heated artichoke dip

we love to have snacks around here in the evenings when we settle in. sometimes something as simple as popcorn or as fancy as a mixed fruit and cheese plate. for the past 2 nights we have been enjoying artichoke dip with toast and fruit. i love artichokes. jambaloney likes them - but i love them!

here's a picture of the finished product:



and another of our shared plate. yummeh!



heated artichoke dip

1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of cream cheese
1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
a splash of apple cider vinegar WITH the Mother
a dollop of unpasteurized honey
6-8 artichokes from a jar of preserved artichokes (preserved in cold-pressed virgin olive oil and vinegar)
sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
crackers, melba toast or regular toast (we like regular toast!)

1. preheat oven to 350C. combine sour cream, cream cheese and parmesan. mix thoroughly.
2. chop up 6-8 artichokes - don't drain them. add the artichokes and their oil to the cheese mixture.
3. add garlic, vinegar, honey and salt and pepper to taste - we love a ton of pepper.
4. if using regular toast, make your toast now. once the toast is finished, set out on a plate and let dry out for the next 10-15 mins.
5. put the artichoke dip in the oven and bake for 15-20 mins.

when we re-heated the artichoke dip for snack the next night, we added chopped up green olives - yummy! we have also been known to add green onion and i am thinking of adding fresh cranberries to the next batch. i'll let you know how that turns out.

we love this snack! enjoy!

Framboise Manor Good Eats Simple Pasta with Meat Sauce

sorry for not posting in such a long time. if you read our other blog, Framboise Manor, you will know that we have alot of crap going on. but anyway - i thought i would share what i call the Framboise Manor Good Eats Simple Pasta with Meat Sauce. here's a pic:



i didn't take pics of the steps to making it but i am sure that you can all figure it out by following the recipe. the secret to this simple spaghetti meal - is what you put in the sauce. follow along and you will see.

Ingredients:

pasta of your choice - follow the instructions on the box/bag
pureed tomatoes (hopefully your own that you canned!)
a splash of apple cider vinegar with the Mother in it
a dollop of un-pasteurized honey
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
fresh or dried oregano (hopefully your own that you grew in your garden or on a sunny window sill)
ground beef (if you are Wendy, Phelan, or MMpaints, you probably hunted, killed, dressed and minced the beef yourself!)
a dash of onion powder
a dump of crushed chilies
a splash of worcestershire sauce
a bit of parmeson cheese (or mozzarella)
sea salt to taste
fresh-cracked black pepper

(the secret - when you combine garlic, honey and apple cider vinegar WITH the Mother in it - you create a natural antibiotic. for real. we use garlic, honey and vinegar in everything!)

1. cook your pasta according to the instructions on the package. we used spaghettini this time but you can use any pasta.

2. heat your pureed tomatoes on medium heat. pour in the splash of vinegar, honey and garlic. stir it up. add the oregano to taste. same goes with the onion powder and crushed chilies. let it heat slowly and move on to the ground beef.

3. brown the ground beef on medium-high. add a splash of worcestershire sauce. cook until the meat is browned.

4. drain the ground beef and add it to your sauce. bring the sauce up to a nice boil and dump it on your pasta.

3. add the parmesan cheese (which we prefer but didn't have any so we used mozzarrella instead!), salt and pepper to taste. enjoy!

chicken and spinach salad

this is one of our favourite ways to eat leftover grilled chicken. this salad is not for wimps. and the dressing can be used on any salad.

to start the dressing you swirl 6 or 7 swirls of cold-pressed virgin olive oil in a little jar. i save all of the little jars that Tosca artichoke hearts come in. they are excellent jars to use for a variety of things, but also the perfect size to make dressing. add a big splash of cider vinegar with the mother into the olive oil.



next add your sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper.



and some of the vinegar and oil from your artichoke hearts.



next is 2 cloves of garlic and a nice chunk of fresh ginger.



a dollop of unpasteurized honey.



squeeze in one quarter of a lemon.



and get jambaloney to shake it vigorously for about 3-4 minutes.



