Milk kefir is liiiiiife!I don't really grow my own food but I do have spices cultivated at home and I'm also a heavy user of kefir milk which I cultivate at home
I loved it ever since I started consuming it. I was able to shed some pounds with it, so good.Milk kefir is liiiiiife!
Haha, funny you tagged me because I was literally talking to a friend today about your original tomato conserve post.Scopa I remember you mentioning loving traditional Italian food, so this one is up your alley:
On the left is another batch of Conserva cruda di pomodoro that I started last night. In the center is the end result from the previous batch. Conserva cruda is fermented tomato paste. A few posts up I posted the 1-gallon crock full of tomatoes, and this 16oz jar of paste (sitting in front of the same crock, for comparison) is all that remains.
End result was extremely bright and flavorful, almost overpowering (which is okay because it's only an ingredient, not a food). Next time I will mix in more cherry/grape and san marzano tomatoes to sweeten the flavor. A very easy process and worth doing when you have extra tomatoes.
On the right is a 32oz (1 qt) jar of halved tomatoes in some of the cruda brine plus some milk kefir whey. The spices inside are a few bay leaves, some garlic cloves, and whole mustard seeds. These will "pickle" but a better term is that they will gently ferment. Great on salads and with Mediterranean food in the Sicily/Italy/Croatia region.
I will probably preserve another batch of lemons next. I also need to make more 'kraut so I will take photos of that.
Thank you! Please try to make it someday because it is the easiest ferment I've done (and I've done dozens ferments across numerous cuisines). Perhaps it will get you into the wonderful world of home fermentation. You will need a food mill or food strainer (something to mechanically separate the liquid and pulp from the seeds + skins).Haha, funny you tagged me because I was literally talking to a friend today about your original tomato conserve post.
Yes, I love Italian food and have a lot of experience with it, but had somehow never really come across conserva cruda di pomodoro. I don’t know why. Maybe because most of my experience is with more southern Italian cooking and maybe this particular conserve is more northern? I need to ask around.
Anyway, your original post intrigued me, so I looked it up the other day and some recipe/step-by-steps.
I might try it myself at some point.
I love this thread! Your doing amazing work.
I definitely will.Thank you! Please try to make it someday because it is the easiest ferment I've done (and I've done dozens of different varieties across numerous cuisines). Perhaps it will get you into the wonderful world of home fermentation. You will need a food mill or food strainer (something to mechanically separate the liquid and pulp from the seeds + skins).
I will do photos of some breads next. My wife is nagging me to make more pita and more ciabatta. I am also hoping to make fresh sourdough dough although I will actually cheat and use milk kefir whey to hasten the process instead of doing the normal 1-week process.
Homemade-yogurt superior race represent.Milk kefir is liiiiiife!
I'm lazy and cheap: I don't want to deal with keeping the culture at the proper temp. Milk kefir is the only cultured dairy I need in my life.Homemade-yogurt superior race represent.
I didn't do herbs this year and I regret it. Next year, definitely.This is actually pretty awesome DunDun. Very very nice. Living in townhomes, the only stuff that I've really gotten to grow are herbs at the window. And that was never a great harvest for me. Once the wifeski and I move out to a house with land, I'm taking full advantage of growing my own vegetables and fruit. In our house, we have staples that we cook with daily (e.g. garlic, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, etc) that would be fantastic to just yank out of the back yard when needed. Canning or jarring tomatoes? Yep. That would be handy to have around. Not only that, I'm going to be one of those people and say that the stuff you grow is much better for you than the "modified" stuff you'll find in the grocery stores.
And it tastes so much better too. Every time we head out to her parents farm, we're always treated to fresh produce and herbs from her mom's garden. Doesn't even compare to store bought.
Besides, I need another hobby. I don't think I have enough.
You should try (proper) yogurt with honey. Ping me if you ever visit the Balkans.I'm lazy and cheap: I don't want to deal with keeping the culture at the proper temp. Milk kefir is the only cultured dairy I need in my life.
Me and my grandparents will begin growing around April. Right now the ground is still too frozen.Scopa Liljagare Codes 208 Singular7 hargwood
Calling you out because you've mentioned you grew stuff in the past. Please post pics over the coming months if you are so inclined, and I'd love to hear about your 2019 plans.
I'm doing starters (pictured above) for the first time this year as well as a lot more indoor plants. My herbs have barely sprouted, but I'll share pics of those as they get bigger. The "spending money" from our US tax refund is going almost entirely to seeds, dirt, mulch, and timber to build up the garden beds. I'm excited to take pictures and share in a few months.
Soon I'll have sprouts to show off, which isn't anything difficult to grow but is still cool to look at, IMO.
