RECIPES
WHEY
Most people are familiar with the old nursery rhyme, "Little Miss Muffet," who was eating her curds and whey. This type of cheese would be similar to cottage cheese and made by allowing milk to sour and naturally separate into curds and whey. While this method of making cheese may not sound appetizing to most people, it is a method used around the world in many different cultures.
Most people are familiar with the old nursery rhyme, "Little Miss Muffet," who was eating her curds and whey. This type of cheese would be similar to cottage cheese and made by allowing milk to sour and naturally separate into curds and whey. While this method of making cheese may not sound appetizing to most people, it is a method used around the world in many different cultures.
Churn! Churn! Churn!
Dec 13th, 2010 | By Esther | Category: Cooking, Food | Print This Article Butter is one of those delightful foods that has one ingredient: in this case, cream—optionally cultured, chilled to below room temperature, and churned (agitated until the butter agglomerates and the buttermilk separates). The classic Western butter comes from the cream of cow’s milk; the milk of sheep and goats require different methods to produce anything recognizable as butter, and its similarity is debatable. American butter is usually salted, European butter typically not. Salting does not alter any aspect of the finished product but perhaps its taste.
Making butter at home makes the most sense economically if you, or perhaps a neighbor, keep a cow or cows, and thus you have access to a ready supply of cream. Buying cream to make butter would be an expensive hobby, as well as a potentially labor-intensive one. The exception, if you find you enjoy making small occasional batches of butter, would be keeping your eye out for markdowns on whipping cream or double cream—since they have a shorter regulated shelf life than that of butter, they are more likely to be marked down in the event of an overstock or slow sales.
What Happens in Churning?
Churning basically turns cream, or butterfat, inside out. What starts as separately imperceptible droplets of fat suspended in liquid ends up with a separate liquid (buttermilk) and the fat (butter) now incorporating some 14 to 20 per cent droplets of water. In industrially produced butter, these water droplets are homogenized into invisibility. You can do something like this at home too. However, you can actually leave your butter more marbled, with visible pockets of fattier and moister butter. This result is more rollable than a more homogeneous butter, and makes great croissants and other pastries.
Shaking the cream (in the oldest methods), agitating it with a plunger, or whipping it with paddles breaks down fat droplets separately suspended in liquid. These are the traditional tools and techniques. These days, for small batches you can also use an electric mixer, food processor or blender. If you have more than one of these appliances, you can see which works best for you. The quick version goes like this:
Whip cream at a bit below room temperature into peaks. With continued whipping, its fat clumps into butter grains; as these agglomerate, the foam forms a more viscous mass.
Eventually the butter “breaks”; fatty bubbles pop and collapse, yellow solids appear, and any liquid not incorporated into the fat mass separates as buttermilk.
Very quickly after breaking, the fat forms into large lumps, and any electric appliance pressed into service as a butter churn needs to be switched off immediately before it jams or begins flinging fatty and milky bits all over the kitchen. Once fat and liquid separate, the buttermilk is drained off, and the fat—now recognizable as butter—gets rinsed in ice water, has excess water kneaded out of it and gets formed.
So Now I Have…
Buttermilk makes lovely pancakes, biscuits, and quick breads, and can be used in soups, sauces, and salad dressings. Most cats like it too. (As many cat-owners can attest, more cats like milk than can tolerate it, so be aware!)
The most meticulous home butter-makers have no qualms about freezing butter for up to several months; it actually crystallizes near room temperature, so no textural changes occur between refrigeration and freezing. Also, as you cruise butter-making sites, note the hint offered on several of them to put one’s butter up in rolls rather than trying to make commercially-shaped sticks.
God Is in the Details
Jonathan S. White offers a helpfully detailed description of what the various churning stages look like when using a food processor. He’s also very thorough in specifying the best cream to use, and temperatures and techniques that can help maximize your success. White favors using clabber cream, yogurt, buttermilk or sour cream to culture the cream before churning. Finally, he stresses hygiene and offers reasonable suggestions for the vexed question of pasteurization.
