Turnip Ferment as Pickles

I think I have a new favorite!   Turnips! The lowly turnip as it turns out, makes a wonderful pickle ferment.
I bought some lovely turnips at the grocery store and decided to experiment with them.  I cut one of them up and used that in a ground turkey soup which was very good, and the rest I decided to ferment.   I had two
 1 liter  "pickl-it" jars free so I used those.  When I use the liter jars I use slightly less than 1 TBS salt ( that is my standard for quart jars)....like  2 tsp. plus some, salt for the brine for each jar.  The instructions that come with the "Pickl-it Jars" use the metric measurements like  "mls" or grams of salt and I figured that out in TBS and tsps.

I started with 7 med to large turnips and cut then in quarters then peeled the white peeling off but left a little bit of the purple.  I love color and figured that little bit of purple would be pretty.  Yes!   I was right, it did cast a slightly pink color to the liquid that I find very appealing.  I cut each turnip quarter into sticks and packed them into the jars.  I filled the jars with my "Prill" water and then poured that out and added 2 tsp. plus  Real Salt to make brine and poured that back in.  I filled the "air locks" with regular water and set them aside at room temp for 5 days.   There were enough lacto-bacillus on the turnips to start consuming the sugars from the turnip juice.  They bubbled away for 5 days...very active.   After 5 days I removed the "air locks" and put in the little red plugs that come with the jars and set them in the fridge for another week.  The cold slows down  the fermentation.   At the end of second week you can eat them or put all vegetables with brine in clean glass jars and tighten the lids, label and stick downstairs.   Same process I use for sauerkraut.
These are so good!

Pretty Pink!

"Starter Pancakes"; Digestible, Eatable Bread

This post is for those who have a sourdough or natural yeast starter that you are feeding regularly and making sourdough bread once in a while and perhaps your family will not eat whole grain sourdough bread cause it tastes "yucky" or sour.   Here is a solution; fry up pancakes made with the starter, the excess starter as you are feeding it.

 Wheat flour has some serious digestive problems that natural yeasts can mitigate if allowed to soak in a jar with water and yeast for several hours or days.   If you are using sourdough then you or someone you feed is having digestive problems with wheat.   This is a good solution even for those that are gluten intolerant but only if the gluten intolerant person has had some healing in the gut first by leaving all wheat products alone for a time.  Wheat starches are also a problem and the yeasts break them down as well.

1/2 cup sourdough whole grain starter  either wheat or spelt or combination
1  beaten egg
Real salt to taste
maybe a TBS of honey or agave
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Mix all this thoroughly, it will puff up when you add the babking soda then stir down and fry in hot fat such as butter, ghee or coconut oil.
I store them in the fridge and use as "bread" for husbands sandwiches.

The secret to making it not sour is the baking soda.  Soda "sweetens"  the sour.

Sourdough bread can also be made sweeter by using 1/2 tsp baking soda to the dough as you knead it before final rising.  It will puff up some but knead it a little before loaf forming and final rising and baking.

Another "sweetener" is to feed your starter often, at least twice a week or more and keep starter in the fridge. This slows down the action and it still bubbles in the cold but the taste is not quite so sour in the finished bread.

Sauerkraut "Stomp"

For those who live in Utah County, or close by, I will come to your house and teach you and others that you invite, how to make your own healthy, pro-biotic, living food, tasty, inexpensive, life changing and healing SAUERKRAUT!   Making your own sauerkraut is one of the easiest and inexpensive ways to start fermenting your food.  Properly fermented sauerkraut is an alkaline food that is preserved by lactic acid which tastes like vinegar but when consumed, turns alkaline and is very "gut" friendly.   Cabbage juice is very beneficial for healing damaged gut but fermented cabbage juice is a SUPER healer!   There are no starts to buy for this ....if your cabbage is out of your garden or a neighbor's or you buy it organic, then it will have natural lacto-bacillus bacteria on it which will start it naturally.  I will bring some of my own for tastes.

My fee is $30  which will cover gas and traveling.   I would prefer daytime appointments, but an evening would do.    801-765-4645     or    joannesmithseal@gmail.com

 
You will need to provide for yourself, and the others you invite will need to bring....
1. a head of cabbage, organic  white or purple
2. chopping board
3. good knife
4.  a pounding tool like a clean hammer or meat tenderizer
5.  a big plastic bowl
6.  one or two clean wide mouth quart jars or one big 2 quart jar
7.  some pink, Redmond Real Salt
8.  maybe an apron

Adzuki Beans, Amaranth and Walnuts; Great Foods for As and Os

I've been preaching the Blood Type Diet and living it for 6 years now and still discovering new things.   These two foods I have recently been experimenting with and found my body likes them, digests them easily without gas or constipation or discomfort.  Once cooked, I've been combining them as a sweet treat and it is very satisfying.

Cooking Adzuki beans.  They are small and red and cook easily.
1 cup dry Adzuki beans in a quart of water, soak over night.
Cook next day in same water.  Bring to high heat for first few minutes then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour,
with lid.   Add almost 1 tsp. Real Salt and simmer another 1/2 hr or until tender.

Cooking Amaranth. This ancient So. American staple looks like millet (African staple) only smaller.
3/4 cup amaranth in a quart of water
add 2 TBS whole flax seeds  (another beneficial food for As, Os and Bs)
add 2 TBS  chia seeds  ( either beneficial or neutral for all 4 blood types)
Soak over night (soaking neutralizes the phytic acid on all grains, seeds and nuts)
All three of these foods create a "gelatinous" material  when soaked which is highly
nutritious for the gut of As and Os.
Start cooking low and allow to simmer low and slow with lid, for an hour and half or more
as needed.

Walnuts have strong phytic acid on them so they need to be soaked for a day and then laid out to dry before storing.  Those who don't like walnuts find that they taste the bitterness of phytic acid so when this is neutralized by water soaking, the bitter taste is gone. Walnuts are beneficial for all 4 blood types.  

I took a scoop of both the cooked beans and the cooked amaranth and combined them in a bowl and added some melted coconut oil, some honey, some walnuts (previously soaked and dried)  and some cream.  This was so good!   very satisfying  and yet not upsetting to my gut.

