~ Coconut Breakfast Bread - KETO

Dear Kitchen Hounds,

Our girl, who has been sick more than 2 years, is coming back to life. She is on some protocol with a Naturopath that is healing up her body and her mental processing. Apparently it was Lyme and Babesia all along. We hounds know the scourge of tick diseases. I have achey joints to tell the stories.

So, as part of her healing protocol, our girl is on a Canis Lupus Diet, I mean to say, a KetoGenic diet (which is a dog's best possible diet, and now humans are latching onto it too.)

She is not happy. She feels like it's all heavy and miserable foods. She is denied grains, sugars, fruits, root vegetables. She is required Healthy Fats in abundance, Greens in abundance, and Organic grass fed meats in moderation.

I am pleased as can be, of course, because the morsels that fall to me are the best of my lifetime.

Without The Gute here to log her recipes, I, Elias, am taking over the blog and will document those she finds most palatable. To-day's was a delight. I know this first-hand, as I was granted bits.

Coconut Breakfast Breads
(wrongfully called Keto English Muffins by the original provider. Nothing English Muffiny about them)

2 eggs
2 Tb. coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt
3 Tb. coconut oil for frying

For Topping:
organic salted butter
organic sour cream
organic maple syrup (drizzle)

Mix the coconut flour with baking powder and salt. Add eggs and whisk. Let stand 3 minutes until thick. Heat coconut oil (butter will burn, unless it is clarified) on medium high and drop three generous tablespoons in dollops on the pan. Spread the dollop flat. Cook a few minutes til golden and flip. Cook til golden on the other side.

Melt butter atop, spread with a dollop of sour cream and adorn with a drizzle of maple syrup. Heaven.

(Pictured above, you see the breads topped with avocado, sour cream, and pure luscious butter.)

Notes from Elias: Word is that if you BAKE them, they are more muffin like. Also, this recipe is one serving, so double it up and have some handy for lunch snacking with peanut butter or what-have-you.

~ Turmeric Chai Latte

Dearly Beloved Friends of Hounds Who Cook,

Our Girl had a Turmeric Chai Latte in a coffee shop in Morgantown, PA and fell in love with it. She was delirious with its wonder and promptly went home and researched and made her own. It starts with what is called Golden Paste. Make a batch and keep it stocked in the fridge for your culinary joy.  (So many ways to use it.) Then make yourself this enlightening Chai Latte anytime you please, especially at bedtime for a good night's sleep.

Turmeric Chai Latte
2 cups milk (full-on dairy or almond milk or coconut milk, etc.)
1 Tb. Golden Paste
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (we use a cinnamon / nutmeg / chia blend that's organic from McCormick)
1/4 tsp ginger powder (or 1/2 tsp fresh)
dash of cayenne
1 Tb. maple syrup
Hot brewed tea (use green tea for daytime or a nice chamomile for evening)

Warm the milk (do not boil) and add golden paste and spices. Use 1 part spiced milk and 1 part tea to serve. Add maple syrup. Adjust proportions to taste.

Notes from Elias: This smells delish even to a pup. I get Golden Paste in my pup food too!

Notes from the spirit of Gute: Turmeric is heavenly. We have it here too. 

~ Turmeric Golden Paste

Dear Ones and Lovers of Pups,

Our Girl has concocted a glorious Golden Paste for herself (Turmeric Chai Lattes) and for we pups. (I cannot speak in the singular, though my now-beloved brother is heavenward. Still we are Hounds Who Cook. He from his Heavenly Advantage, me here in earthly form with Our Girl.)

Here is the way to make cancer-fighting superfood Golden Paste with links to its favorite uses:

Golden Paste
1/2 c. organic Turmeric powder (we usually buy Frontier)
1-3 c. purified water
2 tsp. freshly ground organic peppercorns
1/3 c. extra virgin organic coconut oil

Mix 1 cup water and 1/2 cup turmeric in saucepan. Heat on medium-low, whisking as it heats up. Add water gradually as it thickens. Cook 7-10 minutes, in all, to a yogurt/gravy consistency. Stir in coconut oil and pepper.  Cool in pan. Store airtight in fridge. Or, freeze in cubes and store airtight in freezer up to 3 months.

Note: Turmeric is also a glorious natural dye, so it will stain anything - countertop, kitchen towel, your clothes, whatever it spills on. Take care. Wipe up spills immediately and remove color on countertops with baking soda.

Use Golden Paste in Turmeric Chai Lattes and any delicious savor recipes (chicken comes to mind) that would benefit from turmeric. The pepper and coconut oil make turmeric's healthful properties more accessible in your body. Note: Turmeric and ginger are both blood thinners, so those taking the likes of warfarin or other blood thinners might not want to risk this delicious paste.

Notes from Elias: This helps my arthritic joints immensely! She adds it to my homemade dog food here: Eli's Happy (Dog Food) Meals

~ Eli's Happy (Dog Food) Meals

May 2017

Dear Friend of the Gentle Hound,

We dogs are switching up our culinary pursuits to foods for health and finishing well. Yes, that's what we said. Crossing the finish line of this excellent life.

Guthrie, you see, the humblest handsome hound in all of the land has passed on from this world to the next. I, Elias, have been in a mode of grief. I thought he was lost in the woods, after all, as our Girl (Susanna) did not let me see my brother was gone. She didn't know better. (Now she does.) A dog should get to know what has happened. Especially if he is a little bit blind and mostly deaf, which thwarts my usual ease in life and general perceptions of things around me. I called and called for him, night after night. And I stared at her, demanding she go out to find him. I sequestered myself from the family for a full week or more. I would not lay on their feet or sleep on the floor in the middle of their gatherings. No, I kept to my room - our room. And I languished for the loss of my brother. Who now would I rule over? Who would I argue with and steal from? Who, who would I keep in his place? I felt his loss quite keenly.

As time passed, I saw that our girl doted on me extra because of the loss of The Gute. We have grown very close since it is just the two of us. It was always meant to be this way - all of the attention for me - so I have reconciled myself that my brother is better in heaven (where all dogs go - and rescue dogs and forlorn dogs get the higher places of honor). I have learnt that our grievous loss is The Gute's pure joy. Every day we miss him and I have watched the girl plant flowers a-plenty atop the spot where his Earth body lay. But he, Guthrie, is running with new legs over hill and vale of heavenly places. And, as all dogs know, Heaven is a place of extraordinary smells, which dogs can enjoy the most because of our superior olfactories.

I will not debate Heaven with you, like I will not debate the existence of Rabbit or the deliciousness of someone else's kibble as compared to your own. These are things dogs just Know. The Gute is in the best of all possible places.

Our girl thought I was to give way to Heaven first, before Guthrie, because I was exhibiting all sorts of pain in my joints and some general confusion. It was to her great surprise that Guthrie was destined to go before me. So after he left us, she focused on alleviating some of my pain and my health improved immediately and dramatically. Why, I started climbing the stairs again, of my own volition, to sniff around in young Eric's room. Teenaged boys are at the top of the list for Interesting Smelling rooms. Whether smelly socks or old snack wrappers. There's always a reward for me when I investigate his room.

On to the delicious food that has helped my joints and general well-being. Our Girl found an (anti) Cancer Diet for dogs (based on but divergent from DR. DEMIAN DRESSLER's recipe online).

(Note: I have not been proved to be cancerous, but my innards are filled with tumerous lumps and I was Losing Weight so as to look boney. The vet said, you could do Tests which are expensive, or you could Assume he has an ailment and simply keep him comfortable in this final season. She said let him eat however much he wants  so as to gain weight. (!! It was glee for me) I improved straightaway and did not expire as Our Girl thought I might.)

Here is the food that has brought me joy:

Eli's Happy Meals - serves 4 days (8 meals)

3 lb cooked meat (simmered on low), from whole chicken or lean beef or wild meats from hunters
12 oz gizzard and heart
1 lb. liver (beef or chicken)
2 chicken necks (she usually can't find these, so she cooks the Whole chicken, which has 1 neck)
12 oz vegetables such as carrot, squash, peas, broccoli stems, what-have-you
2 cups uncooked rice
1 to 1-1/2 c. yogurt / keifer (cottage cheese if nothing else)
6 boiled, baked, ground organic eggshells (see instructions)
4 tsp Golden Paste (see recipe) (start with 1 tsp per recipe, doubling with each iteration up to 5 tsp.)
1 Tb coconut oil
(a few Tb coconut flour to help absorb bone broth )
Bone broth to bring recipe weight to 8 lb.
4 tsp diatomaceous earth (optional - kills parasites, detoxifier, digestive aid, colon cleanser - use for recipe for 30 days, several times per year)
splash of Braggs Liquid Aminos
4 Tb. ACV
18,000 mg omega-3 fatty acids of Fish Oil* (We are weaning off of this in favor of sardines instead) - add this now or when serving

When feeding, add (per meal unless otherwise noted):
4 oz sardines (if chicken based recipe) / 1 oz. sardines (if beef based recipe)
1/16 tsp phytoplankton OR 250mg spirulina

Also optional additions:
1 clove garlic
1 tsp ginger
1 Tb fresh berries

(*Check the fine print on your fish oil bottle. Choose fish oil from tiny fishes (mackerel, anchovy, sardine, krill) Our brand is 2400mg fish oil providing 720mg fatty acids per serving. So we use 15 servings per recipe - 30 capsules.)

