The Carambola Tree

On the farm where we lived in Costa Rica, we had many kinds of fruit, oranges, mangoes, mandarines, water apples, mora, to name a few. But one fruit in particular, the carambola, makes me homesick for our tropical mountain top life. Carambola, or as it is known stateside, star fruit, grew on a large tree near the entrance to the farm. The trees branches brushed the ground all around,  you needed to push your way through the branches and stand inside the canopy of leaves and branches, in order to find the fruit. In the soft green/gold light under the branches, you would see the carambola fruits hanging from the branches in numbers that were completely hidden from view when looking at the tree from the outside. It was a magical place, quiet and cool, the ground padded with fallen leaves. You could comfortably stand up inside; it would be a great place to meditate, or for a picnic if it weren't for the vicious little biting ants that also appreciated the shelter and cool. Sometimes I would go in there and just stand,( in my ant proof knee high rubber boots...), taking in the beautiful light and the aroma of ripening carambola.

One day while standing in my carambola tree hideaway, I was blessed with a wonderful encounter. I was just getting ready to pick some fruit for juicing, when I heard a rustling sound behind me. Not knowing what might be joining me, (a poisonous snake came to mind...), I stood perfectly still. Soon a bird with big orange feet came into view.

On the mountain, our Tico neighbors don't know the actual name for it, they just call them Pajero Pato, or duck bird. It is more officially known as a Gray Necked Wood Rail. Photo http://naturalencountersbirdingtours.com since all my photos are taken with the bird in the shadows

For many months I had stalked this bird trying to get a good photo of it, but it is shy of people and disappeared into the undergrowth when it saw me coming. I would often see a pair of them down the lane on the farm under the giant mango trees, dabbling in a puddle after the rain, or ranging through the tall grass on the south face of our mountain, but this was the first time I had gotten to see it up close. Really close! The bird seemed totally unaware of my presence and spent several minutes rustling and scratching around for something good to eat. I dared not move anything but my eyes and lamented that I didn't have my camera with me, but it was quite a treat to just to get to observe it so closely. In the shadows under the tree, the curiously constructed bird with its giant orange feet and duck shaped body, looked rather drab, the color of dead leaves and mud. But as it strolled past me and popped out from under the branches of the carambola tree into the sunlight beyond, its gray neck feathers shimmered with a brilliant green and the mud colored feathers at the base of its neck and back glowed golden orange. It was what I like to call a "God Moment", a moment in time that will never occur again, when the Creator of the Universe is made very real to me.

Like mandarines, carambola are a fall and winter crop in Costa Rica. During the time that they were in season we would drink our fill of mandarine/carambola juice with our breakfast in the mornings. It was so fresh and delicious! Here in the states, the carambola is expensive, and sub par, being that they are usually picked and shipped green, so they don't normally develop their wonderful sweet, tanginess. But the other day I was checking out a new Publix grocery store near us and saw that they had some promising looking carambola. They were yellow on the edges and pinky orange near the center, just like they were when we picked them on the farm in Costa Rica. They were also on sale at $1.00 a piece, so I cheerfully grabbed a couple so that I could make a tropical fruit juice for Shabbat breakfast.

So this morning, when we had our Sabbath breakfast out in the Lil' Swiss Miss, (our 1957 Swiss Colony camper), which consisted of a bowl heaped with apples, oranges, plums, grapes, kiwi and bananas, we also had a rich and velvety glass of tropical fruit punch. Oh was it good!

I made the juice by running it through our Greenstar juicer, but it can be done about as well, (maybe a little pulpier), in a good blender. Here is the recipe:

                 Tropical Sunrise Punch

One ripe carambola

Six large mandarine oranges (also known as clementines), or 8 small ones, peeled

One orange, peeled

One very ripe Ataulfo or "champaign" mango (the small golden mango), or 1/2 a very ripe Tommy Atkins,(the large, thick bodied green and red mango), peeled and seeded.

3/4 cup fresh pineapple

0ne carrot

Run through the juicer and serve. If using a blender, blend all until smooth and strain to remove carambola seeds, citrus skins and pineapple and carrot pulp. It can be chilled, but I think the flavor is more pronounced at room temperature. Serves two in goblets, or four in juice glasses.

Sip and enjoy some of the photos I took of the birds that lived with us in Costa Rica!

Keel Billed Toucan on the farm, Sabalito Costa Rica 2009

Wood Nymph Arenal Observatory, La Fortuna Costa Rica 2009

Pair of Gray Necked Wood Rails dabbling in puddle on the farm, Sabalito Costa Rica 2009

Magpie Jay  on the farm in Sabalito Costa Rica 2009

Blue Crested Mot-Mot on the farm, Sabalito Costa Rica 2009

Chestnut Mandible Toucan, Bijagua Costa Rica 2011

Violet Saberwing in flight, Poas Costa Rica 2011

Violet Saberwing at rest, Poas Costa Rica 2011

Pura Vida!

Breakfast in Costa Rica

Good morning everyone! I found some very pretty "Champagne" mangoes at Sam's the other day and they made me homesick for Costa Rica. I made all kinds of wonderful beverages with the mangoes on the farm there. Of course we also had loads of other fruits to add to our juices, star fruit, mandarines, mora (a Costa Rican blackberry), bananas as sweet and creamy as vanilla ice cream, several varieties of oranges and water apples, (which we seldom got any of since the birds and small Tico children usually got to them first!) Today I think  I am going to share one of my favorites, made with mango, pineapple, apples, carrots and oranges. The ones I made in Costa Rica actually used mandarines instead of oranges from the huge grove of trees on the farm, but since we are here in the States, I will have to substitute oranges for the mandarines and added carrots to give it more body.  It is a meal in itself!

There were several varieties of mangoes on the farm, but predominantly Tommy Atkins mango, which is the large mango usually found in the grocery stores in the USA starting in late April or early May, and the Ataulfo mango, which is known stateside as the "Champagne" mango. The mango trees lined the lane from the farm house to the cabina for 1000 feet (about 1/5 of a mile). Where the lane terminated and the pastures began there was a huge Ataulfo mango tree that towered 100 feet into the rain forest canopy. The spread of it's branches shaded the area for 50 feet in any direction. Many beautiful tropical plants found shelter there from the pounding rains and heat of equatorial sun. In a hole in the trunk well off the ground, a pair of Keel Billed Toucans raised their young. It was one of my favorite spots on  farm and in good weather in April/May, you would find me "hiding" from the toucans, trying to get some shots of them as they flew in and out of the nest to take turns sitting on the eggs, and later to feed their young ones. The tree was the source of food and shelter for so many plants and animals it would be hard to count, but I know for a fact that we were well fed from it's bounty!

