Life As I Know It

Over the past six months I've had to come to terms with my mortality more than I've ever had to before. I don't so much mean fear for my life, as I'm not in anyway near death. But I've never broken a bone, never been in the hospital for long past infancy, and never had anything worse than mono and a very severely bruised foot. A scooter landed on it. (It looked cool)

I had to come to terms that I couldn't just tear through life like I had always done. Go go go grab a bite on the side. Repetitive movements caught up with me for the very first time. I lost my kid rubber. You know that stuff that lets kids bounce around like they just ate a bag of gummibears, knocking heads, but they still don't really hurt themselves? Yup that. I lost that.

Basically I found myself unwell on the cusp of starting a very physical career. I sought an answer that didn't involve medications. I researched on my own, talked to my doctor, herbalists, acupuncturists, and people all around me who might have knowledge to share. I turned to herbs, whole foods, a diet which spelled out for me that what was included was just as important as what wasn't. Those answers for me (and everyone is different) really shook the foundations of my lifestyle in a way I am still adjusting to. It was pretty hard to realize that corn, wheat, potatoes, and most sugars are just not in the cards for me at the moment. I do not know if this is a life long adjustment I will need to make, for that I am playing it by ear. 

There are times when I've gotten really sad. It's difficult to go out, a lot of the time it doesn't even feel worth it. There are many restaurants that can only offer me salad without the croutons. But the only way I could get through it to a happy place was to cook. Was to learn. Was to try new things and new recipes and just make this a constant in my life--what are you going to eat next? It has taken me to a place where I feel more in tune with the people who came before me. The people who had to forage the jungle and identify the food among the poisons. When things changed in my life the supermarket became a jungle, every label had to be checked carefully. It might not be life threatening, but it is unpleasant when things slip by my notice.

I've learned how to make kefir, milk and water, to make sourdough starter, bake breads, popovers, muffins and protein bars without sugar or any of my allergies. I know how to get myself in good working order: take my herbs, prepare good foods and watch what I'm doing. Took me months to figure out just how and to learn all the skills I have now.  Major accomplishment. I find myself getting into this rhythm, paying attention to all my starters and these life supporting kefir I've adopted. It kind of feels like the lifestyle I needed, the structure to hold my life together. Boil water, choose herbs, steep, and drink. Do these steps, make something good for you, make something right. It'll be there tomorrow and the next day, and so will you. 

Recipe Review-- Slowcooked meats and Brownies

Salsa Chicken Crockpot style from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

Twenty minute to prepare! I skipped the tortillas (being gluten free n all) and instead served this with rice and black olives on top. I put half the sauce in the crockpot, added chicken breasts, put the rest over and cooked on high for 4 hours. Then I added cheese and let it melt into yumminess.

Black Bean & Avocado Brownies from Cara's Cravings

Believe it or not, these are absolutely delicious. While making these a friend dropped by and waved off the batter covered spoon I offered to him. "I'm on a diet." Well guess what you can have your brownies and eat them, too. These taste like the chocolate mousse type variety. Another friend would not stop talking about these after he tried it, and the ingredients are inexpensive. Be careful not to eat the whole thing, as beans and avocado might have a loosening effect! I replaced the sugar with equal parts palm sugar to make it even better for you. Instead of espresso, I added spicy hot chocolate mix I had in the kitchen.

Slowcooked Carne Asada from Faithful Provisions

I recently bought this dish at a Mexican restaurant and didn't realize it was not a slowcooked dish. So when I saw that Trader Joes sells premarinated carne asada for $6 a pound, I got a package of the sliced version and decided to make it myself. This recipe is a bit similar to the salsa chicken above, however it doesn't need any cheese, instead I topped it with fresh avocado. It was the perfect cool addition to this spicy dish. (If you don't buy the trader joe's version, I would recommend marinating the meat in your favorite spices first for extra flavor).

