A simpler life

Anyone that follows the stock market, commodity prices, the dollar and news events is probably getting somewhat uneasy.  Commodity prices have been steadily rising for months and have really shot up recently.  This is for multiple reasons - manmade and natural disasters, unrest in the world, too many people living off of the "system" and not putting into it, too much borrowing and not enough saving, terrible political decisions in multiple countries... the list goes on and on.

It is not helpful to live in the spirit of fear that is permeating our world.  One of my favorite scriptures is in 2Timothy 1:7......   For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.   BE ADVISED  it is the better part of wisdom to look ahead and make wise decisions for your family..... not in a spirit of fear, but in a useful, responsible way.

No matter where you live or what you do, you can make your situation more stable.  Proverbs has a lot of wisdom concerning living in wisdom or in folly.  If you have not read through Proverbs lately, you should.  Just look at today's date and read that Proverb.  Here are a few samples.

A wise man fears and departs from evil,
      But a fool rages and is self-confident. 

Proverbs 14:16

Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
      But a fool lays open his folly. 

Proverbs 13:16

No matter where you live, you should look around and see what local resources are at hand..... then learn to use them.  This is wisdom, not fear.  When you learn in a non-emergency situation it is a lot easier.  Add knowledge and skill one layer at a time so no one is overwhelmed.  If I had tried to feed my family sourdough bread baked on the wood stove 3-4 years ago no one would have eaten it..... including me.  I probably would never have attempted a full on farmer's breakfast on the stove, but now it is very possible.  We have changed over time.

Life on the Farm - Sights from our past few weeks

I have already posted this video, but am posting it again with a caveat from my sister.  She said the pictures make everything look easier, cleaner and faster than it really happened.  We have just made one step after the other after the other.  Each person works within their strengths..... or develops new strengths.  For example, my hubby had a milk cow when he was younger.  Bonnie would much prefer him to milk her and gives the most milk to him.  This is not practical for us.  I have had to learn to milk, and my sister is next.  It doesn't matter what is the easiest, this is a new skill we must develop.

Ask yourself these questions....

• Does my family produce more than they consume?
• Is the bulk of my food local and sustainable?
• If it is not, do I have an ample supply on hand for an emergency situation?
• Can I slowly change the way my family eats, lives, cooks and plays to be more sustainable?
• Do I know how to produce food and energy for my family?
• Do I have a skill, knowledge or resource that I can barter with?
• Can I convert grass into protein? 
• Do you know how to garden?
• If you have a garden.... do you use heirloom seeds?
• Do you know how to properly save and reuse your seeds?

A side note.... Baker Creek Seeds is my favorite non GMO, heirloom seed company.  We plan to add a section of garden for the animals this year. 

Questions like these help you think ahead in a non-emergency situation.  When a power outage or other disruption occurs, use the opportunity to practice some of your skills.  Do you have to run to the store regularly?  Rethink that.  Then when the next disruption occurs, try again.  Instead of complaining, figure it out.  Do laws need to be changed so you can have a wood stove in an area RICH with firewood?  How about backyard chickens?  Do zoning laws need to change?  What has to happen so you can live more sustainably?

Living a simple life brings a peace that is beyond wonderful.  We are not quite there yet, but we persevere.  Stay close to God, eat local and fresh, be prepared, be a good neighbor, learn to function closer to where you live.  Be content.

Cindy

Boiling Quail Eggs

I mentioned in previous posts that my sister's quail are producing about 20 eggs a day.  We are experimenting every possible way to eat quail eggs... here is our favorite so far - hard boiled.

Step 1 :  Place your eggs in cold water with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar (to help dissolve the shells) and a pinch of sea salt.

 2.  Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer gently for 4-5 minutes.  Stir gently to keep the yolks in the middle of the egg.

 3.  Add cold water and then soak for a few minutes to cool.  After they are cool, roll on the counter to break the shells apart - they peel easily.

4.  Serving suggestion.... a little salt and pepper, some fresh apple, a few sourdough crackers and some fresh cheese curds.  So good.

