Who caused the problem?

Personal note from me.  I am in a deeply cynical mood this morning and might be a little too depressing and harsh for you.  My apologies ahead of time.  Tomorrow I will be in the garden all day and my normal sunny disposition and optimistic view will return.

I started out writing about properly fed (grass fed) protein, but am in the wrong frame of mind to do it justice.  It is too important of an issue to not give it my best.  Later this week I will finish and post it.   

The picture is of my hubby and youngest son a couple of years ago.  We had a great vacation down by Death Valley.  It was really a wonderful place.

One of the big "hot button" issues of our day is a reclamation of our health.  Who has blessed us as a country with lousy health, obesity, disease beyond imagination, an enormous increase in "special needs" children and pregnancy and delivery problems, autoimmune diseases, allergies, digestion problems and other wretched industrial based health issues?

• The Government - whatever country you live in?
• Industrial pharmaceutical companies?
• Unhelpful medical practices?
• A legal system that destroys common sense?
• Regulations that support evil and destroy good?
• Massive and unhealthy agribusiness?
• Corrupt educational system?
• Lobbyists and subsidized business?

Guess what.  The answer is "none of the above".  Although personally I have massive issues with ALL of the above, the reason these entities (lets call them "the conglomerate") have enormous power over our personal lives is that we have given it to them.  We purchased the lie that we could live a life without consequence with our health.  The above entities have exploited our ignorance.  So the answer is.... look in the mirror.  It is you.  It is me.  We have given away a heritage of abundant health, healthy children and a simple, wholesome lifestyle.

Why?  Well, there appears to be two different answers depending on your world view.  If you are a Christian, there is a deeply entrenched river which says I want the grace of the New Testament and not the law of the Old Testament..... especially with food and lifestyle.  Under grace, if I am sick, I can ask for healing and if I have enough faith.....  and remember that Peter had that vision!  I am with Peter.  I have no desire to live by the law and besides, God has not called me to that!  (reference Leviticus 11 and Acts 10). 

(note from me... If you are a Christian you might contemplate reading through Leviticus a couple of times a year - it is a part of the Bible and it is the direction manual from God to us.  Ignoring the directions... not a great idea)

If you are not a Christian, there are no moral imperatives in your life. Food rules don't apply to you unless you choose to live your life in a way that brings you health. Any boundaries are self imposed, government imposed, society imposed or family imposed.  You can use your reason and sense to figure out what type of lifestyle gives you the best health.

If this is you, you might contemplate who makes a profit out of bringing you and your family to a place of addiction to evil food, who makes a profit off of telling you what you can and cannot eat and drink.  You might consider thinking about the monopoly of government, regulatory agencies, educational agencies, insurance agencies and last, but certainly not least, the business of law.  Don't kid yourself that law is anything but another massive business.

Note, this is currently clearly seen in the raw milk issue.  At every step, "the conglomerate" tries to outlaw raw milk.  Since they have been unsuccessful in a couple of states and are getting a big push back from a knowledgeable population, they now are using the liability insurance portion of their business to bring them into line.  Check out the Whole Foods/raw milk controversy.

So, what are health consequences?  This is a mindset that says... go ahead and feed your family that overly processed, nutritionally dead food regularly.  It won't hurt them.... You have a low level inflammation?  Take antibiotics.  Now you have another (fill in the blank) problem.  Oh, there is a drug to fix any problem that crops up.  Oh... that drug caused a whole set of other problems?  Well... we have another drug for that.... That might kill you?  Oh, we have a procedure for that.   That procedure won't work?  Well, dope yourself to the gills and live a 10% life and be thankful.  You don't want to live that way?  Well, have some more drugs.

This is, of course, just a brief synopses.  So, on to the good news.  YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIVE THIS WAY!  You can change your family's future.  You can bring robust health, peace and joy to your life.  Once you figure out that you are in charge, you don't need to change the whole system, you don't need to be dependent on the whole system.... YOUR FAMILY CAN BE FREE!

If you are sick or have a family member with a health issue, consider viewing all of those big controlling interests with a healthy dose of cynicism.  Believe me, it is good.  Does that mean never going to the doctor?  Absolutely not.  Does that mean never taking prescriptive medication?  Nope.  How about faith healing?  Can God heal your disease?  Absolutely - I was personally healed by God from a long-term problem as an act of grace.  Does that mean never eating out, never getting together with friends over a meal, never enjoying some yummy thing?  Again, NOPE!

What it means is that you need to figure out better choices for your family.  You be the advocate for health.  In the primitive societies that Dr. Price visited, tested and recorded, food wisdom was considered a personal and societal imperative.  It was important that you ate what you needed for your stage of life and that you followed well laid out guidelines for where you lived.

These were the ultimate "local" eaters.... but spent considerable resource and energy making sure that anyone bearing a child ate right - male and female.  They also used wisdom from their elders and the generations before them to grow their crops in such a way that they didn't ruin the soil.  They didn't have access to the "addictions" that cause a cascade of profit right down the corporate trail.  They had beautiful, healthy teeth.  They bore healthy children easily.

