It was an interesting week. The challenges focused a lot on making homemade cultured foods. Most of these challenges I had to sit out on, mainly due to money and time constraints. But I did make a jar of cultured carrots, and ended the week with a wonderful nourishing, grain-free dinner.
Day 15: What's a SCOBY?
This was one of those I had to sit out on. I simply don't have the funds to drop on a Kombucha mother, and for some reason my natural foods store only sells flavored raw kombucha, not the stuff that's not fermented with fruit (for growing my own SCOBY, a la Food Renegade). I did buy a bottle of GT's raw kombucha in the No. 3 formula (elderberry and lavender). Yummy.
Day 16: Get Cultured (Veggies, that is)
I had bought a big jar of Bubbie's sauerkraut to eat with my breakfast this morning, so I didn't really need any more cultured veggies, but I did have a bunch of carrots that were leftover from the 2 lbs. I bought for the dinner party on Valentine's Day. So I sliced them into sticks and stuck them in a jar with salt brine spiked with Bubbie's sauerkraut juice as a starter. I'm going to try them for lunch this week, so we'll see how they turn out.
Day 17: Making Yogurt at Home
Unfortunately, this is another one I sat out on. First of all, I'm going through a sick-of-yogurt phase, hence the sauerkraut with breakfast. Second, since I didn't buy new yogurt this week, I didn't have fresh yogurt. And I don't have a yogurt maker or the funds to get a mesophilic culture. This will be a project in the coming months, though.
Day 18: Make Cheese at Home
This one I did engage in. I made paneer on Friday evening. I squeezed it for an hour in the fridge between two plates, and it turns out very firm. I sauteed it up with broccoli and some curry, but I wasn't really a fan of the cooked-milk taste. Next time, I'll probably make labneh, but I didn't have fresh yogurt this week.
Day 19: Preparing Nuts and Seeds
This challenge got me thinking. I'm considering adapting our favorite brownie recipe to use blanched almond flour, and maybe a little arrowroot instead of trying to muck around with soaked flour. I also made a batch of almond cookie bars. They were tasty and nubby and nutty.
Day 20: Maximizing the Nutrient Value of Beans and Legumes
Okay, bit of a cheat here. I made these pinto beans a couple weeks ago, but I did prepare them properly. Topped with a bit of raw cheddar, they're really tasty. I'm going to make them again this Friday, only I'll boil them with some bacon to add flavor and fat.
Day 21: Relax and Evaluate
Had a much better week. I'm starting to feel fuller with a little less food, and I managed to get through the week with minimal sweets, especially considering it was "that time of the month." I cut way back on grains and played with my sourdough. I discovered a fabulous sourdough pancake recipe that I like much better than the soaked recipe in NT. This week I hope to improve my sourdough pizza recipe, too!
7 comments:
Good job on your challenge. Just an idea, you don't need a special starter nor a yogurt maker. Just use a crock pot. Sure, you'll need to get a whole milk yogurt for a starter, but that's easy enough to pick up.
8 cups of milk
heat on low in crock pot for 2.5 hours
turn off crockpot and let sit for 3 hours
put into quart jars, stir in 2tbls starter for each quart. place in oven w/light on over night. There ya go, yogurt!
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Not on Twitter yet, but I am in Maryland. Um, how do I enable comments by Name/URL? I've been through the commenting section on my dashboard and can't find it.
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Nice work! I'm really curious about how the carrot sticks come out - you'll have to let me know. I bet my 4-year-old would love it if I made something like that. We usually due ferments where vegetables have been shredded (like sauerkraut or sour beets).
Nice work! I'm really curious about how the carrot sticks come out - you'll have to let me know. I bet my 4-year-old would love it if I made something like that. We usually due ferments where vegetables have been shredded (like sauerkraut or sour beets).
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