 5.  The perfect snack for a anyone....including the upcoming grandbaby!

The return of the Peasant

My favorite definition of peasant:  son of the soil

On a recent news program there was a discussion of China and India - in these countries peasants are rapidly moving away from their subsistence type of lives into an industrial or middle class lifestyle.  Oddly, the discussion revolved on the certainty of a massive increase in diabetes, cancer, obesity and which pharmaceutical company was best positioned to take advantage of  this well known phenomena.

I almost puked.

.........instead, I contemplated how my sister and I - well trained in legal secretarial, sales, education and medical careers (neither of was content with just one career :( - have instead incorporated large portions of being a peasant into our lives.  We are going backwards and are happier and healthier than ever.  I guess the pharmaceutical companies will have to go elsewhere to make their next million.

My son in law says we are peasants who can read.

Really, what has been happening around here is a heart change.  We want to produce more than we consume, make the most of the resource we have, be content with what we can produce, be willing to accept that an idea might not work out like it did on paper, and be grateful for what is here at hand.


This effort includes learning to like new foods (quail, our own chickens, wild game, rendered fat from odd animals).   Also, it involves spending time and energy acquiring "live foods" that you do not produce yourself...... then turning it into something else (raw milk, bear fat, grass fed beef)  It is harder than it looks to not run to the store for what you want.  Instead, head out to the garden and use what you have.

A garden like this is high maintenance.  Tying up tomato and cucumber plants, watering, weeding, trying to find a pathway through the overgrown melon patch (my sister in the picture above continues to try to make a path) is a daily struggle, but it is a good struggle.  When you pop something into your mouth that you have raised - organically, with care, and realize that you cannot buy that kind of flavor, all you can do is enjoy.  The enzymes feed your body, the work feeds your soul.

 All in all, it is time consuming, but good.

We are now peasants..... that can read.

Cindy

Quail Update - The house around the corner

Quail Update from Arleen:

Our quails are hatching, slowly but surely.   Her are a few pictures of our adventure so far.

The size of the eggs.

Very small. 

Don't use the chick feeder! 

We have a dozen chicks in the brooder.  We have Cortunix, California Valley Quail and Georgia Bobwhite.  I wonder who tastes better..........

Beet Kvass

Over at Evelyn Fields place she made Beet Kvass.  Apparently I missed this step completely  :(  She did a great post on it and I would encourage everyone to go look at it.

Beet kvass is what I do when I need a detox at the cellular level.  Personally, I add some cayenne pepper to mine (my sister hates that) and drink it by the glass.  I do not recommend this - it is just what I do when I have to do major detox, especially when we choose relationship over healthy habits.  Sometimes those two things conflict and we almost always opt for relationship..... this puts the brakes on legalism.  But a good detox helps :)

Go take a look and enjoy!  The day is gorgeous and I am headed out to weed eat a bunch more grass for the pigs (they are loving it) and for the chickens (ditto).

Our egg production is up, our feed bill is down, our hens are happy, our meat birds are growing.  The day is promising  :)

Cindy

April's Bread and suggestions

Our family moved into the full speed ahead garden/work/fencing/concrete mode over the past few weeks.  Additionally, our daughter and son in law moved back to help us with our farm and business.  These are some wonderful, exciting changes in our lives.  

Every year at this time, my hubby and I go through a lot of shifting gears as the weather warms up and the demands on our time grow exponentially.  Sorry I haven't been on visiting with all of you, my blog community, very much, but in the interim..... my friend April has been cooking up a storm.  She is a wonderful baker and cook and has been applying the principals of nutrient dense cooking to some of her favorite recipes.  What a joy it is to see so many families come up with their "own" recipe from the springboard of someone else's recipe! 

(here is a non-nutrient dense cake she did for their son's birthday.... it is way too cool to not share it with all of you :)

Thanks April for sharing these tips and ideas with us.  

Recipe for that awesome sourdough

(or.... April's sourdough recipe!)

