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Warm up Winter with Taco Soup

Nutrition experts have begun to advise low-carbohydrate diets to treat or prevent some chronic diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.
A low-carb diet focuses on proteins, including meat, poultry, fish and eggs, and some non-starchy vegetables. A low-carb diet generally excludes or limits most grains, legumes, fruits, breads, sweets, pastas and starchy vegetables. Some low-carb diet plans allow small amounts of certain fruits, vegetables and whole grains.


The idea behind the low-carb diet is that decreasing carbs lowers insulin levels, which causes the body to burn stored fat for energy and ultimately leads to weight loss. According to Dr. Atkins, a carbohydrate count of less than 20 per day for two weeks will start a fat-burning state called ketosis.

Ketosis is a normal metabolic process, something your body does to keep working when it doesn’t have access to carbohydrates. Ketosis uses stored fat as body fuel due to the limited amount of glucose available when carbohydrate restriction is used for dieting. Without carbohydrates, the body’s fuel of choice, the body uses up the energy in the body’s fat stores which results in weight loss.


Some types of carbohydrates do not affect blood sugar in the body as much as others, so the thought is that net carbs only account for carbs that do affect blood sugar. Net carbs are total carbohydrates per serving minus the number of grams of fiber (soluble and insoluble) per serving.
When counting carbohydrates for a recipe, I use net carbs which is the total carbohydrates minus the dietary fiber and one-half of the sugar alcohols which reveals the net carbs in a recipe.

Sugar alcohols are another form of carbohydrate that has an extremely small impact on blood sugar levels. Sugar alcohols, like sorbitol, malitol, lactitol or sucralose, have half of the calories than those contained in other sugars, and therefore, half of the carbs from sugar alcohols can be deducted from the total carbohydrate count. Since fiber and sugar alcohols are not absorbed by the body, they do not affect the blood glucose.

The information contained in this book is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment, and, as author, I encourage readers to consult with qualified medical professionals for treatment and related advice for their health. I encourage individuals and their families to consult with qualified medical professionals for treatment and related advice on individual cases before beginning any diet.

Decisions relating to the prevention, detection and treatment of all health issues should be made only after discussing the risks and benefits with your health care provider, taking into account your personal medical history, your current situation and your future health risks and concerns. If you are pregnant, nursing, diabetic, on medication, have a medical condition, or are beginning a health or weight control program, consult your physician.

5-6 Carb Crock Pot Taco Soup

Ingredients:                                                                                      

  • 1 pound ground beef, chicken or turkey
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes and dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • Dash of salt and pepper
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 four oz can of green chilies
  • 4 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 1 cup salsa
  • Avocado (optional) Instructions:
  • In a skillet over medium heat, brown meat.Drain fat from meat and put in crock pot.
  • Add remaining ingredients to crock pot (except avocado) and cook over low heat for 6-8 hours.
  • Garnish soup with avocado, if desired.

Candy Apple Salad

This apple salad is a wonderful side dish for any holiday gathering or family dinner. During Fall’s apple harvest it’s a celebration of nature’s bounty. Blending crunchy peanuts, sweet pineapple and apples creates a favorite dish at our home.

Our backyard apple tree yields a plethora of sweet–tart Anoka apples although any sweet or tart apple can be used in this recipe. I like to use my apple/peeler/corer to prepare the apples. I’ve had it for many years and I attach it to a cutting board or counter to peel apples. I’ve always thought that one that would attach to the counter top would be convenient which is now available from Amazon. The utensil also peels potatoes.

Candy Apple Salad

This is my grandson’s favorite fruit salad.It’s great for holiday dinners.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups tart apples—peeled, cored and chopped
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • One 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, with juice
  • 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
  • One 8 ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped dry roasted peanuts Directions:
  • In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the egg, flour, sugar, vinegar, and pineapple.
  • Cook until thick, about six minutes. Set aside until completely cool.
  • In large serving bowl, fold together the pineapple mixture and whipped topping. Carefully mix in the apples and ½ cup of peanuts. Sprinkle the remaining nuts on the top. This recipe is included in Eat What You Grow: Easy Garden Recipes for the Backyard Homestead and available on Amazon




While not a book about gardening it IS a book about using the bounty of the garden, like what you can do with all of that asparagus or zucchini! It also has some great bits of story and old-time homestead recipes like Cackelberry Pie (there’s not a berry to be found), Sauerkraut by the Jar then a recipe for how to use it with Sauerkraut Chocolate Cake, and “Easy Peasy” Sweet & Sour Dills that a 10-year-old could make. Great book!

