Ever fantasized about...all kinds of wet pounding culminating in a frenzy of activity that exceeded the sum of its parts? Hmmmm...me too! Good thing I discovered the Joy of Fermentation....so my fantasy could become reality.

Who knew how fun it could be to ferment veggies. You start with a collection of familiar items...cabbage, carrots, cucumber, kale...chop, dice and slice until you end up with an orgy of colours and flavours in a bowl that you pound and pound until they spew juices filling the bowl with a delicious aroma and a melding that takes on a life of its own.

And why...beyond the obvious desire to mix and mingle juices with others...do you do this?

To create a medley of vegetables that merge forces and ferment into a delicious blend of probiotic goodness in just seven days. You will be familiar with some common fermented veggies such as sauerkraut and kimchee...but did you know you can ferment a variety of veggies in your own kitchen and give yourself life enhancing probiotics naturally and at almost no cost?

http://www.wildfermentation.com/vegetable-fermentation-further-simplified-2/

And while you wait for this delicious activity to unfold...invite a friend, or two, to come over and check out your veggies...

Sprouted Garlic Butter Supreme! (Or...what the lazy gardener can do with garlic harvested really late in september). The very largest bulbs i will keep to replant before deep mulching. 

Easy-peasy: wash off dirt, cut off root tails, throw in blender with herbs (clockwise-rosemary, sweet and purple ruffle basil, oregano, and sage) and melted butter. Pour into small jars (125ml) for freezing. Or use ice cube trick from previous blog entry. Do ASAP once out of ground. The beautius aroma of that fresh garlic in full genesis should get trapped into the butter quickly. I chose to freeze in jars rather than over heat mixture to sterilize. 

Chard Rolls:
Once again, if had only one vegetable i could grow...CHARD would be it! So many ask me what to do with it. In a nutshell i would say "like spinach", and by september the colourful large leaves i love to make chard rolls. Simply cut the spline out and rotate half the leaf slightly overlapping in the middle. This makes a nice sushi kinda mat.

Smear really fat yogurt topped with grated cheezes and pressed garlic. Sprinkle with balsamic and/or herbs....etc,etc,....sky is the limit. Special trick is crush/spread a handful of potato chips. Salt and vinegar or plain, cause most other flavours seem to have MSG. This gives a cool crunch and adds a bit of salt to bring out zest. Especially dependant upon how much garlic you whacked it with.

First, eat a bunch of those tasty  liquor filled  dark chocolates only to collect the plastic trays bulk amounts come in. The trays are a perfect size for flattening the ziplock bags so they can be stacked effectively in the freezer. Cutup tomatoes to make the skins easy to eat, mix in fresh chopped herbs and garlic, jiggle bag and suck out air bubbles before flattening on chocolate trays. Once Bags are frozen the trays can be reused indefinately. the tomato and herbs retain the best flavor and have less nutritional loss than canning. Merely thaw out and mix in pasta without overcooking. Simple and yummiest!