Radish, celeriac, fennel, carrot & beet Lacto-Ferment - Made Feb. 24/24

 

- approx. 1 1/2 cups of chopped frozen rhubarb

- 3 good sized daikon radishes coarsely grated

- 2 carrots coarsely grated

- 3 med/small chiogga beets coarsely grated

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of chopped frozen fennel from my garden

- 1 small green cabbage finely chopped (what's left of one I've been using for awhile)

- 3 smallish onions diced
- 1 garlic clove minced

- 1 large celery root (celeriac) coarsely grated

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen chopped arugula (leafy greens) (approx. 1 1/2 cups)

- 3 Tbsp  of Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together... filling 4 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder. I left them beside my hot water heater for 2 days when I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

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...

 

Parsnip, Beet & Zucchini Lacto-Ferment - Made Dec 23/23

 

- approx. 2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb

- approx. 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped tree spinach from my garden 

- 4 very large parsnips coarsely grated

- 2 large red beets coarsely grated

- 1 large onion finely diced

- 1 clove of garlic minced

- a large zip-lock bag of frozen zucchini slices chopped
- a small green cabbage (about 5" in diameter) chopped finely

- 2  Tbsp .+ 2 tsp.  Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together, then packed it into 4 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  I  left them beside my hot water heater for 3 days. I could see they were fermenting well, so I moved them to the fridge to stabilize and be eaten...

Red Cabbage, Celery, Zucchini & Carrot Lacto-ferment - Made Nov. 8/23

- 1 small head of red cabbage (about 5" in diameter) chopped finely

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen Italian style zucchini chopped

- 15 sorrel leaves & stems from my garden chopped

- approx. 1 cup of frozen chard leaves chopped

- 1 1/2  bunches of celery with leaves chopped

- 1 med./large onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

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

- 3 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

I mixed everything together in my largest glass bowl.  After stirring it well, I transferred it to 4 liter  & one 750 ml. mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.   I left them by my hot water heater 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...

Yam, Cauliflower & Red Cabbage Lacto-Ferment - Made Oct 27/23

- 4 leaves of red cabbage chopped finely

- 1 leaf of green cabbage chopped finely

- 1 1/2 cups of frozen zucchini chopped

- 2 med. onions chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups of frozen chopped rhubarb

- 3 large sweet potatoes (my parents called them yams), shredded

- 6" diameter head of cauliflower chopped finely

- 18 sorrel leaves with stems from my garden chopped

- stems & leaves from about 20 kohlrabi chopped 

- 3 3/4 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

Using both of my large glass bowls, I was able to mix everything together.  After stirring it well, I let it sit for a few minutes to warm, before transferring it to 5 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  I left them in a warm corner by my hot water heater for only 2 days before 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...

 

Onion & Leek Lacto-Ferment - Made Oct 2/23

 

- 35 med./small onions diced

-  4 large leeks -  green & white parts chopped 

-  1 1/2 cups of chopped frozen rhubarb

-  1 /12 cups chopped frozen chard stems

-  a bunch of red meat radish leaves chopped finely

-  8 leaves of red cabbage 

-  5 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt

I've made an onion/leek mix each fall for a few years.  I use it in the spring, when onions are expensive and don't keep well and like it VERY much... so I'm doing it again this year... However, we've had a VERY wet summer and as I'm peeling the onions, I discover many are already going bad.  This year the fall ones are already how I would expect them to be in the spring.  I therefore, don't think they will keep very well at all... so I've done an extra big batch of fermented ones... 

I mixed it all together and then packed it into 8 liter mason jars firmly packed to the shoulder...  After only 2 days in my warmish cupboard I could see they were fermenting well ,so I moved them to the fridge  to stabilize and be eaten...