Wild Fermentation

Last weekend we went to a benefit for City Slickers Farms in West Oakland. We fell in love with Novella Carpenter and her guerilla farming/livestock raising story, along with many other great presenters. Two good friends, Walker and Tamar, gave a Fermentation Workshop on making your own sauerkraut, which they are both experts at in different veins. Tamar is the classically-trained kraut maker, while Walker makes kraut with more abandon like he's cooking in the wild west.

Here's a sampling of their work. On the far left is a delicious kimchi, followed by a sweet beet kraut with zucchinis, and then the "experiment gone wrong" kraut with cranberries that turned a bit alcoholic and pungent. The experimental kraut won over 1 fan in a room of 20 kraut converts, and he was rewarded with the jar to take home. Our fridge is currently filled with a smattering of kraut and kimchi now, and Ben's kombucha is back in action after he was inspired to start it up again. Most know I have mixed feelings on the kombucha front, but I'm willing to try out some new pomegranate concoctions in the works now.

This book deserves a lot of credit for kicking off the recent craze. It's on my wish list now, and I'll be starting up some yogurt projects of my own soon.

Handmade Pledge

We took the handmade pledge this holiday and created apple butter with the 60 lbs. of green apples we had left over from our wedding. This is our first foray into canning, and we loved it. Our friend Walker has promised to guide us through more canning adventures, including sauerkraut and other stinky vegetables.