Tina B.

Breakfast Recipes for Carb Cutters

Who said losing weight wasn't delicious?

These recipes have been collected to assist anyone trying the Atkins diet model to have a variety of breakfast dishes to complement the standard bacon and eggs morning routine. Some of the recipes can be made in batches and saved for the days when one needs to grab something to go. Others are an adaptation of favorite breakfasts but minus the carb count. For those of us who love breads, muffins, waffles and other carb loaded favorites, the reduced carbohydrate versions are contained in this collection.
Breakfast Recipes for Carb-Cutters

Savory Breakfast Bake

  • Ingredients:
  • 8 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms
  • 2 leeks
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 4 eggs
  • Olive oil
  • Fresh thyme
  • Fresh oregano
  • Butter Instructions:
  • Sautee mushrooms, leeks, diced garlic and oregano for 5-10 minutes.
  • Spread vegetables on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and olive oil.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
  • Remove baking sheet, crack eggs over the vegetables and bake for another 10 minutes, or until egg whites are set and yolks are runny.
  • Garnish with fresh thyme. Refrigerate any left-overs. Serves 2.

Hot Flax Cereal

  • Ingredients:
  • 3-4 tsp. butter
  • 1/3 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
  • 1/3 cup crushed walnuts, pecans, or macadamia nuts
  • 1/3 cup flax seed
  • 2 cups almond or coconut milk or cream
  • Sweetener to taste Instructions:
  • Melt butter in a saucepan with lid.
  • Add flax seed, nuts and coconut and cover pan as the flax seed will begin to pop like popcorn.
  • Shake pan for 1-2 minutes while toasting nuts, seeds and coconut until popping subsides.
  • Carefully pour milk into pan and heat until milk is warmed.
  • Sweeten to taste. Serves 2.

2.4 Carb Peanut Flour Waffles

Ingredients:

  • 1 ¾ cup peanut flour (dehydrated peanut butter)
  • 1 Tbsp. baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp. sweetener
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • ½ cup softened coconut oil or butter Instructions:
  • Preheat waffle iron.In medium bowl mix dry ingredients together
  • In a separate bowl mix wet ingredients together.
  • Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until smooth.
  • Make sure the iron is hot and add the batter onto the greased waffle iron.
  • Close the iron and cook 3-5 minutes or until crisp. Makes 12 single waffles.

1 Carb Cheese & Chive Pork Rind Pancakes

  • Ingredients:
  • 6 oz. cream cheese
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced or ½ tsp. garlic salt
  • ¾ tsp. salt
  • Ground pepper to taste
  • 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives
  • ½ cup finely crushed pork rinds
  • Olive oil or coconut oil
  • Sour cream and lemon wedges to serve Instructions:                                                                         
  • Place cream cheese, eggs, Parmesan, garlic powder, sea salt and cracked pepper into a mixing bowl and mix until smooth.
  • Stir in chopped chives and crushed pork rinds.
  • Use olive oil or coconut oil to grease a pancake griddle.
  • Pour batter onto hot griddle and cook for 2-3 minutes on one side.
  • Flip and cook for one minute or so on the other side. Serve hot with sour cream and lemon wedges. Makes 6 pancakes.

1.5 Carb Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Biscuit Ingredients:                                                                        

  • 1 cup almond flour
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 Tbsp. soft butter Instructions:                                                                         
  • Preheat over to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet or muffin tin with cooking oil spray.
  • Mix dry ingredients.
  • Add eggs and butter and stir to combine.
  • Drop biscuits by spoonful onto cookie sheet or muffin tin.\
  • Bake 11-15 minutes. Makes 8 biscuits.
  • While biscuits bake, make sausage gravy. Gravy Ingredients:                                                                           
  • 16 oz. pork sausage
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cup beef or chicken broth
  • Salt and pepper to taste Instructions:                                                                         
  • Brown sausage and crumble.
  • When meat is browned, add cream cheese and broth.
  • Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper.
  • Carb count is per biscuit.

