Higher Ground Cookie

Every great cookie needs a great name! These cookies are SCD friendly if the chocolate is NOT put in. (if you are following SCD ....no chocolate!). For those of you who have been symptom free for 2 years or more, or for those who are just looking for a great grain-free (anti-inflammatory) cookie, this is it!

Gather up:
2 cups of ground almond flour
1 cup of chopped pecans
1 cube of unsweetened bakers chocolate (optional)
1 quarter pound of butter
1 third cup of honey




In a bowl, mix together butter and honey until soft.
Mix in nuts; mixture should look slightly crumbly, but make a ball when pressed together in your palm.



Chop up chocolate cube, and add to mixture. (optional)



Using a tablespoon, scoop out half-moon balls of cookie mixture and place on a baking tray covered with parchment paper.

Bake in oven at 310 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove when bottom of cookie starts to brown.

Let cool before eating.

I like to store these cookies in a tin in the freezer; but they will store fine at room temperature.

Happy eats.

Slats

Copyright Geoff Slater

Cheese Taco (SCD Friendly)

These are the world's best tacos.

Let's get started...

The Taco

You need:
2 packages of Sargento Baby Swiss Cheese (makes 8 tacos)
parchment paper
baking pan
broom handle

Place parchment paper on pan.
Place cheese slices on paper; 2 slices make 1 taco.

Overlap about 1 inch (see picture).
Bake in oven at 350 degrees until crispy, but still flexible.
(tip; if cheese gives off a lot of oil while cooking, dab off with a paper towl as they cook).

Remove from oven, and drape them over the 'parchment paper covered' broom handle.

Dab off remaining oil, and allow to cool.
Place on plate in freezer until chow time!

Salsa

You need:
tomato juice
2 tomatoes
red and green peppers
1 onion
1 garlic clove
tobasco sauce
salt
pepper


In a bowl reduce a small can of tomato juice in the microwave (approx. 10 minutes).

Dice the veggies into salsa-size pieces.
In a frying pan, cook onion, garlic, and peppers until they start to brown.
Add cooked veggies, and uncooked diced tomatoes to the reduced tomato sauce.
Add tobasco, salt, and pepper to taste.

The Meat
I use ground chicken for tacos instead of beef. (personal taste!)

Cook your meat in a pan until brown. I usually just cook it with water; when it looks like it is drying out, I add a bit more.

The Rest


I usually grate some cheddar cheese, dice some tomatoes, and shred up some lettuce to fill the tacos with.
I also use SCD friendly yogurt (yogurt that has fermented 24 hrs) instead of sour cream.
If you are not on the SCD, feel free to use sour cream.

Remove taco shells from freezer and let them warm up a bit (5 min. at room temp.) before eating.

Have fun chowing....I did.
Slats

Recipe copyright Geoff Slater

Painting Lines In Florida

My work space in Florida is pretty 'sparse' compared to my digs at home in New Brunswick, and so while down here I have been working on small pieces.

The first works centred around the folks at Higher Ground Bike Co. They have all gone out of thier way to make it feel like home here, and I wanted to give them something for the hospitality they have shown me. The painting I gave Todd May (owner of HG) is a line painting of Ryan the shop mechanic working on a bike. It may become part of a larger project I'm working out with Todd.

The other two paintings, one of an orange blossom and the other of a magnolia flower, are inspired by the beautiful plants of Florida. Even in the winter, the landscape is very lush and green. These works will likely go in the studio this summer. The ones that I find the most successful compositions I'll turn into larger acrylic pieces back in NB.

Peace... Slats

Cheese Chips & Onion Dip (SCD Friendly)

This is a great quick snack that is super-tasty!



You'll need...

1 package Sargento Natural Baby Swiss cheese
1 onion
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
1 cup of yogurt (for it to be SCD friendly, it needs to be yogurt that has fermented for 24 hours...this removes all lactose)
salt
pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
parchment paper
baking tray
small frying pan

Chips

Cut all cheese slices into 3 equal parts. Line baking tray with parchment paper,then place cheese on paper approx 1 inch apart. Bake in oven at 350 until crispy. Remove and set aside to cool.

Dip

Dice onion into tiny pieces and put in frying pan. Add olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and cook over med-high heat until slightly brown. Remove and allow to cool. Mix onions with yogurt. Serve with cheese chips!

Recipe copyright Geoff Slater

Night Ride Tallahassee....I've seen the light!!

Last night, I took part in the weekly Tuesday night shop ride that leaves from Higher Ground.



We left at 6:30pm, just as things were getting dark. Seven of us took part, and it turned out to be a nice moderate pace, with little stopping; just as a good shop ride should be.



We were out for a couple of hours. What was special about this ride, however, was that I was the only one running a halogen light system. For the last 5 years, my Solo Logic L&M has done me just fine. I have 2 batteries, and so I can get about 4 hours of runtime at 12 watts (the high beams). I'm used to the 'yellow' colour the light emits. Everyone else on the ride was running LED light systems. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode, the latest in MTB lighting technology. Not so much a bulb, but a piece of electronic circuitry, these lights are vastly superior to any halogen system. In fact, I could follow a rider with a LED system, without even turning my light on! The white light they give off cut through all the shadows of the trail; they are more durable than a traditional bulb system; they require less power and therefore last much longer; kind of a no-brainer. The price for this level of technology is high, but if you spend alot of time riding in the dark...



I don't, so for now I'll just follow those who have seen the light.

Curried Chicken Stir Fry (SCD Friendly)

This is one of my favorite dishes; and it is quick and easy.

Adjust the amounts of chicken and veggies to the amount of people eating.

