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Tag Archives: Raw

Beetroot & Red Cabbage Purple Sauerkraut – ferment!

05 Sunday Mar 2017

Posted by Aissa in Fermentation, Gluten Free, Natural Health, No bake/ Raw, Savoury, Superfoods, Traditional, Vegan

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Fermentation, Gluten free, Natural Health, Raw, recipe, Sauerkraut recipe, Savoury, Superfoods, Traditional, Vegan

There is a lovely beetroot sauerkraut you can buy in good health shops here… after a couple of jars I was like “I should just make this.” I have a collection of KJOVS (kilner jars of various sizes) at home and though I did not travel very light when moving to Sweden I did draw the line at kilner jars.

I seemed to have lost the lovely pics I took of this process- so please bare with my phone photographs! If the originals turn up then I will delete these ones and this note of my incompetence. 🙂

Gothenburg has a many second-hand shops and a picked up a glass jar with a rubber seal easily. So you will need a mason or kilner jar, steam sterilise it or wash in very hot water* and rinse very well – so there was no soapy residue, the only other equipment needed is a knife, a bowl and a plate and maybe a veg peeling tool. (*not too close to boiling- glass can explode! I have foolishly done this and have a scar to prove it)

I prefer to ferment organic veg, I find the idea of fermenting chemicals a bit off-putting. That said if you peel the non-organic beetroot and remove the outer leaves of your cabbage you will certainly lower the levels.

It is very simple and quick to prepare. I chopped everything but you could give things a whizz in a food processor or use a spiralizer for the beetroot.

Beetroot & Red Cabbage Purple Sauerkraut

  • Two and a half medium purple beetroot
  • Just under Half of a medium sized red cabbage (chop half)
  • A flat dessertspoon of sea salt
  • Maybe some boiled cooled water with a pinch of salt in it.
  • A bulb of garlic if you like

Method:

You will prob only need two beetroot and under half the cabbage, but it is good to have extra, as you need to fill your jar.

So chop them into small bits. Not teeny tiny bits, but kind of as small as you’d get in a normal slaw.  As you chop, put stuff in a bowl, I tend to add half the salt half way through and then the rest at the end.

 

The Vegan's use of a cheese slicer- beet peeling!

The Vegan’s use of a cheese slicer- beet peeling!

chopped

chopped

Now to dye your hands a purple colour. With clean but NOT soapy (antibacterial and we don’t want to risk killing the good guys). Squeeze, mash, rub and press your mix. Lots of water will start to be drawn out by the salt. If not much water has come out yet, you can put a plate on top and leave it rest for a bit. You can put a weight on top if you like (I’ve used a bag of flour in the past). I didn’t use a weight this time.

Now start squishing the veg into your jar. If the liquid is not covering the contents you can add some of your cooled salty water. You could squash everything down with a bulb or layer of garlic cloves. But you will have some of a garlic-y flavour to sauerkraut. When doing large jars and I have been caught out by not enough prepared veg I have pressed everything down with a glass jar. Check it out in my detailed Sauerkraut post inc. troubleshooting Sauerkraut the new old superfood. I am tagging this again as a superfood, it is filled with colourful anti-oxidants and SOO much live bacteria it deserves the title, as do the beetroot red cabbage and garlic…I will stop or I will end up listing all veg, nuts, legumes, seeds, beans and herbs and spices in the world.

Once the jar is up to the tip-top put on your lid. I would ideally leave for 10 days to a month. I know some people leave their sauerkraut for even longer, but I like a bit of a bite in this slaw. I was nervous as to how well my vintage jar might keep it all airtight, I still opened everyday to leave gases out – to prevent a build up and explosion – kinda like burping the sauerkraut. I stuck mine in the fridge after a week I might be barely, barely fermented. I think I will buy a traditional kilner jar (rubber seal and metal clamp) in the second-hand shop this week and ferment again- in a less nervous manner.

Barely Fermented Purple Sauerkraut

Barely Fermented Purple Sauerkraut

You will know all is well as after about a week you should start to get a vingear-er-ry smell from the kraut. It is an amazing what smell can tell you. It should never smell “bad” or “off putting” or mouldy. It should smell cabbage-y and then a bit vingear-y. It should stay the same colour- i.e no bloom of mould! You shouldn’t have any of these problems if your jar is full, contents covered by liquid and airtight.

It is lovely on toasted rye bread with avocado! Hope you try it!  Xs Aissa

P.S If you have concerns or it is your first fermenting rodeo you might like check out my other Sauerkraut post linked above for more detailed troubleshooting. 🙂 But don’t be overly anxious it really is a simple process!

