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This past week I didn’t spend too terribly much time in the kitchen. With tax stuff to be done, regular bookkeeping, my business getting this new website up and running plus getting what seemed to be a cold of some sort, kitchen time was at a premium.

I did try a new recipe for Chicken Divan which Teryl has kindly shared with us here.  This wasn’t on my posted menu plan last week. In fact, I only followed my plan up to Wednesday. The rest of the week was a bit haphazard and I was very thankful to have my sous chefs (Kiki age 16 and Lulu age 15) to help out.  Regardless, it worked out well.

I tried two new ferments the first was pickled radishes. We haven’t tasted them yet since they are still in their ferment stage. I’ll report back. The second one was a combination of sweet potato and carrot that I boiled and then mashed adding garlic and salt. I very loosely followed a Nourishing Traditions (by Sally Fallon) recipe for Fermented Taro Root. This turned out quite good but maybe a little too much garlic for the children. I like it.

Revisited Items: These are items I’ve made before but are not regular additions to our kitchen.
Sauerkraut– this probably should fall under Standard Items since we try to always keep it on hand. But since I only make it every few months it seems to fit better under revisited. The picture above is one I took several years ago of sauerkraut and cortido. We love cortido too  and often have both options in the fridge but lately we’ve been enjoying kimchi as an additional ferment.

Kiki helped me make a quart of kimchi this week also. I have only been making kimchi for a few months following this recipe from Cara at Health, Home and Happiness. It is delicious! A nice bit of spice in it with the 4 peppers (I used jalapeno) but not overpowering. I highly recommend kimchi over an egg fried in ghee.

Grain-Free Clafouti– a wonderful breakfast treat or quick and easy dessert.

Standard Items: Things that we seem to make/enjoy nearly each week.

Coconut Flour Bread this week instead of sourdough. I love coconut flour not only because it tastes great and is a grain free option but because it is quick and easy to make. It does take a good amount of eggs (6) so on the days I’m wanting to make it I always hope the chickens are laying well. That can be a gamble in the middle of winter with those negative temp days and nights.

Kombucha– we seem to be drinking alot of this lately. I had to bump it up to 2 gallons a week.  I have the water kefir on a break since we weren’t drinking that as much.

Dairy Kefir– I’ve been making just half a gallon each week of this which seems to be the right amount for making both cheese and drinking. I think we need to step up our consumption of this healthy item. Both Christopher (age 3) and I like our kefir in a glass with just a little bit of vanilla but the others prefer theirs blended into a smoothie.

Butter– This is something that I try to make regular but sadly seems to be the first thing I drop when things get crazy. It is so easy to make butter that I really have zero excuse.

What have you been up to in your kitchen? What are your Standard Items?