Elder flower pancakes

1 cup sifted all-purpose, pastry, or cake flour(I use organic unbleached cake)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon baking powder(I use alum free)
2 egg yolks
3/4 cups milk, more or less
1 teaspoon mexican vanilla (the clear one for tres leches)
1 tablespoon elder syrup if you have it(available at Ikea)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 egg whites
2 tablespoon sugar

Mix dry ingredients make a well and pour in wet ingredients,mix in gently as little as possible, except egg whites. Whip whites and fold in. cook in medium hot skillet with knobs of butter.
Serve with Elderberry jam or powder sugar or nothing! If pregnant try sprinling a tiny bit of sugar and a tiny bit of pink sea salt(yes salt). Its wonderful for your blood pressure. I know that sounds crazy but short of a chemistry lesson just know there is a big difference between salt and sodium(very bad)

Gazpacho souup

soak some bread in liquid. either water or stock.
If I use stock I reduce it by 1/2 to make it stronger.
10 or more tomatoes. Use what you have. But ALWAYS in season and fresh.
I'm using Roma's, heirloom reds and some super sweet yellow cherries.
1 cucumber peeled and deseeded.
1/2 red pepper or any pepper just use a sweet one(take out seeds and pith).
2 green onions
2 celery stalks with leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 shallot(optional)
1 red Serrano deseeded(optional)

Blend in blender. pour through a fine strainer if you have one.
this removes skins seeds etc but really isn't a big deal.
after straining(or not)
Whisk or stir in
1 Tablespoon sherry vinegar(my favorite)
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
you could do a balsamic too.
If you don't have these around you could use any vinegar
or lime or lemon juice
Add 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
if you wanna give it some more healthy oils add
grape seed or avocado oil?
LOTS of Salt and ground pepper.
you can also add some chopped herbs like parsley,cilantro,chervil or tarragon.
just taste as you add so it doesn't get too herbaceous

I top mine with roasted salted pumpkin seeds and walnut truffle oil!
Serve cold or even add a few ice cubes to the bowl.

Hibiscus mint tea lowers blood pressure

3 cups a day of Hibiscus tea lowers blood pressure! How nice!

handful of Hibiscus flowers fresh or dried(you can get these from Mexican groceries)
couple of tea bags either green,black or red(roois boois is African red tea)
boiling water
fresh or dried mint(relaxing and stimulating isnt that cool)
sugar agave or honey(no fake sugars!)
slices of lemon or lime

boil water.pour over sugar, herbs and tea and steep for 20 mins.
add extra cold water to dilute.
add ice to glass pour over and float lemon slice.
relax as blood pressure goes down!

duck prosciutto

duck prosciutto
4 breast
1 box kosher salt
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper


toast herbs in dry skillet
grind in blender and sprinkle on breasts
salt bottom of container, lay in breasts not touching
cover with salt.
rest 24 hours
remove from salt and rinse.
wrap individually in paper towel and let dry.
if you want it spicy grind a bit of pepper on the breasts now
weigh your breasts individually
wrap in a double layer of cheesecloth
write the weight with a sharpie on the cheesecloth in grams
use a safety pin to attach to your fridge shelf. place a dish underneath
hang without touching until 30% of weight is gone.1-3 weeks.
slice very very thin and eat with one of my recipes to come.

Sammys agarita margarita

cook a cup full of agarita berries gathered in the summer. Or use frozen one! Cook in 2 cups of water with about 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar. Cook them for about 20 or 30 mins. Put them through a potato ricer or food mill or just squish them through a strainer. Put agarita juice in the blender with 10-20 mexican limes or a blend of limes and lemons with a lot of ice!!! salt the rim of the cup with the inside of one of your leftover limes run around the rim. I love to use that lemon lime tangy salt packet thing and put it on the rim. Blend it up and add a shot of tequila or titos vodka. SOOO refreshing! Since the agaritas are good for your liver they kind of negate the hooch! Drink up.

Wild Yeast bread starter using red grapes

1 bunch of red organic grapes crushed lightly equal to about 2 cups.
2 cups raw wheat berries ground in coffee grinder or blender(health food store)
2 cups water(best you can get or let some sit out to dechlorinate)
1 large glass jar(I use old pickle jar about half gallon)
cheesecloth doubled a few times (its fly season yuck)

1.Crush the grapes slightly, and measure out about 2 cups into a glass bowl. Add the flour and water

2.Mix with a wooden spoon until the batter has become thick and gooey.

3.Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it sit at room temperature overnight.

4.The next day, check the starter for bubbles of gas coming to the surface, a sure sign of fermentation. Be patient: This can take as long as 5 days in some environments.

5.Once the starter has begun to ferment, strain out the grapes and “feed” the starter with a bit of flour and water. A couple Tablelspons flour to an equal amount of water like.

6.You can use the starter right away, or you can let it sit for another few days. The longer you let the starter ferment, the stronger the flavor of your bread will be; don't let it go too long though. smell it. If its not bumbling and smells gross it died. Sometimes they do this even when you do everything right. The bad bacteria just won the battle. Most of the time it does work though.

7. To bring the starter back to life, let it sit in a glass bowl overnight at room temperature. When the yeasts “wake up,” the fermentation process will start again. Store remaining in fridge.