 Mango Tango
This drink is rich and flavorful, sweet but not over the top, with a nice warm after zing from the cayenne. This is a breakfast all by itself and will hold me until lunch with no problem!

2 mangoes skin and seeds removed (see Much Adieu About Mangoes for an easy way to prepare a mango)
2 oranges, peeled and broken into small sections ( for Juicer) or if using a blender juice 2-3 oranges with handheld citrus juicer, or 3/4 to 1 cup orange juice from the store.
1 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, or 1 cup pineapple juice
1 apple, cored and cut into 6-8 pieces, (for Juicer), or if using blender 1 cup apple juice.
4 large carrots , tops removed, or if using blender 1 cup bottled fresh carrot juice
Juice of 1 lemon
1/8 tsp. cayenne, or less according to preferences.

 This is best done in a juicer since it is hard to get apples and carrots smooth enough in a blender. If you don't have a juicer, it can be done in a blender, I would just suggest that you use bottled juice for the apple and carrots and possibly the pineapple.

For Juicer:
Put all the fruit through the juicer and add cayenne to the catch pitcher and stir. Chill if desired.
For Blender:
Blend mango and pineapple, adding juices and cayenne as you blend. (If you don't enjoy as much zing as I do, you can cut down on the cayenne or leave it out, but if you can, try to leave some of the cayenne in for the health benefits.)

This also makes great refreshing pop sickles, but if you're making them for the kids you might want to leave out the cayenne!

I thought it might be fun to have breakfast in Costa Rica, so I am including a video of the toucans on the farm where we lived in Costa Rica! So make your Mango Tango and take a trip with me to see the Toucans! Many thanks to my dear husband who spent many hours sifting through all the video I shot to compile this video clip for me! Unfortunately size restrictions prevent me from posting the video at a good resolution, so some of the detail in the birds is lost, but you will get the idea anyway! I hope you enjoy!

Blog Hops this post is linked to:
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #73

Making Kefir

A few years ago, in order to get more kinds of probiotic in our diet, I learned to make kefir, (pronounced kuh-feer). Now that I am eating a vegan diet, I do not use any dairy, but my husband does, so I continue to make the kefir for him. I was pretty intimidated when I first started working with the kefir grains, since I knew little to nothing about how they should behave. But after a misstep or two, I got the process down to a science and discovered that kefir is very flexible and much more tolerant to neglect that I thought it would be.

I could extol the virtues of kefir here, but instead I will give you a play by play on how to start your kefir and a recipe for my husband's favorite Mango Lassi. But if you are interested in knowing more about the health benefits of kefir, here is a website where you can find more than you really want to know about kefir,  Dom's Kefir website....
I believe there is a fair amount of latitude in how you treat the grains and still get an acceptable end product. I have heard many different ways of managing your kefir grains, some people say you must culture every day, others say culture in the fridge to slow down the process, but that you can't store the grains in the fridge for long if you aren't using it much, some say only use pasteurized milk, others say it is best to use raw milk... So I am just going to tell you what has worked for me and suggest that you read what several people have to say on the subject and then decide how you will proceed. Speaking from my own experience, I have found that the grains will tolerate a lot of different environments and schedules, after all kefir grains have been around for centuries, without pasturized milk or other coddling. There are a few things however, that must be done right in order to keep your kefir grains healthy and happy.  First of all the grains are a living entity, a collection of yeasts and bacteria that need a clean environment to live in and the proper kind of food to feed on in order to thrive and reproduce. By clean environment I mean a very clean glass container, but no plastic, since plastic has microscopic pores that will be impossible to clean well enough to prevent contamination. I run the glass container through the dishwasher with the heated dry option on to make sure there are no stray yeasts or bacteria hanging around. All implements that you use with the kefir grains need to be non-metallic, so use a plastic or nylon strainer, and plastic utensils, but no metal, it could damage the viability of the grains. If you handle the grains with your hands, make sure they are very clean first, I wear latex gloves if I am handling them to make sure that I don't contaminate the grains. Kefir grains need quality food to be healthy, just like we do, so if at all possible use organic milk or fresh raw milk to culture your kefir. If organic milk or raw isn't an option, then at least make sure that you use very fresh milk, don't use milk that has been sitting in the fridge for a week, since pasteurized milk doesn't go sour like raw milk does, it just goes bad and the bacteria that is growing in it is not of the beneficial variety.

What you will need to begin making Kefir:
Kefir grains, at least 1 tablespoon, (they can be found at Amazon.com from several sources, just read the feedback before purchasing to make sure other have been satisfied with the grains they received. I would say to be on the safe side look for a seller that is selling fresh live grains that can be delivered to you in a couple of days.)
A clean glass jar and lid. When starting with new grains that need to be grown, use a pint jar and plastic lid or two part regular lid with plastic wrap between the lid and the kefir grains in the jar.
Very fresh milk. Organic or raw is best, but fresh at the very least. Reconstituted powdered milk can also be used .
A plastic or nylon strainer
A plastic spoon or spatula
A plastic funnel, optional but I like it since I don't want any of the grains to miss the jar when transferring and hit the counter.

My Story...
 When I got my grains in the mail, inside the bubble pack envelope, I found a sandwich sized ziploc bag with less than 1/4 inch of goo in the bottom of the bag. I had no idea what kefir grains looked like, so I just followed the directions and waited to see what would happen, but I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that I had just wasted my money... I waited 24 hours and the milk smelled vaguely of yogurt, but was thin and there was no whey, so I left it another 8 hours. By this time there was a little more activity, so I strained the liquid off and found a bunch of little white things that looked like cottage cheese left in the strainer. I rinsed them with water trying to find the goo that I had originally put in the milk but all that I found was these tiny pieces of what I took to be clabbored milk. At this point I was pretty sure something was wrong and that my grains had just dissolved in the milk. I decided to just put the white ricotta cheese looking pieces in fresh milk with about half of the milk I had strained off to start with. Thinking that maybe the "grains" were like yogurt and you just used some of what you had from your last batch to start your next one... Wrong... the little pieces of clabbored milk were the kefir grains. They had just started to revive and take on their true shape. So after a day or two more of being fed fresh milk the grains were making nice thick kefir and yes, I had gotten my money's worth. The point of this story is to say, be patient, follow the directions, once your grains have made their home in the jar on your counter, they will start producing tasty healthful kefir for you.

