How to Ferment Vegetables - Simply.

The long hot days of summer demand that we eat light and they inspire us to hold on to what we can from our gardens for when the warm weather fades and cooler temperatures are on the horizon.  

Canning vegetables is in itself a noble skill for any cook to attain but there is more to be done to store our vegetables than cooking out so much of the nutrition.  Now don't get me wrong...  I love the art of canning.  I covet those homestead blogs with thousands of canned goods lined up in their root cellar.  But sometimes I don't want to mess with boiling water, timers and the like.  The grabbers, the heat, the vinegar.  The kitchen gets SO nasty when your canning all day.  By the time I am done I am a hot mess!!!

SOMEday I want one of those wonderful summer kitchens.  Sigh.

Fermented food contains bacteria the promotes intestinal health.  Plain and simple.  In fact, fermented food is some of the healthiest food you can feed your family and it’s about as easy as planting a seed in the ground and watching it grow!  Just about any vegetable from your garden will do though you will attain the best results with vegetables like cabbage, zucchini, carrots, onions, cucumbers, beets and chard stalks.

I make these jars for my family and they go absolutely nuts for them!  In fact, I have to hold some back or else I can't even get a few bites for myself.

Hoodlums.

You will need:

Some veggies.  Shredded.  Cut.  Stalks.  You choose.

Some jars.

Some filtered water.

Some salt.

No really.

It's that easy.

Specifically you will need 11/2 tablespoons of salt (this is the kind I use for it's fabulous mineral content) to 4 cups of water.  This is just the ratio I use but keep in mind you won't fill a quart jar with four cups of water.  

Mix it up so the salt dissolves.  And do this in another container as you will first pack the veggies in the jar and then pour the water over the top.  You can add dill, peppercorns, etc and use sliced zucchini to cap off your veggies.  You want to leave about 1-1 1/2 inch head space.  Put the lids on but don't tighten them all the way.

The veggies will start to release their sugars thus creating gas.  You want the lids just twisted on but not tightened.  You don't want them to explode from pressure!  I'm kidding.  But maybe I'm not.  Leave them on your counter out of direct sunlight.  Over the next 12 hours you will see bubbling and all sorts of jazz... you may even hear sounds!  The next day give the lids a little opening, you will hear the gasses release.  Leave them on your counter for 4-7 days, releasing pressure as needed.  Then enjoy them and/or store them in the fridge for up to nine months.

This is an awesome book on the subject...

And it's from French farmers. Fancy that.  

Happy gut.

Happy family.

Happy you.

The fermented veggie trifecta. 

Bon appetit.

Angela,

Parisienne Farmgirl.

                   This post is part of the Barn Hop!  Join in!!!!

Foraging on the Farm (The Brambleberries with Custard Recipe)

It's been a discouraging thirty days here on Half-Way Farm.

First, I thought it was the crazy weather (as in some cases it was) but now it's apparent that something is really wrong with my gardens.  All 4,200 square feet of them... and all the thousands of pounds of food they were going to provide my friends and family with.

I'm sick.  Moody.  Teary.  Bitchy.  And utterly devestaed.

It's a fresh wood chip/nitrogen thing. 
I don't want to talk about it right now.
But I will.  Lest anyone else make the same mistake.

Ugh.

My little one, my little Blondielocks has provided me with a bit of farm joy at her insistence that I "Google" whether or not she could eat the berries growing here and there around our farm.
The other day I was out lamenting my thirteen hundred onions and their seemingly pitiful fate and she just kept pestering me.  It was clear I needed to walk away from the chaos and tend to her curiosities.  So, I broke off a branch of said berries, snapped a headless selfie and posted my question to my Facebook homies.  Who, BTW - rock.

Within the hour we had ten thousand mosquito bites and two pounds of wild blackberries.  I rather like calling them brambleberries.  It sounds so romantic.  So, "Victorian Farm"

Victorian Farm (and it's sequel Edwardian Farm) is the BEST series EVER!

  

Here is a link to check it out but be 

sure you select the right DVD region if you make it your own as it was produced in the UK.

There are hundreds more to pick and Mullberry trees full too... not to mention the guy down the road where bushels of apples will be ready to pick this fall.

So, all is not lost.  Really, it is but I am doing my best to be optimistic and grateful for free, organic fruit to feed my flock.
I am leaning on Jesus on wild berries.

Here's the hope filled dessert I fed my family the other night. 
Bon Appetit!

