Recent Posts

Sandy M.
on 5/6/14 10:03 pm - Detroit Lakes, MN
Revision on 05/08/13
Topic: RE: Fermented Food Anyone?

My garden?  It's a 4x4 raised bed, along with a couple of spots around my camper where I dug up the grass and put compost down.  I too have two rhubarb plants, although they're only a couple of years old.  The asparagus I planted 2 years ago did not survive past the first year, which made me very sad.  I planted sugar snap peas last weekend, and will do various lettuces probably today if the weather holds.  

I never seem to have luck with beets or carrots for some reason, but I can get them at the Farmer's Market easily enough.  And my cucumbers "hide" on me - they get so big by the time I see them they're no longer good for pickling!  Let me tell you - canning is a challenge in a camper - I use a camp stove outside to preserve, and the tiny stove inside to make the brine and sterilize the jars.  Which is part of the reason I'm so interested in fermenting - no boiling required!

Height 5'4"  HW:223 Lap band 2006, revised to Sleeve 5/8/2013, SW:196

  

    

LosingSarah
on 5/6/14 9:52 pm - Moorhead, MN
VSG on 10/16/13
Topic: RE: Fermented Food Anyone?

Wow, at Walmart! Heirloom tomatoes have gained popularity and those two top the list. I started a bunch of heirloom varieties by seed this year.  I have German Striped (yellow with red), Bloody Butcher (small-medium bright red eaters), Mortgage Lifters (which I guess can grow 4 pound tomatoes good for canning), and Watermelon Beefsteak (big, sweet pink tomatoes that I've grown before, yum).  I also started a Super Sweet Hybird 100 (or something like that cherry tomato). I also get some regular Beefsteak & some Brandywine's from my parents who have a small green house (they used to be veggie farmers and still garden like crazy). She also grows Amish paste, but I don't have room this year, lol.

We bought our 1926 Moorhead house in August 2013, and there are two HUGE well established rhubarb plants along with tons of perennials in the back yard. I used to get some from my parents and the farmers market to freeze and I'm so excited to now have my own plus enough to give away some. I'm probably going to split the plants as they are monsters. They are coming up nicely right now, too. :)

    
Sandy M.
on 5/6/14 11:33 am - Detroit Lakes, MN
Revision on 05/08/13
Topic: RE: Fermented Food Anyone?

Yeah, last summer sucked for tomatoes!  I used up the last of my rhubarb in March, and the chives last month (I freeze both and take them back to Texas with me).  I found both Cherokee Purple and Pink Brandywine tomatoes at Walmart of all places, so I snatched them up quick this year!

Height 5'4"  HW:223 Lap band 2006, revised to Sleeve 5/8/2013, SW:196

  

    

LosingSarah
on 5/6/14 11:25 am - Moorhead, MN
VSG on 10/16/13
Topic: RE: Fermented Food Anyone?

Tell me about the tomatoes! I usually have enough canned tomatoes to last me through the winter and through when my garden is producing tomatoes or really close, but last summer was rough with the super wet-cold weather through most of June. I actually very recently used up my last can of tomatoes :(

I refuse to buy canned tomatoes, so my recipes until the farmers market is open or until I have my own will be tomato free or made with "fresh" store tomatoes if I must use some. No chili for a while.

    
Sandy M.
on 5/6/14 11:18 am - Detroit Lakes, MN
Revision on 05/08/13
Topic: RE: Fermented Food Anyone?

I've made the traditional dill pickles too.  I love canning food, especially when I can get it from my own garden or the Farmer's Market.  There's nothing like a jar of tomatoes in February!  

Height 5'4"  HW:223 Lap band 2006, revised to Sleeve 5/8/2013, SW:196

  

    

LosingSarah
on 5/6/14 11:09 am - Moorhead, MN
VSG on 10/16/13
Topic: RE: Fermented Food Anyone?

I have not made sauerkraut on my own, but did it with my parents started making it yearly when I was in elementary school, so know how to make it. They still make it and we get a three or four jars from them in the fall. They make it with cabbage grown in their garden.

I've thought about making kimchee because I love the stuff.  I make dill pickles, but not using the traditional fermented prep method. I make them with vinegar.  I have thought about trying them this way, though.

Can't wait to hear how your kraut turns out. The first year my parents made it we had to rinse it because it was way too salty, but they got it right the next year and ever since then.

    
Sandy M.
on 5/6/14 9:20 am - Detroit Lakes, MN
Revision on 05/08/13
Topic: RE: Fermented Food Anyone?

Yes, hakarl I would probably turn down unless I was in Iceland, since shark is rather hard to find here in Minnesota, so the quality would be suspect.  

But botulism doesn't scare me...I figure there's more chance of getting it from a salad than there is to food that's been sitting in a brine.

From what I've read, if it smells bad, throw it out.  I'll let you know, unless, of course, I die from botulism poisoning!

Height 5'4"  HW:223 Lap band 2006, revised to Sleeve 5/8/2013, SW:196

  

    

Cunning_Pam
on 5/6/14 7:54 am
RNY on 12/18/13
Topic: RE: Fermented Food Anyone?

You know, I've heard about fermented foods for a while now, and how they're good for you and all that. But I just can't get past the idea that in general, fermented = "spoiled" or "turned"! Yes, I know that's how yogurt is made, along with beer, kimchee, sauerkraut and kefir, but when you start talking about things like hakarl I end up feeling oogy. When making fermented foods at home, how can you tell the difference between having completed fermentation and having gone bad enough to make you sick? Botulism scares me! 

Surgery: RNY on 12/18/2013 with Jay M. Snow, MD            "Don't mistake my kindness for weakness." - Robert Herjavec, quoting Al Capone

      

GeekMonster, Insolent Hag
on 5/6/14 5:09 am - CA
VSG on 12/19/13
Topic: RE: Summer Plantings

Amy, I've heard it said many times "girth equal mirth."  In fact, I think I've said it myself  

I really like the ridges on that cactus.  They look so *****ly.  

"Oderint Dum Metuant"    Discover the joys of the Five Day Meat Test!

Height:  5'-7"  HW: 449  SW: 392  GW: 179  CW: 220

Amy, Daredevil
Extraordinaire

on 5/6/14 3:39 am - Los Angeles, CA
DS on 08/06/13
Topic: RE: Summer Plantings

I prefer my succulents to be shorter/thicker like this one:

*DS with Dr. Ara Keshishian on 08/06/13* SW: 231 CW: 131 GW: 119 * Check out My YouTube Channel: AmysDSJourney *

   

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