Recipe Exchange

Today, I attended the LDS Holistic Women’s Retreat. It was amazing to spend time with sisters in Zion who are also interested in nourishing their bodies in accordance with the Word of Wisdom and as naturally and holistically as possible.

Amy Jones and Julia Holt presented information on topics such as, “How Coming to Know our First Mother Enhances Personal Relationships”, “Your Body’s Cycle, Internal Body Clock”, “Using Your Biological Markers to Assess Where You Are in Your Cycle”, “First Clinical Step to Healing: Taming the Yeastie Beaties”, “A Holistic LDS Woman is a Chaste Woman”, and much more! It was truly enlightening and educational. 🙂

During the lunch break, we enjoyed a wonderful pot luck with amazing dishes brought by these amazing women! Below are the recipes for the dishes I brought.

If you have a favorite dish that you like to bring to pot lucks please feel free to share your recipe in the comment section. 🙂

Cranberry Salsa Dip

Topping: Spread on top of chilled base

1 bag fresh cranberries (chopped coarse)
1 bunch cilantro (chopped fine)
1 bunch green onions (both green and white part finely chopped)
1 Jalapeno (seeded and finely chopped)
Juice from 2 limes
½ c Rapadura
Pinch of Real Salt
Optional: chopped pine nuts

Base: Combine together and spread thinly on platter. Chill before adding topping.

8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz sour cream (or kefir cheese)
8 oz mayonnaise

This keeps well in the refrigerator for several days.

NOTE: I’m interested in trying this recipe with honey instead of Rapadura, and also want to try fermenting it. I’m thinking I’ll try it as is except replacing the Rapadura for honey and adding 3 T whey. Then I’ll let it ferment on the counter or in the cupboard for 3 days. I’ll let you know how it turns out. 🙂

Rosemary, Garlic, and Walnut Kefir Cheese adapted from theHealthyEatingSite.com

1 c kefir cheese
1 small clove garlic
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, very finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed fine)
5-6 whole walnuts
Pinch of Real Salt

Place kefir cheese in a bowl. Remove any hard stems from the rosemary and chop it as finely as you can. If using dried rosemary, crush it to as close to a powdered texture as possible. Add to the kefir cheese. Remove the husk from the clove of garlic and crush it through a garlic press or chop it as finely as possible. Add to the kefir cheese. Roughly chop the walnuts and add to the kefir cheese, along with the Real Salt to taste.

Mix by hand until all the ingredients are well blended, and serve.

Soaked Sourdough Thin Wheat Crackers adapted from KitchenStewardship.com

1 c “discarded” sourdough starter
¼ c room temperature lard from pastured pork (or coconut oil or softened butter)
1 c whole wheat or spelt flour, or as much as you need to make a stiff dough (I used half wheat and half spelt)
½ tsp Real Salt
Olive oil for brushing
Coarse Real Salt for sprinkling on top

In a large bowl, combine the sourdough and the lard and mix thoroughly. Mix the salt in with ¼ cup flour and add to the sourdough mixture. Knead it all together in the bowl, adding as much flour as necessary to make a stiff dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or put a lid on the bowl to prevent it from drying out. Leave the dough at room temperature for at least seven hours.

Seven or more hours later, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour a little bit of olive oil in your hands, then take a small portion of the dough (about ¼ cup) and roll it in your hands to coat with oil. Roll the the dough out on a Silpat or other nonstick baking mat using a rolling pin, until it is very thin. Sprinkle liberally with coarse salt.

Cut the dough vertically and horizontally into quadrangles with a pizza cutter. Transfer the Silpat onto your baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until just golden brown. Repeat in batches. The crackers shrink a little bit in the oven, so when you pull out your baking sheet, they will already be separated and you don’t have to try and transfer the delicate dough from one surface to another.

For variation, I made one batch plain, one with dried tomatoes & basil, another with garlic and rosemary, and another with dried peppers. To do this, I placed the extra ingredients in the bowl before adding the sourdough starter and coconut oil.