Fermented Salsa

I finally tried it...fermenting foods.

I first read about fermented foods in Sally Fallon's book, "Nourishing Traditions".

That was several years ago...

And to tell you the truth the whole idea of it pretty much overwhelmed me...

So I tucked in away in the very back corner of my mind...

Only to have it pop out again in my effort to eat a healthier diet and to consume "real" foods I had decided to kick it up a notch.

I had read that eating fermented foods, a little bit with each meal, leads to better health. You see fermented foods are full of probiotics...the good bacteria that puts your insides in proper order.

So I dug out the book and read through it again and I searched on the Internet.

And while I was at Target the other day I happened to find ( and only one, mind you) a set of a dozen quart size Mason jars for only $13.00.

So I bought them.

There, first hurdle, jumped!

Okay, back home, back to the book, back to the internet...

Next step, a trip to market in search of organics...food that is...and sea salt...

I was going to start with Sauerkraut, but I choose Salsa instead.

SALSA (from "Nourished Traditions")
4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 small onions,finely chopped
3/4 cup chopped chile pepper, hot or mild
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped (optional)
1 bunch cilantro
1 teaspoon dried oregano
juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey OR an additional 1 tablespoon sea salt
1/4 cup filtered water
Mix all of the ingredients in a quart size Mason jar. Press down lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer. Add more water, if necessary to cover the vegetables. Make sure to leave at least one inch of space at the tops. Cover tightly and leave out at room temperature for 2 days and then refrigerate.

I didn't add everything from the recipe. I couldn't find organic peppers so I left those out. And I left out the dried oregano. And I used the extra salt instead of the whey. I'm not at the point yet where I can make whey.

I must say, this was tasty. It was kind of watery so it's really best just eaten by the spoonful, which could be done because it wasn't at all spicy. Although I really didn't like having the pieces of cilantro in it. I usually love cilantro and usually like it in my salsa, but in this I didn't like dealing with the green leafy like things.

Oh and after I made it I experienced a food poisoning scare...in my mind that is...

So I immediately turned to Google to check out the possibilities of getting food poisoning from fermented foods and was most definitely reassured when I learned that home fermenting is considered to be safer and less likely to go wrong than home canning.

And if something has gone wrong with the process, I'm told that you will know it as soon as you smell it.

So I'll keep you posted on any health benefits we might see after a little while.

Thanks for reading!!

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