Nourishing Traditions

Third Annual International Raw Milk Symposium

/ Ren

Third Annual Raw Milk Symposium - May 7, 2011 - Bloomington, MN

Save the Date!! May 7, 2011

Third Annual International

Raw Milk Symposium to Highlight

Choice for Producer and Consumer

April 11, 2011–Falls Church, VA—The explosive increase in raw milk consumption—according to CDC statistics, at least ten million Americans now consume raw milk—has created innovative partnerships between consumers and their farmers.  By accepting responsibility in their food choices, Americans are paving the way to the next phase of the US local food movement: partnership with producers to ensure we a way of providing raw milk and other healthy foods that our families require for good health.

The Farm-to-Consumer Foundation and the Foundation for Consumer Free Choice will co-host the Third Annual Raw Milk Symposium: Producer-Consumer-Choice in Bloomington, Minnesota.  The event will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2011, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Bloomington.  It is open to the public.  Farmers and consumers are especially invited to learn more about the safety and health benefits of Raw Milk as well as the critical relationship between producers and Consumers

Featured speakers at the event include:

  • Ted Beals, M.S., M.D. – He is a retired pathologist with a special interest in the relationship of raw milk to the specific facts surrounding its safety.
  • Sally Fallon Morell, M.A. – Author of the best-selling cookbook, Nourishing Traditions and President of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
  • David Gumpert – Author, journalist and reporter, and host of the on-line journal, The Complete Patient. His most recent book is The Raw Milk Revolution.
  • Sylvia Onusic, Ph.D. – A nutritionist and writer/journalist in the areas of traditional and whole foods and public health with a particular knowledge of the European perspective.
  • Michael Schmidt – Trained in biodynamic farming in Germany, he moved to his farm in Canada in 1983 where he won a monumental court decision in 2009 for raw milk access.
  • Catherine Shanahan, M.D. – Author of the books Deep Nutrition and Food Rules, she is a board certified family physician trained in biochemistry and genetics.
  • Alan Watson – Author of two books, 21 Days to a Healthy Heart and  Cereal Killer, which delineates  the unintended consequences of the typically recommended low fat diet.

The Farm-to-Consumer Foundation through education and charitable relief, supports farmers engaged in sustainable farm stewardship and promotes consumer access to local, nutrient dense food.

To learn more about the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation, or to make a donation, visit their website, http://farmtoconsumerfoundation.org. The phone number is: 513-407-8899.

Press Contact:  Kimberly Hartke, Publicist
A Campaign for Real Milk, realmilk.com
[email protected]
703-860-2711, cell 703-675-5557

Related Links:

Online Version of this Release: http://westonaprice.org/press2/2185-3rd-annual-international-raw-milk-symposium-to-highlight-choice-for-producer-and-consumer

Raw Milk Symposium Official Website: http://www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org/rawmilksymposium/index.htm

Exhibitor information: http://www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org/rawmilksymposium/exhibits.htm

Spread the Word (Downloadable Flyer, Web Ads): http://www.farmtoconsumerfoundation.org/rawmilksymposium/flyer/index.htm

Pickled Red Onions (probiotic)

/ Ren

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..

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Pickled Red Onions

(adapted from recipes by David Lebovitz and Sally Fallon)

3/4 cup organic white vinegar
1-1/2 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 and whey 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

Giveaway: Nourishing Traditions, Wild Fermentation

/ Ren

We have a winner!

Congratulations, Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship! Please send your shipping info to “ren AT ediblearia DOT com” and UPS should be ringing your doorbell in a couple of days.

Thank you all for participating, and be sure to check back soon for details on the next giveaway!

ps  I’d love to hear any ideas you might have for the next giveaway.  Thanks, everyone!

“Unfortunately, fermented foods have largely disappeared from the western diet, much to the detriment of our health and economy. For fermented foods are a powerful aid to digestion and a protection against disease; and because fermentation is, by nature, an artisanal process, the disappearance of fermented foods has hastened the centralization and industrialization of our food supply, to the detriment of small farms and local economies.“

So wrote Sally Fallon, author of Nourishing Traditions in the forward to Sandor Katz’ Wild Fermentation.

Fallon concludes by saying “Wild Fermentation represents not only an effort to bring back from oblivion these treasured processes, but also a road map to a better world, a world of healthy people and equitable economies, a world that especially values those iconoclastic, free-thinking individuals—so often labeled misfits—uniquely qualified to perform the alchemy of fermented foods.”

Fallon and Katz have both had a huge impact on the way that I  eat.  Indeed, it is their/your/our good old ways and modern science that underlay much of what I try to share here from day to day.  I know, some days are better than others, right?

OK, here’s the deal.  I feel strongly enough about the healing and nourishing power of traditional foods (that which Michael Pollan describes as food that our great grandmothers would recognize) that I’m going to send a copy of either Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions or Katz’ Wild Fermentation to one of you.  But first, you have to go on a little scavenger hunt.  Nothing too involved, but enough to let me know that your interest is sincere.  Cool?

To participate, just go spend some time looking around at either http://www.westonaprice.org/ or http://www.wildfermentation.com/, then come back here and tell me (using the comment section below) something that you want everyone to know about fermentation.  Dig around- there’s a lot of information out there!

I’ll choose one eligible entry at random, and ship the book to the winner at  any U.S. (only, sorry) address.  Contest ends in 1 week.

This post is part of the Real Food Wednesdays Blog Carnival

Pickled Watermelon Radishes

/ Ren

There is some evidence that pickled vegetables help promote digestive health and lower cholesterol.  Health benefits aside, pickling is a really easy and delicious way of preserving the season’s bounty for months to come..

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The basic ratio (Ruhlman) for a pickling brine is 20:1, that is, 20 ounces of water (filtered) to 1 ounce of kosher salt.  To this you may add antimicrobial spices such as garlic, cloves or mustard and (optionally) a little non-refined sugar.

Bring the brine to a boil then remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.  Mix in a few ounces of the liquid from a previous batch (if available) to intensify the flavor and color.

Pack the radishes into a clean jar and weight down (I’m using a bag of dried beans), then cover with brine and seal.

Keep at room temperature for about 1 week (or 3 days if you add whey) before transferring to the refrigerator.

While you don’t have to go through all the meticulous sterilizing that canning requires, it is important to use clean utensils and to use at least a 20:1 brine ratio.  Properly pickled, your radishes will have a ph of around 4.6 and will keep for several months.

Compound Tomato Sauce (lacto-fermented ketchup)

/ Ren

Also see updated recipe here

Adapted from a recipe in The First African-American Cookbook from 1881 using a method described by Sally Fallon, this is a rich, thick  fermented (rather than cooked) ketchup.  I left out the high fructose corn syrup, in case you feel like calling the food police..

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1 1/2 cups organic tomato paste (or make your own)
1/8 cup whey
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (optional)
1/8 cup fermented fish sauce OR 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Grind dry ingredients together in a spice grinder or mortar.  Add to the rest of the ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and stir well to combine.

Add filtered water, if necessary, to achieve the thickness that you prefer.

Transfer ketchup to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and allow to sit at room temperature for 48-72 hours before transferring to refrigerator for long-term storage.