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Happy New Year’s Ghee

Happy New Year, everyone! 2013 marks the return of Harmonious Belly. It’s been six months (just about) since I wrote my last post and I am hopeful that that long of a break will never happen again. So what have I been up to?

food-lovers-guide-to-queens-meg-cotner

Well, my book – Food Lovers’ Guide to Queens – was published in December. Between the time I submitted my original manuscript in late June, there were bouts of additional editing. I enjoyed the process, and have learned a lot about book publishing during it all. It was released on December 4, 2012.

After it was released, I gave a number of interviews, which was a lot of fun. Some were on the phone, some were in person. I spoke to bloggers and reporters. Here are a couple of links:

Food Guide Unlocks Borough’s Culinary Door [Queens Gazette]
Blogger Pens Foodie Guide to Queens [DNAinfo]

I still plan to go on food explorations throughout Queens, but these days I’m cooking a lot more at home, and feeding myself more nutrient-dense foods.

Also, in August, I started working as the Editor of QueensNYC.com, a newish website all about Queens – food, real estate, evens, and news. I’ve learned an awful lot about blogging, writing, and Queens.

But back to the food. This weekend I tried my hand at making homemade ghee. This is essentially clarified butter that is cooked a little longer so that some of the milk solids brown and caramelize. That is what gives ghee the classic nutty flavor. It has a higher smoke point than plain butter, too, and can sit out on the counter without going bad, but I will likely keep mine in the fridge anyway (ideally, I like to keep my counters relatively free of stuff).

I used this recipe from Nom Nom Paleo. I started with a pint of raw butter – look at how beautiful and yellow it is! If I hadn’t had the raw butter I would have used something like Kerrygold – using grass-fed butter is important to me.

raw-butter-pre-ghee

Then I turned on the heat and let it go for about 15 minutes at a very low temperature. The butter melted completely in that time and started to separate into fat and milk solids.

ghee-milk-solids-separate-from-butterfat

Then I turned up the heat a little to get more separation going. There was mild bubbling and frothing going on. I scraped the bottom of the pan and felt that some of the milk solids had fallen to the bottom of the pan, as was expected, and they were a beautiful amber color.

ghee-frothing-milk-solids

I turned off the heat and removed some of the remaining milk solids with a big slotted spoon, discarded them, then poured the liquid through a sieve lined with a couple layers of cheesecloth. Here is what remained in the sieve.

ghee-remaining-milk-solids

And here is the end result! Sure, there is a little bit of froth, still, but I’m not worried about that.

homemade-ghee-finished-product

It’s dark now but will lighten up as it cools. I have a whole pint to use. My understanding is that it will keep for a year in the fridge (I’m sure I’ll use it up before then). I tasted it and it is delicious – love the nutty flavor.

I’m really excited to use my ghee in cooking! I plan to make black eyed pea curry soon, so the ghee will be perfect for that. A lot of Ethiopian recipes ask for a spiced ghee called niter kibbeh, which I’d like to try next time. I adore Ethiopian food, and it is not available really here in Queens, so I’d like to try my hand at making it myself.

Overall, I would say that making ghee is pretty easy. The whole process took about a half hour from the time I put the butter in the pan to the time I strained it into the jar. It’s definitely worth giving it a try.

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Almond Shortbread

This weekend, I was craving something just a little sweet and with the texture of cake or a cakey cookie/brownie – fruit (citrus, primarily) and dark chocolate have been my main (though not solo) source of sweets since the beginning of the year, but sometimes I crave a different texture from fruit flesh and the snap of a chocolate bar. I remembered having come across a very simple almond shortbread recipe, and decided to give it a try.

My friend Marija posted it originally on her Facebook page, with a positive review accompanying it. This shortbread is gluten-free, appropriate for those following SCD diet, and a nice sweet treat if you are eating paleo/primal. It also gave me an opportunity to use delicious (and healthy) grass-fed butter and virgin coconut oil, along with some raw honey.

Continue reading “Almond Shortbread”

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I Eat Butter and Coconut Oil

Yes, it’s just like the title says:  I eat butter and coconut oil.  Often.  And with pleasure.  However, I don’t eat just any old kind – I do have my standards.

For butter, I aim for a product made from grass-fed milk.  Grass-fed butter has a higher concentration of CLA – conjugated linoleic acid.  CLA is a good fat – a natural trans fatty acid – that is believed to be an effective cancer fighter, blocking tumor growth.  It also has been shown to increase HDL (“good” cholesterol).

Animals that feed on grass have 3-5 times the amount of CLA in their system than their grain-fed pals.   So, meat and milk from grass-fed ruminants are a good source of CLA.  Pastured eggs are also rich in CLA.

There are two brands of butter that I buy regularly.  First, is Kerrygold, an Irish butter.

kerrygold

It is 100% grass-fed, and is so, so good.  I love it’s rich yellow color, its creamy texture, and delicious taste.  It’s also readily available – I can get it at the local supermarket, at independent markets, and even at Trader Joe’s.  I prefer the cultured unsalted, but will use the salted butter in a pinch.

Next, is the Organic Valley Cultured Butter.  This is in the gold wrapper with claims that their butter is made from “cows allowed to pasture freely”.  Even better, though, is the Limited Edition Pasture Butter, in the green wrapper.

pasture butter

I only got to try it this week.  It is fantastic!  The texture is… well… like butter. Smooth and creamy – it seems to melt at a lower temperature, too.  It’s a gorgeous yellow color – they use the summer milk for this butter.

I also eat raw butter, but I get that privately.

I have plans to make cultured butter in the next couple of weeks, from grass-fed cream.  I’ll certainly share my experience here when I do that.

I won’t disagree that these butters can be spendy.  But I think in their case, you really do get what you pay for.

I’m really happy to be incorporating so much butter into my diet.  For years I used it in cooking, but sparingly because of my fear of saturated fats.  Now that I can get butter that is so nutrient-dense – and have lost my fear of saturated fats – I cook with it much more regularly.  I especially like to fry eggs in butter.  It’s one of my favorite combinations.

coconut oil

Coconut oil is somewhat new to me.  For what seems like forever, I believed that coconut oil was a terrible thing to put in the body, that it would only cause harm.   Turns out that unrefined, expeller-pressed virgin organic coconut oil is quite the beneficial oil, and its goodness is vast.  The two things that stick out in my mind is coconut oil’s role in weight loss and its high levels of lauric acid.

Lauric acid, a saturated fatty acid, has apparent antimicrobial properties; coconut oil is 42% to 57% lauric acid. When you eat coconut oil, it transforms into a substance called monolaurin, which then strengthens the immune system. As far as weight loss and coconut oil goes, it’s those short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off those extra pounds. It also speeds up the body’s metabolism by removing stress on pancreas, and supports a healthy thyroid.

I also love the smell of coconut oil, and find the odor rather soothing. Last night I used it to fry up some chicken, and it was an excellent frying fat for my needs. I also use it in granola and sometimes even put a bit of it in my coffee. I am a huge fan of the taste of coconut, so I enjoy it this way. I expect it would be delicious in hot chocolate, too.

Normally I buy Barlean’s brand but I picked up a jar of Spectrum Naturals and I’ve enjoyed using it.

So, these two traditional fats are wonderful additions to the diet, plus they are available as high quality products.  Both delicious and nutritious, it would do you good to give them a try if you’re not already.  Enjoy!