1 cup Firefly Kitchens Ruby Red Kraut

1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries

1 avocado cubed

1 pear cubed

1/2 cup of goat cheese or your favorite nuts chopped fine

3 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar

6 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Wash and spin the greens.  Pour the vinegar and oil in a jar with salt and pepper and shake well. Add the rest of the ingredients, pour the dressing and toss well.   Enjoy!

1/2 large sweet onion thinly sliced

1 small fennel bulb sliced

1 Cup cranberries

1/4 Cup sugar

1/4 Cup water

3 TBSP Olive Oil

Caramelize the onion slices in the olive oil over medium heat until the onions are golden , brown bits start to form on bottom of the pan, and it all smells delicious.  Add the cranberries, sugar, and water. Cook and stir until the cranberries pop (about 10 minutes) and any bits on the bottom of the pan come up.  Remove from heat and cool the onion mixture to room temperature.  Put onion mixture, fennel slices, and Ruby Red Kraut in the food processor and pulse until you have a nice looking relish and the ingredients look well blended.  This relish can be smeared on crackers, crostini, turkey sandwiches, spooned into celery stalks or mixed with cream cheese for a beautiful, pink bagel “smear”.

3 medium beets steamed al dente, peeled, and cut julienned

1/4 Cup grated fresh horseradish root (not jarred or “prepared”)

1/4 Cup thinly sliced sweet onion

drizzle of olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients gently with olive oil and salt & pepper.  Enjoy with red meat as a elegant side dish, serve on a bed of arugula or on it’s own as a beautiful holiday salad.

1 Cup Cranberries

1/2 Cup of sugar

1-2 TBSP minced fresh ginger

1/4 Cup good quality or fresh squeezed orange juice

Cook cranberries, sugar, ginger and OJ over medium heat until the cranberries “pop” and the sauce begins to thicken (around 10 minutes).  Remove from heat and cool sauce completely.  Stir in Ruby Red Kraut and refrigerate until ready to use.  Great room temperature or chilled. The perfect cranberry sauce for the Thanksgiving meal.

1 Cup fresh cranberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 crisp apple, peeled and cut matchstick style

1/4 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted

Mixed greens

Pulse the cranberries and sugar in a food processor to a coarse grind.  Set aside for approximately 4 hours (sugar is completely dissolved).

Toss cranberry mixture with apples and Ruby Red Kraut, serve mounded on a bed of mixed greens and top with toasted almonds.

• 1 cube cream cheese
• ½ cup Firefly Kimchi
• Splash of brine if you want it lighter and fluffier
• 1-3 Tbsp goat cheese (optional but makes it extra yummy)

Puree all ingredients until smooth and enjoy! Fantastic with rice crackers, bread or if thinner as a veggie dip.

Kimchi Pate

• 1 cup dark Green Lentils
• ½ cup Firefly Kimchi
• ½ cup toasted Pecans
• 1/3 cup carmelized onions  (or less of fresh red onion)

Puree all ingredients until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. This is great with crackers or bagette!  Also substitute anyhow you would use hummus.

PB Chi Sauce

• 1 cup Peanut Butter
• 1 cup Firely Kimchi
• Thin with brine, hot water or olive oil

Puree all ingredients until smooth. Goes fantastic with chicken, tofu, or broccoli. Or mix into pasta and add blanched broccoli, fresh red peppers and and some nuts.

Classsic Cream

• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ + Classic Saurkruat
• ¼ tea dill or more to taste

Puree all ingredients until smooth. Enjoy drizzled over salmon, any potatoes or as a veggie dip.

Cherie shed a great light on raw foods and provided a host of great information on why we should be eating a lot more of them. Her talk further illuminated the health benefits of the raw, fermented foods we make and we were proud to send her home with several jars.

Now, with two of her cookbooks in hand, we’ve been having a great time experimenting with several of her raw food recipes and incorporating our raw fermented foods wherever possible. One of our favorites so far is her Broccoli-Tahini Paté, which we’ve modified to include Firefly Kimchi. The combination is magnificent and makes a great dip for veggies or spread on sandwiches, wraps, nori or lettuce cups.

Broccoli-Tahini-Kimchi Paté
(Adapted from Cheri Soria’s Raw Food Revolution Diet Cookbook)

3 cups chopped broccoli
1/3 cup raw tahini paste
2 tbsp cilantro
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)
1 cup Firefly Kimchi

Soak the broccoli in a large bowl of almost-boiling water for one minute. Drain and let dry.

Meanwhile combine the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Add the broccoli and puree until smooth.

Season to taste with salt and pepper or a dash of hot sauce if desired.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.  

Leafy Greens and Cortido Enchiladas

For the enchiladas:

• 1 lb. swiss chard or kale
• 1 Tbsp butter or coconut oil
• 2 yellow onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta or cottage cheese
• 3 cups tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp taco seasoning (see below to make your own)
• 8 – 10 corn tortillas
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

For the sauce:

• 1 cup Cortido Sauerkraut
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup Cotija cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and set aside.

Pull the chard or kale from the stalk, wash and set aside. Heat a large pan over medium heat and melt the butter or coconut oil. Add the onions and sauté for 10 minutes until soft and beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic and sauté for another 3 minutes until fragrant. Add the chard/kale, cumin, salt and pepper and sauté until greens are wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the ricotta or cottage cheese and stir to incorporate.

In a separate bowl combine the tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Pour one cup of the sauce into the greased baking dish.

