Yum! Bacteria!

So, guess what!  I made the jalapenos and they're very yummy, approved by my pickled jalapeno loving husband.  Also, my friend Joy gave me some kefir to use so I'll start making that for soaking grains a la Nourishing Traditions.  It incubates at room temperature, so no more accidentally killing my yogurt in the oven while I prep for dinner!

Also, I'm going to try to do the sew along at Gertie's Sewing Blog for the Lady Jane Grey coat, which is on it's way to me as we speak... I have a cotton jaquard in grey and yellow that should be smashing with my grey skirt... but as to lining, a silk charmeuse in ??? turquoise? green? grey?  I'd prefer a surprising lining, of course, but haven't decided yet what color... maybe in orange???  Erg...

I also bought fabric for curtains in the living room, finally!  It's very pretty, but I seem to be unable to find time to sew!!!  Now that school planning is done I may have a few days next week to get them put together.  I bought curtain rods already and I can't wait to see it all done and in my living room!

Speaking of fabric, I have a new favorite online fabric store: Hawthorne Threads
They have beautiful, modern fabrics which you can search by color!  So cool... and there are discounts for volume orders, as well.  Go check them out!

Lactofermentation Update...

So, my pickles are crunchy and tasty, very salty, though... trying again with whey and jalapenos...

My new experiment: Lactofermentation

Ok, so anyone who eats yogurt enjoys the benefits of lactofermentation, it's basically growing good bacteria, the kind that your tummy likes, in a milk medium.  I've found out that it can be used for preserving foods, too, and still with all the benefits to your tummy!  Not to mention, there's no cooking involved, so the food remains nutritionally dense during preservation, unlike canning or to a lesser extent, freezing.  So, because so many of us like to eat pickles on a regular basis, I've begun with those.  Here is a recipe from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, which I highly recommend (and it costs a lot less now than it did when I first bought it).

Pickled Cucumbers

Makes 1 Quart

4-5 pickling cucumbers or 15-20 gherkins
1 T mustard seeds
2 T Fresh dill, snipped
1 T sea salt
4 T whey (or substitute another T of sea salt)
1 cup filtered water
Also, I added 1 clove of garlic

Wash well and place in a quart sized, wide mouth mason jar.  Combine remaining ingredients and pour over cucumbers, adding more water if necessary to cover the cucumbers.  The top of the liquid should be at least 1 in below the top of the jar.  Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage (read refrigerator).

Dude, that's like so many times easier than normal pickles I can't even describe it... I mean, liming, sanitizing, heating vinegar and spices, salt, processing, and all in a hot kitchen is the normal modus operandus.  So, here are mine!

 

I used the extra salt because we've been using yogurt for soaking grains for eating and I'm running short of whey...  also, mine seem to be slightly foamy, which I fear may be detergent residue from washing them out?!  I'm trying sliced jalapenos next!

Anyway, with all this yogurt consumption, I'm thinking I need the big yogurt maker, so I can make like  a quart at a time, without having to wrap my jar in a towel and put it in a warm oven and hope for the best!  One like this:

 

Or, I could make kefir, which incubates at room temperature and can be used for soaking grains, too.

Or, I could make both, some yogurt for yogurt cheese, whey, and sauces, and the kefir for when I need the bacteria to predigest and counteract enzyme inhibitors in grains.... hmmmmmm....  so many little microbes to farm, so little time!

Garden Progress

I planted the herbs in April, like a week after we moved in.  This is what they looked like immediately after planting.  Kind of bare and scraggly... I know.  There's rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, and parsley, plus marigolds.

In June I took pics of the gardens as we planted and prepared them, it was late for planting, but we took awhile to get the gardens ready.  Between unpacking and Jeremy's crazy work schedule, it took till early June to get things started.

Here's the herb garden again, just getting established... it took awhile!

The green beans, and some empty, but seeded dirt...

The tomatoes, some mesclun seedlings, and pink petunias...

And here's the planted garden and unplanted bed along the fence.

These were all taken today, in very hot, bright sunshine!

Herb Garden

Tomatoes

Beans, Okra, lettuce, radishes, broccoli, zucchini under the dwarf apple tree...

And the crunchy, dry grass and sfg's growing in the heat.... along the fence, there are yellow squash, more okra, and more green beans, planted later even than the ones in the sfg... I'm gonna put cabbages and carrots in this bed, too, for fall, and then plant some spinach and kale and chard for fall... we also planted melons and pumpkins on a slope beside the driveway, too, though I forget to water those...  I'm praying for rain!!!  Also, the buckets and rack for our killing cones for butchering chickens are in the background... we put 24 in the freezer last Wednesday!  Yay!

I love teal.

Hempathy Buttercup Top

Buttercup in Elisabeth Lavold Hempathy...

Size 4 circular needle

Cool and comfy, except for the plunging neckline, which requires a tank, which sort of ruins the sublime coolness... I'll make it again, and make the neck line a bit more discreet!  And this color, really any shade of blue green makes me feel happy... looks good with my hair, too!

Pork with Rosemary, Always

My mother's recipe, in her own handwriting:

The first time we made this together, I had a boy-man coming to dinner, and she wrote it in a book that she'd been preparing for me with other recipes... I don't remember that boy's name at all, but making dinner with my mom is a very fond memory.  I made it one night last week and thought I'd record it pictorially.  I used fresh rosemary and my enameled cast iron dutch oven... I highly recommend this to new brides to register for... let someone else buy you a treasure you can hand down to your own grandchild.

I have been putting a pitcher of water in the fridge with a few herb sprigs in it for a little mama treat:  It's amazing how potent herbs from one's own garden are compared to those you buy at the store.

And, the finished product, complete with rosemary sprigs from my garden: