Pineapple Upside Down Cake

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Need a new cake idea with all natural, wholesome ingredients?  We never feel guilty eating this way.

This was my first all natural (not from a box) upside down pineapple cake and it was big success!

Very simple:  fresh flour, natural sugar, real butter and coconut oil, etc.  We loved it and intend to serve it again and again!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 TBL unsalted organic butter
  • 1/2 cup turbinado or other unrefined sugar
  • 20 oz can sliced pineapple, drained and juice reserved
  • 1 1/3 cup fresh flour (could sub in gluten free flour)
  • 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup whole organic milk (could sub other kinds of milk)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice
  • 1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil, liquified but not too hot
  • 1/2 cup turbinado or other unrefined sugar
  • 1 egg, whipped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. In a 10-inch stainless steel skillet melt butter over low to medium heat.
  3. Add in sugar and cook, stirring until the sugar melts. Remove from heat and arrange the pineapple slices in the skillet.
  4. In a separate bowl, begin cake mixture by whisking flour, baking powder and sea salt. Add in and mix well: milk, vanilla extract and reserved pineapple juice. Finally, mix in sugar, coconut oil and whisked egg. (coconut oil should be liquified – let it cool a bit before adding)
  5. Pour the well mixed batter over the pineapple slices in the skillet and spread evenly. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
  6. 25-30 minutes.
  7. Let cool for 15 minutes. Cover with a large plate and invert the cake and wa la! you have a delicious dessert.

Ginger-Butternut Squash Soup

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My favorite winter soup!  Butternut squash is a treat you will come to relish.  I don’t remember eating winter squash as a child and this particular soup is now my favorite during cooler months. 

Ginger-Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

  • 3 butternut squash (cook, deseeded, mashed)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 3 tsp of ground ginger
  • 8 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock 
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 

Instructions

  1. After the butternut squash is prepared. .just put everything in a crockpot or stock pot … if you have a stick blender. .you might want to use that. .or if you need to, use your blender and put some squash and soup mixture in the blender and blend until everything is very creamy.

Potato Soup – Eight Simple Ingredients

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Can’t tell you why, but this potato soup just DOES IT!  We are all crazy about it.  Creamy with no cream, warm and filling.  A fall/winter favorite!  No dairy and super easy ingredients!  My 2nd oldest son makes this for us frequently.  He’s a pro and when he gets that “potato soup” craving, we just leave it to him!

Potato Soup – Eight Simple Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 8-10 cups diced or shredded potatoes (I leave the skin on for extra fiber and minerals)
  • ½-1 onion diced
  • 2-4 TBL coconut oil or butter, your choice
  • enough water to cover potatoes
  • 1-2 Tablespoons sea salt (add more if needed)
  • 3-6 cloves garlic, pressed
  • 3-6 stalks celery, diced
  • 3-6 small sweet potatoes cut into medium size chunks (you will remove these later and blend them and then pour back into the soup) Or sub in Carrots. .. .(more seems to be better than less)

Instructions

  1. Put oil in a stock pot, then add onions, potato and water. Prepare the other veggies and add them as you go along. Cook on medium to low heat. Put celery and sweet potatoes on top.
  2. After veggies are all cut and in the pan, be sure you have enough water to cover all veggies. Continue to cook on low heat until everything is tender.
  3. Take sweet potatoes and most of the celery, along with some of the potatoes (3-4 cups worth) blend in a blender and then pour back into the soup.
  4. Hope you love it as much as we do!
  5. Use salt while cooking and then add more as you serve the soup.
  6. Enjoy!  This soup seems “cheesy” but doesn’t have dairy in it.

Wilted Cucumber Salad a.k.a. Cuke Dish!

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This little dish is a staple for our family!  Everyone loves the cucumbers prepared this way and it’s one more way for us to incorporate raw, fresh food into our daily diet.  Make a bunch and use it all week long.  This recipe will last and last in your fridge.

Adapted from the book “Enchanted Broccoli Forest”

In this case, “wilted” means “relaxed.”  This keeps beautifully in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 c Bragg’s Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (Get at health food store or buy on line, or buy from the YHS Dry Goods list)
  • 1/3 c Water
  • 4 Tablespoons Raw Honey
  • 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1/2 c thinly sliced onion (use more if you like and any type of onion works great)
  • 4 med-sized cucumbers, peeled, and thinly sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons minced fresh dill (or 2 teaspoons dried)

Instructions

  1. Combine vinegar, water, honey, salt in small bowl.
  2. Place the onion and cukes slices in a med-large bowl and add the liquid.  Add dill.
  3. Transfer to glass jar w/tight fitting lid or other container.  Chill until cold.  (Serve cold or at room-temp.)

Note:  We are never specific with this recipe and make large batches every time – so go with what you can eat and enjoy!

Cabbage Lemon Apple Salad

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This is a GREAT salad and a great addition to your healthy diet.  Our children LOVE this and guests scarf it up!  Large amounts of vitamins and minerals found in these veggies and fruits!  Easy to make in large quantities to eat off of for several days.  Any time you can eat cabbage, PLEASE DO, it’s nutritionally superior to many other veggies and will do you a WORLD of good.

Ingredients

  • 2 Granny Smith Apples, shredded or chopped
  • 1/4 head red cabbage finely chopped
  • 1/4 head green cabbage finely chopped
  • 3 carrots shredded
  • 1 zucchini shredded
  • some lemon zest
  • and the juice of one lemon

Instructions

  1.  Toss all and enjoy!

Lemon Kale Salad with Berries

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Lemon kale salad?  with Berries?  Total hit with family and friends!  A dear southern friend has served this salad several times with great success.