Mature Kefir grains look like cauliflower florets

 When you order the grains you will be shipped about a tablespoon in quantity. They won't look like much. You will probably wonder if you got the right thing... Once you receive your grains, put them in milk immediately. For this quantity of grains add 1 cup milk to the grains in a pint sized canning jar and leave at room temperature in a place out of direct sunlight, (direct sunlight could damage your grains) and leave for 24 hours. The first batch you make from newly arrived grains will probably be thin and smell and taste a little off... I would just strain the grains out of the milk the first time or two and put the liquid in the compost or if you have a septic system flush it down the toilet, (it is great for promoting microbial growth in the septic tank! I use extra kefir in place of the very expensive name brand product called Rid-X that serves the same purpose). After the first day or two the kefir will begin to thicken and the taste will be similar to that of plain yogurt and will have pockets of yellowish liquid throughout, (the liquid that you see is whey, it will blend back into the milk when you use the kefir).

The grains will float to the top of the jar and pockets of yellowish whey will form in the milk when the kefir is ready.

Now you can pour the kefir through a plastic strainer, reserve the strained kefir liquid and put the grains back in your culturing jar with a spoon or spatula and cover the grains with a cup of milk.

Of course this is much more than a cup or two of milk, but I have been growing my kefir grains so that I will have enough to share at a class I am giving. The grains are what is left in the strainer in this photo.

 At this point your milk is colonized  and you can either store the strained kefir in the fridge in a glass jar for use in smoothies and other goodies, or go for a fermentation of the kefir, which will give you a full flavored, slightly effervescent kefir that has a more developed family of helpful yeasts and bacteria.  I found that the one day culture of kefir was pretty weak in flavor, and there is very little sparkle or effervescence, but if I left it to culture another day, the flavor was much improved and the sparkle far more pronounced. I almost always ferment the kefir liquid for a day before I put it in the fridge. So I have one jar culturing with the grains, and one jar without the grains fermenting for a day or two, (depending on the inside temperature).

According to those who are in the know, kefir should be cultured every day in order to keep it healthy. I will agree that they produce great kefir when cultured every day, but since my husband is the only one consuming it, He can't keep up with the supply. What I do is culture the kefir every day until I have enough to last my husband for a few days, then I put the grains in the fridge covered in milk and leave them for up to two weeks. Since most of the kefir that is consumed at my house is made into lassi and smoothies, and goes straight from the jar to the blender, I make sure to label the jar containing the grains with bold letters stating that these are the Kefir grains DO NOT USE. I would hate for my happy little colony of kefir grains to end up blended into a smoothie!! If in two weeks I haven't used the grains, then I drain off the kefir liquid, add fresh milk and leave it on the counter, after 24 hours, I pour that off , add new milk and place in the fridge. Any of the milk poured off of the grains is usable of course, but I usually pour the storage kefir into the toilet to boost the health of our septic system.

As the amount of grains in your jar grows you will need to increase the quantity of milk that you add to the grains for culturing. If you are getting thick, whey filled kefir in 8-12 hours then increase the size of the jar and double the amount of milk you add to your grains. It should take a full 24 hours to develop your kefir, so if it is taking less time you need to change the environment some, either increase the volume of milk being cultured or reduce the temperature of the culturing environment to slow the process., And I would say yes, you can culture in the fridge from time to time, just not every time you culture so that the grains have the opportunity to grow and maintain their colony health).

Healthy grains will grow and multiply fairly quickly so if you are having trouble staying ahead of what is being produced and you have gone up in container size and have added increasing quantities of milk, to the point where you can't use it all, then it is time to divide your grains. If you need less kefir, then decrease the quantity by removing 1/4 of the grains, (more if you are really not keeping up). You will need to reduce the amount of milk you are using to culture the kefir when you divide the grains. It should take about 24 hours to culture, if it is taking longer than that, the volume of milk in is too much for the grains to handle, so reduce the quantity until you are getting cultured kefir in about 24 hours.  What do you do with the extra grains? The grains can be eaten, or if you have a friend who loved the lassi when you serve her once, you can share some of the grains with her! You can also rinse the grains thoroughly in water and dehydrate them in a dehydrator with only air, no heat, (like most yeasts heat will kill kefir yeasts), until they are completely dry. Then store them in a small quantity of dry nonfat dried milk in a freezer bag. Label and store in a cool dark place, (dehydrated grains have a 2 year shelf life if dehydrated without heat and stored properly).

Now that you have Kefir, what do you do with it? Well, if you like the taste of plain yogurt, then you will probably like the taste of plain kefir, but if you are like my husband, plain is kind of... meh... He prefers to have his kefir in a lassi or smoothie. You can also use the kefir to make other lacto-fermented foods like sauerkraut, when you want to avoid salt. It makes a killer ranch dressing as well as other salad dressings, or it can be used like buttermilk in pancakes or other soda leavened foods, but heat kills the healthful properties of the kefir, so if you are looking for the health benefits then stick to uncooked preparations.

Here is my husband's favorite:

Mango Lassi 
Makes one serving but may be doubled or tripled without overfilling the blender.
One heaping cup frozen mango pieces, (for details see: Mangos)
One cup kefir
One healthy tsp. honey (if your mango is very, very ripe and sweet, or you like a tangy lassi, the honey is optional)

Place frozen mango and kefir in blender then add honey (which keeps honey from sinking to the bottom under the blades where it might not mix in). Blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

I also like to make these into popsicles  for a refreshing snack for hubby while he is working in the garden. Kids love them, they taste similar to a cremesicle without the sugar and preservatives! What a way to feed them their probiotics!


If you are looking for healthful  ways to add good flora to your digestive tract, or want a more digestible way to consume milk, then I would recommend Kefir. Yogurt is good, but as far as healthy yeasts and bacteria for you gut, Kefir beats yogurt hands down. Here is a couple of quotes from Kefir.net "...Yogurt contains transient beneficial bacteria that keep the digestive system clean and provide food for the friendly bacteria that reside there. But kefir can actually colonize the intestinal tract, a feat that yogurt cannot match.”
Yogurt has two basic forms of helpful bacteria,  where Kefir has 13. "...Kefir contains several major strains of friendly bacteria not commonly found in yogurt, Lactobacillus Caucasus, Leuconostoc, Acetobacter species, and Streptococcus species.
It also contains beneficial yeasts, such as Saccharomyces kefir and Torula kefir, which dominate, control and eliminate destructive pathogenic yeasts in the body. They do so by penetrating the mucosal lining where unhealthy yeast and bacteria reside, forming a virtual SWAT team that housecleans and strengthens the intestines. Hence, the body becomes more efficient in resisting such pathogens as E. coli and intestinal parasites. So the bottom line is, Yogurt is beneficial, but Kefir is superior in its benefits to intestinal health.

