I call these tots because the original recipe, from Pecan bread, that these were adapted from referred to them as tots. If you prefer call them patties, but whatever you call them, call them good! I love how these "hide" veggies in with the patties, and have an excellent flavor. We enjoyed them on the "flat bread" (the picture is of the flat bread before cut) folded over and ate them with traditional burger toppings, tomatoes, avocado, onions, lettuce, and a grilled 1/4 of savoy cabbage. They were quite satisfying! We all loved the Tots, and N enjoyed his tot sandwich with lots of homemade ketchup (recipe from NT cookbook)
The Egg Yolks are added, since I make this with the flat bread, and the flat bread recipe has 2 egg yolks leftover. I didn't want to just discard these delicious and nutritious yolks, so I added them to help bind the mixture when "fried."
I could imagine this being awesome with some basil or cilantro as well, but I had two hungry men, and not enough time to go pick some herbs:) Feel free to spice it up a bit, and I would love to know what you all try!
Recipe: 1 cup cooked, cut, tightly packed green beans or broccoli (or any other veggies you want to try) 1 cup shredded, tightly packed chicken (left over from making stock, or just boiled) 1/4 of a white cooking onion 3 cloves garlic 1 Tsp Fish sauce 2 Egg Yolks (optional) 2 Tbsp Butter 2 Tbsp Coconut oil Salt and pepper as needed Other spices if you wish
Place the veggie, onion, garlic, and fish sauce in the food processor, and process until it is liquid or pasty. Gently pulse in the chicken until the mixture resembles that of Tuna salad. It will be wet and slightly sticky. Take a small handful of the mixture and press in between your palm to form a "patty." Have your skillet nice and hot, but not scalding or the outsides will burn. Combine both the butter and coconut oil together in a dish, and apply liberally to the skillet. Place the patties on the skillet and cook until browned on eat side. If you try to flip the patties too soon, they will break apart. Once "cooked" on the one side they will stay together very nicely!
These are an excellent change of pace for all that left over chicken, and the mixture of veggies helps the meat go a long way.
This recipe was enough to feed our very hungry family of 3. (both J and I eat more than "normal" people...especially on the yeast diet!)
Many of you have heard me mention raw milk on several occasions. So, I thought it would be helpful to you all to share why our family chooses to drink raw milk, and how you can find and determine a good raw milk supply for your own family.
Why Raw Milk?
Milk is a food that is alive. There is considerable science literature that shows that Raw milk is superior in nutrition to its pasteurized counterpart. Raw milk contains higher levels of natural vitamin C, and has been know to reduce allergies, asthma, eczema, and digestive issues. Reasons for these reductions have been linked to the high number of digestive adding enzymes and bacteria that actually allow for the assimilation of other vitamins and nutrients in the diet. In general most Americans eat diets that are low in digestive enzymes and healthful bacteria, given our obsession with pasteurization, irradiation etc. Pasteurization kills not only the “bad” bacteria but also the good. Leaving your milk filled with dead pathogens. Your body doesn't know what to do with “dead” bacteria...so it starts to fight them, than realizes it doesn't..and than gives up. This typically results in mucus production and immune system tiring.
Pretty much, in any study comparing the two, Raw milk is always shown as a superior food!
That is why we drink it, but there is much that needs to go into questioning and decisions prior to bringing this product into your home.
With the modernization of the food supply and the “factory farm” diaries, finding raw milk can be challenging. You DON'T buy raw milk from a “factory dairy.” These cows are fed a diet specifically for the increased production of milk. There diets aren't based on having low bacteria counts simply b/c they know their milk will be pasteurized. They are fed mostly corn, which I know I was surprised to find out cows digestive tracks actually aren't designed to eat corn at all. They aren't omnivores. They are grass-a-vores. Cows have essentially two stomaches. One to digest the grass the first time they eat it, and the second for the “cud” after it has been chewed. Yummy thought huh? When a cow is fed corn, it by-passes the second stomach and heads right for the digestive track...essentially recking havoc on the cows intestines. This typically is why dairy farms smell so bad, all the cows have the runs from an in-proper diet. Their e.coli counts in their milk also shot way up from the corn actually causing a condition know as leaky gut.
Conditions for selecting a raw milk farm:
-cows shouldn't be fed corn. (even most the certified raw dairies are corn fed to some degree, and I know of 2 within the past year that were shut down for E. Coli counts being too high)
-cows should be pastured
-there bowl movements shouldn't be liquid, they should be solids
-Milking equipment should be sanitized after each milking, and milk from separate milkings never combined due to fluctuations in temperatures leading to bacteria growth.
-Farm should be small, no more than 50 cows, but preferably 5 or less. To ensure adequate knowledge and awareness of each cow, there are always exceptions to the size of farms with cows. One of the best dairies in the whole state has more than 50 cows...
-sick cows are never milked or given antibiotics.
-Cows have been tested for TB, and come back negative
-farmer drinks their own milk.
-bacteria counts are checked and monitored.
-ideally they have a raw milk permit...but it is okay if they don't and they meet all the above.
So, that is it in a nut shell. If you are looking for raw milk farms in Rochester please join the Rochester farm connection list serve via Yahoo. If you need one in Buffalo, you may email me directly for help in finding one. If you aren't near Rochester or buffalo...ask around at your local health food store, you might be surprised at the information you find. Just please remember to ask the above questions. Raw milk is great if the cows are healthy and happy, but it can be dangerous if the cows diets are poor or the milking standards aren't up to “raw” standards.
Please visit the Real Milk website for tons more information about all the benefits to raw milk and the legislation surrounding it.
