I like to keep my grocery shopping simple and buy as few items as possible. And because I don’t buy food packaged in plastic, I can’t buy many items. (Today’s news on the health risks of plastic food packaging comes to you from the New York Times…) However, where I live, I can buy organic, pastured […]
cultures
Fermentation 101 Workshop
Thank you to everyone who attended my fermentation workshop this past weekend. What a fun group! My good friend Daniela took lots of fantastic pics. Everyone enjoyed tasting the goodies pictured above: sauerkraut, kombucha, scrap vinegar and buttermilk.
Fermented Hot Peppers
Updated 01/18/18 Click here to go straight to the recipe I grabbed a handful of hot peppers at the farmer’s market a couple of months ago to ferment. It was so easy! Every time I try a new ferment, I find myself saying that. I’m convinced that anyone attempting to simplify their life will eventually […]
How to Make Free Apple Scrap Vinegar
Updated 09/24/22 In my home, homemade vinegar has been the Holy Grail of scratch cooking. My daughter MK tried a few years ago and came very close, but flies invaded her apple scraps and ruined it. It sure smelled great though as I tossed it onto the compost. I have tried making vinegar a couple of […]
5 Reasons to Ferment Food
I find fermentation fascinating. I’m pretty much obsessed with it and wish I had discovered it earlier in my adult life (better late than never). I can’t really be too hard on myself though. In just a few generations, we’ve lost (most of) our food-growing and food-preparing skills. Fortunately slow, local, organic, real food has gained […]
How to Make Fabulous Ricotta with Two Ingredients
Click here to go straight to the recipe. You may never buy ricotta cheese again after you taste this. Dense, creamy and delicious homemade ricotta surpasses any store-bought brand I’ve ever tried, and requires only two ingredients and about twenty minutes of actual cooking time. I use high quality ingredients to make ricotta—Straus organic milk […]
Crispy On the Outside, Fluffy on the Inside Sourdough Waffles
Click here to go straight to the recipe. Or use the batter to make pancakes! I love baking with sourdough starter. Actually, I’m obsessed with my starter. When my boyfriend asks how my day went, I often include an update on my starter: “Eleanor smells fruity” or “Eleanor didn’t rise as much as I had hoped” […]
Fermented Watermelon Rind Pickles
Updated 07/14/18 Click here to go straight to the recipe. Why have I never made these until now? Crunchy, sour, fermented watermelon rind pickles: Are easy to make Taste delicious Contain good microbes, which improve your health Cost basically nothing (you bought the melon for the fruit after all) Reduce waste I feel like a […]
Sourdough Crackers
Click here to go straight to the recipe I had hoped to write a blog about sourdough starter for my first post. And then my second. Then my third. (This is post twenty-six.) You can probably find entire books devoted to starter alone. There’s so much to know and food scientists today still make discoveries about […]