Pea, Oat, Rutabaga Lacto-Ferment - Made May 4/26

- 2 1/2 cups of oat groats

- 1 1/4 cups of dried Oregon Giant peas

- 1 1/4 cups of dried Dwarf Grey Sugar peas

- 2 lbs. of frozen rutabaga chopped in the food processor

- 1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes (yams) chopped in the food processor

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chard leaves

- 1 cup of frozen sorrel leaves 

- 1 cup of frozen parsley leaves

- 1 small bunch of celery sliced

- 2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 1 1/2 liter jars of my last onion ferment 

- 1 small green cabbage (3 lb.) chopped in the food processor

- 2 Tbsp.  + 2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt Plus a little extra in each jar...

Again I soaked the peas and oats in hot water temperature water over night,,, then ran the peas through my food processor before adding both to my mix... NO COOKING required!!! The stainless steel bowls seemed to work fine for mixing last time so I've used them again... I've also used the onion ferment that I've had sitting waiting for me to eat them here in this mix... These included extra salt, so I thought I wouldn't need to add so much salt to this mix either... However, in the end, I got a little nervous that I'd miscalculated so before I put them in the fridge I sprinkled some salt on the top of each jar, mixing it in as best I could...  Having cut out one meal entirely I'm using fewer ferments and I've also discovered that I prefer to add onions raw to my meals... I prefer the taste and I don't need to use so much, so I'm hardly eating these onion ferments at all... I'll use them up this way as long as this works... With everything mixed together it filled 10 liter mason jars packed firmly to just below the shoulder...  This time I thought there wouldn't be enough water in the mix, but once they'd fermented they looked fine... Nonetheless, I will likely need to add a little more after they've rested there for about a month....

I left them covered on top of my hot water heater for just over a day... They were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge, to stabilize and be eaten... later...  

An Update June 11/26 - I just added the extra water I anticipated would be necessary... and tasted them... Well... It is early yet so maybe they just need more time...  they don't taste bad... they just don't taste "good"... They taste as though they haven't gone through all the fermenting stages properly... I've decided NOT to add aged ferments in the quantity I added to this one (with the 1 1/2 jars of onion ferment) again in the future...  I'm SURE their present flavor has NOTHING to do with the vegetables I chose!   I'll update later if they end up improving in taste... with time...

Bean, Pea, Oat & Vegetable Lacto-Ferment - Made Feb. 24/26

- 2 1/2 cups of oat groats

- 1 1/4 cups of dried speckled peas

- 1 1/4 cups of dried black turtle beans

- 3 cloves of garlic minced

- 1 cup of frozen beet leaves

- 2 med. sweet potatoes (yams) coarsely grated

- 1 1/4 lb. of sliced frozen chiogga beets chopped in the food processor

- 1 cup of frozen sorrel leaves 

- 1 cup of frozen parsley leaves

- 1 3/4 lbs. of frozen sliced cucumber diced

- 2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb 

- 1 small green cabbage (3 lb.) chopped in the food processor

- 3 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I'm trying something a little different this time...  I was needing another large glass bowl... However, I was also finding them VERY heavy to work with... so I checked on the Internet and discovered that although ferments don't do well with metal, they said it was OK to do the initial mix in a stainless steel bowl... so I bought three 6 quart stainless steel bowls and I'm using these to do my initial mixing... I'll mix everything together and add the salt just before I put the mix in the jars, so it has very little contact with the metal... We'll see... Like the last few times, I tried to reduce my cooking time and therefore my use of electricity by soaking the  peas & beans overnight first and then chopping them in my food processor... I completely covered them with hot tap  temperature water which cooled as they soaked overnight... I  also soaked the oat groats over night using the same quantity and temperature of water as for the peas & beans... The oat mix was then soft enough to use without needing to be cooked or processed at all.  It seems  I can omit cooking entirely...  I then mixed everything together, filling 8 liter mason jars packed firmly to the shoulder...  This uses even a little less salt than my last mix, but it tastes salty enough... maybe I don't really need more than 1 tsp. of salt per liter... We'll see as I go along...  Like the last time there's enough water in the mix for the initial ferment. I thought like the last time, it might be too much once they started fermenting... but it wasn't, so if they need extra liquid later I'll just add a little water to top them up after they've fermented for about a month... If they need it...