Blog Hops this post is linked to:
Tasty Tuesday#4
Farm Girl Blog Fest #29
Farm Girl Friday #105
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #69
Farm Girl Blog Fest #30
Clever Chicks Blog Hop #32

Healthy Frugal Snacking

Since becoming vegan/ mostly raw, I find that I am often hungry between meals. It has been hard for me to break the habit of not eating between meals, since for most my life that is one of the ways that I controlled my weight. But now that most every thing I eat is raw and all of it is plant based, I find the need to eat far more frequently. Actually, I eat all day long...

Today I started out with my early morning green drink, (which is 1 1/2- 2 frozen bananas, 1 heaping tsp. barley green, 1 level tsp. Erin's Super Green Drink powder and 8 oz. of water blended in a personal sized bullet blender), then a small mountain of fruit: apples, clementines, bananas, kiwi, mango,  and pineapple. After that I had my Beet the Blues Detox drink and went on about my morning. After watering all the seedlings and transplants, and doing the household chores I found myself peckish again around 10 a.m. Snacking can be expensive if it is a full time job, so I am always trying to find healthful, frugal snacks to eat between meals.

Since I was out in the garden when hunger struck, I picked a bunch of greens, including Blue Curly Kale, Wild Kale Mix, and Bright Lights Swiss Chard. The kale is trying to go to seed, but I am encouraging it to last a week or two longer by cutting off the flower stalks as soon as they appear, (BTW the kale flower stalks taste just like broccoli). Once inside I rummaged around in the freezer and found some berries from last year's harvest that I had frozen. I decided to make a green smoothie with the kale and the blueberries.
Here is the recipe:



Kale Berry Smoothie
2 frozen bananas
2 cups of mixed blueberries and blackberries frozen or fresh
1 bunch kale or other deep green leafy 
1 healthy handful of fresh lemon balm, (spearmint will also do, but I really like the citrus-y taste of the lemon balm) or the juice of 1/2 a lemon and a tsp. agave.
Water to aid in blending, and to obtain desired consistency, about 2 cups ( you can also use organic 100% fruit juice if you like).

Put 1 cup of water and the greens in the blender and blend. Then add the frozen bananas, the blueberries, and the lemon balm, (or its alternative), and blend. Add more water, (or juice) to make the drink to the thickness of your liking.

The smoothie is thick, cold and refreshing, but will have a slightly different texture than many smoothies, since it has fresh greens in it. It is delicious, and will probably hold me for another couple of hours, until I can make myself some lunch. The total cost of my mid morning snack was about 40 cents, since the blueberries, greens and lemon balm all came out of the garden, the only thing I included that had a cost was two organic bananas, which cost about 20 cents a piece.

I am always looking for a way to cut grocery costs, especially if we are paying the premium price of organic food. Growing a garden is one way that I can afford to eat the way I need to and not break the bank. The other part of that is to find ways to use what we grow in as many meals and snacks as possible. For every head of lettuce I pick from the garden, every batch of fruit I freeze, I am saving money. If I think about what we have growing when I plan my meals; I can use what is coming out of the garden first and then add other things that have to be purchased to round out the meals.

I know that there are many people who do not have the luxury of land to grow in, and for those people I am going to be writing a series of blog posts on how to grow your own food when you have no space for a garden. I also will be giving tips and thoughts on the most inexpensive and practical ways to buy the foods that you can't grow. So please check back and find out how you can be frugal and eat well at the same time.

Until next time! Elle

Blog Hops this post is linked to:
Frugal Days Sustainable Ways #69
Farm Girl Fest #30

No Guilt Vegan Lasagna

I love Italian food. Actually, I have a fondness for ethnic foods in general, but Italian dishes in the past have always been my go-to comfort foods. Since adopting a vegan diet, and focusing on raw foods where possible, the pasta and cheese that I used to find such comfort in are a thing of the past. I have gone through a sort of grieving process. I am very fond of cheese and pasta... at times I really miss them, along with chocolate, coffee, sugar and a list too long to detail... I chose to eat a vegan diet because I wanted to win my battle with Fibromyalgia and get my life back. Unlike many people who follow a vegan diet, I have no problem using foods derived from animals, such as milk, eggs, cheese, and honey. These were mainstays in my vegetarian diet, but no matter how healthy I tried to eat, I wasn't making any headway with the debilitating manifestations of FM, so I decided to give vegan/raw a try. Having made such wonderful progress in my health, tempted as I may be to cheat and have some comforting, deeply satisfying, rich, cheesy lasagne, I will forgo the pleasure and stick with the vegan diet. Sigh...

It has been on my to-do list for some time to come up with a recipe for a comforting, rich, flavorful lasagna that would be healthful, relatively light on caloric intake, and fully raw. This past week I finally set aside the time to play in the kitchen and came up with what I consider a success. Of course it isn't lasagna in the classic sense of the word, since it isn't served hot and there is nary a whiff of dairy cheese anywhere, but it is quite good. It would make a great festive dinner for the summer, when it is too hot to heat up the kitchen, whether you're vegan or not.

