Time with my SoyQuick Premier Milk Maker 930P August 22, 2009

Hi all. Well if you are reading this, you must be interested in soy milk and you just might like to read this.

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to win the SoyQuick Premier Milk Maker 930P, thru a sweepstakes from www.soymilkquick.com. I was and am just delighted. In our household, we do not drink regular cows or animal milk. Soy milk is our way, plus the occasional almond, hemp and rice milk. To get this gift, was such a blessing. With all the increasing costs of soy beans, being able to make the soy milk at home was a trill. First, it’ll save money, second, FRESH SOY MILK every morning!!!!!, not to mention, making the milk with your own hands handmade and with love. I couldn’t wait to get started.

I first went out and bought a huge bag of soy beans from our local Li’l Saigon..however, you are provided with a small bag of soybeans with the machine to start off with.

My first few attempts to make soy milk worked but there is a little bit of an art to it. However, its easy and enjoyable.

If you are looking at buying this item, I highly recommend it.

However, two things you must be aware of,

One: it’s a commitment. The fresh soy milk doesn’t last very long, so, in my experiences, I make soymilk every morning or every other morning. It takes about 15 minutes to make..however you have to wait for the milk to cool down before using it. It’s very hot at first.

Second: Be careful with the machine. The sensor inside is sensitive. I had to return my first machine and get a new one. The company is wonderful, excellent communicator and sent me another one free of charge.

The machine comes with everything you’ll need to make soy milk, tofu and it even comes with cleaning supplies. It is important to read the warnings in the manual provided.

This machine makes, almond milk, tofu, okara, soy milk and many other milks and drinks. Java Soy, Fruit Soy…really anything. It’s fantastic. I have only perfected soy milk at this point. I will post more recipes, ideas and experiences as I go along.

Thank you for reading. Check out their website: www.soymilkquick.com

If you have questions, recipes or ideas, please let me know.

thank you,

Krista

SoyQuick Premier Milk Maker 930P @ www.soymilkquick.com June 17, 2009

I just WON!!!!

more to come!!…..

Urban Fruit Gleaning – Our Article in Good.is Magazine April 3, 2009

Hi…This is my personal recipe and family blog site, but I am also involved with a fruit gleaning project in Riverside, CA picking neighborhood fruit from overflowing fruit trees and donating the fresh fruit to the local Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank and others in need. Our name is Inland Empire Urban Fruit Harvesting.

Good.is Magazine wrote a Food Grows on Trees article on groups who are gleaning for donations. We just happen to be one of them. Please check out the article and spread the word….

Urban Fruit Information:

Urban Fruit Blog: http://urbanfruitharvesting.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UrbanFruit
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/ieurbanfruitcleaning
FaceBook: Urban Fruit Harvesting

Thank you,

krista

Blood of Nature January 19, 2009

We have been receiving our organic fruits and vegetables from CSA – Community Supported Agriculture (Inland Empire) on a weekly basis.  Not only have we gotten a beautiful arrangement of vegetables, greens and fruits, it’s different every week. We are supporting our local organic farmers and lighten our footprint on this earth while doing our part to help the community in the ways we feel best fits our lifestyle.

In these boxes, we have receive lots of greens, beets, wild spinach and broccoli rage. I have not yet figured out how to cook all these items, so we have decided to start juicing again. Every morning, I pull out a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs, and juice them into a beautiful drink to start our day.

Today’s Juice was the BEST I have mad yet, Really, so good, it tasted like it was the blood of nature. Here are the ingredients:

• 2 baby beets
• wild spinach
• collard greens – a few leaves
• arugula greens
• broccoli Rabe
• ginger – a little square piece, maybe a teaspoon (pealed)
• half of a cucumber with peal on if organic (peal the skin off if it’s not organic)
• 3 Fuji apples
• 3 small carrots, washed but not pealed

Unbelievable!!! Yummy!!!

Two Thumbs UP!!!

Attention All Inalnd Empire People – Urban Fruit Harvesting January 16, 2009

Hi all….
first, thank you for taking the time to read this post.

I watched a short YouTube Video on Urban Fruit Harvesting…

I am inspired…

We have an abundance of fruit growing on trees in residential areas of the Inland Empire. But every year, this delicious organic food drops without being harvested. Meanwhile, many people living on low incomes have limited access to fresh fruit, vital to a healthy diet.

I would like to get together and gather the fruit before it falls, and make this valuable resource available to those who need it.

So, if you know of anyone who has fruit tress, please let me know.

Even if it’s just one tree, it’s okay.

I am going to gather up places to pick trees and then organized a volunteer outing to start harvesting. Bring home what you want and the rest I will give to local food banks, homeless shelters and other organizations who may need fruit.

Are you in? You know of anyone who has trees, do you want to help harvest? Volunteer a truck, containers, pickers, people…..???anything you can help out with would be much appreciated.

Thank you for your support.

Making a difference, lighting my footprint….
Krista

God’s Pharmacy! Amazing! Natural Healing… January 14, 2009

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye… and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female – they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body’s cells. Today’s research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

A working companion,

Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Kimchi (Kimchee) Vegan Recipe – Probiotics September 23, 2008

Kimchee (kimchi) – Fermented Vegetables – Probiotic

What is the secret behind the miraculous effects of Kimchee and Kombucha? The Probiotics, the beneficial bacteria we need to have a healthy system.

