Minted Lemonade

Serves 4 

Simple Syrup

3 cups water

½ cup Lemon Cane sugar

In a medium saucepan, bring water and cane sugar to a boil, remove from heat.

Add: 
1 cup packed mint leaves
6 fresh basil leaves

Cover saucepan and steep for 10 minutes.

 

2 lemons
 

Slice lemons and put into a pitcher.
 

2 lemons
 

Juice lemons and add juice into pitcher.
 

2 Tablespoons honey
 

Add honey into pitcher with lemons and muddle with a wooden spoon, until juice is extracted from the lemons.  Pour simple syrup into pitcher, stir until blended. Fill each glass with ice and divide lemonade between the 4 glasses.  Top with ice cold water.  Stir and enjoy!

BBQ Spareribs

Serves 10

12 pounds pork spareribs
Smoked sea salt, Yakima, Durango or Salish
Pepper, freshly ground 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange ribs in single layer on baking sheets. Season liberally with sea salt and pepper. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until very tender, about 70 minutes.  To obtain ribs with meat on both sides, cut out every other bone. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate.)

2 cups Southern Comfort Peach BBQ sauce

Arrange ribs in single layer on baking sheets. Coat generously with sauce. Bake until ribs are hot and sauce starts to glaze, about 25 minutes. Line platter with a hardy lettuce or kale. Top with ribs. Serve hot.

Southern Comfort Peach BBQ sauce

2 cups tomato puree
½ cup peach preserves
½ cup Dijon mustard
½ cup Southern Comfort
½ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon smoked sea salt, Yakima, Durango or Salish

Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Bring mixture to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, cover partially and simmer about an hour. (Sauce can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover tightly and refrigerate.)

Summer Fruit with Wine and Mint

Serves 4

1 1/4 cups dry white wine

1/3 cup Raspberry Cane sugar
2-tablespoon fresh mint leaves


Bring the wine, cane sugar and mint leaves to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Strain mint leaves out of mixture.

1/2 ripe cantaloupe, halved, seeded, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 3 cups) 


1 (8-ounce) fresh strawberries, quartered 


1 cup seedless green grapes, halved lengthwise 


1 tablespoon mint leaves, chopped

Combine the cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes in a large bowl. Pour the warm wine mixture over; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until cold, stirring occasionally, at least 2 hours. Garnish with chopped mint leaves.

Mouth-Watering Watermelon Recipe from Cheryl Style

 Think refreshing summer salad!

What You’ll Need

• 1 seedless watermelon
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 package feta cheese
• 1 cup basil leaves
• Wooden skewers
• Unrefined Sea salt

Let’s Do It

1. Cut chilled watermelon into approximately 1-inch cubes
2. Cut feta carefully into cubes – be careful not to crush
3. Alternate watermelon, feta and basil leaves onto skewers
4. Place finished skewers into an unexpected cocktail glass, like a martini
5. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil
6. Sprinkle with a pinch of unrefined sea salt 

http://www.cherylstyle.com/showcase/mouth-watering-watermelon-recipe/ 

Tomato and Okra Gumbo

Serves 8

8 medium tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 pound fresh or frozen baby okra, cut into 1/2 –inch pieces
½ teaspoon sea salt Suggestion: Sun-dried tomato, Murray River or Toasted Onion
1 tablespoon butter (tradition would say to use bacon fat)

Combine the tomatoes, okra, sea salt, and butter in a saucepan. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, or until tender.

3 strips bacon, fried to a crisp and crumbled

Sprinkle the bacon on top.

Turnip Greens

Serves 4-6

1 bunch fresh turnip greens, collard greens or mustard greens

Strip the stems from the greens and wash thoroughly. I mean really thoroughly!

1 medium piece salt pork or 1 smoked pork chop
2 cups water

1-teaspoon sea salt (go ahead try a smoked salt)

Place the greens in a saucepan and add the pork, water, and sea salt. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer covered, for 45 minutes or until tender.

Remove the pork and pour the greens into a colander to drain. Place in a pan and chop scissor-like with two knives. If necessary, add more salt to taste. If using the pork chop, cut into small pieces and add to the greens.

2 tablespoons bacon dripping or butter (optional)
Pinch of sugar (optional)

Add the bacon drippings and a pinch of sugar.

Cheese Grits

Serves 6 to 8

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1 cup grits (regular or quick-cooking grits)
4 cups water

Cook the grits in the water according to the package’s directions.

¼ cup butter
6 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon sea salt, any fine grain
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Slowly add the butter, cheese, salt and cayenne pepper to the grits.  Constantly stirring.

2 egg yolks, beaten well
2 egg whites, beaten stiff

Then add the egg yolks and fold in the egg whites.

Cracker or dry bread crumbs (I like homemade bread crumbs or Panko)

Pour into a greased 1 ½ -quart casserole. Sprinkle cracker crumbs on top. Bake for 40 minutes.

Low Country Boil

Serves 6

In an extra large stockpot, pour enough water that will cover all the ingredients.

