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What Free Range Actually Means - Foods - Eggs - Chickens

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Breakfast

Cinnamon Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

December 2 //  by Katy Galvin//  Leave a Comment

I’m gonna warn you…. this is really delicious.

And while it’s roasting in the oven? Your house will smell like pancakes. The maple syrup, grass-fed butter, and touch of cinnamon will smell so delicious, you will have a hard time waiting for the timer to go off. I was making this the other day for dinner, and the UPS man showed up to deliver something to my husband. While he was signing for the package, the guy said….”It smells really good in your apartment….” Ian cracked up and said, “I know man, that’s why I live here!”

I told you I won my husband with a warm pound cake, right? Well, even though I don’t make pound cakes anymore, I keep him coming home to me with yummy recipes like these. And before you go thinking, “Poor Ian, she won’t make him pound cake anymore!” –he’s in this gluten-free journey with me wholeheartedly. I know there are many husbands out there who are dubious of a paleo or gluten-free lifestyle, and he was at first.

But all it really took was a few good recipes of roasted veggies and some grilled pork chops for him to realize that a real food diet is really delicious, and most of the things we eat anyone would eat for dinner, and they would never even think “Hey – this is gluten-free. Where’s the bread I miss???” They usually just say, “Damn, Katy is a good cook!”

The first time I made this he said, “This is delicious – why have you never made this before?” Well, part of the reason was that I just made it up. I just cook on the fly, and I hardly use recipes, just putting in a little of this and a little of that. The other reason why is that Butternut Squashes are kind of a pain to deal with if you don’t have a game plan. Well, with a little practice and a few tools I solved that problem. You can see my tutorial from Monday here for “How to Tackle a Butternut Squash.”

Ok, got your squash all diced up? Great. Make this recipe immediately.

Cinnamon Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients

2 medium butternut squashes, peeled and diced into large cubes
3 tablespoons of melted grass-fed butter (you can also substitute ghee, bacon grease, lard, or coconut oil)
2 tablespoons of Grade B Organic Maple Syrup
1 teaspoon of organic cinnamon
1 teaspoon of sea salt
fresh cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

Toss all the ingredients in a bowl together until all the squash is evenly coated.

Roast on a sheet tray at 400 degrees for 45-55 minutes until cooked through and browned on the edges.

Category: Breakfast, Recipes

Quick Spiced Coffee Cake

November 26 //  by Katy Galvin//  Leave a Comment

When the weather gets cold and damp outside, I have an uncontrollable urge to bake. The oven warms my apartment a little, and the smell of nuts and spices just makes me feel cozier. This super quick, Spiced Coffee Cake is a simple, comforting baked good that can come together with just a few ingredients in less than 30 minutes to go with your morning coffee on a lazy Saturday morning.

This coffee cake is gluten-free, and the whole foods-based, but what I like about it is that the base for the cake is a small, 7 oz. package of creamed coconut. It is this specific brand, and I don’t really know that there is any other substitute out there. However, this small package of creamed coconut is usually only $3 at a nearby health food store, and it keeps just fine in the cabinet until you are ready to use it so I usually have a few on hand all the time.

If you order it online in a 6 pack, it comes out to be even less – only $2.40 per package! So for a gluten-free (basically paleo) baked good, it’s way more affordable to me than an almond butter-based baked good, which I like a lot. You can double the recipe, and it just takes a little longer to bake, but I have not tried tripling it, just FYI.

Quick Spiced Coffee Cake

Prep Time 5 Mins Cook Time 20 Mins Total Time 25

Author: Katy Servers: 4- 6 In Gredients

  • 1 7oz. package of Let’s Do Organic Creamed Coconut
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup of coconut sugar (maple sugar or brown sugar would also work)
  • ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons of slivered almonds
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped pecans (really any type of nuts are fine)
  • 1 tablespoon of almond meal or almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon of melted butter, ghee or coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon of maple syrup or honey

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 350. Grease an 8×8 baking dish (or other small, a comparable baking dish of a different shape).
  2. Remove the creamed coconut from its packaging and microwave for 30 seconds to soften slightly and mix together with a fork until all the oil and coconut is evenly mixed. You could also do this on the stove-top on low if you prefer not to use a microwave.
  3. Mix together the creamed coconut, eggs, sugar, salt, spices, vanilla, and baking soda until combined, and pour into a dish.
  4. Mix together the topping ingredients: almonds, pecans, almond meal, melted butter, and syrup, and evenly top the coffee cake.
  5. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

*If there is a substitution available for any of these ingredients, I have listed it. Otherwise, if you are allergic to something or don’t like an ingredient, you are on your own to figure out a new way to make this, or maybe this isn’t the recipe for you.

