Friday, August 16, 2013

Fermenting Buddies


For the next couple of weeks, these two jars are turning one corner of my kitchen into a chemistry lesson.  Fermented deli pickles (my first batch!) and a fresh batch of sauerkraut (another batch in a long line).  The sauerkraut will take anywhere from 3 to 10 days, depending on your taste preferences.  The pickles should take around 3 weeks.  Both jars are then popped into the fridge and enjoyed for the next couple of months.

If they last that long...


We found a solution for the onslaught of grape tomatoes!  Roast them!  I halved two cookie sheets full, baked them at 300 degrees after coating with olive oil and salt.  About an hour and a half later, we had some really delicious treats.

Some of which Jared and I may have ate off the pan still warm.  :)

Two full trays fit into one quart sized bag, with room, and will reside in our freezer until we need them to boost sauces and soups when the snow starts flying.  I was kinda concerned that we had planted 4 grape tomato plants, but bring it on!  The more the merrier we will be this winter with lots of garden flavor.  If you want the recipe or other ideas for your small tomatoes, check this out.


And a picture for the nanas and the papas...


2 comments:

  1. I read about fermented pickles but haven't had the guts to try it yet. Haven't processed any either... we've been eating a lot of pickles straight out of the fridge! Which is great now but I will miss them come February. We also roasted a bunch of tomatoes. I did romas with a few brandywines that were ripe. Roasted with salt, pepper, garlic cloves and olive oil. You can freeze them like that or I put them through the blender and freeze them in jars for pasta sauce!

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    1. Nice! Pickles are really easy to process and you can make life even easier by buying the bag of salt/seasoning for dills or sweets or kosher, etc. in the canning section. In fact, so far those are my preferred cans in the collection of 8 or so different recipes I did last summer! I wish I had romas and brandywines to work with! Our tomatoes are coming in soooo slowly, with the exception of the little guys. You are smart about blending them up now and then freezing...I am going to do that with this next batch!

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