Attending the Fun with Fermentation Clinic this past October got me all fired up to conquer the brine.

Mountain Rose Herbs Mercantile hosted a class on how to make Fire Cider.  And when they say fire, they mean fire; horseradish root and jalapeno are just two of the ingredients.  Before this, I had never heard of fire cider and I was so intrigued.  It is said to help boost natural health processes, stimulate digestion and warm you up.

My friend, Tiffany and I getting ready to take our shot of the fire cider made in class.

Just smelling it feels like it clears out all your sinuses.  The initial taste is spicy, like nothing I’ve ever had before, plus it has a really good after taste.

The following recipe is what was shared with us from Mountain Rose Herbs, with credit given to Rosemary Gladstar.

Fire Cider

1/2 cup grated ginger

1/2 cup grated horseradish root

1 medium onion (I used purple for the color contrast), chopped

10 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapenos, minced

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp dried rosemary

1 Tbsp turmeric

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup raw honey

Apple Cider Vinegar

Combine all the ingredients into a quart size mason jar, then pour in the apple cider vinegar to cover the food.  And now for the kicker!  You can either bury, like dig a hole in the ground and cover it with dirt, the jar for 1 month or you can just leave it on your counter for the month, giving it a little shake everyday.  I did the latter, which wasn’t nearly as exciting as burying it.  I had visions of a grand fire cider digging up party, with dancing of course. 😉

Here is the fire cider, all freshly chopped and ready to go!

One month later!

It was fun to watch the process and how it transformed over this time period.  To say I was excited for the taste testing would be an understatement.

You then need to strain it, to just get the liquid to drink.  And as an added bonus, the vegetables can be used in other recipes.

Straining the fire cider

Drinks ready to taste!

Using 1 cup of the strained grub, I incorporated them into a stir fry.  I found what leftover vegetables I had in my fridge and freezer- sugar snap peas, carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, corn, peas and zucchini and cooked it all together in my wok.  I also added in 3 eggs, which is all I had since our chickens are not laying much right now.

It turned out amazing!  I did not have to add one spice or seasoning since it was already so flavorful from the fire cider grub.

 

 

 

 

When I came across this message I sent a friend this past summer, I had to share it; the perfect TBT.

I found the recipe for Lentil Sloppy Joe’s in this beautiful cookbook.

Amazon – The Plantiful Cookbook

This is the real deal; the picture collage was just taken for fun.  There was never any thought that it would be put out onto the world wide web, if so, I probably would have fixed my hair or not even been in it  🙂

The gist of the message was my teenage daughter proclaiming that just because I can put lentils in anything, doesn’t mean that I should- LOL!   And who would have thought that I would start a food blog?  How clairvoyant, maybe this is what planted the seed!

And I thought they were delicious!

Watching That Sugar Film was eye-opening.  I made my whole family watch it too; it’s highly entertaining while delivering an important message.  We’ve been close to sugar free since this documentary came out.  I also receive their emails which periodically post new recipes.  Awhile back, there was one I was sure I just had to try.

That Sugar Film- Puffed Millet Quinoa & Tahini Bars

Now, here’s the problem…. this is an Australian based company.  Which is really not a problem, but being in the States makes it challenging to know exactly what I need to find or what I can substitute.  I already had the cacao, coconut oil, tahini and dates.  I was on a mission to find puffed millet, quinoa flakes and raw buckwheat.  But, it was a half-hearted mission.  I was only going to look at my local supermarket, I was not in the mood to go all over town.  And when they didn’t carry any of these items- I improvised.  I substituted 1 cup of oats for the puffed millet and 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal (whole grain brown rice, corn, sorghum and buckwheat) for the quinoa flakes.  It looked like little flakes and it had buckwheat in it- practically the same thing. 😉

I made it according to the directions and put it in the freezer.

“Interesting” is how I would describe it, but the more I ate it, actually the more I liked it.  My family were not fans.  So, when my friend came over I had her try it.  She had the same impression I did.  Then she suggested drizzling chocolate over the top and when she said that, I thought well, might as well serve it with ice cream too.  When I told my 14 year old this while she was devouring it, she loved it so much, she called us a powerhouse!  Hence the name, since I veered so far off course.  And yes, I feel  guilty that I took a healthy, sugar free desert and made it exactly the opposite.  But, boy was it good.  I had mine with cashew milk vanilla ice cream.

Ever since I began eating a predominantly plant based diet my poor, yet beloved Instant Pot has been neglected.  I was determined to change this, thus began my vigorous Google search for vegan Instant Pot meals, leading me to this recipe.

Vegan Richa- Aloo Palak Dal

I just love the main ingredients; potatoes, spinach and lentils.  I know, I know, I get excited easily!  But, you have to agree with me- how could it be bad!?

I even got to buy a new spice, garam masala.  My little spice brigade.

This is easy to make.  The hardest part is my impatience of waiting for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure.  A watched Instant Pot never pressurizes….

And tada! Almost like magic, Aloo Palak Dal!  And when the whole family happily ate it and my husband even was excited for the leftovers- I call it a win!