I have been trying to add nutritious and delicious sources of high-quality starch to our diet. Dosas fit the bill, and they are also fermented. Plus, they are really delicious, especially when fried in lots of ghee!
3 c. white rice
1 c. red lentils
1/4 c. fenugreek seeds
Soak this overnight in water to cover; drain and rinse, and add just enough water to be able to blend till smooth (immersion blender works fine).
I got this lovely and simple recipe from someone on the Microbial Nutrition yahoo list; it's tasty, like crunchy apple pie filling. :)
7-8 lg. tart apples, cored/peeled/sliced into 1/4"x1" pieces
1/2 cup whey
2 T. pumpkin pie spice (about 4 tsp. cinnamon, 1.5 tsp. ginger, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and 1/4 tsp. cloves)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 T. salt dissolved in 2 cups hot water, then cooled; more water to cover, as needed
Toss apples and spices together until thoroughly mixed; add whey and mix again.
Natto is traditionally an Acquired Taste--a stringy, stinky, almost moldy-looking ferment cultured with soybeans. I've heard that in Japan, it's eaten for breakfast with some raw egg yolks over rice.
Since soy is not something I'm super keen on eating much of, these days, I've tried natto-ifying various other beans, including black turtle and lentils. These produce natto that is milder than the soy version, but I'm hoping that the spores still manage to produce lots of Vit. K, etc.
After killing several batches of water kefir grains, I finally settled on the following technique for feeding my water kefir grains. (We don't drink the liquid, but I use extra grains for culturing watery beverages like coconut water. Meanwhile, the grains stay alive in their primary medium of sugar water.)
1/4 cup water kefir grains
1/4 cup sucanat
5 raisins
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 slice unjuiced lemon
filtered water to cover, and mostly fill a 1-quart jar, with at least an inch of headroom
We hadn't eaten beans since we started GAPS a year and a half ago, and this was my first experiment. It started as a recipe for "Tarhana," which is a Turkish soup made from a fermented dough. I used red lentils for the dough, and fermented it until it was quite sour. Then, with a little water added to thin it, I poured it into a hot cast-iron pan with LOTS of fat. The resulting "dosas" were incredibly tasty...a bit of a cross-cultural fusion!
I recently made the most delicious salsa, based on this recipe: http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2010/08/lacto-fermented-roasted-tom… . SO good! And it's fermented, to boot!
My modifications/ingredient list are below; I used the technique from the original recipe:
* 3 pounds tomatoes, sliced in half length-wise (I used a mixture of cherry tomatoes, heirlooms, and romas)
* 1 pound (2 medium/large) red peppers, seeded and sliced in half lengthwise
This can feed about 100 people, if you serve a few other dishes as well (works well with a pasta salad and a veggie salad).
16 oz. (1 bottle) balsamic vinegar
2 heads of garlic, cloves peeled and minced or pressed
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 bunches of broccoli
2 red peppers, seeded and diced
1 medium green cabbage, chopped finely and blanched
1 medium red cabbage, chopped finely and blanched
2 large bunches parsley, minced
1 large bunch basil, minced
I recently used this recipe from the Nourished Kitchen for making corned beef: http://nourishedkitchen.com/home-cured-corned-beef/
It was delicious! I "corned" it for 11 days, after which I sauteed a bunch of veggies (onions, celery, carrots), added the rinsed roast (I used a chuck roast, about 4 lbs.), and a quart of water. I let it simmer all day, covered in a dutch oven.
Just in case you're interested, here's my small amount of accumulated wisdom on the topic of Coconut Milk:
Ingredient: 4 mature (brown) coconuts.
Time: I have not been able to complete this process in under two hours...yet.
Equipment: Hammer, awl/butter knife, potato peeler, nut milk bag, Vitamix or similar blender.
This makes about three quarts of milk, or two quarts of cream plus one quart of fermented coconut water.
There is TONS of amazing information here: http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/Makekefir.html . I always try to use raw milk, but if none is available you can follow the same instructions using pasteurized milk (no heating necessary).
My basic technique:
1/2 gallon of raw milk
1/2 cup milk kefir grains (or use yogourmet kefir starter; follow directions on the package if using starter)