Labneh

Labneh is one of my (new) favorite things to make!  It is so delicious, easy to make and eat.  It is wonderful nutrient dense "fast food" which I tend to look for when heat approaches.    It is cultured food (always a plus) and fun to take to gatherings to share.  A friend shared this with me when we gathered for Matzah and I couldn't wait to get home and make it myself!  It is a simple yogurt cheese, store in (optionally flavored) olive oil.   This is delicious spread on crackers or bread;  Served with vegies as a dip; blended into pasta or rice as a sauce; topped on a grilled meat; served on a salad; or with fresh apples or pears!  It is versital and the seasoning options are endless.

Ingrediants:
Plain Yogurt or kiefer (homemade, or store bought)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt (to taste)
Herbs of choice (optional)
Garlic (optional)

1.  Take a gerneroously sized, clean flour sack, tea towel, or several layers of cheese cloth and lay in a bowl.  Plop your yogurt in the center off the cloth and gether it up  and tie the top to make something that resembles a "hobo sack".  (In times when my cloth was too small to tie well, I used rubber bands to close it.)  Now you will hang the sack and let the yogurt drip the whey into a bowl below.  You can do this many differnt ways, depending the tools you have available in your kitchen.  I like to set my spoon accross a gallon jar and let it drip.  There have been other times where I tied the sack to a upper cupboard handle and place a bowl underneath.  You want to keep your sack from sitting in the whey that drips out, so you need it to hang a few inches above the bottom of your dip container.  Some yogurt is "wetter" than others, so the amount of whey varies.  It is finished when it stops dripping. (Usually a couple hours - but its ok to leave it over night - the cheese will get a little tangierof you leave it longer.)

2.  In the mean time, take a jar and fill it 1/3 full of olive oil.  If you want to season it - now is the time.  Suggestions for seasons are:  Garlic, onion, sundried tomato, pesto, hot pepper of choice, red pepper flakes, basil, (and green herb of blend of choice).

3.  When the cheese stops dripping, take it down and open up your cloth, you will have a nice lcheese ball.  I like to take a small melon baller, dip it in the oil (if needed) and scoop it in the cheese to make a little ball.  Then drop it in the oil.  I do this until it all distributed in balls in the jar.  The cheese is delecate and spreadable soft cheese.  If you don't have a melon baller, just use a tea spoon.   Yu want the balls to be covered in oil.  So when yua re finished, if they are not, top the cheese with oils, so that they are immersed.  The oils helps keep the balls seperate too.  So as you are filling your jar, if you run out of oil, you may choose to add a little as you go, so that you are always dropping them in oil instead of stacking them directly on each other.

4.  Store the cheese in the fridge.  The oil does harden when cold (as seen in my photo) and it nicer when served with the oil "wet".  So pull it out of the fridge about 15 minutes (give or take, depending on how warm it is in the room) before planning to offer it.

Tips:

• 1 pint of yogurt fits spaciously in a quart jar with oil and seasonings. Keep that ratio in mind, with the amounts you choose to make.
•  I like to use a long handled tea spoon for serving the balls.  Be sure serve with some oil and herbs.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil is not cheap, but it has the best flavor and the best health benefits.  So don't waste it.  Use the left over oil and make another batch of cheese.
• I have not tried this yet,but a good virgin pressed coconut oil would be fun to try.  Especially if you wanted to try a sweeter version instead of a savory to go with jam on toast or make a danish or sweat bagel shmear or something.  I think this would convert very nicely in that direction as well!

