Our Backyard Homestead

Grain Free Lasagna

For the first time since I began gardening, I have managed to get enough ahead of the squash bugs to have a successful zucchini harvest.  Now, compared to books I have read which mention drowning in zucchini and not being able to even give it away, I am by no means a smashing success, but we are being rewarded with 3-5 zucchinis every day or two for the past two weeks!  In looking for creative ways to use it, I made lasagna at the beginning of the month using thin zucchini slices as our noodles.  It tasted fabulous, but was quite watery.  Thus began my quest for the perfect lasagne.

When two large zucchinis came in from the garden on Monday, I knew they were perfect for a second attempt.  As I brainstormed on how to eliminate some of the moisture, it hit me, the dehydrator!!  I used my mandoline slicer to cut the zucchinis into long, thin strips and then put them in the dehydrator for about 2 hours at 135℉.  I have never dried zucchini, but I would guess they were about halfway to being dry when I took them out.

The dehydrated zucchini worked perfectly!  Our lasagna set up just like it would have had we used traditional lasagna noodles.  The dish had a wonderful sweetness created only by the mix of vegetables that were added.  I don't think there has been a better received meal that I have made since we went grain free!

If you don't have a dehydrator, I would guess that drying the zucchini in a very low oven for a few hours would work the same.  The first time I attempted the lasagna, I read recommendations on several websites of using salt to draw out the water in the zucchini.  I didn't want my lasagna to taste super salty, so I skipped this step and dealt with the excess liquid.  Dehydrating the zucchini first is an extra step, but one that is very much worth it in my book!  Don't let the long list of ingredients or the extra steps keep you from trying it out, you wouldn't have to add everything, but I wanted to load it up with as many healthy veggies as I could.   I also sautéed most everything first to help cut down on the liquid and to improve the flavor.

Grain Free Lasagna with Zucchini Noodles

• 2 medium to large zucchinis, sliced into long strips with a mandolin slicer
• 1 jar Bionaturae tomato paste
• 15 ounces Ricotta Cheese (beware, most have added starch)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese
• 1.5 lbs ground beef
• 1 large red bell pepper, roasted or sautéed
• 1-2 large onion, sauteed
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms, sautéed
• 2-3 cups fresh spinach
• 1 cup fresh basil or 1/2 cup pesto
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp garlic powder*
• 2 tsp onion powder*
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper to taste

1. Mandoline slice your zucchini.  I did not use the thinnest setting, nor the thickest.  Dehydrate as described above.
2. Sauté onions, peppers and mushrooms.  I roasted the peppers in a little coconut oil in the pan I was planning to cook the lasagna in.  Set aside.  I also kept all of the veggies separate so that I could make distinct layers.  You could be a little less OCD than I was and mix them up!
3. Using the pan already dirty from sautéing the veggies, brown the hamburger.  Because I use pastured beef, I do not drain off any fat since there is very little to drain.  Remove from heat and add tomato paste and seasonings.
4. Mix ricotta, egg and Parmesan.
5. Grease lasagna pan.  I used a slightly smaller than 9x13 pan.  Add layer of  zucchini and then layer remaining ingredients in any order.  Divide cheese and meat for a total of 4 layers.
6. My order of layers was roughly, zucchini, spinach, 1/2 of onions, 1/2 of meat, zucchini, basil or pesto, mushrooms, 1/2 of cheese, peppers, meat, cheese and finally topped with mozzarella cheese.

*Anyone avoiding starches should be careful in consideration of these two additions.  They are a source of starch, but seem to be tolerated in our household.

The little bit of juice in the picture is more from the meat than the zucchini.  I should have waited until it cooled more to take a picture because the little bit of leftovers had no moisture at all when I dished them into a storage container.

May have been a little more effort than many of our weekday dinners, but a great meal for an adorable birthday boy seemed like a good idea.  Since we all liked it so much and since the garden continues to reward us with zucchini, the efforts will be repeated and soon!

We celebrated with a grain free rhubarb crumble.  I won't be sharing a recipe for that because it was not quite the success I was looking for.

The birthday boy was happy with his "cake" and we managed to polish it off with no problems.

Chicken pot pie - Starch free style

In honor of Pi day yesterday, we ate all things pie.  We started with one of my old childhood favorites, Impossible Pie.  While a fun way to start the day, this recipe will require some more tweaking to convert it successfully into our grain-free, starch-free lifestyle.  I will be sure to share if we have a success.

We decided that dinner should be chicken pot pie, though I had no idea how we would accomplish this to fit within our dietary needs.  After checking out a few Paleo recipes, I took inspiration from a few and guessed a bit as to how we could make it without starch.  Our results were lovely and enjoyed by the entire family!  I used veggies that I had on hand and was a little afraid that the Swiss chard might be too strong, but it was a wonderful addition.

Starch Free Chicken Pot Pie

Filling:

• 3 carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1.5 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 onion chopped
• 4 cups chopped Swiss chard, stems included
• 2 cups cooked chicken
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• 3 tbsp. coconut oil
• 3 cups broth
• 2 tbsp. coconut flour
• salt and pepper to taste

Crust:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 4 egg whites
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2-1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

Saute all veggies in coconut oil, minus chard leaves.  If using chard stems (which I highly recommend) add stems with other veggies.  Saute until soft, 10-15 minutes.  Add chard leaves and garlic, saute for additional 5 minutes, covered but stirring often to keep garlic from burning.  Add thyme, salt and pepper.  Stir and add broth, leaving about 1/2 cup to mix with coconut flour.  Simmer until broth is hot.  Mix remaining broth and coconut flour well and slowly add to pan, stirring after every addition.  Simmer until broth reduces, was still a bit runny.

Pastry Topping:

While broth is simmering, mix up the topping.  In a bowl, mix coconut oil, almond flour, soda and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites and vinegar.  Whisk egg whites mix into flour mix.

Transfer filling to oven safe pan, or use oven safe pan to saute in like I did.  Spoon topping gently on top in small batches and then spread to cover the top. 

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until topping is golden brown. 

Notes:

• Be sure to save the extremely nutritious egg yolks for use in another recipe.
• If starches are safe, using arrowroot or some other form of starch would help the filling be a little thicker/creamier.  The coconut flour worked and the taste was great, but there are some things that starch free cooking just can't recreate to perfection.
• We served with green beans sauteed in bacon fat.  Add in a few cloves of minced garlic in the last few minutes of cooking for a delicious touch.  Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and enjoy!

 

 

An Amazing Story; How your diet impacts your health

A few weeks ago, I came across the TED video of a physician that was nearly crippled by multiple sclerosis.  She had the very best medical care and was taking the latest and greatest drugs, yet her health was continuing to rapidly decline.  Whether you suffer from migraines or much more serious health problems, I urge you to make the 18 minutes to watch her inspiring story and the very simply laid out diet that she recommends.

Our family has been trending much closer toward the diet she recommends over the past year and we have seen a huge change in health.  I was having frequent migraines but since going wheat free, have had one!  I believe that the one that I had was directly related to a wheat cheat.  I also had frequent acid reflux for as long as I remember.  Since changing our diet, it is gone.  I have energy levels that I hadn't seen since I was in college.  Chronic pain, GONE!  The list is long of improvements, and that is only me.  My child that has inspired every baby step away from the Standard American Diet that we have taken is a entirely new child!