Some new cookbooks offer some new ideas for celebrating Mother’s Day. Back to Butter (Fair Winds Press) offers traditional foods recipes to cut processed and unhealthy ingredients for good. The traditional foods diet is largely viewed as the final “landing place” for people who have tried every other diet under the sun (low-fat, low-carb, vegetarianism, gluten-free, and even Paleo) with little success or improved health. Back to Butter serves as a resource for “traditionalists” with methods and recipes to keep them on track. There is a list to get the pantry started, plus information on natural traditional foods like grass-fed meats and wild seafood; pastured, whole and raw dairy; healthy saturated fats and unrefined oils; organic, farm-fresh produce; and unrefined sweeteners.

The nourishing recipes inspired by our ancestors include main meals to side dishes and desserts, items like white bean chicken chili, hummus, guacamole and onion dips, crispy peach cobbler and sourdough bread pudding with raisins. Sticky Chicken (Maple Dijon Chicken) is delicious hot from the oven or sliced cold in a sandwich.

With Scoop Adventures: The Best Ice Cream of the 50 States (Page Street Publishing) everyone can make the real recipes from the greatest ice cream parlors in the country. Ice cream maker and blogger Lindsay Clendaniel shares the amazing recipes she picked during her travels across the country sampling ice cream for her blog, www.ScoopAdventures.com. The 80 recipes Lindsay discovered were home-tested and designed to be easily made with a home ice cream maker. They include Steen’s Molasses Oatmeal Cookie from Creole Creamery, New Orleans, La.; Seaport Salty Swirl Ice Cream from Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream, Mystic, Ct.; Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Roasted Cherries from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Columbus, Ohio; Blueberry Kale Ice Cream from The Hop Ice Cream Café, Ashville, N.C.; and Mayan Chocolate Ice Cream from Full Tilt Ice Cream, Seattle, Wa. The last chapter in the book offers the author’s own ice cream flavors such as her Red Velvet Ice Cream inspired by red velvet cake.

For snacks on Mother’s Day or any day, consider chips by Simply 7 (www.simply7snacks.com) based on recognizable ingredients like hummus, lentils, quinoa, and pomegranates. These snacks are non-GMO, vegetarian and have up to 50% less fat than potato chips. They follow seven core standards: 0 grams trans-fat and no cholesterol; no artificial ingredients or flavors; no additives or preservatives; gluten-free ingredients; all-natural recipes; simple ingredients; simply delicious.

The bite-size hummus chip comes in flavors like “original” sea salt; spicy chili pepper; tomato basil; and roasted red pepper. In addition to sea salt, jalapeno, and an Italian bruschetta, there’s also creamy dill combining the zesty taste of dill with a slight hint of cucumber to a lentil-flavored chip. Find pomegranate in flavors of sea salt, black pepper and white cheddar. Quinoa comes in sea salt, cheddar, barbeque and sour cream and onion.

Each bag contains four to five servings and can be found online at Amazon, the Simply 7 website or in grocery stores around the country. Born as a counter to the trend of grocery store products of food made with ingredients that most people don’t recognize and can’t even pronounce, this is a “better for you” snack and party chip.

Sticky Chicken (Maple Dijon Chicken)

(Courtesy of Back to Butter.) Makes 4 servings. The sauce is rich and flavorful and the meat is fall-off-the-bone moist.

½ cup butter

½ cup maple syrup

½ cup Dijon mustard

4 teaspoons curry powder

2 & ½ teaspoons sea salt, divided

¼ teaspoon cayenne

4 bone-in chicken breast halves, skin on (2 whole breasts, split)

½ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the butter, maple syrup, mustard, curry powder, 2 teaspoons of the sea salt, and the cayenne in a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish. While the oven is preheating, place the dish in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the butter fully melts but does not brown.

Remove the pan from the oven and whisk the ingredients to combine. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then liberally dredge each piece of the chicken in the sauce. Gently slide your fingers between the skin and the flesh of the chicken, being careful not to tear the skin. Using a pastry brush, coat both the flesh and the skin thoroughly with sauce. Gently pull the skin back into place.

Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the pan, skin-side up. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon sea salt and the pepper.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove and baste with the pastry brush using the pan sauce.

Bake, uncovered, for an additional 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and preheat the broiler. Baste the chicken one final time, then broil for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chicken skin browns nicely. Be careful not to burn.

Cool for 10 minutes, then place on a serving platter. Whisk the pan juices and pour over the chicken. Serve.

Red Velvet Ice Cream

(Courtesy of Scoop Adventures: The Best Ice Cream of the 50 States.) Makes 1 generous quart.

Author Lindsay Clendaniel states that “baked desserts are often great inspiration for ice cream flavors. My favorite part of red velvet cake is the cream cheese icing, so this scoop is a “reversed” version of red velvet cake with pieces of cake mixed into a cream cheese ice cream base, creating the perfect frozen alternative to a classic Southern cake.”

3 red velvet cupcakes, frosting removed

12 oz. cream cheese

1 & ½ cups sour cream

1 cup sugar

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup buttermilk

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Prepare your favorite red velvet cupcake or buy your favorite prepared cupcakes. If you bake cupcakes, allow them to cool completely before adding to the ice cream.

Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and place in a blender or food processor. Add the sour cream, sugar, cream, buttermilk, vanilla and salt and blend until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.

Once chilled, pour the ice cream base into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Chop the cupcakes into ½-inch cubes. When churning is complete, gently fold in the cupcake pieces. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and top with a few pieces of cupcake. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.   

Ann Hattes has over 25 years experience writing about both travel and food for publications both in the US and internationally. A senior living in Wisconsin, she’s a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association and the Midwest Travel Writers Association.

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