what to eat on Non-Fasting Days

Slow Days: Pecan Rolls

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

When our sons were young, our Summer Vacation was two weeks at Prince Edward Island in Canada. I would pack up ingredients for the meals we would eat, we would stuff our duffels with bathing suits and snorkel equipment, and off we would go to the old farm house we would always rent on a little lane that went down to the sea. It was delightful.

Early on, I discovered a new recipe: Pecan Rolls that could rise overnight and be enjoyed for the next day’s breakfast. Even better, the recipe made so many that they could be frozen and re–heated for subsequent breakfasts large enough to satisfy two growing boys. Great!! The recipe is from Great Breads by Martha Rose Shulman.

Now we have our own house on Prince Edward Island, built to resemble our former rental, but with some serious updates — like a large, well-equipped kitchen. Every Summer there, I make a batch of Pecan Rolls: some for the next breakfast, many for the freezer to feed our Summer guests. Depending on how you cut the dough, you could make 24-36 large rolls. Have fun with this one!

Mise en place: in big bowl — 2 flours, mace, salt; in smaller vessels, left to right: milk-juice-honey, yeast, pecans, egg-oil, unplumped raisins
24 huge rolls OR 32 regular12 huge rolls OR 16 regular
1 cup raisins
boiling water to cover		½ cup raisins boiling water to coverSoak 15 mins, then drain, saving the water and raisins.
½ c cooled raisin water
1 Tbsp yeast		¼ c cooled raisin water 1.5 tsp yeastPour into 1-Quart bowl. Let sit a few minutes, then stir to dissolve
¾ c warm milk
½ c warm orange juice
1/3 c warm honey		1/3 c warm milk ¼ c warm orange juice 3 Tbsp warm honeyStir into yeast solution, let stand 5-10 mins.
¼ c oil, ex: canola two 2-oz eggs2 Tbsp oil, ex: canola one 2-oz eggAdd to the bowl and mix.
1 2/3 c white flour
2 tsp salt
½ tsp mace or nutmeg 4-5 c white whole wheat flour		½ + 1/3 c white flour 1 tsp salt
¼ tsp mace or nutmeg
2-2½ c white whole wheat flour		Combine in a large bowl.
Plumped Raisins
1 cup liquids		Plumped Raisins
½ cup liquids		Stir into dry ingredients.
1 cup liquids½ cup liquidsAdd more liquids and mix.
Remaining liquidsRemaining liquidsAdd and mix. Knead and let rise 1½-2 hours.
Punch down, divide dough in half if making larger amount. Roll ½ to an 8×12” oblong. 
4 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp honey 1 tsp cinnamon		2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp honey ½ tsp cinnamon		Stir to combine. Divide into 2 parts, if making larger amount. Brush rolled dough with 1 part butter-honey.
1/3 cup + 1/3 cup chopped pecans3 Tbsp chopped pecansSprinkle dough with 1 part nuts. With long side toward you, roll up dough, slice into 12-16 pieces. Repeat with other ½ of dough, if making larger amount.
Arrange rolls, cut side up, on buttered baking trays.
Let rise on counter 1 hour, or overnight in ‘fridge.
Bake 15-20 mins at 350F.
½ c. icing sugar or more 1 tsp orange juice or more¼ c. icing sugar or more 1 tsp orange juice or moreStir together icing. Slather on rolls to serve today. Cool and freeze un-iced remaining rolls in plastic bags.
Pecan Rolls, back bacon, strawberry yogurt — tastes like Summer to me!

Slow Days: Farro with Tomatoes and Pesto

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

This recipe is from a New York Times article by Yasmin Fahr. Since we wish to add to our repetoire of whole-grain/Mediterranean Diet recipes, I thought this might be good. I like farro. Dear Husband, who is not wildly enthusiastic about my attempts to add whole grains to our diet, was indeed very enthusiastic about this meal. With almost every fork-full, we exclaimed, “Isn’t this delicious!!” We will decidedly prepare and eat this meal again. And again.