now we are moving on to the salad. we start with a pomegranate.



don't forget to always have your compost bucket handy. we save these kitty litter buckets and use them for everything. it makes a great compost bucket as it has a lid to keep the smell away and it has a handle for carrying it out to the compost heap.



here is the pomegranate cut in half. i only use one half for this salad. the other half was eaten that night as a snack.



break your pomegranate apart to get at the seeds.



here's the seeds ready to top the salad.



i skipped a few steps here but i am sure that you all will still be able to follow. place your spinach in a bowl and top with chopped up artichoke hearts.



slice up some super colossal black olives.



toss those onto your salad.



next up is chunks of pear.



and now the pomegranate seeds.



next add the chicken.



and last but not least, spoon some of your dressing all over the salad and add a sprig of coriander.



that is a delicious and very healthy salad. and oh man - is it ever good!

kymberz Infamous and Sorta' Mediterranean Salsa - Version #1

kymberz Infamous and Sorta' Mediterranean Salsa - Version #1

i do a number of variations when it comes to salsa - sometimes my salsa leans to the Mexican side - full of chilies, hot peppers and garlic and we dump it on organic corn chips fresh out of the oven and smother it in cheese.

sometimes tho i tend towards a more Mediterranean style of salsa (less chilies, still tons of garlic but with a ton of citrus and EXOTIC fruit thrown in!). i think it must be because of my Mediterranean ancestry - of which i have NONE! but i sure do wish i was exotic and Mediterranean. and i was once, for just a brief moment in time. the recipe is coming soon - first i must share my story of how i was once exotic and Mediterranean.

at one of the first kitchen parties/dances that jambaloney and i attended here in Framboise, i was out on the step smoking, and a lady came up and said - "hey are you Sir-rean?". i was like - wtf? i asked her to repeat herself. "are you Sir-rean"....long pause as she takes a puff off of her smoke - "because my husband thinks you might be Lebanese". bahahahahahaha! she was asking me if i was Syrian - can you believe it?!?!?!? i was honoured. i am the most plain-looking Canadian in Canada. but because i had let my hair grow long, and had died it back to it's natural brown PLUS had a very deep tan from running around all spring and summer with no clothes on - i looked Sir-rean to this woman. and man i was proud!

anyway - back to the recipe.

this salsa is one of mine and my jambaloney's favourites - it is as cool and refreshing on a hot day as a glass of fresh-made lemonade (and i have an awesome recipe for lemonade coming up so stay tuned!)

anyway - here is the list of ingredients (be warned - i am not an "exact" kind of person - i measure in "pinches" and "maybe a little more"):

and remember, whenever you follow someone else's recipes to adjust the ingredients to the way you would like it - if you are a garlic lover - add a few extra garlic than the recipe calls for - if you don't like a certain ingredient - leave it out or substitute it with another ingredient!

my ingredients:

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
4-6 tomatoes
3-5 sweet onions
a bunch of parsley
a bunch of cilantro
a splash of apple cider vinegar with the Mother
2-3 teaspoons of pineapple juice
1 small orange (juice, pulp and rind will be used)
1 small lemon (juice and rind will be used)
1 small lime (juice will be used)
1 can of chopped green chilies
6-8 garlic cloves, crushed
a chunk of fresh ginger, crushed
a dollop of un-pasteurized honey
salt and pepper to taste
1 well-ripened mango
1 gorgeous husband in matching boxer shorts and t-shirt for sous-chef duties as needed

**Extra Tip: chop everything as fine as possible...the more fine everything is chopped, the better your salsa will be!**

i always start my salsa with a "base" - or at least what i call a base. get yourself a big mixing bowl and add the olive oil...i don't measure it, i just dump 6-8 swirls around the bottom of the bowl. sqeeze in the juice of half of the lime and add the pineapple juice. add the apple cider vinegar and the dollop of honey. like this:
















next, chop up the rind of the lemon and orange....like this:



and add it to your base:




next, remove all of the white stringy stuff from the inside of your orange and chop it up and add it to your base. at this point, i throw in some salt and pepper.






next - chop up your chilies (I use about 3/4 of a small can) and add it to your base.

