I Popped the Cranberry of Fermentation...
I Popped the Cranberry of Fermentation
and
Threw in an Apple or Two
That's correct, my first fermentation of veggies! Sure I have made yogurt, cheeses, and other fermented foods but this was my first attempt making "kraut." Isn't the deep pink color pretty?!
I have eaten plenty of fermented veggies over the years and I figured it was time to stop being lazy in the kitchen and start making my own.
Now I confess, I did not follow a recipe. I prefer to do things my way, figure it out as I go sort of method. Those who know me are not shocked by this confession of being a "do it my way" kind of girl.
I put myself into a shredding frenzy with my loyal kitchen friend, the metal cheese grater! I grated: beets, carrots, celeriac, turnip, rutabaga, cabbage, and apples. Then I chopped up frozen cranberries. All the goodies, except the apples, were from the Kent Family Growers. Thanks Dan & Megan for contributing to my kitchen frenzy!
When I finished grating I had a huge stainless steel bowl of grated veggies. I added 3 tablespoons of unrefined, Celtic sea salt and got to kneading the colorful mess. I mixed and kneaded with my hands for 10 to 15 minutes and then let it sit for 1 1/2 hours.
At this point I decided to read a recipe to see how I was doing winging it in the kitchen. Well, I read to salt the cabbage and let it sit before adding the other veggies. Whoops, too late for that. No sense crying over spilled milk. I got in gear, cleaned the table of renegade shredded veggie pieces and did up the dinner dishes.
Then I:
1. stuffed the salted, grated veggies into my new German fermentation crock,
2. made certain the liquid covered the veggies,
3. placed my whole cabbage leaves on top,
4. set the clay weights in place,
5. put the lid on,
6. and added water to the trough around the lid. This water must be kept in the trough the whole fermentation period. I was on this water "watch" like a Mom watching her babe!
DONE, finished! Now I just had to wait patiently for 8 days to see if my method of doing things created anything tasty and edible!
28 Days Later
OK, another confession: I actually waited the full 28 days, no peaking! That's more than I can say for Christmas presents as a kid. Yeah, sorry Mom, nothing you can do about it now. 'Ya should have hid them better. I only peaked at one per year; honest.
So, back to the root veggie kraut.... It turned out fabulously. Pretty pink, crisp, and tasty. The longer ferment time allows for growth of full spectrum gut microbes. You want this to happen!
My Favorite Way to Eat It?
Well, right out of the jar... but, when I am feeling like putting a bit more effort into the meal or snack I add grated, raw slaw and goat or sheep milk feta to the pile of veggies. Then I top with lots of yummy, raw, organic walnuts and feast away!
This has to be the nectar of the Gods and Goddesses! If not, I will ferment my hat and eat it!
Interested in learning to ferment?
Add your name to the Local Living Venture's mailing list. They just held a fermentation class on Thursday, January 30th. Why am I taunting and teasing with a class that is now over? Because it was full and had a waiting list! This is a good sign that it WILL be offered again. Go ahead, sign up for their email notifications, and get notified when all sorts of fun, food classes are being taught!
From their website, http://www.sustainablelivingproject.net/
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Be well, eat good food, have fun, & love ... Paula
Gospel of the Slaw
So, you may be wondering if I have lost my mind, maybe a new chapter has been added to the Bible that you did not hear about yet, or something weird is going on... well, it is none of the above.
I have the best encounters with people I work with, one on one and in group settings. People are truly amazing when we allow them to be at their very best.
I am often encountered with the "I eat nothing but salads and I still cannot lose weight" issue. I try to explain that summer vegetable salads, in the fall and winter, are very cooling to our body. Summer veggies are for summer eating. When we summer cool ourselves, in the winter, we also slow our metabolism.
Want to rev up that metabolism with warming, winter nourishing veggies? Try a root veggie and cabbage slaw. Recipe below.
Now for the title, it goes back to the people I meet thing I mentioned above. An endearing client labeled my slaw recipe as the "Gospel of the Slaw" and paid the good recipe forward to many friends and family members. The slaw is a great way to get yummy, raw veggies into your winter diet and keep it all seasonal.
Be well, eat slaw.
PS Grating a butter nut squash and spicing the salad dressing with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, and vanilla is another fun way to enjoy raw winter veggies.
Root Veggie & Cabbage Slaw
Assemble enough vegetable to feed the people who will be gracing your dinner table, red and green cabbage and root vegetables: beet, parsnip, rutabaga, celeriac, carrot, purple carrot, turnip, winter storage radishes (bigger than the summer salad radishes), kohlrabi, salsify, burdock, horseradish, etc.
Fine chop red and/or green cabbage
Grate, on a metal cheese grater, root veggies. Pick root veggies you grow or can acquire locally. I use 2-4 root veggies with the chopped cabbage, choosing different root veggies with each meal.
Add a grated apple. My kids eat more, and more willingly, when the juicy sweetness of a grated apple is part of the salad.
Mix together in a bowl with the above dressing
Cover and refrigerate until meal time. I make this dish last and serve immediately with every fall and winter meal.
Optional: add a few raisins, add walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds… just make it yummy for you.
Salad Dressing
1 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
1 cup raw apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. organic prepared mustard; preferably made with apple cider vinegar, not grain vinegar
Dash unrefined sea salt
Dash fresh pepper
Crush clove of garlic
Herbs to taste: rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley
Optional: 1 – 3 tbsp. dark maple syrup or sucanat unrefined sugar
I make this dressing in a Ball, wide mouth, quart canning jar so I always have it available for dinner salads, whatever the season.