I posted some time ago about never having attempted to make a home made ferment. I tried a few this summer and fall with varying degrees of success:
Pickles: this was the first ferment I attempted and it went ok. They were over salted and not as tart as I would like, so I think in future I would limit the amount of salt and let them sit on the counter longer.
Turnips and Beets: accidentally spilled too much salt into the jar, so, like the pickles, these are not tart enough and are over salted. They look pretty though.
Carrots: these worked really great. I shredded about four carrots in the food processor, added about a teaspoon of salt and filled the jar up with water. After about five days on the counter they were perfect, probably because of all the sugar in carrots. They make a really tasty crunchy topping for other recipes. I'm really enjoying them.
Sauerkraut: I just made two jars today with the remainder of a cabbage I bought for another recipe. (One cabbage is way too much for one person without at least three recipes in mind.) I added a little bit of liquid from the carrot ferment to the sauerkraut jars, and very little salt. We'll see how it goes.
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Processing a cabbage
It's harder than it seems. I bought a cabbage to try out a braised cabbage and sausage recipe, which was great, but then found myself with scads of leftovers. For next time, here is my plan for using a cabbage in a one person GAPS household:
Outer third - GAPS cabbage rolls, which I would cook, freeze, and bring to work for lunches. I still need to come up with a good substitute for rice to soften up those little rolls of ground beef...perhaps cauliflower?
Middle third - shred using food processor for sauerkraut.
Inner third - braise or boil for an immediate meal.
This allows me to use a large vegetable in a way that (i) makes best use of all of its parts and (ii) not eat the same thing for a week! Sauerkraut takes a couple of weeks, cabbage rolls can be thawed much later than that, and I have one immediate meal. This is important to me with regard to cabbage because I am on GAPS because of a thyroid problem.
Outer third - GAPS cabbage rolls, which I would cook, freeze, and bring to work for lunches. I still need to come up with a good substitute for rice to soften up those little rolls of ground beef...perhaps cauliflower?
Middle third - shred using food processor for sauerkraut.
Inner third - braise or boil for an immediate meal.
This allows me to use a large vegetable in a way that (i) makes best use of all of its parts and (ii) not eat the same thing for a week! Sauerkraut takes a couple of weeks, cabbage rolls can be thawed much later than that, and I have one immediate meal. This is important to me with regard to cabbage because I am on GAPS because of a thyroid problem.
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Monday, 1 October 2012
GAPS Intro
I'm starting intro again. I've been really bad all summer due to overwork and I'm pleased to see that my damaging diet over the last few months has not hurt me too badly. I have decided to reboot and restart intro.
Last time I did intro I wasn't blogging yet (that seems to happen a lot with GAPs - probably because when you start it you are ill and desperate, you have no energy for blogging).
So this will sort of chart my course over the intro. Will do my best to post meal plans etc.
Last time I did intro I wasn't blogging yet (that seems to happen a lot with GAPs - probably because when you start it you are ill and desperate, you have no energy for blogging).
So this will sort of chart my course over the intro. Will do my best to post meal plans etc.
Intro Day 1
Day 1 got off to a rocky start. I pulled a jug of broth out of my fridge that had been there a little to long, heated it up for breakfast and lunch, tasted it, and realized it had gone off. I pulled a new container of stock out of the freezer and left it on the counter to thaw.
Walked to work and had a few almonds and several mugs of green tea with honey. Not intro, certainly not phase I but it could have been worse.
Lunch was a quinoa chilli. Very bad, but could not pack a lunch that morning and forgot my cash cards at home.
Dinner was 2 avocados with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice, mixed with sauerkraut, and a mug of stock. I heated up the thawed stock and poured most of it in a thermos with a clove of garlic for lunch tomorrow.
I will be finishing off the last of a tray of strawberries for dessert. Or perhaps freezing them for later.
So, here is the meal plan for the next two weeks or so. Note that one day's dinner is the next day's lunch (the joys of cooking for one!).
Oct 1 - Oct 4
Breakfasts: broth
Walked to work and had a few almonds and several mugs of green tea with honey. Not intro, certainly not phase I but it could have been worse.
Lunch was a quinoa chilli. Very bad, but could not pack a lunch that morning and forgot my cash cards at home.
Dinner was 2 avocados with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice, mixed with sauerkraut, and a mug of stock. I heated up the thawed stock and poured most of it in a thermos with a clove of garlic for lunch tomorrow.
