Nourishing Traditions Carrot Cake

Recently I've been experimenting with making baked goods out of whole grain flour soaked in an acidic medium.  Supposedly soaking grains breaks down antinutrients, making the grains more nutritious and digestible.  We tried the Carrot Cake recipe from Nourishing Traditions, with some alterations, and found it fairly tasty- although it would be a big change from someone used to using refined sugar and white flour, which are much lighter and sweeter.

The icing was delicious- I love cream cheese frosting and I couldn't even tell that it was made with honey!

Here is the recipe with my changes:

2 1/2 c freshly ground spelt, kamut or whole wheat flour- I don't have a wheat grinder, unfortunately, so I used organic stone ground red wheat flour
1 c piima cream or créme fraiche
1 c whole yogurt- instead of these two ingredients I used 2 c. buttermilk left over from making butter
1 c butter, softened
1 1/4 c rapadura- I used coconut sugar, which I have been using a lot in baking and cooking recently.  I works well but is not nearly as sweet as white or brown sugar.
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
1 8-oz can crushed pineapple, water packed- I didn't have any on hand so I left it out, I do think it would add to the sweetness and moistness of the cake, however.
2 c finely grated carrots
1 c dried unsweetened coconut meat
1/2 c crispy pecans, chopped- used walnuts instead

Icing: (the best part, in my opinion!!)
2 c cream cheese, softened- I only used one package
1/2 c butter - used 1/4 c.
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 - 3/4 c raw honey- we use Howland's Honey which is locally produced/used 1/4 c.

Mix flour with yogurt and cultured cream.  Cover and leave for 12 to 24 hours in a warm place.    Line a buttered 9" by 13" Pyrex pan with buttered parchment paper and coat pan and parchment paper with flour.    Cream butter with Rapadura.  Beat in eggs, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.  Gradually add flour mixture.  Fold in pineapple with juice, carrots, coconuts and nuts.  Pour into pan and bake at 300 degrees for about 2 hours.  (I found it took 1.5 hours in our convection oven, and that was a bit overdone).  Let cool slightly and turn onto a platter or tray.

To make icing, place cream cheese, butter, vanilla and honey in food processor and blend until smooth.  Generously ice the top and sides of the cake. 

Arabella had lots of fun 'helping' me with the cake (more like taste testing!)  It was her first time having any sort of dessert like batter.

Daniel was quite happy playing with the playgym, which he loves!

Afterwards we went for a walk outside.  Despite all of the snow it was the first 'warm' day we've had in a long time!  It was also Arabella's first time walking outside, as it has been much too cold and snowy for her.  She loved walking/running around and even didn't mind slipping and falling in cold puddles.

Another outing Arabella (and Mama) love is the library, which we visit every week.  We are all avid readers! 

Helping in the kitchen

Arabella loves helping in the kitchen- I had her sit on the counter once to watch me and since then, when I begin cooking she comes over and tugs on my leg, standing on her tip toes, until I lift her up.  Last week I was making dessert for some guests and Arabella was making a dessert of her own- mixing oats and flour into some water.  She made a huge mess but enjoyed it greatly and it kept her occupied for hours!

 

Taking her task very seriously

 

Sampling

 

I think it's just right!

Here she is a few months ago trying out some ginger

 

And green onion

And raw beets (which she actually seemed to enjoy)

 

Hard to believe how much she has grown and changed just since those photos were taken!  Won't be long until this little cutie is helping out in the kitchen too- for now he loves to ride in the sling and take it all in.

 

 

 

Avocado Banana Smoothie

Lately we have been enjoying lots of smoothies- Arabella loves smoothies in particular, and she will drink just about anything in her new straw cup.  This smoothie is delicious for breakfast, as we find it quite filling and satisfying, sometimes with a homemade muffin on the side.  It was inspired by the smoothie at Against All Grain, but I changed ours quite a lot.

