Those stubborn tomatoes are finally beginning to ripen and we have plenty of cucumbers! Time to make a batch of one of our favorite summertime ferments...’Sue’s Fermented Mexican Cucumber Salsa’! This recipe makes a wonderful salsa and it also doubles as a great probiotic-filled salad!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/sues-fermented-mexican-cucumber-salsa
First eggplant of the season and my version of Eggplant Parmesan! Dip thick slices of eggplant in a beaten egg thinned with milk. Coat slices in breadcrumbs. Season with salt, pepper, dried oregano and basil. Place slices in an oiled baking dish. Spritz with olive oil. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes until crispy and browned. Remove from oven, top with tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with dried oregano and basil. Return baking dish to oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned.
Most of the ingredients in this dish came from our garden or were locally sourced. Breadcrumbs from our homemade tomato basil bread, eggs and raw milk from local and organic farms. Amazing flavor from fresh, quality foods!
Join us for our Autumn Boutique September 6, 7, 8 and 9! Thursday through Saturday from 9 to 5 and Sunday from 10 to 4. Custom designed and freeze-dried wreaths and arrangements! Furniture, garden art, original prints and vintage treasures! Pumpkins, gourds, fall bloomers and Farmer’s Market goodies! Lunch and refreshments served Thursday through Saturday to benefit Trinity Lutheran Church’s Comfort Dog Program. Come meet Katie Comfort Dog!
There’s a bumper crop of cucumbers this year! ‘Sue’s Fermented Cucumber Relish’ is a great way to use some of the harvest and it’s delicious on grilled meats or in salads...another way to get natural probiotics through deliciously fermented foods!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/sues-fermented-cucumber-relish
An incredible harvest from the veggie garden today. Ken picked while I processed:
14 quarts of green beans pressure canned
4 quarts of green beans frozen for Instant Pot recipes
6 quarts of cauliflower frozen
1 quart of ‘Fooled You’ peppers diced and frozen
The tomatoes are finally beginning to ripen. They’re not pretty but they are absolutely delicious! This gorgeous head of cabbage will be sauerkraut but it’s going to have to wait until tomorrow...we’re tired! 🙂 Dinner tonight is a grilled mostly grass fed steak from a local family farm served with cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans and a kale salad from our garden. I am in heaven!
One of our favorite fermented veggie combos...Giardiniera!
For each quart jar:
2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon dried dill seeds
1 Bay leaf
Broccoli florets
Cauliflower florets
Carrots, sliced
Onion, sliced
Don’t hesitate to add sliced broccoli and cauliflower stems. They turn out tender and crisp when fermented!
Brine ratio: 1 Tablespoon finely ground pink Himalayan sea salt dissolved into 2 cups of water.
Layer veggies and spices into jar, packing tightly. Tuck kale leaves over veggies to keep them submerged beneath the brine. Use a proper weighting method. In this case, we criss-crossed kale stems that we pushed beneath the shoulder of a small mouth jar. Cover veggies with brine, place a lid on the jar and allow to ferment for 1 to 2 weeks while burping jars daily. Place jars in refrigerator where they can be stored for several months. Helpful hint: Wrap spices in cheesecloth and place in the bottom of the jar to keep them from floating.
Giardiniera is the perfect ferment to use in our Quinoa Salad With Fermented Vegetables. Finely dice the kale leaves and add them to the salad, too! A serving of Quinoa contains as much protein as a serving of meat. Protein together with probiotics make this salad a powerhouse of nutrition!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/quinoa-salad-with-fermented-vegetables
A huge thank you to Bob and Mary Lou Pycha for this very special gift! Grown with love!
More Sauerkraut in our future! Here’s a link to our basic recipe! Happy Fermenting!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/basic-lactofermented-sauerkraut
Perfect timing! The country sprinkler watered all of our newly planted fall crops in the veggie garden!
Candy, Walla Walla and Red Bull onion seeds sown in flats in the greenhouse on January 30, transplanted into the garden in May and harvested today. We’re estimating well over 100 lbs.!
One of today’s projects...’Jade’ green beans! We have 3 quarts fermenting, 7 quarts pressure canned and 2 quarts in the freezer for Instant Pot meals! This variety is prolific! Many more to come!
Harvesting our first heads of ‘Snow Crown’ Cauliflower! It’s done very well in the garden...especially taking into consideration the extreme temperature swings we’ve experienced this season. We’re replanting this area with new plants with hope for a second crop!
The Malibar Spinach is going crazy in our veggie garden! Last night we steamed it with some diced onion for zero minutes in the Instant Pot...then tossed it with a little butter, salt, pepper and lime juice. Delicious!
Fresh from the garden and on it’s way to become probiotic-filled yumminess! Fermenting plain sauerkraut, dilly green beans and trying some Parisian Cucumbers in a refrigerator pickle recipe...not a ferment but delicious!
We’re in full harvest mode...food and flowers! Sunflowers and zinnias this morning and this beautiful Arcadia broccoli this afternoon!
I’ve been perfecting a new pizza crust recipe given to me by a friend. It’s just yogurt and self-rising flour! She uses low fat yogurt and I use our homemade organic whole milk yogurt so the flour to yogurt ratio is a bit different. Ken requested pizza last night and asked if I could put some kale on it! What?!?! He’s coming around to my way of thinking and I love it!
Cicada Killer Wasp with it’s prey. They seem to be in abundance this year!
It’s sweet corn season! Sue’s Fermented Sweet Corn Relish is an easy ferment and a favorite during taste-testing at our classes! Here’s a link to the recipe!
http://www.tlcinthekitchen.com/sues-fermented-sweet-corn-relish
Sharing our dill with the pollinators.
Fast forward from May 18 to July 3...the veggie garden is thriving! We are currently harvesting Hakurei turnips, onions and kale. The tomatoes and green beans are blooming and the broccoli and cabbage are forming heads. In anticipation of a second harvest, we’ve sown the seeds of Blue Vates Kale, Rubicon Napa Cabbage, Snow Crown Cauliflower and KK Cross Cabbage. We also use this garden space to grow the Big Smile sunflowers that we preserve and use in the arrangements in our gift shop. From our flower farm to the table in so many ways...because life should be beautiful and delicious!
