The post 15 Minute Rainbow Spring Salad appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

Hello friends! I am sorry I’ve disappeared for a while. I’ve been reworking the focus of Get Cultured Kitchen and getting ready to post a series of really useful posts I’m really excited about! So far Get Cultured Kitchen has been mostly focused on bringing seasonal recipes and teaching you how to source food ingredients that are ethical and sustainable. I am so proud of the work I’ve been able to bring to you all and I hope you guys all find it useful! I mean, the whole point of this blog is to produce material that will make it easier for you to live a sustainable life. However, for that reason I’ve decided to switch the focus of my posts up a little bit and cover the foundations. Expect posts and infographs from me in the near future covering everything from questions to ask yourself before you buy fish to check lists for reducing energy consumption in your home. These tools will be things easy to use on a day to day basis. All your questions answered in one go! If you have any suggestions for these foundational posts please email me! So keep an eye out for that stuff, but meanwhile I’d like to share with you this delicious Rainbow Spring Salad!

If you recall I brought you all a delicious Citrus Winter Salad, but we are well into Spring and there is a lot more available to us this time of year. We’re talking sweet peas, strawberries, golden beets, cucumbers and radishes working in harmony to nourish your body and kick allergy season in the behind! Sweet, sour, spicy, savory all wrapped up into one perfect marriage. Plus the dressing for this salad basically tastes like sour cream and onion dip except somehow even better? It’s FULL of fresh garden herbs and love! The flavors really out did themselves and you’ll find yourself falling in love all over again… with salad dressing. I know it sounds silly, but you just wait and see!

I mean, I want to brag, but really that’s the beauty of eating in season and eating homegrown or locally grown food. It’s grown for flavor and nutrition as opposed to the super market varieties that are grown for durability and appearance. The flavors of these foods are at their peak right now; all I had to do was throw them in a bowl!

Sourcing Rainbow Spring Salad Ingredients:

Vegetables and Herbs: Always try to source locally grown or homegrown produce! The average persons produce travels over a 1,000 miles to get to them. That’s a completely inefficient use of gas, and the reason most vegetables are grown for durability above all else. Fresh food is healthier for you and better for the environment. Plus it usually tastes better too so it’s a win win!

Mayonnaise: I haven’t found a mayonnaise brand that I completely trust. It’s so much better tasting and healthier to make at home so that’s exactly what I do! It’s easy and rewarding.

Buttermilk: When buying dairy products look for grass fed. There are so many issues with the industrial dairy industry that the best thing you can do is know your farm and farmer personally. But that will be different for every person depending on location. This website is really helpful in finding local farms near you! Just type in your zipcode and what you are looking for.

Yields 8 servings

Rainbow Spring Salad

Get lot's of vitamins and minerals with this easy Rainbow Spring Salad healthy recipe. Strawberries, radishes, cucumbers, and beets are a perfect marriage of sweet, savory, refreshing and a little spicy. This Spring recipe is a stable all season!

10 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

20 minTotal Time

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

• For the Salad:
• 2 1/2 beets
• 1/2 cup sweet peas
• 1/2 basket strawberries
• 2 small cucumbers
• 1 bundle radishes
• Handful of mint
• Bag of mixed greens
For the dressing:
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1/2 scant cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp dill
• 1 tbsp minced chives
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 rounded tsp onion powder

Instructions

1. Cook the beets with preferred method. I cooked my beets in the microwave in a bowl sitting in water and covered for about 10 minutes (4 minute cycles). Until the beets were tender, but not super soft. See notes for link to how-to
2. WHILE BEETS ARE COOKING slice radishes, sweet peas and cucumbers into thin slices.
3. Run beets under cool water to cool off.
4. Cut beets into thin slices
5. Tear mint roughly into thirds.
6. Put all salad ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
7. Mix all dressing ingredients together and drizzle desired amount over salad.
8. Toss salad and serve immediately.
9. Enjoy!

