I'm kind of grossed-out by Nourishing Traditions recipes - Page 2

[mamabohl]

some things are truly terrible, but I have liked quite a few recipes too. The turkey breakfast sausage is great, we LOVE the empanadas (best made with shredded pot roast though), the chicken tostadas are good, yogurt dough makes a great pie crust, the pnacake recipe is alright, but I like a basic one altered to be NT better...there's a couple threads out there about good recipes and bad recipes from NT.

[kdmama33]

Originally Posted by paquerette

The only thing I've done so far that was a disaster was the mayonnaise. It was too strong with straight olive oil, and it came out too thin. I'd do it again with an extra egg and sunflower oil maybe. It was edible in a pasta salad, just no way I could spread it on a sandwich or anything.

I finally perfected the mayo by mixing the NT recipe with a couple of others. I use two egg yolks and one whole egg. I omit the whey and add a lot of lemon juice instead. I also add a bunch of quality dijon mustard. And then I use 1 part olive oil and two parts sesame oil. It's not quite Hellman's, but it's close. It also thickens up very, very nicely, especially after refridgeration. And you can eat it on a sandwhich.

[Chicharronita]

Originally Posted by freespirited

I'm a former longtime vegetarian (was also vegan, and for a (very) short time, high raw), so that makes all the meaty, organ-y, brain-y, raw meat and fishy recipes all the less appealing. I do eat meat now, but I don't like to deal with organs or bones or what-have-you.

I had eliminated most meat and dairy from my diet with the goal of going veg. for years, so reading NT was a shock to me too. It's best to take baby steps, and try not to make radical changes that will make you hate food.

I read NT about four years ago, and I just last week made a recipe with chicken livers that I could tolerate!

[Chicharronita]

Originally Posted by paquerette

The only thing I've done so far that was a disaster was the mayonnaise. It was too strong with straight olive oil, and it came out too thin. I'd do it again with an extra egg and sunflower oil maybe.

As with the livers in my last post, I have turned a corner and now kind of like using all-EVOO mayo. I hated it for years, but had to make some and just used the EVOO I had on hand. Next time I'll try 80% EVOO and about 20% sunflower (the organic low PUFA one).

Did you use whey and let it sit out overnight? That makes the mayo thicken up.

I use a slightly modified mayo recipe, which calls for one whole egg and two yolks per cup of oil. That may also help it thicken up too.

[Chicharronita]

Originally Posted by kdmama33

I omit the whey and add a lot of lemon juice instead.

Your recipe sounds similar to the one I'm now using! However, I would encourage people to leave the whey in, and let it sit out overnight per NT. It turns it into Super Mayo, a lacto-fermented condiment.

In fact, don't most of the condiment recipes (some based on ancient methods) call for this extra fermenting step? Since my dd likes copious amounts of mayo and ketchup on her food, it's my secret method of getting good bacteria into her.

[kdmama33]

I still leave it to sit out. The salt and lemon juice innoculate it so that it ferments without going bad, and without the use of whey.

I have issues with Sally Fallon's apparent love affair with whey.

[Tcarwyn]

Originally Posted by krankedyann

Yes, on the top of the main page of Cooking NT, you'll see where you can now join a yahoo group I have set up that is announcement only. Once a week or less I e-mail out a short e-mail listing any site updates and list the new recipes added, and I'll use that to announce the books as well. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CookingNT/

Fantastic...i am so glad you are writing a NT cookbook..there are just not enough of them...right on! I just signed up!!

Tanya

[Chicharronita]

Originally Posted by kdmama33

I still leave it to sit out. The salt and lemon juice innoculate it so that it ferments without going bad, and without the use of whey.

But what else in the recipe is supplying the good bacteria?

I have issues with Sally Fallon's apparent love affair with whey.

LOL. I think she has it in a lot of recipes because it's easy for people to get/make. However, I think it's better to use brine from previous ferments (from say veggies) than whey for most recipes.

[Pogonia]

It's good to be able to look up things like how to soak or rinse a particular grain or bean.

Be careful with the beans. I tried soaking them faithfully following the book, and they never came out well. She has since updated that information but the book may not reflect that yet. The WAPF website has it, though, if you go do a search there for beans. Then just print it out and keep in the book.

[kdmama33]

Originally Posted by Chicharronita

But what else in the recipe is supplying the good bacteria?

The mayo is naturally fermenting and the fermentation process supplies the good bacteria. When I make sauerkraut, all I use is cabbage and salt ... and yet, it turns into a probiotic packed crock of bacterial goodness. You only need to ensure that whatever you are fermenting doesn't rot (bad bacteria taking over) before the good bacteria get a chance to multiply and take hold. The whey acts in the same way that the salt does, only it gives the mayo (or whatever you are adding it to) a leg up, so to speak, in that it already contains plenty of the good bacteria, so there's more of a chance for them to take hold and start multiplying immediately.

Again, I have to say that whey is completely unnecessary in most ferments. I much prefer Sandor Katz's recipes to Sally Fallon's when it comes to fermentation, and hardly any of his recipes call for whey (or for brine from other lacto-fermented foods, for that matter).

[Gale Force]

On what supplies the bacteria -- the air. It's like making your own sourdough -- you capture from the air.

I like Sandor Katz's book too.

For fruit I started using water kefir to ferment it. That works very well -- just weight it down like you do vegetables and cover with sugar water that's been kefired

[kdmama33]

Right. Which is why you don't need the whey to supply good bacteria, you just let the ferment happen, and you still get a food full of probiotic power. As I said, the whey (or the salt or lacto-fermented brine) acts as a sort of preservative so that the food doesn't go bad before the good bacteria have a chance to multiply. And whey, or other lacto-fermented brines (including water kefir -- great idea!) just provide more of a base upon which to build the good bacteria count.

[Chicharronita]

That makes a lot of sense re. whey in mayo. Here's something else I think I remember from NT (sorry, I'm too lazy to go down and actually check!)—doesn't using it also help the mayo to firm up? I don't know why that would be, though. But some people were complaining that theirs came out too runny. Mine is always semi-firm, although not as firm and whipped-up as store-bought of course.

I just cultured some red and green cabbage and shredded carrots with old brine. Within 24 hours, it was all pushed to the top of the jar and extremely bubbly! Old brine has way more kick than whey.

[Nikki98]

Originally Posted by Chicharronita

I just cultured some red and green cabbage and shredded carrots with old brine. Within 24 hours, it was all pushed to the top of the jar and extremely bubbly! Old brine has way more kick than whey.

Yes so true! I did this with some kimchi a couple a weeks ago. I saved my old kimchi "juice" (put in a glass jar in the fridge) and when I made a new batch of kimchi, I used the old kimchi "juice" (brine) and the new kimchi came out so spicy and good. My dh even liked it.

[paquerette]

I did lemon juice, not whey. I haven't done much with doing stuff to dairy yet because it's so darn expensive. I'll try leaving it out with the lemon juice next time.

[MommaMoo]

My favorite NT recipe is the cream of vegetable soup. I add a lot of seasoning to mine b/c most NT recipes are much too bland for my taste. Cream of veg soup is very easy to make and kids like it too.