Hemp Seed Tabouli..

Hemp Seed Tabouli.

Today I made hemp seed Tabouli..

Here is my recipe ..

¾ cup hemp seeds

1 Medium cucumber

½ cup lemon juice and zest from 1 lemon

½  medium red onion

1 cup finely chopped parsley

1 tablespoon hemp seed oil

½ teaspoon celtic salt

2 medium tomatoes.

Mix well together and serve ..

We will be having this for dinner tonight with free range chicken thighs, sauteed onions and zucchinis.. 

Cinnamon Sugar Mix ...Using Organic Coconut Sugar !

I have been making cinnamon sugar for many many years !

But today I made it using organic cinnamon and organic coconut sugar...

I made it up in a jar ..I used 1 cup of organic sugar and 1/4 cup organic cinnamon and just shook it really well to mix it up ...And I made a label as you can see from photo above...So many uses ..it will be great sprinkled over pancakes,toast, apple crumble,stewed apple, muesli,sprinkled over yoghurt or kefir... even add some to smoothies if a little more sweetness is needed..We love making banana kefir cinnamon smoothies they are so delicious.. in a blender I throw a few peeled bananas, milk kefir and some water and a teaspoon of cinnamon and blend up ..very delicious... 

Rhubarb Champagne !

Rhubarb Champagne !

Last week when Kev did the shopping he bought some rhubarb he really loves rhubarb and I'd had just recently came across a recipe for rhubarb champagne, so I thought what a great opportunity to make some ..So as you can see by the photo above I did just that..I did a google and there were lots of different recipes 

The one I used I changed it a little to suit myself ..as I usually do ...

3 &1/2 cups of chopped rhubarb (I had 3 sticks which was just perfect)

3 cups of white sugar. (original recipe was 3 & 1/2 cups)

5 litres of rain water.

1 whole lemon with skin on finely sliced.

2 cups of kombucha ( I had a bottle that I had let go to vinegar)

the original recipe was 3/4 a cup of apple cider vinegar.

 So I washed and finely diced the rhubarb and put it into a big stainless steel pot  with the sugar and water and sliced lemon and kombucha ..and stirred it to mix it all up well.

I covered the pot with a tea towel and secured it with an elastic band and left it for 48 hours the mixture needs to gather the natural yeasts in the air to start the fermentation process.(apparently you must not leave it any longer or the rhubarb will sour the drink and it will be ruined).

I did mine at 10 am on Monday and strained it at 10am Wednesday .I then bottled it up in some saved plastic cool drink bottles that I've had for quite a while that I got a friend to save for me that I use for my ginger beer...I then put the bottles in my pantry and when using plastic when they feel really firm to touch you know its ready ..It should be ready in about 3 days  - 2  weeks, depending on how fizzy you like your drinks and the weather.. Chill before serving.I was surprised how quick it took to be ready ..especially as its winter here in Oz..

The recipe said to discard the rhubarb either by giving to the chooks or in the compost I thought to myself what a waste..So I put it into a sauce pan added some peeled and chopped apples, some water  and cooked it up it was delicious ..Kev had his with ice cream I had it with some milk kefir, yummy..This amount makes 5 and a half litres..This would make a very refreshing drink in the warmer months..and looks really pretty pink in glasses it would be nice for parties etc...Kev loved it but I found it a little bit too sweet, but I was thinking you could top it up with either water or sparking mineral water..When I make it again I might use less sugar ..

My Pumpkin salad recipe !

Pumpkin Salad!

This is pretty much the same as my potato salad but using pumpkin instead and I sprinkle the top with pumpkin seeds..I also make it using sweet potatoes too...

Here is a link to my potato salad recipe

I steam the cut up pumpkin, ...So while pumpkin is steaming away, I cut up a brown onion  finely diced then add to my large glass bowl that I put the juice of 1 lemon, a splash of extra virgin olive oil and one or two teaspoons of honey and a sprinkle of celtic salt and some dried mint then I add the cooked pumpkin and toss really well so all the dressing gets absorbed into the hot pumpkin..optional sprinkle with pumpkin seeds  and serve ..its so delicious ...Great for my paleo eating plan ...

Milk kefir grains for sale ! $10

Milk kefir grains for sale ! $10

If any one is interested in making milk kefir I have some to sell.

I'll be selling 50 grams of milk kefir grains for $10 that includes postage any where in Australia ..please email me at sherriec@westnet.com.au

If you don't know any thing about milk kefir just google there is so much great information on the net..

