La Casa Grande Colectiva

Tag: homemade

  • La Casauerkraut

    I think it was this article http://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/413/countertop_culture in The Sun magazine that first caught my interest in wild fermentation. Certainly, the pallid, soggy sauerkraut of my middle American world had never once lured me.  Still, my interest in home food preservation and the health benefits of raw, fermented foods made trying this irresistible, and so in I leapt. I can only say that homemade, wild fermented sauerkraut is one the most unexpected pleasures of my life now. Each batch is unique and that is part of the fun. I like to add a little garlic, a bit of carraway seed (against flatulence) and any root veggies that might be available like beets, carrots or radishes. I use the least amount of salt I can get away with which has been a bit less than the recipe and it has worked out well. Beets and purple cabbage both give the kraut a lovely pink hue. I don’t even like pink, but I have loved the colors of my kraut batches.

    Anyway, Sandor Katz is the wild fermentation maven. Here’s his website, starting right off at the recipe for kraut: http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=sauerkraut

    This is the batch I made just a few days ago, dedicated to Dan Schreiber:

     

    Cabbagecarrotconfetti
    A bit of sauerkraut spirituality fun
    Julio giving the kraut crock some L-O-V-E

    I hope you make some of your own and you love it!

  • A Feast for the Ages

    Last Monday, Jacob and I toiled away in the kitchen for many many hours. He made bread while I prepared things for open-faced sandwiches.
    Homemade Bread
    Here is the dough being made.
    Kneading
    Being Jacob’s protégé, I helped with kneading. It’s fun. And gets tiring. But you can build some guns in the process.
    At one point, the chickens escaped from the coop, making a mad dash for the compost pile. With the help of Ronna, we wrangled them in and went back to our toiling.
    Homemade Bread
    Here it is! The bread was toasted in the oven. You can also see some curried eggs in the back that Jacob made.
    My Sandwiches
    Top: sauteed leeks, chard, shallots and swiss cheese. Bottom: fresh arugula, tomato, avocado, goat cheese. Right: sauteed mushrooms, shallots, swiss cheese. And then a curried egg. It was quite the feast.