Salad Ingredients

  • 6 cups of Kale, de-stemmed and chopped
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 1 cup sliced strawberries
  • 1/2 slivered almonds
  • diced Monterey Jack cheese or feta to taste

Vinaigrette Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 tbsp of minced fresh garlic
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp of Honey
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 cup (or less) of light olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Place ALL vinaigrette ingredients in blender except olive oil and pulse for 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle in olive oil and blend till emulsified. Pour over salad ingredients.

Whipped Butter & Olive Oil – Good for the Heart, Fluffy and Delicious!

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Fluffy goodness. . .try this soon!  We don’t make it often, but when we do, we always wonder why we don’t keep this fluffy goodness on hand all the time.  The butter and olive oil together will slightly harden in the fridge and then return to the fluffy, creamy state after a few minutes at room temperature.  If you are looking for a way to slow down a bit on butter and increase olive oil. . . this is it.  Honey butter is our favorite, hands down!  Please try it and let us know what you think.

Whipped Butter & Olive Oil

Ingredients

  • 1 lb real butter (no salt added) room temperature
  • 3/4 cup extra virgin Olive Oil, 1st Cold Pressed
  • 1 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
  • Note: don’t add this salt if your butter came pre-salted.. ..I recommend you buy unsalted butter whenever you can so you can control the amount and if possible, use celtic sea salt or sea salt) Celtic is lower in sodium than other forms of sea salt and is rich in a variety of minerals.

Instructions

  1. Whip mixture until fluffy.
  2. Plain Butter – just put 1 to 2 cups of mixture in container and keep in fridge until serving time….as it warms up, it makes the lightest, fluffiest butter (like margarine)
  3. Honey Butter – 1 to 2 cups of butter mixture with 1/8 to 1/4 cup of honey
  4. Garlic Butter – 1 to 2 cups of butter with garlic powder mixed in (to taste) or if you prefer, use fresh pressed garlic
  5. Cinnamon Butter – 1 to 3 cups of butter mixture with cinnamon mixed in (to taste)

Corn Pudding with Green Chili’s

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Corn pudding with green chili’s is another traditional item for your Thanksgiving or Christmas Feast – we enjoy this every year and usually make at least one extra so we can enjoy it for several meals.

Ingredients

  • (note: photo is just prior to baking)
  • 3/4 lb grated organic cheese (Nature’s Valley is our family favorite)
  • 4 pastured organic eggs (beat)
  • 4 cans of organic cream corn
  • 1 1/2 cup organic cornmeal (freshly ground if you have a mill)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda (aluminum free)
  • 3/4 cup organic olive oil
  • 2-4 small cans of green chilies, chopped (you decide how many chilies you want)

Instructions

  1. Mix in a large bowl and then bake.
  2. NOTE:  This is another easy make ahead recipe.  Just mix it up a day or two before your meal and then bake just before serving.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Enjoy!!!

Cornbread Dressing

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Cornbread Dressing for your family!  Who doesn’t enjoy dressing alongside turkey and gravy.  (this is a double batch and can be made ahead, even frozen if needed)

Cornbread Dressing

Cornbread Ingredients

  • 4 cups corn meal
  • 4 cups flour (freshly milled whole wheat is what we use)
  • 5 tbls baking powder (aluminum free)
  • 1 tbl sea salt
  • 4 c organic milk
  • 4 pastured eggs
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tbl sucanat or natural sugar

Conbread Instructions

mix and bake 450 Degrees 25-30 minutes

Dressing Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 Cake pans cornbread (see recipe for cornbread above)
  • 2 batches of biscuits (24 biscuits) (see biscuit recipe)

Dressing Instructions

  • Bake biscuits – crumble and let dry.
  • mix in seasonings , onions and celery and broth
  • .62 oz can sage, 1 tbl alt pepper to taste (I like lots)
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 2 onions
  • 6 cans chicken broth (14.5 oz) 
  • Sauté onions and celery bunch chopped and 1-2 large onions. Sauté until el dente or you may just add them to your dressing raw and bake. Both ways are good. In a large bowl, crumble cornbread and biscuits into the bowl. Then put dressing in large cake pan.
  • (Use just enough broth and turkey drippings to cover dressing 1/2 in on top )
  • Bake @ 375 approximately 1 1/2 – 2 hours      serves 18-20 adults

Cranberry Chutney – Organic, Raw and Fresh

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Fresh cranberries are available only a short time.  Take advantage of this super easy recipe!

Cranberry Chutney – Organic, Raw and Fresh

Ingredients

  • 12 oz. bag of cranberries
  • 2 oranges (1 peeled, the other left unpeeled)
  • 1 apple, cored
  • 1/2 cup honey or agave nectar
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

  1. Seed oranges, coarsely chop cranberries in a food processor or blender, and then put in a pretty bowl.  
  2. Add the rest of ingredients (EXCEPT walnuts) to the blender or processor and coarsely chop. Pour mixture over cranberries and gently mix.
  3. Add chopped walnuts, chill and serve.

We make a large batch of chutney every year and eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner!  We add this to our Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday meals and often, we whip fresh cream  to serve alongside this tangy dish.  This recipe is so easy – just use a blender – blend away and there you go. . .a delicious, raw, fresh, nutritious chutney.