B is for _______________
BLOGGER – I must admit, once I started blogging I haven’t looked back. It’s the perfect way for an introvert to engage with others. I truly enjoy the creative outlet that blogging has been for me – and I’m happy that you are all along for the ride!
BARE FEET – My feet love to be without shoes. I don’t mind sandals or flip flops because they’re close to being barefoot. As soon as the weather warms enough in spring I kick off my shoes and they don’t go back on again until it gets frosty in fall.
BOOK WORM – Often, if I have a spare moment of time, you’ll find my nose in a book. Most often, they’re books about some skill I’m trying to master or some area I’d like to learn more about. In the winter, I may even read some fiction when I have a few more minutes of free time. I find reading to be the best entertainment and prefer it over TV any day.
BOUNDLESS – I try to have no bounds to the things I will try, read, taste, or do. I’m always willing to try something new, read books outside of my belief system, taste new foods as I come across them, and do things I’m uncomfortable doing to stretch myself. I am a big believer and pushing your boundaries to build character and stretch your mind – and who knows you may find a new favorite food or hobby!
BROAD – As a result of being boundless, I now have a very broad list of things that I like and am proficient at. I hope that as I get older I continue to broaden my horizons so I don’t get entrenched in ideas/thoughts/foods/patterns/etc.
BUSY – I’m a busy bee. Since I have a job, own a business, have a few other part time hobby jobs I’m busy with work. Add to that all of my hobbies: cooking, gardening, photography, etc and my days are jam packed without a minute to spare. I actually have a huge list of things I want to do and have not had the time to get to them yet (like building a root cellar in my basement and a mud oven in my garden). I don’t mind being busy, it keeps me out of trouble and it makes me feel like I’m maximizing the time that I do have!
BIRD LOVER – I love our little featherd friends that flit about my garden. Growing up I often had pet birds from parakeets to love birds. Now I simply feed the ones in my garden and provide them with water and plants that they love.
BARBARIAN – I’ve mentioned my love for playing the game Diablo with Mr Chiots. In that game my character is a barbarian and I wield a huge maul as my weapon of choice, probably not what you’d expect! Since I’m so busy (as mentioned above) we rarely have time to play anymore. In fact it’s been since Christmas day that we’ve played.
BACON – do I need to expand on this one?
What words/phrases describe you that start with a B?
Who’s joining in:
Nic at Nip it in the Bud
KB from My Old New House
Chas from Heritage Acres Homestead
Erika from Our Homegrown Family
Candie from Finding My Roots
Louisa from The Really Good Life
Judy from My Freezer is Full
Xan from Not Dabbling in Normal and Mahlzeit
Amy from I Love Nubians, Make Mine Mini
Jaspanelle from Paganites
Greg from plot 52 is doing beautiful illustrations!
Lisa from Realisa Building an Authentic Life
Emily from Sincerely Emily
Joanna from Zeb Bakes
Misky from Misk Cooks
Compostwoman from The Compost Bin
Join the Alphabet in August Flickr Photo Group
(if you’re joining in on your blog let me know so I can add you to the list).
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The Humble Mason Jar
Over the last couple years I’ve come to appreciate the humble mason jar. It’s a workhorse, not only in the kitchen but around the house as well. Mason jars have replaced all sorts of things I used to keep around from pitchers to ramekins, which is wonderful since I have a small kitchen. Head on over to the Your Day Blog to read about my love of the mason jar and to share creative ways you use mason jars in your home.
What are some unique ways you use canning jars in and around the home?
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A is for _______________
ACTIVE – I have to admit, I have trouble sitting still for long periods of time. Perhaps that why I can get so much done each day. Even when we sit down to watch a movie I’m usually baking or doing something else as well, flitting in and out of the room. This is one of the reasons I love working from home, I can work for a few hours then get out and do something, then work for a few more hours.
ANIMAL LOVER – ever since I was a little girl I’ve loved animals and have had pets of all shapes and sizes. At the top of the list are cats and guinea pigs.
ABRASIVE – my personality can probably get a bit abrasive at times. I’m very opinionated and I usually spend a lot of time researching my viewpoints. As a result I’m very confident and rooted in what I believe, which sometimes can come across abrasively.
AVERAGE – I’m of average height, average weight, brown hair, hazel eyes. My personality and my viewpoints however are not average, they definitely make me different!
ALOOF – Because I’m an introvert I like to sit back and take in what’s going on. As a result I can come across as being a bit aloof in social situations.
ANIMATED – I can be quite animated when talking and explaining myself. Perhaps this comes from growing up in Colombia.
ACID LOVER – I’m not much of one for sweets, but I love pickles and other acidic things. I can eat balsamic vinegar by the spoonful and would much rather have it drizzled over strawberries than sugar.
AVID – I don’t do many things halfway, when I acquire a new hobby I become very enthusiastic and dedicated about it.
ADAPTABLE – I think my background made me very adaptable. I can easily talk about a wide variety of topics and I’m very adaptable to many different situations.
What words describe you that start with an A?
Who’s joining in:
Nic at Nip it in the Bud
KB from My Old New House
Chas from Heritage Acres Homestead
Erika from Our Homegrown Family
Candie from Finding My Roots
Louisa from The Really Good Life
Amy from I Love Nubians, Make Mine Mini
Jaspanelle from Paganites
Greg from plot 52 is doing beautiful illustrations!
Lisa from Realisa Building an Authentic Life
Emily from Sincerely Emily
Join the Alphabet in August Flickr Photo Group
(if you’re joining in on your blog let me know so I can add you to the list).
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The Alphabet in August
Last fall, a friend of mine did a special scrapbook and she had to come up with words or ideas to describe herself for each letter of the alphabet. Since it’s always good to exercise your creative side, I thought it would be great to do it here on the blog.
It should be a fun exercise to think about words to describe myself for each letter, some will be easy and some will be very difficult for sure – like X & Z. I’m not sticking to positive traits either, since I’ve got just as many bad traits as good ones!
If you want to get even more creative grab those scrabble letters, fridge letter magnets or a pen, pencil or paints and try to come up with creative photos for each letter. If you don’t have time to do that, you can use mine from my Flickr Photostream. I’m having a good time trying to come up with interesting ways to display the letters for the photos each day.
If you’re participating on your blog make sure you link to your post each day in the comment section (CommentLuv will do it for your). Let me know if you’re joining us on your blog and I’ll try to make a blog roll for this challenge. We’ll be taking Sundays off for quotes as usual and for a break. The image below is on my Flickr Photostream if any of you want to use it on your blog. You can get really creative and try to come up with photos that match the letter for the day or you can use the photos from Flickr. If you’re taking photos and you’re on Flickr make sure you add them to the Alphabet in August Group.
You don’t have to post every single day, you can always do a weekly post – but I’d highly recommend you give it a try. Exercising our creative muscles daily really helps develop them. Who knows, you may find you enjoy blogging every day!
I’m certainly excited to see what you all come up with for each letter, I hope you’ll join in each day!
Who’s in? What do you think the hardest letter will be?
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Making Traditionally Fermented Pickles
Traditionally fermented food are super healthy. It’s always nice when you can make something using these methods. Not only is it quick and easy to make, the end product is healthier than it’s more time-consuming processed counterpart. Pickles are a prime example. I make one kind of vinegar pickles that are canned. The rest of the pickles I make are fermented. Basically you put the pickles in a jar with whatever herbs you want to flavor them and cover them with salt water. A few weeks later you have a probiotic feast! Adding fermented pickles to your meals will help with digestion and increase the amount of nutrients you can absorb from what you eat.
When it comes to making pickles there are a few things you want to consider. First of all, you don’t want the cucumbers to be too large. The smaller the cucumbers the crisper the end product with be. You want the cucumbers to have distinct warts or bumps and no yellow on them. The smaller they are the less developed the seeds will be inside as well. Freshness also counts, if you can process them the same day you pick them that’s best. If you can’t process them right away make sure to put them in the refrigerator to keep them cool and process as soon as possible. The cucumber on the left is perfect for pickling, the one of the right is a little overmature (but you can still use it if you’d like). You can still use it for pickling, but there will be more seeds and the final product most likely won’t be as crisp.
