Ingredients:

• 3 medium - large cucumbers
• 2/3 cup of lime juice
• Sweetener of choice (to taste) *
• Fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• Ice

1. Peel and roughly chop cucumbers and place in a half gallon jar.  Fill the jar with water, just enough to cover the cucumber chunks, and blend with an emersion blender until smooth.  Alternatively, you can do this step in your countertop blender.  

2. Strain the blended cucumber through a sieve to remove the pulp.  The cucumber concentrate can now be poured into a 1 gallon container.

3. Add lime juice and mint leaves to the concentrate and fill the rest of the way with water.  Sweeten to taste and add ice.  Enjoy!  

* Maple syrup is a great, all-natural sweetener for this drink, but you could use stevia powder/ concentrate, coconut sugar, honey, monk fruit, cane sugar, etc.  

•  approx. 1 bunch kale leaves
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 2  tablespoons nutritional yeast (this adds such a depth of flavor, but if you do not have nutritional yeast you can omit)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or pink Himalayan sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Remove leaves from the stems of the kale and roughly tear it up into large pieces - TIP: Remove the stems very quickly by grabbing the base of the stem with one hand and sliding downwards along the stem to slide off the leaves.  Wash and spin the leaves until thoroughly dry.
3. Add kale leaves into a large bowl. Massage in the oil until all the leaves are coated. Now sprinkle on the spices/seasonings and toss to combine.
4. Spread out the kale onto a baking sheet into a single layer, being sure not to overcrowd the kale too much.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, give them a stir and bake for another 12-15 minutes more until the kale begins to firm up. The kale will look shrunken, but this is normal. We bake for around 25 mins. total in our oven.
6. Enjoy immediately as they lose their crispiness with time.

TIP: Substitute half the oil with bacon grease for a delicious addition of flavor. 

It's apple season!!  We all love making a trip to the orchard to buy "seconds" for our different apple "delights", but let's talk about applesauce!  You can transform those grainy, cooking apples into something healthy for you and your family without canning!  Raw, cultured applesauce is about as easy and nutrient dense as it gets, plus it's quick to make and something adults and children will enjoy!  See below for the recipe!   

6-8 medium to large apples of your choice
2 tablespoons whey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon unrefined salt

​Directions:
1. Skin, peel and chop your apples and place in a blender or food processor.  Puree to desired  texture. 
2. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well to combine. 
3. Place the applesauce in a clean quart size jar, covering with a coffee filter and canning ring over the top to allow air flow. 
4. Keep on your counter or other shelf for 1-3 days, but no more than three or it will become alcoholic. 
​5. Place in fridge or cool storage and enjoy!  Yields 1 qt.

As the tomato bounty comes rolling in, the question arises, "what am I going to do with all of these?"  You can't just let them rot on the counter, all that fruitfulness going to waste before your very eyes!  But, a lot of days, we don't have the time or maybe even resources to preserve our lovely tomatoes through the most common method of canning.  Did you know you can ferment your whole tomatoes?  It's quick, easy and affordable!  Not only that, but where canning kills enzymes and nutrients through its heating process, fermenting increases the  nutritional value, becoming full of beneficial bacteria that can help heal your body and give you energy.  How exciting!  Once your tomatoes are fermented, they store well in a cool place for up to 6 months and are ready to pull out,  puree and use as pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce or anything else you would like!  We hope you give it a try!  Drop us a comment if you do!

Fermented Tomatoes - Per Quart

• 3 T  Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, Realsalt, or salt of your choice (DO NOT use white table salt, as it will kill the good bacteria in your ferments... the very thing that is preserving your tomatoes.
• 1 garlic clove (optional)
  
• Whole tomatoes - as many as you believe you can squish into the jar, still leaving 1 inch of head space.
• 3-4 basil leaves/ fresh herbs of your choice (optional)
• Water (filtered or distilled)
  

Directions:
-First, clean your jar with hot soapy water before using.
-Put salt in jar, add garlic clove and fill about half full with water. 
-Stir well to dissolve salt, then add whole tomatoes and fresh herbs if using, one at a time, pushing, or "squishing" as many as you can into the jar - Medium size tomatoes work best for this. 
-Top off with water, if needed, leaving 1 inch of head space at top of jar.  Add a weight, if needed, to keep everything under the liquid and then cap off, screwing the lid loosely to allow gas to escape.  Set on counter or shelf and leave for 3 weeks to ferment, then put in refrigerator or cool area to store.