Hippie Status

Homemade Ketchup: My return to blogging!

2012-01-31T09:51:00.004-06:00

Last night, I came home from work and started on some pan-fried hamburgers (grass-fed of course), and while they were sizzling, I whipped up a batch of ketchup…and not just any ketchup, lacto-fermented ketchup. As I was mixing I started thinking about how just over two years ago I never dreamed that doing things like making ketchup would become a part of normal, everyday life.

Yesterday, I had a guest post appear on the Real Food in Little Rock blog about how I fulfilled my 2011 New Year’s Food Resolutions. At the end I mentioned my one resolution for this year was to get back into blogging…so here I go!

I thought that over the next few weeks I would share my recipes for condiments: mayo, ketchup, and the like. When you start eating traditionally, I think it’s easy to overlook the little things like sauces and salad dressing, but have you ever paid attention to the ingredients in those things? DISGUST! Soybean oil and high fructose corn syrup are two key players, not to mention MSG.

Making your own condiments isn’t as intimidating as you think. With the right tools they don’t take much time at all. I think the biggest part is tweaking things to your own tastes. The recipes I will be sharing are the results of many many taste tests and ingredient adjustments. My poor recipes are all marked up from me changing amounts and ingredients every time.

I’m starting off with my ketchup recipe. I developed my recipe from a random ketchup recipe I found on the ol’ interwebs. I looked at the recipe in Nourishing Traditions but – no offense Sally – fish sauce? UGH! Sorry. I have learned to love beef tongue and willingly swallow my fermented cod liver oil (most days), but I refuse to put fish sauce in my ketchup.

I’m forewarning you here – don’t expect this to taste like Hunt’s. It’s definitely different, but in a good way, in my humble opinion. It tastes fresher…less processed. Play with it until you get it just the way your family likes it.

Homemade Ketchup

1 can of tomato paste

(You’ll just have to do as I say, and not as I do here, and use tomato paste in glass jars. May have to up the ingredients though if there is more paste than the usual can of paste. I need to work on buying tomato products in glass jars to avoid the BPA linings.)

¼ cup water

1 Tbsp palm sugar

(if you choose to use a sweetener other than palm sugar I would suggest reducing the amount because palm sugar is such a mild sweeterner.)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp cumin

½ tsp dried mustard

¼ tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp whey

Mix together all ingredients. Cover and leave sitting on the counter for two days, then refrigerate. It will keep for several months in the fridge.

Enjoy!

This post is linked to: Delicious Obsession's Traditional Tuesdays, Real Food Forager's Fat Tuesday, Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday, and The Healthy Home Economist's Monday Mania.

Beef Tongue: Not So Offal (Guest Post)

2011-11-29T08:43:00.000-06:00

You may remember THIS POST with the disgusting, yet mysterious picture of a...beef tongue. Julie from Real Food in Little Rock contacted me about doing a guest post on tongue preparation, and the article posted this morning.

CHECK IT OUT!

I'm Not a Dirty Hippie: Acne Edition, Part 2

2011-08-29T16:21:00.000-05:00

Double post day!

I realized at some point that I had promised to do a second post on natural acne treatments with the tips I received in the comments. To date, I would have to say this has been my second most popular post, next to the homemade laundry detergent. There were some fab tips, and without further adieu...I am passing them along to you.

The Tiny Homesteader - "I had a great reduction when I improved my "healthy" diet to an actually healthy diet. The biggest influence for me was removing vegetable oils which was a big shock for me that butter, coconut oil and bacon grease would be so great for my skin."

Tiny, I TOTALLY know how you feel! Lots of healthy fats have worked wonder for the condition of my skin!

Amy @ Anktangle - "I've started using organic/raw/extra virgin coconut oil all over my face twice a day, and it has (surprisingly) really improved my acne, which I have also had since 6th grade."

It's so crazy how differently everyone's skin can respond to treatments. My skin DESPISES oils - even the ones that supposedly don't break you out. The oil cleansing method with EVOO was a disaster, and although I can occasionally use the lightest touch of coconut oil, more than a couple days in a row invites nastly little pimples.

Kirsten Lamb - "I use Derma Klear sulfur soap to wash my face, tea tree oil on blemishes and I mix lavender and apricot oil to moisturize. I've also started using calcium bentonite clay weekly as a mask."

Great suggestions! Tea tree oil is naturally antibacterial, and it happens to be one of the few essential oils you can use directly on your skin without a carrier oil.

Jenn - "This has always been my issue too, but has improved immensely following a WAPF-style diet! I now only use two products, goat's milk soap and raw coconut oil with a little aloe vera juice mixed in. Goat's milk soap is really gentle and doesn't leave my face dry at all. I don't put anything else on my face at night, and only use the coconut/aloe in the morning. The antibacterial of the coconut oil and the soothing of the aloe work for me. As an occasional treat to myself I make a mask out of French Green Clay - it's very drawing."

So I have to say the french green clay intrigued me the most. Sounds so luxurious! It makes me wonder if it's similar to Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask. Practically every girl in my college dorm regularly smeared this green good on their faces. It made your skin so lovely - drew out impurities and tightened pores. The sad thing is, at some point I figured out it has evil PARABENS in it!! Sadness...