I left them covered on top of my hot water heater for just over a day... They were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge, to stabilize and be eaten... later... 

Oat, Pea, Parsnip, Cucumber Lacto-Ferment - Made Jan 22/26

 

- 2 1/4  cups Oat Groats

- 1 cup of dried speckled peas

- 1 1/4 cups of dried oregon giant peas

- 1/2 a large zip lock bag of frozen chopped leeks

- 2 cups of frozen fennel leaves

- 2 lbs. of frozen parsnip chopped in the food processor

- 1 cup of frozen sorrel leaves 

- 1 cup of frozen parsley leaves

- 1 3/4 lbs. of frozen sliced cucumber diced

- 2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb 

- 1 small green cabbage (2 lb.) chopped finely

- 3 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I like these legume and grain vegetable ferments so well, I've decided to make most of my ferments with this kind of base...

Like the last few times, I tried to reduce my cooking time and therefore my use of electricity by soaking the  peas overnight first and then chopping them in my food processor... I completely covered them with hot tap  temperature water which cooled as they soaked overnight... I  also soaked the oat groats over night using the same quantity and temperature of water as for the peas... The oat mix was then soft enough to use without needing to be cooked or processed at all.  It seems  I can omit cooking entirely...  I then mixed everything together, filling 7 liter mason jars packed firmly to the shoulder...  This uses a little less salt than my last mix, but it tastes salty enough... Like the last time there's enough water in the mix for the initial ferment, but I may need to add a little extra water after they've fermented for about a month... 

It seems I've found an ideal location for beginning the fermentation process... covered on top of my hot water heater... This batch was left there for only a day... at this point I drained off enough liquid to fill a 750 ml jar to the shoulder (I'll use this to top up the jars with liquid later if needed) and left them uncovered on the floor where it was a little cooler for the night... They were then clearly fermenting well... so I moved them to the fridge, to stabilize and be eaten... later...  In fact, I did need to add back all of the liquid I drained off about a month into the fermentation process...

Oat, Bean & Vegetable Lacto-Ferment - Made Oct 6/25

- 2 cups Oat Groats

- 1 1/4 cups of dried black turtle beans

- 3/4 cup of dried adzuki beans

- 3 med./small yellow cooking onions chopped

- 4 cloves of garlic, the last I have left from last year, minced

- 1 bunch of celery - stalks & leaves chopped

- 3 med. chiogga beets chopped in the food processor

- 34 fresh sorrel and 4 chard leaves & stems  from my garden chopped

- 1/2  a  2 lb. head of cauliflower chopped

- 1 small green cabbage (2 lb.) chopped finely

- 3 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

It's been awhile since I made a ferment - almost a year... My body asked me to cut one meal from my diet entirely and reduce my intake of salt as well as of fruit... so I've been slowly eating my way through my large stockpile of ferments...  I'm making this one because I don't have any of my breakfast, which has now become brunch... complete protein ferments left (one that includes both grain & legumes)... I've reduced the salt and used less water to soak the beans and oats for this one too... We'll see how that works...  It will still be some time before I do another ferment, as I still have quite a few from my previous batches left to eat...

Like the last few times, I tried to reduce my cooking time and therefore my use of electricity by soaking the  beans overnight first and then chopping them in my food processor... I  also soaked the oat groats over night... The oat mix was then soft enough to use without needing to be cooked. Like I did for my last ferment like this,  I used my food processor to chop the 3 beets as well as the beans ....It seems  I can omit cooking entirely...  I then mixed everything together, filling 6 liter mason jars packed firmly to the shoulder...  I

This mix fermented unbelievable quickly!!!  I left them to rest covered on top of my hot water heater  for only a day...  when they exploded out of their jars and just pressing them back down didn't arrest their speed... so I moved them to the fridge, with a tray underneath in case even the colder environment didn't slow them down sufficiently.  Here they can stabilize and be eaten... later...  As an aside... the amount of salt tastes MUCH better for me now and there was no shortage of liquid in the mix for the initial ferment, but I did need to add a little water to each jar after they'd been fermenting for about a month...

