Chinese Pineapple Chicken

Looking for a quick, tasty and healthy dinner?  This is it.  The beauty of this recipe is that you can use most vegetables- carrots, squash, onions, celery, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes...

This recipes serves four.

Pineapple Turmeric Sauerkraut- worth a try!

Thanks to Fermented Food Lab's Danielle for this recipe.  Today is kraut and kimchi day at my house.  It is blistering cold outside and I know the seasonal flus are here.  Kraut and kimchi are powerful weapons in my arsenal against these "bugs".

This is a health powerhouse- turmeric, pineapple, apple cider, ginger... and cabbage and fermented hot peppers (optional).

I use a coffee filter to let the air circulate.

As with most sauerkraut recipes, this one is incredibly easy to make.


 Ingredients:

1 head      cabbage (shredded)
½              pineapple (chopped)
1 tbsp       ground turmeric
1 tbsp      fresh ginger (grated)
1 tbsp      sea salt

Brine:
1 tbsp      Sea Salt
1 tbsp      Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
4 cups     purified water

1 tbsp      brine from fermented hot peppers and a few peppers- optional to add to the jar.

Directions:

Shred the cabbage in a food processor, mandolin or chop with a knife. Add it to a big bowl.Chop the pineapple into small chunks and add it to the bowl with the cabbage.Add in the grated ginger and sea salt to the bowl.

Massage the cabbage mixture with your hands for 5 minutes or until it starts to break down and become soft. Let it sit for 15 minutes in the bowl.After the 15 minutes, the cabbage will become very soft and wet. If you squeeze it now, juice will come out.

Add the turmeric to the cabbage. You can either mix it with your hands or a spoon. The turmeric could stain your hands and fingernails orange so you may want to use a spoon.

Pack the cabbage halfway into the mason jars if you are using two or halfway into the large mason jar if you are using one.

Make the brine by combining 1 cup of hot water with the sea salt. Once the sea salt dissolves add the remaining water and the apple cider vinegar. Pour the brine into the mason jars, leaving about an inch from the top. Stir the brine and cabbage together in the jar so it's all combined.

Place a lid on the jar loosely so gas can escape as fermentation takes place.

Set on the counter for 4-7 days in a cool, shaded place.

During fermentation the sauerkraut will bubble a little and become cloudy. If scum appears, remove it with a spoon.  Every day or two, shake the mason jar up so the cabbage submerges under the brine and doesn't develop mold.  Place in the fridge and serve cold.

To make a gut shot: The extra brine from the sauerkraut is the gut shot. Pour the extra brine into shot glasses to share with friends. Cheers!

Update Jan. 2019- Added one lemon and one lime to the mix- each thinly sliced.  Will update in a few weeks once the fermentation has happened.

Oatmeal Banana Bread -

I have a great banana bread recipe, but I wanted to make it even healthier- so I added toasted oatmeal, maple syrup instead of sugar, and fresh blueberries.  Alton Brown's recipe introduced me to toasting oatmeal and I added my riffs... Enjoy!