Ruby Frey's Peanut Butter candy

We are fortunate enough to be staying at our oldest son's house in our hometown. He and his friends occupy a rambling old dwelling of a century old or more. It is graced with two staircases, two bathrooms, wainscoting, pocket doors, antique fixtures and lo and behold- a walk in pantry! In every fantasy of a home remodeling project I see myself adding a walk in pantry. So, I wasn't really snooping; I was checking out all of the delightful fold out flour bins, drawers and cupboards in an attempt to design my own future fantasy pantry.
It was here that I found an abandoned recipe collection. It was in a drawer saved from some long forgotten chest; a jumble of clippings and product recipe cards gathered over what must have been years. Included were three or four packages of unopened index cards purchased from a drug store that has been out of business for decades. I knew I had stumbled on the work-in-progress of a food loving cook. I could imagine her painstakingly cutting out all of the recipes that she meant to one day cook for her loved ones. She obviously meant to gather then all together, write them on the index cards and organize them into a recipe collection to be proud of. The recipes of Mrs. Ruby Frey. A quick internet search informed me that she was born in 1922 and still lives in Galesburg. I will look her up further and let her know that her recipe collection will get organized, transcribed, treasured and a few might even make it into my future cookbook: The Peaceful Fork Cookbook.
For starters, I had all of her recipes on the table and this is the one that our son expressed an interest in.
Reese's Peanut Butter Candies: (veganized)
1 package graham crackers, crushed
1 C natural peanut butter
1 C coconut oil
1 C powdered sugar- stir altogether until thoroughly mixed and press firmly into an oiled 9x13 pan.
Melt one 12 oz. package of dark chocolate chips, pour over peanut butter mixture and cool in fridge until hardened. Cut into small pieces. Share with friends while you consider all of the Ruby Freys of the world cooking for their families.

A quick and cool apple dessert

Many of my friends have seen this posted on my son's Facebook wall. He had contacted me for a favored apple cake recipe but this is what he got. The mid west is actually experiencing a bit of a break after record smashing heat and drought this summer. In the midst of a heat wave like that it is difficult to turn on the oven and further heat the house for something sweet. Well, I'm the foodie who is lead by cravings and that bowl of succulent, locally grown yellow apples weren't going to slice and cook themselves.
Part of this recipe is borrowed from my children's grandma who taught me how to make it for the kids. A good thing because they have always loved it.
Thinly slice about three small apples. I like mine crisp but having the wrong apple is no reason not to try this. Just adapt your cooking time to keep a soft apple from getting mushy. In a frying pan heat a couple of tablespoons of butter. I have used coconut oil; I will be completely honest and tell you I prefer butter but many of the folks I've fixed this for like the coconut oil. I think it adds a tropical taste that doesn't go well with apples but it is better for you that way. You only need enough to keep the slices simmering. After they are all in the pan and cooking, add cinnamon and brown sugar. The amounts aren't important. You are just going for a cinnamony-sweet apple pie taste. As they cook, the sugar and butter/coconut oil will form a syrup. Next, in a separate bowl, mix equal parts brown sugar, oatmeal and whole wheat flour. When the apples are still crisp but getting soft dump the mixture over the top of the apples and let sit for a couple of minutes. This partially steams the oatmeal mixture. Then stir it all together and serve warm. It is just like apple crisp from the stove top. I would tell you to serve it with a scoop of ice cream but I may have already done enough damage...

disease fighting foods

* Berries- these contain antioxidants that help fight cancer and heart disease. Blueberries top the list followed by cranberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. For anti-oxidants think color-vibrant and bright.  Oooo, a smoothie sounds so good right now!

* Dark leafy greens are loaded with vitamins, minerals, beta-carotene, vitamin C, folate, iron, magnesium, carotenoids, phytochemicals and anti-oxidants. Magnesium rich foods such as spinach reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

* Whole grains contain folic acid, selenium, and B vitamins that are important to heart health. Enjoy whole grain pasta, bread and cereal as well as rye, millet, quinoa, brown rice and wild rice.