For more information about Raw Milk, health of Cows and the milk you drink, and how pasteurization/homogenization came to be please view the view below
So, I stumbled upon this recipe at Pecan Bread. I have to say, we had the flat bread tonight with our hamburgers and both J and I were amazed at how good is actually did taste. N liked that he could "roll" it up and hid beans in it! I am shocked at when you eat this with meat or some other filling how the brain really processes it like bread! These would make great "roll up" finger sandwiches, tortilla shells, or "crepes" for sandwich fillings.
Overall, they don't take too long to prepare, probably an hour start to finish...which when you consider the time it takes to make bread...this is nothing!
The trick is to make sure your egg whites are beaten until very stiff and the pureed veggies have all excess water removed. I simply boiled some carrots and beans together until soft, drained all the water, pureed them with my hand-held blender. The result was very thick! Perfect for this recipe. Recipe:
1/3 cup pureed veggies (a combination of carrots, green beans, cauliflower, or squash, or just pick one of them) 6 Egg Whites 4 Egg Yolk 2 Tsp salt or seasoned salt. ( I like the "sugar free" season salt...I will post a recipe.)
If you don't have left over cooked veggies, than peel and cut some carrots and add green beans to the boiling water. Drain water and puree with a hand-held blender. Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high with the salt until stiff peaks form. Blend the egg yolks and veggies together until liquid. Carefully fold in the veggie mixture with the egg whites until blended.
Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees. Put batter on a sil-pat on a cookie sheet either spread through the whole thing or drop and slightly flatten in circles if using for buns or tortilla substitute. I would suggest potentially spreading the batter between 2 sheets if doing just the flat bread. The recipe makes aprox. 22 "bun" sized rounds. (I recently tried this on parchment paper and not the sil-pat and it was a disaster...so I recommend the silpat. I am going to try it on a well greased sheet next, I will let you know how it turns out!) Place in the oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned. If stacking pans, rotate mid-way through cooking. We are really excited about these! Give them a try! Let me know what you think... It can't get any better, eggs and hidden veggies:)
A new variation, I like the consistency of these way better than the Nutty Squash ones, but the flavors are equal!
N and J both enjoyed them greatly...and if you aren't on a Candida or another special diet, I would add 2-4 Tbsp succant, honey, or maple syrup! I also dry roasted the squash this time and I found the muffins were way less wet! So, to dry roast your squash, cut the bulb off of a butter nut squash or use an acorn squash. Cut them in half and remove the seeds. Place in an oven-proof dish and set the oven to 250-300 degrees. Roast flesh side up for 30 minutes than turn the oven off. Remove from oven when flesh is soft. This stops the squash from getting excessively moist!
1 Cup dry roasted butter nut squash 1 cup finely shredded coconut flakes (unsweeted, un-sulphured.) 2 Tbsp Coconut oil 4 Eggs 2 TBSP freshly ground flax seeds (optional) 2 Tbsp or more of cinnamon 1-2 Tbsp of homemade vanilla extract (2-4 TBSP of a sweetener if allowed)
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter or Oil an 8x8 pan or muffin tins. (I personally hate muffin tins...I just find them a pain, so my family has gotten used to "cut" muffins from a cake pan!) Combine the squash and coconut shreds in the food processor or blender, blend until combined. Add the oil, flax, cinnamon, vanilla and eggs. Process again until well blended. Place batter in the buttered pan or tins. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned ontop and a toothpick comes out clean. If you remove from the oven to soon, the muffins will shrink and get compacted. When they are cooked all the way through they will retain their shape!
These are a nice substitute when you are avoiding grains or if you are trying to get more protein and veggies into your or your kids diet. They aren't the best things on the face of the planet, but they are a good supplement. I would highly recommend adding some honey or maple syrup...maybe 2 TBSP if you aren't avoiding Sugar than I think these would be awesome! They taste like a pumpkin pie bar minus the sweetness!
2 Cups cooked and cooled squash (aprox: 1 acorn, or 1/2 butternut) 1/2 cup crispy pecans 1/2 cup crispy almonds 4 eggs 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil 1 tbsp vanilla extract 2 Tbsp Cinnamon 1/4 Tsp Ginger 1/8 Tsp Ground Cloves 2-4 TBSP maple syrup/succant/honey (optional)
Place the Almonds and Pecans in a food processor or blender and process until it is a fine meal. Add the squash oil and spices. Process until blended. Add the eggs last and blend until combined.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place batter either in mini muffin pans, muffin pans or a square cake pan. Oil the pan first! Bake for 30-40 minutes until the muffins pull away from the side of the tins or the pan. A toothpick inserted into the muffins should come out clean when inserted. The top should also brown a bit.
N really enjoyed them and did J. We all agreed they could use some honey...but they were a nice addition to our chicken soup dinner!
let me know what you think! Sorry no photo now, I will take one next time we make them. They were gone to quick to grab a photo!
We are counter culture foodies. We love food from the farm, food from local sources, all things gmo-free. We love the goodness the Lord has given, and are thankful for food in all its forms.
We appreciate that a life was given to eat our dinner most nights, and see the effort and grace that is put into the meat that makes it to our tables.
We appreciate the hands that labored planting the fields for the salads and side dishes that will grace our table.
We are slow foodies, sharing in the goodness and art of meal preparation.
I won't have the most beautiful photos, or delightful antidotes, but I will share with you amazing recipes that are approved by many palettes prior to them showing up here.
Most in our house are gluten and or grain free, so the baked recipes will reflect that..
Alternative Cooking blog is here to help you consider other options in this crazy food world, and to help you muddle through fact and fiction. This site is only for informational and educational purposes. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding in supplements or making any changes in your diet. Thank you.
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