Building a strong immunesystem and a happy new year with fermented foods

Food can and I think, should be a joy for both body, soul and our senses. And after reading the book about the danish restaurant Noma, claimed to be the best restaurant in the world, I feel

that is exactly why they are so extremely successful. They have managed to create a whole new

way of using the natural foods around us, in a way that talk to us in so many ways, on so many levels, that it nourishes our whole bee-ing; body and soul.(thank you Lars Røtterud, in Versal publishing, for the wonderful christmas present)

I have in inspiration decided to make something that i know the family both love to eat and that also is of a great value for our body and immune system when eaten on a daily basis.

Pickled vegetables is not used a lot in our culture, but its very much used in Asia, and then in particular in Japan. It makes a great and very healthy starter to any little meal,in that it supplements the digestive juices with healthy bacteria flora, thereby balancing the secretions of the stomach, helping in the formation of digestive enzymes and vitamins, strengthens the function of the pancreas, and improve the digestion of fats.

For maximum benefits sauerkraut is introduced gradually,by adding small amounts at each meal. Large amounts in the beginning can cause gas and bloating. One tablespoon the first week

at each meal is sufficient.

This is how to make pickeled veggies;

Sauerkraut that will blow any shop bought,manufactured stuff out of the scene. (quoting Alys Fowler)

Use 2-3 compact,organic, white or red cabbages.

Grate,or very finely cut the cabbages and in a sturdy bowl pound the cabbage with a rolling pin for about 10 min. or til the cabbage start to give out some moisture. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt

on the top and cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave over night.

In a large kilner jar.Mason jar or ceramic crock,put 5-10cm of the cabbage,sprinkle with aprox.

1 ts of salt, of for a low salt version,with seaweed(ie dulse,wakame etc). You can allso layer with other vegetables,such as shopped up kale or Swiss chard, and add spices such as caraway seeds,ginger,etc. Next you need to pound this layer down to exclude air. And then you keep layering, adding salt or seaweed and pounding until you reach the top of the jar. You have now created the conditions that invite the good bacteria to your kraut,and there should be enough moisture that you can see the brine come out.As you reach the top of the jar,sprinkle with a little salt, and place a jam jar filled with water to weigh the cabbage down in the brine ,and leave it between 5 days or as long as it will need to ferment. You may see scum at the top ,which is not a bad thing,you can just scum it off.

Once the kraut tastes tangy, its ready to eat. When its suitable tangy,put a lid on and put it in the fridge and eat by the spoonfuls with every meal. If there isnt enough brine to cover the vegetables in the fermenting process ,fill up by disolving 1 tablespoon of salt in 250 g of water. The brine is what preserves the vegetables from going bad,and there for very important in the fermenting process .

This is living foods for living people! Enjoy.

Where am I ...

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Christmas is over,and a year is soon at an end. The time" between" is here, again. I, like the wild goose, am allways between..

The natural housedoctor,Dr Garlic!

Garlic is one of the few herbs found useful in all disorders of the body. It is one of the strongest antiseptic herbs .

It acts powerfully on all mucous membranes of the whole body, and penetrates the bloodstream from the feet to the brain.

It is useful in normal health as a general tonic.

Useful in fevers and all disorders of the blood and lungs.

Its supportive in cases of whooping cough, asthma, high blood pressure, goitre, rheumatism, arhtritis, sciatica.

Its allso a vermifuge,expeling all kins of worms.

Protects against infections of all kind, and expels all toxic elements as well as bacteria.

And Susun Weed says it stabilizes the blood sugar levels!

The dosage is 2-3 cloves daily,eaten raw in salads or a few spoon fuls of the garlic honey(yam-yam!) An other great way of ingesting this wonderful food,is on a piece of whole grain bread,buttered,then cover it with thin slices of raw garlic, and finally with a layer of sliced cheese! Bon appetite and great health!

If you really dont like garlic as such, there is allways the garlic capsules in the healthfood stores with powdered garlic.

(from Juliette de Bairacli Levy; Commen herbs for natural health)

Inthesecoldtimes

I got a good reminder about a great remedy for this "cold" season that is so effectiv and easy to make that one simply forget it...as many of thegood things in life,namely garlic honey.

Susun Weed sendt it thrugh the "air"and i would like to futher it on to you.

To be taken with any signes of soare throat,colds,the flu,sinus problems and lung congestions .

In a medium size glass jar,fill up with unpealed garlic cloves(preferably organicly grown),and pour over with honey to cover completely the garlic. Put on the lid,a label with the date and content and leave to soak,roomtemprature. Already,after one night one can see that the two have coupled nicely and can be used if necessary. Otherwise,you can leave this on the shelf nearly forever wihtout spoiling. Thats how strong acting this remedy is.

