Naraya Cooking Health Recipe: February 2013

asparagus

Skillet Asparagus & Tomato Medley

6:55 PM

buttercream

vanilla torte with chocolate "buttercream" frosting & maca slices

11:29 AM

drink

glowing morning juice

12:02 PM

berry

kombucha with goji berry green tea

2:24 PM

My boyfriend says I should call this a love potion (or health potion). I'm going to save that title for a juice recipe that's coming up, but that doesn't mean it's not true for kombucha - this fermented mushroom tea is carefully made with love and so it makes loves! Oh... that sounded more sexual than I thought it would.

I'm going to be lazy here and just copy and paste this recipe from The Kitchn. (So the recipe below was not written by my hands.) There's nothing special about how I make my kombucha and the original process is tried and true. The only difference for my recipe is that I used goji berry green tea and agave nectar instead of white sugar. As long as there is a sugar for the bacteria to eat, it doesn't matter what kind it is. You could also use cane sugar. Whatever floats your boat. Or in this case... your baby mushroom.

I just found this good looking raw kombucha recipe which I will try for my next batch. I love GT's kombucha and it's entirely raw so there's my incentive. Plus... I obviously just like raw food.

The health benefits of kombucha are pretty awesome. I'm not saying that it's like a super miracle cure for all ailments or the secret to longevity - that comes with eating a whole foods, plant based diet, drinking enough water, exercising regularly and laughing a lot - but this fermented mushroom tea definitely has it's perks. It's excellent for detoxification, your immune system, and keeping your digestive tract happy and healthy. It's got loads of good-for-you bacteria that help keep your gut clean and efficient. Try it out! Buy a bottle at your health food store, see if you like it. If so - try making your own.

kombucha with goji berry green tea:

3 1/2 quarts water
1 cup agave nectar/raw cane sugar
8 bags goji berry green tea (or whatever tea you prefer)
2 cups starter tea from last batch of kombucha or store-bought (unpasteurized, neutral-flavored) kombucha
1 scoby per fermentation jar

Stock pot
1-gallon glass jar or two 2-quart glass jars
Bottles: Six 16-oz glass bottles with plastic lids, 6 swing-top bottles, or clean soda bottles

Instructions

Note: Avoid prolonged contact between the kombucha and metal both during and after brewing. This can affect the flavor of your kombucha and weaken the scoby over time.

1. Make the Tea Base: Bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sweetener to dissolve. Drop in the tea and allow it to steep until the water has cooled. Depending on the size of your pot, this will take a few hours. You can speed up the cooling process by placing the pot in an ice bath.

2. Add the Starter Tea: Once the tea is cool, remove the tea bags or strain out the loose tea. Stir in the starter tea. (The starter tea makes the liquid acidic, which prevents unfriendly bacteria from taking up residence in the first few days of fermentation.)

3. Transfer to Jars and Add the Scoby: Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon glass jar (or divide between two 2-quart jars, in which case you'll need 2 scobys) and gently slide the scoby into the jar with clean hands. Cover the mouth of the jar with a few layers of cheesecloth or paper towels secured with a rubber band.

4. Ferment for 7 to 10 Days: Keep the jar at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and where it won't get jostled. Ferment for 7 to 10 days, checking the kombucha and the scoby periodically.

It's not unusual for the scoby to float at the top, bottom, or even sideways. A new cream-colored layer of scoby should start forming on the surface of the kombucha within a few days. It usually attaches to the old scoby, but it's ok if they separate. You may also see brown stringy bits floating beneath the scoby, sediment collecting at the bottom, and bubbles collecting around the scoby. This is all normal and signs of healthy fermentation.

After seven days, begin tasting the kombucha daily by pouring a little out of the jar and into a cup. When it reaches a balance of sweetness and tartness that is pleasant to you, the kombucha is ready to bottle.

5. Remove the Scoby: Before proceeding, prepare and cool another pot of strong tea for your next batch of kombucha, as outlined above. With clean hands, gently lift the scoby out of the kombucha and set it on a clean plate. As you do, check it over and remove the bottom layer if the scoby is getting very thick.

