Listener Questions + My Favorite Middle Eastern Dishes (KYF044)

In this episode of Know Your Food with Wardee, I’m taking listener questions, including:

• using unbleached muslin bags for dairy kefir and water kefir
• whether or not to soak/sourdough in melamine mixing bowl
• whether to soak flax seeds/chia seeds for oatmeal
• converting Cheesy Vegetable Muffins to soaked
• general formula for converting baked goods recipes for soaking
• reusing fermenting liquid/brine
• Middle Eastern recipes and flavors

Plus…

• Tip of the Week: fermenting outside may be problematic!
• My favorite yogurt culture: Danisco ABY-2C
• Katie’s yogurt method in a cooler: blog or online class

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Listener Questions

Here are the questions I answered in this episode, in the order they’re answered (in case you want to skip around). The podcast contains my answers, plus if I mentioned any additional resources, they are linked here along with the question.

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Rhonda asked: What do you think of using unbleached cotton muslin bags to hold cultures when making kefir and water kefir? My kefir and water kefir are fermenting, but the grains are not multiplying much any more inside their bags. The bags sure make the job easier, but I don’t want to be damaging my cultures! Any guidance would be helpful!

• unbleached muslin bags

Rhonda asked: I recently bought a new but “antique looking” batterbowl made of melamine. Do you think this is suitable for making/soaking sourdough items in? Is it “non reactive”?

• Huffington Post article

Mark asked: You mentioned not soaking flax seed for too long in your last podcast, and it reminded me that I’ve never really been sure how to incorporate flax and/or chia seeds into my oatmeal. I grind the flax myself and I’ve tried adding it both right before cooking and also the night before (too much does make it gelatinous), but I’m wondering if it should have been sprouted, dehydrated, and then ground. Or does it even matter if it’s soaked at all? When and how would you add it in?

Kim asked: Could you tell me how I could convert the following recipe to a soaked muffin recipe? I am not very keen on sweet soaked muffins like the one featured on your website but prefer more savoury ones and a plus if I can incorporate veggies in.

Cheesy Vegetable Muffins Serves: 12
Preparation Time: 15 minutes or less

Ingredients:
2 cups grated vegetables e.g. zucchini, potato, carrot
11/2 cups plain flour (Wardee: is this measurement is correct?)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup grated cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup milk

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Grease a 12 hole muffin pan. Mix vegetables and 3?4 cup of cheese with sifted flour and baking powder. Whisk together the eggs, oil and milk and add to the flour mixture.

Kim asked: In general do you have a formula to convert standard unsoaked recipes to soaked ones?

• Free Fact Sheet: Converting Recipes to Soaked

Alyssa asked: Hi! I am training to run a half marathon. I enjoy the running a lot more when I’m listening to a podcast. I heard about Know Your Food with Wardeh and now use it every day whether I am running, jump roping, practicing yoga, or even some household chores. I am catching up on the older podcasts. Thank you! We love many of your recipes in “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Fermenting Foods” like the ketchup, sourdough brownies, mild salsa and more! Concerning the garlic-carrot sticks. Is it possible to reuse the liquid after we have eaten all the carrot sticks?

Alyssa asked: We will be moving overseas and likely to an Arabic speaking country. I would love any Middle Eastern recipes so I can start incorporating those flavors into my family’s diet. Do you have any recommendations?

Middle Eastern Pizza — Manqushah

• Halawi ~ Halvah
• Arabic Meat Balls
• Arabic Green Bean Stew — Loubieh
• Arabic Lentil and Rice Stew — Mujaderah
• Middle Eastern Pizza — Manqushah (Za’atar blend)
• Falafel and Tahini Sauce
• Arabic Pocket Bread — in Sourdough A to Z eBook or Sourdough eCourse
• Sumac is the red seed spice I couldn’t remember that’s often in za’atar!
• Cucumber-Tomato Salad (not mentioned — how could I forget?)
• Cucumber-Yogurt Salad (not mentioned– how could I forget?)

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Anything to Add?

I would love to hear from you! What advice would you add to any of my answers? Do you have follow-up questions? Please share what your answers would be to any of these questions.

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