Healthy Oven Fried Okra

Thank you for visiting The Homesteading Cottage. If you subscribe to our blog via RSS feed or email, you'll get helpful tips on simplicity, organization, all things DIY, natural cooking, entertaining, homesteading and emergency preparedness sent straight to you!

Along with french fries, fried okra is a favorite side dish at our homestead. If you've never fried okra in coconut oil, then you're missing something fabulous!! Frying in coconut oil is a great way to have that fried treat, but in a healthy way. Well, one day that okra craving hit and we were out of coconut oil. What to do? Not long ago we learned that baked fries can be awesome and we wondered if there might be a way to get the same great results with baked okra.

After a little online searching, sure enough there is! Here are the steps that have worked the best for us...

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. bag of frozen okra
• 2-4 tablespoons of corn meal
• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste (we also like a tad of cayenne pepper for a kick)

1. Add one 16 oz. bag of frozen okra to a ziploc bag with few pinches of salt

Let the bag sit for about 10-30 minutes (If you don't have the time to wait, I've let the bag sit for a minimum of 10 minutes with good results). This gives the salt time to extract the juices from the okra.

2. Add 2-4 tablespoons of corn meal, 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and spices of your choosing
Add the olive oil first, then the corn meal with the spices on top. Zip it closed and "flip" the bag over again and again until the okra if fully coated. If you see that the okra isn't coated enough to your liking, then add more cornmeal.

We use 4 tablespoons, but it really just depends on your coating preference. (We also used self-rising corn meal because that's what we had in the pantry. Since salt is already in the self-rising corn meal, we didn't add more during the spice stage. If you're using plain corn meal, then you'll want to add salt to taste).

TIP: Different recipes suggested using oil spray to coat the okra before baking to help create that crispy crust. We don't use canned sprays, but found that adding olive oil in the bag with the cornmeal and spices did the trick!

3. Let the coated okra rest for 10-30 minutes
I usually let it rest for 20 minutes, but have also had great success with a 10 minute set. You just want to give enough time for the juices in the okra and the coating to meld so the coating won't fall off. We used to dip okra in eggs or soaked flaxseed meal before dipping the okra into the corn meal. This new "bag method" saves so much time and you're using less items to make the same great treat!!

4. Pour Okra onto a Baking Sheet
You can grease the sheet if you like, but we never have and the okra comes right off. (Much like our oven baked fries, sometimes the okra may need a little coaxing, but then they pop right up.)

5. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes
After 30 minutes you'll have the most delicious baked okra! It's not as crunchy as okra fried in coconut oil, but it's darn close. We haven't gone back to frying yet!

The summer isn't quite the same without having at least one meal of tomato sandwiches, corn on the cob, fried okra and watermelon. There are those moments when the okra and french fry cravings hit at the same time, so we've been known to bake a pan filled with half fries and half okra! Each recipe calls for the same baking time and temperature so it makes the perfect batch on those days when you just can't decide (; Enjoy!

With Gratitude,

New to The Homesteading Cottage?   Don't miss a post and subscribe here...

Healthy Coconut Cream Berry Tart

Thank you for visiting The Homesteading Cottage. If you subscribe to our blog via RSS feed or email, you'll get helpful tips on simplicity, organization, all things DIY, natural cooking, entertaining, homesteading and emergency preparedness sent straight to you!

I recently wrote about Jill from Real Food Forager and her post on the most amazing Star-Spangled Coconut Cream Tart that's gluten-free, dairy-free and Paleo too. We wanted a healthy dessert option for our July 4th celebration and this one looked like the perfect one to try! The photo above of our finished pie isn't as lovely as Jill's, but it'll give you an idea of how our version turned out.

We weren't able to locally find the coconut cream that Jill suggested, but she did mention that the cream from a chilled can of coconut milk could be used just the same (it also makes wonderful whipped cream too). Great! But we made the mistake of getting low fat coconut milk after finding that our store was out of the full fat version. The full fat coconut milk makes a HUGE difference in this recipe, because the fat is what creates the "thick cream" when chilled.

This is what our chilled can of coconut milk SHOULD have looked like...

Since we had the low fat coconut milk, it didn't set or get thick and creamy...but that didn't stop us from enjoying it anyway! We simply put the tart in the freezer so the coconut filling would freeze and we ate it like an ice cream pie. Delicious!!!! Even though it didn't turn out like we had hoped, it was still amazing and we all had seconds (; It's a recipe I highly recommend.

We can't wait to add some twists to this simple concoction in the future...things like banana cream pie or chocolate coconut almond pie...yum!! Jill's recipe is below, but hop over to her site to get info on where to purchase some of the ingredients if you can't get them in your area. She also has a tutorial for making your own almond flour too!