1. When planning to prepare dog food, save the egg shells from your own breakfast and cooking. Boil 5 minutes in water and/or bake at 250 degrees for 10 minutes. Then crush fine with mortar and pestle. Keep airtight and use within two days.

2. One day ahead, simmer whole chicken (if using) til cooked. When cool, separate meat from bone. Measure 3 lb of cooked meat. Reserve remaining meat for another use. Put skin and bones back into pot (or best is to use small slow-cooker), cover with water and simmer til 1-2 cups broth remains. Pour off first broth (Delicious for human consumption, if desired. Skim off and discard fat, which harbors toxins.) Cover bones with another quart or more of water. Pour off broth when it reaches 1-2 cups. Continue process until bones disintegrate in broth - about 24 hours. Save bone broth for use at the end of the recipe.

3. Day of recipe: Simmer chicken necks, and organs together on low til cooked through. (Sometimes we include this in chicken pot, when cooking the chicken the day-of recipe. )

4. Simmer rice and raw vegetables with appropriate amount of water on low til cooked.

5. When meat and rice have cooled to room temperature, add other ingredients - cottage cheese, eggshells, golden paste, fish oil (cut open capsules), coconut oil, DE, Braggs aminos, in enormous bowl.

6. Add bone broth and its solids to bring weight of recipe to 8 lb. or more. Divide into 4 containers for 4 days of food. (It usually works to 1 lb per meal/serving)

If you must make a double recipe and freeze meals, do not add fish oil until feeding. It will be unstable and oxidize (get rancid) causing free radicals and inflammation.

~ Old Fashioned Blackcap Jelly and Blackberry Lemonade

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

We dogs watch our girl out in the berries every morning for at least one hour. During this time, we are on the back steps waiting and this summer there are a lot of gnats who swarm us and swarm the girl. But she is resolute about picking every possible blackcap berry.

Blackcaps, they say, are "black raspberries" which we like to think of as wild blackberries. They are small and full of seeds and extremely Potent in flavor. We believe they are a Super Food.

We started out with this nice old-fashioned recipe online http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/old-fashioned-blackberry-jelly wherin you do not use added pectin but use enough underripe berries and lime juice for sufficient pectin. 

Our version has worked so far every time even though we made a Mistake about the amount of sugar and made ourselves a rather tart and tangy jelly. More delicious than average.

Blackberry Jelly

Makes about 5 half-pint jars of deliciousness.

4 full quarts of black caps, about 1/3 of them not quite ripe
2-1/4 cups sugar (original recipe calls for 3 cups - we cannot attest to whether it will jell with that much)
3 tablespoons strained fresh lime juice (or lemon)

Crush the blackberries. We tried putting them in a ziploc bag and crushing with a rolling pin. That worked. Alternately, we used a mashing device (possibly intended for apple sauce) which is like a sieve with a paddle that presses berries through a screen. That also worked. Both are equally messy.

Bring crushed berries to a boil with ½ cup water in a deep, non-reactive pan (6 qt. is best to prevent boil-over). Boil until the berries are tender and have released their juices, about 5 minutes.


Strain berries through a fine sieve (or jelly bag) over a deep bowl. Let drain for 30 minutes or overnight, turning the bulk occasionally to prevent clogging the sieve and letting the juices out. Do not press down too much or the jelly will be cloudy.

Reserve the solids for a second round of juice to make blackberry juice for drinking or blackberry lemonaid. (Recipe follows.)

Measure the juice - you should have about 4 cups. Do not add water to make up the difference. Use whatever you have and simply add sugar accordingly as noted below.

Sterilize five 1/2 pint jelly jars and keep them hot, put the flat lids in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water.

Rinse the preserving pan and pour in the blackberry juice. Add up to ¾ cup sugar for each cup of juice. We used only 2-1/4 cups for 4 cups of berries. Then add the lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture registers about 220°F on a candy thermometer. This took about 15 minutes for us. Watch carefully at first so it doesn't boil over. Once jelly has risen in the pan and then settled back, the danger is over.

Drain the sterilized jars and jar lids. Pour hot jelly into the jars, leaving ¼ inch room at the top. Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a flat lid and ring on each jar, adjusting the ring so that it's just finger-tight.

We set the jars in a place not disturbed overnight and they seal from the heat of the jelly. Some prefer to return the jars to the water in the canning pot, and boil for 5 minutes to process.