Trillions of microorganisms of various types reside in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, from the stomach to the colon. This is also where our immune system sits. Here, deep in your gut, is where your health challenges lay. Our body’s reaction to beneficial bacteria works differently than how it reacts to bad bacteria. The good microbes calm the immune response, not just in your stomach but everywhere, increasing your well-being and protecting you from the harmful bacteria.

Probiotics help treat maladies such as urinary tract infections, bladder infections, irritable bowel syndrome and your over all immunities.

My Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 head of Green Cabbage (any cabbage with do), washed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 5 carrots pealed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 5 celery salks, washed and cut into -bite-size pieces
• Left over broccoli stems I had, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3-4 tb sea salt (regular salt will do)
• 2 tb finely minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tb finely minced fresh garlic
• 5 scallions – finely chopped
• 1 dried red pepper
• 1 tb cayenne Pepper
• 1 ts sugar

Instructions:

In a large bowl put 5-6 cups water and 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of the salt. Mix. Add the cabbage carrots, celery, broccoli to this water and dunk them in a few times as they have a tendency to float. Leave the vegetables in the salty water. Cover loosely and set aside for 12 hours. Turn the vegetables over a few times.

Put the ginger, garlic, scallions, cayenne, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in another large bowl. Mix well

Take the cabbage out of its soaking liquid with a slotted spoon (save the liquid) and put it in the bowl with the seasonings. Mix well.

Put this cabbage mixture into a 2-quart jar or crock.

Pour enough of the salt water over it to cover the vegetables (about 2 cups). Leave 1 inch of empty space at the top of the jar.

Cover loosely with a clean cloth and set aside for 3 to 7 days.

Left over Brine? What to do? Here’s a soup recipe… August 28, 2008

Stella Artois + Kimchi + Bread + Noodle Veggie Soup made with left over Kimchi brine = Happiness

Noddle Soup Ingredients:

• Left over Brine (any type) as much as you want- My brine was left over from Spicy Kimchi
• Water or vegetable stock to brine ~ equal amount to brine..depending on how many u’r cooking for
• Somen or Udon Noddles, cooked (with directions on the package)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 carrots, pealed and chopped
• 2 stacks of celery, chopped
• Hand full of Bok Choy (use any green that you have), chopped
• green onion, chopped (to top the soup)
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• salt and pepper to your taste

In a large pot, mix brine and water and heat on the stove until boiling.

In the meantime, saute the celery, garlic and carrots in olive oil on medium heat for 5-7 minutes.

Transfer veggies and cooked, rinsed noodles to the large pot with the brine and water mixture.

Heat all the way thru.

Add bok choy, cook for another five minutes on  simmer.

Garnish with green onion on top before you serve.

Fermentation Status: 5 Brews of Kombucha, Kimchee, Pickled Veggies & 3 loafs of Sourdough Bread August 18, 2008

To start with, we have four jars of Kombucha fermenting and waiting to be bottled and put into the fridge.

Next, we have out big monster jar of continuous brew of Kombucha. The jar we purchased at Happy Herbalist, which has tons of supplies for natural healing.

I, personally, like to drink Kombucha this way….natural, room-temperature and right from the scoby.

We are making our own Kimchee and Pickled Veggies. I gave on some Kimchee to Mariana, Grandma and put some in Shon’s lunch. I refrigerated some of the Pickled Vegetables to have as a snack throughout the day and will continue to ferment the rest of them for another day or so.

Now, my latest fermentation, Sourdough Bread. The picture below shows the “sponge” stage of the fermentation process. I still have to add 2 cups of flour, let rise and kneed. The process of making the sourdough “starter” is easy, click here to find out how.

Los and lots of ecosystems are growing in my kitchen!!!

Kimchi (Spicy Pickled Veggies) ;) My batch turned out……… SO SO SO Good… August 15, 2008

Want Some??…. I am pleased with my batch…

Home-Made Vegan Kimchi (Kimchee). I added Cilantro to this one….yum yum yum…the cilantro really adds to the spices.

Recipe for Vegan Vegetable Kimchee (Kimchi)

Chop up:

• Carrots, pealed (3)
• Celery (3 stocks)
• Chinese Cabbage, cored
• Bok Choy
• Daikon Radish
• White Onion
• Shallots (3)
• Green Onion (2)
• Add whole garlic to the mix as well: 5-6 cloves (or more)

Mixed 4 liters of water and 8 Tablespoons of salt until all the salt dissolved. This is brine.

*I’m making extra for my mom and dad

Wash all the vegetables and put them into a large pot.

Pour the Brine over the vegetables and cover.

Soak for 8-12 hours. Mixing often to make sure the vegetables are covered in the brine.

After the soak.

Strain the vegetables, but keep the brine. You’ll need it again.

Kimchee Sauce: Mix together

• 2 tbsp Cayene Pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp Chilli Pepper
• Fresh Ginger, minced
• Fresh Cilantro
• Fresh Garlic, mince

Toss the sauce into the vegetables and mix well.

Stuff, I mean stuff, the spiced-up vegetables into a jar or container with a removable lid.

Add the brine to the jar, covering the vegetables.

Place a cloth over the top and secure with a rubber band.

Ferment for a week or so, depending on the temperature. You can stir it when you think about it. Maybe once a day.