Personally, I would start out with trying small batches using my blender—which happens to helpfully have a base bigger than its mouth—or my food processor. I think if I needed larger batches for a family, or if the time, materials, and labor calculations worked out well enough to consider selling or bartering my butter, I would look into investing in a larger, dedicated churn. Both mechanical and electric models are readily available.
One thing that intrigues me most about churning is the potential home social aspect of it. I wonder how much it is like hand-cranking ice cream, and how many conversations I might have with family members while one of us churns a batch of butter and the other shells some peas, much like the less hectic times of our parents’ generation.
Dec 13th, 2010 | By Esther | Category: Cooking, Food | Print This Article Butter is one of those delightful foods that has one ingredient: in this case, cream—optionally cultured, chilled to below room temperature, and churned (agitated until the butter agglomerates and the buttermilk separates). The classic Western butter comes from the cream of cow’s milk; the milk of sheep and goats require different methods to produce anything recognizable as butter, and its similarity is debatable. American butter is usually salted, European butter typically not. Salting does not alter any aspect of the finished product but perhaps its taste.
Making butter at home makes the most sense economically if you, or perhaps a neighbor, keep a cow or cows, and thus you have access to a ready supply of cream. Buying cream to make butter would be an expensive hobby, as well as a potentially labor-intensive one. The exception, if you find you enjoy making small occasional batches of butter, would be keeping your eye out for markdowns on whipping cream or double cream—since they have a shorter regulated shelf life than that of butter, they are more likely to be marked down in the event of an overstock or slow sales.
What Happens in Churning?
Churning basically turns cream, or butterfat, inside out. What starts as separately imperceptible droplets of fat suspended in liquid ends up with a separate liquid (buttermilk) and the fat (butter) now incorporating some 14 to 20 per cent droplets of water. In industrially produced butter, these water droplets are homogenized into invisibility. You can do something like this at home too. However, you can actually leave your butter more marbled, with visible pockets of fattier and moister butter. This result is more rollable than a more homogeneous butter, and makes great croissants and other pastries.
Shaking the cream (in the oldest methods), agitating it with a plunger, or whipping it with paddles breaks down fat droplets separately suspended in liquid. These are the traditional tools and techniques. These days, for small batches you can also use an electric mixer, food processor or blender. If you have more than one of these appliances, you can see which works best for you. The quick version goes like this:
Whip cream at a bit below room temperature into peaks. With continued whipping, its fat clumps into butter grains; as these agglomerate, the foam forms a more viscous mass.
Eventually the butter “breaks”; fatty bubbles pop and collapse, yellow solids appear, and any liquid not incorporated into the fat mass separates as buttermilk.
Very quickly after breaking, the fat forms into large lumps, and any electric appliance pressed into service as a butter churn needs to be switched off immediately before it jams or begins flinging fatty and milky bits all over the kitchen. Once fat and liquid separate, the buttermilk is drained off, and the fat—now recognizable as butter—gets rinsed in ice water, has excess water kneaded out of it and gets formed.
So Now I Have…
Buttermilk makes lovely pancakes, biscuits, and quick breads, and can be used in soups, sauces, and salad dressings. Most cats like it too. (As many cat-owners can attest, more cats like milk than can tolerate it, so be aware!)
The most meticulous home butter-makers have no qualms about freezing butter for up to several months; it actually crystallizes near room temperature, so no textural changes occur between refrigeration and freezing. Also, as you cruise butter-making sites, note the hint offered on several of them to put one’s butter up in rolls rather than trying to make commercially-shaped sticks.
God Is in the Details
Jonathan S. White offers a helpfully detailed description of what the various churning stages look like when using a food processor. He’s also very thorough in specifying the best cream to use, and temperatures and techniques that can help maximize your success. White favors using clabber cream, yogurt, buttermilk or sour cream to culture the cream before churning. Finally, he stresses hygiene and offers reasonable suggestions for the vexed question of pasteurization.
Personally, I would start out with trying small batches using my blender—which happens to helpfully have a base bigger than its mouth—or my food processor. I think if I needed larger batches for a family, or if the time, materials, and labor calculations worked out well enough to consider selling or bartering my butter, I would look into investing in a larger, dedicated churn. Both mechanical and electric models are readily available.