Zero Carb Waffles

  • Ingredients:                                                                           
  • 1 ½ scoop Vanilla Protein powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp. water
  • Dash cinnamon
  • packet Stevia or to taste (optional) Instructions:                                                                      
  • Mix well.
  • Add to hot, greased waffle iron coated with non-stick spray.
  • Cook 2-3 minutes until golden.Top with sugar free syrup or topping of choice.

Cream Cheese Pancakes

  • Ingredients:
  • 2 oz. cream cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 packet stevia (or any) sweetener
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • Fresh berries Instructions:                                                                         
  • Put all ingredients in a blender or use hand mixer to blend until smooth.
  • Let rest for 2 minutes.
  • Divide batter into fourths and pour into a hot pan greased with butter or vegetable spray.
  • Cook for 2 minutes or until golden then flip and cook for one minute on the other side.
  • Serve with sugar free syrup and fresh berries. Serves 2.

2 Carb Avocado Breakfast Pizza

  • Ingredients:
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup almond meal/flour1
  • ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 2 avocados
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 4 slices bacon
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • ½ tsp Italian seasoning
  • Salt and pepper to taste Instructions:                                                                         
  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Soften the cream cheese and mozzarella cheese in the microwave for about 45 seconds until slightly melted.
  • Add in the almond flour, egg, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir until it forms a ball of dough.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat with non-stick spray. Pour the dough onto the baking sheet and use a spatula to form into a long, even rectangle.
  • Bake for 12 minutes until lightly brown.
  • Cook the bacon in the microwave for about 5 minutes until crispy; set aside to cool.
  • Split the avocados in half, remove the pits and score the flesh with a knife; use a spoon to scoop out the meat into a blender or food processor.
  • Add the olive oil, salt and pepper to the avocado and blend until smooth.
  • Spread the avocado mixture over the crust, crumble the bacon and sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese on top.
  • Return the pizza to the oven an additional 7 minutes until the cheese is melted.
  • Melt the butter in a pan over medium low heat.
  • Fry the eggs about 3 minutes per side for slightly runny yolks.
  • Add the eggs to the top of the pizza before serving. Serves 4.

Donuts

Ingredients:

  • 4 large eggs
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 12 drops liquid stevia (or to taste)
  • ¼ tsp baking soda Instructions:                                                                           
  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  • Whisk all ingredients until well combined.
  • Spray a donut pan with cooking spray and fill the pan.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes, or until they begin to turn a golden brown. Cool completely and dust with cinnamon sugar.

2 Carb Breakfast Pie

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
  • 8 oz ground sausage
  • 8 eggs
  • 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  • ¾ cup shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
  • Salt to taste Instructions:                                                                         
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Use oil or cooking spray to grease pie plate.
  • Cook and crumble sausage in skillet.
  • When cool, press cooked sausage into pie plate as a crust.
  • Break eggs over the sausage.
  • Sprinkle with parsley, salt and pepper.
  • Bake eggs 7-8 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese.Return to oven and cook until cheese melts, another 6-7 minutes. Serves 4.

0 Carb Sweet or Savory Crepes

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 3 Tbsp Vanilla Protein powder or for savory crepes use non-flavored protein powder
  • 1 Tbsp Vital Wheat Gluten
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 Tbsp water Instructions:                                                                         
  • Blend ingredients together in blender.
  • Let batter sit for 15 minutes.
  • Spray crepe pan with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat.
  • Pour about 3 Tbsp batter into crepe pan and swirl to thinly distribute.\
  • When crepe appears dry around edges and bubbles, flip.
  • Crepe quickly cooks on flip side. Turn crepe out onto plate and repeat until all batter is cooked. Sweet Crepe fillings:                                          
  • Strawberries ½ cup=3.4 carbs
  • Raspberries ½ cup=3 carbs
  • Blueberries ½ cup=8.3 carbs
  • Blackberries ½ cup = 5.4 carbs Savory Crepe fillings:                                                   
  • Ham and cheese, sliced thin and rolled
  • Mushrooms (canned), peppers and onions, sautéed, ½ cup approximately=4 carbs
  • Link Sausages, cooked and wrapped in crepe.

