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One of my all time favorite books is the one by my friend Lisa of Lisa’s Counter Culture. This book has helped me a TON on my fermenting journey. I reviewed her book back in December 2012 and I am so excited that Lisa just recently released a newly updated version with even more info and new recipes! I was excited to purchase my copy and review it!
Lisa and I have been friends for several years now and she is the founder of Lisa’s Counter Culture and she teaches workshops in the San Francisco Bay area of California. She is passionate about real, organic foods and loves to share this passion with others. She understands that while traditional foods diets can be healing and nourishing, they need to be tailored to fit the needs of our modern world. She also offers coaching both locally and remotely and is also a regular contributor to Paleo Magazine.
Pickles and Other Well-Bred foods
When it comes to our health, food should be the first place we start in building and healing our bodies. We should be consuming real foods in their purest state with no artificial anything. Food that is nourishing to our bodies does not come in fancy packaging, nor does it require large amounts of marketing dollars to “sell” us on it. When’s the last time you saw a fancy commercial for broccoli? 😉
I am all about real food here at Delicious Obsessions. I am also all about healing our bodies, as I myself work on healing from an autoimmune disease. A big part of my healing protocol is fermented foods since the key to health lies in our gut and fermented foods give our guts the tools they need to be healthy and strong.
I am an advocate of true anaerobic fermentation, though there is much controversy over this. I even wrote a post about it that has garnered a lot of feedback both positive and negative (you can read that here). Despite many people’s criticism of that post, I wrote it from a place of honesty, as I embarked on a healing journey and realized that my old Mason jar ferments were not giving me the results I was looking for. I switched to the anaerobic vessels and have never looked back.
Lisa was one of my go-to resources during this transitioning period. She is a fermenting expert and she only uses anaerobic methods, so I knew I could trust not only her knowledge, but also her recipes. They are tried and true and come out fantastic each time I make them. I have been in a serious fermenting rut over the last year and this book has reinvigorated me and I am looking forward to a summer full of fermenting!
In Lisa’s Counter Culture book, you will get:
- Trusted information on how the anaerobic process works and why it is superior to other methods.
- Tips for successful fermenting (no waste here!), including how to figure out the proper salt ratios.
- Fermenting FAQs.
- Tried and true recipes for both ferments and other nourishing dishes (gluten-free and paleo-friendly).
- Food and equipment resource lists to help you make the most of your real food diet.
Recipes include:
- Basic fermented beverages like water kefir, kvass, and kombucha.
- Condiments like ketchup, mayo, salsas, and chutneys.
- Vegetables like kimchi, pickles, tomatoes, spiralized daikon, pickled onions, and more.
- Dairy ferments (for those who can tolerate dairy).
- Starch recipes like dosa, sweet potatoes, and more (fermenting starches make them much easier to digest).
- Ferment companions to round out your real food meals, including recipes for salads, soups, entrees, sides, and even desserts.
One thing that I have not made anaerobically is beet kvass. I have made it in the mason jars and it has turned out OK, but was not anything I really wanted to drink. I’ve been a bit gun-shy about trying it again, but after reading Lisa’s instructions, I am going to get some beets this weekend and give it another go.
People are often asking me for recommendations on fermenting cookbooks and resources. I always refer them to Lisa’s site and this book. In my opinion, this is the best cookbook out there for ferments because it adheres to the anaerobic process, which means you are getting the biggest nutritional bang for your buck. I think this should be a standard in every real food kitchen!
Want to learn more about Lisa and her new book? Please visit her website (and subscribe to her newsletter so you never miss out on delicious new recipes!) and follow her on Facebook. You can also connect with her on Pinterest and Twitter.
If you’re looking for more information on ferments, as well as some new recipe ideas, please check out my fermenting section here.
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