Category: Breakfast

Soft Steamed Eggs

November 23 //  by Katy Galvin//  Leave a Comment

I love a runny yolk. It’s like unadulterated custard….. mmmm (insert slightly sexual moan here). But I cannot stand a runny white. Gross times a million.

Eggs are delicate and can take years to learn how to cook them best. There are so many different ways to cook eggs, and probably just as many ways to screw them up.

Soft boiled eggs always seemed to elude me, even though I had tried many times. But the trick is to not boil them at all, but steam them in a simple vegetable steamer.

Soft Steamed Eggs

Soft Steamed Eggs

  1. Boil a half inch of water in a covered sauce pan.
  2. Once Boiling, place eggs in a steamer basket and place in the sauce pan, and recover with the lid.
  3. Steam for 6 minutes and 45 seconds exactly.
  4. Immediately place eggs in an ice water bath and swirl to cool rapidly.
  5. As soon as you can handle the eggs, peel them quickly, but carefully.
  6. At this point you can put them back in the steamer for another 15-30 seconds to rewarm if you want them hot.
  7. Eat sprinkled with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

In the picture above, I served them over peppery arugula, with freshly made lardons. Lardons are the crispy bits that are the result of making your own lard by grinding fresh pastured pork fatback, then slowly rendering the lard in a dutch oven. Bacon bits would also be delicious. For more ways to eat and enjoy your Soft Steamed Eggs, check out my Instagram Feed.

Category: Breakfast

Soft Steamed Eggs

November 22 //  by Katy Galvin//  Leave a Comment

I love a runny yolk. It’s like unadulterated custard….. mmmm (insert slightly sexual moan here). But I cannot stand a runny white. Gross times a million.

Eggs are delicate and can take years to learn how to cook them best. There are so many different ways to cook eggs, and probably just as many ways to screw them up.

Soft boiled eggs always seemed to elude me, even though I had tried many times. But the trick is to not boil them at all, but steam them in a simple vegetable steamer.

Soft Steamed Eggs

  1. Boil a half inch of water in a covered sauce pan.
  2. Once Boiling, place eggs in a steamer basket and place in the sauce pan, and recover with the lid.
  3. Steam for 6 minutes and 45 seconds exactly.
  4. Immediately place eggs in an ice water bath and swirl to cool rapidly.
  5. As soon as you can handle the eggs, peel them quickly, but carefully.
  6. At this point you can put them back in the steamer for another 15-30 seconds to rewarm if you want them hot.
  7. Eat sprinkled with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

In the picture above, I served them over peppery arugula, with freshly made lardons. Lardons are the crispy bits that are the result of making your own lard by grinding fresh pastured pork fatback, then slowly rendering the lard in a dutch oven. Bacon bits would also be delicious. For more ways to eat and enjoy your Soft Steamed Eggs,

Category: Breakfast

Almond Meal Pancakes

November 20 //  by Katy Galvin//  Leave a Comment

Every Sunday I want pancakes. I almost never have the ingredients, and I’m also rarely successful in talking my husband into taking me to a local pancake house that has yummy gluten free waffles and pancakes. He says we don’t need pancakes every Sunday… And I suppose he’s right. But a couple weeks ago, I had just enough ingredients to make 8 almond meal pancakes.

I usually buy Almond Meal, instead of the more expensive and finer blanched almond flour, and I’ll tell you why. Yes, I know that the blanched almond flour is more superior – I’m not stupid. But most of the time you have to buy it in a three or five-pound bag, and if I have one around, I will bake and cook with it non-stop until it is gone. It’s good and has excellent baking abilities. I have no control when it comes to almond flour and almond meal. I love to eat it. But most flour, no matter what it is made from (wheat, coconut, hazelnut, whatever), isn’t really good for my digestion.

So although Almond Meal is grainier and of seemingly “lesser quality,” I usually buy that, and I buy it sparingly. I like the small, inexpensive bags you can buy at Trader Joe’s. But I’ll be honest, you could use any kind for this recipe. There will be slight differences, but guys, it’s pancakes… don’t overthink it. Grain-free pancakes are rarely like their grain-filled counterparts, but these are nutty, comforting, and delicious, even if they aren’t the exact same as the buttermilk pancakes of my childhood.

Almond Meal Pancakes.

  • 1-3/4 cups Almond Meal (I used Trader Joe’s)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk
  • coconut oil, lard, or ghee for cooking
  • maple syrup and butter to serve
  1. It’s simple – mix all the wet ingredients together, then whisk in all the dry. Add a bit more almond flour if you need to to get your favorite pancake consistency.
  2. Heat your desired cooking fat (I used lard) in a cast-iron skillet or electric pancake griddle.
  3. Now it is simple pancake cookery – ladle the batter on in 1/4 cup rounds, and wait until it bubbles to turn them.
  4. I keep the cooked pancakes on a cookie sheet and let them stay warm in the oven at about 275 degrees. Serve with copious amounts of butter and syrup.