(Note: when chopping up all of the ingredients, i use the same plastic cutting board and knife for all of the ingredients. each ingredient you add to the cutting board, soaks up and catches all of the previous ingredients and ensures that you get all of the ingredients into the bowl. DO NOT do this when using recipes that call for meat ingredients!)





as you can see - the base is coming along nicely now.

next up is garlic and ginger (no pic of the ginger - sorry). MMMM - garlic and ginger are sooo good for you! i normally use regular garlic (and at the end of the summer use my own home-grown garlic!) but for this specific day - my hubby's friend brought us a bunch of wild garlic so i used it. (wild garlic is a little like a cross between garlic and a green onion...and wild garlic is a little milder than regular garlic.) anyway, i used 5 delicious bulbs - chop off the tops and bottoms, put them in your garlic press and add it to the base.



next up is an ingredient that probably made you go "Huh?!?!" when reading the ingredients list - but let me assure you that no kymberz Infamous and Sorta' Mediterranean Salsa can be without - Mango!!!



this one is a little bruised and has seen better days - but the pulp inside is very, very sweet and will add an amazing flavour to the salsa - come on - shake it off - Yes - we are going to put mango into the salsa - i promise you will be floored when you eat this!

so chop up your mango like this:



and add it to your base:



the base is sure starting to look good now eh? at this point, i stick my finger in the base and decide if it needs more chilies, garlic, lime, or salt and pepper...

now get yourself a nice bunch of cilantro:



and chop it up:



and add it to your base:



Woops - fergot to mention that while you are preparing the base, the awesome-gorgeous husband (wearing matching boxer shorts and t-shirt with hole in it) is busy at another counter chopping the tomatoes and onions....



(i looove him soooo freaking much!!!)

now - on to the parsley - follow same instructions as cilantro -



chop it up:



and add it to the base - now is a good time for another taste test as the flavours should be starting to blend nicely:



back to the gorgeous husband chopping tomatoes - set the tomatoes in a colander on top of a bowl or pot so that the tomatoe water/juice runs out into the bowl or pot...if you don't strain the tomatoes your salsa will be very watery! and don't forget to drink the bowl/pot of juice after the tomatoes have strained!




here's some onions ready to go into the salsa now:



add the tomatoes and onions to your base:



mix it all up together and - MMMM - this is some really refreshing salsa!



cover and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours to give all of the flavours a chance to blend...

serve it up with your favourite chips (Organic White Corn Chips are pictured) and enjoy! trust me - after a hot day spent weeding in the garden - this is a refreshing and zesty lunch! or its a great snack on a hot evening, sitting on your patio, waiting for the steaks to cook on the BBQ.



i hope that you enjoy. more Framboise Manor Good Eats (FMGEs) coming your way soon!

kymber out

The Framboise Manor - Good Eats diet

* i originally posted this at *Framboise Manor*. but i thought it might explain some of the recipes and eating practices that you will find here at Framboise Manor Good Eats (FMGEs). it has only been slightly edited. and without further ado - enjoy*:

we have been trying to eat locally-, and seasonally-available food for several years. and not for any other reason than that we think it is a healthy way to eat. we have made sure for the past few years that all of our locally-, and seasonally-grown food is organic. if it is not "certified" organic (which is very expensive for a small, family-operated farm to obtain), then we do our research, ask friends and ask the farmers what their practices are. we were very lucky to have a farmer's market only 2kms away from our house back in the city - and the majority of those were certified. but when you stop at a stall and ask a few pertinent questions to a very tired-looking farmer's wife (she's been up since 4am) - and she can look you in the eye and answer your questions - i trust that. so on top of the food that we grew ourselves in the city - we had access to some beautiful, organically-grown food.