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fermenting Foods

I am so excited to share this next resource and carry it in our Family Amazon store.  The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fermenting Foods an indispensable resource in anyone's kitchen who would like to incorporated Lacto-Fermentation into their lifestyle.  The author Wardeh Harmon,  offers clear instructions on how to make a myriad of cultured foods.  If you really want to understand fermentation well - this is the book for you!  The first four chapters are all loaded with facts and history on fermenting foods.  If you don;t rerally care abut that stuff and just want a BUNCH of recipes in many categories to choose from, then the rest of the book is for you!  Either way - this is a great resource.  This book lacks the pretty pictures and the personal testimonials that are in the other book I featured on Lacto-Fermenting food, but it makes up for it with a much more thorough content matter.  It is also twice the content for half the price...so that is something to consider too.  In my opinion, it is worth having BOTH of these books in my kitchen library, because their recipes are different and it gives you a broader view on fermentation. The only thing I don't care for about this book is the title...as a matter of fact if it weren't for being familiar with the author from her blog and e-courses (which are fabulous!), I never would have picked up this book!  Now, I am so glad I did!  I have been enjoying and experimenting with the the recipes myself and it is a great source of inspiration for me to springboard into my own recipes as well. This resource is a keeper, I highly recommend it!

Kari's Cultured Carrots

These carrots are real hit in my home.  If you want to introduce your family to lacto-fermented foods - this is a GREAT recipe to do that with!  These carrots were actually the initial launching inspiration for fermented food-a-palooza happening at our house.  A friend of mine, Kari shared her recipe with me for the fermented carrots. I tried them and my kids wolfed down a half gallon like nobodies business.  I knew we were on to something and wanted to keep this momentum going!  I would have posted it first, but I wanted to be sure I had her permission to share them because they sell them through their farm and I did not want to compromise the family's livelihood.    She was happy to permit me to share it and in retrospect none of her co-op members are likely my readers (anyway!) and she would probably just give them the recipe if they wanted it!  :-)  This is a 'MUST TRY' recipe...especially if you have kiddos or skeptics in the house.

Even though we make this by the half gallons and soon will making them by the gallon size jars this recipe will be given for a quart size jar:

• Cut the carrot into quarters (like you would for dip).  I like to peel mine.  You could also use baby carrots for this! Fill the jar leaving 1" head space. 
• Add 1T EACH: sea salt, dried dill, whey (I use kefir whey)
• Add 4 cloves of garlic, peeled.
• Fill with water to cover the carrots. Put a lid on and give it a shake to dissolve the salt. 
• Let it sit on the counter 4-7 days depending on how warm it is and how tangy you like it. Regenerate or cool store.

These carrots will keep at least 6 months in cool storage.

ENJOY!

Shalom Farm's Cultured Italian Mixed Vegetables

I am going to share with you 2 variations of a delicious fermented vegetable combination that I recently put together.  I usually make mine in 1/2 gallon jars.  Feel free to vary the recipe if you think it would better suite your family's needs?  I have discovered that my gorgeous fermented combinations are only limited by my own imagination!  The variety and combinations are endless!  So be "released" to experiment with your veggie ferments!  I am!  :-)

What I love about this mix is the fact that I don't even really care for cauliflower which is one of the showcase ingredients in this mix...but now I LOVE it!

You will need:
1/2 gallon (or 2 quart) jar and lid (I use plastic)
4-8 cloves of garlic, whole, peeled
2T sea salt
3T fresh whey (I use raw kefir whey), optional
6 large fresh basil leaves (or 1T dried)
bell pepper of choice (various colors are very nice for presentation!), cut into strips
cauliflower, cut into florets
small onion, sliced into rings
Clean pure water
** Variations Below

1.  Pack you jar up to the top with your cauliflower, pepper,onion and garlic, leaving an inch head space up at the top where the rim is.
2.  Add your sea salt, and whey.  Then fill your jar to submerge your veggies completely.  Put your lid on and give a good shake to dissolve the salt and mix the whey through out.
3.  Let sit on the counter for 3-7 days.  Depending on how tangy you like your veggies and how hot your kitchen is.   The hotter the kitchen the quicker the fermenting.  Start taste testing at around 3-4 days.  Put in fridge or root cellar when it reaches the flavor intensity that you enjoy.

** Variations**  My favorite way to do my Italian Mixed Veggies not is to add 2T of dried Italian herb mix to a half gallon in place of the fresh basil. It gives it so much more flavor and I always have the dried herbs on hand.

In addition to or IN PLACE OF the garlic and basil, add about an inch or two of fresh ginger root, cut into coins for Ginger Mixed Veggies.  No need to peel if it is clean.  This is outstanding!

