Roberta Wilkinson

Forgive me if I'm going too far outside the box here, but I have a "gnocchi" recipe that really isn't gnocchi at all, but something I invented as a grain-free alternative. They're baked instead of boiled, because they need the drying effect of an oven to help them hold together, but then you can douse them in sauce to make them moist again. I like to serve them gratin style with a garlic cream sauce and cheese browned on top.

Grain Free Pumpkin Gnocchi

2 cups pumpkin (any winter squash) puree
1 egg
1 tsp salt
2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup arrowroot powder

Mix up all ingredients, then transfer to a piping bag with a 1/2"(ish) opening or ziplock with the corner cut off.

On a baking sheet lined with silpat or parchment, pipe many little blobs about 1" long.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, then dress as you would boiled gnocchi.

Hm. That roasting tip sounds like a good one. Unfortunately, no one on the internet seems to know if that's enough to denature any amygdalin present.

I've found lots of people running through the numbers and suggesting that about 20 almonds should be a reasonably safe dose of any type of almond, so eaten by the palmful rather than the bowlful it's probably fine.

I may play with blanching and roasting some time, but the reality is that we have so much other produce to process around harvest time, it's tough for a few questionable almonds to make the list.

I said I would return, and I didn't!

I have cracked them without too, too much trouble. It is a hard shell, but not impossible.

The nut inside tasted good, but had a strong almond flavor, which I know is also the cyanide flavor, which caused me to get a little paranoid about eating too many. But... it's advertised as edible, and did actually taste good. I'm a little bit of a hypochondriac.

So that's where I've left it. I'm slightly afraid to eat the nuts, so I haven't, but I also feel like that's probably silly of me and they're perfectly good. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tereza Okava wrote:The only sticking point i've found so far is that you can only use it for rice if you are okay with it being mushy (i.e. risotto). I have used it for biryani, but only the part of cooking the meat (for goat, it would be perfect), the rest I put in a normal pot.

I found an article online that suggested a 1:1 water:rice ratio with 4 minutes full pressure and natural release for white rice, and that's worked really well for me. Basmati seems to want an extra little splash of water, but the usual short-grain white that I use comes out perfectly tender-firm. I've retired my standalone rice cooker.

I came across this article about the history of this property and the man who developed it. He died suddenly a few years back, and it looks like his business partner wasn't able to continue on her own. It would be beautiful to see another generation of better-than-organic farmers take up the torch:

http://www.yelmonline.com/life/article_e4339dd0-2e6d-11e6-84cb-c78d5386aae6.html

Not my place, I just follow this auction house and thought the Permie-signal should be boosted on this property.

Former organic farm. Off grid with solar and propane, well and septic, huge greenhouse and established fruit trees, creek and pond.

Bidding starts at $50,000 on 6/18 and closes 7/17. Cash only.

https://cyberauctions.com/ItemShow.php?id=348308&aid=796&srid=0&npg=1&maxrecord=40&order=lot

If you can get a hold of John Pollock and he invites you up to his place, I would go. He's got a great setup and is an enjoyable guy to chat with. He doesn't do formal tours or anything though, I just emailed him through his website and he invited us out. He also vends at the Kula farmers market, which is a great truly local market, all organic. It's at Waipuna Chapel on Omaopio Rd on Wednesdays.

I'm really curious about what makes this plant *so* invasive in certain areas.  We have one that we put in intentionally, with plans to nip out seedlings if we had to, and in three years it hasn't spread at all.  A neighbor has one on her property that's been there for a decade and again - no volunteers.  A local nursery reported three uninvited seedlings in all their time keeping and cultivating these plants.

It's obviously absolutely true that Autumn Olive is a problem plant in some places, but it's also obviously true that it's not a problem in other places.  If we could nail down the conditions that let it spread so widely, it would be helpful to indicate where one should or shouldn't consider introducing the plant.

I moved the brew from the fermenter to a bottle the other day, but the last bit with all the peach goo wouldn't fit.  I strained that into a glass and put it in the fridge to settle.  I'm drinking it right now, and I'm pretty pleased.  Notes of the fruit and honey, but not sickly sweet or syrupy.  I'm buzzed, so that bit worked. ;P Curious to see what aging does to/for it.

I use a splash of balsamic vinegar in my tomato sauce, both for flavor and acidity.  I pH test with cheap litmus paper before canning and it always comes out around 4 without further intervention.