Kefir

Kefir fermenting next to sprouts and
sourdough - my kitchen is full of life!

At the end of last year, I read a book called Cultured Food for Health by Donna Schwenk. She described how kefir, kombucha and cultured vegetables had healed her family's allergies, digestive problems, immune problems etc. by creating a healthy bacterial environment in their bodies.

I'm a firm believer in food as medicine, and I like growing things, so I ordered some kefir grains from her and embarked on a journey of fermentation.

Kefir is similar to yogurt but has far more beneficial bacteria per tablespoon than yogurt does. It also has beneficial yeasts that scavenge bad yeasts. Both the good bacteria and good yeasts colonize your intestines, creating the optimal environment for absorption of nutrients from the food you eat.

The kefir you get at the store is probably runny and sour. The kefir I make at home is rich and creamy with a tang (sometimes more tang than others - making kefir is an art, not a science). I think because kefir is a living food, the long storage and transportation times required to get it to market make it deteriorate a little, leading to the sour taste. (Think of the difference between a supermarket tomato and a homegrown tomato.)

Some people say the good bacteria in store-bought kefir has all died because it's pasteurized. I don't know. I do know that the kefir I make is a living food, and takes care and tending. In return it gives us a lovely yogurt that has replaced the St. Benoit yogurt in Larry's lunch box. And kefir cheese is simple to make into a fabulous healthy appetizer that amazed Tracie when she visited last week.

Tomorrow, I'll take you step by step through how I make our kefir.

Yummy Potatoes

Sometimes, when I feel Larry has eaten enough weird healthy vegetable dishes for a while, I serve him some yummy potatoes. Potatoes are happy food, pretty much any way they're served.

Of course, he helps by going to the library and getting books  like Smashed, Mashed, Boiled and Baked: A Celebration of Potatoes in 75 Irresistible Recipes by Raghavan Iyer.

Iyer's previous book was 660 Curries, so you know he likes flavorful food.

The other night I made his recipe for Moroccan Potato Stew with Saffron Biscuits. I think it would have been delicious without the biscuits, but heck, why not go all out on potato night.

Needless to say, the dish was a hit. In fact, it was even a hit on the 3rd night of leftovers. The seasonings were robust and the vegetables blended beautifully with them. The simple biscuits were delicious, even without the saffron. (I remember using the last of my saffron and deciding it was time to start growing my own saffron crocus. While I still want to do that, in the meantime I think I'd better just buy some more to last until the fall harvest. I'm sure the biscuits would have been even better with a little included.)

This is really a healthy recipe. Chickpeas and spinach, sweet potatoes as well as white — it's not that different to the food we usually eat. Maybe that's why I made the biscuits — it's important to be a little decadent on yummy potato night.

I did alter Iyer's recipe a little to suit what I had in the house. I hope you do the same thing when you cook the recipes on this blog. After all, half the fun of cooking is experimenting.

Here's what I did:

Moroccan Potato Stew with Biscuits
2/3 cup chickpeas
1 lb potatoes
1/2 lb sweet potatoes
1 tbsp oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 inch cinnamon stick
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp smoked chili flakes
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
14oz can diced tomatoes
1 bunch spinach

Cook the chickpeas in simmering water until tender, 2-3 hours depending on the age of the beans. Or cook them in a pressure cooker for 22 minutes and let the pressure come down on its own. (Or use 2 15-oz cans chickpeas.) Drain and set aside.

Peel the white and sweet potatoes; cut into 1-inch cubes. Put in a bowl and cover with water so they don't turn grey before you need them.

Grind the coriander, cumin and cinnamon in a spice grinder (or coffee maker reserved for spices) until they are a fine powder. Pour into a small bowl and stir in the paprika, chili flakes, salt and turmeric.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. When it begins to shimmer, add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring regularly, until they start to brown around the edges. Stir in the spice blend and stir for about 15 seconds until wonderfully fragrant. Pour in the can of diced tomatoes (including the liquid),  2 cups water, cooked chickpeas and drained potatoes. Stir it all together well so the vegetables are coated with the spices. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, until the potatoes are tender.

Wash the spinach and remove any tough stems. Stir into the pot. Cover and let steam until cooked, about 3-5 minutes.

You can eat this excellent stew now, or you can go wild and put biscuits on top.

Biscuits
2 cups white flour (plus extra for dusting)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
4 tbsp butter, cut in slices and chilled
1 cup keffir or buttermilk
1/2 cup whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 475°F. Pour the cooked stew into an ovenproof casserole.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add chilled butter and break it up into pea-size pieces with your fingers as you mix it in.

