Tiny Peasant

Tag: garden

  • Fermented Chard Stalks

    Fermented Chard Stalks

    Today as I was harvesting swiss chard from the garden, the idea to pickle the stalks struck me. Thanks to the wisdom of my dear friend, Adrienne, I remembered that you can really ferment just about anything. I cut off the stalks and set aside the leaves to freeze for smoothies, omelettes and casseroles, and set to work experimenting with my first jar of fermented chard stalks.

     

    How to Make Fermented Chard Stalks

    chard leaves

    1. Wash and cut the stalks so they will fit into your clean 500ml (2 cup) canning jar.

    2. Toss some garlic, dill, and a bay leaf into the jar. You can play around with seasonings and add really any flavours that you and your family enjoy.

    3. Stuff the chard stalks into the jar. Pack them in. One of Adrienne’s tricks is to reserve some pieces to lay across the top to keep the other pieces from floating up and out of the brine (I ran out of stalks, or this jar would be way more packed than it is).

    chard stalks salt water

    4. I made a whey-free version, simply because I didn’t have whey on hand. To do this, mix 2 tbsp sea salt with 1/2C water. Pour over the stalks. Add water to cover, leaving one inch of air space at the top of the jar.

    5. Screw the lid on tightly and set aside for 3-7 days. I like to put a tray with a lip underneath to collect any potential leaks.

    6. After 3-7 days, place into cold storage. Whey free ferments are saltier, so Adrienne recommends leaving them in cold storage for as long as four to six weeks to develop tasty flavours and diminish the saltiness.chard stalks final

     

    To learn more about fermentation (and how to make whey based vegetable ferments, among many other things), check out Adrienne’s latest course, Traditional Wisdom Modern Kitchen. It’s a game changer.

     

    This post is a part of Natural Living Monday Natural Link Up at Modern Alternative Health,  Thank Goodness It’s Monday at Nourishing Joy,  Fight Back Fridays at Food Renegade and Unprocessed Fridays at Girl Meets Nourishement.

     

  • This Week in the Garden

    This Week in the Garden

    Just a few photos of the urban garden this week as we were busy farm sitting and tending to the rural garden out at the farm. See last week’s garden to get an idea of what we have growing. We’re joining Soule Mama for this fun weekly feature! Please feel welcome to share what’s growing in your garden by posting a link in the comments…

    It was lovely to come home to lots of fresh, deep red strawberries for little hands to pick, and to see how alive it all seemed. Being in the garden makes me feel so alive with the smell of soil, the freshness of dew, the insects working away… and the kids carefully inspecting each area of the garden to find what can be harvested.

    farm-garden
    Four out of our crew of six tending the garden where we were farm sitting. It is so nice when everyone and everything falls into place – each with his or her own important work to contribute to the overall rhythm of the day.  The oldest pulling weeds, and the littlest ones collecting the weeds and hauling them out of the garden. All six of us occupied with meaningful work, taking part in growing the food that will nourish our family and others.

     

    Our urban garden…

    beetsBeets are coming along, with some tiny carrots (experiments with seeds of years ago) straggling alongside. More carrots were planted over by the tomatoes and cukes. Red Dragon carrots are the carrot of choice for six year olds, I’m told around here.

     

    peas-&-lettuceA row of pretty lettuce is getting ready for salads. We planted some more to have a continual harvest, unlike last year, ahem, when I planted a full 2×8 garden box in lettuce and it was all ready at once. Live and learn, I guess! That is the nature of gardening.

     

    spinachThis spinach was photographed right before it was added to one of our favourite dishes – a meal we had several times at a very special little restaurant when we lived in Guatemala. We call it Blue Angel Skillet – sauté onions and cubed potatoes in olive or coconut oil, add diced tomatoes, followed by spinach and topped with grated cheese. There is no more specific recipe, but I promise it is delicious. Add whatever seasoning you’d like – we stick with a simple sprinkle of salt and pepper.

     

    strawberries-plateI do believe when we’re at the farm, we’ll have a strawberry patch the size of our entire current garden. These sweet bursts are gone almost as soon as they are picked! Two different varieties grow in our patch – one that has come with us from our previous home – a common ever-bearing variety, though I don’t know the name. The other is an eye-catcher called Fragoo Deep Rose, with deep pink blossoms and more elongated berries.