Rewarding Venture

Success! My third fermentation is my creation and a success. Next project? Hopefully it will be cauliflower florets. The local farm market is displaying them and I'll probably use my same mixture or perhaps use white vinegar instead of the apple cider variety so the brine won't be so dark. I think now that I'm getting the knack of using my beautiful pot! I did have to add a bit of water to the lid grove during its three week fermentation period.

Geraldine’s Fermented Pickled Asparagus
Friday, June 5, 2020

About 20 fresh asparagus spears. Cut tips with 3 inch stems. Cut to 1 1/2 inch pieces. You will then have a mixture of short tips and stalk pieces. *

Mix together:

3 T. Turbinado cane sugar (sugar in the raw)

1 1/4 C apple cider vinegar

1 T. natural sea salt

1/4 tsp. celery seed

1/4 tsp. dill seed

1 tsp. whole black peppercorn

10 whole cloves

(I would have added mustard seed but was out of it.)

Heat all ingredients on low, stirring to dissolve sugar completely.

Place asparagus pieces in fermentation pot and cover with above warm mixture. Place weights on top and push down. Cover and add water to pot groove.

Ferment for about three weeks. Jar up and keep refrigerated.

*The remainder of asparagus stalks may be sliced,  cooked, pureed and made into cream of asparagus soup!

Finished June 27, 2020 and is PERFECTLY DELICIOUS! Crunchy, pickled, and pleasantly flavorful!

Recipe created by GMR

Another Batch of Soup and Cabin Project

Asparagus, that is.  Made it same way as before on June 6.  See link below.... There is no better soup than what is made from fresh vegetables right out of the local farmer's field! This is superb, if I don't say so myself!

Green Soup

And the new gutters and downspouts were installed today. 2020 cabin project is now completed except that the snow guards on the roof still need to be added (before winter!). These act to slow the snow and ice from sliding off all at once.

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Soup's On!

It is never too warm, cold, late, or early for soup in this home. Here's what I did today. . .

I cut off all the ends of another bunch of asparagus we bought at the local farm market and sliced them into 1 1/2 inch pieces, saving the top sections.  I made a chicken broth with some Herb-ox chicken granulated bouillon and simmered the pieces in it for about 20 minutes. After letting it cool down, I pulled out my OLD blender and pureed this mixture, slowly adding half and half milk and ground black peppercorn until I thought it was just right. 

It WAS!! Excellent! YAY! Made about a quart. Now don't you think my passion is experimenting?  Well, I'm having fun with foods lately. I might try to munch on a raw tip!

Still have the tips to cook....They will be good. Asparagus spears are special.

HA! Found my exact blender model for sale on e-bay! 

Hamilton Beach Scovill Vintage 1970's Seven Speed Blender, Model 620, made in USA

(p.s. I remember buying this to make frozen strawberry daiquiris)

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One Day at a Time

Last evening I prepared parmesan roasted potato halves and parmesan roasted asparagus for supper. Easy and tasty meal. A fellow blogger said she never heard of pickled asparagus. Well, guess what? I researched the internet and there are multiple and different recipes for them, so I might just try fermenting a few! (Tips only, I think.)

This morning I took a short ride about and it is "the time of the iris."

My own are blooming, an old heritage bearded iris variety that my parents planted here at the cabin, but the neighbor had some very large white ones. (They don't photograph very well, as the whiteness takes over and I was disappointed with my results, but......)

Even the small dark beauties were not in the mood to pose, showing off their true beauty! Or - maybe it was me. 

So down the road I rode and was made happy to view all of the wild and multicolored Phlox. They are everywhere and this photo doesn't do them justice — at all! Purple, pink, blue, cream and white they are precious in my sight........

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Red Onion Fermentation

The second batch of fermented onions is completed after two weeks and I'll tell you that the fermentation crock that I bought from Alford Wayman of Creek Road Pottery LLC is doing a great job. This activity is all new to me and I'm starting to feel comfortable with the process and the end result. This time I did one medium red onion and the result was one pint of goodness. Recipe below. I kinda made it up. YUM! My mother didn't ferment foods but I am now convinced that authentic handmade functional pottery for everyday use is definitely the way to go, especially if not wanting to create large batches. 

MY RECIPE

• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 T granulated sugar
• 1 T Morton's Natural Sea Salt
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 high quality cinnamon stick (McCormick)

Two weeks in pot with weights and water in lid groove. No peeking!

I have more ideas in mind. Stay tuned! NOPE! Not this new asparagus - something else.

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Special Delivery

My brother stopped in this morning to share some freshly picked asparagus from his garden. He brought in a large plastic bagful and told me to pick out some. The next person he will bring some to will make asparagus soup with hers. I've said it before and I will repeat again that we are very spoiled with vegetables that are picked just a few hours before they arrive here for our meals. WOW are we lucky! This bunch is soaking in cold water before I roast it later. To see how I roast it please go to the link at the bottom of this page in case you missed my May 12 blog.

He also brought a dozen eggs that were just gathered from his henhouse. I shall rinse them just before use. (It's the "old way" as there is a natural covering that keeps out bacteria.) Some say to never wash them.

"The reason I don't wash them is that eggs are laid with a natural, protective “bloom” on them. This coating helps keep bacteria out of the fresh egg. Washing removes the bloom and can actually contribute to bacterial contamination.

Unwashed eggs will last at least two weeks unrefrigerated, and three months if refrigerated. Washed eggs should be refrigerated, and will last at least two months, but won't taste as fresh as an unwashed egg of the same age.

If the eggs have a little manure on them, you can wipe with a damp cloth for small spots. A really dirty egg can be submerged and scrubbed with a vegetable brush. Always use warm water; cold water will make the egg shrink inside the shell and will draw in bacteria. Let eggs air-dry thoroughly before putting them away."

Source~Internet

Roasted Asparagus

Fresh from the Farm

Farm Photos

We took a ride to the farm produce market and came home with some freshly picked asparagus. I soaked it in cold water, drained it and then snapped of some more of the stalk. I then took a pizza pan, covered it with foil and drizzled it with olive oil. The next thing was to place the asparagus on the surface, drizzle more olive oil over it all. Garlic powder, sea salt, and ground black peppercorn was sprinkled heavily. The finishing touch was to shake (I don't buy chunks and grate) parmesan/Romano cheese over it all. Baking in the 400° oven for about 15 minutes made this vegetable very tasty and extremely tender even though they were all of different thicknesses. There are only two left over. I confess to nibbling three more as I put them away! We'll have them in soup soon.

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The rest of dinner was Bar-B-Q chicken breast and boiled potatoes topped with cream of chicken gravy. 

Good farm fresh vegetables and fruits are the highlight of my spring and summer meals. (The flowers for sale are impressive too!)