Governor's Island birthday trip

Oliver turned 2 on Thursday!! To celebrate, we took a rare family excursion to Governor's Island today, a process that involved travel by 1) foot, 2) shuttle bus, 3) subway, 4) bus, and 5) ferry. We would have employed the services of a family cart-cycle thing (what are they called??) on the island except that they were in short supply. The weather was not exactly ideal, but we preferred it to one of these all-too-recent scorching hot days, and a good time was had by all.

I prepared quite a spread for our picnic lunch. A bit much perhaps? (we did leave one of these watermelon containers at home)


We enjoyed local pastured chicken breast "nuggets" in cashew flour crust (fried in lard of course, served with honey and honey-mustard dipping sauces), local watermelon, "sun" cheese and summer sausage from Raindance Organic Farm (untouched until we got home), local cucumbers with lime juice and Mexican chili powder, homemade lacto-fermented pickles, homemade lacto-fermented ginger ale, homemade raw milk kefir in Oliver's bottle (for naptime), and local pastured beef sticks (jerky-like). It actually proved to be too much food, oddly enough (perhaps the strain of carrying this heavy load depleted Hugo's appetite...).

The chicken was especially delicious. I started with a whole bird which I cut up, then pounded the breasts thin, sliced them into nugget-like shapes, rolled them in beaten egg, then dredged in fresh cashew flour (cashews from Wilderness Family Naturals ground in the food processor, mixed with salt & pepper, dried thyme, and some garlic powder), then fried in pastured-pork lard. Wonderful served with raw honey! Also very good with my impromptu honey-mustard sauce (more or less equal amounts of raw honey and Dijon mixed together -- surprisingly like the "real" honey-mustard from a package.)

Here are a couple of cute pictures from our picnic time. At first Oliver got right into the spirit of it and did a lot of lying around, taking up most of the picnic blanket. After eating it turned into a gymnastic session with Hugo.



Oh yes, and my homemade pickles? Nothing but a Mason jar stuffed with whole kirbies (small pickle-sized cucumbers), with a bunch of coriander seeds and mustard seeds shaken in, 1 tbsp. unrefined sea salt (I use Celtic sea salt or Eden brand), a handful of fresh dill (couldn't find the kind going to seed, so just used what they had at the store), plus a small amount of whey from dripping yogurt (1/4 cup I think). I let them ferment for 3 days at room temperature. They are not bad at all -- quite pickly and tasty! Next time I will use some garlic and ferment them a little less time.

Fruit "kvass," my newest love

There are very few things, in my opinion, as satisfying as making your own beverages. Having these drinks on hand adds an element of luxury to life, and makes the everyday just a little more special...and really, it's not the same when you're paying someone else to do this for you. I like knowing I made these things myself. In the past week I have made my first beet kvass (which Oliver sucks down like milk), vegetable medley kvass (still fermenting), and three fruit varieties (strawberry-pear-ginger, apple-raspberry (REALLY good!), and apple-mint-ginger).

As someone who grew up in a household with no beverages (aside from water and milk), I have always considered it a treat to have some glass bottles in the fridge, filled with delicious liquids just right for sipping with a meal, or on their own. Past favorites have included my homemade ginger ale, and now of course I brew my own kombucha, but since I am currently avoiding all sweeteners (aside from very small amounts of raw honey) I was thrilled to discover fermented fruit kvass. Technically, of course, the name kvass should not really be used to refer to this concoction (Russian kvass is traditionally made by fermenting a form of grain with something sweet), but it will do. The whey allows for fermentation of the fruit to begin, rendering the beverage nutritious, refreshing, and with a very pleasant little kick.

The best thing is that making fruit kvass is both easy and fun! Pick out a combination of fruit, berries, and fresh herbs or spices that you think would go well together, and get started. In a one-quart wide-mouth Mason jar combine the following (be sure to use organic ingredients for the best fermentation results):
-a big handful of berries
-one sliced "core" fruit (such as apple or pear)
-a tablespoon of grated ginger
-1/2 cup raw milk whey
-enough filtered water to fill the jar

Combine all ingredients, top off with water, place a weight of some sort on top of the fruit to keep it submerged, and close tightly. Keep on the counter in a warm-ish place for 3 days, before transferring to the fridge. You can top off the bottle with filtered water and a splash of whey when it gets low, until the fruit is all used up.