One thing that intrigues me most about churning is the potential home social aspect of it. I wonder how much it is like hand-cranking ice cream, and how many conversations I might have with family members while one of us churns a batch of butter and the other shells some peas, much like the less hectic times of our parents’ generation.
SAUERKRAUT
(Makes 1 quart.) 1 medium cabbage, cored and shredded 1 tablespoon caraway seeds 1 tablespoon grey sea salt 4 tablespoons whey (or use an additional 1 tablespoon sea salt) In a bowl, mix cabbage, caraway seeds, sea salt and whey. Pound with a wooden pounder or meat hammer to release juices. Let rest 10 minutes. Place in a quart sized, widemouthed mason jar pressing firmly with pounder until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage should be at least one inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about three days before transferring to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten at that time, but it improves with age. KOREAN SAUERKRAUT (kimchi) Makes two quarts (A variety of vegetables may be used) 1 head Napa cabbage, cored and shredded 1 bunch green onions, chopped 1 cup carrots, grated 1/2 cup daikon radish, grated 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 1/2 teaspoon dried chile flakes 1 tablespoon grey sea salt 4 tablespoons whey (or 1 additional tablespoon sea salt) Place vegetables, ginger, garlic, chile flakes, sea salt and whey in a bowl and pound with a wooden pounder or meat hammer to release juices. Let rest ten minutes. Place in a quart sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder until juices come to the top of the vegetables. The top of the vegetables should be at least one inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about three days before transferring to cold storage. Lacto-fermentation Tips LF vegetables will keep in cold storage or fridge for about 6 months, and the flavor will continue to improve. Use your favorite seasonings: hot pepper flakes, caraway seeds, etc., but remember the flavor will intensify over time so don’t over do it! You can always add a little water if it seems you don’t have enough “juice”. Please use filtered water as you don’t want to add fluoride or chlorine. After day 2 you’ll notice the color of the kraut lighten. Also you may have some seepage of the juice on your counter. This is normal (especially in warm weather). The gas builds up and the contents expand. Just be sure you left at least a good inch of headspace. That way the finished product will contain enough liquid. | Kvass-- A Probiotic Drink
Kvass is a traditional drink in Russia and other eastern European countries. Usually it’s made with soaked sourdough bread and fruits, fermenting slightly over a period of days or weeks. This recipe, however, omits bread, uses beets, and is much faster and simpler. In moderation, it can be used as a sport drink, sweetened to your liking if necessary. Another varia- tion is to wrap seasonings such as thyme, sage, oregano, basil and bay leaves in cheesecloth and allow it to seep during the fermenting phase. This gives a rustic flavor some prefer. Also, kvass makes a nice replacement for vinegar in salad dressings. Be careful not to chop the beets too finely, or you’ll render a strong alcoholic beverage instead! One and one-half inch cubes work fine. Basic Beet Kvass (one quart) 3 medium or 2 large organic beets, peeled and cubed 1/8 Cup whey 1 Tbsp. sea salt filtered water Seasonings (mentioned above, optional) Put all ingredients in a quart size mason jar. Mix thoroughly. Cover tightly and allow to sit at room temperature for two days. Refrigerate. You can reuse these beets by adding filtered water when the kvass is down to about an inch in the jar. Stir, allow to sit another two days. Seasonings, if added, can remain in the jar until it’s the strength you enjoy. Sweeteners, on the other hand, can be added after the initial three day fermentation process. Honey is a good choice. GINGER CARROTS Makes 1 Quart 4 Cups grated carrots, tightly packed 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 1 tablespoon sea salt 4 tablespoons whey (or an additional 1 tablespoon salt) In a bowl, mix all ingredients and pound with a wooden pounder or meat hammer to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder until juices cover the carrots. The top of the carrots should be at least one inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature about three days before transferring to cold storage. “LET FOOD BE THY MEDICINE, AND MEDICINE BE THY FOOD!” These were the words of Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine,” in 400 B.C. |
Recipes from the cheese class
Class participants wanted the recipes for today's chevre....