4 servings, original2 servings, my wayHeat oven to 400F. 
1 cup raw farro, rinsed 3 cups salted water½ cup raw farro, rinsed 1½ cups salted waterBring water to a boil. Add farro and adjust heat to keep a medium boil. 
Cook uncovered, stirring a bit so it won’t stick, until tender and a bit chewy, 30 mins.
2 pts cherry tomatoes 7 oz red onion, peeled  2 T. olive oil2 cups cherry tomatoes 3.5 oz/105g red onion
1 tsp olive oil		Cut onion in 1” wedges. On a sheet pan, combine veggies with oil, making sure everything is well coated and glistening. 
Kosher salt + black pepper ½ tsp red-pepper flakes Kosher salt + black pepper ¼ tsp red-pepper flakesAdd seasonings. Roast until tomatoes blister, 25-30 mins.
Cooked farro
¼ c purchased/DIY pesto		Cooked farro 2 T. purchased/DIY pestoMake your own or open a jar you bought. When farro is cooked, drain. Stir in pesto. 
1 T. lemon zest 2 Tbsp lemon juice1.5 tsp lemon zest 1 Tbsp lemon juiceAdd lemon zest and juice. I used only bottled lemon juice, not the zest.
2 packed c. baby spinach½ c. fresh spinach/½ c frzStir spinach into farro. I used frozen.
Roasted vegetables salt & pepperRoasted vegetables salt & pepperScrape farro into vegetables and stir to combine with juices. Season as needed.
4-oz ball fresh mozzarella ¼ c. flat-leaf parsley/basil 1 oz fresh mozzarella 2 T. flat-leaf parsley/basil Tear/cut cheese in chunks. Roughly chop herbs. Stir all into farro, and plate.
Cooked shrimp/chicken/ scallops3.5 oz cooked chicken or scallopsGarnish with protein of choice or not.  I used grilled chicken from Sunday’s meal.

Slow Days: Meze Luncheon

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Friends were going to drop by for a summer luncheon. We see them only once a year and don’t really know their eating preferences, so we opted for a ‘grazing meal.’ Call it Mezedakia if you are Greek, call it Tapas if you are Spanish, call it Small Bites if you are writing the restaurant appetizer menu. A meal like this offers flexibility and choices for the people around the table, and this assortment is very much in the Mediterranean Diet mode. One can eat as much or as little as one wants. My kind of meal!

Top Row, left to right: Gozleme Bread, Felafel patties Second Row, left to right: Cucumber-Tomato salad, Tzatziki [white, with spreading knife], black olives, cherry tomatoes, watermelon chunks Bottom Row, left to right: Carrots in lemon marinade, za’atar chicken chunks, White Beans with capers

This menu has many make-ahead components, so there is no scrambling at the last minute. And here are the preparation notes:

Gozleme Bread: make ahead

1¼ c white whole wheat flour ½ tsp salt Mix in a 1-Qt-sized bowl. 
¼ c water ¼ c plain yogurt Combine yogurt/water and stir into the flour until well-combined. Add a bit more water if too dry.
On a floured surface, knead ~3 mins, until smooth and elastic. Cover and let sit for a few mins on the counter OR overnight in a cool place.
Roll on a floured surface into flat breads. Divide into sizes for your recipe. Cook on an oil-sprayed skillet 3-4 mins per side until turning brown in spots.

FELAFEL: makes 25 patties  So convenient to have in the freezer for ‘instant’ meals.

2 cups canned chick peas [if you use dried chickpeas, you will get a grainer product. Factor in the time to reconstitute and cook them] 1.5 cloves garlic, crushed [add as much as you enjoy!] ¼ cup celery, minced ¼ c. scallions, sliced 1 two-oz egg 1½ tsp tahini ½ t. cumin ½ t. turmeric ¼ t. cayenne ¼ t. black pepper 1.5 t. salt

Combine in food processer until ingredients form a uniform paste. Scoop into a bowl and chill 1 hour. Form into balls on a silicone mat or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. I used a 1½ Tbsp scoop and then flattened the patties. TIP: You don’t have to bake them now. You could freeze the patties on a cookie sheet, then put them frozen into bags to cook later. Bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes. The patties should be heated through and have an outside ‘crust’ which is firm to the touch. In most recipes, you will cook them further. At this point you want them to be firm enough to store well. There will be about 25 of them. Use now or cool and freeze for later use. 

Cucumber-Tomato Salad: make ahead What a Summer treat!

