A few months ago something amazing happened!

My children and I cooked together! (My son is the oldest at 10 and my daughter is 4.)

They’ve helped a little by stirring or being taste testers, but never really stuck it out till we were finished.

We made Kim Chi (from Nourishing Traditions) and had so much fun.

My daughter tore the cabbages leaves….

…and my son cut the carrots up.

The food processor did most of the work, for which I am grateful.

Here is the recipe we used:

Easy Kimchi
(makes 2 quarts)

1 head Napa cabbage, cored and shredded
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 cup carrots, grated
1/2 cup Daikon radish, grated
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey* (or use additional 1 T salt instead)

Place vegetables, ginger, red chili flakes, salt and whey in a bowl and pound it with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer to release juices. Place them in two quart sized glass jars and press down firmly until all the juices come up to the top and cover the vegetables. The top of the vegetables should be at least an inch from the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days at which time you can put it in the fridge or cold storage.

*You can get whey by straining plain yogurt through a large napkin or cheesecloth.  The solids will stay in the cloth and the liquid that drips down is the whey.

(Note: I didn’t use any Daikon radish and went really light on the chili flakes. )

The first time I made this, I used a quart jar. The next time I made a whole gallon!

Can you tell I REALLY like this?  It’s so fresh tasting…crunchy, sweet, sour…..simply addictive!

This was really easy, please try it for yourself….you’ll be glad you did.

Find more wonderful recipes and projects at Fight Back Friday.

Our family follows the Nourishing Traditions/ Weston Price way of eating.  In a nutshell, that means that we eat real food, the way our Great Grandparents did.

(We have eaten junk for so long that it’s taking a while for me to get back to a healthy weight. We used to eat white sugar filled deserts every night!  It would be wonderful to wake up and be fit, but that’s not going to happen. So, I’ll just keep eating well and exercising.)

Funny thing… most grocery stores don’t have a lot of real food!  So, how do we find healthy, affordable things to eat?  The answer is local food.

You can go to Local Harvest to find farmer’s markets, local farmers and farm stands near you.  I have found some wonderful family farms in my town with this great tool.

When you are buying locally it’s better for you and your budget!  You are eating food that’s very fresh and keeping your food dollars in your local community…in the hands of the hardworking farmer, where they belong!

I totally agree with  Jenny, from The Nourished Kitchen, when she said, “Saving money should come from proper kitchen management, not from skimping on the quality of food you purchase.” She has a great article about budget friendly, healthy food you can read here.

Healthy, local food…Works For Me!

You’ll find lots of great info about eating real food at Real Food Wednesday!

Here are some great links for further reading:

The Nourished Kitchen

Sustainable Table

Animal Vegetable Miracle

Keeper Of The Home

If you would like to have your own farm fresh eggs head on over to Life On A Southern Farm, she’s having a nesting box giveaway!

Chocolate…give me a bar of dark, dark chocolate and I’m very happy! Yum!

So…I’m very excited about the carnival that Kimi from Nourishing Traditions is having.

The Nourishing Chocolate Carnival begins today!

I’m new to making healthy deserts, so I’m looking forward to trying out the great recipes that are sure to be there. Woo Hoo!