Sunday, June 23, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
sauerkraut and stuff
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-stuffed-cucumber-kimchi-oi-sobaegi-kimchi-recipes-from-the-kitchn-191071
http://www.wildfermentation.com/making-sauerkraut-2/#comment-13842
http://www.wildfermentation.com/searching-for-koji-in-paraguay/
http://www.wildfermentation.com/bold-experiments-in-vegetable-fermentation/
http://waterandwool.blogspot.co.uk/
Monday, June 17, 2013
Walking wounded
A documentary well worth watching. Much respect to Giles Duley - and to Channel 4 for showing this.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/walking-wounded-return-to-the-frontline
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/walking-wounded-return-to-the-frontline/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/walking-wounded-return-to-the-frontline/4od
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/walking-wounded-return-to-the-frontline
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/walking-wounded-return-to-the-frontline/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/walking-wounded-return-to-the-frontline/4od
elderflower and fermented vegetables (pickles and brine)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/plants/10117751/In-praise-of-the-elderflower.html
7:00AM BST 15 Jun 2013
'
However, the flavour that the flowers impart is universally loved,
brightening everything it comes into contact with. The flowers are at their best
on a sunny day, when their muscat aroma is at its headiest. Pinch or snip the
heads from the bush at the first joint. Use them immediately for the fullest
flavour or dry them by laying them, flowers down, out of the sun for a day. Once
dry, shaking releases the flowers from the stems.
They'll retain much of their early summer flavour and scent in an airtight
container. There are so many ways to get the best out of them. They are
spectacularly good tempura-battered, deep-fried and dipped in cinnamon sugar or,
as Stevie Parle suggested
in this paper last year, with salt, sugar and chilli. ...'
'
FLOWER RECIPES
Elderflower cordial recipe
About 25 elderflower heads
Pared zest of 4 unwaxed lemons, plus the juice
900g sugar
Shake the flowers to dislodge any insects but don't bother washing them.
Strip the flowers from the stems with a fork and place in a bowl together with the lemon zest. Pour 1.5 litres of water over, cover and leave overnight.
Strain through muslin into a saucepan. Add the sugar and lemon juice, warm and stir to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for a couple of minutes.
Pour into sterilised bottles and seal. Dilute to taste when drinking, and keep in the fridge once opened.
Gooseberry and elderflower fool recipe
500g gooseberries
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 strips of lemon zest
12 medium heads of elderflower
300ml double cream
Put the gooseberries into a pan with the sugar, lemon zest and a few splashes of water.
Fork the elderflowers from the stems into the pan. Heat gently until the gooseberries begin to break up, then simmer for 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
Push the pulpy mush through a sieve and leave to cool completely.
Whisk the cream until soft peaks form, then fold it into the purée. It's good either left as a ripple or blended gently into a relatively homogenous whole.
Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.
Top with cooked crumble topping or toasted hazelnuts if you fancy.
BERRY RECIPES
The purple-black berries ripen at the end of summer, and, while high in vitamin C and a treat to behold, are not wildly adaptable in the kitchen. I know of only two really fine recipes, but both are special.
Elderberry juice
Cook 1kg of berries in a little water until they break down, pass through a sieve and add sugar until it reaches a sweetness you like.
It should taste akin to, but much better than, cranberry juice.
Pontack sauce
This is a centuries-old dark, pungent spicy sauce for game, slow-roasted pork and for adding depth to stews.
Warm 500g of berries stripped from their stalks with a fork, 150g of sugar and 500ml cider vinegar in a pan until the sugar dissolves.
Add 250g finely chopped shallots, four allspice berries, six cloves, a good grating of nutmeg, two blades of mace, 1in of finely chopped ginger, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of black peppercorns and simmer until it reaches a glossy syrup.
Pass through a sieve and bottle. It will keep for years. '
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/9681309/How-to-ferment-autumn-vegetables.html
'
FLOWER RECIPES
Elderflower cordial recipe
About 25 elderflower heads
Pared zest of 4 unwaxed lemons, plus the juice
900g sugar
Shake the flowers to dislodge any insects but don't bother washing them.