Fill a shallow bowl with boiling water and dip each corn tortilla into the hot water for about 10 seconds to soften. Remove and spoon a generous heap of the greens mixture into the center of each. Roll the tortilla around the greens mixture to form a log shape and lay, seam side down, in the baking dish atop the tomato sauce. Repeat until all tortillas have been filled and are lined up next to one another in the pan. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the tortillas and use a soft spatula to spread evenly and ensure all tortilla edges are coated with sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle the mozzarella on top and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let cool while making the sauce.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients  in a standing blender and pulse until combined and smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed.

Serve enchiladas with a drizzle of the sauce over each serving and enjoy!

(Taco seasoning: combine 1/4 cup chili powder, 3 Tbsp cumin, 2 Tbsp dried oregano, 2 Tbsp ground coriander, 1 Tbsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp ground red pepper.)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Recipe adapted from original found in Simply in Season, by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert

In addition to the low-calorie and high-fiber qualities that cabbage is most often recognized for, and aside from the its benefits as a fermented food that we have covered in great deal as you might imagine, there are some interesting new studies that show cabbage lends some surprising health benefits to the female population.

Cabbage is a rich source of phytonutrients, in particular indole-3-carbonole (I3C) and sulforaphane, which are major players in the antioxidant and detoxification process throughout your body. On a whole these phytonutrients help break down and eliminate cancer-causing substances.

Specificially, I3C helps both improve estrogen detoxification and promote natural production of the most benign form of estrogen. Since both the amount and type of estrogen in a female’s body has been linked to a higher incidence of breast cancer, eating more I3C rich foods can help decrease your risk.

Sulforaphane helps increase the actual production of antioxidants and enzymes that detoxify the body. Recent studies also focus on the power of sulforaphane to stop the growth of breast cancer cells later in growth.

In addition, other compounds called isothiocyannates have been linked to a decreased risk of breast cancer due to their activation of liver enzymes that help cleanse carcinogenic substances from the body. They have also been shown to impact the way estrogen is metabolized and the way your body responds to the hormone.

As icing on the cake, research on these compounds also suggests that finely dicing or fermenting cabbage before eating it makes its beneficial nutrients more available to your body during digestion and activates beneficial enzymes that help these cancer-fighting processes take place.

So, next time you reach for a head of cabbage, or hopefully a jar of Firefly’s fermented foods, think about it both as a deliciously crunchy food that belongs at any backyard BBQ or summer dinner, but also a food that will fight for the healthy of your body with every bite!

Linda is a writer and has recently published a book titled, Detoxification: 70 Ways to Cleanse, Clear & Purify Your Body, Space & Life. We’re looking forward to reading through her wealth of information on improving health through natural cleansing methods – maybe there’s some information on probiotics in there too!

Here’s her winning recipe:

Eggs With Wilted Baby Greens and Kimchi Salad Stuffed Radicchio

(Makes 4 individual servings)

• 8 large pastured eggs, poached or soft boiled
• 2 lbs fresh bitter baby greens – choose a combination of young tender leaves such as dandelion, nettle, arugula, chard, mizuna, watercress, mustard, turnip or beet tops, endive, chicory, kale, or spinach (Reserve and thinly slice 1 cup raw greens for kimchi salad)
• 2 cups Firefly Kimchi
• 1 small red, yellow or green sweet bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 whole radicchio leaves, separated
• 8 ripe cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• Extra virgin olive oil and umeboshi plum vinegar for drizzling (Eden Foods makes a nice one.)
• 4 Tbs grass fed butter, ghee, &/or pastured bacon fat
• ½ cup homemade chicken stock &/or white wine (use either one or a combination of both)
• 3-4 small shallots, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1-2 oz dried dulse seaweed
• 2-3 oz sheep’s milk Pecorino Romano cheese, shaved thin with a potato peeler
• 4 Tbs fresh parsley and chives (or other fresh herbs of your choice) chopped fine
• sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Boil water for poaching or boiling eggs, and cook them on a separate burner while preparing the rest of the dish so they’re just done and hot at serving time.

To make the kimchi salad, stir together the reserved sliced raw baby greens, kimchi, sliced bell peppers, 3 Tbs of the chopped parsley/chives, and a drizzling of olive oil. Spoon ¼ of the mixture into each radicchio leaf, top with sliced cherry tomatoes, and place one stuffed radicchio leaf on each plate.

Melt 2 Tbs of the butter in a skillet on medium heat and add the baby greens, season with salt and pepper and sauteé, stirring and turning regularly til wilted and soft. Add stock/wine, reduce heat and simmer gently uncovered, allowing most all the liquid to reduce until greens are still succulent, but not too juicy. Remove wilted greens to a warm plate and hold in a warm oven.

Return pan to medium-low heat and add the rest of the butter. Once it has melted, sauteé shallots, garlic and dulse for a few minutes, just until the aromatics soften, release their fragrance and begin to turn slightly golden, and the dulse crisps slightly.

Divide the wilted greens into four equal portions and plate them alongside the stuffed radicchio leaves. Pour over each portion of greens some of the butter/shallot/garlic/dulse mixture, drizzle with ume plum vinegar, and top with thin shavings of Romano cheese. Add two cooked eggs atop the greens to each plate, grind some fresh black pepper over them and sprinkle them with the fourth tablespoon of chopped parsley and chives.

Combine a bit of egg, greens, dulse, cheese, kimchi salad and radicchio on your fork, and savor the delightfully rich explosion of flavors on your palate!

There will be plenty more contests and chances to win so make sure you stay tuned to our facebook page for updates.