Honey Mustard Chicken ~ Slow Cooking for Fast Days

It's always on the busiest of days that I long to come home to a warm, nourishing meal that fills the house with it's enticing fragrance.  This is something my husband enjoys almost daily.  Chef Mama on the other hand...   Can we give a shout out to our crock pots?  Holla!

This simple, traditionally-prepared, gluten-free dish can easily be transformed into a GAPS-friendly meal by placing the chicken on a bed of squash instead of rice (I'm using up my non-GAPS ingredients in case we decide to go for it).  All it takes to prepare this is a little forethought at the beginning of the day instead of at four o'clock.  But I love that, don't you?  Knowing dinner is cooking away while I go about my day is just plain happy.  This recipe leaves no leftovers for our family of six (our oldest is only nine, mind you), so if there are more of you or you want leftovers, I recommend doubling it.

Honey Mustard Chicken

Serves 6

*2 cups brown rice

*4 cups filtered water plus 4 Tablespoons kefir, buttermilk, yogurt, or lemon juice

*4 cups chicken stock or water, or a mixture of both

1/2 cup raw, local honey

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 cup butter, ghee, or coconut oil

3 pounds chicken drumsticks or thighs, or a mixture of both

*If on the GAPS diet, substitute rice and stock with baked squash of your choice and a cup of broth to drink.

1. First thing in the morning or the night before, soak rice in 4 cups filtered water with the cultured dairy or lemon juice.  Cover and set aside (the rice should soak for 7-12 hours).
2. Begin the next two steps 6-8 hours before dinner.  Combine honey, mustard, curry powder, and butter in a saucepan.  Mix over medium-high heat until it reaches a boil.  Boil 1 minute.
3. Place chicken in the crock pot.  Drizzle prepared glaze over the chicken.  Place lid on top and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
4. 1 hour before serving, drain and rinse soaked rice.  Put in saucepan with 4 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Skim off any foam, reduce heat, cover, and let simmer until all the stock is absorbed.  This takes about 45 minutes.
5. To serve, spoon a bed of rice onto dinner plates.  Drizzle juices from crock pot over the rice and place one or two pieces of chicken on top of the rice.  This goes great with a side of fresh veggies or a side of vegetables sauteed in butter.  Spooning some of the juice from the chicken over the veggies is suggested.  Sprinkle Celtic sea salt and pepper over everything to taste.

~Browse more riddlelove recipes here.~ 

Enjoy!


I'm sharing this at Monday Mania Real Food Wednesday, Traditional Tuesdays, Pennywise Platter, Simple Lives Thursday, Fight Back Friday, & Gluten-Free Recipe Link-Up.

Raw Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart ~ A Recipe

I'm starting to realize caution should be exercised when posting on the Facebook page.  When I make something pretty and yummy, I love to post pictures of it.  It's like a kindergartener wanting to hang a coloring up on the fridge, you know?  But...  Then there are recipe requests.  Which I totally understand.  I mean, who wouldn't want to make this tart?  It's amazing.  Here is my adaptation of this tart I found in Raw Food, Real World.

All-Raw Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart with Vanilla Cream

Serves 12+

For the crust:

• 3/4 cup raw cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup grade B maple syrup
• Pinch of Celtic sea salt

Mix all ingredients until it feels doughy.  Press into a pie pan, cover, and freeze for 30 minutes or more.

For the filling:

• 2 1/4 cups raw cocoa powder
• 2 1/4 cups grade B maple syrup
• 1 cup extra virgin coconut oil

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender (I use a Vita-Mix) until smooth.  Pour into chilled pie crust.  Cover and freeze for one hour or chill in the fridge for two or more hours.

For the vanilla cream:

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2-4 hours
• 1 cup young coconut meat (about 2 coconuts)
• 1/2 cup water from the coconuts
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or raw honey
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• Seeds from one vanilla bean or 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Blend all ingredients in a hight-speed blender until smooth.  Freeze for about an hour.  Either scoop some on each slice of tart or use cake decorating tools to make cool piping designs however you want.

Run your knife through hot water right before slicing, it makes it easier to cut.  

Caution: this tart is rich!

There is something about the way the slices look that makes my mouth water.

~Browse more riddlelove recipes here.~

I'm sharing this at Simple Lives Thursday, Fight Back Friday, & Gluten-Free Recipe Link-Up.

Hello from the Pasture

Remember this?

I took it in September when we opened escrow on this little ranch and were filled with so much anticipation.

Remember this little guy?

He was not even two weeks old.

And remember her?

She was only two, tiny days old.

Here they are, six weeks later, and almost old enough to be weened and let out to that pasture we dreamed about filling with sheep.

And there Margret the pullet is (to the left), still hopeful for a bottle of her own. The picture isn't the best, but trying to bottle feed two exuberant lambs, dodging a protesting hen who attempts to fly on my back, and taking a photo is no easy feat, I tell you.

Shamrock the ram is a heritage Jacob breed, which are on the "rare" list. We hope to get a Jacob ewe so we can add to the population. They are a smaller breed and ideal for hand-spinners (their wool is so soft) and they are known for good meat. Will we ever find out about Jacob meat first-hand? I don't know yet.

Blossom the black ewe, on the other hand, is a half Jacob, half Suffolk breed. Suffolk is the most common in America because they are known to have the leanest, tastiest meat. Will we ever find out first-hand? Probably. But not Blossom. She is all lined up to be a great lamber and the folks we bought her from believe it's a possibility for her to have triplets at some point.

It might freak some people out to even consider eating an animal they've raised. It freaks me out a little, but it goes to show how detached our lifestyle is from our food source. The more I learn about massive meat farms, the more I embrace the idea of knowing exactly how my meat was raised, what the animals were fed, and how it was processed. My pocketbook likes this concept, too.

This Wednesday, 2-day-old chicks will start to trickle in to our local feed store. We plan to have twelve hens again, like we did two years ago. Our kids, especially our son, is counting down the minutes until we bring them home. I'll admit, I am pretty excited, too. Chickens are so low-maintenance, they are hilarious, there is nothing like home-laid eggs, and their poo is like black gold for the garden. Most of the breeds we plan to get are duel-purpose, meaning they are good layers and once their laying days are over, their meat will be good enough to be tasty fryers. Will I be ready to butcher them by then? Only time will tell, but I've been gearing myself up for that moment for two years now. I still get a little squeamish at the thought, but as an omnivore, I feel it's my responsibility to butcher at least once to experience first-hand what needs to happen to get that meat onto our table. I don't expect many people to understand that. That's okay. I was home schooled and now I home school our kids. I'm used to being weird. I embrace my weirdness.

I think I'm done rambling. It's a rainy day and I have millions of books to read about how on earth to be a grass farmer, and it's time to apply for agricultural water while I learn about digging a pond and how to irrigate from it using only gravity as the pump. Excitement is racing through my nerdy veins at just the thought of it all.

I'm sharing this at Simple Lives Thursday & Fight Back Friday
.