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.

Getting intimate with your food ~ Squid

There are times in my life when I have to do things I really don't want to. Afterwards, I group some of these into "Valuable Learning Experiences".

We recently went to the Phillipine fish market. Big bins of fresh fish, lots of people, fishy smell......My son became fascinated with squid, and talked me into buying some to make him Calamari. I have fond memories of Calamari, both from Italy (Frutti di Mare), and Greece (straight out of the ocean into the pot!), so I agreed.

I realized that I have never made Calamari myself, so googled "How to clean & prepare squid". Now you are in for a treat....remove the head and the organs...dig in with your finger and pull out the slimy rest and ink sack....remove the spine....peel off the skin. This leaves you with smelly hands (they say to wear gloves, but I never do. Can't work with gloves on), an interesting biology lesson, and clean little pockets to cut calamari rings out of. Tossed them into some flour, and deep fried.

I made a marinara sauce. On the side, we had grass fed beef (not everyone was excited about squid), and a raw squash salad with basil & arugala.

That was our 4th of July dinner :). Now that I know how much work & detail go into cleaning and preparing squid, I will only eat it at home :).

Herbs that speak. Bring Magik into your kitchen......

This morning I already knew it would be an interesting day :). I am on a learning journey, and my first lessons are about letting go of what does not work in order to let in the new. But that is another post....or posts...that will go under "Journey" at the Goddess's Daily Groove :). Becoming more "aware".....

Back to my kitchen.

Two sick kids, who came back from camp with something that is a cross between a serious head/chest cold and allergies (which we don't have.). I went to the pantry to get herbs for tea, and the first thing that called me was Hibiscus. Then Rosehips, both of them fabulous for Vitamin C, and a general "feel good pick me up". Another plus is that their taste is attracting to kids. As I placed them in the pot, Nettles called me. I did not hesitate, though the combination of the fresh, tangy taste of the first two, and green taste of Nettles seemed a bit strange. As I walked by a cabinet with my standard herbs, the Cassia chips (cinnamon) called sweetly: "Add me for the grounding taste, I will take care of their blood". The magic is happening, the tea is delicious. With a dollop of raw honey, I am sure it will attack those little bacteria sweetly, but with a strong hand. The first batch is warm, but the rest will be on ice and administered for the rest of the day :).

Open your kitchen to magic and healing food. There are lots of books & courses, but I invite you to go into your kitchen at night, when it is quiet & you are alone and uninhibited. Clean it, dance with it, sing to it...be happy in there. Turn on some candles while you work. Hang gathered herbs to dry. Only bring in food that are healthy and authentic, if possible. Kitchens are the hub of life of our houses. They nourish us, not just with food. If you don't have on yet, invite a Kitchen Witch into your home (some shameless advertising there, but my Witches truly bring laughter & good magik into your kitchen :)..).

Now you are ready to "hear" your kitchen, and its' inhabitants :). When you nourish, when you need healing; you will know which foods & herbs to choose. Be open, they may seem strange, but you can trust that your kitchen will take care of you.

Today's Healing Tea:
A big pot, filled with water that has boiled.
1 handful of Hibiscus flowers
1 smaller handful of Rosehips
1 handful of Nettle leaves
1/4 handful :)...of Cinnamon chips (or a stick if you have one, not powder)
Sweeten with local honey, raw is good.
The tea will be thick, and should be drank warm. Then you can thin out with a bit of filtered water and drink it over ice :).

Let the magik begin!
Much love,
Heike

Sweet Good Bye.....Happy Hello.

Last year, I planted a thornless boysenberry in my back yard. My past attempts at any kind of berry failed, either they died of water deprivation, or because our soil is just to clay heavy. This little boysenberry that could actually almost got axed, as the thornless branches had thorns :(. I decided to let it live, and am I happy I did!

This little bush has given us bowls and bowls of succulent berries! Not to mention the pleasure of picking berries and popping them in our mouth while we worked outside. This bush has graced us without the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and honestly, not alot of water that was not supplied by rain fall. Yes, we had to blow off a spider web or two....

Last night I picked what looked like the last batch of berries, saying "goodbye" to this wonderful gift. This morning, like magic, there were more :). Thankfully, I left the majority of the "shoots" to grow along the fence, next year we will be swimming in delicious boysenberries!

I love the satisfaction of growing my food, especially since I am not a great gardener. My herbs grow wild for me with not much care (but lots of love) from me, and now I have food growing in the same manner. I love going to the market and being able to pass up the little $7(!!!!) baskets of berries, knowing mine are ready at home (and organic!).

I did not have much luck with tomatoes last year, so we built a "lasagne garden" box for the tomatoes. Look at the before & now pics! If the heat does not get the blooms, we will soon be graced with all kinds of tomatoes and cucs. The first tomatoes are setting, and I can't wait for sun ripened, weirdly shaped, warm, delicious tomatoes! My favorite memory is from Greece, where the kids ran in the garden, fetched me a giant, ugly heirloom tomato and some cucumbers. We sliced them, sprinkled salt, pepper & olive oil, and ate them by the tons. Mmmmmmmm. Coming from Germany (where much of our tomatoes & cucs came from Holland and were uniform), this was a treat I now reintroduce every summer.




Send me your favorite summer tomato & cucumber recipes, as that is what we will be eating most of the summer :). Preserving recipes too :).

Hope you are enjoying the summer.
Much love,
Heike