Wild Yeast Bread...Yumm!!

Oh. My. God! This is my masterpiece!!! LOL

Well, let me tell you a story….as part of a homeschool experiment, my son and I decided we would try our hand at growing some wild yeast. Apparently you have to capture the little wee beasties….

So here is what we did.

I took a jar of warmish water – to this I added a couple of tablespoons of my own raw honey. Then to create a bit of acid for the yeast to feed off of, I also added some of my own homemade Apple Cider Vinegar (it tastes so good!).

This was all stirred together until the honey was completely diffused throughout the entire water. Lastly I got a piece of rhubarb from the garden, chopped it up and this was also placed into the water (it’s supposed to have some fruit).

The jar was covered with a piece of cheese cloth so it could breathe...

Every day for a week or two – we gently stirred this concoction and watched it carefully. I was checking for any mold growth or something unusual as well. If mold had started to grow, it would kill any wild yeasts….

Finally – there started to form some frothy substance on the top of the jar. I tasted it, and it was wild yeast! This week I was trying to decide what to do with this (it’s not very much) so I poured it into a bowl and made bread with it.

It is quite possibly the best bread I have ever made in my entire life. Seriously. And for the first time in over 2 months, my bread rose as it baked – all from wild yeast I had grown myself in my own kitchen.

Blooming marvelous!

April

Wild Yeast Bread 

The Memory of Water - An Essential Ingredient in Our Food

I just realised I haven't mentioned how my feta cheese turned out...and I wanted to post a photo of it. So far, it was my favourite cheese to make (it is easy!) and after it was in a salty brine for about a week or so, it was gorgeous.

To make any cheese is an art. One foodie area I hope to some day become part of with some fine culinary delights and offerings for my own family. So far our cheeses taste great (at least they do to us!) and I can't say they really compare to shop bought or mass produced cheese.

Just this morning I had some of my chèvre cheese on toast....and once again loved it! Only this time I think I was far less critical of it and just enjoyed the sharpness of the cheese together with the sweetness of the fig jam. 

It was heavenly.

So, back to my feta - this is a cheese that I have always loved. Ever since my youthful days spent roaming the Greek section of Toronto with all the restaurants and great authentic foods. Then having spent quite a bit of time in Greece - enjoying homemade and local foods....it was the exquisite taste of the feta I have long remembered.

And that is the taste I want to reproduce (as much as possible) in my own kitchen, from my own goats. I know the taste of anything has to do with the local environment, the way the animals are fed and treated as well as the technique of the artisan food maker.

BUT....I also know what is discounted here and that is the fundamental element of absolutely everything I do, think, talk about and is essential to all of my work. That is WATER. The water makes the food, starting with the animals and the plant that grows...

Water alters a foods' vibration with whomever is working with it, using it in anyway (even transporting it) and especially in their cooking. Your own personal vibration is transferred to your final cooked product through the specialized memory of water.

A low vibration will give poor food...and even if it tastes great (initially!) the person will feel 'bad' sometime after eating it. However, it will also work to lower your vibration and does us no good whatsoever. 

These things are so important to me and my family and the food we eat - that's why I make everything myself! LOL

By the way...for some great 'vibration' food products check out my growing on-line shop. I am still getting it organized - most of these are 'starter' products (you have to go and make the food yourself LOL) which are based on it's energetic frequency. 

April

Homemade Feta Cheese with Olives, Olive Oil & Oregano

Homemade Chèvre Cheese....Yumm!

It has been an interesting few months experimenting with cheese making – and I am learning/discovering so much about this lovely wonder of nature. Hopefully I will soon get it right every time.

What I am finding is how it is temperature sensitive, environment sensitive, cannot be rushed and responds even to the most subtle changes. Perhaps it’s me as well – the milk even seems different from day to day too.

Of course I am using our own raw goats milk – so depending on what the goats are eating over the course of a few days their milk might be a little more or less thick with fat.

And, most of all I am being shown so much about nature, how the environment interacts with the animals and then how they respond to us and us to them. Their care is so important for our daily food…

I have been doing this (involved with meat, food, farming etc.) a long time and yet I am learning or perhaps broadening my understanding of food production each and every day. But all that aside….

Learning how to make these new foods is the most fun I’ve had in a while. My cheese making is not the success I hope for each and every time I go to make it, but the end result is always edible.

So far my best cheeses have been the feta and this week I made a chevre that is gorgeous (if I do say so myself!). The feta cheese I salted and then brined for about 1 week before it was placed in olive oil.

This time with the chevre I wanted something a little different so I formed it into a mould with my favourite fig and orange jam. It is so lovely! The chevre cheese is slightly sharp, so when paired together with the sweet jam is such a nice combination.

Who knows what I will be doing next….

April

Chevre goat's cheese with Fg and Orange Jam 

Steeped In Herbs....

 I am still on my herb thing here….can’t get enough of them this time of the year – plus I am out in the garden clearing the way for new growth spending quality time with my herbs. Over the years herbs have come to mean something very special to me for my family, my life and healing.

First of all I incorporate them where ever and whenever I can, into nearly every aspect of my cooking, baking, and for our food and drink.  Their healing magical qualities then can infuse throughout my entire mind, body and soul because I am literally steeped in their energy.

Even though I have been walking this path for such a long time I still know I have quite a ways to go. My body is a work in progress as is my mind and spirit. Herbs have been my friend, my guide and my help over these many years and continue to expand their role in my life.

No matter what I am eating or drinking or what stage of food, fast and feast I am in – I find a way to include a variety of herbs with every meal. Tonight we had fresh rosemary bread, onion, nettle and cabbage stir-fry with herbed cous-cous…

Of course when I am fasting – these are the mainstay of my diet – I love the way an infusion of herbs can absorb directly into my system through my stomach wall. Herbs have such an intelligence, they go to work right away on functions and systems – just as nature intended.

If you haven’t yet entrusted your health to something ancient and wise – an energy who knows how to work with your body while creating only peace of mind – perhaps it’s time to befriend a herb!

Start out small – try a chamomile tea (get organic or grow your own), add some extra rosemary, thyme or sage to your meal – take a bath in sea salt and lavender.

Find a few ways to include herbs into your routine – your body will sing and your spirit will soar.  

April

Yarrow

Universal Song - Vibrational Symphony of Herbs

I am loving this extended spring season at the moment (yes, only at the moment!) because it is finally warm enough to get outside into the garden and also the spring harvest keeps on giving up it’s bounty (yumm!).

Today was a garden day, here that means it didn’t rain much – I spent most of it outside on my hands and knees in the dirt (where I am at my best, I might add) weeding, organizing and sorting the herbs for this year.

Not that I have much of any say in it – but I like to pretend I am in control out there. I have long thought they have nightly meetings once I am inside – discussing where and how to grow amongst themselves.

Herbs really do have a mind of their own! And I am thankful for that too – this concept is key to how I approach and work with herbs for my Energy Medicine. They not only heal and uplift our bodies, the powerful affect on our minds is not to be taken lightly.

Our mind is a key element to our well-being, we want this part of our beings to be in direct alignment with all we set out to accomplish. No matter what those goals, desires or dreams might be.

Once ALL of us is on-board (mind, body and soul), there is nothing stopping us from moving things along. A carefully chosen herb or two, either fresh from the garden as food or steeped into a nourishing tea (or herbal coffee) works on those subtle levels of energy and spirit to gently raise our earthly vibrations.

I recently saw an article that caught my eye – 5 Top Ways to Raise Your Vibration or something like that….I was intrigued and gave it a quick read. Sadly, it was in a very well known publication – but the writer did not in the least understand what they were talking about.

They never even mentioned herbs and food was given a quick brush over.

The only way to raise your vibration (cellular frequency) upwards towards higher conscious awareness, is to begin with your body tissues. Our physical self is where it all starts…Change your diet, detox, eat properly, exercise, remove chemical toxins, use the herbal medicine of our planet and drink clean water.

Listen to the herbs…they will sing to you – their vibration is like the symphony of the Universe – and the song is for you.

April

Elemental Forces - Grasping the Nettle

I am still on a bit of a nettle, dandelion, young shoots and leaves diet here since I finished my last fast. I can’t seem to get enough of them and have found ways to include some of these delectable weeds in nearly every dish this week.

For everyone in the house and beyond – even the barn animals are getting lots in their feeds….

Tonight we just finished a meal of bean burgers – with (you guessed it) sautéd nettles and dandelion mixed into the blend. There were delicious! Of course anywhere you might use spinach or greens you can use nettles which taste even better.

Then, because I had fresh nettles this morning and did not want them to wilt I made a big pot of soup for tomorrow as well – Mung Bean Nettle Soup with pumpkins and carrots. It smells and looks lovely and I can’t wait to try it…

We even started off this morning with a jug of fresh Nettle & Dandelion juice – we refer to it here as Butterfly Juice, as opposed to Goose Juice (both of which contain my Energy Medicine Remedy) – some of the names of the juices I make for the market…..

So – right now I am taking stock of how I feel physically, mentally, energetically, after getting nettles and so many fresh greens into me over the past few days – I would have to describe the feeling as grounded yet lifted up.

If that makes any sense?

Or perhaps my body is giving me more of an indication of a rise in some elemental forces deep inside of my tissues and cells. My energy field has changed – I am stronger both inside and out and my outlook is better.

Life marches on.

April