Stir in the keffir and whipping cream to make a wet batter.

Mound a half cup of flour on a large board or surface. Cover your hands with flour too. Scoop up 1/3 cup batter with your well-floured hands and drop it into the mound of flour. Gently roll it around to coat it completely with flour, then shape it into a biscuit and put it on the stew. Repeat with all the dough — you'll have 6-7 biscuits.

Place the casserole, uncovered, into the oven and bake until the biscuits are browned on top, about 25 minutes.

Serves 6

Sunday Shopping

I did not feel like buying food or planning menus this morning. We have a new fridge — which is a whole other story — and I can't figure out how to store vegetables in it. (I think this new generation of fridges is built for people who eat out of boxes.)

However, we needed organic fruit and eggs. And going to the Hollywood Farmers Market means I can skip Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

And when we got to the market, boy were we glad we made the effort. Finley Farms had the first corn of the year.  Organic, fresh on the cob — it will make for happy meals this week no matter what we excavate from our fridge.

And Flora Bella was there with shisito peppers. This will be a good week of eating.

Here's a list of the organic food we came home with: eggs, celery, shisito peppers, corn on the cob, small beets with their greens, peaches, nectarines, avocados, santa rosa plums, tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, red gold potatoes, orin apples, sundowner apples, pink lady apples, grapefruit, pomelos, romaine lettuce, gold dust peaches, red onion, yellow onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes.

Kefir Cheese with Flowers

As an appetizer on Sunday, I served kefir cheese with herbs and flowers. It was great on rye crisps as well as on carrot and celery sticks.

To make it, I stirred nasturtium petals, Egyptian walking onion leaves, mint and dill (along with a little sea salt) into homemade kefir cheese.

The cheese was made by spooning kefir into a coffee filter-lined strainer and letting it drain for a couple of hours. A creamy cheese formed in the strainer, and nutritious watery whey drained into the bowl underneath.

A lot of people have told me that drinking probiotic-full kefir is tough because it is so sour. Somehow, making it into cheese takes away the sourness but none of the beneficial bacteria. (Putting a strip of lemon peel in the kefir while you strain it helps too.) And it makes a wonderful creamy dip when you add your favorite seasonings.

Gold Dust Peaches

I stopped at the Mud Creek Ranch farm stand at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sunday to admire their selection of peaches. They had three varieties of tiny, 2-bite peaches — including donut peaches and heirloom gold dust peaches.

Thinking they were all a lovely size to serve whole for dessert, I asked the farmer what the taste difference was between them. She said the donut peaches and the other unlabeled kind were very sweet, but the gold dust peaches had the best peach flavor.

I'd eaten great donut peaches before (you can see my post here), but never tried gold dust peaches. I love new things, so I brought some home to try.

Wow, were they good. Sweet and peachy and juicy — we couldn't stop at just one each.

Eating unusual yet awesome heirloom varieties makes the effort of getting to a farmers market completely worthwhile.

Sautéed Zucchini

I served a cooling lunch of barley-chickpea salad and heirloom tomato salad on Sunday. Then I added a quick warm dish to add contrast.

I thinly sliced a few small zucchini and sautéed them in a little olive oil with a whole clove of garlic that I then discarded.

Sprinkled with parsley and adorned with a nasturtium flower, they made a nice slightly crunchy addition to the meal.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

The tomatoes on the plants in our garden are still green, but Tutti Frutti has been selling beautiful heirloom tomatoes for a couple of weeks. I assume they're greenhouse grown, but they're still ripe and juicy.

However, since they don't have the acidity of field-grown tomatoes, I tossed them with a mustardy dressing and our spicy homegrown arugula to make an assertive side to our barley salad on Sunday.

Tracie thought they were the best dish of the day and kept spooning them onto her plate. She was sure there was balsamic vinegar on them, but there wasn't.

Here's the recipe so she (and you) can reproduce it at home. It will be good with non-heirloom tomatoes and less-fiery store-bought arugula as well. (Although it's worth growing arugula just to have its pretty peppery flowers as a garnish.)

Heirloom Tomato Salad

1 tsp dijon mustard

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp minced shallot

1 tbsp minced chives or Egyptian Walking Onion leaves

3 tbsp olive oil

1 lb heirloom tomatoes

1 cup arugula leaves

sprinkle of fleur de sel

Whisk together the mustard, vinegar, shallot, chives and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. This will make extra dressing that is great on romaine lettuce. It will last a couple of weeks in the fridge.

Cut the tomatoes in chunks. Add the arugula leaves, torn in pieces if large.

