Not quite

So I have actually decided NOT to fast, but instead, jump back into raw after my lost weekend. Fasting is very natural (animals instinctively fast when they are/getting sick) and SHOULD be fairly easy. Today has not been easy at all so I have decided it must not be the right time. Also, I realized it wasn't fair to my body to load it full of crap and then put it through a major cleaning. It's a lot easier to clean your house when it's only slightly messy rather than thoroughly neglected. Same with our bodies! So I made a small salad with the rest of my bibb lettuce and homemade kimchee. Possibly a new favorite salad! Why did I not think of this before? I added a little olive oil and pieces of nori to the mix YUM!
Speaking of Kimchee, I wanted to share the recipe I use. I have made it about 4 times now and don't really use a recipe anymore, but this is a good guidline. It is from the Living and Raw foods website (http://www.living-foods.com).

Kim Chee recipe

1 napa cabbage, chopped
1/4 cup or more rock salt (Use Korean rock salt if you can or else rock
sea salt)
2 inch piece ginger root, peeled & grated
1 bunch green onion cut into 2inch pieces
8 cloves garlic, smashed
2 handfuls (or more) Korean ground red chili pepper (you can use Mexican
but it should be a coarse grind and the pepper must not be smoked, just
dried)

FYI: Korean ground chilis are about the size of the chili flakes you put on pizza but Korean ground chilis do not include the seeds.

Place cabbage in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with a liberal rock salt and pour the water of it. Let stand for 2-8 hours, stirring now and then.
Drain and squeeze out excess water. If you're worried about the salt you can taste and rinse if needed. Then squeeze and drain once more.

Put cabbage back in mixing bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well with your hands. using your clean hands, pack kim chee into clean screw top jar and cover with lid. Put in a warm place (like your kitchen counter next to stove) for 24 hours then store in fridge for up to 3 months. We never add vinegar. The cabbage makes it own liquid.

In my version, I omit the garlic entirely and add more ginger. I am a huge garlic fan but I think it is highly over used. Kimchee has a great flavor on it's own without the help of garlic! MAKE SURE you use enough salt I cannot stress this enough. The cabbage will soak up a lot of the salt, but you can rinse the excess off. Undersalting can result in your Kimchee molding and/or being mushy. It should have a crisp texture when done properly. Don't be afraid of salt! It is your friend : )

~Rose