Make it a priority in your life to figure out what your body needs for the optimal health that you can come to... no matter the situation.  Be reasonable in your choices.  If you have a healthy gut and immune system, occasional lapses shouldn't bring much harm (although the GMO thing might very well change that dynamic).

Here are some suggestions on ways you can change the health dynamic in your family.

Read a book:  Nourishing Traditions, The Maker's Diet and Food Rules are three good ones, but there are a lot out there.
Watch a movie:  Food, Inc.  is great.  There is another one called "Fresh" that I have not seen yet, but it might be good.
Find a good, holistic doctor
Eat at home
Plant a garden
Make it a priority to figure out what "healthy" is and how to get there
Give your body what it needs
Simplify
Buy locally grown food when possible

If you can make the necessary changes one at a time, with understanding at each phase, you will probably be more successful.  To change without understanding usually means that change cannot be permanent.

This blog is my personal journey through this process.  The "steps" are listed out on this page .  Our own family is learning and changing.  The process is hard sometimes, but worth it.  We want abundant health and good choices for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren and anyone else who wants to join us.

Thanks for letting me unload.  Hope I haven't offended anyone or broken any laws.

Be healthy, blessed and well.
Cindy

A Perfect Spring Day

Today was one of those wonderful days that come along every so often.  Because of a schedule conflict, my hubby was home.  The day was gorgeous, the ground drying out and the garden called out our names.  School, office and housework was happily abandoned for a busy, productive day in the garden.

Early this morning the dining room became seed central.  Tomatoes and sweet peppers jostle with seeds, soil, plans and diagrams.  Thankfully, my hubby is patient and understanding and doesn't seem to mind not being able to use the dining room table for a month or so.  Also, it is a good thing I didn't order any more seeds.... this is what I have going already.  There are a few holes in my seeds.... but 10 packages of peas, 9 packages of radishes, 8 packages of carrots, 7 of beets.... I could go on, but you can see someone needs reined in on the seed acquiring situation.  I guess I could have worse habits :)

To be clear on my priority list for seeds:

1. Must be non-gmo if it is a common gmo type.
2. I ask the seed company if they test for gmo's.  It is not enough for them to say "we do not knowingly sell gmo seed"  The stuff cross pollinates like the poison it is and the seed companies need to be responsible for testing all batches.
3. Heirloom, if at all possible, but this is lower priority than non-gmo.
4. Organic seed is below this on the priority list.  Your soil as the plant is growing and producing is more important than how it starts out.
5. Plant more than one variety of each type of food.  This makes your garden "well-rounded" and healthier!

Most common GMO plants:

• Grains - Corn, soy, canola (rapeseed) and cotton
• Other - Papaya, squash, cantalope, sugar cane, golden rice

For the home garden, corn, squash and cantaloupe would be the most important.  Ask the seed company if they test for non-gmo.  It is not a difficult test.  They have an antibiotic marker on the gene of the plant.  My favorite seed company is Baker Creek Seeds.  They test all of their seed.

Additional note:  While I was ordering a couple of packets of missing seeds, I came across this extensive list of where you can purchase heirloom seeds on line.  It looks like a great site.  I plan to spend some time there.  You can find The Heirloom Gardner's Assistant here.

I did find a good site on GMO's.  I didn't spend much time on it (cause I was in the garden til it was dark and now I want to go to bed) but here it is:  Say No to GMO's

I am sure that my personal opinion for GMO's is somewhere on this blog.

In the garden, we started out in the cold frame.  In this picture there is some companion planting and the first strawberries blooming and setting.  Strawberries, lettuce and some nasturtiums that came back from last year jostle around in this box.  They all seem pretty happy.  The nasturtiums flowers are used in green salads and have a spicy, pleasant flavor and some really nice color.  The pea shoots, also a salad green, and the radishes needed a bit of weeding.  That didn't take long.

 We pruned the raspberries and blueberries, then mulched them.  My faithful little helper worked so hard today.  I was so proud of him!  He is almost 9 now, and a good, hard worker.

Last year we had a melon patch under black plastic.  We left the black plastic (under hay) out for the winter.  Since then two big changes have happened... 1)  we are trying to get plastic out of every part of our lives and 2) we are trying to grow as much chicken food as possible... weeds are good chicken food.  Anyway, we pulled the plastic off today and folded it up for the last time.  The chickens went nuts with the slugs, worms and pill bugs.  We had to leave it for tomorrow to till, but this is where the spring garden is going in.  My little guy helped the chickens out by turning over dirt for bug finding!

Finally, we laid out what will be our repurposed worm bins.  With the idea of growing as much protein as possible, we are planning to do larger scale worm bins using some wooden boxes that used to be a part of a work truck, but have been replaced with a work bed.  The worms will be primarily for chicken food and for "worm tea" to water the garden with.  The compost is also amazing.

