In the Garden and Kitchen November 16/17

Dear Folks,

The weather is starting the cooling trend and this is triggering some activity in the garden.  The other day when I notice the Egyptian Spinach seed pods were finally dry enough to harvest the seeds, I also turned my head and found a fun surprise.  My potted sweet potato from last year is flowering!

I have had them flower before, but always when the plant has been in the ground for a full year, wintering over and continuing to grow through cold and into and out of summer.  I "think" this is one of the red or orange varieties - don't remember :-)  I hope this time it goes to seed to hopefully catch edible sweet potato seed.

The Egyptian Spinach (Corchorus olitorius, C. capsularis,) was introduced to me by my friend Jacq Davis over at Epic Yard Farm as a lettuce substitute during the summer.  I was delighted to find this tasty leaf addition to summer salads, soups, and sandwiches along with my sweet potato leaves and my roselle leaves.

Now I have a nice bunch of seeds for re-sowing next late spring and to add to my seed bank.  A fun fact about Egyptian Spinach is that it is the Jute, the plant known also for its fiber to make ropes etc.

My Myrtle (Myrtus communis) has been pushing out berries for a while now and they finally have turned deep blue/purple.  Myrtle is an ancient herb, known in the Bible as the herb of joy.  The entire plant is edible from the shiny leaves, to the gorgeous flowers on to the berries, which can be used in place of juniper berries or rosemary in meals.  Myrtle is best known for use with game meat to minimize the 'gamey' flavor.

I knew from prior reading that myrtle was frequently used in some old, old liquor recipes so I did some research a while back about using the berries in "Mirto" a European Liquor made from the berries.  I made a note in my calendar to watch for when the berries were ripe to try this recipe.  Like a lot these I am starting to call the "40 Day Liquors" you steep for 40 days, then sweeten and maybe depending on the plant steep for another 40 days.  I am trying a very small batch which should be ready to taste before adding the syrup on December 20th.  Recipes note after the syrup is added you can drink a few days.  I will have to see how that goes and let you know.  Myrtle is known as a digestive aid, but it also has a high amount of salicylic acid so it has a long use for pain and fever.  My thought is to use it as an aperitif, sipped before a big meal.

Yes, we have some bananas!  My Ice Cream "Blue Java" put out a stem of bananas and I am really looking forward to enjoying these.  I have been growing this plant for a long time and because of the structure of our garden we have had to take out, move and otherwise fuss with the plants.  They always grow, but not necessarily happy, so when Deane said did you see the bananas ? - I said where?  The flower was kind of hidden because there is a blood orange and apple bracketing the plants.  It really is not the best place for the banana, but I have left it there because at least it was growing so as soon as I could find a better spot I could at least depend on getting a baby plant when I was ready.  The Ice Cream banana is a small fruit but with a "vanilla ice cream" flavor.  When we last able to enjoy them they did indeed have a vanilla flavor to them and were nice and creamy.  So a rare treat to look forward to.

The Johnny Jump-Ups have started to sprout in the lawn.  For a number of years we have enjoyed a spectacular display of a Johnny Jump-Up in mid to late Spring.  About 5 years or so ago, since we do not seed a winter rye in our small lawn, I decided to sprinkle JJU seeds.  Deane kind of shook his head, but when the first spring's bloom showcased a small sea of flowers he agreed they were a lovely site to look at while the garden woke up from winter.  Over the years the self-sowing of the plants now turns the entire lawn into an ocean of JJUs. A peek of what the lawn will look like next spring.

The Pineapple Guava fruit is ripe.  We know this because they fall off the tree when perfectly ripe.  Early experience with trying to determine when this pleasant tasting fruit was NOT ripe, taught us to wait for the fruit to fall.  We have a lot of duff under the trees intentionally so the fruit just drops onto a soft carpet of leaves, ready to be picked up.  I describe the flavor as a slightly astringent kiwi flavor.  We split them in half and scoop out the fruit.  I made jam last year we had such a nice crop of them.

  I was just reading a simple recipe for making fruit wines using bread yeast and I may try that with the pineapple guava fruit this time.  Some of the best tasting foods are good old fashioned methods of preserving foods before "modern" preserving added a lot things many of us would rather not have in our food.  The collage to the left shows the gorgeous edible flowers (taste like a bite of candy) in May and the fruit in November.

Speaking of preserving.  The batch of sauerkraut (lacto-fermented = brining) at 10 days showed a bit of mold on top.  Don't worry.  While not harmful because that is the fermentation taking place, this white mold is simply skimmed off and discarded (I put it in my compost counter pot for adding later to the compost).  I tasted the 'kraut and it was right where I wanted it to be, so I jarred up, adding a bit of my reserved brine I try to keep on hand.  If you look closely at the jarred up sauerkraut you will see a few bubbles at the top of the liquid. It was still releasing gas during fermentation.  By refrigerating it the gas production will cease or slow.  The first time I open these jars a bit of air may escape.  No worries.  These types of fermented vegetables keep a LONG time in the refrigerator.  Over time the sauerkraut will turn more mellow in color but continue to have that nice non-vinegar brine flavor.

CAUTION:  If your fermentation foods ever develop a mold color other than white, discard the whole thing and start over.
  These fermenting foods rely on good bacteria on the vegetable/fruit and wild yeast in the air.  Thousands and thousands of years have proven this is a safe method of preservation. BUT on occasion bad bacteria may be introduced.

So why fermenting vegetables?  The lacto fermentation process produces the same types of good bacteria you find in yogurt.  While vinegar is a great food product, once you have tried brined vegetables like sauerkraut and old fashioned dill pickles, you may not want to go back to the modern vinegar version.  Use sauerkraut in any recipe calling for pickles or capers.

Finally, I shared this picture of my growing garlic but I'm so pleased with it and I want to inspire you to grow garlic I'm showing it again.  While it may be too late for the low desert to get garlic to form heads in the last spring, you can still plant cloves every week or two through the end of April for harvesting "green garlic" to use like scallions. The thicker plants on the right are Elephant garlic.

Wishing you a best day in the garden and kitchen!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady


My calendar and books make great gifts for the garden and/or cook in the family.


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Homemade Sauerkraut - Lacto Fermented, No Vinegar!

Dear Folks,

I have posted about making good old fashioned fermented sauerkraut before.  Recently I was visiting with family and I don't remember the reason but I mentioned I make my own sauerkraut and I got a request to bring some Thanksgiving for the family gathering!  Well, why not!

Sauerkraut is not just for hot dogs or Polish foods (my mother's side of the family was all about Polish foods).  Use sauerkraut in any dish or recipe that calls for pickles.  The fermented product is healthy and good for you.

Fermenting (also called lacto fermentation) is just putting vegetables in a strong brine and letting the natural yeast in the air convert the raw cabbage to a nice tasty but not vinegar tangy sauerkraut.  If will keep for a very long time in the refrigerator.

Start by rinsing your cabbage (do not wash or use any cleaning solutions), pull off any damaged outer leaves.  I did something different this time and set aside 1 nice looking leaf - I will explain below.  You will need a large bowl - NOT metal.

Cut the head in half and remove the core.  You may find it works best to half the halves and begin shredding.  You can make the shredded pieces as thick or thin as you like.

For a typical head of cabbage you will need about 5 tablespoons of kosher salt.  More if you have a very large head.  You have the option of adding a tablespoon of whey from yogurt when you assemble the cabbage in the jar.  This can kick start the fermenting but is not necessary.  I use only organic yogurt.  Even with Greek yogurt you can pour off a bit of the whey for this use.

Shred sections of the cabbage, place some in a bowl and sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons of salt.  Continue adding to the bowl alternating layers of cabbage, sprinkling with salt and finish with salt.  Smooth the cabbage out to make a flat surface and use a plate with a weight to press the bulk down.  Set aside for 2-5 hours.  The cabbage will weep liquid.  This is what you want to happen.

Meanwhile make up your brine.  I now keep a bottle of brine handy if I want to do small batches (I've used this same brine to pickle my caper berries), so I made a quart of brine and used about half of it for this batch.

2 teaspoons of kosher salt for each cup of hot water.   Stir well to dissolve.  The liquid will be cool enough when you are ready to jar up the cabbage for the fermenting.

Use a half gallon or larger glass container. You will also need a pint glass jar as a weight and a light cover to keep dust off.  Many people use dedicated ceramic crocks designed for pickling vegetables, but I like to watch and make sure everything is doing okay.  Sometimes, if the vegetables are not held under the liquid at all times mold may grow on the top.  You can usually just scrape off and discard unless the mold is any other color than white or smells - then you need to dump and start over.

The jars must be sterile or run under very hot water.

The liquid from pressing - will be added to jar.

Start packing the cabbage in the gallon jar, pressing all the while.  Pour liquid from the bowl into the jar.  Then start adding some of the brine.  Remember that extra uncut leaf?  Place over the cabbage inside the jar.  This will help keep the pieces of cabbage from floating up.  Add brine to cover about 1-2 inches over the shredded cabbage.  At this point you can add the whey if you choose to use it.

Small pint jar inside gallon jar to weight down cabbage.

Fill the pint jar about half with cool water and place inside the big jar to act as a weight and keep the cabbage always covered with liquid.  Lightly cover with a plastic cap {looks like a shower cap*), a loose piece of syran wrap or a lint free towel.  The covering is only to keep the dust off.  The fermenting cabbage will produce CO2 and you will see bubbles forming within a few hours.  Place the jar on the counter in a draft free area where the temperature stays constant.  Changes in temperature can impact how long the fermentation takes, with cooler temperatures slowing down the process.

Once or twice a day lightly press down on the inside jar to release the gas.  When there are little or no bubbles - after anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks - your sauerkraut is done and can be capped and refrigerated.  Some people like to taste during the fermenting process.  If you do want taste periodically during the fermenting, use a plastic or wood fork to pull some out.  Metal is a no-no with a brine solution.

The cabbage gradually changes from green to a light yellow color over time, most of the color change occurs after you put in the frig.

Sauerkraut is not just for hot dogs or Polish foods (my mother's side of the family was all about Polish foods).  Use sauerkraut in any dish or recipe that calls for pickles.  The fermented product is healthy and good for you.

My sauerkraut is usually ready in about 10-13 days, in time for Thanksgiving and my family member who requested it. :-)

You can choose to leave the sauerkraut working on the counter for weeks, as long as you ensure there is enough brine to always have all the cabbage covered in liquid.

Like Asian pickled vegetables you can add other things such as spices like caraway seed to the cabbage.  Do some searching on the internet for ideas to come up with your preferred mix.  Have fun.  Once you master sauerkraut you can move on to something like old fashioned pickle barrel dill/garlic pickles - made the same way, without vinegar. The link to my blog post on my fermented pickles is here Fermented Pickle Recipe. It was part of blog post over the holidays on dill.

Cabbage.  On facebook the other day I saw a great recipe for "Baked Cabbage Steaks".  I always try to find the author of any recipe etc. I post but all I found were multiple versions with differing oven temps and how thick you cut the slices.  If anyone finds the original author, I would appreciate it.

Meanwhile give this delicious and healthy side dish a try.

Baked cabbage steaks.  Preheat oven 400 wash and remove outer leaves trim stem off, cut 1 to 1 1/2 inch steaks brush both sides with olive oil, garlic salt and pepper both sides bake 30 to 40 minutes I like mine at 40 min [author note] so edges start to brown.

Allrecipes.com has a similar version. 

I hope you enjoy making your own sauerkraut!

Have a best day in the garden and kitchen.

*  The plastic cap which looks like a shower cap is an old fashioned way to cover food bowls. NOT for use in microwaves.  They are available in many places on the internet including Amazon.  I tried to find ones made in the US but could not.  I highly recommend them.  I have had my box of them for years and simply rinse with soapy water and let air dry in the dish rack.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Some of My Favorite Preserving Technique Recipes - Worth Re-Sharing!

tomatoes, green beans, peaches, marmalade, sauerkraut

Dear Folks,

A coupon in the Sunday paper had me thinking about the recipes I've shared over the last several years for jam making, pickling, fermentation and other forms of "keeping" your bounty ready to use now AND later.  So I decided to give you a set of links to the best of the recipes using different techniques.

Use Glass Jars To preserve and store your food, not plastic!  I use my mason jars for storing everything from homemade broth, to preserved jams, to my dried herbs.

