Fire Cider - Part 1

Today I was excited to receive a gift of horseradish! I know it might not be everyone's idea of a fun time, but I got chopping this evening to make something I have wanted to make for a long time - Fire Cider!

Looking up recipes, I found something very interesting about it's history. If you are curious about it all, you can go to freefirecider.com and read it for yourself. The recipe can be found here.

So you know, this recipe is not my own. Recipes for Fire Cider, and it's various names, abound on the internet. I have made something very close to Rosemary Gladstar's recipe, found above. You can even watch her talking about Fire Cider and making it here in this video.

I put my prepared ingredients (varies from the recipe above) into a gallon size jar. It will need about 4-6 weeks of wait time. I used the following organic ingredients:

Fire Cider

1 cup chopped fresh organic ginger root, do not peel

1 1/2 cup peeled, chopped fresh local organic horseradish root

2 medium organic onions, chopped

1 small organic fresh turmeric root, chopped (about 2 Tablespoons), do not peel

approximately 10 cloves of fresh organic garlic, chopped

2 organic chili peppers, chopped (your preference, cayenne is common)

1 organic whole lemon, chopped, with peel on

2 quarts organic raw apple cider vinegar

And this is what my batch looked like before I added the apple cider vinegar... 

...Then I added the vinegar to cover. I will be shaking it a bit every day or two. Part 2 will include what I will do when the Fire Cider is done, around the 4-6 week mark. It will involve straining the mixture and adding honey for a sweeter and more palatable taste. 

I can't wait because it's both a great food and remedy. I know my sinuses feel better when I use this! Goodbye, colds!  =) And the taste is delicious!

Read about Part 2 here! 

Easy Buffalo Cauliflower (The Lazy Way!)

It's cooling down where I live. Seasons will be changing once more. I always crave warmer foods at this time especially. One thing you might enjoy is this recipe for a lazy way to make Buffalo Cauliflower (vegetarian "wings"). It's easy because there is no breading involved. Enjoy!


Easy Buffalo Cauliflower

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Step one-Cauliflower:

2 good-sized heads of cauliflower, cut up into flowerettes, not to big, not too tiny

When preheated, bake cauliflower pieces spread out on 2 baking pans, lined with parchment paper (use pans that have 4 sides for containing liquid - these are called jelly roll pans, or cake pans, or 9x13 pans) for about 20-30 minutes until browned slightly on the edges. Please watch carefully.

Step two-Buffalo Sauce:

While the cauliflower is in the oven for step one, combine separately, in a bowl large enough to contain the cauliflower and sauce (with room to stir well):

3/4 cup, or less, hot sauce (homemade/store bought)- like Frank's Red Hot (has peppers & garlic)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon granulated dried garlic (or more)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional, but tasty)

Step three-Combine:

Place partially baked cauliflower in the bowl with sauce. Stir well to coat evenly. Using the same baking pans, divide the cauliflower again to evenly put onto the 2 pans. Bake another 10-15 minutes or so, until heated through.

Things that go well with this dish:
Celery sticks
Lisa's Raw Ranch Dressing
or
Creamy Salad Dressing with the Ranch options

You can always use this "Easy Buffalo" sauce for other vegetables besides cauliflower too! Comment if you tried this for another vegetable with tasty results! =)

Marinated Tofu

This is an old recipe I've had around for awhile. Someone recently asked me about it and I realized I'd never posted it here. You will need to use water packed tofu for this, as silken does not work well in this kind of recipe. Silken tofu works better in sauces and blended recipes.

For those of you who have been longtime readers of this blog, you will remember my "Making Tofu in an African Village" blog post.* This is the kind of tofu that is used in this recipe. You will find it in your grocery store packed in water in rectangular tubs. Simply drain and rinse, then slice or cube for this recipe.

This dish can be made as a marinade, in the sense that you prepare your tofu ahead of time and soak it in the marinade ingredients, then cook later. Or it can be done quickly right in the pan. Either way, the trick is to watch your pan closely toward the end of cooking so as not to burn it, as you carefully reduce the liquid until it is evaporated, but still leaves all the flavor and seasoning in the tofu.

Another way to possibly improve the flavor, would be to try another method. You could marinate the tofu, after freezing overnight and thawing the tofu separately. This method tends to get good results, as the tofu can further soak up the marinade this way. This applies to other dishes as well. Tofu will be more chewy and "meaty" this way.

Marinated Tofu

1/4 cup soy sauce (or tamari, or nama shoyu or liquid aminos)
1/2 cup water (or more to cover to marinate)
1 clove garlic, minced (or about 1/4 teaspoon dried garlic, or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)

1 pound water-packed tofu, extra firm & non-gmo preferred, sliced or cubed
Optional: 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

Combine marinade ingredients (all except the tofu). Marinate tofu for a few hours or more. Or you can simply put the ingredients directly in a large skillet on the stove top and cook on a simmer, until all the liquid has evaporated, watching closely so as not to burn. Or you can broil the tofu in the oven, flipping over part way into cooking, until "golden."