Well hopefully between this post and my last, you ladies (and gents, if there are any who regularly read my humble blog), can find something to keep the nasties away!

Baby-Stepping Your Way to a Healthy Diet with ZERO Extra Work!

2011-08-29T15:48:00.001-05:00

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You heard me. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

A Facebook conversation with my long-time pal Kristen challenged me to start thinking of ways to improve the quality of your diet withOUT added stress. I remember those first few months all too clearly, feeling like my head would explode while wading through the mass of information out there. So I guess you could consider this the SUPER Beginner Guide to Real Food. None of these things require extra time. (I guess maybe the eggs could if you were used to grabbing some sort of pre-package foods for breakfast and snacks, but it takes a matter of minutes to prepare eggs.) It's mainly eliminating and exchanging.

Cut out sodas – period. Yes, even diet.
Change from margarine to butter. If you can find a local source for raw, grassfed butter, well, then you get a gold star on your forehead! Yes it's more expensive, but remember, you're saving money by not buying sodas!
Switch to full fat dairy. Guess what? You get to eat fat! It tastes better. It's good for you. It won't make you gain weight. ENJOY!
Buy some organic, extra virgin coconut oil and eat 1 or 2 tablespoons a day – some way, some how. Spread it on toast, mix it into oatmeal, coffee, or a smoothie. And honestly, it’s really not too bad just taking a spoonful of it straight. I'm actually thinking of upping my daily dose of 1 Tbsp after reading this article this morning.
Eat two eggs a day – preferably local pastured eggs. Either cook them in butter or coconut oil for breakfast or hard boil them for an afternoon snack that won’t give you a sugar high then a crash.
Replace your Mrs. Butterworth's with the real deal. (See this post for more info.)
Keep a bowl of fruit on the counter so you can reach for a piece instead of a snack cake when you need something sweet NOW!
Replace your baking powder with aluminum free baking powder.
Buy some quality cod liver oil and take it everyday. (Info and Recommendations)

I tried really hard to come up with a tenth, but sadly, my overworked brain gave out. But just think, if you were to do all these things, you would have done NINE THINGS to improve your health without adding any extra work load to your busy schedule. Wizard!

So I would LOVE to hear more suggestions on this! Lay 'em on me in the comment section.

This post is linked at The Healthy Home Economist's "Monday Mania 8/29/2011."

The Skinny on Maple Syrup

2011-08-08T16:09:00.001-05:00

We all know that buying in bulk is one of the best ways to save money on real food. We also know that maple syrup is a delicious, natural alternative to our modern-day processed sweeteners. When I learned my buying club was ordering maple syrup from Branon Family Maple Orchards, I jumped at the chance to get a half-gallon of lovely organic syrup from a family farm at a great price. Before I took the plunge, however, I called up the farm (have I ever mentioned how happy it makes me to be able to talk directly to the farmer responsible for my food?) and spoke with Cecile Branon about syrup. It may be a great deal, but it still ain't cheap, so I wanted to make sure I could "protect my investment" and use every last little drop! I learned some great info, and wanted to pass it on to you guys.

Storage: If you won't be using all of your syrup within 60 days, store part of it in the fridge in a clean glass jar that has held nothing acidic. Freeze the rest in the container it came in. The syrup won’t actually freeze all the way, it just gets thicker. To melt, place in a container of hot water to melt. You’ll want to leave the cap off to avoid condensation in the jug. If condensation does form, you need to let it dry out with the cap off before you refreeze it. Cecile highly recommended eating a spoonful of it while you’re pouring it out from the freezer because it tastes excellent! It takes a loooong time for the syrup that has been in the freezer to go bad. She said the other day she pulled out a batch from 2009 and it still tasted just as good as the day they bottled it.

Fermentation: If the syrup happens to ferment while in the fridge (you will know this has happened by a thin layer of “scum” on top), DON’T throw it out! You can save it by placing it in a heavy gauge stainless steel pan – I’m guessing maybe like a stock pot??? – and heating it up very very slowly. As it warms, a white scum will come to the top. Skim this scum and throw it away. This may have to be done twice. This process could alter the taste slightly, so if you don’t like how it tastes on your pancakes you can still cook with it and get your money’s worth.

Grades: Grade A light and medium are good for table use, Grade A dark is a good compromise between cooking and table use, and Grade B is good for cooking. Vermont has strict criteria for their syrup grades, and it relies more on color than taste for grading. So it is possible to get a Grade B with a lighter, Grade A flavor, and Grade A with a stronger, Grade B flavor. Something else I found very interesting: Cecile said that contrary to popular belief Grade B syrup does not have a higher mineral content than Grade A. It’s all the same. She and her husband have worked for many years.

with research boards that have proven this. They are learning, however, that maple syrup has a greater variety of minerals and antioxidants than previously believed.

I was writing like crazy when she called, so I hope that this was everything she told me. You can also just call them up yourself - that's the beauty of supporting family farms!

Pssss...I did not receive any compensation for my support of the Branon Family Maple Orchards.