It tastes very much like yoghurt but so many more health benefits...if its too sour brew for less time if not strong enough for your liking brew longer..I'm addicted to it ...you can make so many delicious other things using the milk kefir I've made kefir ice cream, sour cream,dips,smoothies...

Water Kefir flavoured with Organic Rosehip !

Water Kefir flavoured with organic rosehip tea !

I usually do my water kefir second ferment bottled up with grated ginger, its so yummy it tastes like ginger beer and ginger is so good for you ...I'm trying to use up every thing in my pantry and I spotted some organic rosehip tea that I bought a few years back ...So in my second ferment I have been putting a teaspoon of the dried rosehip tea in and its so delicious ..I'll be using what I have left as it was so expensive for 500 grams it cost me $81 ...I wont be buying that again at that price ..its probably past its best but at that price I'll use it up and I will buy some organic rosehip tea bags from supermarket and try that instead..I'm sure I can find some good quality rosehip tea at a better price ...might check my organic store to see if they sell it loose instead of tea bags...Does any one buy straight rosehip tea with nothing else added...The tea bags I currently have in my pantry have a few other ingredients added ..like from memory I think it has lemon flavour ...maybe that's citric acid ..Actually I was just thinking I have acai berry powder and maqui berry powder in my pantry so I will try them when I finish the rosehip..Very good idea Sherrie ...

Making Milk Kefir - A Great Probiotic Drink !

Milk kefir fermenting in a glass jar on my kitchen bench with cloth cover !

I received my milk kefir grains on Wednesday 29th of January ...Thank you very much Kathy.

Last year I sent Kathy a kombucha culture free of charge and she saw a post on a Lyme site be both belong to and she said she would be very happy to send me some milk kefir grains...Which of course I was very happy about as I wanted to add it to my probiotic drinks I was already making..my kombucha and water kefir..trying to make lots of probiotics to help heal my gut ..With Lyme I keep reading you need to heal your gut first...So I did my batch with a litre of UHT milk and about a tablespoon of milk kefir grains..I had set it up and Kathy said that would be to much milk , so I was going to empty some out but really couldn't be bothered so just left it and next morning I had my first batch of milk kefir wow its so delicious tastes very much like runny yoghurt ..I went a little crazy on it ..had way to much ...should of started off slowly but my taste buds got so excited so I over did it ..The next night I woke up early in the morning with severe nauseousness..so the next day I decided to google "die off symptoms from milk kefir"... sure enough plenty of info saying that lots of people can experience die off symptoms, so go slowly having a few spoon fulls until your body adjusts to it, while the gut is repopulating ...boy did I feel sick ..I had a watery mouth that you get before you vomit all day ..tried to alleviate the feeling by sipping on ginger tea, helped a little .For some reason I found it hard to resist having more of it ...maybe my body was screaming out it needs it ..not sure ...Since being unwell with Lyme I've cut out so many foods..so when I come across some thing good for me I probably over do it ...any way after a few weeks ..I decided to stop for a few days because I was just feeling to sick..Its so easy and cheaper to make then yoghurt and has so many  more health benefits..But if you are new to it go slowly especially if you have health problems..Like me ...if you are pretty healthy I don't think you would have to much problem with it ..Milk kefir is like a runny yoghurt, but you can remove some of the whey and its like sour cream ..yummy on potatoes and makes a great cucumber dip ..

This is what the milk kefir grains look like !

Boy it grows pretty quickly ..Kathy only gave me about a tablespoon of it and now I have about a cup of it..

I have been experimenting with it ..I have created a yummy smoothie well lots of them really but one we all love and Jack was asking me to make it again..I have called it "Cucumber Cooler" very fitting this warm weather we have been having this summer...In my blender I put 1 large cucumber with skin, 1 or 2   bananas and 1 or 2 peeled apples, milk kefir and water and blend it up ...not to sweet and very refreshing ...

Cucumber Cooler !

Sardine Canapes (Paleo recipe)

Sardine Canapes !