0 Carb Bacon, Egg and Cheese Cups

Ingredients:

  • 8 eggs
  • 6 slices bacon
  • ½ cup cheddar cheese
  • 2 Tbsp cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste Instructions:                                                                         
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
  • Scramble eggs in mixing bowl and season to taste.
  • Line each muffin edge with strip of bacon
  • .Pour scrambled egg mixture into muffin well.
  • Top with 1 Tbsp. shredded cheese.
  • Bake 25 minutes or until set. Serves 3.

6 Carb Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup onion, diced
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, diced
  • ½ cup salsa
  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ cup cheddar or pepperjack cheese
  • Tobacco sauce to taste
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Avocado (optional) Instructions:                                                                          
  • In skillet sauté onions and peppers in olive oil over medium heat until translucent.
  • Add salsa.
  • Break eggs over sauce.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Sprinkle with cheese.
  • Cover and cook until white of egg is set and yolk is runny.
  • Serve ½ an avocado with eggs, if desired. Serves 2.

4.5 Carb Omelets

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • ½ cup onion
  • ½ cup sliced, canned mushrooms
  • ¼ cup green pepper
  • ½ cup cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup cubed ham
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil Instructions:                                                                         
  • Pour olive oil into skillet or omelet pan.
  • Sauté onions, mushrooms and peppers in olive oil until translucent.
  • Season vegetables.
  • Season and scramble eggs.
  • Pour eggs over vegetables.
  • Add diced ham.
  • Sprinkle with cheese.
  • When the bottom of omelet has set, fold omelet in half.Divide omelet in half and cover with lid. Cook both halves until middle has set. Serves 2.


2.8 Carb Cream Cheese Kolaches

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella
  • 2 Tbsp cream cheese
  • ¾ cup almond flour
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 10 drops stevial extract
  • 1 tsp preferred sugar free sweetener Pecan Layer                                                        
  • ½ cup chopped pecans
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 Tbsp swerve or other sugar free granulated sweetener Filling                                                                                      
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp sweetener or 15 drops liquid stevia  Instructions: Dough:                                                          
  • Microwave cream cheese and mozzarella on high about 1 minute and stir to blend.
  • When completely melted, stir in almond flour, baking powder, egg, vanilla, stevia and sweetener.
  • Knead the dough until all the ingredients are incorporated.
  • Divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Slightly flatten each ball and create a hollow in each center.
  • Sprinkle each hollow with pecans and fill with filling. Then sprinkle a few more pecans.
  • Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 20 minutes until firm and golden. Filling:                                                                                   
  • Warm cream cheese in microwave.
  • Add remaining ingredients and use to fill dough before baking. Serves 8.

Granny’s Mint Wine

Mint was one of Spring’s harbingers together with the asparagus. I grow mint in the cinder blocks fencing the asparagus bed. This year I ventured into herbal wine-making.

The process was simple and the equipment and supplies readily available. I purchased two gallon jugs at a local flea market for $4.98 each, Gallon brewing bottles are also available on line. Additional supplies needed include an air lock and champagne yeast from Amazon. The ingredients list included mint leaves, sugar, orange juice, filtered water and the wine yeast.

The recipe called for sterile utensils and containers as you would need for any canning or fermentation process. I sterilized the gallon container in which I would mix the ingredients, filtered a gallon of tap water and put it on to boil. Earlier I had picked 4 cups of mint leaves which I washed and stripped from their stems.

