On Christmas Eve at 10pm, our farmhouse nearly filled with friends….the sky like pewter hanging low, but so far not a speck of snow….."
–Michael Franks (from the song "Look at me, Said the Snowflake")
below, Holiday Stout Gingerbread (click photo below for recipe)
I'm not the biggest fan of Christmas songs, but my boy Michael Franks always does something with his own twist to his music that moves me a little…enough for me to make a couple of his songs my theme for this post.
Being four years removed from the brutal winters of Chicago, now up in Seattle and Portland, I find it easy to embrace the beauty of snow, now that I no longer have to go through it {chuckle}.
One thing I found is that I love cooking breads and loaves this time of year, maybe with a glass of wine or hot cider while I am prepping food, watching some football, and there's something about the heat from that open oven door warming the bones, and the smell of fresh baked bread that I just love…….
I will bend my healthy eating rules slightly when making breads (like occasional brown sugar), but I try to stick to the following rules……..
1) Avoid Canola Oil and other hydrogenated oils, and stick to Olive Oil oil or Coconut Oil
2) Avoid Common Table Salt and use Pink Himalayan Salt or alternately Celtic Sea Salt
3) When using dairy and eggs in a recipe use pastured eggs and dairy from grass fed cows, or at the least USDA organic dairy and eggs.
4) My baking sweetener of choice is now Coconut Palm Sugar, it is not a sufar substitute but real sugar, that is unprocessed, with it full nutrient profile, a very healthy sugar!!!
5) I don't have any gluten issues but I consume Papaya Enzyme capsules (I make my own), to help digest gluten.
6) If you are venturing towards Gluten Free Breads (as I am a year after writing this article), check out a product called
Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix.
Also, I wanted to make th3 note that I actually went Grain Free for 2 years, but have since lightened up a bit.
Now, I just enjoy wheat/flour/bread occasionally, try to make it Organic, quality flour, especially since I've learned gluten issues may not be the wheat itself, but the Glyphosate pesticide they spray on non-organic wheat is the "possible" source of Gluten intolerance symptoms .
below, The "Kiss from a Rose", Almond and Rose Bread (click on photo below for recipe)
below, Zucchini and Coconut Lunchbox Bread (click photo below for recipe)
"Elation for precipitation of the frozen kind begins to grow….when we are both under a quilt watching the snow"
— Michael Franks (from the song "Watching the Snow")
Below, 7 ingredient Wheat Bread (click photo below for recipe)
Below, Raisin and Walnut Pumpernickel bread (click photo below for recipe)
below, Paleo Banana Bread, Grain Free, Gluten Free, (click photo below for recipe)
"All scarved and mittneed we conveyned, outside in this Frank Capra scene…we soon commenced to caroling,….we heaped handfuls of white to throw, made angels in the Christmas snow….
…….all thanks I do believe, to that first snowflake on my sleeve……."
–Michael Franks (from the song "Look at me, Said the Snowflake")
Below, Garlic Bread with Coriander and Parmesan (click photo below for recipe)
Below, Rosemary Onion Quick Bread (click below for recipe)
"One of my favorite pastimes, and how well you know, is through the picture window, when we are watching the snow"
–Michael Franks (from the song "Watching the Snow")
below, Carrot Coconut Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze (click photo below for recipe)
Below, Black Olive Pesto Crusted Cheese loaf (click photo below for recipe)
"As evening falls, the teapot calls, here's hoping several more will blow, since we're contented so….inside Watching the Snow"
–Michael Franks (from the song "Watching the Snow")
below, Pumpkin Oat Bread (click photo below for recipe)
Below, Pumpkin Banana Bread (click photo below for recipe)
Below, The Michael Franks Christmas "Double Play"
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~stay healthy (and Happy Holidays!!!)~
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