Red Cabbage Sauerkraut

Did you know sauerkraut is a fermented food?  Not the canned stuff you’ll find in the store though.  The canning process kills all the good bacteria you want.  This was one of my favorite “pickles” growing up but I don’t think I ever had the really good stuff.  Sauerkraut is the first fermented food I made (if you don’t count yogurt).  It is what made me fall in love with lacto-fermentation.

Here are instructions for the most basic sauerkraut.  Simple, yes, but oh so good!  Only 2 ingredients and just a little muscle.

• 1 head of red cabbage, about 2-3lbs (or course green would work too)
• 1 tbsp sea salt

First you’ll want to remove the outside leaves revealing a purple beauty.

Cut into quarters and chop out the core.

Now you can either shred the cabbage using a food processor (which I do) or you can chop up by hand.

Place cabbage in a large non-reactive bowl with the salt and mash the heck out of it.  I love this awesome wooden ladle from Paula Deen.  It can scoop and mash.  I wish it was a little smaller because it’s just barely too big to fit in a wide mouth mason jar.

Turn on a little music and pound away.  The cabbage will begin to release it’s juices.  Keep pounding until it’s nice and juicy.  

Start scooping some into your jar.  I’m using a half gallon recycled pickle jar here.  You can find some neat inexpensive glass jars at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s.  

Keep adding more cabbage and pounding it down.  When it’s all in, push the cabbage down so it’s submerged under that beautiful purple cabbage juice.

To keep the cabbage submerged, you can place a small plate on top with a weight or you can do what I do. Fill a bag with water and place on top.  I have a narrow jar so a quart sized bag works great.  For a crock, you’ll want a gallon sized bag.

Cover and set in a warm place in your kitchen for 1-4 weeks or longer depending on how sour you like your sauerkraut.  If you see mold, just scoop it off.  The sauerkraut is still good.  Once it’s fermented for however long you choose, place in cold storage for up to a year.

That’s Curtido fermenting in the background.  You’ll have to wait until next week to hear about Curtido…

So how do you use this wonderful fermented food?  Sauerkraut and sausage always go well together.  I also love it on top of salmon patties, hamburgers or just as a side.  I’m known to just serve myself a bowlful of sauerkraut as a snack.

This is what my 18 month old was doing while I was pounding away.

Goofball.

Grain Free Granola

You read that right.  Grain free granola.  No wheat, no oats, no barley flakes, no grain period.  This turned out better than I imagined.  I thought I would have to play around with ratios before posting the recipe but I got a winner on the first try.  I’ll still play around because it’s fun creating different recipes.  In this recipe, you soak the nuts and seeds overnight.  Why do that?  Nuts, seeds and grains contain phytic acid which is an anti-nutrient and enzyme inhibitors.  For more info on that, Cheeseslave.com has some great articles.  I’d start here http://www.cheeseslave.com/2009/11/17/why-soak-and-sprout-grains/  It does take a little extra planning but it’s worth it.

Grain Free “Granola”

• 1 cup chopped walnuts 
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 4 cups shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (or butter)
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup dried fruit (I used chopped sulfur free apricots)

Soak walnuts and sunflower seeds in enough water to cover with 2 tsp sea salt overnight.  Or if you have a supply of crispy nuts from Nourishing Traditions, you can use those and skip the soaking step.

Mix nuts, seeds and coconut.  In a saucepan, warm up coconut oil with honey, cinnamon and vanilla.  Mix oil/honey mixture with nuts, seeds and coconut. Stir to coat well. 

Divide mixture between 2 baking sheets (line with parchment for easy cleaning).  Heat oven to 200F and bake for about 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally.  When the nuts are dry, it’s ready.  Let cool then add dry fruit.  

Cream of Carrot Soup

Nothing hits the spot like a warm creamy soup on a snowy winter day.  We’re experiencing our first snow of the season today but all is well here.  I’m cuddled on the couch with my sleeping toddler, my knitting nearby and a bowl of soup.  Perfect.

I actually made this soup on accident. I was just boiling up some carrots in chicken stock (we’re doing the GAPS intro diet right now).  I thought it would be yummy pureed into a soup and I couldn’t resist a big dollop of cream.  So good!  Only 4 ingredients so it doesn’t get easier than this.

