PUTTING IT UP

  One look in my garden today and I knew it was definitely time to start preserving some of this harvest before it was too late.  Like all of us, I have list a mile long of all the things I'd like to do, but some things just can't wait.  So during Jude's third and final nap of the day I headed into the garden and began to harvest chard, spinach and rhubarb.  I gave them all a little rinse and then set a huge pot of water on to boil.  Meanwhile, I chopped up the rhubarb and filled up a Mason jar with it and stuck it in the freezer.  I can't speak highly enough of Mason jars.  We use them for storing all of our food and beverages. 

  The spinach and chard are going to taste great in the dead of winter when not a leafy green is to be found (well except for some kale perhaps).  Into the boiling water went the chopped chard for just a little bit, enough to blanch it, and then bam! (Emeril style) I dunk it into ice water to shock it and help keep it's vibrant green colour.  This too went in the freezer in a Mason jar.  

I cook the spinach in a smaller pot with just a wee bit of water until it is wilted and then plop that into ice water.

 

 So, now I just have to keep this up until all the greens are safely put away for the long, cold winter.....

LACTOFERMENTATION aka Delicious Veggies

     Many cultures around the world include lactofermented vegetables and foods in their diets.  Lactofermented vegetables are easier to digest, and in fact improve the general digestion when taken regularly in small amounts.  Vitamins and minerals are more available.  Carbohydrates are broken down and therefore require less insulin for digestion, making lactofermented vegetables ideal for diabetics.  These aren't the only reasons why I love them so......it's because they taste so delicious and are so satisfying somehow.  I am on a bit of a cleanse right now that involves eliminating sweeteners (sugar), yeast and gluten from my diet.  The best part of this diet change though is the emphasis on consuming more lactofermented foods and probiotics.  So I've been busy making up batches of homemade yogurt and fermented salads.  Right now I have a beet salad fermenting in my basement fridge.  I've never tried it before, so I am very excited for it to be done it's thing, which unfortunately is going to take about a month! It can be eaten before then, but the extra time gives it a chance to mellow out.  Good thing I still have sauerkraut in my fridge from about a year ago!  It's still good though.  I ate some this morning mixed with grated carrot, avocado, and umeboshi vinegar.  Great way to start the day!

LACTOFERMENTED BEETS with Napa Cabbage, Apple and Onion

Beets, with all their sugars, turn out a fierce fermentation.  It is good to add other vegetables such as the Napa in this recipe, or rutabaga or turnip, so that you are not using only beet.

Makes one half-gallon jar

 2 to 2 ½  pounds beets

 ½ pound Napa cabbage

3 ounces chopped apple

 3 ounces chopped onion

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sea salt

mustard seed to taste.  

Peel, wash and grate or shred the beets in food processor.  Trim and cut finely the Napa cabbage.  Put beets and cabbage into a big bowl with the salt, and press with your fist or a wooden stamper until the juice is flowing well.

Pack into your jar in layers, interspersing the apple, onion, and spices.  Be sure to leave at least two inches below the lid.  Put lid on jar loosely, and be SURE to put the jar into a pie tin.  Beets can run over the top of the jar since they have a vigorous fermentation.  Put the jar in a dark place in your refrigerator for one week.  Then wash the sides of the jar if needed, and keep in a cold place for another four weeks to mellow.  Keeps many months under proper storage conditions.

Look at those juicy hips..rose hips that is

One of my favorite memories of first moving to Nova Scotia was visiting the French shore for the first time.  Camping out by the beach in the fall, I fell in love with the wild rose hips that grew everywhere!  All I could think about was harvesting them to drink for tea.  In fact I did pick some and took them home, but they ended up just going bad because I didn't dry them properly.  Now that we live in the country, I look for wild edibles every time I go for a walk.  There aren't that many wild roses growing around our property, but I managed to pick just enough to make two and a half tiny jars of rose hip jelly.

WILD ROSE HIP JELLY

1 quart of autumn ripe wild red rose hips (4 cups)

1 litre of water

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup local honey

2 tsp Pomona's Universal Pectin Powder

2 tsp Pomona's Universal Calcium Water

Method:  Rinse rose hips thoroughly and pick off the scraggly ends.  Place rosehips in a saucepan with water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer for one hour or until rose hips are soft and mashable.

     Use a potato masher to smush the rosehips.  Set up a jelly bag or layers of cheesecloth in a mesh strainer.  Transfer the rose hip mixture into the strainer and strain and smoosh all the liquid out.  Ideally you want to have 2 cups of liquid.  If you must, top it up with apple cider.

     Prepare your canning jars.  Measure juice into a pan with lemon juice.  Add the calcium water and stir well.  Measure out the honey into a separate bowl and mix in the pectin powder. Bring the juice to a boil, add pectin-honey and stir vigorously 1-2 minutes.  Return to a boil and remove from heat.  Fill jars to 1/2" of top.  Screw on lid and put filled jars in boiling water to cover and boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from water and let cool.  Lasts about 3 weeks once opened.