Debbie Vail, NC
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6th Presentation of Sourdough Class at The Market

7/23/2012

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Dinner consisting of homemade pizza and honey rolls seemed like a good way to begin another bread class.  The Market at Blooming Colors in Auburn, Alabama was the setting for the sixth presentation of the Organic Sprouted Sourdough Class and students were treated to dinner made with sourdough.   Thanks to Ginger Purvis, Market Manager, and to Amanda Davis (not pictured), my personal helper and photographer.   

Students pictured are Marty Moore, Sandra Jones, Kim McDonald, Tricia Adamson, and Kaye Christian. 

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Commercial Bread versus Sourdough Bread is the topic of this board presentation.  Students learn why sourdough is best.  

After an explanation of the sourdough process, students were able to put to use the knowledge gained and they got their hands into making their first loaf and learning how to feed a starter.  A little sea salt, a little butter, flour and water were kneaded into the starter and then the loaf was window pane tested and then ready to take home and bake.  

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Three students who had registered were unable to attend class due to sickness or other personal reasons so there was left over starter just waiting to be worked into bread.  When I arrived home from the class it only took about 15 minutes to get the dough worked up and into a bread pan.  Then it took about an hour to rise in an oven with the light on for warmth and 30 minutes to bake.   There's nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread and that is what I'm still smelling as I type this post.  In this particular loaf, I added caraway seed at my husband's request.  A delightful tasty loaf that I will slice up tomorrow and add some bacon, lettuce and tomato for BLT sandwiches - perfect for all those vine ripened tomatoes this time of year!  

Want to join a class?  Click here for details

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Juicing - Making the Best of the Worst

7/18/2012

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If you have a garden, it is inevitable that you will occasionally overlook those camouflaged goodies hiding in plain site until one day you finally see it - an overgrown cucumber the size of a small boat!  In this picture you can see that I found two gigantic cukes hiding in my garden.  I have a quarter in the picture for reference.  Overgrown cucumbers do not make the best pickles in my opinion, at least not the good crunchy lacto cucumbers that I like to make.  Up until today, my chickens have been the recipients of my overgrown vegetables.   Sorry chickens, not any more.

It occurred to me that even though these cucumbers were beyond using for pickles, I could still make something from them that is just as good if not better.  Why not juice them?  Cucumbers are 96% water anyway and just imagine the power punch of all those good healthy enzymes!

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And now, wow!   Look at how much juice was in those two cucumbers - a full quart and then a little extra that wouldn't fit in the jar, and what a lovely beautiful green!  Cucumbers are by far the juiciest addition you can add to your juicing mix stretching the amount of the tasty goodness a little further.  

Did you know that cucumber juice helps in flushing out toxins from the body.  Cucumber are known to contain lignans that have a strong research in connection with reduced risk of several cancer types.  Cucumber juice contains a lot of potassium, magnesium, and fiber that work effectively for regulating blood pressure, both high and low.  Digestive disorders like acidity, heartburn, gastritis and even ulcers can be cured by the daily consumption of fresh cucumber juice.  Cucumber is rich in vitamin A, B1, B6, C & D, Folate, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium, when mixed with carrot juice, they can relieve gout and arthirtis pain by lowering the uric acid levels.  (Source: Health Online Zine)

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After juicing the cucumbers, I also juiced an overgrown zucchini squash (not pictured is an overgrown yellow squash but don't tell my husband because he does not like yellow squash).   I could not believe the amount of juice that came from the squash as well.   Adding to this mix I juiced a bag of organic carrots, a bag of organic apples and a couple of my garden tomatoes.  Red apples make for a sweeter juice and you will want to use more if your family prefers a sweeter taste but these apples are what I had on hand and they worked fine.  After adding all the juice together, it was such a refreshing drink!  

Also be sure to add a little more apple for sweetness if you want to make some delicious frozen ice pops with the juice for the kids.  

I hope this post will help you to remember that when you see an overgrown vegetable that is too far gone for some recipes, that you will think about juicing.  Invest in a good juicer and give it a try.  

