Yam, Beet Apple, Cucumber Lacto-Ferment - Made Dec 10/22

 

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of chopped frozen sorrel leaves & stems

- 2 med. sweet potatoes (my parents called them yams), coarsely grated

- approx. 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped frozen sliced yams

- 1/2 a green cabbage (about 6" in diameter) finely chopped

- 1 large onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 med. red beets coarsely grated

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

- approx. 3 cups of "wild" apples cored and chopped

- 2 Tbsp of Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together... It  filled 4 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder.  I left them loosely covered  by a cardboard box in front of a rad for 3 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.

Pepper, Fennel, Carrot & Rutabaga Lacto-Ferment - Made Dec. 3/22

 

- 2 large carrots coarsely grated

- 2 med. rutabaga coarsely grated

- 1 large onion chopped

- approx. 3 cups of cored & chopped frozen "wild" apples

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of chopped frozen orange & yellow sweet peppers 

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of chopped frozen sorrel leaves & stems

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of chopped frozen fennel bulbs & leaves

- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut

- 1/2 of a small green cabbage about 5" in diameter chopped finely

- 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together; then firmly packed it into 5 liter mason jars  filled to the shoulder. I'll leave these either in my cupboard over my stove or covered in front of a rad.., I ended up leaving them in front of a rad as my cupboard was clearly not warm enough especially as the mix was already SO cold from all the frozen ingredients...  After 4 days I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Fennel, Rutabaga & Apple Lacto-Ferment - Made Oct 27/22

 

- 8 med. wild apples chopped - approx 3 cups

- 1/2 a large zip/lock bag of frozen chopped fennel with leaves

- 1 large rutabaga coarsely grated
- 1 med./large carrot coarsely grated
- 40 chopped sorrel leaves with stems from my garden 

- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 Tbsp of whole fennel seeds crushed

- 3 small cloves of garlic minced

- 2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

- 2 large leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

I mixed everything together; then firmly packed it into 4 liter mason jars.  They're filled a little lower than usual, to just below the shoulder.  After 3 days in my "warm cupboard over my stove, I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Pea, Rutabaga & Apple Lacto-Ferment - Made Sept. 28/22

 

- 1 cup dried Green Peas

- 1 cup dried Black Eyed Peas
- 1 cup Hulless Oat Groats

- 1 cup Millet

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

- 1 med. onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 2 med./large rutabagas coarsely grated

- 1 med./large carrot

- 40 sorrel leaves & stems from my garden

- about 2 cups of frozen chopped fennel bulbs & roots from my garden

- approx 4 cups of "wild" apples cored and chopped

- 5 leaves of green cabbage chopped finely

- 3 1/2 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I  cooked the peas for about 2 1/2 hours.  I cooked the oats separately for 1 hour adding the millet for the last 1/2 hour of cooking time.    When all  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/millet 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 .  These fermented quite quickly, only spending 2 days in my "warm" cupboard over my stove.  At this time I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...  

Carrot, Apple & Sorrel Lacto-Ferment - Made Sept 27/22

 

- 5 to 6 cups of cored and chopped "wild" apples

- 5 leaves of green cabbage finely chopped

- 1 med./large onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 40 sorrel leaves and stems from my garden

- 8 med./large carrots coarsely grated
- 4 med./small Horseradish leaves chopped finely

- 2 Tbsp of Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together... It fills 4 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder.  After 4 days in my "warmish" cupboard over my stove, they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten... 

Onion Lacto-ferment - Made Sept. 21/22

 

- 13 Med. onions diced

- 1/2 of  a large zip-lock bag of chopped frozen Egyptian Walking Onions from my garden 

- 8 small/med. "wild" apples cored and chopped

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

- the remainder of a green cabbage I've been using for awhile - about 3" in diameter chopped finely

- 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp. of Himalayan pink salt

I REALLY enjoyed the 2 batches of fermented onions I did last year...  They were 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 with Egyptian Walking Onions instead of Leeks and the addition of a few apples and sorrel...  The Egyptian Walking Onions have a wonderful onion flavor, but tend to be quite fibrous because it isn't practical to try to separate and peel the cloves which are about the size of a typical garlic.  I usually chop them finely with their peel, freeze them and then cook them with my meals and they work well this way... We'll see how they ferment...  The Walking Onions fermented well... but I won't be using them in the future because I didn't have room to plant them in my new garden...

I packed the mix firmly to the shoulder of 4 liter mason jars, then left them in the "warm" cupboard over my stove to begin their fermentation process.  With the dip in temperature that we've had, my warm cupboard wasn't so warm... so they've stayed there for a week.  However, they are now fermenting well, so I've 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...