1 cup sourdough starter
2 cups water
1 Tbsp. sea salt or kosher salt
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp raw honey
1 cup organic white flour
3 cups whole wheat flour

Mix all of the above on the lowest speed of your mixer for at least 6 minutes, to help develop the gluten. If you just bring them together quickly and leave it to rise, the dough has no elasticity. After mixing, place into your bowl, cover and let rise a minimum of 24 hours. Any less than that, and the yeast flavor takes over, and it doesn't taste like sourdough.

After the 24 hour rise, dissolve one teaspoon rapid rise yeast in about 2T water, and add a pinch of honey or sugar to the yeast. Pour this over the sponge, and work it in with a wooden spoon. Then work in one cup of whole wheat flour and turn the dough out onto the counter. Knead in another cup of WW flour. Place dough ball into a 5 quart cast iron dutch oven, and allow to rise for one hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut two slits in the top of the loaf, cover with the dutch oven lid, and bake at 400 for one hour. Remove lid, and bake an additional 10 minutes. Yum!

Meat Pies

Use some of the sourdough from the above recipe and roll it out.

Add taco meat and sour cream....

Fold over....

Seal it up all pretty!

Ready to go in 350 oven for about 30 minutes. One sourdough recipe and one pound of ground beef makes 12 meat pies!

Cinnamon Rolls

(hey... how come I didn't get one of these?)

Butter the pan generously. This is a 10x15 inch pan.

First, lots of cinnamon.

Then brown sugar and drizzle melted butter.

Roll it up!

Cut in slices about 1 1/2 inches wide.

After a 45 minute rise.

Bake at about 30 minutes in a 350 oven.

The House Around the Corner - Key Lime Pie

Goat's Milk is something I have been trying to develop a taste of for a long time.  I have come a long way, but am not quite there yet.  One of my favorite all time things is a latte made with half fresh goat's milk and half cow's milk, so there is hope for me.

Even without developing a taste for goat's milk, I had a couple of pieces of this key lime pie.  It was so GOOD!  I have not tried making it yet, but plan to one of these days.  Bright, tart, refreshing and healthy.

Here is another wonderful recipe from Katherine's Kitchen!

Cindy

Key Lime Pie

Crust:

2 cups ground almonds
(I use ones I have previously soaked and dried)

1 cup dates

½ tsp salt

Soak dates in ½ cup boiling water. When they are soft, run them through a food processor till smooth

Then add almonds,( I also added a tbsp of ground flax seed). Spread into a greased pie pan.

Filling:

2 cups homemade cream cheese 

(yogurt you’ve strained overnight through cheese cloth)

1/3 cup agave or honey

1/3 -1/2 cup lime juice

Grated peels of 1-2 limes

Combine these set aside.

Combine

3 beaten eggs

1 packet of gelatin

(check out MaryJane Butters online for gelatin alternative called chillOver powder)
MaryJane's Farm - ChillOver Powder 

½ cup milk

Wisk over low heat until thickened, combine with cream cheese mixture.

Pour into pie shell and chill.

You can substitute  1-2 cups fresh or frozen berries in place of lime for a berry pie.

My daughter said this pie was better than any key lime she’d ever tasted! I think it’s so important to be creative with desserts and be able to offer your friends and family delicious treats. Enjoy these in small quantities, they’re rich. I encourage my kids to take small bites and savor them.

Proverbs 23:3 talks about being careful not to crave the food of a ruler, his food is deceptive, or to be given to gluttony. My understanding of the deception is extravagant rich desserts and foods (prepared by servants) may charm your senses, but they will do much harm to your body without you really understanding the relation between the two. I think of the servant food we eat as being fast food, or processed food. Once you start making desserts this way other stuff just doesn’t taste so yummy.

Katherine

The House Around the Corner - Tiramisu Rustica

 Tiramisu Rustica

My friend Katherine has been successfully using fresh goat's milk for quite a long time now.  She has been so encouraging to all of us to have nutritious and beautiful meals.  Thank you for sharing some of these wonderful dessert recipes with all of us!

Cindy

Tiramisu Rustica

(Pronounced tee-dah-mee-sύ)

This is inspired by a traditional Italian dessert,

 I’ve reworked it so you’re using great ingredients and methods.