I've been eating the paleo diet for 3 weeks now ..The cave man diet..the food that our ancestors would have eaten...well as close to that as possible ...meat, fish,eggs,fruit, vegetables,nut and seeds...water...Any way I'll talk more about it when I have time and the energy ..This is one of my paleo recipes I created...it's quick,easy and rather tasty...Great to serve family and friends over the summer season or just great for a quick snack or lunch...One tin of sardines, finely diced onion and a good squeeze of lemon juice mash well together in a bowl and put onto slices of cucumber ..Also great for any one following a low carb diet too. This could also be good if you need to take a plate to a function over the summer ...Sorry the photo is a little blurry ..camera has been playing up ...maybe time for a new one...things don't last long these days do they....

My Yummy Potato Salad Recipe !

                     This is my yummy potato salad recipe !

I love potato salad, I make it quite regularly during the warmer spring, summer season.
Here is my recipe I don't like ones with mayonnaise...I use fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and little honey and some celtic salt...I steam the cut up potatoes, I usually make a big batch to last a couple of days makes a quick easy lunch ...So while potatoes are steaming away, I cut up an onion any type red spanish can add a lovely colour but this time I just used a brown onion finely diced . I put the dressing that I make as described above in the salad bowl. Then I add the onions then add the cooked potatoes toss really well so all the dressing gets absorbed into the hot potatoes..I also add a sprinkling of dried mint for extra flavour  and some fresh mint from my garden adds extra colour and flavour and serve ..its so delicious ...Hope you give it a try ..if so let me know how yummy it was...
NOTE: You can also add apple cider vinegar in place of lemon juice..I always try to have lemon juice available ..when lemons are in season I will juice them and freeze them in ice cube trays then pop them into a zip lock bag in the freezer...note to myself I have a big basket full of lemons that I need to juice..to make some more lemon juice ice cubes, they are so handy ...for making salad dressings or popping into a glass of water on a hot summers day..very refreshing ..to make cheese cakes, anything that requires lemon juice...

Make your own delicious, healthy, nutritious chicken Stock..

Make your own chicken stock its almost free, we often buy free range cooked chickens and I remove as much of the chicken as I can from all the bones then throw into a big pot of rain water, I often add an onion chopped into quarters some celery sticks and leaves, parsley stalks, some pepper corns and bring it to a boil and simmer for a few hours ...strain and you have delicious, nutritious, healthy stock. You can add any other things you like eg fresh herbs and other vegetables you have on hand ...I 've heard of people saving all vegetable peelings to also add for extra flavour...I've never ever bought stock from a shop, why would I when this is so easy to make ..I usually freeze some in plastic containers and also in ice cube trays ..great to add extra flavour to dishes ...I also add some Celtic salt at the end to also give it lots of extra flavour and minerals.. I use Celtic salt to flavour all our foods, I never buy stock cubes or powders...

Pink Icing-Made With Out Any Nasty Colours !

Today I was making vanilla slices and wanted pink icing ..this is a great way to make it using no nasty toxic colouring ...

It realy couldn't be easier...All I needed was a beetroot ,perfect for pink colouring ..I just cut a slice of fresh beeetroot , peeled the skin off chopped it up small added a little water then used the coloured water mixed with icing sugar , how simple is that ..I also make my own icing sugar..just buy putting sugar into my blender and blending until you have icing sugar maybe 30 seconds if that ..if you want castor sugar a few seconds only ...

You can also make lots of other food colours in a similar way by experimenting with lots of different fruits and vegetables..some you may need to grate to get the colours out better..but if any one has ever handled beetroot you will know that every things gets pink very quickly ..I have also used beetroot juice to dye fabric ...If you only have tinned beetroot just use a few drops to achieve the colour you want from pale pink to darker pink..If you make pink icing regularly you can freeze a few ice cubes with the juice or coloured water and when need just grate of as much as you need each time...or only fill the ice cube trays part way full  then you can use one each time you need to make pink icing store them in a zip lock bag or another container to free up your ice cube tray for others things...like stock cubes, ice cubes, lemon juice cubes..the list goes on ..

Green Smoothies !

Green Smoothies !
Today I had one of my delicious green smoothies for breakfast !
I haven't been having any green smoothies for a while, why you ask ...well since being really unwell with Lyme, I also wondered if I was suffering from adrenal fatigue I have been reading that if so you should have animal protein with all meals and stay away from raw foods and not eat fruit  ..Any way I have decided not to go with that for now and get back to my morning green smoothies...They are so delicious and I can say I really enjoyed it ...Also in place of water in my smoothie I decided to add 2 cups of my water kefir. Here is the rest of the ingredients that I added today .. 2 cups of English spinach, a green apple, piece of cucumber and a handful of frozen raspberries ...To easy, just toss all of it in the blender and blend ..this made 2 x 500mils jars full... So that was breakfast today.. I made one yesterday too it had parsley,apple & cucumber with water..Who else makes green smoothies...love to hear from you all...I plan to make one every single morning for breakfast to see if it helps with hormonal symptoms..Who wants to join me ...To do a 30 day challenge...

