A Probiotics Party

(Book pictured here is Wild Fermentations by S.E. Katz.)

Learning about fermented foods...is WILD alright!  In fact, it's a whole new way of thinking about food, but it also makes a whole lot of good sense! To digest your food, your body depends on enzymatic function, on good bacteria (aka probiotics) to keep you healthy. When your body can't digest food properly, you can end up with more than just digestive issues. You can end up with disease in all areas of your body, as toxins, etc. are able to pass through your digestive tract unstopped! Your best line of defense is a thick layer of healthy bacteria lining your gut. Now. How exactly do you manage such a thing?

You guessed it.

By eating fermented foods.

Lisa Lipe, Chapter Leader of our local Weston A. Price Foundation, recently taught a "how-to" workshop on probiotic foods. Participants learned how to make lacto-fermented hot peppers, pickles, sauerkraut, ketchup, and mayonnaise.

 There were lots of tasty things to sample.

I especially enjoyed the sauerkraut. Even the kimchi was good. Spicy, but good.

It seems that making lacto-fermented vegetables is quite easy. Choose something that sounds yummy to you. Preferably something you've picked up at one of our area Farmer's Markets or certainly something from your very own garden. And stuff it in a jar. Add a little starter (whey or juice from another ferment) and some salt and go to waiting. Okay. Perhaps that was a bit over-simplified, but Lisa shared several helpful recipes with us to get us started.

Cabbage for 'kraut will require a little pounding. But if you've got an extremely helpful teenage son who's handy in the kitchen, you've got it made.

Younger fellas enjoy it, too!

 If nothing else, wouldn't these add such a nice splash of color, sitting atop your kitchen cabinets?

Imagine what delightful things they would do for your insides! (Just sayin'...)

While we're on the subject of jars, check out these amazing things!

Air-lock lids for your fermenting jars. While not necessary for fermenting, I gots to have me some of those.

Healthy mayonnaise is made easily with a handy immersion blender.

I was pleasantly surprised at how yummy the ketchup was. We don't eat a lot of ketchup at my house, but we may have to start now!

Participants also learned about kombucha tea and both dairy and water kefir.

Participants were then sent home with kefir grains and kombucha starter. Party favors.

We had such a great time meeting new people, learning new things, and sharing tidbits of knowledge and experience.

Hope you'll join us next time! 

Lori