PRESERVING SUMMER

     My garden is a long way off from providing enough to actually feed my family, so I am very grateful for the experts at my local farmer's market who are light years ahead of us in terms of productivity. I was especially pleased to find some nice cabbages because we are all out of sauerkraut. The last time I made a batch was when I was filming this clip for my new course "How To Make The Switch To A Real Food Diet in 3 Simple Steps" which I am offering at the special price of $39 to readers of my blog.

SAUERKRAUT

5 pounds organic cabbage, grated

3 Tbsp sea salt

Method: Combine the salt and cabbage in a large bowl, toss well. Use a mallet or potato masher to pound the cabbage until juices start to be released. Press tightly into wide mouth mason jars. Use a small mason jar to weigh down the cabbage so it remains submerged with it's own brine. Leave at room temperature for 5-9 days or until sour. Cover and refrigerate.

PRINT RECIPE

TOMATO CHEESE MELTS on Sourdough Bread

     I've been enjoying the last of the local tomatoes by making these tasty tomato cheese melts almost every day.  They are a definite comfort food, reminding me of all the times I ate some sort of variation of them growing up.  These days the tomatoes have been piled up on top of homemade sauerkraut and topped with swiss cheese.  When I was a kid, they often included slices of salami, and yesterday I used some leftover salmon mixed in with mayonaise and capers.  You can get pretty creative with these little suckers, maybe a little pesto, not to mention you could use bagels, crumpets or english muffins.  They make a great hot breakfast or lunch special!

TOMATO CHEESE MELTS on Sourdough Bread

4 slices organic local tomatoes

2-3 Tbsp organic sauerkraut

1/4 cup grated organic swiss cheese

2 slices organic spelt sourdough bread (this one pictured was made using Heartwood Bakery bread which I bought in store, specifically asking them to keep their plastic bag)

Method:  Toast the slices of bread.  The top with some cheese, the sauerkraut, tomato and end with the rest of the cheese.  Broil until melted.  

SAUERKRAUT AND OTHER FERMENTED YUMMINESS

I decided to go nuts at the Farmer's Market this week and buy loads of veggies to turn into lacto-fermented yumminess.  It is amazing the amount of veggies you can pack into a jar once they've been salted a bit.  So I spent the afternoon grated, chopping, peeling and smashing all that produce and they are now happily resting on the kitchen counter, busily fermenting their little hearts out......

LACTO-FERMENTED CARROTS

(adapted from "The Maker's Diet" by Jordan Rubin)

 http://astore.amazon.ca/prasada02-20?node=6&page=2

These carrots taste great in salads, with eggs, and on sandwiches.

4 cups grated organic carrots, loosely packed

3 tsp sea salt

Method:  In a bowl, mix the carrots and salt together.  Place in a Mason jar and press down with a wooden pounder.  There should be about an inch of space between the top of the carrots and the top of the jar.  Cover tightly and leave at room temperature about 2-3 days before transferring to cold storage.

SAUERKRAUT

Makes a half-gallon jar

3 1/2 pounds organic cabbage

1 tablespoon sea salt

You can add optional ingredients from the following list: 1 tsp caraway seed, peeled sliced garlic; washed, cored and sliced apples; peeled onions cut into eighths; dill seed; juniper berries; or other spices.

Wash cabbage and cut into thin shreds, with a kraut cutter, mandoline, food processor, or by hand with a knife.  Mix cabbage shreds with the salt in a large bowl and let stand for 15 minutes.  Then press the cabbage with your fist or a wooden stamper until the juice is flowing well.  It is important to crush the vegetables enough to create the juice.

Pack the juicy shreds into your jar in layers, interspersing the caraway and any other ingredients you are using.  Pack tightly enough that all the air is pressed out.  You should leave about two inches of space below the lid. If you don’t have enough, you can add a little brine: 1 tsp salt to one pint water.  Put the lid on and screw down, but not really tight.  Put the jar on a plate or pie tin, and keep in a dark corner of your kitchen for one week.  Then put in a cold place for another four weeks to mellow.  Sauerkraut keeps many months under proper storage conditions (provided you keep out of it that long).

