this might be THE difinitive source for all things fermentation...forums too.


http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=vegetables


I am eyeing my giant (well, three gallons) ceramic crock and telling it: get ready!


:-)

I've come to realize I've been eating a lot of these vegetables (brocolli, burssels sprouts) and need to start culturing them.

this is so good and the way the flavors blend is really great
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apple fennel sauerkraut salad
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1 large organic apple cut into segments or chopped
1 1/2 cup sauerkraut
1 1/2 cup fennel julienned or chopped
1/4 cup of walnuts raw or lightly roasted
1/4 cup of cold pressed flax seed oil or extra virgin olive oil

optional-dates

can try other nuts or seeds if desired

toss ingredients. if desired place on top of a bed of butter lettuce first. serve

"hardtoil" (elf loafing. love it)



So nice to hear your input on this. Dandelion is exactly what I've been eyeing lately, in that slightly stunned way I can experience at times, which always means my intuition is trying to give me some information I can't quite compute, probably due to working the wrong way. (all toil, no loaf)

I have a few questions for you.

I always thought the best burdock was more root-like (tuberish) and yet I see this box of stuff marked gobo that looks like rolled up waxed armadillos, potato-shaped, at the mongolian grocer nearby. They don't know what to do with it, of if it is gobo. Maybe it's been mismarked.

Is that burdock?

I lack a good place to wildcraft it right now...

I love the simple idea of using both lion's tooth greens and roots. It makes such good sense! Why is it we have made everything so complicated and fragmented? I am feeling lately almost as if I've been asleep for eons, and all the time I thought I was awake. :-) It's quite amusing.

I'm really inspired now to make a whole series of kimchees--you are right, there are many many ways to go

I think it's the word "kimchee" that can throw us non-koreans esp. for a loop. Probably better to think just "cultured vegetables", and then the door opens...


* i just bought some burdock and dandelion roots and leaves, all dry...thinking to make tincture or vinegar

Well, really, wanting
the fresh, I expect.



oh--why the brown Sugar and roasted sesame oil--what's that connection to eating it right away?

And why not unroasted oil? As to the black sesame seed, I love it. mm. Often keep a jar of gamashio (homemade, Sea Salt and black sesame) about.


thanks again!

Chiron

A few thoughts more about cultured vegetables.

Best days to make cultures veg. according the farmer’s Almanac
Are Nov. 6, 7 and fifteenth

Why? I’ve no idea, except that the moon is waning – on the fifteenth
its at one percent of waxing. Must be some other planetary influences as well.

http://www.almanac.com/bestdays/timetable



here’s what the moon phases LOOK like
http://www.almanac.com/moon/calendar/NH/Dublin/2009-11


I can’t remember when I made my best batch of cultured veggies…
But I think I will start keeping track. If I can, I’ll wait until a new moon, but unfortunately I’m anxious to get going, I just bought some stuff!


Very important, I feel:

Save some big cabbage leaves, (even if you don’t use these in the actual kimchi) and place one flat as a ‘lid’ for the veg. Then roll a few up like cigars and use these to take up space that the brine will then fill. This way, all the veg. are submerged, and if you get nay “bloom” or skimmy stuff, you can easily discard this.



A recipe From Wiki:

"Baechu kimchi" is made with salted baechu (a type of Chinese cabbage) filled with thin strips of radish, parsley, pine nuts, pears, chestnuts, shredded red pepper, manna lichen), garlic, and ginger.





Manna is described as being comparable to Hoarfrost in size. Hoarfrost on grass lawn.


According to the book of Exodus, manna is white, like Coriander seed.
In the description in the Book of Exodus, manna is described as being available six mornings a week, after the dew had evaporated.[1] It is described in the Book of Numbers as arriving with the dew during the night;[2] Exodus adds that manna was comparable to hoarfrost in size,[1] similarly had to be collected before it was melted by the heat of the sun,[3] and was white like coriander seed in color.[4] Numbers describes it as having the appearance of bdellium,[5] adding that the Israelites ground it up and pounded it into cakes, which were then baked, resulting in something that tasted like cakes baked with oil.[6] Exodus states that raw manna tasted like wafers that had been made with honey.[4] The Israelites were instructed to eat only the manna they had gathered for each day. Leftovers or manna stored up for the following day "bred worms and stank":[7] the exception being the day before Shabbat (Preparation Day), when twice the amount of manna was gathered, which did not spoil overnight.[8]


hhhmmmmmmm. That sounds good.


I had just been wondering about the qualities of parsley root, since it seems easier to locate than burdock (gobo)
* Parsley Root helps bladder, kidney, liver, lung, stomach, and thyroid function. It helps clear uric acid from the urinary tract and contains a substance that prevents the multiplication of tumor cells. It expels worms, relieves gas and stimulates normal activity of the digestive system. It has been used to treat urinary tract infections; helps dissolve and expel Gallstones and gravel; used to prevent kidney stone formation. It acts as a diuretic; increases urine volume. Parsley Root has been used to treat digestive weakness and bronchial and lung congestion.