After reducing the amount of honey and eliminating the oil called for in this recipe, without sacrificing flavor, these spelt bars are a nutritious tasty snack or grab-n-go breakfast.     Spelt Crunch from Body + Soul Magazine May 2008 Serves 8. 1 ¼ cups spelt flakes cereal (I used 2 1/2 cups instead.) ½ cup dried cherries (I…

My seeds for sprouting arrived in the mail today. I transferred them from their individual plastic shipping bags into 16 oz. glass jars that I have been saving… peanut butter, almond butter, and vegenaise. The one-pound bags of seed fill the jars to the brim with a little remaining in the bag that won't fit. I'll use that first.     After I…

Today, this first day of March, I baked this month's themed cake for my Year-Round Monthly Cupcake/Cake Program. I chose to make a daffodil cake in honor of the American Cancer Society's annual Daffodil Days Fundraiser. In January, February, and early March, volunteer coordinators take orders for daffodils in appreciation of a contribution. Delivery to donors coincides with the beginning of spring usually the…

O.K., so I've got my microgreens and sprouts seed orders completed. Next, I'm movin' on to purchasing a yogurt maker so that I can make not only dairy yogurt but nut and seed yogurts, as well. The dairy section at the local market has good quality organic yogurts from grass-fed cows… Why bother? Freshness. Nutrition at its peak. Why…

Besides expanding into the microgreens realm by placing an order for two kinds of seeds yesterday, I want to do more cooking with sprouts. Because sprouts are alive and in their peak growth spurt, they are exploding with nutrients. Therefore, it is beneficial to be including them in our daily diet in the form of sprouted grain bread, salads/slaw,…

I made a yummy granola that I found on Lethally Delicious's blog. She is a participant in a "Craving Ellie in my Belly" group… cute… very cute name, whose members take turns choosing a recipe from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for  Healthy Life, test it, then report back on its merit. This granola's simple ingredients are ones…

A chewiness and hint of spice from candied ginger. The crunch of chopped walnuts. Capped with the slight tang of lemon-infused icing. Sometimes just a little treat satisfies. Ginger Gems from Veg. Times Mag Nov/Dec. 2006 This vegan recipe makes approx. 18 cookies. ¾ c. ¼ c. brown sugar ¼ c. vegan margarine unsweetened applesauce…

Day's just don't get any better than this… This morning, I plucked sweet ripe strawberries, broccoli heads, an eggplant, Brussels sprouts, and tomatoes from a garden at a nearby farm… all grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers. I also purchased a dozen duck eggs and dry heirloom soup beans. I see ducks in my future… I've put in my…

  Since Valentine's Day is synonymus with chocolate, I thought I'd share some research I conducted recently on regular baking cocoa vs. Dutch chocolate baking cocoa. I discovered the Dutch variety when I first made Martha Stewart's chocolate buttermilk cupcakes because that was one of the ingredients in the recipe. I purchased a box, mixed up the…

Today I placed an order for a colony of bees from Mann Lake, Ltd. in Hackensack, Minnesota.  If it should happen… shudder… that our present colony succumbs to our brutally cold winter, then  this new colony will replace it. Optimistically, we will be expanding our bee population to two colonies when we pick up our new ones in May.  One…