Fishing at the Slough

The slough is a deep, long, spring fed pool running at least 600 feet at the base of a bluff before it feeds into the Bryant Creek near where we live in southern Missouri. It's banks are overgrown with cane and brush, but there are a few spots you can get through and throw in a line. Turtles live here, and fish and snakes, sometimes you might see a beaver or otter. It's savage and wild and mysterious. There are always weird noises that make you start, and the sound of water trickling down the bluff. Deer snort from the ridge top. Huge old sycamores sprouting moss, grass and mushrooms line the water. Yesterday when we fished, a woodchuck poked up out of his/her hole in the bank, assessed us, and, deciding we posed no threat, ambled out to get a bite to eat in the bottom field. We caught bluegills, sunfish and one bass. We ate some and I have a pot of fish stock (heads included) simmering on the stove. Another batch got cut up, mixed with salt, lemon rind, garlic, peppercorns water and whey and put into a jar to ferment for fish sauce. Now, this is a daunting activity for even the most stalwort meat eater. For me, a 30+ year vegetarian just now changing her diet, it was pretty major. But it's done, we're fed, and I've decided that if I'm going to eat meat, I need to participate in the whole process. Being a vegetarian is a kinder, gentler, easier, cheaper way to live, but for many reasons, the main one being health, I have decided to change. I have never questioned the rightness of animals being on the land. The interaction of plants, animals, humans and the stars makes a sacred circle. I struggle often with my part in that circle; I'm still working on it.

Fermenting Daikons

Daikons (winter radishes) are good subjects for fermentation. Here is a quote from Sally Fallon's book: "The daikon radish is greatly prized as a digestive aid in the Orient where it is eaten in a great variety of ways - fresh or preserved, dried, salted and added to soup or meat dishes. Fermented dailon radish, or 'takuan', is commonly served with macrobiotic food. Tests have shown it to be especially high in lactobacilli. It is also valued as a diuretic, as a decongestant and as a source of substances that inhibit cancer. Folk wisdom claims the daikon rids the body of accumulated fats. The root is an excellent source of vitamin C."

Here is a simple recipe:

3 pounds daikon radish, peeled and grated

1 tablespoon sea salt

4 tablespoons whey (optional, but it helps speed fermentation. You can get whey by draining good quality, plain yogurt through cheese cloth or a dish towel.)

Place all ingredients in a bowl, mix well and let sit awhile till the juices separate out. Press into a wide mouth quart jar, letting the juice cover the radish mixture. Leave 2" at the top of the jar. Cover tightly and let stand at room temperature for 3 - 7 days before transferring to the fridge.

If you want a spicier mix, add 6 - 8 cloves minced garlic, a sliced onion or some chopped scallions and two tsps. of chili flakes,

I made one jar of plain daikon in thick cubes and some spicy ones, one with fancy crinkle slices and some shredded.

Some Notes on Fermentation

Here are a few good books on fermenting:

Making Sauerkraut and pickled vegetables at home, by Klaus Kaufmann and Annelies Schoneck

Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Ellix Katz

Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon. This one is a veritable encyclopedia of recipes of all kinds, prepared in the way our ancestors often prepared their foods, by soaking, sprouting, fermenting, culturing. The many quotes in this book from doctors, researchers and studies will challenge the way you think about diet.

My latest batch of kraut is bubbling away in a small room that's been staying at 62 degrees, right where I want it. I said in my recipe to leave about 1" space at the top of the jar, but this last batch is fermenting so vigorously I would suggest you leave 2 or 3 inches, and be sure to put newspapers or a towel under the jars in case they leak.

I am also trying turnips, called sauerruben, and will soon try daikons. Later, if my chinese wong bok cabbage heads up, I'll make kimchee, or something like it. Fermenting is a reliable, easy way to preserve food. Once you understand the basics, you can experiment to the hilt. And the results will provide you with some of the most nutritious foods available, filled with enzymes, probiotics, vitamins and minerals, to say nothing of taste!

My Kraut Recipe

5 pounds shredded cabbage

1 - 2 cups shredded carrots
two medium onions, finely sliced

5 cloves garlic (or more), sliced

1 Tbs. fresh or dried oregano

3 Tbs. salt (rock, pickling, or sea salt, un-iodized)

Fresh, organically grown cabbage is best because the leaves contain more of the beneficial bacteria that start the fermentation process. Don't pick immediately after a rain, as water will wash away some of the bacteria. I use a mandoline for shredding, though you can buy a wooden kraut shredder, or just use a sharp knife.