Strip the flowers from the stems with a fork and place in a bowl together with the lemon zest. Pour 1.5 litres of water over, cover and leave overnight.
Strain through muslin into a saucepan. Add the sugar and lemon juice, warm and stir to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for a couple of minutes.
Pour into sterilised bottles and seal. Dilute to taste when drinking, and keep in the fridge once opened.
Gooseberry and elderflower fool recipe
500g gooseberries
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 strips of lemon zest
12 medium heads of elderflower
300ml double cream
Put the gooseberries into a pan with the sugar, lemon zest and a few splashes of water.
Fork the elderflowers from the stems into the pan. Heat gently until the gooseberries begin to break up, then simmer for 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
Push the pulpy mush through a sieve and leave to cool completely.
Whisk the cream until soft peaks form, then fold it into the purée. It's good either left as a ripple or blended gently into a relatively homogenous whole.
Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.
Top with cooked crumble topping or toasted hazelnuts if you fancy.
BERRY RECIPES
The purple-black berries ripen at the end of summer, and, while high in vitamin C and a treat to behold, are not wildly adaptable in the kitchen. I know of only two really fine recipes, but both are special.
Elderberry juice
Cook 1kg of berries in a little water until they break down, pass through a sieve and add sugar until it reaches a sweetness you like.
It should taste akin to, but much better than, cranberry juice.
Pontack sauce
This is a centuries-old dark, pungent spicy sauce for game, slow-roasted pork and for adding depth to stews.
Warm 500g of berries stripped from their stalks with a fork, 150g of sugar and 500ml cider vinegar in a pan until the sugar dissolves.
Add 250g finely chopped shallots, four allspice berries, six cloves, a good grating of nutmeg, two blades of mace, 1in of finely chopped ginger, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of black peppercorns and simmer until it reaches a glossy syrup.
Pass through a sieve and bottle. It will keep for years. '
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/9681309/How-to-ferment-autumn-vegetables.html
6:30AM GMT 16 Nov 2012
Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do with certain vegetables at this
time of year. Not so much the cabbages, parsnip, kale and leeks – they’ll be
fine outside whatever the weather – but there are others that don’t last so well
in the frost and rain. Some of these are brilliantly suited to fermenting. This
is the process of preserving raw vegetables in brine, to eat through winter and
spring. You can use any brassica: cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli or
cabbage. It also works brilliantly with apples, peppers and many of the roots:
carrots, onions, beetroot, turnips, jerusalem artichokes and celeriac. Many of
us have trugfuls of these which need using up.
We’re unusual among vegetable-growing cultures in that we don’t have a
tradition of fermenting our autumn veg. If you visit homes in France (where
fermented cabbage is called choucroute), all over Northern Europe – Germany,
Holland and Scandinavia, as well as Eastern Europe – Poland, Russia, Lithuania,
Hungary and Romania – many gardener/cooks will be busy setting up their
fermenting pots right now to make sauerkraut and fermented root veg. Farther
east, you’ll see the same tradition in warmer climates, with kimchi and brined
sour pickles all through Asia – China, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and, most of
all, Korea, where they eat kimchi with almost every meal. In fact, in Asia they
grow lots of winter radish, daikon or mooli, specially to ferment them, along
with burdock (or gobo). I’m now adding them to my sowing list for next year.
Nutrient rich
As well as a neat way to store veg, fermenting is nutritious too. You’re not
cooking but preserving the veg in their raw state, which maintains high levels
of vitamin C and breaks down many vitamins and other nutrients into more easily
digestible forms.
Captain Cook was recognised by the Royal Society for having conquered scurvy
among his crew by sailing with large quantities of citrus fruit and sauerkraut.
On his second circumnavigation in the 1770s, 60 barrels of sauerkraut lasted for
27 months and not a single crew-member developed scurvy, which had previously
killed huge numbers on long trips.
