How can I possibly be so excited about something as lowly as beet pickles, besides the fact that they taste delicious? My daughter MK has loved these since she was little. I ate most of the pickles I made for this post though…I had to do quality control…sorry MK… Nothing goes to waste To make […]
ferment
Fermentation Tools, Equipment and Ingredients
You can spend lots of money on tools and gadgets designed specifically for making fermented foods—airlocks to let gas escape from jars, lids with small “windows” you open in order to release gas, glorified glass jars rebranded as “small fermentation crocks,” expensive weights, mandolines to cut vegetables quickly and uniformly… These tools all sound nice […]
What Is Fermentation and Why Do I Go On About It So Much?
If you have read my blog at all, at some point, you may have had one of the following thoughts: Fermentation sounds revolting. Why does she keep going on about it? OMG. I love fermentation. I named my sourdough starter [insert name]. On [insert date] she turns [insert number] years old. We will throw her […]
How to Ferment Vegetables in Brine
Click here to go straight to the recipe When I prep sauerkraut, I add salt to a bowl of chopped vegetables, crush the vegetables, let them sit while they release water and then pack everything into clean jars. When I prep kimchi, I add a lot of salt to a bowl of chopped vegetables, pour […]
Pear-Cranberry Chutney
The bad news about this recipe is that you have to start it at least two days before you eat it. So, you can’t make it for thanksgiving dinner this year. The good news? This chutney tastes fantastic—sweet and sour, a little salty, a little spicy and slightly effervescent. I’ll serve this tomorrow at our […]
Quick Tomato Sauce (If You Plan Ahead…)
Yes, another tomato post. Think of it as my way of reminding you of the time of year. When we first kicked processed food, we struggled to replace canned tomatoes—whole tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. I used to cook vats of chili and also vats of bolognese sauce to serve with pasta one night […]
Fermentation FAQs
I love teaching fermentation workshops and answering the many questions attendees ask me. I’ve tried to address most of them below but may have missed one or two. If you have a burning question about fermentation that I haven’t included, please ask away and I’ll do my best to answer. This post focuses on vegetable […]
Off-the-Grid Kombucha
Because you want to take your hippie game to the next level… The word “ferment” comes from the Latin verb “fervere,” to boil One of the benefits of making fermented foods is that you can prepare many of them without consuming energy. So, after the apocalypse, I’ll still be able to eat my mouth-watering fermented salsa, […]
Why and How to Make Sauerkraut and Krautchi
Click here to jump to the recipe I recently overhauled my website and a couple of my fermentation lesson plans went missing. Oops! I like to refer my students to these after class in case they have questions. Fortunately I found this one on fermented sauerkraut and krautchi. If you want to get healthy in 2017, feed […]
Two New Webinars: Dill Pickles and Ginger Beer
Jump to the webinar info I moved this past weekend to a different unit in my intentional community and I have so much more light in my kitchen that I decided to schedule two more webinars. The lighting in my previous abode had made recording these problematic. This is much brighter!
Garlic-Dill Sauerkraut
I have converted several self-professed haters of sauerkraut with this garlic-dill blend. It tastes just like dill pickles. And almost everyone likes dill pickles, including kids. People who tell me they hate sauerkraut often also say they want to like it because of the many health benefits that lacto-fermented foods such as sauerkraut offer. Fermented sauerkraut: Is […]