Thursday, April 15, 2010

Lemon Balm Kefir Dressing and Review



Isn't she lovely?! Our thriving lemon balm plant is flourishing in our backyard and comes back every year after planting it two years ago...these roots have a strong foundation that are here to stay! Lemon Balm is used for nervous agitation, sleeping problems, functional gastrointestinal complaints, menstrual cramps and urinary spasms. It is thought that the volatile oils in lemon balm contain chemicals that relax muscles, particularly in the bladder, stomach, and uterus, thereby relieving cramps, gas, and nausea.

I collected some of my generous plant's crisp and very fragrant leaves, brought them inside and made a refreshing spring salad dressing made with our probiotic kefir! I made this delicious and nutritious kefir from the magnificently organic kefir grains I sell in my etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/44415490/kefir-a-cultured-dairy-product-full-of-n




Lemon Balm Kefir Dressing

1 cup kefir
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh lemon balm
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1 teaspoon raw, local honey
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

Combine all ingredients. Cover and chill for half an hour until all the flavors have blended. Serve over green salad of your choice!



I poured this wonderful dressing over a bed of spring salad greens, sun-dried tomatoes, pecans, dried currants, and feta cheese...mmm, scrumptious!



Lori purchased some of my kefir grains last week and here are her sweet comments:

"Thanks! Grains arrived as planned and were very well packaged. I made my first batch of kefir and kefir soft cheese. Yum."

4 comments:

KayzKreationz said...

I love Lemon Balm. This post was great. I just sent you an award.

http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com

Andrea said...

Yummy Looking Salad :-)

teener1416 said...

following you!!

please follow me!

www.lithuanianeggart.blogspot.com

love your blog set up!

the recipe sounds yummy!!!

Jessica Woody said...

Thank you ladies...yes, I love lemon balm too; it is so refreshing and delicious and very fun to use as an ingredient. This salad was scrumptious!