Make a good mix
David uses a mix of four types and colours of carrot, so they look as good as they taste. The yellow carrot is 'Solar Yellow’, the orange 'Nantes’, the purple 'Cosmic Purple’ and the white, an Australian variety with a very sweet flavour, 'Belgian White’ (from an Australian seed company called Diggers, diggers.com.au). The organic carrots (or cabbage, or a mix of both) are grated – no need to peel – and then two handfuls at a time are packed into the ceramic crocks. These are quite expensive to buy (see source below). A food-grade plastic bucket is fine as an alternative. Scatter a handful of unrefined, pure sea salt (with no added iodine as it would kill the all-important micro-organisms which cause the ferment) and a couple of good pinches of freshly grated ginger (or caraway and juniper berries with cabbage).
The first batch is tamped down with a large pestle, or you can use your fist, to help force out the water, before you repeat the next layer, and so on, until you get near the top. A 7.5kg (16.5lb) crock like David’s will easily fit the 5kg (11lb) organic carrots we have harvested for this batch, mixed with 125g (4.4oz) ginger and 200g (7oz) unrefined, pure sea salt.
If making sauerkraut, mix 2kg (4.4lb) sliced cabbage with three tablespoons of salt.
For an Oriental kimchi with a bit of chilli heat, leave the veg in chunks or slices for a textured, crunchy mix. Inter-layer the vegetables with a paste made from garlic, ginger, onions and deseeded chillies, with or without horseradish. Cover with brine made from about 1 litre of water to three tablespoons of salt. Don’t bother with the pestle.
Each crock is supplied with a pair of “stones”, ceramic discs which prevent everything from floating to the top as the water exudes from the vegetables. Exposure to the air would turn them mouldy, but the stones prevent this, slotted in to the top of the jar to weigh everything down. Boil the stones in soda crystals to sterilise them between each use. If you’re using a plastic bucket, a plate chosen to fit just inside the bucket and weighed down with a large glass bottle filled with water can replace the stones.
Finally, replace the ceramic crock top and fill the top gully with water to keep the inside sterile, or cover the whole thing with a cloth. Press down the weight whenever you walk past until the brine rises above the stone (or plate), usually within 24 hours. The whole fermentation process begins and you’ll start to see it bubble away. The pot can become quite warm within two to three days, so is best placed somewhere cool – in the cellar or a larder if you have one. Check the mix every day or two. Discard any bloom or mould on the top and taste the veg.
As time goes on, the flavour strengthens, but it generally takes a couple of weeks to be ready for the first tasting and will then store well for months if kept cool.
Spoon out a saucer at a time, packing the rest down carefully, re-weighting it and leaving it for a later day. I worried that the whole thing might go too far and rot and become poisonous, but the saltiness of the brine protects against putrefying micro-organisms in the early stages and favours the growth of the desired strains of bacteria – lactobacilli. Once underway, the acidic environment created by the fermentation is inhospitable to bacteria associated with food poisoning (such as salmonella and botulism), so it is safe.
I have one pot on the go now and I’m off into the garden this afternoon to gather the last of my beetroot to create another. So why not take another look at your unused vegetables, and enter the brave new world of fermenting. One bite, and you’ll pick up the habit for life.
http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/2012/04/how-to-ferment-vegetables/
Make a good mix
David uses a mix of four types and colours of carrot, so they look as good as they taste. The yellow carrot is 'Solar Yellow’, the orange 'Nantes’, the purple 'Cosmic Purple’ and the white, an Australian variety with a very sweet flavour, 'Belgian White’ (from an Australian seed company called Diggers, diggers.com.au). The organic carrots (or cabbage, or a mix of both) are grated – no need to peel – and then two handfuls at a time are packed into the ceramic crocks. These are quite expensive to buy (see source below). A food-grade plastic bucket is fine as an alternative. Scatter a handful of unrefined, pure sea salt (with no added iodine as it would kill the all-important micro-organisms which cause the ferment) and a couple of good pinches of freshly grated ginger (or caraway and juniper berries with cabbage).
The first batch is tamped down with a large pestle, or you can use your fist, to help force out the water, before you repeat the next layer, and so on, until you get near the top. A 7.5kg (16.5lb) crock like David’s will easily fit the 5kg (11lb) organic carrots we have harvested for this batch, mixed with 125g (4.4oz) ginger and 200g (7oz) unrefined, pure sea salt.