Shalom Farm's Cultured Asparagus!

Be still my heart...Probiotic Asparagus!!  Quick..before it gets too hot...fill those jars will asparagus and indulge in this amazing side dish, snack or salad topper.  Oh these are so good...I have a hard time sharing.  I like to make mine in a half gallon jar (pictured above).  I still have to clip the bottoms off to make them fit, length wise.  This recipe is so simple and so delicious!  When choosing asparagus, go for the slender shoots whenever possible.  These are crisp, tangy and OH so satisfying...this is what lacto-fermentation is all about.

1. Fill your jar up with clean asparagus.
2. Throw in 2-4 peeled whole Garlic cloves to taste.
3. Add 2T sea salt and 2T whey.  ( I use kefir whey.)
4.  Cover with clean water and put the lid on.  Shake to mix and dissolve salt.
5.  Let sit on the counter for 3-7 days depending on heat and how tangy you like your stuff.  Start taste testing at 3 days to know when it is right for you.

*** Variations:  Add a clean round slice of organic lemon (about a quarter inch thick or so), rind and all.  You may also add or substitute 1-2 inch piece of fresh ginger.  I like to cut mine into coins.  consider increasing your garlic too. No need to peel.  Let me know which way is YOUR favorite...because I just can't decide!!



This Post was shared at the Homestead Barn Hop

Shalom Farm's Kefir Ranch Dressing

Here is a little picture of a part of one of our fields.  I thought it looked kind of "Ranchy".  :-)

My dear friend, Kim called me all excited and wanting to share a recipe with me that she had discovered.  You see, she is a homesteader too, learning everything as she goes with NO prior experience.   They have milk cows and their small family of four has more milk then they know what to do with...so she is getting really good at doing things with it!  I was SOO tickled that she shared it with me, because I have not (YET!!) perfected my homemade mayonnaise and organic mayo is too expensive/hard to get for my family, yet my homemade ranch recipe requires it.  However, we always have kifer going on the counter 24-7 year round...(IT"S SO EASY to do!) So my ears perked and I joined her in her excitement!  I married her recipe with mine and the recipe below was born.  It is easy to make, it contains all the goodness of being raw and lacto-fermented and it is DELICIOUS!  Enjoy!

Shalom Farm's Kefir Ranch


This recipe makes about 3 1/2 C of dressing. (1/2 C shy of a Qrt)  I am sure it keeps well because of the cultured aspect of it, but we go through it to quickly to know first hand!  This recipe has some "give" so make note of the variations.

In a blender (or bowl) put:


2C homemade kefir cheese
1C fresh milk or (homemade) buttermilk
1/8C (2T) olive oil

Add 2 tsp each of the following dried herbs:
dill
parsley
sea salt
chives
garlic powder
onion powder

(Optional - add 1tsp paprika and a pinch of cayenne powder.  This adds a very nice dimension to your ranch!)

Blend (or whisk) until smooth and store in the refrigerator.  It will thicken as it gets cold.  If it is too thick for your liking,  pull out of the fridge early while preparing your meal or dilute slightly with fresh milk or buttermilk until it reaches the consistency you desire  .  If you would like it to be a little thicker for a dip, try coconut oil instead of olive oil or serve it right from the fridge.

*  This recipe assumes you are a garlic lover like me.  :-)  So some people might prefer to lesson the garlic amount to 1 1/2 tsp.  :-)



This recipe was shared on Wildcrafting Wednesdays, and the Homestead Barn Hop

Cultured Food Life

I have been getting serious about culturing again...I always get the "itch" this time of year. But this time...it's a little different. This time, I am ready to make lasting changes of long term habit in this area. In my research I am convinced that the  things we can do with cultured foods can go far beyond sauerkraut and smoothies!!! So, I have been experimenting with different combinations of my own (which I will share with you soon!) and I have been looking for "inspiration" otherwise, so that I will have the variety that this momma requires to keep it a lasting lifestyle habit!

