NT Mamas January Thread!

[mountain mom]

I thought I would start the January thread off today before I head into the kitchen to make french toast with my slow risen sourdough!

Happy New Year everyone!

[mountain mom]

Today we had buttermilk soaked spelt flour pancakes. Mmmmm. I got a cast iron stove top grill from freecycle and its awesome for cooking up stuff like this.

Has anyone tried to making the crispy nuts with seasonings?

[BowenTherapist]

Originally Posted by mountain mom

Today we had buttermilk soaked spelt flour pancakes. Mmmmm. I got a cast iron stove top grill from freecycle and its awesome for cooking up stuff like this.

Has anyone tried to making the crispy nuts with seasonings?

i have tried to put some chili powder on them, but it all came off..
i think what i may try next time is make a super concentrated salt/flavor solution and spray it on once i put them to bake. i don't know if it would help the seasonings stay on better. the other time it all came off

[dharmama]

Just wanted to subscribe.

I haven't been around much because I've been dealing with pretty severe lactose intolerance and talking about food in general has made me

I'm doing ok with yogurt and kefir (thank goodness) so I've been eating my soaked oats every morning.

Goat cheese and butter have been ok in small doses. But milk/cream/cow cheese -- NO WAY!

Anyway....in other (happier) news...

I got a grain grinder for Christmas. it's the Family Grain Grinder that attaches to my Kitchenaid mixer. I bought some wheat berries this weekend and I'm very excited (but a little nervous...there are lots of warnings in the directions that came with the grinder) to grind up some flour.

[terrarose]

OK, I'm sure I should be able to figure it out but what does NT stand for? Thanks!

[BowenTherapist]

Originally Posted by dharmama

Just wanted to subscribe.

I

I got a grain grinder for Christmas. it's the Family Grain Grinder that attaches to my Kitchenaid mixer. I bought some wheat berries this weekend and I'm very excited (but a little nervous...there are lots of warnings in the directions that came with the grinder) to grind up some flour.

ooo i can't wait to hear how you like it!
i just ordered one and it should be here on wed!!! (now i just need to hint around to my family that a great 30 b-day present from everyone would be a kitchenaid mixer, so i don't have to use my grandma's. although i am looking forward to weekly trips to visit gramma! )

[littlest birds]

I think there could be an NT-definition at the start of each thread. Just copy the same one over and over or something? Or put something in the archives to direct everyone to. It comes up over and over, YKWIM?

[Gale Force]

We're doing pretty well here. I'm on a fish and vegetable diet with my husband I've cheated every day with kefir. Funny thing is, I gave away all but about a tbs of kefir grains (down from 3 cups) to go dairy free. Now I've got the kefir brewing near the woodstove to get those babies moving along.

I mailed out yesterday for anyone waiting for kefir grains from me.

Originally Posted by mountain mom

Has anyone tried to making the crispy nuts with seasonings?

I've done the holiday pecans (as walnuts and almonds as well as pecans. Tasty. easy.

[sophmama]

NT stands for Nourishing Traditions, right? I've read some Weston Price stuff - is this what this is? If so I'd like to find out more? or if not what is it? Where can I find recipies? Can anyone help me get started on finding info? I've done some searching but not finding what I'm looking for???

[toraji]

Yes, NT stands for Nourishing Traditions, based on Dr. Weston Price's work. You may have been having a problem finding our old threads if you were just searching for Nourishing Traditions, so try searching under "traditional foods". There are quite a few threads, some are daily food diaries, and our old discussion threads. There are a couple in the archives too.

We should probably put up a faq...now I know why they call them "frequently asked questions"! :LOL

[sophmama]

Ooo- an FAQ would be great! Maybe someone can put together a 'getting started in NT' thing with links or something. I think I've now found a few things, but I still feel overwhelmed! Thanks!

[intentfulady]

Signing on here. Waiting to hear more about the kitchenaid flour mill.

Looking for Canadian source as well.

I'm guessing there may be some used out there, as people burn out on this kind of thing.

I too am abit overwhelmed. Trying to follow the kefir thread...no dairy WHEW!!

Just plop them in juice? I cant decipher. And who/what is DOM?

TIA (just figured out what that means)LOL
Colleen

[mountain mom]

Originally Posted by intentfulady

Signing on here. Waiting to hear more about the kitchenaid flour mill.

Looking for Canadian source as well.

I'm guessing there may be some used out there, as people burn out on this kind of thing.

Check the Bargain Finder. It is a weekly paper that comes out on Wednesdays. It cannot be accessed online but that last time I was in your neck of the woods I saw a Bargain Finder for the area I am in at the Fas Gas. I have seen goooood deals on Kitchenaids in there.

I too am abit overwhelmed. Trying to follow the kefir thread...no dairy WHEW!!

Just plop them in juice? I cant decipher. And who/what is DOM?