If making sauerkraut, mix 2kg (4.4lb) sliced cabbage with three tablespoons of salt.
For an Oriental kimchi with a bit of chilli heat, leave the veg in chunks or slices for a textured, crunchy mix. Inter-layer the vegetables with a paste made from garlic, ginger, onions and deseeded chillies, with or without horseradish. Cover with brine made from about 1 litre of water to three tablespoons of salt. Don’t bother with the pestle.
Each crock is supplied with a pair of “stones”, ceramic discs which prevent everything from floating to the top as the water exudes from the vegetables. Exposure to the air would turn them mouldy, but the stones prevent this, slotted in to the top of the jar to weigh everything down. Boil the stones in soda crystals to sterilise them between each use. If you’re using a plastic bucket, a plate chosen to fit just inside the bucket and weighed down with a large glass bottle filled with water can replace the stones.
Finally, replace the ceramic crock top and fill the top gully with water to keep the inside sterile, or cover the whole thing with a cloth. Press down the weight whenever you walk past until the brine rises above the stone (or plate), usually within 24 hours. The whole fermentation process begins and you’ll start to see it bubble away. The pot can become quite warm within two to three days, so is best placed somewhere cool – in the cellar or a larder if you have one. Check the mix every day or two. Discard any bloom or mould on the top and taste the veg.
As time goes on, the flavour strengthens, but it generally takes a couple of weeks to be ready for the first tasting and will then store well for months if kept cool.
Spoon out a saucer at a time, packing the rest down carefully, re-weighting it and leaving it for a later day. I worried that the whole thing might go too far and rot and become poisonous, but the saltiness of the brine protects against putrefying micro-organisms in the early stages and favours the growth of the desired strains of bacteria – lactobacilli. Once underway, the acidic environment created by the fermentation is inhospitable to bacteria associated with food poisoning (such as salmonella and botulism), so it is safe.
I have one pot on the go now and I’m off into the garden this afternoon to gather the last of my beetroot to create another. So why not take another look at your unused vegetables, and enter the brave new world of fermenting. One bite, and you’ll pick up the habit for life.
http://www.sarahwilson.com.au/2012/04/how-to-ferment-vegetables/
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Sobering...
'Growing up poor'. Short documentaries on the reality for some of our youth (UK).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s4vw3/Growing_up_Poor_Learning_Zone_Wesleys_Story/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s4vw1/Growing_up_Poor_Learning_Zone_Shelbys_Story/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s4vvz/Growing_up_Poor_Learning_Zone_Frankies_Story/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s4v16/Growing_up_Poor_Learning_Zone_Ambers_Story/
For any young people reading - your childhood and teenage years are such a short time, and then the realities of adulthood await you. It is tough, in more ways than you can imagine, but it can also be fulfilling, in more ways than you can imagine.
You may not believe me, but your time in school is a relatively protected existence. It will not always be this way. Use this time, don't lose it. People go on about how important education is, and doing the absolute best you can when education is without payment. But they go on about it because it is a key. A key that you don't really quite understand the value of until you are out of school, and out in the big, adult world. Work hard for that key. Achieve that key. Who knows what doors it could open for you. You'll still need to figure out your way to the door, and choose a door to enter, but the key is the first step to getting there.
Get that education, strive for it and be proud. You may or may not be in contact with your classmates in the several months after finishing school, but you certainly will be left with the marks of your studies for a lifetime.
Education is the first step to preparing you for the big, wide world.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01s4vw3/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s4vw3/Growing_up_Poor_Learning_Zone_Wesleys_Story/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s4vw1/Growing_up_Poor_Learning_Zone_Shelbys_Story/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s4vvz/Growing_up_Poor_Learning_Zone_Frankies_Story/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s4v16/Growing_up_Poor_Learning_Zone_Ambers_Story/
For any young people reading - your childhood and teenage years are such a short time, and then the realities of adulthood await you. It is tough, in more ways than you can imagine, but it can also be fulfilling, in more ways than you can imagine.
