Fermentation!

In the Kitchen

I am not sure why this has taken me so long but I finally have decided to do some fermenting and I just LOVE it!  I picked up this book at the library (click on this picture to check out their blog):

I started with some pickles...both slices and whole dills...

Then, I made some salsa (and more pickles...)

Then, I decided to ferment some garlic as a way to preserve part of my harvest...

Then, I decided to start some fermenting some sunflower wine:

Sunflower petals ready for making wine.

Sunflower petals with hot water to make sunflower tea.

Sunflower tea...getting ready to add sugar and yeast to ferment.

I kept reading in the book for more recipes to try to ferment.  A lot of the recipes call for whey (a byproduct of making cheese).  So, I decided to make some cheese so I could have whey!

Just finished cutting the curd...its really hard to see, it just looks like milk but it solid...

This picture is showing the curds in the cheesecloth draining off whey.  In the background, you can see the whey...I collected 1 1/2 gallons of whey.

This is not fermenting but the boys and I went to pick peaches and I did can some of the peaches.  I also made a peach pie (not pictured):

At the Farmer's Market, someone from Kallstrom Corn came over and bartered for some huckleberry jam.  Then, my neighbor brought me over some corn that he got from his friend in Lewiston.  So, while the cheese was busy fermenting and curding (is that a word) and draining...I decided to process some corn to freeze...

Click on this picture to check out their website and where they are selling corn!

So, as maybe you can tell, it has been a busy 2 weeks for me with all the fermenting, canning and freezing of food items.

Still on the hunt for our future farm...starting to think about looking for land to build...hmmm...decisions, decisions...

The sunflowers are pretty much finished blooming so I am finished with the Farmer's Market for this year.  I will blog about this and some reflections another time...I am exhausted and heading to bed...