This recipe can be varied by using different fruits, citrus juices, fresh herbs, or even vegetables.

As I have been making many forays lately into the world of lactofermentation I was puzzling way too much over what to use as a suitable weight. Some of my fermented mackerel had gone putrid at the top of the jar because it didn't all stay underneath the weight (a Mason jar lid insert) that I had placed on the top. I really needed something that would keep the solids completely beneath the water or fermenting liquid.

Hugo is great at coming up with solutions, and he discovered the PERFECT thing at the Container Store: a stainless steel mesh herb ball (large-size, Progressive brand), which we took apart and made into two separate weights/strainers. They fit perfectly inside a wide-mouth Mason jar. I'm sure there are many lacto-fermentation websites with more technologically advanced solutions, but I think this one works great for now.




Oliver LOVES fruit kvass with his meals.

What Oliver eats now: an update

Thursday lunch: "juice" from roasted chicken, lacto-fermented pickles, raw goat's milk Havarti, cured sausage, baby pear

At his current age of about a year (13.5 months to be exact), Oliver still gets most of his nourishment from breastmilk. Some kids show an early interest in solid foods while others are content to continue nursing for the most part, with supplemental solids, and Oliver is one of the latter. He loves eating and trying new things, he has his favorite and his not-so-favorite foods, but for the most part he seems to still be getting a lot from breastmilk. As someone put it to me recently, "They nurse until they feel complete." I would add to this and say that in my own opinion (based on observation and study), since the quality of the mother's breastmilk depends largely on the quality of her diet (particularly whether she has enough fat-soluble vitamins available), this will affect the child's interest in solid foods. Some babies reach for food early and seem to have a huge appetite because they know they aren't getting all that they need from nursing alone. There are many people who would be up in arms at this idea, but if we acknowledge that diet does affect breastmilk quality (which has been proven), then it really does make sense.

All of Oliver's food is from small, local family farmers (or fishers) who follow sustainable, humane, and ecologically-friendly practices. So from the raw milk in his bottle to the scallops at dinner, Ollie is getting a completely nutrient-dense and natural diet. Usually he has three small meals daily and about two bottles of raw milk yogurt (which is pretty liquidy and drinkable) and/or raw milk, with some supplemental raw cream, and/or raw egg yolk added as extra fortification. He also gets about 1/2 tsp. of high-vitamin cod liver oil daily added to one of his bottles.

For his solid foods, I generally offer them mashed or pre-chewed (unless he can gum them easily, like cheese), and try to emphasize the following:
-seafood (especially mollusks and oily fish),
-meat (all kinds, but especially my creamy liver paté),
-eggs,
-mineral-rich bone broths (all homemade, usually fish, chicken, or beef),
-raw milk cheese, and
-lacto-fermented veggies.

He really likes the cheese, raw fish, and broths, adores raw pasture butter from a spoon, and absolutely LOVES the lacto-fermented things I have offered so far, including sauerkraut, pickles, lacto-fermented cucumbers, American kim chee, and dilly beans. For some beverage variety, he loves my homemade lacto-fermented ginger ale, and also kombucha and kefir. And of course he also eats some cooked vegetables, beans (always properly prepared), and tiny tastes of fruit. I make it a point to offer a variety of foods that he is currently able to digest (so no grains yet), and emphasize foods rich in enzymes and beneficial bacteria (thus the lacto-fermentation, raw dairy of all kinds, raw egg yolk, and raw fish (marinated 7 hrs. in whey or lime juice to make it safe).

As of right now, we don't really offer Oliver much by way of sweet foods. I feel very strongly that it is critical that he not get used to eating sweet things on a regular basis. We don't eat much by way of sweets in our house anymore (which has been a huge benefit for all of us!), and I hope to keep it this way as Oliver gets older, with sweets for special occasions and as natural as possible. We will see how it goes! Already of course if he sees Hugo eating corn chips or a piece of bread or something else that we don't want him to have yet, he will want some and cry if he doesn't get it. So it's actually of benefit to us, too, because we have to eat more or less the way we want Oliver to eat.

Of course, when it comes to his predilection for gnawing on bones (a great source of minerals!), I'm not sure where he picked that up...it certainly wasn't something we had to teach him!

Ginger Ale

This is a delicious and refreshing drink with a spicy-warm flavor. I adapted the recipe from Nourishing Traditions and like the results very much! It's not too sweet and quite gingery.

You will need plenty of fresh ginger root (about the equivalent of 6 inches), one lime, Celtic sea salt, whey, and evaporated cane sugar juice (Succanat and Rapadura are two kinds - this is basically a type of healthier, unrefined form of sugar). You will also need one glass quart jar or bottle with a screw-on lid and, a little later, some high-quality sparkling water and a second quart-size jar.

Combine the following in a quart-size jar:

• 1/3 cup fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 6 tbsp. Succanat (dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water)
• 1/4 tsp. Celtic sea salt
• 2 tbsp. whey
• enough water to fill the rest of the jar

Stir all ingredients well and cover tightly. Leave at room temperature for three days, then strain the liquid through a small mesh strainer (such as a tea strainer or cheesecloth), and mix with one quart of your favorite sparkling water. Refrigerate in two glass quart-size jars or bottles and enjoy in small amounts as a "pick-me-up" after being in the sun, or with meals. This is great for reviving your electrolyte balance; it is also a lacto-fermented beverage and very good for your digestive system! Plus it's yummy and a satisfying substitute for so-called sports drinks, lemonade, and soda. Sally Fallon writes in Nourishing Traditions that lacto-fermented beverages "give a lift to the tired body by supplying mineral ions depleted through perspiration and contribute to easy and thorough assimilation of our food by supplying lactobacilli, lactic-acid, and enzymes." (page 584)

*Note: there will be some cloudy sediment in the ginger ale; just allow it to settle to the bottom of the jar and pour carefully to get only the clear liquid. Or you can shake it up and let it be cloudy if you aren't too finicky. Enjoy!

Make whey while the sun shines

To put it very simply, whey is the watery part of milk and is rich in lactobacilli (friendly bacteria which produce lactic acid). I use it to start many food-prep processes, including soaking oatmeal, lacto-fermentation, preserving homemade mayo, and preparing raw fish. Before I started buying whey through our buyers' club, I made my own from a container of plain organic yogurt. I use Seven Stars, which worked well, but you could use any kind -- just make sure it's unflavored and full fat. As a byproduct (or really the whey is the byproduct I suppose) you will also have a sort of homemade cream cheese which is delicious spread on muffins. I take my recipe (and most of my recipes) from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon. Here's what she writes:

"Line a large strainer set over a bowl with a clean dish towel. Pour in the yogurt, cover with a towel, and let stand at room temperature for about a day. The whey will run into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the strainer. After a day, tie up the towel with the milk solids inside, being careful not to squeeze. Tie this little sack to a wooden spoon placed across the top of a container so that more whey can drip out. When the bag stops dripping, the cream cheese is ready. Store whey in a glass jar and cream cheese in a covered glass container. Refrigerated, the cream cheese keeps for about 1 month and the whey for about 6 months."

Orangina that's good for you!

A few weeks ago I shared my experiences making lacto-fermented cucumbers for the first time. I will be experimenting with more veggies in the near future (as well as beans, then fruit when it's in season), but first I wanted to share about my first experience crafting my own lacto-fermented version of orangina at home. It's really quite easy--juicing the oranges is the hardest part!

You will need:

• a quart-size glass jar with lid that screws on tightly
  
• the juice of 6-8 oranges
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt (use Celtic sea salt, or a similar high-quality unprocessed sea salt)
• 2 tbsp. whey
• 1/4 tsp. orange extract (OPTIONAL I didn't use it; if you go for this be absolutely sure you've got orange extract, not orange flavoring)
  
• filtered water

Simply combine all ingredients in the jar, add filtered water to fill it most of the way (leave at least an inch of space at the top), stir well, then screw the lid on tightly. Leave the jar at room temperature for 2 full days before transferring to the refrigerator. This drink is refreshing and fizzy, but barely sweet so don't expect the sugary Orangina flavor. It is delicious, though, and will still be a pretty orange color when finished. It lasts very well, but you will drink it all up before long.

