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I was going to post about our reasons and my research on sour dough before posting how we make our sour dough starter.
I have used the recipe form Nourishing Traditions, but found it not nearly as good as the one I have shown here.
I have had very good success with the recipe for  our sourdough starter from this site and so feel comfortable sharing this with you.

I will be back tracking to share research and my reasons for why we do use sour dough occasionally in our 'grain free diet," but for now her is the recipe we use:

Rye Flour Sour Dough Starter~ Step 1. Mix 3 1/2 tbs rye flour and 2 tbs unsweetened pineapple juice. Cover and set aside for 48 hours at room temperature. Stir vigorously 2-3x each day. 
 (“Unsweetened” in this case simply means no extra sugar added).

All ingredients just mixed up

Starting to produce bubbles, fermenting

Step 2. Add to the above 2 tbs. rye flour and 2 tbs. pineapple juice. Cover and set aside for a day or two. Stir vigorously 2-3x/day. You should see some activity of fermentation within 48 hours. If you don’t, you may want to toss this and start over (or go buy some!) 
Step 3. Add to the above 5 ¼ tbs. rye flour and 3 tbs. purified water. Cover and set aside for 24 hours.

bubbly on top

Note bubbles on side- that means it is fermenting

See thick and bubbly

Step 4. Add ½ cup rye flour and 1/4 to 1/3 cup purified water. You should have a very healthy sourdough starter by now.

Looks like this after final mixing

Final mix

After only about an hour the mix has increased to this

For information on how to keep your starter active this is a good place to read

Next I will share how we have made our spelt bread made from this starter.

Blessings to you and your homes,

As I wanted to make a new tomato sauce recipe, one that was fermented I knew I needed to have some whey for it.
The question now was how to get said whey? I kept checking my yogurt and kefir as well as the buttermilk for some whey, but either they were not left alone for long enough ( cause we were using them) and then there was only a couple of tablespoons at most anyway. So thinking on what to do I finally remembered that in my Nourishing Traditions book it told me exactly how to do it!

So I looked it up and found that I could indeed get whey from my homemade Buttermilk
Here is how I did it~
First you need whole milk buttermilk.
Now the recipe calls for about 1.9 liters  of buttermilk, however I just used an amount I thought I could spare from my stash of buttermilk.
A bowl
cloth to cover bow.
glad wrap and rubber bands
mason jar and container for cream cheese

Step 1 - with your whole-milk buttermilk, let stand at room temperature 1-2 days until the milk visibly separates into white curds and yellowish whey.
Um well I actually forgot to do this step and actually moved on to step 2 with out realising I had missed step 1 and it still turned out fine.

Step 2 - Line a bowl with a cloth and secure. I used  a rubber band around the top of the bowl.

Pour in the buttermilk, cover and let stand at room temperature for several hours  The whey will run into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the cloth.
I used glad wrap to cover and again secured with a rubber band.

Step 3 - When the whey has stopped dripping ,tie up the cloth with the milk solids inside, being careful not to squeeze. Tie this little sack to a wooden spoon placed across the top of a container so that more whey can drip out. When the bag stops dripping, the cheese is ready.

Step 4 - Store whey in a mason jar and cream cheese in a covered glass container. Refrigerated, the cream cheese keeps for about 1 month and the whey for about 6 months.
Step 5 - You can then add any seasoning or extra fruit etc to your cream cheese for extra special occasions. At this stage we had not but will be adding soon.

With the whey I made that fermented tomato sauce which I am told is really yummy. I myself don't like tomato sauce at all!

I hope you enjoy making this easy and rewarding cream cheese and whey.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Some time ago while reading dear Cinnamon's blog I read about this strange drink called Kombucha. I was intrigued by the idea and as left it at that.

A little while later as we were looking at making some dietary changes I again looked at the idea and even though I am NOT a tea drinker I liked what I read about the health benefits (there are many places to read more about this) to give this a try. Thankfully Cinnamon was most very generous and sent me a 'scoby' for starting our first batch.

We use the Double Fermentation Method and have been making this since about March this year. Just recently Autumn  has taken over the making of this from me as it is her most favourite drink, and so she wants to keep the supply up.