Nettle Tea Kombucha !

My Nettle Tea Kombucha !
It's really delicious !
I started this batch on the 19th of July so it's been brewing 3 weeks today.. It can take a lot longer to brew in the cold weather. I used 3 nettle tea bags and 145 grams of white sugar with half a cup from a previous brew of my regular kombucha. So it only has a tiny bit of caffeine from the previous brew. I bottled up this batch and have made up another batch today to brew away. I used 2 nettle tea bags that I had left and some lose nettle tea that was a gift from Tiffany and half a cup of the brew I bottled up today so pretty well no caffeine. I'm going to have the healthiest intestinal flora with all these probiotic beverages I'm making ...Well I sure hope so !! I also made up another brew using a herbal tea blend called night cup which I also made up on19th July but it wasn't ready, I'll give you all an update when it is...Note:If any one is interested in making this delicious probiotic beverage. I sell the cultures for $10 that includes postage & handling any where in Australia ..

Caramel Pop Corn !

Jack and I made caramel popcorn today ..
I've been really wanting to make this with Jack over the school holidays and we finally made it earlier today... A very quick and easy sweet tasty treat ...
In a sauce pan I put
1/3 cup raw sugar.
90 grams butter.
1 tablespoon honey...
Stir over heat until it boils then boil for about 2 minutes stiring well..Jack made the pop corn in our popcorn maker, we made 2 batches then I poured the caramel mixture over the popped corn and tossed well to coat all the popped corn...very yummy ...found it hard to stop eating it ...note to myself next time don't eat to much...ok
I came across this tip some time back but as we haven't made popcorn for a long time so haven't tried it yet I will next time as I have put a container of  corn in the freezer for next time...
When you pop microwave popcorn, have you ever noticed how you always have a bunch of unpopped kernels left in the bottom of the bag? I have a simple secret. Keep your microwave popcorn in the freezer, and every kernel will pop!
This would make a great treat to make when you are going to watch a DVD on TV or at your next party or get together.I will make some for Jack's next birthday party... 

Turmeric milk drink !

This is a yummy, healthy drink ...
Last week I watched an episode of Martha Stewart and she had her niece Sofie on the show, making this healthy Indian turmeric drink..I've made it a few times this week and it's so delicious ...and turmeric is a very healthy spice ..a great anti inflammatory, antibacterial and the list goes on...The ingredients are
1 & 1/2 cups of milk she used dairy milk and so did I, but she said you can use any other milk of choice eg nut or seed milks..
1 teaspoon dried turmeric powder.
A pinch of saffron, cardamom powder, ginger powder and a grating of fresh nutmeg you could use dried.. Warm milk on stove add spices stir well and drink and enjoy ...especially on these cold winter nights, very good for sore throats, stomach problems and great to help you sleep...hope you enjoy it as much as we did..

Forgot to add the nutmeg in my photo...

Lemon Syrup !

Lemon Syrup !
It's that time of the year when lemons are in plentiful supply ..what to do with them all...Today we decided to make lemon syrup with all the lemons...I usually make lemon cordial but this time we decided we would make lemon syrup.As all my glass bottles are used for my kombucha and the syrup doesn't require as many glass bottles because you don't add any water like my old cordial recipe and so quick and simple to make ..We sat outside in the beautiful sunshine and kev juiced the lemons he juiced 4 litres and Jack and I made lots of zest...You need 2& 1/2 cups of lemon juice for every two cups of sugar. We got the recipe out of a very old cook book it didn't say to use lemon zest but from past experience of making lemon cordial for well over 20 years I knew it would add to the taste...So I put all the juice, sugar and zest into our big stock pot stirred it really well to dissolve all the sugar put it on the stove top and heated it only very slightly just until all sugar was dissolved completely about 10 minutes on low ..then I strained it while bottling it all up by putting a funnel into the bottles and pouring through my stainer ...Then to make up you only add a small amount to a glass and top up with water or sparking mineral or soda water, very tasty and very refreshing ...A little goes a long way because it's very concentrated...Also got Kev to squeeze a little more lemon juice and I filled up 3 ice cube trays...when frozen I will pop them into a zip lock bag ..very handy for making hot lemon and honey drinks and other recipes ...salad dressings, cheese cakes, puddings, lemon meringue pie the list goes on ...I don't like seeing beautiful fruit go to waste...

