GF Oatmeal, the Old Fashioned Way, with Fruits & Cinnamon

                

Bonjour and a lovely good morning to you all!

Today I want to show you a simple way to make a very healthy version, to replace quick cooking oats that we get in those awful little packets. I was talking with my Poppa Bear and we were having a discussion about breakfast. 

At home we were down to little in the pantry and I was forced to eat those oatmeal packets for breakfast. It was not ideal, was likely loaded with allergens-I took meds right away to avoid unpleasantness, and was so overly sweet; I had to cut it down with the handful of remaining plain oats I had. Yeah, we really needed to do groceries. Quaker oats used to be a product that was synonymous with quality. 

Boy have times ever changed! I was shocked by how small the packets had gotten, was depressed by how minuscule the flakes had become, and was turned off by the horrid amount of chemically tasting sugar. The apple bits were almost non-existent as well, I was really left wondering what happened to this once looked forward to, nourishing, and hearty portion breakfast staple; from my childhood?

In this fast-food, destroy the environment, gmo-laden, gluten infested, and profits before people world, oats has easily become a victim of the times.

I was not to be deterred.

If you have been following the blog, you will be well aware that I have been on a homesteading kick. That includes dehydrating my own vegetables and fruits, along with starting an emergency preparedness stash. The latter of the two was because I saw an info thing on the Government of Canada website, telling Canadians that we should all have, a minimum 3-day supply of food an water. 

I agree, having lived through the Quebec ice storm many years ago, I remember what it's like to be without electricity for weeks in the middle of winter, as food supplies rot on the fridge and dwindle. Never again! 

So, as I was dehydrating and prepping, I realized that my organic raisins and apples would be perfect with my newly bought, gluten-free, quick-cooking, plain oats! 

I laid out the ingredients and made a super fast, better tasting, and waaaay healthier version of speedy oats.

             

These are only oats:

                 

I got them on special for $4.99, which was a great buy as they usually retail for $6.99. I bought 3 bags of different oats. One was steel cut and two were quick cooking; I plan on going back to pick up a few more, as I like to use these in baking a lot.

              

They're certified GF, non-gmo, are kosher, and free of all priority allergens! I also love that this is a Canadian product, buying Canadian and local is always a bonus for me.

                          

Here's the nutrition info, should you like to know more.

                           

The next pics show you what the oats look like:

                           

    Up close:

                           

I have tried these and another brand called Mum's, I will do a review on both of these in the near future. For today, I am focusing on the easy peasy recipe. Enjoy!

GF OATMEAL-THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, WITH FRUITS & CINNAMON

Ingredients:

2/3 Cup GF quick cooking oat flakes

Handful dried apples

Handful dried raisins

1/2-1 tsp Ground cinnamon

Small pinch pink sea salt

Boiling hot water

2-3 Tbsp Grade B Maple syrup or 1 tsp maple sugar. (Optional)

Milk of choice (Optional) 

Method:

-In a bowl, place all dry ingredients

-Bring water to a boil in kettle, pour water over ingredients, just up to the oats. I like a very lumpy oatmeal, feel free to add more water if you prefer. Cover immediately with a plate and let sit for 3-5 minutes.

-Remove cover and stir with a spoon, add maple syrup and stir.

-Add milk of choice if you like, I sometimes heat my unsweetened almond milk to make it all hotter, but I also like it cold. 

              

These are my dehydrated apples, I made them in the Excalibur dehydrator. Note that they are not brown, I did not use sulfites as I am allergic to them. I simply soaked the chopped and sliced apples and immediately placed them in a half/half mixture of cool water and lemon juice. After 5 minutes, I drained them, lay them on trays and allowed to dehydrate for 6-8 hours at the raw food setting 105 degrees. You DO NOT need chemicals that are harmful, to keep your fruits from browning.

              

Adding the boiling water and covering is important.

              

Stir it up!

              

Then it looks like this:

              

I made some fresh apple and carrot juice to go with.