**Before I get into the recipe, I want to talk about some things I do to make my life easier day to day. In order to be equipped for preparing interesting and varied meals, I have found it necessary to do certain things ahead and in bulk in preparation for daily meal preps. I have a routine. I make and keep on hand several kinds of lacto-fermented foods, like sauerkraut and kimchee, for adding to salads and using as a flavorful side dish or snack, I pickle daikon and other veggies, sprout a number of different kinds of seeds for use in salads and wraps, I soak and sprout some seeds to boost nutrition but "harvest" them when just the tips of the sprout pokes out, before any leaves develop. I soak and  freeze or dehydrate all the nuts that we eat, to eliminate the naturally occurring enzymes that prevent premature sprouting, but are also digestive inhibitors. I make kombucha, and for my husband who does eat some dairy and loves baked bread, I make kefir and enjoy keeping a sour dough starter for making bread. I also keep a supply of sundried tomatoes in the fridge, soaked and ready to use. I keep these things going perpetually. Something is always growing, culturing, or fermenting on my counter. If you are trying to eat more living food, I would suggest that you get in the habit of preparing as many staple items as possible ahead of when you will need them. That way daily meal prep times are greatly reduced.**

The Lasagna Ingredients List

For  Cashew Cheese
Two heaping cups of raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours in water, then drained,(this will make about 3 cups soaked cashews)
Two large or 3 medium cloves of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
A large handful of fresh basil, (about 3/4 cup)
One tsp. sea salt or real salt
 Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/4 cup
Scant 1/3 cup water
One Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

For the Filling
Two carrots grated
One large zucchini
2 cups spinach or chard, shredded
One package enoki mushrooms or one cup cremini mushrooms sliced thinly

For the Sauce
Two cups of sun dried tomatoes, soaked for 4 hours in water, reserve 1/3 cup soaking water.
Two Roma tomatoes, quartered
Sprig Fresh rosemary, Two -three sprigs each parsley and oregano, and a handful of basil  , (approx. one cup).
Two- three garlic cloves, crushed and roughly chopped
Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
A tablespoon or two of tomatos powder, (optional)
Red wine, 1/4 cup, or one tablspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
One tsp. agave
One tsp. salt

Equipment Needed
Large sharp knife
High powered blender, (not a personal bullet blender)
Mandoline, or V-slicer, (if available)
Garlic press, (if desired)



 The Cheese
The first step to making the vegan lasagna is to soak a large bag of raw cashews for at least four hours, (I get mine from an Indian market in Charlotte, their prices are very affordable. If you don't have a ethnic market that sells raw cashews, look for them at the natural food store). The cashews should soak long enough to remove all the digestive inhibitor and to make them soft so that they will be creamy when blended. The cashews should be raw, roasted cashews will not work for making cashew cheese for the lasagna. Drain the cashews and let sit in strainer for awhile to drip dry. Take out 3 cups of cashews for the recipe and place the remaining cashews in a freezer bag for use in the future. Be sure to mark the bag as soaked cashews and store in the freezer.

In a high powered blender, place the three cups of soaked cashews in the blender with 2 large or 3 medium peeled and chopped or pressed garlic, 1 tsp. sea salt or Real salt, a big handful of fresh basil, and 1/4 cup Bragg's apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp. agave. Pulse to begin chopping the nuts, then add water a little at a time to keep the blades taking the nuts down. Do not add much water at first, pulse and scrape the cashew mixture frequently, start with a scant 1/4 cup of water and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Add water carefully and sparingly, just enough water to keep things moving in the blender. Once the nuts are moving around the blender and it is beginning to get creamy, stop adding water and just pulse and scrape to keep things moving. Each time will be different dependent upon weather and how much water the cashews took up while soaking, but I used less that 1/3 cup of water when I made it. The objective is to have a very thick "cheese" the consistency of drained ricotta cheese. Taste and adjust salt as desired and chill while preparing the veggies for assembly.

The Veggies

For the filling in the layers of the lasagna, grate two carrots, shred into strips several handfuls of spinach or swiss chard. I used swiss chard, folded several leaves together lengthwise and cut across the width in small strips. Since I was using Bright Lights Swiss Chard, that has a rainbow of colors, this made each strip green on either side with a pretty splash of color in the middle. Thinly slice a small package (4 oz. is plenty) of cremini mushrooms, or if you can find them use enoki mushrooms as I did. I found a variety of fresh mushrooms at an oriental market for a very affordable price. The enoki mushrooms are quite nice in this lasagna, but if you can't find them cremini will be fine, just slice them thinly.

Choose a large zucchini. This is a great use for those blimp sized zukes that went unnoticed for a few days in the garden. As long as the flesh is still tender and the seeds are small, a zucchini 10-14" long is perfect. With a sharp knife, cut the ends off , cut in half across the width, then stand on one cut end and cut a strip off to make a flat surface, so it will make good contact with the slicer. With a mandoline or V slicer, slice medium thick lengthwise slices of a zucchini. If you don't have a slicer then stand on end and make 1/8th slices with a large sharp knife. These strips will be about 1/8" thick or slightly thicker, but not as thick a 1/4 inch. They will be used in the place of pasta in the raw lasagna.



The Sauce

 Here is another time that I make in advance what I will need over the course of a week. This recipe calls for 2 cups soaked sun dried or dehydrated tomatoes, so I put a whole bag 8 oz. of them in a mason jar to soak with some garlic granules and a sprig or so of fresh rosemary. They will keep in the fridge for several weeks so what doesn't get used in this recipe will be available for use for other purposes later. Soak the tomatoes for when you soak the cashews, so that they will both be ready when you want to prepare the lasagna. Reserve 1/3 cup of soaking liquid. Cut the ends off two-three ripe Roma tomatoes, quarter and place in a high powered blender with the soaked sun dried tomatoes, a handful of fresh basil, a few sprigs of fresh oregano, parsley and rosemary, (strip the rosemary off the woody stem before putting in the blender), and 2-3 large cloves of garlic crushed and rough chopped. We are crazy for garlic so we use a lot; if you aren't as enthusiastic about garlic as we are use less. Because I have it on hand, and I really like the bright tomato-y flavor I use a tablespoon or so of tomato powder at the end of the blending process, to thicken up the sauce. This isn't readily available in stores so it isn't integral to the recipe, but does add a nice flavor if you happen to have some. I get my tomato powder from Honeyville Grains. The tomato powder is part of my emergency pantry and long term storage food supplies. To the tomatoes, herbs and garlic add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1/4 cup of red wine, (optional, but if you don't use the wine add a tblsp. of balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar),  a tsp. of agave and a tsp. of salt.

 Blend these together, pulsing and scraping to get the mixture into the blades until things are chopped up well. Then while blender is running, add some of the reserved tomato soaking water, small quantities at a time, so that the whole business ends up a little looser than the consistency of tomato paste. Only use as much as necessary to get the blender blades to pull the tomatoes mixture through and create a nice thick paste. If available, at this point add your tomato powder and blend to distribute.

The tomato sauce should be very close to the consistency of tomato paste.

The Assembly

The assemble is done on individual plates.  Start by placing two strip of zucchini on the plate.  Spread a modest layer of the cashew cheese on the zucchini then spread with the tomato sauce. Next sprinkle with shredded carrots.

Place the enoki mushrooms, (or cremini mushrooms if that is what you are using), then arrange your shredded greens atop the mushrooms and cover with a second layer of zucchini. Repeat, as for the first layer, cheese, sauce veggies and top with a final layer of zucchini.

Top the final strips of zucchini with sauce and sprinkle with  a nice dusting nutritional yeast. Decorate the top with a few sprigs of enoki mushroom and a small piece of curly kale or parsley. Serve at room temperature with  a crusty bread, and a salad.

I hope that you will give this a try, I know it is a little different, but then sometimes doing something a little different is a good thing! Take care and I will see you again soon!

Blog Hops this post is linked to:
Tackle the Menu Tuesday 
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways #68 
Busy Bee's 13th Blog Hop
Adorned From Above Blog Hop #16
Farm Girl Fest #29
Farm Girl Friday #105

Quick Tasty Pickled Things

Yesterday was Sunday and a designated "kitchen day". I recently made a visit to may favorite oriental market and stocked up on a variety of fresh mushrooms, daikon radishes, and a sundry of the other beautiful produce they offer. I left with six bags of produce stuffed to the gills and a couple of bags of other things like hoisin sauce, green and jasmine tea, nori, hijiki and black tree fungus, all for $55! I definitely get the best bang for my food bucks when I can shop at this market.

With my stash of daikon and mushrooms taking up space in my cramped fridge, a kitchen day was in order. Since it was the weekend, my husband was able to help me out in the kitchen. We lit a fire in our "new to us" 1890's wood stove, put Baroque and before music on Pandora and spent a happy day preparing various goodies to have on hand in the fridge for this week. One of the things that we prepared was several variations on the theme of pickled daikon radishes. We also made a huge pot of mushroom stock, (which made the house smell wonderful), roasted oriental eggplant for making Baba Ghanouj, and filled the dehydrator with onion slices to dry, for the long term storage pantry.

My husband peeled the daikon radishes with a vegetable peeler, cut off the top and bottom, and then made three lengthwise cuts from end to end. He then cut the daikon to a length to fit just below the neck of a wide-mouth canning jar, the shorter piece will be turned into cubes and treated to a different brine than the long pieces. The long thin slices were then be cut into julienne strips. I have a Mandoline slicer, which I use a lot, especially for preparing vegetables for the dehydrator, but for the daikon, I like the hand cut julienne strips better. Once the strips were finished, and arranged in the jars, a brine was made to cover the radish strips. The brine consisted of: 1 cup of water, three to four cloves of smashed and slivered garlic, 1/2-3/4 tsp. sea salt,  1/2-3/4 cup agave, or 1 cup organic sugar, (make a simple syrup if using sugar), plus one cup of white vinegar, Braggs Apple Cider vinegar or whatever other vinegar you choose. Pour mixture over the daikon strips in the jar. I use a plastic wide mouth jar lid instead of the twp piece metal lid, since the daikon will gas a little during the pickling process and the plastic cap isn't as tight a fit as the canning lids, so the gasses can sneak out. If you don't have the plastic lids that is fine, just don't screw the two piece lid down tight so the gasses can escape. The jars will sit in the fridge for at least 3 days and then I can use them for adding to salads, for use in vegan sushi or for my favorite use, to be the sparkle in the Vietnamese-style spring rolls that I make to go along with vegan Pho... yum!

The cubed daikon will be treated in two different ways. I will put some of the cubes and in a jar with finely chopped red bell peppers add 6 garlic cubes smashed and slivered, then covered with seasoned rice wine vinegar, (I usually use Maruchan), which is more mellow than the white vinegar and allows the garlic flavor to take center stage. The rest of the daikon were layered in a jar with blanched cauliflower, blanched baby carrots, onion slices and Thai bird chiles, (I grow my own, but they can be found in most oriental markets during their season, or  you can use dried cayenne peppers soaked and split, or red pepper flakes). The brine was the same as for the daikon strips, except that I cut the sugar quantity in half. These also should be left in the fridge for at least three days before use, more if you want the Thai chiles to have time to impart well developed bite to the veggies. We add the cubes to salads, or eat them as a side dish or use as a condiment for flavoring steamed rice.

The veggies are packed tight in the jars. I layer them because I think it is pretty, but you could just mix them all together and then pack into jars. When I do this I also add halved Brussel sprouts which are quite tasty pickled!

When pouring in the cooled brine, be sure to gently tap the jar to dislodge air bubbles that get trapped between the veggies. If they are stubborn and won't come loose, I use a bamboo skewer to slide down between the veggies and knock the bubbles loose.

Left to right, front to back: pickled mixed veggies with bird chiles, daikon cubes in rice wine vinegar, and in the back, sweet and sour pickled daikon strips.

The pickled veggies are good to dress up every day food, or add a little sparkle to left overs. But the best reason for having these crunchy, tasty and easy to make pickled goodies in the fridge, is that it makes it possible to make some of our favorites like vegan sushi or Vietnamese spring rolls in short order. I cook up large batches of sushi rice, season it and freeze it in serving sized packages, (quart sized freezer bags). The rice can be thawed in a few minutes by immersing the tightly sealed, bag in hot water. While the rice is thawing I prepare the vegetables by cutting thin strips of cukes, thinly julienned carrots, mung bean sprouts, and avacado strips, or really whatever is in the fridge... red bell peppers, jicima, thin strips of celery, steamed asparagus... and of course I drain some of the daikon pickles and have everything ready and waiting to roll up in nori sheets by the time the rice is thawed. I will do a blog post on making sushi sometime soon. They are fun and easy, and cost pennies to make. I hope you will give the daikon pickles a try, and if you do, please stop by and let me know what you think and how you used them... I would love to hear what you came up with!

Blog Hops this post is linked to:
Clever Chicks Blog Hop #25 
Monday's Homestead Barn Hop #102
Busy Bee's 8th Thursday Blog Hop
The Country Home Blog Hop #58 
Farm Girl Friday #100
Farm Girl Blog Fest #24

Secret to a Great Smoothie

I was never very fond of smoothies, at least not the ones that were commercially available at smoothie bars or in restaurants. I tried my hand at them at home, but I wasn't crazy about them either. They just tasted like fruit, ice and water, not very appealing really... Then one day, I found the secret ingredient that changed my opinion of smoothies forever...bananas. Not just any ol' run of the counter top, room temperature banana, but a frozen banana that will turn mere fruit into creamy, frosty, deliciousness...