Crockpot Meatballs from a Year of Slowcooking

I am an Italian food snob. This month I craved meatballs and so I set out to make a gluten free version that I can eat. I made these marvelous things in about half an hour and I froze them. Next time I definitely will make an extra batch so I can have meatballs anytime. These are so good. I used a larger can of tomatoes and added onion, carrot and celery so there would be a delicious sauce with it to put over rice pasta and peas. Yum yum yum!! (FYI you probably only need a third of a cup of flour to coat the meatballs, not the 1 cup this suggests)

1-2-3 Kefir

To demonstrate how easy it is to make your own kefir and thus have a probiotic drink handy to make smoothies with or eat as a snack, I have documented my own efforts! Since this first batch with almond milk, I have tried coconut milk (a little strange tasting), and am now on cows milk. I think incorporating this into my diet has made it easier for me to digest other milk products. So I'm pretty sure this stuff is great news for others needing probiotics or help digesting. After it has fermented, cows milk will have less lactose and other nondairy milk products will have less sugar in them.

Step One: Gather Ingredients
Order a kefir starter on the internet. I bought six packets for about $25 not including shipping from Body Ecology. They say the culture from each packet can be reused up to 6 times, so after two weeks of rapid kefir making I'll use the next. This is available from other venders and perhaps health food stores, although I have not thought to look. Follow directions on your starter over mine, this is just an example. You can also get grains that will not need to be purchased again, they will be self replicating. (I prefer this for now to assure high levels of the probiotics I want.)

Buy a quart of milk or nonmilk. To be honest I thought coconut milk was a bit weird because it is so fatty (I tried using canned in a pinch), so that wouldn't be my choice. Perhaps try whatever kind of "milk" agrees with you. Another option I have heard of is coconut water. In my example I used unsweetened almond milk from Trader Joes. $2-4

Step Two: Add the Culture

In a pot I added my milklike substance and turned on the stove. Once it reached skin temperature, I ripped open my packet and poured it all in.

Step Three: Stir
Afterwards maybe give it a minute while you dig around for a container for the next step.

Step Four: Pour and Cover

Pour it in a container. All I had at the moment was an old yogurt container. You may need a funnel if you are using a jar. Leave a little room for air to get in for the chemical reactions to occur, ie. don't seal it up all the way.

Step Five: Snuggle and Leave it

With cloth napkins I wrapped my kefir up real cute. Ideally kefir should stand outside of the fridge at about 75 degrees. I have also stuck it in a crockpot on low before to try and get it to culture faster, but only for a few hours because it shouldn't get too hot either. You should find out the particulars when you get your culture.



Step Six: Check it

After 12 hours give it a poke with a spoon, trying not to agitate the rest of it too much. There should be a level of whey or thicker cream at the top, depending on various factors especially what "milk" you've used. Is it thick enough for you? Is it a little tart? No? Leave it for another 6-12 hours and try it again. Cows milk, I've found, needs a full day. If you leave it out loner, it will separate into whey and cheese that you can press the moisture out of and use in salads. Haven't tried that yet, but it's on the list!

Step Seven: Eat


Mmm delicious kefir with raspberries and a touch of Stevia. Add it to your morning smoothie with protein or green powder and berries or fruit. Add Stevia, honey, or your desired sweetener if you like. It is supposed to be a bit sour. Personally sometimes I like to drink it that way especially if I've been having Halloween candy or something like that, but it is delicious like vanilla yogurt with two drops of Stevia as well. I also like to add cinnamon to help me regulate my blood sugar to stave off a sugar crash after aforementioned candy. As I will describe in the future, you can use it as a milk replacement in many recipes.

Step Eight: Repeat

To make a quart this time add 3/4 of a cup of the old batch to the new one after you warm it up or about a third of a cup for a quart. The cycle keeps on going! Noe: My brand of kefir promises a total of 7 batches per packet, with 6 packets in a box. Some kefir grains will produce infinite kefir.

In practice making kefir takes me abut 7 minutes including making a mess pouring my kefir into the small mouthed glass jar I like with a funnel. I save a couple bucks off the supermarket price and gain valuable health benefits. Win- extra win!