Before you tell us your kitchen goal(s) for March, first let us know how you did for February?
OH, and don’t forget today is your LAST CHANCE to enter the U.S. Wellness Meats giveaway for $83 worth of all my favorites from their online store!
(BTW, if you post about this at your blog feel free to use the picture above and then comment with your link. Retweet, too, pretty please?)
I’m sure these Kitchen Goals posts won’t always be this fun, but today I’m loving it because as I look back at February I had three successes! (And you know how often I flop in the kitchen, so this is huge.)
- Katie shared some of her sourdough starter and that just might be “the one” for my area, because I had my first sourdough success the other day!!!! I have to pull it off again, though, before I’m confident enough to post about it.
- I tried fermented carrots and LOVED them. I’ll tell you all about it soon.
- Lastly, I made the liver recipe I told you about and WE ALL LOVED IT, for real!!
MY KITCHEN GOALS OF THE MONTH FOR MARCH:
- Make that same sourdough again, only this time I’ll make a bigger loaf so it rises up to right about sandwich size. It came out too short, but for once it was not because it didn’t rise (it did!), but because I didn’t make the loaf big enough. I’ll keep you posted.
- I’d like to try homemade donuts with the kids. (It’s a rare treat!) I meant to make them on Fat Tuesday but still haven’t gotten to it.
Lastly I’m going to try to make a soaked version of Hallee’s whole wheat bread bowl recipe. Don’t hers look so good?!
Those are my kitchen goals for March, now tell us in the comments how YOU did last month and what you are taking on this month?
Part of Fight Back Friday!
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I am also working on sourdough this month. I made a successful loaf yesterday with my friend who is very experienced in baking and breadmaking; now I want to try it on my own!
I didn’t make goals for last month because I am just starting but this months goal is to do away with soy completly and to make a sourdough starter and get it right.
My kitchen goal for this month is to get a kitchen! We are supposed to close on our new house by the end of the month, but the appliances will have to wait for the mid-April tax credit (baby steps, right?). SOMEDAY I hope to be experimenting in the kitchen again!
I honestly don’t know! (Is that bad?) I have to wait until I decide if we’re really doing GAPS or not, because that will change things! I hinted to my parents that I’d really like the GAPS book for my birthday next week so we’ll see!
I didn’t make goals last month, but this month I need to go through and organize my kitchen.
Last month I learned how to make no-knead sourdough bread (recipe coming this week on my blog).
I also learned how to make yummy soaked/sprouted flour tortillas and sourdough pizza crust.
Oh, and I made buttermilk for the first time!
This month my goals are:
1. Perfect the pizza dough and tortillas (playing with the ratios of white flour and sprouted or whole wheat flour).
2. Perfect recipe for Balsamic Liver & Onions (Fegato all’aceto balsamico)
3. Perfect recipe for Chicken Pot Pie
4. Get my filmjolk starter going and start making countertop yogurt every week. I’ve had this flop a few times — not sure what I’m doing wrong.
This month I plan to try making my own homemade Larabars. Those things are crazy tasty but so expensive! And of course I’ll make them with crispy nuts.
I also plan to use my husband’s birthday (Mar 13) as an excuse to try out a white bean cake I want to make for my daughter’s first birthday in April. I don’t want her eating grains yet, but I want everyone to eat the same cake at her party! So I’m hoping this recipe I have is very tasty!
New reader here, trying to catch up. My March goal is to have my oldest daughter bring her lunch to school more than half the month. Every day is fine with me!
I was inspired by your list of lunch ideas, and disgusted by what they serve at her school. We can’t take peanut butter (no peanut/tree nut items allowed in school b/c of allergies) but so far she loves organic apple slices, cheese, and preservative-free canadian bacon. We are purchasing a good beverage bottle this week for her filtered water, since I refuse those evil juice boxes and plastic-bottled water, and she doesn’t drink milk.
Thank you for the amazing ideas here!
Last month I did pretty well with my goals. 1) I made homemade mayo, which isn’t like store bought, of course, but I have used it to make salad dressing and hope to use it more and more. The consistency was perfect! The flavor still bothers me a bit. Not sure if it’s the olive oil or the whey or what? 2) I have more recipes for using the cheese from making whey. I have yet to make them, but I did put the cheese on this wonderful butternut squash and chicken dish. I’ll have to share that recipe, which was yummy! 3) My most important goal was to find a store that was willing to purchase raw milk. When I had almost given up, I found one! They haven’t purchased it yet, but have a couple other people who are interested, so the plan is for them to purchase it. Hopefully very soon!
I have to think of some new goals for this month… 1) Make homemade granola by soaking of course. This is one I must plan around my work week, since the soaking takes 2 days. Must start during the week to finish up on the weekend. 2) Purchase a roasting pan. That’s a necessity that I don’t have. 3) Try another fermented vegetable. I didn’t care for the carrots, which surprised me, but I love the japanese saurkraut. Maybe I made a mistake on the carrots. The flavor was strongly medicinal. Is that normal?
