Somehow, in a post about a handy fermenter from the Farmer’s Kitchen, I failed to put up this shamelessly cute picture of our cat, Trout, interfering with the photo session.
If you’d like more proof that the internet is some kind of million typing monkey/non-linear/collective unconsciousness generation machine, try typing “cat and sauerkraut” into Google. You get a fluffy and deaf white cat who loves sauerkraut. We can now consider that long experiment in human civilization complete.
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| Williams-Sonoma’s $60 “predator proofing” kit. Yes, that’s hardware cloth and nails. Via Northwest Edible Life. |
Beer From 1840s Shipwreck May Be Recreated By Scientists. http://huff.to/JFfiAl
Huge, dumb booze producer Diageo orders industry association to give them the prize that had been awarded to competitor:http://boingboing.net/2012/05/10/huge-dumb-scottish-bar-chain.html
Italian mafia interior tastes exposed – in pictures http://gu.com/p/37d2t/tw
Behind the scenes of a city: Trash in L.A.: http://boingboing.net/2012/05/08/behind-the-scenes-of-a-city-t.html
Train horn attached to bicycle: http://boingboing.net/2012/05/08/train-horn-attached-to-bicycle.html
Vegetarian Recipe: Halloumi Kabobs – Good Food http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/2012/05/vegetarian-recipe-halloumi-kabobs/
A Bamboo Mat Shed With Palm Thatch Roof: http://altbuildblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/bamboo-mat-shed-with-palm-thatch-roof.html
Don’t Buy These 5 Williams-Sonoma Agrarian Products http://www.nwedible.com/2012/04/dont-buy-these-5-william-sonoma-agrarian-products.html
Common Appliances, Uncommon Uses http://www.chow.com/food-news/54485/common-appliances-uncommon-uses/
Follow the Root Simple twitter feed for more linkages.
So what edible/useful plants pop up in lead contaminated soil along a hot, dry alternately sun-baked and deep-shaded south side of a house in Southern California? After dumping a load of compost along our side yard, mother nature is doing her own food forestry experiment. This month the following things popped up out of that load of compost:
Elsewhere in the yard, New Zealand spinach has popped up on its own. I doubt the stinging nettle or nasturtium will hang on for long (it’s out of season for those plants here). But I’m willing to bet that the tomatoes, New Zealand spinach, fennel and cardoon will take. Because of the lead, the only thing I would eat of that bunch are the tomatoes (fruit usually does not take up heavy metals). Still, I think bio-activity in the soil in the form of microorganisms and plants will, over a very long period, help remediate that contamination.
More and more, I’m drawn to vegetables that easily re-seed themselves and grow without any fuss. And knowing when to plant things can be tricky, so watching nature’s own timing can provide important clues. I’ve taken to moving some of these self-seeded plants to our raised beds. And I’ve pledged to take better notes (this blog post, for instance) to keep a record of what comes up on its own and when.
So tell us where you are and what’s sprouting on it’s own this spring in your garden?
Naive me, I purchased a box of Morton’s kosher salt for a pickling project. I thought that kosher salt lacks the anti-caking agents that cause cloudy and sediment filled jars of pickles. No blue ribbon for me at the county fair:
Morton salt has anti-caking agents. But I can follow them on Facebook (why I would want to do that would be the topic of another post). Diamond Salt, on the other hand does not have anti-caking agents:
So, when pickling, be careful selecting your kosher salt–some contain anti-caking agents, others do not.
Another precaution when using kosher salt in food preservation projects comes from the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension’s guide to Homemade Pickles and Relishes (pdf):
Kosher pure flaked salt requires special care if used for pickling. Flaked salt weighs less per volume than canning and pickling salt, so you need about 50 percent more—11⁄2 cups of flaked salt equals about 1 cup of canning and pickling salt. If you use kosher salt for fermented pickles, you must weigh out the proper amount.Weigh out 73⁄4 ounces (220 grams) of flaked salt, and you will have the equivalent of 1 cup of canning and pickling salt.
This same publication also notes how easy it is to find pickling salt and how hard it is to find kosher salt. It’s just the opposite here in Los Angeles.
So what kind of salt do you use for pickling and fermenting? What’s the easiest to find where you live?
See the University of Wisconsin’s other tested food preservation recipes here.
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| Check out the water after boiling my supposedly clean sheet! |
As usual, I’m taking my shibori challenge right to the deadline. One important preparatory step to dyeing is a cleansing process called “scouring.” I’d never heard of this before now, which may be why all my casual attempts at dyeing thus far have not turned out so great. I spent my weekend scouring so I can move on to dyeing. And then on to sewing! Yikes! I’m really behind.
Scouring is deep cleaning of fabric or fiber. Scouring helps assure even color and good penetration of the dye. Cotton in particular needs scouring, even if it is brand new from the fabric shop, because apparently it is full of hidden waxes and oils. In my case, I’ll be using an old top sheet for my experiments, so it certainly needs lots of help.
Cotton and wool are scoured differently. I’ve never scoured wool, so am not going to cover it here. I understand it is also a washing process, but done with cool-ish water, so as not to felt the wool, and gentle soap. Linen also needs scouring, but I know even less about that.
