August 2024

We had our family gathering on August 10. All of Ron's boys and their families came for the weekend, and most of the 23 cousins enjoyed playing in the lake, camping, hiking, playing badminton and volleyball, and more. 

Cash, home from ranger training in the Army resting and recuperating. 

Martin, the youngest grandchild loving the fairytale book.

It was a strange month weather-wise...beautiful - even hot for 10 days, then we had a big storm. Fierce wind took down one tree and left debris covering everything. Then unseasonable cold and relentless rain for a couple of days.

But with rain in summer, we sometimes get a bounty of Chantrelle mushrooms. And harvest begins in earnest.

Cabbage did well this year, so a crock of saurkraut is fermenting away. I realized that we don't actually use much applesauce, so I've been making apple butter for the past couple of years.  This year, I decided to make apples into something we really use: apples for smoothies. We make smoothies nearly every day, so why not cut the apples up and freeze them to be ready? If I get more fruit and berries ready for smoothies and dedicate a shelf in the freezer to them, it will be easy to send Ron out to the freezer for smoothy fruit without him having to look for it.

So now I have nectarines, cherries, berries, apples, and peaches ready in quart size bags. Organizing a freezer is much like everything else...life is easier when you know where things are!

It's also fig harvest time, so I have a dehydrator working on figs, and some fig preserves on the pantry shelf. 

 

Harvest Time

Suddenly, lots of vegetables and fruit are ready for harvest in our garden.  Every time I move the sprinkler I do a bit of grazing on the abundance that surrounds me.  However, my grazing alone isn't adequate harvesting.  

Today I picked three nice big cabbages - one for use fresh, and two for one of my favorite home cured products:  sauerkraut.

Actually, making sauerkraut is quite simple.  Cut the cabbage in half and wash thoroughly.  Then place one half of the cabbage on a cutting board and using a large chop knife

slice the cabbage into about 1/8 to 1/4" strips.

Layer the cut cabbage into the bottom of the container - I used a 4 gallon crock which has a diameter of about 10" - until you have about 2" of cabbage.  Sprinkle with about a tablespoon of canning salt and mix well by tossing the cabbage until salt is thoroughly mixed into all of the cabbage.

Pound the cabbage after each layer.  I couldn't find my pounder, so I used this heavy empty Vodka bottle.  I did all the mixing and pounding in a 4 quart crock, then transferred it into a one gallon crock for fermenting.  

The pounded cabbage filled the one gallon crock to within about 2" of the top.  I used two heads of cabbage and approximately 2 tablespoons of salt.  By the time I had it transferred, liquid had risen to just cover the cabbage.

Last step:  fill a gallon zip lock about half full of water and seal tightly.  Place it on top of the cabbage to form a tight seal and weight.  Now all you have to do is wait about 5 or 6 weeks for the fermenting to bring it to your preferred amount of sourness.  I don't like it real sour, so I usually wait about 4 weeks.  When it tastes right, I pack it into pint jars and process in a hot water bath to seal.  

NOTE:  When fermenting is complete, the very top may look spoiled.  Don't be discouraged.  Carefully remove about the top inch and you will find great sauerkraut in the rest of the crock.  The tighter the seal formed by the zip lock, the less it will spoil.  Air is what makes it go bad.  When I do a greater quantity in the larger crock, I put a plate on top of the cabbage and I have a round rock that I place on that to weight down the plate to seal the cabbage.  The moisture that comes from the cabbage should cover the actual cabbage while fermentation is taking place.