FERMENTING SALSA

• 6 colorful bell peppers
•  chili peppers any variety any amount 
• 1 bunch cilantro but parsley will work too.
• 1 whole head garlic.
• 1 large onion
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 heaping tbsp cayenne red pepper (optional but darn healthy)
• 1/2 -1 cup unpasteurized vinegar (optional)  I used my kombucha just because I have it in abundance.

Today as I was preparing a salsa (Dominican) style that I usually store in the fridge. It seemed like quite a bit for just me and I didn't want any to go to waste.  I wanted raw vegetables, so canning it was not an option today.  I wanted to save my raw food. Soon I was on another quest for knowledge, I happily went online. There it was, many sites on FERMENTED SALSA.   Of course I did my own thing, right? I washed, chopped and blended with one cup of kombucha vinegar. I added 2 tsp salt per quart. I used some today (yum), then  I set the rest of the jars in my "fermenting bucket",(6 gal bucket, holding my other ferments), in the dark and wait 3 days. It will be ready to use as a probiotic food that I can store it in the refrigerator for later use.  There it will slowly continue to ferment into a very healthier probiotic.  Now it can last a very long time, and I no longer have worries about spoilage.

The ph is at 3.0 because of the kombucha. Haha no chance of an unhealthy bacteria surviving this ph.  However, I have to check the ph again in three days because I don't want the ph to drop.  I might have to add some water to dilute this if it drops.  I think a ph of 4-5 will be good too. These already healthy vegetables to begin with are full of "phyto-nutrients as well as vitamins and minerals. Now in three days it will be ready and will have more probiotics than any yogurt around. Whoopie!  Another super food and I'm a happy camper.

PEAS AND CARROTS DEHYDRATED

See the frost?

And the crinkley

Ready for storage or use

This is so easy, it reminds me of a shake and bake.   I'm dehydrating a 2 lb bag of frozen peas and carrots for food storage, and to save freezer space without using any expensive dehydrating equipment or electricity. Why dehydrate frozen veggies?  Because a frozen bag of veggies is already, washed, chopped, parboiled and ready for drying. That is a good enough reason for me and my food storage.

I poured them on a cookie sheet spreading them out making sure not to overlap.  I then put the oven to the lowest setting and baked this for 16 hours, turning them twice, on the coldest time of day.  Then, I let them sit by the warm window for another 16 hours to air dry.

Now they are ready for storage. This was about 4 cups frozen peas and carrots.  However dried to almost one cup. They can be stored in a jar with a tight lid, or a good ziplock, or mylar bag.
Store in a cool dry place.  Keep away from light and moisture till ready to use.

To rehydrate,   add one part boiling water to two parts dried veggies.  Cover and let sit for 15 minutes, before adding to your meals.  If I know I am going to use them I soak them for a couple of hours in the fridge,  I like to add them to my rice, soups, or casseroles like mac and cheese.

I do want to point out that there are tasty frozen veggies, and there are those frozen veggies that do not have much flavor.  You get to choose.  The tasty ones cost a little more than the cheaper variety but what a difference in flavor.  Kind of like home grown, and commercially grown, big difference right?  So you choose wisely.  After all you are the ones who are going to enjoy this at a later date.

Again, I saved electricity, freezer space, and money while I prepared for my food storage in an inexpensive way.  I also did not need an expensive dehydrator, or any other supplies. Nor do I need any electricity to store them either. Told you it was easy.

Enjoy and Many Blessings...

Blueberry Preserves

Good morning everyone,
I love berries, especially organically grown blueberries.  They have so much nutrition that our body love and crave.  For example it's loaded with vitamins like A's, B's and  C.  Also, minerals like zinc, iron and selenium. It's  loaded with phyto-nutrient foods I love and so does my body. Google it yourself to find more  info on the "health benefits of Blueberries", you will see.

 Well lucky me because I was given 4 1/2 lbs of fresh organic blueberries.  Well I got smoothied out but I didn't want the rest of these nutritionally power packed berries to go to waste.  So I washed them well and put them in a heavy pot with water to cook on simmer (low heat) for the good part of the afternoon, stirring often. Note, I will not lose the nutritional benefits but I will lose the live healthy emzymes.  But I figure I win some, I lose some.  This is a win win situation here.

After one hour I added one cup of sugar, and 1/2 cup of acidic kombucha vinegar because I have plenty of it, but you could use lemon juice or regular apple cider vinegar, or white.  However, if you don't have any acid juice just cook it down longer.  It'll still work.

I cooked this down (reduced) it  to less then 1/2 the original size, until I got the right spreadable texture.  Note: anyway you like it is the right texture.  If you want a syrup. just add more water and or sugar. If you want it more spreadable, cook it longer.  Simple.

You can store this in a tight container in the refrigerator for several months, or you can freeze it.  You may want to can them for an indefinite amount of time like I did.  So...

I filled my canning jars leaving one inch head-space.  Make sure you take out the air bubbles, and clean the rims well before covering with the simmered lids. Seal, and put them in the canner/water bath for 15 minutes.  Make sure you follow your canning instructions carefully.

Now your preserves are ready to make juice,yogurt, ice cream, jelly sandwiches, top a cake or whatever suits your fancy.  It's ready to go. Again "Lucky Me", out of 4 1/2 pounds of fresh organic blueberries, I got 64 oz of nutritionally power packed organic blueberry preserves.  Yay, i'm a happy camper.

Enjoy and remember "Waste not, want not".  Many blessing folks.:))

~~~The Nourished Nana~~~: Milk Kefir Recipes and...Weight loss?

~~~The Nourished Nana~~~: Milk Kefir Recipes and...Weight loss?  No kidding.  I lost almost 40 lbs in less than 1 year without dieting.  I did use milk and water kifers.  Remember my Kifer cheesecakes and Kifer ice cream?  Yum my kifer fruit smoothies.  You can still go back to the 2011 posts and find them here.  Hmmm.  I wonder if my kifer is still alive in the fridge.  I've put on a couple of lbs...so that's a red flag going up.  ok check.  I'll start my kifer brewing...bwa ha ha ha ha!!  So wickedly good!!
P.s  I've never felt better in all my life!!

Walnuts

Cute pic, and a reminder right? Have you had your nuts today? Just a handful will do it.