Untraditional KIMCHEE

Makes a half-gallon jar

1 ½ pounds organic Napa cabbage

1 pound organic daikon radish

3 tablespoons sea salt

1 ½ tablespoons peeled and sliced organic garlic

6 organic scallions trimmed and sliced or ½ cup trimmed sliced leek 

2 tablespoons peeled and grated organic ginger

1-3 tablespoon fine quality medium Korean hot chile powder

1 teaspoon organic sugar

     Wash Napa cabbage and cut in half lengthwise.  Cut out the core, chop the rest in approximate 1.5” squares.  Peel daikon and slice ¼” thick.  In a large nonreactive bowl, mix 6 cups water and 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons salt. Then put in the radish and Napa, dunking them in the water.  Let stand 8-12 hours, dunking occasionally.          

At the end of this period, prepare the rest of the spices along with 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1 teaspoon sugar into a mixing bowl (a second bowl).  Scoop the vegetables out of the brine into the bowl with the spices, mix well.  Reserve the brine. 

Pack the vegetables reasonably tightly into your jar. Be sure to pour in any liquid left in the bottom of your mixing bowl.  Then fill the jar up to the neck with the reserved brine.  Cover jar loosely, put on a plate or pie tin, and keep in a dark place.  Kimchee takes from five to nine days to ferment, depending on the ambient temperature.  At five days, start tasting the brine with a clean spoon.  When it is sour enough to your taste, your kimchee is done.  Cap tightly and keep in a cold place.  It is ready to use at once, and will keep many months under refrigeration (or buried out in your yard if you live in Korea). 

Breakfast Wrap

My usual fried egg breakfast involves melting cheese on a fried egg and sandwiching it between two slices of whole wheat toast smeared with dijon mustard.  But I didn't feel like toast, and that was when I spied some leftover chapatis in the freezer.  Next thing you know, out came the salsa, sprouts, sauerkraut, cilantro and sprouts.  And it was good, very very good.

EGG WRAP with Tomato Salsa, Cilantro and Homemade Sauerkraut

1 organic whole wheat chapati, tortilla or flatbread

2 Tbsp organic salsa

1 organic egg

1 Tbsp e.v olive oil

1/4 cup organic cheese (I used swiss cuz that's what I had)

1 handful organic cilantro, ripped up

handful organic sprouts

1/4 cup organic cortido (seasoned sauerkraut, recipe follows)

Method:  Heat the chapati in a cast iron skillet, but only enough so that it is still malleable.  Fry the egg in the olive oil by cooking over medium heat in a cast iron skillet.  When you break the egg, be sure to break the yolks too.  Flip over after about 2-3 minutes, top with grated cheese and cook until the yolk is solid.  Spread the now warm chapati with the salsa, followed by the cortido.  Place egg in the centre, top it with the cilantro and sprouts.  Roll the wrap up, being sure to tuck in the sides too.

CORTIDO (from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions)

1 large cabbage, cored and shredded

1 cup carrots, grated

2 medium onions, quartered lengthwise and very finely sliced

1 tablesoon dried oregano

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon sea salt

4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)

1. In a large bowl mix cabbage with carrots, onions, oregano, red chile flakes, sea salt and whey.
2. Pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer for abou 10 minutes to release juices.
3. Place in 2 quart-sized, wide mouth mason jars and press down firmly with a pounder or meat hammer until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage mixture should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jars.
4. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage

The lunch I forgot to photograph

Last night I made pot roast with some of the organic beef we have stashed in our freezer.  It was very good except I didn't cook the veggies long enough.  So for lunch today I decided to make an open face sandwich with some of the leftovers.  It is similar to the panini I posted the other day but very different tasting too.  Anyway, I was so into eating it that I forgot to take a picture of it.....