Parisienne Farmgirl's Brambleberries with Simple Custard


4 Cups of whole milk
4 somewhat heaping tablespoons of organic/non GMO corn starch 
3/4 cup of organic sugar 
One vanilla bean 
Four eggs, beaten

Beat eggs in a separate bowl.  Set aside.  Combine milk, sugar and cornstarch in your favorite saucepan and scald.  Do not boil.  Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of milk mixture and the scraped out vanilla bean* to the eggs.  Whisking.  Slowly add egg/milk mixture back to the remaining milk mixture, reheat, whisking until it thickens.  Can be served hot, cold or room temp.

(*Cut vanilla bean lengthwise, open and scrap out with an upsides down spoon.  Heavenly.)

The items below may be difficult in some locations to find.  I order these items in.  Photos are links for you.

                                          

Just in Time... Strawberry Shortcake

Here's an oldy but goody from two years ago.

Just in time for your 4th of July grocery shopping.

Yesterday we went berry picking again and it reminded me of this post which I always thought was so pretty.  Those strawberry photos make me swoon!  And don't get in between me and a bowl of Gramma's Strawberry Shortcake.

Re-post begins now-

Last week, on one of those horrible 65 degree days we went strawberry picking as a family.  This is our second year partaking of the delightful annual treat.  Why I went thirty-some-odd years without picking local strawberries is simply beyond me.

  No offense to the Driscoll clamshell but those giant, golf ball sized, cardboard berries are nothing compared sweet, red, little berries found by a family in the fields. 

At $1.75 a pound I suppose the price is pretty equivalent to a large $7.99 thingy at Trader Joe's but our local farm is only lightly sprayed at the beginning of the season, they are Christians and you get to make the memory.  They are so laid back - no pickiness about My Chickens that would rather sit, a-la- Little Sal and munch away on fresh berries... for free. (OK, I know Sal ate Blueberries but I could not resist!)  They even let charities come in and pick at the end of the day for the needy.

So right now we have a fridge full of strawberries that we have been enjoying every day.  I should video Hoolie's reaction when I pull them out.  She about goes into orbit!  We will go again next week and stock up for the freezer but right now it's all about the fresh factor!  Until our 75 plants get going in the Potager this is the way to go, and even then, I don't know if I will be able to resist the lushness and the heavenly aroma of acres of strawberries. 

 My Gramma's CB name was "Strawberry" during their farming years (how cute is that???)... back when she drove a grain truck when it was time to help out and the pick up truck when it was time to bring sandwiches to the men in the fields.  Back before cell phones and texting... 

"You got a copy?" 

 I am so happy to have my own memories of farming CB lingo, the smell of Grandpas pickup truck, lunches packed with sandwiches, Pepsi and Snicker bars.  (Before Gramma went holistic and healthy!)  When her kids were growing up I guess their own strawberry patch was huge... once somewhere out in that yard I have roamed a thousand times.  

You've never experienced Strawberry Shortcake until you've experienced hers!

Start with the best, sweetest strawberries you can find.   

Don't wash them 'til right before use of course!  Gently strain but don't pat or allow them to become completely dry.

After removing the tops take a handful and gently press the knife down to your palm, a messy, haphazard sort of cut to release the juices.  Then add a bit of sugar (we use organic, evaporated cane juice) and set them to the side.  (Pre-heat your oven to 450 now) The sugar will draw out the juices and combine with the residual water.  You can also use this technique for freezing your berries.

Now for the Shortcake and assembly technique!  

(No more round, spongy, yellow thingys.)

This is a recipe I photocopied from an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook off Gramma's shelf:

"Rich Shortcake"

2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

4 teaspoons of baking powder

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/3 cup of shortening

1 well beaten egg

1/2 cup of milk

"Sift dry ingredients, cut in shortening until mixture is like coarse crumbs.  Add combined egg and milk, stirring just until moistened."

Now my own words - press it into rough rounds (see photo below) and bake on 450 for 15-18 minutes.

For assembly you will need strawberries, really good vanilla ice cream, 1/2 and 1/2 and a biscuit -

Layer as you wish - see photo.  But you gotta do the 1/2 and 1/2 poured over everything... it mixes with the strawberry juice...

Oh my gosh.  Oh my gosh.  Oh my gosh.  Oh my gosh.

Try this supremely delightful experience after one of your meals this Holiday weekend... and then for breakfast the next day! 

 Sigh...

Happy FOURTH of JULY!!!

Bon Appetit!

The Romance of Herbs - Parisienne Farmgirl's Chamomile Lavender Cake

The kids and I harvested bunches of chamomile

 before the drought really set in.

I love chamomile.

It is so sweet, gentle and light.

When you brush by it in our potager, a most lovely fragrance fills the air and my imagination surges.  I decided Chamomile could be a beautiful addition to a desert so I decided to

 infuse sugar until I came up with something.

I do love to infuse sugar.  

It makes me giddy.

Right now, I am infusing with lavender, chamomile and red pepper.  (Not together of course!)