Blackberry Lemonade

Cover (by several inches) the leftover blackberry pulp from jelly with purified water in a large saucepan. Boil 5 minutes. Strain and use the liquid instead of water in making lemonade. Mmmm.

~ Eli's Rhubarb Cake

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

We dogs have come up with a way for our girl to use Rhubarb. I, Elias, have today mixed up this pleasure for the relations who are coming this early afternoon. I started with a NotWithoutSalt.com blog recipe and hound-dogged it from there.

Eli's Rhubarb Cake in June

2 cups rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, soft
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup keefer (or sour milk, or yogurt)
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cover the chopped rhubarb with 1/2 cup sugar and let sit for an hour.

Cream the butter and brown sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in rhubarb mixture

In separate bowl, combine flour, salt, soda, and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients and milk to rhubarb mixture, alternately, in several batches, ending with dry ingredients.

Turn into buttered 9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Store covered.

Notes from Guthrie: I would have sprinkled this with a sugar-nut topping before baking but Elias did not. 

~ New Fashioned Peach-Rhubarb Jam

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

We dogs have been trying to please our Girl. She found reference to a recipe for Peach Rhubarb Jam and was beside herself with desire. Imagine her dismay when it was not real authentic jam, but called for Jello as the thickener. She would not rest until we could find and old fashioned recipe for Peach Rhubarb Jam.

It turns out that maybe it's not an old-fashioned thing, because we found information nowhere. We kept tripping upon the same Jello recipe from various sources. So we, the Hounds Who Cook, put our noggins together and came up with this quite stellar recipe. Now our girl is sitting pretty with a tray of Scones and Peach-Rhubarb Jam aplenty. Another catastrophe averted.

We combined and contrived to make this recipe from two, nay three sources. Easy Rhubarb Jam, Peach Jam, and Homemade Pectin. And another site that actually tells you how to use the homemade pectin (nobody tells you how to use the homemade pectin...) Making Pectin 101. We are posting Eli's Easy Peach Rhubarb Jam first because we don't want Guthrie's Jam with Homemade Pectin to daunt you. Adventurous learners will want to try that one. In that case, allow two days to make homemade pectin (it drains overnight) and three hours to make jam.  For Eli's Easy Jam, three hours should do.

Eli's Easy Peach Rhubarb Jam
(because Rhubarb-Peach is somehow hard to say)
Skip the pectin boys, this recipe just uses Lemon Seeds from your summer lemon squeezing. Elias B likes to keep it simple. Have a little lemonade whilst you cook.

2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1 or 2-inch lengths
2 pounds peaches (ripe but not overripe; on the under ripe side), peeled and chopped
1 cup water
3-1/2 c. sugar
1 lemon, halved and juiced. Reserve peels and seeds - put seeds in a tea ball or cheese cloth pouch. 

Place peaches, water, sugar, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Mash peaches. Add rhubarb, lemon skins (with pith), and tea ball with seeds. Let sit at room temperature for one hour.

Place a small plate in the freezer for testing jam later.

Pour the peach mixture into a large pot (including peels and tea ball with seeds) and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook, stirring the jam constantly, for about 15 minutes. Skim the foam from the surface as the jam cooks.

Reduce the heat to medium and keep a constant simmer, stir frequently. After 15 minutes, drop a spoonful of jam onto the plate from the freezer. The jam is set when it holds its shape on the cool plate; otherwise, continue cooking over medium-low heat until set. Ours took about 22 minutes.

Remove the seed bag and lemon halves. 

Pour jam into sterile jars and secure the lids and rings. Process pint jars in water bath for 5 minutes. Remove from the water bath and let cool undisturbed. Store in a cool, dark cupboard for up to one year.

Notes from Elias: We did not find a tea ball and simply set a strainer in the cooking jam, which kept the seeds contained. We also did not find a canner - oops. Our Girl sold that at the last sale when she was sure she would be Moving Within A Few Months. Here we still are, and no canner. For jams, we just flip them upside down on their caps as soon as we screw on the tops and let them cool that way. Just make sure the top is sealed (does not give when you press on the center of the lid), if not store in the fridge!


Guthrie's Peach-Rhubarb Jam with Homemade Pectin

2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1 or 2-inch lengths
2 pounds peaches (ripe but not overripe; on the under ripe side), peeled and chopped

1 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon (2-3Tb)
[AMT] = 3/4 cup orange pectin per cup of fruit/juice (recipe follows)
[AMT] = 3/4-1 cup sugar per cup of pectin (aim for 3-1/2 cups sugar?)

