Thursday 12 October 2017

Family Time in Melbourne.

I'm heading to Melbourne first thing in the morning to have some precious time with my beautiful mum and sister.

Mum isn't well so I'm not sure how long I'll be away.  One thing is for sure though, the time the three of us spend together will be full of love, fun and laughter.....as it always is.


Monday 9 October 2017

An abundance of pawpaws.

How beautiful is this?

One happy mumma raising her two little ones right in the middle of an abundance of pawpaws.

I guess there'll be no green papaya salad for a few weeks.



Friday 6 October 2017

Fermenting Capsicum.

I've been away from my blog for a while.  I think I got a bit of stage fright when I had so many visitors after Rhonda from Down to Earth linked my blog on her reading list.  I so loved doing Rhonda's course and was very appreciative of the knowledge shared but I think I became overwhelmed with the amount of visitors and felt I should be saying something worthwhile.  Obviously I shouldn't have looked at the stats!  Anyway, things have settled down somewhat so here I am.....just being me again.

So.....
How luscious and plump are these homegrown gifts from a neighbour?

I decided to ferment them to make sure we can enjoy them for as long as possible.

Despite searching google and my 'numerous' fermenting books, I couldn't find a recipe I was happy with so just made one up based on how I've previously made sauerkraut and kimchi.   To the bowl of sliced capsicum, I've added a thinly sliced clove of garlic and a teaspoon each of yellow mustard seeds and whole black peppercorns. Easy peasy.


After mixing everything through with a generous sprinkling of Himalayan salt, I've packed it all firmly into a 2 litre jar.  

When I started fermenting I didn't worry too much about using a purchased culture, but ferments last a lot longer in the fridge and have so much more beneficial bacteria for the gut if a culture is used.  Plus they are less bubbly and explosive - and it's always lovely to have the least possible amount of explosion in the kitchen!  The culture I use is 'Caldwell's Starter Culture' but I can't provide a link as I can't remember where I bought mine.  There's six sachets in a box and you only need half a sachet per 2 litre ferment - less for a smaller jar so it's pretty economical.  Mix half a sachet with about a cup or more of filtered water and pour over to cover the vegetables.

The little purple silicone top is called a 'Pickle Pipe' and I bought mine from nourishmeorganics.com.au.  They're designed to fit all wide mouthed Ball Mason jars and are so much easier to use and look after than the water filled air lock I was previously using.  Plus they're dishwasher safe and pretty cute too!

I've put a washed cabbage leaf on the top held down by a glass weight, to keep the capsicum submerged in the liquid.
  

All rugged up to keep out the light.


After three days on the bench it's time for a taste test.

Oh yum.


Just perfect and ready to pop in the fridge.  These capsicums will be great for using on a pizza, as a side to cold meat and salad, in a wrap or sandwich......and sometimes straight from the jar if nobody is looking.  


They're also yummy dobbed onto the top of a lump of cheese....also when nobody is looking. *wink*