I Sell Live Starters

I am in Orem, Utah and I sell live kefir, kombucha, water kefir, sourdough starters.  I can mail them if close to Utah.   Email me at   joannesmithseal@gmail.com and we can arrange a pick-up and drop off time.  I will give you my address and phone number  by email.  Kefir and Kombucha starters are $10.  Sourdough are $5.  

I Will Be Teaching 2 Classes June 23

I will be teaching two classes June 23 as one of many presenters at an annual conference held in So. Jordan, Utah,  at Paradigm High School.  This is my second year doing this and it is a great opportunity to learn how to get well/healthy the alternative way and become less dependent on drugs and and traditional therapies that for many don't work.   My two classes are  "Kefir; Home Cultured Foods for Health"  and  "Plant Protein Pilaf; Combining Grains and Legumes" this class is based on Blood Type which I have talked about here in an older post.   There are other very relevant  and inspiring classes to choose from.  Visit the website and if you like what you see,  please  register.   www.ldsholisticliving.com       use my promo code/coupon    BOGO2060928004   for discount.

Food Fermenting Interview on Radio

I was interviewed on a local radio station, KHQN AM 1480 Healing Talk Radio, by Dr. Kyle Christensen who has a weekly program about health from 5 to 6 on Monday nights. I appreciate the invitation to do this and it was fun. I really had no idea that Kyle was also an avid food fermentor. We talked about vegetable ferments first and both agreed that the easiest and most nutritious vegetable ferment to start with is sauerkraut or fermented cabbage. We talked about how many different old world cultures have fermented cabbage and then added their special flavors; Koreans add hot peppers to bok choy cabbage to make kimchee, the German's added caraway seeds, others added onion or juniper berries

. Kyle uses some gas lock lids with his jars of vegetable ferment to allow fermenting gasses to escape which I do not have but I am seriously going to get. One of my first posts on my blog here, is the process of making sauerkraut. I hope you search back and find that early one. he gave me the site where he orders those gas lock caps. www.pickl-it.com

 We talked about kefir both water and milk kefirs, and how easy and nutritious they are to keep in the kitchen. Milk sugar or lactose is the culprit for adults who cannot digest it but the kefir microbes can. Milk kefir is what I recommend for beginning food fermentors. We talked about sourdough bread and how much better it is than regular bread even homemade bread.

 We talked about how difficult it is getting people to get back into the kitchen to do their own cooking from fresh, raw ingredients. We both agreed that "industrial foods" are harmful and that most health problems could be eliminated if folks would give up their bad diets and do their own food and kitchen work. I was a great program and I was pleased to be part of it. You can search it out in their archives, at the website www.utahvalleylive.com

Kale Chips with Coconut Oil

Kale chips are becoming very popular now. Why not? It's a fun way to get your leafy greens. There are a load of recipes out there for Kale chips but I think I found the best one and easiest. No recipe here cause it is so simple and so good.

 First, dry your fresh kale (spinach works too but it does have a bitterness that is unpleasant, and chard also works) in your dehydrator as per directions, then spread dried kale on plate and drizzle about 1 TBS melted VCO virgin coconut oil over the leaves and sprinkle with Real Salt or other sea salt. I use a regular plate and after I drizzle and salt the first layer of leaves, I lay another layer on top of first one and drizzle and salt again and maybe a third layer. When cooled and hardened, store in zip lock baggies and take one with lunch every day. The coconut oil can be scraped off the plate and used again. Between the spinach, chard and kale, I like the kale best.
 I have a screened dehydrator with five shelves which I love and use all the time. The picture is of this dehydrator. It's called the "Food Dryer" and it is made in China and distributed by Duer International Inc. I bought this one at a fair and do not have the contact for it.

Questions about Kefir Culturing

Greetings to those who made their way to my blogspot, especially those who visited my booth at the Super Prep Fair at the UVU Events Center April 6 and 7. I have been out of town visiting family this past week, but I'm back now and can answer questions you might have about the kefir or Kombucha processes. First, contact me through my email address which is at the top in my blog introduction. I really don't know how to answer through this blog. Sometimes I do it right sometimes I don't.
If you scroll through my "older entries" you can find my blogs about kefir and kombucha with pictures and if that doesn't answer your questions then please email me. I can give you a phone number through my email also. I will replace your starters if they won't work for you, just contact me. Thank you for your business.

Booth at Super Prep Fair At UVU Events Center

I have a booth for my business, "Mrs. Seal's Kitchen Cultures", at the Super Prep Fair April 6 & 7 in Utah County on the UVU campus Events Center. It is a fee event and I don't know what the fee is right now, but this is going to be big with at least 85 vendors and speakers on subjects like, last days events, how to survive "off grid", about solar power and other alternative powers, cooking with food storage, watching the signs of the times and other timely and exciting topics related to TOETWAWKI or The Eend Of The World As We Know It. I will have a booth there and would like to see many people come and get a taste of raw milk and pasteurized milk kefir. This fair is sponsored by Roger K. Young and he usually is the main speaker on Saturday evening. I went to this event last year and learned a whole bunch. See you there?!

Lemon, Ginger Ferment

This is a great ferment or pickle with lactic acid, that I got from a great Indian lady who happens to be the mother-in-law of my youngest sister. She is a great cook who knows Indian cooking very well. I love everything she makes and this has become a favorite with me and many of her grandsons.



It requires a lot of lemons, so a whole bag full from Costco or Sam's Club would be the starting point. A good chunk of fresh ginger about 5 inches is the next ingredient and them some sea salt and cayenne pepper.



Procedure for 1 quart;

12 lemons juiced and seeded ( keep the juice and pulp but throw out the seeds)
pull some of the tough fibers free and keep the rinds, cut into quarters
5-6 inch piece of fresh ginger scrapped and sliced thin. Rinse the peel off.

Stuff the lemon peels, a few slices of intact lemon slices or chunks, and slices of ginger in a clean quart jar. Pour in the lemon juice and add...
1 Tablespoon of sea salt.

Cayenne pepper, a few shakes or to your taste. Frieda, is Indian...she likes these hot.

The lactobacillus bacteria is on the lemon peels and the ginger unless the producer has sterilized the lemons and ginger, in that case look for organic lemons or...
add 1 Tablespoon of whey (the watery liquid from strained raw milk or yogurt).

Natural whey contains living lactobacillus bacteria.
Lactobacillus are very salt tolerant, and they will consume the sugars in the lemons and ginger and produce lactic acid which tastes so good and it preserves vegetables.

Loosely cover the quart and allow to sit on counter at room temperature for 4-5 days to ferment. It might leak some and if it does, just add a little more lemon juice or pure water to it. After fermenting a few days, put a tight, wide mouth lid on it and set in the fridge for another week. It can be eaten then or put in cold storage elsewhere.