Lacto-Fermented Peaches aka "Fizzy Peaches"

Turning summer's bounty into glorious sunny-tasting fermented fruit for the grey days of early winter is such a good idea!

Ingredients:
3+ cups peaches, peeled and cubed
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup whey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Filtered water

Method:
Fill a quart jar with the peaches, making sure there is at least an inch of space between them and the top of the jar.

Mix remaining ingredients, minus the water, and pour over the peaches.
Add enough filtered water to cover the fruit, still keeping the level an inch below the top of the jar.

Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 2 days.
Transfer to the fridge.

**Fermentation instructions say that these will keep for two months in the fridge.  I have had them keep for 6 months with no difficulty.  Just give them a sniff before eating.  If they smell bad, they are bad, and toss them out.  If they smell fruity-fizzy-sharpish, they're good to go.

***This recipe works with pears, also!

"Green Goddess" Salad Dressing

Easy-peasy!

Ingredients:
1 avocado
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup filtered water

Method:
Put all ingredients in a small food processor or Magic Bullet and process until smooth.

Baked Apples

This is a great one for fall!

This can be done in the oven or the crock pot.

4 baking apples (Cortland, Empire, Honeycrisp, Idared, Northern Spy, Rome, Winesap)
4 teaspoons lemon juice
4 Tablespoons raisins or Craisins
4 Tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons butter, divided in 4 parts
1 cup water

Peel the apples about one-quarter of the way down from the top.
Core the apples.
Put them in an 8x8 baking dish.
Sprinkle lemon juice in each apple.
Mix raisins or Craisins with nuts and cinnamon and stuff in the hole in the apple.
Drizzle 1 Tablespoons of honey over each and top with butter.
Pour water in around the apples.

Bake at 375* for about 60 minutes, or on low in the Crock pot overnight.

Guacamole

Avocados are one of my favorites.  Here's my recipe for a good guacamole.

Ingredients:

2 avocados
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 teaspoon lime juice
2 Tablespoons finely sliced green onion
1 cloves garlic, minced or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons water

Method:

Mash the avocados.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well blended. I sometimes use my Magic Bullet.  It makes a very smooth guacamole.

Leave a pit in the mix to help keep it from going brown.

Fermented Salsa

This has great flavor and is wonderful for your gut, as well.  As a probiotic food, it adds good bacteria to your intestinal tract and helps battle gut flora imbalances.  Using produce from your own garden or a local
organic farmer's market is ideal.

8 Roma tomatoes
1 large green pepper (if you like hot salsa, feel free to use hot peppers instead)
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup lemon/lime juice
1/4 cup whey
2 teaspoons sea salt

Peel the tomatoes by dipping them in boiling water and slipping the skins off.
Dice the tomatoes.
Mix the tomatoes, onions and garlic together and put into a quart jar.   Press down gently with a wooden meat hammer, or tap gently on a towel folded on the counter top to get the contents condensed in the jar. Fill only to within an inch of the top.
Add the salt to the top of the jar, then pour the whey and lemon/lime juice over the mixture.
If necessary, add enough filtered or well water to cover the tomato mixture.

Cover tightly with a canning lid and keep at room temperature for about 2 days before transferring to the fridge.