I keep both cooked foods in the fridge in separate containers and find that they go with eggs and vegetables in the morning for breakfast or any other food  later for lunch and dinner.  They digest easily for As and Os
which is a boon for mixed marriages.  

Pumpkins Seeds: Soak, Ferment, Salt and Dry

I am revisiting this great snack food for blood type Os that I blogged about a couple years ago.  It's been a long time since I prepared these and I did recently and found them so satisfying!  Pumpkin seeds are listed as a beneficial food for Os.  That means, these seeds help heal the intestinal tract of Os....goes beyond just being a  neutral food.

The process goes like this;   soak 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds in pure water a quart jar full , for 3-4 days with a paper or cloth on the top held by elastic band.  By the 4th day these seeds will stink, I mean STINK!   Not to worry.  It is because the lacto-bacillus on the surface of the seeds are being activated and are growing and consuming some of the sugars in the seeds and on the surface (this is the fermenting process). The soaking also neutralizes the phytic acid on all seeds, nuts and grains which is a good thing too.

 At the end of 4th day, drain the seeds....do not rinse them.  They will be sticky, stinky and slimy but this is good!
Now, lay them out on a plate...a smooth surface and while sticky, sprinkle with Real Salt or other high mineral, sea salt. Let them dry for a day or two.  Or place in an oven just on warm until dry.

When completely dry, store in a covered container and eat.   For a blood type O, the taste is very satisfying.

In my former blog, I went a step further and processed the wet, stinky seeds and made a paste of them and salted the paste and added butter or ghee.   I stopped making this because it was just too much work.  Letting seeds dry with salt on them is much easier and the great taste is still there.   I guess, after drying you could drizzle some liquid coconut oil or ghee on them too.

Kefir and Fermenting Class in Layton

Thank you, Belinda  for hosting this event in your kitchen last night.  It gave me another chance to do what I love to do;  teach other women how to get more nutrition out of food through fermenting and culturing.   It was a wonderful place and event. The guests were all younger than me which I am grateful for because they are the mothers of young  children and it means that these children have a greater chance of growing up strong and healthy.

 Thank you, women and mothers who came last night!  It was wonderful getting to know you and sharing my crazy obsession with you.  Those who bought starters from me, remember,  Call or email me whenever, even if it is several months from now if you think your kefirs, kombucha "scoby"  or natural yeasts are dead.
Call me and I can replace them or suggest ways to" bring them back". Call or email me if you want to talk about the blood type diet or any other health crisis.   The Lord has blessed mankind recently with all kinds of  discoveries and healing products and procedures that are a little on the "fringe" but have amazing powers.  It is worth a conversation to explore some of these things.
 
 It was a fun evening for me and I was happy and awake on the drive back to Orem.

 We live in extraordinary times!

Importance of "Gut Culture"; Keeping our Friendly Bacteria Healthy and Intact

   I think doctors are getting smarter....well, some of them are.  It used to be that doctors didn't much care or even know that giving patients antibiotics meant killing off the patient's "gut culture" as well as the pathogens that were making people sick.  If the pathogen infection was serious enough, then killing them took precedence over saving the friendly microbes that need to be there.  But after the pathogens were killed off, it took a long time for a patient to fully recover and get back to health because it takes a while for the natural, good microbes to get reestablished especially if most if not all have been wiped out.  Often patients with little or no intestinal flora would get sick again and again because their immune systems are compromised.

      "Gut culture" and the immune system are connected, in fact, some of the most important cells of the complex immune system are manufactured by "friendly bacteria"; you damage them, you damage your immune response.    Patients for a long time had to discover this on their own.  They had to learn the hard way that in order to completely recover, they had to....repopulate their own intestinal flora.  I just heard about a most ingenious recovery method to repopulate intestinal microbes from a client who was here to buy kefir grains.  Four months ago she was so sick due to a series of events that started with a pathogen and then antibiotic treatment then birth of a baby, then more illness and finally she had no immunity and no intestinal bacteria left and was on death's door.  Her doctor (sorry I do not have his name or my client's)  suggested a very new and radical treatment called " fecal matter transplant".   She and her family agreed and found a donner; her sister.  She said that she and her sister were a "match" and I do not know if  blood type was part of  that matching process, but the "fecal matter transplant" from her sister worked.  There were enough friendly bacteria in her sister's fecal matter (poo) to restart or repopulate the cleaned out gut of her sister.  She said it worked so fast, within hours she started to feel like herself again.  She was seeking kefir grains from me so she could start making raw milk kefir for herself to keep her "gut culture" well and happy. She said she is not going back to her old, eating habits but is now cooking for herself and family and is very aware that she must eat for her gut culture too.   Her adventure and this amazing procedure impressed upon my mind the importance of keeping the flora or microbes in our gut well.  It sounds like this procedure saved her life, she thinks so but it sounds like a desperate or last resort option.

   There are lots of  pro-biotic supplements and foods on the market...it  has grown into a huge industry.  Commercial/industrial  food companies have come up with a myriad of dairy products that promote pro-biotic cultures and some doctors now recognize the need to repopulate a patient's post antibiotic treatment with pro-biotic supplements.  All of this is good and going in the right direction, but if we ate right to begin with  would we need need all this supplementation?

     The more I learn about fermenting and culturing of foods and the more I am getting to understand just how important our "gut culture" is to our digestion, our physical and mental health and our thinking. Some are calling this bio mass in our intestines our "second brain". I wonder, is it called our  "second brain" because it is an important part of our immune systems, or is it that friendly microbes produce other compounds that affect our thinking and feeling?  Both have been suggested in the material I have read.    I am not listing websites or research studies on this topic, I don't want to take the time,   I'm just discussing this topic because it fascinates me  and of course it validates what I do.  I sell starters for kefir, kombucha, natural yeast breads and yogurts; foods that promote the growth of  and re-population of healthy gut microbes.

