More on the Fermentation Front

Have I talked about fermentation before?  I don't remember and honestly, I don't feel like looking back in what few archives I have here so I'll just give you a brief rundown on what it is and why you should think about trying it.

Nourished Kitchen is a treasure trove of info and recipes for foods that are GOOD for you.  Do you ever wonder how people in the "way back" days preserved their foods?  Veggies, meats? How did they make whatever condiments they might have used?  What are they health benefits to eating fermented foods? This website and THIS page, specifically, will tell you all the answers to those questions and more. They have an email list you can sign up for and receive helpful tips and probably recipes too although they have TONS on their site.  They also have a blog and even meal plans! Go check them out and tell them I sent you. ;o)

So, here is the recipe for a basic fermented ketchup from their website.

homemade ketchup, an old-world recipe

• Yield: about 1 pint
• 
  
• Prep: 5 minutes (active) mins
• Cook: 3 to 5 days (fermentation) mins
• Ready In: 8 mins

Deeply robust with the rich-sweet flavor of concentrated tomato, this ketchup differs from the cloying sweet varieties you find in the grocery store. Allspice and cloves, traditional inclusions often omitted in most store-bought varieties, bring a level of depth that would be otherwise absent. Not a particularly quick food, this homemade ketchup is slowly ripened and aged over a period of three to five days as beneficial bacteria metabolize the food’s natural sugars, creating a condiment that is potently rich in food enzymes and probiotics. It’s a traditional process, lactofermentation, that increases the nutritional value of the foods we eat and love. This recipe and over 100 others are included in the latest of Nourished Kitchen’s online cooking class: Get Cultured! How to Ferment Anything.

Ingredients

• 2 cups tomato paste (preferably homemade)
• 1/4 cup raw honey (maple syrup or whole unrefined cane sugar)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp fresh whey* (divided)
• 2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar (plus extra for thinning the ketchup, if desired)
• 1 tsp unrefined sea salt
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Instructions

1. Spoon tomato paste into a large mixing bowl and fold in raw honey or other natural sweetener of choice.
2. Whisk in one-quarter cup fresh whey or vegetable starter culture into the sweetened tomato paste along with apple cider vinegar, sea salt, allspice and cloves. Continue whisking these ingredients together until the paste is smooth and uniform.
3. Spoon the homemade ketchup into a mason jar, top with remaining two tablespoons fresh whey or vegetable starter culture, cover loosely with a cloth or lid and allow the ketchup to sit at room temperature, undisturbed, for three to five days.
4. After three to five days, uncover the homemade ketchup and give it a thorough stir before transferring to the refrigerator. Naturally fermented homemade ketchup will keep for several months in the refrigerator.

One thing about this recipe that might make it difficult for just ANYONE wanting to make this RIGHT NOW would be the fact they MIGHT not have whey sitting around in their house.  Where do you get whey?  Well, I'll tell you where I got mine: I bought raw milk, made cheese out of it and saved the whey which separated from the cheese, put it in glass jars and froze it.  Hopefully this won't hurt the whey's duties in this recipe... it was chilled in the fridge but not frozen, although the recipe calls for "fresh whey".

Now I just sit back and let it ferment for a few days and then I get to try it... (on the kids... I mean... with dinner...for EVERYONE). I will report back and let you all know how it turned out.

p.s.  I got a pint jar full as well as a tall, skinny jelly jar full. :o)

In other fermentation news, Saturday I made 5 pints of sauerkraut, another fermented food, and my husband and I LOVE it!  He ate more of it than I did so hence the reason I had to make more. ;o)  Another thing I make that is fermented is Kombucha.  I had forgotten I'd made a batch and now it still sits there in it's glass, gallong jar and it's "Mother" is about 2 inches thick or more... with another one growing on the bottom.  Guess I will make a fresh batch and try a new twist I recently learned about.... home-made fermented grape kombucha soda!  I'll make it and test it and get back with you to let you know how it tastes.  I can't rightly post something that's nasty can I???  ;o)

Stay tuned !

Shake Your Can-Can

Okay, I don't know where that title came from, but at any rate, I've been busy lately canning all the wonderful goodies my mom has brought to me from their farm.  Here is the latest I've made:

Here is the recipe for the candied jalapenos, in case any of you were interested.

Candied Jalapeno Rounds

There aren't words that exist to describe how addictive these little savoury, sweet, spicy, crunchy, garlicky pickled jalapeno rounds are. Put them on sandwiches, tacos, rice or bake them into cornbread.  You'll need more and more!