This time of year is a WONDERFUL time to make these changes too.  Fermenting food requires no heating up the kitchen and fresh produce is plentiful.  I have 6 half gallons of carrots spears, asparagus, cauliflower and onions and bell peppers fermenting as I type and I'm just getting started! Mmmm mmmm good!!!

I had this book, Cultured Food Life on my mental wish list since it was released, and last week I splurged! The day I received it, I sat down and read it form cover to cover! What a wonderful book! I decided, I had to carry it in our little Amazon family store (and one day our "real store" too) and feature it here, in the hopes that others will get it too! The book is simple and concise. It is beautiful and informative...but NOT overwelming. She shares the basics about cultured foods so that the very beginner will be informed, but not intimidated. She also shares her own testimony about how these foods have changed her health.

 I think the author, Donna Schwenk, has done and excellent job in conveying the simplicity of cultured foods in her first book.  At the same time, she offers lots of variety in what to DO with kefir, cultured vegetables and Kombucha, so that even the experienced "culturist" will appreciate and enjoy the book too!  I think this book will make a wonderful gift to share with someone who is new to fermented foods, so much so, that I bought another one the next day and sent it to my mom!


 

Soaked Cheesy Garlic Drop Biscuits

Did I have you at Cheesy, Garlic, or Biscuits? When you put all three together...mmmmm mmmmm!!! This is a quick and easy savory style drop biscuit that is very tasty. Biscuits are a great bread to make, whether it be an accompaniment to soup in the cold months or a way to make bread in the warmer months
without heating up the kitchen too much. They are delicious with eggs in the morning, salads at lunch or even used to spread as a crust topping for a casserole or stew! The final step of these easy wheat drop biscuits, is done when you pull them out of the oven; you brush them with melted butter and parsley...aahhh man...they are heavenly! I  did a slight modification to the recipe from http://www.hearthandhospitality.blogspot.com/ .

We are trying to get into the habit of soaking our breads. It is more practical than keeping up with sprouting flour for our family - we feed a lot people since we have a big family and OFTEN have people over. So soaking has become a nice option for us. It was a little intimidating at first. I felt like I had to "take a course" in soaking. However, after doing it a few times...I realized how simple it really is to modify my favorite existing recipes! All it takes is a little thinking ahead. Once you get in the swing of it - you might find it easier to break the baking process into two parts. It is nice to have the mixing and mess done and only the baking left to do. Traditional "Slow cooking" is really a neat rhythm to get into and it has its advantages!(If soaking your grains/flour is a new concept and you would like to find out more - my friend has a great page on her site - which I think explains it beautifully.)

This recipe is one of our favorites, that we have modified for soaking. I am going to give you the original recipe and insert the optional soaking instructions in bold/italics. This will help you see the difference (and how easy it is!!) and give you an opportunity to make them either way. Hopefully it will also help you see how easy it is to modify other recipes for soaking. OK enough yappin'.

This recipe makes about 14 biscuits. We normally we make double this for our standard recipe.

2C wheat flour
1T baking powder
1 tsp salt

2T cold butter, cut into chunks
1C milk
1 large cloves of garlic, minced
1C shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1T dr. parsley
2T butter

Preheat oven to 450F.
(Original Instructions)
1. Mix first three ingredients into a large bowl.
2. Cut in cold butter, until mixture is a course crumble.
3. Mix in garlic, then cheese.
4. Add milk, stirring until JUST combined (Don't over mix biscuits - that's what makes them tough.)
(To soak: Simply cover with plastic wrap and let sit on your counter for 12-24 hours depending on how hot it is in your kitchen. That's IT!  This also makes it very handy to have quick hot biscuits for a meal without the extra mess/time while preparing the rest of the meal.)
5. Drop spoonfuls onto a buttered cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, melt 2T butter. Mix in the parsley and when the biscuits come out, brush them with the melted butter mixture and serve.

**One side note: If soaking a yeast bread, you assemble the dough without the yeast (and proofing liquid) and let it sit for 12-24 hours. When you are ready to rise your bread, you add your yeast to the mixture and rise and bake as usual. f you use instant, we like to activate it with a little wetness when we mix it in too, just to be safe if it isn't a really moist dough.  You should be able to do this with any rising bread recipe. Enjoy!

Starting Sourdough

I have seen lots of recipes for sourdough using yeast in the recipe. This is not "TRUE" sourdough. True sourdough is when grain and water left to naturally ferment and collect wild yeasts from the air. This creates an all natural starter - the old fashioned way. This is how we make our sour dough. Now, for those of us who try to keep the Biblical Feasts...we get used to starting a new sour dough culture (at least) one a year. Every Spring, as a part of the Feast of Matzah (Unleavened Bread) YHVH's (The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) people are instructed to "get the leaven out" of their homes for the week of Matzah (which follows the day after Passover/Pesach). For those of us who like to use leaven as our foremothers did...this means we get proficient at starting our sourdough from scratch, year after year in the Spring after this Feast has past. There are many variations on how to start a sourdough culture...and we have tried quite a few...but this is our favorite...this is the one that "stuck" in our home and the one that will be handed down in our family cookbook for generations to come!

This method was learned from http://www.gnowfglins.com/ . Since we don't use rye regularly, I was excited to learn that the starter could be made with wheat alone. This process takes a week, of feeding the starter twice a day (every 12 hours).

The Beginning: Put 1/4C water plus 1/4C + 1/8C flour in a pint jar. (We use red wheat.) Stir vigorously, scrape the sides and cover with a cloth. Let sit on the counter for 12 hours.

Feeding 1: (12 hours later) Watch for bubbles (activity). If you don't see life (activity); stir well scrape the sides and let sit another 12 hours. If you DO see life, repeat the beginning step (adding 1/4 C water and 1/4c+ 1/8C flour), by adding the same amount of flour and water. Set aside for 12 hours.

Feeding 2: (If no activity has become evident, dump the starter and start from scratch.) If the mixture shows continued activity, remove 1/2 of the culture and repeat the beginning step.

Feeding 3: (Assuming activity is continuing) Remove half of the starter and feed 1/4C water, plus 1/4+ 1/8C flour, stir, scrape, cover, allow too sit 12 (or so)hours again.

Feeding all week long: Continue the process of "Feeding 3", all week long, twice a day (about 12 hours apart). It's bubbles will increase and it will double in size each day. After a week's time, it will be ready to be used for baking. You expand the starter to match the amount needed in for each recipe, always leaving enough left over, to "add too"...keeping the starter alive and growing for continuous use.

To expand your starter: We often make large recipes, so we often have to "grow out" our starter. A good formula to follow is this. If you are expanding the amount of leaven you need for larger or multiple recipes, do not exceed double the amount of expansion. In other words. If you have 1C of starter, you can add up to 1C of water and flour to it at a time. (This will make 3C of starter.) Stir and let sit for about 12 hours until it shows activity throughout the starter. Then you can use it, or continue to increase it by adding as much as 3C each of flour and water (or less - but no more).


Storing your Starter: If you are not using your starter daily, you can refrigerate it, which slows the activity. It still needs to be fed (as described above) once a week. If your starter gets a brown liquid that separates on top, it is OK. It is called "hooch". This is showing you that your starter is hungry and needs to be feed. You simply mix it up and feed it flour and water. OR you may pour it off and feed your starter. Mixing it in, will encourage the "sour" flavor in your dough, while pouring it off, will give you a milder flavored starter "sponge" to work with.

Another way we learned to store our starter from a friend was to add enough flour to it, to roll into firm "meat ball sized" balls. Bury in flour and store them in a container in the fridge. This is a nice way to travel with sour dough. This also stores for twice the time of a wet starter in a jar (2-3 weeks) which is very nice if you go away or take a sourdough break. To reactivate the starter, simply cut the ball in half and discard. Add flour and water (each item) equal to it's amount in size. Once again, add enough flour to make a stiff ball, bury in flour in jar or sip lock bag and label, date and refrigerate.

Tip: If you have ever had trouble getting a sourdough starter going, you might consider your water source. Do you have chlorinated water? If so, I would recommend using bottled or filtered water for (all) cultures. The natural fermentation process can be prohibited by the chemicals in chlorinated water.