Sv 4
1 English cucumber, unpeeledTrim off ends of cuke, halve it lengthwise. Cut into ½” dice.
10 oz grape or cherry tomatoes
½ small red onion 		Dice tomatoes and red onion. Put all three veg into a bowl.
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp honey
½ tsp Kosher or fine sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper		Whisk these together.Pour dressing over the salad and toss gently to mix.
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley/dill /basilGently stir in the fresh herbs, if using. 
Serve immediately or chill in ‘frige 1-2 hrs to let the flavors meld before serving.

Tzatziki:  make ahead This is the traditional Greek condiment. Very refreshing. The recipe comes from themediterraneandish.com and

2½ cups
1 English cucumber or another variety Kosher saltGrate cucumbers whole if using English cucumbers. If using cucumbers with waxy skin, peel and cut in half before grating. Remove and discard seeds. Salt lightly.
Squeeze cucumbers in a clean cloth to remove liquid.
4-5 cloves garlic, minced  1 tsp distilled white vinegar
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil		In a big bowl, combine garlic with these and mix. 
drained cucumber 2 c plain Greek yogurt 
Ground pepper + salt
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill or mint 		Add drained cucumber mixture to the above bowl, then add these ingredients. Stir to combine.
Chill 30 mins -2 hrs before serving with fresh veggies and pita or chips

Carrots in lemon marinade: make ahead Prepare the marinade: In a wide bowl, whisk together 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, pinch of granulated garlic, pinch oregano. Cook small carrot sticks until tender and put them into the marinade while they are still hot. Stir at whiles, as the carrots cool on the counter.

Za’atar Chicken: make ahead or grill in front of your guests to show off your skills. Serve the chicken meat in large pieces or cut into 1-inch cubes and serve on picks.

Serves 4Serves 2
5 garlic cloves, pressed zest of 1 lemon 1/3 c yogurt ¼ c chopped fresh cilantro  
3 Tbsp EVOO
1½ Tbsp za’atar
1 Tbsp chopped oregano/marjoram   1¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper 		3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp lemon zest
3 Tbsp yogurt 2 Tbsp cilantro
2 tsp EVOO 2 ½ tsp za’atar 1½ tsp marjoram 1 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper 		MARINADE – In a large bowl or container, stir together these ingredients.
2¼# boneless, skinless chicken thighs2 thighs with legs, bonedAdd chicken and toss until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 2+ hrs or overnight.
Heat grill to medium or heat broiler with rack 3” from heat. If broiling instead of grilling, line sheet pan with foil for easier clean up. Take chicken from bowl, shaking off excess marinade, and grill/broil on one side until charred in spots, 5-8 mins. Flip, grill/broil  5-8 mins, until just cooked through.

White Beans with capers: make ahead Drain and rinse canned beans, such as navy or cannellini/white kidney. Stir in 1 Tbsp capers for every cup of beans, along with a pinch or two of salt. Let sit at room temperature to marry the flavors.

Slow Days: War Cake

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

From a war-time cookbook, World War I.

During World War 1 and World War II, the people on the home front in Great Britain, Canada, and the US shared in the war effort. They donated metal to make munitions, they saved cooking fat and sent it to use as a lubricant for machinery. And most of all, they endured years of food scarcity since food was diverted to the troops. At home, eggs, butter, sugar, cheese, and meat were rationed. Each household received a ration card which was taken to the store to determine how you could shop. Each week, the grocer would dole out the commodities needed to run a home kitchen, and it was not enough. Here was the weekly rations per adult in Canada:

  • sugar: one cup (the average Canadian eats twice that much today)
  • butter: four ounces (one-quarter pound)
  • tea: two ounces, or coffee: eight ounces (because these items came from other countries)
  • meat: 24-32 ounces (less than five ounces per day)
  • beer, spirits and wine were also rationed, the amount varying between provinces [PEI still had total Prohibition until 1947]

Cooks became creative. No butter? Lard would substitute in baked goods. No milk? Water or tea might suffice. No sugar? Try molasses. No eggs? Oh bother.

From those privations came ‘War Cake,’ a special bake to make a family celebration more festive in trying times. A housewife had to plan ahead for it, saving out a bit of sugar for weeks before baking. This recipe is from Maritime Canada, where it was often served at Christmas, and still is in some families. In the baking division at the Dundas Plowing Contest in PEI, one category is ‘war cake.’ So I tried this last year and it was a winner — literally and figuratively. It won 1st Prize and has been popular when served to friends and family.

