A Simple Way to Make Apple Cider Vinegar

I am always looking for ways to cut our spending with food without giving up the whole, real, organic food that I find to be extremely important for maintaining healthy, strong bodies. In my search for ways to reduce our spending I'm finding that many of the products I have been purchasing are actually very easy to make and are often made with items that I'd normally throw away.

Insert apple cider vinegar here.

I always have cider vinegar in my pantry. I normally purchase an organic, unfiltered one that isn't necessarily cheap for the pocket book, but it's one of those items that has a variety of uses and I've found it essential to have on hand at all times.

I'm fairly certain that a couple of apples pies are going to grace more than one households table this week. So this seemed like a good time to share this "recipe". Organic apples are essential here. You don't want any unwanted pesticide residue in your vinegar.

Fresh Hummus

Hummus is one of the world's oldest foods, with evidence suggesting use of chickpeas by ancient Egyptians 7,000 years ago and active cultivation in the Mediterranean basin beginning around 5,000 years ago. ~ eHow

If you aren't a fan of mayonnaise or some of the other typical sandwich toppings, you may consider slathering on a delicious helping of hummus on your next sandwich. It's one my husband's favorite toppings for the egg sandwich he takes to work every morning. Garbanzo beans, the primary ingredients in hummus, are excellent for maintaining a healthy body. You can easily make a large batch of hummus and enjoy it with a variety of dishes throughout your week, plus it stores wonderfully. We've kept hummus in the fridge for several weeks with no problems. 

I checked out what The World's Healthiest Foods website had to say on hummus. Here is just a small excerpt:

"Garbanzos (also called chickpeas) are a good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other beans. In addition to lowering cholesterol, garbanzos' high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia. When combined with whole grains such as rice, garbanzos provide virtually fat-free high quality protein. But this is far from all garbanzos have to offer. Garbanzos are an excellent source of the trace mineral, molybdenum, an integral component of the enzyme sulfite oxidase, which is responsible for detoxifying sulfites. Sulfites are a type of preservative commonly added to prepared foods like delicatessen salads and salad bars. Persons who are sensitive to sulfites in these foods may experience rapid heartbeat, headache or disorientation if sulfites are unwittingly consumed. If you have ever reacted to sulfites, it may be because your molybdenum stores are insufficient to detoxify them." 

What You'll Need: for about 2 cups of hummus
     • 2 cups rehydrated* or canned garbanzo beans
     • Juice of two lemons
     • 3 cloves of garlic smashed and chopped
     • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
     • 1 tsp. sea salt
     • 1/2 cup tahini**
     • 1/2+ cup liquid*** from beans or water

*If you are using dried garbanzo beans, to rehydrate them allow them to soak overnight in water. One cup of dried garbanzo beans typically needs about 3 cups water. The next day bring water and beans to a boil, skim off any foam that may have risen to the top and then lower heat to low. Allow to simmer for about an hour or until soft.

**Wondering what tahini is? Tahini is a paste made from ground up sesame seeds. It can be purchased at most coops. Ours sells it in the bulk, cold section.

***If you rehydrate you garbanzo beans yourself, don't pitch the extra liquid, use it to thin the hummus. You could also use the liquid from canned garbanzo beans.


Getting Started: 
1. This is easy. Toss all of your ingredients, except the bean liquid, into your food process. Process until thick and basically smooth.

2. While food processor is running, add a couple tablespoon of your bean liquid at a time until you get your desired thickness. For me that was around 1/2 cup of liquid.

Enjoy and try your hummus with something new! Let me know your favorite way to eat hummus!!

Mayonnaise from Scratch

Mayonnaise seems to be one of those things people either love or hate. Well in my house, it's a must-have condiment. My son will eat just about any food if you give him some mayo and ketchup to dip it in. For as often as we use it, it only makes natural sense to make it myself, especially when you look at the ingredient list on most store bought brands. For instance, did you know MSG is often put under the label "natural flavor" on commercial food ingredient lists. Try and find a mayonnaise that doesn't include natural flavors or for that matter uses an oil that is actually healthy for you. The health food store and co-ops tend to have better options for mayonnaise than the regular store, however personally I haven't found a "healthy" mayonnaise at the store that I like.

Mayonnaise is essentially the oil of your choice and eggs whipped together. Food for thought – your condiments can actually add extra nutrition to your food, so choose wisely when selecting the type of oil you want to use. We all know that not all oils are the same nutritionally, however did you know that some oils can be quite harmful to our bodies?

