Yam, Beet, Radish & Cucumber Lacto-Ferment - Made Apr 18/19

- 12 slices of frozen cucumber chopped
- 6 slices of a large frozen zucchini chopped

- 1 med/large onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 5 small chiogga beets coarsely grated
- 5 med. black radish coarsely grated
- 4 leaves of Green Cabbage finely chopped

- 3  med./large sweet potatoes (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Himalayan pink sea salt

I mixed everything together in my large glass bowl, mashed it down best I could, then transferred it to 3 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  I left them in a cupboard for only 2 days as they fermented VERY well, before moving them into the fridge to stabilize...  

Beans & Lentils Lacto-Ferment Done Mar 27/19

- 1 1/2 cup dried adzuki beans cooked

- 1/4 cup french lentils cooked

- 1/4 cup black lentils cooked
- 3 small pieces of kombu seaweed crumbled

- 1 med. onion diced

- 1 clove of garlic minced

- 6 large slices of frozen cucumber diced

- 1 1/2 cups (approximately) of frozen ccrn
- 3 leaves of green cabbage finely chopped 
- 1/2 cup of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
- 1  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 1 1/2 hours.  I cooked the lentils separately in a small amount of water for 20 mins.  I mashed both together, then added the rest of the ingredients, mixed it all together and packed it into two 1 liter and one 750 ml. mason jars  filled to about 1 1/2" from the rim.  I left them in the cupboard over my stove for only 2 days before putting them in the fridge...  However, I got nervous after a day, when they didn't seem to be doing much.  I thought maybe I'd added the lentils to the other ingredients when they were too hot and killed the bacteria on the cabbage... so after a day I also added 1 tsp of the liquid from my red cabbage/zucchini mix to each jar.  I think this probably wasn't necessary, but if I make a mixture which includes hot things and cabbage in the future I'll add the cabbage last after I've mixed the hot and cold things together and the whole mixture is an even temperature...

Peas, Zucchini, Carrot & Rutabaga Lacto-Ferment - Done Feb 1/19

- 3/4 cup dried green peas

- 3/4 cup dried speckled peas
- 3 small pieces of kombu seaweed crumbled

- 3 Tbsp of green split peas

- 3 Tbsp of yellow split peas

- 1 med.  onion diced

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 1 med. carrot coarsely grated
- 1 med. rutabaga coarsely grated

- 7 slices of frozen zucchini diced

- 1 1/2 cups (approximately) of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 1  1/2 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

- 3 Tbsp. of my cabbage, celery root (celeriac), corn & rhubarb mix as a starter

I cooked the dried peas with the kombu for 3 1/2 hours, adding the split peas for the last 1 hour of cooking time.  I've added the kombu as it's supposed to reduce the cooking time of peas and beans and also make them more digestible....  We'll see.... I mashed them together after they'd been cooked and there was only a little water left and they were tender.  I mixed the rest of the ingredients together except the starter and added the still warm pea mixture.  I added the starter once the mixture reached room temperature. I packed it into 3 liter mason jars, 2,filled to the shoulder and 1 a little lower. This batch too only needed to spend 1 day in the cupboard, even though it isn't so warm there these days, as they fermented VERY rapidly....  I've  now moved them to the fridge to stabilize and for me to eat.  My sense is that pea mixtures like this don't have such a long shelf life, so I begin eating them almost immediately.  

Peas & Corn Lacto-Ferment - Done Dec 28/18

- 3/4 cup dried green peas

- 3/4 cup dried dwarf grey sugar peas

- 1 Tbsp  of green lentils

- 2 Tbsp of green split peas

- 3 Tbsp of yellow split peas

- 1 med.  onion diced

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 1 3/4 cups of frozen corn

- 7 slices of frozen cucumber diced

- 12 frozen large yellow cherry tomatoes chopped

- 1 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

- 3 Tbsp. of my cabbage, celery root (celeriac), corn & rhubarb mix as a starter

I cooked the dried peas for 4 hours, adding the lentils and split peas for the last 1 hour of cooking time.  I mashed them together after they'd been cooked and there was only a little water left and they were tender.  I mixed the rest of the ingredients together except the starter and added the still warm pea mixture.  I added the starter once the mixture reached room temperature. I packed it into 2 liter & one 500 ml mason jars,filled to the shoulder.   They only needed to spend 1 day in the cupboard, even though it isn't so warm there these days, as they fermented VERY rapidly....  I've moved them to the fridge to stabilize and for me to eat.  My sense is that pea mixtures like this don't have such a long shelf life, so I begin eating them almost immediately.  I liked my taste of this mix already, so I'm looking forward to incorporating these 3 jars into my menus over the next month or two...

Cabbage, Pineapple, Fennel & Rutabaga Lacto-Ferment - Made Dec 1/18

- 1 med, head of cabbage (about 6" in diameter) chopped finely

- 3 med./small rutabaga coarsely grated
- 1 bunch of fennel chopped 
- 2/3 of a med/small pineapple finely chopped

- 1 medium onion chopped

- 2 garlic cloves minced

- 2 1/2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

I mixed everything except the cabbage together. When I saw how much it made I knew my large glass bowl wasn't going to be large enough, so I transferred 1/2 of the mix to my 2nd large glass bowl and added 1/2 of the cabbage to each one.  After mixing both bowls as thoroughly as possible, I let it sit for a few minutes, before transferring it to  4 liter  and one 750 ml.mason jars, which I packed firmly to about 1 1/2" from the rim of the jars.  I'm experimenting with the pink salt.  As it is quite different, I may have used a little much this time, I'm not sure...  I'll know when I start eating this in a month or two... I've  left them in my warmish cupboard above the stove for 3 days, then transferred them to the fridge when I could see they were fermenting well...

An Update:  I started eating this at the end of December 2018, and like it.  It's also just FINE for saltiness...

Cabbage, Rutabaga, Rhubarb & Carrot Lacto-Ferment - Made Oct 18/18

- 1 head of green savoy cabbage (about 6" in diameter - 2 1/2 lbs.) chopped finely

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

- 1 med. onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 1 1/4" slice of pineapple diced
- 1 large rutabaga coarsely grated
- 3 med. carrots coarsely grated

- 2 Tbsp.  Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together in my two largest glass bowls.  After stirring it well, I let it sit for awhile to warm, before transferring it to 4 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder, which I left in the warm cupboard over my stove...  I left them there for 3 days.  When it was clear they were fermenting well, I moved them to the fridge... 

Cabbage, Cucumber & Rutabaga Lacto-Ferment - Made Sept 6/18

- 1 small head of green cabbage (about 6" in diameter - 2 3/4 lbs.) chopped finely

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

- 1 med. onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 4 med./small wild apples diced
- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen rutabaga finely chopped

- 2 Tbsp.  Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together in my two largest glass bowls.  After stirring it well, I let it sit for awhile to warm, before transferring it to 4 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder, which I left in the warm cupboard over my stove...  After 2 1/2 days, I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge...