Making Sauerkraut

My mum used to make it around this time of year. But she gave me her Sauerkraut crock and to my shame I have to admit  I only produced my own once (a long time ago).

I have used the crock to make elderflower champagne a few times, mind you.

When I made the Sauerkraut before we were living in France and had a fantastic harvest of organic white cabbage. I never fancied making it from shop bought cabbage. It just didn't seem right to me.

On Saturday I harvested some cabbages from the veggie garden and decided to have another go at it.

They are absolutely nothing like the specimens from France and we had to share the ones here with slugs, millipedes and earthworms. A lot of cleaning was involved. Firstly I removed outer leaves (of which I kept the largest and nicest ones for later use) and placed the whole cabbages in the sink with cold water to which I added some salt.

I quartered them and placed them yet again  in slightly salted cold water.

Whatever is lurking underneath will soon be trying to escape from the kitchen sink or find its way to the bottom.

After removing the core, the cabbage then is finely sliced in long strips. I used a knife instead of food processor, just to makes sure there wouldn't be too much protein being smashed up and make it all the way through the fermenting process.

After another good wash, the cabbage, together with apples and onions is placed in a dry, clean recipient (in my case the sink once again with the plug in da hole) 

Salt, juniper berries and caraway seeds are mixed and massaged into the veg and left for 30 minutes or thereabouts.

Hello ! Hello ! Hello !

Sparkling clean crock.

 The cabbage then has to be placed into the crock bit by bit and pressed down really well.

The liquid that has been released in your recipient (in my case the sink) has to be scooped out and poured over the cabbage. 

The cabbage should be completely covered with liquid. If you don't have enough, top it up with mineral water.

Here is where the kept aside outer leaves come into play. They go on top. 

But that's not all.

 The pot comes with two weighting stones.

Above you'll notice the channel at the top of the crock. That needs to be filled with water before the lid goes on.

It makes the pot air tight. 

Off to the pantry with you. Blummin' heavy it is too.

Start the fermentation process. Soon we'll be hearing blubblub blub coming from the pantry.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 kg cabbage - you can use a mixture of white and savoy or green cabbage, ratio 4 kg white and 2 kg other
• 300 gr onion
• 700 gr apples (acidic)
• 70 gr sea salt
• 25 juniper berries
• 10 gr caraway seeds

Preparation

• Remove outer leaves of the cabbage but keep the largest/nicest ones aside.
• Halve or quarter the cabbages and remove the core. If the core is woody discard. If it is fresh and crisp it can be grated to go in with the rest of cabbage.
• Slice the cabbage in thin long strips and wash in cold water.
• Peel the apples and onions. Slice the onions thinly. Apples can be either grated or sliced.
• Drain the clean cabbage.
• In a large enough recipient (or clean sink with plug) mix the apples onions and cabbage together.
• Add the salt, caraway and juniper berries. Massage well. Leave to stand for 30 minutes.
• Layer the cabbage in the crock pot and press down each layer really well. 
• Fill the pot up to max 10 cm underneath the edge.
• Add all the drawn out liquid that has been released in your recipient. Fill up with mineral water to about 5 cm above the layer of cabbage.
• Cover with large outer leaves and put weighting stones on top.
• Fill the rim with water and close off with lid.
• The crock should be placed in a room where the temperature is about 20° to 22° C for a week. That should start the fermentation process.
• For the next three to 5 weeks the pot needs to be standing in a cool place (4° to 8°)
• After a total of 4 to 6 weeks the Sauerkraut is ready for use. It can be kept for a few months, provided the cabbage stays covered with the liquid and is stored in a cold place.
• Never throw away the liquid ! It is full of goodness and can be used as a refreshing drink or as a starter for the next batch of Sauerkraut.

I am really looking forward to this meal.

It is a photo from our time in France and I was cooking for a crowd. Served with mashed potato on the side it is a winner.

Patricia xxx...x

PS While writing this post (Sunday) I can already hear the blub blub blubbing coming from the pantry. The fermentation process has started.

Brown Gloop

Any type of chutney or relish with whatever ingredients, seems to always end up brown when I make it. I once made tomato ketchup with yellow tomatoes and yup, it was brown. 

Never mind. It still looks good on the shelves in the pantry and the flavour will probably be okay.

The other day I tried my hand at making kimchi.

Let's just hope that it doesn't turn brown too, eh.

Patricia xxx...x

My Big Fat Harvest

Squash Futsu. Or that is what it should have been. My only fruit from 6 plants. 

It should look like

this

photo from The Organic Gardening Catalogue

Let's just say, if we had to live of the land we'd probably starve to death.

A grim, wet and rather cool summer has resulted in poor pickings.

From our many tomato plants I've managed to make one decent tomato salad. Chillies and peppers didn't do too bad, but ripening on the plant is not for this year.

Sweet pepper - Lipstick. A novelty, green lips. 

In the background - Early Jalapenos. Slugs have been munching away at them and I hope they enjoyed the sting when they did their number two's.

In the front - Hungarian wax. They have given a reasonably good harvest and I'll certainly plant them again.

Squash Butterbush. Similar to butternut but smaller/stockier. Only, mine are larger. The big one is about 25 cm long and these two are the only fruits from I-don't-know-how-many plants. Dire.

The real thing should look like 

this

photo from The Organic Gardening Catalogue

This should be a squash Tuffy. 

But a real one should look like 

this

photo from The Organic Gardening Catalogue

Pumpkin Rouge Vif d'Etampes.

They have done well in comparison with the other fruiting veg. Only one pumpkin per plant, mind. 