Bean, Oat & Vegetable Lacto-Ferment - made Nov 28/24

 

- 1 1/4 cup dried Pinto beans

- 1 1/2 cups dried Black Turtle beans

- 2 cups Oat Groats

- 3/4 cup Oat Flakes

- 2 med. yellow cooking onions chopped

- 3/4 lb. of frozen parsnips chopped in the food processor

- 1 bunch of celery stalks chopped

- 3 med. red beets chopped in the food processor

- 2 cups of chopped frozen sorrel leaves & stems from my garden

- 1 cup of chopped frozen parsley root leaves from my garden

- 1 green cabbage (2 3/4 lb.) chopped finely

- 4 Tbsp + 2 tsp Himalayan pink salt

As usual, I worked with the beans and  oats separately....  Like the last few times, I tried to reduce my cooking time and therefore my use of electricity by soaking the  beans overnight first and then chopping them in my food processor...  This time though, I also soaked the oat groats over night and the flakes for a little more than an hour in the morning... The oat mix was then soft enough to use without needing to be cooked. I thought the beans might also be soft enough after being processed in my food processor, so I didn't cook these either...  I also used my food processor to chop the 3 beets and the parsnips.... I'm curious to see if I can omit cooking entirely...  I'm especially curious because my body doesn't usually do well with raw foods... I'm counting on the fermentation process working like cooking does for my body's  digestive process...  We'll see how they ferment and how it all tastes and whether my body can work with it...  It's made a BIG mix so I SURE hope so!!!  I then mixed everything together, filling 7 liter and a 750 ml mason jars packed firmly to the shoulder...These rested covered on top of my hot water heater for less than a day before they were exploding out of their jars... so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

My 1st impressions:

- The mix is quite watery.  At this point, if I did another mix this way, I'd use only just enough water to barely cover the beans and oats... This time I used enough to ensure they were thoroughly covered at all times...  However, what now seems like excess water may get absorbed as fermentation continues slowly in the fridge...  Another option might be to not soak the flakes; trusting that these would have sufficient water to soften with what is already in the mix... Well... I was just going to leave them and see... BUT I see this evening, even cool, in the fridge, they are exploding out of their jars... so I siphoned off some of the excess liquid.. a total of 2 cups worth and re-packed them down firmly.  I think they'll be OK now... but this also gives me a fairly accurate measure of just how much less water I need to use for another time...

- Although I used my regular amount of salt... This tastes quite salty...  As the vegetables and grain soften with fermentation this may get absorbed into their fibers and taste less salty..  It isn't too salty to use even as it is, so before deciding if I want to adjust the amount of salt I use for this technique, I'll wait and see how it is when it has matured.

This won't be ready to use for another 1 1/2 - 2 months and I won't be ready to dig into it until then either... For now, I'm leaving it, just as I made it, to stabilize in the fridge and I'll see when I actually start using it if I still feel I'd like to make adjustments to future batches done this way...

An Update at the end of December/24:

After a month in the fridge this mix had absorbed most of the water, so to keep it hydrated I added back all but about 1/2 cup of the liquid I'd siphoned off earlier... It's still too early though to tell if this is a technique that's worth repeating... in another month or so it should be ready to be properly tasted and tested...

 A Further Update January 25/25:

I started eating this today... I don't have to adjust the salt.,  It's OK for saltiness, but I would definitely prefer a little less...  This ferment is more textural than my cooked version i.e. not as soft and easy to chew.  I would say slightly "crisp or crunchy", not at all difficult to chew or chewy.  I've ended up adding back all of the "liquid" I removed when they first went into the fridge.  It's been needed. I will definitely be continuing to use this method... I may even end up using this method almost exclusively, as long as my body digests it just as well and for now it feels like it will, as I think it makes a truly delicious ferment... and I quite like the additional textural interest!

Pea, Parsnip, Beet, Fennel & Yam Lacto-Ferment - Made Nov 22/24

 

- 1 large zip lock bag (2 lb.) of chopped frozen fennel leaves and stalks 

- 1/2 a sweet potato (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated

- 2 med (3/4 lb.) red beet coarsely grated

- 1 med. onion diced

- 3/4 of a cup of dried dwarf grey sugar peas soaked and then chopped in my food processor
- 1 lb. of frozen parsnips chopped in my food processor

- 30  chopped sorel leaves & stems  (leafy greens) from my garden

- a 4 lb. green cabbage finely chopped

- 4 Tbsp of Himalayan pink salt

After I chopped the peas in  the food processor I thought I would cook them but decided they were soft enough as they were so I didn't... Also after chopping the frozen parsnip in the food processor I was so pleased with the result that I decided to chop the beet and yam this way too... So aside from chopping the sorel, onion and cabbage (I've tried this in the food processor before and was unhappy with the result) by hand I just had to mix everything together... SO nice and SIMPLE and EASY...  Certainly easier than grating by hand and even easier than shredding with the food processor... We'll see how it ends up... It filled 6 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder. Heat does make a HUGE difference in the speed of fermentation... I only left them covered on top of my hot water heater for one day...  before moving them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Mainly Onion & Leek Lacto-Ferment - made Oct. 19/24

 

- 19 med. onions diced

- 2 large leeks white and green part chopped

- 2 large carrots coarsely grated

- 2 med. rutabaga coarsely grated 

- 30 leaves and stems of fresh sorel from my garden chopped

- 1 smallish green cabbage (2 3/4 lb.) chopped finely

- 5 Tbsp of Himalayan pink salt

I've REALLY enjoyed the onions I've fermented each year...  They have been especially useful in the spring and summer when the onions I could buy weren't so "good"... so this year I'm doing it again... a little differently though... I've used leeks again but added a little rutabaga and carrot and again used the sorrel leaves (which has grown HUGE in my new garden).  I've also used a whole small green cabbage instead of just a few leaves... I find I'm not using cabbage quickly enough, so I think from now on I'll be buying what I think will be the right size to use whole for a single ferment...  

I packed the mix firmly to  just below the shoulder of 8 liter mason jars, then left them beside my hot water heater to begin their fermentation process.  This mix has taken FOREVER to strongly ferment... After leaving the jars for more than 10 days, I finally decided I wasn't going to use these for a few months so it would be OK if they were SLOW.... and moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten anyway...  However, I've learned something... Fermentation seems to require a temperature above about 21 degrees Celsius to proceed quickly.  I had that when I began fermenting this batch, and I almost moved them to the fridge after 3 days... but because I hadn't filled the jars as full as I usually do, there was plenty of head room available for expansion... so I left them... and the temperature dropped... It wasn't cold in my apartment, but it was mostly between 18 and 19 degrees Celsius and it just didn't seem to be warm enough...  As soon as the temperature climbed above 20 degrees Celsius they fermented more rapidly again...  Since the floor around my hot water heater wasn't warm, I also moved them to around the top and this supplied a little more heat... Well... now I know... I need to make SURE they are warm enough!!!

Sweet Pepper, Celery Vegetable Medley Lacto-Ferment - Made Jul 15/24

 

- 1 large bunch of celery with leaves chopped

- 3 cups of frozen chopped cauliflower

- 1 sweet potato (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated

- 7 sweet orange, yellow & green peppers chopped

- 3 meal sized pieces of pumpkin - skin finely grated and flesh diced

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped fennel leaves

- 20 sorrel leaves finely chopped

- 1 med. onion chopped

- 1 clove of garlic minced

- 4 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 4 leaves of red cabbage chopped finely

- 3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together; then firmly packed it into 5 liter mason jars, filled to the shoulder and one partially filled 500 ml. jar. I think this has been my fastest ferment ever...  Probably due to the very hot humid weather we've been having. They sat beside my hot water heater for less than a day before it was clear they were fermenting well so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Bean, Pea, Oats and Vegetable Lacto-Ferment - Made Jul. 10/24

- 1 1/4 cups of dried Speckled peas

- 1 1/2  cups of dried Black Turtle beans

- 2 cups Oat Groats

- 3/4 cup Oat Flakes

- 1 med. yellow cooking onion chopped

- 35 leaves and stems of sorel from my garden

- 2 carrots coarsely grated

- 1 med. chiogga beet coarsely grated

- 2 med. celery roots (celeriac) coarsely grated

- 2 meal sized pieces of frozen pumpkin - flesh diced and skin finely grated

- 3 cups of frozen chopped fennel

- 8 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 4 Tbsp + 2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

