Radish & Beet Lacto-Ferment

- 3 red meat radishes coarsely grated

- 1 red beet coarsely grated 

- 1 small non-organic onion finely diced

- 1/2 non-organic lemon -- juice & pulp

- 3 slices frozen cucumber chopped

- 1 clove of garlic finely minced

- 1 Tbsp unrefined sea salt

- 1-2 Tbsp. of my #1 cucumber mix as a starter

On the 8th day I added:

- 3 Tbsp of my #2 cucumber mix

On the 9th day I added:

- 4 med. wild apples chopped

- 1 small red beet coursely grated

- 1 red meat radish coursely grated

- 2 slices non-organic onion finely diced

- 1 tsp unrefined sea salt

I mixed everything together, then packed it into 1 liter mason jar and 1 500 ml. jar.  Both packed to just below the shoulder. I left them for 8 days in the cupboard.  However it was clear this wasn't fermenting at all, so I added 1 Tbsp. of my cucumber mix to the small jar and 2 Tbsp. to the large jar, packed them down and left them  in the cupboard for 1 more day.  The next day (the 9th day) I added the other things which filled 2 liter mason jars to the shoulder.  I then left them in the warm cupboard for a week before moving them to the fridge... They were fine - they just fermented VERY slowly...

Cucumber with Apple Lacto-Ferment

- 1 med. non-organic onion chopped

- 4 med. wild apples chopped

- 1 clove of garlic minced

- 8 plus cups of frozen cucumbers diced -- almost all of the contents of 1 of  my large zip-lock bags

- 1 1/2 Tbsp unrefined sea salt

- 1 Tbsp of my cucumber mix as a starter

- 1/2 of a non-organic lemon -- juice and pulp

I mixed everything together except the starter and let it sit out until it was still cold, but thawed, then added the starter.  This made enough for 2 liter mason jars, filled to the shoulder.  I left them in the cupboard for 4 days after they came up to room temperature, which took about a day, so they spent a total of 5 days in the cupboard...  After this I put them in the fridge...  

Lentils Lacto-Ferment...

- 1 3/4 cup large green lentils ( I think 1 1/2 cups would have been the right amount for 1 liter jar)

- 1 slice of red beet quartered

- 2 1/2 slices of a med. non-organic onion diced

- 1 clove of garlic minced

- 3 Tbsp desiccated coconut ground

- 2 tsp. unrefined sea salt

- 2 Tbsp. of my #1 cucumber mix as a starter

- 1 non-organic lemon -- juice & pulp

- 1/2 cup water in addition to what was left in the pot after cooking the lentils.

I cooked the lentils together with the slice of beet with just enough water to cover until there was only a little water left and the lentils were tender.   This was about 20 mins.  After this I left it covered on the stove to cool and soak up the small amount of liquid remaining.  I then removed the beet, mashed the lentils, then added the rest of the ingredients; mixed it all together and packed it into jars.  It filled a 1 liter and a 500 ml. jar to about 1 3/4" from the rim.  I left them in the cupboard for 3 days and then refrigerated...  These fermented more slowly than the other bean mixtures...

Cabbage Lacto-Ferment...

- 1 head of green & red savoy cabbage (about 7" in diameter) chopped

plus a small amount of the  cabbage left from before... (This kind of savoy cabbage is similar in texture to the regular cabbage and NOT like the regular savoy cabbage, which is softer and more tender ...

- 1 large parsnip finely grated

- 1 med/large non-organic onion chopped

- 7 medium wild apples cored & chopped

- 2 Tbsp unrefined sea salt

I mixed everything together; completely filling my 2 large glass bowls.  I mashed it down best I could then I let it sit for a few minutes, before transferring it to 3 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  I left them in the cupboard for 3 1/4 days, then put them in the fridge...

Parsnip/Carrot/Apple Lacto-Ferment

- 2 med. carrots finely grated -- I used one orange & one yellow

- 1 1/2 large parsnips finely grated

- 3 med. wild apples cored & chopped

- 1/2 non-organic onion finely chopped

- 1 non-organic lemon -- juice & pulp

- 2 rounded tsp. unrefined sea salt

I mixed this together then packed it into my recently vacated & unwashed jar of cucumber ferment.  There was maybe 1/2 to 1 Tbsp. of the old mixture left in the jar, so I've used that as a starter...  This packed the 1 liter jar to just above the shoulder.  I left it in the warm cupboard for 3 1/4 days, then put it in the fridge...

