Summer Salad

Squash for oven grill and salad

This week I bought some zucchini, yellow squash, yellow peppers and tomatoes. Today, I sliced and diced them into grilled veggies and salad.

To the diced veggies I added one and a half cups of cooked shelled pasta and fresh pressed garlic.
I used one and a half cups of dried pasta and there are two cups of diced veggies before the tomatoes.

Added some sliced hard cooked eggs and dressed with Kraft Bruschetta dressing, cracked pepper and paprika. I think this would easily serve four for a light brunch.

YUM!

Fermented Green Tomatoes

Fermenting Green Tomatoes

I love posting recipes in a single collage. (I need to find the double click that makes pictures large and larger.)

Let me know how that works for you. It is small so I will include the individual photos below. We already know I have a love of fermenting everything. It has been so hot that my plants are blossoming but not fruiting, or fruiting but not growing. When we were back in the 90's last week, my pepper plants bloomed and set fruit. They are not as big as they were in moderate heat, but will work fine for ferments.

In a clean glass jar stuff green tomatoes, peppers, garlic (and herbs, if you choose - dill, celery...). My jalapeno  ripened to a crimson red and adds a bit of color.

I save the whey from the top of my yogurt and here it looks a bit milky (on the far left). In the center is filtered water with salt. My last ferments have been one teaspoon sea salt to about ten ounces of water. I would like to reduce the sodium, so this batch has only half the salt. To the far right is my starter. I save some brine from each batch to start the next - just like yogurt.

I fill the jars from right to left - starter, water, whey - then top off each jar with a few wine "corks". The veggies must stay under the fluid to avoid ruin. Make extra water as needed to fill completely.

I carry the jars to the sink and force the lids on. Then I shake them to get a good mixing. Finally, loosen the lids so that the gas can escape during processing. Place on a plate or tray to catch overflow. I allow three days before checking, but feel free to check at two. When fermented to your liking, seal and place in cool storage. For me that is the frig. A cellar would be so nice.

Enjoy!

When these are ready, I'll update this post with serving suggestions.

YUM!

Incredible Chocolate Cookies

These fab cookies are made from leftover bits of other food projects.

I cook with butter if I use oil at all. This is a blend of equal amounts of butter and nut butter (in this case almond).

From the milk liqueur I have the ginger puree. It is sweet and spicy. There are no exact ingredients or measurements because when you make the cookies it will be your special offering.

I like nuts (and prefer pecans, but always have walnuts on hand), chocolate chips, coconut, and chia seeds. I add chia seeds to everything. They are my justification for indulgence.

I save the pulp from juicing and generally have carrots remains. This week I added raspberries to the juice and strained out the seeds.

I keep cake or muffin mix on hand, but oat flour with 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder per cup will work as well. (Add cocoa powder if more chocolate is desired.) Mix.


Without the eggs, the cookies were crumbly. These will be great mixed with yogurt or vanilla ice cream. They reminded me of Seattle Chocolates - my favorite candies. Instead of one flavor, it was a taste explosion in my mouth!

Yum!

More Milk Liqueur

The pictures and the process - Milk Liqueur

A couple of weeks ago I started the process again - equal parts milk, sugar, and vodka. Add a whole piece of citrus. I add ginger as well. Yesterday, (more than ten days later of shaking nightly), I started the straining process. It takes several hours and in the top frame I have my lunch of new potatoes and spinach.

Bottom right - it looks pretty clear but I strained it one more time. It is very sweet. I had a shot last night - on the rocks. I bottled and refrigerated the nectar to rest for the next four months. My last batch tasted best in that time, so I will save it until November.

Wasting nothing. I added the ginger puree to a cookie mix. Recipe in the next post.

Yum!

Ferment Update

The ferment from my previous post was ready in three days. I stored it in the frig and began sampling occasionally. Fabulous! Next I was eating it by the bowl full. With about two cups left, I decided to chop it up for salsa. It tasted great. Add some home canned tomatoes. Magic! Taste like those fresh salsas they serve with endless chips and margaritas. (Great recipe for that as well. Later.)

Onion, Zucchini, Garlic, Gypsy and Jalapeno Ferment - chopped

Added home canned tomatoes

Salsa behind. Toasted cheese and fermented veggie sandwich

What have you decided to ferment?

Yum!

Spinach Cheese Casserole

This is an incredibly easy and versatile recipe.
Mix one package of thawed and drained frozen spinach with 16 or so ounces of cottage cheese.
Spinach used to come in 16 ounces as well, but now seems to be cut to 12.

 Add a couple of eggs (2 or 3, purely personal),
a cup of shredded cheese. I used a Mexican blend, but Italian blend works as well. If a single cheese is chosen consider how well it will melt or if that matters. Include fresh onion and garlic, if available and seasonings. I use a seasoning salt that I made but this recipe can adapt to the flavor you choose by shifting cheeses and seasonings.

Turn the lot into a baking dish. I prefer this two quart glass dish with lid. I have also used an oiled square baking pan, uncovered.

Bake until solid. Glassware bakes at 350 degrees. An 8 inch square, at 375. Either dish bakes for 30 minutes. Open and stir, then return to oven. Re-check at 20 minutes. Allow to set before serving.

As you can see, the spinach comes through in the end product. The casserole remains moist and can be served with garlic toast as a side, on a rice bed with garnish, or as it. Of course, low carb and gluten free, if it matters. As for the fat, well, those don't count. Taste great!

This is also a great sandwich topping. I love a panini that includes turkey and artichokes.


YUM!

Ferment Everything

Zucchini Ferment

It finally rained  and rained good. First a slow sprinkle, then a deluge. My yargen will be happy and the weeds have dug in.

I hear the thing with having a large zucchini crop is the harvest, harvest, harvest. We had been just going out and eating them off the vine. Then we kept then on the table for snacks. These are small, about six inches long and round as a thumb. Perfect for salads. As I am not interested in eating more zucchini today, it is a great time to try out a ferment.




Pictured above in the right are the gypsy peppers from earlier this week. They started in a pint jar and this morning I sliced and pressed into a six ounce jar. On the left is the new batch. Zucchini, jalapeno pepper (one), onion, and garlic. They are floating in a mix of whey and salt water. I used the liquid from the batch on the right and added fresh salt water to fill the quart jar. The jar is topped with an onion slice to keep the rest submerged. For the next three days or so, the quart jar will set on a dish to catch the overflow as it ferments. The pickled peppers are in the frig.

YUM!

Want more inspiration and information? Check out kulturedkaraite.blogspot.com.

What will you ferment?