Party Viking Style!

ONCE in Valhalla last night was AMAZING!

We cooked and baked and pickled for days. The food was incredible. The actors and musicians performed amazingly. The sound, lights, direction, production, and everything else sure looked flawless from where I stood. The beer and mead flowed like, well, beer and mead.

If you were a guest, you never would have guessed the level of technical difficulties we experienced in the kitchen that morning! If a major piece of equipment is going to go on the fritz, of course it will be the day of the biggest event of the year! But we are professionals, and we kept our collective calm, carried on, and pulled off possibly the best Valhalla yet!

Smorgasbord

We served ten courses, starting with freshly shucked oysters, pulled fresh from the water the same morning. Then guests enjoyed a smorgasbord of air-cured beef, cheeses, whipped butter, fresh watermelon radishes, pickled fish, the best liverwurst, and lots of different pickled veggies including ramps, fiddleheads, beets, turnips, and cauliflower; all served with my famous rye hardtack. We moved on through a parsnip soup, lamb with roasted beets, ryeberry pilaf, oven braised turkey, cheesy oats with ham, pear gastrique, beef marinated and stewed in porter served with my legendary oat cakes, and finally a dollop of yogurt drizzled with the blood of the gods (local berry puree) and golden honey.

Myself and Brian slicing and serving the most tender and juicy lamb. You can also just barely see fellow gnome Sean in the background.

In between courses, there was singing, dancing, and there were even lessons in the history and mythology of the Vikings.

Party Viking Style! A completely historically accurate song and dance number

A great time was had by all, and I look forward to next year's! Today is a pajama day, though. I'm beat!

The photos above are all from boston.com (YES I am named in the caption of that photo! Now I'm famous.) The poster below is by Miri Rooney of Short Army, who also designed both the viking and valkyrie helmets.

Stay tuned - there is talk of a Downton Abbey themed dinner coming in the foreseeable future!

Personal Cheffing

Hey folks!

People have been asking, so I just wanted to let you all know that I am still doing personal chef work. In addition, I teach cooking and baking, and I am building clientele as a healthy lifestyle coach. I'm working on getting more writing gigs. And I cook at Cuisine en Locale. I like to keep busy!

I have suspended the deliveries that I was doing with my business, Rather Crafty, the last couple of years. But I am still cooking! I am still very much in business, just sans deliveries.

I'm happy to cook for you and/or your family. I can do a meal at a time, cook several days' worth of food, or fill your freezer up with leftovers. I can come regularly or occasionally. It depends on your needs. I can also come and cook a special meal for your next dinner party, brunch, or luncheon.

While my diet and my kitchen are gluten free, I can bake with gluten in your kitchen. The only ingredients I will not use are synthetic ones, and also my nemesis, peanuts. (There are so many great subs for peanut butter - have you tried my north African sweet potato and cashew stew, or my almond butter chocolate chip cookie sandwiches yet?) I can work with any dietary restriction you may have - gluten free, nut free, grain free, paleo, WAPF, dairy free, low sugar, vegetarian, raw vegan, multiple allergies, high protein, low protein, high carb, low carb, PKU, GAPS, Whole30, just plain picky kids, you name it, I can navigate it. I also cook for folks with no dietary restrictions at all!

Another thing I love to do is teach you (or your kids) how to make something awesome. Kids like to make muffins, cupcakes, fruit crisps, and cookies, but they also love making soups, souffles, and gluten free pizzas. Grown-ups may want to learn my tricks for all of the above, plus nourishing stocks and broths, sophisticated chocolates and other desserts, and tips for the tenderest braises. Lessons and classes make great parties, gifts, and Mommy and me playdates.

So yes, indeed, I am still cooking and I would love to cook for your family! I have a car, so I can come to you within a reasonable radius of Boston. Plus, I know where the best farmers markets are, so we'll always start with the best ingredients.

Feel free to email me at rathercraftymary at gmail dot com or comment below with any questions. My rates are reasonable, and my food is awesome.

I look forward to speaking with you very soon!

Much love,
Chef Mary

Happy New Year, and a Happy Healthy New Approach!

Happy New Year!

This year, our dietary path has shifted from where it was the last couple years. I thought it was only fitting to move over to a fresh, new blog to celebrate the new focus!

Today is not just the first day of a new year. It is also the day Earnest and I begin a new sort of challenge: We are doing a Whole30 together. What's that? Well, the rules are here: http://whole9life.com/2012/08/the-whole30-program/

For one month, you eat only vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and high quality, non-dairy animal proteins. It's a particularly strict version of the currently-fashionable paleo/primal diet. Personally, I'm not so much one for labels as for just making Good, Solid Choices.

The restrictions you choose to follow when doing a Whole30 are: No grains, legumes, dairy other than ghee, alcohol, white potatoes, certain additives, or sugar (even maple and honey.) That's not all that far from how I've been eating lately, but I have been using some honey, maple, cheese, and homemade yogurt from raw milk. I've been making good progress with this approach so far. We've been gluten free for quite some time, and in fact GF has been an area of focus in my work as a personal chef. (The other primary focus for me has been delicious, wonderful veggies! Even though I'm not vegan anymore, I will always love veggies! I'll talk about them a lot more in future posts.)

From my own diet, I have already eliminated most grains and all legumes, because my body was responding to them with a range of reactions including true allergy, digestive upset, and inflammation. I was occasionally eating rice and just tasting the other gluten-free grain foods I cook for others whose digestion handles them better. By eliminating even those tiny amounts of grains, I hope to reduce inflammation in my body further, and continue my path of healing my gut. Later, I'll talk more about how far I've already travelled in search of a happy belly! I'll also talk about the challenges I run into on the way, as a professional cook with dietary restrictions.

Earnest has relied a lot more on grains and legumes, and he loves his sweets. This challenge will be harder for him, and I'm going to do my best to support him and make his experience positive and easy. There's nothing like having your own personal chef to make positive choices easier!

Those of you who have known me for a while know that I love raw veggies and fruits. I was vegan for two years, and ovo-lacto vegetarian for over ten years, split between two different times in my life. While I was vegan, I followed a very high raw approach most of the time. This was great for me at first. For the first year, I experienced high energy and abundant health.

Later, and whenever I ate too many grains or legumes, I started to experience a lot of strange symptoms, mostly of inflammation, digestive upset, and radical weight fluctuations. I started to feel fatigued and brittle, and knew I needed to make some changes again.

On top of these experiences, sensitivities, and restrictions, I have true allergies. I'm allergic to peanuts, soy, and some other legumes - and we're talking throat-closing anaphylaxis here. I actually had to quit a job once because of all the peanut and soy products on the menu. I am also sensitive to wheat and other gluten-containing grains. I have one of the genes that can cause celiac disease, and I experience lots of symptoms when I consume gluten, but I haven't received a conclusive diagnosis of celiac disease. Interestingly, Earnest experiences many of the same symptoms with gluten that I do. In fact, we stopped using gluten at home because of his sensitivities, and I only realized I was also sensitive later.


My new goals are to continue healing my digestion, tame inflammation in my body, and have abundant, glowing energy again. I am already well on my path toward meeting these big goals, and lots of little ones along the way.

I also plan to continue eating tons of fresh veggies, mostly local even in the New England winter. I will share with you tips and tricks for choosing the best produce and getting good deals. Just as importantly, I will help you navigate the different meat choices out there. Are they all healthy or ethically raised? Not by a long shot. But are there sustainable, environmentally-friendly, affordable options out there? Absolutely. I can help connect you with your local farmers, find grass-fed beef and truly, honestly free range eggs, and choose seafood that is safe for your family and sustainable for the environment.

Local Chioggia Beets

The Littlest Carrot!

If you have just found me, maybe you also have a goal. Do you want to lose weight? Get stronger? Run faster? Flush away inflammation? Learn great recipes, tips and tricks for cooking and eating great food? Ways to incorporate lots more veggies into your (or your kids') diet? Gluten free substitutions and fantastic recipes? Leave me a comment and ask me anything! I've been cooking and baking for a very long time, and I love a good challenge!

I look forward to writing for you and cooking for you a lot more soon!

Much love,
Chef Mary