This post is a continuation of Pear Scrap Vinegar in Progress. After sitting near the window for a couple weeks, my jars of pear scraps was making good progress toward vinegar. The liquid was bubbling and a layer of yeast and starches produced by vinegar bacteria was forming on the surface. It was time for the next step in the vinegar-making … Read more
I’ve been meaning to blog about my fall cleaning and canning activities, I’ve been so busy that I get overwhelmed thinking about where to start. Hence, I haven’t blogged in ages. So I’m starting simply, with a picture I took yesterday when the sun came out for the first time in ages. I’ve had five of these half gallon jars … Read more
I went cherry picking today with my friend Dekalb — not at an orchard, but at a parking lot that’s been home to these trees for the past few decades. The trees actually predate the parking lot, or so we have been told by the parking lot owners, who are happy to have us pick the cherries without remuneration since it … Read more
People seem to fall into two categories: they either love beets, or they hate them. Ever since I was a kid, I have fallen squarely into the “love them” category. I didn’t think it was possible to improve on them. But then I discovered lacto-fermented beets and found that it was. Beets are back in season here, so it’s time … Read more
I haven’t done a Fermentation Friday in a while, so I thought I’d share with you one of my favorite ways to eat sauerkraut: in a grilled Swiss cheese on sourdough bread. I guess you could say it’s kind of like a Reuben, but without the meat, sauce, or heartburn. Rye sourdough is optional; you can also choose whole wheat … Read more
This post is a continuation from Part 1, where I outlined the first few hours of the sauerkraut-making process. Here, I talk about the first week of fermentation. Within 24 hours of chopping and salting the cabbage, it had already expressed enough liquid to nearly cover itself: You can see in the photo above that some of the cabbage pieces … Read more
I never ate cabbage growing up. Maybe it’s because cabbage in a consummate winter vegetable, and we lived in places where the growing seasons were long and winter was more of a blip than a season. My first real introduction to cabbage happened in my first few hours as an exchange student in Germany. I had barely slept in the … Read more
One of the best hair tips I ever got was to rinse with diluted vinegar after shampooing. It sounds weird, but it works wonders. It removes shampoo residues, makes hair softer and shinier, and even works as a detangler. In my shower, I keep a pretty blue bottle filled with homemade cider or wine vinegar (I wrote about making cider … Read more
In many parts of the U.S., it’s still possible to get fresh apple cider at your local farmer’s market – but it won’t last long. There are two traditional ways to make cider last longer: making hard cider and making vinegar. Making these things can be as simple or as complicated as you want. Here is my simplest apple cider vinegar method, … Read more
Right around the winter solstice is when I open my first bottle from the year’s batch of dandelion wine. A white wine that is bright and floral, dandelion wine is good chilled or heated on the stove with a cinnamon stick. It’s like drinking spring sunshine. Have no dandelion wine to enjoy this winter? Save this recipe and make some in the … Read more