Ball/Kerr Jars (mason jars) is now known as Fresh Preserving.  Here is the coupon code for use online.  According to the newspaper the coupon is good through December 31, 2016.  Click on the "Ball" picture to take you to their website.

LIDSJARS4





I've mentioned that I have been canning for a number of years.  But I've also just made versions which require refrigeration instead of water bath or pressure canning.

Let me point out some differences.

Lacto-Fermentation - do not can:  If you decide to make sauerkraut or old fashioned dill pickles (and other "pickled" vegetables) using salt brine instead of vinegar, the good bacteria would be killed if you can the jars.  The lacto-fermentation process creates good bacteria - as in live culture yogurt.  If done properly once the sauerkraut or pickles reach your preferred taste, capped and refrigerated the product will last many months in your refrigerator as long as you use safe handling procedures (no cross contamination).

Refrigerator Pickles:  If you choose to make these types of pickles you have the choice of canning after you add the boiled liquids.  You would use the water bath method according to canning directions for size.  Here is the link to the national canning center.

Lacto-Fermentation is not discussed in the national canning site.  For more information on using lacto-fermentation go to this link.

Canning:  Canning means using a boiling water bath or Pressure Cooker to preserve foods which are shelf stable - meaning they do not need refrigeration until opened.  FYI all of my "Canning" recipes use no additional preservatives, so once you open a jar, you need to 1) refrigerate it and 2) use it up within about 3 weeks.

Real Marmalade -- I fell in love with this recipe because it uses the whole fruit and is delicious.  Also the recipe means you can multiple the recipe by the number of fruit you have not by pounds.   (If using small fruit like lemons or limes, just double the quantity of fruit but not the other ingredients per batch.)

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2015/04/marmalade-and-red-celery.html


Lemon Curd, Whole Cranberry Sauce, Pineapple Guava Jam.  Our pineapple guava fruit is ready in November and I grabbed bags of fresh cranberries to make my own sauce.

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2014/11/curds-jam-and-sauce-oh-my.html


Real Old Fashioned Sauerkraut - this is the fermented type and tastes just like it should without a "vinegary" taste, just a nice briney flavor.

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2012/04/sauerkraut-dill-pickles-preserved.html

My homemade pasta sauce with tomatoes and herbs fresh from the garden.  Maybe one of the nicest foods you can make for your family from the garden.

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-pasta-sauce.html

Quick Pickles or any vegetable.  These are "refrigerator" type pickles meaning they are ready in 4-24 hours.  Chefs use this method a lot.

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2011/10/quick-pickles.html

More Quick Pickle with Green Beans and Leeks

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2011/10/quick-pickle-more.html

Pickled Baby Peaches.  When we had to do the heart-breaking process of thinning our peach trees each year I thought there had to be something we could do with these tiny immature peaches.  I found a great recipe, from Europe where this is a common way to use up everything.  Why it works -- when you pick the baby peaches 3/4 of an inch or smaller, the "seed" is not former, so what you have is an "olive" type fruit waiting to be pickled.  The recipe I shared is for a fruity type pickle but you can also adjust the spices to be more savory.

I posted a video on my youtube channel on thinning peaches.  Check it out for when you need to thin your peaches (usually late Feb or early March). 

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2016/03/thinning-peaches-and-way-to-use-thinned.html



I hope these recipes inspire you to save some of your garden bounty for later.  The beauty of living in the valley here is the ability to preserve as we go through the seasons and not be limited to a major all-at-once harvest in the fall.



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Garlic Planted, Cilantro Re-Seeded, Baby Pumpkin, Me and Roselle, Brining

Dear Folks,

The rain yesterday did two things in my gardens, settled in the garlic I planted on Saturday, October 1st and saved us a watering day.

We got nearly a half inch which means the gardens are nice and wet and do not need the scheduled watering.  Pictured is a clove Elephant Garlic being planted.  Beside that clove are regular garlic ready to be planted.  Plant garlic cloves with the pointy side up.  This will be the center stalk from which the mature head of cloves comes from.

The Allium family includes onions, chives, shallots, garlic, leeks and elephant garlic.  The familiar common Garlic is Allium sativum, while Elephant Garlic is Allium ampeloprasum.   Elephant Garlic is actual a form of leek - on steroids!  It has a milder flavor compared to common garlic's strong, even zingy flavor.

Both grow well here in the valley.  If it looks like I planted too close together -- I did on purpose.  I planted 39+ cloves of common garlic and 8 of the Elephant type.  I always plant extra by planting 3-4 inches apart, so I have "green garlic" to harvest like scallions through the fall/winter/spring.  This delicious addition to your cooking ingredients is a "scallion" only with garlic flavor instead of onion.  Harvest when the greens are about 8-10 inches tall and the clove has swollen slightly.  You can replace with another garlic clove to continue the harvest capability.   Instead, by harvesting every other plant as I need during the cool times, the space between widens allowing more room for each clove to grow to head size.

In April start watching for the plant to send up its flower stalk, called a Scape, it's spiral growth continues and you cut them off when they reach the height of the leaves -- this year it was early May.  Scapes are an edible delicacy only available about 1-2 weeks a year.  Once the Scape is cut off, watch for the leaves to begin turning yellow, about 2-3 weeks later.  This is harvest time. 

Gently dig each plant out, brush off the dirt and hang to dry in a shaded area in the garden or patio.  When the outside skin turns papery it is ready to store.  You can use the green tops as you would scallion tops.  Even the hard center stalk can be used to flavor broths, stews, soups and then removed at serving time.

From the aromatic to the gorgeous, this is my Roselle Hibiscus sabdariffa, now reaching taller than me and beginning the flowering stage moving toward harvest of the gorgeous lemony/cranberry flavored Caylx.  The entire plant is edible.  I've been using the leaves in place of lettuce with their tangy flavor.  While the caylx is known for its high Vitamin C component (if you see "hibiscus" or "red hibiscus" as an ingredient in teas - this is the plant), the leaves also have vitamin C as do the flowers.

Meanwhile, my Cilantro re-seeded and I spotted the new seedlings last week.

I love my gardens.  Many of my favorite plants freely re-seed coming back year after year.  Successive generations of seed is "regional adaptation" at its best.  The seeds which come up naturally are the strongest in your garden.

For this reason I urge you to direct sow if you can.  All of the seeds may not come up, but those which do will be the hardiest.

I am excited about the prospect of an heirloom pumpkin.  I have baby pumpkins on the vine, which has a mind of its own and has spilled out of the raised bed and ranging towards the trees.  I am going to let it roam and just try to keep it out of harm's way while it, hopefully, produces "Upper Ground Sweet Potato Pumpkin" reported to taste like sweet potato and once grown in Thomas Jefferson's gardens at Monticello.

In an "inspired" moment I decided to sow the pumpkin seeds in with the sweet potato, because the SP provided some "nurse" shade to the seed area.  It worked nicely as you can see a bed of sweet potato and pumpkin vines.   I hope to be harvesting pumpkin and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving.

And, finally I decided to brine more of the Caper buds and berries and have set them to 'work' on the counter.  This is a fermentation brine with no vinegar and when I tried it for the first time, the buds turned out great but the berries not so much because I waited to long to pick them.  This time I picked the berries younger.  What I am looking for is that the berry seeds had not matured turning dark, and that I picked the berry while the seeds are white and immature.  The dark seeds proved to be very bitter, while the berry it self was tasty but not worth eating.  We shall see.  I want to be ready for next spring when the plants start budding and begin a large fermentation jar where I will pick buds regularly adding to my caper version of the old fashioned pickle barrel.  The food you are brining needs to be held completely covered under the liquid so I have a pickle weight wrapped in cheese cloth and tied with a string to allow me to lift and re-position any that rise to the top.  I have a light plastic food cover over it (not seen in the picture) to keep dust off, but allow any bubbles to escape.

That is all for today, folks.  I am always happy to answer questions.

Be sure to check out my youtube channel where I post short videos with helpful tips.

Have a great week in your fall garden!



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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P.S. I started a Cafepress "store" where I chose some of my favorite photos from the gardens and put them on t-shirts and other things.  The link is in the sidebar.  I welcome feedback and/or suggestions for products you might like to see offered.

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