Get Cultured - How to Ferment Anything online class giveaway!

Kelly the Kitchen Kop is holding a giveaway for her friend Jenny's fermentation class at here.  Jenny at Nourished Kitchen class will help you "Learn how to prepare enzyme-rich fermented foods, yogurts, condiments, salsas and chutneys in your kitchen with over 50 video tutorials,  100 recipes and 60  tutorials, plus the free 36-pg e-book Get Cultured: Probiotic Recipe from the Nourished Kitchen."

Class starts March 4th and the contest closes Saturday Feb. 19th!  Good luck!

Exciting Changes...

 

There are some exciting changes happening in our household...  Those who know me best know that I did not really enjoy my profession all that much.  I worked very hard at it and it took a lot of time & money but at the end of they day I wasn't really happy with it.  Sure I am proud to call myself a CA but I definitely did not enjoy going to work every day.

The reality of the situation was that I did what I was told I was supposed to do when growing up.  I went to University, got a couple degrees and became a "professional" in the hopes to eventually make lots of money.  But I've always felt a little disappointed that I wasn't doing a job that I was passionate about and that I truly enjoyed and really having lots of money isn't really worth that.  I told myself that really no one truly enjoyed their job but I knew that wasn't true as my sister LOVES her job and looks forward to it every day.  I also made excuses that included I've already done too many years of education to do something else, it would be a waste of all that money I've spent, I'm too old to switch now, etc.

Then one day I realized that if I wanted to do something I enjoyed and that would allow me to also be a stay at home mom that I should just do it!  No one is stopping me except for myself. 

I am excited to say that I am now working towards doing things that I am passionate about.  Next month I am attending Hypnobabies training in St. Louis and am also planning on taking Gloria Lemay's doula training in April.  I can't wait to become a Hypnobabies instructor and a doula. I am looking forward to being able to provide a comprehensive prenatal courses to moms that will help empower them and take control of their birthing choices.  I loved my Hypnobabies course when I was pregnant and am still close to my instructor who has been very supportive of me.  I also cannot imagine anyone better to take my doula education with than Gloria, she is very inspirational!

I also recently became an independent Miessence representative so that I could help provide a solution to those who were looking for truly safe, natural and beneficial personal care products for their whole family.  It took me months to find a line of products that I felt good using on us and Kaiden, one that was safe enough that we could eat it, and I wanted to help make this search easier for other families.

As you can see, big changes are happening in our home and I am very excited with where they are going to take me.

Grandma's Lentil Soup

I've always loved my Grandma's lentil soup and since Cody really enjoys it I've wanted to learn how to make it for a while.  I finally had my grandma show me how she makes her soup when we were home for Christmas.  I've tweaked her recipe a bit and made it a few times and it's really tasty, maybe even a little better than hers.

1 1/2 cups lentils (green are best per NT)
2 tbsp whey or lemon juice
4 cups chicken stock (my grandma uses water but I use homemade stock to make it more nutritious)
1/2 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced (we like lots of garlic so feel free to use less)
2-3 bay leaves
3-5 dried thyme stems or 1 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp oregano
1 heaping tbsp of tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: some diced carrots

Cover the lentils with warm water and add the whey or lemon juice.  Let it soak for 7 hours and then strain & rinse them.

Put the lentils in a pot and add the chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and then skim off any foam.

Add the onion, garlic, bay leaves and thyme.  Stir the tomato paste with some water until it is dissolved and add as well.  Reduce to a simmer and simmer covered for around an hour.  Uncover and add the oregano, salt and pepper.  Continue to simmer until you like the consistency (I've done anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes depending on how busy I am).

Super simple, tasty and nourishing.  It goes really well with some feta on the side.


Photo credit: Maggie Hoffman from Flickr