I cooked the bean/peas and  oats separately. using the same method as I did the last couple of times... which took a little over 1 hour for the peas and beans...  The oat groats and flakes I cooked for 1/2 an hour...  Since I also soaked the oats overnight they were softer and required almost constant stirring to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning...  I mixed all of the other ingredients together except the cabbage. I then added the cooked bean/pea mix.  Although it was already a bit like a paste after running it through my food processor (which I did prior to cooking),  I did mash it a little to make it even more of a paste... and then the cooked oats were added to the mixture.  I added the cabbage last after the whole mix had cooled to just warm. The mix filled 7 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder.. These fermented VERY rapidly! They spent just over a day by my hot water heater  for me to see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

 

 

Bean, Pea, Oats and Vegetable Lacto-Ferment - Made Apr. 11/24

 

- 1 cup dried Speckled peas

- 3/4  cup of dried Adzuki beans

- 1 cup dried Black Turtle beans
- 2 cups Oat Groats

- 3/4 cup Oat Flakes

- 2 med. yellow cooking onions chopped

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen  chopped rhubarb

- 1 large red beet coarsely grated

- 1 large sweet potato (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated

- 8 stalks of celery chopped 

- 1 1/2 cups approximately of frozen chopped sorrel from my garden

- a small green cabbage (what is left of one I've been using for awhile) chopped finely

- 4 Tbsp + 2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

I cooked the beans/peas and  oats separately. a little differently this time...  Again, I tried to reduce my cooking time and therefore my use of electricity by soaking the peas and beans overnight first and then chopping them in my food processor before cooking them .. SO... I ended up cooking them  for just over 1 hour, which is a substantial reduction from my previous 2 1/2 - 3 hour cooking time.... so I'll be doing this again in the future... The oat groats I cooked for 3/4 of an hour, adding the flakes for the last 20 minutes of cooking time...  I mixed all of the other ingredients together except the cabbage. I then added the cooked bean/pea mix which was already a bit like a paste so I didn't have to mash it... (another saving with my new method).  I then added  the cooked oats to this mixture,  adding the cabbage last after the whole mix had cooled to just warm. The mix filled 7 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder.. After only a day and a half beside my hot water heater I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

 I use these oat/bean/pea combination ferments along with some yogurt and fresh fruit , a few nuts or seeds, a little kombu seaweed and some powders such as spirulina, chlorella and ashwagandha for my breakfasts... It makes a  light, small but VERY nourishing feeling meal to start my day...

 

Celery root (celeriac), Celery & Beet Lacto-Ferment - Made Mar. 7/24

- 2 bunches of celery chopped

- 1 sweet potato (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated

- 1 LARGE red beet coarsely grated

- 6 leaves of green cabbage finely chopped

- 1 med. onion diced
- 2 large celery roots (celeriac) coarsely grated

- approx. 2 cups of frozen chopped sorel leaves & stems  (leafy greens) from my garden

- 3 Tbsp  + 1 tsp of Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together... filling 5 liter and one partially filled 500 ml. mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder.  This fermented VERY quickly.   In only 2 days it was exploding out of the jars... so I re-packed them, replacing the 500 ml jar with a 750 ml jar and moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Radish, celeriac, fennel, carrot & beet Lacto-Ferment - Made Feb. 24/24

 

- approx. 1 1/2 cups of chopped frozen rhubarb

- 3 good sized daikon radishes coarsely grated

- 2 carrots coarsely grated

- 3 med/small chiogga beets coarsely grated

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of chopped frozen fennel from my garden

- 1 small green cabbage finely chopped (what's left of one I've been using for awhile)

- 3 smallish onions diced
- 1 garlic clove minced

- 1 large celery root (celeriac) coarsely grated

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen chopped arugula (leafy greens) (approx. 1 1/2 cups)

- 3 Tbsp  of Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together... filling 4 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder. I left them beside my hot water heater for 2 days when I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