Those countertop growers are exceptional little devices. I think it's neat that you were able to garden without any previous experience.I've never really grown anything before, and certainly not food - but this year for Christmas my mom got me an Aero Garden from Micracle Grow. It's easy enough for someone like me to put together and understand. Basically, it's a tank of water with a pump in it, a place to put pre-seeded pods of various things, and a light at the top that works on a timer. The model I got supported 6 pods and came with a set of "salad green" pods.
It's this thing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010NBJMLI/?tag=neogaf0e-20
(Sorry in advance for all the photos!)
Starting out, this was about a month ago:
You put the little seed pod things in the base, fill it up with water, and drop in a couple of caps of the plant food. I changed the settings to "Salad Greens" which just controls the light cycle.
Anyway, it took a couple of weeks to get going. At first I thought "hmm, I'm not sure if the electricity used in running that pump 24 hours a day and the light 17 hours a day really pencils out. After a few weeks though, these things are going to town: sucking up a bunch of water, leafing out, you know... being plants.
After a few weeks...
Then a few weeks more they REALLY took off...
Since there was a lot of growth competition here, I decided it was time to start harvesting some of them, leaving others to grow and keep leafing out more.
I got a pretty big bowl of salad!
Added some ham chunks, a bit of cheese, and some ranch dressing and it was surprisingly tasty
I've also been cutting it to shreds to have on tacos, whole leaf on turkey burgers, and it's been better than any store-bought lettuce I've had.
I've found that I really have enjoyed watching it grow, and there is a certain satisfaction from eating something you "did yourself" rather than just going to the store to buy a $2 head of lettuce. Obviously, this machine isn't going to ever pay for itself unless I start growing weed with it. It's been fun and it's nice to plan meals around stuff that just needs a bit of lettuce, and getting the sheers out and having it fresh. Since it's an indoor / year-round system I imagine these guys will probably just keep on growing.
Hope you've enjoyed my silly lettuce journey!
Those countertop growers are exceptional little devices. I think it's neat that you were able to garden without any previous experience.
It would be cool to grow herbs or tomatoes in that thing. Do you have plans to re-up with the same lettuce cartridges, or try something else?
Thanks for sharing your pictures.
Yeah, if you clip leaves as you go, you get a larger harvest over the long run. I use the same method in my outdoor garden.I have a set of pods with herbs in it
But I'm not sure if I would get as much utility out of those and I fear it might make for an odd combination of smells in my kitchen.
The salad greens I have say they have an "average lifespan" of 4 months so I'll definitely be chowing down on those for the next few months at least.
Yeah, if you clip leaves as you go, you get a larger harvest over the long run. I use the same method in my outdoor garden.
The nice thing about keeping the fresh herbs on hand is you'll only use a little bit at a time anyway.
However, it sounds like you're getting meal-sized amounts of lettuce, which is pretty remarkable. Why not stick with what works? Can't you select only 1 or 2 herbs and then make the rest lettuce again (I can't imagine you are forbidden from mixing and matching)?
Scopa Liljagare Codes 208 Singular7 hargwood
Calling you out because you've mentioned you grew stuff in the past. Please post pics over the coming months if you are so inclined, and I'd love to hear about your 2019 plans.
I'm doing starters (pictured above) for the first time this year as well as a lot more indoor plants. My herbs have barely sprouted, but I'll share pics of those as they get bigger. The "spending money" from our US tax refund is going almost entirely to seeds, dirt, mulch, and timber to build up the garden beds. I'm excited to take pictures and share in a few months.
Soon I'll have sprouts to show off, which isn't anything difficult to grow but is still cool to look at, IMO.
Almonds? I'm very jealous. The only way I could do almonds is if I put one into a greenhouse, because I think our winters are too harsh.I'll be looking at growing almonds this year and also looking into the possibility of getting a few hens. Used to collect eggs from a local farm park with my grandad when I was young and have always wanted to produce my own eggs, meat etc. if possible.
Yeah, I cheated a bit and started some plants indoors. No worries if you haven't started anything yet. Feel free to share any ideas or plans you have, in the meanwhile.Way too early for my region to start. I just ordered everything though.. Usually till and plant in april.
Thanks for the kind words. I'll keep updating with stuff as I do it, and I'm glad that others are adding their own pictures and updates.Holy shit, subbed. Didn’t expect to see this niche hobby have an OT. I’m goin’ in hard this Spring.
DunDunDunpachi Know that your efforts keeping this AAA thread going are appreciated even if no replies
Yeah, same. I read every single post, study every picture and get insanely jealous and hungry. Sometimes there’s not much to say, but stare in awe and admiration.Holy shit, subbed. Didn’t expect to see this niche hobby have an OT. I’m goin’ in hard this Spring.
