Lacto-Fermented Carrots with Garlic and Dill

10 lbs. organic, peeled carrots yielded 3 half-gallon jars and 1 quart jar.  After I peeled and trimmed the ends, I cut them on the diagonal and put them in the jars along with dried dill weed and garlic cloves which I simply cut open but did not peel. I added 3 Tablespoons of unrefined sea salt to each half-gallon.  I filled each jar with well water, but you can use filtered tap water....the chlorine can be a problem so filter it out.  To cover, I put a metal canning type lid inside my plastic lids and screwed them on tight.  I'll "burp" them a couple of times in a day to release the pressure.  This lasts for about 4 days at this cool time of year.  After that, I refrigerate and hold on to them for a year or more depending on how fast we eat them.  I use them in salads, on top of rice stir fries and just to eat because they are so deliciously sour, tasty, and full  of pro-biotics.                 

Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian

I visited Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian on Sunday.  I got a few good photos in spite of the Plexiglas barrier.  I love how her kitchen reflected her specific needs in the kitchen.  She had little cup hooks up the window frame for all of her Pyrex measures.  She put in wall lights to shine down on the counter/sink area and there are no cupboards above the sink, so she didn't have any bulky things to bump into.  I love that.  I hit my head on my cupboards regularly when I am concentrating and lift my head....oops. She had framed cat pictures attached to her cupboards which show in the above photo.  She didn't have cupboard doors on all of her shelves, so she could just grab a pot and not need two clean hands to get it out.

I think the Flame Orange pot-bellied piece is a Descoware enameled cast iron pot.  She used masking tape to label everything and it's still intact.  This is the most eccentric kitchen I've ever seen and I've been twice because I adore it.