So, I was hooked on smoothies. I began to fill my freezer with bananas to make them with. But the bananas didn't keep very well in the freezer. After a week or so, they would start to turn brown and take on a bitter aftertaste. I was only able to freeze about a weeks worth of bananas at a time. But my busy life often distracted me from the banana freezing schedule and I would open the freezer with anticipation, only to be disappointed when I discovered we were out of frozen bananas... sigh...

So I figured out by trial and error the best way to get quantities of bananas in the freezer with very little fuss and virtually no waste from bananas that went brown and bitter. I purchase organic bananas in quantity, 6 or more large bunches at a time and let them ripen out on the counter. For optimal sweetness, you want your bananas to ripen thoroughly. I let mine get very speckled, just one step shy of a banana bread banana, but not to the point of being squishy. If they are too soft they will be difficult to get into the bags to freeze.
 .
** This is an important part of the process...always peel your bananas before you freeze them!** A friend of mine took my suggestion and froze some bananas for smoothies for the kids one summer. A few days later I got a call from her asking me what the trick was for getting the peels off the frozen bananas so she could use them... I said, peeling them before they went in the freezer was the trick... she didn't think that was funny.   Once the bananas are ripe, set aside a few minutes to process them and get them into the freezer all at once. I like to have all the items necessary for the process close at hand, so that the peeled bananas are not exposed to the air for very long. I have found that using a Seal-a-Meal vacuum sealer is the optimal way to package bananas for the freezer. The thick plastic Seal-a-Meal bags help protect the fruit and the vacuum sealing eliminates browning due to oxidization. Depending on the size of the banana I break them into 2 or 3 pieces, (usually 2, that way I know that 2 pieces equals 1 banana when it is smoothie making time). I put 6-8 bananas in a bag, depending on the size of the bananas and pack them in tightly.

I date the bags so that I know which bananas to use first, since when I am about half way through my supply of bananas, I get more and start the ripening process,so there could be bananas from different dates in the freezer at one time. I make the bag large enough to accommodate 6-8 bananas tightly packed , leaving 2-3 inches of extra bag to be used when sealing the bag. ** I always reuse my Seal-a-Meal bags, since they are kind of expensive. I use them 2 or three times for bananas, washing and drying them carefully each time I empty a bag. The bag will hold less bananas per use, since you have to cut the bag open and then leave a few inches for sealing the next time it is used. When after they are too small for storing bananas, I use them for other things like leftovers, etc.**   
The open edge of the bag goes into the channel of the Seal-a-Meal. The bag needs to be smooth so that there are no wrinkles that could cause it not to seal properly.

 Lock down the handle on the right side and press the seal button. The vacuum will evacuate the air. Once all the air is removed from the bag and it is drawn up tight against the bananas, the heat strip will come on and heat seal the bag. At this point there should be no room between bananas and the whole bag should feel solid, with no wiggle room. When the bag is opened for use, I cut as close as possible to the strip where it was heat sealed, so the bag can be used again. Once opened I put the Seal-a-Meal bag inside a gallon sized freezer Ziploc-style bag, with the top folded over and all the air pressed out of the bags to prevent undue exposure to the air.

Place the bananas in the freezer, being sure to put the most recent bags on the bottom. So that the oldest bananas get used first.

If you don't have a Seal-a-Meal, you can store bananas in freezer bags.I use quart sized bags, put the bananas in tightly, seal all but an inch of the zip seal and then press out as much air as possible, and then quickly press the last inch of zip seal closed with a finger while keeping the air out with my other hand.. Then I put two of the quart sized bags in a recycled Gallon Ziploc-style bag, to give them a second layer of protection.

I know that sounds like a lot of trouble, but it really takes far less time to do than it does to talk about it! The really nice thing is that when properly sealed, the bananas will last for months in the freezer and be just as sweet and nice as the day they were put in the freezer!

Now on to the good part... here are a few of my recipes for some simple, yet delicious smoothies!

This recipe is a summertime favorite. I freeze fruits that come out of our garden all summer so that I can pick and choose which fruits to go in it. This is great for making popsicles as well.

                       Whatever You've Got Fruit Smoothie

Makes a blender full which will serve 3-4 or will serve two and make a couple of trays of popsicles
2 bananas
1 handful frozen strawberries2 handfuls frozen mangoes or peaches
1 handful frozen or fresh blueberries, blackberries or cherries
enough fruit juice to make smoothie the desired consisitency 1 1/2- 2 cups. I use unsweetened pineapple juice or 100% fruit juice,(cranberry, cherry berry, pomegranate).

In blender put bananas, and mangoes and enough juice to blend, (start with 1/2 cup), once that is pretty well blended, add the rest of the fruit. Pour the juice through the hole in the lid and pulse to get the blender to chew through the fruit chunks. Continue to add juice until the blender has blended the berries into the bananas and mango and the blender is churning the mixture without any trouble. How much liquid you add is up to you, make it as thick or as thin as you desire. This is a great kid pleaser. The nice thing is that it is a great way to get more fruit into their diet with no complaint.


                       Almond Milk Shake

This serves one, but can be doubled and will still easily fit in the blender
1 large frozen banana or 1 1/2 bananas if small
1 large Medjool date, pitted and soaked in small amount of almond milk, (just enough to cover it)
1/2-3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk.
Optional:  dash of cinnamon.

Place the bananas, almond milk soaked date(plus soaking liquid), and 1/2 cup of almond milk in the blender. Blend until all the pieces of banana and date are blended into a thick shake, at this point add optional ingredients if desired. Add more almond milk if you desire a smoothie that isn't quite so thick.
It thick and sweet and in my opinion tastes better than a milk shake. It is virtually guilt free, since it is made with fruit and unsweetened almond milk, so there is no dairy, or sweetener in it.

The next smoothie is my mid afternoon pick-me up. It has raw cacao which helps with leveling of blood sugar and is a good source of magnesium, as well as PEA the  "feel good" neurotransmitter, Tryptophan and Serotonin. Raw cacao is beneficial to the cardiovascular system, antioxidants in the raw cacao have been clinically proven to literally dissolve plaque built up in the arteries which helps in reversing heart disease and causes naturally lower blood pressure.  I also add Maca, the Peruvian "superfood", which increases energy, endurance and stamina and has 27 trace minerals including Selenium. It is instrumental in helping the body to regulate hormonal processes. It can be used to treat hormonal dysfunctions caused by menopause in women and andropause in men. It really helps to reduce my hot flashes, but I am careful to have this mid-afternoon, since it has a stimulating effect and can interfere with sleep if consumed too late. All that said, it is yummy and chocolaty, with a slightly nutty flavor. And like the other almond shake is raw, vegan, and pretty much guilt free.