For a deeper look into the health benefits of cucumbers and some fabulous cucumber recipes, you must check out the website Jen Review.  There are about a dozen health benefits and recipes listed there.

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Squash Puppies

7/12/2012

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Tired of yellow summer squash yet?   Squash Puppies will restore your love for these little golden treasures from God's green earth.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe that I received in my monthly Alabama Power bill.  I changed it a bit to make it Real Food Friendly.   Finished squash puppies are tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside.



Squash Puppies:

2 cups squash, stewed (cooked)
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour (healthier version - use sprouted or soaked)
3/4 cup cornmeal (healthier version - use sprouted or soaked)
1 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free)
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk or milk kefir
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Expeller pressed coconut oil (expeller pressed will not leave a coconut flavor)

Mix all ingredients and drop by spoonful into hot expeller pressed coconut oil and cook until golden grown. 

This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s Real Food Wednesday's blog carnival
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Lacto-Fermented Salsa

7/10/2012

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Produce from everyone's garden should be at its peak about now.  Here's a picture of some from my garden.  Taking organic produce, I turned it into a delicious tasting salsa with increased vitamin levels and helpful enzymes, no heat required!  

Even if you don't have a garden, you can find fresh produce from the many farmer's markets and specialty shops selling good ole local veggies and fruits.  Much of our produce in the U.S. makes a 1500 mile trip from the field to our table so buying local insures a fresher product and when you know your farmer then you can find out if the produce was grown without pesticides, a plus and a must for lacto-fermentation.  

Here's my recipe for lacto-fermented salsa:  Ingredients need to be organic so that any pesticide will not interfere with the fermenting process.  There are really no set amounts of any of the ingredients.  You can just use whatever amounts you prefer but the ingredients listed are for making a quart.   I made way more than a quart as you can see in the picture below.

4 Tomatoes, peeled (to make peeling easier drop a few tomatoes at a time into a pot of boiling water and remove with slotted spoon after about 15 seconds into a bowl of ice water.  The skin slips right off.

1 Onion 

1 Pepper (can use any kind you desire from mild to hot.  I planted a mild jalapeno pepper and I really like them (see picture below).  They are not too hot nor too mild.  You can see the peppers in the picture that I used.  Slice them lengthwise and discard all seed and any white remaining membrane since these parts are really hot tasting and be careful to wash your hands in soap and do not put your hands near your face as it can burn.

1 Garlic clove

Cilantro (this is really a matter of taste.  Most like it but some do not.  I only used about 1/4 cup or less.

Oregano (1 tsp. dried)

Parsley  (1 tsp. dried)

Lemon juice (juice of one lemon)

Sea Salt (grayish in color-do not use table salt)  1/2 Tablespoon

Whey 1/4 cup  (See below for how to obtain whey.  If you do not have whey then you can just use an extra Tablespoon of Sea Salt and omit the whey.

Process all in a food processor using your pulse button so that you don't chop it all too finely.  See the picture of my food processor to the right of this post.  I just love it!  It's not too big nor too small.  Fill jars leaving one inch of space and place lid on tight and leave at room temperature for about 2 days, burping the jar every now and then before placing in the refrigerator.  If you prefer you can obtain airlock lids so that you don't have to burp the jars. I use them if I'm not home to burp the jars.  The salsa should keep for 6 months to one year.  I had some just the other day that was made last year and it was still good.



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Here's the finished product.  I had 1 quart and 8 pints!  I hope you will give it a try too.  It helps to peel and prepare everything ready for the processor in advance.

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Here is a picture of one of my mild jalapeno pepper plants in my garden.  When you buy the plants it will actually say mild jalapeno on the plant name.  This came from Bonnie Plant Farm near where I live but Bonnie Plants are marketed across the country.