                        

If you want, you can make little Ziploc baggies of the dry oatmeal ingredients and have them at the ready, to be poured into a bowl, super fast for a rushed morning; without sacrificing quality or health. Then you can re-use the Ziploc baggies again for the same recipe next time. Feel free to change up the ingredients, I dehydrated blueberries and cranberries.

                           

These were from frozen, needed no added sugar and came out perfectly!

                           

For the cranberries, I added a bit of maple syrup because these are very tart, but not a lot, and what was great about dehydrating all these fruits was that, some of them were on their last legs. I ended up avoiding food waste, adding to my food prep, and having a great time doing it; all the while controlling what was going into my food.

                         

Enjoy your oatmeal and get the little one's involved in making prep packets, they like helping out in the kitchen.

Leave any comments or questions down below, I would love to hear from you.

God bless and remember:

             

Going off to Play at Finnegan's Market! See You There This Saturday September 24th, 2016.

                                    


Yup, that sums it all up.

Goo day one and all,

FINNEGAN

Le marché du samedi - Saturday Market

                              

Finnegan's Market

Hudson's Flea and Antiques Market
at 775 Main Road

We are hustling and bustling with all the last minute touches, to make this go smoothly and bring you all as much awesomness as possible!

All this week has become a blur and I am just singing Dory's, "Just keep swimming" song over and over, along with saying prayers to God and Jesus to get us all through. The good news is that the cookies are baked, packaged, tagged and ready to go.

The jams, jellies, sauces, compotes and pickled items are all good and done, packaged, labeled, price tagged, and ready to meet eager crowds. God, please let there be eager crowds.

I made some more Lilac & Pineapple jelly and just adore how pretty it is, you must see another pic of it.

 White tea and Grape Jelly is going to be super huge in the hit department, it's got that delectable grapetty grapeness mingled with a delicate white tea background note, that livens and refreshes a classic. Oh yeah! PB & Jelly, PB & Jelly.

 Only made a small batch of Spiced Tipsy Banana Sauce but it will make a delectably humble appearance, along with a whole bunch of other yum yums!

 I even pickled some of my fav onions to sell, these are great man gifts! The men in my family just scarf and I watch it disappear rather quickly every time I put it on the table. I like it mucho in my Fattouch Panzanella.

  

We got all the small touches done and I am happy we went this route, it does make for a beautiful, rustic, sweet presentation and people want something nice to give and enjoy for themselves.

So, please come and look for us at Finnegan's Market this Saturday the 24th of September 2016.
We will be out in Hudson with all the other tables and stalls and we will be looking forward to meeting and giving you a taste of the Bien Confit! GF line of Bespoke Delights!

The directions and information all follow down below, with a link to the Market site, should you want to know more.

FINNEGAN

Le marché du samedi - Saturday Market

Hours and directions

Hours

Every Saturday, from May 7 until the end of October

Open from 9h00 until 16h00

Address

Finnegan's Market is located in Hudson, west of Montréal via highway 40

Address is  775 rue Main, Hudson, QC, J0P 1J0 

775 rue Main, Hudson, QC, J0P 1J0 

From Montreal:

From Autoroute 40 W 

 

Take exit 28 to merge onto Route Harwood/QC-342 O 

 

Turn right onto Côte Saint Charles 

 

Turn left onto Rue Main

 

Finnegan's Market parking will be on the left

 

From Ottawa

From Autoroute 40 E 

 

Take exit 17 for QC-201 toward Montée Lavigne/Salaberry de Valleyfield 

 

Turn left onto QC-201 N 

 

Slight left onto Montée Lavigne 

 

Turn right onto Rue Main

 

Finnegan's Market parking will be on the right

http://www.finnegansmarket.com/index.php/en/

Welcome Back Fall!!!!! How I Missed Thee...

    

                                         

Fall is officially here today!!!!

Hey one and all,

My gloriously, beautiful and God blessed bestest season of all, I really missed you.

Fall is that perfect time where the temperature is much more comfortable, you can still have warm days and then crisp, fresh, cool one's, you sleep better, noisy air conditioner's can finally be put away, and all the delectable bounty comes into it's own.
We went to a farm out in Dunham that had all these cute little pumpkins, I need the young, small, sweet, not all fibrous one's for a jam recipe I want to test out.