All in all, it was a picture perfect day.  Tomorrow we should be able to till the spring garden and work on the outside strawberry beds.  There are onions, garlic, potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, carrots and a few other things to get into the ground.  This will be a small planting of these... the weather might very well turn cold, but I am willing to take a small risk on it.

Tonight we go to bed a little sore, sunburned (put coconut oil on!) and content with the world.  It is a good way to sleep hard.

Best of health to you
Cindy

Low Temperature Yogurt Success!

So.... yesterday was my fourth attempt at low temperature yogurt from raw milk.  The previous attempts (here)  were not bad, just runny.  This batch had pectin added to it.  SUCCESS!  I am going to try gelatin next time, but am happy with this batch.  It was not exactly the same texture as cooked yogurt, but has a nice texture and you can eat it with a spoon... kind of.  I drained some of it to further thicken it.

Here were the steps:

Assemble the ingredients:  Raw milk, pectin, a little boiling water, low temperature yogurt starter, crock pot half full of water at 110 degrees, thermometer, bath towel, jars and lids, scrubbed clean, that fit into the crock pot, a blender and a nice cup of hot tea (for me)
   
Per the directions on the pectin package, make up the calcium water.  Then, for four cups of raw milk, I used 4 tsp. of pectin.  This went into the blender, then add boiling water and blend (I tried to cheat this step and ended up with nasty clumps) until it is smooth.  Then add the four cups of raw milk and the starter while the blender is running.  Add a couple of tsp. of calcium water and pour this mixture into the jars and lid them tightly.
 
 Get the water temperature  to 110 degrees.

Calcium Water.  You make it up and leave the rest in the fridge for next time.

The mess from trying to cheat the pectin... I tried to hand mix it.

After everything is lidded up, add it to the water bath and cover it with a heavy bath towel.  Make sure the crock pot is off, unless you are trying to bring the temperature up a little bit.  I did turn it on when I first put it in... the cold milk mixture dropped my temperature by about 10 degrees.

Check the temperature every couple of hours.  I had to turn mine on warm for 20 minutes about every 2-1/2 hours.  The temperature held at 104 for most of the time.  When it got down to 100 I turned the crock pot on warm.

After chilling, it was half way between runny and thick.  I mixed some up with lemon curd and a pinch each of salt and cinnamon for my hubby's lunch today.  He does have some soaked granola  to mix in it if it is too thin.

I am currently making one batch a little thicker by draining it.  My friend made me a bag for draining and it is working really well.  She sells them on her Etsy store.

 Here is her list of how long to drain.  I plan to drain my half runny yogurt for 2 hours for regular yogurt.

• Drain plain yogurt and in 1-2 hours you have Greek Yogurt
• Drain plain yogurt and in 18 hours you have Cream Cheese
• Drain plain yogurt for 1-18 hours for whey to use in other recipes
• Cottage Cheese and Ricotta Cheese both need to be drained

The final yogurt turned out beautiful, tangy and with a lovely texture.  The lemon curd gave it a nice flavor and my son and I shared this very small bowl with some soaked granola for breakfast.  It was plenty.  Always remember to use smaller servings with nutrient dense foods.... you don't need as much!

Be blessed and well today
Cindy

Why I Garden

One of the great passions in my life is gardening.  Everything about the process reminds me of the rhythm of life that was placed in us by God.  From the beginning of time, planning, planting, harvesting and resting ebb and flow in a sweet cycle.  Genesis 2: 5-7 begins this story: 

before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;  but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 

 A little further in this chapter, man is charged with his task.  We tend to get sidetracked by verse 16 - the warning about not eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - but the task is what is so interesting to me personally:

Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.  

Perfect submission means we continue the task first assigned.  Genesis 3:17-19 gives direction for farming after sin was committed:

“ Cursed is the ground for your sake;
      In toil you shall eat of it
      All the days of your life.

  Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
      And you shall eat the herb of the field.

 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
      Till you return to the ground,
      For out of it you were taken;
      For dust you are,
      And to dust you shall return.”

 

I just don't see this as a bad thing.  It is what it is.  We were directed to garden... then to keep gardening.... just a little harder.  Personally, I love gardening and much of it is connected to my love of Christ.  I do my part and He does his.  

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.  1 Cor 3:7

This year two other compelling reasons are driving me to step it up in the garden.  One is my general cynical world view.  Financially, our country appears to be headed off of a cliff... full speed ahead.. throttle wide open.... the abyss signs ignored.  Here in California... well, do I really need to list out the issues that California has?  Anyway, inflation appears to be in our future and it is the desire of our family to produce more than we consume this year... and set some aside for high food prices (inflation).

Second is my absolute revulsion of genetically modified foods.  They are evil beyond belief.  Genetically Modified Organism's (GMO's) are in almost all processed foods.  They are also in much produce in the grocery store.  If it is labeled "organic" you should be OK, but we are just going to go with heirloom seeds.  The process then will continue; grow and harvest and prepare and eat as much as we can from our own little piece of ground that we are stewards of.