In February, I froze my beloved sourdough starter and transitioned the family to no grains and legumes; made my first batch of braunschweiger from the recipe at Lost Arts Kitchen http://lostartskitchen.blogspot.com/search?q=braunschweiger (A little too much clove for my taste but a great first recipe); and put my kids in charge of getting their own snacks (wrote snack times and food ideas on a chalk board in the kitchen for them).
Main goal for March is to get the kids more involved in the kitchen — cooking easy meals and helping more with bigger ones.
My goals were to eat less processed and more homemade, and to incorporate liver into our diets (somehow).
We are being very successful! We’ve made homemade stromboli, homemade pizzas (using our bread machine, experimenting with flavored dough for the crusts) and we attempted homemade hamburger buns… we’ll get it! We’ve only eaten out once this past month!
Oh, I got hubby to eat home-fried chicken livers… it’s a start, right?
I am working in a commercial kitchen this month testing healthy gluten free recipes to sell at the farmers market. Then I’ll go back top perfecting my sourdough bread, too!
Last month I started making homemade yogurt and soft cheese again- after taking a long, long break. I also used down about 1/2 of my freezer inventory.
1. This month I plan to finish using up my freezer stock.
2. Continue with local farm dairy — milk and butter.
3. Start seeds indoors. I plan to start a lettuce and spinach bowl.
4. I have taken a break from bread baking so I guess I need to start baking bread for sandwiches again.
Hi Kelly,
My goal for this month is to make a successful sourdough bread using Ann Marie’s recipe that I’m waiting for her to post. I tried the one in the NT cookbook and failed miserably. I just started making kefir with milk kefir grains and now I want to get the water kefir grains to try the kefir soda pop I’ve been reading about. One major goal for me is to find and-or make healthy snacks for my family. With spring on the way I want to get that book The Ideal Soil I read about here so I can prepare for a garden. One last thing, I want to tell everyone I know about Sally Fallon and real food!
New to real food eating so my goals are to
- Get rid of all the high fructose corn syrup in my house
- Bake my own bread (start saving for a Bosch)
- Look for place to get raw milk
- Start buying better meats
I am still trying to convenience my husband we should do this. So that is my ultimate goal!
This is my first month participating. I just finished reading Wild Fermentation so my first goal is to try some new ferments. My past sauerkraut experiments were not terribly successful. Maybe I’ll wait until you post your carrot recipe and try that first!
I also need to decide if I want to upgrade my EVOO I use. I just read Cheeseslave’s post (from last summer) about EVOO and I need to look into it more.
My final goal is to start making crispy nuts…and not eat them all in two days!
You all are inspiring me to make more goals!
Hi Jenn,
Did you see the water bottles I ordered? I love them because they wash up good in the dishwasher, and while they’re plastic, at least they’re the #1 kind.
You can find them at my water post.
Sally, I LOVED my fermented carrots (and will post on it soon), but it probably depends on how you feel about ginger. I didn’t think they tasted medicinal at all…how long did you ferment them on the counter?
Angie, I love the idea of posting snack ideas for the kids!! No more, “What can I have to eat?!”
Kelly, I fermented the carrots for 3 days on the counter. I love ginger, too. My morning beverage is a slice of ginger in hot water with a touch of honey. I think I did something wrong, and will have to try again. I look forward to your post abou them.
I just had to tell Katie that one of my personal goals is to lay off the crispy nuts!
I am absolutely addicted to them!!!
Hello! This year and the end of last year I have been preparing and indulging myself and my boyfriend into a healthier, more whole/raw, green lifestyle. I must say I am very proud of myself for how well I have been doing, especially with pacing myself! In February I began soaking my grains (which takes a lot of planning ahead!) before cooking, along with continuing to incorporate more homemade goods into my meals that I would have normally bought at the store. (things like condiments and bread) I am also very excited to say that I have been talking with a local farmer about raw milk delivery (4 dollars a gallon, and its delivered right to my door!)…I’ve never had raw milk before, but I have been dying for it for months now! Fortunately this farmer will have a cow freshen this month and I will reap the benefits! (also want to thank you for your helpful articles on raw milk). I would also very much like to make my own butter out of the cream, I’m just so happy about all the changes I’ve been making!
Wow, you’re on a roll, girl! And raw milk for only $4/gal, youza!!!
I get mine for $5/gal here!! Farmer might not be too far from you, Kelly, he is in NW Ohio.
Sally,
I made homemade mayo last year and hated the olive oil taste. I tried it with sesame oil and didn’t like it much better. I just read someone who tried it with straight coconut oil and loved it. Maybe I’ll make that a goal for next month!
Katie, try it with a more refined (less nutrients, but less flavor) sesame oil. I use Spectrum Naturals brand. I only use it for mayo and for occasional salad dressings mixed with olive oil. Not too much of it is best.
Kelly
This is my first month, so I didn’t set goals last month. But my goals for March include sourdough (bread and pizza dough), planning ahead better, and planning and starting seeds for my garden.
