Pour La Vie!: Does your family like pickles?

Basic Recipe

BASIC RECIPE

1 quart jar with lid

1 SCOBY symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast

Fill up the jar with left-over fruit: apple cores, grapes, pears, blueberries, pineapple, anything reasonably solid. (citrus rinds are bitter)

Any spice you like: ginger, cinnamon, star anise, juniper berries, cardom pods, coriander, nutmeg, for kick, add a hot pepper. Whole spice is preferred

Optional: tea bags (pull off the tag and string)

Pure, filtered Water, all the way to the top

Sweetners: Coconut Palm Sugar or stevia (liquid stevia comes in flavors like Root beer, dark chocolate and vanilla and is available online)

Equipment you'll need

jar or bottle with lid to collect the pour off
strainer
bowl to catch run-over
measuring cup
tasting glass
jar opener

It takes 24 hours in a warm place for the brew to happen. Cap the jar and put it in a bowl to catch seeping and also for when you open it too fast and find your PLV celebrating like champagne all over the counter.

VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOUR SAFETY!!
IF YOU DON'T POUR OFF EVERYDAY, LOOSEN THE LID AND LET SOME OF THE FIZZ OFF, SO NOT TOO MUCH PRESSURE BUILDS UP. SAFETY FIRST!!

If it didn't fizz, then it was too cold for it, you didn't fill it all the way up, or your ingredients are ready to be changed.

After you open it slowly, pour the liquid through the strainer into the measuring cup if you are going to bottle it or into a another jar. You can do some tasting at this point (this is the fun part) and add some coconut palm sugar or stevia if you want it sweet.

If it doesn't have much taste you can make a root beer flavor by using the liquid stevia or add more ginger to the bottle for gingerale. Or you can put it back in for a second round and add more spice.

You can continue to use the contents until it doesn't fizz anymore. At that time, dump it into a bowl, pick out the spices and toss them and chop the fruit into little pieces and dry it in a dehydrator or in your oven and use it in seed cakes. (recipe below) to add pro-biotics, omega 3 and fiber to your diet

Keep the SCOBY and use it again.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Does your family like pickles?

If your family is resistant to PLV, here's another way to get more probiotics into them without them knowing it. If they like pickles, any FIRM fruit that's left over after you've lost your fizz, just add Bragg's vinegar (also probiotic) garlic, dill, salt (or some coconut palm sugar if they like sweet pickles.)

You can add other firm veggies, like carrots, fennel, celery, peppers or even asparagus. Cucumbers pickle quickly, so don't let them in too long. I put in small 4 inche cukes and left them in overnight and they turned out nice and crunchy, but with plenty of flavor.

You may have to experiment a bit to get it right. I just did some papaya pickles and they are good. I put them in with the rind and it helped keep it more solid.

When they lose their color, then they're ready.

I found a large jar and do a continuing PIKL-it jar. I just throw the veggies in and move them to the bottom with a spoon and use out of the top. Great snack for kids!