Peripatetic philomaths…focusing on what's really important, eating ethically and cleanly, fermenting, foraging/wildcrafting, practicing herbalism, and being responsible stewards of our land. Sharing our photos, musings, and learnings. Still seeking our tribe.
With winter’s approach, my thoughts go to ferments, and how particularly satisfying – and beneficial – they are at this time of year. Cool-weather vegetables, such as brassica, lend themselves to making easy and delicious living foods like sauerkraut and kimchi. Why not make some today?
Continue reading “Farm Ferments: Brassica’s Biotic Bounty”Many lives have been changed by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic; some have argued that our lives will never be quite the same. Strangely, though, life here, now, hasn’t changed as much as it might otherwise have. Spring means new life, growth, and opportunities to learn.
So what do you when you find a big basketful of “overripe” peaches at the farm stand for a great price? Snap them up, of course, and make tasty eats and drinks with them…like the probiotic goodness of peach water kefir!
My water kefir grains are happy. I know this because they’ve been multiplying enthusiastically. Almost too enthusiastically…but I appreciate the work they do to transform fresh-cut pineapple (arguably the byproduct of pineapple peel wine!) into refreshing probiotic soda.
Why do root vegetables like rutabagas get a bad rap? They’re nutritious, tasty, and, properly stored, can stay edible for a long time. It must have something to do with their plain appearance – no flash, no glitz, just “what you see is what you get”. And, because I like their lack of pretense (and their flavor), I’m making them into a probiotic delight. Join me on this kimchi-making journey!
If you’ve cut up cauliflower, you know it makes quite a spectacular mess – tiny bits fly out as it’s cut, small as grains of sand. And yet, despite the veggie’s unruliness, I keep eating it. Sometimes, I don’t get to it fast enough, though, and it begins to brown unappealingly. Freezing it would buy time, but how about other ways of extending its “expiration date”? Fermenting is a great way to do just that!
Continue reading “Farm Ferments: Curry And Caraway Cauliflower”
Earlier, we shared how we discovered that the pickled jalapeños we’d purchased were, to our chagrin, full of additives and preservatives. After disposing of them (and recycling the jars – would have kept them, had they been glass), we became acutely aware that we no longer had any of those delicious pops of spice that livened up dishes so well. What to do? Get some jalapeños and ferment them!
I recently posted about the probiotic dreaminess that is kefir cream, but haven’t forgotten my friends who don’t do dairy. A wonderfully easy, dairy-free alternative is coconut milk kefir!
Do you enjoy the super-rich creaminess of (dairy) whipped cream? How about the gut-pleasing goodness of probiotics? Well, you’re in luck – the two come together in delicious kefir cream!
I’ve been brewing the amazing elixir known as Kombucha Tea for years now. With this ferment, an unusual-looking culture transforms sweetened tea into probiotic goodness, thanks to the hard work of the Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY): the disc-shaped pellicle formed by the microbes responsible for performing the magic.