now that we are here on the island - it gets even better. the most miles that the majority of our seasonal food travels here is less than 80kms (50ish miles) - if you can believe that! notice that i mentioned the word "seasonal". we don't wish to eat tomatoes in january - unless of course they come from one of the farms around here and are green-house grown. we are working on a green-house of our own so that we can eat OUR own tomatoes in january. but we are extremely fortunate to be in this situation and i realize that not everyone is.

anyway - just wanted you all to know that for the past several years we have become very conscious about where our food comes from. which lead us to gardening. which lead us to canning. which lead us to dehydrating and smoking.

and has made for a rather interesting dietary mix. i have researched all of trendy diets like carb-free, protein-free, atkins, vegan; as well as the "victim" diets like gluten-free and dairy-free and nut-free. please don't get me wrong when i say "victim" diet. what i mean is that there are victims out there who suffer from certain kinds of food and cannot eat it. which must be sheer hell on them. but again, we are very fortunate. we love our red meat, we love any kind of fish or seafood, we love our dairy, we love our veggies, fruits, nuts and grains.

i have also researched the Blood Type Diet. and this has made the most sense to both of us as we are both O negatives. we both digest pure protein much easier than grains - too much grain or carbohydrate and we bloat. so we keep our carbs and grain intake down. but both of us could eat half a steer and ride the rest home to snack on later. we both love our fruit and veg - jambaloney prefers fruit while i prefer veg, but according to the Blood Type Diet that is normal as he is a male and i am...well...you guessed it...a female.

i have also researched Ayurvedic medicinal eating and Qi Gong (Chi Gong). and we have taken those practices into consideration as well.

lastly, my Korean teacher's sister was a certified homeopath/naturopath back in Korea. and the first thing she did when she tested people for certain food allergies or whatnot is kind of crazy but really works. if you are bored one day this winter - give it a try. take a small piece of food, say a piece of apple. hold out your dominant arm perpendicular to the floor. have someone hold you at the wrist and be ready to apply a pull-up pressure. place the piece of apple on your tongue - don't chew or suck - just place it there. and try to push your arm down while the other person tries to pull it up. if you can't push your arm down - that food is no good for your body. and it doesn't matter if that is your favourite food in the world - it is no good! place a tiny piece of steak on your tongue - try again. if you can't move your arm at least a little bit down - the food is not good for you.

now keep in mind that you have to do this with someone who is roughly your size and weight - otherwise it won't work. jamie and i have done this with a bunch of different food - he has learned how much pressure to apply on me and as i am pretty strong for a girl - we can tell when we are both struggling when we practiced this on him. and that let us know what isn't so good for him.

both of us are powerhorses with any kind of meat on our tongues - any kind. he gets a little weak with milk. only milk. not ice-cream or yoghurt or cheese. so he doesn't consume a lot of milk. jamie is strong with just about all fruits and weak with some vegetables. i am the opposite - i am strong with any kind of vegetable (even the ones i hate), but i am weak with citrus-based fruits. both of us are powerhorses with ginger, garlic and honey. as well as cider vinegars WITH the Mother in it. and when we did our ayurvedic tests on-line - it was quite amazing how much our ayurvedic results matched up with the tests we did with the food on our tongues. and both matched up with our blood type diet tests.

so naturally, armed with all of this information and diet information that i knew from gymnastics (11yr. trained competitive gymnast) - we have created the Framboise Manor Diet. which i will be copyrighting soon. and if someone has already copyrighted this - i will be sueing!

the Framboise Manor Diet consists of this: (i will put it in quotes as i am sure to have a book deal soon - bahahahahah!)

"screw the food pyramid. and screw religiously following any "organized" diet. find out what works for you. and read up on the Blood Type Diet. you might just be amazed about what you find our about your blood type. and be sure to check out any other diet that interests you. do your research! however:

#1. make sure to include fresh garlic, fresh ginger, vinegar WITH the mother in it, and un-pasteurized honey in your diet every day - have those things in an infusion (tea) or put those things into at least one meal a day. it's better if you can get those things into 2-3 meals a day - when combined, they are natural antibiotics. you can hide those 4 things into just about any meal that you make.