2 cups flour whole wheat, spelt, Kamut, gluten free (I used Kamut)

-1 cup yogurt

 -1 cup water

Combine these and soak overnight.

½ cup butter

½ cup agave or honey

Cream butter and sweetener together with a beater.

4 beaten eggs

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

Combine all ingredients. Pour into two round cake pans, which are greased and floured.

Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Cool completely. The cakes will be thin.

Filling

2 cups homemade cream cheese (yogurt you’ve strained overnight through a cheese cloth)

½  whipping cream-whipped in a cold bowlJ

1/3 – ½ cup agave or honey

Add sweetener to room temperature cream cheese. Fold in ½ of whipped cream then fold in the rest.

So your filling is ready, your cakes are cooled, 2 more simple steps and you’re done!

You’ll need ½ cup of strong coffee or 2 shots of espresso - slightly sweetened

½ cup of cocoa powder

Place first cake on plate, saturate with one espresso shot, or ¼ cup coffee.

Spread ½ of the filling over your cake. Sift ¼ cup cocoa powder over the filling.

Add next layer and repeat. Enjoy!

I doubled my flour and liquid when I soaked them and used ½ for pancakes.

When I get more than one dish out of my efforts I feel so much more accomplished.

Also pictured is

Chocolate Mousse

½-1 cup raw whipped cream, whipped in a cold bowl

4 stiffly beaten egg whites (add a dash of salt or cream of tartar while beating)

6 oz semisweet chocolate

1 tbsp cream

Melt chocolate with tbsp of cream on low heat, cool. Slowly fold in to whipped cream.

Slowly fold in beaten egg whites. You can add a little coffee or espresso to bring out the chocolate flavor. Cool in refrigerator at least an hour.

Now that was easy! And yummy!

Katherine

The House Around the Corner - Jamie's Kefir Bread

Here is another great recipe from Jamie.  It reminded me of a quote which was in a previous article on raw milk found here.  The quote was:

Left to its own devices, fresh milk sours naturally. This is not due to the enzymes in the mix, but to naturally-occurring lacto-fermenting bacteria found in raw milk. Those bacteria produce lactic acid that sours the milk by reducing its pH., i.e., making it more acid. While the uninitiated might think this is milk to be thrown out, the wise know this acid condition actually preserves the milk against spoilage. In days gone by, the Irish housewife typically soured fresh milk overnight by the dying fireplace in preparation for making soda bread the next morning..

It looks like a great recipe.  I will probably use soaked grains to make it, but plan to give it a try.  Thanks Jamie!

While we are in that part of the world.... here is a link to The Good Scots Diet which also talks about Soda Bread.  It is a great article, very extensive and covers a lot of ground.  I really enjoyed reading it.

Quick Kefir Soda Bread

3 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup kefir
1 egg
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Heat the oven to 375 and lightly grease a cookie sheet

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the kefir and egg. Mix very well.

Turn out on a floured surface and knead for a minute or two, you're really just trying to shape the bread.

Form dough into a round and put it on the cookie sheet.

Cut a shallow "x" into the top of the loaf and brush with the melted butter.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Start peeking at the bread about 30 minutes into the baking time, every oven is different.

If you'd like you can continue to baste the top of the bread with the melted butter during baking.

The House Around the Corner - Bread Tip

Tip on getting your bread higher.... not flatter

Awesome idea from my friend April on sourdough bread.  She has been trying to eliminate the "flatbread" thing that is no fun for anyone.  Here is her discovery...

I've hit upon a genius idea...surround the rising loaf with the sides of a springform pan! Ha!...... April

Thanks April for sharing that very good idea.  I am going to try it out.

Cindy

The House Around the Corner - Crystallized Ginger

I make a LOT of ginger ale, and the ginger I use to make it is fine, just cultured.  But, c'mon... how much cultured ginger can you use?  I am planning to try this recipe soon.  It looks easy, good, and like a good way to use up too much GINGER!

