Kefir Kommunity

If you follow us on Facebook and Twitter, you already know how much we love Donna's amazing recipes. We're consistently wowed by the inventive things she does with kefir and other cultured foods. What's more, she's a genuinely warm and friendly soul to interact with out on the internet, so we encourage everyone to e-friend her.

We recently decided to spice things up and ask a couple of people we admire if they would like to make guest blog posts with kefir recipes. The following is Donna's amazing story and two recipes we honestly can't wait to try...

My name is Donna Schwenk and I have been making and eating cultured foods since 2001. The dramatic change in my health and sense of well being has been so incredible, that it is my pleasure to share it with others. I hope that you will find the same benefits and more. My site can be found on the web at Cultured Food Life and here is the Cultured Food Life blog.

When Lifeway Kefir asked me to write a blog for their site, I was more than excited. Many years ago when I first tried kefir it was Lifeway kefir that I reached for on the shelf in a health food store. I was in a desperate place in my life and had been reading about kefir. Hoping and praying that it was all that I had read about it, I reached for the bottle on the shelf. Little did I know that day that everything in my life was about to change. Sick with diabetes, high blood pressure with a new born preemie. I remember how dark I felt inside. It was the sinking feeling of losing hope. I was 41 years old and had a new baby to raise and could barely take care of myself let alone raise this fragile soul and the rest of my family. Never in a million years did I think that 32 ounces of kefir that I had just bought could be the answer to the misery that I felt, but it was.

I began drinking kefir everyday and placing tons of it in my little preemie bottle. Suddenly one day I was drinking kefir and looked out the window at the birds. In a few short minutes I was outside filling up the bird feeder, something I had not done in a very long time. Looking around the yard, I felt something I had not felt in a very long time it was a sense of joy. I hadn't given a rip about the birds weeks before. I could barley drag myself out of bed and suddenly I was running outside to feed them. Coming inside I had realized that I felt great. My blood pressure had return to normal in the weeks I had been drinking and making kefir into recipes. My blood sugar was normal too. My little one had gained 4 lbs and was sleeping through the night and had the most beautiful color she had ever had.

What was this magic that was occurring? It is what you and I are made of. Trillions of bacterias that transform our food into vitamins and minerals, fight viruses and pathogens and a host of other things. I was ingesting millions of bacterias in kefir that knew how to make me well and I was feeling it. It is more than a food it is a conscience food that is alive and knows how to live inside you and me and communicate with our cells to balance our health. So to the people at Lifeway Kefir who brought this product to America, I am most grateful and will sing the praises of kefir till all know what it can do. It is also why I think of recipes so people can enjoy this food. It calls to me and inspires me. It is and will always be my friend who has brought me great joy. Here are two recipes made from Lifeway Kefir products. Enjoy and I wish you all well.

Pumpkin Custard Kefir
Serves 4

* 3/4 cup pumpkin
* 2 large eggs
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup sucanat
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon salt

Pumpkin Topping

* 3/4 cup Lifeway pumpkin kefir
* 1 tbsp stevia or honey
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* whipped cream to top with

Mix all three ingredients together in a small bowl.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, milk, and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together the brown sugar, spices, and salt and sift into the pumpkin mixture. Stir the batter until combined well and pour into four 3/4-cup custard cups.

3. Place the cups in a 9 X 11-inch baking pan and add enough warm water to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake for 50 minutes, or until set and browned lightly. Transfer the custards to a wire rack to cool.

4. Mix together Lifeway pumpkin kefir, stevia or honey and cinnamon. When custard has cooled and still warm but not hot. Pour pumpkin kefir on top of custard. Then top with whip cream.

Roasted Garlic Dip

* 1 carton of Lifeway Farmers Cheese
* 1 head of garlic
* 3/4 cup grated Romano cheese or you can substitute Parmesan
* 3 tbsp olive oil ( If you can find an olive oil with Tuscan flavors such as basil and herbs it makes a wonderful flavor but not necessary)

Wrap whole head of garlic in foil and bake in oven at 375 for one hour. Then when cooled squeeze garlic out of each clove. It will be very soft and squeeze right out. Place in a food processor along with other ingredients. Process with food processor until smooth about 1 minute. Place in bowl and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Serve with crackers or vegetables.