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One of the requirements for successful fermentation is to provide an anaerobic environment to prevent oxidation and mold. Keeping your fruits or vegetables completely submerged in brine or natural juices is the way to achieve that.
But those darn small pieces of cabbage, or those cranberries just love to float to the top and ruin it all. The solution? Fermentation weights.Continue Reading
What Are Probiotics? plural of pro·bi·ot·ic (Noun)
You hafta love fall! Not only is it gorgeous, but the cooler weather is so energizing.
And some of my favorite foods become available in the fall. Apples and crabapples, black walnuts, autumn olives . . . and grapes!
Most of the grapes we use are foraged, but they are readily available at farmer’s markets, neighbors yards, or maybe you grow them yourself.
Grape juice is good. Fermented grape juice is over-the-top delicious. Something about that fizziness just makes me want to hoard the stuff.Continue Reading
Several beds of our garden are in an area that is generally quite wet in the spring. Not the place to plant early crops like peas or lettuce, but perfect for tomatoes, especially since the area gets lots of sun.
This year, though, it was wet and rainy until early July. The area is built up with wood chips, but still, it was so soggy, I was afraid that our tomatoes would rot.
On top of that, we had to delay planting because of a late frost. So, for quite a while, I wasn’t expecting much from our 24 tomato plants.Continue Reading
August is such an amazing time in the garden. Barely a day goes by that I’m not able to harvest a nice basketful of fresh vegetables.
Green beans are no exception, and they really benefit from daily harvesting. If beans are left on the plant too long, the plant will think it’s time to produce seed and will stop producing the flowers that turn into crisp, delicious green beans.Continue Reading
If I had to name one food that most reminds me of my childhood, it would have to be wild blueberries. Growing up, we spent every summer at a mountain lake, and that mountain was covered in blueberries.
We would run out to the yard in the morning to pick just enough berries for mom to use in blueberry pancakes. And blueberry pie and blueberry buckle were frequent desserts.
That mountain home is still in our family and blueberries are still a yearly treat. Continue Reading