Enjoy

Cindy

 Crystallized Ginger

from Sherri Ann's Keeping Room

Crystallized ginger is often used in baking, I have a delicious ginger cookie recipe that I add it to and is elegant on a dessert tray when dipped in dark chocolate and allowed to dry. It is delicious and healthful to add to tea, and when eaten is known to help common aliments, such as nausea, inflammation, indigestion, heartburn and pain associated with arthritis.

It can be expensive to purchase, I once saw a small 4 ounce bottle of crystallized ginger priced at $12.00 in the spice aisle at the supermarket. It is VERY inexpensive to make and takes very little time. It stores for a long time, some say up to 2 years, which makes it easy to always have on hand. Following is the recipe I use;

Peel ginger ~ removing nibs (freeze for later use in recipes) and discard any brown spots.
Slice ginger (approx 1/8 inch)
Use a fork and tenderize ginger by poking holes into each slice
Toss sliced ginger in 2 cups of sugar
Bring 1 ½ cups of water with pinch of salt to a boil
Add sugar and ginger to water
Boil until a simple syrup forms and ginger is tender, stirring often
Strain ginger and place on paper towel
Reserve ginger syrup it can be used to flavor many things including tea
Toss ginger in sugar
Allow to dry on rack for 24 hours
Store in sealed container, I will keep it this way up to 3 months, but it never lasts that long.

The House Around the Corner - Soaked Granola

Melissa's Soaked Coconut Granola
for her original story, go....here

Our family loves granola, so I was excited to find this recipe using soaked oats. I was a bit nervous as you soak the oats for 2 days. I usually find oats to be bland tasting but with the soaking they have a better, kind of sourdough-ish taste. It ended up being delicious & has a lot less sweetener in it than the other recipe I was using. Evy likes it because the soaked oats formed little clusters so it is easy for her to snack on. Gabe has to add a few spoonfuls of sugar & then he likes it.

*******

Soaked Coconut Granola:

8 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup melted raw butter
1/2 cup melted coconut oil or
1-1/2 cups whole yogurt
2 cups water
1/2 cup raw honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2 cups chopped crispy nuts*
1 cup raisins

1. Mix Oats, butter, coconut oil, yogurt, and water together in a large bowl. Pat down, cover with a plate, and leave on the kitchen counter for 2 days.

2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

3. Place honey, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl and set in a small pot of simmering water until honey warms and becomes thin.

4. Mix honey with oat mixture.
5. Place on 2 greased cookie sheets and bake for 2-4 hours, until completely dry and crisp. When almost crisp add coconut to toast for the last hour.

6. Mix with chopped nuts and raisins. Store in airtight container.

*******

* I used 3/4 c. sugar & 1/4 c. molasses instead of just 1/2 a cup of honey. I also had to bake mine for over 4 hours. Here is a link for making Crispy Nuts.

The House Around the Corner - Spelt Bread

Jenny's Spelt Sourdough Bread 
You can read this entire story at Jenny's blog....here

several of us in the our house have been suffering from a gluten sensitivity and i am on another mission to provide healthy food we can eat on a budget. i asked around about spelt flour, did a little internet searching, and decided that since spelt is supposed to be easier to digest than wheat and when made into sourdough bread should be even better for your body, i decided to give it a try. i wanted to buy the spelt whole grain and grind it myself, but i'm just not there yet, so i bought pre-ground flour. i also wish one day to soak the flour before baking with it, but again, i only have so many hours in the day. for now i just use it dry. baby steps, right?

anyway, i was asked to share "my" recipe by my friend cindy who is trying out any and every recipe she can find and taking tidbits from each of us and adding them to her own way of making bread. my recipe is pretty basic and not much different from the others except for the flour. 

i add these ingredients, in this order, to a warm bowl.

