I really should stop promising things. It just makes me sound silly.
I wish I had someone else to blame this one, but I don't. I just haven't been that "in" to most of my cook books lately.
I've been winging it, and trying to simplify. I really wasn't sure how to go about managing our new 'nutrient dense' way of eating, and modify existing recipes.
But, I did head straight to the library after I had seen this cook book mentioned for about the third time while reading about different nutrition things here and there.
I've heard the name Sally Fallon and Dr. Weston Price name sprinkled around. Looking at the cover I just had to check out a book that "Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats". It sounds perfectly 'fight the power' and subtly snarky, and I think I could nourish myself quite well with those 2 things.
This book is hefty with nutrition information. The beginning closely resembles what you would find in a nutrition textbook, relating basic food elements and science. It is highly slanted towards the Weston A. Price theory of eating, but she is the president, and I believe they have it quite right.
Sally Fallon and the Price Foundation really truly believe in the science behind nutrition and finding the why of non-industrialized eating.
This is not a strict Paleo book if that's what you are looking for. This is a book about nutrient density (my preferred description). There are grains in this book, but she highly recommends soaking all grains as that is what most civilizations have done to be able to tolerate them, and for maximum nutrient absorption.
I really enjoyed reading EVERY page of this book. Even the portion of the book that is recipes (and that is large) is sprinkled with more nutrition facts. Facts line every page of this beast of a book.
Not only is the book full of amazing information of science and true nourishment, but the food is delicious.
Often I get really hyped about a nourishing bit of info, only to find the food recommending to go with it falls short of my desire for amazing tasting food.
That dish up there is Moroccan chicken and it is an unforgettable recipe. It was easy, interesting, rich, and my kids have actually begged me to make it every day since.
My favorite part of the book is the fermented section. Fallon goes into great detail about the nutrition benefits of eating fermenting foods. I think as a culture, we've strayed the farthest from this classification of foods. The simple reason for why - sugar.
Fermenting foods was a classic and simple way to preserve the nutrients and shelf life of our foods. It provided us with good bacteria and was once a staple with our meals. Now sugar has become the great sustainer of shelf life, but giving us absolutely nothing by way of nutrients. It has in fact damaged us as a being (take that you diet dictocrats).
Most of the fermented recipes are 'lacto' fermented, using whey. I thought this would mean ordering things from a catalog and super science projects on my counters. Turns out, I just let my coveted yogurt drain a bit, and I've got whey. Then, it's just simply mixing the recipes, a tight lid, a couple days on the counter and you've fermented.
Those are the best jarred beets I've ever had. I hate how most pickled beets are just sweet. These are almost effervescent from the fermentation, but still retain the slightly sweet slightly earthy flavor of an honest beet.
I fermented some carrots and ginger that are perfect with a nice fatty carnitas or grilled meat.
My favorite and not pictured yet is the fermented ketchup. It's so much more flavorful that anything you've ever tasted from the store, and it's going to keep very well.
I'm extremely happy with this cookbook and after just reading the first few recipes I went ahead and hopped on over to Amazon to order my own copy.
There's so many recipes that I'm excited to try - Ginger Beer, Kimchi, Avocado Grapefruit Salad, Duck Stew with Dried Cherries, and Berry Syrup (it's fermented).
There's a significant section of organ meats, and I'm not there yet, but I can understand the significance.
I'll try and post some more of my favorites from this book. There's so many on my list to try that I really hope to stay true to my word on this one.
6 comments:
I'm very curious to see the recipe for fermented ketchup. I love making ketchup at home, and will be making a batch later this week.
Your habits really rub off of me. First chia, now kombucha - I got a bottle at the store and am trying to grow a fat little mother:) Next, fermentation!
I think my mother is coming along. It looks worse, but I think it's supposed to.
This is the ketchup recipe:
3 cups canned tomato paste, preferably organic
1/4 cup whey
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
1/2 cup homemade :) or commercial fish sauce
Mix all ingredients until well blended. Place in a quart-sized, wide mouth mason jar. The top of the ketchup should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Leave at room temperature for about 2 days before transferring to refrigerator.
I made 1/2 a recipe in case it wasn't good. It's much thicker and much less sweeter than any recipe I've ever tried. I do love it because it's very flavorful and still zippy enough to be considered ketchup.
I've been seeking out more of your favorite food. Chocolate has become my favorite dessert b/c it's easy to just have little bits at a time, and the dark stuff is so rich.
Where do you find such exotic chocolate fair? Whole Foods appears to have a large chocolate array, but really it's not as cool as the stuff you find.
Very interesting. I don't have any plain yogurt at the moment, but I'm looking forward to trying this. Homemade fish sauce, there's an idea. Can't say it ever crossed my mind to trying making that one (ick, think how long the smell would remain in your kitchen!).
I've actually never bought chocolate at Whole Foods. I did see a pretty good selection at a Whole Foods near Miami last year, but not such a happenin' selection at the one here in Maine, so it definitely varies by store.
I buy most of mine either at specialty kitchenwares/chocolate/candy shops, or from the chocolate folks themselves, when I'm out and about. Many stores ship good products, so you could get them sent straight to your door. Try the French Broad Chocolate Lounge (Asheville - which I talked about a lot last year), or Formaggio Kitchen (Cambridge/Boston), or The Meadow (Portland/NYC). I haven't bought anything online before...
By the way, did you manage to find that raw chocolate from Sedona that I wrote about a while back?
When I looked it up I saw that I could get it from this place here in Sedona:
http://chocolatree.com/
We're planning on taking the kids up there soon so I thought I'd drop in.
The restaurant is so very Sedona. I don't know if you've ever been there or heard about it? Sedona is absolutely one of the most beautiful places here, it's also said that there is a "vertex" of healing there. It attracts a large holistic crowd and then some. It's way touristy now, but my mom used to go on the weekends there to Slide Rock with all the other hippies. I think one of them decided they could make a lot of money calling it a healing vertex and now the environment is nearly ruined. Slide Rock is usually closed due to river contamination. We take the kids way up stream and hike around.
Now I can torture them with a raw food establishments for lunch :) AND buy chocolate.
That explains why my boyfriend's hippie parents chose Sedona to visit, hah. I've never been, but sheesh to the environmental degradation. Oh no, my chakras!
Let me know if you like the chocolate once you try it out. Maybe you could do a post on your other blog so I could see what the scenery looks like? Or.. the hippies? :P
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