We are on the GAPS intro… can’t say enough about the wonderful healing it brings!
No grains or sugars……not even nuts for now, but so worth it.
My goal is to get a system down for my baking, especially sourdough baking. So that the starter is in the right state (in or out of the fridge, fed and foamy when I need it), and so that my family has the bread it needs with less waste (might need to start making smaller loaves). Also, I very much want to make bagels using sourdough starter, but it seems that I need a kitchen scale to be really accurate with the measurements, so first acquire a scale, and then try bagel-baking. Finally, I have a goal of getting on a system for procuring and utilizing as fully as possible raw milk, cream and buttermilk. We took our first delivery in February, and I want to make sure that we use it all up, with little waste (eg, making yogurt, using the buttermilk to make more buttermilk, even making our own butter from this delicious, pastured, Jersey milk and cream). Whew, that’s a lot for one month!
Kelly, i think you need to do some stories about sourdough this month cause so many people are working on their starters! i am doing mine with wild yeast and its a wild ride! didnt react well with straight rye and orange juice for bringing the acidity lower–then when i switched over to white whole wheat it bubbled out of control–now i blend the two…having so much fun with the traditional cooking–i always make kombucha, made chicken bone broth in the crock pot–bought beef bones to make the beef version next week. I always sprout grains and nuts and seeds–but dug out my dehydrator so i could make sprouted grain flour to make my own granola bars for the kids–the totally rock their world and they have dumped their favorite treats in favor of this lovely bar–i should share the recipe! Bought the nourishing traditions recipe book–very cool! sprouted my own window garden with greens, pea sprouts and some herbs…got grass fed butter–found organic grass fed meats–found some great uncured bacon-found a place that sells organic non-homoginized milk and located a raw milk co-op, but have yet to get the info…thats my next months goals–find out about the local CSA after deciding what i want to plant in my own garden–if the overlap is too great i will just do the garden and go to the local organic farm for veggies as needed. I will also find out about the raw milk co-op cause my kids are now hooked on whole milk–we have converted to traditional eating and my husband cannot believe the meals and cant believe we are actually losing weight without giving up a single “indulgence” lol–ofcourse, i dont remind him off all he has dropped–like HFCS and PHVO and PUVO and MSG and white flour….
OH OH OH…i had a funny moment in the chiropractors office–i was leafing through people magazine and on one page, DR. oz had a recipe that was supposed to be healthy waist wittling and NO FAT–it called for either ground white meat turkey or meat substitute–on the next page–for st. pattys day were these tiny yukon gold potato skins stuffed with bacon and brie cheese–i started LAUGHING at the upside down nature of that—and it hit me in the gut how FEW people really know what is healthy for you…thanks KELLS for spreading the word!!!! you wicked ROCK!!!
Thanks, Alex, you’re a riot, but unfortunately I DON’T ‘rock’ when it comes to sourdough, that’s for sure! Not YET anyway, so I can’t give any good advice. I’m still figuring all this out and would love to hear what the heck you’re doin’ with orange juice and stuff! (From all the comments, it sounds like a lot of us are working on our sourdough these days…except for Nanci and those others of you on GAPS – but you’ll be able to have sourdough again someday!)
And YES share the granola recipe please!
Wow, reading all you’ve done recently, you are goin’ crazy!
Kelly
Hi Kelly.
These are my health & kitchen goals this month:
-I’ve recently bought some cod liver oil (I’m afraid its gonna be not too nice) so im gonna try that out. (What’s your experience with it?)
-If I have dairy I’m going to make sure its cultured.
-gonna have more bone broths (it’s starting to get colder here)
-going to soak my grains more
-drink loads more water
And going to have sauerkraut more often!
So those are my health/kitchen goals!
Kelly, i will post the granola bar recipe after i cook it one more time to check the proportions–problem with making things from scratch, you dont always write everything down!!!!
Not sure its ok to post a link, but you can take this out if its not–sourdoughlady at the fresh loaf board, which is an amazing baking sight has a great easy wild yeast starter–here is the link http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/233 and it uses orange or pineapple juice to lower the PH of the flour mixture to the acidic level that natural yeast needs to start colonizing and fermenting–it also uses a VERY small amount of flour so no waste–i love sally fallons cookbook, but her flour sourdough starter is extremely voluminous…this version is kept small and then you can add to it as you need to make more for baking…
more later–and everyone keep up the good work!!!
Loved reading everyone’s goals. Wishing you all the best of luck.
Last month was a total flop with healthy eating due to morning sickness. So much so the children asked what the problem was and they are all 10 and under! So…March will be the perfect time to retake lost ground!
–Return to making all of our bread and tortillas
–Soaking all grains, beans, nuts,
–Restart the kefir–hoping I have not killed it.
–Make Larabars
–Make more soaked granola
New Goals
–Start Sourdough
–make mayo and ketchup
–Start Garden
–Visit local organic farm
–More raw food in diet
–Find the perfect granola bar recipe
April
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