3/4 c starter
5 c spelt flour
about 1/4 c sweetener of choice. i'm trying to use up some sucanat. i have used honey too.
2 tsp sea salt
at this point i gently mix, by hand, the dry ingredients on top of starter before adding the water
1 1/2 c warm water
2 TBS oil

mix with your hands or a rubber spatula. the dough comes together rather quickly and i gently knead it a few times to make sure everything is mixed well, then put a damp towel over the bowl and place it in a warm place to rise. i put mine in the oven because it has a pilot light. depending on how much time i have, i let it double in size. i have also just let it rest an hour or two and then proceeded, the bread just turns out more dense. before transferring it to the baking pan, i knead it a few more times, but not too much. i read that if you overwork spelt dough your bread will be crumbly. after kneading, rub oil of your choice over the dough (i'm not sure why i do this, but i do!) and place in a baking dish. i bake my bread in a large loaf pan in an effort to have sandwich size bread for the days that my kids attend tutoring group. i let the dough rest or rise as long as my time allows. sometimes it's a few hours and sometimes it's 30 min. i'm all for making it work for me. after it's risen, place it in a 400* oven and bake until golden brown and the crust feels thick and somewhat hard to the touch. 3o min or so.

and that's it... please keep in mind all amounts and times are approximate. i just kind of add this and do that. i did jot things down as i made this loaf so i could write about it, but i like to cook more like my grandma, with a handful of this and a scoop of that. 

i'm still playing with new ideas every time i make bread, and noticing that every loaf gets easier. good luck to you!

The House Around the Corner - Arleen's House

Arleen's advice about Kefir :)

Stop whining already about the taste of the kefir (no fear - ki fear) 

morning start: 

1/4 c kefir
1/4 c juice or kvass
2 tablespoons coconut oil...

stir and drink

why?

1 chug-a-lug and you are all done for the day. 
all you taste is what ever juice you used (carrot, beet, orange, lime)  
wipe your mouth, (don't lick your lips if you don't like coconut oil...  I don't like it at all, but don't taste it.  just the juice)


Enjoy (or something :)

The House around the corner - Kefir

 Kefir Recipes

I have had a great response to my plea for kefir recipes.  More are WELCOME (OK, I am begging... this is kind of a stretch).  Check back and I will add them on here as they come in.  If you would like to revisit the kefir directions, they are here.

The House around the corner - Jamie's Kefir

Kefir is a type of yogurt made with "beads"  Arleen and I both have some and will share, if you are local.  (mine are from Arleen who has been a believer in kefir for a couple of years now).

Why would anyone use kefir?  A couple of reasons... one) to preserve your expensive raw milk, and 2) for the wonderful properties it brings to your gut and 3) Arleen uses it to culture her regular organic milk (not raw) to incorporate the live enzymes back into the milk.  This notches up the nutritional value.

Kefir is full of the stuff you need to work on your healthy gut flora.  It is so important to have a large variety of lacto fermented foods in your daily diet - milks, root vegetables and vegetables.  This is another one to add to the mix, and it is a good one.  Kefir beads are unique things they are unable to make in a lab.  They have been around for a long, long time.  The Kefir story is interesting, and you should read it some time.  This one is kind of cute.

The Story of Kefir

Sadly, it is apparently an acquired taste... better to be acquired early in life.  However, that does not mean we cannot take advantage of the health benefits without sending our taste buds to the curl up place.  Here are a couple of articles which should be read... I think they are short.  Remember, you should have some knowledge of why you are doing what you are doing.  Don't overwhelm yourself, just set yourself the task of acquiring some knowledge.

Seeds of Health - What is Kefir? 

Body Ecology - How to Introduce Kefir to your gut. 

This one has a pop up add, but if you close it, it has a nice list of benefits.

Kefir Benefits

Last, but not least, while I was schlepping around the internet looking for the kefir story in a readable format, I came across this on young, green coconut kefir.  Someone else will have to try it.  I am at my limit for trying new kefir products :)

Bedrok Community - Green Coconut Kefir

Now for some recipes (not for the coconut stuff - never heard of it before today):

From Melissa:

Besides smoothies, many times after lunch, Evy & I will mix up "a little kifer drink" as we like to call it.

