Lacto-fermented Vegetables

This is an easy and basic technique you can apply to almost any vegetable. Lacto-fermenting the vegetables turns them into a live probiotic food, preserves them so they don’t require refrigeration, and boosts their safety and nutritional value. The microbes add vitamin B12 and K, and pre-digests some of the fiber. The ‘lacto-’ part means that a lot of the fermentation is performed by the microbe species Lactobacillus, among many thousands of other species. The microbes in the ferment metabolize the plant sugars to release lactic acid and other delicious byproducts, resulting in a tangy funky umami-rich flavor profile.

Ingredients:

Choose one or some of the following to equal a pound of vegetables (more is fine, you’ll just be chopping for longer).

Radishes (any color - the black ones are very metal), Daikon radishes (the purple ones are are trippy), carrots (any color, so rich!), red peppers, turnips, rutabaga, onions (red, yellow, green), garlic cloves, ginger coins, Brussels sprouts, fennel, Kohlrabi, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage (red or green), celery root, baby bok choi, green beans, cauliflower chunks, even leaves like kale, collards, spicy mustard can go in. Herbs and spices are delicious and fun to add, so collect any or all of the following: cumin, coriander, black peppercorns, red pepper flakes, fennel, rosemary, lemon or other citrus zest. You’ll make your own signature flavor ferment.

Materials and equipment:

Regular salt*, water, jars with lids (any size - I use mason or ball jars with plastic lids), a measuring cup and measuring spoons, maybe a kitchen scale, chopping board, big and small knife.

Technique:

1) Chop the vegetables. Get creative and make shapes (hearts, flowers, triangles, squares…) and pack the veggies into the jars. Either tumble them in or arrange them artfully. You can layer them with slices of onion, or throw in handfuls of whole spices. Leave at least 2 inches of headroom at the top of the jar.

2) Make 2% brine (1 T salt/cup water = approximately 2%*) and pour it in to cover the vegetables, or you can get fancy and use an online brine calculator. Optional; you can pour in a dollop of liquid from a previous fermentation - sauerkraut, fermented pickles, yogurt whey - if you wish to give your ferment a boost. Not necessary though, You’ll create an environment for the correct microbe populations to thrive, boom and bust setting the stage for the next wave of microbes.

3) Put a lid loosely on the veggies and put them in a cupboard at room temperature. Wait 4-5 days, resubmerging the veggies every morning - keep them underwater, the microbes need an anaerobic environment. Taste them - when they are tangy enough to your palate, tighten the lid and put them in the fridge. They will continue to ferment, but at a much slower rate than at room temperature.

Some of my favorite combinations:

  • white daikon spears with black peppercorns and red pepper flakes - put a spicy fermented spear into a martini (gin, of course) as a savory addition replacing an olive!

  • coins of variously colored winter radishes pack beautifully into a jar

  • purple-topped turnip rounds with red onion slices, black peppercorns, coriander and green onion lengths - amazing on a salad or with a grilled entrée

  • green cabbage sauerkraut with outrageous pink watermelon radish hearts or triangles along the sides make a lovely gift

  • halved dark green Brussels sprouts with whole cumin, coriander and black peppercorn

There are so many possibilities! Let me know what you discover!

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* Salt caveat: Salt (NaCl) is part of the environment you create to nurture the desired microbes and discourage the wrong ones (for example Clostridium Botulinum or E. Coli). If you are creating a ferment for a low-salt-person, you can decrease the brine concentration to 1% and add some sour/acidic cloudy liquid from a previous ferment - called “backslopping”. This immediately decreases the PH (increases acidity) and gives the desired microbe populations an advantage to out-compete undesirable competitors. Be assiduous about keeping the vegetables underwater, and monitor the ferment vigilantly. Your nose will tell you if anything is wrong.

In terms of food safety, fermented food is very safe. C. Botulinum and E. coli cannot survive in the low PH (acidic) environment rapidly created during the first phases of fermentation, such that the beneficials rapidly out-compete any competition.

turnips, celeriac and rutabagas from an overexuberant CSA share

Summer Lettuce Cups

I made this up for the summer potluck. I wanted easy finger food with protein, not too heavy, and that featured juicy summer garden vegetables. Since the garden is currently spewing cucumbers and tomatoes, they got the job. I used lettuce cups as a wrap for the ingredients for added crunch, moisture-resistance, fiber and finger-food-ability. Bread or crackers would have become soggy and added an unnecessary caloric burden/blood sugar spike.

Best of all worlds - it’s delicious, not messy, tastes great, and feels good in the body later on too. A true Happiness recipe.

Ingredients: package of tempeh (a package of tempeh will give you about 12-13 batons), or 24 smaller half batons, 12 or 24 leaves of butter lettuce, or another firm’ish lettuce that has medium-sized bowl-shaped leaves - endive would work well too. 12 or 24 Cherry tomatoes, cucumber cut into 12 or 24 batons, tzatziki sauce (see next recipe).

