fermented foods – Page 2 – The Vegan Love Project

Sticky Sesame Ginger Tempeh

This is so delicious, fast and easy to make. I eat this with sprouted quinoa or brown rice with a big side of fresh or sautéed greens.

SO FRICKEN YUM.

Sticky Sesame Ginger Tempeh

1 package of tempeh, cut in half, then evenly into slices

1large clove garlic, smashed and minced

3T extra virgin olive oil

2” piece of fresh ginger, grated

2T unhulled sesame seeds black or white

2T shoyu or tamari

1t hot sesame oil

3T grade B maple syrup or agave

In a large cast iron skillet or frying pan, heat up over medium heat, add the oil and the garlic and distribute the garlic around the pan- add in the tempeh, face down neatly in the pan.

Pan fry for about 2-3 minutes or until browned, then flip- add more oil if the pan is dry, and continue to pan fry until the 2^nd side is golden brown.

Add in the sesame seeds, grated ginger, and the hot sesame oil and turn the heat up to medium high and then deglaze the hot pan with the shoyu/tamari- toss the tempeh in the pan until the pan is dry and all of the sauce is coating the tempeh. Add the maple syrup all over the top and toss quickly to coat. Cook only until the maple syrup begins to caramelize and thicken, about 1-2 minutes. Turn out into a serving dish.

CAREFUL NOT TO TASTE OFF OF ANY SPOONS! CARAMEL IS REALLLLLY HOT AND STICKY!

Ellen’s AWESOME White Girl KimChee

I FRICKEN LOVE KIMCHEE.….I’m not sure what I love about it most, making it or eating it. There is something about the process of making it that has culture, devotion and love wrapped in the creation of this amazing fermented food. It is said that whatever you send into the making of it will be in the end result… So like this morning, I was working LOVE into this latest batch, and to drive the point home, I labeled it on the glass to “feed” the ferment. This is so easy and seems like it would be much more complicated but it is so simple, and could easily be made in a small urban kitchen. You can vary the veggies, change the seasonings or could go straight up traditional. Below ismy take on the best fricken KimChee. I used local cabbage, carrots, onions, and garlic- but use what you have available to you!

Cabbage Prep

1 head Nappa Cabbage

water to cover the leaves

3T pink salt

Pull the leaves off whole from the base of the cabbage and wash well, trimming off any parts you wouldn’t want to consume (ends, dark spots).

In a LARGE non-reactive bowl like glass or true stainless steel (or plastic but I’m not a fan), line the leaves in and with each layer, sprinkle salt over them, then continue to layer the leaves, salting them, layering new leaves etc. Gently pour enough water over the top of the salted leaves then place a large plate (or two) to keep the leaves immersed. Leave this overnight. When ready to use them, drain the water off and rip the leaves into desired size

Ellen’s AWESOME KimChee

1 head prepared salted Nappa Cabbage leaves- torn up into small pieces

1/2 of one onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

1/2 of one red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 carrot, shredded

2″ piece of fresh ginger, grated

1t dried chili pepper ( more or less to suit your spice)

1-2T Pink salt ( I believe in going heavier in the salt, so taste your mix along the way to add more if necessary.

2t smoked chipotle powder

1T raw agave

In a large bowl, toss all of the ingredients together and massage the veggies and spices together for a good 5-6 minutes to break down the veggies- the juices will start to be released- you want this! This is where you massage into the mix whatever you want or desire, LOVE, PEACE,HAPPINESS, POWER or all of them!! Mind your thoughts!!! No one gonna want to eat your bad mood- including you!!!

Have a clean bell jar or lock lid glass container ready to go, quart size. Start by putting some of the mix into the jar and pack it down firmly each time you add more with the top of your fingers. Add all of the remaining liquid the mix has created, this is the brine (filled with probitiotics and if you are lucky to have more, it is a great addition to savory green juices!!)

Leave about an inch or 2 at the top of the jar/container and then close it up tightly. This is where I literally write on the jar what is “cooking”. You leave this gorgeous concoction on the counter at room temperature for 2-3 days (less if it’s super warm out).

After about 2-3 days it’s ready to eat! Put the mix into the fridge to slow down the ongoing fermentation- which will continue in the fridge, making it more sour and even more flavorful. The longer you let it ferment, the more beneficial bacteria there will be.

Because your KimChee is living, always use a clean utensil when dipping into it!

Spicy Sesame Tofu

I didn’t even press the tofu- which lends for a firmer texture, and it came out awesome. Fresh ginger would be and is AMAZING in this, I just didn’t have any in the house. I ate this with a big bowl of Sautéed Kale and Sprouted Quinoa, and my homemade Siracha Sauce. FRICKEN DELICIOUS.

Spicy Sesame Tofu

1-pound firm tofu, cut into cubes

2T extra virgin olive oil

1T tamari or shoyu

2t agave or maple syrup

½ of one fresh hot pepper or 1/2t hot pepper flakes

1 clove garlic, smashed and minced

2T nutritional yeast

1t hot sesame oil

1/4t pink salt

2T un-hulled sesame seeds

*fresh ginger

In a large skillet or frying pan, heat up the oil and add the garlic, hot pepper and sesame seeds and sauté just until barely golden. Add in the tofu and pan fry over medium high heat, tossing often to brown all sides- about 6 minutes. Add in the tamari or shoyu and coat the tofu well by tossing the tofu around the hot pan- almost until the tofu appears dry. Add in the sweetener and the hot sesame oil and continue to toss. In the last moments of cooking, add in the nutritional yeast and coat the tofu. Serve hot or cold.

*Fresh ginger is AMAZING in this. Add in 1” piece- grated when sautéing the garlic.

Homemade Fermented Sriracha Sauce (sweet hot chili sauce)

This stuff is STRAIGHT UP AWESOME. Fermented, local, fricken amazing….I used my fermented hot sauce as the base and tried to get it taste like my favorite sulfite sugar laden bottled stuff…..I NAILED IT. I gather you could make this simply using fresh peppers, garlic etc, but the fermented aspect gives it a flavor unlike anything just raw can do…. I use this sauce on everything, from beans to rice, tofu, tempeh, sandwiches- EVERYTHING….I’m sorta in shock I made it taste so good….. 🙂

See for yourself and tell me how it goes!

Sriracha Sauce

3C fermented hot peppers or 2c blended fermented hot sauce

1c raw local honey or raw agave

2T heaping mellow white miso- more if needed

1 clove garlic

1/2t pink salt

In a blender, combine all ingredients and process until completely smooth. Taste for sweeter or adjust for more salt. Bottle and refrigerate.

Makes 5-6 5oz bottles, or just one really giant awesome home batch.

Raw Cashew Cream Cheese

This cheese is EXCEPTIONAL….full of pro-biotics (belly healthful bacteria), it is incredibly creamy and delicious. Easy easy easy to make. It’s raw, its animal free, dairy free, gluten free AMAZINGNESS…..It’s sort of like, why WOULDN’T you make it?….

Raw Cashew Cream Cheese- Savory

1c raw cashews

1c raw sauerkraut (not pasteurized)

1T dulse flakes

1t raw agave or raw local honey

1 clove garlic

1/2t pink salt

3T of coconut oil

3-4T water- just enough to process until smooth- less is better!

—

In a blender, add in all of the ingredients except the water and blend until totally creamy and smooth. Add the water as needed, 1T at a time. Pour into a jar with a locking lid (gasket, air sealed) and close it up. There should be at least 3 inches of space to give the cheese a chance to bloom. Label it, date it and place in a dark and warm place for 12-24 hours.

Transfer the jar into the refrigerator and allow to set up and cure for at least a week.

This is a pro-biotic rich cheese!

Delicious as a base for savory dips and spreads
Amazing spread on toast, bagels, and crackers

Pan Fried Tempeh (made with Local Tempeh!)

I was in no mood to cook, I was relieved when I only needed to unscrew the cap off the bottle of wine….. However, I had left over quinoa in the fridge, a garden full of gorgeous kale and yesterday I bought a beautiful, unpasteurized, locally made, brick of tempeh, made by Hosta HIll at the Greenfield Farmer’s Market. Since finding out that Lightlife Foods, my favorite tempeh (and typically the only tempeh offered) has since been bought out by ConAgra (a GMO supported CORP), I haven’t been eating much tempeh- so when I saw it, I snapped it up. Cooked all in the same pan; first the tempeh, then the kale, then the quinoa- it made for a super simple and delicious Sunday night dinner. I ate it with some Sriracha sauce with a side of Buch and a glass of wine…..FRICKEN YUM.

Pan Fried Tempeh

1 package of tempeh, cut in half then sliced

1 clove garlic, smashed and minced

3T olive oil

1t fresh hot pepper *opt

Salt and pepper to taste

In a hot sauté pan, add the oil and the garlic and sauté until just golden. Add the hot pepper and the tempeh and pan fry until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Flip to brown the other side.

You can vary the taste by pre-marinating the tempeh in flavors of your choosing.

Serve as part of a simple meal with a grain (quinoa, rice) and green (kale, chard, cabbage) with a sauce of your choosing. I love Sriracha sauce or my homemade fermented Hot Sauce.

KOMBUCHA!

I have been wanting to share my passion for making Kombucha for a while now, so in lieu of a workshop, here is the written lesson. I love kombucha. I love making it, I love drinking it, I love everything it represents- to me it is a sort of guerrilla slow fermented food movement of health, wellness and culture- literally. The culture is called a SCOBY and there is lots of info out on the web about it’s amazing characteristics- for our purposes, this is the straight up recipe to get you going on your Kombucha trail blazing path. I have LOTS of SCOBY’s so if you are in the need for a Kombucha Start Up Kit (funnels, strainers, scoby and starter tea) email me. This will make 7 pints of Booch. I drink one a day so I am in the rhythm of fermenting, bottling, and then making the tea all over again, pretty consistently. I also always do a 2nd fermentation- meaning, the first time is just to ferment the tea, the 2nd ferment is flavoring and fizzing after the 1st ferment tea has been made (7-9 days). After flavoring, I bottle it in glass bottles with a gasket tops to create fizz. I will describe my kombucha making process and if you should have questions, just post them.