So on to the recipe. I have used mostly the recipe from Food Renegade  since the very beginning and here is how we do it.
First off bring to the boil about 7.6 liters of water
Add  about 10 bags of tea. I have used a mixture of simple black tea and the Green Kombucha . We tend to use about 8 regular to 2 Green tea mix, but I think you could mix this up too.
We add our sugar, 2 cups of white sugar and dissolve (not honey or any other sweetener, the sugar does get changed chemically and is simply food for the yeast)  at this point with the tea bags.
We leave the tea bags in till it reaches room temperature
This is the scoby, in some left over Kombucha from before
Pour your tea mixture into some glass wide mouth jars (do not use metal or plastic for jars or for handling the scoby either) and place the 'scoby' along with half the liquid it is sitting in, into the jars.
Place a coffee filter or even paper towel over the top with a rubber band to prevent insects or dust from entering. Do not place a lid on top as it needs oxygen to ferment!
Put into a dark cupboard or area for about a week.
About day 5, remove the scoby and set it aside on a plate, pouring about a half cup of the fermented tea mixture over the scoby to keep it moist.  Put it in the refrigerator. Every other batch or so, you’ll be able to separate the old scoby  from  it's new growth which will have grown on top of the old scoby. (It may separate on its own, or you may just pull them apart.) When that happens, the new growth will become the scoby for your next batch of kombucha tea.  The old scoby can be passed on as a gift or discarded.
Keep the scoby and about 1/2 cup of the old mixture to restart your new mix
Now you are ready to add some fruit juice and ferment the second time.
We add about 1/2 a cup of grape juice ( our choice flavour) to each bottle and then evenly pour out the 'tea mixture into the bottles.
Frankly we are not exact in this part but even it around.

However I do do a straining process during this phase to reduce any small 'bits n pieces' that might have come off the scoby form entering the finished product.

Place bottles back in your dark place for about 48 hours and then refrigerate.
Note well: if you are in a hot climate they will continue to ferment and get fizzy which could lead to explosions, so place in fridge to avoid this.

Before drinking you may want to strain again as  a slight scoby may have accumulated  during this last phase.

Start the tea process again so you have a continual  supply of this drink.
We use this as a 'tonic' once a day and every one gets a small glass maybe around 100ml as a requirement.

This post was done at the request of Father John and Father Augustine whom we gave a glass full of before we left Tasmania.
I wish you happy brewing Fathers!

There are many sites that have ideas and recipes for this drink simply google them and you will get a lot of information.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

One of the sweet foods  we have added to our diet since removing all refined sugar is what I call 'Date Syrup.'
Although it really isn't a syrup but a simple mixture of dried dates in water and then blended.

One of the food uses we use it for is on our soaked oats that we have for breakfast a couple of times a week. Remembering it is Winter here and a hot breakfast is a great start to the day.
Besides, I am not sure that Stephen will ever get used to a smoothie as correct breakfast food!
In his opinion it is still a drink and not worthy of the name food.

However as a former lover of brown sugar and cream on my oats for breaky, ( and I could still be tempted by this) I admit I found that adding honey was not really doing it for me in regards to sweetener on porridge.

So it came to me that if we could have dates in a soft syrupy form and add those we might be getting somewhere near that lovely creamy sweet porridge I love.

The way I decided to this was from the way I prepared dates for date cake:
I simply put a 500g packet of dried dates into a bowl add two cups of boiling water and 2 teaspoons of bicarb soda .
I generally leave this overnight but it does not have to be that long, at least allow it to cool.

Then pop it in to the blender and pulverize it. You may need to add a little bit of water to your mix as you go, it is a bit of see how you go recipe.

Refrigerate when done and add it to the soaked oats recipe below.
Our Porridge Recipe - adapted from  Nourishing Traditions

This serves our family of 12
6 cups rolled oats add 7 cup warm filtered water plus 14 tablespoons whey, yoghurt, kefir or buttermilk
½ teaspoon sea salt
6 cups  water
 For highest benefits and best assimilation, porridge should be soaked overnight or even longer. Once soaked, oatmeal cooks up in less than 5 minutes—truly a fast food. (Note: Those with severe milk allergies can use lemon juice or vinegar in place of whey, yoghurt, kefir or buttermilk.)


