Kefir!

I realized that I keep mentioning kefir, but many people don't know what it is. It is a cultured milk product. Which is a nice way of saying sour milk. That is not a bad thing, though. Cultured milk has wonderful health benefits. The main one is the probiotics, which restore essential flora to the gut and also helps balance yeast overgrowth. It has antifungal properties as well. It also has a plethera of vitamins and minerals. I drink it raw, either by itself or in smoothies, or I use it to soak my grains. Cooking does kill the enzymes, but does wonderful things to the grains, so I recommend trying to consume raw kefir in addition to cooking with it. I was going to take some pictures of my kefir, but then I found this video by Cultures for Health and thought it would be much better than my attempt to demonstrate. :)

Kefir is so easy and so good for you! Even those who are dairy sensetive can often have kefir with no troubles. However, you can make kefir out of non-dairy milks, too! The grains multiply and I have no shortage, so let me know if you want some! I hope I answered all of your questions.

Note: I use raw milk to make my kefir and it separates into the curds and whey overnight, though in the video they implied that it happens after a much longer time. Don't be surprised if this happens to you. It is fine and nothing to worry about!

Oatmeal Muffins

I love these muffins. I make them at least once a week. They are very versatile, too. This morning, I had some lovely rhubarb that I chopped and added along with some cinnamon. Mmmm. I have also used cranberries, dried cranberries, blueberries, and, of course, I even like them plain (especially with a little honey butter). I also sometimes play around with cinnamon and cloves, etc. Experiment and see what you like!

They are soaked, so be prepared to mix the grains and kefir (or whatever you choose to use) at least 7 hours (and up to 24 hours) before you want to bake them.

Oatmeal Muffins

2 cups oatmeal
1 cup whole grain flour
1 1/2 cups kefir (or other acid medium)
1/2 cup sucanat
2 eggs
2 tablespoons coconut or palm oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
add whatever mix-ins you choose or not

Mix the whole grain flour, oatmeal and kefir (or other acid medium) and let sit overnight (or for at least 7 hours).

Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Spoon into lightly greased muffin tins (or papered muffin tins), two thirds full. Bake at 425 for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Enjoy!

Soaked grains.

I have been quite absent lately. I am terribly sorry! I have been oh-so-busy. One of the things I have been busy doing is learning. Specifically, learning about soaking grains. (I am also trying to learn about sourdough. I've been unsuccessful in my sourdough making so far, but I'll keep you posted!) Anyway, here is a little article about soaking grains that explains why you would want to do such a thing. And you do want to do such a thing. The short version is this: By soaking the grains or flour in an acid medium (such as kefir, buttermilk, apple cider vinegar/water, lemon/water, etc.), you allow all the goodness that is in the grains to become available to your body. Grains are seeds, right? The Lord made seeds to have a built-in preservation so that they could store. (Did you know that they found wheat in the Egyptian tombs that was still good?) That built-in preservation (called phytic acid), unfortunately, continues to protect those nutrients and minerals even when in your body unless you do something to break it down so that those nutrients can be absorbed. That something is soaking or sprouting the grains. (But don't do both.) Many gluten intolerant people can actually handle the soaked or sprouted grains, because the process also pre-digests the gluten! Exciting stuff, right? Well, I think so anyway.

I have been taking some online courses from GNOWFGLINS (which stands for God's Natural, Organic, Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season. Sounds just like my kind of thing, huh?). Awesome stuff. I highly recommend you at least check out their site. They have great information and lots of videos for those of us who are extremely visual learners. :)

So, I just wanted to give you a little heads-up that I will be posting some new kinds of recipes as well! I hope you enjoy!