MAKE BREAD!

yougurt

1 quart of milk(liter)
1 packet starter culture
thermometer

Mix the 5 gram yogurt starter with some heated milk(just lukewarm not hot)
I get my starter from the health food store it comes in 5 g packets and treats a quart(liter) of milk

bring 1 quart of milk to 180 . If you don't have a cheese thermometer bring the milk to a scald(when it rises up) then take off the heat and let it cool down about 20 minutes before mixing in the starter,(that's been mixed with a little warm milk)
Pour in the jar with starter and put a double layer of cheesecloth on top. leave on counter about 4 hours.


I use a pickle jar to put mine in. Its 32 ounces and can be recycled,also a lid to keep out flies.

ONION soup

I love onion soup! LOVE IT! I think the best restaurant versions are Jason's deli which is veggie!!! they use soy to give it such depth. It is great but probably full of sodium. The other is La Madelaine.
I make this whenever myself or the kids are sick. The onions are very antimicrobial and the thyme plant is a microb killer! My kids eat the broth and some of the onions. I also top it with cheese SO yummy
ONION soup
onions use a mix of yellow(sweet) and white(sharper)
garlic
wine or sherry
beef stock or consomme or homemade(best but time consuming)
bay leaf thyme salt and pepper
water Gruyere cheese or Swiss or provolone(please try to get Gruyere it is incredible)
slice the onions and put in a big skillet in a few tablespoons of oil. brown slowly on medium heat. you can stir them but if they are getting too brown turn down the heat. this takes at least 30 mins and is THE most important part of this dish so don't rush it and start early. caramelize onions,this just means brown them without burning. If you need put heat on low and saute long and slow. as you get better at this you can do it faster.
put onions in soup pot with one or two garlic cloves(I love garlic but don't add too much to this dish) and add your wine or sherry 1/2 to 1 cup. cook down for about 10 mins.
Add your herbs. I use thyme and bay leaf from my garden but dried works really well. These are pretty important to the final taste. Dont add any other herbs they dont substitute well.
cracked plack pepper.
Add your stock if you want a lighter soup use chicken stock or veggie stock(good veggie soup)
I really like mine hearty so I make my own beef stock but to make this quick I really like Campbell's beef consomme. I use 2 cans and 2 cans water.
Cook for about an hour on low medium.
Add a splash of sherry to the finished soup.
ladle into bowls and top with grated Gruyere cheese and black pepper.
I dont like wet bread but you can put a slice of toasted bread in it if you like that.
put under the broiler if you want or have time but dont leave it!

I will be making gazpacho soon as the garden is ready!! CANT WAIT!!

Lemon caper chicken with Faro warm plums and tomato basil salad
chicken breasts or thighs(cheaper and tastier)
lemon
garlic
herbs like sage parsley thyme etc(mine are from the garden)I used all
capers(these are pickled berries from the Mediterranean region)
wine stock or water
olive oil or butter
Faro(this is found in middle eastern grocery stores)sub wild rice
plums(from our tree)
tomatoes and basil(garden) with some type of vinager, balsamic or red wine,sherry?
FARO
2 cups water to one cup faro cook just like rice 20 mins on simmer
slice the chicken in half crosswise your knife horizontal to counter
salt and pepper and dredge in flour if you would like more browning.
add olive oil to pan a few tablespoons(its healthy dont worry!)
sear on medium high heat than drop heat to medium. cook several mins than flip.
cook chicken thru and remove to plate
add garlic and capers add herbs(I love whole sage leaves fried in the oil)
add wine (or sherry)stock or water and squeeze lemon(to add extra flavor zest the lemon and add this at the very end,dont add it to the liquid while cooking or its bitter)
turn to low and reduce until a bit thicker. Add back the chicken breasts and warm thru
TOMATO SALAD
slice the tomatoes and add a little salt and pepper basil and vinegar with healthy oil
PLATE the chicken with the sauce and return the pan to the heat(its empty now) put the sliced plums in the pan and just warm them. You could use apples instead. you may need a little oil or butter or water
plate the faro,plums and tomato salad and
BASK IN THE LOVE OF YOUR FAMILY!!

Earth day dinner
We are going veggie for Earth day.
We eat at least 2 veggie dinners a week this is an easy one.
Quorn fake chicken patties served on any good bread or English muffins etc. I had white bread from the Chez bakery in West TX smothered with mayo(mines homemade but Hellman's is good) lettuce, tomato, sliced onion or shallot(omit if kids don't like)pickles etc.
Served with homemade onion rings and corn.
Recipes
MAYO
egg yolk(mines from my own chickens but if not you can add about a tablespoon of very hot water to coddle the egg)
whisk,blend or food process in 1/2 c oil. I use grape seed for health benefits but use what you have. Olive oil is pretty strong in flavor so use something more neutral. sunflower, canola etc
small squeeze of lemon juice a couple of drops really
salt and pepper.
OR just use store bought!
ONION RINGS
slice yellow onions in big rings toss in seasoned flour,about 2 cups.
remove and set aside. now add some liquid to the flour like water, milk,buttermilk,beer or club soda(remember the onions have been taken out and set aside) make a thicker pancake batter consistency, about 1/2 -1 cup of liquid, add slowly whisk than add more till the consistency is thick but pourable.
toss in onion rings.
fry in a skillet with 1 inch of oil on medium high heat, turn when light brown and fry other side. You don't need to submerge them in oil and make sure the oil is hot when you put them in and they wont be greasy.
When done put them in the oven with the fakey bakey chicken and keep warm.
heat the corn or serve corn on the cob(my kids love! cob)
Serve with ketchup.