Mix the salt into the vegetables thoroughly. Have your canning jars and lids clean and ready. This recipe makes three quarts. Pack the kraut very tightly into the jars. Use your fist or some other implement that will fit in the jar. Keep adding cabbage a little at a time and tamping it down. This is an anaerobic proceedure, so you want all the air bubbles out.

You can see how the cabbage juice is rising over the cabbage. Leave about one inch of air space at the top of the jar. A piece of whole cabbage leaf can be fitted over the top to help keep the bits of vegetables under the brine. Seal the jar tightly.

Let the jars sit at room temperature, about 68 to 75 degrees for two days, then lower the temp to about 64 degrees. You can use an ice chest or other insulated container to help keep the temp in the right range. Leave the jars in the dark, undisturbed for two - three weeks, then transfer to the fridge. Letting the jars sit 10 days or so before openingis good, though sometimes I can't wait and open them right away! Enjoy your healthy, nutritious kraut. It will keep for months under refrigeration.

Making Kraut

It's time to make fall sauerkraut. Most people don't realize you don't need a big crock to make kraut. You can make it in small batches, one quart at a time, in canning jars, and man oh man, is it good for you. Here are a few facts about sauerkraut from Sally Fallon's book, Nourishing Traditions. Lacto-fermented foods normalize the acidity of the stomach, help break down proteins and aid in their assimilation, activate the secretions of the pancreas, which is particularly important for diabetics. Sauerkraut contains large quantities of choline, a substance that lowers blood pressure and regulates the passage of nutrients into the blood, and aids the body in the metabolism of fats. Sauerkraut also contains acetylcholine which has a powerful effect on the parasypathetic nervous system. It helps reduce blood pressure, slows down the rate of heartbeat, and promotes calmness and sleep. Lactic acid producing bacteria can prevent the growth of coliform bacteria, so not only do they aid digestion, they also help us resist infection. But the kraut must be eaten raw; the beneficial substances are destroyed by cooking. Are you ready to make some kraut now?

Alien invades On The Wind

The trouble with writing a garden blog is, during gardening season you never have time to write in your blog. We had enough rain, coolish temps, many tense moments watching the weather. Crops got harvested, sold, dried, frozen, canned and stored.

Got a good corn harvest, thanks to Ms. Scarecrow who kept the crows from eating all the sprouting corn, though Ready wasn't quite sure if the intruder should be there.

Many other happenings will be told about in the coming weeks, so stay tuned........!!

May Day Eve

We are getting much rain. Peas are leaping and I'm getting sick of asparagus. How much can a person eat without turning green? Salads are fabulous right now. Tomorrow I plant squash, cucumbers and melons in cups. As soon as they're up and growing they'll be planted out. I also need to plant zinnias and celosia for bouquets. My succulents - sedums and hens-and-chicks are selling well. This weekend we will be at the spring planting festival at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Mansfield, MO. Come and visit! We picked the very first ripe strawberry today.

This Way To Spring

Early tomatoes and peppers have been planted in flats, and the early greens have been transplanted into cell paks to go out soon. Peas are up. Tomorrow it's supposed to snow again. Sigh.

It's also time to work on my succulents. We sell them at plant sales in April and May. They are called sempervivums or hens and chicks, and sedums. Everyone's grandma used to grow them in pots beside the door or around the mailbox. They are the ideal pot plant, hardy enough to stay outside all winter in their pots, snow, freezing cold and all. I'll be writing a lot more about them in the coming weeks. I'm potting them up by the hundreds in our pavilion.

Peas if you Please

I have planted broccoli and cabbage in flats and it's coming up. Beets and spinach seeds are planted in the field. They got a lovely covering of snow which has melted, giving them needed moisture and a little nitrogen. Soon they'll be poking up. Two days ago I planted peas in cell packs in the greenhouse. Usually peas are direct seeded in the ground, but I do it this way because we've had problems with a little root maggot that eats the pea seeds even before they germinate. In the greenhouse the seeds come up quicker and we avoid the maggot problem. They don't stay in the packs long, just until they've developed a bit of root and a few leaves, then out they go into the garden. Once they have roots established the maggots can't harm them. If you have trouble getting pea seeds to germinate, give this method a try. Today I planted more flower seeds: a second round of feverfew to stagger the bloom, purple and rose magic dianthus, some campanula for my rock garden and jewels of opar talinum which makes a nice bouquet filler.

Planting Greens

I got a powerful hunger for spring greens, folks.

Yesterday was greens day. I planted several lettuces, mustard, arugula and kale. Pak choy and other oriental greens will follow shortly. They're a bit more sensitive to spring frosts, and will bolt if the temps are too cold. I broadcast the seed in small rectangular peat containers (six fit to a flat) in a mix of compost, peat, sand and perlite. When they've come up and gotten a little size to them I'll transplant them into cell packs until they're ready to plant out, sometime in March. It's time to plant spinach and beets - we're waiting till the ground's dry enough to turn.

