Homestead Pretty^TM

Fermenting sauerkraut is one of my favorite food projects. It is a simple process that yields a delicious product. Here is a brief tutorial on making your own ‘kraut:

Ingredients

Fresh green cabbage, about a 4-5 lb head
Sea salt (not common table salt)

Equipment

Large kitchen knife
Cheese grater
A large crock or bowl
A plate or bowl that fits into the opening of the large crock or bowl
A jar filled with water

Process

Setting up a crock of kraut is the process of layer shredded cabbage with salt and compacting the batch tightly in the container. Simply cut down the head of cabbage and shred it with the grater, or thinly slice it with a knife. Make sure all equipment used has been washed well.

With clean hands make a fist and press the cabbage tightly into the crock. Juices will begin to release. In layers add the salt, about 3 tablespoons total, but feel free to use your culinary intuition.

Continue layering cabbage, salt and compacting. When the crock is full, or you have run out of cabbage set up your fermenting systems like this:

Place the smaller plate or bowl on top of the cabbage with the weight secured. This will keep the vegetable matter below the level of the brine. The salt concentration of the brine preserves the cabbage, other wise it will turn rancid if left to the air.

Cover the entire project with a dish towel.

Check on your kraut daily to make sure the brine level is above the cabbage. It will begin to bubble and become fragrant. In a few days taste your kraut. You can harvest your kraut when it has developed the taste you desire. Usually between 6-10 days.

Seriously, the person, persons, corporation and/or company who began bottling water and selling it could not have possibly foreseen the ultimate success of such an endeavor. ‘Cause who would buy something that comes out of the tap for “free”? In retrospect, I have bought my fair share of bottled water. F’n bottled water! I can’t believe it.

So here is my road trip Pro-tip #1

Don’t buy bottled water! It’s expensive and wastes plastic. In the past on road trips I would buy gallon jugs, thinking I was saving smaller plastic bottles AND saving money. But that is in the past. I’ve moved on.

Now, I use the fountain soda machines at gas stations to fill up on water. I have a quart mason jar and a gallon sized plastic jug in my car that I bring inside with me. There is usually a small white lever on one of the soda selections where the water comes out. I use this water because 1) it’s free, 2) saves packaging, 3) an industry insider informed me the soda fountain water is triple filtered, to insure proper functioning of the machine! WIN!

This week the Telegraph has reported my dreams are coming true.

Okay, so perhaps this statement is a tad bit dramatic… nonetheless, the Obama administration is proposing the government downsize urban areas that are declining due to lack of economic resources. This is a win for overextended city officials/employees and for bringing green spaces to impermeable concrete surfaces. The article says,

“Already, some streets peter out into woods or meadows, no trace remaining of the homes that once stood there.”

While being sensitive to those who still live in these areas, I have always been intrigued by the process of nature reclaiming what was at one point civilization. I hope these planned deconstruction projects are well thought out and benefit the communities that still live in these declining cities.

Whats growing?

Potatoes!

Poppys!

Carrots!

Rainbows in Boulder!

There is a post up today on ethicurean.com regarding the engaged and rooted movement of young farmers across America. The guest post written by Severine von Tscharner Fleming is a beautiful read and reflects on her experience filming the movement over the past two years. She writes:

This Obama spring finds the young farmers as unlikely poster children of a new zeitgeist. Aptly so…I have met hundreds of new and aspiring young farmers. I have found them a powerful, proud and wily sub-culture. I have found them to be charismatic icons of change, patriots of place, sensible and sensitive stewards of land and resources. They are the creators of a retrofit future, and just in time. We now have the political change. We have reawakened our democratic will and discovered a dilation in the realms of possibility.

I share this article because it expresses my own sentiments: the Obama administration has refueled many of us to create our own futures. And when I say “us” I am referring to those who have previously distrusted the power structures of our country. There is optimism surrounding my community right now, even amidst the recession. I have seen more of my peers interested in planting gardens than in years past, and I am convinced there have been way more commuter bikes in Boulder this spring than ever before. A few simple changes this spring mark an empowerment in this community, perhaps encouraged by a political body that is actively seeking the opinions of it’s citizens, to make positive change. We are living in a time of hope, and as a young homesteader, I too hope for a future where our communities are more food and skill secure.

Special Equipment:
1 gallon/ 4 liter (or larger) ceramic crock, wide mouth jar, or plastic bucket.
1 gallon/ 4 liter glass jug (the kind you can buy apple juice in)
Airlock (From a local beer and wine supply shop. $1.)

Ingredients:
3 cups honey
12 cups water

Process:
1. Mix water and honey in the crock or jar. Stir well, until the honey is dissolved. Cover with a towel and set aside in a warm room for a couple days. Stir twice a day.
2. After 3 to 4 days, the brew should be bubbly and fragrant. Now transfer the wine into a clean glass jug. You can add water and honey in a 4:1 ratio to fill. (3 cups honey and 12 cups water in a 1 gallon jug works perfect.) Cork with an airlock. This lets the air out but not the air in. You can also use a balloon keeping air out without holding pressure in.
3. Leave for 2-4 weeks, until bubbling slows.
4. Drink with cute girls.

This great recipe was inspired from the Book: “Wild Fermentation”, The flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Food. by Sandor Ellix Katz

Q: “how do i make pickles?”

A: “it’s easy!”

Choose vegetables that are good to pickle, suchs as carrots, garlic, onions, turnips, radish, & daikon. I prefer cutting them into rounds. Place cut vegetables in a quart jar with a few peppercorns for flavor. Then in a separate jar make a brine solution with 1-quart water and 2 tablespoons REAL salt (not iodized table salt). Add the brine to the cut vegetables and seal the mixture tightly shut. Place the vegetables & brine in a dark place and check on the pickles everyday. It usually takes 4 days or so to get them tasty. Then store in the fridge. Simple!

2 medium size raw beets grated or peeled (wash first)
1/2 fresh lemon squeezed
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt

optional: raw (dried) pumpkin seeds as desired
p.s. your pee-pee will spray red, don’t be alarmed.