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, 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!

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...

 

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...

 

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...

 

Pea, Bean & Oats Lacto-Ferment - Made Aug 12/23

 

- 1  cup dried Speckled Peas

- 1/2 cup of dried Adzuki Beans

- 1 1/4 cups dried Black-eyed Peas
- 2 cups Oat Groats

- 3/4 cup Oat Flakes

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

- 1 med. yellow cooking onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 2 meal-sized pieces of frozen squash - flesh chopped & skin grated finely

- about 1 cup of chopped frozen chard leaves from my garden

- 5 stalks of parsley leaves from my garden

- 1 orange cauliflower chopped finely

- 2 cups of frozen chard stems

- 2 cups chopped frozen rhubarb

- 1/2 a cucumber diced

- 7 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 4 1/2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I cooked the peas with the beans, but  the oats separately... the peas & beans for about 2 1/2 hours 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 pea/bean mix which I mashed to make a firm paste and the cooked oats to this mixture,  adding the cabbage last after the whole mix had cooled to just warm. The mix filled 6 liter mason jars packed firmly just to the shoulder...I left them in a cupboard for only 1 1/2 days.  At this point, I could see they were fermenting well, so Il moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

 

Bean/Pea & Oat Lacto-Ferment - Made May 13/23

- 1  cup dried Black-eyed peas

- 1/2 cup of dried Adzuki beans

- 1 1/4 cups dried Black turtle beans
- 2 cups Oat Groats

- 3/4 cup Oat Flakes

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

- 2 med. yellow cooking onions chopped

- about 3 cups of chopped frozen sorrel leaves & stems from my garden

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

- 3 med.  red beets coarsely grated

- 2 cups of frozen chard stems

- 5 carrots coarsely grated

- 1 small red cabbage about 3 1//2" in diameter chopped finely

- 3 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 4 1/2 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 1/4 hours 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 mashed to make a firm paste and the cooked oats to this mixture,  adding the cabbage last after the whole mix had cooled to just warm. The mix filled 6 liter mason jars packed firmly just to the shoulder...I left them in my warm cupboard over my stove for 2 days, at which point I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

 

Bean & Oat Lacto-Ferment - made Feb 15/23

 

- 1 1/4 cups dried Pinto beans

- 1 1/2 cups dried Adzuki 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

- about 3 cups of chopped frozen sorrel leaves & stems from my garden

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

- 3 med.  red beets coarsely grated

- 1 clove of garlic minced

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen zucchini diced

- 1 carrot coarsely grated

- 2 med. rutabaga coarsely grated

- 10 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 4 Tbsp + 2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

I cooked the beans and  oats separately... the beans for about 2 1/2 hours 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 beans which I mashed to make a firm 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 packed firmly just to the shoulder...I left them covered by cardboard boxes in front of one of my rads for 2 days... Then I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

Bean & Barley Lacto-Ferment - Made Jul 30/22

 

- 1 cup dried Pinto beans

- 1 cup dried Adzuki beans
- 1 1/4 cup Pot Barley

- 3/4 cup Hulless Barley

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

- 1 med. yellow cooking onion chopped

- 1 small red onion chopped

- 6 smallish red beets coarsely grated

- 2 large cloves of garlic minced

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

- about 3 cups of chopped sorrel leaves from my garden

- 1 bunch of celery chopped

- 2 cups of finely chopped cauliflower

- what was left of a head of green cabbage (about 4" x 1")chopped finely

- 4 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

This time I cooked the beans and barley separately... the beans for about 2 1/2 hours and the barley for 1 hour.  I mixed all of the other ingredients together except the cabbage. I then added the cooked beans which I mashed to make a firm paste and the cooked barley to this mixture,  adding the cabbage last after the whole mix had cooled to just warm. The mix filled 6 liter mason jars packed firmly just to the shoulder... After spending 5 days in my warm cupboard over my stove I could finally see they were fermenting well (it took longer than I expected for some reason) so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

Bean & Barley Lacto-Ferment - Made Apr. 12 /22

 

- 2 cups dried Pinto beans
- 1 1/2 cups Pot Barley

- 1/2 cup Barley flakes

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

- 1 med. onion chopped

- 2 med/large red beets coarsely grated

- 1 large clove of garlic minced

- 2 med carrots coarsely grated

- 1 1/2 cups frozen apple pieces

- about 1 cup of frozen chopped tree spinach leaves from my garden

- 10  - 1/2" slices of frozen cucumber chopped

- 2 cups of chopped frozen rhubarb

- 4 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 4 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I  cooked the beans and barley together (a mistake) for about 3 hours, adding the barley flakes for the last 20 minutes of cooking.   I mixed them together to make a fairly firm paste.  However, I won't do this the same way again... The beans and the barley cooked at VERY different rates.  I should have cooked them separately.  As it is the barley absorbed all the water and the beans are cooked but still firm.  I used my biggest pot and couldn't add ANY more water, so I'm trusting the beans will soften a little more with fermentation.   The kombu was mixed with the rest of the ingredients and except for the cabbage these were all added to the bean/barley mix when it had cooled a little .  I added the cabbage  last when the mixture was just warm (NOT hot).  After mixing it well, I packed it into 6 one liter mason jars filled to the shoulder .  It makes a very pretty rose colored mixture with dark green specks... Having spent less than 3 days covered by a cardboard box in front of a rad (my "warm" cupboard over my stove isn't so warm these days) I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...  

