Lately I’ve been reading Asian and Indian food blogs and this morning I was inspired to throw together a recipe inspired by Korean, Thai and Indian cuisines. The cakes turned out so yummy, my family quickly gobbled them all up!
I used a bunch of vegetables I had on hand along with some leftover chicken. (Tuna or salmon would also work.) Eggs and chick pea flour held it all together, making a very nutritious and high protein entree.
Recipe
1 grated carrot
1 grated zucchini
2 thinly sliced scallions
4 finely chopped leaves of Savoy cabbage
2/3 cup chopped cooked chicken
3 eggs
2 handfuls of chickpea flour
1/4 tsp garlic salt
Preheat 2 cast iron skillets by turning the burners on medium.
Put all the veggies in the bowl and stir in the eggs.
I threw in one handful of flour and stirred that up. It wasn’t as firm as drop cookie dough so I added another handful. I didn’t add any salt since my husband can’t have it, but a little would be good.
Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into each skillet.
Place spoonfuls of batter onto the hot skillet. Use a separate spoon to flatten each one down. Turn once to brown both sides.
So delicious with a little Sweet Thai Chili Sauce!
I make this in all sorts of fruit and spice combinations and we love the sweet, sparkling flavor as well as its versatility. A little jar of spiced chutney makes a great gift that will be appreciated by everyone on your list!
Chutney is delicious hot or cold on ice cream, hot cereal, muffins, pancakes, yogurt, biscuits, French toast or just right out of the jar! As dried fruits are concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, this is a sweet ‘n simple way to sneak more nutrients into your family’s diet.
Often I don’t bother to measure ingredients as it’s easier to just go by taste and every batch is deliciously different! This recipe is absolutely no-fail as you simply adjust it to your preference.
Method
Start by putting some water in a pot – roughly 1 part water to 1 part dried fruit. I usually cook about 4 cups of fruit at one time. Read the rest of this entry »
Antibiotic resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a virulent and now common health threat. Though most cases are contracted during a hospital stay, a number of community infections regularly emerge and children are among the most vulnerable.
If you had a loved one who was fighting for their life or worse, died, due to MRSA, you might be interested in helping to prevent others from suffering the same fate. How about not eating meat, eggs and dairy from factory farms or just consuming less? Wonder where’s the link? Read on… Read the rest of this entry »
Granted, we couldn’t produce much meat, dairy or eggs if all the livestock and fish were roaming pastures or freely swimming in oceans, lakes and rivers. The rapid growth and highly efficient processing of cows, poultry, swine and seafood in CAFO’s have made animal products so inexpensive that fast food chains can make a profit on $1.00 meals.
But if Americans were willing to take the advice of the national cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s organizations as well as U.S. Dietary Guidelines and the Centers for Disease Control, we’d be eating a lot lower on the food chain. Nutrition and disease experts across the board agree that prevention of chronic, degenerative disease involves consuming more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds and nuts while limiting intake of animal foods. Read the rest of this entry »
One morning a few months ago when I went into work at Haven Hospice, I found a message on my telephone. It was from Catherine Whiteacre, the owner of a local goat dairy. She had called to inform me that goat’s milk was very helpful for many cancer patients as it’s much easier to digest than cow’s milk.
My husband, youngest daughter and I went out to her farm, Whiteacre’s Dairy Goats that weekend and were very impressed with the cleanliness of the barn, the healthy animals and the wholesome atmosphere. Here’s her Facebook page.
Catherine told us about the kefir she made and gave us a taste. It was incredible – so tangy and live tasting!! I knew then, I had to make this myself.
Since that time, we’ve been making 1-2 quarts of kefir a day. We use it in many ways: we drink it plain as a beverage, include it in smoothies or cooking instead of buttermilk or yogurt, or use it as a sauce over fried rice, vegetables or fruit salad.
Historical
Every country has unique versions of fermented foods, indigenous to the culture. This has long been a way of keeping foods from spoiling in the absence of refrigeration.
During the past century, advances in technology and changes in diet, particularly in Westernized nations, have resulted in decreasing populations of protective intestinal microorganisms. This has been found to correlate with increasing incidence of intestinal disorders such as Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel. Read the rest of this entry »
The biggest challenge is finding a source of grains to start the process. There are many online providers and several are listed in the Resources at the end of Part IV.
Lyophilized cultures are available as powders from health food stores, but these are not very satisfactory. A portion of the resulting kefir can be saved to be used several times to propagate further fermentations, but it never forms grains and eventually a fresh culture must be obtained.
Kefir grains appear to grow best at approximately the same temperature range that people find most comfortable – around 68 to 77°F. Below that, the organisms work more slowly. To maintain peak vitality, culture every 24 to 48 hours.
The grains enlarge in the process of fermentation and eventually split. When culturing daily, grains will double every 10 to 14 days. As grains multiply, culturing becomes faster.
We like to use goat milk and prefer the taste and quality to cow’s milk kefir. The goat kefir is a little tangier and goat milk is also more easily digested. Contact Catherine Whiteacre at 352-472-6335 or cwhiteacre@msn.com if you’re interested in purchasing goat milk from a dairy in this area. Read the rest of this entry »
Watch the jar and when you see the curds and whey separating, it’s either done or close. The acidification of the milk causes it to coagulate and if you let it go too far, the curds will totally separate from the whey and you may have to pour off the liquid and re-culture.
Now, stir it to distribute the grains that accumulate en mass at the surface, and carefully pour a little into a spoon. If it tastes good and tangy, it’s ready. Freshly made kefir will keep in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
The grains are removed from the liquid by pouring it through a colander and are reserved as starter for the next batch. Don’t worry about any tiny bits of grains that may go through the holes – they’re totally edible.
Growing and Adjusting
When you’re first starting to culture kefir, it may take a few weeks until
1) Your grains adapt to the milk you’re giving them and work up to optimum performance and,
2) You learn how long to let the kefir go to achieve the taste and thickness you prefer. Remember, you’re working with live organisms and learning at the same time so your culture will no doubt improve over the first few weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
After the kefir is strained off, place the grains back in the jar. If you want to start a new batch, simply refill the jar with milk and place the lid on loosely.
If you want to wait awhile before culturing another batch, cover the grains with milk and place the jar in the refrigerator. The grains will continue to grow slowly in the refrigerator so need to have the milk changed every week or two in order to maintain peak vitality.
Longer Storage
Kefir grains will remain viable for up to four months in the freezer and can be revived after being dehydrated for one year. Grains that have been frozen or dried will grow slowly at first and need a change of milk every day for at least a week before flavor and texture become optimal.
You can dehydrate grains by placing them on parchment paper for a week or more until they are completely desiccated. Store the grains in a jar with a tight lid and keep it in a cool, dry place.
World-class Health Drink
Kefir is a popular drink across the Eastern and Northern European countries as well as Chile where it is called bird’s yogurt. In these countries it is drunk the same way as milk, often accompanying pastries and other sweets. Read the rest of this entry »
Americans are the world’s biggest consumers of coffee, downing 400 million cups a day. Four corporations control 70 to 80% of all coffee sold in the US. Nestle, Kraft, Proctor and Gamble, and Sara Lee are the coffee market giants and they own many popular brands – Nescafe, Folgers, Yuban, Maxwell House and others.
The Big Four, as they are known, have created financial devastation for millions of small coffee farmers worldwide in the past decade. The coffee crisis they fostered began in the late 1990′s and involved the creation of large-scale production in Vietnam where, in the last decade, coffee growing has become the principle economic resource for the nation. Read the rest of this entry »
Vietnam went from producing 90,000 tons of coffee in 1990 to almost a million tons in 2000 thanks to loans from the Big Four, the World Bank and the Vietnamese government. This influx of cheap Robusta beans caused a market collapse that was devastating for the small Arabica coffee farms.
The past few years of excessive rain, particularly in one of the major coffee countries, Columbia, has spurred resurgence in coffee prices. Additionally, USAID and others, particularly Fair Trade organizations, have been working with many of the traditional growers to help them gain income through the specialty and organic markets. Read the rest of this entry »