Make Your Own Chicken Stock !

Making Your Own Stock !
This is so simple to do and saves money to boot ! We have been buying the cooked free range chickens from Woolies the last few years ..I got really excited when I found out about these. Before then I used to buy free range chicken and cook my own , but at $10.96 for a cooked free range chicken, I figure this is a really great price for one already cooked. Also no mess to clean up, they are so convenient and ready to eat straight away ...Any way after removing most of the chicken, I then put the caracas into my big stock pot cover with rain water,bring it to a boil and simmer a few hours. leave to cool a little then put into fridge, skim off fat and then I pour it into ice cube trays. When frozen I put them into a zip lock bag. Then when I need stock for any flavoring in recipes I use them in ...use in soups, gravies, risottos,stir fry ..any thing you want to add a little more flavour...you can add some vegetables to increase the flavour, I add parsley stems if I have them, add some salt, I use celtic salt ...

Chicken, Zucchini, Ginger & Garlic Soup !

I've been making this dish the last month and I just love it, so I thought I'd share it with you all..
Ingredients: brown onion, zucchini, cooked free range chicken, ginger, garlic,celtic salt & water or homemade chicken stock if I have any ....
In a pot put a splash of olive oil and fry roughly chopped brown onion fry for a few minutes add roughly chopped zucchini fry a few more minutes, then cover with water or stock and simmer until vegetables are nearly tender, then add chopped cooked chicken and lots of fresh grated ginger and garlic, celtic salt to taste.Cook just a few more minutes then serve ...The taste is amazing, this has become my all time favourite dish ... I eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner some days .. you can make as much or as little as you like...You could also use raw chicken and cook it with the onion ....This would be amazing when it's the flu season but really delicious any time and put lots of ginger and garlic and as I said the flavour is amazing ...I hope if I eat enough of it it will kill all the Lyme bugs in my body , I put the ginger and garlic right at the end of cooking to retain all their active ingredients...If you make it I hope you enjoy it as much as I do...

Time for making up my ginger beer culture !

Time to make up my ginger beer culture.
Gosh it can be called so many different things..years ago in Australia we called it a ginger beer plant, some call it a bug some call it a culture...I think I like that one best a ginger beer culture...Any way it's that time of the year again when I usually start making it again for Christmas and the warmer weather we will be having ..It can be very refreshing on a hot summers day ....I love making my own as we love ginger beer and best of all I know what is in it ...no yucky preservatives, colours and flavours for me and my family ...I made these up on Tuesday the 4th, then you leave it for three days then you start feeding it every day 4 teasppons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of ginger for a week, then you make it up and bottle until ready to drink ...This time I have made two cultures and one I'll be feeding the usual ginger and white sugar and the other I'm feeding ginger and organic coconut sugar ...Then I'll do a blog post on how it tasted...Who else makes their own ginger beer ...if not I recommend you give it a try ...ginger is so good for your health, if you have an upset stomach, nausea, morning sickness...Here is a link to my recipe that I have been making for years my ginger beer recipe

Making A New Batch Of Kombucha !

This is my third batch of Kombucha, I made this one up on Tuesday 4th ...This brew is made using organic roobis tea and organic coconut sugar ...Each brew I'm making I'm using different ingredients and experimenting to get the best tasting kombucha. My second batch I didn't end up doing a blog about it, I used ordinary black tea and white sugar..I'm really looking forward to tasting this one. I'm blogging about this mostly to keep a record for myself then I'll know how long they have been brewing for in case I forget ...I've been drinking at least a quarter a cup before each meal. One side effect I have noticed is some flatulence, other then that I haven't noticed anything negative at all ...I rather like the taste, the one I made with rosehip tea stayed quite sweet, I might reduce the sugar if I find this one is quite sweet ....The book says not to use any less then 55grams per litre other wise the culture will die...Currently I'm using 160 grams per 2 ...

litres as that is the recipe in my book and also in the instructions that came with my kombucha fungus.... I'll just keep experimenting...If you want to find out more about using kombucha just google ...So much information on the net, they say it is very good for so many health complaints....