Pea, Bean, Oat, Yam & Rutabaga Lacto-ferment - Made Jan. 5/24

- 1 cup dried Speckled peas

- 3/4  cup of dried Adzuki beans

- 1 cup dried Pinto beans
- 2 cups Oat Groats

- 3/4 cup Oat Flakes

- 2 med. yellow cooking onions chopped

- 1 large  clove of garlic minced

- 2 cups of frozen  chopped rhubarb

- 2 med. Chiogga beets coarsely grated

- 1 large sweet potato (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated

- 2 smallish rutabagas coarsely grated 

- 1 1/2 cups approximately of frozen chopped arugula from my garden

- the last small piece of a green cabbage I've been using for awhile chopped finely

- 4 Tbsp + 2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

I cooked the beans/peas and  oats separately. a little differently this time...  I wanted to see if I could reduce my cooking time and therefore my use of electricity by soaking the peas and beans overnight first and then chopping them in my food processor before cooking them .. SO... I ended up cooking them  for about 2 hours. At this point they were crushable, BUT not soft... and they still weren't soft after sitting for another hour... so I put them back on the stove for another hour of cooking... This is a actually longer than my usual 2 1/2 hours, but still shorter than the 4 hours it took the last time I used the pinto beans with the speckled peas... When I chose this combination I'd forgotten that it took such a long time to cook the last time... I don't know, but it seems there's something about this pea/bean combo that requires a longer cooking time... In any case I'll try this method again with other combinations which have required only 2 1/2 hours to cook... and we'll see if I can lower my use of electricity  or not... The oat groats I cooked for 3/4 of an hour, adding the flakes for the last 20 minutes of cooking time...  I mixed all of the other ingredients together except the cabbage. I then added the cooked bean/pea mix which I mashed to a paste and the cooked oats to this mixture,  adding the cabbage last after the whole mix had cooled to just warm. The mix filled 7 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder..  I left them beside my hot water heater for only a day and a half, because I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

 

Parsnip, Beet & Zucchini Lacto-Ferment - Made Dec 23/23

 

- approx. 2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb

- approx. 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped tree spinach from my garden 

- 4 very large parsnips coarsely grated

- 2 large red beets coarsely grated

- 1 large onion finely diced

- 1 clove of garlic minced

- a large zip-lock bag of frozen zucchini slices chopped
- a small green cabbage (about 5" in diameter) chopped finely

- 2  Tbsp .+ 2 tsp.  Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together, then packed it into 4 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  I  left them beside my hot water heater for 3 days. I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

Red Cabbage, Celery, Zucchini & Carrot Lacto-ferment - Made Nov. 8/23

- 1 small head of red cabbage (about 5" in diameter) chopped finely

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen Italian style zucchini chopped

- 15 sorrel leaves & stems from my garden chopped

- approx. 1 cup of frozen chard leaves chopped

- 1 1/2  bunches of celery with leaves chopped

- 1 med./large onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 3 med. carrots coarsely grated
- approx. 2 cups of  frozen chopped rhubarb

- 3 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together in my largest glass bowl.  After stirring it well, I transferred it to 4 liter  & one 750 ml. mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.   I left them by my hot water heater for 3 days... At this point I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

Yam, Cauliflower & Red Cabbage Lacto-Ferment - Made Oct 27/23

- 4 leaves of red cabbage chopped finely

- 1 leaf of green cabbage chopped finely

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen zucchini chopped

- 2 med. onions chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 3 large sweet potatoes (my parents called them yams), shredded

- 6" diameter head of cauliflower chopped finely

- 18 sorrel leaves with stems from my garden chopped

- stems & leaves from about 20 kohlrabi chopped 

- 3 3/4 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

Using both of my large glass bowls, I was able to mix everything together.  After stirring it well, I let it sit for a few minutes to warm, before transferring it to 5 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  I left them in a warm corner by my hot water heater for only 2 days before I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten.... 

Bean/Pea, Oat Lacto-Ferment - made Oct 9/23

 

- 3/4 cup dried Black-eyed peas

- 1 cup of dried Adzuki beans

- 1 cup dried Black turtle beans
- 2 cups Oat Groats

- 3/4 cup Oat Flakes

- 4 small pieces (approx. 1 1/2" by 1") of kombu seaweed broken up

- 2 med. yellow cooking onions chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 2 cups of frozen  chopped rhubarb

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped chard stems

- 3 med. red beets coarsely grated

- 1 large sweet potato (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated

- 7 parsnips coarsely grated - the last of my old ones...