The farm is called: Ferme Racine & Fils or in English, Roots & Sons Farm.They had this kiosk set up off the side of the road, people were stopping in to get all the best and fresh, just picked, offerings.

 I spotted the pumpkins, which I thought it was a bit too early for but the farmer says they are coming out now and are great!

 Look at the different types of kale, melons, it is really nice to see produce go straight from farm to your table.

 I liked the old fashioned metal wheel poking out behind the yellow post. It seems a farm or rustic look is not complete without one of these things.
                                         
The orangey yellow things on the left in the above pic, are ripe cucumbers. I had no idea that they do that and am now fascinated about finding a recipe that uses these. Let me know in the comments section if you have any clue what to do with these bad boys.

 

 I managed to score 3 bebe pumpkins for $1.00. I got a bag full and grabbed some scrumptious fresh corn too.

 I love that there was a corn tractor that we got to go and pick our fresh corn from. It was 6 for $2.50 and man was it good, I only ate it once though because corn is really not good for my eczema and more than once is pushing it.

                                        
Well, now that it's fall official, I am off to start crocheting some new scarves like the one below, and wear my cooler weather hats, along with getting some warm weather products made for the Etsy shop and recipe posts all ready for you readers.

Have a lovely and blessed day, and take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous things that nature is up to.
Don't forget to come visit the Bien Confit! Gluten Free table at Finnegan's Market in Hudson this Saturday September 24th, 2016. There's loads to show, to taste and great gifts to buy for your loved one's or just to spoil yourself.

Here's the info:

FINNEGAN

Le marché du samedi - Saturday Market

Hours and directions

Hours

Every Saturday, from May 7 until the end of October

Open from 9h00 until 16h00

Address

Finnegan's Market is located in Hudson, west of Montréal via highway 40

Address is  775 rue Main, Hudson, QC, J0P 1J0 

775 rue Main, Hudson, QC, J0P 1J0 

From Montreal:

From Autoroute 40 W 

 

Take exit 28 to merge onto Route Harwood/QC-342 O 

 

Turn right onto Côte Saint Charles 

 

Turn left onto Rue Main

 

Finnegan's Market parking will be on the left

 

From Ottawa

From Autoroute 40 E 

 

Take exit 17 for QC-201 toward Montée Lavigne/Salaberry de Valleyfield 

 

Turn left onto QC-201 N 

 

Slight left onto Montée Lavigne 

 

Turn right onto Rue Main

 

Finnegan's Market parking will be on the right

http://www.finnegansmarket.com/index.php/en/

Take care, be well, love freely...

Finnegan's Market Prep, Mini Meltdowns, Blessings & Kindness, & Plumtastic Fun!

 Bonjour everyone!

It's just past the midway point to the week and soon soon we are packing it all up to bring to Finnegan's Market out in Hudson for our first ever market stall the Saturday September 24th, 2016! Be excited, be be excited!!!!! (Info is all down below)
I am so happy that my big day is on the first week of fall, praying we have perfect weather, big turn out, loads of interest and takers, along with very happy faces.
As berries went out, other fruits came in and this week we have been up to our eyeballs in plums. I see purple, everywhere, ahhhhhhhhh-help me...

Seriously though, it's been a plumtastic week, last week we went back to Paradis des Fruits.

I adore this place and these people! This time though, I had to call in advance and have pre-picked boxes at the ready for when we arrived. I am just too short on time with all the prep that needs doing and I feel that delicate items like small plums are best left to the experts for picking.

http://www.paradisdesfruits.com/index.php

I came home with loads of goodies! Two cases of plums, which I returned to get two more of, 4 cases of pears, big bag of apples and some delectable honey. Yum scrum!

 The plums are these sweet smaller Mount-Royal plums. They are great for my products and are very juicy and sweet, yet again I was reminded that all this produce had to be processed and quickly, so as not to spoil.

 I find them so cute!I had originally found a recipe for pickled plums, they were Italian plums though and I could only find these big one's at another market we went to in St. Catherine's.

