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...  

Carrot, Rhubarb & Celery root (celeriac) Lacto-Ferment - Made Apr. 12/22

 

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

- 1 leek (both white & green parts) chopped

- 1 large clove of garlic minced

- approx. 1 1/2 cups of frozen "wild" apples chopped

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

- 1 med/large celery root (celeriac) grated

- 4 leaves of green cabbage finely chopped

- approx. 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped celery leaves from my garden

- 2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together; except the cabbage, in my large glass bowl,  I mashed it down best I could, then I let it sit for awhile to warm, before adding the cabbage. After mixing the cabbage in well, I transferred it to 3 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  They only spent 2 1/2 days in front of a rad covered by a cardboard box.  At this point I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten.

Chard Stem, Rhubarb & Celery root (celeriac) Lacto-Ferment - made Apr. 4/22

 

- approx 2 cups of chopped  frozen rhubarb

- approx 2 cups of frozen wild Apples chopped
- 2  large zip-lock bags of frozen chopped chard stems

- 5 leaves of green cabbage  finely chopped

- 1 med/large celery root (celeriac) coarsely grated

- 1 med/large onion chopped

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

- 2 cloves of Garlic minced

- 2 Tbsp pink Himalayan salt

I began mixing everything together, however, when so much of this mix was frozen, for ease of mixing I separated it, using both of my 2 large glass bowls -  1/2 of the mix in each bowl... except for the cabbage.  I let the mix sit for a few hours to warm before adding the cabbage.  It was still COLD when I added the cabbage but clearly NOT frozen, so I transferred it to 4 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  When the mix starts SO cold it may take a little longer to ferment...   After 4 days covered by a cardboard box in front of a rad, I could see they were fermenting well, so I transferred them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten.

Yam, Rutabaga, Fennel Lacto-Ferment - Made Mar 4 /22

- approx. 2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 8 med/small "wild" apples chopped (approx 2 cups)
- 8 slices of frozen  Zucchini chopped

- 3 small rutabaga coarsely grated

- 1/2 cup frozen chopped fennel leaves

- 1 cup chopped frozen chard leaves
- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of chopped frozen fennel bulbs
- 3 med. sweet potato (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated
- 1 medium/large onion chopped

- 2  garlic cloves minced

- 4 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 2  Tbsp + 2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt
- 2 Tbsp. fennel seeds  crushed

I mixed everything together, slowly because so many of the ingredients were frozen... I mixed the frozen things with the salt together first.  Then let this warm before adding the rest except the cabbage, which was added last when the mix had clearly thawed.  After mixing everything together well, I transferred the entire mix to  4 liter  mason jars, packed firmly to the shoulder. I left them covered by a cardboard box in front of one of my rads (my "warm cupboard" over my stove isn't so warm these days)  for 4 days when I could see they were fermenting well.  I moved them then to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

Pea & Oats Lacto-ferment - Made Mar 3/22

 

- 2 cups dried Split Green Peas - well they were supposed to be green, but arrived with a lot of  yellow mixed in... so they've obviously been exposed to a lot of light...  I thought they might be old, so I'd try using them this way... rather than using them for soup as I'd planned...
- 1 1/2 cups Hulless Oat Groats

- 1/2 cup rolled oats

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

- 1 med. onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 4 small pieces of frozen squash - skin grated finely and flesh diced finely

- about 1 1/2 cups of chopped frozen chard stems from my garden

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

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

- 1 1/2 cups of chopped frozen rhubarb

- 3 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 2  1/2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I  cooked the peas and oats for about 1 1/4 hours, adding the rolled oats for the last 20 minutes of cooking.    When they were  soft, I mixed both together making a fairly firm paste.   The kombu was mixed with the rest of the ingredients and except for the cabbage these were all added to the pea/oat 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 three one liter and  one 500 ml. mason jars filled to the shoulder .  I left them covered by a cardboard box in front of a rad as my "warm" cupboard over my stove isn't so warm these days, 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...  

Squash, Zucchini, Rutabaga & Apple Lacto-ferment - Made Jan 6/22

 

- 5 smallish leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen zucchini chopped
- 1 1/2 cups (approximately) of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 2 smallish cooking onions chopped

- 1 large clove of garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups (approximately) of frozen chopped tree spinach

- 2 cups of chopped apples
- 2 med./small rutabaga coarsely grated
- 4 meal sized pieces of frozen winter squash flesh chopped and skin grated finely
- 2 Tbsp.  Himalayan pink salt plus 1/8 tsp. sprinkled on the top of each jar

I mixed everything together except the cabbage and then let it sit for a couple of hours to warm up... . When it had warmed a little, I added the cabbage & stirred everything well.  Then I transferred the mixture to 3 liter & one 750 ml. mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  After filling the jars I sprinkled the extra 1/8 tsp of salt on top of each jar.  I think they may ferment slowly as they start their fermenting process already quite cold from all the frozen ingredients and this is a precaution to keep mold from forming...  I left them covered by a cardboard box in front of one of my rads (my "warm" cupboard over my stove is no longer SO warm) for only 2 1/2 days.  At this point I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

Red Cabbage, Rhubarb & Cucumber Lacto-ferment - Made Nov 6/21

 

- most of a head of red cabbage (about 6" in diameter) chopped finely

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

- 20 med/small apples cored and chopped (about 5 cups)

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped tree spinach leaves

- 1 med./large onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- approx. 2 cups of chopped frozen rhubarb

 2 1/2 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt plus 1/8 tsp. sprinkled on the top of each jar

I mixed everything together except the cabbage and then  for ease of further mixing I transferred 1/2 of the mixture to my second large glass bowl and then added the cabbage in equal proportions to both bowls... After stirring everything well, I put the contents of both bowls into one and then transferred the mixture to 4 liter  mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  After filling the jars I sprinkled the extra 1/8 tsp of salt on top of each jar.  I think they may ferment slowly as they start their fermenting process already quite cold from all the frozen ingredients and this is a precaution to keep mold from forming...  However, they only spent 4 days covered in front of one of my rads (my "warm" cupboard over my stove is no longer SO warm) so my precaution was probably unnecessary...  At this point it was clear they were fermenting well so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

Note: I pick the apples from a local tree that I don't think has ever been sprayed.  They are a little on the sour side so most people don't like them.  Consequently I think I'm the only one who gathers apples from this tree and I've been taking them for almost 10 years now... They are usually VERY good; tart and crisp with just a few bruises here and there and I'm usually able to keep them in my COLD bedroom until April or May of the following year.  However, this year worms have invaded.  There's A LOT of waste and as many of them are already starting to get soft, I'm not at all sure I'm going to be able to keep them like I have in the past. I've cored and quartered about 6 large bags full and put them in my freezer.  These won't be crisp, but they're still fine for cooking or fermenting and I'm using the rest in all my meals and ferments as quickly as I can...salvaging the edible parts starting with the worst looking apples so they don't lie around for long...  as a result they're in this ferment too... and the quantity is just what I would normally get from about  20 med./small apples...

However, this has taught me something about worms and apples... Until now I felt like worms weren't so serious.  I'd always been able to cut out wormy parts while still leaving a fair amount of good eating apple behind...  This has NOT been my experience this year.  Also, even though the tree I collect from isn't sprayed the damage has been slight. There were only a few wormy apples and I could deal with a few.  I also didn't realize the impart worms can have on an apple's storage keeping ability. It's clear I need to address this issue with my own small apple trees.  They're still too young to produce fruit, but I need to start thinking about how I can mitigate the potential damage... I know I do NOT want to spray!!! So I'll need to investigate alternatives...