Sprinkle about a third of the dressing over the vegetables and toss gently. Put in a serving dish, sprinkle with some fleur de sel, and garnish with arugula flowers.

Serves 4

Bean and Barley Salad

It was hot on Sunday but I was determined that we would eat lunch outside.

So as the main course I served a chilled bean and barley salad. Fresh herbs added zest to the complete protein of beans and grains. I had planned to scatter feta over the top, but I forgot. It was still yummy. (I would have used about 2oz diced feta.)

Barley is best known as a soup grain, but it makes a lovely salad — more interesting and less dry than rice.

This salad is also good with black beans. And the herbs and vegetables can be swapped out for whatever is in your fridge.

The salad lasts well for a few days - I'll be eating the leftovers for lunch this week.

Bean and Barley Salad
2/3 cup chickpeas or other beans (or 2 14-oz cans)
1 cup barley
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup diced celery
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 tsp grated lemon rind
3 tbsp lemon juice

Cook the chickpeas until tender. (In a pressure cooker it will take 22 minutes. In a pot of boiling water, 2-3 hours.) Drain and set aside to cool. (Or drain and rinse the canned beans.)

Cook barley in simmering water until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine cherry tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, parsley, mint, celery and red onion. Stir in the chickpeas and barley. Toss with the lemon rind and juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper (more salt than you might think — the barley can take a lot).

Chill until ready to serve.

Garnish with watercress, nasturtium flowers and feta if desired.

Sunday lunch

Lunch prep

Trace came for lunch on Sunday. It's always great to see her, and because I know she appreciates our connection with nature in our garden and in our kitchen, I enjoyed putting together a simple al fresco meal. Food tastes so much better enjoyed outdoors, and we had the added entertainment of watching the finches flutter in the fountain and the butterflies flit around the flowers.

From the garden I picked tall stems of flowering arugula, nasturtiums, watercress, lemon and mint. Our favorite organic farmers supplied zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, parsley, dill and barley.

It was a simple meal. Appetizers were keffir cheese with herbs and flowers, rye crisp and crudités. The main course was a chilled salad of barley and chickpeas with fresh herbs. An heirloom tomato salad and some sautéed zucchini rounded out the meal.

Dessert was an array of peaches, ice cream and brownies. I had brownies in the freezer — leftovers from a batch I made a few weeks ago. I churned some strawberry ice cream while we ate breakfast, and we had scoops of it and of the mango ice cream with a swirl of our homegrown blackberries that I made last week. (I'm making a lot of ice cream these days. Not sure why, but so far no complaints.)

It was a light meal that tempted the appetite but didn't leave us feeling sleepy and overfed. After Tracie left I headed out to do some digging.

There's no place better than a garden in summer.

Sunday Shopping

It was a quiet morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market. We power shopped and then stopped at the Hollywood Home Depot on the way home. We were rushing because Tracie was coming for lunch and I wanted some digging time in the garden before then.

This is the organic produce we brought home with us:

red onion, cucumber, zucchini, feta, heirloom tomatoes, lacinato kale, asparagus, dill, cilantro, romaine lettuce, nectarines, peaches, pink lady apples, eggs, avocados, green beans, grapefruit.

Bean Salad with Celery and Cilantro

Bean salads are great in bagged lunches. They are a good source of protein and they travel well. This week we've been eating this refreshing salad made with celery and cilantro.

I sometimes make it using chickpeas or kidney beans or tongue of fire beans or pinquitos. This time I used Trail of Tears because I had them in the cupboard and I thought the color contrast would be pretty.

The soft beans play against the crunch of the celery and red onion. I like the cilantro, but sometimes I use chopped gherkins instead.

The key is to toss the beans with the dressing while they are still warm. They then absorb some of the dressing as they cool down and become really flavorful.

Bean Salad with Celery and Cilantro
1 cup dried Trail of Tears beans
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3-4 tsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped red onion (or more to taste)
3 tbsp olive oil

Pick over the beans, discarding any that you don't like the look of. Rinse them, then put in a pot with water to cover by 2-4 inches, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently until tender. This will take 1-3 hours depending on the age and type of bean.

(Alternatively use 2 14-oz cans of beans. Drain and rinse them then continue. But they won't taste quite as good.)

Drain the cooked beans and put in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the vinegars and some salt and pepper. Toss gently and let the beans sit at room temperature until they are cool enough to eat.

Stir in the celery, cilantro, red onion and olive oil. Toss well. Season with more salt and pepper as needed.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Serves 4-6

Cauliflower and Beet Salad

Continuing the theme of vegetable salads, this beauty showcases the contrasting colors of beets and cauliflower. Decorative hard boiled egg and fresh sprouts up the protein without making it too heavy to eat on these warm summer evenings.

If you've only ever eaten mushy canned beets, try buying fresh beets and roasting them. It will be a revelation. They are tender yet firmly hold their shape. And they have an earthy flavor that goes beautifully with zesty lemony dressings like this one.

The cauliflower and beets are cooked separately and seasoned, then arranged together on a plate with the dressing poured over.

It's a pretty and nourishing supper. Leftovers are good the next day too.

Cauliflower and Beet Salad
3 medium beets, about 3/4 lb
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 egg
1 head of cauliflower (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sliced shallot
2 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp mint
radish sprouts to garnish (opt)

If your beets came with greens, cut them off and save them for a dish of wilted greens. Scrub the roots well and bake them in a 400° oven until they are tender. This will take roughly 45 minutes to an hour depending on how big the beets are. Set them aside to cool a little, then peel if desired (not necessary but maybe prettier) and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. Toss with a couple of teaspoons each of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Pierce the thick end of the egg lightly with a pin (so it doesn't explode) then place in a small pan of boiling water and cook 10 minutes. Drain and fill the pan with cold water to let the egg cool a little. When you can handle it, crack and peel the shell off, and dice the egg finely.

Cut the cauliflower in inch-size (or slightly larger) florets. Steam until tender, about 6-8 minutes. Put in a bowl and toss with another couple of teaspoons of olive oil and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Marinate the sliced shallot in 2 tbsp red wine vinegar in a small bowl for 5 minutes. Add the parsley, mint, and 5 tbsp olive oil. Fold in the chopped egg and again season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the beets around the edges of a platter. Pile the cauliflower in the middle. Spoon the egg dressing decoratively over the salad and scatter sprouts or more herbs decoratively.

Serves 3-4

Morning Fruit

We enjoy eating fresh organic fruit every morning. Grapefruit usually forms the base. This week, we're adding our homegrown blueberries and blackberries.

This is so much prettier (and I'm sure more nutritious) than a vitamin pill.

Cooking with Flowers

 I was buying cherry tomatoes from an organic farmer on Sunday when I noticed he also had nasturtium flowers for sale. I asked him how he cooked them. He said he often makes squash blossom quesadillas, and sometimes adds the nasturtium flowers to them.

Yum, I thought. For lunch, I defrosted some corn tortillas, scattered them with cheddar cheese and our homegrown blossoms of nasturtiums and zucchini. I added some sprigs of our watercress for some zing.

I toasted them on my cast iron griddle, and served them with a scattering of radish sprouts (fresh from our sprouter) and a few more sprigs of watercress.

It was a quick fun lunch. I'll be making it again.

Sunday Shopping

It was an overcast morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market, which somehow made the greens look more vibrant.

I had been busy in the garden all week, so we took my pruning shears for Russ to sharpen while we bought our groceries.

Even though we were at the market before it opened, crowds of other people buying cherries and peaches were early too. Navigating around the hand carts added an extra challenge to our shopping.

And on Cahuenga, we had to make our way around guys emerging from tighty-whitey night (my name for the semi-regular event at a club near the market) and standing on the sidewalk waiting for their Ubers.

Here's what we brought home with us: 4 onions, 3 pink lady apples, 7 potatoes, 2 baskets of assorted small tomatoes, 9 oranges that Larry juiced for our Sunday brunch, a bunch of parsley and one of carrots, 3 baskets of strawberries, 2 dozen eggs, 2 haas avocados, a cucumber, a bag of spinach, ginger root, 3 santa rosa plums, 3 yellow nectarines, and 4 peaches.

Treasures from the Freezer

When we have leftover cooked rice, I stash it in the freezer for when I want to serve a simple casserole for dinner.

Also in the freezer are roasted poblanos, organic corn, and bags of diced zucchini from last summer's over-enthusiastic vegetable garden. This year's zucchini plants are starting to flower, so the pressure is on.

Fortunately, all these ingredients combined into a fabulous casserole. Some aged cheddar on top added the finishing deliciousness.

I combined leftover white take-out rice and leftover brown rice, just because those were the first two containers I found. Freshly cooked rice would be great too, of course.

I used 4 poblanos for a very spicy casserole. You can cut back the heat by using fewer poblanos if you like. Also, you could use fresh poblanos and skip the roasting, just dicing and adding to the skillet. But the roasting does add a yumminess. (See how I do it here.)

