Here's our current favorite breakfast smoothie, this will keep you going til lunch or longer: 2 cups spinach 2 oranges frozen pineapple frozen mango 1 large frozen banana a handful of almonds 2 heaping tbls. of flax seeds 2 large scoops greek yogurt a cup or so of unsweetened almond milk, depending on how thick you want it to be.

From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, this is my favorite: 5 cups peeled and sliced apples 3/4 cup flour 1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 pound butter, in small pieces Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 1 1/2 qt. baking dish, spread the apples in it, and sprinkle 1/3 cup water on top. Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a lowl, and rub in the butter with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Spread evenly over the apples. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is browned.

I just searched for "ginger brandy".. but I wouldn't knock yourself out trying to find the ginger. Calvados is the brand of apple brandy I am most familiar with.. I'd think they'd have that. Pear William is the only pear brandy I know-- that one is pretty expensive as they grow the pear (on the tree, i believe) IN the bottle. It's a small proportion of the other fluids so I can't imagine something else will "ruin" the recipe. After all this, I hope you love the recipe! The search sadly takes away from its simplicity!

First no chutney recipe must be canned, it is just as option. So you can cut any chutney recipe in half or quarter and just make enough to store in the fridge just like you would a pickle. I'm all for probiotics but a chutney wouldn't be one of the better sources of them so if it is probiotics you are after then fruits wouldn't be the first choice much less a chutney. The primary point of fermenting fruits is to make wine or similar beverage. No vegetable ferment (like cabbage) requires a starter. It is just an option for faster fermentation. So kraut with some apples would work fine but the apples would be a small part of the total and not the source of the fermentation. They are just along for the ride. EX: Some recipes call for 2 cups of diced apples in 4 quarts of kraut. Same applies to carrots they would have to be the majority of the ingredients. "Is it correct that once I have some vegetable ferments (say carrots) I could use some of the brine from the fermented carrots to ferment fruit? I read that online but wasn't sure if it was correct." In theory yes, but reuse of any brines isn't recommended because it now has a diluted salt content, the salinity of any reused brine is unknown. Plus it would take an awfully lot of it to over come the acidity of the fruit. Why are you so opposed to using starters if fruit is what you really want to do? What is your objection to kefir or even whey? Look into malolactic and other wine starters as they are the most common fruit fermenters. Dave