My Oak Street Kitchen

Hearty Farm-to-Table French Toast

Ingredients

8 slices homemade bread (sliced about 1/2 inch thick)

10 eggs, beaten

1 cup milk, (I used almond milk plus 1/4 cup heavy cream)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preparations

In a large bowl, whisk 1 teaspoon cinnamon, eggs, and milk (and cream if you use that) until frothy. Lay out pieces of bread in greased casserole dish…it’s OK to layer slightly if necessary. Pour egg mixture over bread, being sure to coat all the bread. Sprinkle rest of cinnamon on top. If you have fresh blueberries or strawberries, sprinkle them on top. Cover with foil and set in fridge to soak 2 hours or overnight (I always just make this the night before).

Bake, covered at 350 30-40 minutes or until cooked through. Remove foil and bake 5- 10 minutes until slightly browned.

HOMEMADE BLUEBRRY SYRUP: add two cups of frozen blueberries into a saucepan with 2 tablespoons honey, xylitol, or coconut sugar, cover, and cook down on low 10-15 minutes. Spoon over top of french toast.

Serves 6

Back to A Simple Whole Food Life

March 13, 2020Leave a comment

After two and a half years of mayhem, keto, and transitions, we’ve decided to go back to a simple, whole foods lifestyle.

With the pace we’ve been on, we’ve eaten out alot and resorted to quick, modersately processed meals at home. Now is the time to reign it all in and begin to enjoy nourishing, scratch-made, farm-to-table meals together as a family once again.

I’ve always believed that the best food for you is the food that makes you feel your best which is different for most people. For example, my oldest daughter feels best on a primarily dairy-free, vegetarian diet. I, on the other hand, feel best when my diet is rich in healthy fats and free of grains, sugar, and most legumes. What matters most is the nourshment foods provide your body and how your body intereacts with the nutrients within.

So, with our continually changing at-home family members and fast paced lifestyle, I’m taking us back to a simple, doable menu rich in nourishment and low in processed or chemically enhanced ingredients.

In our kitchen, simple nourishment comes from simple, organic or chemical-free ingredients brought together in a bautiful symphony of flavor and color: simple hearty soups, homemade bread, real butter, bountiful salads and stir-fries, eggs and bacon, simple nutrient-dense casseroles, and decadent but healthful desserts.

I plan to share a number of these recipes with you to enjoy in your own kitchen over the next few weeks so be sure to check back!

The Cheesiest Mac’n Cheese

January 3, 2020March 24, 2020Leave a comment

I can’t believe I’m writing about mac’n cheese while begiing 30 days of keto, but I’ve had so many requests since making it for friends last week so here you go!

This recipe was one of the first recipes I developed on my family’s quest to live a more wholesome healthier life. Not only is this recipe easy and but it’s going to be a family favorite!

Ingredients

12-16 oz cooked (but al dente) 100% semolina or duram pasta

3 cups whole milk (I prefer grass fed, raw for nutritional benefits)

2 cups fresh grated cheddar

1 cup any other real cheese like parmesan, greyere, muenster

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 stick organic butter

2 tablespoons organic “Better than Bouillion” chicken base

2 tablespoons mustard

1 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum

Real salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Spread pasta into casserole dish.

Meanwhile, melt butter, cream cheese, and chicken base into milk stirring often. Add onion powder and mustard. Allow to grow bubbly but not to a hard boil. Add xanthum gum and stir two minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finally add half the cheddar and all of the other cheese. Stir until rich and creamy. Pour over pasta and mix well. Sprinkle with remining cheddar and roughly mix leaving lots of cheddar on top.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until beginning to brown.

Enjoy!

Swedish Meatballs

December 19, 2019Leave a comment

The aroma of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger from these tiny treasures always takes me back to Grama’s Christmas kitchen as a child. These wonderful smells remind me of the quiet dark snowy roads between the church and Grama’s as we took in all the Christmas lights and sang “Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go…”.

Christmas Eve at Grama’s was the highlight of the celebration! In fact, one of my most favorite memories was seeing the frosty kitchen windows from the outside while taking small detours into the snowbanks alongside the driveway. I remember walking in her back door with my brothers after the Christmas Eve vigil and smelling Christmas!