- 5 smallish horseradish leaves from my garden chopped

- 12 sorrel leaves & stems from my garden chopped

- 8 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 5 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I cooked the beans/peas and  oats separately... the 2 kinds of beans for about 2 1/2 hours, adding the black-eyed peas for the last 1 hour of cooking time and the oat groats for 1 hour, adding the flakes for the last 20 minutes of cooking time...  I mixed all of the other ingredients together except the cabbage. I then added the cooked bean/pea mix which I forgot to mash to a paste this time (so we'll see how it is this way) and the cooked oats to this mixture,  adding the cabbage last after the whole mix had cooled to just warm. The mix filled 7 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder...I left them in my warmish cupboard for only 1 1/2 days... As I could see they were fermenting well, I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

 

Onion & Leek Lacto-Ferment - Made Oct 2/23

 

- 35 med./small onions diced

-  4 large leeks -  green & white parts chopped 

-  1 1/2 cups of chopped frozen rhubarb

-  1 /12 cups chopped frozen chard stems

-  a bunch of red meat radish leaves chopped finely

-  8 leaves of red cabbage 

-  5 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I've made an onion/leek mix each fall for a few years.  I use it in the spring, when onions are expensive and don't keep well and like it VERY much... so I'm doing it again this year... However, we've had a VERY wet summer and as I'm peeling the onions, I discover many are already going bad.  This year the fall ones are already how I would expect them to be in the spring.  I therefore, don't think they will keep very well at all... so I've done an extra big batch of fermented ones... 

I mixed it all together and then packed it into 8 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder...  After only 2 days in my warmish cupboard I could see they were fermenting well ,so I moved them to the fridge  to stabilize and be eaten...

Parsnip, Cauliflower, Celery & Yam Lacto-Ferment - made Sep 25/23

 

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped chard stems

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb 

- 1/2 a head of cauliflower chopped
- 1 VERY large sweet potato (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated
- 2 med./small onions chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 5 fairly large parsnips coarsely grated

- 1 bunch of celery with leaves chopped

- 4 leaves of horseradish & 6 sorrel leaves & stems from my garden finely chopped

- 1/2 of a 6 inch diameter green cabbage chopped finely

- 3 1/2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

This continues my BIG experiment...  I still have more of last year's parsnips to use up... I tasted the last batch and it seems to be OK, so I'm using more of them this way... I still have enough left for 1 more batch of something... so they're going to show up one last time.. some time soon...

For this time, I mixed everything together; then firmly packed it into 5 liter  mason jars, filled to a little below the shoulder. I left them in my warmish cupboard for 3 days, as I could see they were fermenting well, I transferred them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Parsnip, Cauliflower, Carrot Lacto-Ferment - Made Sep 21/23

 

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped chard stems

- 1/2 of a large zip-lock bag of frozen chopped rhubarb 

- 1/2 a head of cauliflower chopped
- 3 large carrots coarsely grated
- 2 med./small onions chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 5 parsnips coarsely grated

- about 2/3 of a cup of pumpkin (squash) pulp minced

- 4 leaves of horseradish & a small bunch of parsley from my garden finely chopped

- 1/2 of a 6 inch diameter green cabbage chopped finely

- 3 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

This is a BIG experiment...  The parsnips are last years stock and far too strongly flavored for me to digest when I use them in my meals.  I'm hoping that once they are fermented and therefore partially digested that I'll be able to digest them myself... The horseradish is also experimental... It isn't growing so well in my new garden.  We've had a wetter than normal summer and I think it's being attacked by a fungus that likes these leaves.  I'm eating them fresh anyway and they seem to be OK... but I'm not sure if they will be OK in a ferment...  I HATE to throw out food... so we'll see how this works... Maybe I've just wasted a lot of what would have been good food, trying to make use of these questionable ingredients..  

In any case, I've mixed everything together; then firmly packed it into 4 liter & one 500 ml. mason jars, filled to the shoulder. I left them in my warmish cupboard for 3 days.   They were fermenting well, so I  transferred them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...  I gave them a taste too... and they seem to be OK... so I think I haven't wasted any food with this experiment...