I will be finishing off the last of a tray of strawberries for dessert. Or perhaps freezing them for later.
So, here is the meal plan for the next two weeks or so. Note that one day's dinner is the next day's lunch (the joys of cooking for one!).
Oct 1 - Oct 4
Breakfasts: broth
- Broth, avocados
- Butternut squash soup
- Bok choy soup with egg yolks
- Scrambled eggs with tomato
Oct 5 - Oct 8
Breakfasts: scrambled eggs, carrot juice (weekend is a great time to use the juicer)
- Roast chicken (will freeze the breasts)
- Vegetable soup with zuchini walnut bread
- Roast turkey (thanksgiving!)
- Chicken 'noodle' soup
Oct 9 - Oct 12
Breakfasts: slow cooker applesauce
- Pumpkin soup with zuchini walnut bread
- Salmon and mashed cauliflower
- Chilli (no beans!)
- Ceaser salad
This takes me to the end of Intro - so then it's on to full GAPS (Minus dairy, in my case. Post on that to follow)
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
GAPS and Vegan?
We all know that GAPS is not a vegan diet, but my sister is visiting this weekend and she is a vegan. Having voiced my sisterly objections months ago, I will be cooking vegan meals for us this weekend. I thought it might be interesting to list a few GAPS-legal vegan recipes. (Leaving out the ones with lentils, as that is the obvious area where vegan and GAPS intersect.)
Stir fried cashews and garlic with carrots, snow peas, red pepper and mushroom. I plan to make this with a tiny touch of soy sauce and agave nectar to give it more of a typical flavor. Otherwise I will be using coconut oil, dried chilis, and perhaps some veggie broth for flavor.
Vegan tapas - fried almonds, marinated mushrooms, grilled asparagus in lemon juice, grilled eggplant with sofrito, olives. Could even do carrots bravas instead of potatoes bravas...
The Rawtarian's date brownies - They are DELICIOUS and GAPS legal and vegan if you omit the sweetener...which you can because dates are so sweet. http://www.therawtarian.com/raw-brownie-recipe/
Update: Kale Salad - get a bunch of kale, chop it up and put in a big bowl. Put on sesame oil, white wine vinegar and salt. Squish and squeeze it together with your hands. sprinkle shredded carrots and sesame seeds on top.
Stir fried cashews and garlic with carrots, snow peas, red pepper and mushroom. I plan to make this with a tiny touch of soy sauce and agave nectar to give it more of a typical flavor. Otherwise I will be using coconut oil, dried chilis, and perhaps some veggie broth for flavor.
Vegan tapas - fried almonds, marinated mushrooms, grilled asparagus in lemon juice, grilled eggplant with sofrito, olives. Could even do carrots bravas instead of potatoes bravas...
The Rawtarian's date brownies - They are DELICIOUS and GAPS legal and vegan if you omit the sweetener...which you can because dates are so sweet. http://www.therawtarian.com/raw-brownie-recipe/
Update: Kale Salad - get a bunch of kale, chop it up and put in a big bowl. Put on sesame oil, white wine vinegar and salt. Squish and squeeze it together with your hands. sprinkle shredded carrots and sesame seeds on top.
Saturday, 30 June 2012
A grown-up GAPS Birthday
-an organic shade-grown americano from a local coffee shop
-an early morning walk along a local beach
-brunch with a friend - smoked turkey and stilton cheese on a scone (excused as it was my birthday)
-flower arrangement - lavender and white flowers from my own garden
-an afternoon of sunbathing with a good book
-cocktail hour - vodka, honey, water, and fresh lemons with grapefruit perrier on the side
-dinner - wine, smoked mozzarella, and marinated roasted vegetables and gluten & antibiotic free sausage
-dessert - whipped cream with sea salt and honey on raspberries, strawberries and blueberries
-evening - strawberry daquiries with honey and vodka under the stars
-an early morning walk along a local beach
-brunch with a friend - smoked turkey and stilton cheese on a scone (excused as it was my birthday)
-flower arrangement - lavender and white flowers from my own garden
-an afternoon of sunbathing with a good book
-cocktail hour - vodka, honey, water, and fresh lemons with grapefruit perrier on the side
-dinner - wine, smoked mozzarella, and marinated roasted vegetables and gluten & antibiotic free sausage
-dessert - whipped cream with sea salt and honey on raspberries, strawberries and blueberries
-evening - strawberry daquiries with honey and vodka under the stars
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