Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Lacto-Fermented Pickles- Fast & Easy

I love pickles.

I found this wonderful recipe at The Healthy Home Economist.

Here's my version.

It's just me and my husband in the house now that the children are grown and out on their own.  He doesn't like sour pickles that much.

SO I just need a small amount of pickles.

I use a clean spaghetti sauce jar as my container.  Be sure to use glass. 

I buy just enough small pickling cucumbers to fit in my jar.  You can adjust the amount you need for your container.

Add the ingredients and wait two days.... TADA ... yummy probiotic pickles! 

How easy!

To have crunchy pickles, you will need to add oak leaves, grape leaves or bay leaves.

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist, uses oak leaves.  But when she held up her oak leave in her video- it didn't look like my oak leaves.  I live in Tennessee.  I have a ton of muscadine grapes growing in my yard- soon to be transferred to my vineyard that we will create this fall.  So I used those to keep the pickles crunchy.



RECIPE
* Small 'picking' cucumbers- sliced (enough to fit in your container)
* A couple of grape, oak, or bay leaves (to keep pickles crunchy).  I use muscadine grape leaves.
* Garlic- I use about a 1/2 tsp of minced garlic or 1 clove in my jar- use more or less for your taste.
* Sea Salt- I use about 1 or 2 teaspoons per 2 cups filter water.  It's making a brine.
* Filter water- I use 2 cups.  That amount works for my spaghetti sauce jar- probably about 20 oz.  Not all the water fits... I just wanted make sure I had a 'good' brine.
* Liquid whey- I use about 1 or 2 tablespoons
* Bay leaves - since I don't use Bay leaves to keep my pickles crunchy- I add them to the jar.

Put the leaves in the bottom of the jar.  Add the garlic.  Add the sliced pickles.  Add the salt and liquid whey to the water.  Stir until salt dissolves.   This makes the brine.

Pour the brine over the sliced pickles.  Leave about 1 inch of head space at the top of the jar to prevent mold from forming.  Screw on the lid tightly.   

Leave on the counter for about two days.  After two days, use a clean fork, dip out one slice, and taste.  If it tastes great, store in the refrigerator - they are done.  If not sour enough, leave on the counter.  Taste each additional day until they are to your liking.

