Intro to Lacto - Fermentation Carrots and Ginger

Intro to Lacto - Fermentation Carrots and Ginger

Well after our last dinner I have had a few requests on how to make this dish.

Quick introduction - There are two types of fermentation: fermentation with yeast and fermentation without yeast - will will be talking about the later. This fermentation method is the absence of oxygen (with oxygen allows the yeast to grow).

Carrots and Ginger is a great combination to start with!

This was my first batch. Here is one variation:

• 4 cups carrots, peeled, grated, loose packed
• 1 tablespoons ginger, grated
• 3 teaspoons sea salt

Add to a big bowl that you can mix and mash it all together. Don't be shy, this is a great upper arm workout, ha ha. Get that wooden mallet, or smasher, and go to town till the juices are released. (a good 2 to 5 minutes). Then add to a CLEAN mason jar (or something that will seal) and pack it in tightly. Tip: add small amounts at a time and smooch together. Then if there is not enough juice, fill the extra space with filtered water to top it off. Screw the lid on tightly and set on the counter for 3 days. (insert the Jeopardy theme song here).

Ding, After 3 days you want to taste it - I know - waiting is the hardest part. My personal preference is just scrape off the top 1/2 inch or so - if any oxygen got to this it will taste funky -- and you can tell the difference -- the fermented ones will be a bit sour but not leave a nasty aftertaste in your mouth. To avoid that, I just scrape off the 1/2 inch on the top- 'cause sometimes it is hard to get all the air perfectly out. This fermentation process is without air.

You can do this with any vegetable, and most any spice you want to add. You can also buy fermented vegetables at some health food stores, if you are in a hurry.

Here is the other options we did that night for dinner. After your carrots are done, try this.

Raw Green Bean Salad with probiotic carrots

Serves 4 to 5

• 1 cup raw green beans (rough chopped)
• ½ cup almonds, slivered or chopped
• ½ to 1 clove garlic minced or pressed (adjust to taste)
• 1 bag of lacto raw fermented carrots (8 oz)
• 1/8 cup flax seed oil (I use Barleans because of the better quality and fresher taste.)

Add all ingredients to a bowl, mix and serve.

Eat these probiotic vegetables every day. Just take a small serving with your meal. Great substitute for yogurt and milk products.

Remember to have the probiotic effect, you DON'T what to cook these.

Recently read a statistic, that the probiotic count of fermented or cultured foods was very high in the trillions with multiple strains as compare to probiotic capsules which might be in the billions. I can sure tell the difference between my live foods vs. the store bought capsules. So make sure you start out with a tablespoon or two as a condiment before your meal. Then you can work your way up to more.

References:

Wild Fermentation

Nourishing Traditions

Makers Diet

Dr. Mercola - trillions of CFU

Holiday Dessert or a Breakfast Meal

The Secret Apple Pie – Zina DiTonno

Shhhh- the secret is no one will know it is not even cooked.  It is a hit - I have taught variations of this to other and at my dinners.  Your secret weapon, a big ziplock bag.  This modified from another great recipe.  Gotten good reviews on this combination.

-- Pie Crust --

·        1 cup walnuts   *

·        1 cups hazelnuts  * 

·        2 cups dates (soak for 10 minutes, save water)

·        Date soak water, start with a teaspoon at a time

Add nuts to food processor, grind up first.  Then add dates and process until it is like a dough consistency, if it does not make a ball, add teaspoons of the date water until it make a ball. Then press into the pie pan.

* if you only have walnut or hazelnuts it will taste great with either.

-- Filling --

·        5 gala apples (or jonagold, or honeycrisp) sliced as thin as possible (I use the food processor with the Julian blade, so much faster.)

·        1/2 c raisins

·        2 tablespoons raw honey

·        1 tablespoon cinnamon

·        1 teaspoon ginger

·        1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or all spice

Now, add all to a zip lock bag, seal it, and massage (to break down the apples and infused the spices) for a few minutes until all mixed up and softened. Pour into pie crust.  Serve and watch it disappear.

If you have left overs- you can have it for breakfast the next day, and not feel guilty.

Honey Mustard Dressing Variation

OK my husband told me I had to type this one out....

This went over a salad bed of greens, topped with lightly sauted (coconut oil) asparagus with shredded carrots,mixed with tarragon, mustard. (I will type this out later, I orginally made these carrots as a raw dish, but wasn't crazy about the flavor, so I decdied to saute just a bit, turned it from ok to Yummy.) Grind the fresh black pepper on top.  This dressing would go well on any salad.

Dressing - about a cup, it is not thick like the store kind since it doesnt have fillers. 
1 part raw apple cider vinegar
1 part grapeseed oil (want the neutral flavor)
1 part raw honey
2 parts water
1/8 c. or 2 TBLS of mustard powder (start with this then add to your preference)
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
pinch of sea salt

Mix all together in a small blender (i used the Tribest).  Adjust to preferences.

Zina’s Healthier Ranch – Yummy

OK, I had a request for recipes thru the holidays ... so we will start with a dressing, since that is a great topping for a great salad.  Green Salads are a key foundation to your eating plan.  This is a dressing I made for our DEC 2010 Holiday Appetizer EDU-tainment Dinner.

Zina’s Healthier Ranch – Yummy

·        ½ c Veganaise   (grape seed oil mayo, no dairy, gluten, soy, animal products)

·        1 cup water

·        1 tablespoon Onion powder (better than the granules -gives it that smoky flavor)

·        1 teaspoon garlic powder

·        1 teaspoon parsley

·        ½ teaspoon dill

·        ½ teaspoon paprika

Add all to blender. Blend until smooth. The flavor is good, but for some this might be thin for a dressing, but if to thin for a dip add a tablespoon of psyillum husk or chia seeds. And let set for a few minutes to thicken.