So Dom is the guy that compiled a super duper huge amount of info on the website that Xenabyte offers on the first page of the January thread. Kefir, youghurt etc.

I converted my milk kefir grains to juice kefir grains. I am using grape juice. I simply put the grains into a litre canning jar and then pour grape juice over to 2/3 full and then cover with an elastic and wax paper.

After two- three days I strain and have fizzy, tart and strong wine tasting grape kefir.

However, this way, the only drawback is that your grains will not reproduce. They will just age, without producing anymore babies. Its like I have post-menopausal grains!

On Doms site he has a large sections on grape kefir and converted grains.

[dharmama]

First Report on my grain grinding experiment!

I have the Family Grain Mill w/ Kitchenaid adapter.

I ground my first batch of wheat flour today. It was SOOOO quiet. I had dd on my back and we stood right next to the grinder - no problem.

It was also very easy to clean (that was why my aunt - who did all the grain mill research - picked this one...I just jumped on the bandwagon and got the same one as her. :LOL)

My flour is soaking in the oven (with the light on...read that somewhere on one of these threads...seems to be just enough to keep it warm ).

Tomorrow...I'm planning to make pancakes and the basic muffins (not sure what kind they will be just yet).

Anyone have any good sources for buying grains online? Also looking for a a resource that explains the different grains (like what kind of wheat berries would give me a whole wheat pastry flour)?

Thanks.

~Erin

[Gale Force]

I have been working like crazy the last few days planning a kitchen remodel. Just in case --

From an NT perspective, is there anything you would include in your dream kitchen that I may not have thought about? Reasonably affordable dream kitchen, that is.

[Brisen]

Dharmama, keep the info coming about the family grain mill! I was looking into mills a while back, and thought that would be the best to get, but dh disagreed. I've been wondering about volume and speed. A friend of mine has been lending me hers, which is great of her, and it grinds the grain quickly (IMO) -- but it's loud. I also liked all of the attachments that could be purchased.

[dharmama]

From an NT perspective, is there anything you would include in your dream kitchen that I may not have thought about? Reasonably affordable dream kitchen, that is.

Lot-o-counter space for kneading bread etc.

An oven that goes down to at least 150 degrees (for dehydrating). Mine only goes as low as 170....or a built in dehydrator/warming box for raising dough, soaking grains etc.

Dharmama, keep the info coming about the family grain mill!

Will do. The pancakes were BTW!

[Danesmama]

Dharmama - I believe that hard winter wheat is used for bread flour (higher gluten content), so I think it follows that soft spring/summer wheat would be best for pastry flour. . . I am pulling this off the top of my head, but am 80% sure I'm correct. I am so jealous of your grain mill! I wondered if you felt that it added a lot of time to your food prep? I am really interested in using a flour grinder, but I am barely keeping up with housework/cooking now.

Another question - my dh is pretty sensitive to sour food tastes - are there any recipes you could recommend to start us on the NT path that are milder in flavor? I made the soaked oatmeal porridge the other morning and he was pretty grossed out. We usually eat oatmeal that is just soaked for 5 min in boling water, so the sticky sour grains were not appealing to him.

Thanks - I'm looking forward to learning more.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by dharmama

Lot-o-counter space for kneading bread etc.

An oven that goes down to at least 150 degrees (for dehydrating). Mine only goes as low as 170....or a built in dehydrator/warming box for raising dough, soaking grains etc.

Good point. I tend to take that stuff for granted but need to do some research. We had a commercial stove and refrigerator in the kitchen (this house had been a retreat facility). We have made a deal with the local church to swap the appliances for labor on the remodel. We have done the stove swap already and are using what was in the church's kitchen -- a very low-end gass stove. I was shocked at the difference. The burners are tiny and very low BTU. It's easy to burn food because the heat is focused on one small part of the pot or pan. I haven't even bothered to make crispy nuts in the oven. The week before the swap I made about two gallons of crispy nuts. LOL. We had a double oven, each commercial size, that would hold two large cookie sheets each. Talk about a lot of crispy nuts. And then there is the fridge. Folks here have commented on how much kefir we must be brewing. I did it in gallon glass jars and often had three different jars in the fridge at one time. I need to find a few half gallons for the normal old fridge we are going to end up with. But the floor space is a dream. When you get rid of some mondo appliances and get normal ones, it's amazing what you can do for your kitchen.

OK, you all can see what's on my mind.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by Danesmama

Another question - my dh is pretty sensitive to sour food tastes - are there any recipes you could recommend to start us on the NT path that are milder in flavor? I made the soaked oatmeal porridge the other morning and he was pretty grossed out. We usually eat oatmeal that is just soaked for 5 min in boling water, so the sticky sour grains were not appealing to him.

You might try steel cut oats -- rather than rolled, the oat is just chopped up. It has a totally different texture and doesn't get that slimy texture like oatmeal does. It cooks up in just a few minutes if soaked (as opposed to 30 if not). We get ours at Trader Joe's.