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.
food preservation
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 […]
Feeding the 5000 Comes to the US
This past Saturday, I participated in Feeding the 5000, a campaign that exposes food waste by feeding thousands of people a free, delicious meal prepared with food that would otherwise go to waste. Feeding the 5000 began in Europe in 2009, but Saturday marked its debut in America. The event’s name invokes the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with a […]
The Last of the Tomatoes
Click here to go to the recipe We still have tomatoes in Northern California but not for much longer. On each of my last several trips to the Sunday farmer’s market, I’ve brought home three or four pounds of dry-farmed early girls. I’ve been roasting and freezing these small tomatoes so we’ll have some after […]
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 […]
My First Attempt at Homemade Hooch: Mead
Click here to go to the recipe “It looks terrifying.” That’s what my friend Amy said when I opened my jar of homemade mead and poured her a cup to try. Mead is honey wine. Aristotle speaks of it. Beowulf drank it. Shakespeare mentions it. The simple recipe likely explains mead’s persistence throughout the ages. In a nutshell, […]
How to Dehydrate Apple Slices in a Solar Food Dryer
I attended a totally awesome solar cooker festival the weekend before last in Sacramento. Building a solar cooker now tops my to-do list, but I haven’t had a chance to even look at plans, much less build one. However, I did discover that we have a solar cooker and a solar food dryer here at the […]
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 […]
Beet Kvass
Updated 10/02/17 I can’t remember which company, touting its latest chemical- and sugar-laden beverage, described water as a “yawn in a glass,” but that irresponsible yet effective marketing message stuck with me. You have to admire Big Food’s audacity and creativity. Well, maybe not admire. Acknowledge? (I just watched Fed Up last night, so I may sound […]