nourishing traditions Archives - rachel wolf

When we read Nourishing Traditions three years ago we began to transform our food reality. Since then cereal has been out. Overnight porridge (soaked for at least 12 hours in water with a splash of whey drawn off of our homemade yogurt) is in, but cold cereals and granola is on our no list.

But I love cereal. Love it. So with some creative kitchen work we came up with a simple soaked, sprouted, dehydrated granola recipe. (I never measure anything out side of the soap studio, so the amounts before are estimated.)

A note: Pete hates buckwheat and he loves this granola. If you are not a buckwheat fan, give it a shot. The sprouting (not toasting) gives it a wholly different flavor than other things buckwheat.

Buckwheat Granola

3 C whole buckwheat groats (not toasted)

1/2 C almond butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 C honey, agave, or maple syrup

1 1/4 C orange juice (reconstituted is okay)

1 Tb cinnamon

1/3 C unsweetened coconut (optional)

1/3 C chopped nuts or sliced almonds (optional)

1/2 tsp salt

Soak buckwheat overnight. Drain, rinse, and drain again. Allow to sit for several hours (or overnight again) and rinse and drain well (15 minutes would be great).

Combine all other ingredients except nuts and granola until smooth (the blender works well for this step) and pour over the drained buckwheat, coconut, and nuts.

Stir with your hands or a wooden spoon to combine.

Spread out on a lightly oiled cookie sheet (coconut oil is best).

Dehydrate for 12-24 hours, stirring once or twice until the granola is thoroughly dry and crisp (ideally keep granola below 108%, but work with what you've got.)

Raw granola can be stored in the refrigerator for longest shelf life, but for us in never last long enough to bother with the fridge.

Enjoy!

We have a love of live fermented foods around here. Kimchi. Sauerkraut. Kombucha. Kefir. Yogurt. Sourdough. The list varies by season, but these make regular appearances on the "live food" shelf in our fridge (yes, an entire devoted shelf).

This summer our bean tower was threatening to topple from the weight of the green and purple pods dangling from it, so Lupine and I harvested great baskets full and spent some time making live-fermented dilly beans.

Live-ferments vs. Grandma's Pickles: what is the difference?
The pickles my grandma made were pickled in vinegar and then canned. They were cooked and sterile by the end of the process. The pickles and beans that my grandma's grandma made (and theat we make) were a live fermented food. They are never cooked, simply brined in a solution of 3T salt to 4C water. They retain loads of the nutrients from the living vegetable, plus the benefit of the probiotics from lactofermentation (natural fermentation of the veggies in the brin).

The flavor is different and they are not shelf-stable, but they are delicious beyond words and great for intestinal health. This year we have experimented with lactofermenting all sorts of vegetable bounty. Radishes were one of our favorites.

Dilly Bean Tutorial

Harvest (or buy) fresh beans. Wash and trim off stem end.

Dissolves 3T salt in 4 C water (warm some of the water to make this step easier).

Arrange beans in clean mason jars. Add garlic and dill, and pour brine over beans.

Set a clean drinking glass (or scrubbed rock!) in the top of the jar to hold the beans beneath the brine solution (that's the bright green object in the center jar below).

Cover tops of jars with cheesecloth or other thin fabric and let the magic happen! Set on your counter in an out-of-the-way place, and over the next several days your fresh beans will become delicious dilly beans. (Note: the brine should be salty-tasting, but not disturbingly so. If it is too salty, drain off a bit of brine and mix in some fresh water.)

Check daily and when they taste just the way you like 'em (normally within 2-5 days), remove the glass or rock, cap, and fridge. They'll continue to fermet a bit move as they live (literally) in your fridge, but they are unlikely to spoil.

Two amazing books to learn more about this deliciousness are Nourishing Traditions and Wild Fermentation. (I had the delight of seeing the Wild Fermentation author, Sandor Katz speak at our local Country Fair last month and got to ask him some questions that have been nagging me. It was fabulous!) Another great resource is the Weston A. Price Foundation.

If you have questions for me, bring 'em on. I love this stuff and am happy to help.

Happy fermenting!