[mountain mom]



 

[mountain mom]

Oh geez I was so excited I forgot to post anything.

This thread is an extension of the sustainable living thread in natural home and body care.

Please post all your recipes from canning to dehydrating, bread making, salads, dips, entrees, smoothies. Anything that is a natural from scratch recipe that is based on the philosophies we discussed in the above thread.

Enjoy!

 

[Brisen]

IMO, many of the recipes in the NT thread will be applicable here. I think lacto-fermented foods are a great way to sustainably preserve your harvest... no going out and buying sugar and vinegar. I've been reading through "Farming for Self-Sufficiency" by John and Sally Seymour (he has another book out, the updated version I think, "The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it"), and he explains how to harvest salt from the sea, so if you can do that, you're set. Though I *think* you can lacto-ferment without the salt...?

So, since this is a recipes thread, I'll post a link to some saurkraut instructions , courtesy of Sandor Katz.

I've attempted saurkraut once before, I thought it had gone bad because it fizzed when I opened it. I've since spoken with someone who makes saurkraut and lacto-fermented pickles, and she said that was fine. So I think I'll give it another go!

 

[Brisen]

We're going strawberry picking today, and probably a few more times this week (we have a pathetically short strawberry season, maybe it's short in warmer places too but just starts earlier, but this year they are predicting it will be even shorter, so we're looking at a few weeks, max), and I'm wondering what the best way to preserve them is. I just found out that you can get pectin/Certo to make jam without adding sugar, which I'm hoping to avoid. I also have a freezer (needing to be filled). It's going to be pretty wet this week, and I don't have anything good to dry them on in my oven, so that's out. We've had strawberries in the freezer in the past, but I only know how to do them like my grandma does -- wash, halve, dump on sugar, mix, freeze in baggies.

, but again, trying to avoid that sugar.

 

[Leonor]

I'm not an expert, but isn't it apples and quinces(sp?) that release lots of pectin when cooked? You could use that pectin instead of sugar to cook strawberries and make straberry jam. I never tried but it's an idea I thought. Sorry if it's silly.

 

[OceanMomma]

I thought it was lemon juice for the pectin. I think you can just freeze them without the sugar. I've brought them like that before. YOu could always purree, sieve or mash & freeze into cubes so you can later use them to make icecream or mousse or whatever. I've always made strawberry icecream without sugar which gives it a much fresher & cleaner taste IMO.

I was gonna post my sourdough bread starter recipe as it is pretty simple. I used some organic grapes. We had a geriatric vine in the garden where we used to live. I don;t like grapes & it is frozen where we live now so I preserved it by making a sourdough starter with it. All I did was mixed up a thin paste of organic ww flour & filtered water & bunged the grapes in. I left it for about a week until it smelt wine-like & was fizzy. I stirred it every day & kept it covered so it could breathe but bugs - as in the flying kind - could not get in. Then I strained the grapes out & fed it a tbsp of flour & some more water every now & then. Probably another week later I made some bread.

I did this by first making what is called a sponge. I don't use exact amounts in my bread so it is guess work writing this down. I mixed the starter in with enuf ww flour & water to make probably 4 cups altogether in volume. It needs to be thick but you need to be able to stir it quite easily. Leave that overnight until it gets bubbly. Put a cup aside to keep for the next batch.

Mix in flour & a bit of salt until you get a dough-like consistency. Knead it, leave to prove etc & bake like normal bread. To make the next batch just start again with the starter you put aside. It will take at least 3 loaves before it is any good I found so don't give up if the first one is a failure.

Somewhere along the line, I left it mine the fridge too long & it got a bit flat again. I added some kefir whey & now it is unreal! I get beautiful well risen light & fluffly bread. I have adapted the recipe a bit & put in a tbsp of honey when I make the sponge. To keep the honey put of my starter I keep, I leave some of the starter behind in the jar & just add flour & water to this.

I leave it out all the time now & bake bread with it once a week. I make pizza with it another day of the week too to keep it going.

 

[steffanie3]

We freeze strawberries without sugar. I either lay them out on baking sheets and freeze then put into containers for whole or slightly mash them and put in container for recipes or shortbread.

My grandma makes all her jams without pectin by just cooking them down until they are thick. I think it is officially called preserves that way or something, I have read about somewhere. I know she makes kiwi, fig, strawberry, and I am sure others but those are my faves. She does use sugar though.

Stephanie

 

[Persephone]

I don't have anything to offer, but I'd be interested in unique canning recipes.... something other than jams and jellies. You know, salsa, chutneys, tomato sauces.... what else can you can?

 

[Leonor]

*Waits patiently for bread recipe*

 

[OceanMomma]

LEonor I thought I posted one

 

[Leonor]

Sorry Oceanmamma, you started talking about the strawberries and I didn't read it through.

:

So the grapes are needed for the whole fermentation process, right?

 

[mountain mom]

I have a wonderful peach ginger chutney with date and fig that I will post up tonight along with my baby nettle walnut pesto recipe.

( I am looking after 4 kids right now )

 

[toraji]

You can get pectin from orange pith, the white stuff in between the zest and the fruit of the orange. I think that's the majority of where the commercial pectin comes from though I'm not positive about this. We have been making smoothies lately with whole oranges (just taking the zest off), blending for a loooooong time until it's really smooth, and after it's done, the longer it sits the more it sets into a custard. We can't let it sit too long or else we need to eat it with a spoon! So I'd imagine that blending up some orange with pith and adding it to your fruits for jam would give you a good set without having to boil the fruit forever.

 

[OceanMomma]

Not necessarily for the grapes in the starter. It is just one way you can do it. The idea is to capture some form of wild yeast. A lot of recipes just use flour & water. The deal is the same - leave it somewhere warm to ferment. Organic grapes are quite hard to come by in a lot of places anyways. I s'pose you could try with some organic raisins as they still have the wild yeasts on their skins. I've even seen recipes using fermented potato. Itis a matter of using what you have on hand.

http://www.einfo-net.com/sourdough/recipe406.stm There is a section on the side bar there too about starter recipes & stuff.

Good luck & let us know how you get on.

 

[MaMaLi]

I just made strawberry rhubarb jam with Pomona Pectin. You don't need sugar to make it gel with this type of pectin. I did use a little sugar but not nearly as much as a normal recipe would call for. It is so delicious --slightly tart and full of strawberry flavor.

You can also freeze strawberries whole to use for smoothies, to cook with or for eating.

 

[Persephone]

I baked my sourdough recipe tonight. I haven't eaten any of the bread yet, but the loaves look really good. If I like the taste, I'll post it.

 

[nym]

I am just reading a book on small batch preserving right now. There is a recipe for homemade apple pectin. I have seen the same recipe on the net in other places.

The idea is that you take around 7 or 8 apples, 4 cups of water and 2 tbsp of lemon juice, bring to boil,cover and simmer for 40 mins, strain and use