      I  know that  cheap, industrialized food so prevalent  in our culture have helped upset the balance of our "gut cultures"  and have made us fat, addicted to the very foods we crave and upset the balance of positive and negative (candida)  microbes in our intestines.  The worst foods are those made with wheat, pasteurized
milk, corn, vegetable oils, refined sugars and anything that is synthetic or artificial and of course all the additives and chemicals that don't even sound like food.   I know that getting away from convenience foods made by the industry is a must and a start, and doing our own food prep and cooking using real food, is essential to regaining health. Those bad, cheap and tasty foods create an acidic condition in our gut that promote pathogen culture, not life saving and healthy gut cultures.

      I  know of some products that will kill pathogens without killing the friendly guys.

Essential Oils;  I use and promote essential oils whether it is Young Living or D'Oterra or Butterfly Express, whatever.  If you have some oils, learn which ones can be taken internally to kill pathogens. They are selective, they will not harm the friendly ones or human tissue and cells.  Oils are expensive. Ask around and shop around.  The first two companies are mlm companies.

 MMS; Miracle Mineral Solution is another pathogen killer that I have used successfully.  It is a mixture of two chemicals that create a gas in water that kills pathogens only. Chlorine dioxide Ion (CLO2)is a gas that is made when a few drops of citric acid or vinegar is mixed with drops sodium chlorite solution.  It is a negatively charged gas suspended in water that is safe for human consumption and kills pathogens on contact.  It does not kill the friendly microbes or human tissue or cells. It tastes nasty and must be started with very tiny doses but it is very effective.  Also can be used to purify large containers of water.

 Bentonite Clay;  There are many brands and deposits of this clay all over the world but the one I am familiar with is the one that goes by the label of Redmond Clay.  The same company that mines and markets Redmond Salt.  This clay deposit is also on their property in Redmond, Utah.   I believe it is a healer.  The company cannot say this, but I am suggesting that it is a healer for intestinal trouble. I've read testimonials of sick people who used this clay mixed with plain water to treat  heartburn, diverticulitis, colitis, roto-virus,
 h-pylori bacteria, celiac and acid reflux.  It is inexpensive and easy to use and it is alkaline.  Pathogens do not survive in an alkaline environment.  We haven't been really sick to try it out but I have used it on wounds with great success.

Virgin Coconut Oil; Dr Bruce Fife claims that virgin coconut oil is a germ killer.  It is one of the reasons we started using it.  His book, "virgin Coconut Oil; Nature's Miracle Medicine" explains why short and medium chain fatty acids kills germs/pathogens without harming human tissue and cells.

Herbs and Tinctures of Herbs: This is a huge topic and I cannot speak of it with any authority or experience but there are many who are knowledgeable of herbs and their many uses.

      In the near future I think it very important for every person and certainly every mother to have one or two tested and trusted ways to treat infections of all kinds especially the infections that threaten the health of the "gut culture".  I know there are many websites out there with far more information and knowledge about these topics than I have and searches are so easy with internet.  Being mindful of "gut culture" health is basic to keeping your health....it's easy;... give up eating the bad stuff and eat the good stuff and when you get a gastrointestinal infection, treat with alternative methods not antibiotics when at all possible.

 Healthy "GUT CULTURE"  is nurturing friendly bacteria which results in a Strong Immune System.                                                     

Lacto-Bacillus Bacteria

     Another idea; Could it be that the idea of another pandemic is something that the enemies of freedom are working on not so much to create "one super bug"( or a concoction of bugs), that could wipe out millions of people world wide ( a goal of theirs through Agenda 21)  but that by "using the bug" to scare people into getting a newly created" vaccine" and that the work of the "new vaccine" would be the real "killer" by compromising the vaccinated's  immune systems in wiping out their "gut cultures" so that whatever bug  could kill them?

    Far fetched, I know, but I am remembering the sickest I have ever been in my life was when I got a "flu" shot a few years ago as offered for free from our school district.  My immune system was shot for months after that.  It has taken me years to rebuild my "gut culture" and thus my immune system.  I will never do that again.  Vaccines, antibiotics and our own poor food choices are the enemies to the health of our "gut culture".
    

Kefir Salad Dressing

      I just discovered another great way to use home made raw milk kefir.  It makes a great salad dressing.
I start with 1/2 cup raw milk kefir and add 2 TBS. mayonnaise   Add to that some generous Real Salt, some garlic powder and any other seasoning that suits your tastes.  I sometimes add  about 1 TBS olive oil and some fresh lime juice but the basic kefir and mayonnaise is very satisfying.   It's also good on cooked or steamed vegetables.

Coconut Oil; Eat and Wear It....10 Crazy Ideas!

     It's been a couple years since we introduced virgin coconut oil into our diets and I must say, we are sick less than we used to be.  Cause and effect?  Could be, I'm sold on the stuff and we have lots in our food storage.
We  (husband) and I are convinced that coconut oil is helping our immune systems keep the pathogens at bay and providing good nourishment in the form of medium and short chain fatty acids and beneficial diatary cholesterol.  We wear it too.  It's a great sunscreen that won't let you burn in the sun but you will tan.  I've been wearing it all summer and I've noticed some irritating skin problems have disappeared ( can't be more specific because I didn't take note at the time)  and my face loves it.

     We saw a video a while ago about a woman doctor whose husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer  who started to get back some of his cognitive abilities when she fed him big spoonfuls of coconut oil,  about 3 a day over many weeks.( Sorry, don't have the link for this)  She just reasoned that an Alzheimer's brain is like a diabetic brain....it isn't taking in glucose, no fuel.  She thought she might try coconut oil because the key-tones that are made from coconut oil can be used by brain cells as fuel also. In the video she showed a test he took that over 3 months improved drastically.  That video was one reason we stared using coconut oil another was a small book by Dr. Bruce Fife, " Virgin Coconut Oil; Natures's Miracle Medicine".

     Crazy thing is,  all the other parts of coconut not good for me.  I've tried a few times to cook with and eat coconut meat, coconut milk and water, coconut sugar and coconut flour.  My body says  NO to all of those but the oil is super good for me.  The Blood Type Diet food lists also said coconut not good for Os and so I stayed away, but the oil is good for me.  Same with Olives.  Can't eat the black or green olives, but the oil is good for me.  go figure!

