YOGURT

Makes 2L

Yogurt is super easy to make. Neither a yogurt maker nor a special culture is necessary. Make sure to use the best quality milk you can get, unpasteurized is preferred. The final product might be thinner than commercial product.

INGREDIENTS:
8 Tbsp yogurt starter (good quality commercial plain yogurt or from previous batch)
4 x tsp gelatin
2L milk (RAW)
a candy thermometer
5 x 500ml mason jar (wide mouth)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1.) Place 2L raw milk in a big pot and bring to 110°F on medium heat. 
2.) Remove milk from heat source immediately as soon as the temperature reaches 108°F as the temperature will continue to raise for another 2°F, which will bring it to 110°F.
3.) Place yogurt starter in one of the mason jars.
4.) Add 2 Tbsp of the warm milk to the yogurt starter, and stir gently until starter is fully dissolved.
5.) Add 2 more Tbsp of the warm milk to the yogurt starter mixture, again, stir gently until starter mixture is fully blended.
6.) Pour the yogurt starter mixture into the pot of warm milk and gently stir well with a whisk.
7.) Place gelatin in another mason jar.
8.) Add 4 Tbsp of the warm milk to the gelatin, mix well.
9.) Add another 4 Tbsp of warm milk to the gelatin mixture, mix well until mixture is smooth and clump free.
10.) Pour the gelatin mixture into the pot of warm milk and gently stir to blend the mixture with a whisk.
7.) Once yogurt starter mixture and gelatin mixture is well blended into the warm milk, pour the warm milk evenly into each mason jars.
8.) Close the lids tight for each mason jars and place in your excalibur to incubate at 100°F for 6 - 12 hours until set.
9.) As soon as the timer goes off, check the yogurt by opening the lid of one and tilt it at a 45° angle. If it is one mass, no more liquid, it is ready. If there are still some liquid, it is not quite ready yet. Place it back into the excalibur for another hour and check again.
10.) Once yogurt is set, place all the jars on the counter and allow to cool a little more.
11.) Place them into the fridge for at least 2 hours before consuming it.
12.) Enjoy!

*Note: Make sure to start with the freshest RAW milk possible. May be make your yogurt the day you get your milk for a better quality yogurt.

*Tip: The longer the yogurt incubates in the Excalibur, the lesser the casein content will be. For those who are sensitive to casein might want to incubate the yogurt for 10 - 12 hours.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Nourishing Traditions Book, www.culturesforhealth.com

VANILLA ICE CREAM

Makes 1L


If you want a delicious and nourishing ice cream, make sure to choose the best quality cream you can find. Preferably unpasteurized. 

INGREDIENTS:
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp arrowroot powder
3 cups heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS:
1.) Blend egg yolks in high speed blender (I use Vitamix) at high speed for about 30 seconds.
2.) Add in remaining ingredients and blend at high speed for 1 minute.
2.) Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to the ice cream maker instructions.
3.) Serve the amount you want to enjoy immediately and transfer the remaining ice cream into a shallow glass container. 
4.) Cover and store in the freezer immediately.
5.) Enjoy your ice cream!

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Nourishing Traditions Book by Sally Fallon

TERIYAKI SAUCE

Makes 3/4 cup

INGREDIENTS: 
1cm x 1 cm cube of fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp raw honey
1/2 cup naturally fermented soy sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:
1.) Put all ingredients in a VITAMIX blender and blend at high speed for 1 minutes and it is ready to be served!

USAGE: 
1.) Marinate for any sort of meat.
2.) Condiment 

ORIGINAL RECIPE ADOPTED FROM: Nourishing Traditions Book by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig

Master Tonic

Master Tonic

As we were visiting a friend, she casually told us that she just made this tonic called "Master Tonic" and offered us a shot each. Knowing us, we are always game for anything healthy. Chas shot it down the hatch fast and I sipped it. To my surprised, it is also yummy! Definitely only sip it if you loves super hot and spicy tastes. It burns the tongue, but in a good way. My advise is, only sip it if you normally like super hot and spicy taste, otherwise shot it down the hatch fast and have a shot of juice for chaser!

Chas & I find ourselves talking about the Master Tonic Kate shared with us even days after the experience so we thought we would make it once and see if it will be something we want to have in our home all the time. Now that we have made a jar, I can tell you that we know, The Master Tonic is definitely another elixir we will have in our kitchen at all times. 

For those of you who might also want to try it, here is the recipe....

TOOLS:

• Food Processor (Yes, you can get away with a cutting board and a sharp knife BUT if you insist of chopping everything manually, I will also suggest that you wear gloves and your ski goggle for this chopping task)
• Large Mason Jar
• 1 wooden spoon or high quality rubber spatula
• 1 pair of good quality rubber gloves

INGREDIENTS:  

• fresh chopped garlic cloves (anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-parasitical)
• fresh chopped white onions, or the hottest onions available (anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-parasitical)
• fresh chopped ginger root (increases circulation to the extremities)
• fresh chopped horseradish root (increase blood flow to the heat)
• fresh chopped Cayenne peppers, Jalapenos, Serranos, Habeneros, African bird peppers... any combination of the hottest peppers available
• Vinegary KOMBUCHA or RAW Apple Cider Vinegar (Braggbrand is preferred)

STEPS:

1. Put on a good pair of kitchen gloves.
2. Chop up one ingredient at a time with a food processor and fill the mason jar with 1/5 of each chopped ingredients.
3. Top the jar with Vinegary KOMBUCHA or Apple Cider Vinegar.
4. Close the lid tight and shake the jar well to mix up the liquid and chopped herbs.
5. Check the liquid level in the jar. Make sure all of the chopped up herbs are fully submerged in the liquid. Top it up with some more KOMBUCHA or Apple Cider Vinegar if need be. 
6. Shake it well again.
7. Label it with today's date and place it in the cupboard so that it is out of the sunlight to promote fermentation and conversion of all the good stuff. 
8. Shake the jar 2 x per day if you can. If you forget, it is fine too. We place it in the cupboard where our drinking glasses are so we see it all the time and remember to take it out to shake it. When you shake it, it is also a great time to take the opportunity to also shake in the good intention you want to infuse your Master Tonic with. So, enjoy the process and shake shake shake... shake it up, shake it down, shake it all around... ;)
9. Do not open your Master Tonic jar until it is properly fermented and have most of the goodness converted and created for you, which is on DAY #15. 
10. On Day #15, you may start filtering out 1 oz shot at a time to drink once a day for regular health maintenance or listen to your body and consume as your body requires.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/master-tonic-101

Give this Master Tonic a shot and lemme know how you like it!

ADVANCE TIPS...

• Make your Master Tonic on a new moon and harvest on thefull moon to infuse even more health benefits into your Master Tonic as you brew your Master Tonic honouring the lunar cycle. For the very first timers, I will encourage you to just jump in and make it as soon as you can. So that you have some to try and boost your immune system whenever you need it. Just start and aim to perfect it once you have decided that it is something you want to make again, right?
• Always choose organic non-GMO fresh ingredients whenever possible as they offer more healing properties and also make everything taste more yummy!
• I use a permanent marker to write the brew date and harvest date right on the glass. When I am in the mood, I also will write all the good thoughts and intentions I want to infuse my brew with right on the glass! Applying Dr. Emoto's findings on the consciousness of water.

Virgin Mojito Raspberry Kombucha

For years I have been looking for non-alcoholic delicious beverages that are not loaded with sugar or chemicals and I finally found it! It looks so attractive that we had to take a picture of it. It tastes so delicious that we had to write down the recipe. It is soooooo healthful that we just have to share it.

This drink has a perfect balance of sourness from the lime juice mixed in with the gentle sweetness of the RAW honey, coupled with the freshness of the mint, finished with a full flavoured raspberry kombucha.... mmmm...mmm.mm...mmmmmmm...and of course, it also looks attractive...... ENJOY!


INGREDIENTS (makes 1 glass):

• fresh squeezed juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp of RAW Organic (unpasteurized) Honey
• fresh crushed ice (with a Vitamix or other methods)
• a few sprigs of fresh organic mint leaves, about 20 mint leaves
• half a glass of Raspberry Kombucha  (we use our own home brew. If you don't have a home brew, simply go to the store a buy a flavour that appeals to you.)

STEPS to create this delicious elixir:

1. Pour the fresh squeezed (pulp free) lime juice into the glass
2. Stir in the honey until well mixed
3. Crush your ice and fill the glass half full with the crushed ice. Ours is more like a very powdery fresh snow when we VITAMIX our ice cubes and that is the texture we prefer
4. Wash your mint leaves and tear half of them (about 10 leaves) up with your fingers and drop them into your glass
5. Use a straw to push the mint teared mint leaves into the crushed ice and lime honey mixture to release some of the mint flavour into the drink
6. Top up the glass with some more crushed ice, yes, all the way to the top of the glass
7. Fold a few mint leaves over the rim of the glass and give it a good wipe all around the rim to release the minty goodness on the rim for those who might be drinking straight from the glass
8. Tear up the rest of the mint leaves and add them into the glass
9. Pour Kombucha into the glass and fill it all the way to the top of the glass
10. Top up the glass with some more crushed ice
11. Stick the straws (for stirring and drinking purposes) into the glass and serve
12. Enjoy!

This recipe is definitely going into my personal collection! Do leave a comment and lemme know how you like this drink!