Easy Yogurt

Archeologists and geneticists are discovering that early people in Europe were keeping dairy herds for nearly 2,000 years BEFORE most of the population developed the mutation to digest lactose. Why were early Europeans keeping cows and goats for milk when the lactose would have made most adults sick?

The answer appears to involve fermented milk in the form of yogurt and cheese.  The fermentation of milk involves a culture that digests the lactose (sugar) and produces lactic acid (which most lactose intolerant adults can eat digest comfortably). 







Yogurt comes in many varieties: 

• Thermophilic is the most common in American grocery stores.  This culture requires keeping the milk and culture at a low heat for some hours to activate the culture.
• Greek yogurt and its cousin labneh are common in the Middle East and now are popular in the United States.  This type of yogurt is strained to press out some of the liquid.  The completed product is thicker in texture than other yogurts.  Labneh has the consistency of a soft cheese.

But I am blogging today to tell you about mesophilic yogurt.  Specifically, I use a mesophilic culture called Viili.  It is thought to have originated in Sweden, but today is considered a Finnish yogurt culture.  As with making kefir in my previous post, mesophilic yogurt ferments milk at room temperature.  No heating required!

Easy Peasy Instructions:

• Mix 1 cup of whole milk with a packet of Viili mesophilic yogurt culture (can be ordered online from Cultures for Life) in a mason jar.
• Place a coffee filter or paper towel over the mason jar and allow to sit 24 hours (usually 48 hours required for the first batch when the culture is reviving) at room temperature on your kitchen counter.
• Once the yogurt thickens until it looks, moves, and tastes like yogurt, move to your refrigerator. 
• Save 1 tablespoon of the yogurt and enjoy eating the rest. 
• Start a new batch by mixing 1 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of the first batch in a mason jar.  If you want larger batches, add 1 tablespoon of your yogurt per 1 cup of milk.

Be sure to feed your new yogurt culture friends.  If you do not give them fresh milk at least every 7 days, the culture will starve and die.

Hard Cider

Here is another easy peasy fermentation project. Like hard cider such as the popular Ace or Angry Orchard?  Make your own!

• Buy or get some apple juice that has no preservatives.  It can have ascorbic acid to retain color. I use Sam's Choice 100% Apple Juice.  

• Sprinkle some wine yeast (bread yeast works too but may not taste as good) over the juice. Leave the cap off the bottle and cover with a coffee filter. 

•. Wait a few days. Taste the juice/cider every day until it reaches the balance of sweet/hard/alcohol that you like.  

• Put the cap back on. Refrigerate. Consume. 

WARNING:  The yeast consumes the sugars in the juice to produce two things:  alcohol and carbon dioxide. If the yeast have consumed all the sugar and died, your cider will be higher in alcohol and stopped bubbling carbonation. If not, it may continue to ferment in the fridge and will be very carbonated. In extreme cases it can explode. So be aware of this when you open. 

Kefir

Kefir is a type of cultured milk resembling a more liquid version of yogurt. The flavor tends to be milder than yogurt but tart. You can buy kefir in grocery stores, but it tends to be highly sweetened and expensive. Instead, make your own for less than a dollar.

Homemade kefir is rich in probiotics. Studies find regular consumption helps alleviate or eliminate many gastrointestinal ailments. 

And it's SOOOoo easy to make:

• Order some "kefir grains" from an online vendor such as Cultures for Health. Kefir grains are a complex colony of enzymes and cultures which feed on the lactose (milk sugars) in milk and ferment the milk into kefir. 

• Pour a cup of milk (I use organic whole milk for the taste) in a mason jar. 

• Put the kefir grains in a square of cheesecloth and tie the cheesecloth into a little sack or pouch holding the kefir grains.  Alternatively put the grains directly in the milk and filter them out later with a fine mesh kefir. I've also used a metal tea ball to hold the kefir, but some books say to avoid having metal touch fermenting foods. 

• Place a coffee filter or paper towel over the mason jar and screw the jar's ring (but NOT seal/lid) over the coffee filter to secure the filter. 

• Leave your handy dandy new fermentation machine on your kitchen counter at room temperature. 

It may take 48 hours for your first batch to refresh the kefir grains. After that, the grains will do their work usually in 24 hours. It may be faster or slower depending on how warm your home is. 

Ferment 1 cup the first time and then build up to 2-4 cups. 

When the kefir has reached the consistency of loose yogurt, either move the whole jar to your fridge or filter out your grains and store the kefir in containers. Then start another batch. The grains can wait a week in the fridge but if stored much longer without fresh milk, your little kefir grains will starve and die. Feed them and they will feed you. 

Kefir can be eaten by itself or with berries, fruit, honey, agave, etc. It also makes tasty smoothies and Greek-style dips.  

Fermentation Week

This week I begin a series on fermentation.  In recent months I've become fascinated by how ancient peoples across the planet turned to fermentation to preserve both food...and their long term health.  In scanning PubMed for research articles, numerous studies find people who consume more fermented foods report better health overall and a greater resilience to a number of cancers and gastrointestinal ailments.

