Sourdough pancakes for champions

What to do with your excess sourdough starter? It is really important to keep your sourdough starter going, if you like that kinda thing, but what do you do when you get too much!? Pancakes!!! Requiring a REALLY healthy, super bubbly starter (and thick like a pancake batter, not watery), sourdough starter will cook up a beautiful pancake if your starter is just right. Make sure your starter actually RISES in the container you’re keeping it – which means it’s thick enough, and bubbly enough.

Grease a pan up with a little butter or your preferred fat, and when hot (but not too hot, just hot enough that a drop of water from your finger hisses nicely, not angrily) pour out a little cake of batter and swirl the pan so it gets as thin as possible. Cook it well on both sides, and that’s it!! If it’s a little rare on the inside, don’t worry, the grain is already fermented, which means that is nearly pre-digested anyways!! These pancakes do require a bit more time to cook though, so it is better to cook on medium-low heat, and have each one sit for about 5 minutes.
Serve up with granola, or your preferred toppings.

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Raw, Fermented, Sprouted bread


Because our guests at the intensive ate almost a full 1L of oatgurt everyday, it was necessary for us to make enough rejuvelac (used in oatgurt) to do so, and as a result, we had ample sprouted and fermented kamut grains leftover to do whatever fun things we wanted to!! Here Sharla is making sprouted bread dough using a juicer (only use the masticating kind!), and then season (if you wish) and form into loaves and either bake on low for a long period of time (2+ hours) or dehydrate over night, however you wish. That is it! Very simple! We have a video on how to make this sprouted bread if you click our videos link in the main menu or from our homepages. Sprout grain, blend/mash it, form it, dry/bake it. Easy peasy.

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As-close-to-normal-but-healthy Pancakes

I made these everyday this week. Firstly, to see if I could perfect them, and secondly, because they were so good and there was something about them that made me hum like a.. I have no cliche for that. I just hummed when I ate them. (I mean felt harmonious and wonderful).

They can be made without soaking the flour – but soaking it gave it the hum factor I was looking for. Soak for an hour or so:
  • 2 cups whole grain spelt flour, with a little salt
  • 1 cup goat milk (I didn’t try water, but I’m sure that would work too

Then stir in:

  • 1 egg beaten, and a bit more milk if the batter got too sticky from soaking
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder (please get aluminum free!)
  • any seasonings you wish – I used almond extract and pomegranate syrup, it was great!
Brush a pan with butter/ghee on LOW heat! Once hot, laddle in the sticky batter and spread out the cakes with a wet utensil or your hands dipped in cold water (batter doesn’t stick that way)
Let them cook slowly, on low-medium heat (like 4 on an electric stove) and then flip once the first bubble on top becomes solid.
Cook on the other side for about half the time of the first, and then transfer to a warmed toaster oven or directly to your mouth.
I topped these with flax oil and stevia, but you can use your imagination on how to top! They make nice little lunch snacks too, like muffins, because they are good on their own!

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Foods to get better by…

OK – so I came down with a bug this month. I did alright, recovering in a few days, but what did I eat? I thought I’d take a picture for you!

From bottom left, clockwise:
  • Oven cooked oatmeal with apples and cinnamon and a bit of goat milk
  • Tea decoction including echinacea, ginger, lemon, fenugreek, thyme, fennel, flax, and a little licorice root (that was made for my condition on the day that I had it.. this isn’t a catch-all solution)
  • Sprouted bread, slightly toasted
  • Pureed leftover soup stock ingredients
  • Water with oxygen and a little apple cider vinegar
  • Mochi (white,.. it was a gift) with nori paper
This was on the day that I noticed I was starting to heal, otherwise in the acute stages I’d suggest eating very little or only teas or foods cooked in lots of water (thus the soup stock!).. once the body starts to feel like it’s winning, food is better suited if not overeaten, especially grains and cooked veggies. I picked at this tray all day… it was nice to have handy as I sat on my big pillow and let the healing juices flow.

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Sprouted Banana Kamut Cookies!