Notes

http://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips/tips/a4756/all-about-beets-105239/

7.8.1.2

18

https://www.getculturedkitchen.com/rainbow-spring-salad/

Get Cultured Kitchen

Rainbow Spring Salad:

Creamy herb dressing:

Get Cultured Ktchn

The post 15 Minute Rainbow Spring Salad appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

The post The BEST Homemade Ketchup- High Fructose Corn Syrup Free appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

GUYS. I am so beyond excited to share this recipe with you! Once you make homemade ketchup you will NEVER. GO. BACK. TO. STORE. BOUGHT. AGAIN. EVER…. EVER.

Okay truth be told, I have never liked store bought ketchup. It is sickeningly sweet to me and even though I would try it from time to time it was nothing I could ever get behind. And honestly this isn’t a bad thing, because ketchup is full of high fructose corn syrup and pretty much has no nutritional value. Yup, America’s favorite condiment is on the long laundry list of things responsible for our poor health… until today!

Get Cultured Ktchn

About three years ago I tried homemade ketchup and it changed the way I look at the world. No joke. Similar to my distaste for store bought mayonnaise, I just didn’t know what I was missing, what we are all missing out on until I made it myself. Homemade ketchup is tangy and complex. The cinnamon, allspice and clove transport it to another world and the pineapple juice and molasses give it a satisfying sweetness without being overpowering. Put it on fries, put it in homemade 1000 island dressing, put it on hot dogs, hamburgers and meatloaf. You know how to use ketchup already- in copious amounts.

Pineapple juice is not necessary for making homemade ketchup, but in this recipe it’s the secret weapon. Who would have thought pineapple juice in ketchup? Well let me tell you, I was in the garage retrieving some tomato paste and I saw a can of pineapples next to it. Yup, nothing fancy. It all just clicked for me. The sweet almost stickiness of pineapple juice would reduce down so nicely with the vinegar and tomato paste. And yes, I’ll admit to using canned pineapple juice. It won’t be my first choice next time, but it was worth using for the experiment. Next time I’ll be sure to buy a sustainably grown pineapple or buy a can of organic pineapple instead though!

Where to source homemade ketchup ingredients:

• Because homemade ketchup does not call for fresh tomatoes it can be made year round. I used store bought tomato paste, but to reduce how far my food has to travel to me I plan on growing my own tomatoes this year and canning my own paste!
• I can get onions pretty much year round where I live, but if you can’t find onions locally double the onion powder in the recipe. Similar to the tomato paste it is really easy to dehydrate onions and grind them into powder, just follow my dehydrating instructions.
• Get your molasses from a fair trade certified brand; growers of sugar cane are often not paid fairly for their labor costs and live in deep poverty. Many plantations have huge ecological damage as well.
• Make sure those spices come from a fair trade source as well! Frontier spices is a great brand to look into that can be found at a lot of super markets! Most spices are grown in third world countries, where developed countries take advantage of poverty and low labor costs.
• Pineapple juice is not available year round, but canned ones work fine too. Try and find an organic variety or just leave it out.
• Use raw apple cider vinegar if you have the chance. I really like Braggs brand! It still has the “mother” in it (the bacteria and yeast culture) that makes up the vinegar so you can continue to make your own vinegar with the mother and apples.

Yields 16

The BEST Homemade Ketchup- High Fructose Corn Syrup Free

Homemade ketchup is worlds away from high fructose corn syrup laden store bought stuff. It's complex, vegan, spicy and sustainably made. You'll never go back!

3 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

13 minTotal Time

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

• 6 0z can of tomato paste
• 1/8 large onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4-1/3 apple cider or red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp each cinnamon, clove and allspice
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Pinch cayenne or pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

1. Finely dice onion and mince garlic
2. Using a heavy bottom pot saute the onion and garlic with vinegar for about 1 minute on medium heat.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir continuously until ketchup starts to simmer.
4. Turn down to low heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously.
5. Let cool and store in a glass container or consume warm!

7.8.1.2

16

https://www.getculturedkitchen.com/homemade-ketchup/

Get Cultured Kitchen

Get Cultured Ktchn

The post The BEST Homemade Ketchup- High Fructose Corn Syrup Free appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

The post Fail Proof Homemade Mayonnaise appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

Hey guys! Holy smokes it is such a beautiful day today in the San Francisco Bay area. It’s sunny, the flowers are starting to bloom, the birds are singing and there is so much to be grateful for. Today has been a rough week for me, but knowing I have so many supportive people in my life and live on such a magical planet really puts any woes into perspective. I’m so blessed to be alive and I’m so blessed to have supportive readers such as yourself! Thank you for reading what I have to put out there and thank you for the continuous love. You humble and encourage me more than I know how to express.

Today we are making something really simple, but something I consider a bit of a lost art: homemade mayonnaise! To be honest I really didn’t like mayonnaise growing up, I used to ask for it to be left off of things and I never thought I’d see the day I’d enjoy it. But here is the thing, it’s like saying you don’t like sushi when all you’ve eaten is the grocery store variety. I feel like I’d never really had the true stuff. When I made homemade mayonnaise it opened me up to a world I never really knew. One of real food, made from scratch and made from love. Making homemade mayonnaise was one of the first things that pushed me into really pursuing how to make things from scratch, because it was so much healthier and so much better. Plus it’s fun and easy to do!

If any of you reading this have tried to make homemade mayonnaise you may be shaking your head in disbelief at me saying it’s easy. Haha I used to watch videos of people just putting an egg yolk and some oil in a mason jar, adding an immersion blender and coming out with perfect homemade mayonnaise in seconds. I would try and try and all I got was an oily soup, waste of resources and disappointment. But then I read a simple tip from Nourished Kitchen (one of my favorite real food blogs) to add 1 tbsp of water to your batch. I’ve never had homemade mayonnaise fail to come together ever again and I never looked back!

Homemade mayonnaise is rich, it’s refreshing and it’s incredibly versatile. Sometimes I get stuck in a rut when it comes to using ingredients and condiments in the same way, so what can you use homemade mayonnaise for? So glad you asked! Obviously you can spread it on bread for any sandwich but there is so much more than that; try it with deviled eggs, lobster rolls, egg salad, chicken, potato or tuna salad, with artichokes, spicy tuna rolls, homemade ranch dressing, or to moisten certain baked goods. Please feel free to add any other ideas in the comments, the limit is your imagination!

Homemade mayonnaise is also actually quite healthy! I like to use avocado oil, because it is pretty much flavorless and quite good for you too. With an omega fatty acid nutritional breakdown similar to olive oil; high potassium, folate and magnesium; and the ability to help us absorb carotenoids (plant versions of vitamin A) there is nothing to sneeze at. The other main ingredient egg yolks are high in vitamins D, E, A, Choline and many other essential nutrients. Remember an egg is supposed to have enough nutrients to support the growth of a life and so therefore it is one of the most nutrient dense things we can eat. A squirt of lemon, salt, water, a pinch of mustard powder and a dash of cayenne (if you want) and you’ve got mayonnaise. Oh! And a whole lot of whisking if you want to forgo the hand mixer and get an arm workout.

To make homemade mayonnaise you combine all the ingredients except for the avocado oil in a glass bowl and then SLOWLY add the avocado oil while whisking. I mean SLOWLY. Like add one drop, whisk for 10 seconds, add another drop and whisk that in… once it starts emulsifying (getting thick and creamy) you can add the avocado oil in a semi continuous THIN stream, but really don’t rush the process! It takes about 5 minutes to come together with a hand mixer and a little longer with a whisk. You may feel impatient whisking vigorously until your arm falls off, but it is well worth the wait.

*Make sure to use truly pasture raised eggs (best to find at the farmers’ market or from a friend), or look for Animal Welfare Approved or pasture raised Certified Humane eggs. Please note that even these certifications do not guarantee that male chicks will not be killed at birth.

Fail Proof Homemade Mayonnaise

Fail proof homemade mayonnaise is healthy, flavorful and much better than the store bought stuff! Plus it's easy to whip up with just four ingredients!

