drained fruit evenly in the bottom of an oven-proof pan (which you have buttered), and pour the batter on top.

Bake in the upper third of an oven until puffed around the edges and set in the center, about 12-15 minutes.

Because this batter puffs when it cooks, it also falls just like a soufflé! The topping deflated in the time it took to find and focus the camera! This is the virgin dish for this little oven, and I also see it heats unevenly. Next time, I'll keep a better eye on it and rotate halfway through.

OhMyGod~...  that's one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth!!! YUM! YUM! YUM! Not too sweet; just enough sweetness to excite my tastebuds dancing around the tart cranberries. The 'pudding' was excellent, a puffy-custard-y texture with lovely vanilla overtones.

Serve warm with the reserved juices (re-warmed) poured on top. Sprinkle with a tad of powdered sugar for looks. Serves 4.

Here's my recipe adaptation:

    * 3 medium pears, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch dice
    * 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
    * ⅓ cup sugar (for the fruit) plus ¼ cup sugar for the batter
    * 2 large eggs
    * 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    * 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
    * ⅓ cup half & half (or cream)
    * 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar

Place oven rack in upper third of oven. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a 9-inch glass pie plate or coat it with cooking spray. (I used a metal pan; can't use glass in this oven)

Combine pear, cranberries and ⅓ cup of the sugar in the baking dish. Bake until the fruit is tender and very juicy, about 20 minutes. (I did mine is a skillet on the stovetop.)

Meanwhile, whisk eggs, flour, vanilla and the remaining ¼ cup sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in half and half.

Drain the juices from the baked fruit into a small bowl, holding back the fruit with a metal spatula. Reserve the juices. Redistribute the fruit over the bottom of the dish and pour in the egg mixture. Bake until puffed and set, about 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Serve warm, with the reserved fruit juices spooned over the top. Sprinkle with a tad of powdered sugar.

Chestnuts

My neighbor gave me a bag of chestnuts, with more to come as they fall!

I'm not sure what all I will make with them; some will be chestnut biscotti and I have several recipes. A few will be a fresh spinach and chestnut salad, and I may even candy some.

For sure, a few will be placed in barely damp peat moss in a slightly ventilated plastic bag, and then refrigerated to plant in the spring. See the little tails on some of the nuts? I understand the nuts MUST have the tails in order to grow.

Whole chestnuts freeze well, so the rest will go in the freezer until I decide what I want to do with them. Meanwhile, I may even eat a few raw (very tasty!) and maybe roast a few. YUM!

Spring Allergies and Local Honey

Photo from Annie Mole's photostream

To my knowledge, there is no scientific evidence that local honey helps with allergies, although there is much anecdotal evidence. I happen believe it, due to my belief and understanding of homeopathy, if nothing else.

Honeybees visit flowers to sip the nectar, and they pick up pollen in the process. Back in the hive, they partially digest the pollen and nectar into honey, which they seal in the honeycomb. This honey later acts as food, both for new bees, and to sustain the bees in lean times.

Homeopathy says that a little bit of what ails you will cure you. It seems reasonable to me then, that ingesting the bits of pollen in local honey will help build up an immunity to the pollen local to my area. I think that's kinda like getting a flu vaccination but without the mercury. However, if you have allergies now, taking raw local honey won't help. It takes time for your system to build up resistance to pollens. Getting a flu shot when you have the flu doesn't prevent the flu, either.

Even if local honey doesn't provide allergy relief, there are some good reasons to use honey versus other sweeteners if you can't kick the sugar habit, and at least one very specific reason for it to be local. Honey is a simple sugar composed of more-or-less equal amounts of fructose and sucrose, depending on the variety of honey. Honey can also contain some minerals, organic acids, amino acids, vitamins and antioxidents.

It is commonly believed that honey doesn't produce the blood sugar spikes like other forms of sugar like HFCS or even plain cane sugar. The literature is not consistent in supporting that idea, so I'm not addressing that bone! I will continue to occasionally use local honey, and I particularly like the taste in hot tea.

Cooking with honey, especially baking, can be problematic for recipe amounts. Generally, the amount of sugar can be reduced by half when using honey, but keep in mind honey is a liquid and you may need to also reduce the amount of liquid. I don't bake with honey, but it seems I read somewhere to reduce the liquid by 1/4 the amount of honey. (For example, reduce liquid by 1/4 cup if you are using 1 cup of honey.)

I have used honey in making jams and jellies and had no problems with them jelling, but that may also be due to the Pomona's Universal Pectin I use, which I think would even jell water! When I add a touch of honey for taste to a dish I'm cooking, I have to be careful because it can burn easily.

One more thing about honey: it is antimicrobial. That means it is great to put on cuts and small burns. It keeps forever... the most it might do is get sugary-crystal-looking. In that case, heat it gently in a pan of water on low heat.

The specific reason to use only local honey turns out to be lengthy in explanation, so I will do another post on Wednesday. It's important information, so please watch for it. Then on Friday, my post is a (mostly) re-print on Bee Pollen as a superfood

Baking this week...

For those readers who watch for cooking and recipes: I got some more duck eggs last evening. I plan to make cream puffs with them, probably this weekend. My mother had a good recipe for cream puffs which I will use; I just need to think up a good filling. Stay tuned...