Michelle Felt

Strawberry Orange Smoothie [banana-free]

Today’s smoothie is absolutely gorgeous and equally delicious. It’s composed of only 2 fruits and neither of them are bananas. While I love bananas and will probably put them in most of the smoothies I make until the end of time I’ve come to understand that some folks aren’t fond of bananas and some are even allergic to the lovely banana. sniff sniff I’m happy to say this smoothie is banana-free.…

Happy Fermentation Friday! Today we’re veering away from sauerkrauts and beverages to look at fermented breads.

Specifically sourdough bread! Sourdough has to be one of my favorites, it’s a bread I remember loving as a kid. My first affair with carbs if you will. Toasted with a bit of butter, there’s nothing better than when that sourdough tang spreads along the tongue.

Mmmm! I wish I had a slice right now!

Most bread has a simple base of flour, salt, water, and yeast. Sourdough is that plus the addition of ‘fermented’ flour water concentrate. You can’t just leave flour and water out on the counter, you usually have a starter—the existing culture—to jump start things. It’s like a SCOBY to kombucha. The starter/concentrate grows and develops at room temperature before adding it to the rest of your bread mixture. You can find starter online, at a health food store, or snag some from a friend.

Here’s the truth about maintaining sourdough bread starter. It’s HIGH MAINTENANCE. Incredibly so.

You have to feed it–on a schedule and use it regularly for fear of being swallowed whole or dump some out regularly.

I went through a couple phases with it where I was pretty good at maintaining its glory and baking with it to ignoring it for months to reviving it to ignoring it again and throwing it out. I just couldn’t keep up. I’m a bad person.

But if you see the picture above, I want you to know that I revived that mess. That grey strange looking mess. I brought it back to life and baked with it for several months. So, never fear, you too can bring your sourdough starter back from north of the wall. Just like Jon Snow. Although he wasn’t north of the wall when it happened. You get my gist.

The grey liquid has a special name. Hooch. Low-quality booze. If that. But that’s where we begin.

How to Revive Sourdough Starter

Discard the hooch, drain it off, send it on its way

Skim off the top layer of discolored starter using the back of a spoon

Use a spoon or tablespoon to transfer some starter into a large clean bowl

Reseal the original starter and put back in the fridge (for back-up purposes)

Measure out 1/4 cup filtered water + 1/2 cup plain unbleached flour

Add the water to the bowl with starter and whisk well

Using a sieve add the flour and whisk until it forms a nice looking dough

On an 8-12 hour schedule repeat the feeding with water and flour I’ve seen sources recommend tossing half the starter before each feeding – I don’t remember doing that, but you do you

If you set the time up right, you can end up with a morning/after work feeding schedule that doesn’t require trips home at lunch time

In about 3 days it should be ready to use

This will get thick and fluffy over the next 3 days. It doesn’t bubble or make noises like sauerkraut, but it smells good and you can tell it’s alive.

Here’s a batch of homemade sourdough bread baked in our Lodge cast iron dutch oven. Swoon.

Local peeps, if you’re interested in making homemade sourdough, there’s a gentleman—Ray Templeton—with a booth at the Moscow Farmers Market. He sells spice mixes, starters, and even a sourdough recipe book.

Cheers! xx

Vegan Options in Pullman, Washington

Old European • 455 S Grand Ave, Pullman WA 99163 The Veggie Browns. I’ve ordered the veggie browns several times and it’s always delicious. Backup at any restaurant is oatmeal. I usually verify that it’s made with water just to be safe. 🍊 And don’t forget to grab a glass of their fresh-squeezed orange juice. The really cool juicer is right in the front room on display. Black Cypress • 215 E Main…

Farmers Market Haul | September 2015

Our farmar hauls are a little light thanks to our CSA subscription this year. Today we picked up cucumbers, purple potatoes, honey crisp apples, and a 15 pound cabbage. edit: I don’t like these purple potatoes. Some taste good, some taste bad, and some taste really fishy. I don’t get it. One of my favorite apples of all time, honey crisp. Like the name it’s crispy and sweet. One more edit: that…

Farmers Market Haul | August 2014

August 16th TONS of gorgeous peppers We picked up a little bit of everything! Hot red peppers to make homemade sriracha, bell peppers, peaches, nectarines, zucchini, basil, and padron peppers. I picked up these cute fork earrings from a vendor. He’ll even take old silverware you have lying around. Fresh nectarines are the best. Trying pairing them with basil. August 23rd We picked up a huge bunch…

Farmers Market Haul | July 2014

Our farmers market is pretty 💣. It’s small and local enough that everything is very authentic. You won’t find vendors selling peppers grown in Mexico or oranges from Florida. You can expect regionally grown produce every Saturday. It’s wonderful. On July 12th we picked up a box of strawberries, bing cherries, a box of peaches, spinach, broccoli, a gorgeous bunch of carrots, and a HUGE cabbage.…

Lemon Poppy Seed Waffles

I don’t know if it’s the onset of gorgeous weather or Queen Bey’s latest literal masterpiece, but I’m all up in a lemon’s business. Sipping on water refreshed by lemon slices and lemon juice while devising ways to add lemons to everything consumable. Enter today’s recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Cornmeal Waffles. These waffles taste like lemon cake and who doesn’t want lemon cake for breakfast?? No…

A little meal inspiration for your Tuesday. On social media there are two very popular hashtags associated with Tuesday. #ToastTuesday 🍞 🌮 #TacoTuesday But we’re all about #TacoTuesday today. Taco Tuesday for lazy people. When your scrolling through your feed and every taco is from a fancy vegan restaurant in L.A. plated with bottled cashew sour cream for the perfect plate art. The guacamole…

Everything bagels are everything. A chewy delectable ark of savory seasonings and seeds. I love my bagels toasted with a little Earth Balance or homemade vegan cheese. My toaster has a bagel setting that I usually skip, because crispy and chewy are the way to go.

When bagels are around there’s little use for bread. Bagel sandwiches. Toasted bagels with salad. Pizza bagels. Garlic bread bagel with pasta. Let us count the myriad of ways.

If you’ve been following along [subscribe for free], you’ll know last Monday I shared the template for all future bagels. They’re pretty easy to make and fulfill all of your carb fantasies using just a few ingredients.

I used that recipe and reduced the salt a little, because my Everything Bagel seasoning included salt and the rest is history. A pretty easy transition.

Everything Bagel seasoning typically includes sesame seeds, poppy seeds, minced dried onion, minced dried garlic, and kosher salt. We acquired a large McCormick bottle at Costco a few years ago and have barely used it. It looks like they discontinued that seasoning, but I found this replacement from King Arthur Flour. Or whip up your own.

I noticed when looking up the history of bagels—they originated in Poland in the 17th century—that many of the everything bagels look smothered in seasoning. That’s not my preference, but I won’t hold you back. These bagels are savory and flavorful without requiring a mask that separates your mouth from the rest of the world. They’re relatively safe that way. But feel free to coat or smother to your heart’s content. We won’t judge.

This time around I experimented with a glaze to see if they browned more during baking. I used about 1 teaspoon of Bee-Free Honey mixed with 1/4 cup of water. They were a little bit darker, but might not be worth the effort unless you’re also sprinkling the tops with additional seasoning. The glaze will also help those flavor bombs adhere.

  There’s only six ingredients.

Did you know boiling helps get that chewy exterior and also helps with the browning while baking?

Bake on a cookie sheet or pizza pan lined with parchment paper, silpat, or customizable baking sheets.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:335]

I would love to see your food pics! If you give this recipe a whirl, let us know. 💞 Leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag a picture with #feedyourskull on Instagram!

  I’ve been thinking a lot about my inner earth goddess (aka inner hippie) lately. I think we all have one and more often than not we end up ignoring her. Unknowingly of course. You can feel her awaken when you pause to take a deep breath or spend time in pigeon pose. My inner earth goddess is my strength and determination.  She is fierce and protective, but whispers in my ear when I should do something that scares me. She is a fermenter of all the things! She loves feeling the earth between her fingers, under her nails, and packed against her bare feet. She knows the strength of self-healing. She loves reading about chaga tonics and empowered humans. She feels alive and renewed after time spent with grounded friends. She appreciates the wind washing through the tallest trees and the densest moss. When she is grounded she feels her energy root her to the earth’s energy. She is alive.

I don’t mean to ignore her and I’m always surprised when I’m aware that it’s happened. A few months ago I received a Four Sigma coffee mushroom blend in a Vegan Cuts. I began thinking why couldn’t I make this myself? So, I ordered a few things. Then I got thinking about how Dara Dubinet creates all of her tonics—many with reishi and chaga mushrooms. Didn’t she make an ebook? Yes. I went and bought it and I was reading her words and recipes and I just felt alive. It was pretty late at night if I remember correctly. That’s the night my little goddess opened a tired eye in my direction. And the spell was broken. Part of me awoke and I’ve been trying to keep her awake ever since.

