Household Blog

Snoopy (Snoopy is Damon’s nickname) proved himself my urban gardening hero once again last night. Arriving home from a busy and stressful day, he brought it to my sometimes-clueless attention that with the spate of cold weather and frosts we’ve gotten this week, it’s probably a good time to harvest what we can from the fall garden. Good thinking, Snoopy. I’m glad one of us doesn’t his head up one’s proverbial bum :)

So while my better half brought in broccoli heads, cabbages, a few straggling turnips, and the less cold-hardy variety of kale, I was on KP. The curly kale and collards we left in the garden—they seem to be the rockstars of the winter—and we left the roots of the harvested plants intact and well mulched with straw, in hopes that they’ll give us a head start in the spring. The cabbage will be made into sauerkraut, the extra broccoli and greens will get blanched and frozen. Yum.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, I was faced with a gorgeous 2+ pound cabbage and a hungry tummy. Based on a recipe from MarthaStewart.com, this is one meal that I couldn’t not share (sorry for the shabby picture). It’s simple, so perfect for the season, and was a cinch to adapt as gluten free. Ohhhh, you’re going to love it, guaranteed. It’s got the Snoopy seal of approval.

Cabbage and Sausage Spaghetti

• 1 lb bulk sausage—I used a sage sausage from local Keenbell Farm
• One 2+ lb head of cabbage, sliced thinly
• One large yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 8 oz gluten free spaghetti (I like Tinkyada)
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• Fresh-ground black pepper and Parmesan for garnish (optional)

Cook and drain pasta.

While the pasta cooks, heat a deep skillet or stock pot over Medium-High. Cook sausage, breaking it up as it browns, once cooked, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan.

Add to the hot pan drippings 2 Tbsp water, the onion, and about half the cabbage. Add a sprinkle of salt and a liberal amount of pepper. Stir, then cover, stirring occasionally. Once the cabbage has started to soften, add the rest of the cabbage and continue to cook it, covered, stirring occasionally, until the onions and cabbage is soft. Remove from heat.

Add the cooked sausage and spaghetti to the cabbage mixture. Add vinegar and salt to taste and mix well. Serve hot, garnished with a bit of parmesan and a generous amount of black pepper.

Serves 6

Growing up, I hated sauerkraut. Loathed it. My mom would make sailor sandwiches and oven baked hot dogs with kraut occasionally, and from the first odors I was set against it. It was mushy, stinky, ugly, and revolting in every way. I’ve never been one for subtlety of opinion.

Well, I’m hereby changing my tune. Sauerkraut has become a favorite treat at the Purple House, regularly added to salads and soups as a condiment, taken along to cookouts to adorn all manner of grillables, and it’s not rare for me to just eat a couple mouthfuls straight out of the jar (I also do this with nut butters).

How did this shift occur? Well I’ll tell you I still don’t buy the flaccid canned mess from the store. I make my own fermented kraut at home with local cabbage and sea salt. It’s crispy, zesty, a great source of vitamin C, and of course it’s purple because we’re the Purple House people.

This is as easy as can be. The steps are pretty much the same as the kimchi, just fewer ingredients.

Purple House Sauerkraut

• 2.5 pounds purple (or regular) cabbage
• 1.5 Tbsp. sea salt
• de-chlorinated water (boil and then cool, or use distilled)

I make this in 2-quart batches. Sometimes I double it and just divide it into smaller jars for the fermentation stage. Anything more than two quarts during fermentation just seems unwieldy to me.

Shred the cabbage using the slicer of a food processor or a mandoline. I like thicker pieces because they stay crispier.

Layer cabbage and salt into a large stoneware or glass bowl and allow to sit 15 to 30 minutes, allowing the salt to start drawing salt out of the cabbage.

Use a pounding tool to pound the cabbage, pulling liquid out of the cabbage. This will be your brine. Continue pounding and stirring alternately till you have a good amount of brine in the bowl. This will take a while, so put on some good music and have fun with it!

Begin to spoon your kraut mixture into a 2-quart glass jar(s), pressing it down with your fist to drive out any air bubbles every couple inches.

Once all the cabbage and brine are in the jars and all the air bubbles have been pressed out, you’ll need to make brine baggies to weigh the cabbage down below the surface of the brine, preventing exposure to air during fermentation. Using 1 Tbsp salt per cup of water, dissolve salt in water, then pour into sealable plastic baggie(s). Place the baggie on top of the kraut mixture and arrange it so all the cabbage is submerged. Wipe the exposed inside of the jar clean with a paper towel, and put the lid on the jar.

Allow to sit out at room temperature, burping the jar 2 or 3 times a day to release gases and avoid a sauerkraut sprinkler system (ask me how I know). If you see air bubbles building up down in the cabbage, just use a clean hand to press the mixture down and drive out the air bubbles.

Every couple days you may want to rinse off and dry your baggie, wipe out the inside rim of the jar again, and replace the baggie. If the baggie breaks, no problem! That’s why it had brine in it.