The garlic honey will darken with age,and will be a real treat to eat when totally saturated with the honey.

Daystodreamandreflect

Pics by Johanna.

Julaften

Pics by Johanna.

Lysfest

Pics by Johanna.

Winter Wonderland

Pics by Johanna.

vision

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1.desember...

pics. Daisy2klein blogspot.com

Seedsoffire

pic.by Sunnia

Pics.Sunniva

Novemberdays...

Pics.by Johanna

Itsdarkbutlight

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gådegvillmedddik

(pics: by me)

Det er mang måter vi kan sørge for at vi får de mineralene vi trenger dagelig gjennom kosten vår.

Det skjer desverre ikke automatisk i våre dager. Maten vi spiser er i en stor grad ikke fullverdig i og med at vi over så mange år har dyrket på en måte som demineraliserer jorden. Maten vår blir dermed også demineralisert .Dette med mat er ikke en så naturlig ting som vi skulle tro! er et bredt og ikke så opplagt feldt som vi kanskje tenker. Det kommer ann på hvordan maten er dyrket,hva vi spiser og det kommer ann på hvordan vi tar opp næringen i maten. Under denne kategorien ,kommer det ann på hvor mye stress vi har i hverdagen vår,og det kommer ann på hva vi spiser sammen med hva.Eksempelvis; drikker man kaffe sammen med mat som skal sikre oss vår dagelige dose kalsium(som er ganske mye),så risikerer du at kalsiumen forsvinner i do,siden kaffe hindrer opptak av kalsium..Det gjelder å være litt bevisstt,og selvfølgelig infomere seg,som egentlig er det samme med alt her i livet. Vi kan gå lenge på autopilot,og ting går av seg selv...for en stund. Men etterhvert som vi vokser og blir mer og mer voksne(som jeg jo føler veldig godt på kroppen etterhvert...)opplever vi at vi mindre og mindre kan stole på autopiloten. Vi blir tvunget til å ta bevisste valg,enten fordi vi blir syke eller gjennom andre begrensende faktorer.

Men heldig for oss er jo at vi alle er på nett med hele verden i disse dager og dermed har tilgang på all den informasjonen vi trenger relativt lett. Men en ting er sikkert,vi trenger mye mineraler i maten vår! Og gjennom en lang og omstendelig utredelse,skal jeg nå komme til poenget...

Vi kan lage eddik som er full av mineraler og selvfølgelig god smak...som vi vet, alle monner drar, (med å remineralisere maten vår).

Her oppe i skogen står urtene fremdeles ubmerket av at det snart er vinter, og en måte å ta med seg deres fine aromaer og verdifulle mineraler inn i vinteren, er å legge de ned i eplesider eddik.

Viktig å huske på, er at urtene må plukkes helt tørre, hvis ikke muggner eddiken.

Ta epplesider eddik og kok den opp, og sett den til side til avkjøling. (Å koke eddiken gjør at den holder seg lenger når det komme organisk materiale i den)

Gå ut å plukk nok av en aromatisk urte,(ie vild oregano,som jeg har gjort her, el.granskudd, majoram, timian, estragon, persille, einer etc) til at du kan fylle opp et glass med lokk.

Stapp urtene godt sammen og fyll over den nedkjølte eddiken, til det dekker godt over urtene. La det stå litt, la urtene drikke seg full(for det gjør de faktisk)og etterfyll med eddik så glasset er helt fyllt med eddik.

Sett på lokk, hvis du har et lokk av metall, må du legge en liten bit plastikk mellom lokk og glass.

Eddik oksiderer metallet og det ruster.

Skriv en liten lapp med hvilken urte eddik du har laget, og dato. La den stå i 6 uker før du bruker den. Nå er alle mineralene og andre gode ting, løst seg opp i eddiken og det blir like verdifullt som en urte tinktur, bare at du kan bruke den på maten din.

Deilig på salater sammen med oliven olje og sesamsalt(gomasio).

Stilltimetogatherthebounty

pics.by me

It already looks a little like winter up here in the norwegian woods,but there are still great things to harvest out there. And some of the wild herbs to make infusion is still there. Allso the great dandelion roots is now collecting theis power down to the roots,so this is the time to harvest these fantastic wild foods for making tinctures to see you through this winter with plenty of sunny energy in your system.(see blog entry spring 2010)

This is stinging nettle and red clower, drying on the floor of our barn this summer.

Beautiful and even better ingested as an infusion.Red clower taste incredably chilled..like a excellent,yunann icetea, mmmm. I only wish the sun would come out so i cuold go out and harvest lots and lots. The flowers are still there,but they have to be dry, not wet, when you harvest them,otherwise they will rot,in stead of dry.

Weareallgoingtoseeds...

pics.by Sunni and me

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