Kimchi or Kimchee

Kimchi/Kimchee is a Korean side dish made from various vegetables and seasonings that are fermented. Traditionally kimchi styles vary by regions across Korea.

Kimchi is rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, C, phosphorous, niacin, calcium, & iron.  It also contains non-dairy lactic acid bacteria, one of which is lactobacillus kimchii.  All that good shit aids your gut in digestion.

This is, by no means, the only way to make kimchi.  I found several recipes and settled on adapting one I found from hungry tigress food blog.

PROCEDURE:

Day 1:  Dissolve 6 tablespoons of finely ground sea salt OR pink salt in 8 cups of water.  Cut 1 head of cabbage (Napa or savoy) into 1-inch pieces.  (I do not recommend using red cabbage for this part. It's too sweet and it will also throw off the color and everything will turn red. I do like the flavor of it, so when the kimchi is completely done, I chop up some of that red deliciousness and throw that shit right on my plate with the kimchi and mix it in. It adds a bit of sweetness to the sour of the kimchi.)  Ok, back to the green cabbage Goddesses.....Make sure that all the pieces separate as you put them in a non-reactive bowl, preferably glass.  Pour that briny shit all over the cabbage so it gets a good bath!  Place a plate inside the bowl over the cabbage to keep all that leafy green goodness submerged. Let this sit at for least 12 hours or over night.

 

Day 2:  Strain cabbage from brine BUT set the brine aside.  You'll need it later!  Put the cabbage back into the non-reactive bowl.  Add to the cabbage 2 tablespoons of Turkish or Hungarian paprika,  2 tablespoons of finely minced fresh ginger, 2 tablespoons of finely minced fresh garlic, and 6 sliced scallions OR 1 sweet onion quartered and sliced OR hell!  Add both!  This is your party!.  You can add other savory spices as well.   I throw in some cayenne pepper.   

At this point you can also choose to add other veggies.  I added 2 shredded carrots, 1 rib of celery thinly sliced, 1 kohlrabi root quartered and thinly sliced, 1 fresh jalapeño thinly sliced, and 1 Jimmy Nardello sweet Italian frying pepper thinly sliced.  You can also add daikon radishes and cucumbers.  Hell!  Add whatever the fuck you want!  Except tomatoes. They don’t belong in here.  You can put that shit on top when you fill your plate! 

Once you have everything in there that you want, ix everything together really well.  It's best to just dive right in with your hands.

 

Split all that delicious veg between 2 wide-mouth, quart-sized canning jars or if you have a half-gallon jar you can put them all in there.  Make sure you pack everything down really well.  Don’t let any of that shit sneak out!  use your hands if you can.  Pour the brine into the jars just to cover the veg. This is very important so pay attention! You will have brine left over!  SAVE THAT SHIT!!!

 

Now.....Here comes the tricky part.  You have to weight down the veg inside the jar.   This will make one hell of a mess if you aren’t careful. (Ask me how I know.) You're going to do this with sandwich baggies and the rest of that sexy brine.  Very carefully, put a baggie in the opening of each of the jars.  Fill the bags with brine.  Carefully squeeze out the air and seal the baggie.  Do this for all of your jars.  Put any extra brine in a glass jar and save it. You may need it later.  Throw NOTHING away when you make this!  Place the jars into a glass bowl incase they drip.  You will not be putting the lids on at this time so put that shit in a safe place for now!  Put the whole bowl in a cool dark area. If you can’t find an area that stays dark, just put it in a corner of your kitchen and throw a towel over the whole shebang. 

 

Make sure to check it daily to be sure that the veg is still submerged.  You may have to release air from baggies or you may have to add more brine to them.  (See?  Save that shit!)  After 3 days check to see if it has soured enough for your taste.  It could take up to 6 days to get the best flavor.  It could take longer for you.  Depends on your preference.  

Once it's how you like it, carefully remove the baggies and dump all that sext brine into the jars, cap, and refrigerate.  If you need more, add some from the extra jar you have tucked away in the back of your fridge.  This will last quite a while. The vinegar has pickled and preserved everything. Make sure you eat this shit every single day for a happy gut!

 

Instant Breakfast

I'm not huge on instant meal- type mixes, however, I have found that in a pinch, Vega brand isn't too bad.  The mixes are not cheap.  I usually only have 2 or 3 around just in case.  As much ad I love chocolate, in this case I do prefer the vanilla almond.  I blend it per the package directions but I also add 1 banana, 1 heaping teaspoon of mesquite powder, and 1 teaspoon of lucuma powder.  The flavor and smell of the shake reminds me of almond paste cookies!

