Microbes and Week 7 2011

I started making sauerkraut this week. I used the two heads of pointy cabbage from the last two weeks shares. I sliced them to the thinness of a a quarter and tossed those nearly 5 lbs of cabbage through with 3 T of salt and 6 T of sugar. As the brine rose, I pushed it down and down until the brine covered the cabbage. I lay whole cabbage leaves over the top, pushing those too down under the brine with a plate smaller than the ceramic bowl, weighted down by 4 thoroughly scrubbed rocks.

I never thought I'd be this excited about the controlled rotting of the fermenting of cabbage in my kitchen.

Last week's beets are also spending time in brine. I roasted them with the beets from Week 4, sliced them a 1/4 inch thick, and did water batch processing for the first time since the Pyrex Disaster of '10. Nothing exploded. In fact, the whole thing was surprisingly easy. It was just a lot of steps.

I did it in stages, roasting the beets in the morn, chilling them until the afternoon, peeling and packing while the brine and the bath came to a boil. Then, with the help of my handy dandy purchase from Ball Glass, I lowered the assembled pickles into the water, set the timer and walked away.

Now, given, this might not be the best project for the record breaking temps predicted for the end of this week. But, in the meanwhile, I have these beautiful ruby red jars waiting to be opened in 3 weeks. And plots for getting my holiday gifts completed by the end of the summer.

Speaking of which, I'm also drying herbs. Speaking of which, the basil from last week's share is still going strong on my kitchen window sill, ends trimmed, propped in a vase, happy as a clam.

Onto this week's share and steps: Lettuce, Sweet Onions, Cucumbers, Summer Squash/Zucchini, Tomatoes, Braising Greens (Mizuna, Spicy Red Streaks, Mustard Greens, and Kales) or Arugula, Chive or Parsley, and Radishes or Fennel. Fruit Share: 2 pints Blueberries

1. Triage Short life: Lettuce, Arugula, Chives; Medium Life: Summer Squash/Zucchini, Tomatoes, Braising Greens, Parsley, Fennel; Long Life: Radishes, Sweet Onions. Shortest life, as in endangered species in the Noshing household: Blueberries

I love these Blueberries. I'm eating them by the handful, putting them in pancakes and generally letting the sharp skins pop open into sweet tart deliciousness. I'd love to try my hand at jam, but I just don't see them lasting that long. If I had them in excess, I could spread them out upon a sheet tray (unwashed), freeze them on the tray, then transfer to a freezer bag. But, frankly, they're just not going to last that long.

As for everything else, we'll be looking at the heat and what can be made without turning on the oven. We'll grill the summer squash, delight in a radish slaw, and eat many, many, many salads and sandwiches.

A word about tomatoes: eat a farm grown, sun ripened tomato. It will change your life. When ripe, tomatoes will gently spring back to the touch and they will smell like tomato the way a cantaloupe smells like melon. They will be bright red, not orange. Ripe or unripe, DO NOT place them in the refrigerator. It will kill their flavor. If your tomatoes need to further ripen, place them on the window. Otherwise, eat now or forever hold your peace. Only Philistines cannot appreciate summer ripe tomatoes in all their bounty. Only the uninitiated eat grocery store tomatoes raw out of season.

2. Divide and Conquer Radishes and Fennel.

Yeah, that thing I said about eating radish greens the other week? Skip that. Or, toss them through with your arugula/braising greens and saute away with garlic and oil.

Fennel tops are treated differently from the fennel bulb. With their strong anise flavor, the fronds can season a brine or a soup, and the stalks can be treated as you would celery, with an awareness of the flavor to come. In Dave's family, a relish tray, aka antipasto, is a key part of every family special event. These stalks, sliced thinly on a bias, would be a perfect accompaniment to olives, giardiniera and some sharp provolone.

3. Everything in it's Place Braising Greens and Arugula.

I cannot wait to try this recipe from Serious Eats. It'll use up my sweet onions, which I can slow cook to caramel over a low flame, douse my greens in flavor and twist these nutrient rich beauties into something my family will eat without blinking. If I have time, I can even make some quick refried beans for a good dose of protein, using the chives and parsley to lend extra flavor.

4. Wrap and Store Did I mention I'm on a pickling kick? The cucumbers will be pickles, along with their compatriots in my crisper drawer (we who are about to ferment salute you). I can put the chives and parsley directly into plastic bags and freeze if I wish. Which I may, as I'm up to my ears in herbs at the moment. I'm tempted to pickle the tomatoes, but they may join the basil on the window sill to ripen. Zucchini/Summer Squash can also be pickled. As can the radishes. And the fennel. And the blueberries, for that matter.

I might be slightly obsessed.

I want to pickle the world.

I am having WAY to much fun playing with microbes. I'll keep you posted.