  • Proof one package wine yeast (2 tsp.) by adding it to a cup of warm (100 degree) orange juice. The yeast will begin to foam (proof) that it is alive and active as it feeds on the sugars in the juice. If the orange juice is too hot, it will kill the yeast. Make sure it is barely warmer than body temperature to activate.
  • Put 4 cups sugar in the sterilized gallon jar and add two cups of the boiling filtered water to the jug and swirl to dissolve the sugar.
  • Stuff mint leaves through the neck of the gallon jar and then pour the boiling water through a funnel into the jar leaving enough room to add the proofed yeast after the mixture has cooled to 90 –100 degrees.
  • Stopper the bottle with a sterilized air lock and watch for the wine mixture to begin to bubble up through the lock in about an hour. If the mixture fails to bubble within a few hours, the yeast was probably killed. If this happens, just proof another packet of yeast in orange juice and add to the fledgling wine.
Air lock keeps wild yeast from invading the wine.

After the wine stops bubbling up into the stopper, rack the wine. This process siphons the fermented product into a clean container in order to separate the new wine from the dregs. I found that a racking cane which keeps the lees from being sucked into the new container makes this process simple.

When most of the new wine has been transferred to a clean container, tilt the bottle to access more of the wine while avoiding the lees. Discard the dregs or compost them and sanitize the used bottle and racking equipment before using them on the next batch of wine.

This process may be repeated at intervals before bottling until the wine clears although cloudy wine, like imperfect fruit, is still perfectly fine to consume.

When the wine clears, bottle it in sterilized bottles. Bottles are available new, or use recycled wine bottles that have been thoroughly sterilized.


Apple Sugar

About every three years my Anoka apple tree escapes the late Rocky Mountain spring freezes and puts on an abundant apple crop. I’m always looking for creative ways to use the apples that the birds leave me. September’s apple harvest finds me surrounded by the heavenly aroma of apples baking.


This year I found a method for preserving the apples to use as a sweetener in apple recipes. The process is simple and only requires three components: apples, a blender or food processor, and a dehydrator.


Basically, you only need to grind the apples in a blender or processor until they are very finely ground.
Then spread the apple slurry thinly on a dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate until completely dry.

When sufficiently dry the apple sugar should have no moisture remaining in the apple slurry. . I set my dehydrator for 135 degrees for 6-8 hours. The processing time may be affected by humidity and outside temperature.


Finally, put the dried apple slurry into a blender or food processor and whiz until powdered The apple sugar is now ready to add supplemental apple sweetness to apple cakes, apple pancakes, apple muffins and waffles. I replaced about one-third of the sugar in each recipe with apple sugar to give a deeper apple bouquet to my apple creations.

Apple Sugar Muffins, Gluten Free

Apple Muffins, Gluten FreeWhisk dry ingredients together:·

  • 1 ¾ cup gluten free baking mix*
  • ½ cup sugar or zero calorie sweetener
  • ¼ cup apple sugar plus 1 tablespoon for dusting muffin tops**
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt· ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • In separate bowl combine:
  • 1 cup grated apple
  • 1 cup diced apple
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • ½ cup Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
  • Spoon batter into 12 greased muffin tins or use muffin liners. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes until firm to touch.
  • *To make a gluten free baking mix combine 1 cup almond meal, 1 cup golden flaxseed meal, and 1 cup coconut flour. I put ingredients in a quart jar and shake to mix them together. Use as a 1:1 substitute for flour.
  • **I made apple sugar from a portion of my apple harvest this year. If you don’t have an apple tree, you could just add ¼ cup of dry sweetener to this recipe to replace the apple sugar in the recipe. Follow the link if you would like to make apple sugar.
https://www.amazon.com/Eat-What-You-Grow-Homestead/dp/1497520959/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1546558314&sr=1-1&keywords=Eat+what+you+grow+by+Rachel+May

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Instant Sourdough Starter


Instant Sourdough Starter

Time is the element that keeps many people from a healthier lifestyle. It takes time to create nutritious home-cooked meals. When starting my sourdough adventures, I was fascinated with the process of catching wild yeast from the very air around us. After several baking experiences, I began investigating other fermentation processes which replaced my sourdough regimen. Remember time! It’s a limited quantity.

However, I had discovered a way of keeping sourdough starter to prepare instantly, just like mashed potatoes. The sourdough starter could be reconstituted with filtered water and be ready to begin a new batch of the wonderful crusty goodness of fresh homemade sourdough bread.