Idea 1;   Almond butter;   Can't eat peanut butter so use almond butter but so boring without some kind of flavoring.  I get fresh ground almond butter from HF store.  To 1 cup at a time, I mix 2 TBS  virgin coconut oil, some Real Salt and about 2 tsps. molasses.   So Good!   eat that with some sliced apples, carrots or celery.  Great car traveling food.

Idea 2;    Morning eggs cooked in coconut oil.   Most mornings I have some chopped vegetables fried up with 1 or 2 eggs cooked in coconut oil, the refined kind with no coconut flavor.   I must have high protein breakfast so no carbs for me.

Idea 3;   Yams with coconut oil, the unrefined kind that tastes and smells like coconut.  Several ways I do this cause we don't eat white potatoes any more.....to hard to digest all that starch for Os and Bs.  We discovered that yams, the orange sweet potato was much easier to digest.  

Idea 4;   Drizzle melted coconut oil on dried kale.  That's right, Kale.  I air dry a bunch of kale and then stack the dried leaves on a plate and drizzle melted coconut oil over the leaves and then lightly salt them.  If hot day, I put plate in the fridge and let them harden and then ut in a zip lock bag.  Surprisingly, kale is the most chewable and delicious of all the leafy greens to do this with.  Great snack!

Idea 5;  Melted coconut butter on hot morning oatmeal.  My husband eats hot cooked oatmeal every day and his choice of fat is coconut oil.  I soak his oatmeal overnight with plain water which he doesn't need to drain off in the morning.   I sometimes put in some flaxseed meal or chia seeds with the oatmeal to soak also.
After he cooks it, he flavors it with some sea salt, honey, coconut oil and some raw milk with the cream.  Raisins and walnuts are good with this breakfast too.

 Idea 6;  One of our favorite snacks is a mixture of nuts and dried fruit with coconut oil and sea salt.  My usual mix goes like this:  some toasted, broken almond pieces (buy in bulk section of HFS), some soaked and dried walnut pieces, a few toasted macadamia nuts, some pecan pieces and for dried fruit I add some raisins, crasins, my own dried black cherries, dried apple peices and dried blueberries (from Costco).  My husband likes an even mixture of nuts and fruit....if too many nuts he won't eat.  Mix all  in a large bowl  with 1/4 -1/3 cup coconut oil and sprinkled with Real Salt.   It's very satisfying and energy producing.  I mix up large batches of it and store in smaller plastic containers in the basement.  That way they are "grab'n go".

Idea 7;  Another in-between meal pic-me-up is a slice of my own natural yeast whole spelt bread with some honey spread first....like that creamed honey  then top off with thick layer of coconut oil.  So good!   follow with a cold glass of raw milk kefir or just raw milk!

Idea 8;  Whole grain muffins with coconut oil as the fat.
             Wet Stuff                                                      Dry  Stuff
             2 eggs                                                           1/3 cup flaxseed meal
             1/3 cup or 5 TBS  coconut oil, melted            2/3 cup spelt flour
             1/2 cup kefir or yogurt or whey or milk          1/3 cup  oat flour
             1/2 cup honey or agave nectar                       1/3  cup millet flour
             1/2 cup natural yeast starter                           1/3 cup brn rice flour
                                                                                  3/4 tsp.  sea salt
                                                                                  1/2  tsp.  baking soda
                                                  optional;  hand full raisins and walnuts
              Mix everything except the baking soda together the night before you bake these.  The grain flours must soak for 8 hours or more to neutralize the phytic acid on them and the natural yeast need to work on the starches and the gluten in the spelt flour. Right before baking at 350, add the baking powder...it will make everything puff up a bit, then fill your muffin paper cups and bake  15-20 minutes.  When you take them out of the oven, spread more coconut oil on the hot tops.


 

Idea 9;  Coconut oil in morning Smoothie.   Coconut oil will go hard below 76 degrees and everything I take out of fridge is cold, so the blender just reduces it to tiny globules which adds a certain texture to your smoothie.   We use homemade kefir to start, say 2 cups in the blender, then 1 cup pineapple juice and about a cup of fresh pineapple then a hand full of spinach.  and a TBS of coconut oil. Other healthy things can go in there also; like ocatea essential oil, some Sun Warrior Supergreens powder, some BLM Powder ( bones, ligaments and muscle)  from Young Living and other fruits...like banana really ripe, fresh peach maybe some blueberries and if not sweet enough for hubby, a shake of stevia.


Idea 10;   Chocolate Treat;   I mix equal parts of soft virgin coconut oil and cocoa powder then add sweetening.  I have used stevia and it is very good but other sweeteners work too.  I sometimes put in some nuts or dried fruit.  I mix this in little containers and eat it with a little spoon.  Wow! it's good.

Kefir and Fermenting Class

This is kinda late, but I am conducting a kefir class at Real Foods Market this Saturday, Sept. 29 at 1:00.  Real Foods Market is at 800 North 400 West her in Orem, Utah.   There is a $10 fee for the class but you will get lots of tastes of cultured raw milk dairy foods and natural yeast bread and some lacto-fermented vegetables.   I will be selling some starters as well.  If you are a Utah County resident, don't miss this chance to find out about kefir and fermented foods.

Salsa Recipe for Canning and later Fermenting

      I have had this recipe for many years...wish I could remember who I got it from. I think from a Relief Society sister back in Southfield Ward in Michican in the 70s. It was a favorite with my children growing up and still works for me now. I don't can as much as I used too. What I like to do now is take a pint of last year's salsa and open it and add fresh whey with living lactobacillus in it, and let it ferment for 2-3 days before eating it. Whey is the watery, slightly yellow liquid you get when raw milk, or kefir or yogurt separates. Pasteurized milk will not produce whey with living lactobacillus because the heat kills them. Only cultured pasteurized milk will separate and produce a living whey, or raw milk or kefir. When I introduce whey into my bottled, or pasteurized salsa, the lactobacillus will start to consume the sugars in the salsa and then produce lactic acid which is so delicious and satisfying and nutritious. It adds a little "punch" to the salsa that most people find delightful. This can also be done with fresh salsa before cooking.

The image is fresh salsa with cilantro.  Cilantro is an option but it cooks to nothing.