Ingredients:

•  3 lbs fresh, firm jalapeno peppers, washed
• 2 C cider vinegar
• 6 C white granulated sugar (I don't see why you couldn't substitute any other type of sugar, i.e. turbinado)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 3 tsp granulated garlic or 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Wearing gloves, remove the stems from all jalapenos. The easiest way to do this is to slice a small disc off the stem-end along with the stem.  Discard the stems.
2. Slice the peppers into uniform 1/8-1/4 inch rounds.  Set aside.
3. In a large pot, bring vinegar, sugar, turmeric, celery seed, garlic and cayenne to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 min.  Add the pepper slices and simmer for exactly 4 min.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peppers, loading into clean, sterile canning jars to within 1/4 inch of the upper rim of the jar.  Turn heat up under the pot of syrup and bring to a full rolling boil.  Boil hard for 6 minutes.
4. Use a ladle to pour the syrup into the jars over the jalapenos.  Insert a knife into the bottom of the jar two or three times to release any trapped air pockets.  Adjust the level of the syrup if necessary. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and fix on new, two-piece lids to finger-ti tightness.
5. If you have left-over syrup, and it is likely that you will, you may can it in half-pint or pint jars too.  It's wonderful brushed on chicken or added to potato salad.
6. Place jars in canner, cover with water by 2 inches.  Bring the water to a full rolling boil and then set timer for 10 minutes for half-pints and 15 min for pints.  When timer goes off, use canning tongs to transfer the jars to a cooling rack.  Leave them to cool for 24 hrs.  When fully cooled, wipe them with a clean, damp washcloth and then label.
7. Allow to mellow for at least 2 weeks, but preferably a month before eating.

I haven't tried these yet but I'm still in that 2 week wait time.  You can bet yer britches I'll be partaking as soon as they're ready though!  I'm thinking of a Ritz cracker with a piece of Colby-Jack topped with one of these would be YUMMO!

Stay tuned for my review!

Also on the canning front, I've put up apple jelly, blackberry jam, strawberry-fig preserves, salsa, dill pickles and "come and get it".  Y'all just let me know if you'd be interested in any of those recipes.  Simple simple simple!

Farm / Homestead update:

House planning is going well. Waiting to hear from the bank! :o)
We've added 9 more chickens to our animals (8 hens and a rooster). The first group of hens we got have just started laying.  I went outside the other day and found 3 or 4 eggs but only 1 the days since then, if any at all. 
We've also been gifted a black lab puppy.  I call her Tootie... for a good reason.  ;o)

The garden is still giving us a few cherry tomatoes and peppers here and there but it's almost time to mow it down.  I'm thinking of trying some cabbage for a fall crop.  I need to make another big batch of sauerkraut!

OH!  We discovered we're in a good spot to attract feral honey bees so I'm hoping The Dude or Paw can help me by building a bee hive so I can try to get some.  I'd LOVE to be able to make our own honey for our family... and to sell some too if there's an abundance.

Sorry for the gap in posts.  Things have been so crazy busy here lately that I've not really had the time, although I have plenty to post about.

Gluten-Free Greek Chicken

Well, after talking with an herbalist about our oldest child, Bricker-who has high-functioning Autism- we have started on a gluten-free diet. In the last few days he has only had gluten twice that I know of. Once because he was visiting someone else and they didn't know (our fault) and another time because we forgot and gave him a slice of bread. (oops)After discussing how he has Autism, I have RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis), Punkin' has chronic respiratory issues as well as Eczema, Jerome Bettis (JB) has some of the same respiratory stuff as does Shamu. In fact, the only one who doesn't seem to have any issues at ALL is Muffin. Wow. 5th one's the charm? So, the herbalist said we would ALL benefit from the gluten-free diet. No harm in trying, right? So, from time to time I will post some recipes... most of which probably will be gluten-free, and will label them so they're easy to find on the bloggy.

Here is one we tried last night.. I modified it just a little to make it more to our taste.

Greek Chicken

(Cooking spray)
½ c chopped onion (I always use more... onion is good for you!)
2 zucchini, halved lengthwise & sliced thin (I don't like zucchini but I sucked it up and ate some anyway. Not bad.)
1 lb or so of boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced thin
(½ c white cooking wine)
(2 t oregano, ¼ t pepper)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
¼ c crumbled feta cheese
½ c (or one of those small cans would be better!) sliced black olives *olives make the world go-round people!*

Preheat oven to 475°.
Coat 9x13” baking dish
with cooking spray.

Heat large skillet, coated with
cooking spray, over med-high heat. Add onion &
zucchini; sauté 3-4 min or until tender. In large
bowl combine sautéed vegetables, chicken, wine,
oregano, pepper & tomatoes. Spoon mixture into
baking dish. Top with cheese. Bake 12-13 min or
until chicken is cooked & mixture is bubbly.

*Side Ideas*
Make some "5-min a day" crusty bread and home-made butter because there will be lots of yummy juiciness left in your bowl/plate and you won't want to waste that!

Cleaning is a passion of mine...

Ummm, okay, maybe not a "passion" but I am a bit OCD about it. I just like stuff to be clean. That's all. But over the last "little while" (yep, I'm southern) I've been more concerned about what I was cleaning WITH!

These days it seems every label you read says its energy-efficient, good for the environment, or one of my favorites "all natural"! Between you and me-they put that there because they know that's the "IN" thing these days and you will therefore buy it. Have you ever read the requirements of a product to put that on their label? It's a joke, but one that's not funny at all. It's very deceptive and misleading to consumers. And just what ARE all those things on the label we can't even pronounce anyway? How do you really know what you're putting on your body or into the air that you and your babies are breathing?

