Glühwein ~ This is why we always sleep well during the Holidays!

Glühwein is one of the wonderful things of my German roots :). I still remember the first time I was officially allowed to have Glühwein at the Weihnachtsmarkt. Cold, crisp air, roasted chestnuts, Christmas lights & decorations, pots & pans, herbs, cookies....and lots & lots of people. I looked forward to the Weihnachtsmarkt every year, and it was a bonus if it snowed!

Now, I neither have snow, nor the Weihnachtsmarkt, but I sure still have my Glühwein!

If you can't come over to have a cup, I am sharing the recipe:

1 bottle of wine
One organic lemon or orange, unsprayed
2 cinnamon sticks
3-5 whole cloves
about an inch of fresh ginger, chopped
a pod of cardamon (optional)
1/2 cup of sugar

Put the spices and sliced citrus in a pot with sugar, add just enough wine to cover. Let it simmer a bit until the liquid has almost evaporated, but make sure not to let the sugar burn. Fill up with wine, cover, and let simmer on low for about 30-60 minutes to let the spices infuse the wine.

Take a cup and sit outside with friends, or designate a driver and go Christmas light looking :).

Enjoy!
Warmly,
Heike

Settling down....

Wow...I can't believe it has been since OCTOBER that I have posted here!

I am not under a rock.

And it is not quiet here at all. I have been brewing & mixing for weeks, as the first wave of the flu hit our circle. Both of my kids caught it, and I was brewing elderberry syrup like a mad woman! Thankfully, it kept me healthy, made it through with just a little fatigue. Making your own syrup is simple, economic, and you can adjust it to taste. I add lots of cloves, cinnamon, ginger...:)..and nutmeg. Raw honey. I mix it with bubbly water and make "soda" for the kids, pour it on pancakes, ice-cream, etc.

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOYzWyFGkqM for a video tutorial.

With that thwarted, I am clearing, once again :). In time to welcome the Winter Solstice and 2012.

After a tremendous chicken trauma, we now have an Orpington (not a Leghorn), and a Silver Laced Wyandotte chicken. I say CHICKEN, because we are sure if both of our chickens are hens....Your guesses are most welcome! :) Go ahead, wager...



They are quite funny little creatures, and I keep manifesting "GIRL!!", as I would have to part with either or both. They kinda grow on you......They still live with us in the house in a kennel at night. My country life....

The garden is fairly dead. I planted a few winter veggies, that promptly got devoured by snails, and the chickens. Then the dog proceeded to "warm" them...and most of it is dead. Just spread some cover crop, and am browsing seed catalogs :).

Hope everyone is staying safe & warm.
Much love,
Heike

Last Harvest...for the fifth time

I have the "Little Tomato Plant that Could." :)

I keep taking 'last harvest" pics, just to go out a few days later and find hidden gems. I am starting to take down the tomato plants now, though, and will prepare the beds for either winter gardens, or clover.

The raised lasagne style beds have been fabulous. I have never had tomatoes plants that were so big and bountiful. The eggplant is still producing and ripening, the peppers are all well, and I am FINALLY getting some beans. My rasberries, highly neglected, are benefiting from my neighbors consistant watering habits.

We also have some new family members....


Already perching....




One of the tomatoes I pulled up. Look at the size of the root, vs. the height of the box. Roots went right through clay earth :).

Damn, that was good! Or, the hidden surprise in the cupboard...

Today, I cut up some cabbage to make "Mason Jar Sauerkraut". I stacked red & cabbage, just 'cuz it looks purdy :), stamped it down (great zen moment to let go of the cares of the day), added saltwater, and got ready to put it up on my "culturing shelf".

Alas! There was a forgotten jar of Sauerkraut!

It had to be at least 5 months old, it slipped behind some other jars, and I completely forgot about it.

Adventurer that I am, I opened it, sniffed it, removed the curdly white stuff (harmless), rinsed it off.....and tasted. YUM! Actually, I could not stop myself and ate over half of the jar. Left a tiny bit for the kids tomorrow. One tip for all you Sauerkraut makers: add Fennel seed! It makes it even better.

You can just Google "Mason Jar Sauerkraut" and get a zillion instructions, so I won't post the recipe (shred cabbage, put in jar, STAMP IT DOWN, sistah!!, cover with salt water...1 tsp to 1 cup of water, lid loosely, and let sit at least 2 weeks...or 5 months like me). You can see how I made sauerkraut in the crock at http://www.herbmagik.blogspot.com/#!/2010/08/kraut-is-making-kraut.html. I love the crock, but you have to make a lot to make it worth the "watch", plus it makes my kitchen smell like gas (we do have a funny story with that, that I will post if someone wants to know ;)...).

Enjoy, and go ferment something!

Zwetschgenkuchen ~ When a prune is blessed :).

Zwetschgenkuchen has to be one of my favorite childhood memories. Our plums were oblong, sweet, and dry. When you baked them, they would get soft, juicy, and a bit tart. Perfect for covering with sugar..........

If you are lucky enough to locate "Italian Plums", "Italian Prunes", or "European Prunes" :)....then here is a recipe for you!