If mold develops throw them away.  

~~~

Liquid whey can be strained from plain yogurt.  Or you can get it from cheese making or clabbered milk using yummy, wonderful, healthy REAL unpasteurized milk.  

See my link for more info on clabbered milk and whey ...  Fermented Ginger Ale and Lacto-Fermented Ranch Dressing


PS- don't use 'regular' cucumbers- only the small pickling kind.  The others end up mushy.

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Friday, July 12, 2013

Lacto Fermented Ranch Dressing- Super Easy

I love Ranch Dressing.

But I don't like all the unnecessary ingredients in most bottled dressings.

So.......

I had tried different DIY dressings.  They were OK.  But none I loved.

I get a gallon of REAL milk every week. (I hate the word raw.  It's unpasteurized- straight from the cow- I love my farmers Fall Creek Farms).

Sometimes I don't drink all of it before it becomes "not fresh".  At this point I let it clabber and turn into whey and sour cream.

The Healthy Home Economist has a wonderful video on making whey and sour cream from clabbered milk.

Clabbered milk is raw milk that has been left out on the counter at room temperature for many hours- 12 to 24 or longer depending on the temperature of the room.  It separates into whey... and a 'sour' cream.

REAL (raw) milk and pasteurized milk are completely different.  Pasteurized milk won't clabber.  It will spoil.  Don't use pasteurized milk.

So.... I needed Ranch Dressing.

I poured a little of my milk- say a cup of milk into a glass jar.  I put the lid on it.  (I used my re-purposed glass jar that my olives came in).

I let it sit for about 48 hours.

Instead of draining the liquid whey from the sour cream.  I pour the clabbered milk in my Magic Bullet.  I added a dollop of my lacto-fermented mayo, Lacto-Fermented Mayo and some spices- blended it up and yum!!!


RECIPE

* Clabbered milk from raw milk (see above)
* Dollop of lacto-fermented mayonnaise >>  recipe here Lacto-Fermented Mayo
* Dried Dill (to taste)
* Dried Parsley (to taste)
* Onion Powder (to taste)
* Salt (to taste)
* Sugar (I use white sugar because the bacteria in the whey will eat it).  I used less than a tablespoon. But it had a sweet taste to it.  I let my ranch dressing sit on the counter for a couple of hours before refrigerating it.  The next day- there was no sweet taste to it.  It was perfect!

I blended all the above in my Magic Bullet (that I bought brand new at a yard sale).  I usually just shake (one or two shakes) of dill, parsley etc into my container.

Leave on the counter for a couple of hours.  Keep in the refrigerator.

I once bought Walmart's "Market" Ranch Dressing.  It was OK.  But it had extra ingredients in it.  I have digestion issues... I'm trying to reduce processed foods in my diet as much as possible.  The Walmart dressing comes in a glass jar.  I washed it and use it for MY healthy ranch dressing.


Check out this site about the health benefits of REAL (raw) milk Real Milk

Check out this site about fermented foods and drinks Food Renegade - The Basics





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Lacto-Fermented Mayo- Easy

I get a gallon of REAL (raw) milk from my farmers  Fall Creek Farms  every week.

See my post about lacto-fermented ranch dressing or lacto-fermented ginger ale for more info about how to make whey.

 Fermented Ginger Ale and Lacto-Fermented Ranch Dressing

Sometimes I buy their farm fresh eggs when I want to make mayo or creme de pot (recipe later)
If you can't get farm fresh eggs from a reliable farmer- use organic.

I warm my eggs... I don't cook them.  But I do let them sit on the stove over low heat while I'm getting all the ingredients together and warming the coconut oil.

I got the recipe from Food Renegade enzyme-rich-mayonnaise/
but tweaked it.

RECIPE
* 1 egg and 1 yolk (see above about eggs).  (Must be a room temperature or warmer- see above)
* 1 tsp sugar (I use white cause the bacteria in the whey eat it)
* 1 tsp of raw apple cider vinegar (I use Braggs)
* 1 tsp liquid whey
* 1/2 cup 'light' olive oil
* 1/2 coconut oil (warmed so it's a liquid)
* salt, paprika, & onion powder to taste
* Clean glass jar (pint size mason jar works great)

Put the egg and yolk, sugar, apple cider vinegar, whey, salt, paprika, & onion powder in a blender (the kind with the hole in the lid) and 'blend' it until smooth.  I use the lowest setting.

Then put the lid on (with the hole open), turn the blender on low and slowly add the oil.  Blend for just about 15 or 30 seconds- but less than a minute.

Pour into glass container.  Leave on counter for several hours.  Store in the refrigerator.

Lacto-fermented mayo (or any lacto-fermented food or beverage) is full of the good healthy gut bacteria that we need.

I will do a post about that later.

Here's info on how to pasteurize eggs.... copied from www.food.com
First off, set your eggs out until they become room temperature, about 2-3 hours, then in a pot use enought water to completely cover your eggs. Using a candy thermometer, bring your water to 160-165 degrees farenheit, place your eggs in the water for 3 minutes, then remove and allow to cool back to room temperature (all the other eggs you just pasteurized you can put in the frg), once your eggs are room temperature, continue on to make your homemade Mayonnaise.