Fermentation times vary, as short as 5 days in a warm kitchen, much slower when it’s cool. You’ll know it’s ready by taste and smell. If any of the cabbage gets exposed to air and discolors, just remove the affected pieces, press the mixture down again, rinse and replace the brine baggie, and wipe out the rim again.

When your kraut is ready, store it in the fridge, keeping the rim clean and the baggie in place. It will last months.

This may sound complicated but I have a tendency to be verbose and err on the side of over-explaining. Trust me: once you’ve done it and thoroughly enjoyed the end product, you’ll be fermenting everything you can get your hands on!

A great resource for other projects is the book Wild Fermentation, one of a very few food books I’ll actually read in bed.

Have fun, and feel free to send your questions and comments!

My dad loves spicy, funky food, so I wasn’t terribly surprised when he recently asked me to teach him to make kimchi—this traditional Korean dish of fermented cabbage doesn’t skimp on intense flavors.

Having taken Suzanna Stone’s fermentation class last fall, I’ve relished any and all opportunities to expand my repertoire of fermented foods and beverages, and teaching other people is a joy, especially my delightfully enthusiastic Popsicle—let’s just say I came by my fervent love of food honestly. Both my parents are proficient in the kitchen, and the belly-laughing French declarative “Honh honh honh!!” is frequently heard emanating from the kitchen as concoctions are sniffed and tasted.

So here’s what we used:

Kimchi

4 pounds napa cabbage
1 pound carrot
1 large bunch of scallions
1 large hunk of ginger, peeled and grated
2 heads garlic, cloves smashed and peeled
Dry red chilies—however many you dare to use (we used a couple dozen Arbol chilies *grin*)
3 T. Sea salt

1. First, prep your ingredients—use organic, and do not wash them. Peel away the outside leave of cabbage and chop into 1 to 2 inch chunks. Chop or grate carrot in food processor—do not grate by hand as this will be too fine a grate for the carrot. Remove outer part of scallions and trim off ends, then slice on diagonal into 1 inch pieces. Smash garlic cloves and remove skin. Peel and then grate ginger—I find this easiest to do using a food processor.
2. Next, begin layering your veggies into a large, sturdy stoneware bowl in thirds: spread a third of the cabbage in a layer, then a third each of the carrot, scallions, garlic, ginger, and peppers (I leave my peppers whole); then sprinkle 1 Tablespoon sea salt evenly over it all. Layer in the next to thirds in the same manner until all the veggies and salt are layered into the bowl.
3. Allow contents to sit for a bit, maybe ten minutes—the salt will start to pull water out of the vegetables, and this will become your brine.
4. Then take a pounding implement (you’ll be glad for the sturdy bowl at this point) and start to pound the mixture, and don’t be shy! The goal is to bruise the mixture, break down the cells walls, and draw out more and more liquid from the vegetables. Alternate mixing the contents and pounding, as my lovely paternal assistant demonstrates in the accompanying pictures.
5. Once you have some brine puddling in the bottom of the bowl, it’s probably time to start filling your fermentation jar (I find that this recipe—about five pounds of veggies—almost exactly fills a wide-mouth 2-quart Ball jar). Add some of the veggie mix to the jar, then use your fist to smoosh it down, drawing the brine up over the vegetable matter and flushing out any renegade air pockets (which could cause spoilage during fermentation). Continue adding vegetable matter and smooshing it down till you’ve almost filled the jar and/or you run out of veggies. You’ll be amazed at how much juice is in there.
6. Almost done. Wipe the inside exposed lip of the jar. Now we need to add something to the top of the jar to hold the cabbage mixture submerged in the brine. Some people use a stone, but Suzanna taught us to use a ziploc bag filled with brine**. Fit the baggie down on top of the kimchi, pushing it down to flush out any air bubbles. Seal up your jar and pat yourself on the back—good job!
7. Ferment at room temperature for 1 – 4 weeks. Burp the jar once or twice a day to let any vapors out. Every few days, remove the ziploc, rinse and dry it, wipe out the exposed inside lip of the jar, and replace the baggie. Take a nibble occasionally to see if your kimchi is ready.
8. When your kimchi tastes like it’s ready, refrigerate it. You’ll continue to store it with the baggie on top and wiping the inner lip with each use to prevent the molding that can come with air exposure, but if it does get a little mold at some point, just scoop out that part, wipe out the jar, and you should be fine. The kimchi will keep in the fridge indefinitely.

**On brine: First, the water for the brine must be chlorine-free. This can be accomplished by either letting the water boil and return to room temperature before using, or by letting the water sit out open overnight—either will allow the chlorine to evaporate. Mix at a ratio of 1 Tablespoon sea salt dissolved in 1 cup water. Second, the brine is used in this manner to preserve the batch: any vegetable matter that is exposed to air could potentially mold, hence the ensuring it is completely submerged in brine, and if the baggie breaks, you aren’t going to hurt your fermentation, you’ve only added a little more brine. No harm, no foul. We like that.

What are your fermentation experiments and experiences?