12 servings, 1 cake Preheat oven to 325 F/165 C.  Grease and flour a tube/loaf/Bundt pan.
1 c water/herbal tea
1 c raisins + dried apricots
1/2 c light molasses
1/3 c/5 Tbsp sugar
1/3 c lard 		If using dried apricots, dice them. Or use all raisins.
Bring these to a boil in a saucepan.
Reduce heat to low, and simmer until raisins are plump, ~5 minutes.
Let cool, but not so much that the lard solidifies.
1.5 c white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp cinnamon		Whisk together in a bowl. 
Stir flour mixture into raisin mixture until well combined.
Pour into prepared baking pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean, ~1 hour, less if baked in tube pan.

Serve with slices of Cheddar Cheese and a cup of tea. Splendid for breakfast, elevenses, tea time, or dessert. Enjoy a taste of the past.

Slow Days: Lamb Stew for Saint Patrick’s Day

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Saint Patrick’s Day is an occasion that demands to be celebrated with special foods. No, not green beer. No, it doesn’t have to be Corned Beef & Cabbage. Look in most common cook books [James Beard, Fannie Farmer, Joy of Cooking, et alia] for ‘Irish Stew’ and you will find that it is made of lamb. Thus lamb, even better, lamb stew is appropriate for March 17th. When young Patrick was enslaved in Ireland, he worked as a shepherd — so there’s another reason to celebrate good Patrick with lamb. Most recipes are really plain and basic: cubed raw lamb, cubed potatoes, sliced onions, water, salt. We tried many of those recipes, and although they are surely authentic, they are just plain DULL.

How happy we were to find this recipe in the book Salute to Healthy Cooking by the French Culinary Institute! We prepare a large batch periodically, and serve it twice a year: on St Patrick’s Day in March and also in December during the run-up to Christmas. Lamb has much symbolic significance to Christians, so serving it during Lent and Advent makes sense to us.

Lamb Stew for two can double or triple!Need: saute pan + Dutch oven with lid + non-stick pan 
½ pound boneless lamb shoulder, cubed cooking spray
salt + pepper		Sear lamb cubes on all sides in a heavy pan spritzed with non-stick spray or oil. Cook meat in batches so pan doesn’t cool. Put cooked meat in a Dutch oven, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
½ cup onions, choppedPut onions in saute pan and cook until tranluscent with enough water to make them sizzle .
1 oz dry red wineDeglaze pan with wine, stirring up brown bits.
Heat the oven to 350 F. 
¾ tsp white whole wheat flour
water ½ Tbsp tomato paste		Sprinkle deglazed pan with flour and stir. Add to lamb in Dutch oven.
Add enough cold water to go to top of the lamb but not cover it. Stir in tomato paste.
1 tsp thyme  1 bay leafAdd herbs. Heat to a simmer over medium heat. Cover casserole and put in oven. Bake 1 hour, making sure stew is not boiling. 
¾ c. carrots, cut in 2” batonsAdd carrots, cover pan, bake 15 minutes.
½ cup cubed potatoesAdd potatoes, cover pan, bake 45 minutes. Remove bay leaf. 
Salt + pepperAdd salt and pepper. Take off heat and cover until vegetables are cooked.
6 pearl onions, trimmed and peeled 1 cup/5 oz turnips, in 2” batons
water ½ tsp sugar  1 tsp butter		Put vegetables in a small non-stick pan with sugar and butter. Add enough water to cover the vegetables half-way up.
Simmer 10 minutes, uncovered, shaking pan occasionally. 
Plate stew with the glazed vegetables.
Here is the stew in all its glory, served with an individual Soda Bread from Friend Ann.

And while you are doing your Irish thing, the best item to go with Irish Stew is Irish Soda Bread. I usually prepare a batch in the morning, so we can enjoy them for breakfast. Then the remaining ones are served at dinner with the stew. The recipe that I use is based on the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, with a few tweaks.