* Sweet potatoes boast a wealth of antioxidants, phytochemicals and beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, folate, calcium, copper, iron and potassium. The fiber promotes a healthy digestive tract and the anti-oxidants help to prevent heart disease and cancer.

* Tomatoes are bursting with lycopene; an antioxidant that protects against some cancers. They also contain an abundance of vitamins A and C, potassium and phytochemiclas.

* Beans are packed with protein, folic acid, fiber, iron and magnesium. They also reduce cancer risk, lowers blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels and stabilizes blood sugars.

* Nuts are full of healthy, polyunsaturated fats which lower cholesterol levels and help prevent heart disease.A good source of fiber, protein, selenium and Vitamins E and A.

These are just a few of the many things that you can eat to help keep yourself healthy. Feel free to contact me if you have some that we should add to the list.

Winter Fruit Crisp

One of the downsides to winter is that you cant make a decent crisp. The types of apples available are not right and just forget about fresh peaches because they will be too dear. A canned crisp fruit is all you are left with. While we can still use Big Oil to ferry supplies from one part of the globe to the next you can make a winter crisp using oranges from California or Florida.


Orange/Apricot Crisp
Oil an 8x8 pan and preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl mix together:
Fruit mixture
8 Navel oranges with skins and pith cut then sliced. (reserve 2 T zest)
2C thinly sliced dried apricots
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C chopped candied ginger
Topping mixture
1C light flour
1/2C sugar
1/2 t salt
6 T butter
1/2 t vanilla
Rub vanilla and butter into flour mixture until crumbly then sprinkle on top of fruit. Bake for 30-40 minutes and cool for 10.

Adaptations. Although I would never consider my place a test kitchen, there are sometimes a lot of things going on here. We made this and I got pretty good reviews for it so will make it again. There are a couple of things I will change about it next time around.  I thought the orange zest was bitter so I would decrease it or leave it out completely. A better idea would be to reserve a bit of the juice and sprinkle it on top of the flour mixture. Also, the candied ginger is a bit hot for some people. Leave it out completely and replace with dried cranberries or just shave a little fresh ginger into the fruit mixture since orange and ginger are such good companion flavors.
So give this a try and let me know what you think.

Protein requirements

Proteins are composed of amino acids. There are, however, eight amino acids that we cannot manufacture on our own and the body must take them in as food. These are called essential amino acids. The amount that humans need on a daily basis or recommended daily allowances (RDA) is mysterious. Apparently the reason that we believe our requirements are so high is that they were originally determined by feeding rats and deciding which combinations produced the healthiest subjects. The problem with this model is that rat babies need 10 times the amount of protein as human babies.

It is obvious that we need to stop allowing laboratories to decide on or produce our foods. We are amazing organic works of art and should not rely on science to make decisions for our bodies.

Here are some protein guidelines for us to follow in our quest to ensure that we keep protein in our diet.

These figures are from USDA and are in a per serving amount; 

Beef- 20.2%

Almonds-18.6%

Garbanzo Beans-20.5%

Lentils-24.7%

Soybeans-34.1%

Lamb-16.8%

Swiss Cheese-27.5%

Sunflower seeds-24.0%

Powdered Cow's Milk-26.4%

Powdered Soy Milk-41.8%

So you can see that animal products are not always the highest source of protein. Additionally, the plant sources are also lower in fat and cholesterol.  USDA standards are 44 grams for a woman and 56 grams for a man. Taking into account that the above mentioned rat standard is above what we need, the adult male standard can be met with 3 ounces of peanuts, a bowl of split pea soup, 2 slices of whole grain toast and a 10 ounce glass of soymilk. Some people could consume this much food in one meal.

This is considerably above the actual requirement for most people and a person eating according to the Standard American Diet gets twice the amount of protein necessary even by conservative government standards. In a later post I will catalog the dangers of consuming too much protein.

