I did not get to the farmer's market yesterday, for the same reason I did not get to the gym the night before: we had a rainstorm. Last night was a very dramatic lightning storm, with visible bolts splitting the sky and brilliant flashes turning the whole sky white. I decided I did not want to drive in that, even for five minutes, and I wanted to walk in it even less. So I stayed in and ate what I already had.

For breakfast, I had apricot kefir from the farmer's market. It's not a drink, it's the texture of very thick yogurt, only the most delicious yogurt you've ever had, flecked with bits of apricot. I tried a sample at the market, then asked the seller what the difference was between kefir and yogurt.

"Kefir is much healthier!" she exclaimed. "It's full of probiotics, nutrients, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin X, Y, and Z!" (Not an exact quote - my brain turned off at some point. She might have said it prevents or possibly cures cancer, I'm not sure.)

Me, interrupting because I had to: "I meant, literally how is it different from yogurt? Not in terms of healthiness, in terms of how it's made."

With a "Son, I am disappoint" look, she said, "Yogurt is made by heating milk. Kefir uses cold fermentation."

A+ cold-fermented cancer cure, would eat again.

For lunch, I had a slice of cider bread toasted with butter and honey, and a slice toasted with melted farmers market garlic jack. While eating, I roasted some beautiful farmers market golden beets according to this recipe. They were so lovely straight out of the oven, glistening and caramelized and sweet-smelling, that I sliced one up on the spot and ate it with some chèvre and a drizzle of garlic olive oil, both from the farmers market. It was absolutely delicious.

Sliced golden beets with goat cheese

For dinner, beef soboro from this recipe. Beef and pickled daikon from farmer's market, rice from pantry. Very tasty and satisfying on a dark and rainy night, especially since it was post-gym and weightlifting.

Rice with ground beef and daikon
osprey_archer: (Default)

From: [personal profile] osprey_archer


Do golden beets taste different from red beets or are they pretty much the same?

I read just recently that the best recipes for blini use kefir, so I may have to get on the kefir train to try this out.
movingfinger: (Default)

From: [personal profile] movingfinger


In general I find golden beets less strong-tasting and less pithy than red, although I have to add that I don't pay much attention to beet varieties and there are probably strains of red beets that have the same qualities as the golden. Golden (and chioggia, if you see them try them) beets dominate a salad less and the more nuanced flavor makes me think they might be less suitable than red beets for traditional borscht. Although a golden beet borscht, cold, would be a lovely summer soup.
minoanmiss: Minoan lady in moon (Minoan Moon)

From: [personal profile] minoanmiss


This is what I was going to say only better than I would have said it. *cosigns on golden beets*
naomikritzer: (Default)

From: [personal profile] naomikritzer


I like golden beets better than red beets. We usually eat them peeled, sliced thin, and roasted.
jenett: Big and Little Dipper constellations on a blue watercolor background (Default)

From: [personal profile] jenett


Kefir is so tasty. (Trying water kefir has been on my list for a while: it produces mild carbonation, and you can mix with juice or fruit or herbs for flavour.)

The beets look so good!
larryhammer: Yotsuba Koiwai running, label: "enjoy everything" (enjoy everything)

From: [personal profile] larryhammer


Kefir is indeed A+, yum apricot.
sholio: sun on winter trees (Default)

From: [personal profile] sholio


My mom got into kefir and its supposed health benefits for awhile (quelle surprise). I've never actually tried it!
sheron: RAF bi-plane doodle (Johns) (Default)

From: [personal profile] sheron


Kefir is COMPLETELY different from yogurt!

In fact not every Kefir is made right either, because some brands try to yogurt-ize it. The one that we get started being imported into Costco which made me super happy because it's made with cultures. It's a staple for me. (This is real kefir. It's not sweetened.)

We used to make our own with a little live yeast living in a bottle which grew and flourished as we kept feeing it milk XD
Edited Date: 2019-03-08 02:15 am (UTC)
sholio: sun on winter trees (Default)

From: [personal profile] sholio


Yeah, my mom makes her own - like sourdough, a living culture in a jar of milk. :D Ever since she got into it as a health-food thing, she starts the morning with a cup of it for breakfast.
minoanmiss: Minoan girl lineart by me (Minoan chippie)

From: [personal profile] minoanmiss


I kind of hate it when people say things like "X cures cancer" but kefir is pretty nifty with its slight carbonation, etc. But I kind of want to go defend yogurt to that vendor. Clearly I am pugnacious today.
movingfinger: (Default)

From: [personal profile] movingfinger


I wonder if there is a raw-food preference for kefir, if it is cultured without being heated, unlike that unnatural fire-using product yogurt?
recessional: a photo image of feet in sparkly red shoes (Default)

From: [personal profile] recessional


Somewhat.

Also, bluntly, kefir is new and sounds exotic to most westerners, whereas yoghurt is a staple product and Activia commercials exist.
movingfinger: (Default)

From: [personal profile] movingfinger


I assumed it was yogurt that wasn't set, didn't realize about the heating. I've had "dryckyogurt" (sp?) while travelling but I think that really may be the runny yogurt...

Anything fermented is going to have bacteria in it.
minoanmiss: A detail of the Ladies in Blue fresco (Default)

From: [personal profile] minoanmiss


I just rolled my eyes sooooooooooo hard. :) By which I mean I think you have an excellent point about the underlying motivation.


From: [personal profile] to_do_list


I am Russian by birth and still lived there till the end of the 1990s. Kefir was that weird slightly sour thing I was occasionally forced to drink in my childhood, and the only benefits I ever heard people discuss were related to weight loss. I grew up with kefir and I never heard of it being better than other cultured milk products. It was also an occasionally lumpy drink... so I suspect there must be some production differences.

My mind still boggles at all the aura of coolness it has developed here. Although I do, as an adult, finally appreciate the taste.
Ironically, yogurt was so exotic when it appeared!
Edited (Remembering more details ) Date: 2019-03-08 03:24 am (UTC)
genarti: ([misc] oranges)

From: [personal profile] genarti


I love kefir! I've only ever had the bottled-from-the-grocery-store kind -- peach and mango and so on; I admit I tend to like the fruity versions best -- and those are delicious enough that I bet farmer's market apricot kefir is AMAZING.

Edit: and cool to know about the cold fermentation thing! I'd been thinking of it as "basically liquidy yogurt, maybe different in the details but I'm not sure how," so I have learned a thing.

(The other nice thing about kefir is that if you're mildly lactose intolerant, like I am, most of the lactose in kefir is broken down by the bacteria, so it doesn't cause digestive issues. Which makes it a good way to get calcium as well as just straight-up delicious!)

I'm so envious of your farmer's market produce! Around here it's just starting to be above freezing during the days, but everything's still pretty well iced over from when it refreezes at night. Excellent maple sugaring weather, but not exactly good for beautiful fruits and vegetables yet.
Edited Date: 2019-03-08 07:48 am (UTC)
sylvaine: Dark-haired person with black eyes & white pupils. (Default)

From: [personal profile] sylvaine


.... huh. The kefir I know is basically thinner buttermilk in texture!
.

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