All that is required is the instant sourdough starter,plus filtered non-chlorinated water, and the flour of your choice. The secret for me to preserve the living sourdough culture was found in my Excelsior dehydrator. I learned that you can dehydrate sourdough starter and keep it in a jar until you are ready to reconstitute the culture and begin the bread-making process once more. The starter will be there when you return from a vacation, conference or any other extended stay that you take.

The process is simple and only requires left-over sourdough starter. I used the remaining starter from my bread-making and spread it thinly on a dehydrator sheet. I set the dehydrator temperature for 105 degrees and the timer for 4 hours. Any higher temperature will kill the active yeast in the culture. The timer keeps watch and allows you the freedom to attend to the other details of the day.
After the dehydrator shut off, I checked to see that the starter was completely dry. The thinner and more evenly you spread the starter the more consistent the dehydration will be. If the starter is still damp, set the timer for another hour and continue to process the starter in the dehydrator until completely dry. When dehydrated, the starter will break into chips that you can store in a glass jar until needed.

When you want to reconstitute the starter, simply measure 1/3 cup of chipped starter into a glass jar and add 4 Tablespoons of non-chlorinated water. After the chips dissolve, feed the starter with 2 Tablespoons of flour and an equal amount of filtered water.

For instructions on how to make sourdough bread from scratch, refer to my previous blog post Catching the Wild Yeast and Other Game. It has the instructions for capturing wild yeast, the process of creating a sourdough culture, and a recipe for sourdough bread. Happy, healthy wishes to you on your sourdough safari.

Hunting Wild Yeast & Other Game

My kitchen windowsill is one of the busiest traffic patterns in my house. Just now it is hosting a jade tree rooting, a sourdough starter, two basil rootings, and three Colorado columbines started from seed.

My husband and I are intrigued by the invisible phenomena of wild yeast. We had not yet heard that there be “wild yeast” having only been introduced to the yeast found in little foil packets at the grocery store, so we set a trap to hunt the invisible guests floating though our airwaves.

Following information on Pinterest I mixed 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten with 1/4 cup distilled water. It was important to use filtered water as the chlorine in tap water kills the airborne yeast that we are trying to capture in the flour and water mixture. I didn’t have any cheesecloth, so I used a coffee filter secured with a rubber band on the jar mouth to keep marauding insects or dirt from harassing my wild yeast.

Sure enough, the next day saw our trap bubbling with yeasty bubbles. Of course, once captured I was responsible for feeding the little critters just like any other pet with a daily ration of ¼ flour and ¼ cup distilled water stirred into the existing concoction. I fed the mixture for seven days. The wild yeast needs food to digest every day to continue producing yeast.

My water distiller that I purchased years ago provided the filtered water needed. The aquifer that provides our town water is filled with minerals and then chlorinated by the city, so the distiller has been instrumental in providing water for drinking and hunting wild yeast.

Our counter top water distiller has saved us hundreds of dollars over the years. The average person drinks ½ gallon of water daily, so I figure that between my husband and myself we drink 365 gallons of water a year. If purchased, the water would cost about $325 a year. We’ve saved enough money distilling our own water to go on a safari to hunt wild yeast.

After 12-16 hours, scoop the sourdough mixture onto a well-floured counter and gently fold flour into dough until it does not stick to the floured surface. The outside of the dough should not be sticky although the middle dough may be somewhat sticky. This process may take up to 1 cup of flour. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Cool on wire rack before slicing.

After seven days of feeding, I removed ¼ cup of the yeast mixture, placed it in a clean jar, and fed it with ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup distilled water to start a new batch of sourdough, I placed the new starter in a warm counter location, and turned my attention to making bread.

I used the 4 Ingredient Sourdough Bread recipe from the Practical Stewardship blog. The recipe calls for ¼ cup of starter, 2 cups flour (and more for kneading), 1 ½ cup distilled water, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix these four ingredients together in a glass bowl, cover with plastic or a dishtowel, and place in a warm spot overnight. The sourdough mixture will look somewhat sponge-like after rising overnight.

The remaining sourdough starter may be used as it is in recipes for waffles, pancakes, muffins, or disposed of if unneeded.

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