How to choose Peace.

I can't think of one person who would choose a life of war and conflict. History has given us multiple examples of war hawks and captains of industry who have built empires on warfare. However, they weren't on the ground fighting or making a conscious effort to live a life on the front lines in the absence of peace.
Choosing peace would seem a larger part of our human nature than the thirst for war. It is more involved and detailed then simply saying 'war is bad', or killing is wrong. Choosing peace is a much bigger commitment than refraining from actually taking a gun and shooting a human. Our moral barometers make us cringe at the concept of killing each other in cold blood. So it becomes easy to choose to not kill people.
That also makes it less heroic. Of course we aren't going to kill each other for no reason. Why would we even discuss that option among rational beings. To choose peace, a life of peace, is not merely the absence of warfare. It is a conscious choice to live a life free of bloodshed.
Think of the ways in which we benefit from war. Would you actually remove the dead bodies from a home in order to move into the newly vacated premises? Are you the type of person to roll a dead man over and take money from his pockets? The house is no longer needed, and the dead man wont be spending that money.
 If you would not do these things it is largely because of your compassionate heart.
A compassionate heart is nothing to be ashamed of. We are all born with one. I walk down the street everyday knowing that the majority of people whose paths I cross would do me no harm due in part to their heart of compassion. Because of this I have no fear of them.

One way of putting a compassionate heart into action is a vegetarian diet. If we were to all adhere to Buddha's precept to do no harm then we would be holding ourselves to a code of conduct to help all of God's creatures understand that they have nothing to fear.
Buddha once said "I advise everyone to revert to a vegetarian diet early, because the spiritual soul of man and animal came from the same origin. If you can bear to kill and eat the animals, it is just like killing and eating our brothers and sisters."
Whether you live by the precepts of Buddha or the 10 Commandments, killing is killing. The dictionary defines kill as causing the death of a person or animal. I strongly believe in the compassionate heart of my brothers and sisters. I know that most people would never eat the meat of an animal that they had actively killed. It just takes a little more work to remove yourself from the cycle of death by deciding not to partake in what others have killed.
If you do this, if you remove yourself from the cycle of killing and death then you will feel your compassionate heart grow. You will become a person of peace, led by your firm belief in the sanctity of life. It will become obvious to others that you have chosen peace over war, life over death and love over violence.
Thich Naht Hahn in his book Creating True Peace illustrates that it is the nature of war to take what one wants even if it results in the death of others.  A meat based diet requires that we wage mini wars every day. And the first victim of a war is always the one who perpetuates it.
I will choose peace for myself, my family, my community and the world.

Artisan Bread

This recipe comes to us from Mother Earth News. It will make about 4 medium sized rounds and the dough will keep in the refrigerator for a week. It is actually better to let the dough stand overnight but I have formed and baked bread just after the three hour raising time.
We have played around and made it with various combinations of flour adjusting the fiber content. Feel free to add more flour if the dough feels too sticky. If you want to experiment with an herb bread add the herbs to the water and yeast so they stir into the dough and become well incorporated.

Recipe:
6-1/2 C flour
3-1/2 C warm water
1-1/2 T each of salt and yeast.
Proof the yeast in the warm water until both it and the salt are dissolved. Stir into the flour, work it into a dough and let rise for 3 hours in a warm place.
Form bread into a round and slash the top with a knife. Let rise another 20 min. while oven preheats to 350 degrees. We cook ours on a clay pizza stone but you can use a cookie sheet. Just preheat it with the oven and sprinkle with corn meal.The hot pan or stone is what makes the base of the bread nice and crusty. Bake for 35 min. and cool for 20 min. before cutting. Depending on your oven cooking temperatures you may need a few more minutes cooking time.
Cover remaining dough and store in fridge.

You can feed this to your loved ones knowing they are eating a whole food just like Grandma used to make; only four ingredients and you can actually pronounce all of the words. Enjoy.