The Cultured Vegetarian

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1 March 6 th, 2014 Chilled Cashew Yogurt and Carrot Soup Coconut Kefir and Fennel Salad Icelandic Skyr and Chia Seed Parfait Carrot Soup Serves four Vegan and gluten free Time: 20 minutes, plus time to chill 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups peeled and diced carrot 1 small onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons minced ginger 2 cups carrot juice 2 cups water 2 tablespoons Madras curry powder Salt, pepper and sugar to taste Cashew yogurt and minced cilantro for garnish In a soup pot, heat the oil and add the carrots, onion, garlic and ginger. Saute until soft, but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add half of the vegetables to a blender and top with half the liquid. Cover and puree. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Pour back in to the soup pot and bring to a simmer. Let cook for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Chill and serve with a dollop of cashew yogurt and a garnish of cilantro. Chicks with Knives

2 Cashew Yogurt Makes 2 cups Vegetarian and gluten free Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 20 hours 2 cups raw, unsalted cashews 2 cups filtered water 1 teaspoon yogurt starter Soak the cashews in filtered water for 8 hours, until they are very soft. Drain, rinse and puree in a mixer with 2 cups of filtered water, until creamy. Pour the puree in to a medium saucepan and heat until it comes to 110F. Remove from the heat, pour in to a clean bowl or jar and let cool to 90F. This may take up to an hour. When it is 90F, stir in the yogurt starter. Cover with a cloth and let ferment for up to 12 hours in a warm place. Stir once or twice. Chill and use as needed. Chicks with Knives

3 Coconut Kefir and Fennel Salad Serves four Vegetarian, raw, gluten free Time: 15 minutes ½ cup coconut kefir 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced Zest of one lemon ½ cup assorted minced herbs such as parsley, dill, tarragon, summer savory, basil and or mint 2 bulbs fennel, sliced thin, 1/2 cup of the fronds, minced 2 large green apples, peeled and sliced thin ½ red onion, sliced thin and soaked in ice water for 10 minutes 1 cup small red grapes, halved (halving them is optional) Salt, sugar and black pepper to taste In a large bowl, whisk together the kefir, oil, garlic, lemon zest and herbs. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Add the rest of the ingredients, chill and serve. Chicks with Knives

4 Coconut Kefir Makes 4 cups Vegetarian, raw Active time: 5 minutes. Total time: up to 36 hours 1 box coconut milk 1 teaspoon sugar 2 tablespoons dairy kefir grains Pour the coconut milk in to a glass container. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the sugar and kefir grains. Cover with a cloth and let ferment in a warm dark place for hours. It should thicken and taste tangy. Strain out the kefir grains and return the grains to a jar of milk or coconut milk for future use. If you are keeping the kefir for coconut milk, every four batches you should return it to milk. Resources for live kefir grains - or Chicks with Knives

5 Icelandic Skyr and Chia Seed Parfait Serves four Vegetarian Time: 10 minutes 2 cups skyr 1 teaspoon sugar or honey ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup chia seeds, soaked in cold water for 2 hours 2 cups assorted berries In a large bowl, whisk together the skyr, sweetener and vanilla. Taste and add more sweetener as needed. In a parfait glass, layer the skyr, then chia, then more skyr and top with berries. Serve cold. Additional information: To make a basic chia gel, simply add 1/3 cup of seeds (2oz) to 2 cups of water. Stir the mixture well, to avoid clumping, then leave it in your fridge, in a sealed jar. This will yield around 17oz of chia gel. You can begin to eat the gel almost immediately if you like. Ten minutes is enough time for the gel to be formed. More of the nutrients will be easily accessible after a few hours however, so many people like to make up a batch like this and leave it in the fridge. It will stay good for about three weeks. Then you can just reach into the fridge and take out some of the ready-made gel whenever you need it. You might add it to smoothies, mix it with salad dressings, puddings or granola, or simply take it by the spoonful. Chicks with Knives

6 Skyr Recipe by Halldóra Eggertsdóttir & Sólveig Benediktsdóttir Vegetarian and nut free. Active time: 30 minutes. Total time: 2 days Skyr resembles thick yogurt, but is actually a type of fresh cheese. The fat content is very low and it s an excellent source of protein and calcium. 1 gallon skim milk (raw is best) 1 1/2 vegetable rennet tablet 4 tablespoons skyr, whisked in to a little bit of milk. (This is called þéttir) Heat the skim milk up to F, and cool slowly for about 2 hours, down to 100 F. Stir the prepared þéttir with a little boiled milk and mix into the milk with the rennet (if you are using dry rennet, dissolve in a little water before adding). Close the cooking pot and wrap in towels or a thick blanket. The milk should curdle in about 5 hours. If it curdles in less than 4 ½ hours, the curds will be coarse, but if it curdles in more than 5 hours, the skyr will be so thick it will be difficult to strain. When the milk is curdled, cut into the curds with a knife. When you can make a cut which will not close immediately, then you can go on to the next stage. Line a sieve or colander with cheesecloth or a fine linen cloth and pour in the skyr. Tie the ends of the cloth together over the top and hang over a bucket or other container so the whey can drip off. If the skyr-making has been successful, there will be little whey, and it will not float over the curds, but will be visible along the edges of the sieve and in the cuts you made in the surface. You can judge the quality of the skyr from the appearance of the curds when you pour them into the sieve. If the skyr is good, it will crack and fall apart in pieces, but should neither be thin nor lumpy. Keep the sieve in a well-ventilated room, with a temperature no higher than 72 and no lower than 60 F. The skyr should be ready in hours. The skyr should be firm and look dry when ready. The whey can be used as a drink, to make pickles, or as a replacement for white wine in cooking. Possible problems: If the whey does not leak off the curds or floats over the curds, or the curds do not shrink from the edges of the sieve, then something is wrong. The milk has not been heated to a high enough temperature or has been cooled too quickly, so Chicks with Knives

7 that the rennet has not had time to work. The more milk you curdle at a time, the relatively less þéttir and rennet you need. A large container cools slower than a small one, and the effects of þéttir and rennet last longer. About the þéttir: It is best to use fresh skyr for þéttir. If the skyr is sour, it should be mixed into the milk while it is still hot. This will remove the sourness. Don't add the rennet until the milk has cooled to approx. 90 F. When the weather is cold, it is best to mix it in when the milk is a little over 100 F. In cold weather, the milk also needs to be covered more tightly while it curdles. This is especially important if you are making a small portion of skyr. Serving: Eat the skyr as it is, or stir some milk and sugar into it and serve with cream and fruit/berries. It is also good with müesli and/or brown sugar, honey or maple syrup. Chicks with Knives