Ingredients for the chocolate crust:

• 1 medium egg
• 3 tablespoon raw honey
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil, butter or ghee
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour plus 1 tablespoon if necessary
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions for the chocolate crust:

1. Place all the wet ingredients into a food processor and mix
2. Add the dry ingredients except the extra tablespoon of coconut flour and process until you get a nicely formed ball
3. If the dough is sticky, add the extra tablespoon of coconut flour and mix again
4. Remove the dough from the processor and place into a greased 9 or 10″ tart pan with a removal bottom
5. Press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan and even out the bottom as best you can
6. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes
7. Let cool

Ingredients for the coconut filling:

• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoon raw honey
• 1 box coconut cream or 8 ounces of the cream from coconut milk

Instructions for the coconut filling:

1. Place all the ingredients into a bowl
2. With a hand mixer (or stand mixer) mix it all together for a few minutes
3. Place in the freezer for one hour or the refrigerator for several hours to thicken
4. When the cream is thick, spread it on the cooled crust

We hope you enjoy this dessert as much as we have.  Not only is it a tasty treat, but it's healthy too!  We all have those "go-to" recipes that we use again and again...this tart will be one of our favorites for years to come.

With Gratitude,

New to The Homesteading Cottage?   Don't miss a post and subscribe here...

Makeover Monday - Gluten Free Pizza

Thank you for visiting The Homesteading Cottage. If you subscribe to our blog via RSS feed or email, you'll get helpful tips on simplicity, organization, all things DIY, natural cooking, entertaining, homesteading and emergency preparedness sent straight to you!

Pizza is a favorite in our home and one that was a first to get a healthy makeover. Since we have gluten sensitivity/intolerance in the family, we like to keep these happy little discs of cheese as far from gluten as possible (: A simple change of the crust and the use of raw cheese was an easy fix.

In this particular application we used corn tortillas, but we also love Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust. One package makes two 12" crusts and we always substitute flax seeds for the eggs with great success. The kiddos actually prefer this crust to any restaurant or take-out pizza. Flax seed, gluten-free pizza crust is amazing!! It does get a tad bit sticky when spreading it out, but a little olive oil on your hands keeps the stickies away.

TIP: If you're using tortillas like we are today and like to load up on the toppings, stack a couple of toasted tortillas together with cheese in between for a pizza crust with some umph!

We like to make our own pizza sauce with a can of crushed tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil, a small onion, several cloves of garlic (or garlic powder), pepper, sea salt and a touch of honey. We like it on the chunky side, but if you prefer a smooth sauce, simply purée the ingredients together. Spread the sauce on first...

Now for the toppings! When you let the kids build their own little mini pizzas, they're more willing to add items they might not normally try. The flavor options are endless, but today we have grass-fed beef, onions, peppers and spinach. Yum!

Other topping combos we love...

• Veggie Lovers - Onions, roasted peppers, sundried tomatoes, olives, artichokes, spinach, mushrooms, roasted garlic, shredded squash and zucchini, shredded carrots, topped with cheese.
• Hawaiian Delight - Sausage, pineapple, onions and your favorite cheese.
• Broccoli Forest - Ham, broccoli, onions and cheddar.
• Greek Dream - Chicken, feta, spinach, black olives, onions and peppercinis.
• BBQ Gal - BBQ sauce in place of tomato sauce, shredded beef or chicken, onions, pickles and swiss. Heat and then top with vinegar slaw.
• Taco Tilt - Taco sauce in place of tomato sauce, beef, onions, olives, black beans, corn and cheese. Heat and then top with lettuce, tomatoes, shredded carrots and salsa.
• Cheeseburger Pizza - Hamburger, red onions, diced pickles, light drizzle of mustard and ketchup and topped with cheddar. Amazing how good this one is!! 

Next is the raw cheese and we use plenty of it (; Our favorites are parmigiano reggiano, asiago, cheddar, gouda, feta and swiss. Today we're using gouda and cheddar.

Pop them in the oven until the cheese melts and everything is bubbling together...

And voilà! Gluten-free pizza in under 30 minutes without even ordering for delivery. If you keep a variety of toppings made in advance, it can take even less time. A great healthy meal you can feel good about feeding your family! Taking traditional comfort foods and giving them a healthy makeover is a simple way to provide well-balanced nutrition.

Get the kiddos involved and have some fun creating new recipes that will become family favorites for years to come. Have you performed some makeover magic in your kitchen lately?

With Gratitude,

New to The Homesteading Cottage?   Don't miss a post and subscribe here...