It's snowing! Lovely little flakes are fluttering in the wind. It is technically still Fall, but in Chicago, as far as the thermometer and the citizens are concerned, it's already full on winter.
And with the temperature changes come all the logistical aspects of the season: the puffy coat, the over sized boots, the slippery sidewalks, the smartwool socks, the dry skin and nose, the abrupt change in temperature from inside to outside and back, and alas, the flu.
This year, I am determined to boost our immune system at all cost so that we can hopefully avoid the abominable symptoms that come with the flu.
I am making sure I fit in my daily yoga practice even on the busiest of days. I made cranberry and apple sauce and have been eating it daily: vitamin c, vitamin a, antioxidants. I am using the neti pot twice instead of once a day, and I an diligently taking my echinacea and elderberry drops, among other measures.
Our meals are usually laden with plenty of fruits and vegetables regardless of the season, which when you mix them up can add up to a great amount of immunity boosting elements, but I also wanted to find a way for us to be consuming some probiotics on a regular basis. Even though they don't technially boost the immune system, they do help the digestive system run properly, and after getting a pretty nasty stomach flu, I figured I might need a boost in the healthy bacteria in my gut as well. However, I didn't want them in pill form, but in food form.
My husband is currently not eating dairy, so yogurt is not an option. As I pondered the question, I remembered that a few weeks ago I had gotten a beautiful head of Napa cabbage at the market. As I wondered if they would still be available this week I made the decision: if I could get another head of cabbage, I would make some Kimchi!
Kimchi is something I have always wanted to make. I enjoy eating it, and due to its natural fermentation process, it has some great bacteria (mostly Lactobacillus but there are a few others in there as well) in it that that would fulfill my probiotic wants.
The problem with making it, is that if you are used to canning, fermenting pretty much breaks all of the rules: instead of trying to kill and or prevent any bacteria from forming, you actually want to provide an environment where it will develop and thrive. When you are making jam, or even pickles, you get to taste them before you seal that jar. You know for the most part what it's going to taste like when you open the jam a few months down the road. When you are fermenting something, it will develop the flavor on its own, with the help of the ingredients you mixed together, the bacteria in the utensils you used, and the organisms that are in the air where you are making it.
Although from an intellectual, chemical and biological standpoint I can understand why, and I can understand why it's good for us, from a practical standpoint all I can think is: really? Should I really not sterilize this jar before I put this in it? Is it really ok to just leave it out here even though there is garlic in it? Am I really not going to get sick?
And it suddenly dawned on me that if I am willing to buy it at the store, in a jar, prepared by who knows who, or to eat it a random restaurant with extremely questionable sanitation procedures, why shouldn't I feel safe making it myself? The answer came as an "aja" moment. It simply is a matter of trust - or actually, lack thereof -.
My husband always calls me a "corrector". Let me correct him: It's not so much that I am a corrector, but that I am my father's daughter (he is always right) and my mother's daughter (she knows everything). However, I think the real issue with my correcting nature, is that like most of us, I just have a bit of a hard time trusting.
Sometimes I don't trust people, other times I don't trust statements (where did you read that?), and then there are those other times, when I just don't trust myself. The breakthroughs always come when I realize that more often than not, lack of trust is the direct result of the need or desire to have control - conscious or subconscious - and that I must relinquish that need or desire in order to trust. Once I do, and I am no longer in control, I have no choice but to trust - someone else, or life itself -.
Even when the lack of trust is in myself, once I give in, and I am no longer in charge, I can then surrender to whatever the task is at hand, devoting myself to it, without the constricting and limiting thoughts that come with doubt. It's as simple as that fun exercise we all did as kids where you let yourself fall in the arms of a buddy without looking back. Once we let go of the fear, the fall is both liberating and exhilarating.
A few years back I came across a sentence that has honestly changed my life: " I trust that everything will unfold as it should as I loosen my grip and allow myself to be open". For years, I have gone back to it almost daily, because the truth is, I really believe that. Yet, I have to constantly remind myself that I believe that, in order to give myself a little boost in loosening my grip, and trusting that things really will unfold as they should.
So as I thought of making Kimchi, and I researched the different recipes and variations (like with any traditional recipe, every grandmother makes it differently, and her way is the right way...), I let go of my need to control.
All I could do was mix the ingredients with care and with love, taste the mix before putting the lid on, and then waiting and watching as I let nature do its thing. As the pungent scent of fish sauce and korean chili powder filled my kitchen air, I started to trust that my Kimchi would be safe. That it would be full of lovely microscopic organisms that my body would welcome delightfully, and that above all, it would be delicious.
Trust-ing Kimchi
1 ea Napa Cabbage, sliced in 1 to 2 inch chunks
1 G Water
1/2 cup Kosher Salt
1/8 cup Fish Sauce (omit for a lighter flavor)
1/3 cup Korean Chili Powder
10 ea Garlic Cloves, minced
2 TB Ginger, minced
1 bu Scallions, sliced
1 ea Daikon Radish, peeled and shredded
Preparation:
Dissolve the salt in the water. Submerge the cabbage in it in a large bowl, and weigh down with a plate or lid. Let sit for one to two hours. Drain the cabbage and squeeze out the excess water.
In a separate bowl, mix all the ingredients together.
Add the cabbage and using your hands (you might want to wear gloves here ) mix it very well.
Transfer to clean jars with lids.
Place in a cool, dry place (I put it in the pantry) to let it ferment. Check it daily for one to four days. Once it starts bubbling it is ready. Mine took 3 days. Once it's ready, refrigerate, and consume within three weeks. Enjoy!
Notes: There are several different ways to make Kimchi. For my first time I decided to soak the cabbage in salted water, and to not use any dried shrimp. If it's your first time as well, this recipe proved to be fool proof. The beauty of Kimchi is you can try a different version every time, and enjoy different, delicious probiotic results :)