I also planted some mixed colors of yarrow. It's a staple in early bouquets. My old patch is getting crowded and weedy, so I'll start fresh with new plants this year.

June Bouquets

Yesterday I planted snapdragons, feverfew (it makes a great filler for bouquets), two colors of rudbeckia and some dwarf hollyhocks that bloom the first year and hopefully will work for bouquets for the market. I plant Rocket snapdragons, mixed colors, that are tall and must have support but bloom their little hearts out in June and into July for gorgeous, sweet smelling bouquets. Later I'll be planting my other staples: tall blue ageratum that blooms from spring till frost, zinnias and many more I'll list as I plant them.

Other news: remember I told you that a secret world was about to be revealed? Well, the time has come. Welcome to Minglemist, wherein some acquaintances of mine, retired biology professor T. P. Dunlap and his young housekeeper-secretary, Madeline Brown, are at this very moment discovering dragons, fairies, nasty hobgoblins, elves, snuffleworts and many other interesting characters, including, of course, Robert the Onion Ghillie. I'll let Madeline take over from here, as it is her job to get the postings out to me.

ENTER!

http://talesofminglemist.blogspot.com/

Meet Robert, the Onion Ghillie

Robert lives in a secret world recently discovered by a retired biology professor named T. P. Dunlap. More about this world will be revealed shortly, so stay tuned. Note the nectar-sipping dragons visiting the flowers, because this secret world is full of them, and others, in all sizes and varieties.

It's funny that Robert turned up just now, because it's time to plant onions, and that's what I'll be doing tomorrow. Today I've sifted peat moss and baked compost. There is still ice on the ground, but today was close to 60 degrees, so that will help matters. There are rivers running down all the hills.

Jack Frost

Ice, then sleet, then ice, then a bit of snow on top. It's a stay at home day. Thankfully we have power. Many don't. The wood was cut by Mr. On The Wind this fall. We're still using wood cut several years ago. Security and wealth is a large wood pile.

My Favorite Greens

My new favorite salad bowl green is Ruby Streaks mustard. It's very lacy, dark ruby red, almost black in very cold weather, and so beautiful in the salad bowl. Easy to grow, it has a mild spicy taste. We had some under row covers until Christmas. It's available from Johnny's seed catalog. I also love arugula and all the wonderful chinese greens. For lettuce, a big, crunchy head of romaine is hard to beat. Romaine stays sweet much longer than any other variety in our garden. The frilly leaf lettuces are beautiful, but they get bitter quickly in our heat. I also like the huge heads of royal oakleaf and a summer crisp lettuce called Loma, also from Johnny's. Endive is another favorite, though it does better here in the fall than the spring.

Seeds have arrived

The seeds are rolling in and even though it's deep winter, in a few short weeks I'll be planting things. First are the leeks and onions in early February. We grow superstar onions from seed, a wonderful sweet, mild white onion. Copra is a long keeping yellow onion, and Mars is a good big red. We grow summer leeks that mature quickly so we can sell them at the market. I make my own potting mix with sifted peat moss, perlite, sand and well-aged cow manure compost that must be heated to 160 degrees to kill off the weed seeds. I bake it in a big pan in the oven and it fills the house with a not-too-pleasant smell, but luckily it doesn't linger. Later when the weather is warmer I can bake it in our big homemade solar oven in the yard. This mix is nutritious enough so I rarely need to fertilize. Fish emulsion and seaweed is what I use if needed. Onion seed is planted thickly in peat containers and the tops trimmed a time or two to keep them from getting leggy. They'll be planted out in late March or early April, depending on the weather.

But for now, it's only 14 degrees, the woodstove is singing and there are more fairies crowding in, wanting to come to life on paper. Stay tuned.....

Bubbles in the Greenbriar

Here's the new fairy

She was just finished today.

On The Wind Homeland Security

We have two dogs at On The Wind, Mollie, a border collie, and Ready, a ??? Care to guess? Some say golden lab, some say Rhodesian Ridgeback, I say part hound because of her bark. Both were strays. Mollie is probably smarter than I am. She has an astounding command of the english language and pretty much rules the grounds. Her main job is keeping deer and other varmints off the premises, and she does a darn good job. Ready's occupation is studying trees. She doesn't see too well, and her nose maybe isn't the keenest, but she hears well and is a relentless tree watcher. Sometimes there is a squirrel. Her name is Ready because she's always ready to eat. She was starving when we found her and never quite got over it. But she's found it handy living with gardeners, as she loves cucumbers, squash, potatoes, apples and pretty much everything else.