Apples & Coconut Lacto-Ferment

wild apples diced - this was one of my first attempts so I didn't record how many, but I know I used a lot...

1/2 cup desicated coconut

1 non-organic lemon juice & pulp

1 slice non-organic pineapple diced

1 Tbsp unrefined sea salt 

1Tbsp kefir water

I stirred everything together, except the kefir water, packed it to the shoulder of a 1 liter mason jar then added the kefir water, then left it in the cupboard...

Again I decided this was too salty  So after 2 days in the cupboard, when I could see it was fermenting very well I added:

more wild apples diced

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1  non-organic lemon juice & pulp

1 slice non-organic pineapple diced

Repacked everything into 2 one liter mason jars, filled to the shoulder, added 2 Tbsp of water to the top of each jar (which wasn't needed as most of it leaked out), left them in the cupboard to ferment for another day.  I then packed them down into the liquid and put them in the fridge ... 

Decided it needed something more, so after eating some of it, I peeled and diced 2 non-organic kiwi for each jar, re-mixed everything together, re-vacuum packed the jars and put them back in the fridge...  Later I did another similar batch as follows:

apples with coconut #2

- 20 small - med. wild apples diced

- 6 Tbsp desiccated coconut

- 1 non-organic lemon juice & pulp

- a little more than 1/2 a small non-organic honey dew melon blended

- 1 Tbsp unrefined sea salt 

- 2 heaping Tbsp of my previous mix as a starter 

- 3 slices non-organic pineapple diced

This filled 2 liter mason jars to the shoulder.  I left them in the cupboard for 3 1/2 days.  After this I put them in the fridge...

Squash/Apple/Prune/Cranberry Lacto-Ferment

- 1/2 Small Red Kiri Squash unpeeled, seeded and chopped

- An equal quantity of Wild Apples chopped

- 1/2 package of Cranberries (frozen) chopped

- 9 Dried Prunes chopped

- 1/2 med non-organic onion chopped

- 4 leaves cabbage chopped

- 1 clove of garlic minced

- 1 Tbsp unrefined sea-salt

- 2 Tbsp of my apple/coconut mixture as a starter

After mixing everything together, I mashed it down then I let it sit for a few minutes, before transferring it to 2 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  This mixture ended up being fairly dry, but I was reluctant to add liquid as they always seem to generate plenty once they get going.  So I'll let them sit for a few hours in the cupboard to see how they are, then assess...  They developed enough moisture, so I just left them be in the cupboard -- a warm one for a day and then a cooler cupboard for 3 days.  I then transferred them to the fridge,  After a few hours I decided I wanted to taste it to see if the squash worked at all and whether the skin left on was OK.  It needed something, so I decided to add approx. a Tbsp. of the liquid from my Cucumber mix and about the same amount of water to each jar.  I stirred this in best I could, then put them back in the fridge...

In addition to wishing I'd grated the squash I felt this was still missing something, so after eating about 1/3 of the mixture in one of the jars, I added the following to this jar only, which became:

Squash #1A:

- 5 med. wild apples chopped

- frozen cucumber -- (about 1& 1/2 large cucumbers)  chopped

- 1 med. to large non-organic onion chopped

- 1 tsp unrefined sea salt

- 1/2 of one jar of my original squash mix

This filled 2 liter jars to the shoulder.  I left them in the warm cupboard for 1 day plus about 6 hours, until they'd broken the seal and I could see they were fermenting well, I then put them both into the fridge...

Squash #1B: 

- 2 non-organic mangos chopped

- 1 med. wild apple cored

- juice and pulp of one non-organic small lemon blended with the apple

- 1 rounded tsp. unrefined sea salt

- 1 med/large turnip grated

- 1 med/large non-organic red onion finely chopped

- clove of garlic minced

- most of one jar of my original squash mix

I mixed everything together and packed it into 2 liter mason jars and a 500 ml. jar filled to the shoulder.  I left them in the cupboard for 4 days, then put them in the fridge...