 I was supposed to use the one's that look like these in the pic below, I decided that I would switch them, use what was locally sourced and ecologically produced, along with being very tasty!

 So, to the cutesie little bebe plums and the kitchen for some processing and fun times.

 I used most of them and froze a few for my Christmas Spiced Plum Jelly, that promises to be a welcome treat and addition to the Etsy shop, which will come very soon-I promise.

 I made my second batch of the pickled plums, after testing the recipe with my large plums, and deciding to tweak the recipe a bit. I will be putting this recipe on the blog in a bit but after all this madness has died down.

 I ended up with this yummy Tangy, Spiced, Pickled Plum Compote and could not be happier with the results. It is a flavour punch to the senses, a completely new taste to discover and people are really enjoying it. They are eating it off of spoons and not even waiting to pair it with other foods-yup, that good! Thank the Lord, because I was not too sure at first.

                                     

                                     
I used all natural, grade B Québec Maple Syrup and organic coconut sugar for my Paleo, Vegan Compotes. They taste divine!

After pickling, compotes, jelly, and jam making was done, I went on to Brambleberry & Lilac Jam. This flavour sold so well in the early summer that I wanted to make sure I have a double batch amount for the Finnegan's Market I will be selling at, this coming Saturday the 24th of September. Yup, gonna be obnoxious about mentioning it, so you should just come by and check out the Bien Confit GF table.

 I have been going at this nonstop for weeks and I am starting to feel it in my 41 year old bones, here is a pic of me starting super early in the am, and you can tell just how tired I am (dark circle eyes anyone?) but blissfully happy because I am doing something that I love.

I do want to take a moment to say thank-you to my wonderful friends and family who have been miraculously contributing to my business and canning adventure's, exactly when I need it most. God has been answering my prayers and working through those in my life, to keep me encouraged, to help me hold on, and to bolster my soul.

 At one point last week, I realized that I would run out of mason jars, after just buying the last one's at 3 different local stores. I was nearly in tears because I did not want to lose product, was terrified I would not make enough product for my deadlines, and was running out of funds. I get a phone call within less than 24 hours and next thing I know Lady T is showing up with this stack of jars, in the exact size that all our stores were out of, at the moment I needed them so badly. Thank her and thank God for answering the silent prayers of my heart.

 Then a few days later, my mother shows up with this in her hands, plops it on the table and announces that she is tired with my burning myself several times a day, with the make-shift water canning system I have been forced to use. Starting a business with limited resources and funds, is really tough and this canning set, small and inexpensive to some, has been a luxury I just could not afford. Mumsie to the rescue and she even started cutting out material rounds, to help me decorate my jars. I think she realized that I was in panic, too much to do, how am I ever going to get through it all, please rescue me mode.

Turns out, she is a gajillion times better at this than I am and has saved me a solid week's worth of work. So. though there be stressors in life, there are also rainbows and blessings; and I for one will not be letting them pass by without acknowledging and keeping them stored in my grateful heart.

Have a great day, and I look forward to seeing you out in Hudson this coming Saturday. all the info and links follow down below.

Take care, be well, love freely...

http://www.finnegansmarket.com/index.php/en/

FINNEGAN

Le marché du samedi - Saturday Market

Hours and directions

Hours

Every Saturday, from May 7 until the end of October

Open from 9h00 until 16h00

Address

Finnegan's Market is located in Hudson, west of Montréal via highway 40

Address is  775 rue Main, Hudson, QC, J0P 1J0 

775 rue Main, Hudson, QC, J0P 1J0 

From Montreal:

From Autoroute 40 W 

Take exit 28 to merge onto Route Harwood/QC-342 O 

Turn right onto Côte Saint Charles 

Turn left onto Rue Main

Finnegan's Market parking will be on the left

From Ottawa

From Autoroute 40 E 

Take exit 17 for QC-201 toward Montée Lavigne/Salaberry de Valleyfield 

Turn left onto QC-201 N 

Slight left onto Montée Lavigne 

Turn right onto Rue Main

Finnegan's Market parking will be on the right