So....here they are.
So....here they are.
Pesto Chevre
4 c fresh soft cheese or chevre 1 cup finely chopped fresh basil (use food processor to finely chop about 6 stems of basil) 1/2 c ground nuts (pecans, pine, or walnuts) 1 1/2 t salt (or to taste) 2-6 cloves garlic, pressed/crushed (depending upon taste) Blend all ingredients and enjoy on crackers or with vegies. If your soft cheese is too dry, add olive oil or milk to moisten to desired texture. Or....shape the drier textured cheese blend into a ball or log and roll in finely chopped nuts to serve on a nice platter. | Peanut-Carob Chevre
4 c fresh soft cheese or chevre 1/4 c carob powder 1/2 to 3/4 c sucanat 1/2 c peanut butter Blend all ingredients and enjoy! If your soft cheese is too dry, add milk to moisten to desired texture. Honey may be used as an alternate sweetener. I use real, keep-in-the-refrigerator peanut butter. Let this type of peanut butter sit on the counter to warm for smoother blending or open a fresh jar. |
Homemade Butter
How to make Raw Organic Unpasteurized Sauerkraut
Recipes from Bill and Karen Lensmire
Chevre (soft cheese) Ideas and Recipes
Chevre Spread – Savory
1. Blend any favorite dressing mix along with additional milk or whey (from drained chevre) to obtain desired consistency. E.g. Italian, Buttermilk, Ranch, Fahita.
2. Blend your own herb mixture (fresh or dried herbs) along with salt, pepper, etc.
3. Example: Dill & Garlic-- ½ lb chevre, 1 ½ tsp dill weed, ½ tsp sea salt, 1/8 tsp granulated garlic
Cheese Log or Ball
Chevre will hold a shape well. Do not add milk or whey. Using plain or flavored chevre, shape the cheese into a log or ball. The log/ball maybe rolled in additional spices (e.g. cracked pepper, paprika), herbs, or nuts.
Chevre Spread – Sweet
1. Blend any juicy fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, peaches, etc. with chevre. Fresh fruit works well. Frozen fruit should be thawed and well drained. If desired, blend in a sweetener such as raw honey or stevia to suit your taste.
2. Example: Honey Chevre--- ½ lb chevre, 1 ½ tsp honey
3. Example: Cranberry Chevre—1/2 lb. chevre, ¼ cup finely chopped craisins, ½ tsp cinnamon, 1 tbl honey
Raw Cheesecake
(adapted from Nourishing Traditions, p 566)
Crust:
2 c crispy almonds (or pecans or walnuts)
1 cup pitted dates (or raisins or other dried fruit)
Raw honey or water, if needed to obtain consistency
Process nuts and dried fruit in food processor to form a sticky mass. Press into buttered 9x13 glass pan to form a crust. (Honey or water may be needed if the fruits are too dry.)
Filling:
4 cups chevre, at room temperature
4 eggs, separated at room temperature
½ cup raw milk (optional)
½ cup raw honey
1 tablespoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
In food processor or using hand-mixer, combine chevre, egg yolks, honey, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to refrigerator until egg whites are ready. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Fold egg whites into cheese mixture. Pour mixture into crust. Chill for several hours before serving.
Variations:
Poppyseed Tort: Substitute lemon extract for the vanilla and add 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds.
Berry cheesecake: Using well drained (from frozen) or fresh strawberries, blueberries, peaches or other juicy fruit. Add about 2 cups crushed or chopped fruit to chevre mixture.
Chevre can be used in any cooked recipe where you may use “baker’s cheese”, ricotta, or cream cheese. One way to enjoy the chevre’s raw food benefits is to add it as a topping to the cooked dish just before serving. For example, bake a pizza or foccacia and then crumble the chevre on top just before serving.
Classic Chevre Cheese Cake
This is a cooked recipe for a traditional cream cheese cake.