DunDunDunpachi Know that your efforts keeping this AAA thread going are appreciated even if no replies
Yeah, I cheated a bit and started some plants indoors. No worries if you haven't started anything yet. Feel free to share any ideas or plans you have, in the meanwhile.
This is about 1/3rd of the carrot patch. Sow them dense and pull the biggest ones. They're uglier, but you get more lbs per square foot. The little ugly balls in the back are beets that we picked too early. After the first frost, not before.
Depends on who you ask. I'm in the USA, but other GAFers are from other countries.What country are these photos from?
I'm headed in that direction within the next few years, too. Seems like the trick is to balance the fish, the bacteria, and the plant beds themselves. Growlights vs greenhouse vs fully outside. Wicking beds vs float beds vs drain-and-fill rock beds vs vertical pipes. Type of fish involved makes a difference, too. Plus, I'm already doing some of the adjacent things like growing my own red worms, which I can feed to the fish.I dream about firing up an aquaponics rig with catfish and tilapia, which I would also harvest for meat. I have a huge backyard, and could feed the whole goddamn neighborhood if it was implemented properly.
I fell into a deep youtube trap over a year ago learning everything I could about it. The idea of covering my entire family's produce consumption for the cost of water circulation, fish food, and ph chemicals for the initial investment of about $1000 is insane. Plus I get all the catfish I can eat!I'm headed in that direction within the next few years, too. Seems like the trick is to balance the fish, the bacteria, and the plant beds themselves. Growlights vs greenhouse vs fully outside. Wicking beds vs float beds vs drain-and-fill rock beds vs vertical pipes. Type of fish involved makes a difference, too. Plus, I'm already doing some of the adjacent things like growing my own red worms, which I can feed to the fish.
I better stop there, because to be honest I could rant and rant about it.
Heck yeah! Well, if you end up going that route it would be great to hear about what does or doesn't work for you. I'm still at least a year off from that. I might do tilapia but that would likely restrict me to indoors. Eventually, I'd like to have a setup outside that can survive the Midwest winters.I fell into a deep youtube trap over a year ago learning everything I could about it. The idea of covering my entire family's produce consumption for the cost of water circulation, fish food, and ph chemicals for the initial investment of about $1000 is insane. Plus I get all the catfish I can eat!
Haha, you are like some mad professor. I picture you in an isolated rickety cottage in the woods doing experiments, lol. You do so much!Updates! I am still plugging along with microgreens. These kohlrabi greens have about 1 or 2 days left before I want to eat them. In the background is the same 1-gal jar of 'kraut mentioned above.
Here is that 1-gal jar parceled out into three smaller jars.
Foreground: some carrots at the bottom of this jar of 'kraut, immersed in the juice as well. Since fermentation is an active biological process, it makes sense to "keep it going" by pickling other fresh veggies, or reserving a piece of the sourdough to ferment future batches, retaining your kefir grains to ferment another batch of milk, using the same "pickling stone" in each batch, etc.
This mentality was far more common in old cultures but is mostly unheard of nowadays.
The 'kraut on the far right was jarred on June 27th of last year. This is perhaps my longest fermenting experiment so far. No mold! No rot! It's a bit mushy, but the flavor is milder than traditional 'kraut. This particular batch was made with milk kefir grains, a pinch of salt, and clean water, with the goal of observing how long food could be preserved using kefir grains. If you look closely, you can see the off-white chunks in the jar (those are the grains).
I first got the idea from this ancient website (which is the most concentrated source of kefir knowledge I've found so far, surpassing even YouTube or mommy-blogs) and the method appears to work very well for long-term preservation.
My next experiment is to use the milk kefir pickling method to preserve "hard" veggies like carrots, beets, and turnips. If the cabbage turned a bit mushy but was otherwise preserved with zero mold or rot, I hypothesize these vegetables will retain much of their flavor while staying relatively crunchy. I may add a few wild grape leaves (they grow in and near my yard) to the bottom of the jar, which is a traditional method used to keep pickles crunchy. The leaves are high in tannins.
You could say I do it for the love of the game. Nope, I'm not prepping for anything apocalyptic, but I think it's valuable and interesting to learn about this stuff.Haha, you are like some mad professor. I picture you in an isolated rickety cottage in the woods doing experiments, lol. You do so much!
Quick question (and please don’t take it the wrong way because I love your updates Dun): Do you do it for the love of the game or are you...ah...prepping for something?
It’s not like I’d blame you for being a prepper in today’s world.