Kombucha vinaigrette, may seem like an unusual take on the classic combination of olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar, but, when complemented by the unique flavors of clove and allspice it can become a nourishing, if unique dressing for any salad. I find it pairs particularly well with the sweetness of beets, apples, pears and nuts. Reminiscent of apple cider vinegar in combination with club soda, kombucha offers a unique flavor that is growing in popularity as more and more natural foods enthusiasts learn to cherish the beverage – a sweetened tea that undergoes a unique fermentation process through the use of a mother or symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast.
Home-cured Corned Beef
March 5, 2010 By 66 Comments
Home-cured corned beef. It seems daunting, doesn’t it? Curing meat at home is much easier than you’d expect, and there’s a growing community of home cooks who are beginning to revive traditional methods of food preservation and charcuterie. Preparing corned beef at home is a simple entrance into this lost art; moreover, the flavor is [...]
Probiotic Apple & Beetroot Relish
January 6, 2010 By 36 Comments
Beetroot relish – savory, sweet and spiced with with cloves and star anise – nuzzles its way onto our supper plates every winter. A near-perfect side to pan-fried pork chops seasoned with sage or to a classic roast beef, beetroot relish provides an intensity of flavor coupled with nourishing micronutrients including vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. [...]
Home-cured Olives: Moroccan Style
November 9, 2009 By 18 Comments
Home-cured olives – seasoned with chilies, lemon and North African spices – have finally made their way into our kitchen, and happily so. Not too long ago, we received a beautiful box of freshly harvested, green-ripe barouni olives from Chaffin Family Orchards out of California. Since then we’ve patiently waited and waited [...]
Milk Kefir: What It Is & How to Brew It
October 13, 2009 By 49 Comments
Light My Fire: Pickled Jalapenos
October 8, 2009 By 18 Comments
Explosively hot, these pickled jalapenos will knock you out. Bring a fire extinguisher to the dinner table when you serve these. Seriously, these pickled jalapenos are most certainly not for the faint of palate. But they sure are addictive and tasty. A raw, probiotic food that explodes with flavor, these little guys are [...]
Labneh or Yogurt Cheese
October 1, 2009 By 33 Comments
Labneh – a yogurt cheese of middle eastern origin – is remarkably versatile and very easy to make at home. Alternately known as lebni, labni or laban, labneh is found all across the middle east where it’s popularly rolled into small balls, served with unrefined extra virgin olive oil and used as a condiment. [...]
Homemade Yogurt
August 25, 2009 By 27 Comments
Homemade yogurt is a staple in our home. Easy to prepare, inexpensive, delicious and nourishing, we manage to go through about a half-gallon of fresh, homemade yogurt each week. A probiotic food, homemade yogurt contains live beneficial bacteria that help to colonize the gut with microbiota that are essential to the proper functioning [...]
Water Kefir: A Quick Tutorial
August 11, 2009 By 131 Comments
Has a lost love of soda pop been nagging at you too long? We’ve developed a love of water kefir or tibicos in our home. A fermented beverage teeming with beneficial bacteria, it’s easily flavored, remarkably simple to prepare and more palatable than kombucha, offering a pleasant alternative to commercial sodas. Similar [...]
Sour Pickles
July 29, 2009 By 47 Comments
Sour pickles are a mainstay at our summer dinner table. Naturally fermented, sour pickles are rich in beneficial bacteria and food enzymes, offering a dairy-free source of probiotics. Vinegar pickles lack the beneficial bacteria and many of the heat-sensitive vitamins found in traditional, sour pickles. You see, real pickles are naturally fermented through [...]
Moroccan Preserved Lemons
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