Avocado Banana Smoothie

1/2 avocado
1.5 large or two small, ripe bananas
1 1/2 c yogurt or kefir
1/2 cup milk (or more to thin as desired) or water kefir, which gives it a bit of fizz
2 egg yolks (only use raw if from a local trusted source)
2 spoons almond or peanut butter
sometimes I add a spoon each of cocoa powder and honey
Arabella also has a spoon of fermented cod lover oil in hers

Yum I love smoothies!

 

Getting the last delicious drops!

 

Danny (4 weeks old) is too little for smoothies, but he is growing big and strong on mommy's milk!

 

Little sweetie 

 

Arabella and Apples

Arabella has recently discovered that she can eat a WHOLE apple, and she loves them!  The other week she pulled one out of Papa's lunch bag and began chomping on it.

 

And munching on her apple kept her busy while shopping for suits for Papa!

 

She ate the entire thing, just leaving the seeds and stem.  It takes her half an hour :o)

And later that evening, at Red Lobster in her cute little pigtails

 

 

 

Calgary

We took a weekend road trip to Calgary a couple of weeks ago, and all had a great time.  Arabella was so good- we left at 4 am and she slept for several hours, had breakfast and then played and slept again (for a seven hour drive!)  I was a bit worried about how she would sleep in the hotel, as she is so used to sleeping in her own crib and room at home, but she was exhausted from all of the sight seeing and went right to sleep in a pack and play which we placed in the corner of the hotel room.

Here she is ordering dinner at a restaurant in downtown Calgary:

 

Hi Mama!

Looking at the gorillas at the zoo

Having her afternoon nap in the Ergo carrier (she won't sleep in the stroller- too much going on around her!)

 

Bald eagle

Mmmmmm... blueberries!

Making Butter

We have been enjoying making, and eating, homemade butter from farm fresh, grass fed cream.  Usually when I make it I get a nice lump of butter and some buttermilk, but this week the cream was so rich and thick (I had to spoon it out of the jar!) that basically everything turned into butter with hardly any buttermilk left. 

I decided to freeze this batch for winter time- delicious, healthful, summer butter in the dead of winter.   Butter from healthy, pastured cows is full of nutrients- read all about them here.  And it tastes great!

Pink Sunhat

We have been having such a hot sunny summer that Arabella needed a new sunhat!  I found a pattern for one online and used up some fabric I had left over.  The ties are very handy as she at a stage where she pulls everything- hat, bows, headbands- off her head.

She has been growing so fast recently that it is already getting too small!

Here is a link to the pattern:

http://www.merrimentdesign.com/baby-sunhat-pattern-with-ruffles-and-ties.php

10 months!

Our little sweet pea is 10 months old already!  She has been doing great- ever since we found out that her weight gain and fussiness were caused by a tongue and lip tie, and therefore being unable to nurse properly, she has been a completely different baby.  She is back to her very happy, easy going, playful self and sleeping 11-12 hours a night, straight through.

Arabella has gained close to two pounds in 2.5 weeks, using an SNS and homemade formula.  The pediatrician said she is making great strides in catching up developmentally.  Bella isn't crawling but she scuttles around the kitchen while sitting, rolls around to grab things and loves to pull up and stand.

She is loving real food too!  I've been dicing her meat and veggies, but yesterday she grabbed half a boneless chicken thigh before I could cut it, and thought it was just hilarous to chew on it. 

Other favourites are blueberries, plain yogurt, cheese and egg yolk.  She is completely grain, sugar and processed food free, and even when she was losing weight, her nutrient levels were all good, which is a great testament to real, whole, organic and properly raised food! 

Making soup

Today Arabella and I made soup- she made mixed block and pale blue pony soup:

And I made Italian Wedding soup!

I used the recipe from Kat at Art's Chili Pepper
http://www.kathleenwachter.com/2012/06/italian-wedding-soup.html
I used organic grassfed beef broth that I simmered in the slow cooker for 24+ hours and grassfed beef for the meatballs.  The spinach was from a local farm but it shrunk so much that I ran a little short.  The soup was fantastic anyway.

Sorry Arabella, our soup tasted much better than yours!  ;o)