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Raw Cuisine - Food for Consciousness » Depleted Uranium

Kefir, Kefir, the Magic Elixir

It was last spring [2004] that, becoming increasingly doubtful that I was getting enough protein on my raw diet, I began a hunt for some kefir culture. I had read about it in Cousens’ books and was impressed that he highly recommended it, impressed as I am by most of what he has written. Little did I realise at that time how seriously protein (and also vitamin A and D) deficient I had become after three years raw with only occasional dairy (say once a month) while breastfeeding two raw children and what a perfect antidote kefir would be. I had understood from the literature that eating masses of leaves with bananas (a bit like a gorilla in fact) and various combinations of seeds in moderation would fulfil all my protein requirements and liked this philosophy. It was nice knowing that I was not importuning any animal directly for food. In fact, as I feel a strong affinity with plants, I was hoping eventually not to have to eat anything and live in peace and harmony with all beings. Perhaps eventually I would not even have to trouble the sun for its rays (I joke not – I have strange thoughts) Meanwhile I became weaker and weaker, my hair wouldn’t grow, my eyesight was blurred, my gums were receding slightly and I had a number of fillings. My stomach was bloated and I could no longer even digest any appreciable amount of nuts and seeds. My libido was close to zero and I was beginning to lose interest in life – even the bluebells did not move me. I was having some pretty crazy binges too but I will tell you about that another time. Since then, in consultation with Tish, I have adopted an as near to totally raw diet as can practically be but this time including raw (unpasterurised) milk, cheeses, yoghurt and kefir. And I feel fantastic. I am fitter and stronger than ever. My hair has grown thicker than ever, my vision is back to its normal astigmatic myopia without the extra blurring and I can understand now how people’s eyesight can improve on a raw diet. My last dental check-up gave the all clear - in spite of dried fruit and nuts - I can digest as many nuts and seeds as I care to eat now– without bloating - yet I don’t overdo it because I feel balanced and satisfied and ‘comfort eating’ is at a minimum. I have coped with a deluge of life events over the last few months and now still feel enthusiastic for more projects. My children still have that raw shine but are growing taller and stronger. Which brings me back to kefir

I will be clear at this point. Kefir can be made from almost any kind of milk – cows’. goats’, sheep’s, soy, coconut, nut milks and seed milks – but not rice or oat milk as they are quite different. At first when I eventually found some culture (after a worldwide search via the internet it turned out bizarrely that my ex had some tucked away in a jar under his kitchen sink and hadn’t really taken any interest in it) I tried to make it with almond milk. Apparently they are very successful making delicious kefir from nut and seed milks at Cousens’ ‘Tree of Life’ Centre but when I made it it tasted vile. The jar next to it made with local unpasteurised biodynamic Jersey cow’s milk (yum) was simply delectable. So I was vegan (ish) no more. You may wish to try making kefir from any milk you choose, depending on how you feel about these controversial matters and what is locally available to you. Kefir culture is often difficult to locate in this country. [now supplied by www.oceanwavevibrations.com]. What is kefir? Basically a mixture of friendly yeasts and bacteria. It’s really a kind of yoghurt but has some advantages. It can be made with milk at room temperature- no heating is involved. You just put the culture (it looks a bit like cottage cheese) into the raw milk in an airtight glass jar (a kilner jar is ideal). Metal can damage kefir if it touches it. Plastic is no good for any period of time as the kefir, being very acidic will corrode the plastic into the kefir. Just leave at room temperature for about 24 hours, strain with a plastic sieve and use the liquid that drains out for eating, drinking or recipes. Store the liquid in the fridge until you use it. You can rinse the lumpy bits with lukewarm water or not then put them back into a clean, sterile (I just wash with hot water) jar. Hooray!If not making kefir for a while store the culture in a mixture of water and milk in the fridge. Kefir culture multiplies very quickly - store spare culture in this way until you find someone else who wants it.

So what’s in kefir that is so marvellous? Well, it has a very good balance of amino acids, including the essential ones that the body cannot make itself. In particular it is loaded with tryptophan, the precursor of serotonin, that makes us happy and tends to be deficient in modern farmed food. It also contains good supplies of the B vitamins including the infamous B12. It repopulates the gut with the right bacteria and is anti-antiseptic and anti-bacterial. It fights candida. Acetylcholine in it improves sleep and it contains lecithin. It contains ’right-rotating’ lactic acid which apparently is the right sort of lactic acid (as opposed to ‘left-rotating’ lactic acid found in other yoghurts) and revives cells, even sometimes switching cancer cells back into healthy cells. As the lactose is pre-digested by the culture, kefir can often be taken by people who are normally dairy intolerant. I feel that kefir – which originated in Eastern Europe - helps us in our climate – where we don’t get as much sunshine onto our bodies as is ideal and we are certainly far removed from a tropical forest diet. From being a would be California Girl pining for a steady supply of young coconuts and an increase in the ambient temperature, I have now become, with a little tweak in my diet, a mostly contented Devon housewife happily utilising local produce and truly appreciating the dear animals that graze on the grasses, herbs and insects absorbing sun energy outdoors all day so that I and my little ones can be healthy and strong. It follows in the ancient, successful and respected Essene tradition to consume yoghurts. Modern American raw-foodists have shunned this understandably because of the appalling way animals are often treated. It is worth sourcing some ethically produced milk. If you cannot find unpasteurised the thing about kefir is that it will put a lot of life-force and structure back into the milk.

Kefir can be made into cheese. Simply pour into a muslin bag (I use the bags that I use for making hemp milk) and hang over a container to catch the whey. Leave for 24 hours and you have kefir cheese in the bag. It’s all so easy and un-stressful – it’s really all about leaving things lying around.

If you want some more action try some recipes:

Pear and Pecan Cheesecake125g or 4 oz pecans1 pear, gratedkefir cheese made with 1 pint or 600ml milk2 medjool dates

Soak the pecans overnight then dry them for a few hours ideally in a dehydrator or warm sunshine. This gives them the delicious flavour of cooked pecans.Whirr in the s-blade section of a food-processor until they look like very coarse flour. Mix with the grated pear and press the mixture out onto a board.

Mash the medjool dates into the kefir cheese and spread onto the base.

I find this unbearably delicious.

Lemon Cheesecake300g or 10oz almonds, soaked4 medjool dates½ lemon8 apricots, soakedkefir cheese made with 2 pints kefir150g or 8oz strawberries60g or 2oz blueberries2 medjool dates

Process the almonds and 4 dates together and press into a 20cm round to make the base.Grate the zest off the lemon and squeeze out the juice. Blend with the kefir cheese and apricots and spread onto the base.To make a fruit topping blend the berries and dates and pour over the top. Alternatively slice mango on top. Why ever eat anything cooked again?

CrumblesI love kefir poured over fruit salads and crumbles. You can make simple but delicious fruit crumble just by blending soaked almonds (say 250g) with medjool dates (say 4 or 5) and crumbling over chopped fruit. My favourite recently has been pear and it goes particularly well with the kefir.

First published in Funky Raw Magazine Summer 2005 (updated January 2007) See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage.