Cultured Vege 'recipe'

What got me interested in fermented foods? Must have been the 15 years or so of battling yeast related infections in my body, and really getting nowhere until a chance trial of some Kefir milk cured an outbreak of dermatitis overnight. It was truly amazing. I'd nearly felt sick looking at the fermented milk drink...but really, the skin condition I'd had was unbearable, and I'd gotten to the stage of sheer desperation, so I was willing to breathe deep and try out the goopy gooey Kefir. Strangely, it didn't stink, and, it didn't taste awful either,... but I'd tried so many other things that I was resigned to disappointment...awful as it seems, I'd completely lost most of my Hope. I went home that evening, washed my face, determined not to scratch or look at it too much, got into bed and went to sleep. In the morning I woke up with the strange sensation of actually not wanting to scratch my face. I stepped into the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and for the first time in close to 5 years my skin was skin colour and not red raw. I think I nearly cried with happiness :)

Since then I have been experimenting with fermenting foods.

Fermentation is so symbolic of tolerance towards our Mother Earth. In today's social climate where everything has to be sterilized, pastuerized, vacuum sealed and heat treated, it is really hard for people to just 'detach' from their fears of bacteria and enjoy a food source that has been the reason why humanity has survived thus far. The germophobes out there get their way, I see it as a real step away from embracing the massive impact that fermenting foods can have on our quality of life. We have become scared of 'germs', but in such a devastating way that it is now quite possible for a human to exist without eating any fermented foods at all.

The most accessible fermented foods for some would be yoghurt from the supermarket, but its nutritional value is compromised by the huge amount in sugar of most the brands available. And, the milk used is not biodynamic. What if I told you that you could make your own fermented foods for a fraction of the price of a tub of yoghurt, and, that the nutritional benefits of it would eclipse that same yoghurt? Pretty good hey? :)


Cultured Vegetables
If you're like me and you really did not like eating salads, or those kind of 'gassy' veges like cabbage and brocolli, cauliflower and similar, you'll be really happy to find out how fermenting these kinds of foods makes them really tasty, and excellent as a source of 'raw nutrition'. I've experimented with a few different 'mixes' and here are a couple of my favourites, with instructions, to help you get started and achieve a success first time.

Khol Rabi and Cabbage with Garlic and Herbs
Start with a Khol Rabi (a kind of root vegetable that tastes something like a cross between and apple and a turnip...odd, but oddly nice too), a small red cabbage and a small sugarloaf cabbage.
Dice them up, shred them, or cut into thin strips...its up to you.
Shred or rip up a selection of herbs and slice up two cloves of Garlic.
Mix it altogether in a bowl, or you can choose to layer your ingredients so the jar 'looks pretty' (like I did)

This is how my layered cabbage and garlic looked..pretty isn't it... :)

Stuff the mixture into a glass jar (preserving jars are great but not completely necessary...you can use a few collected olive jars, or the glass jars from pasta sauces etc...)
Add pure spring water to the bottom layer and then each layer as you fill the bottle or jar.
Really squash down each layer as you fill the mixture into the bottle.
At the top of the jar roll up a leaf of cabbage and shove the layers down so they are under the water surface.

Leave on the bench for around 3 days. More if its very cold weather, less if its very hot weather.
Pop it in the fridge for around 2 days and then its 'ready' to eat. You can keep it for around 4 months or up to 6 months depending on how stable the temperature in your fridge is.

Always use a clean fork or spoon to take a portion out for use.
Always seal the lid tightly and refridgerate.

HOW TO do Cultured Veges is the next post...

If you're interested in finding out more about cultured foods and their benefits you might like to look at...