What am I doing?

Recipe: Vegetable Ferments

We’re five months into the year 2010, and I’m sure a few of you reading this made New Year’s resolutions. How are you doing with them?

I’ve read different statistics, varying from 90% resolutions gone by the wayside by February, to 90% by the end of the year. Either way, the trend is to not follow through on these commitments.

Why do so many of us ‘fail’ at our resolutions? They are noble aspirations, and we know they’re good for us, right?

Do we really understand how change works in our lives?

I have a passion for change. Having spent many years practicing Buddhism, among other spiritual paths, it’s an ongoing contemplation for me.

One of the central teachings in Buddhism is that change is always happening. Whether slowly or quickly, we are changing, our environment is changing, our thoughts and feelings are changing. Always. This is a given. Nothing stays static.

So, what we are talking about here, is making the change that is already happening, conscious. There is usually some kind of momentum to the patterns of change in our life, an inertia. With a resolution we seek to change the direction of that already existing flow.

Holding this in mind when we approach a resolution can help bring into focus the underpinnings of the resolution - namely - what are we doing? What is the flow that is already occurring? It can be very tempting to skip this acknowledgment. We tend to lean forward to the next thing, give me the next thing, the better thing - get me away from this thing I don’t like. This ill health, this body or mind that doesn’t feel good. I know I’ll feel better if I quit smoking or drinking alcohol, go on a diet, go to the health club, get more sleep, ....

These habits we look to change didn’t appear out of nowhere. And most of them didn’t appear yesterday. They have served us in some way. Perhaps buffered us from some discomfort, helped us get through some difficulty. Bonded us with friends, family and tribe perhaps. Given us an identity.

Some examples might be - ‘There’s was rarely enough food to eat when I was growing up, and now it’s hard not to eat everything on my plate, even when I’m really not hungry anymore. Part of me is afraid there won’t be anything for the next meal.’

‘I have always felt shy and awkward. Having a couple of drinks helps me relax and I can have conversations more easily.’

‘My mom and I loved to make cookies together after school. It was the only time I really felt like I had all her attention. Now eating sweet things makes me feel loved and special.’

‘i just feel like I have to be doing something all the time. Having a cigarette is a good excuse to take a break. I don’t know if I’d take breaks if I didn’t smoke. Besides, having a cigarette with a friend is just a ritual I LOVE.’

‘Working 80 hours a week is killing me, but I’m so afraid I won’t have enough money to retire on!’

Your story may be different. But there’s a story associated with all these habits we’d like to break, whether it’s a story about our past, our present, or our future. And often the stories about our present and future have roots in the past.

In future posts I’ll explore more about making our changes conscious, but for this one I’d like to just rest here, with what is happening before we jump into the future.

What are you doing? Choose one habit you have thoughts about changing. Spend some time exploring that habit. What are you receiving from this activity? How does it serve you? If it doesn’t help you, how did it help you before? Where did it come from? How did it develop?

See if you can spend this time without judgment. You may be surprised to discover things you didn’t know about yourself. And, I hope you’ll find some forgiveness for your humanity. Perhaps some gratitude for how these things we’re ready to let go of have served us.


Vegetable Ferments
Gluten and Dairy-Free, low carb, candida appropriate (in fact, GREAT for candida sufferers! Lots of natural probiotics.)

I'm choosing the veggie ferment recipe for this post because I like the analogy. If we let ourselves sit still for a while, things will develop that may surprise us. If we eat it too soon, well, it just tastes like salty, raw vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2 -3 pounds of shredded or thinly sliced or whole vegetable(s) of choice. Could be green cabbage for sauerkraut; a mix of napa cabbage, green onion, daikon radish, bok choi and red chili for kimchi; green beans and dill; carrots and garlic; or, of course, cucumber for a classic pickle.
• 1 - 2 Tbsp of good quality mineral salt - Celtic or Himalayan sea salt, or Real Salt
• 2 - 3 Tbsp brine from an earlier ferment, if available, (for non cabbage ferments only)

Directions:
For a cabbage based ferment, (or shredded beets or turnips) measure out about 2 tsp salt per pound of vegetable. Scatter the salt on the chopped veggies and toss to distribute. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave it for and hour or two. When you come back the vegetable should have released it's liquid. Massage it a little with your hands to help it along. Stuff it into a quart mason jar, leaving about an inch space above the vegetable, and lay a grape leaf over the top of it if you have one. Liquid should rise above the level of the vegetable. Cap jar tightly.

For non-cabbage or non-shredded veggies, cut to desired size and shape and stuff as tightly as possible into a quart mason jar, leaving about an inch of space to the top of the jar. Make a brine. Measure about 2 tsp of salt into a cup and a half of filtered or spring water and stir. Taste. The brine should taste too salty to be pleasant, but not so salty that you gag. (Thanks, Alyss for this great description of making a brine!) Add salt or water as needed to achieve the desired saltiness. Add brine from earlier ferment to the jar of veggies, if using, and pour the fresh brine over the vegetables, leaving about an inch head space. Lay a grape leaf over the top, if using. Cap it tightly.

Leave jar on your counter or in a cupboard for 3 - 7 days. Burp the jars daily to make sure the pressure doesn't build up too intensely. If the ferment looks very active to you, open it slowly over a sink, or wrapped in a kitchen towel - they can spray pretty hard! Press the vegetables down with a fork or spoon. Taste.

When the pickle tastes tart and sour to your liking, put it in your fridge or cool basement. Enjoy!

