Fermented Foods….Nature’s Gift of Life

Not feeling well? Dodgy tummy? Down with the flu? Sniffles coming on? Feeling moody, hormonal, unbalanced, unnatural, ungrounded, lack of energy, aches and pains….or just plain not with it? Weeelllll…..

Any of these (and perhaps all of these!) just may have a little to do with a complete and utter lack of (enough) living organisms within (your gut) and without (your skin) to see you through proper digestive processes, immune function, detox pathways and all else that needs to go on in our bodies.

So without further ado – here is some more of what I have been up to for these past few months but this time, with an added dimension. I wasn’t satisfied to just have the usual fermented foods….I wanted something with a twist LOL.

A few weeks ago I placed some veggies into one of my trusty demi-johns (it has a wide mouth – perfect to work with vegetables and fruits) along with some of my goat’s whey and water to see what I would get.

To be honest it was a pure experiment in taste. For years I have not really been all that ‘gone’ on some of the fermented foods, (I really love some things, but dislike the taste of others) so I really just wanted something that tasted, well, nice enough to eat.

The vegetables I used were beetroot, carrot, courgette, red onion, garlic and dulse seaweed….these were all grated and then placed in the glass jar along with ¾ cup of goat’s yogurt whey, a little sea salt and water.

That’s it.

I left them covered (sealed with the cap for the demi-john) for more then 2 weeks or so – but I tasted them every couple of days to see how they were progressing. And with each taste, they changed a little bit more – until the day arrived when I was happy with the taste.

Then I scooped them out and placed them into jars for the fridge. Right now the vegetable mix tastes sort of fresh, a tiny bit salty, a little sour/tangy/vinegary and lovely! I hope to have a couple of tablespoons on my plate each day with my meals.

My digestion feels better already! LOL

April

Fermented vegetables - ready for the fridge

Making A Fermented Probiotic Drink....Kvass

Kvass is something I have been coming across for quite a while now….in the world of fermentation that is. I have made it a few times….with varying results – but realized the one thing I was omitting just this past week….

First of all, kvass is a Russian drink made from either bread, grains, honey and whey which are used as a starter and mixed with several fruits. These ingredients will ferment over a few days and become a wonderful healthy drink.

In the past I have made this using fruit such as apples and berries, honey and water – but not the whey. So, this past week I wanted to try my hand at some of this elixir with whey strained from my own goat's yogurt.

The result?

It was better then delicious……the only way I can even begin to describe it is that I could actually feel it working inside of my gut, not to mention the taste! I could sense the life contained within and I knew I was taking in something very special.

This kvass took me far more deeply into myself during these past few days then I have ever been – it’s as if each probiotic boost with the life it brings, opens up new doorways, guides me and leads me further into myself.

But, I digress.....

To make kvass, it couldn’t be simpler! Chop up some apples, slice any thick fruits such as strawberries or raspberries (even frozen), add a couple slices of ginger, top up with water and ½ to 1 cup of whey (I strained whey from my yogurt making) to a large pitcher or jug.

Make sure the fruit is below the surface of the liquid – so weight it down with a tiny bowl or something to keep it from going moldy at the top etc. Then cover the top tightly with a cap of some sort.

Leave this concoction for about 2 days in the kitchen and then taste it….it will be ever so slightly bubbly like a fizzy drink. And sweet with the taste of your fruit as the goodness and sweetness is pulled into the water.

You can start drinking this at any time once you have to taste you want, then pop it into the fridge. Add more fruit to keep it going or compost the fruit and start again once your jug is empty. This is better then any fizzy soda and there is nothing like it as far as natural probiotics go!!

April

Whey To Go! More Adventures in Cheese Making

This week I am making cheese…..I have some cows milk and goat’s milk so I wanted to try my hand at more of my favourite cheese in the world – Feta. It is just the absolute best as far as I am concerned both for it’s taste and versatility.

I find I can use feta in nearly anything – and it improves the texture, taste, and overall appeal of any dish. From salads in the summer (doesn’t feta remind you of summer!) to warm vegetable pie bakes in the winter. Lovely.

So, with this in mind I wanted to make a sizable amount of cheese for us to enjoy in the coming week. (For me here, that means a bowl full LOL) Of course, getting a bowlful of cheese means using several liters of milk…..