6. Bottle the Finished Kombucha: Measure out your starter tea from this batch of kombucha and set it aside for the next batch. Pour the fermented kombucha (straining, if desired) into bottles, along with any juice, herbs, or fruit you may want to use as flavoring. Leave about a half inch of head room in each bottle. (Alternatively, infuse the kombucha with flavorings for a day or two in another jar covered with cheesecloth, strain, and then bottle. This makes a cleaner kombucha without "stuff" in it.)

7. Carbonate and Refrigerate the Finished Kombucha: Store the bottled kombucha at room-temperature out of direct sunlight and allow 1 to 3 days for the kombucha to carbonate. Until you get a feel for how quickly your kombucha carbonates, it's helpful to keep it in plastic bottles; the kombucha is carbonated when the bottles feel rock solid. Refrigerate to stop fermentation and carbonation, and then consume your kombucha within a month.

8. Make a Fresh Batch of Kombucha: Clean the jar being used for kombucha fermentation. Combine the starter tea from your last batch of kombucha with the fresh batch of sugary tea, and pour it into the fermentation jar. Slide the scoby on top, cover, and ferment for 7 to 10 days.

Banana

Mango Pineapple Banana Smoothie

9:37 AM

caramel

carob caramel tarts with coconut

2:33 PM

lemon

Tahini Miso Dressing-Dip

8:08 AM

cacoa

golden chocolate maca truffles

10:31 AM

almonds

Raw Fruit Tartlet

9:12 AM

These were just something special. So colorful, simple and delicious! A classic fruit tart, the kind I remember enjoying with mixed fruit. We had this wonderful little grocery store in Claremont, Ca called Wolfe's Market that sold fruit tarts in their bakery and I would always pick one up when in the area. I love fruit, I love creams and the crust was just an added bonus. I must say that having had theirs, and now this one, I much rather prefer and love this raw version. After eating it I felt cool, refreshed and wanting another. Makes for a great breakfast or dessert that won't leave you feeling weighed down in the least. You can be sure that every ingredient is beneficial and I know you will love this raw fruit tart as much as I do.

I happen to have little mini cake pans to use as a mold. They're about three inches in diameter and were inexpensive for a set of three, but I only used two for this recipe. If using the classic tartlet molds you should get about three with the crust amount, to get all six double the crust recipe. The fruit tarts held up great. The crust stayed in place and didn't become soggy, even after being in the refrigerator overnight. But if making these for parties, for best appearance I recommend serving within a couple hours of making. All in all, everything held up fantastic and it was quite delicious!

Raw Fruit Tart

Ingredients

kiwi
strawberries
blueberries
mango
cashew sweet cream

Crust (makes 2 -3)

1 cup almonds or walnuts, or combo (I used almonds)
5 medjool dates
dash or two of cinnamon
2 tablespoons water, divided

Make your cashew sweet cream and keep in the fridge for at least three hours. This can also be made a day or two ahead.

Make your crust by combining all the ingredients, except water, into a food processor/blender and blend until combined and somewhat chunky. Add one tablespoon of water, process until dough forms. Add the extra tablespoon of water if needed. I used it but you may find in your climate or altitude that you may not need it. We don't want the dough too wet, just enough so that it combines nicely. Cover and place in refrigerator for 20 min to stiffen a bit.

While dough is setting, prepare your fruits and set aside.

Using molds of choice, line each with a piece of saran wrap like the picture shown above. Fill each pan with a layer of dough, about 1/4 inch thick, by pressing firmly yet gently into place. Fill each tartlet with cashew sweet cream, almost to the rim, and level out, top with fruit. To remove tart from mold, gently lift the edges of saran wrap, place on flat surface and using a spatula carefully wedge under the tart and move to desired flat surface. You can prepare these a couple hours ahead, cover with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Makes 2 three inch fruit tarts using the mini cake molds. Each fruit tart is about 2 serving.

Notes: If using classic tartlet mold, the cashew sweet cream will fill all six and the crust will cover three. If using mini cake pans like I did, the cream will fill three and the crust will cover two.

Enjoy!