Matthew's Puzzle - Autism Recovery, Gluten Free, Green Living Mom Blog

June 1, 2010
This weekend I wanted to use up some of the carrots we have gotten with our CSA so I decided to ferment them. Last year I tried fermenting cabbage and making my own sauerkraut doing it the old fashioned way. That is, I packed it in salt water and let it naturally ferment using the wild yeast in the air in our home. But this year I decided to try Body Ecology’s Culture which I purchased at the Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) Conference in Baltimore.

It was very easy. I simply shredded the carrots, added grated ginger and garlic, and then followed the instructions with the BEC. I packed everything into Ball jars and let them sit on the counter. The big difference here is that the culture is put in the veggie mix and closed tightly instead of being left open to the air. I can tell they are fermenting already. Can’t wait to try it out.

I also made homemade applesauce by taking cored apples and putting them and some water in my Vita-Mix blender with a little lemon juice. Wow, that really made some yummy and simple applesauce. No cooking necessary. I spooned the puree into some Ball jars and refrigerated. I didn’t can them since Matthew takes all of his meds with applesauce and I knew we would go through it very quickly. But it did make me realize that I will be able to make our own baby food with very little effort. The Vita-Mix did a great job and it was so quick and needed nothing added at all! Love the CSA and the Vita-Mix together – organic fruits and veggies blended to perfection.