You can make that? Mayo!

Stop feeling guilty about spreading the white stuff on your sandwich- try this and know that you're doing something GOOD for your heath with every bite! It's ridiculously easy. I'm serious. It took me WAY longer to write/post this blog entry than to make the mayo. *snort*

I'm still perfecting my recipe, but that's the beauty of it. Change is a good thing!

Step one: gather your supplies, and make sure they're room temperature. You'll need:

1 egg + 1 yolk from pastured hens. (Yes folks, they're going to be raw. You want the good stuff.)
1 tsp raw sugar or other sweetener if you like (you can totally do without)
1 tsp raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar
3/4 C olive oil (cold press)
1/4 C coconut oil
1 tsp whey (liquid drained off yogurt or kefir)
sea salt & paprika

If it's less than 76 degrees in your kitchen, your coconut oil will be solid. I like to fix this little "problem" by putting the (full) measuring cup in a tray of hot water. Liquefies right quick!

whirl the eggs, sugar, vinegar, and whey in a food processor until it's nice and frothy. Slowly pour in the oils while it's running, like so:

I made my first batch with vegetable oil because I still had it. It was.... eh.... not the best. Second batch was half coconut oil, half olive oil. It was yummy, but a tad too coconuty. This batch at 1/4 coconut 3/4 olive is pretty tasty! Essentially, you could use whatever combination of oils you wanted to as long as you have one cup. If you're just getting into more "natural" cooking and going w/ coconut & olive is making your eyes bug out 'cause they're so expensive ( i know... i know...) you could start w/ half veg oil & half natural oils. That would cut the cost, and at least you're going better than store bought. Baby steps, people. I'm thinking my next batch might be 1/4 bacon grease... wouldn't THAT be tasty??? Baconaisse... ooh, the sky's the limit when you make it yourself!

Sorry. I'll stop day dreaming and get back to the process.

Next step: admire it's thick, lusciousness, and season appropriately.

Here's the part that is really going to eek you out. Forgive me.

Put it in a small jar, close the lid, and leave it on your counter for about 12 hours. Raw eggs and all. (then refrigerate and enjoy.) You see, that's why you put in the whey. All the happy organisms in the whey go to work on the mayo, fermenting it and INCREASING the nutritional value- and the shelf life! Normally homemade mayo will last about 3-5 days in your fridge. And who wants to clean the food processor every time you want a turkey sandwich? This lovely stuff will last several months, if you don't eat it first. :) It took me a while to get up the nerve to try fermented mayo because I thought it would taste... well.... fermented. (and the whole raw eggs fermenting on the counter for half a day thing...) But honest to goodness this is the yummiest spread. AND it's actually good for you! Healthy, natural oils (instead of rancid oil, which is what all the stuff in the store is made of. If you're not aware, vegetable oils (soybean, cottenseed, corn, etc.) are processed at such a high heat that they turn rancid. Like when you have the heat too high in your pan and the butter starts burning and smoking? yeah. yuck. Then to mask the unsightly odor and color, they bleach & deodorize it. But I digress....)

where was I? Oh yes... pastured eggs, and oh-so-many enzymes to aid digestion and overall well being. :) Eat up!

Cost analysis:

2 eggs @ $4/doz = $0.67

1t raw sugar @ 5#/$6.65 =$.02

1t raw apple cider vinegar @ 32oz/$2.75 =$.01

3/4C olive oil @$6/ltr = $1.06

1/4 C coconut oil @ 1gal/$39=$.61

whey = free

spices = too little to count

Total: $2.37 for about 12oz of delicious, healthy, organic, probiotic mayonnaise. Let me know if you try it, what you use, and how you like it!