Domestic Goodness

My mom raised me to see food as an important gift of a woman for her family.  Providing nourishing, prepared meals every night (other than "cornucopia night", aka leftovers) for family dinners was a priority for her.  As I've learned more about the profound cultural connections between sharing meals and authentic relationships, her traditions have become important to me, as well.
I also like to challenge myself to make health food taste delicious.  I have strong objections against the consumption of anything that tastes like cardboard.
Some of my recent ventures into personally-uncharted, culinary territory include the following:

Cinnamon raisin nutty granola
3 cups thick cut oats; a cup or so each of raisins, sunflower seeds, & coconut flakes; cinnamon; vanilla; and all tossed with melted coconut oil/butter and baked in a low oven (stir here and there) for an hour-ish until dry
[next batch will be orange-cranberry pecan!]

Homemade chicken stock
I combined several recipes for this but mostly used the one from Nourishing Traditions cookbook with some alterations as suggested by Maureen--thanks!
[the foam was all skimmed, but I left a little of the fat on top--it helps make sauces and can be skimmed off once chilled for soups]

Chicken pot pie [for St. Patrick's]
This recipe plus thyme and potatoes, minus celery seed (I was out)

 

So, blogger won't rotate my picture as it should . . . and the pie only exploded for the first piece because I skipped the "wait to let it set" part of the directions.  Naturally, the pieces I didn't have the camera out for were perfect.  

[Thanks, Joanne, for the delicious soda bread!!!]