Ginger Rhubarb Crisp

It's that wonderful strawberry and rhubarb time of year! My strawberries are teeny and slug-eaten this year (too much rain) but I have recently acquired some miniature rhubarb plants, and several local farms have a good strawberry crop. If I weren't on a special cleanse diet I'd be all over this recipe...but since I am, you'll have to enjoy it for me. ;-)
http://glutenfree.wordpress.com/2011/06/26/gluten-free-fresh-ginger-and-rhubarb-crisp/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+glutenfreegobsmacked+%28Gluten+Free+Gobsmacked%29

GF Fig Newtons

Check out these delicious looking GF, low(er) carb, vegan fig newtons!!
http://realsustenance.com/fig-newtons-gluten-freevegangrainsoyrefined-sugar-free/

I can't wait to try the recipe and play around with this blanched almond flour. The only down side is the flour isn't organic. I know I can't mill nut flour this fine with my limited machinery + elbow grease...

Fable Farm Solstice Celebration on Thursday!

Dear Fable Farm Folks,

Solstice greets us today. Be sure to celebrate the high mark of the sun’s path as it’s light will be of greatest length. Today is a fantastic day to be outside, especially into evening.

This Thursday we will celebrate Summer Solstice with the pleasure of feast and gathering. It will be another Pot-Luck Pick-up but with a twist: a stone soup will be simmering and the earth oven fired. A stone soup is a soup made in a big pot wherein everyone brings something to add to it. On Thursday morning we will start a chicken broth, to be filled with whatever people bring to the pot that evening. The earth oven will be heated for people interested in experimenting with pizza. You’ll have to bring your own dough and toppings but know that the heat of the earth hearth will be available for use.

We are asking anyone who plays an instrument and wants to jam with others to bring it on Thursday. We are holding an open acoustic jam session. Feel free to invite your musical friends to come and play in round. The more the merrier.

As usual vegetables will be ready to be picked up by 4:30 The stone soup and pot-luck festivities will start around 5:30-6:-00. Come and go as you please.

May we celebrate the changing of the seasons with friends and family over soup and cider, fire and music.

Here’s to a happy Solstice and fruitful Summer,
Your Friends at Fable Farm

Magic 7 Raw Chocolate

I don't go in much for supplements and herbal powders, but this sure sounds like a tasty way to take in your herbs and antioxidants! I just wish I could make my raw chocolates look this solid and shiny - mine are always more like fudge than actual chocolates.

http://goneraw.com/recipe/magic-seven-chocolate

The Magic Seven Chocolate

Submitted by RawWill on May 12, 2011 - 7:32am

Average:

5

Average: 5 (1 vote)

Servings: 

 18 ice-cube-sized confections

Here's my favorite recipe.

The Magic Seven:

125 g cacao butter
5 tbsp cacao powder
3 tbsp lucuma powder
2 tbsp maca powder
2 tbsp organic honey
a pinch of salt
3 drops of essential peppermint oil

Cacao butter is a bit more difficult to melt but with a hot water bath and grating it small it works fine. Then add honey and salt into the fat and mix well. And finally, add powders and the peppermint oil. Mix well again and check that it tastes good. Then pour it into ice-cube molds and put into freezer for 30-60 minutes. Once the chocolate is hardened enough, get it out of the freezer and let it melt for a while in room temperature. Never eat ice cold chocolate, you won't taste all the magnificent flavors. Enjoy!

You can find more recipes and tips on my website: http://www.rawchocolaterecipes.net

Ingredients: 

cacao butter, cacao powder, lucuma powder, maca powder, organic honey, salt, essential peppermint oil

Feta Fête

The first time I set out to make a gluten-free ricotta so my husband could partake, I was stunned by how easy it was. Since then I've successfully made several kinds of yogurt cheese, chevre, and mozzarella. These are all fresh, unbrined cheeses. I'm not yet ready to try real aged cheeses yet, but feta seems like a reasonable step toward more complex cheese making. And my goat milk supplier recently told me that her two current milkers are producing an astounding 4 gallons a week, so she can easily get me enough milk for cheese making! Still not sure I want to brine cheese for 30 days (so many things possible to go wrong in all that time), but if cheese prices keep going up I'll probably risk it.

How to Make Feta Cheese

 (from Cultures for Health Newsletter)

Feta cheese makes a wonderful addition to salads, sandwiches or as a garnish for meat or vegetables.  Generally made with goat milk, it can be made with cow milk if desired. What you need: 1 gallon goat milk Rennet: 1/2 teaspoon liquid rennet or 1/2 rennet tablet Mesophilic Culture: 1/8 teaspoon direct-set Feta Cheese Starter Culture or 1/8 teaspoon direct-set Mesophilic Starter Culture or One packet direct-set Mesophilic Culture or 4 oz. prepared mesophilic culture Note: It is also possible to use 1 tablespoon yogurt in place of the mesophilic starter Feta Instructions: Warm the milk in a stainless steel (or other non-reactive) pot to 86 F degrees.  Add the culture to the milk and stir thoroughly.  Allow the milk to sit undisturbed for an hour at room temperature.  Once the milk has sat, dilute the rennet in 1/4 cup cool water.  Mix the rennet/water into the milk using an up and down motion with your spoon (not a stirring motion).  Incorporate the rennet but do not over mix.  Place a lid on the pot and let the milk mixture sit undisturbed overnight.  The next morning, check that the milk has gelled and there is a clean break in the curd.  Use a knife to cut the curd into 1/2" x 1/2" cubes.  If necessary, use very clean hands to check the bottom of the pot for curds that may have been missed.  Gently stir the curd off and on over the next 20 minutes.  The curds should become somewhat retracted.  Place a tea towel, cotton bag, multi-layered cheese cloth in a colander.  Pour in the curds and allow the visible whey to drain off.  Once the whey has drained, tie the cloth in knots and hang it over the sink or a bowl.  Allow the curd to drain for another 4 hours or until no more whey drips off.   Make a brine solution using 1/3 cup non-iodized salt and 1/2 gallon of water.  Place the curds in the brine solution in a jar with a lid in the fridge.  Brine for 4-5 days if using store-bought goat milk or for 30 days if using farm fresh goat milk.   Extra tip: If you find that your curd doesn't set firmly enough, some cheese makers suggest mixing 1/8 teaspoon calcium chloride diluted in 1/4 cup water into the milk the next time you make feta.