Supermoms Against Superbugs is a group of parents, pediatricians, chefs and organic farmers who converged on Capitol Hill this past Tuesday for Supermoms Against Superbugs Advocacy Day. They were there to ask the federal government (yet again) to limit the (mis) use of antibiotics in livestock, in hopes of curbing antibiotic resistance and protecting children’s health.(...)
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Since I am about one quarter Italian, I tend to like the delicious foods of my ancestors.  I also enjoy any sunshine I please, since between my Italian skin and taking fermented cod liver oil, I never burn!  But today I am going to focus on one of the central foods of Italian cuisine: fresh pasta.

I love to see fresh pasta made in glossy magazines and gourmet food television programs.  But I always considered it out of my reach, or at least on par with something really difficult and time-consuming to make like croissants or something.  Oh how wrong I was, and happy to be!

In only a few minutes time, you can have fresh pasta ready to eat, and all without any special equipment.

For example, I still haven’t bought a pasta roller attachment for my mixer, though you certainly can.  In fact, I intend to get one soon.  However, you really only need two tools to make pasta: a rolling pin for flattening the dough and a pizza cutter for cutting into shapes.  This method is easy and approachable.

Now you can enjoy freshly made pasta, either made with eggs and eaten immediately or soaked overnight for maximum nutrition to boot!

Plus, the soaked pasta is very versatile: you can use it immediately after you roll it or dry it on racks on the counter for dried pasta that will keep for several weeks.  I like to throw fresh pasta into soups and stews as I make lunch or dinner, and I like to make enough pasta dough to also stock up on dried pasta for the pantry.

The other pasta recipe below includes egg, which I find makes a more tender pasta.  Since you don’t soak it overnight, I recommend at least using very freshly ground flour, if not sprouted flour to maximize digestibility.

Equipment Needed:

• large mixing bowl, kitchen towel, dinner plate (optional), large dehydrator (optional)
• pizza cutter OR pastry scraper OR good knife
• rolling pin and cooling racks (optional; for drying)

Pasta is very simple to make, and has been generally made with any flour and any liquid that was seasonally available.  Below I have shared my two favorite recipes, one soaked version made with water and vinegar and one made with freshly ground flour and several eggs.

I recommend using the soaked pasta recipe for basic shapes and drying in large batches so you have pasta on hand that isn’t store-bought.  As for the egg pasta, I recommend using that recipe for using immediately, or even adding finely chopped fresh herbs as they are in season.

Homemade Soaked Pasta Dough

3 1/2 cups freshly ground flour, preferably kamut (buy whole grains here)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or whey (buy apple cider vinegar here, how to make whey here)

1. In a large bowl, pour in the flour and make a well in the center.
2. Pour in the water and the apple cider vinegar and work into a dough with your hands or by stirring with a short wooden spoon (for better leverage).
3. After the dough comes together, cover with a towel and a kitchen plate and let soak 12-24 hours.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes or so until the surface of the dough becomes smooth.  Press with your hands to flatten as much as possible into a large rectangular shape.  Then roll out to 1/8-inch thick.
5. Using a pizza roller, knife, or pastry scraper, cut the pasta into whatever shapes you like.  (I did half squares and half fettuccine.)
6. Using a spatula you can transfer this pasta to cooling racks to help with the drying pasta.  Alternately, you can also leave them on the floured surface to dry that way (though it may take a little longer).  When dried, they may curl up a bit, but this is normal.  Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Homemade Fresh Egg Pasta Dough

3 1/2 cups sprouted flour (buy sprouted flour here, how to make sprouted flour)
7 eggs

1. In a large bowl, pour in the flour and make a well in the center.
2. Crack the eggs and put them into the well in the flour.  Working from the center, stir gently to combine the flour into the dough gradually until it comes completely together.
3. Next, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes or so until the surface of the dough becomes smooth.  Press with your hands to flatten as much as possible into a large rectangular shape.  Then roll out to 1/8-inch thick.
4. Using a pizza roller, knife, or pastry scraper, cut the pasta into whatever shapes you like.  Use immediately, by cooking in salted, boiling water for 3-5 minutes or until tender.

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday, The Mommy Club, Allergy-Free Wednesday.

Ah, butter.  Has there ever been a more perfect food?

To the Traditional Swiss living in the isolated Loetschental valley, butter was a sacred food.  Not a pale supermarket type butter, but a golden alpine butter made from the rich, beige cream of cows grazing on thick grass.

(...)
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Post tags: butter, how to make butter, how to make grassfed butter, how to make raw butter, making butter, making raw butter, raw butter, raw grassfed butter

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In days past, before refrigeration was invented, lacto-fermentation was the method used to preserve food.  Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria. Foods could stay fresh longer when they were fermented in this way. With our modern conveniences, we have forgotten the wisdom of lactic acid fermentation and the benefits to our health. Take Jenny’s online class, Get Cultured and relearn this wisdom.(...)
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Today I have the privilege of interviewing my longtime followed and now friend, Jenny McGruther of Nourished Kitchen.  Everything on Nourished Kitchen is immaculate, rustic, gorgeous, and personally attended to by Jenny.  It is that kind of approach that makes it so easy to trust her, both when it comes to interview answers and her e-courses.

Right now Jenny has her class Get Cultured! on sale for $147, which is a $50 savings.  However, if you use the coupon code “SAUERKRAUT”, then you can also get an additional $50 off through May 22.  So don’t delay: this class is guaranteed to be worth it, and you won’t see this price again!  Click here to see the Get Cultured! class information.

But before we get to all that, please enjoy this interview I had with Jenny yesterday.  I love what she has to say about the vitality of fermented and cultured foods!

Kendahl: What was the first ferment that you ever tried to make?  How did it go?  Did you succeed?

Jenny: The first fermented food I made was yogurt.  It was fun, very inexpensive and, in many ways, it opened a new world to me.  From there I began experimenting with true sour pickles, sauerkraut, beetroot relish and other fermented vegetables.  There was a bit of a learning curve, initially, with understanding how long I could let foods ferment so that they achieved the flavor I wanted.

Kendahl: Which lesson in the class are you most looking forward to?  Which are you most excited to share?

Jenny: Previous students have LOVED the workshops on cultured and wild fermented dairy.  My favorite, however, is the section on probiotic tonics.  Not only do we address the basics of kombucha, water kefir and kvass – but we also make homemade herbal tonics that combine both the medicinal benefits of herbs with the benefits of probiotics and fermented foods.

Kendahl: Why did you decide to create a class for how to ferment anything?

Jenny: I receive a ton of questions at Nourished Kitchen about fermented foods, proper fermentation, fermentation equipment and techniques.  There’s a lot of conflicting information out there, that leave newcomers to fermentation unsure.  This course was designed to really provide techniques and information in an easy format through videos, recipes and tutorials that people can return to time and time again.

Kendahl: What is your favorite fermented food to make, either for taste or for benefit (or both)!

Jenny: I love Moroccan preserved lemons.  I traveled to Morocco in college where I did volunteer work, and I stayed with a family who taught me fermented lemons (and a bit about curing olives, too).  The flavor of preserved lemons is unsurpassed – we use them on chicken and fish, mostly.  Also, lemons are rich in vitamin C and when they’re fermented they also become rich in beneficial bacteria, that combination makes them great for cold and flu season.

Kendahl: What strikes you as especially noteworthy when you think about our history of food fermentation?

Jenny: There are two things really. 

One, fermentation was pervasive.  That is, you find fermented foods across the globe in all societies, and while many of us think of fermentation as a way to preserve the harvest, it was also used in societies who had a reliable year-round supply of food where preservation would be rather unnecessary, yet they still fermented their foods. 

Secondly, in looking at the history of fermentation you’ll realize that there is no one “right” way to do things.  Fermentation techniques, equipment and foods used for fermentation varied from society to society (with a few commonalities).  Indeed, in looking at the history of fermentation, you’ll realize that there is no one right way to do things; rather, there’s many right ways to ferment foods.

Kendahl: Is fermenting hard to do?

Jenny: No.  Fermentation is pretty hands-off once you’ve gotten started; however, there’s a few things people need to be concerned about when preparing fermented foods whether that’s sauerkraut or kefir or yogurt or homemade sodas and herbal beers, etc.  So it’s important to be mindful (but not obsessive) about cleanliness, temperature regulation, quality of ingredients and the process of fermentation.

Kendahl: What is the one (read: most important) thing you hope your students will get out of this class?

Jenny: I want those who enroll in Get Cultured! to feel fully confident in how they ferment foods.  That is, when they’ve gone through the materials, I want them to feel equipped and confident to begin using fermentation successfully in their daily lives.  For some of the previous students, that means they’re serving fermented foods their family loves or their getting their kids and spouses to actually enjoy fermented vegetables, tonics and things like kefir.  Other students have turned what they learned in the class into commercial pursuits: selling fermented foods at farmers markets or in their restaurants. 

Click here to get Jenny’s Get Cultured! class for $100 off!  Normally $197, this class is on sale for $147 ($50 off), in addition to a special coupon code available to you, my dear readers, for another $50 off.  Use the code “SAUERKRAUT” to get this class for only $97!!