Makes 12 individual biscuits or 1 large loafPreheat oven to 400F. Buttered cookie sheet.
1 cup white flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour 1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter		Cut the ingredients together, using two knives or a pastry blender.
Purists would do it with their fingers.
Non-purists might blitz this in a food processor.
½ – 1 cup raisins [black or golden] or currants 1 Tbsp caraway seedStir these into the dry mixture.
¾ cup buttermilk or soured milk – all of the milk may not be needed, or you might need moreAdd milk bit by bit, stiring with a fork, until the dough is moistened and forms a ball.
For 12 individual biscuitsRoll/pat out dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a 2” or 3” round cutter. Use a knife to mark an ‘X’ on top of each.
For one large loafGather the dough into a single ball, and flatten slightly. Use a knife to incise an ‘X’ on the top.
Bake at 400F 10-15 mins or 20 mins for large loaf
A portion of Irish Stew with a fruited slice of Soda Bread loaf.

Slow Days: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

~ me ~ Leave a comment

People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

In the depths of winter, when snow is deep on the ground in the North, lemons are ripening in warmer climes. How cheery they look! How fresh they taste! Lemon-growing spread around the Mediterranean Sea by 1000 CE. Berbers brought their cultivation to Spain, then when Spain took over the Netherlands in the 1500s, lemons went with them to Northern Europe. Eventually, lemons and limes were prized as sources of Vitamin C to prevent scurvy in the winter, when fresh vegetables were scarce. Have you tried Lemon Ricotta Pancakes? They are bright and light in flavor, and are perfect for a February breakfast. If you have left-over pancakes, freeze them. The recipe is from Geneveve Ko, writing in the New York Times.

8-10 pancakesHeat a griddle or large nonstick pan or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium-low.
33 g/3 Tbsp sugar
zest ½ lemon or 1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp vanilla		Put these in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
2 eggsAdd eggs and whisk until foamy.
½ c lower-fat ricotta
3 Tbsp yogurt/buttermilk
20 g butter		Melt butter. Add these to the bowl, and whisk until well blended.
½ c/52 g white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt		Add dry ingredients and gently stir until no traces of flour remain.
Optional: drop blueberries on the batter as pancakes cookButter griddle. Use a ¼ cup measure to portion batter onto it. Cook 3 mins on each side until golden brown.
Blueberry Maple Syrup or other toppings
chicken breakfast sausage		Serve warm, with blueberry syrup and chicken sausages.

Slow Days: Peach Wine DIY, Bottling

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Bet you thought I’d forgotten about that peach wine that we started a year ago! Mine has taken a l-o-n-g time to clear and maybe your’s did too. We have to wait until all the particles — the ‘lees’ — have settled, lest the wine be cloudy. This can take anywhere from 5 months to more than a year! It does not harm the wine to wait that long. You might have seen these words on a bottle of grape wine: ‘aged on the lees for 12 months’ or ‘sur lie.’ That is the wine-maker telling you that he/she left the wine in a barrel, settling, and in contact with the lees, for a long time. Some say that this adds more flavor to the wine. There is a quicker way to settle the lees, and that is by adding a chemical substance with various trade names. For me, the fewer chemicals I add to the wine, the better.

Equipment: several large [4-6 cup capacity] jars with lids. 5 wine bottles. 1 Liter measuring cup or equivalent. 5-7 corks, size #9. jar large enough to hold all the corks. Camden Solution. sugar + water hydrometer and cylinder. corking device.

Let’s get down to bottling now that the wine is crystal clear. First, we decant the wine off the lees. I like to sterilize [with Camden Solution, remember?] large jars, holding 4-6 cups, and pour the wine off the lees into the jars. Have a few jars available so you can pour from the fermenting bottle without stopping. If you pour some wine out, then put the bottle down, some of the lees will kick up and cloud the wine again. Cloudy wine at the bottom can be poured into an appropriately sized bottle and topped with an air lock. It will settle again, yielding some more wine in a month or two. The remaining lees can be poured down the sink. Wash 5 wine bottles and give them a sterilizing rinse.

Wine is crystal clear.
Wine poured from larger fermenting jar into jars with lids. Always cover the wine to exclude bacteria which will make it go bad.
Hot water and soap and a bottle brush for clean bottles. The give it a sterile wash.

Next, prepare a Simple Syrup. That’s 1/2 cup of granulated white sugar dissolved in a 1/2 cup of water — heating gently will help to dissolve the sugar. Pour boiling water in to a jar and add 5 corks. The corks will float so to submerge them fully, I put a smaller diameter jar on top of them to hold them down. Soak the corks for 10 minutes — not longer. After 10 minutes, drain the corks and keep covered.