Bean Lacto-Ferment - Made Sept. 17/21

 

- 1 1/4 cups dried black turtle beans cooked

- 1 1/4 cups dried adzuki beans cooked

- 4 small pieces of kombu seaweed (approx. 1 1/2" square) crumbled

- 1 leek green & white parts chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 5 stalks of celery chopped
- 1 large red beet coarsely grated
- 1 leaf of horseradish chopped finely

- 30 leaves of fresh sorrel chopped finely

- 10 "wild" apples cored and chopped

- 3 large leaves of green cabbage finely chopped

- 2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Himalayan pink salt 

I added the beans to boiling water, cooking them until they were tender (about 2 1/2 hours).   Again this time I did not cook the kombu with the beans.  Instead it was mixed with the rest of the ingredients.  After mashing the beans with the water they'd cooked in,  I added this  paste to the rest of the ingredients, adding the cabbage last, after I'd mixed the other things together and the whole mixture was an even warm temperature (NOT hot)... I then packed it into four 1 liter mason jars  filled just above the shoulder.  They're a little full, but I think they'll be OK...   They weren't OK... after only a day and a half the mixture was exploding out of the jars... so I removed the excess, filling a 500 ml. jar a little more than half full... and then moved all of them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Bean Lacto-Ferment - Made May 27/21

- 1 1/4 cups dried black turtle beans cooked

- 1 1/4 cups dried adzuki beans cooked

- 4 small pieces of kombu seaweed (approx. 1 1/2" square) crumbled

- 1 med. onion diced

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 2 pieces of frozen squash - flesh diced & skin finely grated
- 2 med. red beets coarsely grated
- 1 cup of frozen chopped parsley

- a few stems of fresh sorrel & sweet cicely 

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 4 leaves of green cabbage finely chopped

- 2 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt 

I added the beans to boiling water, cooking them until they were tender (about 2 1/2 hours).   Again this time I did not cook the kombu with the beans.  Instead it was mixed with the rest of the ingredients.  After mashing the beans with the water they'd cooked in,  I added this  paste to the rest of the ingredients, adding the cabbage last, after I'd mixed the other things together and the whole mixture was an even warm temperature (NOT hot)... I then packed it into three 1 liter mason jars  filled to the shoulder and one 500 ml. mason jar filled a little more than half full.  They fermented VERY quickly, so I only left them in my cupboard over my stove for a day and a half... when I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Beans & Beet Lacto-Ferment - Made Dec 17/20

- 1 1/4 cups dried black turtle beans cooked

- 1 1/4 cups dried adzuki beans cooked

- 4 small pieces of kombu seaweed (approx. 1 1/2" square) crumbled

- 1 med. onion diced

- 1/2 tsp of garlic powder

- 6 slices of frozen zucchini diced
- 2 med. red beets coarsely grated
- 2 med. carrots coarsely grated

- 1 cup frozen chopped chard stems 

- 1 1/2 cup of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 3 large leaves of green cabbage finely chopped

- 1 1/2 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

I added the beans to boiling water, cooking them until they were tender (about 2 1/2 hours).   Again this time I did not cook the kombu with the beans.  Instead it was mixed with the rest of the ingredients.  After mashing the beans with the water they'd cooked in,  I added this medium/firm paste to the rest of the ingredients, adding the cabbage last, after I'd mixed the other things together and the whole mixture was an even warm temperature (NOT hot)... I then packed it into three 1 liter  and one 500 ml. mason jars  filled to the shoulder.  I left them in my now not so warm cupboard over my stove for a little more than a day, but as they didn't seem to be doing much, I covered them and placed them in front of one of my rads where it's nice and warm... It only took 24 hours before they were fermenting so well they were exploding out of the jars.  What a difference a little warmth can make!  I've now moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Pea & Bean with Cauliflower & Greens Lacto-Ferment Made Oct 14/20

- 3/4 cup dried Speckled peas
- 3/4 cup dried Pinto beans

- 1/2 cup dried Adzuki beans
- 1/2 cup dried Oregon Giant peas

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

- 1 med. onion chopped

- 1/4  rounded tsp of garlic powder (I didn't have fresh garlic so I tried this...)

- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt

-  a small bunch of celery & a small bunch of parsley leaves (both from my garden) chopped

- 1 medium sized horseradish leaf chopped finely

- 4 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely
- 1 sweet potato (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated

- 1 small head of cauliflower chopped

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

I  cooked the peas and beans for about 4 hours, until there was only a little water left and they were tender.   These took an extra ordinarily long time to cook... I don't know if the addition of the kombu helps to shorten the cooking time, or if beans & peas don't cook well together... I'll experiment and see...  When they were finally soft, I mashed both together to make a fairly firm paste.   As I understand much of kombu's nutritional value is lost with cooking, I did not cook it with the peas and beans this time.  Instead it was mixed with the rest of the ingredients and except for the cabbage these were all added to the pea/bean mix when it had cooled somewhat .  I added the cabbage on its own, last when the mixture was just warm (NOT hot).  After mixing it well, I packed it into three one liter and  one 500 ml. mason jars filled to the shoulder .  I left them in my warm cupboard over my stove for 2 1/2 days when I could clearly see they were fermenting well and moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...  

Beans & Beet Lacto-Ferment Made May 9/20

- 1 1/3 cups dried black turtle beans cooked

- 1 cup dried adzuki beans cooked

- 3 med./small pieces of kombu seaweed crumbled

- 1 med. onion diced

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 3 med. celery stalks chopped
- 2 med. red beets coarsely grated
- 1 small rutabaga coarsely grated
- 5 small leaves of green cabbage finely chopped 

- 3 cups (approx.) of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 1 3/4 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

I added the beans to boiling water with the kombu and then cooked them until they were tender (3 hours).   After mashing them, I added them to the rest of the ingredients, adding the cabbage last, after I'd mixed the other things together and the whole mixture was an even warm temperature (NOT hot)... I then packed it into three 1 liter & one 500 ml.  mason jars  filled to about 1 inch from the rim.  I left them in my "warmish" cupboard over my stove for 4 days.  At this time I could see they were fermenting well so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Beans & Beet Lacto-Ferment Made Jan 16/20

- 1 1/3 cups dried black turtle beans cooked

- 1 cup dried adzuki beans cooked

- 3 med./small pieces of kombu seaweed crumbled

- 1 med. onion diced

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 7 large slices of frozen cucumber diced
- 2 med. red beets coarsely grated
- 1 med. carrot coarsely grated
- 1 small rutabaga coarsely grated

- 4 small leaves of green cabbage finely chopped 
- 1 cup of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 1 1/2 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

I added the beans to boiling water with the kombu and then cooked them until there was only a little water left and they were tender (about 2 hours).   After mashing them, I added them to the rest of the ingredients, adding the cabbage last, after I'd mixed the other things together and the whole mixture was an even warm temperature (NOT hot)... I then packed it into two 1 liter & one 750 ml.  mason jars  filled to a little more than 1 inch from the rim.  I left them covered in front of a rad for a day and then moved them to my "warmish" cupboard over my stove for one more day before moving them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Bean Lacto-Ferment Made Oct 17/19

- 2 1/2 cups dried pinto beans

- 2 small pieces of kombu seaweed broken up

- 1 med. onion diced

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- almost 2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

- 4 small leaves of green cabbage chopped finely
- 5 med. red beets coarsely grated
- 4 stalks of celery chopped

- 7 med. wild apples cored and diced - about 2 cups

I  cooked the beans with the kombu for about 3 hours, until they were tender, when I mashed them with the water remaining into a thick paste.  I then added  this bean paste to the rest of the ingredients, adding the cabbage last when the mixture was just warm (NOT hot).  After mixing it well, I packed it into 3 liter and one 500 ml mason jars filled to the shoulder.  These fermented very well, so I only left them in my "warm" cupboard for 2 days, before I put them in the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

Beans & Beet Lacto-Ferment Done July 16/19

- a generous 1 1/3 cups dried black turtle beans cooked

- 1 cup adzuki beans cooked

- 3 small pieces of kombu seaweed crumbled

- 1 med. onion diced

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 7 large slices of frozen cucumber diced
- 2 med. red beets coarsely grated
- 1 small celery root (celeriac) coarsely grated

- 5 1/2 small leaves of green cabbage finely chopped 
- 1 cup of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 1 1/2 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

I added the beans to boiling water with the kombu and then cooked them until there was only a little water left and they were tender (about 2 hours).   After mashing them, I added them to the rest of the ingredients, adding the cabbage last, after I'd mixed the other things together and the whole mixture was an even warm temperature (NOT hot)... I then packed it into three 1 liter mason jars  filled to the shoulder.  I only left them in the warmish cupboard over my stove for one day.  The weather is VERY warm, so they fermented VERY quickly.  They are now in the fridge stabilizing; available for eating...