Isiah 17:9-11  reminds me of GMO's and where we are today as a nation.  Personally, I would rather be an observer and not a participant.  I have been wondering if God, who can see the beginning and the end of all things, was warning us about these evil seeds, which look perfect on the outside.... but bring terrible destruction in the end.  Many times you do not even know where the evil came from.

In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough
      And an uppermost branch,
      Which they left because of the children of Israel;
      And there will be desolation.
       ¹⁰ Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation,
      And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold,
      Therefore you will plant pleasant plants
      And set out foreign seedlings;
       ¹¹ In the day you will make your plant to grow,
      And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish;
      But the harvest will be a heap of ruins
      In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.   

So... I am compelled this year to be a good steward.  I would like to list out what I am doing, but wanted to get my philosophy out there.  Specifics can then follow.  Some of the things I like to talk about:

• Organic Gardening
• Making a raised bed garden
• What type of seed and plants for what type of garden
• Fertilizer
• Weeding, watering, planting, harvesting and preparing
• Milk Cows
• Meat Cows
• Chickens for meat and eggs
• Pasture and fencing
• Kids in the garden

Anyway, today I am continuing to work on seed starting, planning and hunting for a small milk cow.

Be blessed today!

Cindy

Kombucha Tea - Benefits and Recipe

Our little guy enjoys about 1/3 cup of kombucha tea mixed with a different kind of brewed tea.  Today it is mixed with a pomegranate/peach tea and honey.


We are always working on planting and growing around here.  Gut health is nothing different.  Any time we can add healthy, live, different cultures, we do.  I like whole foods, natural, complete and nutrient dense.  Just think of your gut as a garden that needs fed, nurtured, tended and replanted on a regular basis.... then you are good to go.

Kombucha Tea is just another way to add a light, refreshing drink full of beneficial bacteria.  This is the "seed" that you want to add in.  It is full of enzymes and live cultures.  I will go ahead and list all of the reported benefits.... but my personal belief is that most health begins in your gut and if you tend to your gut.... your health will improve.

Don't get too tangled up in your particular health "issue".  Just begin a nutrient dense diet (this is the Phase One program) and eliminate processed foods.  Simple, right?  (OK, I'm joking.... if it was simple we would all be bursting with outrageous health).  So, back to the real world.

Step by step, day by day, choice by choice..... add health wherever you can.   This will allow you to "step" your way out of health problems.   Wherever you are on the health scale, give your body what it needs to function, help digest everything, eliminate the stuff that is either not helpful or downright evil and walk up the ladder of abundant health.

Unless you are independently wealthy, you are going to need to make most of your food.  It is better that way anyway.  You can then have life and energy in what you feed your family.  Kombucha Tea is one way to make that happen.  So.....

What is Kombucha Tea?

Kombucha Tea is a cultured tea.  The culture contains a symbiosis of acetic acid bacteria and yeast that are bound together by a surrounding thin membrane.  The culture itself looks somewhat like a large pancake, and is often called a mushroom, a mother or a SCOVY  (for "Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast"), it is scientifically classified as a zoogleal mat.

Kombucha contains quite a few different cultures along with several organic acids, active enzymes, amino acids, and polyphenols. For the home brewer, there is no way to know the amounts of the components.   Your version of the brew may contain some of the following components depending on the source of the culture:  

• Lactic Acid found in Kombucha in its most potent form L-lactic(+). Lactic acid is essential for the digestive system.
• Acetic Acid's main function is to inhibit harmful bacteria. Acetic acid is used as a preservative because of this action. It is also what gives Kombucha that 'kick' to its smell and taste.
• Malic Acid is also used in the body's detoxification process.
• Oxalic Acid encourages the cellular production of energy and is a natural preservative.
• Gluconic Acid is effective against many yeast infections such as candidiasis and thrush.
• Butyric Acid is produced by the yeasts and when working with gluconic acid. Might help combat yeast infections such as candida.
• Nucleic Acid,  Work with the body aiding healthy cell regeneration.
• Amino Acid,  A group of acids which are the building blocks of protein. Your muscular system is made of proteins.
• Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts, speeding the rate at which biochemical reactions proceed.
• Kombucha also contains Vitamin Groups B and C, Beneficial Yeasts and live bacteria.

Where did it come from?

It is probable that this drink originated in Russia.  It was used in various forms throughout Asia though, so it is doubtful if anyone knows exactly where this started.

What health benefits can you expect?

Since I already covered my personal opinion, here are a couple of others.  Kombucha Tea appears to assist the liver in processing toxic stuff out of your body instead of "recycling" it to be processed over and over again.  It also appears to be somewhat helpful as an assistant to help your gut recover from the common assault of antibiotics or chemotherapy or to help with human immunodeficiency virus...  Probably because of the beneficial liver properties and the live culture, but that is just a guess on my part.

How do you make it?