I had 8 plants in total of which 3 were wiped out by cold wind and rain early in the season. 

One other pumpkin got completely hollowed out by slugs.

Completely eaten away on the inside.

I don't know what more I could have done to get a better crop of vegetables. Even my courgettes have let me down this year with a produce of male flowers and hardly any fruit.

All is not lost. We still have spinach, chard, carrots, beetroot and two types of cabbage.

Next year better.

Patricia xxx...x

Beetroot Salad, Smoked Salmon and Courgette Fritters

Just a little something I threw together the other night for dinner with vegetables that are growing sparsely in our garden. Even the courgettes are letting me down this year.

For the courgette fritters I can recommend the link to my recipe here.
I added spring onions/scallions instead of a 'normal' onion, a few sweet and sour chopped up gherkins and a tablespoon of capers.

I grabbed a few beets and boiled them till tender. Peeled and sliced them. I put them aside in a dressing made with honey, stem ginger syrup, olive oil and white wine vinegar. Season with salt and black pepper. Oh and fresh dill !

A tub of sour cream (200 grs) and a heaped tablespoon of horseradish sauce was a nice accompaniment for the whole dish.

Serve with the smoked salmon and lettuce leaves it made for a lovely and refreshing dinner.

Patricia xxx...x

What I've Sown.

I'd go and have a look at my sown seeds every 5 minutes, if you let me. Last week, on Wednesday the 9th, I did the tomatoes and peppers. I saved the heated propagator for them and they love it.
I thought with the climate in general and sometimes miserable summers we get that small fruited varieties would do better as they don't need so long to 'grow up and mature' or ripen.
Tomatoes
Red Robin A miniature bush variety only 30 cm high. Ideal for pots and hanging baskets.
Black Cherry Produces large number of dark skinned fruit. Very good flavour.
Mirabelle Blanche Long trusses of small  pale yellow fruit, with a very sweet taste.
Orange Bourgoin Small plum sized fruit. Delicious, sweet and juicy, bright orange.

The tomatoes had already germinated by Sunday morning.

Today, they already look strong and fresh. 

The peppers are just about to pop.

Peppers and chillies

Lunchbox Orange Beautiful, mini-sized, colourful snack peppers. Sweet and flavourfull. Tall strong plants yield well.

Lipstick These 10 cm long (yes, they are bigger, but couldn't help myself), heart-shaped peppers are delicious in salads and great for roasting.

Hungarian Wax Starts sweet, getting hotter and redder as it matures. Small plants, ideal for cloches.

Early Jalapeno A very hot, small, blunt fruited chilli, indispensable in Mexican cooking.

Below I have the squashes, pumpkins and courgettes. Also some broad beans. Nothing happening there yet. Once there is movement, I'll post my detailed list. 

 On to the next lot...

PS
And then I wanted to show you what I dug out of the raised beds last week. I had thought everything would have rotted away during the winter, but no, a nice little harvest.

Slugs have nibbled here and there, but the majority was in good nick.

Patricia xxx...x

Wot's This Then ?

Is it a quiche ? Is it a sorta Spanish omelette ? A frittata  ?

Call it what ye will. I needed to use up eggs !
We're obviously not keeping up with our chickens. They are laying more eggs than we are prepared to eat on a daily basis. While I try to come up with a recipe that uses a hundred eggs in one go, they keep on accumulating in the pantry.
Sunday was the day I hard boiled fifteen eggs to use in an egg mayonnaise - salad type of thing.
But I also wanted to make something that would do as  dinner. Not too much fuss as I was still in the grips of a flu. With the feeling of a boa constrictor squeezing the bejeesus out of my chest, the only thing I wanted to do was lay down and play dead.
Unfortunately my appetite never dies so I set to work. Cooked everything in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan assisted)
Line a roasting tin with baking paper (my tin is 21 x 36 cm)

First step
Ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into 0.5 cm disks
• 3 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 0.5 cm disks
• olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Provençale or Italian dried herbs
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

Preparation

• Put the potatoes, oil, herbs and spices onto a baking tray toss around that you have an even coating of oil and spices.
• Put the tray in the preheated oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes.

• Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and set aside.

Second step

Ingredients

• 2 large onions, peeled and sliced in rings
• 1 red and 1 yellow pepper, sliced (in rings or  lengthways)
• olive oil
• 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp Provençale or Italian herb mix, 1 tsp smoked paprika

Preparation

• Spread the veg out onto your tray with olive oil and spices

•  In the oven with it ! For 15 minutes

• Set aside

Third step

Ingredients plus of course yer roasted veg

• olive oil
• 200 grs goats cheese, sliced
• 12 eggs
• splash of milk
• salt to taste
• a small bunch of coriander leaves

Preparation

• Take your roasting tin with the baking paper and drizzle with olive oil
• Layer with potatoes, other veg and goats cheese

• Beat the eggs with the salt and milk. Add the chopped coriander leaves and pour over the veg.

• Place it in the hot oven for 30 minutes or until the eggs have set.

• Leave to rest for 10 minutes before lifting the 'whatever-you-gonna-call-it' out with the lining paper.
• Slice and serve however you like.

I obviously made enough to have leftovers the next day.

A great meat free meal it was too. And while the written down recipe seems long, it was ready in no time (except for the hour in the oven)

If you don't like goats cheese, use another cheese.

If you don't like cheese, don't use any.

If you don't like coriander, use parsley or nothing of the sort.

If you don't like eggs, tough luck !

If any of my friends in the area want some free eggs, come and get some. I'm not going to start a delivery service. Capiche ?

Patricia xxx...x