There was little for me to do this week, as my Real Food kitchen is in pretty good running order and these kinds of things I do on a regular basis.
Day #8: Fats for High Heat
I’m all set up with my coconut oil and butter and lard. I don’t cook over high heat often because my stove vent is very inefficient. Anything putting up much steam or smoke tends to activate the smoke alarm! We have a joke: “Mom, is dinner ready yet?” “Did you hear the smoke alarm go off?”
Day #9: Fight Against GMOs
Ah, a subject near to my heart. I struggle with believing the torturous route regulators and industry in this country have taken in order to perpetrate this massive experiment on unsuspecting citizens. Every time there’s a new challenge to the GMO status quo, I’m there signing whatever petition I can, making phone calls, writing letters, tweeting and retweeting. If Europe can get GMOs out of their food supply and the US can get rGBH out of our milk supply, GMO regulation is not a lost cause. I’m SO there, as my kids say.
Day #10: Fats You Shouldn’t Cook
Back during our allergy days, I made ghee regularly. Now that my youngest’s gut has healed to the point she suffers few allergies (almonds most definitely, the rest are nearly gone) I don’t bother anymore. We are stocked with flax oil to add to smoothies, fermented cod liver oil in supplement form and olive oil for salads.
Day #11: Bake Some Sourdough
Not yet, but I can’t wait to try the No-Knead Sourdough recipe once our starter is ready to use!
Day #12: Find Real Milk
I have and we love it! It was a bit of a challenge at first, but my WAPF area leader was able to point me in the right direction. It’s called “pet milk” here because raw milk is considered unfit for human consumption. I have done my homework and have found a reliable producer that really knows her stuff when it comes to safety. I’ve weighed the benefits and risks and I come down squarely on the “raw milk heals” side of the line.
Day #13: Get Your Bacteria
When we first started out, this was a difficult step—not because of the process of fermentation, I caught on to that pretty quickly, but because of the taste. Fermented foods taste, well, fermented! Sauerkraut takes bitter cabbage and turns it bitterly sour. Kombucha takes sweet tea and turns it sour. Kefir takes sweet milk and turns it tart. These are flavors my spoiled American palate took a while to accept. It’s no problem now, though. Starting with smooth creme fraiche, refreshing water kefir and flavorful fruit chutneys, we made the transition and now we can enjoy the more tangy flavors fermentation produces. Also, I stress with my family that these are relishes, only a small spoonful is needed. So this week I used this recipe to make sauerruben, a fermented rutabaga condiment.
Day #14: Happy Valentine’s Day
Jenny suggested today we indulge in a little fair-trade dark chocolate. I found a brand that I dearly love, and will be blogging about it (as soon as I confirm that the sugar used is non-GMO.) It’s organic and fair-trade, and locally ground and mixed! There are exactly three ingredients on the label and I even know what they each are! I’m very excited about this find.
If you’d like to join us, just come to Nourished Kitchen. The 28-day Real Food Challenge is on Jenny’s navigation bar at the top of the page. You can also catch up here and watch the goings-on from Facebook or Twitter!
The Dark Side of Fat Loss
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February 14, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Heather Lackey
I have the same problem with my stove vent. It’s been almost demoralizing to have it smoke alarms going off a couple times a week. I always want to remind my husband that it’s not ME–this didn’t happen at our last place!
Sauerruben sounds delicious. I’m going to have to try that at some point.
February 14, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Becky@BoysRuleMyLife
I’m working on this challenge as well… but as a “lurker”. I’m working on my first sourdough starter right now.
So exciting!!
I finally got a batch of kombucha to work out to where it actually tasted like a hard apple cider and not a weird tasting wine cooler of sorts. LOL! I’ve got two more home brews going at the moment. I’ve got one kid that begs for the “sour tea”, another that will tolerate it with some extra apple juice poured in, and one that says, “Please, mama, don’t make me drink that sour tea!” LOL!
So thanks so much for your honesty on the fermented foods and the process of getting to the enjoyment of the tangy flavors. I just received some water kefir grains, so I’ll be trying that soon as well, but I’d also like to try a fruit chutney . Would you mind sharing the recipe you started with(was it in NT?)? We’ve got some spoiled American palates that could use some help.
And I know, I know, it wouldn’t be fresh and local right now, but at least I’ve got the option of organic fruits through my buyer’s club and I’d like to get a head start on practicing before the local fruits do come in. 
(based on my 1st kombucha, it might take a few extra practices! LOL!)
Becky
February 15, 2010 at 9:49 am
Local Nourishment
No one in my family will drink kombucha but me. I have had great success making kefir soda pop, though. You make a regular batch of water kefir, remove the grains and add a little fruit juice. That ferments again and gets bubbly like soda.
After reading the labels of several brands of kombucha, I discovered that you can ferment other things besides sweet tea, too. I have a batch of grape juice working now with a kombucha SCOBY floating atop. We’ll see what happens there. I’m always game for a good experiment!
I’ve made the cherry chutney from NT and it was delicious, but much less sweet than you’d think cherry would be. At Thanksgiving I also made my regular cranberry sauce, but added some whey and let it sit a few days at room temperature. It turned out very well, not as sweet as storebought cranberry sauce, but not unpleasantly tangy either.
Oh – one more thing. When you get your water kefir going, you need to have it a few feet from your kombucha bowl if you have both going at once. If you don’t separate your ferments, there can be cross-contamination and kefirbucha is NOT yummy! Voice of experience speaketh.
February 15, 2010 at 9:57 am
Becky@BoysRuleMyLife
Thanks for the head’s up on the kefirbucha! LOL!
February 15, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Jenny
I hope that no-knead sourdough comes out alright for you. I have a hard time with bread baking, but I think it’s largely due to our altitude (~10K feet above sea level). I’m excited about this week, though – lots of ferments.
January 13, 2012 at 12:26 am
Tullebelle
I make both water kefir and kombucha. The kefir is a little too sweet and the kombucha a little too sour, so I mix them 1/2 and 1/2 and they taste fantastic. The best of both worlds collide