1 lemon, cut into quarters
½ cup Savannah Low Country Boil Seasoning
3 tablespoons Tuscan Farmhouse Blend
6 slices of bacon or ½ cup bacon fat (you could also use ham hocks but you need fat)

Now, I know that seems like a lot of seasoning. But in the south they say you’ve got to have dirty water to have a good shrimp boil. Add all of the above ingredients to the pot and bring the water to a boil.

12 baby red potatoes
1 medium-size white onion, quartered
1-1 lb. bag baby carrots

Add the potatoes, onions and carrots. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are almost fork tender.

1 ½ lb. smoked sausage, cut into-inch pieces

Add the smoked sausage. Cook about 5 minutes more.

4-6 ears corn, shucked and silk removed cut into 11/2 inch sections

Add the corn and cook an additional 5-7 minutes.

1-2 pounds any size raw shrimp, in the shell

Lastly, add the shrimp and cook about 3 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink. Check the potatoes and carrots to make sure they are done.  Drain the liquid into the sink and pour the boil onto a big serving platter or bowl. Sprinkle with extra Savannah Low Country Boil Seasoning.

This is some good eating!!!

Peach Cobbler

Serves 8

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2 cups fresh or frozen peaches, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

Combine the peaches, butter and lemon rind in a saucepan  over medium heat.

1-tablespoon cornstarch
3/4-cup Raspberry c.a.n.e sugar

Add the cornstarch and sugar. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickens slightly.

Pour into a 8x8-inch baking dish and let stand while making the topping.

1 cup sifted flour
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt (For this I like Sel Gris Velvet. It’s very fine)

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and sea salt into a mixing bowl.

1 cup milk
¼ cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (From the bottle you’ve made yourself of course!)
1 egg

Add the milk, butter, vanilla, and egg. Beat at medium speed for 2 or 3 minutes. Spoon over the fruit mixture in a baking dish. Bake for about 40 minutes.

Low Country Boil

Serves 6

In a large stockpot, pour enough water that will cover all the ingredients.

1 lemon, cut into quarters

2-4oz s.a.l.t. sisters Savannah Low Country Boil (1/2 to 1 bag)

3 tablespoons s.a.l.t. sisters Tuscan Farmhouse Blend

6 slices of bacon (you could also use ham hocks but you need fat)

Now, I know that seems like a lot of seasoning.  But in the south they say you’ve got to have dirty water to have a good shrimp boil.  Add the lemon, Savannah Low Country Boil, Tuscan Farmhouse Blend and the bacon.  Bring to a boil. 

12 baby red potatoes

1 medium-size white onion, quartered

1-1 lb. bag baby carrots

Add the potatoes, onions and carrots.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Or until the potatoes and carrots fork tender. 

1 ½ lb. smoked sausage, cut into-inch pieces

Add the smoked sausage. Cook about 5 minutes more.

6 ears of corn, shucked and silk removed cut in half

Add the corn and cook an additional 7 minutes.

2 pounds any size raw shrimp, in the shell (the bigger the better!)

Lastly, add the shrimp and cook about 3 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink.  Drain the liquid into the sink and pour the boil onto a big serving platter or bowl.  Sprinkle with extra crab boil seasoning.

This is some good eating!!!

Cherry Scones

I love scones...as long as they are not over baked!  Don't stray far from the oven.  These beautiful babies don't take long to bake so watch them closely.  As soon as you see them turn golden brown they are done.  Enjoy!

Cherry Scones

makes 6

Ingredients:

1/3 cup dried cherries


1/2 cup boiling water


Soak cherries in hot water for 10 minutes and then drain and set aside.

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar


1/2 tablespoon baking powder


1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar


1/4 teaspoon sea salt
 Suggestions:  Pure Ocean, fine or Pink Himalayan, fine

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

1/4-cup butter, room temperature

Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

1 egg, separated


1/4-cup sour cream

1/3 cup Half and Half

3/4 teaspoon almond extract

In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolk, sour cream, cream and extract. Add the sour cream mixture to the flour mixture and stir until soft dough forms.

Mix in the cherries and then knead the dough lightly on a floured surface just until dough can be handled. Shape dough into a ball and pat into a 6-inch circle on a greased baking sheet

Reserved egg white

1 teaspoon Lemon c.a.n.e sugar

Cut into six wedges (separate them slightly) and brush with beaten egg white and then sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes.

Lower Your Salt Intake? No Way! by Dr. David Brownstein

This blog was posted by Dr. David Brownstein, author of Salt Your Way to Health.  He has authored many books including Overcoming Thyroid Disorders, The Miracle of Natural Hormones (3rd Edition) and many others.  

"For years, I have been lecturing and writing about the nonsensical argument the conventional powers-that-be claim that lowering salt in the diet will reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. The data has never been shown that lowering salt intake to ridiculously low levels of 1,500mg/day will reduce your risk of heart disease. In fact, many studies show that lowering your salt intake to these levels will cause more heart attacks and mortality. Furthermore, low salt diets will lead to elevated insulin levels. Finally, low salt diets do not significantly lower blood pressure. More information about this can be found in my book, Salt Your Way To Health.