Swamp Cubes

My juicer has not been performing as it should when it comes to juicing leafy greens.  I was beginning to feel like I was wasting more than I was juicing.  I decided to use a different tactic to get the most out of my leaves!

1 large bunch of parsley
1 large bunch of cilantro
1 large handful of spinach
water

Roughly chop the spinach, parsley, and cilantro and put all of it in the blender.

Start the blender and add water a little at a time to keep everything mixing.

Blend until liquified, adding water in small amounts (1/8 cup at a time) as necessary.

Pour juice into ice cube trays and freeze solid.  Once frozen, pop them out and put them into freezer bags.

If you are making Swamp Water use 2-4 Swamp Cubes in place of juicing any greens.

Couscous Stuffed Peppers

This is one of those recipes that came about by trying to make a meal out of what was already in the house.   I

4 large bell peppers, any color (you can also use long Italian green or other large banana peppers)
1 box of organic couscous, rice, farro, quinoa, or any other small grain.  Any flavor is fine.
Fresh shelling peas-as amny as you like (you can use frozen if fresh are not available)
1 large carrot diced
1/2 of a large red onion
5 garlic scapes diced
1/2 of a small green zucchini diced
1/2 of a small yellow summer squash diced
1 fresh ear of corn on the cob (you can use frozen if fresh are not available)
1/8 cup red or yellow lentils

Prepare the couscous according to the package directions.

Cook the lentils in 1/2 cup of water until tender but not mushy.  Drain any remaining water.

Shell the peas, stip the corn off the cob, and dice the rest of the veggies.  ***Do not precook the corn!

Sautee' the veggies in good quality olive oil on medium high heat for 5-10 minutes.  Stir constantly to prevent burning.

When the couscous is done, add it to the veggies and mix well.  Turn off heat.

Cut off the tops of the peppers and scoop out the seeds.  You can keep the tops for little covers while they bake if you like.

Evenly distribute the couscous/veggie mixture between the peppers.  Put the tops back on and bake at 350 in a open pan for 20-30 minutes. 

 

 

###Please note that couscous is made from semolina, which is made from wheat. If you are intolerant to gluten, you can use a hardy red or brown rice.

Mackenzie's Fruit Parade

Every morning I come downstairs to find that my daughter has left a line-up of fruit by the juicer. This recipe is her favorite combination.


1 apple
1 orange-peel the zest but leave the white pith
1-2 inches of ginger

Put them all in the juicer!

Cashew Chipotle Spread

I have found that cashews are one of the best staples that you can have in your vegan/raw arsenal. When using them to make nut milk, there is virtually no pulp. They make a great alternative to whipped cream. They make great ice cream. Their texture is so creamy and smooth that really any condiment you make with them is texturally pleasing! I love this spread. It makes a great partner for fresh veggies and raw breads and crackers. It will stay for a week but you'll eat it before then!

2 cups of raw cashews
1& 1/2 cups of cold water
1-2 Roma tomatoes
2 large cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of Himalayan sea salt
1 large or 3-4 small dried chipotles
1 tablespoon of chipotle chili powder
1 lime juiced
1 bunch of cilantro leaves

Put half of the water and everything else in the blender and process, adding the rest of the water as necessary until you have the smooth and creamy consistency that you want. Taste and add more of any ingredient as per your taste. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.

Swamp Water

I have green juices every day. I usually am drinking them at work too. One of my good friends and fellow teacher, Amy, gets quite grossed out by them. She says it looks like something that was dredged from the bottom of a pond. I do love that girl!

PUT IN THE JUICER:
2 apples
5 stalks of celery
1/2 a lime (including zest)
1" slab of pineapple
1 cucumber, unpeeled
1 large handful of parsley

1 large handful of cilantro
1 large handful of spinach

*you can also choose to make a batch of swamp cubes rather than juice the parsley, cilantro, and spinach 
5-6 romaine leaves

5-6 kale leaves 
1/2 bulb of fennel

PUT IN THE BLENDER:
The juice you just made

1 banana
1/2 of a Haas avocado
2 oz of wheatgrass juice, fresh or frozen

2 teaspoons of Sun Is Shining

Chlorella

Blend quickly

*If you are using Swamp Cubes, put 4 of those in the blender instead of juicing the cilantro, parsley, and spinach.

