Health

The ancient masters cultivated the mysterious essence.

The body needs to be healthy to withstand the impact of any disease. Covid19 weakens the body and then the opportunistic bacteria and viruses are wreaking havoc on the body. If you practice Internal Arts or Qigong, you know one of the many benefits of those practices is in keeping the immune system of the body healthy and capable of preventing diseases.

Do not expect that you are immune to Covid19. We are not even sure that those infected and recovering will have extended immunity. Practice best practices from a reliable source. No. colloidal silver is not going to help or any of these other sinful attempts to sell to your fears. Health is built up through best practices and healthy eating. In the years of reading and studying about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and having had three very good quality TCM doctors who where trained in these practices, I understand that herbal treatments are good for the body.

This is not in support of anything that is in your mail or on TV. These have been health practices for centuries. I learned that each of these herbs are not taken individually. They are cooked together and all their individual compounds mix to create other products. That is why you take a herbal compound and not chew on a single herb. I will go further into this information and provide links to studies when time permits. For now, this page will give you information on how to make soups – a little different than Mother made but for the same reason – making you healthy.

I will have a number of recipes that I have used through the years on this page as well as how to make Kim Chee. ( Check out the MASH episode where they went wild when getting some locally made salad! ) For now I am off to my Acupuncturist and treatment. If you hit here and this information is here come back in a day when I can get to this. If it isn’t here and you have recipes ignore the message ; )) Be healthy my friends!

Kim Chee

Pictures coming in a few days Kim Chee dates back to 37 BC. It is becoming a popular side dish or dressing for the table. I have many friends asking for my next batch before I can finish my first batch. Kim Chee is a fermented food and only requires a minimum of care to keep it usable for an extended time.

Check out the MASH TV show for when they found Kim Chee and celebrated their new salad.

I am including it here since the micoflora of Kim Chee is of great importance to maintaining the health of the gut. Kim Chee is great for not only providing probiotic material but also enhances the flora that is in the gut. The big pieces of Kim Chee make it through the harsh digestive acids of the stomach and get into the small intestine with live bacteria. That bacteria can then take hold and provide a needed refill for the good bacteria that has been depleted due to diet, health or drugs.

Kim Chee once made can be stored in the refrigerator to slow down any fermentation. The important thing to remember that any growth of fungus on it should end that bottles use. Your bacteria will be unseen but not unsmelled. The smell of Kim Chee can be delicious once you get use to it. Keeping your bottle health is to keep the food part on Kim Chee under the liquid content. You can dilute it some but not much. Use cooled boiled water to keep from introducing other microbes. I use a topping of vinegar if needed.

When preparing the ingredients I wait 24 – 48 hours in the salted stage. After that I expose the ingredients to little oxygen as possible. When in the bottle shake it for the first couple of days and open the bottle a crack to let out the initial pressure. That will allow the CO2 to take over. After that no O2 since that can lead to bad fermentation.

Uses of Kim Chee are unlimited.

Have it on fish or steak or vegetables or rice. Eat it alone or add to a smoothy. The recipes are too many to list here. Just do not cook it. Heat it but watch the temperature. You are dealing with a live product that heat kills. I frequently add slightly heated Kim Chee for either the topping or the side dish with my fish.

Basic Recipe for Kim Chee

Cabbage – any kind hard and soft works -chop to big pieces
Daikon – Radish is a substitute if not available - slice and leave large pieces
Peppers – hot ( watch it) mild any color or size
Carrots – sticks or chunks and not from a can.
Greens – any kind you like - they will mostly decompose Mustard greens add a good bite

Seasoning

Fish Sauce most store have this. You need to get it without MSG and no preservatives!
Fermented Tofu – optional but adds a great taste that takes some getting use to but love it. Start with a small amount again without preservatives or MSG.
Vinegar – any flavor but no preservatives. This is optional I like to add it.

Additional

Ginger – Peel - use a spoon to scrape it and smaller pieces add their favor faster but large enough so someone knows they have ginger
Pepper corns – white black or and other not too many
Fennel seeds – an addition for those who like this taste. It blends to the background. You can substite licorice if you can get the root.
Ddill seeds – what is fermentation without dill. You can add dill weed also.
Caraway seeds – adding some more spice
Pepper powder – I use mild red pepper powder. My Kim Chee is mild so everyone eats it. You can always add heat but never take it away. Mustard – yellow powdered mustard adds a great background to the flavoring.

Any other spice product can be added to your taste. Go easy when starting since you get the full taste as the curing process continues.

Processing

Chop up all the vegetables and place in a large bowl. Add a handful of Salt and cover the top. I use a large plate to apply pressure and then add a wet towel to cover. Let sit for a hour then mix up and add some more salt. You will have to gauge the salt by tasting until you know how much to add. The salt will wick out the moisture in your vegetables. I leave that in and mix over a day or two adjusting the salt to make it like a salty potato chip.

After the salting process pour all into a colander and wash off the excess salt. This is important step. The salt will have permeated the vegetables but that on the outside will over salt the Kim Chee.

Mix all of the seasonings in a large bowl and blend with a spoon. If using fermented tofu crush it into a mash. Add either water or vinegar or a mix to make a liquid.

Add to the vegetables and mix everything together. Let set for a few minutes and then add liquid to cover the vegetables after pressing them down. Let stand for a day or two covered with a plate to weight down the vegetables and keep it covered. Yes, Kim Chee is liked by flies so keep it safe. An unheated oven is a good place. We are kick starting the fermentation process.

After the blending phase get together your jars – Mason with large mouths. You will regret using small mouths. Set one on a plate and using tongs fill ¾ full. Go through each of your jars and fill with vegetables. Then stir the remaining fluid and distribute it evenly to each of the jars.

Top of the jars leaving some space at the top for expansion of the gases. Store the bottles in as cool a space as possible. You want enough heat to get the fermentation going and completed. Shake each jar twice a day and crack the bottle to let out the O2. CO2 is heavier than air so the oxygen will come out first. This prevents bad fermentation. After a time you can check the smell as you crack the jar and when you get to the right level you can then refrigerate the bottles for longer storage. Use only one jar at a time so you don’t lose one. Watch for fungal growth and at any time empty the bottle if you see fungus and them purify the bottle before using again. Eat and be healthy! More info in the works some herbal soups next in line and pictures. s