FERMENTED CABBAGE-SAUERKRAUT

About 3-4 weeks ago I sliced into shreds 2 small heads cabbage one purple and one regular.  I put them in a bowl covering with water.  I added 1/4 cup salt.  Let sit for 2 hours, then rinse to wash out most of the salt.  Pack tightly into 2 quart size jars, leaving 3 inches on top.  This will expand.  You then want to add vinegar (I used kombucha vinegar) about one inch over the cabbage. I inserted a smaller jar within the jar to keep it down in the liquid.  I covered it with a napkin and a rubber band to hold it in place.  Set this in another container as it will most likely expel some of it's juices during the fermenting stage. It will start to smell bad.  But hey it's cabbage.  This is normal.  So is the white crud that will grow on top.  When done you just discard.the top.  Cover with a non metal top and put the rest in the refrigerator and enjoy this wonderful Probiotic food.  The taste is so good.  It has a very tangy flavor.  It is still quite crisp and pretty.  Oh yes and it is also very inexpensive.

Do not mistake this Raw Probiotic live Sauerkraut for the store bought sauerkraut.  There is no comparison. The store bought kraut is dead.  It's been cooked in distilled vinegar, and salt.  Sad because they took a healthy vegetable and made it actually harmful.  Here this living food is still raw and alive and highly nutrition.  It is loaded with vitamins and minerals and has the anti cancer fighting chemicals... PHYTO-NUTRIENTS. I let time take over and today,and now it is a PROBIOTIC food as well.  I prepared this so easy right?  Slice, salt and water and time. 

Probiotic food has been known to ward off hangover's if eaten beforehand.  It also wards of cancer and diabetes.

I have been a diabetic for over 10 years now.  I am glad to say, today I am a survivor of diabetes, and all that goes with it.  Since I've been using healthy naturally made probiotic foods about one year now,  my diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol has long gone. So has any arthritic pain. Thank God.  I just got tired of being sick and tired, and not being able to plan my day. I decided to take control, because I realized, we do have free agency and we do get to choose what goes in our body. So far I've been able to keep the 40 lbs that I unintentionally lost in the process too.  That's just another plus for me.

Today I can eat what I want, of course in moderation without fear.  I have not had to check my sugar, call 911 and best of all I get to have a life now free of any medication.   Today, FOOD IS MY MEDICINE.

Anyway, I thank God, and I am grateful.

Try it and have fun in your kitchen. 

Enjoy your well being with food.

Let us get well together.

Many blessings

Mary Helen

SPICY RAW-FERMENTED PEAR RELISH

I picked up quite a bit of beautiful bosc pears Saturday morning.  I love to can for food storage, but I also wanted some of these pears in raw form.  I know I can't eat that many pears before they go bad.  So I'm going to ferment these for it's probiotic effects. I'm trying to get healthier, and every bit of  raw probiotics helps.  Remember, FOOD IS MEDICINE.

I made this recipe on Saturday evening. Today is now day 3, and it has been sitting in a warm corner to ferment since then.  Yummy  I get to "Reap what I sowed" now.  Well, it looks good.  It still is sweet, yet tangy. It smells very mouth watering, and tastes even better.  You can still taste all the pieces of prunes as well.  Even though it is raw, the hard grated pears have softened quite a bit, but not mushy.  I can just imagine all the juices in harmony, because I can already taste it.  I'm planning on letting it ferment another couple of days though because I like real tangy food, or at least in some of my ferments.  So I'd say this is coming right along.  By the way, This Pear Relish/ like salsa goes great with chips, or crackers.  But for me I would have added (and I'm going to in a minute) a lot more cayenne chili.  Ok, here goes...

Preheat oven...just kidding.  Just checking to see if anyone is reading this.  lol.

12  Pears, washed, dried, and grated
1   onion large (I used green top and bottom)  Chopped small
1   tomato diced small
1   lemon large, just the juice
1   tbsp Ginger grated
1/2 cup Prunes large, pitted and chopped
1   tbsp Salt
1   tbsp Parsley, fresh or dried
1   tbsp Cayenne red pepper  Fresh crushed or powdered. Note, can use jalapeno or serrano.
1/4 cup  Kombucha vinegar, but any will do.
1/4 cup water

I put the grated pears in a bowl and let it air till slightly browned.  It happens quite fast.  Start adding the ingredients as you chop, or dice them.  The fruit will release a lot of it's own juices by now. I saved the kombucha vinegar for last and used that liquid to top the relish once I put it in sterile jars, and cover with a non metal lid in a warm place for 3-5 days.  Then refrigerate after  It will continue to ferment in the refrigerator but at a slower rate.  No worries, it will only get better.  Can last a long time safely, but it's so good it probably won't last that long.  At least not in my home.  My family loves it.  If they only knew how healthy it is.  Lol.  Shhh don't tell them.