Horseradish Preserve! Vegan & Gluten free

24 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by Aissa in Fermentation, Gluten Free, Natural Health, Savoury, Superfoods, Traditional, Vegan

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Fermentation, Gluten free, Natural Health, Raw, recipe, Savoury, Superfoods, Traditional, Vegan

I’m on a spice kick! Wasabi-ing my popcorn and now horesradish-ing my everything! ( I can make my own verbs up and no-one can tell me otherwise!!) Horseradish is a some what overlooked root. Its super heat and flavour add that extra kick to.. well as I said everything, but it also as medicinal properties- anyone who has had the fresh stuff will tell you it clears your sinuses but it is also anti-bacterial (like garlic)- though traditional recommended for helping with respiratory conditions I have heard of it being used for fluid retention, urinary tract infections and inflammation. * So a great thing to have in your kitchen.

In order to keep the heat in your horseradish you need to make this all in one go. So no chopping the horseradish wondering off to look something up on line and spending three hours looking at cat videos 🙂 If left out to the air – esp. ones blended it starts to loose its heat.

I have made this a number of times so here is the list of what you will need to make:

Horseradish Preserve

  •  A good sharp knife
  • A good strong chopping board
  • A little upper body strength or a helper
  • A good strong blender or food processor
  • A jar
  • A Horseradish 🙂
  • Approx. a cup of apple cyder/ cider vinegar raw and with the mother culture in it.
  • Optional: Swimming goggles.

Method

Ideally the horseradish would be organic, but I couldn’t get any this time. So I made sure to peel it really well incase there were any residues left on it. Horseradish is very woody it even has a grain to it so it is a bit like trying to chop a soft-ish stick! If you find the grain it is easier to peel. The other tip is to cut length ways first , chop the top and bottom off and then chop  to smaller bits. With my blender I need to chop to top of finger size bits, you might have to chop smaller.

Horseradish root looking rooty

Horseradish root looking rooty

Pop the chopped up bits in your blender/ processor and add about six tablespoons of apple cyder vinegar. Pulse off and on five or six times – and then blend for thirty seconds. My blender has a setting for nuts and I actually do it on that first as the horseradish is so hard. Once it is pulverised a bit you can blend like normal.

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! Maybe get the goggles!

DO NOT TAKE THE TOP OFF THE BLENDER WITH YOUR HEAD OVER IT!!!! It is like putting your head in a bowl of twenty freshly chopped onions. You eyes will be scalded and streaming! Even scooping it into the jar I try and keep my face well back.

Fluffy horseradish ready to apple cyder vinegar-d

Fluffy horseradish ready to apple cyder vinegar-d

All that spicy goodness is heading off into the air so to catch it cover the horseradish with the apple cyder vinegar fast! A good apple cyder/ cider vinegar- that is naturally fermented and raw is full of good bacteria and malic acid (helps break down uric acid – which in turn is good for your joints). This good vinegar will preserve your horseradish- I have had a jar for months at a time in the fridge.

Looks like snow but it is HOT HOT HOT :-)

Looks like snow but it is HOT HOT HOT 🙂

It is a wonderful accompaniment to any meal – but is a especially good mixed with avocado, hummus or a pinch added to your homemade salad dressing. even when using the jar I don’t leave it open to the air for long- to keep all the great spices in!

Hope you guys try it out. It is pretty amazing stuff. It will be called a superfood yet! 🙂

xs Aissa

*footnote. I am not a health practitioner. but I have read if you are on low thyroid medication or pregnant you should not being eating truckloads of horseradish!

Homemade Almond Milk -Vegan & Gluten Free

27 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by Aissa in Gluten Free, Natural Health, No bake/ Raw, Traditional, Vegan

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Tags

Almond Milk, Gluten free, Natural Health, Raw, Traditional, Vegan

I am on a almond kick at the moment. Almonds in my smoothies, ground almonds in sauces, plans for a version of almond butter and I will have a Almond Cake recipe for you guys after this.

Once you have a metal sieve and a strong blender or food processor you are all set for making Almond Milk. I was in Sicily for my holidays recently, we stopped in a small town near Mt.Etna and when getting our necessary espressos the gentleman in the bar gave us a taste of his almond milk. It was made from locally grown almonds, was crazily sweet and had a just a hint of lemon in it. Delicious! So I was inspired to add a little lemon juice! The organic unwaxed lemon I got is Italian – so I have decided it was a Sicilian one!

Warning extremely addictive!

Warning extremely addictive!