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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Easily Make Butter from Raw Milk

I live in Tennessee and I'm a member of a local herd share.

I get wonderful, beautiful, delicious raw milk from my precious farmer and her family.


The wonderful raw milk


What wonderful people!  Fall Creek Farms.

I searched high and low for how to make butter.  Most sites I found the blogger had a fancy kitchen-aid with paddle attachment.

I don't.

Using my hand held beater just made whipped cream.

I knew that had to be a way....

I read that it is the 'concussion' that makes the butter.  


     Concussion, from the Latin concutere ("to shake violently") or concussus ("action of striking together")

Slamming the cream into the sides of the container or using an electric paddle or a churner- is what causes the separation of the butter fat.

Anyway, below is how I make butter.  I sometimes use my butter to make ghee.

I use the butter's 'milk' (the left over 'milk' from the butter making process for my waffles, biscuits, muffins etc.

I use the half and half for pots de creme (recipe later).
My husband uses it the half and half in his coffee.
Sometimes we leave it in the milk.  Shake milk before drinking.

I sometimes make kefir (blog later).  And Paneer (blog later).

I use my leftover whey from the paneer or clabbered milk for my fermented foods and drinks.

An easy way to make butter....

First, I boil all the things I use and let dry.  I usually clean my kitchen counter (the area where I make butter) with my vinegar, lemon, and herb natural cleaner (blog later) but I did refer to it here  Fermented Ginger Ale.


My containers (I forgot some in the pic)


Can you see the darker cream at the top?

If you can't see the cream on the top of the milk... let your milk sit for several hours to a day (in the refrigerator) to let the cream rise to the top.

I get my milk in clear 2 quart jars.  I can easily see the cream at the top.


Items I use
1/4 cup measuring cup
big measuring cup
a larger container with tight lid to shake the cream in
container with lid to hold butter
container with lid to hold 'milk' from butter making
mesh strainer
spatula
my husband to shake the cream into butter or I do it.
salt (optional)

After sterilizing everything......

SCOOPING CREAM
I scoop out the cream using the 1/4 cup measuring cup.
Cream is thick.  Milk is watery looking.  It will take some practice to scoop out just the cream.  

Watch the liquid as you scoop.  You can tell when some milk gets in your scooper... just pour it back into your jar and try again.  If some milk gets into your cream shaker- that's ok- it will just take longer to make the butter.

Put each scoop of cream into the container.

There is usually a small amount of cream left in my milk jar.  See above uses or just shake up milk prior to pouring.


Be careful to get the cream only


SHAKING THE CREAM
After scooping most of the cream out of your milk, put the lid on your 'shaker' container.  Make sure it's on tight.

Now shake.

And shake.
And shake.

It's the shaking that makes the butter.




My husband usually will shake it for me while he watches a football game or a cowboy show or an old movie.
OR... I do it. 

If I do it... I usually make an (low) aerobics routine out of it. lol


It's liquidy.


I step side to side or I'll jump on my rebounder or walk on my treadmill... but usually just step side to side while I watch TV or read my next protect.  This time I was reading how to make lacto fermented mayo from a recipe by Food Renegade.



Food Renegade's blog and lacto-fermented mayo!
I'll post my variation later.  But is was delicious!  


I'm too hyper to sit still do it.  I sit all day at work.  I like the movement.  But my husband sits while doing it.

The cream will go from cream to whipped cream to the butterfat separating into solids.


It's almost whipped cream.  And yes, those are my comfy house shoes  It was a Saturday.


The time it takes depends on the temperature of the room, of the milk, how much milk got into the cream, and other factors that I'm not aware of...

Just keep shaking.  And when you are absolutely convinced that there is NO way this will turn into butter... you are almost there- keep shaking.

THEN..... you should notice a different feel in the container, or in the sound, or something.... it will sound liquidy again.  There will be a ball of beautiful butter fat and the liquid.


Not there yet, but almost.
Back and forth

Now left hand
     (Above is when it gets real hard to shake.  You're really close.  But it will take some more time and muscle.  I slam it right then slam it left.. over and over.  I try shaking a few times.  Then go back to slamming it back and forth until I feel and hear the difference.)


There it is.  There's that butter fat separated from the milk. lol

STRAINING THE BUTTER FAT
Pour your butter fat through the mesh strainer into the container that you (will hopefully) store your butter's 'milk'.  Pets love this.  Use it to bake with. You can drink it.  But I don't like the taste.  You can freeze the butter's 'milk', toss it, or whatever.  Use within a few days or freeze.