INGREDIENTS
No Roll Pie Crust--
2 c grain, milled to about 3 c flour (sprouted wheat is preferred)
2 t sucanat
1 t salt
¾ to 1 c oil
¼ to 1/3 c milk
Filling--
1-1/3 cups sucanat (or try 1 c honey and skip the milk)
1/3 cup milk
2 lbs. fresh chevre Goat Cheese, warmed to room temperature
4 beaten egg yolks
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites whipped until stiff
No Roll Pie Crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Mix all crust ingredients in a 9-10” springform pan. Pat the mixture into the pan to the desired thickness and up the sides a bit if you wish. Bake at 325° for 15 minutes.
CHEESE FILLING: Dissolve the 1 1/3 cup sucanat in the 1/3 cup milk. Add the fresh chevre cheese, egg yolks, flour, and vanilla. Fold the beaten egg whites into the cheese mixture. Optional-sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in a 350° degree oven for 1 hour. Do not over bake; the cheese cake will firm up when cooled.
Note: sucanat will make the cheese cake a brown-sugar color.
Kefir and Fruit
· 1-2 cups kefir
· 1-2 cups chopped, raw fruit
Drops of stevia liquid or honey to taste (optional)
Enjoy!
Kefir Smoothie
· 1-2 cups kefir
· 1-2 cups chopped, raw fruit
· Drops of stevia liquid or honey to taste (optional)
Blend in blender or with hand blender.
Enjoy!
Kefir Whey and Cheese
After straining grains from kefir, place the kefir liquid on your counter for another 12-24 hours. The milk will curd and separate from the whey. I use butter muslin to strain the kefir cheese curd. To do this---line a bowl of adequate size with a large piece of butter muslin. Gently pour or spoon the milk & whey from the jar into the muslin. Bring the corners of the muslin up together, twist and secure with tie. Hand from something over a bowl to drain. The whey and kefir cheese are both quite good. The whey is usually quite active with lactic acid producing bacteria. This whey is useful for fermenting vegetables or “soaking” grains per the Nourishing Traditions book. The kefir cheese is much like sour cream.
Pancakes
Adapted from Nourishing Traditions, p 478
Soak 2 cups of flour overnight in:
· ½ cup kefir
· 1½ cup milk
In the morning add:
· 2 eggs,
· ½ tsp salt
· 1 tsp baking soda
Cook the usual way—in oil, on the stovetop, medium-heated skillet.
Scalloped Veggies
(K. Lensmire recipe)
2 cups of grain – Crack the grain to about 3 cups of cracked grain.
Soak the grain overnight in:
· 1 cup of kefir and 2 cups of milk
In the morning, mix in the following into the soaked grain mixture:
· about 1# of chopped vegetables
· 1 chopped onion
· 3-4 eggs
· 1 ½ tsp salt
· 1 tsp dry mustard
Place mixture into greased, 2 quart casserole dish.
If desired, dot with butter and/or sprinkle with herbs.
Bake for 1 hour, covered at 350 degrees.
The grain used may be wheat, oats, barley or some combination. I would not recommend 100% rye because of its tartness.
The vegetables can be whatever is in season or needs to be used up or even packaged frozen vegetables. I have successfully used broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, turnips, corn, and zucchini. Just chop them enough that they can cook thoroughly during the baking time, about ¼” to ½” chunks. An example of frozen packaged vegetables is to use one 16 oz package of organic corn or other vegetable mixture. My children are fond of the frozen corn variation and the fresh broccoli/cauliflower/carrot variation. I will add 1-2 tsp of thyme or dill from time to time. Kefir Sourdough Bread
(K. Lensmire recipe)
Kefir contains its own natural yeast. This will produce very good bread if one pays attention to the cooking technique. This recipe works well for a 5 quart dutch oven with lid. It creates one large, round loaf.
Mix the following ingredients into a bowl and allow to sit on your counter (covered) for 3 days:
· 6 cups whole wheat milled to about 9 cups flour
· 1½ cups kefir
· 3 cups water
· 2 tsp salt
On baking day, add 2-3 tablespoons of honey about 1 hour prior to baking.