In my readings one book shines above them all. I highly recommend Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentation.  It's excellent. 

When I started fermenting foods, I was apprehensive that I'd poison myself. Yet, I'm finding fermentation is easy. It's safe. It approaches nature as an ecology shared with our bodies, the tiny living things within our bodies and the life forms surrounding us. Try to seal ourselves off from this ecology and we quickly grow sick. 

Still, our best guides to safety are smell and taste.  If something seems off, trash it and start a fresh batch.  

Happy Fermenting!

Posole Stew

Chimayo, New Mexico

Since I'm posting recipes with a Hispanic influence, I thought I'd repost this wonderful, wintertime stew.  

I discovered how to make posole stew while living in Medanales, NM, in the summer of 2011.  Posole or pozole is the Spanish word for hominy.  In New Mexico posole stew is traditionally prepared at New Years with the leftover Christmas ham.  In Lexington, KY, Mexican restaurants usually serve pozole only on weekends, and it consists of a similar but much spicier soup made with pork and ground red chile paste rather than with green chiles.  This is my favorite soup.

• 1 Tsp oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 can hominy, drained
• 1 large can chopped green chiles (or better fresh roasted chiles)
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1 Tsp oregano
• 1 clove garlic

Sauté the onion in the oil in a large pan.  

When the onions are caramelized or translucent (depending upon your taste), add the broth, hominy, chiles, ham, oregano, and garlic.  Bring to boil.  

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  

This dish often tastes better the next day after it has set and seasoned a bit in the refrigerator.

A small bowl of posole -especially if with limited amounts of hominy- can make for a 200 calorie lunch or dinner.  One cup of hominy has 119 calories by itself.  

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (but only if you leave out the green chiles)
Paleo:  yes* (but only if you leave out the main ingredient, hominy)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Vegetarian:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Artichokes in Italy

If you love artichokes, Italy offers a delicious variety of ways to prepare them. Besides the marinated versions in jars familiar to Americans, Roman restaurants serve two traditional artichoke ("carciofo" in Italian) dishes:  "carciofo alla romana" and "carciofo alla giudio".  That is, artichokes Roman style or artichokes Jewish style.

Roman style artichokes are stewed with a meat broth or olive oil broth. Jewish style is fried. The Jewish style produces salty fried artichoke pedals that taste very similar to potato chips. The picture shows both versions. 

Gezunt Latkes

Photo courtesy of Elena's Pantry

A few years ago my friends Mark, Nancy, Rachel, and Ben had me over to share Hanukkah with their family.  Hanukkah is a relatively minor Jewish holiday, but it tends to fall near Christmas.  So, it has been elevated to more prominence as a parallel Jewish winter holiday.  What's not to love about a holiday that requires you to drink several glasses of wine with family and friends?!

One Hanukkah tradition is the preparation of latkes, or potato pancakes, with most everyone taking their turn at the fryer.

Latke derives from Russian via Yiddish according to Wikipedia, and my healthy take on latkes I've named Gezunt Latkes, or healthy latkes, in Yiddish.  If gezunt sounds familiar, it is because Yiddish evolved out of German, and we get our American sneezing word Gesundheit (German for health) also from German.  No sneezing around the frying pan though!

• Start with my earlier recipe for Mashed Potatoes for Mo, a delicious faux mashed potato dish made from mashed cannellini beans, You'll need 2 cups of Mashed Potatoes for Mo.
• One of these three options:  
• 3 tablespoons wheat or almond flour
• 2 slices of white bread
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Oil
• Salt
• OPTIONS:  sauteed minced onion, sauteed zucchini, or sauteed carrot slivers

This dish has a lot of optional ways of cooking it:

Method 1:  To the basic mashed beans add 3 tablespoons wheat or almond flour.  Mix together.

Method 2:  To the basic mashed beans add two slices of bread and puree in a blender.

Method 3:  To the basic mashed beans add 2 beaten eggs.  Mix together.

Once you have your chosen pancake batter from above, you can make your basic latke by frying in oil with a dash of salt.  The oil in the pan should be high enough to come up to about halfway up the height of the latke.  Too little oil and your latke will stick.  Alternatively, just toss that latke in your Fry Daddy and fry daddy fry.

To this basic latke you can add a variety of additions:

• sauteed onions
• minced raw onions
• raw green onions
• matchsticks of julienned and sauteed zucchini
• sauteed (or raw if you like more of a crunch) carrot slivers

After cooking to a golden brown (usually about 4 minutes on each side on medium heat), put the latke on a paper towel on a napkin to cool slightly and to soak up some of the excess oil.  Then serve as is or with a side of sour cream, applesauce or apple butter.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes*  (especially if you use Method 3 rather than flour or bread)
Gluten Free:  yes* (if you use Method 3)
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no (has beans)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes* (if you use Method 3)
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Wedding Cookies

One of the best Christmas gifts I have ever received -and one I use at least every few months- is a cookbook my aunt Susie created using recipes from family and friends.  She collected and printed these recipes.  Then she put them in a 3-ring binder.