                         Healthy, Raw, Chocolate Almond Shake

Blender will accommodate ingredients to serve two so this can easily be doubled
1-1 1/2 bananas
3/4 to 1 cup almond milk ( more or less to obtain desired thickness)
1 rounded tsp. organic raw cacao powder
1/2 tsp. organic Maca
Optional: splash of Monin Hazelnut  flavoring syrup
Place 3/4 cup almond milk in blender, add other all ingredients and blend until smooth. Add  more almond milk to obtain desired thickness.


Blog Hops This post is linked to:
http://www.growingpatch.com/blog-hop/
Homestead Barn Hop #100 
HomeAcre Hop#8 
Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop#97
Farmgirl BlogFest #22
Clever Chicks Blog Hop #23
Sustainable Suburbia
Country Homemaker Blog Hop #56
Hearthfelt Hopes Blog Hop#1
Frugally Sustainable Blog Hop#66 

Making "Raw" Sauerkraut

My family is of European blood, (my maiden name was Wilson...), so sauerkraut was a staple in the larder and on the table when I was growing up. My grandmother grew cabbage, huge headed Dutch Flat cabbages, to make sauerkraut in the fall. It was a messy, somewhat stinky process, but I loved being part of the process and seeing the jars of kraut lined up on the shelves, alongside the green beans, pickled beets and chow chow. My grandmother didn't like caraway so we didn't have that in the kraut, and it had a mighty strong, tart flavor, to the uninitiated, but it was one of my childhood comfort foods, alongside Spaatzle and pickled beets.

Today, I do hot water bath can some sauerkraut, for my emergency pantry, but I have found that there is a more nutritious, flavorful variety of kraut that can be made for every day consumption. Raw sauerkraut is good for the "gut", it provides a balanced amount of flora to the intestines. It is a great source of pro-biotic bacteria, but unlike yogurt is not a dairy product, and doesn't have to be refrigerated. Being a vegan, I don't eat dairy, so I need another source of pro-biotic bacteria, sauerkraut fits the bill nicely.

                                           Making Raw Sauerkraut 

Equipment needed:

Food processor
1/2 gallon mason jar
Sharp knife
Measuring spoons
Wooden mallot
4 oz. mason jelly jar



Ingredients
4+ pounds cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 apples, peeled and grated
4 tsp unrefined salt
1 tsp caraway seeds (optional)

Directions
Save 2 large cabbage leaves from head.
1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl except for the 2 cabbage leaves.
2. Pound or massage for 15 minutes or until there is plenty of juice.
3. Pack a 64 oz mason jar 3/4 full.
4. Cover with cabbage leaves and weigh down.
5. Let sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 days.
If vegetables get slimy or turn brown, throw them out. If any white yeast develops on top, scrape
it off; it is not harmful, but tastes unpleasant.

Combine the shredded cabbage, apple, carrot, salt and caraway seed in a large bowl.

With a large, long handled, wooden mallot, (I got mine at a Latin grocery store, it is a chocloate stirrer), or a heavy potato masher, pound the ingredients to break the cabbage down and release the juices. You should pound the cabbage mixture vigorously, scraping and moving the cabbage around to make sure that you get to all the cabbage equally. Close to the end of the process take both hands and squeeze the cabbage mixture to expel juices that may be left in the cabbage.

My husband volunteered to do the mashing for me

You will know when you are done mashing when you place the palm of your hand down firmly on the cabbage mixture and the liquid flows over the top of your hand.

Once the cabbage is ready, take cabbage mixture by the handful and put it in the 1/2 gallon jar. Pack it in tightly with your fist. Continue to do this until the jar is 3/4 full of packed cabbage mix.

When Jar is 3/4 full pour in some of the juice from the bowl to stand 1 inch above the packed cabbage.

 At this point it is time to take the reserved outer leaves of the cabbage and position them on top of the packed cabbage in the jar. Press them down firmly to force out any air that may be trapped between the leaves and the packed cabbage and to cause the juices to flow over the top of the cabbage leaves until they are covered.

Take small 4 oz. mason jar and place it in the mouth of the 1/2 gallon jar. If you don't have a 4 oz. jelly jar then another jar will do, but you must be very careful to choose a jar that will fit loosely into the 1/2 gallon jar, leaving room on the sides so that the smaller jar does not become stuck in the neck of the 1/2 gallon jar. It also must not stick up above the top of the jar or this lid might not fit on when you go to screw it on. If you can't find a jar that will fit, a sealed ziploc sandwich bag full of small glass marbles will do the trick as well. Press down to force liquid up the sides of the smaller jar, but not over the top.

Place lids on the jar and tighten. Put the jar a plastic container, (I used a plastic shoe box sized storage container, but a recycled salad container or even a mixing bowl will serve),  to keep the juice from getting on the counter should it bubble out during the fermentation process.

This photo shows two jars of Kraut. The recipe only makes one jar of Kraut, but I doubled the recipe for my own use so this photo shows two jars.

Leave the sauerkraut to ferment undisturbed for 5 -10 days. I usually go the full 10 days to allow ample time for the cabbage to completely ferment and the flavor to develop.

I refrigerate after the fermentation process, just to be sure the kraut doesn't go bad, but if the kraut is kept covered with juice and something  heavy is sitting on it to keep kraut submerged, then it could be left out, unrefrigerated. As was done in days gone by. Let your own sensibilities help you to choose whether or not you refrigerate the sauerkraut when it is done. Spoilage would be indicated by browning, foaming and a foul smell.

Most of the time I just eat the sauerkraut as a side dish to my meals, but it is great to top a tossed vegetable salad, or on a Reuben sandwich. This is a definite keeper for anyone on a vegan or raw diet, since it is both a probiotic and a raw food.  If you try this recipe, stop back by and comment and tell me what you think of it and what recipes you used it in. I would be delighted to hear from you!

Blog Hops This is Linked to:
Clever Chicks Blog Hop#22
Homestead Barn Hop #99
HomeAcre Hop#7 
Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop #97 
Farmgirl Blog Fest #21
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Growingpatch.com/blog-hop/ 
The Country Homemaker Hop #55
The Busy Bee's 5th Thursday Blog Hop
Clever Chick Blog Hop # 23
Homestead Barn Hop #100 
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