1/2 c. chilled kifer each
dash or vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, alspice or whatever you have.
1 tsp sweetener (Since honey is thick & does not mix well with cold things, I premix a jar of 3/4 honey to 1/4 water & shake until combined. You can then pour it & it mixes nicely.)
It's a nice dessert-ish snack after lunch.

Another way I sneak it in is:

Winter Salsa

2 c. shopped green cabbage
1/2 c. chopped cillantro
4-5 chopped canned jalapenos
1/2 c. vinigar from canned jalapenos
2 tbsp kifer
2 tbsp sour cream
salt & pepper to taste

From Jamie:

In a blender mix:

1/2 cup kefir

1 cup yogurt

cinnamon, nutmeg, a pinch of salt, some vanilla

frozen berries

a banana - frozen or not

Blend and drink.  The spices will kill some of the taste. 

Note.... Jamie has also made some kefir cheese and made a quiche out of it.  She also suggested adding it to your sourdough sponge.  I did and it was good.  I have not had time to try the cheese yet, but look forward to a recipe hitting my inbox with pictures :)

From Chara:

I put my kefir together in the evening, let it sit overnight and in the morning throw it into a smoothie with whatever I have in the house... This morning it was bananas, kefir, raw milk, a few liquid supplements and a maple yogurt. I use coconut milk, all different kinds of fruit (whatever is in the fridge), yogurts- plain, vanilla, maple, mostly I use kefir in smoothies...

From Jamie:

Breakfast Pie or Quiche if you skip the potato crust and just use a regular pie crust.

For the crust you'll need:

 

3 potatoes

2 tablespoons self-rising flour

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red and black pepper blend

 

For the filling you'll need:

 

6 strips good smoked bacon, cooked crisp and chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup grated cheese

6 eggs

1/2 cup kefir

1 clove garlic minced

1/4 teaspoon red and black pepper blend

pinch of salt

 

Preheat oven to 350

 

Crust:

Grate the potatoes into a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water, set aside to drain.  Beat one egg well with onion powder and pepper blend.  Heat a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat until pan is hot.  Use whatever oil you prefer, I used olive oil.  Toss grated potatoes with two tablespoons self-rising flour.  Mix floured potatoes with egg mixture thoroughly and place in hot skillet making sure to cover the bottom evenly and push the potato mixture to the edges of the pan and almost two inches up the side.  Lower heat to medium.  Don't turn the potatoes, you're only trying to get the bottom good and browned.  Shouldn't take but maybe 10 minutes tops depending on whether or not you use gas or electric stove.  Once potatoes have browned remove from heat.

 

Filling:

Blend six eggs with kefir then add remaining ingredients.  Pour into potato crust in  cast iron skillet and put into preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes.  If it doesn't look pretty enough for you sprinkle some grated cheese over the top and run under the broiler for a couple minutes.

 

There you go, a meal in one pan.

More to follow......

The House Around the Corner - Success Stories

Some Stories Shared

We had a great day yesterday with the sourdough class.  Sampling lots of different kinds of bread as everyone develops their recipes is something to look forward to.  It is so fun to see each bread recipe "tweeked" to fit the house that it is being made in.

Really, what is sourdough bread?  Starter, flour, salt, oil and a little sweetner.  You can add other things, change the process, shape it to suit you, sour it to suit your families taste and learn to appreciate an art from yesteryear. 

Ultimately, we are a community, sharing ideas.  Our community is comprised of strangers and friends, old and young, and every spectrum of world views you could ever hope to find.  I love it :)  The stories, ideas and tips on sourdough bread that have been coming in are helpful, encouraging and all sound so good.  This page is listing out some of the stories. 

I have lost the wonderful sourdough cinnamon roll recipe Becky sent me, but she is sweet and will probably just send it again.  The rolls were a lot better than my first try.  Mine had the consistency of... I don't know... a brick?  They were OK dipped in coffee.  One of Becky's got hidden to have with a cup of coffee at choir practice.  So good Becky.