  • cut tempeh into 1/4 inch thick batons, marinate in your favorite salad dressing. (I use a home-made balsamic)

  • sauté in olive oil medium heat until golden brown on all sides, set aside to cool

  • make tzatziki sauce while tempeh is marinating (see next recipe, or create your own creamy sauce)

Bring all the ingredients separately to your event along with a nice platter, and find an accomplice to help you. A great way to easily meet new people is to ask them for help with food prep!

To assemble, put a green leaf down on the platter, add a piece of tempeh, a cherry tomato and a cucumber baton. Drizzle lightly with tzatziki sauce. Serve as individual bites, sushi-style for people to nab, wrap and eat in a bite or two.

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Spinach Balls

from Candy Longyear:

Ingredients

  • 6 cup fresh spinach leaves trimmed, washed (230 g) see note for frozen/cooked spinach

  • 3 cup boiling water

  • 3 eggs

  • 1/2 cup grated cheese (60g) – I used Cheddar, use grated parmesan or grated emmental for more cheese flavor

  • 1/4 cup fresh herbs of your choice, finely chopped I used cilantro

  • 1 cup Gluten Free Panko Crumbs (75 g)

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to  350 F (180 C).

    2. Trim and wash the fresh spinach leaves.

    3. Place the leaves in a large mixing bowl and over with boiling water. Cover and set aside for 3 minutes.

    4. Rinse the spinach with cold tap water. Drain using your hands to squeeze all the remaining water. You should obtain about 2/3 cup (160 g) of packed cooked spinach leaves. If you are using frozen spinach, defrost and measure this quantity.

    5. Place on a chop board and finely chop the cooked spinach. Transfer into a mixing bowl.

    6. Add eggs, cheese, herbs and panko gluten free crumbs. You can also add salt and pepper if your cheese is not very salty. I did not add salt.

    7. Combine with a spoon or your hands, until it forms a batter from which you are able to form balls with your hands or use a small cookie scoop maker to avoid the mess

    8. If too moist add slightly more crumb until easy to roll as ball with your hands palms.

    9. Place the balls on a non-stick cookie tray covered with baking paper.

    10. Bake at 350F (180C) for 15-20 minutes or until golden on the top.

    11. Serve immediately or cold in luchboxes.

    12. Serve with dips of your choice like pesto, hummus or homemade ketchup.

    Recipe Notes

    Spinach measurement :  you need about 6 cups of fresh spinach. It makes about 2/3 cup (160 g) of cooked, squeezed and packed spinach. It is ok to use frozen spinach as soon as you have 2/3 cup cooked, squeezed, packed spinach.

    Cheese options: you can replace grated cheddar but mozzarella, parmesan, colby, emmental or any hard grated cheese you love.

    Herbs options: those spinach balls are very tasty with fresh parsley, dill or basil. Use your favorite herb or mix it!

Elegant Appetizers: fruit, cheeses and drizzles

from Jerrie Will:

1.) orange slices with walnuts and black pepper. You could also add a drizzle of evoo. No real recipe except get really good oranges and slice crosswise.

2) Macoun apple and red pear slices with an assortment of local cheeses. I would bring this because macoun apples are my favorite and their season just ended (I stocked up) and I got some great blue and brie cheeses from the farmer’s market.

Grilled baby peppers in oregano vinaigrette

From Ellen Profenno

Ingredients:

1 lb baby peppers (sweet mini)

mix together in a small bowl for vinaigrette:

1 Tsp fresh oregano (*? dried?)

1 tsp olive oil, evoo

1/2 tsp white vinegar

1/2 tsp garlic salt (*fresh garlic and salt?)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

toss peppers with vinaigrette, thread onto pre-soaked wooden skewers. 2 skewers makes sure the peppers won’t spin. Using outdoor grill, or greased indoor grill pan, grill the peppers until evenly charred, flipping once or twice. It will take about 4-5 minutes per side, but stay vigilant.  once off the grill, serve warm or at room temperature. Sprinkle with more oregano or vinaigrette. (*feta cheese and tomatoes as garnish? – E)

Stuffed Mushrooms

10 – 20 large mushrooms – wipe them clean and pop out the stems (chop these up finely).

goat cheese, balsamic vinegar

cooked brown rice (about a cup)

an onion, 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery all chopped fine

stock of your choice (1/2 C), garlic (2 cloves pressed, wait 10′), dried fruit (1/4 C) toasted nuts or seeds (1/4 C) maybe wine? a few leaves of sage or rosemary

Sauté the onions, carrots and celery ’til a bit browned (called a mirepoix or soffrito depending on if you are feeling French or Italian) add the mushroom bits, 2 cloves of squished garlic, and sauté some more. Add the stock, dried fruit and nuts, herbs, a splash of wine and let it all get acquainted on low heat for a bit. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

meanwhile… put a tiny splash of balsamic vinegar in the bottom of each mushroom cape, add a small scoop of goat cheese, and then mound a handful of filling into each mushroom.

Bake at 350 for about 30 – 45 min.  (top with cheese if you’d like – parm or romano.)  OMGOMGOMG!  nomnomnom!

feel free to experiment and make this your own creation.