Propagating African Violets

I'm a gardener. When it's warm enough outside I plant things there, but during the winter months I get antsy and want to play in the dirt. Last January I decided to try to propagate my African Violets. I've had good luck keeping African Violets alive, and since they're so expensive to buy in the garden store, growing my own new ones made sense. I looked up some growing tips online and gave it a try. If you have some mature African Violets at home and want to make some violet babies, give this a try.

1. Fill pots with some growing medium. I just used some potting soil.

2. Cut a few mature leaves from your African Violet.

3. Dip the ends of the stems in some Rooting Hormone if you have some, or go without. I dipped some in rooting hormone and left some without and both grew eventually. Rooting hormone seemed to speed up the growing process a tiny bit.

4. Poke your stems about 1-1.5 inches into the growing medium in the pots.

5. Place pots in a pan or dish of some sort so pots can be watered from the bottom. Fill pan about 1/2 inch with water. Never water pots from the top or get the leaves wet (this is true for mature plants as well.) When pan is dry, fill again. Keep some water in the pan at all times.

6. Wait. The first pictures of starting the plants were taken in January 2011. The picture of the small Violet at the bottom was taken January 2012. It takes about 4 months for the first sprouts to appear then many more months for the plant to grow into something of any size. But if you've got the counter space and the time, you can grow nice teacher gifts or the like from just a pot, a little soil and a cutting of a plant that should probably be pruned anyway.

Pots in a pan of water (metal pans rust...)

 Tiny sprout of a new Violet. Look closely to see the little round leaf at the base of the stem.

Larger sprouts around the parent leaf on the left. Plant on the right is several months old.

8-9 month old plant.

Mature flowering plant.

The Ultimate Paleo/Primal Waffle Recipe

My friend Rachel threw down the gauntlet. She challenged me to make a crispy, fluffy, tasty waffle to replace her famous buttermilk version. My mission this morning was to find the perfect paleo waffle recipe. With the help of the girl and the boy (and the hubby of course), we went to work. The boy helped me crack eggs and mix ingredients while the girl acted as scribe. She had her favorite feathery pen and fancy notebook at the ready to take notes about what ingredients we added and what each family member thought about the resulting waffle. We tried 4 different recipes, tweaking each one just a little based on what we thought about the previous attempt. Sometimes we'd add more oil or water; other times we'd change the ratio of flours. Along the way these were some of the comments "These are too eggy", "too floppy", "not fluffy enough", "too dense" and "too salty". But by the last batch the comments were "These are crispy", "These taste just right", and "I'm too full, I can't eat another bite." :) So, I think we may have found the best waffle recipe (so far). Give them a try and see what you think!

Note: I use tapioca flour in these pancakes. Although tapioca flour is a "safe starch", gluten-free and paleo-friendly it is still a starch and not low-carb.

Paleo/Primal Waffles
4 Eggs - room temperature
1 Banana
1 C Coconut milk - room temperature
1/4 C + 2 T coconut oil - melted
1/2 C Water - room temperature
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 T vanilla
1/2 C coconut flour
1/4 C almond flour
3/4 C tapioca flour

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before you begin. Pre-Heat waffle iron. Mix all ingredients in a blender or in a large mixing bowl (if using a bowl, mash banana thoroughly!). Pour about 1 Cup of batter in the middle of your heated waffle iron then close lid. Cook waffle until your little "done" indicator light goes off then continue to cook as long as a significant amount of steam is still coming out of the waffle iron. If you pull the waffle out before it finishes releasing it's steam the waffle will be floppy rather than crispy. Check for crispy-ness when you think the waffle is done by tapping the top of the waffle with your fingernail (at least this is how I do it).

A note about tapioca flour according to Mark's Daily Apple:

Tapioca flour is one of the “safe starches.” That is, it’s a toxin-free, antinutrient-less, dense source of carbohydrate. Tapioca flour can be treated more like potato or rice starch. It’s a classic carby flour, albeit one without gluten and other noted toxins.

For someone with good glucose control, tapioca is a decent source of carbs. If you’re looking to add carbohydrates, or your activity level warrants it, go ahead and try it out. Since tapioca comes from cassava, which is perhaps the most popular source of starch across the entire world, it’s not like it’s a dietary unknown. To venture into tapioca territory is to travel a well-beaten path. Just realize that anytime you turn something into flour, you massively increase the speed at which it breaks down into usable energy. High energy burners in need of a quick hit may find that to be a plus, while more sedentary individuals might react poorly to a quick infusion of glucose (especially if it’s not going to be utilized right away or sequestered into already swollen muscle glycogen stores). Your call based on your context.

Paleo/Primal Ranch Salad Dressing

Stefanie's post on salad dressing made me want to give it a try myself. The kids eat a lot of ranch dressing, and I'd like to convert them to a version that doesn't have vegetable oils. I found a variety of recipes on the web, then combined the parts I liked into this one below. The result was thinner than Hidden Valley Ranch, but very tasty. I had a second helping of spinach today just so I could eat some more of the dressing. Now, I'm looking forward to Stephanie's version!

Paleo Ranch Dressing1 cup olive oil
1 cup Coconut Milk
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs prepared dijon mustard
2 tsp Dill
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Chives
4 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Parsley
1/2 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp Sea Salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a blender or magic bullet and pulse until well combined.

Paleo/Primal Shopping List

I've heard from some folks that they would like to have a shopping list of some basic staples to have on hand when they start eating paleo/primal. Here are the items I recommend having on hand in order to cook a basic array of paleo/primal dishes. Most of the items to buy are determined by what you like. If you don't like Cumin, then use something in it's place in a dish. If you love Dill, then use that more often.  The same goes for meat, veggies and fruit. Buy the ones you like, but try to have a variety of flavors so you don't get bored. Even healthy food doesn't improve your health if you don't eat it.

Oils
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Bacon Grease or Lard

Vinegars
Red Wine Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
White Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar

Nuts and Extras (eat in moderation if your goal is weight loss)
Almonds (whole and slivered)
Walnuts
Pecans
Macadamias
Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
72% or higher dark chocolate chips/bars

Flours
Almond Flour/Meal
Coconut Flour

Milk
Almond Milk
Coconut milk (Canned and in cartons)

Spices
Black Pepper
Chili powder
Turmeric
Oregano
Thyme
Rosemary
Basil
Garlic
Cumin
Salt
Marjoram
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Vanilla
Baking Soda

Meat/Eggs
As often as possible (when $ and supply allows) buy meats and eggs that are pastured, organic, grass-fed and free of nitrates, nitrites, preservatives, antibiotics and hormones. Here are a few I recommend, but others are good as well.

Local Eggs
Ground beef/bison
Beef/Pork steaks/loin
Whole poultry and/or parts
Pre-cooked and uncooked sausages/Bacon
Wild caught fish of all kinds (tilapia, salmon, cod, halibut, etc.)
Shrimp, Scallops, Squid
Organ meats

Vegetables
As often as possible, buy organic vegetables. Here are a few I recommend, but others are good as well. Choose what you like and what you will eat before it goes bad. The only healthy vegetables are the ones that get eaten. If fresh organic vegetables aren't  available where you live, frozen organic is a good alternative. (I'm not including nightshades - tomatoes, eggplant, peppers- here due to their tendency to promote inflammation, but if you don't have issues with them, then feel free.)

Onions
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Spaghetti Squash
Butternut Squash
Turnips
Zucchini/Yellow squash
Cabbage
Spinach, Chard, Kale and other greens
Lettuce

Fruit (Eat in moderation if your goal is weight loss)
As often as possible, buy organic fruit.  And if you plan to eat the skin of the fruit you should always buy organic (especially apples and berries)! Here are a few I recommend, but others are good as well. Choose what you like and what you will eat before it goes bad.

Apples
Berries (Blue, Straw, Rasp, Black)
Pears
Oranges

A Few Primal Lunches for the Kids

I'm giving the kids a nudge toward a more Primal lifestyle this week by making them Primal school lunches. I gave the kids a few options and they chose which they wanted to put in their lunch boxes. I also made up a batch of Primal waffles for them to eat for breakfast during the school week. I'm hoping to see a little less bouncing off the walls and a little more concentration from them. Maybe taking the gluten out of their diets will help a bit with that. And I'm hoping I won't have too many uneaten lunches return from school this week. We'll see what happens!

The girl has 2 days of Apples and almond butter and 3 days of sliced turkey, cheddar cheese and fruit.

The boy has 3 days of boiled egg white (he won't eat the yolk), oranges and cheese and 2 days of apples, almond butter and cheese.

Make Your Own Sauerkraut

Cabbage is very easy to grow in my garden. Cabbage likes cool weather and part shade, which is what I have in my garden. So at the end of the summer I usually have several heads of cabbage. I like eating cabbage in soups, salads, and cole slaw, but after a while you want something different. I've always loved sour foods like pickles, capers, olives and sauerkraut. So I decided to make my own sauerkraut. This recipe is very simple and only contains 2 ingredients: cabbage and salt. You can flavor your sauerkraut with other veggies (like carrots, peppers, etc.) and spices if you like, but that's optional.

Raw Fermented Sauerkraut
3-4 heads of cabbage (any kind works) shredded
2 T salt
2 glass quart canning jars with lids

Shred or cut your cabbage into fairly small shreds. Take a good handful of shredded cabbage and put that into one of your canning jars. Sprinkle the cabbage in the jar with a little bit of salt (keep in mind that you are only using 1 Tablespoon of salt for the whole quart jar of sauerkraut). With a wooden spoon mash the cabbage down over and over until it starts releasing water. Add another good handful of shredded cabbage into the jar and sprinkle with a little more salt. Again, take your wooden spoon and mash it around and pack it down so that you start to have a layer of water on the top of your cabbage. Keep this up until you've filled the entire jar with cabbage and salt. Make sure you have a layer of released water at the top of the jar. If there isn't a good layer of water on top, take that wooden spoon and mash the cabbage some more until you have enough. This recipe should fill 2 quart jars of saurkraut.

Put the lids on your jars but don't tighten them completely. Sit the jars on a kitchen towel or on a stack of newspaper (you'll see why later) and put them in a spot (do not refrigerate yet) where they can be undisturbed for about a week.  After a couple of days of sitting on your counter you'll notice that the jars are starting to ooze and liquid is squeezing out from under the lid. After about 5-7 days you'll notice the jars start to smell sour. This is when your sauerkraut is ready! You can eat it right away or refrigerate for months. (I still have some 6 month old jars in my fridge!)

NOTE: This is not shelf stable, so you will HAVE to refrigerate it if you want it to stay good.

Paleo Sprints - Tabata Workout

My Paleo Fitness Mantra: Walk every day, lift heavy things, sprint occasionally and play often!

I was recently talking to a friend about my exercise regime which includes almost exclusively low intensity cardio (walking and stationary biking) and strength training (yoga and weight lifting). When I thought about this more I realized that I'm not often adding sprints to my workout. I don't like sprints very much, and who does really? But most Paleo Gurus do suggests that occasional sprints are very beneficial to the body.

I had heard of the Tabata training method, but hadn't looked it up to see what it really entailed. So, today I Googled it and found this on the web: