Where There’s a Will, There’s a Whey: Adventures With Nourishing Traditions

Over the last few years, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon just kept popping into my life. At first, I wondered about all these people I was meeting who were excited about whey, lacto-fermentation and organ meats. The people I knew who used this cookbook were “whey” into it. Then began a series of amazing food experiences with dishes brought to potlucks by friends, and upon inquiry the recipes always seemed to come from this cookbook. Finally it made it on to my list of books I would like to have someday. This list is long, so unfortunately it can be slow moving. The turning point was when I was invited over to my friends Jeff and Taryn’s farm in Mapleton for a tour, tea and lunch. They are all about feeding the joy, which shows in everything they do, and that day they were all about feeding me! They cooked up the most amazing, nourishing, soul food ever. We had squash, beans, fresh farm butter, and some beef and veggie skillet dish that was to die for. They even sent me home with some frozen blueberries and fresh cream for the road. They were glowing, happy and healthy, and the more they talked about their love of fabulous food, my fate with the cookbook was sealed. It’s often been said, “you are what you eat”, and if that holds true, I wanted what Jeff and Taryn were having! Taryn took me out to her neighbor’s dairy to get some raw milk, cream and butter, and I set out for home with my treasures, enthusiasm, and a desire to make some real whole food. I would say that our family eats really well, but now the bar was raised towards excellence. I got the cookbook the next day, along with some yogurt and kefir starter. I spent that whole week launching many food projects. I made kefir (plain and strawberry), I made cream cheese and whey, I made beet kvass, I made sauerkraut and kimchi, I made beef bone broth, I made soaked muesli and I made beans. This was so much fun! The best part was how easy everything was. These were not your complicated Martha Stewart style recipes (sorry Martha, but it’s true) with many steps and hours of preparation time. These were easy recipes that relied on enzymes, cultures, gravity, and time. I just got things going and left them until they were ready. This was a life changing cooking moment, right up there with my discovery of the crock pot. Thank you Taryn and Jeff and thank you Sally Fallon!

Making whey and cream cheese. This only requires yogurt culture, letting things sit a few days, and letting the solids drip in a towel for a day. Super easy!!

The finished whey and raw cream cheese. Mmmmmmm.

Beet kvass tonic drink cultured with the whey. Again, super easy! It just required mixing and letting it sit.

Sauerkraut and kimchi cultured with whey. I shredded. I pounded. I put it in jars, and it sat…

Delicious breakfast muesli made of oats, nuts, raisins, shredded coconut, and cinnamon all fermented overnight with whey. It cooked up in a fraction of the usual oatmeal time in the morning. It gives a whole new meaning to “fast food”!