Wifezilla's Rampage - Weekend Update w/ pics

[colowyo0809]

Found one of the missing quail! Inara was in the neighbors yard scratching for bugs . Zoe is still missing. She is was the biggest hen too.

In other news, someone gave me a LOT of cabbage!! I chopped up 6 huge heads already, set 4aside for abi and still have a garbage bag with more in it!!! Time to look up a good kimchi recipe!

oooh!! cj would love some cabbage!

 

[Henrietta23]

for finding the other quail!
for finding a good kimchi recipe~! Please share if you do. I've tried and was too chicken to eat it. It was a little scary..

 

[Wifezilla]

Total cabbage count...20 heads.

I went and bought a small muck bucket so I would have something big enough to process the cabbage. To pound it, I wrapped an old sledge hammer head in plastic and dropped it in the bucket repeatedly. It was pretty darn funny.

Here is the basic recipe I used....

6 heads of cabbage, cut in to bite sized chunks
2 pounds of carrots - sliced
1/2 pound of Ginger root - shredded
4 elephant garlic cloves -diced
Large bunch of chives - chopped
12-24 dried red chili pepper pods
1/2 - 1 cup fine sea salt
1/4 whey
Filtered water
Sriracha Sauce (preferably fermented )
honey
Daikon radish (optional)

Pound cabbage with salt*. Stir in other veggies. Add filtered water as needed to cover the cabbage mix. Cover with a ceramic weight or ziplock bags full of water to keep veggies below the brine level. Let sit for a couple of days. When it tastes how you like it, it's time to place your kimchi in jars. To each quart jar add 1 tbsp or more of the sriracha sauce. More sauce for more heat or less if you are a total wuss. Also add a dab or two of honey if you like a touch of sweetness with your sour. Leave some head space in each jar since it will continue to ferment, although slowly, in the refrigerator. Will be best after a week or two in the cold. Should keep for months so don't worry about making a big batch.

A note on the salt... Based on recipes I found, they called for 1 cup of salt for every 2 heads of cabbage. I thought 1 cup would be a good starting point for 6 heads of cabbage. I was wrong. It was still too salty. Not EEEWW salty, but I might have to rinse the veggies before putting it in jars and letting them ferment a bit more. A minor inconvenience, but you can avoid that by starting with 1/2 cup and tasting as you go.

UPDATE: to fix the saltiness on this batch I scooped out the kimchi veggies out of the fermentation bucket by hand when it was time to pack in the jars, shaking off but not squeezing the veggies. I then made a new, milder batch of salt brine (1 tsp fine sea salt per quart) and filled the jars until the vegetables were covered.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Total cabbage count...20 heads.

I went and bought a small muck bucket so I would have something big enough to process the cabbage. To pound it, I wrapped an old sledge hammer head in plastic and dropped it in the bucket repeatedly. It was pretty darn funny.

Here is the basic recipe I used....

6 heads of cabbage, cut in to bite sized chunks
2 pounds of carrots - sliced
1/2 pound of Ginger root - shredded
4 elephant garlic cloves -diced
Large bunch of chives - chopped
12-24 dried red chili pepper pods
1/2 - 1 cup fine sea salt
1/4 whey
Filtered water

Pound cabbage with salt*. Stir in other veggies. Add filtered water as needed to cover the cabbage mix. Cover with a ceramic weight or ziplock bags full of water to keep veggies below the brine level. Let sit for a couple of days. When it tastes how you like it, jar and place in the fridge. Will be best after slowly fermenting a week or two in the cold.

A note on the salt... Based on recipes I found, the called for 1 cup of salt for every 2 heads of cabbage. I thought 1 cup would be a good starting point for 6 heads of cabbage. I was wrong. It was still too salty. Not EEEWW salty, but I might have to rinse the veggies before putting it in jars and letting them ferment a bit more. A minor inconvenience, but you can avoid that by starting with 1/2 cup and tasting as you go.

1 Tbls of salt per quart of kraut is a good place to start.
I have made the same mistake, following recipes that were WAY off.

 

[Farmfresh]

We ate some of my last batch of lacto fermented kraut the other night for supper... ala Reuben sandwiches with spicy mustard. ( instead of Thousand Island dressing )

Yeah cabbages!!

 

[Wifezilla]

I will be making kraut too. Also ribbon cutting cabbage for "noodles". I can freeze those and they will be so easy to pull out and make for dinner. My favorite thing to put on cabbage noodles is chicken in Alfredo sauce

 

[Farmfresh]

Do tell more about the cabbage noodles.

 

[savingdogs]

This all sounds so yummy. I adore cabbage steamed, with a little onion and butter.....

And cabbage noodles sure sounds healthy!

 

[Wifezilla]

All you do is cut the cabbage so it ends up in ribbons. Then you cook it in butter. That is it! Not sure how I am going to preserve them in the freezer though. I am thinking I could fry them just a little in butter then freeze. They should cook up fast and mostly hold their shape that way.

 

[abifae]

or bacon....