You will need:
4.5 cups of flour
3 tbsp yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
2.3 cup softened (not melted) butter
a few tsp of lemon juice
about 2-3 lbs of prunes
Either bread crumbs or almond meal

Warm your milk. In a glass bowl, mix half the milk, the yeast, and 1 tblsp of sugar, and 3 tblsp of flour that you have taken from your ingredients. Let that sit about 15 minutes until a sponge has formed.

In a separate bowl, mix your other ingredients. Add your sponge and beat with a dough hook (or knead by hand) until the you have an elastic ball of dough. Dust bowl with flour, put ball back in, and cover for about an hour.

Wash and pit prunes, making sure not to cut through the prune (see image below).

Pre-heat oven to 430 degrees.


Rinse & dry plums


Cut plums, but leave on side "attached" when you pit them, like a book.


Spread dough in greased sheet. Spread thin, as the dough rises alot when baking. Spread a layer of bread crumbs or almond meal before layering the plums, this helps soak up the juice while baking. Stack the plums standing up, start on the outside and go in...try to put them as close as possible.



This is the what the finished cake looks like before it goes in the oven.

Take a look at the cake after about 25 minutes. You want to make sure the middle is done, you will feel a slight resistance if you poke it with a stick :). While you cool the cake, sprinkle with some SUGAH!, cinnamon, and sliced almonds (if you wish).

Fresh whipped cream.......mmmm........it's just the best.

Guten Appetit!

I have dibs on the Cucumber Fairy.....

There's a little magik going on under the moon...yesterday I picked several pounds of tomatoes, and a few cucumbers. I picked all the cucs that were big/ripe enough, gave some away, and made yet another cucumber creation. This morning, I went outside, and there, right next to each other, two long, ripe Armenian cucumbers. It's magik.......:)...

I think my family is a bit tired of tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, and squash :). They are growing in abundance now, and are a daily pleasure in our meals. "I" can eat tomatoes every day: tomato on butter bread, tomato salad, tomatoe & cuc with mozzarella & basil, tomato sauce on my pasta, tomato straight up with some salt, tomatoes saoked with feta cheese....the list goes on. Pretty much the same menu with the cucumbers, just switch "tomato" out with "cucumber".

Any favorite tomato, cucumber, squash (if I put squash on the table one more time, there may be mutany. Any recipes that DISQUISE squash would be much appreciated!!!), or eggplant recipes? Please share!

Enjoy the bliss & bounty of summer. Some scenes from the chaotic garden :)..:

Senf Gurken ~ Quick Pickles for the spontaneous gardener.

I am a sporadic gardener, and my hopes are that one year I will actually plan out my garden by companion planting and grouping by harvest time.

This year, I planted a few Armenian cucumbers, and two other varieties. A strong hail in the spring demolished much of my garden, so I planted two more Armenians and pickling cucumber. Well, they ALL flourished, and now I have both!

With that said, my one spontaneously planted pickling cucumber produces about 2-3 ready little pickles every other day. Not really enough to harvest and do any pickling. So, here is my version of a quick, and yummy, recipe for all you other sporadic gardeners out there! I will include the "original" German version below.

Mustard Pickles, sweet/sour
About 5lbs of pickles
2 TBLS salt
1-2 cups chopped onions
2 TBLS Mustard seed
5 Bay leaves (the original says chopped, I leave my whole)
1 tsp Pepper corns, white
3 cups vinegar
4 cups water
1 cup sugar ( a little less than a cup, suit to taste)

Cut up the cucs, salt, and let stand in fridge 24 hours or at least overnight. Drain & rinse salt. Put all ingredients in a pot, cook on medium-high for 10 minutes, then fill into hot canning jars. Seal, turn upside down on kitchen towel, and let cool. Label, and let sit for at least 2-3 weeks before consuming. Onions can be omitted, if prefered.


2 ½ kg Salatgurke(n)
2 EL Salz
250 g Zwiebel(n), klein geschnitten
2 EL Senfkörner
5 Lorbeerblätter, in Stücke gebrochen
1 TL Pfeffer, weiße Körner
750 ml Essig
1 Liter Wasser
175 g Zucker

Zubereitung
Die Gurken schälen, von Kernen befreien und in Stücke von ca. 1 cm Dicke schneiden. Mit den 2 EL Salz bestreuen und mit soviel Wasser auffüllen, bis sie bedeckt sind. 24 Stunden im Kühlschrank ziehen lassen. Am nächsten Tag abschütten und kurz unter fließendem Wasser abspülen, so dass das Salz wieder abgewaschen wird. Nun die anderen Zutaten in einem Topf erhitzen und die Gurkenstückchen darin ca. 10 Min. leicht köcheln lassen, sie sollen aber noch Biss haben.

Noch heiß in ausgekochte Gläser füllen, mit dem Sud fast bis ganz an den Deckelrand auffüllen. Sofort fest verschließen und auf den Kopf stellen (auf ein Geschirrtuch). Dann auskühlen lassen. Sind nach ein paar Wochen durchziehen zur Verkostung bereit. Wer keine Zwiebeln mag, kann diese ruhig weglassen, der Geschmack wird dadurch nicht wesentlich beeinträchtigt.