A recent study in JAMA (November 23/30, 2011-Vol. 306, No. 20) looked at the association between sodium excretion and cardiovascular events in patients with established cardiovascular events or diabetes. The authors studied nearly 29,000 adults and found cardiovascular death was increased among those with the lowest and the highest sodium excretion.

Sodium excretion is tied to how much sodium (or salt) is ingested. The more salt that is ingested the more sodium that is excreted in the urine. The reverse is true also; the less sodium ingested, the less sodium excreted. A crude estimate can be made that the amount of sodium ingested is equal to the amount of sodium excreted (as long as someone is not sodium deficient).

We have been told we are ingesting too much salt. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) states, “Americans consume unhealthy amounts of sodium in their food, far exceeding public health recommendations. Consuming too much sodium is a concern for all individuals, as it increases the risk for high blood pressure, a serious health condition that is avoidable and can lead to a variety of diseases. Analysts estimate that population-wide reductions in sodium could prevent more than 100,000 deaths annually.”

The IOM claims that Americans ingest more than 3,400mg of sodium per day which is about 1.5 tsp of salt per day. They claim that we should ingest no more than 1 tsp/day or 2,300mg/day. For those with hypertension, experts recommend less—about 1,500mg/day of sodium.

The recent JAMA (November 23/30, 2011) study found the lowest rate of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular death, heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure and non- cardiovascular death occurred when the sodium intake was 4-6,000mg/day. Lower and higher intakes were found to increase a compositd of all the outcomes studied (in a near linear fashion). You read that right; lower and higher salt intakes were all associated with worse outcomes.

In my book, I wrote about the dangers of a low-salt diet. Salt is a vitally important nutrient for the human body. We cannot live without adequate amounts of salt. Don’t believe the low-salt nonsense. However, you should educate yourself about which type of salt is a healthy salt.
The healthiest salt is unrefined salt with its full complement of minerals. Celtic Brand Sea Salt, Redmond’s Real Salt and Himalayan salt are all good brands of unrefined salt.

There are medical conditions where the body does not tolerate large amounts of salt. This can occur with those suffering from kidney failure or congestive heart failure. If you have these illnesses, please discuss your salt intake with your doctor."

What is your thoughts on his blog post?  If you want to learn more about Dr. David Brownstein's holistic family medicine visit his website.

Red Green Slaw

Serves 16

3/4 cup ketchup

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt                        

1/2 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ketchup, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.

2 ½ pounds green cabbage, shredded

Add the cabbage and toss until well coated with the sauce. 

The slaw can be make a few hours in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Pulled Pork BBQ

Serves 16

1-10 pound pork shoulder with bone

4-6 tablespoons of a s.a.l.t. sisters rub  (14 options)

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Cover the pork shoulder with 2-4 tablespoons of the s.a.l.t. sisters rub of your choice.  Suggestions:  All-Purpose BBQ, Blackening Cajun, Honey Glaze, or Memphis BBQ.

Wrap the pork shoulder in aluminum foil and place in a large heavy roasting pan.  Roast the pork shoulder for 20 minutes at 500 degrees, then reduce the heat to 250 degrees and cook for an additional 5 hours, turning every hour.

You can smoke this in a grill or finish the pork shoulder in the oven.  If using a grill, start the fire 1 hour before the pork shoulder is finished roasting, using a mixture of hickory chips and charcoal. When the pork shoulder is done roasting, remove the foil and transfer it to the grill. Cover the grill and smoke the pork for 20 to 40 minutes.  If finishing in the oven, remove the foil from the roasted pork shoulder and cover with an additional 2 tablespoons of the s.a.l.t. sisters rub and roast in oven for an additional 20 to 40 minutes. 

Allow the meat to cool so it can be handled.  Remove the meat from the bone and, using your finger, finely shred the meat.

Sauce:

2 cups white wine vinegar

2/3 cup ketchup

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon smoked sea salt (try Yakima, Durango or Salish)

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a medium saucepan, mix together the vinegar, ketchup, sugar, honey, cayenne, pepper, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.  Reserve 1 cup of sauce and pour the remaining sauce over the meat and toss until the meat is evenly coated. 

To serve, spoon a portion of the pulled pork onto the bottom of a soft bun, mound Red Green Slaw (below) on top of it, then pour a little of the remaining sauce over all and top with the second half of the bun.

Super Bowl Chili

Well the Super Bowl is almost here and it is time to start planning for the big day.  One of my favorite recipes is an easy crockpot chili.  This recipe serves a big crowd and does not take a lot of time.  Enjoy!

Crockpot Chili

Serves 13 (makes 7 quarts)

2 lbs ground beef (ground turkey will also work)

3 Tbsp of Tex-Mex Rub

2 - 28 oz cans tomatoes, crushed peeled

2 - 28 oz cans tomatoes, diced

2 -  8 oz  cans kidney beans, drained

2/3 cup honey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

1.  Brown ground beef and drain.

2.  Put all ingredients in crockpot and stir well.

3.  Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or high for 4 to 6 hours. 

4.  Enjoy

Our family enjoys serving this chili with sour cream, cheese and Fritos.