Operation: Lacto-fermented Cukes

What to do with a 1.5-foot-long cucumber from a greenhouse vendor at the Greenmarket? You can always enjoy it fresh of course...or slave away making a pointlessly small quantity of pickles...or create a Kramer-style pizza...

OR you can transform it into lacto-fermented sliced cucumbers! I had never had anything like this in my life until I opened my first jar tonight...

It all started Friday evening when I was feeling pretty ambitious in the kitchen. I realized I had all the ingredients necessary to try my hand at lacto-fermenting for the first time, but since I didn't have a meat hammer I would have to go with cukes since they don't require any pounding or pressing to release the juices. I washed and sliced the cucumber, then placed it in a one-quart jar with:

• 1 tbsp. mustard seeds,
  
• 2 tbsp. dried dill (since I didn't have fresh),
  
• 1 tbsp. Celtic sea salt,
  
• 4 tbsp. whey,
  
• and 1 cup filtered water.

I made sure the cucumber slices were covered with liquid, and that the top of the liquid was at least 1" below the top of the jar. Then I closed the jar tightly and let it sit on the counter until this evening when I put it in the fridge (whole cukes will need 3 days on the counter at normal room temperature before transferring to cold storage, but the sliced ones only need 2 days). Lacto-fermented products are supposedly better the more they age (to a certain extent), but I'm not that patient so tonight I decided to try my LF cucumbers. They were very soft, not crisp like pickles, but with this amazing salty-fizzy-dill flavor. They are actually really delicious and leave a refreshingly-effervescent feeling in the mouth, with a pleasant after-taste. They're hard to describe -- you really should try this for yourself. We eat lacto-fermented sauerkraut in our house, and kim chee, but the cucumbers are totally different.

This was so incredibly easy -- seriously anyone can do it. If you hate lifting a hand in the kitchen this is for you since there is nothing more rewarding that spending about 5-10 minutes preparing something and then sitting back and letting lactobacilli do the work for you and produce a completely different product than you started with! Lactobacilli are found on and in every raw veggie and fruit (if I understand correctly), and this process of fermenting creates an environment in which these bacteria can reproduce and preserve the veggie/fruit in question. Whey is needed for preserving fruits in this way, while whey and/or sea salt is needed for preserving veggies. These bacteria are extremely helpful to humans, providing help with digestion (read: less burping, less gas, improved "transit" time, and easy digestion that you don't have to notice or think about), creating a stronger immune system (since our gut is the most important part of our immunity), and actually increasing the nutritional value of the food and your body's ability to absorb the nutrients. Plus they taste great!

If you're still hesitating, consider this:

• in classic French cuisine, lacto-fermented cucumbers were always served with sausages and other preserved meats -- not only a delicious practice, but a wise one as well since "this vegetable is able to dissolve precipitates of uric acid and thus prevents the formation of stones, often caused by meats and sausages, foods rich in uric acid." -Claude Aubert, Les Aliments Fermentes Traditionnels
• a 1999 Lancet study found that Swedish children who ate lacto-fermented veggies had lower rates of asthma, autoimmune disorders, and skin problems; drinking raw milk and avoiding vaccinations provided additional protection
  

Of course, obtaining natural old-fashioned whey might be a problem (unless you belong to the TNG like we do), so I will post about how to make your own whey from a container of yogurt. Soon, I promise.

Mayonnaise-making party!

My friend Sarah brought her almost-7-month-old baby over to play with Ollie yesterday. We made mayonnaise using my food processor. This is how we did it:
1 egg + 1 egg yolk (at room temperature)
1 tbsp. whey (this is optional, but it will make the mayo last much longer)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1.5 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
generous pinch of sea salt
-Combine all in food processor. Then add 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil using the attachment that lets you add liquids drop by drop with motor running. Taste and season with additional lemon, mustard, salt, garlic, herbs, etc. if desired. Either refrigerate immediately (if no whey), or if using whey let the mayo sit outside for 7 hours well covered, then refrigerate. The whey will actually preserve the mayo for several months through the action of lactic-acid producing bacteria -- resulting in a lacto-fermented lunch condiment that is delicious and good for you. (recipe adapted from Nourishing Traditions)