LF Nettle Kraut

nettle kraut WIP via Gaia’s Gifts

shredded cabbage + chopped stinging nettle (gloves!) + salt + LF vessel = delicious

who knew?

and we’ve now got a fresh crop of stinging nettles off the plants I’d harvested in spring (again, who knew?), along with cabbages sitting awaiting harvest in the garden… another batch to make!

Related articles

• How the Herbal Nettles Can Help You Cure Intestinal Weakness, Diarrhea, and Malnutrition (completeherbalguide.com)
• Wild Green Recipes: Stinging Nettle Pizza (sierraclub.typepad.com)
• Nettle Eating (misterdavid.typepad.com)
• Meet the wild veg forager: ‘I’m a hunter, except I track down plants not animals’ | Meet the producer (theguardian.com)

LF Preserve WIP

cooking down fruit

going to be preserves that I’ll lacto-ferment. contains purple tomatillos, jaltomatos, Italian prune plums, wild evergreen huckleberries, all of which are from our property, and a couple of clementines (which, of course, are not).  added some ground cardamom and freshly grated nutmeg & ginger.  once thickened, will add honey, reduce a bit more, then cool.  will follow GNOWFLGINS fermentation eCourse (here’s basically the recipe I’ll be following)

Related articles

• Ferment Fervor (gingersbeet.wordpress.com)
• I’ll Take Sensible (benhewitt.net)
• Eat Better ‘Food Bytes’ GOOD &Good For YOU Fermented Veggies (healthunlimitedbiz.wordpress.com)

LF Zucchini

LF scallopini zucchini jars

LF scallopini zucchini jars

a couple of heads of dill seed, a head of garlic split between, plus a couple of grape leaves each.

ready, set, ferment!

Related articles

• zucchini quinoa fritters. (thecheesykitchen.com)
• Zucchini Tots (candyandhercupcakes.wordpress.com)
• Zucchini Basil Pesto (mjandhungryman.com)

LF Hot Peppers

little hot peppers floating under grape leaves

so pretty. thanks to our new plastic greenhouse, we already have ripe peppers! location, location, location, folks.

Guajillo & Black Hungarian featured here.

Related articles

• Dried Chili Primer (lenierchenal.wordpress.com)
• Some Like It HOT!!! (werkyourkitchen.wordpress.com)

LF Myths

‘matoes & cukes

aint’ that a pretty sight?

mythbusting LF style – thanks to Cultures for Health

Related articles

• Too Hot To Preserve? Think About Fermentation (wellpreserved.ca)
• Ferments….a way of life (sea8bird.wordpress.com)
• Why I Like Sour (thesourpathisthesweetest.com)

Better Airlock

airlock grommets – original design

drilled airlock bungs

the original design used a small airlock grommet to seal the hole cut into the Fido jar lid.  we’ve got a great big hole now, and it fits a standard (No 7) airlock bung perfectly.  it’s a skookum, positive closure, and doesn’t easily wear out.  woot!

Why Airlock?

LF vessel DIY

besides avoiding dissapointing mouldy failures, there are other considerations – here is the original post that set me on the path to airlock-only LF fermentation.  here’s how to build your own.

LF Garlic Scapes

chopped garlic scapes

food processor + several hundred garlic scapes + sea salt + fermentation vessel = fermenty goodness

add to anything you’d add diced garlic to, you’ll be amazed.

LF Ketchup

tomato harvest

tomato paste WIP

finished ketchup

thanks to the crew at GNOWFGLINS I will never go back to store bought ketchup again. totally delicious, awesome with ducks fat roasted potatoes. and I encourage K to eat this ketchup (unlike the other stuff)!  apparently lasts a few months in the fridge… not sure it’ll last us that long though.

LF Pantry

welcome to my LF brewing lab.  sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, and a root medley consisting of purple kohlrabi, radishes, carrots & daikon. should be ready in a few days for the potatoes. got diced sweet bell peppers on the go plus whole cherry tomatoes with some fresh basil, and another crop of asparagus. 

fermenty goodness all around!

now just waiting for our garden to be producing enough to use.