This post is a part of Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday!

Into the Kitchen!

Recipe: Coconut yogurt

I love to eat out. The idea of being seated at a clean table, having water poured for me, asked what I would like, asked if everything is okay with the meal... it’s the closest I’ll ever be to queendom. (I can dream, can’t I?)

I used to eat out 3 or 4 times a week. I cooked for a living, and the last thing I felt like doing when I got home was to go into the kitchen. I was single, I was carefree, I was homeless by choice for quite a while, no responsibilities except my personal growth and my job. Which, believe me, were as much as I could handle for an embarrassingly long time. I sometimes long for those days. Not very much, anymore.

Times are different now. We have food sensitivities to deal with that make eating out a bit of an ordeal. And we’ve learned what really good, real food tastes and feels like in our bodies.

Not to mention the cost! We won’t go into that. Too depressing.

Okay, we have to go into that. Not just the cost of eating out, but the cost of eating well. You can eat out inexpensively, as we all know, but the cost to our health is exorbitant. Go here

And eating really well when eating out isn’t always easy, when you start to understand what real food is. And isn’t. Good food preparation that really maximizes it’s value to your health has been forgotten for the most part. And when you have eaten well for some time, it becomes evident. I’ll never forget my husband coming home after a lunch date with a colleague and reporting that I’d ‘ruined him for restaurant food. I looked at my plate and it was all DEAD!’ And the call I received the last time he was gone for a week at a retreat center. ‘I miss your bone broth,’ he moaned.

I still love to go out, don’t get me wrong. And I find we do better at ethnic restaurants that serve traditional foods - often easier to avoid wheat and dairy, and they sometimes use traditional cooking methods. Fermented grains. Long cooked broths. Fermented veggies. Even raw meats.

Truly upscale restaurants can work, too - I can’t wait to try one of the few I’ve heard about that specialize in offal! And the escargot buried in butter and duck confit I had at Carafe Bistro... mmmmmm.

But that’s not what I want to write about. Because we can’t eat out like we used to, although I obviously still dream about it.

We also can’t afford to buy good food, REAL food, at the grocery store that much. Especially prepared foods. Pastured ghee for $10 a pint. Live sauerkraut for $7 per 8 ounce jar. We’re talking cabbage and salt, folks. Kim chi - $10 for 8 ounces. Raw nut butters for $15 a pint. Gluten free bread anywhere from $5 - $8 a loaf. And it’s not even that tasty.

I’m on a mission. It’s utterly obnoxious to some, but apparently inspiring to others. Thank God!

It was inspiring to ME after my last class to hear from the participants - Diana had 3 gallons of fermented veggies set on the counter to bubble. Had a chicken in the crock pot for the better part of a day, and froze the stock. (I had some of the Ethiopian chicken she made out of the meat, oh my god, I didn’t have to die to get to heaven right there....) Is now experimenting with adding an ancient wheat grain to her sourdough to see if she can tolerate it after it’s fermented.

After some tinkering Lois made the best textured gluten free bread she says she’s ever had. She wants to tinker with the flavor a bit, but she’s excited and encouraged. Her family is new to gluten free life, and she had thrown her hands up and laughed at her first attempt to make bread - she described it as a ‘dense cracker loaf that must have weighed 10 pounds’!

Allison and her mom Jody passed the sourdough back and forth between their houses to get yeasts from both their homes in their new pet ‘Stinky’.

I hear these stories and I honestly find myself weeping. I was sharing with a group of women last night, who share my passion for nutrition and health, that I find myself breaking down in grief occasionally when I get a positive response from people about my offerings. I have felt like I was CRAZY for years now, being so out of sync in a culture that doesn’t value nourishment to it’s full depth and breadth. Swimming upstream is really hard to do alone.

I’m only one voice. But I’m not alone. I’ve learned from some amazing people online, on lists, on blogs, in books. And to be able to turn around and pass it along is such a gift.

Oh, I forgot my original point - If you make it yourself, you can really save a bundle. Cut out the middle man - fermented veggies are just veggies, salt and time. Sourdough starter is just flour and water... and time. Coconut yogurt is just coconut milk, and starter... and time. Bone broth - bones, water, heat and.... you guessed it.... time.


Coconut Yogurt
Gluten free, dairy free, salicylate free, low carb friendly

The probiotic cultures can be ordered online, just google the names. Personally I did not like the flavor of the yogurt made from the store bought coconut yogurt, but others have found it tasty. What to say.

I recommend the Native Forest brand coconut milk, as it is the only one I know of that has no BPA in the lining of the cans.

Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk of choice - Native Forest brand recommended
yogurt culture of choice - Custom Probiotics, HMF superpowder, or another coconut yogurt with live cultures.

Directions:
Pour a little coconut milk into a pint sized mason jar. Mix in culture of choice - a smidgeon of the Custom Probiotic, a quarter tsp of the HMF powder, or a couple of Tbsp of the commercial coconut yogurt. Add the rest of the coconut milk. Cap tightly. Shake well.

Keep warm in a yogurt warmer, in an oven with the light or pilot on, in a dehydrator set at about 95 - 100 degrees, or wrapped in a warm heating pad. Shake occasionally. Yogurt will be mild after one day, a little more tart after two.

Alternate method - mix in culture of choice as described above and shake well. Leave at room temperature for 4 days, shaking occasionally. This will get VERY thick - too thick for my liking!

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, by Cheeseslave, and Fight Back Friday by Food Renegade!