Category: Breakfast

The Instagram Recipe Series

November 20 //  by Katy Galvin//  Leave a Comment

I’m behind on posting recipes. I have been cooking up a storm lately, and sometimes when that happens, I’m so into the food that all I have time to do is snap an Instagram photo before I devour my creations. I was actually feeling a little bad about it…

But then last week, Huffington Post named me in an article, “Ten Foodie Feeds I’m Ready to Devour.” I was named along with some truly talented people that I look up to and try to emulate, so if that is my 15 minutes of internet fame for my life, I’ll take it and be grateful!

I have been trying to curate a really good instagram feed. It only takes a few extra steps to make a good instagram post that looks delicious and beautiful at the same time, while telling a little bit of a story and best of all, that honors the food. There are plenty of people that snap a pic of what they are eating, and even though it may be wonderful… it doesn’t look appetizing at all. They post too often, in all sorts of artificial lighting, with bad pre-set instagram filters. I used to be one of those people, and while it was sort of fun to take a picture of everything I ate, I learned that not everything needs to be shared. Instead, only share the best, in natural light, with a little bit of styling, and keep it simple.

I want my Instagram feed to look like a magazine, and since I have spent this time and effort to make that happen, I’m going to share a series of recipes using just those photos to present them because I don’t have the time to re-cook, style and photograph them with my DSLR Fancy Camera. Sorry, but I’m too busy cooking more food for me and my husband, and I think you will still love these dishes, even if I don’t do a full photo shoot. 😉 Simply click on the pictures to take you to the full recipe for each one.

Soft Steamed Eggs

Almond Meal Pancakes

Roasted Winter Veggie Medley with Apples

Mustard Caper Vinaigrette

Everyday Veggie Hash

My Go-To Balsamic Vinaigrette

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Whole Roasted Carrots

Category: Breakfast

Seven Secrets To Better Food Photography

November 19 //  by Katy Galvin//  Leave a Comment

Good food and cooking has been a love of mine almost all of my life, but food photography is a passion that has bloomed slowly in the past few years. I’m a creative soul with a drive to share knowledge and teach what I love, and to me, one of the best ways to communicate the essence of a good dish is to let it shine as much as it possibly can through a picture. We live in a digital, visual age, and although I grew up learning how to read a good recipe simply by looking at ingredients, I think what draws people to cook these days is how good the recipe looks on a blog or in a cookbook.

When I graduated culinary school, food photography was not really taught, and I’m not sure if it is now included in the curriculum, but I really think it should be. Food photography can be such a dynamic way to draw people into your blog, your business, your restaurant, or even just show a side of yourself to your friends and followers on social media.

Good food photography skills are like good writing skills, and possibly just as essential for any blogger, cookbook author, or chef. Food photography has a grammar, style, and structure of its own, and also tells a story without saying a word. But where do you learn these rules? General photography lessons can only take you so far, and there is a LOT to be said for just trying it out on your own and seeing what works and what doesn’t by personal experience.

I’m so excited because this week I am teaching a local Intro to Food Photography Class at Whole Foods Market in Virginia Beach. However, I got so many comments on my Instagram account from people who were not local to Virginia Beach, expressing regret that they couldn’t make it. So I have decided to do some posts about food photography tips, and these are the first Seven Secrets that I am going to explore in my photography class:

1. Simple Food Props

Let me get straight to the main point: in most situations, food looks best on a white plate. Cute designs and colors can be fun, but if your plate is too busy on its own, it will definitely be too busy with food on top. See the two pictures up top? Both are of eggs, and both are pretty, but honestly, the eggs on the white plate look best. The teal plate that I got from Target is really pretty… but it takes away from the food I was trying to capture.

I shop for simple inexpensive white porcelain plates at Ross, Homegoods, and Marshalls, and I usually never spend more than $10 on a plate or platter. Sure, the plates at Anthropologie are beautiful, but I’d rather spend my money on quality ingredients and save on the plates. The eye needs white space, and think of your plate, bowl, or platter like the matte in a frame for your picture.

Also, choose a bigger plate than your food so that enough of the white space shows well. See how this big plate frames my Almond Meal Pancakes well?

You might be telling me, “But Katy! A good picture needs color!” and you would be right. For color, you can use fresh herbs, a lime, a pretty tea towel, or my personal favorite, a snazzy vinyl background. Yes, the secret is out folks, I LOVE my vinyl photography backgrounds. My favorite vinyl backdrops are from Swanky Prints.

2. Remove One Thing

It can be tempting to put lots of props in a photo, but when you don’t think your shot is perfect (or even when you do,) remove one thing and see if the shot isn’t greatly improved. I originally had a pretty cloth napkin in this shot above from my Go-to Balsamic Vinaigrette, but it was competing too much with the other elements. I took the napkin out, and this is one of my most “liked” photos on Instagram.

As far as photography trends go, less is WAY more. Minimalist is the bees knees, and honestly it just doesn’t have to be all that complicated. You know how when you really like a guy, you play it close to the vest so as not to scare him away with too much affection? Photography is like that. You may have tons of adorable props in your collection, and lots of great styling ideas, but don’t use all your tricks in one act.

3. Scotch Tape

This one is super simple… but surprisingly awesome. Wonder how some people get those awesome aerial shots, but your food keeps moving around? Scotch tape it.

This awesome vintage spoon balanced on this bowl of Eastern European Influenced Tripe and Sausage soup? Yup, I used scotch tape to make it stay.

These eggs? Some of them are made to stay in place with scotch tape.

4. Food Doesn’t Have to be Hot

Sauces, gravy, dressings and syrups, and such run less when they are cold. True story. Soups? Those definitely don’t have to be piping hot. In fact, if they are too hot, the steam can fog up the shot. My House Rub Wings were definitely not hot when I was photographing them. Plus, you don’t have to shoot the food the same day you make it. Make a great dinner, with enough leftovers to shoot the next day, and you can warm it just enough to make it photograph well.

5. Follow Great Photographers on Instagram for Inspiration

Athletes try to play with other athletes that are better than they are, and for a good reason. Surrounding yourself with talent makes you learn and pushes you to be better than you are currently. Find some great photographers, and try to emulate them and learn from their teqniches. Oh, and by the way, don’t limit yourself by only following people who eat the way you do. If you follow a specific diet, of course follow people who isnpire you with their food. But just because you eat gluten free or vegan doesn’t mean you can’t follow people who do eat gluten or who eat meat. I also like to follow professional photographers who are not necessarily food photographers, because you can always learn from different genres.

You can check out this post for ten Instagramers to follow who take great foodie shots. Want to find more? Check out who those people follow, and find some you’d like to emulate.

6. Tell a Story

A good photograph is like a good story. It has a main theme, it has movement, it has depth.

You can use fabric to create movement, like in this Instagram shot above of Roasted Winter Veggie Medley where I use a draped, fringed tea towel.
You can use ingredients scattered around to tell the story of the dish, like how I used some of the ingredients from this salad when sharing a Tahini Lime Honey Dressing.

Shadows create depth, so if your photo seems flat, make the room darker by closing the shades some, or pulling a curtain.

7. Learn the Techniques of Manual Photography

Like I just mentioned, when I hop on Instagram, the people I love to follow most are the truly talented photographers. I want my feed to be full of beautiful images I can learn from, and to some degree, I think that really started when I started following Trisha, of Eat Your Beets.

I “met” Trisha while working for another blog, but when I saw her Instagram profile, I was blown away. Every. Single. Shot. was absolutely stunning. She has a minimalist mindset, and she has mastered the art of natural light. Her blog is also filled with incredible photography, and engaging posts and recipes.

After working with Trisha on a guest blog post project, we became blogger friends. I really see her as my mentor, and she has been so helpful, kind and genuine with her guidance on all thing photography and blog related.


She has just released her eBook, Eat Pretty Things, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. The wonderful thing about this ebook is that it is a wealth of information that you can start using immediately, no matter your level of photography skills.
Even if you are still taking foodie photos with your phone, Trisha can help you make them the best they can be, and when you are ready you can delve into manual photography. She makes it easy and approachable.

She has just released her eBook, Eat Pretty Things, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. The wonderful thing about this ebook is that it is a wealth of information that you can start using immediately, no matter your level of photography skills.

Even if you are still taking foodie photos with your phone, Trisha can help you make them the best they can be, and when you are ready you can delve into manual photography. She makes it easy and approachable.

For me personally, I have been shooting in manual mode for about 6 months, so “Eat Pretty Things” was a great refresher course on shooting in manual mode, but from a specific food photography perspective, instead of just a general photography perspective. I also instantly learned things I could apply to my photography, as well as some tips on a better lens specifically for food photography, and a light I can use for night shots when I can’t take advantage of natural light.

What’s great about the lens, is that they make it for a variety of different camera brands, so even though Trisha shoots with a Nikon, I can still buy the same lens she uses, but for my Canon.

So that’s it for my first Seven Secrets to Food Photography! I” ll be scheduling more classes in the Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads Area soon, but I will also be posting more photography posts here for those of you who don’t live in my area.

Category: Breakfast

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