I felt her strength yesterday at our first farmers market of the season. Happy 2016, it’s a new year! The buzz of people. The humming of freshly cut plants, bright green and filled with nature’s most powerful resources. I was excited!

Our discovery.

It’s berry season and the main berry seller had gorgeous strawberries to offer. We bought a box for $16. Every single one has such strength and power in its flavor. Unlike anything you’d buy at Safeway.

It wasn’t long before we spotted morels and wild greens. My inner goddess led me through throngs of people to view the spread. We bought a bag of nettles, fiddleheads, and a basket of morels.

I’ve had nettle leaf tea, but never had such a fun treasure to play with. I found my first resource for learning about nettles. Nettle pesto? Yes please.

I’ve seen gorgeous pictures of sautéed fiddleheads, but never cooked with them. As I do, I threw them into a pan with sliced morels, a little olive oil, and fresh minced garlic. As I cooked I wondered how long they had to cook for. Are they like asparagus? About 5 minutes? I’ll check google. 😒 Oh really. They’re highly toxic?  They need to be boiled or steamed first. Please tell me more. I scoured and scoured to find an article validating what I had just done. Nada. Learn from my mistake, google uncommon vegetables that you haven’t cooked before. The fiddleheads went to waste, but I pulled out the cooked morels, because morels. Expensive af. I hope I get a second chance to try fiddleheads next week.

This is the first time we’ve bought morels. In Iowa Jeremy has morel-hunting uncle. To say it is one of his top ten skills would be an understatement. We were once gifted a Jewel shopping bag full of them.

I’ve seen a few morel pictures on ig this week and my mouth and creativity have been watering. It got me thinking about going on my own foraging adventure. I started to look up forums online for the pnw.

Our next stop was a tamale vendor. Sorry I didn’t get their name. But when I saw vegan tamales on their board my feet carried me to their stand before I had time to say okay.

We weren’t hungry, but saw you could buy a ready to freeze supply of 4 for $12. They’ll last several days in the fridge or can be frozen for later use. They were our dinner last night. OMFG. They were amazing! The earthy nuttiness of lentils mixed with corn masa and seasonings? Heaven.

As we made our way around I remembered there was a stand with herb-y looking things that I wanted to go back to. My mind had bookmarked it and we just had to find it again. It wasn’t where I thought I remembered it and for a moment thought of Harry Potter and Diagon Alley.

But then I saw it. Tinctures, lemon balm, tea blends, and more. My inner goddess was standing on tiptoes and radiating moon beams. This beautiful business is the work of Dr. Linda Kingsbury. She is an herbalist and owner of Idaho Herbs. She offers classes, consultations, and products. Yesterday I was drawn to her tea blends and class schedule. She has so many offerings. I am very excited.

I picked up her Calendula Morning and Rose Relaxing blends. Each jar makes about 33 cups of tea. I can’t wait to use the calendula one in a batch of kombucha!! We ended up talking about WordPress, websites, and Instagram. It was so nice meeting you Linda!

Also, if you have lemon balm growing in your yard or pick some up, place it in a pitcher and cover with water. Drink like you would lemon infused water. It’s light and refreshing and boasts several healing properties.

On our way home we took the roads less traveled. As we do. And enjoyed every second of our surroundings.

Happy Weekend! I would love to know what’s got you buzzing. Let us know in the comments. xx

Fermenting Fail: Mason Jar Asparagus

Happy Fermentation Friday! Today is storytime. For me mason jar fermentation is a black hole. Where things go to die, become compost, or scattered in the backyard hoping animals will take it away. My problem is I don’t do it often enough or ever if I’m honest. You know I’m a Harsch Crock/TSM kinda girl from my How to Make Raw Fermented Sauerkraut post and many subsequent posts. It’s foolproof and…

One Pot Instant Pot Tex-Mex Rice

Today’s Tex-Mex Rice comes together so easily you just might think you’re at a restaurant. Try and recruit willing participants to make guacamole at your table for full-effect. Will it be as awkward? No one can say, but you should try. I debated whether to categorize this recipe as a side or a meal. I think as an omnivore I would’ve marked it as a side, because you’re trained to always have meat…

Dehydrated and freeze-dried foods are a must for any backpacking or car camping adventure and with camping season fast approaching (hip hip hurray!), it’s the perfect time to highlight some excellent vegan camping sustenance. Thankfully there’s a wide variety of dehydrated and freeze-dried foods available that are vegan.

veg·an ˈvēɡən/ • noun• a person who does not eat or use animal products.

A few years ago I went on a solo weekend camping trip. It was my first camping trip as a vegan and my first solo commune with nature. After I answered the where and when questions I tackled the fun part. FOOD. You know we love thinking about food here at Feed Your Skull.

I started to wrap my head around the following:

What meals/food items would be easiest to bring?

Is refrigeration required? Am I bringing a cooler?

Will x,y,z be easy to prepare and clean up?

Is it lightweight?

How much will all my food weigh?

Will it be easy to pack-in and pack-out?

I then went to our local outdoors store to pick up a few things and see what traditional camping fare I could go with. I was pleasantly surprised at how many options were available!

Now this trip was more car camping than hike-in/backpacking, so I had some flexibility and could bring heavier items and not think about every little detail, but I’ve done those backpacking trips too and dehydrated foods are a great option for either one. Some of the details I elaborate on are with the backpacker in mind.

1. Mary Jane’s Farm

Mary Jane’s Farm (MJF), you might be familiar with the magazine, sells food in two types of packaging, the EcoPouch™ and Do-It-Yourself Bulk. Two cool things about the EcoPouch™ are you can cook/rehydrate the food in the pouch and you can dispose of it in the campfire. MJF also happens to be local where I live!

The EcoPouches come in instant, quick-prep, and skillet bake options depending on what you need.

All bags are clearly marked with directions, ingredients, nutrition facts, and of course dietary markers.

  For dinner I had their organic ginger sesame rice. Delicious!

Other organic vegan options from Mary Jane’s Farm:

Beans // Black Bean Flakes • Black Bean Flakes, Hot ‘n Spicy • Pinto Bean Flakes

Breads // Black Bean Corn Bread* • Chili Batter Bread • Corn Bread* • Garlic Pesto Fry Bread

Breakfast // Griddle Cakes • Outrageous Outback Oatmeal

Dessert // Brownies • Scones with Walnuts and Orange Peel

Meals // Couscous and Lentil Curry • Southwestern Couscous • Wild Forest Mushroom Couscous • Black Bean Hummus • Lebanese Peanut Bulghar • Lentil Pilav • Ginger Sesame Rice • Lentils, Rice, and Indian Spice • Kettle Chili • Lentil Soup • Velvety Black Bean Soup

Sauces // Corn Salsa

Sampler Packs // Bakeover Sampler • Adventure Sampler (5 out of 6 are vegan, the Red Pesto Pasta is vegetarian)

*(ingredients are vegan and can probably be prepped vegan – skip the honey packet)

2. ALPINEAIRE FOODS

ALPINEAIRE Foods offers a small variety of ready-to-go meals that are veg friendly. They also sell cans of freeze-dried/dehydrated foods that I think you could create your own meals by mixing, matching, and adding spices from your pantry. After perusing their website a bit, they do have a dietary label for vegan items, but there are some items under the vegetarian category that are not categorized as vegan even though their ingredient list is. Probably falls into the ‘may contain’ category from using shared equipment. Just double-check the ingredient list.

ALPINE AIRE’S vegan options

Mountain Chili

Wild Quinoa Pilaf with Hemp Crispies

Santa Fe Black Beans & Rice

Veggie Burrito Bowl

Freeze-dried fruit

Three Berry Crumble

3. Backpacker’s Pantry

Backpacker’s Pantry came about as a solution to provide Girl Scout’s with an economical, lightweight, and healthy food option for their outdoor adventures. They are passionate about providing gourmet on-the-trail meals that sustain, nourish, and rebuild your body after a day of forested exploits. Backpacker’s Pantry offers 12 vegan products as well as a comprehensive allergen chart to cross check your other needs.

Vegan Ready for Anything Kit (2 Day)

Chana Masala

Katmandu Curry [2 servings • 16 servings]

Organic Instant Rainbow Quinoa

Peanut Butter & Co. All Natural Peanut Butter Pack

Sweet Corn

Louisiana Red Beans & Rice [2 servings • 4 servings]

Charros Beans & Rice

Instant Diced Carrots [46 servings]

Organic Blueberry Walnut Oats & Quinoa

Organic Olive Oil packets

Organic Peanut & Raisin Oatmeal

Organic Yakisoba Noodles

Pad Thai

Salsa

Spaghetti & Sauce

Build Your Own Meal Kit (cross check with vegan list)

4. Cache Lake

Photo courtesy of CacheLake.com

Offers trail-tested gourmet dehydrated foods that claim to fill you up and satisfy better than the competition. I think they originally started as a wholesale outfit and only recently began selling to the public. Due to that they state their packaging isn’t pretty nor does it contain nutrition information. I mean what?! 😱 They do offer a list and claim to answer any questions via email or phone. Seems like it would be good info to include on their site. Proceed at your own risk. [nutritional facts (not all products shown) • allergen list]

edit: I am finding if you click on a product image and zoom in, you can read the ingredient list.

Cache Lake’s vegan options (based on the allergen list)

Beans with Salsa Spices

Beans with Taco Flavored Bits

Billie’s Chili

Carrots

Corn

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Hashbrown Potatoes

Hot Apple Dessert

Peas & Carrots

Peas

Pumpkin Pie

Spaghetti & Sauce with Beef Flavored Bits for real

Wild Rice Leek & Potato

Wild Rice Vegetable Salad with Italian Dressing

Wild Rice Vegetable Soup

5. Outdoor Herbivore

Outdoor Herbivore is completely new to me as of the last few minutes. Thank you Google. It appears they specialize in 100% vegetarian camping foods with a large vegan selection. Not only is their vegan section sizable, but it’s the equivalent to eating vegan in PDX. There are unique and tasty sounding options that aren’t just peas and carrots.

Vegan options at Outdoor Herbivore

Breakfasts // Apple Quinoa Oatmeal • Blueberry Maple Crunch • Chia Oat Crunch • Coconut Chia Peel • Cold Breakfast Combo • Ginger Chia Gooey • High Elevation Rice Cereal • Morning Day PB&J • Sunrise Tofu Scramble • Toasted Sunburst Museli

Meals // ‘Cheddar’ Mac • Basil Walnut Penne • Blackened Quinoa • Instant Quinoa and Dried Sauces • Cheddar Garden Herb • Chickpea Sesame Penne • Chickpea Sesame Penne (GF) • Chunky Chipotle Chili • Cibola Couscous • Curried Apple Couscous • Dehydrated Pasta Sauce Collection • Hop Pea Slop • Instant Dehydrated Quinoa • Lemon Quinoa Tabbouleh • Lemongrass Thai Curry • Lickety-Split Lentils • Naked Freckle Burrito • Pea-Nutty Matchsticks • Pesto Presto Matchsticks • Quinoa ‘Cheddar’ Mac (GF) • Quinoa Vegetable Soup • Savory Lentil Simmer • Southwest Black Bean • Sunny Sunflower Salad • Waldorf Slaw

Sides & Sauces // Instant Hummus • Instant Peanut Butter • Pesto Herbilicious Spread • Pinto Smash • Summer Tomato Sauce

Desserts // ChocoCocoChia • CinnaMonkey Chomps • Cocoa Nutty Chomps • Snack Sampler • Chili Lime Crunchies

Backpacking Meal Combos // 2-Day • 3-Day • 5-Day (GF) • 5-Day • 7-Day

Backpacking Meal Sampler // No Cook (3 meals) • Chia, No Cook (4 meals) • Single Day (GF) • Hot Breakfast (3) • Hot Trio • Rice (3) • Soups (3)

  Have you tried any of these? Have I missed any? Would you like to see some homemade alternatives? Let us know in the comments.

I look forward to ordering from Outdoor Herbivore! I love their selection and combo deals that make it easy to plan for a single or multi-day trip. xx

I love a good bagel, a good toasted bagel. Vegan bagels. They should have a little crunch on the edges with a subtle chewy texture on the bite. Up until a few months ago I couldn’t remember the last time I had a bagel. Most varieties at the store contain milk and boast a long list of ingredients to ensure their longevity on the store shelf and your counter. Homemade bagels on the other hand have…

Sauerkraut and Avocado Maki

It’s a gloomy fermentation Friday where I live, but rain is always good. Today I wanted to share a recipe for how to use sauerkraut and we’re pairing our favorite ferment with my other favorite food. Sushi. Or more appropriately termed, maki. Maki /ˈmäkē/ • noun a Japanese dish consisting of sushi and raw vegetables wrapped in seaweed. Since I love the combo of avocado and sauerkraut [proof] and…