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It’s the intensive gardening season now. After an early but slow start the garden is growing like crazy now. Soon there will be cucumbers ready for pickling and the start if the pickling season.

How we got off to a kick start today when we cleaned out a row of daikon radishes that had already gone to bloom. The seed pods looked too good to throw on the kompost.

We picked them,

Boiled some to eat for dinner,

And put some into a jar (not boiled) with garlic and dill from the garden to ferment as we do with cucumbers.

Sauerkraut

The summer cabbages are early. They look good, but some are already spliting open and need to be saved for cooking or pickling.

A little trimming and they wonderful sauerkraut.

Summer cabbage is extra juicy, so there was an extra liter of cabbage juice left after filling the jars. Instead of throwing it away I went to the garden and picked about a kilo of small cucumbers, washed, pricked, stuffed them in a jar and used the cabbage juice as the cucumber liquid, with 15 grams of salt added to bring the brine strength up to 1.5%. With dill and garlic too of course.

Dill pickles

Another bucket of cucumbers put away – into fermentation.

Pickling

I’ve been watching the cucumbers grow surprisingly fast this year and now today picked the first bunch to pickle.

The garlic and dill are ready just in time too.

I just wash/rinse the cucumbers, make a few pin holes in them, then put them in a pickling jar along with some flavorings like dill and garlic. I top it off with some current leaves, then cover with 3 % salt water and seal the lid. It’s so simple, easy and fast.

Of course I have to keep an eye on it, move to a cooler location after a few days and wait 4 weeks for the lactic bacteria to do their job.

And be ready to pick a new batch to pickle once or twice a week until frost in the fall.

Pickling season has started

Market

We haven’t been at the market for over 2 months now because of the virus precautions. Inspite of still present dangers we can’t wait any longer but are packaging pickles and miso and some early vegetables.

We are getting up early tomorrow morning (saturday) and will be at the Fyristorg Market from about 08:00 to 13:00.

Fermentation Day postponed

Now when we need it most. But I’m making more fermented food than ever. This week it’s a light miso with rice koji, soybeans and salt with a 1 year fermentation time.

Hopefully we’ll be able to have the big fermentation day later in spring or this fall.

These days

With the virus epidemic growing and me in the old age risk group, it’s time to tighten up my diet – less sugar and dairy and more miso and pickles (lactic acid bacteria fermentaions).

Breakfast today

Oatmeal with no milk or yoghurt and homemade fruit sauce.

With intant miso broth

A cup of hot water and a spoonful of miso couldn’t be better or faster.

And with all the events being canceled, I’m happy to stay home and do the spring chores around here.

Besides that, I’ve had a medical check up recently saying I’m healthy but have heightened levels of blood sugar and cholesterol, so it’s time for a little change.

Kimchi – chunky style

The other day I learned from a korean girl visiting that there are indeed innumerable ways to make kimchi. There are areas of Korea where they don’t put in chili powder and other areas where they don’t use fish sauce. My style of kimchi is just as valid as any other. She called mine a white kimchi.

So, I don’t have to call mine timchi anymore as if it’s not a proper kimchi – but I think I’ll call it timchi anyway.

This batch of timchi is with the ingredients cut into bite sized pieces.

Put into jars

And covered with a 3% salt water solution. In the end it becomes about 1.5%. Then it’s put it away for a proper fermentation.

Cucumber mix

We’ve had some frost the last couple of mornings. I covered the cucumber plants (and other sensitive crops), so they might produce for another couple of weeks. I already have enough cucumber pickles for this year now, so the recent pickings have gone to sales.

I can also made some experimental batches. Yesterday I made another jar of tumeric pickles with white cucumbers,

and a cucumber mix of white cucumbers, dill, sweet pepper, chili, green pears, beans, fennel, onions, garlic, whatever. I made such a mix last year and it was very good, especially the pickled pear.

Miso tofu

Tofu is great in miso soup. Almost a must. You can also make a tofu pickle. Just put tofu pieces in a jar of miso.

A day or two is good enough. Then wipe or rinse off and eat.

I put in some radish halves too.