Heat the greased 5-quart dutch oven with its lid at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and empty your bread dough into the hot dutch oven. Put the lid on again. REDUCE the heat to 350. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the lid. Bake for 15 more minutes. Allow the dutch oven to cool on a rack for 5 minutes and then turn out the bread onto a rack. Baking times will vary depending on the type of dutch oven you use and how much honey you add. If you add more honey, baking time must be increased.
Kefir Quick Bread
(Adapted from D. Pearl, NGJ Newsletter, Jan/Feb 2009 edition)
Soak 5 cups flour in 2 cups kefir overnight.
Before baking, preheat oven to 400.
Mix ¼ c water, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder in a cup.
Knead the water mixture into the soaked flour.
Shape into 4, 6 or 8 rolls. Make an “X” slash across the top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
Notes:
Larger rolls make great bowls for chili or stew.
- Soft wheat, spelt or hard wheat will create a bread dough that can easily be kneaded and shaped. About 3 1/3 to 3 1/2 cups of grain is needed to make 5 cups of flour.
- Barley or oat flours are low in protein/gluten and will make a “drop dough” biscuit rather than a bread roll. About 3 cups of grain will make the needed flour.
- Mrs. Pearl’s original recipe calls for using sprouted, dried grains because she adds additional flour during the next day kneading process. I adjusted the flour amount to work without adding unsoaked or unsprouted flour to the dough. Millet Cake
(K. Lensmire recipe)
This is sweet and moist cake even though there is very little honey!
Prepare millet grain by bring millet and water to boil. With lid on, reduce to simmer for 15 minutes so that most of the liquid is soaked up.
· 2/3 cup millet
· 2 cups water
Grind 1 c millet into flour (1½ c millet flour)
Grind 1 ½ c barley or oats into flour (about 3 cups flour)
Mix cooked millet, millet flour, barley flour and 2 cups kefir in a bowl. Cover. Allow to sit on your counter 12-24 hours.
I will often start this while making dinner and bake it the following morning for breakfast.
Add the following ingredients to the soaked grain/flour mixture:
· 1/3 cup oil
· ½ cup honey
· ½ tsp salt
· 2 tsp baking soda
· 1 tsp baking powder
· 4 eggs
· 2 tsp cinnamon
· 1 tsp nutmeg
· 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
Grease a glass, 10x15 pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. This recipe may be halved to fit a 9x13 pan.)
An example of another variation:
Lemon Poppyseed: Omit cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Add 2 tblsp poppyseed and 2 tsp lemon extract. Add the rind of 1 organic lemon (optional).
For totally gluten free:
Omit the barley/oats and use 1 c rice milled to about 1 ½ c rice flour.
And, increase the millet to 1 ½ c grain milled to about 2 ½ cups flour.
Chevre Spread – Savory
1. Blend any favorite dressing mix along with additional milk or whey (from drained chevre) to obtain desired consistency. E.g. Italian, Buttermilk, Ranch, Fahita.
2. Blend your own herb mixture (fresh or dried herbs) along with salt, pepper, etc.
3. Example: Dill & Garlic-- ½ lb chevre, 1 ½ tsp dill weed, ½ tsp sea salt, 1/8 tsp granulated garlic
Cheese Log or Ball
Chevre will hold a shape well. Do not add milk or whey. Using plain or flavored chevre, shape the cheese into a log or ball. The log/ball maybe rolled in additional spices (e.g. cracked pepper, paprika), herbs, or nuts.
Chevre Spread – Sweet
1. Blend any juicy fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, peaches, etc. with chevre. Fresh fruit works well. Frozen fruit should be thawed and well drained. If desired, blend in a sweetener such as raw honey or stevia to suit your taste.
2. Example: Honey Chevre--- ½ lb chevre, 1 ½ tsp honey
3. Example: Cranberry Chevre—1/2 lb. chevre, ¼ cup finely chopped craisins, ½ tsp cinnamon, 1 tbl honey
Raw Cheesecake
(adapted from Nourishing Traditions, p 566)
Crust:
2 c crispy almonds (or pecans or walnuts)
1 cup pitted dates (or raisins or other dried fruit)
Raw honey or water, if needed to obtain consistency
Process nuts and dried fruit in food processor to form a sticky mass. Press into buttered 9x13 glass pan to form a crust. (Honey or water may be needed if the fruits are too dry.)