Simple Syrup before the sugar all dissolves.
Corks soak submerged in hot water, weighted down by a smaller jar.

You now need the hydrometer and the cylinder that goes with it. Sterilize them both. Take a good look at the hydrometer. See the line labeled 1.000? If you take the Specific Gravity [SG] of the wine and it floats at the 1.000 line [or closer to the 0.990 mark], then all the sugar that you initially put into the mixture has ‘fermented out’ and turned to alcohol. This produces a very dry wine, but with less flavor. Taste it and see how you like it. If you love it, go ahead and bottle it as is.

Here is the initial reading I took from my Peach Wine: ~0.904 Too dry. If, like me, you want to make a less dry wine, then you will want to add some of the Simple Syrup. Sterilize a 1 Liter measuring cup and pour 750 ml wine into it. Add a little bit — 1 Tablespoon? — of the syrup and pour the wine into the cylinder and test it again. Taste as you go — in little sips! If you get tipsy at this point, your judgement and small-motor skills will be impaired!

Close-up of hydrometer.
The hydrometer tells us that this wine is very dry.
Hydrometer and cylinder for testing the SG, wine measured into a 1 L cup, shot glass for tasting.

If you expect me to give you exact amounts, dream on — this is the ‘art’ of wine-making. Continue to taste and pour and test until it suits you. This time [it varies from batch to batch], the SG that tasted good to me was between the ’10’ and the ’20’ — about 1.015. When you find an SG level that appeals your taste, bottle it. To do that, pour the contents of the 1 Liter measuring cup into the clean bottle until the wine level is just a little way up the neck — 2- 3″ below the top of the bottle. The empty space between the bottom of the cork and the top of the wine is called “ullage.” Continue to adjust the SG for each bottle of wine and to fill the bottles to a good ullage. IMPORTANT: Since you have added more sugar, there is the risk that the sugar will start fermentation again. Then pressure builds up in the bottle and the cork explodes out of the bottle! You do not want your wine to go to waste, so add either 1/2 or a full Camden tablet to each bottle to stabilize it. This adds a little Sulfite to the wine which kills the bacteria.

SG of adjusted wine.
Corking device with a cork in the tube.
Bottled and corked wine — note the ullage.

Now you can cork the bottles. Take a cork [I use #9] and dip one end into Camden solution. Put that end into the corker [pictured above, center] and push it down to the lower end of the tube. Place the bottles on a surface lower than a counter: on the door of an open oven or the door of an open dishwasher or into a sink or on the floor. Stand near and above the bottle so you can get good leverage. Put the corker on the mouth of the bottle and, while keeping the corker upright, push down on the handles to move the cork into the bottle. Takes some getting used to… Put a label on the bottle [there are websites for that], telling the type of wine and the date of bottling.

And now you have a country wine of your own making. Resist the urge to drink a bottle tonight. The wine will improve if you ‘lay it down’ [put it on its side in a cool, dark place] for a month or so. Then you can cook with it or drink it with meals. Dear Husband, who knows a bit about wine, suggests that country wines are better chilled. Remember that the recommended amount of daily wine for women is 5 oz and for men it is 8 oz. Be responsible with alcohol — your health depends on it.

Slow Days: Ossobuco

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Italian cuisine runs the gamut from plain to complex, from North to South, from pasta dishes to pasta-less dishes. In the North, the Piedmont Region has foods that one never finds in the southern part of the country: beef in plenty, cheese from water buffaloes, rice, butter, corn, and fewer tomatoes. One famous dish from Milano in the Piedmont is Ossobuco. The word means ‘bone with a mouth’ since the meat in the meal is slices of veal shank with a hollow bone in the center — the bone with a mouth. As we get into the cooler weather and past Saint Martin’s Day [when the farm animals were slaughtered], our thoughts turn to eating rich, flavorful stews or heavier pasta dishes. Enter Ossobuco. Perhaps the most difficult part of the recipe is finding the veal, since veal has justly fallen into disrepute due to the sad way that the veal calves have been raised. Our veal comes from D’artagnan, an online source of many meats, and it is raised humanely in France. That solved, preparing Ossobuco is not a complex process. Our recipe is adapted from Marcella Hazen’s excellent Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