For the mayonnaise recipe that is included in Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon uses olive oil or expeller pressed sunflower oil. "Olive Oil contains 75 percent oleic acid, the stable monounsaturated fat, along with 12 percent saturated fat, 10 percent omega-6 linoleic acid and 2 percent omega-3 linolenic acid. The high percentage of oleic acid makes olive oil ideal for salads and for cooking at moderate temperatures. Extra virgin olive oil is also rich in antioxidants. It should be cloudy, indicating that is has been filtered, and have a golden yellow color, indicating that it is made from fully ripened olives. Olive oil has withstood the test of time; it is the safest vegetable oil you can use, but don't overdo. The longer-chain fatty acids found in olive oil are more likely to contribute to the buildup of body fat than the short- and medium-chain fatty acids found in butter and coconut oil."

One ingredient that's not standard in mayonnaise, but you'll see it below is whey. I had never thought of adding whey to my mayo, until seeing the recipe in Nourishing Traditions. "Homemade mayonnaise imparts valuable enzymes, particularly lipase, to sandwiches, tuna salad, chicken salads and many other dishes and is very easy to make in a food processor. The addition of whey will help your mayonnaise last longer, adds enzymes and increases nutrient content." When you use whey in your mayonnaise, you leave the mayonnaise out on the counter for 7 hours before refrigerating it. I know what you are thinking, and no, you won't get sick when you do this. :-) I know it's always strange to think about leaving raw ingredients like eggs out on the counter for any length of time. I can tell you I've done this quite a few times now and we haven't gotten sick yet! When you add whey to your mayonnaise it will lengthen the time it will last before going bad from a week or two to several months in the fridge.





What You'll Need: Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 2 whole eggs or just the egg yolks at room temperature
• 1/2 Tsp. mustard powder or 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared Dijon mustard
• 1-1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice or white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. whey - optional
• 3/4 - 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 Tsp. of salt and more to taste if needed

Note: You can be rather flexible with all the ingredients. The more oil you add the thicker the mayonnaise will be. If you would rather stay away from raw egg whites, omit them and just use the yolks.



Getting Started

 1. In your food processor blend together the egg, mustard, lemon juice or vinegar, whey and salt.
Process for about 30 seconds.






2. With the food processor running add your oil in the thinnest stream possible or a drop at a time. This takes some patience, but the slower you add the oil the thicker and nicer the end consistency will be.


3. Place your mayonnaise in a jar and refrigerate for 1-2 weeks. If you used the whey, leave the jar of mayonnaise on your counter for seven hours before placing in the refrigerator. It will last for 1-2 months.

Enjoy!

Spring Salad with a Honey Vinaigrette

My family and I headed to the St. Paul's Farmers Market on Saturday morning and were happy to see all the fresh produce beginning to make its appearance. I snapped up a bunch of different salad greens, green onions, radishes, garlic scapes, strawberries, sugar snap peas, asparagus and a mushroom growing kit (will show you it in my next post, super cool!) along with my usual purchases of meat and eggs from Farm on Wheels. I even got some more beautiful flowers and herbs to add to my growing flower pot garden.  With the live music and the crowds of people milling about, it's truly a great way to start your morning. The earlier you get there the better it is. If you haven't been to the St. Paul's Farmers Market, do your best to do so. It's totally worth the trip and you just might find yourself making it a regular occasion, especially as the season goes on.

What You'll Need:

For the Salad

• A variety of salad greens like lettuce, spinach, pea shoots, radish leaves, arugula, dandelion greens
• Sliced fresh fruit like strawberries, apples and peaches
• Raw sunflower seeds

For the Dressing

• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 5 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
• 1/2 Tsp. sea salt

Getting Started

1. First, mix together your dressing ingredients and if possible let sit for at least 30 minutes before using. This will allow the garlic to add some extra flavor.  If your honey is hard (mine always is), melt it over low heat in a small pot and then add it to your other ingredients.

2. Mix together your salad greens and add your fresh fruit.

3. Toast your sunflower seeds in a small pan over medium high heat then add them to your salad

4. Give your salad dressing a good stir with a fork  (the vinegar and oil like to separate) and then drizzle on your salad

Enjoy this refreshing and light meal. We had this salad last night and enjoyed it with fresh broiled salmon with garlic scapes on top. It's was delicious!