Mix oats with warm water mixture, cover and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours and as long as 24 hours.
Bring an additional 6 cups of water to a boil with sea salt.
Add soaked oats, reduce heat, cover and simmer several minutes.
Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes.
Serve with plenty of butter and date syrup from above



Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Yesterday we made our first ever batch of Buttermilk Scones (Biscuits for my US friends).
These were made from soaking our Spelt flour in buttermilk for 24 hours or more

Yes I know, 'wheat' but you said you were grain  free' and yes I did.
In my research on wheat from Wheat Belly we decided to go completely grain free. From here though after even more research we have re-introduced   spelt, which is an old grain wheat which has not been hybridised as  modern wheat has, on rare occasions.

Interestingly enough William Davis tested old grain wheat,  and in his own research observed that eating spelt did not produce  of the side effects of eating regular wheat.
IN fact we have found the same and although we still rarely use grains of any sort I have found that spelt is quite acceptable to our family diet with no side effects either physically or emotionally.

However to cover both bases I have been soaking any grain we have used: the three types being oats, brown rice and now spelt flour.
The reasons being basically ;that lacto-fermentation makes nutrients in these foods more available and supplies the intestinal tract with health-promoting lactic acid and lactic-acid-producing bacteria. Fermenting grains is a traditional practice that helps make the grains more digestible, and reduces anti-nutrients for better nutritional value."For   more detailed look at this I really recommend the book Nourishing Traditions  


So now we have a few soaked recipes we have used and find them to be 'non reactive for us'


So now I am sure you want to know the recipe we used!
BUTTERMILK BISCUITS ~ recipe is from Nourishing Traditions
Makes about 1 dozen
Ingredients~
3 ½ cups freshly ground spelt, kamut or whole wheat flour  (we used store bought spelt)
1 cup buttermilk (Cultured Butter and Buttermilk)
4 tablespoons melted butter
1½ teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons bicarb soda
unbleached white flour (for dusting)

Method~
Mix flour with buttermilk to form a thick dough.
Cover and leave in a warm place for 12 to 24 hours.
In a bowl we used our dough hook on  a hand held beater.
Add  in remaining ingredients and knead with hook for longer.
Remove dough to a well-floured  board and sprinkle with unbleached white flour to prevent sticking.
Roll dough to about ¾ inch thickness.
Cut biscuits with a glass and place on a buttered baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

I also sprinkle a little milk on top of our scones and this time we made ours date scones so I added  2 tablespoons of coconut sugar to melted butter  and 1 generous cup chopped dates to dough for the  last mix
Corbyn as you see was my baker this time and he loved them even though he does not usually like dates.
Straight out of the oven
and on to the plate.

Frankly they do not last long so be prepared to grab them while hot.

Of course they do taste great with butter and if indulging I am sure a little jam and cream would be just perfect!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

One of the new items in our pantry lately has been buttermilk.

I have used this before occasionally, but tended to make my own 'quick version' that I had found as a fall back measure. Simply- to one cup of milk add two tablespoons of lemon juice. I have used this in my Irish Soda bread for years in this manner.

Since going Grain 'n' Sugar FREE we have been slowly adding some cultured and fermented foods, after reading Nourishing Traditions and will talk more about this at a later date :)

As these tend to have buttermilk, kefir or yoghurt in them I have been buying buttermilk for part of these. As I make yogurt already using more of this was not a problem. I also started making kefir and prefer this to yogurt as it does not have as strong a taste in the soaking process.

However I had not made buttermilk till just recently, in fact it never occurred to me that we could make it properly, well in fact I never even saw it in the supermarket until I was looking for it.
I did object to the price though at just under $3 for 600 ml, but considered it a part of our new eating regime and thus worth it. I did tend to use kefir more as I thought it more economical.
To make this buttermilk you need:
1 cup of cultered buttermilk from the supermarket
3 cups of  whole milk ( I just use regular milk, but you can use raw milk if that is your preference)
A jar with a lid

To make:
Pour the cup of buttermilk into the jar,
add the milk
Close or put the lid on then....
Shake the bottle up and leave on kitchen bench or other warm place for about 24 hours, depending how warm it is.

How do you know it is ready?
When it is ready, ie, the new cultured buttermilk  will coat the glass jar.
Put it in the fridge and it will last for  weeks, or until it is used up.

To re culture follow the steps from the start.
Simple remember the ratio of 1:3 or buttermilk to milk and you can use any quantities you like

Blessings to you and your homes,