And this means lots of whey left over at the end of the process of cheese making…..I never throw out something good – it just gets made into more food and fed to everyone.

To make feta, for those who are interested - it's quite straight forward. Using clean pots, thermometer and utensils - I gently heat the milk (this time 6 liters) to about 86 F. Then add in the starter culture (tiny quantities) - as much as possible I keep the temp around this mark for the next hour or so.

Then, I add a tiny amount of rennet (I use raw milk for cheese so a little goes a long way) stir and let this sit for another 30 to 40 minutes (with some warmth if I can) until curds are starting to form. Once the curds are forming and I get a clean break with a knife - I start cutting, slicing and otherwise gently lifting the curds to encourage more whey to come out.

This might take a little while....then the curds are moved to a muslin cloth to be strained for several hours or overnight (up to 24 hours depending on your tastes). Once out of the cloth the cheese is cut further into cubes, salted (and herbed in my case) and placed in the fridge for a couple of days. 

This entire endeavour produces a large amount of whey......

With this large pot of leftover whey, this week I made a few loaves of sourdough bread – one batch with cinnamon and one plain. I also decided to cook a large pot of basmati rice in whey (it is very tasty) as well as do a little spicy carrot & lentil stew….

Some of the whey went into animal feeds as well. Whey is a great source of protein, I would consider it similar to a tonic and a strengthening food. When it is used in cooking (such as the lentil stew) it adds a tangy flavour like nothing else – as if your stew had melted cheese in it.

Yum!

Finding uses for byproducts of making our food from scratch is part of the fun (and challenge) of using innovation and resourcefulness to it’s maximum. Yet….it’s all been done before!

Enjoy your day out there,

April

Curds and Whey

Homemade Ricotta Cheese - Doing the Impossible?

This past week I have been busy making new things (or at least new to me) such as goat’s cheese, my own vegetarian rennet, different types of sourdough bread. It has been quite a learning curve to say the least.

And I am enjoying every minute of it, as per usual. I wanted to make one tiny comment on my learning/education however….and that is this:

Just because someone says it can’t be done, perhaps this is true for them. But, don’t let someone else’s experience colour, cloud or dictate your own. The things you are meant to learn might be quite different and besides you are your own unique person.

One of the reasons I am saying this is mainly because I want people to explore all possibilities and angles of an issue. That is my general approach, especially when it comes to food and cooking.

The other reason centers around some ancient wisdom carried in our cells – going through these motions (life lessons, learning, trial and error) often enables cellular memories to awaken.

Case in point – this week I was reading up on cheese making and kept finding the same thing being said – you cannot make ricotta cheese using whey from acid cheese making processes.

What this means is you won’t be able to make ricotta cheese from the leftovers of cheese making – when you make a cheese using lemon juice or any other acidic type of regulator to make that cheese.

So, for half a day I looked at my whey sitting in my pot and wondered what to do with it. Knowing in my gut that I still thought I could make some cheese….there are also many other uses for it apparently. Such as making soups, stews, soaking beans, adding to pet foods, washing hair, pouring on roses and so on. It is a useful product. And I did add some to my stew I was making….

Then I threw caution to the wind and went ahead and followed the directions for making ricotta cheese. Heating the whey to 190F while stirring and then cooling slightly before pouring the mixture into the muslin cloth again and allowing it to strain through for a couple hours.

Of course, I only started out with 1 litre of milk at the outset, I had already made some cheese – I was not expecting to get much in the way of ricotta. But I did want to see – what, if anything, would happen.

Right now I am sorry I never took a photo of it! Because I got an even better tasting cheese then the one I made earlier. This one was very much like a ricotta, it was only a little bit, but enough for us all to have a taste – and spread it on some bread.

What was different about this one is that it was so spreadable, slightly richer in taste and when I added some fresh herbs and sea salt – it was glorious.

The lesson this week – never give up trying, always listen to your gut, don’t let anyone else’s good or bad experience interfere with yours and do it anyway. I mean, the worst that would have happened is nothing would have happened and I would have not been able to make ricotta cheese.

Instead – it was the best part of my cheese making day!

April

Our goat Marigold and her kids....