You need:
Olive oil
Butter
Ground turmeric
Ground cumin
Salt
Pepper
Chicken breast (sliced)
Cut mushrooms
Cut onions
Cut carrots
Cut peppers (red or green)
Lentils ( to prepare lentils, soak in water for 12 hours, then boil in water 3 times, draining lentils between each boiling. This removes the starches, making them SCD friendly. Then they can be used for any dish....).
*Cook at medium-hi heat.

In a wok, stir-fry chicken and onions in olive oil with salt and pepper until chicken is cooked.

Add lentils and a spoonful of butter and stir-fry until lentils start to brown.





Remove mixture from wok until later.

Add carrots and peppers to wok with a little more olive oil, and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Add mushrooms, and stir-fry for 2 more minutes.



Add chicken mixture back in.

Add 2 spoonfuls of butter, and shake in some turmeric and cumin ( a few shakes of each...to your taste).




Stir-fry for one more minute, then plate it up.



Hope you enjoy... Slats

Recipe copyright Geoff Slater

A Ride In Tallahassee

Yesterday morning I brewed up some coffee, made some tea for Andrea, tickled the baby, and left early for a ride in Tallahassee. I seem to have fallen into this pattern... it goes something like this.

I head off the island for Tallahassee at about 6 am listening to Bob and Tom in the morning, and sipping coffee. I pass through Eastpoint, Carrabelle, Sopchoppy, and Crawfordville before arriving on the outskirts of Tallahassee at about 7:30am.

Then I hit the Capital Circle Waffle House for some breakfast. I noticed on the back of my bill this time that the busiest day for the restaraunt is Christmas Day. This is a tradition for a lot or southern families, and I think I'd like to make it mine next year!

Then it is off to Starbucks to pick up a coffee. I don't drink this coffee, I save it for after the ride.

I park at Higher Ground Bicycle Co and get myself organized for some riding. These rides are typically 2 or 3 hours (depending on the route), so I don't load myself down. An extra tube, minipump, water, and cell phone are typically it. And then I'm off.

The rides begin with a short trip through a 1960's subdivision to the Fern trail; a connector trail that takes you from the city centre to Tom Brown Park. In Tom Brown I hop on the Magnolia Trail ( the locol race loop), which spits me out after a couple of miles on the best part of the system....The Cadillac Trail. This section is a nice mix of pure speed and technical, with some ups and downs thrown in for good measure. When I've gone as far "out" as the Cadillac will take me, I rip down the "hill of death",and head across the levee to the old horse farm on the other side of the tracks. Here I do a couple of laps of the farm. It must be at least 150 acres, and was donated to the city as parkland a few years back. It is a nice mix of rolling fields and open forest paths; not technical, but scenic. Then it is back across the levee, up the hill of death, and then everything in reverse until I'm back at Higher Ground.

I then cool down, change, and head into the bikeshop to heat up my coffee and chat with the boys about everything bikes. All in all, not a bad way to spend a morning!

Squash and Cheese (SCD Friendly)

I've got enough time to post another recipe... my famous mashed squash and cheese! Think of it as a tastier alternative to mashed potatoes.





Gather together:
1 Acorn squash ( 2 if they are small)
Mild cheddar cheese
butter
salt and pepper
large glass baking pan

Cut the squash in half
Remove seeds and place upside down on tray with a little water
Bake in oven at 375 degrees until water is gone, the squash is soft and smells roasted
Remove soft squash from skin and place in bowl
Add grated cheddar (the more the better in my books!) to squash and mix
Add butter, salt, pepper to taste

Hope you like it. I have it as a meal on its own sometimes, but it is also a great side dish. Gotta run...

Slats

Recipe copyright Geoff Slater

The Morning Ride

I put a few miles in this morning...I had to catch up after yesterday's brush with consumerism( shopping!!). I rode out to the state park on St George Island, and was feeling good, so on the way back I decided to head across the bridge for Eastpoint and then Apalachicola.



The views are great from the bridges; you can look down on the oyster fishermen working the bay and see dolphin searching for thier next meal. Pretty cool!
In Apalachicola I popped into the Cafe Con Leche for a quick coffee...then back on the road to the island.The road tires on the bike make a huge difference....the problem is that athough I'm faster, I no longer have tall enough gearing to keep up!
I don't plan on spending too much time on the road, so I'll deal with it.
It has turned into a pretty nice day; I think I'll talk the family into spending a couple of hours walking on the beach. I think there are some shells with our names on them. Painting can wait a bit.

The world's best waffle (SCD Friendly)

The baby woke me up this morning...she was just a little fussy. I held her hand a few minutes until she fell back asleep. We pushed her a little too far yesterday by taking her shopping. We didn't get back until 9;00, well past her bed time. I'm suprised she isn't grumpier this morning! Anyway, I'm up ......time for the world's best waffles. They go something like this.

In a mixing bowl mix together:
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of honey
a pinch of baking soda
4 tablespoons of dry curd cottage cheese ( farmers cheese )

- mix these together until smooth

add 2 eggs- mix together until smooth
add 2/3 cup of almond flour- mix together until smooth

Pour spoonful into wafflemaker....Voila!!! The worlds best waffle! It is also wheat free, refined sugar free; a great power food to start your day. I use honey as a syrup.

I'm going to do a bit of riding on the island today. Yesterday I changed tires from knobby to road.....and then went shopping with the family! Time to get back into a bit of a routine. I'm starting a new painting today as well; a new series of florals for the studio this summer. Peace....Slats

Recipe copyright Geoff Slater

Welcome!!

I've been putting off starting a blog for too long.... today's the day! I've gone with Life Lines as a title. Life as in "my life", Lines as in "line paintings". ( It's the best I could come up with on THIS day....lets face it; I'd rather be riding!) Nothing but good times to follow.