The 4-week Dietary Makeover begins with making cultured veggies. In following along with the class, I am making a big batch, which I do once a month anyway. This month's recipe is going to be a bit spicy, as in hot spicy. I will harvest them on March 12th, giving them 10 days to ferment. Stay tuned for some harvest pics then. Yum!
I did not use a starter with this batch as I have found that I don't need one if they can stay in the crock and ferment for about 10 days. You don’t really need a starter even if they ferment for a shorter period of time. They get a little softer over time and a little richer with flavor, which is how I like them. Sea salt, kelp powder and a little raw sugar were added for fermentation purposes, as well as flavor. These veggies often turn out like a relish. Upon tasting them, many people say, "Oh my God, these are good, I wish I had a hot-dog". Of course "hot dogs" are not the ideal food, but if you are eating a clean version of a hot-dog or any other food for that matter, the meal will be enhanced with the aliveness of living Cultured Vegetables. Personally, I love mine with almost everything I eat.
Cultured/Fermented Vegetables Recipe
2 large heads of cabbage
5 Maui onions
8 carrots
8 jalapeno's
1 bunch of kale
1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup Mineral Mixture (sea veggies), and 1/4 cup raw sugar, 1/8 cup sea kelp
Clean all the veggies thoroughly. Remove outer leaves of cabbage and save them to make canopy to put over the veggies when preparing the mixture for fermentation. Remove seeds from jalapenos unless you want a lot of heat.
Process the cabbage, carrots and all other veggies in the food processor to a rather fine chop (you can chop/process as large or as fine as you like).
Mix in salt, sea veggies, kelp or any other spices you like into the mixture.
Put veggie mixture in to a clean ceramic crock, large glass bowl, large food grade plastic bucket or individual glass jars (no metal or plastic dishes)
If fermented in a crock, large bowl or bucket, cover the mixture with a canopy of cabbage leaves to protect it from the outer world. I like to make this canopy about 1/3 inch thick. Then place the plate and/or stones (if you have a crock) on the top of the canopy creating a cover and a weight in the case of the stones. If you don’t have a fermentation crock, and use a plate then you will have to use a rock or stones in addition to create some weight or pressure for the veggies. Place the rock on top of the plate.
Make sure the inside of the bowl above the canopy, plate and rock/stone is clean so as not to attract mold.
I like to pour a cup of very salty water over the entire mixture (plate, stone and all) when I am done assembling. This insures no mold to enter below.
Cover the crock with the lid, or bowl with a towel and let sit in a dark place for as long as you like (minimum four days, two weeks is yummy).
To harvest, pour off extra liquid above, then remove stones, plate and canopy. Under all this you should have some beautifully cultured vegetables to transfer to glass jars and store in your fridge to eat at your hearts content. I hope your heart wants them every day as they will aid you in your digestion and provide you with powerful probiotic natural healthy flora. In addition they will provide nourishment to the taste buds as well and finish off a meal with complete satisfaction. Read about the value here in this profound article about cultured/fermented foods.
If you are trying to quit eating sugar, Cultured Veggies are one of the best foods to put in your diet to help stop cravings.
If you want to learn to make cultured veggies by watching, please get my DVD called “Cultured Veggies and Kefir Kitchen" here. The DVD will show you exactly how to make the veggies and kefir as well.