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Here is how you obtain whey for your salsa:  You will want to have already done this  step or at least be in the process.  In this step you will need some very good quality yogurt, buttermilk, or milk kefir.  What you are after actually is the whey from these products.  I make my own kefir using unpasteurized milk and this is what I use but you can make your kefir, yogurt or buttermilk using a good quality pasteurized milk if you prefer.  Just be careful that the milk is not heated after the culturing process.  If you do not make your own then you can buy some yogurt in the health food stores.  A great brand available in my location is Erivan Yogurt.  Whatever yogurt you buy needs to claim on the container that it contains live or viable cultures otherwise this process will not work.  If you want to skip this step then maybe you have a farmer who sells the whey and you won't have to separate it yourself from the milk.  Just be sure that the whey you use has not been heated.  Whey from cheesemaking will not work as it may have been heated.  Neither will powdered whey work.

In the picture you see that I have a bag called a yogurt cheese bag that has a drawstring and I have it clothespinned to the handle on my cabinet.  You can use fine weave cheesecloth instead of the bag if you prefer.   In the bag I have placed my milk kefir (yogurt or buttermilk) and you can see that I have actually captured a drip at the bottom of the bag going into the bucket (no metal bucket -use glass or safe plastic).  This drip is whey that is separating out from the milk solids.  You can let it drip for a short time for a little thicker kefir or you can let it drip overnight when all the whey will be removed and you will have a kefir that is the consistency of cream cheese.  However it doesn't take long at all to get enough whey for your salsa and you can just scoop some out when you are ready to use it in the process.  By the way the squash and pepper have nothing to do with this.  I just placed them for eye appeal and had just gathered them from the garden. See other ways to extract whey.

Nourishing Traditions page 91:  "Scientists and doctors today are mystified by the proliferation of new viruses--not only the deadly AIDS virus but the whole gamut of human viruses that seem to be associated with everything from chronic fatigue to cancer and arthritis.  They are equally mystified by recent increases in the incidence of intestinal parasites and pathogenic yeasts, even among those whose sanitary practices are faultless.  Could it be that in abandoning the ancient practice of lacto-fermentation and in our insistance on a diet in which everything has been pasteurized, we have compromised the health of our intestinal flora and made ourselves vulnerable to legions of pathogenic microorganisms?  If so, the cure for these diseases will be found not in vaccinations, drugs or antibiotics but in a restored partnership with the many varieties of lactobacilli, our symbionts of the microscopic world."
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Red, White and Blue Dessert

7/4/2012

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Hope everyone had a great 4th!  It's a hot one here where I live so I whipped up a beautiful cool patriotic treat and just wanted to show you.  I got the recipe from taste of home website and thought I would make it as healthy as I could so here's the recipe:

Ingredients
  • 2 packages (8 ounces each) organic cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup organic sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 cups raw (unpasteurized) heavy cream, whipped
  • 2 quarts organic strawberries, halved, divided
  • 2 quarts organic blueberries, divided
Directions
  • In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and extracts until fluffy. Fold in whipped cream. Place a third of the mixture in a 4-qt. bowl. Reserve 20 strawberry halves and 1/2 cup blueberries for garnish.
  • Layer half of the remaining strawberries and blueberries over cream mixture. Top with another third of the cream mixture and the remaining berries. Spread the remaining cream mixture on top. Use the reserved strawberries and blueberries to make a "flag" on top. Yield: 18 servings.  

  • If you do not have access to good ole raw heavy cream from a local farmer then you can use any heavy store bought cream.  My biggest objection to store bought cream is that most of them are UHT (Ultra High Temp.) pasteurized meaning that the protein in the milk has been damaged due to high heat.   Pasteurization doesn't kill all bacteria in milk, just enough so that you don't get a disease from all those sick cows in the confined lots given antibiotics to stay alive (sad).  UHT, on the other hand, kills everything and destroys some of the vitamin content and UHT milk can sit out for 6 months without spoiling - hint - there's nothing alive in it to spoil.  For more about UHT see this website from Food Renegade and if anyone can find non UHT heavy cream in the store, please let me know:   http://www.foodrenegade.com/just-say-no-to-uht-milk/

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    Debbie Vail, NC
    ​Greetings from east central Alabama and welcome to my site.  I am a graduate of Hawthorn University, a leader in holistic education.  
    See more​ ​about me and my educational experience.
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