Poblano and Zucchini Rice Casserole
1 tbsp oil
1 cup corn, defrosted
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 poblanos, roasted and peeled and diced
3 cups diced zucchini (from 4 medium zucchini)
4 cups cooked rice
aged cheddar

Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the corn for a few minutes until it starts to brown, stirring regularly so it doesn't burn. Add the onions, garlic and poblanos. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft. Add the zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until the zucchini is tender.

Stir into the cooked rice. Pour into a large casserole dish and top with a few slices of cheese.

Bake at 350°F 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything has melded well.

Serves 6

Morning Fruit

Our homegrown blackberries are ripening beautifully. The other morning they joined Japanese bananas from a friend's tree and strawberries from Finley Farms in a breakfast bowl that tasted of summer.

Cooking in the Time of Drought

I think I bought this pasta pot when I moved into my first apartment, oh so long ago. It's followed me around ever since even though I rarely use it. A smaller pot suffices for pasta for one or two people.

However, I'm using it more in this time of drought because even though it takes a lot of water to fill it, the draining insert makes it really easy to save the pasta water to put on the plants.









The other night I pulled it out of the cupboard to cook tagliatelle with arugula (yes, our arugula patch keeps on giving!) and cherry tomatoes.

It took many kettles of water to fill the pot, but I persisted.

Then I added tagliatelle from Italy.



When it was cooked halfway through, I added the arugula to the pot, and cooked it all for another 5 minutes, until the pasta was al dente. I then lifted up the insert and let the water drain back into the pot.













Meanwhile, in a large skillet, I had fried cherry tomatoes and garlic in olive oil. I poured in the drained pasta and arugula, and tossed it all together.

Then we sat down to a simple meal.

While we ate, the pasta water in the big pot gradually cooled down. When it was at room temperature, we took it outside to water our little kumquat tree. I'm sure the extra vitamins from the arugula will be especially nourishing for it.

Noodle Salad

I love puttering in the garden in these long light summer evenings. I tend to lose track of time. Then Larry gets home around 7 p.m. and I rush to get dinner on the table.

The other night I made this quick salad of udon noodles, fried tofu and peanut dressing. The key to cooking it quickly is to multi-task. I stir together the peanut sauce while the noodles are boiling and the tofu is frying.

Vegetables are added depending on what I have in the fridge. This time was snap peas. Cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts and peppers have all made seasonal appearances.

I sprinkled it with leaves from Egyptian walking onions and flowers from the arugula in our garden. Isn't summer great?

Noodle Salad with Tamari Tofu and Spicy Peanut Dressing
1 lb firm tofu
2/3 packet (6 oz) udon noodles
oil and tamari
6 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp roasted sesame oil
1 tbsp grated ginger root
1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
2 cups snap peas, trimmed
1/2 cup chopped scallions (or chives, or leaves from Egyptian walking onions)
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Press tofu in a kitchen towel under a plate with a heavy jar of beans on it for 5 minutes or so. Then slice in 1/3 inch thick bite-size rectangles. Heat a heavy skillet with oil to just cover the bottom of the pan and add the tofu pieces. Sprinkle each piece with a little tamari. Flip and sprinkle the tamari on the other side. Cook 2-3 minutes per side until crispy.

Cook udon according to package directions. Drain.

Mash together peanut butter, water, rice vinegar, tamari, roasted sesame oil, ginger root and cayenne. Taste and add salt if desired. Set aside.

Steam snap peas 2-3 minutes until tender-crisp. Drain and cut into thirds. (Or, if they're particularly tender, add them raw for an extra crunch.)

Toss together the noodles, tofu, snap peas, scallions, peanuts and cilantro. Stir in peanut sauce to taste and serve the rest on the side.

Serves 2-3

Breakfast Potatoes

Sunday morning I wanted a fry-up for breakfast. Usually that means eating at the pub, but we'd been there the night before (possibly why I craved a fry-up) so I decided to make a healthier version at home.

Instead of frying the potatoes, I roasted them in the toaster oven. It was slightly healthier yet really delicious with fried eggs on the side. Actually they'd be good for dinner too.

Breakfast Potatoes

2 medium red potatoes (about 8 oz total)

4 cremini mushrooms

1 small shallot

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

10 grinds pepper

Preheat toaster oven to 450°F.

Peel the potatoes and cut in 1/2" dice. Cut the mushrooms in quarters. Peel the shallot, halve lengthwise, and slice thinly. Toss these all together with the oil, salt and pepper. Spread out in a small roasting pan and cook for about 18 minutes until they are tender and golden. Stir after 10 minutes, making sure to scrape any browning onion bits back to the center of the pan.

Serves 2