Ozuké Wild Dandelion or Nettles, Bee Pollen and Honey Kraut

/in , , , , , , /by

To begin you will need a 1/2 gallon sized ball jar, 1 medium cabbage, Fresh Nettle or Dandelion leaves harvested from your neighborhood, local honey, bee pollen and sea salt.

Core and shred the cabbage, salt to taste then spread on a tray or large bowl. (It is so important to salt the cabbage to YOUR taste.  I never tell my students fixed amounts of salt, because everyone’s taste is different, you could even completely omit the salt and still have decent results). Pound the cabbage with a wooden hammer (or a rolling pin can work) until the juices start to release and the cabbage softens.  Mix with bee-pollen, drizzle honey and sprinkle in cleaned and de-stemmed greens.  Place in a wide mouth ball jar and press down with your fist (you can use a cabbage leaf as a top barrier and then press on that) until the veg is submerged in liquid. Cover and leave at room temp for about 5-10 days. Keep pressing your kraut below liquid and release the gas occasionally as it starts to ferment. Kraut should taste tart when it’s ready…  if you like it stronger you can leave it longer. When you are satisfied with the taste transfer to cold storage where it will last for up to 12 months.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Earth Day Tree Planting with Ozuké

/in , , , , , /by

Our dear friend from Pangea Organics, Joshua Onysko has a penchant for rallying  people around good causes. His mission this year was to get a bunch of local businesses to assemble teams of tree planters and together, on Earth Day, we are were going replant an entire hillside that had been scorched by a fire several years before -with 10,000 trees. Yup, 10,000 trees.  Ozuké had a small but dedicated group and we were ready to dig.

My boys were Saturday sleepy so we arrived a bit late and there were already at least 200 people sprawled across the hillside bags full of saplings, shovels, kids and dogs in tow. The sky was moody and beautiful.

People working alone or in small groups but together, hands in the soil, giving a little something back to this great revolving planet that gives and gives and gives. As one of the planters said, “team work makes the dream work.” :0

Thank you Josh for organizing, thank you Boulder for showing up in droves, thank you planet Earth for your wondrous abundance.  Grow little saplings, grow.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Ozuké style Colorado Cleanse

/in , , , , , /by
  Spring is a time when I often feel like I need to slough off winter and begin anew. Cleansing is a great, simple way to restart your digestion and immunity. There are tons of great options out there but two of my local favorites are Conscious Cleanse and the Colorado Cleanse. Both have been designed by people with enormous passion, experience and generosity. These cleanses can be challenging and these guys have considered not only the nutritional piece of this work but also the emotional and spiritual components. When I cleanse I sometimes feel groggy at first and long for a cup of tea with milk or a square of chocolate but slowly it begins to work its magic and I feel more energized, lighter and more self aware.
  This season I am doing the Colorado Cleanse. It is a comprehensive reset for you digestive system based on Ayurvedic principles. The mainstay of the cleanse is kitchari, a simple Indian porridge made of lentils and rice. In the first four
pre-cleanse days, Dr. Douillard recommends eating 1-2 raw beets a day. I love beets, I really do, but 2 raw beets can be a little overwhelming. I have taken to doing some juicing and also using our Ozuké beets, dulse and kale which adds some great flavor to salads or simple soups, has all the properties of plain raw beets plus probiotics.
  If you are interested in either of these cleanses I recommend doing the guided offering that Conscious offers or getting Dr. Douillard’s book and following all the recommendations as this will yield the best results but.. over the years I have added little things that keep the mission in tact but make it a little tastier, especially in those first few sluggish days.

Save

Save

Save

Kimchi Latkes!

/2 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Every year I choose a different culinary tradition to model our Holiday dinner around.  We’ve done Victorian England, with Roast Goose and Christmas pudding, we’ve done Shanghainese Soup Dumplings, once visiting my Sister and Brother in Law we did Puerto Rican Christmas. Bringing in these varied traditions helps to educate me as a cook and to educate my children with the many flavors of our abundant human experience. I can’t remember which year we chose to cook traditional Hanukkah treats but now Latkes always make an appearance in our home around this time of year.  So simple and so good.  And I love how the story of Hanukkah resonates especially around the time of the Winter Solstice.  As the nights get longer and the days get shorter the story of Hanukkah meditates on finding a miracle of light in the darkness and finding freedom in the midst of oppression. And of course the tradition of eating fried foods to celebrate the miraculous oil that lit a single lamp for 8 days…  a holiday that celebrates with fried food!!!!  That is a wonder for sure!

This year I can’t believe that I’ve never thought to replace the onion in the Latke recipe with kimchi before.  It is simply amazing!  You can add more spiciness, more chiles or gochugaru to the mix if you like.  I doubt you can make these and not fall in love.

Wishing you all a great miracle this Hanukkah.

 

Kimchi Latkes

2 cups shredded potatoes (I like em with skin on but either peeled or not is fine)

½ cup of kimchi that has already had all the juice squeezed out of it.

3 eggs

3 heaped Tablespoons flour

Salt and Pepper

More chiles/gochugaru (optional)

Oil for frying (we used peanut oil but your choice of high heat oil)

 

Put shredded potatoes in cheesecloth or nut bag and squeeze as dry as possible.

Cut the squeeze dried kimchi into small dice or tiny strips.

Beat eggs.

Combine potatoes, egg, kimchi, flour, (gochugaru if you want), salt and pepper.

Heat a heavy skillet with a ¼ inch of oil on the base to medium high heat.

Press heaping spoonfuls of potato mixture onto the hot skillet squashing the pancakes down to ¼ – ½ inch thickness.  Cook until brown on both sides…  approximately 3 minutes each side.

Serve hot with apple sauce and sour cream – YUM.