Filling:
4 cups chevre, at room temperature
4 eggs, separated at room temperature
½ cup raw milk (optional)
½ cup raw honey
1 tablespoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
In food processor or using hand-mixer, combine chevre, egg yolks, honey, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to refrigerator until egg whites are ready. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Fold egg whites into cheese mixture. Pour mixture into crust. Chill for several hours before serving.
Variations:
Poppyseed Tort: Substitute lemon extract for the vanilla and add 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds.
Berry cheesecake: Using well drained (from frozen) or fresh strawberries, blueberries, peaches or other juicy fruit. Add about 2 cups crushed or chopped fruit to chevre mixture.
Chevre can be used in any cooked recipe where you may use “baker’s cheese”, ricotta, or cream cheese. One way to enjoy the chevre’s raw food benefits is to add it as a topping to the cooked dish just before serving. For example, bake a pizza or foccacia and then crumble the chevre on top just before serving.
Classic Chevre Cheese Cake
This is a cooked recipe for a traditional cream cheese cake.
INGREDIENTS
No Roll Pie Crust--
2 c grain, milled to about 3 c flour (sprouted wheat is preferred)
2 t sucanat
1 t salt
¾ to 1 c oil
¼ to 1/3 c milk
Filling--
1-1/3 cups sucanat (or try 1 c honey and skip the milk)
1/3 cup milk
2 lbs. fresh chevre Goat Cheese, warmed to room temperature
4 beaten egg yolks
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites whipped until stiff
No Roll Pie Crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Mix all crust ingredients in a 9-10” springform pan. Pat the mixture into the pan to the desired thickness and up the sides a bit if you wish. Bake at 325° for 15 minutes.
CHEESE FILLING: Dissolve the 1 1/3 cup sucanat in the 1/3 cup milk. Add the fresh chevre cheese, egg yolks, flour, and vanilla. Fold the beaten egg whites into the cheese mixture. Optional-sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in a 350° degree oven for 1 hour. Do not over bake; the cheese cake will firm up when cooled.
Note: sucanat will make the cheese cake a brown-sugar color.
Kefir and Fruit
· 1-2 cups kefir
· 1-2 cups chopped, raw fruit
Drops of stevia liquid or honey to taste (optional)
Enjoy!
Kefir Smoothie
· 1-2 cups kefir
· 1-2 cups chopped, raw fruit
· Drops of stevia liquid or honey to taste (optional)
Blend in blender or with hand blender.
Enjoy!
Kefir Whey and Cheese
After straining grains from kefir, place the kefir liquid on your counter for another 12-24 hours. The milk will curd and separate from the whey. I use butter muslin to strain the kefir cheese curd. To do this---line a bowl of adequate size with a large piece of butter muslin. Gently pour or spoon the milk & whey from the jar into the muslin. Bring the corners of the muslin up together, twist and secure with tie. Hand from something over a bowl to drain. The whey and kefir cheese are both quite good. The whey is usually quite active with lactic acid producing bacteria. This whey is useful for fermenting vegetables or “soaking” grains per the Nourishing Traditions book. The kefir cheese is much like sour cream.
Pancakes
Adapted from Nourishing Traditions, p 478
Soak 2 cups of flour overnight in:
· ½ cup kefir
· 1½ cup milk
In the morning add:
· 2 eggs,
· ½ tsp salt
· 1 tsp baking soda
Cook the usual way—in oil, on the stovetop, medium-heated skillet.
Scalloped Veggies
(K. Lensmire recipe)
2 cups of grain – Crack the grain to about 3 cups of cracked grain.
Soak the grain overnight in:
· 1 cup of kefir and 2 cups of milk
In the morning, mix in the following into the soaked grain mixture:
· about 1# of chopped vegetables
· 1 chopped onion
· 3-4 eggs
· 1 ½ tsp salt
· 1 tsp dry mustard
Place mixture into greased, 2 quart casserole dish.