If it seems too thick for you, gently blend in some water.

Store in glass mason jars. It will fit in a quart jar or 2 pint jars.
This makes enough for 2 1-pint servings.

Strawberry Spice

This morning I was chatting with a couple of High School friends on FB.  Dairy Free Diva was mentioned and it inspired me to create something new this morning.

 

I've been arguing profusly with bronchitis for the past week and frankly it's making me miserable.  Forget about the fact that it's cold and snowy.  I looked through the produce in my fridge, feezer, and counter to find something that would give me some "summer comfort".  I have certain summer comfort fruits that I always try to keep in the freezer.  I found 3 and added some ginger.

The fruits are chock full of Vitamin C and fresh ginger is great for knocking out a cold.

 

 

Put in the Vitamix the following:

 

2 whole oranges minus the zest (Use the white pithy part.  It has a lot of good nutrients!)

1/4 of a pineapple, peeled

1 big handful of strawberries

2 inches of ginger, peeled.  You can use more if you like it really spicy!

 

Blend them until smooth.  You may have to add a small amount of water of your fruit is frozen.

 

 

 

Homemade Kombucha

For this recipe, you will need a kombucha mushroom or scoby and one cup of already brewed kombucha.  You will also need a gallon-sized GLASS jar with a wide opening.  Ball makes one that is not usable for canning but it is perfect for this.  Really, any glass jar with a wide mouth will do as long as it's a gallon in size.

Clean your jar out very good.  If you have a dishwasher, run it through there.  Let it drip dry upside down.

Make a batch of tea (any kind will work) by combining 1 gallon of water and 10-12 tea bags in a kettle on the stove.  Bring to a rolling boil and let it boil for about 10 minutes. 

After 10 minutes, turn the stove off and add 1 cup of sugar.  I recommend some type organic cane sugar.  Stir gently to incorporate the sugar.  Be careful not to break the tea bags!

Let the tea sit until it reaches room temperature.  You can leave the bags in while it cools.

Once the tea is room temperature, take out the tea bags and pour about 3/4 of it into the gallon jar.  Carefully add the scoby and the 1-cup of already prepared Kombucha.  Make sure your hands are super clean before you touch the scoby!  Also make sure that the tea is completely cooled off.  If it is too hot, you will kill the scoby.

Top off the jar with the remaining brewed tea.  Make sure you leave about an inch of space at the top of the jar.

Cover your jar with a towel secured by a rubber band.  DO NOT PUT THE JAR'S LID BACK ON!  The gases from the fermentation process will cause the jar to explode!

Put the jar in a cool dark place, such as your pantry.  Your kombucha and scoby will not do well in sunlight so keep them in the dark!

In 10 days your Kombucha will be ready.  Pour it as you want it.  You can add ice or more sugar to it if you like.  If it's not as fizzy as you would like it, you can pour it off (without the scoby) into quart-sized canning jars, screw on the lid and let it sit a few days for a second fermentation.

Make sure you don't drink it all!  You'll need a cup left over to start another batch.

You will also see another scoby grow.  You can keep it and start a second jar or you can pass it on to a friend!  Just remember that it needs to also have 1 cup of prepared kombucha!

You don't have to use caffeinated tea every time (my first batch was made using Tazo's Passion tea) however, if you are consistently using decaffeinated tea, make sure that every couple of batches you brew it with caffeinated tea. 

Chocolate Pudding with Cashew Creme

I created a go-to chocolate pudding recipe that I love out of one that was recommended to me.  I had to tweak it a little bit to suit me.  I made it very simple with only 3 ingredients.  I've used it in frozen desserts as well.  Just recently I started following Paul Jarvis at Eat Awesome.  His eBook is fantastic and well worth the 5 bucks.  He has a recipe for cashew cream that I tweaked a little bit for this recipe.

Chocolate Pudding
2 avocados
honey (if you are vegan, then you can use agave but realize that it is not raw)
cocoa powder or cacao powder (not both)

Place the avocados in a food processor.  Add 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of sweetener to the avocado.  Blend well in the food processor.  Taste and add cocoa and/or sweetener until flavor suits you.  This will be different for everyone.  I like mine less sweet and more chocolatey. 

Keep refrigerated.

Cashew Creme
1 cup of raw cashews soaked in water for about 3 hours
Coconut water

Drain cashews and put them in the food processor.  Mix well and slowly add coconut water to thin.  Be careful to add the coconut water very slowly otherwise it will be too thin.

Keep refrigerated.