Because of the acidity of Kombucha tea, it should not be prepared or stored in containers made from materials such as ceramic or lead crystal, which both contain toxic elements than can leach into the tea. Needless to say, I am not a fan of making it in plastic either.  I just use a glass gallon or 1/2 gallon jar with a unpaper towel towel on the top.

The first step is to obtain a healthy Kombucha. In some parts of old China and Japan, it was often the custom for families to give a new bride a Kombucha as a wedding gift. This was nurtured throughout her marriage and then passed on to her own daughter.  So, once you have your first Kombucha, now you can share!   Because it is a living organism, it grows to fit the shape of its container. New layers grow on top of the old and can be peeled off to start new cultures.

  

NOTE: The first thing you should do is to clean everything that you are going to use to make your organic Kombucha tea.  When you are making live foods, it is a good idea to use soap and hot water liberally to keeping everyone healthy.

Start with 1 gallon of non-chlorinated water, bring the water to a boil and tear the tags off of 8 teabags.  Either green or black tea can be used.   Place the tea bags in the boiling water and shut off. Set timer for 12 minutes. Take the teabags out of water and stir in 1 cup of sugar. Let stand until cool. Pour into gallon glass jug and add Kombucha Culture with the tea it was stored in. Place cloth over the top and secure with rubber bands. 

Let sit for undisturbed for 7 days in cool dark area of your kitchen. You will see the original mother (culture) on the bottom and a new baby culture floating on top. Carefully remove both cultures without touching with fingers. (I use a wooden spoon and wooden chopsticks). You can give one culture away to family and friends or store cultures in separate glass jars.  Make sure you add a cup of tea to each container.  Keep one Kombucha Culture for yourself (label it) to keep a healthy supply of this tea. Cultures can be stored up to a year when refrigerated. Strain the remaining fermented tea through cheesecloth into a glass container and cover with lid or cloth.  

Never allow tea to come into contact with metal after it is fermented. To make a new batch just follow directions over again. 

Kid in a Crock

I was blessed beyond measure by the gift of a GREAT BIG crock this weekend from my very sweet cousin.  I am looking forward to filling it to the rim with sauerkraut as soon as possible, and this summer some pickles from Mexican Sour Gherkin's from my all time favorite seed company...  Baker Creek Seeds!

Does it get any better than that?  A little red headed grandson playing in Grammie's new crock.... Now that is good.

Sally Fallon's Wisdom - Nourishing Traditional Diets

Sally Fallon is the author of Nourishing Traditions.  Her life story is worth reading and she has inspired our family in so many ways.  (link to a biography of her)  She is not afraid to tackle every sacred cow in our world... the FDA, the USDA, the Federal Government, large agribusiness, big pharmaceutical business, the medical profession.... She does what I wish I had the courage, knowledge and skill to do.  But since I don't and she has already tackled it then why don't we all just be on her team.  As a community, we can effect change.

Since understanding is what brings about change in your heart and mind, I want to post some youtube clips from Sally Fallon.  There are three 10 minute clips available.  It is from a DVD set she has done.  I have not watched the DVD's (I didn't even know about them) but probably will eventually.  Just these three clips are really informative.

At another time I will do a post listing out some of her "short" clips.  She has several about 1-2 minutes long, each covering a topic in a short, clear, understandable way.  They are really good.  I'll list one on here in case you want to follow this thread yourself.

My personal belief, as always.... YOU need to be educated and responsible for the health and well being of your family.  Make decisions based on knowledge, not based on what you are told by some government official.  Use common sense and fight back against the nonstop pressure of what some regulator says is healthy.... remember that most of those regulators are controlled by the large business' they are supposed to be regulating.  It is not much of a system for the average person.  It is a great marketing tool for corporations.

One example is raw milk:  every day is a challenge for us.  My hubby and I are both 50 (picture at right from vacation last year) and were raised in the TV age that taught on EVERY level that raw milk is bad.... schools, TV, stores, advertising, governments...... then to find out that raw milk is the ONLY type of milk you should give yourself and your family has been something of a shock.  This decision came after we really focused on the milk debate.  (my conclusion on milk blog here) Then, based on study, reason and common sense, we switched and will never go back.  Emotionally, it is still a challenge for both of us..... but one that will be overcome.

Anyway, enjoy the video clips.  The first three are about 10 minutes each.  The last one is one of the short clips - 1:24.  They are all really good.
Cindy

Sally Fallon-Morell - The Key to Vibrant Health - Part 1

Sally Fallon-Morell - The Key to Vibrant Health - Part 2

Sally Fallon-Morell - The Key to Vibrant Health - Part 3

Sally Fallon - The three worst offenders

Be blessed and healthy

Real Food Challenge

Lately I have been tracking a neat blog that outlined a twenty eight day challenge.  I have not signed on myself, but have been following her blog some.  The challenge was to eat NO processed foods for twenty eight days.  Every day she upped the ante and learned something new.  It is really a neat way to go, if you are already on that path or are the personality type to make rapid changes well.

