Fermented pickles

I can ferment sauerkraut with my eyes closed, but I have had a hard time with fermented pickles in the past (didn’t turn out well) … I just keep trying. Instead of using whole pickling cucumbers I decided to try my luck and go about it differently, so I sliced the cucumbers this time.

I did not plant cucumbers this year. I talked to my neighbor/friend about growing cucumbers this season because I grow most of my peppers and the zucchini in their garden and he agreed that this year we could share the cucumbers too. He has been growing Armenian cucumbers (actually in the melon family) for the past few years and he always has way more then he needs. The Armenian cukes are nice, but I want to grown pickling cucumbers again.

Fermenting – Day 1

Back to my experiment… I sliced the cucumbers and put them in a glass gallon jar. I added the herbs and spices that I wanted (dill seed, celery seed, and garlic) and poured the brine over the top. The brine was 1 1/2 T to 4 cups water.

The big thing with fermenting is that you need to keep the vegetable below the liquid to avoid bad bacteria from growing. I could not find a jar that was big enough, yet small enough to fit down through the opening of the gallon jar. I had to resort to using a gallon zip-top bag with a little water in it, then I sunk a pint jar into the bag and filled the jar with some water also. I am not a big fan of plastic, but it worked. I will be either looking for the perfect jar to weigh things down or a different glass jar. As I type this and thing about it – I really could have used my fermenting crock.

The past issues that I had when fermenting pickles in the fermenting crock that I have is the weights. The whole cucumbers are so buoyant and the ceramic weights are a bit on the smaller side that the cucumbers can sneak up on the edges. Then they are exposed to air and things go quite wrong in a hurry.

It worked! I have successfully fermented cucumber slices (three times now!) Boy are they good! We now have a ton of them in the refrigerator and we are munching our way through them fast. I have shared several quarts with our neighbor/friend.

Day 7 or 8

Next year I look forward to canning some pickles so we can enjoy them throughout the winter too, but in the mean time we are enjoying these fermented ones. I know they have more benefits to them (chuck full of healing probiotics!) I also look forward to the fall and winter garden to ferment some of the root veggies like carrots, turnips and onions.

Other post on fermenting:

• Salt + Cabbage + time = Sauerkraut
• Kombucha
• It’s About time: Kombucha

Anyone else out there fermenting things?

Sincerely, Emily

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Cooking from the garden: Bulgar Tabouli

This past Sunday a few of us gave you a glimpse at what we have growing on our gardens. This week I wanted to share with you what I do with some of that fresh produce that comes out of our garden.

One of the salads that I make a lot is tabouli (or tabbouleh). It is great in the heat of the summer not to have to turn on the stove-top or the oven.Some tabouli recipes you find will have you pour boiling water over your bulgar, but I just soak mine. Again, any reason not to turn on that heat-producing appliance!

This salad can be made with the traditional way using bulgar or cracked wheat, but it can also be made using quinoa (need to follow quinoa cooking instructions for that)

Tabouli

• 2 cups bulgar or cracked wheat
• 1 tbsp.  salt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cup chopped cucumber
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped tomato
• 1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 chopped mint

Put your bulgar in a bowl or sauce pan and cover it with water an inch above the bulgar. The bulgar will soak most or all that water up and you may need to add more. I let mine sit for at least 45 minutes, usually longer. The last thing I want it to take a bite and come down on a hard piece of wheat.

Chopping Mint

If you do end up with more water that your bulgar soaked up, just use a mesh colander and strain it.

While your bulgar is soaking up that water, start chopping all your herbs and vegetables. It is up to you whether you want to de-seed your cucumbers and tomatoes.

I toss things together as I chop. Once your bulgar is ready, toss it with all the vegetables and herbs. Mix your lemon juice and oil olive together ad pout it over your bulgar mixture and toss again.

You want to allow time for all the flavors of the herbs and dressing to mingle so give yourself a minimum of 30 minutes to let everything marinate before serving. If you are in the area of the kitchen, give it a toss and stir as you walk by to bring any of the marinade up into more of the tabouli.

If you want your tabouli heavy on the vegetable and herb side, either double the amounts of the herbs and veggies or knock the bulgar amount down by half. Up to you! This makes a pretty big bowl.

I love making this using all the fresh herbs from the gardens along with the fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. It is a great way to celebrate summer and the harvest from your garden or local farmers markets.

What are you cooking with things from your garden?

Sincerely, Emily

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What’s growing in my garden

This past Sunday a few of us shared some photos of things that are growing in our gardens. In my garden a few things are winding down and a few other things are hanging on.

Spineless okra. I am saving the larger one for seeds.

It too hot for things like tomatoes to flower in my garden, so I have cut a few of them back to give them a rest and re-sprout in hopes of a fall harvest from them.  The pepper plants flower here and there and if I can keep them watered they will really take off in a few months and I will have lots of great peppers to eat and preserve.

I had pickling cucumbers planted at my neighbors, but they had a hard time this year so they have been pulled up. His Armenian cucumbers are still happy, and growing and producing a lot.

I planted purple tomatillos for the first time this year. They are growing and are putting on flowers. I am just seeing the little tomatillos starting to develop. That is very exciting.

purple tomatillo flowering

I planted a spineless okra this year. It seems to be growing slow and is very short compared to the Star of David I have grown in the past. It is starting to slowly produce and as it flowers I am enjoying the blooms. The fire ants have been enjoying the booms too! grrr. I have hopes of pickling the okra, but for now there isn’t enough so we are adding it to stir fry’s or slicing and collecting it in the freezer for later.

Monday and Tuesday we had some beautiful rain come down. My rain barrels are overflowing and the plants and trees are just smiling out there right now.

I am very excited to watch the tomatillos grow.

Did you plant something new in your garden this season?

Sincerely, Emily

You can see what else I am up to over at Sincerely, Emily. The topics are varied, as I jump around from gardening to sewing to making bread or lotion and many things in between.

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Note to Self…

I don’t know about you but at the end of the main growing season I always have all these notes in my head about what I loved and what I would do differently next spring.

So instead of taking the time to go try to find some paper that isn’t wrinkled and scribbled on and a pen that actually has ink…and then try to keep track of the list for 9 months…

I am going to make my ‘notes to self’ right here on the blog…hope nobody minds.

NOTES TO SELF

• Tomato cages are wayyyyy better than this…it worked well for the cool spring but tomatoes need cages to grow up in…those tunnels did not control them nearly enough.

• Remember to build more tomato cages before next year.
• Yarn does NOT work as well as twine for green beans, it stretches in the rain and all the beans fall down…so don’t be lazy and go find the twine next time!
• Put a self-closing hing on the garden gate…the dog likes cucumbers.
• While we are on it…cucumbers do well with water.  Bitter is not the best flavor.Plant more flowers…

• Make more compost.
• Growing peppers and eggplant in tunnels is an EXCELLENT idea, please remember do this again.

• Pumpkins are great fun to grow…more are needed next year.  Try some new colors.

• Squash takes up a LOT of room, remember this so the compost bin doesn’t get covered with vines.
• Barrels are great for potatoes but you would need many, many more to have a large harvest.
• Plant out gourds sooner…

• Plant out cantaloupe later.

• Yum, yum peppers are simply the cutest and sweetest peppers ever…grow lots more!
• 6 foot wire fencing is perfect for growing peas.

• Chickens fly…chickens escape…chickens invade!
• Chickens love young pumpkins, which will grow up to be ugly hen pecked pumpkins.

• Remember to enjoy the process…
• Always, always  involve the kids…even when they annoy you.

• And don’t hate the camel for doing what a camels does…

Which is anything he can do to try to reach your precious garden.

• Reinforce the garden fence!

Finally…

Remember why you do this every year…

For the health of your family and the health of the planet.

Besides…

Its fun!

So fellow gardeners…what notes have you made to yourself for next year?

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