Cream of Carrot Soup

• 1 quart chicken stock
• 8 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
• sour cream (I culture my own farm fresh cream with kefir grains or piima culture)

Place stock and carrots in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 30 mins or until the carrots are very soft.  Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender right in the pot or in a blender. Add salt to taste.  Serve with a generous dollop of sour cream.

This also tastes great if you add a bit of leftover shredded chicken or beef pot roast and a splash of hot chili sauce.

Part of Sunday Night Soup Night.

Meet Effie

Meet Effie, my new pet.  Effie is water kefir grains from Cultures for Health and yes, she most definitely is alive.  Effie consists of lactic acid bacteria and yeast living happily together.  She eats sugar and makes a yummy fizzy beverage very similar in benefits to milk kefir.  The only reason I keep white sugar in the house is to feed Effie.  Effie is actually my 3rd water kefir pet.  The first accidentally got cooked in the oven (that’s where I kept her warm but I forgot to take her out when I turned the oven on).  The second died as a result of neglect. After our house flooded I just forgot about her and after about 6 weeks, she was gone.  So our new Effie came in the mail today and is sitting happily on our counter rehydrating and in a few days we’ll be able to enjoy this natural soda again.  By the way Effie is short for Effervescent.  

How to feed Effie

1/4 cup sugar (white or rapadura)

1 quart water

You might need to warm the water up a bit to get the sugar to dissolve.  Allow to cool to room temperature.  Add 1-2 tbsp worth of kefir to the sugar/water mixture.  Effie likes minerals so if you want to add a dab of molasses or a few pieces of egg shell, that would make her happy.  We have well-water so she gets plenty here.  

Let Effie set loosely covered (I use a coffee filter) for 24-48 hrs.  The longer she sets, the more sugar she consumes and the less sweet your kefir will be.  You should notice bubbles rising to the surface.  Strain Effie from the sugar water and you can either start another batch or put her in a jar of water and store in the fridge for up to about a week.  She needs to be fed after a week.

Now you can either consume the water kefir as is or turn it into a fizzy “soda”.

To make her really fizzy and tasty, we’ll add juice and let set overnight, tightly contained.

I usually add about 1 part juice to 4 parts kefir but you can adjust the ratio to taste.  Orange juice is my favorite. Until I can get my hands on some Grolsch Flip Top Bottles, I just use old apple cider vinegar bottles and screw the cap on tight.  

Don’t forget your juice kefir!  If you let it set too long during the second fermentation, you might get an eruption.

Why Drink Water Kefir?
It’s filled with all sorts of good bacteria that your tummy needs for good digestion and health.  Way more bugs than yogurt!  For a list of what’s in it check it out here, http://www.culturesforhealth.com/water-kefir-grains-composition-bacteria-yeast

Lactofermented Purple Eggs!

In honor of our chickens finally starting to lay eggs, I tried making some lactofermented eggs this week. This is something I’ve been want to try for a while now.

They turned out beautifully! And they taste as good as they look.

Since I was unsure of the outcome, I only made 4 eggs which fit perfectly in a 1/2 quart jar (1/2 qt equals 2 cups or 1 pint, a little math lesson for you). Feel free to double this recipe for a full quart. I know I will!

4 hard boiled eggs

2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp reserved liquid from lactofermented beets or fresh whey (for a darker egg, you can use up to 1/4 cup of juice)

Filtered water to cover

Stuff eggs in a 2 pint jar. Dissolve salt in the beet juice (add a little water if needed to dissolve salt). Add to jar. Add filtered water to cover eggs completely, leaving at least 1/2″ head space. Make sure eggs remain submerged and leave at room temperature for a day. Move to the fridge and let marinate for a few more days.

How to Boil Eggs

Since I’m amazed at how many don’t know how to hard boil eggs, here is how to get the perfect egg. The older the egg, the easier they peel. A 3 week old egg usually peels beautifully.

Fill a pot about 1/2 full of cool water, add as many eggs as you want (gently, you don’t want to crack them).

Set on the burner at medium heat. Too high of heat and the eggs will crack.

Bring to a gentle boil.

As soon as the water begins to boil, remove from the heat, cover and set the timer for 10 minutes (6 mins for a soft boiled egg).

Once the timer goes off, gently drain off the water and start running cold water over them. You can add ice to make them cool faster if you would like. If you let them sit too long, the yolk will start to turn green and get rubbery.