POT ROAST MELT

2 slices organic bread, toasted lightly

a few slice of organic beef pot roast leftovers

1 Tbsp organic dijon mustard

1/2 cup organic homemade (ok or store bought) sauerkraut

some grated organic cheddar (I had some swiss in there too)

Method:  Preheat your toaster oven to broil.  Slather each piece of bread with the mustard, sprinkle a little cheese, then sauerkraut it, beef it, and end with lots of cheese.  Broil until the cheese melts and starts to brown a bit.  Yum.

Scrambled Tofu

Not that I have anything against real scrambled eggs, I mean, I love my chickens, and I love eggs. But we ate quiche last night and I felt like something a little different.  And I like scrambled tofu!

SCRAMBLED TOFU

1 Tbsp e.v olive oil

1 organic onion, chopped

8 organic mushrooms, sliced

10 black or green olives, pitted and sliced

2 organic carrots, grated

1 pound organic local firm tofu

1/2 cup organic cheese, grated

2 tsp organic turmeric powder

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 - 2 Tbsp organic tamari

fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp organic ground coriander

1/4 tsp organic ground cumin

Method:  Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Add olive oil and saute onion, mushroom and grated carrot until soft.  Sprinkle spices in and crumble in the tofu too.  Stir until well combined and tofu is heated through.  Sprinkle with grated cheese, lower heat, cover pan and heat until cheese melts.

I served this with toasted spelt bread and my homemade sauerkraut.  Since this is the second time I've mentioned the sauerkraut I decided to include the recipe from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

Basic Recipe for Sauerkraut

• 1 litre glass jar with plastic lid or spring lid
• 1 Cabbage Medium sized (1kg)
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons of Kefir whey (you may use already fermented sauerkraut for an innoculant or simply add another tablespoon of salt.)
• 1 tablespoon of carraway seeds or fresh chopped dill.

Germans have always sliced the cabbage with a specially made machine and pounded them with a wooden mortar in a large crock to bruise the cell walls.
Grate cabbage with a hand grater or process in a food processor, then mix in a large food grade plastic bucket (get them at a hardware store) with the salt and Kefir whey. Pound with a meat mallot or wooden pounder of some kind. I’ve been known to use a pick handle, a clean one of course. Pound until the juices cause suction when you pull the pounder out of the mix.

Press the mixture into a clean glass jar using a wooden spoon. Press firmly until the juice rises to the top and covers the mixture, which it will do when it is pounded enough. Leave at least one inch or more of space at the top of the jar to allow for expansion.
Cover the kraut and store the jar in a cupboard for 3-5 days (depending on the ambient temperature) before transferring to the refrigerator. The sauerkraut may be consumed after a couple of weeks, though if you allow the fermentation process to continue for a month or so in the refrigerator you will be well rewarded with a most delicious flavour. I love sauerkraut at 4 months old.

As with all fermenting, follow your nose. If it smells putrid or you have any doubts about the quality, then discard the sauerkraut and start again.

The Best Panini

Okay so here are two pics of our amazing supper tonight.  One picture is of Scott enjoying his awesome panini and his hurly burly carpenter hands.  The other is with me and my oh so delicate yoga teacher/baker hands.  In the summer I made a few jars of homemade sauerkraut and decided to crack one open tonight to add to the paninis...........sooooooooo good.  The pictures do these sandwiches no justice.

ROAST CHICKEN AND SAUREKRAUT PANINIS (makes 4)

8 slices homemade organic spelt or whole wheat bread (I decided to try out making spelt bread this week...check out my bread post and just substitute spelt flours!)

2 Tbsp organic mayonaise

2 Tbsp organic dijon

1 1/2 cups sliced roasted organic chicken

1/2 cup organic sauerkraut ( I used the recipe found in Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions cookbook)

e.v olive oil

1 cup organic swiss cheese, grated

Method:  Preheat panini press.  Combine the mayo and dijon in a bowl.  Smother one side of each piece of bread with the dijonaise.  Then top this with some cheese, then some sauerkraut, some chicken and end with more cheese.  Close the sandwich and spray each side with some olive oil.  Grill in your panini press until all the cheese is melted and the sandwhich is warmed through and golden.