Pickled Red Onions (probiotic)
Love the idea of making and eating healthy, pro-biotic, homemade sauerkraut or kimchi, but not too crazy about the flavor, or just want to try something different? You might like this super-easy, not-too-tart recipe for pickled red onions..
Pickled Red Onions
(adapted from recipes by David Lebovitz and Sally Fallon)
3/4 cup organic white vinegar
3 tablespoons non-refined sugar
1 pinch of sea salt
1 bay leaf
5 whole allspice berries
5 whole cloves
1 dried chile pepper
1 large red onion, peeled, and thinly sliced into rings
2 tablespoons whey
Heat all ingredients except the onions in a non-reactive pan until boiling.
Add the onions, reduce the heat to low and stir for 60 seconds.
Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Stir in 2 tablespoons whey, then transfer all to a glass jar, allowing at least 1 inch headroom.
Cover and let stand at room temperature for 48-72 hours before transferring to the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Serve as a condiment or side-dish- pickled red onions are particularly good with Mexican-style pork dishes.
Ready for more? Try 10 Ways to Get More Probiotics (without Dairy)
at The Nourished Kitchen
Grilled Squash with Lemon Aioli
Grilled patty pan squash with lemon aïoli, sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, sweet peppers and fresh oregano..
Grilled Squash with Lemon Aïoli
For the aïoli
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small egg yolk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-2 garlic cloves
pinch sea salt
a few drops of water
Mince the garlic and macerate in the lemon juice for several minutes, then combine with egg yolk, salt and water in a large bowl. Whisk in olive oil in a slow, steady stream.
Lightly oil 1/4 inch slices of patty pan squash, trimmed greened onions and sweet peppers with virgin olive oil (not extra virgin) and season with sea salt and cracked pepper.
Grill vegetables until tender and browned along the edges. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, prepare saffron fettuccine according to package directions (or make your own). Use the hot pasta water to re-hydrate the sun-dried tomatoes. Toss the pasta in a spoonful of olive oil.
Arrange pasta in center of plate and surround with grilled vegetables. Dress with aïoli, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and fresh oregano.
Dancing Mushroom Shiromiso
Known as the Hen of the Woods mushroom in North America, the Maitake (dancing mushroom) is revered for its anti-cancer properties and ability to regulate the body’s blood pressure and insulin levels.
Here’s a delicious way to load up on minerals, vitamins, protein and amino acids..
Dancing Mushroom Shiromiso
If not available locally, whole Maitake mushrooms can be ordered from Mountain Rose Herbs
Whole, dried organic Maitake (grifola frondosa)
Fresh scallions, sliced
White miso paste
Organic spinach powder
Homemade chicken bone broth, vegetable stock or filtered water
Low-sodium tamari
Dried organic celery root
Dried hijiki
Soak dried Maitake in filtered hot (not boiling) water for 20 minutes. Set re-hydrated mushroom aside to drain. Reserve soaking liquid.
Drizzle mushroom with clarified butter, sprinkle with pepper and spinach powder and roast in a 350 degree oven until golden brown (about 25 minutes). The mushroom should be slightly crispy on the edges.
Meanwhile, bring reserved soaking liquid and chicken stock to a rapid boil and cook until reduced in volume by 1/3.
Reduce heat and add tamari (be sure to use traditionally-fermented tamari that doesn’t contain hydrolyzed protein) celery root, scallions and hijiki (a wild brown sea vegetable). Simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove broth from heat and stir in white miso paste.
Ladle broth into a bowl or deep plate then place the roasted Maitake on top.
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- Maitake Miso
Black Quinoa and Mango Pudding
“Quinoa (pronounced ‘keen-wah’) is an ancient whole grain that has been cultivated in the Andes Mountains of South America for more than 5,000 years. Locally referred to as ‘chisaya mama’ or the ‘mother grain’, it kept the Incan armies strong and robust…”
Black Quinoa and Mango Pudding
1/2 cup black quinoa
6 oz fresh whole milk
2 oz fresh cream
2 pastured eggs
1/2 ripe mango, diced
1 modest pinch sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons non-refined sugar or raw honey
1 2-inch section vanilla bean, split and scraped
Rinse quinoa under filtered cold water to remove any debris.
Bring 6 oz fresh whole milk to a low boil.
Add vanilla bean and stir in quinoa and sugar, if using.
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until almost all the milk has been absorbed, maybe 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
Whisk 2 eggs into 2 oz of cream, then slowly whisk the liquid into the quinoa.
Add the diced mango and return the quinoa to the burner over low heat and stir continuously until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Quinoa pudding may be served warm or cold, as you prefer.
Black Pepper and Rosemary Sweet Potato Crisps
Move over, junk food.. these healthy, real-food crisps taste great!
Black Pepper and Rosemary Sweet Potato Crisps
Fresh sweet potatoes or garnet yams, peeled, rinsed and patted dry
Fresh rosemary, minced
Cracked black pepper
Sea salt
Olive oil for misting
Don’t like rosemary or want something different? Try homemade smoked chili powder!
Peel and slice sweet potatoes or garnet yams into 1/16 inch rounds. Rinse briefly in cold filtered water and pat dry.
Arrange rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and lightly mist with virgin (not extra virgin) olive oil (an oil atomizer works best for this) and bake at 320 degrees for 20 minutes.
Remove tray from oven, flip the potatoes over and lightly mist with oil once again. Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper and rosemary and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the edges just barely begin to brown.
The chips will crisp as they cool.
Serve with homemade fermented ketchup.
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- Black Pepper and Rosemary Sweet Potato Crisps
Frijoles Rojas, Chayote, Crema Fresca
(This is part 2 of a 2-part post- part 1 is here)
Dinner-on-the-cheap.. red beans, fried bacon, onions and tomatoes simmered in a homemade chili base, with shaved raw chayote squash, crèma fresca and fresh tortillas..
Frijoles Rojas, Chayote, Crèma Fresca
click to enlarge; take a look at the pool of thick, mahogany-colored juices on the left side
Fry diced, uncured bacon in a heavy skillet until well browned. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of the fat.
Add chopped onions and cook until browned.
Add tomatoes and cook until the water is released but not yet evaporated.
Add 1 tablespoon homemade chili base (more or less, depending on how spicy you like it) and stir to combine.
Add red beans (dried and cooked or from a BPA-free can) and some of the bean cooking liquid and a teaspoon of epazote, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and cracked pepper if needed.
Garnish with a little salad of shaved raw chayote squash (crispy & tastes rather like a cucumber with no bitterness), chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice and dress with crèma fresca dusted with smoked chili powder. Serve with Spanish rice or fresh tortillas.
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- Frijoles Rojas, Chayote Crema Fresca
This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays
