Fermented Sauerkraut

Today I made began my first attempt at lacto-fermentation.

Basically, lacto-fermentation is taking the carbohydrates of vegetables and turning them into lactic acid. Lactic acid breaks food down making it easier to digest. 

The resulting product is full of digestive enzymes and beneficial bacteria. 

Lactic acid stimulates your digestive system to make it function as it should.

I'm starting this learning process with sauerkraut because 
A) Cabbage is affordable if things don't turn out, 
and B) I need condiments, people!

This pregnancy has given me a taste for a variety of foods that we don't regularly keep on hand:

-Salsa--thick and chunky

-Sour Cream

-Salsa--spicy hot...mmm

-Olives

-Dill Pickles

(And did I mention Salsa?)

It dawned on me the other day that those are all fermented foods. 

I've never prepared anything using whey before, so I'm pretty excited to see if this recipe turns out and am hoping to try making my own salsa in the next few weeks.

So, I'll let you know about my lacto-fermention adventure as it unfolds...or molds!


Here's the recipe I followed:
From Nourishing Traditions
1/4 c liquid whey (Thanks for sharing yours, Bree!)
1 medium head cabbage, cored and shredded
1 T caraway seeds
1 T real salt


-Put all ingredients in large bowl and pound with masher for 10 minutes to release juices
-Press everything into a quart sized jar, push down on it to be sure to get all the air out
-Leave about 1 inch from the top of the jar
-Lightly cover and leave for three days on the counter (68˚-72˚F is ideal)
-Place in the fridge
-Tastes best over time


**Helpful tip**  (and photos)
After filling the jar, place a plastic bag inside the jar and fill with water to make an airtight seal over the ingredients.  
An oxygen-free environment makes the best conditions for fermentation to take place.


While I'm waiting, I'll just enjoy my store-bought Drew's Organic Thick and Chunky Hot Salsa.  Too bad I can't just spoon it in because it seems like a waste of chips at this point.


P.S.  This is week 23 of baby growing! 
 ::nom, nom, nom::

Instead: Part 2

Another long lost post found in my drafts folder that I wanted to share with you all.

Originally written on March 11, 2011

For our lifestyle, for the well-being of our child,

we have chosen these things instead.

(Read Instead:Part 1 here)

Pure imagination not televised entertainment

Ice cube in cloth, not pacifiers

Baby wearer not baby carrier

Home-birth with our midwife not hospital birth with a doctor

Sun baths not UV-lamps

Breastfeeding not formula

Smooshed organic whole foods not jarred baby food

Tummy time not bouncer seats

Slow transitions from bed-sharing to room sharing not alone in a nursery

Tummy-sleeping not forced side or back sleeping

Cloth diapers not non-biodegradable disposables

Baskets, not "Bumbo" (chair)

Cuddle-it-out not cry-it-out

--Hands-on parenting not rushed independence--

Reading together, not TV

Available, not too busy

Caring For Rabbits

Bunnies like their living quarters cleaned spit-spot,
yet, ironically,
they are the messiest little creatures!

Every night, we lure BB, Zoe, and Charlie into their house,

 so we Chris can clean out their hutch.

Dozens of tiny piles of pee-soaked bedding are removed and

fresh layers of Aspen bedding are added

(not cedar chips because its pungent odor
is too strong for the bunnies sensitive respiratory systems).

Despite our efforts to litter train our bunnies,

 they each go in whatever corner of the hutch they've claimed.

And with 3 rabbits and 4 corners...well, you get the picture.

Thankfully, they go pee in the giant digging box
in their play area when they are out of their house.

We take great care to make sure our bunnies have: 

plenty of exercise, 

human contact,

 fresh water, 

the best food pellets (no junk added),

 endless amounts of Timothy Spring Grass,

 and two fresh and crunchy salads a day.

They nibble and munch on any combination of organic produce like:

kale,

collard greens,

parsley,

carrots,

broccoli,

spinach,

celery,

lettuce,

dandelion greens,

cabbage,

and swiss chard.

The average domesticated rabbit can live up to 15+ years

and the dwarf rabbit can live up to 12 years.

With excellent diet and lots of creative stimulation and exercise, they can live their lives to the fullest.

We do all we can to ensure the longest, healthiest, happiest life for our bunnies.

Owning any number of rabbits takes a lot of dedication, time, money, and effort.

Some of you have asked to estimate what the financial responsibility of taking care of three rabbits is.

Hay/Grasses, quality food pellets, and bedding cost about $45 a month

and fresh produce at about $30 a month.

Plus chopping 2 meals worth of veggies, washing and filling the water bottle, cleaning the hutch and play area, and giving lots and lots of petting, 

the absolute minimal time commitment is around one hour a day.

But of course anyone who has a pet would spend more time together than that. 

Do you have any questions about rabbits or would you like to come over and pay our bunnies a visit?

Our Three Bunnies

I know I've introduced our sweet bunnies to you before, 

but I think their personalities have developed so much over the years that it bears repeating.  

Plus, don't we all love fluffy, silky, cuddly, soft bunny-wunnies? I thought so!

.......

This is BB. Chris named her to mean, "Baby Bunny"

 because she was the tiniest little ball of fluff we had ever seen.  

Now, we jokingly say her name means "Big and Beautiful."

 They charged us an extra $10 for her being a dwarf rabbit.

I'm still laughing at how big she got!

 She weighs about four pounds now.

BB will be 5 years old in July.

She is the pack leader.

She has giant floppy ears when she's relaxed and giant pointy ears when she's alert

 (We guess her mother must have been a lop-eared rabbit).

She is super affectionate and loves being held, petted, and kissed on the face.

She demands being bathed by the other two bunnies.

She gives me the softest kisses with her tiny pink tongue.

Who knew a bunny could show love?

She's also known as, Boopski, BB Boop, (and my nephew has called her Babbaloona BB).

.......

 We thought BB needed a baby, so we found Zoe.  

For the first several months, BB chased, nipped, and bullied little Zoe.

They had to play separately until we felt they could get along without growling and charging.

What did we do??

Oh, and she was supposed to be a dwarf rabbit too.

She's perfectly sized and weighs about two or three pounds.

Oh, but isn't she so pretty?

 When we got her cage arranged, she looked a bit unrested,

since BB was in attack-mode, 

so I pulled apart a dozen cotton balls to tuck her in with.

She sniffed them and then did a side summersault into her cozy bed.  

She was so happy she was smiling!

Zoe is 3 1/2 years old.

She is a peacemaker.

She is, by far, the cleanest bunny of all, making sure the others are well groomed.

She prefers to be left on her feet.

She is gentle.

She loves being gently petted, especially by Chris.

She gives kisses only on her best days.

She has the sweetest temperament.

She's also known as Zoe Zoot and Zo-Zo.

.......

And then, if two wasn't enough, we thought Zoe needed a friend, 

because BB still bossed her around on a regular basis. 

 That's when we found our girl, Charlie, a true dwarf rabbit.

 She fit in a matchbox!

We joke that her father was a guinea pig and her mother was a field mouse.

She is rather mousy, tiny, and fast. 

For a time, she made sort of a grunting/squeaking sound when she was eating, 

so that's our logic behind her breeding!

Charlie and Zoe were fast friends and BB was more jealous than ever.  

Best Friends 

(Zoe's arm was around Charlie's shoulders right before I snapped this)

Charlie is 3 1/2 and weighs about one pound.

She is very, very serious.

She loves to think she's in charge.

She is easily coaxed into things she dislikes with what we call "Charlie treats" 

(Those are the flower shaped food pellets that have a sweeter flavor).

She has the shortest little ears.

She doesn't prefer being petted or held, except on rare occasions.

She is bug-eyed most of the time, but I would be too if I was smaller than everything in my world.

She is even silkier than as she looks.

She's also known as Charty Choo and Char-Char Binx.

As a sign of dominance, BB would mount little Charlie backwards and Charlie would be invisible for a few seconds!  

Even to this day, we are still stern in saying, "BB, be nice to your baby."

Eventually, our three girl bunnies came to love each other.

The Bunny Trinity

Bunny Hutch

How did I forget to post this?

I was looking through my Drafts folder and saw this post gone unwritten.

Allow me to introduce the not-so-new-anymore bunny condominium, 

built [with love] by Todd Monde (hey, that could be his new slogan....hehehe).

This new home was a wonderful way to keep them contained at night, 

but also allows for some climbing exercise. 

For the Bun-Buns to access each level, there is a textured ramp. 

During the day, we open the bottom doors and have a step for them to hop down into their something of a play-pen area, which they spend their days running, chewing, chasing, jumping, and peeing grooming.

There is much more to say about our dear bunnies, so this post will be continued!