Personally, I am not really a fan of immersion type of changes in food and lifestyle.  It seems to bring a lot of disruption in the household, a lot of unhappy family members and might be long term unsustainable.  Having said that, I love everything they are doing so can I just share some of my favorite articles and web sites that I have found without any other comment?

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have.

Cindy

CNN Article on Real Food Challenge

Globe and Mail Article...subject: It's not as easy as it looks.... :)

The Nourished Kitchen: 28 Day Real Food Challenge

Here are the archives of the process

Let me know if anyone tries this.

Rambling in the Woods

Today was a wrestling match with taxes and trying to tie up loose ends on a job that needs finished up.   I am so ready to move back into food, health, gardens, kids, church and all the other stuff I love.  I have missed you guys... the community.... while I was buried in these other chores.... OK, I'm still buried in them, but am digging out.

Several people have been messing around with the raw milk and other things and I just wanted to note some of the various truths, discoveries and links. 

Truth:  It is good to hear the piano while you are making dinner.  I see a sweatshirt that was obviously worn for bike riding in puddles needs to hit the washer tomorrow.

Discovery:  If you mix raw milk with the red label Organic Pastures milk and leave it on the counter, it clabbers.  These cows are on grass I THINK.  Anyway, my sister did this experiment and it is more affordable.  She plans to mix hers half and half until a cow comes into the picture.

In Process:  Low temperature yogurt  is runny.  It is good in smoothies, as a milk substitute for soaked granola or mixed with juice and drank as a snack...... I read a very long blog on kefir and they claim that putting kefir beads into low temperature yogurt will firm it up.  So..... I have low milk yogurt with kefir beads in it.  Stay tuned.

Another possibility is Greek Yogurt.  Evelyn Fields is working on that.  We are both going to try raw cottage cheese.  Again... stay tuned.  No one ever said this stuff was fast :)

Discovery:  Clabbering is just like sourdough starter.  You use clabbered milk for a starter for almost all milk products.  Clabbered cream is a yummy sour cream.... or a really easy way to make butter.  Clabbered milk is the beginning of cottage cheese, Farmer's cheese and all other types of cheese.  My first bunch is looking good and almost ready for cottage cheese. 

I am just kind of wondering if I can make a greek yogurt out of clabbered milk.  Maybe half of my clabber should go for that.... hmmmm.  Would I put my yogurt culture into the clabbered milk?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Truth:  I need ten more hours in the day.  It is time to get to the garden..... the one outside.  I have stuff coming up in the cold frame and stuff ready to plant and stuff to get started.  SPRING IS AWESOME!


Truth:  And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

“While the earth remains,
      Seedtime and harvest,
      Cold and heat,
      Winter and summer,
      And day and night
      Shall not cease.”  

Genesis 8:21-22

It is my desire to learn old skills and combine them with knowledge and wisdom so the rhythm of our days is pleasing to the Lord.

Cindy

Raw Milk Cottage Cheese

Please note:  I have not tried this myself, but plan to this week.  If anyone beats me to it, please let me know how it goes.  Like most of these ideas, it is easier than it sounds.  Don't get overwhelmed with it.... just give it a try...cindy

Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is made from skimmed milk.... or the whole raw milk that has been left to separate... skim the cream off for butter and cream, then use the "skimmed" milk for cottage cheese.  At the end you do mix a little fresh cream back into the curds, so either save a little, or acquire more cream near the end of this process.  The picture here shows part of the separating process.  The cute bag is from Evelyn Woods.

The process of making raw cottage cheese begins with  Clabbered Milk (the cultured cream or milk that has solidified).  I am quite sure you need to use raw milk that has not been pasteurized or homogenized to be successful with this. Raw milk contains all the necessary bacteria needed to make the milk clabber.  (OK, I cheated and put creme fraiche starter in mine).

So.... put some raw milk into a crock with some of your clabbered milk (clabbered milk is the equivalent of a sourdough starter).  Once the whey separates from the curd (2-3 days) you can make cottage cheese out of it.   The whey is the watery part of the milk. The curd is the solid part.

The way to determine if your clabber is ready is determined by the condition of the curd. If the curd breaks cleanly away from the sides of the crock when depressed slightly with a spoon, the cut time has been reached.  The curd should then be cut (not broken) into cubes approximately half an inch square. Do this by cutting horizontally with a spatula or knife, then rolling the strands gently over so that they may be cut crosswise. At this time the whey will be released from the curd.  Apparently you will end up with dry cheese if the curds are cut too small.  You can also use your hands to "break" apart the curds after you have cut them.

Gently pour the curds and whey into a kettle.**   Then slowly heat it up over a very low heat until the curds have firmed up a little.  Don't get it too hot or it isn't raw any more.  I am going to try mine in a double boiler over only warm water.  Next, pour the mixture into a cheesecloth sack and hang it over a large bowl to drain. (like you are making whey from yogurt).

You can purchase some cool reusable sacks from Evelyn Woods.  If she doesn't have any yet... she will soon.  She has some great material to make this out of so it is reusable.  Also, she just found a raw milk source so.... I am expecting a sack that hangs off of the knob on my cupboard to drip into a bowl :)  And here it is!