I tend to make this recipe minus the optional mushrooms, and on the stove top the quick way. My preferred cut is to slice them a bit on the thick side, so they'll stay together better. I use a metal spatula to turn them if needed. Serve on a sandwich (can use instead of tempeh on Reuben sandwiches), over brown rice, chopped into a stir fry, or in spring rolls, sushi, etc. The ideas are limitless! Yummy by itself as a "steak" along with the rest of your meal. Our children love this. =)

Optional: A great idea is to saute up some sliced onions in a bit of oil (I use a little coconut oil) before or after cooking the tofu in the same skillet. No need to rinse the pan between.

*- I just realized I've been writing this blog for more than 5 years. How cool is that? And yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary! Here's to another 20 years, Honey!

Coconut "Bacon"

 When we first went vegetarian, we used a lot of those vegetarian "bac'uns" (soy based "bacon bits") for salads and for flavor in other dishes. We decided to try them in the organic version and it turned me off completely. I did not like them at all.

We aren't using tvp (textured vegetable protein made with soy) anymore and use very little soy foods these days. Every now and again though, I get a hankerin' for a flavor like bacon...

One of the things that other people may also miss when going vegetarian are certain meats. For some reason, it always seems to be pork based products. Bacon is one of those that come to mind.

Enter a book by Ani Phyo, "Ani's Raw Food Essentials" (2010) and some young coconuts in my fridge...and you've got the makings of some real flavor. Ironic that I would post this after my weight loss posts, but it is what it is....=)

This is not soy free, but you can play with the recipe a little. Experiment on your own. It does call for a food dehydrator, but you can work around this, if you don't have one, by using your oven set on a low temperature with the door ajar. 

Raw Coconut Bacon

2 cups coconut meat (from 3 to 4 Thai baby coconuts)
3 Tablespoons Nama Shoyu or Bragg Liquid Aminos
2 Tablespoons olive oil
a few drops of liquid smoke flavoring (optional, not raw)

When scraping the meat out of your coconuts, try to keep pieces as large as possible. Clean the meat by running your fingers over its surface, picking off any pieces of hard husk. Rinse with filtered water as a last step, and drain well. (I also patted them dry with a paper towel.)

Place the coconut meat in a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Toss to mix well. Lay the meat in a single layer on two 14-inch square Excalibur Dehydrator trays.

Dehydrate for 6-8 hours at 104 degrees F. The length of time will depend on how thick your coconut meat is. Check it and dry it to your liking. Don't over-dehydrate, because the more you dry it,the more it will shrink, and you'll be left with only a small amount of bacon.

Options: Replace the smoke flavor with herbs and spices to make different flavors. Try chipotle powder, garlic, dill, or oregano.

I would add here... the liquid from the marinade that will be leftover can be used for another batch of coconut or used otherwise in dressings or other sauces, etc. So please don't throw it out...very little will actually soak in. Make sure to use it up within a few days.

Sweet and Sour Ginger Marinade for Mushrooms

I recently made this as a marinade for mushrooms. I wanted something raw or nearly raw to prepare mushrooms. It's as if you cooked them, without the cooking. Great flavor!

Sweet and Sour Ginger Marinade

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
1/4 cup honey

4 cloves fresh garlic, sliced thin or minced (about 1 Tablespoon)

1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme (1/2 teaspoon dried)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Put everything in a jar and shake well. Can use as a salad dressing or use to marinate vegetables, mushrooms or tofu. Makes about 1 1/4 cup.

To marinate mushrooms or vegetables, put into a jar (with tight fitting canning jar lid and ring)together and marinate for 24 hours, turning and shaking every few hours for best flavor. Great right out of the jar.

I was able to pack in a full pound of trimmed and cleaned mushrooms into a quart jar with a recipe's worth of marinade. It took a little waiting for the mushrooms to start absorbing the marinade before I could get them all in, but they finally all went in. I cut them into quarters before marinading. Use leftover marinade as salad dressing.

Marinade For Grilled Portabella Mushrooms

I know not everyone is having weather nice enough for outside grilling...so if not, try this recipe under your broiler instead. Otherwise, these are fantastic on the grill. Enjoy!

Portabella Grill Marinade

½ cup olive oil (or avocado oil)
½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
2-4 garlic cloves, chopped
½ teaspoon salt or Seasoned Salt
Dash cayenne pepper (optional)

1 pound whole portabella mushrooms

Combine marinade ingredients. Cover portabellas with marinade for at least 1 hour, longer is better. Grill whole for “burgers” or thickly slice (before marinating) the mushrooms, marinate, then broil in your oven. If grilling, brush extra marinade on mushrooms while they are cooking.

Leftover grilled mushrooms are great for adding to recipes. Just chop and add. For a really great salad, add thin slices or small chunks to make a veggie salad your main dish. Add a flavor booster with these little gems in a bean dish or your refried beans. Yummy!!! =)

Note on ingredients:

This is the recipe I “loosely” follow. I have used Spike seasoning or “Liquid Aminos” (a no salt added soy sauce, very yummy) instead of the salt. You can vary the amounts of oil and lemon juice as well, use more mushrooms, etc. you can add any herbs to the marinade you like for more flavor options (oregano, basil, etc).

Edit 7/9/2023 - I am just now adding a photo finally after 15 years on this blog. I think it's time! Ha, ha! We enjoyed grilling out with my sister's family with my dad and brother. It's as wonderful as I remembered it.