Today that binder is filled with other bits of paper with recipes from my mother and own friends.  It is my go-to cookbook when I want to make one of the delicious recipes my mom, aunt, or maternal grandmother would make.  I know this cookbook is a work of love, but it also took a great deal of time to make and copy.  Yet, what a wonderful gift this makes for any family of cooks.

Here is a recipe from my aunt Susie's cookbook courtesy of her friend Gus L. Liveakos.  Mr. Liveakos was a famous local cook and these wedding cookies were his specialty.

Gus L. Liveakos' Wedding Cookies

2 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 sticks (1 cup) margarine, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 (1 pound) box confectioners sugar
1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped

Sift flour and 7 tablespoons of confectioners sugar together into a large bowl.

Blend in the margarine one spoonful at a time.

Add vanilla and mix well.

Add pecans and mix well.

Cover and chill dough for up to a week.

When ready to use, grease a cookie sheet with oil spray and wipe off.  Take a 1/4 of the mixture and form balls about the size of the end of a thumb.  Each 1/4 of the mixture should make around 30 balls.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Do not overcook.

Cool the baked cookies slightly.

Fill a paper bag with the remaining confectioners sugar.  Put the warm cookies in the bag and gently roll from side to side.  Do not shake or the delicate cookies will shake.  Coat the cookies with the confectioners/powdered sugar.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes* (only if you use vegetable shortening instead of lard)
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Christmas with an Indian Twist for Mistletoe-Minded Munchies

Photo courtesy of elstro_88 via Compfight cc

Nathan and I have a near addiction to mukhwas, an Indian sweet and breath freshener.  Specifically, we love the mukhwas consisting of fennel seeds coated in sugar.  These delicious little things come in many colors and can be found at most Indian and many Middle Eastern grocery stores.  They may remind you of Jordan almonds because they are basically the same technique applied to fennel seeds instead of almonds:  dip and re-dep a seed or nut in a colored sugar coating until it reaches the size you want.








Fennel mukhwas give a nice fennel/anise/licorice flavor and satisfying crunch to Christmas cookies.  Once you have cut your cookies and have them on your baking sheet, brush them with a little water or a water/egg wash.  This provides a stickier surface to catch and hold the mukhwas to the cookie.  (It also is a useful trick when applying colored sugar to cookies).

Then just back as usual to transform the flavor, look, and feel of a simple sugar cookie into a real delicacy.  Plus, the fennel will do a nice job on your breath for later under the mistletoe.

Here are some of this year's Mukhwa Cookies and Linzer Cookies.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

The Forbidden Cookie

I seriously love desserts decorated with dragees.  I love dragees nibbled by themselves.  And I loved them before I knew they were called dragees.  Before that I thought of the little balls of sugar coated in silver as cake BBs. ;)

I love them even more since I learned makers will not ship dragees to California.  Now my cookies decorated with dragees take on the air of that most delicious of ingredients....the forbidden!

As with apparently any metal used in food such as gold or silver, there are tiny trace amounts of other elements toxic to humans in large quantities.  In 49 states and the rest of the world, people take the obvious solution of not downing quarts of gold leaf or silver dragees.  But America being America and California being California, someone in California sued.  I'm not exactly sure of the outcome of the lawsuit, but to be safe dragee makers ship to all 50 states -minus one. Yep.  Dragees are not illegal in California, but if a baker wants to make her/his cupcakes golden in the Golden State, he/she will need to have the dragees shipped across the state line and go pick them up.

Silver dragees make beautiful cookies.  Here are some tips though:

a. Order online.  Dragees are hard to find in many places and often are $12 or more for a small plastic bottle.  Online you can find more sizes, both gold and silver dragees, and cheaper prices.  I tend to order mine from Golda's Kitchen.

b. If you are using the tiny dragees, be aware they often melt in the oven over 8-10 minutes at 350 F.  The resulting pattern can be used in artistic ways but usually does not make for a pretty Christmas cookie. Instead, use larger dragees when baking them.

c. Or, you can use the tiny dragees or any dragee to decorate Christmas cookies after baking.  I use two methods:

I make a Linzer cookie, coat the bottom cookie with a bit of icing, place the second cookie on top of the bottom one, and then fill the hole with tiny dragees.  These cookies tend to look really fancy and rather fit for a wedding.

The second method I use is to put dabs of white icing on a cookie.  Then on each bit of icing press a silver dragee on top.  The results really are spectacular -really- and also double as a nice cookie for anyone into leather studs or Metallica. ;) 

Finally, I thought I'd reminisce a bit about one of the most elegant Christmas desserts I have ever seen.  In 2011 I used a bunch of frequent flier miles to go to Vienna, Austria, before Christmas.  At the Demel Bakery they made merengues coated with silver dragees.  Frankly, they were a little too crunchy to eat comfortably, but they were gorgeous.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.