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