Winter Kitchen Witchery

Shanti settles into a wooden seedling box when I turn my back ..
She likes to be near to our gardening activities,
even though cats are supposedly loners!  "A Cat- Alone-Near"

Help has arrived
Since my last post, our Catalonia Helpexchange friends breezed into our home and within 4 days had made HUGE inroads into the green carpet of weeds blanketing our bare ground.  They managed to fill one compost bin and there is a pile about a metre squared, of weeds sitting in a heap in front of the bin, awaiting bin space!!  What a pleasant way to garden - open up your home, make friends, extend a warm hand of hospitality and Voila!  The work gets done!  Truly the answer to Backyard Tension!  I also learned a little more of the world - Catalonia is an area in Spain, where they have their own national identity, language and culture.  

Early Spring has sprung in our garden - 2 months early!
Daffies provide a welcome sight on a cold dismal day.

Super Saurkraut

I have been struck by the dreaded 'lergy, no voice (the tool of my trade as a kindy teacher), so have had to take a couple more days off to rest up and restore the voicebox.  It has afforded me the time to make some sauerkraut (pickled cabbage) last night.  Easy-as to make - finely chop up fresh cabbage and then layer it in a ceramic jar, with liberal sprinkles of natural sea salt in between.  I have a little cedar wooden stick that I use to pound each layer with.  When complete, I wash my 3 beautiful round stones from a childhood beach in Africa, which I use as weights to weigh down the shredded cabbage.  By morning, I was rewarded with the welling up of the natural cabbage liquid.  Over the next 5 weeks I will be skimming the foamy scum that develops on top of the liquid until it develops a sourish smell.  Hallelujah, this then signifies the end result - a batch of beautiful naturally fermented pickles which can be bottled and stored for later use.  Delicious, and naturally good for health!  Natural lactic acid ferments support proper digestion, aid in nutrient absorption, contribute to healthy metabolic function, and inhibit harmful microbes in the intestinal system. But wait, there's more.......... this pickled cabbage supports the growth of essential intestinal flora, normalizes acid levels in the stomach, helps the body to assimilate proteins and iron, and stimulates cell metabolism!  Much nicer than the acidic vinegar pickles we have become acquainted with in supermarkets!

Finely chop cabbage

Add salt between layers and pound with wooden stick

Trail Mix or Munchin'

On the weekend I made a big batch of home-made trail mix.  Again, I like Simple.  My motto is KISS - Keep It Simple Sweetheart!  If it's complicated, it has no place in my life. 

 My trail mix consists of (Ceres organic products, where possible) :

• a cup of brazil nuts, chopped
• a cup of almonds, chopped
• cup of sunflower seeds
• half cup of pumpkin seeds
• quarter cup chocolate pieces
• cup sultanas
• half cup raw peanuts
• half cup dates, chopped
• quarter cup chopped dried apricots
• quarter cup course curley coconut pieces

Of course, all the above are only a guide of sorts - add or take away any ingredients - any nuts and dried fruits will do.  A much healthier and tastier snack than store-bought and you can cater to your individual taste!  I threw in some dried cranberries too, for a little sweet- sourish hint.  I have to hide it from the teens - they can eat a cupful in one sitting and then some!

My Munchin' (or Scroggin' as it's referred to)

Herb Salt
So these wintery days of ours are not so much spent toiling away in the backyard, but much time is spent in the kitchen, much to the delight of the family!  I have a great little quick trick to make herb salt, super fast and super cheap and super healthy!!  Take one cup of true sea salt (either Himalayan Rock Crystal salt or Celtic - I use Ceres Sea Salt, which has the trademark greyish look of unwashed, fully nutrient-potent salt) and blend it in the blender with 2 cups of dried herbs from the garden (I use basil, thyme, rosemary, parsely and a touch of sage).  Pour into salt cellars and label.  Costs next to nothing while a small pottle of Organic Rapunzel Herb Salt would normally have cost me up to $6!  Go figure!

Mike (Sustainable Husband) makes about 6 pottles of organic hoummous every two weeks, perhaps I will share his Secret Recipe one day (everything becomes his very own Secret Recipe, even if I taught him!!).  It saves us heaps as we LOOOOVE hoummous.  Or Hummus as some people spell it.

I will end this post with a pic of our pickles and preserves - we make all our own, and NEVER purchase a jar of jam, chutney or gherkins.  The joys of Self Sufficiency.  It enables us to save up for a mid-winter tropical getaway holiday.  Roll on Rarotonga.................

Some of our home preserves.....