So what to do with 10 day leftover grain sprouts sitting in the fridge? They got really slimy, sticky, but were incredible fragrant with that delicious aromatic punch created from fermentation. The sprouts were used for sprouted bread, and so were only grown to about 1/2″ long or shorter, which retains the grains starchy, meatiness that is required for bread making. If the sprouts were any longer, it would’ve become more like a veggie sprout and would’ve been more green and better for a sandwich, for instance.
So I’ve got quasi-fermented, half sprouted kamut, neglected and needing some love.
Step one: Dry them out – I laid them out on a baking sheet (I woefully used a non-stick although I usually avoid them.. but as they were so sticky and I didn’t want to ruin the experiment, I really didn’t want them to stick!)
Distribute them evenly on a the sheet, and leave them to dry in the oven at about 310 or so… not to cook them, just to dry up the sticky fermented film and give them a gentle pan toasting. I think I had them in there for 15 minutes, flipped them about, and then gave them another 10 or so…
Step two: Grind the dried, toasty grains in a grinder or something that will bring them to a paste.. like a wet flour. This is similar to making sprouted bread, but I toasted them first.
Step three: Add in a bowl and mix:
  • ground, sprouted, toasted grains (about 1-1/2 cups.. give or take)
  • 1/3 cup oat flakes
  • 1/2 cup spelt flour
  • 1 mashed banana
  • 1 tsp dried ginger and cinnamon each
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 2 Tbsp ghee or butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Step four: Grease up your baking sheet with some of the ghee/butter, set the oven  to 375F, wet your hands with cold water, and then form little balls with the mixture. Press them down into cookies on the cookie sheet.. I made 3 large and 2 small with my batch, but I’m sure far more can be made with more ingredients or improvising. 
Step five: Bake for 30 minutes (I did 35 minutes, but the bottoms got to browned, and the still set nicely). Take them out and let them cool in a place where air can get underneath… like a wire rack. Wait until the set a little.. and enjoy!
These cookies had such a neat taste and aroma – something I’ve never tasted before. So earthy, hearty, almost with a beer-like dank to them… rich and sweet tasting, but not heavy or powerful. Just a wallop of that centred-sweet flavour you can only get from grains – especially fermented! Yum! 
Note: As with anything fermented, please use your nose to determine the ‘quality’ of the food! I have never had a failed fermentation project (more like accident!), but I always throw things away if the smell is putrid and foul. Good luck!


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Oat Bran Muffins

These fellas are flourless and full of fiber and bowel stimulating goodness! They’re pretty hearty and sweet for the amount of sweetener that goes into it – I’m guessing you use less sweetener and they would still come out tasty and delicious.

1 cup chopped apple (about 1 apple)
1 cup chopped pitted prunes
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp grated orange peel (use only organic)
2 cups oat bran
2 tsp baking powder (alum free please!)
Preheat the oven to 400F
Line a muffin tin with paper cups. Prepare the apples and prunes and set them aside, so that they’ll be ready to stir into the batter later on.
Whisk together the maple syrup, yogurt, oil and egg. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Fold the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients until just wet. Stir in the chopped apples and prunes.
Divide the batter into the cups, filling almost to the top because they don’t rise much.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean if inserted.

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Sprouted Loaf of Love


Feeling down? Try hugging a sprouted loaf!…or making one.  Making sprouted bread couldn’t be easier, it just needs a bit of loving attention, it is kind of like having a pet, except that it won’t shred your favorite chair or knock all of your plants off the window.  Place 1 cup of whole millet and 1 cup of whole kamut in separate bowls.  Add enough water to cover by 1 inch, and soak over night or if you prefer early morning and soak all day.  Drain after 10-12 hours.  Place a kitchen towel over each bowl and set them in a cool dark area, rinse every 6-8 hours, or if you notice the grains are becoming too dry.  You do not want your grains totally wet all the time, but you want enough moisture to keep them alive.  After a few days of rinsing and draining, you will see the grains growing tails or sprouts, after they have grown to about the same size or a bit longer than the grain, it is ready for loaf action!  Place both the millet and kamut in a blender, put on low speed to start, and use a tamper to help incorporate the grains.  Pulse the mixture so the blender doesn’t overheat.  You can also do this step in a juicer with a blank screen.  If your blender is having a hard time, add a tiny bit of water.  Take out your dough and work it into a loaf shape of your choice, a ball, a disc, a discoball, then place in an oven preheated to 250 degrees F.  Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until slightly golden.  Take out of the oven, hug it, slice it, and eat it!

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Sharlie's Bloobie Pancakes


1 1/2 cups whole-grain spelt flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup wheat bran
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups plain full-fat soy milk or almond milk
Vegetable oil for cooking
1 cup (1/2 pint) fresh blueberries or frozen, unthawed, plus 1/2 cup fresh blueberries or raspberries for serving
Maple syrup for serving, or apple butter

In medium bowl, stir together spelt flour, oat bran, wheat bran, baking soda, and salt. Add soy milk and stir until thoroughly combined.

Brush large nonstick or cast-iron griddle or skillet with oil and heat over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Working in 3 to 4 batches, pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle and press 12 to 15 blueberries into each pancake. Cook until bubbles appear and pop on surface and undersides are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip pancakes, let pancakes continue to cook in pan until undersides are firm and light golden brown, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to plate, berry side up, and keep warm.

Repeat to cook remaining pancakes, oiling griddle between each batch. Serve pancakes warm with additional berries and maple syrup.

I also added 1/4 cup of flax seed meal, and dried coconut flakes. I used coconut oil to cook them, seeing how there was some coconut in the cakes to help the body assimilate the oil better. Add whatever fruit you want and or ingredients, cinnamon, or cardamom, whatever you would like!

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