Having returned back to the farm and to health (5 days after my
‘birthday boxing day’ I was finally feeling back to normal – what a journey!),
I decided that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to replace some of the ‘good bacteria’
in my body and so made a batch of sauerkraut – it is still fermenting as I type
and will continue to do for some time but should be beneficial to eat within
the next week or so and we’re both very much looking forward to that – if
you’re not a fan of sauerkraut you should definitely try making your own – it
is a different animal entirely from the run of the mill store bought stuff and
although yes it’s got that sour fermented taste – it really is absolutely
delicious served with meat of any kind but especially sausages or home made
burgers!
Just some of the many benefits of sauerkraut to the body,
- It is a source of vitamins, C, B & K, it is low in calories and high in calcium and a good source of fiber, iron & potassium
- It contains live (good) bacteria and beneficial microbes and is rich in enzymes and will improve digestion
- It is high in antioxidants – I’ve no idea what they are but I’m told they’re REALLY good!!
Per Wikipedia the main disadvantage of sauerkraut is that,
“excessive consumption may lead
to bloating and flatulence due to the trisaccharide raffinose, which the human
small intestine cannot breakdown”
So – not a great side effect but to be fair when fermenting your
sauerkraut you are given fair warning – you do want to let it sit and ferment
in a well ventilated area of your home as the smell of fermenting cabbage can
at times be quite overwhelming! That
said, the side effect is really only in cases of excessive consumption so we’ll
have to keep our appetite for sauerkraut in check!!
If interested in making your own sauerkraut, the basic recipe is,
1 medium head of cabbage (white or red or a mix of the 2)
1 tablespoon of unrefined sea salt
Shred the cabbage – place it in a large mixing bowl, then add the
salt – take some time to ‘massage’ the salt into the cabbage until the cabbage
releases water and it gets quite wet.
Have a clean large glass/mason jar on hand and fill with the cabbage –
press the cabbage down until it is submerged in the brine (you should not need
to add any water or brine) – you may wish to weight it down as the cabbage will
float on the top – cover with a clean cloth so it can breathe and leave it for
1-2 weeks (checking periodically to ensure the cabbage is submerged below the
liquid) – once you are happy with the fermented result you can refrigerate it
which will halt further fermentation – this will keep for up to 6 months.
Optional additions,
Carrots (shredded)
Onions (thinly sliced)
Garlic (chopped/sliced)
Carraway seeds or Juniper Berries (crushed)
As for the Aphids, we’ve discovered the downside of having a
successful vegetable patch is the enormous amounts of creatures that are
attracted to it – everything from slugs, to beetles, to worms to white and
black fly (not to mention the rabbits!)
But our current problem is the aphids which apparently multiply at a
rate of knots and need to be kept in check as soon as you’re aware of them and
so we’ve been researching the issue and calling on chums for wisdom and advice
and so far have discovered that the best way to initially get them under
control is simply spraying with soapy water (just regular dishwashing liquid
will do) – however, one friend just provided the following from a magazine
she’d been reading and so we’re embarking on this treatment this week so will see
how that works,
- Take 1 unpeeled, crushed head of
garlic and steep in 1 litre of boiling water.
Cool & put the ‘garlic water’ in a spray bottle and spray the
affected areas. Apparently if the aphid
problem if really bad then you can alternate this treatment with 3 large
handfuls of basil also steeped in water and used as a spray.
What I have discovered is that the nicest way of keeping these
bugs under control is to add plants to your garden that attract the beneficial
insects and this is why you’ll see so many flowers in so many vegetable gardens
(certainly here in France) – not simply to decorate the garden but to serve a
solid purpose and I’m told that nasturtiums are an excellent plant to rid the
garden of aphids and so will be heading out next week to find an enormous
amount of nasturtiums to dot around the garden – photos to follow!
And so to leave you with a recipe – and as it’s for pork it will
go spectacularly well with the sauerkraut!
We’ve taken to hitting the supermarket once a week when the meat
is on special – this was initially challenging for me as I’m used to planning
meals quite far in advance and by shopping this way, you do have to be fairly
spontaneous with your tastes as you don’t know that day whether you’ll be
coming home with chicken, pork, lamb, beef, goose, duck or whatever else may be
on offer…anyway, suffice it to say that we came upon a pork roast special the
other day and ended up with a lovely piece of pork (no crackling sadly but I
suppose that’s healthier!) to roast for just under EUR 6.
We served this with roast potatoes (from our neighbour’s garden),
roast bok choy (from our garden) and accompanied by a bottle of our favourite
wine from the region that costs us EUR 4,97.
The pork was enough for 2 meals each and so including the rub I’d made
(almost exclusively with herbs from the garden), I estimate that my plate that
night including the ½ bottle of wine I enjoyed with it, came in at under EUR 5
– incroyable!
Ingredients
¼ cup Thyme, finely chopped
¼ cup Rosemary, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Sage, finely chopped
¼ cup Garlic, finely chopped
Zest of 2 Lemons
1 Tbsp Salt
2 Tbsp Coarse ground Black Pepper
1-2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
I used fresh herbs, you can of course use dried but just be warned
that dried are more potent and so you will need considerably less but as long
as the ratios are the same you should still obtain the same result.
This makes enough for a large roast – I only made half the above
amount as our roast was only about 1 ½ lbs bs.
Finley chop all the herbs and garlic – mix well with the lemon
zest and salt and pepper (you can do all this in a food processor to make it
more paste like) – add the olive oil and mix well.
Make cuts in the meat and poke the rub into the cuts – cover the
entire pork with the rub and leave covered in the fridge for a few hours or
even overnight.
Roast as normal (I did ours at 180/350 for just over an hour and
then let it rest, covered for 20 minutes and it was beautifully cooked – very tender
and still juicy).
Bon apetit!
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