Crispy Almonds

 Well, I finally had some success with a recipe from the Nourishing Traditions book. Of course, it was one of the hardest recipes in the book. HaHa. I have been purchasing large bags of almonds from Sam's Club to have available as snacks. After reading NT, I worried that perhaps they weren't as healthy a snack as I had hoped. So I decided to try soaking and drying them.

 The 4 C almonds are simply soaked overnight in a mixture of purified water and a TBsp sea salt.

 Then, they are drained and dried in a dryer or oven set on a low setting til they are dry and crisp. 

They are delicious. They can be a bit squeaky, which the kids think is fun. This recipe is a keeper for our family. I store them in this cute jar and I've been amazed that they have lasted as long as they have.

My First NT recipe try

One of the first things I decided to try from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook was a lacto-fermented vegetable. Lacto-fermented foods are full of probiotics which are fabulous for our guts. 

They are also easy to digest because the digestive process has already begun on them. It is suggested to eat some lacto-fermented food before every meal to get our digestive system jump-started. 

So, I thought I would try the Ginger Carrots recipe. It was suggested as a good place to start since the sweetness of the carrots would balance the tartness of the lacto-fermentation somewhat.  

So I got all the ingredients and equipment ready and grated away! 

 Put in my ginger and whey, pressed the carrots to get the juice out and get the carrots under the juice. Sat it on my counter for 2 days then put it in the fridge. 

When I opened it, my kids said, "ew, that smells like bathroom cleaner." It was a pungent smell, but I thought it would still be edible. I put some on my plate and proceeded to take a bite. Guess what? 

It tasted exactly like it smelled. Not very appetizing. 

 I did finish off my plate, but later I ended up dumping the whole thing out. 

I don't know if I did something wrong and it went bad. I am thinking it may have just  been the ginger. I've never had it before so I don't know if that's how it smells and tastes. 

I am pondering trying it again and leaving out the ginger this time.  But I keep managing to put it off. 

I think perhaps it would just be easier to take a bit of yogurt before each meal. 

At least I know I like that.

Like most of my attempts in the kitchen it was a bomb. So discouraging. 

But I'm determined to not let it sideline me. 

I plan to keep trying things til something works right!