Cashew Goji Berry Balls

I've been looking for a way to make healthy granola bars for India. Healthy in the ways of Nourishing Traditions - soaked grains, etc... It's not easy, but my neighbor just shared this recipe with me and India kept asking her for more!


Raw Cashews - don't need to be soaked
Dates
Goji Berries
Coconut flakes- if you like
Sea Salt
Coconut Oil

Food Process until you can press ingredients together. You can put them in plastic wrap as well as change the ingredients to fit your taste. I'm keeping them in the fridge to keep them firm. Let me know if you make them and what you put in them. They would be yummy w/ some cacao chips!

My Nourishing Traditions book came today!

I’m so excited. I had the book for 3 weeks and then needed to return it to the library. There were other requests, so I wasn’t able to renew it. I was furiously copying down recipes on fermenting foods when I decided that this was silly. The book is about $17 on Amazon. I’m going to have to wait weeks to get the book again from the library and this is something that I really want to incorporate into our lives. It seemed important enough for me to buy the book. Our house is real small – about 500 sq feet or so. There is no room for more and I’m always working on “less”. Something else should go, I’m just not at the place yet of one item in one item out.

Before I returned the book I copied the recipe for fermented salsa. It takes 2 days to ferment and then you can refrigerate for a week. I love fresh salsa. I used to make it all the time w/ canned tomatoes. I’ve heard conflicting information about canned tomatoes, so I’m not sure where I stand on them at this time. I think it’s really awesome to get the pro-biotic benefit of a fermented salsa. It’s YUMMY and great for my immune system and digestion. Well, it’s finally done and I got to try it today. I think it looks so pretty in the jar, fermenting. The first bite was a bit pickley or like sour kraut. Then I got into the tomatoes and cilantro. Yum! Salty and tangy. I put it on my quinoa. Then I put a little plain kefir (another pro-biotic) on top and it was like Crème Fraishe or that Mexican sour cream. I think I’m going to like this fermented thing!

My next projects are:

Beets

Potato Cheese – stay posted for this one, it sounds interesting and useful!

Berry Preserves – “jelly w/ healthy probiotics,” I think this stuff is ingenious!

Pickled Cucumbers – my dad’s mom, Grandma Livingston used to make these (I’m sure Grandma and Grandpa Fisher did as well) and send them home with us from Eue Claire, Wisconsin. They were crunchy and sweet. She called them Bread and Butter Pickles, I don’t ever hear anyone talk about Bread and Butter Pickles anymore. I bet there are still B & B Pickles at church potlucks and family picnics in the Midwest. These are less acidic than the vinegar and industrialized method.

Sauerkraut – I am really looking forward to this one. Sauerkraut that is refrigerated in the store contains probiotics, those not, we prepared with heat, so there’s really not much of anything healthy left. My grandparents used to make sauerkraut. I’m not sure how often, but I was there one day/weekend that they were making it. They had a BEAUTIFUL garden off of St. Francis Blvd in Anoka, Minnesota. I’m sure they grew and used their own cabbage. I remember eating some of the sauerkraut before they closed it up to ferment. I got a stomachache and had to use the bathroom after a short time. I think it was the salt (Epsom Salts can be used for constipation). It works! My mom says I was such a strange little kid, bringing sauerkraut to school for lunch. Now that I’ve read Sally Fallons book, I was just a “traditional” little kid raised in the nourishing traditions of some good Germans!

Lentil Tacos

Thank you Constance Griffin Ohlsen, these were WONDERFUL! A neighbor helped us bring the chickens over and deliver our trash to the transfer station. We invited him for supper and he’s a vegetarian. I immediately thought back to a Facebook Conversation that Constance was having with Susan Hegstrom. I think these were the best tacos I’ve ever made. We had them again the next time. Here’s the recipe.

Lentil Tacos
1 cup finely chopped onion

            1 garlic clove, minced

            1 teaspoon coconut oil

            1 cup dried lentils, rinsed – soaked if possible

            1 tablespoon chili powder (left that out for India)

            2 teaspoons ground cumin

            1 teaspoon dried oregano

            2 1/2 cups Vegetable or chicken broth

            1 cup salsa

            12 taco shells

            1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce

            1 cup chopped fresh tomato

            1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

            6 tablespoons Plain Kefir or Cultured Sour Cream

Directions

In a large nonstick skillet, sauté the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly.

Stir in salsa or leave for the top. Spoon about 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream.