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.                 

Baked Pumpkin, Sausage, and Cheese

I cut a "lid" like you do for a Jack-O-Lantern and scraped out the seeds from a 4 lb. pumpkin I got from my winter vegetable vendor. 

1 1/2 C. eggs (five very large eggs)
1 1/2 C. Chicken broth
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
Whisk together the eggs, broth, and seasonings.

3/4 lb. Fried, crumbled sausage plus or minus to your taste and add to empty pumpkin.
2 C. Shredded cheddar or Swiss divided.  1 1/2 C. goes into the pumpkin now.

Pour egg/broth mixture over the sausage and cheese.

Put the lid on the pumpkin and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours in a pan with sides to contain any liquid that runs out, then remove lid.

Add reserved cheese and bake without lid for 1/2 hour. 

Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.  Scoop out filling and pumpkin for each serving.  This is better served after cooling to bring out the flavors.

Salmon Salad-A Quick Summer Supper-for two

1/2 C. chopped fermented dilled carrots
2 spring onions sliced diagonally
1 Can drained Salmon with all the skin and bones included
2 T. Vinaigrette dressing.

2 Stalks celery sliced diagonally.
1 Red bell pepper cut into sixths, roasted or fried.

2 Eggs- hardboiled and sliced for garnish.
2 Tomatoes sliced for garnish.

Fresh ground pepper over everything.
No salt is needed because the salmon has enough.

Mix the salmon with everything except the tomatoes and eggs. Place on the plate with tomatoes, eggs, and roasted peppers for garnish.

This "recipe" was constructed from the items I had on hand. I do like to keep salmon in the pantry and I always have eggs, celery, and fermented carrots. The onions were from the garden and the tomatoes were very good ones from the grocery, not actually in season and were the red peppers.

If I'd had radishes, they would have gone in and probably a few chopped leaves of spinach for more color. Potatoes would have been very good on the side. I would have fried them with the peppers in coconut oil. I've been enjoying warmer weather cooking which includes cold and hot on the same plate. The salmon salad was cold and the peppers and eggs were warm. A very nice salad composé.

Potato Salad

I used my crock pot to cook the potatoes in my hot kitchen. I find the crock pot to add less heat to my surroundings during the summer, plus to can use it anywhere.

Wash potatoes and dry
Place in the crock pot but don't add water. I actually cooked red beets at the same time with no blending of flavors or color.

Roast them using medium heat for 4 hours.

Open the lid and let them cool. I was able to peel them easily the next day. This salad is best if you don't refrigerate the potatoes. Toss in:

Raw vinegar
Dijon Mustard
Olive Oil-extra virgin
Salt
Pepper-white
Tarragon leaves

After this salad is refrigerated, I think the potato starch is changed slightly and they are not at their best, so I often fry the potatoes for a side dish. They get nice and crispy. This is a good salad for a picnic since it does not need refrigeration for safety. There is no mayonnaise in it.

Green Beans Oriental Style

These green beans are dressed in a soy and sesame sauce that makes a nice change from my usual butter, garlic, and salt method of serving. The Oriental beans are very nice cold or room temperature and would be good for a picnic.

Green Beans trimmed and cut and steamed or cooked and drained
Carrots slivered for color-I used lacto-fermented carrots
Onions cut how you like

Toss with this dressing:

Sesame oil-expeller pressed from un-toasted seeds - about 3 T.
Sesame oil-from toasted seeds-you need about 1 t. of this.
Red wine vinegar-about 1 T.
Garlic cloves, crushed- 2 cloves.
Ginger root grated very finely-about 1 T.
1 T Soy sauce-naturally brewed
1 T Tamari Sauce-naturally brewed (a nice addition but you could use 2 T soy)

3 T toasted sesame seeds-I used the toaster oven but watch them because they brown very quickly. I pulled them out of the oven when they were brown and quickly dumped them onto a dinner plate to stop them toasting on the hot pan.

I topped the beans with the seeds just before serving.

Roasted Red Beet Salad-Crockpot method

I had heard about roasting potatoes in the crock-pot, so I tried it today with red beets. I washed and cut the tops from the beets to 1" from the root. I did not cut into the flesh at all and left the "tails" on. I put them in the crock-pot set at medium for 3 1/2 hours. I turned off the pot at that point and took off the lid and let them cool. It was very easy to peel them.

Cubed beets
Diced onions
Sea Salt, unrefined "real salt"
Horseradish, prepared
Sour Cream, Daisy brand it the best commercial brand I have access to.

This makes an alarming but beautiful pink salad and it's delicious. I ate it room temperature.

I liked the fact that these beets maintained their juices and were made even sweeter by not cooking them in water. I found that I could pile them in and amazingly, the clean-up of the crockpot was very easy.

Roasted Vegetables

Zucchini

Sweet Potatoes

Red Onions

Carrots

Parsnips

Red Peppers

Any other vegetables you like

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Peel and wash appropriately. Cut into 3/8" slices and combine in a large bowl. Drizzle in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and add minced garlic and a little fresh rosemary or dried. Toss the vegetables and then add unrefined sea salt and coarse ground pepper. Once you add the salt, the mixture needs to be roasted immediately or it will start to get wet. Bake loosely spaced on large baking sheet at 425 degrees for 30 -35 minutes.

These vegetables are delicious served with pork especially. They refrigerate well and can be reheated best in a convection oven.

Roasted Vegetables with Sausage

In a large bowl toss ingredients in fat:

Potatoes cubed
Rutabaga peeled and cubed
Sausage fat melted
Sea Salt-(Real Salt)

Pour into roasting pan with:

Sausage links-pastured, cut up

Roast in a 400 degree oven until browned.

Served with:

Steamed red cabbage and a dressing made from
Vinegar, sucanat, butter, and sea salt.

Steamed Swiss Chard with butter and salt.

A small scoop of sauerkraut for the pro-biotic.

Streamlined: For this meal, I used the big bowl to toss the vegetables first. Then I used the same bowl to toss the cabbage and sauce. I love using the same equipment over again. I used the steamer twice too. The red cabbage was first and the quick cooking swiss chard was last. The water from the steamer was a beautiful blue.