 Blender or Processor

 Enough peeled tomatoes to get 14 cups puree ( tomatoes blanched in boiling water 2-3 min. skins come off)
1 cup chopped peeled tomatoes for texture
 2 TBS Real Salt (sea salt)
2 tsp flaked or crushed red pepper or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
 3-4 cloves fresh garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
 1/3 cup vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
 2 chopped, cored green bell pepper
 2 chopped onions

      Combine all ingredients and simmer cook about 2 1/2 hours. Prepare 6-7 pint jars and lids. I put jars in hot water and boil first then simmer. Lids are in separate small pan and also boil then simmer. Dumping out very hot water from each jar, fill with hot salsa to within 1 inch of top, wipe rim of jar, place hot lid and screw down tight. I use gloves with rubber surface doing this. Fill all jars, tighten lids, put place in quiet, cool place and wait for the popping sounds. That means the seal is in place and when completely cool, label and put in storage.

Kefir and Fermenting Class in Logan, Utah

I will be in Logan, Utah next week...Thursday, Aug. 23 at 5:30   at the Logan House 136 West 100 North, Logan, Utah.  This is a free event and I am the guest speaker/presenter.  Some of the people coming to this even will bring food they have successfully fermented.  This is a good time of the year to learn how to ferment or naturally "pickle" vegetables without heat.  I will be talking about and selling milk kefir grains and other starters like natural yeast for bread and "scoby's" for kombucha.  I will also bring some foods that I like to ferment.  I will demonstrate my dairy strainer cloth which separates casein from whey efficiently, and demonstrate how to work kefir grains to get a "super food" from milk.  It should be a great even with audience participation and plenty of samples and tasting.  The person organizing this even is Karen Batty  and you can email her for further information.   karenbatty@comcast.net

Barley Water; My Version

I've been reading up on the health benefits of barley water which are many and I will list some of those at end of blog.  In Europe it is very common and comes with lots of different fruity and spicy flavors and even as a soda.  My interest was further piqued by D&C section 89 (Word of Wisdom section)  verse 17 ...."barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.".  Which started me thinking about mild drinks.   I've always understood that phrase to mean slightly fermented drinks and knowing that some fermented drinks like the kombucha I  make and my raw milk kefir are super foods for me,  I wondered if a mild barley drink  slightly fermented would also be good.  Thus began my experimenting.

  I looked at all the recipes for barley water online  and there's not much to it, just boil some barley, strain it out and throw out the barley or eat it, cool down the water, sweeten it or flavor it and drink.   I noticed that the recipes called for pearled barley which is the most common in stores which is barley without hulls.  I wanted to experiment with hulled barley and the only place I could find that was the bulk section of my local health food store.  I figured that with the hulls still on, there might be more minerals and the barley might sprout.   Sprouting barley was the first stage of beer making in the Old World, and the  water barley sprouted in was known as 'worts' in the beer making industry.  The beer makers would drink this 'worts' when they felt themselves coming down sick with something and take it home to their families to ward off illness.  Apparently it worked well enough that it was a common practice among beer makers as a remedy to stay well.
What I wanted to do was create a 'worts' water first by allowing the grain to sprout in water ( but not cook this water), then boil the sprouted barley in new water  to get the copper and other minerals out of it that are so beneficial and finally combine the two waters for my drink.

My recipe:
1 ounce (2 TBS) hulled barley  (not pearled, but with hulls)
1 quart chlorine-free water
Combine, cover with paper or cloth and let sit room temp for 3-4 days.   Watch for bubbles the 2nd or 3rd day....this is good it means that it is sprouting and coming alive.
After 3 even 4 days, strain off the water and reserve it with a lid in the fridge.
Add the sprouted barley to a pot and add another quart of water and bring to a boil then reduce heat and cook for 40 -45 minutes.   Allow to cool down and strain out the barley.  Eat it or throw it out.
The boiled water should be a pretty pink color, for all the copper that has been drawn out of the barley.  While water is still warm you can sweeten it with some honey,  like 1/4 or 1/3 cup.   When cooled, add to the reserved barley water in a 1/2 gallon container if you have one.  The taste with or without the honey is very mild and pleasant.  It satisfies thirst on hot days.   My husband enjoys this and so do I.

Health benefits for  Barley Water
1.  Highly beneficial bulk or insoluble fiber so great for intestines and food support for friendly bacteria.
2.  Barley is high in niacin, selenium, calcium and magnesium, phosphorus, copper (great for arthritis sufferers), zinc, all the B vitamins and potassium.
3  Barley and barley water is used to treat bowel problems, lower cholesterol, kidney stones,  asthma and lung disorders and arthritis.  

Note;   I have tried eating the sprouted barley and it still doesn't agree with my system.  It makes me gas up. Barley is an AVOID for me on the blood type food lists, and I thought it would change when sprouted, because some other AVOIDs do change, but this one still gives me trouble so I don't eat it.  My neighbors chickens like it.

Note 2: A reader asked me to clarify the difference between water that soaks a grain so it sprouts and fermentation.  After giving that some thought and research here's what I found;  there is a difference; fermentation is where you introduce a bacteria or fungus culture to a food and it consumes the sugars in the food and produces bio-enzymes and some alcohol.  Sometimes the bacteria or fungus is all ready on the food mostly lactobacillus, ( such as grapes, plums and cabbage) and when the juices are released, the bacteria go to work and fermentation is the result.  I did not introduce a bacteria or fungus to the barley water soak so technically I cannot call that first soak a "fermentation"  unless, the lactobacillus was on the barley with it's hulls.  But it doesn't taste fermented even after 4 day soak.  The benefit is that the sprouting process releases some bio-nutrition into the water during the process but I don't think fermentation is taking place I could be wrong...perhaps with a longer soak beyond 4 days fermentation could start, but I haven't let it go that long.   Perhaps another experiment.  

Take this Drought Seriously!