What you will need to make 1st fermentation batch:

A healthy SCOBY
1c starter tea (previously made from the last batch)
5 tea bags- I use 2 black 2 green and 1 of a rose or pomegranate flavored tea
12c water (4c hot water to brew tea, 8c cold once tea is brewed)
1c sugar (I use organic sucanat or organic cane sugar)
label and marker

In a large tempered heat proof glass vessel, add the sugar, tea bags and water just to cover to steep, making a sweet tea mix. Once this has brewed, 5-7 minutes, remove the tea bags and pour the remaining cold water in. Add the starter tea and the SCOBY. Cover with a clean towel and secure the towel in place with an elastic band. On a label, mark the date and when you will be checking it. So for today, I marked 9/2 (the day I made the tea) and 9/11 (the day I will be checking it for doneness) Set this aside on the counter, out of the way or in a cabinet, and do not move or disturb for at least 7 days. As the tea ferments, it will be eating the sugar, so more days fermenting equals less sugar. It also tends to get a vinegary taste- some love, some not so much. I prefer mine in between so 8-9 days is how long I let mine go for. You can start tasting it after 7 days. It will also ferment more quickly in a hot space or in the summer months.

You can drink the tea as is. In order to do that, you will want to strain out the SCOBY, and the new baby SCOBY that this batch JUST made. (it will make one every time you brew! You can give these away, use then in addition to your mother SCOBY and make them stronger, some people blend them up and use them as a facial mask or you can simply compost them)

*When saving SCOBYS, save enough of the tea you just made to cover it, place it in a jar and in the fridge.

2nd Ferment, what you will need:

glass swing-top bottles with rubber gaskets
fruit flavoring *optional, about 1c fruit
pinch sugar for each bottle
label and marker

When my tea is done, I take out the SCOBYS and set them aside in a glass jar the tea they just made- they are ready for another batch of tea. This doesn’t have to happen immediately. You can leave them in the jar, in the tea, until you are ready to brew again.

I flavor my tea with organic freeze dried fruit, real fruit purees, frozen fruit- whatever you can get your hands on. You will note certain fruits enhance both the flavors and the fizz due to their sugar content. My favorite is to use freeze dried strawberries- this is especially awesome when my base tea has Rose flavored tea in it- SO GOOD. So I place the fruit right into the brew vessel, cover it again with the towel, and place a rubber band around the top to keep flies out. I let this stand overnight to mingle their flavors. The next day, I strain everything out and pour the flavored tea into bottles, lock the lids, date and label the bottles and let stand on the counter for 3-5 days. *CAUTION- contents under pressure can explode- this is especially true for brews with a higher sugar content. Start conservatively with your fermenting days, especially using glass bottles, until you get comfortable and into a rhythm.

I LOVE BOOCH.

Fermented Hot Sauce!

This stuff is BOMB. I started making it last year and could not wait for this summer to roll around to plant all of the peppers I could to make it again. SO SIMPLE. You can use any variety of hot peppers, I use a mix of Hot Cherry Bombs, Cayenne, Jalapeño, and Chili’s. Depending on the kind of heat you prefer, you could totes add Scotch Bonnets and Habañeros to the mix for a hotter hot or add some sweet peppers to make it more like a homemade Sriracha Sauce. I also add in some fresh ginger, garlic in addition to the salt in the brine. I eat it on sandwiches, with tofu, just about anywhere I want a little kick in the pants. SO. GOOD.

You Will Need:

A glass jar with a gasket lock-tite lid
2-3″ piece of fresh ginger
3-4 cloves of fresh garlic
*Salt
3-4c prepared hot/sweet pepper mix, de-stemmed and at least split so that the brine can penetrate the pepper
*Brine: Mix 1 heaped tablespoon of a mineral rich good sea salt, like pink or celtic sea salt, per quart water.
a small dish to weigh the peppers down once the lid is sealed to keep them under the brine

Hot Sauce

In the clean glass jar, start layering the peppers, ginger and garlic in, tightly packing them and also pounding them in to crush them somewhat.
Layer them tightly! You can salt as you go or you can pre-mix your saltwater brine and pour over the pepper mix.
Leave about 2 inches of space from the top. I use a little porcelain ramekin and close it down with lid onto the peppers (do this over the sink so as not to let what spills out spill all over!)

All of the goodness should be completely submersed under the brine.

THATS’ IT! I put this in my dehydrator, not on, so it can do it’s thing in a safe, warm, undisturbed place for at least two weeks.

After several days you will see bubbles start to happen- Don’t open the jar! TWO WEEKS.

After two weeks, in the sink, because the contents are now under pressure, carefully open the jar- You will most definitely get a POP.

Pour this directly into your food processor or vita-mix and puree completely with ALL of the brine included. If you need more liquid, you can add a little bit of raw apple cider vinegar to the blender. Bottle and store refrigerated. AMAAAAAAZINGNESS.