Almond Milk

  • A generous cup of whole organic almonds- soaked overnight
  • Two big dessertspoons of desiccated/ shredded coconut
  • Less than an eighth of a teaspoon of himalayan pink salt
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla powder/ insides of a pod
  • Two teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
  • Optional: two medjool dates/ two teaspoons of maple syrup
  • A pint and a quarter or approx. 600ml of water (maybe more)

Method:

Soak your almonds overnight- make sure they are well covered by water as they will swell.

Throw the water out that they have been soaked in and give them a brief rinse. Put  them into your blender/ food processor. Add your coconut, date/maple syrup, water, salt and vanilla. I blend mine on the setting for nut butters/ dips. Basically a few short burst and then continuously for 45 seconds. Add half your lemon juice. Blitz again for another 30 seconds. Taste it and see if it needs more lemon juice or not!

Straining your milk. You can use a nut bag or muslin cheese cloth. I just use my metal sieve. I pour some in to the sieve over a wide topped measuring jug. Press the ground almonds to get all the milky-ness out of them! It should deliver just over a pint.

Taste again! If very creamy you may want to add more water- you can either stir it through or give a quick blitz again to throughly mix. Put in the fridge it is best served chilled! I keep the almond pulp for making cookies/ raw little sweets or adding to a dinner.

I will have a glass tonight to toast the Lunar Eclipse! Hope you try making it!Xs Aissa

Moon looking beautiful already!

Moon looking beautiful already!

Quick and Zesty Pickled Cucumber Salad! Vegan & Gluten Free

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by Aissa in Gluten Free, No bake/ Raw, Savoury, Vegan

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Tags

Gluten free, Raw, recipe, Savoury, Vegan

My wonderful partner was, yet again, cooking me dinner and said it would be lovely to have pickled cucumber with it. Just to give a refreshing acidic side to our onion-y, lentil tomato sauce. My task was set. Had I a few days notice as opposed to forty-five minutes, I could have actually pickled, fermentation style, some cucumber, but this is healthy next best. I imagine it would get yummier if you have the time leave it for a couple of hours!

I used a spiralizer but you could use a potato peeler to get thin strips, or if you are the daring type and like to risk your fingertips you could use a mandolin (shivers all over 😉 )

Quick and Zesty Pickled Cucumber Salad

  • One organic cucumber- spiralized
  • One small organic carrot- spiralized
  • A quarter cup of proper fermented brown rice vinegar
  • A tablespoon of real fermented tamari (gluten free )
  • Two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil/ sesame oil
  • A teaspoon of grated ginger
  • A dash of mirin
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Five or six twists of black pepper
  • A third cup mix of lightly toasted sunflower & poppy seeds
  • Toast the seeds with an eighth teaspoon or pinch of himalayan pink salt/ sea salt

Grab a salad bowl. Whisk together your vinegar, tamari, oil, mirin, pepper, ginger and lemon. Add in your cucumber and carrot, mix so that it is all covered in the liquid.

Everything in the bowl

Everything in the bowl

Press mixture down so it is covered and leave to macerate for thirty minutes.

The toasted seeds

The toasted seeds

 

Toast the seeds with the salt, in a dry pan on a high heat for about a minute. The sunflower seeds should be barely changing colour. Add in the seeds when you are about to serve – so they are still crunchy!

Quick and zesty pickled cucumber salad!!

Quick and zesty pickled cucumber salad!!

There you have it Quick and easy zesty pickled cucumber salad! Hope you like it. Xs Aissa

 

Raw Electrolyte Smoothie

22 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by Aissa in juice, Natural Health, No bake/ Raw, Superfoods, Vegan, Vegan Smoothie

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Tags

Gluten free, Juice, Natural Health, Raw, Superfoods, Vegan, Vegan Smoothie, water kefir

My little hand held emersion blender died 😦 It is an ex-blender. I have a jug one now. The other evening after work, having drunk little water and feeling the lack of veggies, I made this. I upped the nutrient factor with green food powder. For good live bacteria, good yeasts and enzymes I popped in some homemade water kefir.

raw green goodness

raw green goodness

Raw Electrolyte Smoothies

  • A full mug and a half of organic coconut water
  • A double shot of water kefir – you could use kombucha if you like
  • A tablespoon of chia seeds (for the good fats)
  • A thin inch long slice of organic ginger
  • Two stalks of celery
  • One small carrot
  • A teaspoon of a green superfood powder of your choice
  • One kiwi
  • Optional: A spoon of natural peanut butter or almond butter

Peel the kiwi and chop the carrot and celery. Put your water kefir and coconut water in the jug first and add in everything else and blend. The ginger gives it a nice lift.

Filled me up too and stopped me just eating spoon after spoon of natural peanut butter while I cooked dinner! xs Aissa

 

 

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