We have been watching all summer with mounting concern the news reports and maps of many different sources about this summer's extreme temperatures and the drought that has much of our county in it's grips.  I don't have my own pictures of drought, as my garden gets watered every night with city water and it is struggling here in Utah County because of the heat, but those folks who live on farms and ranches in the rest of the country are seeing some real damage to their crops and livestock because of lack of rain.  This drought of 2012 is serious and food is going to get expensive and scarce.
I am a believer in being prepared.  So, if you think that this drought won't concern you, please think again and  be warned and then do something.   Stock up now on food for the short term and long term while you can and can afford it.  It will within the next few months get very pricey.

Ranchers are sending their animals to slaughter now, those that are still alive and marketable because they cannot continue to wait for better water and feed.   They can't just watch their animals die and  with them their livelihood..  So, for the short term meat prices should be low and meat plentiful, so stock up and  fill that freezer if you can.  After that, meat will become scarce and expensive.  Dairies are having a hard time too with little water and expensive feed because pasture has dried up.   A lot of dairies will have to send their herds to slaughter too.  This will be very sad for those of us who love and live for raw milk.  The raw milk farmers struggle against overwhelming government regulations as it is and are so ready to shut them down if a microbe count gets a little too high and that is happening with this extreme heat even with the most scrupulous clean dairies.  I don't know what to do about stocking up on  raw milk...there's only so much freezer space.
 
Stock up on grains and legumes (not soy!) the government won't have any for us as they will have to sell whatever comes in to other countries like China. (after all, China has a huge claim on America because of  all the debts they have purchased off us).  Last year, our government sold off our wheat reserves and this year, America won't be producing enough food for our neighbors let alone American Citizens. Take a look at any number of online sources of news and get pictures of this, the second Great American Drought.  It's real and it's going to get worse and it will effect every citizen.  I urge my family and my readers to please get some food stored now.  Take this drought seriously!

Salt Lake City gets a Real Foods Market: Raw Milk!

Salt Lake City is so fortunate to soon have a source of  REAL MILK= RAW MILK!   I'm not sure of the opening date, but this is long overdue.   As far as I know, there is no commercial source for raw milk in Salt Lake City.  Real Foods Market is a pioneer retailer in that they bend over backwards to supply truly raw, nutritious milk for real people.   Raw milk from healthy, pasture-fed jersey cows is a gift from God, and it's coming to Salt Lake City,   My friend Laura Bradford who is a manager at the Orem, Real Foods Market, is leaving Utah County to go to the new store on Fort Union Blvd and manage there.   Many of us will miss her here in Utah County.  Please go to the Real Foods Market website to get opening time and address.

Why do I rave about raw milk?    Well, it is highly nutritious....one of those foods that is "nutrient dense"  and I believe it has helped strengthen my bones!   10 years ago when I knew that milk was bad for me ( that is, pasteurized milk products)  I dropped it from my diet and had been off it for many years.  I could not digest the milk sugar, lactose.   A condition common to most adults esp.  As and Os. (see a previous blog)  I was then practicing the mediteranian, vegetarian diet.....sort of.   I had a bone density test back then as suggested  by my doctor and considering my age, 56, had it done.  The doctor was concerned and said that my bones were on the low end of the scale, with bone loss which put me in the beginning stages of osteoporosis.  He wrote out a perscription  for a drug that would improve the condition and told me to exercise  more.  I did not get that perscription filled but did the exercise and  added calcium, magnesium supplements to my diet.

 10 years later, during the LDS Holistic Living Conference in June in which I was one of the speakers, I got another bone density test from a Chiropracter (HealthQuest Chiropractic of Murray) who had a booth in the hallway of the school where the conference was.  He had an electronic device that can read the density of your bones from your hand. My average bone mineral density was recorded as 61.37  and my T score was 1.08.   Note from this paper says that a T score number between -1 and +1 is in the normal range.  Mine was 1.08 slightly higher than normal!    My bones came back!   This was wonderful news to me.  

Raw Milk kefir which I have been making and consuming for almost 3 years now, has had something to do with my bone recovery, I believe.  Within that decade I also finished  menopause, started practicing the Blood Type Diet for Os ( definitely not vegetarian), added bio-identical hormones, got married again and  started using fermented products, the best of which is raw milk kefir.   I say, a woman CAN reverse bone loss.   I also say, raw milk is a gift from God.     

Natural Yeast Spelt Bread; Update

      I met Caleb Warnock a couple months ago at Vita Health food store in Bountiful.   It was a chapter meeting of the Salt Lake Weston A. Price Foundation.  Caleb was the guest speaker.  He is an urban farmer in Alpine, Utah and has written a book called "The Forgotten Skills of Self-Sufficiency".  He is from pioneer stock and remembers both set of grandparents doing "serious" gardening and canning.  He grew up taking for granted the bounty preserved by his grandparents not realizing that with his parents generation, those skills would soon be forgotten as life-style changes took root in my generation.   He talked about farming and seed preserving and canning and I was most interested.  Fermenting is part of those kinds of skills that I am trying to cultivate and learn myself.
     My attention really picked up when he asked how many of us made some sort of sourdough bread.  Half the attendees raised hands, me included.  Then he asked if our bread was sour and again most of nodded , yes.  He then boldly declared that he has a natural yeast that does not make bread taste sour.  I was immediately interested.   My husband will not eat my sourdough bread....he says he will when he has to and there is nothing else.  I was excited because if I could master the art of a natural rising bread without the sour taste, I would have a winner in my household.

     I have successfully made a  "sourdough" bread with his yeast that has very little sour taste and my husband will eat it!   This bread is also moister and has great texture. The benefits of natural yeast bread are; 1. with a long soak which is in the raising time, the phytic acid  is neutralized.  Phytic acid is natural to all seeds, nuts and grains....it is a plant defense that inhibits animals from eating the seeds.  When eating grains,nuts and seeds we need to work around this natural defense because when phytic acid is consumed, it binds the minerals in the seeds so that we cannot access them.  2.  the long raising helps to start the break-down process of the starches of the grain, from complex carbohydrates into simple carbohydrates or sugars which is easier for our systems to digest....takes the "pressure" off our pancreas, 3.  the natural yeasts need time to help deconstruct the starches and the proteins or lectins like gluten, again making grain  more digestible.  By weakening the gluten, we get an easier protein to digest but a more delicate structure to the bread.  Natural yeast will raise bread but not to the standard "fluffiness" of the bread industry with it's synthetic yeasts which came to market in 1984 says Caleb Warnock.  Quick rise, synthetic yeasts do none of the work in bread making that natural yeast does.