I put my lavender jelly in the Summer Edition of Parisienne Farmgirl Magazine (However, there is an error and you will want to use a couple more ounces of pectin then mentioned!  Yikes!).  

I began to consider a chamomile cake with lavender jelly filling and we had some very special company schedule for the other day and I could not resist.  I just had to try it...

You will need-

2 3/4 cups of flour (cake or all-purpose)

3 eggs separated (room temperature)

3 sticks of butter, soft

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

1 1/2 cups of sugar infused with chamomile

1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar

3/4 cup of milk

Preheat your oven to 350.

Prepare two 9" cake pans with butter and flour.

If you have never done this before... an easy way is to take a paper towel or napkin and a tablespoon of butter - use paper towel spread over your fingertips to spread the butter around the pans.  Toss in a spoon of flour and tilt the pan all over until the butter is coated.  Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.

Separate the eggs and let them come to room temperature.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

Repeat.

For a very light chamomile taste simply sift the flowers from the sugar (that you have been infusing - mine had been infusing for a couple weeks).  For a stronger flavor (which I like because I think chamomile is so light a flavor to begin with) whiz your infused sugar in your Cuisinart until fully blended.  Sift.  This way you will sift out any of the greenery that you don't want in your recipe.

With a stand or handheld mixer, mix the butter until soft.

Take half the sugar and add it to your blended butter. 

 Blend until light and fluffy.

Slowly add the eggs yolks and vanilla while continuing to blend.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites, when they become frothy add the cream of tarter.  When soft peaks begin to form, add the remaining sugar.  Continue until stiff peaks form.

In three equal parts, fold the egg mixture in with your batter.  

DO NOT over mix.  Be gentle :)

Evenly spread in your cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

I won't bore you with my frosting recipe because I have none!  I just wing it starting with a stick of butter, a pile of powdered sugar and a splash of milk in the Cuisinart.  If I need to adjust it - I do.

After your cakes have cooled you can assemble.  If your cakes are noticeably round on the top, and you don't think they will lay nice you can take a serrated edged knife and cut horizontally to make a flat surface (after removing from the pan of course!)  This a great way to try your cake before anyone else does too!

Coat your cake plate with a thin layer of frosting, place one cake on top of the frosting.  Pipe or spread just about a half-inch thick layer of frosting all the way around the edge of the cake and a thin layer all over the center.  Fill in the center area with your lavender jelly (to match the height of your frosting).  Spread a thin layer of frosting on your other half and gently place it on top.  So you have created a sort of damn with that thicker layer around the edge - now you won't have to fill it in when you ice the sides of your cake --- savvy?)

Ice top and sides and enjoy!

Because this cake is a bit more "rustic" being an herb cake -n- all I did not go for a smooth frosting look.

I was a bit nervous to have everyone try this at our luncheon... and... our guests were French which of course can be intimidating when it come to cuisine.  They each had two pieces!  

So much for "Eating like a Parisienne"  hahahaha!

I hope you enjoy it!

Pin away!

Today in the Kitchen, "HomeBread" Honey Wheat

I love to make bread.

There is something so homey about it and it thrills my children,

when Amélie was two she began calling my honey wheat, "Homebread" and the name stuck.

Once we ran out of flour and Joel ran to the store and bought a loaf of store bought whole wheat bread.

I rudely scoffed aloud as he set it in the counter, disgusted at the myriad of chemical ingredients.

When she was three she said to me

"I love homebread Mom.  Some people buy their bread from the store... can you believe people eat that crap everyday???"


(Crap is one of her Momma's favorite words... woopsie.)

Feel free to pick yourself up off the floor.

Lord knows I had to.

Ingredients - 

(We use all organic but of course you don't have to... you can find organic honey in a three pack at Costco if your local farmer does not carry it.)

photo link

• 3 cups warm water
• 5 teaspoons yeast

•  
• 1/2 cup honey.
• 5 cups bread flour

link here

3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour  (Can substitute white wheat for a different style bread)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

• Mix warm water, yeast, and 1/2 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes and it will become big and bubbly.

• Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 cup honey., and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. 
• Knead with whole wheat flour until just pulling away from the surface but sticky to touch. This may take an additional 1-3 cups of whole wheat flour. (I like the texture at about 1 1/2 -2 cups.)
• Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. 
• Let rise in a warm place until doubled.Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.  Rise until dough has topped the pans by at least one inch.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes.   You can optionally brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard.  

    If I double this recipe, as I often do because this bread freezes well, I make it in my   mixer once batch at a time, then I combine the two batches in the oiled bowl for rising.

This bread is so comforting and fabulous for making 
grilled cheese or for dunking in split pea soup. 
Or toast it and slather it with some butter and live a little!

Bon Apetit.

-Angela