Second you want to make sure you scrub the blossom end of the cucumber well. It is believed that it can harbor bad bacteria increasing the risks that your batch will not ferment properly. It is also thought that it can make your pickles not as crisp. Some people cut the blossom end of the pickle off, I simply scrape it with my nail until I can see the clean end of the cucumber. You can see the different between a cucumber with the blossom end cleaned (left) and one that hasn’t been cleaned enough (right).
Gently wash cucumbers. I usually just wipe with a damp cloth to remove all dirt. You don’t want to scrub them too much as they are delicate and they have beneficial bacteria that aid in fermentation in their skins. Place cucumbers and spices in a fermenting crock or a glass jar. Typically I avoid the use of any kind of plastic when pickling as the acidic brine encourages leeching of BPA’s and other chemicals from the plastic into the foods being fermented. I use 1 Gallon Glass Barrel Jars for fermenting pickles and sauerkraut. Wide mouth half gallon mason jars work quite well also. Depending on the size of container you use for fermenting you can use small plates, glass jars, or drinking glasses to weigh down the vegetables and keep them submerged in the brine.
I also always put my fermenting jars on a plate that has a lip to contain any brine that spills out of the jar. This seems to happen most of the time when I’m making pickles, sauerkraut or kimchi. Do not be alarmed if you see white mold or green mold floating on top of the brine when you’re pickling or in the brine that spills out of the jars onto the plate. This mold is common (some cultures even prefer it) and harmless. You will want to skim this off of the top of the brine daily, but don’t worry about getting all of it as it has a tendency to break up and float away. Since I use wide mouth pint jars to weigh down the vegetable I usually just push down on the jar, when the brine overflows out of the fermenting jar the white mold usually slides down the side of the jar. Every few days I add some extra brine if needed to keep the level up.
When fermenting you want to use pickling salt or sea salt. You do not want to use iodized table salt or any kind of salt that has anticaking agents in it. Many places will tell you to only use pickling salt, but I prefer to use an unrefined sea salt called Redmond Real Salt with the minerals in it. I purchase this salt in 25 pound bags directly from their website.
LOWER EAST SIDE FULL-SOUR DILL PICKLES
from The Joy of Pickling
About 4 pounds* of 3-5 inch pickling cucumbers, blossom ends removed
4 to 6 dill heads or large sprigs
2 small fresh or dried hot peppers broken or cut into pieces
8 garlic cloves, sliced
1 Tablespoon whole allspice berries
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 Tablespoons whole coriander seeds
1/2 cup pickling salt (4.65 oz)
3 quarts of water
Layer cucumbers in gallon jar with dill, peppers, garlic, allspice, peppercorns, and coriander. Dissolve salt in the water and pour enough brine over the cucumbers to cover them. Place something in the mouth of the jar to weight down the cucumbers and keep them submerged in the the brine (I usually use a drinking glass or pint mason jar with brine in it). Keep jar at room temperature. I keep mine on the dining room table so I can monitor it.
Within 3 days you will begin to see tiny bubbles rising to the top. If scum forms on the top of the brine skim off. Pickles should be ready in about 2 weeks when they are sour and olive green throughout. At this point, remove the weight jar, remove any scum, and top off with brine if needed. Cap the jar and store in the refrigerator. These pickles will keep for several months to a year, although they seem to lose a little bit of crispness after a few months. I have had a batch in my fridge for about 9 months and they were very good down to the last pickle.
*if you do not have 4 pounds all at once you can continue adding cucumbers to your jar until it is full. Just remember to let them ferment for 2 weeks after last cucumber has been added.
You can certainly change the spices in the recipe above to suit your tastes. Add some sliced onions and mustard seeds, or perhaps mixed pickling spices instead, some horseradish would be nice as well. When making more than one batch of pickles, always make sure to label your jar with the type and date started. I also include the page number that the recipe was on. If you’re interested in learning more about both traditional fermentation and other kinds of pickling I’d highly recommend purchasing The Joy of Pickling: 250 Flavor-Packed Recipes for Vegetables and More from Garden or Market. It’s full of all kinds of recipes from fermented vegetables to gravlax and so many other interesting things.
Do you make or enjoy any traditionally fermented foods?