#2. eat at least 1-2 servings of nuts a day. if you are allergic to nuts...well...i am not a doctor, nor do i play one on tv...so i do not have any advice. but if you aren't allergic to nuts - eating a small handful of almonds or peanuts or sunflower seeds a day will help your cholesterol and aid in digestion.

#3. eat 2-3 servings of raw, un-cooked food a day. there is a reason that they say that an apple a day will keep the doctor away. an apple, an orange, a handful of berries, some raw carrots, a piece of raw turnip, some raw spinach - whatever is in season and local - eat some every day.

#4. eat 2-3 servings of fermented food a day. fermented food, you ask? yes - fermented food. it is the way our ancestors preserved food for millions of years and fermenting some types of food actually makes it better for us! think pro-biotics! the latest trend? i think not. sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, yoghurt and a bunch of other foods are loaded with vitamin K and pro-biotics. and don't forget about pickled food - which is just another way of saying fermented. enjoy a couple of pickled beets on the side of that steak. or add them to your salad. or just eat them out of a jar. olives and cheese anyone? and if you make these fermented foods yourself - then all of the better!

#5. eat 2-3 servings of steamed/cooked food. STOP BOILING FOOD! you are draining all of the nutrients and unless you are going to drink the boiling water you are wasting those nutrients. steam, roast, grill, fry or bake. NO BOILING. i mean it! and look into cooking using the papillote method, which is a french method of cooking food in parchment paper.

#6. instead of 3-square a day, try to eat smaller portions several times a day. instead of having 2 big scoops of potatoes with your 8 lambchops at 5pm - eat one small scoop of potatoes with 2 lambchops AND a spoonfull of sauerkraut AND some fresh fruit. it's ok - you can go back for another small plate in an hour and a half!

#7. and try to eat as seasonally, and locally, as possible. if you can get some local swiss chard and are able to dehydrate it for use in soups and stews later, or if you are able to can it - then buy a ton of it. when food is in season it is much cheaper than when it is not. and always try to get as local as you can. there is another diet that i researched called the "100 miles" diet. and it recommends that you get your food as locally as possible - but that if you have to - don't go further than 100 miles.

i hope this post has not come across as too preachy - but it is a very important topic to me and i think it is very important to "prep" for our diets. as an example, i believe that jambaloney is healing up the way he is - and he really should be a lot worse - is because of our diet. he was super-healthy and super-strong BEFORE he got sucker-punched. and that, i believe, is because of his diet.

the most important thing to me, personally, is to learn to grow as much of your own food as possible. if this is not possible, find someone who can grow a lot of your food for you. start up a community plot if you don't have land. find a CSA farmer and meet him, really meet him and his family. volunteer at his farm. if SHTF - you already have a source of food - and maybe a place to go and stay!

and once you learn to grow your own food, or have someone else do it for you - learn to can, smoke, dehydrate or freeze (if possible). there is a real sense of peace of mind that comes with knowing you are not only stock-piling YOUR own food, but that you are able to replenish it.

again - not trying to preach but i want all of you to be as healthy as possible in the event of SHTF. and i think that being able to control your diet, and know what is best for you to store, is of utmost importance.

*stepping off of the shoebox now*

kymber out.

Welcome to Framboise Manor Good Eats

*Framboise Manor* is our other blog and details our day-to-day living in our Bug-Out-Location since December 2010. you can check it out here.

on that blog, i started a series of posts called Good Eats (GEs). however, i have tons of recipes to share and did not want to clog up that blog with boring old recipes as we have several prepper, survivalist, homesteading types and some grumpy old men who might not be very interested in those kinds of posts.

so i decided to start this blog. here i will share our recipes and our menu planning and our ideas about eating home-grown or locally-sourced and seasonally-available food. we care very much about the food that we eat and if any of what we share here helps anyone else - that's great.

but this is my place - well mine and jambaloney's. my place to keep track of what we are eating and to keep track of our food stores and to keep track of my recipes.

kymber out.