Take the butter fat from the strainer and put back into the 'shaking' container.  Rinse with filtered water a few times.

Pour the butter fat over the mesh strainer again.  You can use the measuring cup to catch the water.  It will be cloudy looking.  I pour this liquid down the drain.  Some people say repeat the process 4 times.  I usually just do it once or twice.  The washing rinses away the 'cowy' taste.




This is the liquid left over when the butter fat separates.  Great for baking. 
Rinsing butter with filtered water



FINALLY IT'S BUTTER
After your last rinsing, use your spatula to squeeze all of the water out.  Stir your butter around and that will help to release the water. 

You can sprinkle some salt over the butter and stir.  The salt acts as a preservative.

Using your spatula scrap the butter into your butter container.  Cover.  Keep in refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Yea!  The one on the left will be ghee.



Ghee blog later....


Shared on ..... The Chicken ChickA Rural JournalTillys NestNourishing SimplicitySunny Simple Life

Friday, June 14, 2013

Fermented Ginger Ale


The following is a wonderful healthy probiotic drink.
Easy to make.
Great for you.

While recovering from a hysterectomy.... I found Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist.  Wonderful site.  Great information.  Lots of yummy recipes.

So far I have made the cream cheese, fermented lemonade, fermented ginger ale, and the fermented pickles.

So here is my fermented ginger ale recipe adapted from Sarah's site.  It has helped me kick my diet soda habit.


REGARDING LIQUID WHEY....
Refer to her video about how to get liquid whey from clabbered milk.  Or strain the whey from yogurt.  OR I just made paneer cheese using the recipe from Journey Kitchen.   This produced a crazy amount of whey.  I'll try it for my next batch of fermented drinks.

First, why fermented?  Well, because they are sssoooo healthy for you.

Learn about fermented foods and their health benefits ... 

here

The Healthy Home Economist

here

Weston A Price Foundation

and here....

Nourished Kitchen

Anyway......

Here's my recipe.... (you can tweak it for your family's taste).

6 small limes
1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar- (I use white sugar for my kombucha and fermented drinks- the 
                 good bacteria eats most of it anyway).
1/4 cup liquid whey
2 tsp ground ginger (you can use fresh ginger.... ground is easier.  I get mine 
                              from EarthFare).

2 quarts (more or less) filter water
big glass jar (at least 2.5 quarts)
     (I use a recycled or re-purposed big apple juice glass jar I bought
                    at EarthFare.  Works great!)


[pretend there is a picture here of my glass jar]


** Using a funnel to pour the ingredients in the glass jar makes it easier.**

1) Put the ground ginger and sugar in first (if using the funnel) then all the rest of the ingredients.  Leave at least an inch of space at the top.  If you don't, mold could form.  It needs the air space.

[pretend there is a picture here of me pouring the ingredients into my glass jar - pretendingly pictured above]

2) Stir with a wooden spoon.  Put the cap on it and leave it on the kitchen counter for two days.  Stir with wooden spoon each day.  I 'burp' it each day by opening the cap.  I got in the habit of 'burping' my flavored kombuchas (during the second ferment). 

3) Put it in the refrigerator for a day or longer.  The taste improves the longer it sits in the fridge.  

I add one pack of stevia to my glass of ice before I pour my fermented ginger ale into it.

ALSO- you can omit the ginger and use 6 lemons and 1 lime (or not) for fermented lemonade.


AND FREEZE THE LEMON/LIME RINDS for ....

**I use a lemon rind for my roasted chicken (post to come later) or I adapted my recipe from Robin at Thank Your Body (search for chicken broth).

**I lay some rinds around my kombucha brewing jars to repel ants and fruit flies (it's just me and my husband- most of the time at our house- if company comes I can quickly throw them away to have a 'clean' counter.  Then get some more lime/lemon rinds out of the freezer again once they leave.

AND

**Here's the best easiest cleaner ever!!!

I let a lemon or lime or both sit in a bowl of filtered water overnight.  I add a sprig of rosemary and oregano from my garden.

The next day I pour that into my spray bottle add some vinegar and shake.  I spray it on my counters, sink etc, sprinkle baking soda and use the lemon (or lime) rind as my scrubber!  Genius!  Thank you!

This kills bacteria, mold, mildew- whoo hoo!

But throw away after a few days and make a new batch.




I will try to post real pictures later.  I mean well.  BUT really.... the pictures in other's blogs get on my nerves... most the time... I want to see the recipe.  I want to read what to do.  OR better!! I'll watch the video.  But a still shot does nothing for me.

I'm shy- so no video.

And I'm forgetful so probably no pictures.

But I'll try.... if it bothers enough people... I'll try harder.  lol