So, if you are interested also in his "natural yeast"  email him and ask for some grains.  There will be a fee.
calebwarnock@yahoo.com

     Mr. Warnock  claims that a lot of the  gastrointestinal problems people are having today from bread, is because of the switch from natural yeast to synthetic.  I would add  that wheat has been  hybridized  many times within the last 70 years and that hybridization increased the crop yields and increased the proteins, which made everyone happy especially 3rd world countries.  However, those super proteins in wheat are not as easily digested as the proteins or lectins from the heritage or ancient wheats, like spelt and kamut and others.  Synthetic yeast in commercial and home baked bread, combined with  super lectins that can't be digested and we have some serious "gut" and health problems in our population with a very basic food.  Also add  over-use of wheat starch by the food industry in many common prepared foods and you can begin to appreciate why the "staff of life"  has become a poison for many, many people

Allow 8 hours total raising time.

3 1/2 -4 cups  whole spelt flour, or whole wheat or sprouted spelt or wheat flour.
1 cup chlorine free water (chlorine kills microbes even friendly ones)
1 1/2 tsp. Real Salt or other high mineral salt
1 TBS  ghee (clarified butter or butter or coconut oil or olive oil)
1 TBS  honey or agave nectar  or other sweetener
1 cup natural yeast starter

     The most important thing I learned from Caleb's new baking book is....to feed the starter often; twice a week minimum!   This is the mistake I made with my sourdough starter and many other newbies make.  I would feed my starter maybe once every 2 weeks and I didn't pour off the "black water" gathered at the top of the starter, I mixed it in.  He says don't do that, ( makes it too sour).  He suggests getting into the habit of  feeding your starter twice a week a whole month before even trying to bake bread.  I have selected Wed and Sat. to feed my starter.  The excess dough this produces can be frozen, thrown away or made into quick pancakes or muffins but not bread....not yet....not until the starter is sufficiently light and bubbly.  I keep my starter in fridge between feedings and when it is healthy, it only sits on my counter a couple hours after feeding and then it goes into fridge very bubbly to cool down and slow down.  Before baking bread, take starter out of cold storage and warm it up and feed it  and let it get active again in a couple hours then measure  out 1 cup for bread.

Baking Day  (or night before and let raise during sleep)

  In the morning, measure out flour and water, salt, honey, and fat and stir down starter before measuring out 1 cup of it and mix all together.  Cover with a damp towel and set in a warm out-of-the-way place for 6 hours.  This is important time for natural yeast to do it's work. If yeast is healthy and very alive, the dough will have doubled.  Clear, clean and wet a working surface.  Yes, WET!  another important thing I learned from Caleb's book.....use water not flour to work or knead the dough.  Wet your hands and keep small bowl of water close.  It's messy, but the moist bread results is well worth changing habits.  Work or knead bread for 8-10 minutes.  Let it rest for 15-20 minutes while you wash hands and grease the pans for baking. My recipe will make one large loaf but I make 4 small ones.  I do not eat very much bread so I can freeze 3 and keep one out.   Cut the dough with a serrated knife if making 2, 3, or 4 loaves.   Shape bread and place in greased pans.  Pat a little more water or spray water on the top and allow to raise another 2 hours.
Bake at 350 degrees   25  minutes for little loaves maybe 40-50 minutes for 1 large.   Mr. Warnock suggests inserting food thermometer into loaf to the bottom to get a reading of at least 180 degrees when done or a hollow sound when thumped.  Allow bread to cool completely before slicing.  The steam will continue cooking the inside of bread.


   

Kefir; the Diffierence between Pasteurized Milk Kefirs and Raw Milk Kefirs

This is one of the most common questions I got at the Lds Holistic Living Conference last Saturday, June the 23rd.   I sell both kinds of kefir grains or pearls.  The raw milk kefirs I sell in jars have about a tablespoon of the grains/pearls in milk and they are frozen.  These you can see when you do your first batch of kefir with them.  I originally got these from a woman from Heber, Utah  about 3 years ago.  She didn't have the geneology of their origins, but they worked well for me and the raw milk I was able to buy at Real Foods Market here in Orem.   She no longer is active in producing them or selling them.
The pasteurized milk kefirs I got from a friend (Donna, who was my assistant that day)  who only has access to pasteurized milk; and she got hers from a friend and they have been working well for her in turning even pasteurized milk into a health food.  However, the grains are very small and haven't developed the clumps that the raw milk kefirs do.  But,  with continued use they do get bigger.  If you bought one of the pasteurized kefirs, be careful with your first batch and gently jiggle the strainer to separate the tiny grains from the kefir.  That last ounce of  lumpy but soft, clotted milk in the bottom of your strainer will have the small grains in it and carefully scoop them out and plop them back into another quart of milk or place them back into small jar and fill with milk and refrigerate them.  Over time, they will get bigger.  Use a fine mesh, stainless steel strainer, if holes in your strainer are too big you will loose all the grains. It is not at all harmful to eat the grains but you want to collect them to keep the process going.

It is KEFIR if after 18 to 24 hours sitting at room temp. the milk will "gell" and pull away from the side of the jar when tilted and the kefir does not taste sweet but slightly sour because the microbes or grains have consumed most of the milk sugar or lactose.   You will have successfully turned pasteurized milk ( a so so product) into a super, pro-biotic food!

Remember, when you leave on vacation for longer than 5 days, just put kefir grains in a small amount of milk and freeze them.  Thaw and start over when you return.

Now, if your grains do not do the job for you, please contact me and I will help you solve the problem or replace the grains.  Contact me at email address in my heading. Thanks to all who bought products from me and to those who were in my classes. I had such fun! It is a lot of work, but it was way fun meeting so many wonderful people.

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.