We had a wonderful feast and then were finally allowed to run upstairs and start bringing down the gifts. Up and down we went gathering gifts and watching the piles under the tree grow larger and larger.

Grama was amazing at creating a magical Christmas. They’re my favorite memories in the whole world! I’m so excited to share a little piece of those memeories with you in this recipe. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Grama Turnell’s Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef

1 egg

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup onion, pureed

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (or 3/4 cup almond flour for grain/gluten free)

2 tablespoons cinnamon

11/2 tablespoons ginger

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons thyme

2 teaspoon sea salt or Real salt

1 teaspoon pepper

beef broth (perferably bone broth)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl mix dry ingredients together well. Add beef, egg, cream, and onion and mix together thoroughly.

Form into smal 3/4 inch balls and palce into large baking dish. Fill baking dish until 1 inch deep with broth. Sprinkle balls with salt and cinnamon. Bake until well browned.

Best served with lingonberry or raspberry jam!

These freeze really well so you can make ahead. Guaranteed to be a party favorite for any occasion (people literally flip out over them).

Merry Christmas!

Swedish Gingercake with Whipped Spiced Frosting

November 30, 2019December 17, 2019Leave a comment

Spiced cakes and layer cakes are enjoyed with afternoon tea throughout Scandinavia during the winter months (they probably need more calories to combat the freezing temperatures than we do here in central PA! — rats!).

This super moist gingerbread is soft and fluffy like the ginger cakes I remember from childhood, but the flavor is somehow brighter. It’s really pleasant and rich without being overpowering. And this light fluffy whipped frosting is an amazing compliment…however, while I was taste testing, I was thinking that a touch of orange flavor — zest and flavor would be an even better compliment. I’m excited to give that a try next time.

This picture is the cake recipe doubled, but only a single recipe of the frosting.

Cake Ingredients

1 cup dark brown sugar, sucanant, or coconut sugar

1/2 cup superfine sugar

1 2/3 cups cake flour

1/2 cup plain yogurt

7 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons molasses

2 eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

Whipped Spiced Frosting Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

2 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

To Make the Cake

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium low for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 egg at time, mixing each into mixture before adding the next. Add the molasses and yogurt and let cream on medium about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients together. Add the dry into the wet and mix well.

Pour into a greased 9-inch round spring form pan and bake on middle rack at 350 for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool.

To Make the Frosting

Beat the cream cheese on medium until smooth and then add the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Scrape all the batter from the sides and then trun onto medium low. Slowly pour the whipping cream in a small steady stresm down the side of the bowl, occasionally scraping the sides. Once all the cream is added, increase the speed to high and beat 2-3 minutes until stiff peaks begin to form.

Apply 1/3 of the frosting atop the bottom layer of cooled cake. Add the top layer of cake and frost.

Enjoy!

TIP: This frosting is best when it’s kept refrigerated so if you aren’t serving right away, keep in fridge.

Kladkakka (Scandinavian gooey white chocolate cake)

November 28, 2019December 17, 2019Leave a comment

This new addition to our Swedish Christmas traditions was a smashing success! After just one bite, the family was begging for more. Just 6 simple ingredients and a quick bake will bless you with a heavenly, gooey, white chocolate delicacy making you look like a baking genius! For real, you’ve got to try this!

Ingredients

4 sticks of butter
5 oz. quality white chocolate (I usually use Ghiradelli chips)
2 eggs
1 cup castor or granulated sugar
1 cup unbromated, unbleached flour
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar or extract

Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare 1 round cake pan (I use a 9 inch round springform pan, lined with parchment and sides, greased and flour-dusted
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium, remove from heat, and stir in chocolate pieces until melted.
Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
Sift all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add to egg mixture. Fold in the vanilla and chocolate butter until well combined.
Pour into the prepard pan and bake 15-17 minutes. It will only be fully cooked around the edges, but the center should not be wobbly, just sticky and wet.
Let cool in pan one hour.

You may serve the Kladkakka as is or you can sprinkle with powdered sugar and fresh raspberries or lingonberries. You can also serve it with a side of Lingonberry jam, lemon curd, or raspberry compote.