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to pick up a product and look at the label and it have only a handful of ingredients? And they were things you knew were safe for you AND your environment? Doesn't that sound nice? Well guess what?

It's possible! And you get to pick your packaging too! That's right! And pick your own scent, according to what smell YOU like! I know, I know, you're thinking I've gone off my rocker, right? Nope. Hear me out...

Baking soda.
White vinegar.
Essential oils.
WATER.
Castile soap(I use Dr Bronners)

Do you realize what all you can do with these wonderful things? Well, here are just a few things I USED to use when I cleaned... ready?

Hair- whatever shampoo I was in the mood for, conditioner, hair gel or mousse. For the kids I used a kids tear-free head-to-toe wash and because Punkin's hair is long and Muffy's hair is tight curls I used a detangler also. The Dude uses Head and Shoulders, plus hair gel.

Body- I used to use Neutrogena Body Wash, Dude uses Irish Spring ORIGINAL (everything else leaves him oily) and the kids used the same tear-free head-to-toe stuff.

Toilets-Comet for the bowl, Clorox Wipes for wiping down the whole toilet.

Tubs- either Comet or a "spray and walk away", "come back later and wipe off" kinda thing like Tilex or the scrubbing bubbles... you know what I'm talking about.

Mirrors and windows- Windex of course!

Carpets- a long time ago I used to use carpet fresh all the time because I loved how it would smell up the entire house! Now I have a hubby and a daughter who have allergies and Punkin's allergies are both respiratory and eczema. I have to be very careful using products on her because she can flare and be covered in hives and scratch until she bleeds. Sound fun? Nope. And as miserable as it is to watch her going through it I know she is 100x as miserable.

Counter tops- I had off-white counter tops that seemed to stain very easily so bleach had to be in the product. Windex sometimes. Sometimes just a multi-purpose cleaner.

WOW. That's a lot of stuff, isn't it? Why do we need all that stuff? Especially when we can use the alternatives I mentioned and get the same results but with a lot less fumes and money spent!

So what do I use now? Well.... going back through the same list:

Hair- I cut out a LOT of washings... I was always one of these people that had to wash my hair before I went anywhere. A lot of that had to do with the fact that I "HAD" to put my hair up when it was wet. If I didn't, it was really fuzzy. NOW... I wash once a week. Sometimes twice, lately though it's been LESS than once a week. What do I use? I wash with baking soda and water. WHAT? Yep. And I rinse with apple cider vinegar and water. I usually alternate the baking soda wash with a Dr Bronners wash diluted heavily in water. How is my hair? It's awesome! And when I go out I just use a spray bottle of water with Essential oil of Lemongrass in it to feel fresh. I was thinking of adding some peppermint or rosemary essential oil for a bit of a tingle. That's stimulating and refreshing. :o)

Body- Dr Bronners, heavily diluted in water. :o) Love it!

Toilets- baking soda to use as a scouring agent (if you need it) and for maintaining use equal parts water and vinegar and spray in the bowl.

Tubs- white vinegar and water.

Mirrors- Equal parts white vinegar and water.

Carpets- Nothing. yep. When we bought our house we had to rip up all the carpet and when we did we saw what was left underneath the pad. Guess what it was... dirt, of course, and carpet fresh. Yep. Your vacuum doesn't get it all... even if it's a Dyson or Oreck.

Counter tops- Guess... yep. white vinegar and water.

Are we seeing a trend here? You can use this stuff on everything! There are other recipes for home made cleaners out there and I use them from time to time as well. There is a multi-purpose cleaner that I like... I'm not positive of the ratios of the ingredients but I will find out... the ingredients are water, borax (that's interesting stuff right there!), Dr Bronners soap, and Essential oils of choice. I think that's all.

HERE is a good website for some home made cleaning recipes... I will have my own list up soon enough for a quick and easy reference.

Another HUGE thing that I make my own of is..... tada!!!! Laundry soap. For those of you who don't know us personally, we are a family of 7. We have 3 boys and 2 girls. Every one of those 5 like to get nasty outside and this stuff cleans it all.

4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

For those of you who are not familiar with Fels Naptha soap, it is a time-tested stain remover and pre-treater working especially well on oil-based stains. Know what else it's good for?


Poison ivy resin can remain on your clothes for over 1 year. Washing with Fels-Naptha® will eliminate the dangerous resin from your clothing. Thoroughly wash all of your exposed clothing including hats, gloves, coats and pants in shaved or grated Fels-Naptha® (about 1/16th of the bar). This will effectively remove the poison ivy resin and prevent further outbreak.

No wonder millions of people for over 100 years have been saying, "Nothing can take the place of my Fels-Naptha®!

WOW. And guess what we have around here a-plenty? Yep. Poison Ivy.

So, like I said, I will be sharing recipes for home made cleaning products and organizing them all with Labels so they are easy to locate here on the blog.

I'd love to hear from you... Leave me a comment and share a recipe you've tried and loved or any other tip or trick for cleaning that you've learned.

Also, how about some comments with post ideas?