10 minPrep Time

10 minTotal Time

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 1/4 cups avocado oil
• 1/4 tsp mustard seed powder (optional)
• pinch cayenne (optional)

Instructions

1. Whisk everything, but the avocado oil together in a large bowl.
2. VERY slowly add avocado oil while whisking. One drop at a time, until the homemade mayonnaise starts to thicken and emulsify, then you can add it in a thin, steady stream.
3. Homemade mayonnaise will keep for a couple of weeks and will thicken in the refrigerator.

7.8.1.2

15

https://www.getculturedkitchen.com/fail-proof-homemade-mayonnaise/

Get Cultured Kitchen

The post Fail Proof Homemade Mayonnaise appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

The post Basic Vegetable Lacto-Fermentation Recipe appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

Get Cultured Ktchn

One of the easiest ways to enjoy the benefits of fermented foods is pickling vegetables via lacto-fermentation. Not only is the flavor incomparable to vinegar preserved pickles, but they provide a host of probiotics. Also, they don’t require any special equipment to make! And isn’t that a huge bonus in our hectic lives? Our intestinal tract is full of billions of bacteria: some beneficial, some neutral and some harmful. So eating probiotic foods, or foods full of good bacteria, help protect the intestine by lining the colon with bacteria. These bacteria aid healthy bowel movements, balance microflora, and inhibit bad bacteria from proliferating.

All plants have various strains of bacteria living on them, and Lactobacillus is usually on the list. Simply put, fermentation is the process in which various bacteria present on the surface of vegetables eat the sugars in vegetables. This creates the byproduct lactic acid. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that gives traditionally pickled foods their characteristic tangy flavor and inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria on food. In addition to being a preservative, lacto-fermentation retains the vitamin levels and increases the digestibility of foods.

But enough about definitions! Let’s get to a basic recipe that will have you fermenting any vegetable you like! All you need is a mason jar, unchlorinated water, sea salt, a tannin containing component and the vegetables and spices you desire. Throughout this website you will find several recipes to inspire you with variations on the levels given in this blog post in the culturing and fermentation section with different combinations of vegetables and spices, but don’t stop there! This post is designed to inspire and empower you to come up with your own lacto-fermented recipes. When you do, don’t forget to share them with me. I love seeing what you create. Finally one more thing, check out these peppers I dried from my garden! They would make an excellent spice addition to any ferment!

Basic Vegetable Lacto-Fermentation Recipe

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

• 1 qt. filtered water
• 3 tsp noniodized, caking agent free salt
• Firm vegetables of choice
• Spices and seasonings of choice
• Tannin like a bag of black tea, or a couple of grape or horseradish leaves
Equipment:
• Mason jar
• Something to weigh down vegetables under brine such as large cabbage leaf with clear rock on top or a baggy filled with brine.

Instructions

1. For the brine:
2. Mix salt and water together until salt dissolves
For the ferment:
3. Chop or slice vegetables
4. Put a couple of seasonings at the bottom of the quart sized mason jar. Ex: A garlic clove, a tsp of peppercorns, a teaspoon of mustard seed, a sprig of dill, fresh or dried peppers
5. Pack in vegetables as tightly as possible half way and add a little more seasoning, plus the tannin.
6. Pack more vegetables leaving an inch of space.
7. Weigh down the vegetables with one of the methods mentioned under equipment. (The vegetables will rise as bubbles form).
8. Screw the lid on.
9. Burp the lid (let gas escape) everyday.
10. Depending on how hot it is where you live you may end up fermenting for anywhere from 3 days to a couple of weeks. Generally a cooler, slow ferment is better.
11. Start trying the vegetables after bubbles are sufficient. The longer you ferment spiciness from peppers, garlic and ginger will mellow out and the ferment will become tangier.
12. Enjoy!

7.8.1.2

4

https://www.getculturedkitchen.com/basic-lacto-fermentation/

Get Cultured Kitchen

Get Cultured Ktchn

The post Basic Vegetable Lacto-Fermentation Recipe appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.