LDS Holistic Living Conference

This is an exciting event. I participated last year and was very impressed with the organization and quality of classes/speakers there. I got to meet most of them the night before at a "speakers dinner". The only trouble was, I presented 3 classes and didn't have time to participate in the other classes. I also had a booth in the vendors area and that kept me very busy as well. If you just come for the vendors, it would be well worth your time.

This year I am happy to be one of the speakers again, but I'm only doing 2 classes and I'm also renting a booth. Go the website and check out the classes and speakers and see if this is something that you want to take advantage of. I will need an assistant to help me with the booth. If anyone out there would like to do this with me please email me at... joannesmithseal@gmail.com

www.ldsholisticliving.com

Look for this conference on facebook and twitter

Apple Cider Vinegar; Homemade

Wow! was this easy and fun! I have almost a half gallon of apple cider vinegar that I started fermenting last summer. You HAVE to start with fresh pressed apple cider. The Lactobacillus and other wild yeasts and bacteria are on and in the fresh orchard apples. The minute you boil or pasteurize juice, you kill the friendly bacteria. Now, I'm not saying that it is impossible to make your own apple cider vinegar from pasteurized apple juice....I guess you could if you introduce the right culture mix into that juice and keep it warm and covered for several months...maybe it could work. Maybe Kombucha culture?

The first weekend of November 2010, a group of neighbors in my ward, gathered at a property that had an apple press, a new one. Each of us brought several bushels of apples that we bought or collected and picked wherever we could. We brought gallon jugs and many containers. We were taught the procedure and then we started. The next 4 hours we worked very hard, rotating the work stations until all 160 bushels were juiced. I brought home 8 gallons of juice and immediately stored 5 in my freezer and cooked and bottled the other 3 gallons. Summer of 2011 I cleaned out my freezer and wanted to use the space that the juice was taking up. I decided to try fermenting the rest of the apple juice. I let all 5 gallons defrost which didn't take long being in July. I then divided up the juice between some 1/2 gallon jars and quart jars. I did an online search how to do this and came up with some processes and time lines.

The directions were to simply cover the jars with towels or paper filters so air could circulate and leave the jars in a dark, warm place free from overt interference and direct sunlight for 6 months. I covered the jars and put them in my back room our of the way. A few days later, I smelled mold, the bad smell of mold really strong. I checked the jars and sure enough 3 of them had developed white mold on the top. I scooped that mold off and read directions again to see what to do when bad mold developed. I couldn't find anything about it.

I decided to add kombucha starter to the cider. I figured that the good bacteria would quickly take over and then start to make a "scooby" as a covering to keep the "bad guys" out. That is what happens in Kombucha (see much older blog) so I thought it might work in cider. I was fortunate...it did work. Each jar developed a "scooby or mushroom cap" and over the months it grew thicker and thicker as liquid shrank. They never did develop mold again. The back room instead of smelling of mold, started to smell of vinegar...a much better smell.

Right after Christmas, I harvested the the remaining juice out of all the jars. The gelatinous "scoobys" were very thick and as I couldn't think of anything useful for
those, I threw them away. I filtered the vinegar that was left; and it sure did taste like vinegar, and then I put all the vinegar into a 1/2 gallon jar and stuck it in the back of my fridge. I have been using some of it, but I will tighten it's cap and put it downstairs with other storage items. Very satisfying!

Kefir Class; the Art of Culturing Milk.

I am giving another Kefir class at Real Foods Market in Orem, Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1 pm. Real Foods Market is where I buy raw milk, free range eggs, free range, grass beef, Real Salt and Redmond Clay and a whole bunch of other wonderful, healthy products and produce. It can be found on 800 N. and about 450 West on the north side of 800 N. in Orem. It's a great place to get "Real Food". The cost of the class is $10 but I give out so many tastes of everything and then I sell kefir starters for another $10. I will have starters for other fermented products as well. If you are close, and interested in starting some kind of culturing for your health, this class will be very beneficial for you. Joanne Seal "Mrs. Seal's Kitchen Cultures".

Sprouts!

New year and new projects; one of them is sprouting. Wow! What have I been missing? A bunch I think. My favorites? fenugreek, sunflower, spelt and lentils. In the picture are lentil and spelt sprouts. I sprouted hulled sunflower seeds only once and didn't like the result so I purchase those now at my local health food store, when I can get them. They have a great flavor and are great in salads but the seeds get slimmy and the sprouts are all crooked and messy. The ones I buy in health food store are straight stemmed and about 3 to 5 inches tall and two cute green leaves. Mine didn't look like that at all. There must be a trick to get them to grow tall towards light and then harvest them without the messy, slimy seeds. I haven't got the process down yet, but I'll work on it.

Fenugreek bulb or plant is on my food list for highly beneficial foods for blood type Os but I haven't eaten those. I sprout and eat the seeds and I love them! They are the easiest to sprout and taste so good to me. They produce a gel that is very good for my gut and they taste really good. Lentils on the other hand, are on my AVOID list for Os but I sprouted them anyway to experiment and ate them and they don't seem to give me trouble. But cooking lentils up in a soup used to give me much bowel disturbance and gas! not good. The sprouting process must neutralize the lectins (abundant and diverse proteins in food) that otherwise give me trouble.

I use wide mouth jars with sprouting lids to sprout. It's so simple. You just soak about an ounce or two of seeds for 2 days in pure water (I use high ph water I harvest twice a day with my "precious prills)(see older blog) then pour off the water and drink it(the soaking water from wheat is so sweet and good) then rotate bottle and let the seeds stick to side of bottle and stay warm in your kitchen with air circulating through the mesh or sprouting lid. Rinse and pour off water in the am and again in pm every day until they are tender to eat and you can see little white tails on them. Put a regular lid on them and store in fridge and eat til they are gone.

I use spelt sprouts in my morning kefir "green smoothie". The others I eat with breakfast eggs, salads and soups. Really a nutrition boost. I believe this is why all that wheat is in our food storage. NOT to grind and make into bread (although if that flour is soaked first,then fermented, it wouldn't be too bad once in a while for Os). Wheat and spelt and other grass type grain is to sprout and provide vitamins and enzymes and fresh "greens" that a high carbohydrate diet, like a food storage diet, couldn't otherwise provide. Hoorah! for sprouts!