**(note, there is a process to cutting the curd.  I'll post pics as soon as my curd is ready, but basically you carefully do about 3/8" squares, cutting one way then the other, then you want to go in sideways and try to make them shorter.  You have to be gentle with this process).

When all the liquid (whey) has drained from the curd transfer the curds into a bowl and chill it well in the refrigerator. Once it is chilled mix a little salt and fresh cream into it. This cottage cheese will keep in the refrigerator for about 5-days.

Enjoy
Cindy

Buttermilk

Buttermilk:

• Take your raw milk out of the fridge and skim some of the cream off of the top.
• Add 2-3  large spoonfuls of Clabbered Milk. Stir well. 
• Leave it on your counter LOOSELY covered.  A cloth is better than a lid. 
• Check periodically to see if it has thickened. You may have to leave it overnight.
• Use this thick cream to make butter. 
• Save the liquid that separates out from your butter making endeavor to bake or culture with.
• If you don't make butter with this, you have a sour cream (I think!)

Clabbered Milk

Clabber

Clabbered milk is the next thing to take up residence on my very overcrowded counter.  I have read that you should just keep a jar sitting out all the time. Whenever you use any, just add some milk back into it.  My philosophy of adding one thing at a time into our routine brings me to this next.  I am headed to some other raw milk stuff, but need to get this step figured out.  So.... my clabber jar will be living right next to my sourdough starter crock.  I hope it does not smell terrible.

One important note, the clabbering process only works with raw or unpasteurized milk. Pasteurized milk, if left out, only produces the nasty sour milk that we all know and don't love today.

What is clabber?  Clabber is naturally soured raw milk.  It is also the beginning of all raw cheese. Take a 1/2 quart of fresh milk and leave it out (cover with a towel or cheese cloth, it must be able to breathe). Wait for it to thicken. Depending on the temperature in your house this could take one to three days. It should be the consistency of pudding. Bacteria in the milk begin their process of converting lactose (a sugar, and therefore sweet) into lactic acid (which being an acid, is tart or sour.)  This gives the milk a sour, acidic taste that is more tangy than buttermilk or yogurt.

It will smell very sour at this phase.... probably too sour to use. Dump half the jar out and replace with fresh milk and mix. Let that sit a day till it "clabbers" again. It won't be so sour now.  Again, a similar process to growing a sourdough starter.   If necessary, you could again dump half of this and make a third generation, but with the price of raw milk, I don't think so.  I confess that some creme fraiche will be going into the first batch to get it started and none of it is going to be thrown out!  I will use it in something.

The clabbered milk you have produced can then either be left out (if it is not too warm in your house or you use it often) or refrigerated. When you need some in a milk product, scrape the stuff off the top and toss it (it sounds like a "bloom" on other cultured stuff), then spoon out what you need and refill the  jar with fresh milk. Just keep your little clabber garden going.

Now, on to the bigger question....What do you use it for?

• It is the beginning of all cheese (which I want to learn how to make)
• Starter for cottage cheese
• Starter for sour cream
• Starter for cultured butter
• Add texture to baked goods such as pancakes, bread, muffins. 

I don't know how this will all turn out, but plan to give it the old college try.  This is just the next step in our raw milk adventure.  I did find out where the word came from...  The word ‘clabber’ comes from the Irish word for thickened or the Scots word for mud, whichever you like, and the Irish word for milk is banne (thank you MacBain’s Dictionary). Together they make up the word ‘bonnyclabber’, which is what we know as buttermilk..

Best of Health to you

Cindy

New Book - Radical Homemakers

Today I came across a book that looks so good.  It looks like this family had the sense to write a book for this time,  when all of us are busy reassessing what we know about our homes, our families our money and our lives.  I plan to read it soon and hope it is not way out there.  The author wrote a couple of extensive articles which I will list.  If anyone beats me and reads this first, can you do a report for everyone else.

Radical Homemakers 

We have recently felt that the economic downturn has made our family reassess everything.  Two years ago would I have spent the better part of two days gathering the best ingredients, culturing and prepping them, carefully labelling and storing them, making sponges so we wouldn't run out of bread, researching new ways to use common, healthy ingredients.... then being delighted that borsch turned out to taste good?

Article: Meet the Radical Homemakers 

Looking into a cow, turning the guys back into farmers, using a lot of resource to make our grass into protein, figuring out how to butcher our own chickens.... two years ago this would not have even been on my horizon.  One of the new truths in our life is "we are going to look back on this time of shaking as a gift from God to force us to reassess what is important"   I firmly believe that in five years we will be GRATEFUL that the economy made us change.  Frankly, I am grateful right now.

Is it possible to use the changes rocking our world to learn to live a different way?  I think so.  What resource do you have?  Can you and your spouse learn to work together to be healthy, happy and in line with God?  Do you really need what our current world says is a "necessity"? 

