2007 Autumn Equinox Issue
Arts
Book Review
Comet Hunter
Letting Go
Pariah People
Pariah Reader's Speak
Passings
Root Cellar
Seasonal Healing
Shameless Self Promotion
Spiritual Healing
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Preserving the Bounty of the Season
By Kathy Fitzpatrick
There's no doubt about it fall is here.
I've just come in from my backyard garden with a arm load of
wonderfully fresh produce. Neon lights swiss chard, kale,
collards, fat yellow turnips, an abundance of tomatoes,
green, red and yellow peppers, jalapeños and habenaro's and
the last of the beans. Later i'll pick lamb's quarter, spicy
nasturtium leaves and flowers, chives, salad burnett,
mesculin lettuce and a few dandelion leaves for a salad.
If you've ever considered trying your hand at home
preservation, fall, with it's generous bounty, is a
wonderful time to begin. Home preservation can be as easy or
as complicated as you'd like. The following recipes are
designed for those with limited time and energy, no fancy
equipment required. Although simple, they're not only
delicious, but rich with vitamins and minerals. So grab some
jars and get ready for a well stocked pantry.
How to make Balsamic Vinegar
The best way to make this is to go to the woods and while
enjoying the beauty and serenity gather up pine needles.
Some people have a preference for a specific kind of needles
but, as an equal opportunity fall preservationist, i'll use
any i can get my fall saving hands on! In my own backyard
there's cedar, blue spruce and a couple other evergreens
whose names escape me. Each one has a uniquely wonderful
aromic taste. Delicious drizzled on salads, in soups or just
to sniff when the urge comes. As a Balsamic Vinegar
affectionato i can attest to the richness of flavor, better
than any store bought variety, regardless of the price tag.
What's better is the complete ease in making them. I made my
first bottle last year using white pine needles and and all
winter long found myself making excuses to go to the kitchen
just to open up the jar and delight in it's healing aroma.
Pine is a wonderful source of Vitamin C, it
contains more C than oranges. The apple cider vinegar
leeches the vitamins and minerals out of the needles and
into the vinegar making it a rich source of vitamins and
minerals.
To make your own "balsamic" vinegar simply fill a clean jar
with any kind of pine needle and cover with apple cider
vinegar. Put a lid on and let steep for 4-6 weeks, strain
[or not] and enjoy! It doesn't get any easier than this! [if
using a metal lid place wax paper between the top of the jar
and the metal lid]
Homemade Sauerkraut
This is the way my grandma made sauerkraut when my mom was
growing up. Their cellar shelves were lined with row after
row of this simple method of saving fall in a jar. Nothing
beats homemade!
1 cabbage, cored and chopped [or shredded]
1teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Good water
Fill a quart jar with chopped or shredded cabbage, to each
jar add 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 1 tablespoon of apple
cider vinegar. [or white vinegar] Cover with good water and
put the ring and lid on tight. [make sure it's tight!!!]
Store in a cool place for 2 months and enjoy!
Latin American Kraut or Cortido
This is a spicy probiotic condiment that goes well with
Latin American and Mexican foods....and it's also great
dumped on top of organic salad greens! Delicious!
1 large cabbage, cored and chopped
1 cup of grated carrots
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 TBSLP dried oregeno
1/4-1/2 tsp dried pepper flakes
1 TBSLP sea salt
1 TBSLP whey or if not available use and additional 1 TBSLP
of sea salt
In a large bowl mix all ingredients together, including whey
and sea salt. Pound with a wooden hammer for about 10
minutes to release the juices. [i just let it sit for a
several hours] Place in a 2 quart mason jar and press down
firmly with a wooden hammer until the juices come to the top
of the jar. The top of the cabbage mixture should be covered
with at least below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and
let set out for 3 days before placing in cold storage.
Cortido is traditionally made with pineapple vinegar,
something i look forward to trying! Like traditional
sauerkraut this improves with age! Enjoy!
Ratatouille
As i write i'm enjoying the scent of Ratatouille wafting up
from the crock pot in the kitchen. This year, our CSA farm
share has provided us with a bounty of eggplant in all
shapes, sizes and colors. While eggplant can be blanched and
frozen it really loses a bit of it's appeal. So i preserve
it by making up batch after batch of Ratatouille to freeze
and use in the winter. Freezing isn't the best way to
preserve food but when using the freshest organic
ingredients it's far better than buying food that's been
shipped in during the winter months. This is a very rich
dish, usually cooked slowly on the stove after the
vegetables have been sautéed. I have found i get the same
rich taste by cooking it in a crock pot without all the
work. I don't measure choosing instead to chop up the
vegetables until it looks right. But i'll try to quesstimate
for those who need them.
1 large eggplant [don't peel] cut in large cubes
2 green peppers, cut into strips
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
4 tomatoes, cut in pieces
4 tablespoons of oil [olive, sunflower, sesame]
1 small jar of organic tomato paste
Add to taste
salt
pepper
Optional
bragg's liquid amino's
basil
rosemary
thyme
marjoram
nutritional yeast
Place the chopped eggplant, green peppers, onions, garlic
and tomatoes, along with the oil, into a crock-pot and cook
overnight on low heat. In the morning add the tomato paste
and a bit of filtered water. Continue to cook until the
veggies are mushy or have the texture you prefer. Then
season to taste with salt and pepper along with any of the
following, basil, rosemary, thyme or marjoram. Sprinkle with
bragg's liquid amino's and nutritional yeast. Serve over
steamed millet, brown rice or lentils. Freeze leftovers to
enjoy later.
By Norie
strip kombu
2 shiitake mushrooms
1 and 1/2 to 2 Tbs miso (to taste)
daikon, kabocha, string beans, lotus root, carrots, or any
veggie on hand
wakame, diced tofu, chopped scallions (optional)
1 -Cut a 2x4 inch strip of kombu and add with 2 shiitake
mushrooms to 2 cups water. Let sit for an hour and a half.
2 - Heat on (1) on medium heat and remove kombu right
before the water boils. Boil shiitake for 10 mins. This
is your broth, or "dashi".
3 - Take out shiitake to cool, then slice (discard stalk)
and return to broth (most will discard the shiitake since
the flavor has gone into the broth, but I like the chewy
texture.)
4 - Slice other veggies and boil for 5-10 mins in dashi
until soft. You may want to add root veggies first then
for the last 5 mins add the others.
5 - Lower heat and add miso (and optional items).
6 - Serve with brown rice with a pinch of sesame seeds
and sea salt for a perfectly balanced meal!
Norie is a seed collector and experimental organic gardener in southwest Tokyo who dabbles in Japanese herbal medicine, organic rice farming, natural plant dyeing and the art of living slowly.
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