7.27.2011

What's Goin On

We've been busy around here between school, baby. and trying to get a bit healthier in the kitchen. Last Saturday, before leaving for my in-laws 50th anniversary party, Sierra and I made 2 gallons of lacto-fermented pickles. The old fashioned kind, preserved with whey instead of vinegar and heat. It's a process that makes food even more nourishing and digestible.



See those little valves on 2 of the jars? This is the first time I have used them, but they seem pretty cool. The let the fermenting air out while keeping out the bacteria. I forgot to fill them with water the first couple of days, so I got a little mold. But you can just scrape it off, because it's totally harmless.

I also made a really yummy no-grain breakfast cereal. It's
  • 2/3c buckwheat groats
  • 1/3c hempseed
  • 1/2c chia
  • 1c dehydrated peaches
  • 1c chopped pecans
  • 1tsp salt
  • 4TBS sucanat
  • 1TBS cinnamon
  • 2 tsp vanilla powder
  • You can use any kind of dried fruit and any kind of nuts. Vanilla powder is optional.
I put 4 TBS in a bowl with some milk and I really enjoy it.

I have sourdough starter fermenting on my counter and I'm also trying a method where you keep a large amount of starter in the fridge and pull chunks off to bake with. I have a loaf of bread baking in the oven right now using that method. We'll see how it turns out.

On Monday I made sourdough english muffins and they were great. Even the kids thought so.

The bread is out of the oven and the kids cut it up before I could take a picture :-) The verdict: It's amazing? Hailey says it's the best bread ever and Sierra wants it for her birthday. And it was sooo fast and easy.

I have peaches coming this weekend and lots of plans for those, and more cucumbers too, because I'd like to try a few different recipes. I'm anxious to see if these are crispy, I put oak leaves from our very sad oak trees in the jars. That's supposed to be the trick. I'll let you know.

Updated to add: Mom, Hailey says the bread is only slightly better than the lemon cake :-)

1 comment:

christywith8 said...

Everything looks great...
We need the pickel recipie??
Also we are dying for some baby pictures!!!!
Love Ya

Oh and FYI we are going to TRY?? To go to Disneyland in October with Matt and Holly! Just a heads up maybe a little trip would be fun for ya all too :)