You may not believe me, but your time in school is a relatively protected existence. It will not always be this way. Use this time, don't lose it. People go on about how important education is, and doing the absolute best you can when education is without payment. But they go on about it because it is a key. A key that you don't really quite understand the value of until you are out of school, and out in the big, adult world. Work hard for that key. Achieve that key. Who knows what doors it could open for you. You'll still need to figure out your way to the door, and choose a door to enter, but the key is the first step to getting there.
Get that education, strive for it and be proud. You may or may not be in contact with your classmates in the several months after finishing school, but you certainly will be left with the marks of your studies for a lifetime.
Education is the first step to preparing you for the big, wide world.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01s4vw3/
Friday, June 14, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The broader view...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/dec/22/letter-to-husbands-physiotherapist?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
Perhaps you are just doing your job. You're putting your many years of training and experience into practice and earning a good living. But your nine o'clock client happens to be my husband of 17 years. A man I've watched change from cocky, bronzed watersports instructor to someone who now has a blue badge for his car and needs two sticks to walk. My husband, who used to be so adventurous and spontaneous, who now wants to phone ahead, to check if there's a ramp, a handrail, a lift …
I know you haven't approached my husband as your run-of-the-mill tennis elbow or RSI case. You've taken him on as a bit of a project and a challenge for yourself. He's offering you a chance to see someone improve over a longer period of time than usual. You've read up on his condition and thought hard about how best to approach it and, as I've seen the improvements in him, I've been so grateful to you.
Over the years since my husband was diagnosed, the consultants have only seemed to him to be interested in the academic side of his condition. The painful quadriceps biopsy was meant to provide an accurate diagnosis by the identification of a specific gene. But it didn't. They were left with a puzzle – my husband had muscular dystrophy but which type? He became an interesting case for the doctors to report to their medical journals – someone to be poked and prodded, photographed, filmed and talked about.
It's been so good for my husband to have someone believe that his body's not totally beyond hope. There's been no one until he came to you that has shown him that some of his muscles can be improved. You've made him work hard on his core muscles and have given him much needed stability. As someone for whom falling over was a painful "occupational hazard" of everyday life this has made a huge difference. He hasn't fallen over now for more than six months. It's not just this newfound confidence that this gives him that I'm grateful for, you've given him back a little bit of the pride in his body that he used to have. For the first time in years, he's thinking of improvements not deterioration.
You've not offered him a miracle cure. Ramps, handrails and lifts are still the norm for us. But for the confidence and pride you've returned to him, I'm very thankful.
Keep up the good work.
A happier wife '
'A letter to … my husband's physiotherapist
The letter you always wanted to write
I know you haven't approached my husband as your run-of-the-mill tennis elbow or RSI case. You've taken him on as a bit of a project and a challenge for yourself. He's offering you a chance to see someone improve over a longer period of time than usual. You've read up on his condition and thought hard about how best to approach it and, as I've seen the improvements in him, I've been so grateful to you.
Over the years since my husband was diagnosed, the consultants have only seemed to him to be interested in the academic side of his condition. The painful quadriceps biopsy was meant to provide an accurate diagnosis by the identification of a specific gene. But it didn't. They were left with a puzzle – my husband had muscular dystrophy but which type? He became an interesting case for the doctors to report to their medical journals – someone to be poked and prodded, photographed, filmed and talked about.
It's been so good for my husband to have someone believe that his body's not totally beyond hope. There's been no one until he came to you that has shown him that some of his muscles can be improved. You've made him work hard on his core muscles and have given him much needed stability. As someone for whom falling over was a painful "occupational hazard" of everyday life this has made a huge difference. He hasn't fallen over now for more than six months. It's not just this newfound confidence that this gives him that I'm grateful for, you've given him back a little bit of the pride in his body that he used to have. For the first time in years, he's thinking of improvements not deterioration.
You've not offered him a miracle cure. Ramps, handrails and lifts are still the norm for us. But for the confidence and pride you've returned to him, I'm very thankful.
Keep up the good work.
A happier wife '
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)