Perhaps it is time to figure out what is really best for your family.  I know it is past time for us.  We will continue these changes with joy and peace.  My husband and I are partners in this journey.... and our children and children in love (law)  are walking strongly into this new / old lifestyle themselves.  I can't wait to see what they will make of this new world... they are young and change is easier.

I love to hear about how all of you are changing the world you live in.  Thank you for being so open.  It helps.

Cindy

Hot Borsch Soup

The hot borsch soup turned out really good.  It is a stew that incorporates beets and kvass in it.  This seem like a very inexpensive dish that can use the lousy cuts of meat (grass fed) some veggies past their prime and beets.  It will work well in our household for a couple of reasons... 1)  I usually have beet kvass going and always have extra beets and 2) my hubby and son liked it and 3) I am always looking for a way to put veggies in something.  Success! A new meal for us that is inexpensive and organic.

I am listing one recipe.  Sveta is from Russia (I think) and makes a mean borsch!  I will also list what today's borsch grew from.

How today's soup grew:

• A small roast with lots of fat and bones and not much meat from the bottom of my freezer.  Grass Fed, organic from my uncle.  Put it on the wood stove this morning in a pot, seared it on both sides, then added a bunch of water, onion and seasoning.  This perked along all day with the stove.
• Late this afternoon, using a smallish pot (in case we didn't like it) some broth and about 1/2 cup of meat started the borsch.  The meat was shredded before adding it in.
• To this 3 small (kind of old and growing just a little) potatoes, shredded cabbage, some celery, a little more onion and some of the beets from the kvass were added.  If there had been carrots on hand, they would have been in there too, but no luck.
• Some cultured tomato paste from the fridge (last summer's experiment)
• This simmered for about 45 minutes, then some of the beet kvass went in.  A little creme fraiche went on top and some barley/oat bread on the side.... A meal!

There was enough left for tomorrow's lunch.  I plan to serve it over baked potatoes.

Now for a real recipe:

Borsch recipe from Sveta

1 lb beef meat ( or chicken)
2 medium beet roots
1 (good size) carrot
1/2 of head cabbage
3 medium potatoes (optional)
1 med tomato (optional)
1/2 medium size onion
salt 1/2 Tsp
pepper 1/2 tsp
bay leaf - 2-3 leaves
1 tsp - raw vinegar
1/3c. olive oil
dill or parsley ( optimal)

In a pan put meat (cut into small pieces) add water and salt. Cook until the meat is done. Into the broth add cabbage and cook until done. Then add potatoes (cut into pieces). Leave it on low heat.

In a skillet put oil, grated (or cut small pieces) beets, carrots, onion. Saute' until the beets have colored the onion. Then put into the broth/cabbage mixture and cook for 10 more minutes.

Turn off heat. Add bay leaves, pepper, and vinegar. Add dill and parsley  before serving.

Sveta

Cold Borsch (Beet) Soup

Coping with a "Cultured" Kitchen

Today is one of those beautiful California days.  Snow and intense blue sky.  My snowboarding son and hubby call them "bluebird days" .... fresh powder and blue, blue sky.  You are reminded of God's provision and his grace, mercy and justice.

Tuesday was coop and grocery store day.  This time I blocked Wednesday out to deal with the groceries.  No one ever said that making nutritious, interesting meals was quick or easy.  The list was long, but good.  Kefir, low-temperature yogurt, ginger ale, beet kvass, bread and new sponge, mayonnaise, Kombucha Tea and soaked granola.  Today I am drying the granola on the wood stove, cooking some beef and bone broth beside it and putting everything away.  I still need to make a menu, but think I will leave it for tomorrow.

So.... what to make for dinner.   I have an abundance of pickled beets left from making beet kvass, beef and bone broth and I have kefir..... Although I have never tried borsch, it made its way to the top of today's menu because of the ingredients that need to be used from the fridge.

 

This should be a great summer soup, hopefully it is cold and yummy.  If it is not yummy, we will try again.  This is the recipe that will be the base.  I plan to use kvass and some of the pickled beets in place of the fresh beets and kefir in place of the sour cream.  Wish me luck.

Lithuanian Cold Beet Soup, Saltibarsciai,

also known as known as cold borsch

or cold bortsch or cold borscht

Borsch is the most famous and popular Russian soup. But no one calls it soup in Russia, it's 'Borsch'. The main ingredients are red beets, cabbage, potatoes and meat or chicken broths. Some people make 'vegetarian' borsch without any meat, only with vegetables.
Borsch has a very rich and delicious taste.

Here is the basic Borsch recipe:

1lb - beef (or chicken)
3 - red beets
0.5lb - cabbage
1 - carrot
4 - potatoes
salt and pepper, to taste

Put beef into a large saucepan and cover with 3 liters cold water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Remove the grease froth from the broth surface with a spoon. Cut cabbage, potatoes and carrot. Add chopped vegetables into the cooking pot. Cut red beets. When all vegetables are cooked add red beets at the very end. Add salt and black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Borsch is served with sour cream.