Greek Herb and Olive Feta Cheese

About 4 or 5 days before making the cheese, you will need to make some Rejuvelac. Alternatively, you can use 2 capsules of a good probiotic, stirred into the feta (see instructions below).

Rejuvelac

Put 2 Cups of rye berries or wheat berries or a combination of both (I use rye), into a gallon jar and cover with cheesecloth and fill the jar with water. Let soak overnight. Drain the water off very well and then let sit in a dark place for 12 hours (I just covered the jar with a dark towel. Of course you don’t want to cover the cheesecloth as the sprouts need to breathe!). Rinse them well after 12 hours; drain well and let them sit for another 12 hours. By now they should have little tails sprouting out. I rinse them again and drain. Then add 6 cups of water (don’t drain this off), and place the jar in a dark cool spot for 2 to 3 days. I keep checking it, because it will ferment quicker if the room is warmer. When it is finished, it should have a tart, lemon/cheese taste. This is your rejuvelac. Pour the water into a jar, cover and place in your refrigerator. Add another 6 cups of water to your seeds to make another batch. This time it will ferment quicker. When that batch is done, you can do one more batch, after which you will want to throw the seeds out and start over.

To make the cheese:

Place in a glass jar:

2C. Raw cashews
1 C sunflower seeds
Water to cover

Soak for 4 to 6 hours. Drain the water off and rinse out the jar. Place nuts in blender with 2C rejuvelac, and blend until the nuts are pulverized but not blended smooth. Alternatively, you can use 2 capsules of a good probiotic rather than the rejuvelac, and stir into the mixture after it is blended. The texture should be like cottage cheese. Put the blended nuts back into the glass jar and cover the mouth with cheesecloth. Put the jar in a warm spot (you can use your dehydrator with the trays out) at 85 to 95F, and let it sit undisturbed for 6 to 12 hours. You can check it after 6 hours to see if it is separating into curds & whey. The top will be a little dark – that isn’t bad, it is just where it has oxidized a little. Once it separates, you can taste it to see if it has a cheesy flavor. Once it’s finished, pour it into a strainer (fine mesh) to drain off the whey. Now it’s ready to make the cheese.

Place the fermented nuts into a large bowl and add the following:

1 C. Black olives, sliced
1/2 C. Minced red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C. Chopped parsley
2 T. Chopped, dried oregano
2 tsp. Dried thyme
2 tsp. Dried tarragon
1/2 C. Fresh lemon juice
4 – 6 T. Nutritional yeast
2-4 T. Olive oil
2 tsp. Salt

Mix together well and enjoy! I find that this is much better after it sits in the fridge for a day, as the flavors have time to meld! This is so delicious!!