If desired, dot with butter and/or sprinkle with herbs.
Bake for 1 hour, covered at 350 degrees.
The grain used may be wheat, oats, barley or some combination. I would not recommend 100% rye because of its tartness.
The vegetables can be whatever is in season or needs to be used up or even packaged frozen vegetables. I have successfully used broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, turnips, corn, and zucchini. Just chop them enough that they can cook thoroughly during the baking time, about ¼” to ½” chunks. An example of frozen packaged vegetables is to use one 16 oz package of organic corn or other vegetable mixture. My children are fond of the frozen corn variation and the fresh broccoli/cauliflower/carrot variation. I will add 1-2 tsp of thyme or dill from time to time. Kefir Sourdough Bread
(K. Lensmire recipe)
Kefir contains its own natural yeast. This will produce very good bread if one pays attention to the cooking technique. This recipe works well for a 5 quart dutch oven with lid. It creates one large, round loaf.
Mix the following ingredients into a bowl and allow to sit on your counter (covered) for 3 days:
· 6 cups whole wheat milled to about 9 cups flour
· 1½ cups kefir
· 3 cups water
· 2 tsp salt
On baking day, add 2-3 tablespoons of honey about 1 hour prior to baking.
Heat the greased 5-quart dutch oven with its lid at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and empty your bread dough into the hot dutch oven. Put the lid on again. REDUCE the heat to 350. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the lid. Bake for 15 more minutes. Allow the dutch oven to cool on a rack for 5 minutes and then turn out the bread onto a rack. Baking times will vary depending on the type of dutch oven you use and how much honey you add. If you add more honey, baking time must be increased.
Kefir Quick Bread
(Adapted from D. Pearl, NGJ Newsletter, Jan/Feb 2009 edition)
Soak 5 cups flour in 2 cups kefir overnight.
Before baking, preheat oven to 400.
Mix ¼ c water, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder in a cup.
Knead the water mixture into the soaked flour.
Shape into 4, 6 or 8 rolls. Make an “X” slash across the top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
Notes:
Larger rolls make great bowls for chili or stew.
- Soft wheat, spelt or hard wheat will create a bread dough that can easily be kneaded and shaped. About 3 1/3 to 3 1/2 cups of grain is needed to make 5 cups of flour.
- Barley or oat flours are low in protein/gluten and will make a “drop dough” biscuit rather than a bread roll. About 3 cups of grain will make the needed flour.
- Mrs. Pearl’s original recipe calls for using sprouted, dried grains because she adds additional flour during the next day kneading process. I adjusted the flour amount to work without adding unsoaked or unsprouted flour to the dough. Millet Cake
(K. Lensmire recipe)
This is sweet and moist cake even though there is very little honey!
Prepare millet grain by bring millet and water to boil. With lid on, reduce to simmer for 15 minutes so that most of the liquid is soaked up.
· 2/3 cup millet
· 2 cups water
Grind 1 c millet into flour (1½ c millet flour)
Grind 1 ½ c barley or oats into flour (about 3 cups flour)
Mix cooked millet, millet flour, barley flour and 2 cups kefir in a bowl. Cover. Allow to sit on your counter 12-24 hours.
I will often start this while making dinner and bake it the following morning for breakfast.
Add the following ingredients to the soaked grain/flour mixture:
· 1/3 cup oil
· ½ cup honey
· ½ tsp salt
· 2 tsp baking soda
· 1 tsp baking powder
· 4 eggs
· 2 tsp cinnamon
· 1 tsp nutmeg
· 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
Grease a glass, 10x15 pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. This recipe may be halved to fit a 9x13 pan.)
An example of another variation:
Lemon Poppyseed: Omit cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Add 2 tblsp poppyseed and 2 tsp lemon extract. Add the rind of 1 organic lemon (optional).
For totally gluten free:
Omit the barley/oats and use 1 c rice milled to about 1 ½ c rice flour.
And, increase the millet to 1 ½ c grain milled to about 2 ½ cups flour.
