Recipes

SOLE (so-LAY)

Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Schuessler, a German doctor from the 19th century, discovered that the body utilizes 12 mineral salts. He identified them and put them in a homeopathic form easily used by the body.

Modern medicine tells us to stay away from salt. Processed foods contain sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, sodium nitrate, sodium benzoate, etc. These salts are processed to remove minerals combined with iodine.

Celtic Sea salt has an abundance of trace minerals. It is unrefined and has a wonderful flavor. Baha Gold has more minerals and a more delicate taste. Either one is excellent for making Sole. The important thing is to use a natural, unrefined salt to benefit from the trace minerals. Do NOT use iodized table salt.

TO MAKE SOLE

Clean jar
Filtered water
Sea Salt – Celtic or Baha Gold

Fill the jar a quarter to a third with the salt. Fill the rest of the jar with filtered water. Cap tightly and shake well. Leave still overnight. It will settle out, and the salt the water cannot hold will settle to the bottom.

TO USE

Plastic teaspoon (there is a discussion that a metal spoon could interfere somehow)
A glass of filtered water.

One teaspoon of the clear liquid into a glass of filtered water of about 8 oz. Stir and drink! I prefer to add a freshly squeezed lime to the glass as well. I drink this every morning before my coffee.

SOLE (so-LAY)

TO MAKE SOLE

Clean jar
Filtered water
Sea Salt – Celtic or Baha Gold

TO USE

Plastic teaspoon (there is a discussion that a metal spoon could interfere somehow)
A glass of filtered water.

Kombucha

Making your own Kombucha is easy and tastes much better than anything you can buy. Starting a scoby (the “mother” I call mine “Edna”) does not have to be complicated or expensive. There are places you can purchase a scoby. I made my own by purchasing two bottles of PLAIN, no-flavored Kombucha.

What you will need:

2 – one-gallon glass jars
2 – bottles (16-20 oz each) of unflavored Kombucha (most grocery stores carry them; I got mine at Natural Grocers) (you only need this for the first batch)
Black tea in a tea bag – enough for one gallon (1 – Lipton gallon ice tea bag or 7-9 individual black tea bags)
OPTIONAL – I like to use 4 -6 organic green tea bags with black tea.
Filtered water (RO or bottled)
Clean cotton fabric or several layers of cheesecloth (I use a clean washcloth)
Large rubber band (I like the purple ones that come around produce)
Tongs to move Edna – do not use your hands.
One cup sugar

**** NOTE: All tools, bottles/jars must be CLEAN.

Brew tea – 6-8 cups worth. Let cool to room temperature. In one clean jar, pour in both bottles of Kombucha, your brewed tea, 1 cup of sugar, and enough water to fill the jar within an inch of the top. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Cover it with your clean washcloth and rubber band it. Put in a dark place for 7 days.

It will make its scoby, though it will be thin in the first week.

After 7 days, in your other glass, one-gallon jar, brew 6-8 cups water with your tea or tea combination, enough to make a strong gallon of tea. Add 1 cup sugar. Stir well. When it is room temperature, remove your scoby (“Edna” - carefully, she is fragile this first time) and two cups of liquid and put in the fresh pot of black tea. Cover with a clean washcloth and rubber band in place. Put in a dark place for 7 days.

With the jar from which you removed “Edna,” you have a fresh batch of unflavored Kombucha! This is where you can experiment.

I prefer a fruity Kombucha. There are multiple recipes for adding flavor to your Kombucha. I use a combination of frozen berries and fill up the jar, put on the lid, and let it sit for another 24 hours before straining out the fruit, bottling, and putting it in the refrigerator.

My sister bottles hers, screwing lids on tightly and leaving on a slightly warm heating pad – this ferments the Kombucha a second time and gives it some effervescence. There are many recipes for this second “fermentation.”