By the way, I rendered 70 oz of my Spicy-Fermented Pear Relish.

All this would have cost a bundle purchasing this elsewhere.

Thank God.  Waste not, want not is my motto.

Peace, and many blessings...

Mary Helen.

P.S.  Just a quick update...
Yes I said 3 to 5 days.  But just to let you know, it's best fermenting for 10 days out before putting it in the refrigerator.  It's really fermented and it's bubbles keep popping up.  It's so tasty besides good as in healthy probiotics too.  Their both good, you try it and decide for yourself!  I had extra jars fermenting, so I did try it:))

OAT MILK KIFER

Hi, I made Oat Milk earlier, and it looked like milk, so I did substitute cows milk with Oat Milk and made the creamiest kifer ever.  Yummy for my tummy kifer!  Another wonderful  probiotic drink. I will readily admit the most tasty too. My kifer grains danced around in this so they also loved the change. I added my milk Kifer grains to 2 cups of room temperature Oatmilk for 18 hours and let time do the rest.  So easy.  The taste and texture was similar to a soft plain yogurt.

Just like yogurt, the longer you let it set the more tart it becomes.  The more tart it becomes means the culture is a lot healthier and is growing rapidly.   I am quite happy with something a little more tart than, lets say Yoplait brand. No wait. It was more like a rich creamy buttermilk. Yes that's more like it. Look at the jar. Just like buttermilk culture right?  It was refreshing just like buttermilk too.  It's so good that I am already culturing my next batch of Oat Milk Kifer.
























So who said you can't get healthy on a low budget?  Guess what?  I drank it all for dinner.  It was my dinner and it was filling as well.  What more can I ask for.  lol.  So in the long run buying my Milk Kifer Grains has been a very healthy investment.  I have used my Milk Kifer Grains with Cows Milk with great success.  I like milk but I can't drink it because I am lactose intolerant.  Kifer changes the lactose to lactate making cultured Kifer Milk easy to digest without discomfort. I have also used my Milk Kifer Grains with Soy Milk and it was hmm okay, drinkable.  But I haven't made it again.  Actions speak louder than words right?  I've also made Almond Milk Kifer and I don't lie.  It was not to my liking at all. But I must be fair.  I was not ready for that taste at all.  So I should never say never.  But this one.  Yes, in my books a winner:)

I hope you enjoyed this.
Many blessings.

OAT MILK, A NON DAIRY DRINK

Good morning friends. Nope, that's not cows milk although it looks like it. Sometimes I feel silly blogging this because it is so easy.  But someone got to show you just how easy it is, right?  I ran out of cows milk, thanks to my son.  Actually I did buy it for him and  to feed my milk kifer grains.  But that's another blog.  This is a cheap, yet healthy alternative to dairy milks, as well as other non dairy milks.  It's good to use a variety of milks like soy, almond, or rice because each one has it's own nutritional value. If we stick to just one milk, we deprive our body of other nutrition.  And in my opinion, we need all the nutrition we can get.  So here goes my way of making oat milk.

• 2 cups of presoaked whole grain rolled oats. (no need to soak if using instant oats)
• 6-8 cups of water (according to taste and thickness)
• pinch of salt

Optional ingredients Note:
I added this because dairy milk has Calcium and Vitamin D. So, it is a good way to use those vitamins the doctor gave me last year.  Haha.   I added the fat because, hey dairy milk is loaded with fat, and its good.  But coconut fat is another healthy alternative since oatmeal has zero fat.  And now I could use the extra nutrition. and feel satiated too:))

• 2 tsp brown sugar (optional, you can use any sweetener)
• 6 Calcium with Vitamin D tablets (optional)
• 2 tbsp. Coconut Cream (optional, I used powdered, because it's easy to store and keep on hand)
• 2 tsp Vanilla (optional)

Add the oats in the blender using just two cups of water to start.  Blend well before adding the additional water.  Strain with a cheese cloth, or strainer. NOTE:  If adding vitamins, add after straining. May be served hot or cold.

There are countless was to serve this nutritios non dairy milk.  You can use it plain as is, or spice with cinnamon. Try adding almonds or raisins for a treat. It's great over cereal too.  Whatever suits your fancy. Just try it, you might like it.

As for me, one mission accomplished today....I'm going to attempt to make yogurt out of my oatmeal milk soon.  I will post the results later once I complete that mission successfully.

I hope this was helpful to you...wishing you all many blessings.

Mary Helen