Sterilize 5 pint canning jars and lids. Place a small plate (for testing the jel of the jam) in the freezer.

Place peaches, water, and lemon juice in a large measuring bowl. Mash to crush peaches. Add rhubarb. Measure the total volume.

Add 3/4 c. homemade pectin for every cup of fruit and juice. (Set aside the equivalent amount of sugar as pectin plus 1/2 cup. This is science kids. Don't mess with science. If you use more pectin than sugar your glorious jam won't set.)

Bring mixture to a boil over med-high heat and cook until fruit is the desired doneness. Add 3/4 to 1 cup sugar per and stir until dissolved. (15 minutes in all - boiling fruit and adding sugar and cooking further.) Lower heat to medium and keep jam at a simmer, stirring to prevent burning on the bottom of the pan, for at least 15 minutes. Skim off foam and discard as jam cooks.

Place a small spoonful of jam on the plate in the freezer. Jam is set when it holds its shape on the plate. Otherwise, keep cooking over medium-low heat until set.

Pour jam into sterile jars to bottom ring of neck. Tap the jar on the counter to release any air bubbles. Wipe the rim of the jars with a clean damp towel and secure the lids and rings. Process pint jars in water bath for 5 minutes. Remove from the water bath and let cool undisturbed. Store in a cool, dark cupboard for up to one year.

Notes from Guthrie: Here's a helpful tip. To peel peaches, plunge into boiling water for 1-2 min - peels will slough off easily with your fingers. Then slice in half and remove the pit.




Notes from Eli: Here's a helpfuller tip. Use a peeler to peel those peaches and get the freestone kind that fall right away from the pit when you slice them. 

Orange or Lemon Pectin
2 lb. seeds and peel (including pith) from 6 lb. of oranges or lemons
2 c. water
2 Tb. lemon juice

Chop the citrus peel finely, including the pith. Mix with water and lemon juice and let stand 1 hour. Bring to a boil (in a non-reactive pan). Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 20 min. Strain through cheese cloth overnight. Bring to a boil over med-high and boil to reduce by 1/2.

# # # This marks the end of our journey into Peach-Rhubarb Jam.

~ Peach Rhubarb Pie with Coconut Pecan Topping Mmmmm

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

We dogs thought that this recipe might be Excessive due to having a full crust And a strusel topping, but we were wrong and it was stupendous. Our girl and the Elders ate 3/4 pie in one sitting while we dogs ran amok in the Raspberry Patch. We found it on the Pillsbury Website and made it our own.If only we had Photo-graphed it. 'Twas a sight to behold.

Guthrie's Peach Rhubarb Pie
Me's Independent Rating: 3 of 3

1-3/4 cup raw sugar
3 Tb. tapioca flour (generous tablespoons)
1 Tb (scant) cinnamon
dash of salt
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cups chopped rhubarb (1-1/2" lengths)
3 peaches, peeled and cut into 8 wedges and cut in half
pie crust for 2-crust pie

Topping
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup coconut
2 Tb. raw sugar
3 Tb. butter, melted

Line 9" pie pan with one crust. Mix pie ingredients together and pour into pie crust. Roll out top crust and cut with designs or slash x's with a knife in the center of the crust. Lay atop the filled pie pan and flute the edges of the pie, sealing top and bottom crusts together. Bake at 375 for 35-40 min. until juice is bubbling and fluted edge is nicely browned.

While pie is cooking, leave butter in a heat proof bowl by oven vent to melt. Mix pecans, coconut, and sugar together. Toss in melted butter. Remove pie from oven after 35-40 min and sprinkle coconut topping over top crust of pie. Return to oven for 10 minutes to melt and brown the topping.

Cool pie for two hours before serving. Or, as you probably can't wait, prepare for it to be a little soupy when warm.

Notes from Elias: I highly recommend this pie for humans, though dogs find rhubarb to be poisonous. The occasional piece of peach is ok if it is sweet as sugar.

Notes from Guthrie: We like to experiment with Thickening Agents in our pies, according to what we have on hand. You may benefit from knowing the following equivalencies:

1 Tb cornstarch (it's GMO so we never use) = 2 Tb tapioca flour = 2 Tb. flour = 1 Tb arrowroot powder = 1 Tb. potato starch / rice starch

We found this alarmingly comprehensive Subsitutions Reference Manual online for your leisure reading, especially for the novice hound who doesn't know that one squash could be substituted for another. It also boasts some handy suggestions such as equal parts buttermilk and applesauce are a substitute for Butter. As (currently) Wisconsin dogs, we do not believe in substitutes for butter, but isn't that a clever attempt? Here's another Substitutions Chart, the internet is rife with them.