My friend Sherri has sent in not just a recipe, but a history of sourdough starter and some of her memories.  It can be found on her blog.  She has lots of other ideas from another era.  She loves to study how things were done in another age.  I think you will enjoy her story.  It is refreshing to go visit her "keeping room"

Sherri Ann's Keeping Room

Vanessa made her first batch of sourdough bread, and some butter with it.  What is so fun is that she used Bobbi's recipe and pictures as her guide.  I still need to try the egg wash.

Vanessa's Bread and Butter 

Bobbi Jo's Heavenly Loaf 

Melissa is now an old hand at sprouting wheat, making bread and coming up with clever, non-plastic storage ideas.  She is also trying the butter.  She shared her pictures and knowledge here recently.  She is in the middle of the butter adventure.  

Evelyn Fields Cultured Butter 

The House Around the Corner - Melissa's Sourdough sprouted wheat bread 

Finally, Jamie has been sending in a lot of good ideas, pictures and clear directions.  She is a wonderful researcher and writer and has been trying so many ideas, writing about them and getting them to me.  Hopefully she will just fire up her own blog soon.  Gotta do it Jamie! (Why don't you already have one?)

The House Around the Corner - Jamie's Bread 

Our church community has been trying hard to change a lot of our old habits.  Pot lucks now have a lot of nutrient dense foods there.  We are doing a meal tonight for the young couple's group of a very dense soup (chicken, rice, quinoa, veggies and broth), salad and sourdough bread...oh, and latte's made with some really good milk.  I will take pictures and post them soon.  It should be another fun evening.

Be blessed and healthy.  Make wise choices for your family.  Is there one change you can make today?

Cindy

The House Around the Corner - Kefir

Note from Cindy:  If you have a way to drink kefir, we would all appreciate your sharing of that information.  Jamie has added a cool way to drink it, but if you can make a comment with your recipe, it would be great.  Maybe Apryle will share her smoothie recipe that she used it in.  It is yummy. I don't want to say kefir is gross, just a really new flavor and texture.  Any helpful tips are appreciated.  I changed the settings so you can do an anonymous log in and post.  If anyone leaves something weird, I will just delete it.... but why would they  :)  I can then gather them into a top ten ways to add kefir to your life or something like that.

 

Jamie's Kefir Recipe

My kefir grains arrived by mail, sealed in a double plastic bag and shipped in a plastic bubble envelope. Not very impressive are they?  These grains were shipped with a little milk added to feed them during their trip and when you first open the sealed bags you'll notice a sour, yeasty odor, don't panic, that's normal.

 The first thing you want to do is clean your grains. This is really easy. First take a sieve and dump them in, if you have trouble getting them out of the bag just pour a little milk in to loosen things up. After you've gotten the little grains out of the bag you want to pour a little milk or distilled water over them while gently shaking the sieve.

This is what they look like once they're all cleaned up.

 Now you simply dump them into a clean jar, the one shown is quart size.

Another picture of the clean grains.

 Here you'll see that I've added two cups of whole milk. Ideally you would want to use raw milk, but since it's unavailable in my area I've used organic whole milk instead.

You want to cover the jar with a cloth, you can't seal it up tight, kefir needs to breathe. Notice my high-tech dishcloth and rubber band combo, it worked great!

 Kefir actually likes to be disturbed so I would give the jar a little shake everytime I walked through the kitchen. It's quite cool in my house so it took almost two whole days for my first batch to culture.

Here it is, almost two days later, ready to strain. Notice the streaking on the jar.

It will be quite thick at first, you'll think you messed up. You didn't.

You'll need your sieve, large bowl or measuring cup and a wooden spoon now. Place the sieve over the bowl, dump in the cultured kefir and you might have to stir gently with the wooden spoon but eventually all the kefir will strain through leaving only the grains, which have multiplied! Wow, busy little critters.

Here is the strained kefir, lousy picture, I know.

Here are the kefir grains that have increased in numbers by almost half!!

Here is my second batch of kefir set up and ready to culture again.

The finished product! If you haven't followed the baby steps to cultured foods I would recommend you start slow, just a couple tablespoons at first.  For a great breakfast drink blend one cup chilled kefir with blueberries and some honey, it's wonderful!