We make a large batch so we will have leftovers. Four veal shanks will serve many using this recipe
The ingredients are simple and so is the preparation.
6-8 ServingsLarge covered Dutch oven or 16” cast iron pan with cover.Preheat oven to 350F
1 Tbsp vegetable oil + 1 Tbsp oil 4 veal shank slices, each 1½” thick white whole wheat flour, pepper, saltHeat oil in casserole over medium high heat until quite hot. Dry meat with paper towels and dredge in seasoned flour. Cook meat on both sides until ‘deeply browned.’  Depending on size of the casserole, you might do this in stages. Add more oil as needed. Put meat aside on a plate.
The wine is simmering and the brown bits are being scraped off the pan.
The soffritto adds a depth of flavor to the stew.
Now the veal is returned to the pot.
½ cup dry white wineAdd wine, cook down by half while scraping up brown bits. Pour it off and save it. 
1 Tbsp butter
½ c onion, chopped finely
½ c celery, chopped finely
½ c carrot, chopped finely 		Put butter into casserole over medium heat on stove top. When melted, add vegetables. Cook, stirring a bit, 6-7 minutes to form the soffritto. In Italy, they call it soffritto, in France it is mirepoix.
1 tsp garlic, finely chopped
1 strip of lemon peel, no white pith 		Add these, cook and stir ~1 minute, until vegetables are wilted but not brown.
Put veal atop the soffritto, laying the pieces flat if possible, or overlapping them slightly.
Ready for the oven, all ingredients in the pot.
Stew is cooked, meat is mixed into the sauce with marrow bones in center.
½-1 cup homemade meat broth
1 c canned Italian plum tomatoes with juice 3-4 sprigs of thyme
2-3 sprigs parsley, chopped 2 bay leaves freshly ground pepper + salt 		Chop tomatoes and parsley. Put all of these into the casserole, along with remaining deglazing liquid. Liquids should come up to top of the veal slices, but not cover them. Bring to a simmer and cover. Put casserole in the heated oven and set a timer for 2 hours.
Every 20 mins, check the cassserole. Turn and baste shanks, adding more liquid, 2 Tbsp at a time, if needed.
When meat is very tender, take casserole from oven. Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs. If sauce is too thin, cook it down on the stove-top.
Now for the heresy! Remove meat shanks and slice meat, saving the marrow bone. Add slices back to the sauce, stirring them in. Nestle marrow bones in the center of the pot, standing on end.

For a vegetable course, we prepared an antipasto plate of vegetables marinated in Italian Vinaigrette. For bread, no-knead focaccia, sliced for ease of serving.

Fresh, hand-cut pasta, 5 oz per person drizzle olive oilCook pasta 1-3 minutes until al dente. Drain, adding some water to sauce. Drizzle pasta with a bit of oil.
focacciaPresent casserole and pasta separately, allowing diners to serve themselves and to take one of the marrow bones if they like. Serve with slices of focaccia loaf.

One could serve risotto or polenta, to be in keeping with Northern Italian cuisine, but we opted for fresh pasta which is more typical in the North than the South. For dessert, panna cotta with fruit coulis.

Slow Days: Cranberry Corn Sticks

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Autumn in New England means foliage in stunning colors, apple cider, the last of the sweet corn, apples, cranberries, and Thanksgving. In our family, Thanksgiving is not just a feast on a particular day, rather it is an unfolding process of celebrating local foods. Cornmeal was introduced to the early European settlers here [the Puritans at Plymouth, Massachusetts] by the First Nations people who had grown corn for centuries. Dried, it could last the winter, providing vitamins and carbohydrates all year long. The Puritans thought they would be growing wheat, but the climate was unsuitable. Cornmeal filled in for flour in many foods of the era. In old recipes, the word “Indian” in the title [Indian Pudding, Indian Bread] meant that the dish contained cornmeal. Cornbread caught on all over the Eastern seaboard and people now tend to think of it as a Southern thing, despite its deep roots in New England. For breakfast on Thanksgiving, we get out the old corn-stick molds for a history-soaked breakfast. These cast-iron pans allow you to bake corn-bread in the shape of little corn cobs. Mine were from my mother’s kitchen, though I don’t remember her ever using them. The design goes back to 1919, so I guess they were my grandmother’s pans. Bottom Line: corn bread + cranberries + cute cast-iron pans = Fun Fall Breakfast.

Here are two recipes that I have used, Fannie Farmer and Hayden Pearson, both as New England as you can get:

Corn Bread by Fannie Farmer8×8” baking pan or cast-iron cornstick pans. Preheat oven to 375F
¾ c cornmeal
½ c white whole wheat flour
½ cup white flour
¼ cup sugar 3 Tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt		Sift together into a large bowl.
1 cup milk
1 egg, well beaten 4 Tbsp butter, melted		Add these to dry ingredients and mix well.
For Corn Sticks, one 7-stick pan is filled using 1 cup batter. The pan must be greased in all its crannies with melted butter. For Corn Bread, butter the baking pan.
½ – ¾ cup cranberriesAfter batter is in the pan, poke cranberries into the Corn Sticks, using 4-5 per Corn Stick. For Corn Bread, sprinkle the berries on top and gently swirl them into the batter.
Bake 15 minutes for Corn Sticks; 25 minutes for Corn Bread.Since I have left-over batter from the Corn Sticks, I bake it and use it in the turkey stuffing.
Sunny Acres Corn Bread by Hayden Pearson8×8” baking pan or cast-iron Corn Stick pans. Preheat oven to 425F
¾ cup yellow corn meal
2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup white flour
3 ¼ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1/3 c white sugar
¼ tsp allspice		Sift these into a large bowl.
2 eggs, beaten
1 stick/8 Tbsp butter, melted
¼ c milk 1 Tbsp brown sugar		Add these to dry ingredients and mix well.
For Corn Sticks, one 7-stick pan is filled using 1 cup batter. The pan must be greased in all its crannies with melted butter. For Corn Bread, butter the baking pan.
½ – ¾ cup cranberriesAfter batter is in the pan, poke cranberries into the Corn Sticks, using 4-5 per Corn Stick. For Corn Bread, sprinkle the berries on top and gently stir them into the batter.
Bake 15 minutes for Corn Sticks; 25 minutes for Corn Bread. Since I have left-over batter from the Corn Sticks, I bake it and use it in the turkey stuffing.

Slow Days: Summer Vegetable Pizza

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Since Dear Husband and I enjoy pizza for dinner every Saturday night, I am often on the lookout for a new way to top the pie. Thus, I was delighted to find a recipe at thekitchn.com for a pizza from the famous Berkeley Cheeseboard Collective. The corn and fresh vegetables remind me of a pizza which I enjoyed in Rome. This is a delicious way to use Summer’s bounty. Of course, I use a dough prepared with mostly white whole wheat flour, instead of all-purpose flour. It gives the pie a hearty, rustic flavour which we enjoy.

Mise en Place with all those luscious vegetables.
Sv 2
5½ -6 oz white whole wheat pizza dough/personIf dough is cold, let sit at room temp 2+ hours. The dough is ready when it does not bounce back when stretched.
1 c mozzarella 1/3 c feta cheeseGrate mozzarella cheese on the large holes of a box grater. Crumble feta cheese.
1½ tsp basil 1 clove garlic 2½ Tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
¼ tsp pepper flakes		GARLIC OIL: Chop basil finely. Chop the garlic.
Place everything in a small bowl and stir to combine.
NB: can be done hours before
¼ packed c. red onion
½ c grape or larger tomatoes
½ c kernels fresh corn ½ c summer squash ribbons 		Thinly slice onion. Cut grape tomatoes in halves or fourths. [If using whole tomato, cut in 1/2″ dice.] Cut ribbons of squash with a vegetable peeler. 
Prepare the vegetables and combine in a bowl. If any liquid accumulates in the bowl, pour it off.
1½ tsp garlic oil l¼ tsp kosher saltAdd garlic oil to the vegetables, season with the salt, and toss to combine. If preparing two pizzas, divide the vegetables equally into two bowls.
2 tsp Garlic Oil per crust prepared cheesesRoll out dough balls, and brush garlic oil onto each crust, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella. Arrange vegetables on top in an even layer, without any liquid. Sprinkle with feta.
Bake at 500F until bubbly. Take from oven.
garlic oil
8 fresh basil leaves		Drizzle with garlic oil, then tear basil into bite-sized pieces and scatter over top. Serve right away.
Can be cooked on a gas grill. Pre-grill the untopped crusts for 2-3 mins, until grill marks form. Bake covered.
The salad greens were added after the pies came from the oven to provide Pizza with Salad without any plates or forks. Truly a treat for a late Summer meal.