Friday, February 21, 2014

~On This Friday~

Simple things making me smile today:

:::a mug of hot coffee to wrap my hands around
:::kimchi prepped and sitting on the counter
Not "his and hers", just the jars that it fit into this time around. LOL 

:::my shelf full of cast iron goodness (with a random butternut squash, ha!)


:::the ice-skating penguin who lives on my griddle


:::quiet time postponed to make cookies with my girl


:::laundry that is all caught up
:::my daughter's art
:::tea, for after I've had too much coffee...

See? I am smiling:


This winter has not been for the faint of heart! We have had our due share of snow, ice, and below-freezing weather. The last 24 hours we saw sun, rain, sleet, wind, and then today? more snow, snow, snow! Craziness. 

~Fermenting Vegetables~

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been fermenting vegetables. There have been two things that have surprised me: how much I love them, and how much Kevin enjoys them! Even my daughter is coming around a little bit - she doesn't grimace over her little tastes any longer (but doesn't want a full serving either).

Currently I have, from left to right, sauerkraut (50 days on the counter), sauerkraut (24 days), and carrots (3 days).



I have a friend who told me that she likes her kraut to ferment for 50 days in the winter, 30 in the summer. The amount you see in the first jar is what we have remaining. After 30 days we started eating it. I have to say that I love the way it tastes right now, so 50 days has been perfect! I was careful to use clean utensils and make sure the brine was covering the top layer each time I pulled some out.

The carrots are delightful at about 7 days. I make a mix of half daikon radish, half carrots, and a 2- or 3-inch piece of ginger. I grate everything, add salt, and then pound it till the juices cover the top.

I am starting another batch of kimchi this morning. Last time I ate it a little too enthusiastically (we're talking breakfast, lunch, and dinner!) and Kevin was disappointed he didn't get very much. So I'm half way thinking of splitting the batch into two jars. One for me, one for him. What do you think? :-)

Do you ferment vegetables? I am looking for more recipes to try, so if you have recipes to share, please leave a link in the comments!

Sunday, February 02, 2014

~Teal + Red, and Snow~

This morning as I was getting ready for church, my daughter was watching Peg + Cat. If you're familiar with the show (on PBS) poor little Peg has a lot of problems that she sings about. As she was singing about her "big, BIG Problem" I was thinking the same of my wardrobe. I need to get a few things to wear, as I have only a few things that fit me at the moment.

Today's choice:

My red shoes were a splurge for me! I got them with birthday money. I didn't know if I'd have much to wear them with, but I thought I'd go for them anyhow. They've been fun, and I have surprisingly found a lot to wear them with. Today I got adventurous and wore a teal scarf.

And see what I'm standing in front of? Snooooooooow. Nooooo more snoooooow please! :D This is by our back door, looking into our back yard.