Sauerkraut - A Delicious Addition to Your Meals

Why a sauerkraut recipe? Easy – it's extremely good for you and goes so well with a variety of dishes, especially sandwiches! Plus, since this is a new blog, I think it's important to start with the basics. Eating a natural, homemade diet is new to most and can be difficult to transition into, especially if processed foods make up the main part of your diet. Sauerkraut is extremely easy to make, costs little and can be stored for extended periods (months) in the fridge. When I started using "traditional" and "slow" cooking methods several years ago, this was one of the first foods I tried making. It was a bit daunting at first because I wasn't comfortable leaving a food item on my kitchen counter to ferment. I was worried I was going to make myself sick. I was used to having everything overly-sanitized, refrigerated, etc. This was as foreign to me as picking up a new language. Let's see, it's probably been three years and I've yet to make myself sick. Actually the only time I've had food poisoning was from processed restaurant food. Plus, my health and energy are night and day to what they were several years ago!

For a little more info, homemade sauerkraut is a lacto-fermented food. Note that I wrote homemade. The store bought stuff that comes in a can or a jar and isn't refrigerated, is basically a dead product. The only reason to purchase this is for the flavor. From my understanding it does little-to-nothing for your health. When sauerkraut is heated to can and pasteurize it, the lactic-acid-producing bacteria is destroyed, thus getting rid of it's beneficial effects on our digestive system. Sad. Just one more reason why you should stay away from the center isles (aka processed food areas) of your grocery store. I think it was my mom who told me to only shop on the outside isles of the grocery store (this goes for co-ops too) since that's where all the fresh, real food exists. Everything else should be ignored! Hard, I know – but still a good rule to try to follow at least some of the time.

Having a healthy digestive system is essential to maintaining a healthy body and lacto-fermented foods are one way to encourage this.

"Scientists and doctors today are mystified by the proliferation of new viruses--not only the deadly AIDS virus but the whole gamut of human viruses that seem to be associated with everything from chronic fatigue to cancer and arthritis. They are equally mystified by recent increases in the incidence of intestinal parasites and pathogenic yeasts, even among those whose sanitary practices are faultless. Could it be that in abandoning the ancient practice of lacto-fermentation and in our insistence on a diet in which everything has been pasteurized, we have compromised the health of our intestinal flora and made ourselves vulnerable to legions of pathogenic microorganisms? If so, the cure for these diseases will be found not in vaccinations, drugs or antibiotics but in a restored partnership with the many varieties of lactobacilli, our symbionts of the microscopic world." - Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats

If you aren't accustomed to eating sauerkraut, one way I suggest using it is on a breakfast sandwich. My husband lives on these. He makes one every morning before work, wraps it in a paper towel and then eats it at his desk while he goes over his morning emails. He has made more then one co-worker a bit jealous of his breakfast! It's easy to make, lightly toast some bread and spread a little mayonnaise and if you want, hot sauce on it. In a pan, fry 1-2 eggs (break the yokes so you don't have a mess when you eat) and cook any meat that might sound good, like a slice or two of ham or bacon. Place on bread, along with a decent helping of sauerkraut that has been drained of it's liquid.

There are of course tons of ways to eat it and you don't have to eat a lot, a couple tablespoons at each meal will do wonders for your digestive system. Think of it like eating a pickle with your meal!

Note: This recipe is from Nourishing Tradition by Sally Fallon

What You'll Need

• 1 medium head of cabbage, washed and exterior leaves removed
• 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons of whey or an additional 1 tablespoon of salt
  
  
• Sharp knife and cutting board
  
• Large mixing bowl
• Meat tenderizer or wooden pounder
• Quart size or larger wide-mouth mason jar

Getting Started

Slice your cabbage in half and remove the core. Slice the cabbage finely and then dump into a mixing bowl. Add your caraway seeds, salt and whey and mix together.



Next, using your meat tenderizer or wooden pounder, start pounding the cabbage mixture until the juices release. This takes approximately 10 minutes. I purchased a meat tenderizer at Target for less then $10 and it works great. I also use a metal bowl instead of a glass/ceramic one to make sure I don't accidentally break the bowl when pounding the cabbage.



Spoon the cabbage mixture into your mason jar and press down firmly with your meat tenderizer/wooden pounder until the juices come to the top of the cabbage. Make sure there is at least one inch of clearance room between the top of the jar and the top of the cabbage.

Cover your jar tightly and place on your counter and let sit for 3 days. One thing I've found is during the winter my house is much colder and the fermentation process takes a bit longer, so I leave the sauerkraut on my counter for 4 days.


After the 3 days are up, put sauerkraut in the refrigerator for storage and enjoy as often as you can! It should keep for several months or longer in the fridge. It will improve in flavor as it ages.