Peas, Tomato, Celeriac & Rutabaga Lacto-Ferment - Done Jan 10/17

- 1/2 cup dried whole green peas
- 1/2 cup dried whole yellow peas
- 3/4 cup dried speckled peas

- 1 Tbsp  of green lentils

- 1 Tbsp of green split peas

- 1 Tbsp of yellow split peas

- 1 med.  onion diced

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 1 cup of frozen green cherry tomatoes quartered

- 1/2 a small celery root (celeriac) grated
- 1 1/2"piece of rutabaga grated

- about 1/4 of a green cabbage (about 6" in diameter) chopped finely

- 1 Tbsp. sea salt

This pea  mixture is quite different from my others as it contains more vegetables... Also since cabbage is a major ingredient, and the mixture starts off warm, I'm trying it without the addition of a starter...

I cooked the whole peas for almost 3 hours, adding the lentils and split peas for the last 1 1/2 hours also adding 1/2 of the onion for the last 1/2 hour of cooking time.  After they'd been cooked until there was only a little water left and they were tender, I mashed them together.  I mixed the rest of the ingredients together and then added the pea mixture once it had cooled a little. I mixed it all together and packed it into 2 liter & a 500 ml. mason jars  filled to the shoulder; then left them in the cupboard for 4 days, before putting them in the fridge...

Cabbage, Green Tomato & Radish Lacto-Ferment - made Jan 3/17

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

- 5 pieces of frozen atlantic giant pumpkin (squash) chopped (approx. 2   cups) This kind of pumpkin is very meaty, juicy & mild flavored a litttle like zucchini...

- 1 med/large onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- about 3 cups of frozen green cherry tomatoes chopped  in quarters
- 10 med red meat radishes coarsely grated

- 1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt

I mixed everything together; in my 2 glass bowls,  mashing it down best I could, then I let it sit for a few minutes to warm, before transferring it to 4 liter mason jars, firmly packed to a little above the shoulder.  They're filled a little high, so I did have to drain off a little of the liquid as they fermented... I left them in the cupboard for 4 days, then  put them in the fridge to stabilize... Again, I think, due to the cool cupboard and the COLD ingredients this was a little slow to ferment...

Celery root (celeriac), Chard Stems & Rutabaga Lacto-Ferment - made Dec. 24/16

- 3/4 of a large rutabaga coarsely grated

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen chard stems chopped
- 2 leaves of red cabbage chopped finely

- 8 med wild apples - approx. 1 1/2 cups chopped
- 1 large celery root (celeriac) coarsely grated

- 1 med onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 1 Tbsp. sea salt
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. of my Cabbage, Cucumber & Carrot mix as a starter - added later... see below...

I mixed everything together, then packed it into 3 liter mason jars, and left them in the cupboard for 4 days...  Again I tried this with just the small amount of cabbage instead of using a starter... However, after 1 1/2 days they still weren't fermenting well, so I added 1/2 Tbsp. of my Cabbage, Cucumber & Carrot mix as a starter.  It seems the two leaves of cabbage aren't enough at least in winter when I start with a COLD mix and put it in a cool cupboard...  I'll refrigerate them when I take them out of the cupboard... They are filled perfectly just to the shoulder... After the addition of the starter they fermented VERY well!

Celery, Cranberry & Beet Lacto-Ferment - made Fri. Dec. 23/16

- 3 med. gold beets coarsely grated

- 1 large bunch of celery with leaves chopped
- 2 leaves of red cabbage finely chopped

- 4 med frozen wild apples chopped - - approx. 1 cup
- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen cranberries sliced 

- 1 med. onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 2 3/4 Tbsp of my Cabbage, Cucumber & Carrot mix as a starter - added later.... see below...

I mixed everything together, then packed it into a 500 ml & 3 liter mason jars, and left them in the cupboard for 7 days... Again I tried this with just the small amount of cabbage instead of using a starter... However, after 2 1/2 days they still weren't fermenting well, so I added 1/2 Tbsp. of my Cabbage, Cucumber & Carrot mix as a starter.  It seems the two leaves of cabbage aren't enough at least in winter when I start with a COLD mix and put it in a cool cupboard...  I'll refrigerate them when I take them out of the cupboard...  They are a beautiful red color and filled perfectly just to the shoulder.

Beets, because of their high sugar content are supposed to ferment VERY rapidly.  However, I've frequently found them SLOW... This time too, they didn't ferment quickly not even after I added the starter.  In the end they fermented well, but it wasn't a quick process...

Beet, Radish & Cabbage - Lacto-Ferment - Made Dec. 10/16

- 1 large Daikon radish coarsely grated

- 1 very large & 1 med. gold beet coarsely grated

- 1 med/large non-organic onion diced

- 11 wild apples diced  - approx. 3 cups

- 1/2 a large zip-lock bag of frozen green cabbage finely chopped
- 1  1/2 slice from the bottom of a fresh cabbage finely chopped
- 1 leaf of red cabbage finely chopped

- 6 slices cucumber diced

- 1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt
- 2 Tbsp. of my squash, cabbage & celery root mix added later (see below) as a starter

This is a very liquid mix... I mixed everything together, then packed it into 4 liter mason jars, packed to just below the shoulder (one is a little lower). I left them for 2 1/2 days in the cupboard, but they were fermenting VERY slowly, perhaps because my cupboard is now quite cool... so I added 1/2 Tbsp. of my squash, cabbage & celery root mix to each of the 4 jars... and put them back in the cupboard for 2 1/2 more days, before moving them to the fridge.  They fermented quite quickly and well after the addition of the starter...

Cabbage, Cucumber & Rutabaga Lacto-Ferment - Made Dec. 1/16

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

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

- 1 med/large non-organic onion chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic minced

- 6 med wild apples chopped

- 2 small rutabagas grated
- 1/2 a med chiogga beet grated

- 1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt

I mixed everything together filling  my large glass bowl.  I mashed it down best I could then let it sit for a few minutes, before transferring it to 3 liter and one 500 ml.  mason jars;  firmly packed to just below the shoulder.  I left them in the cupboard for 3 days,  then put them in the fridge to stabilize...

Squash Cabbage & Celery Root Lacto-Ferment - done Dec. 1/16

- 6 pieces of frozen atlantic giant pumpkin (squash) chopped (approx. 3 1/2 cups)

- 5 med. wild Apples chopped

- 1 med/large non-organic onion chopped

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

- 6 slices of frozen cucumber chopped

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

- 1 1/2 Tbsp sea-salt

- 2 cloves of Garlic minced

I mixed everything together; completely filling my large glass bowl.  I mashed it down best I could then I let it sit for a few minutes to warm, before transferring it to 3 liter mason jars, firmly packed to the shoulder.  I left them in the cupboard for 4 days.  I then transferred them to the fridge and once fermentation slowed I moved them down to the basement...