Escabeche

One of the things we are doing to try to heal my youngest son's IBS, is to get some balance in his gut flora. We are using loads of natural probiotics...home made yogurt and lacto fermented veggies. My decision to try this approach just happened to coincide with lacto fermentation week over at the Nourishing Gourmet site. There are lots of lacto fermentation recipes posted. If you are uninitiated into the world of lacto-fermentation, that is using the whey from yogurt to preserve vegetables. So far, I have made lacto fermented salsa and now, this condiment, Escabeche. Basically, it is pickled jalapenos, carrots, and bell peppers seasoned with garlic and oregano. This stuff is really good, and not nearly as hot as you would expect...and no strong vinegar taste. Blogger, Sarah at Heartland Renaissance offers the recipe I started from. Of course, I made a much smaller batch, not knowing if we would actually consume what seems to be akin to some science experiments from my past homeschooling days. I left out the onion too, and used powdered Mexican oregano. Some people add cauliflower, but I didn't have any on hand. My version is a little different, but these things can be suited to taste.

This is one of the recipes included in my new cookbook project, Low Carbing Among Friends.

This recipe is available in the book, along with over 60 additional 24/7 Low Carb Diner recipes. By ordering the book, you get more than 300 favorite gluten free recipes from four other well known low carb cooking experts…Jennifer Eloff of Splendid Low Carbing cookbook fame, Kent Altena, the Atkins Diet Geek and You Tube star, nutritionist and author Maria Emmerich of Maria’s Nutritious and Delicious Journal, and popular blogger and food stylist, Carolyn Ketchum of All Day I Dream About Food. Unlike any other cookbook you may own, this one is a compilation of mini cookbooks featuring the talents of these well known low carbers. Think of it as a “best of” project.

Low Carbing Among Friends also features recipes from numerous other talented low carbing friends and recommendations from the medical community who recognize the health benefits of low carb, gluten free living. To preorder your copy, visit http://www.amongfriends.us The official release date is 11/11/11, so pre-order now for a discount.

To serve ours, I took advantage of my Diner standby, the frozen Chicken Cube. Love having these precooked, pre diced chicken chunks available in the freezer. I just pan grilled them. Then for me, I stirred in half a cup of the Escabeche. I topped it with a dollup of home made yogurt. That added some fresh creamy goodness to the garlicky, spicey veggies.


Christian ate his like chipless nachos. I added shredded cheddar and sprinkled some Escabeche on top. He got a dollup of thick creamy yogurt too. (I made this batch with whole milk and half and half to make it extra thick)

So check out the recipes if you are daring, and if you would like to introduce all the good bacteria that balance the gut and make every system of the body work better. Even if you don't have tummy issues or brain issues, this is a tasty mix to serve with Mexican food. You just have to get over the phobia of intentionally leaving food out to ferment on the shelf. We are so trained to get things promptly into the fridge, that we are forgetting the nutritional wisdom of our grandparents. Lacto fermentation is a super cheap way to get some healthy foods into our family, and it is much easier than canning. Check it out.