It's been a while since I last posted something here, so I'll probably just try to do some posts bit by bit to describe the busy season I've had raising veggies, tending the vineyard, and finishing building my house. Fortunately I've been taking pictures, so there is some record of what I've been doing. I just haven't taken the time to update the blog this season. I wish I could be as prolific in my blog posts as
Ziggy.
This season, there was a bounty from the garden in many ways. Because I end up with so much of some crops I try to come up with ways to preserve what I can't eat right away so I can extend the bounty through the rest of the year. Not so long ago, before the advent of refrigeration, everyone grew their own food and knew special ways of preserving it for the rest of the year. Pickling in brine was a great way of keeping veggies edible for the winter and inspired so many delicious new foods. These foods were fermented like saurkraut and could be stored without refrigeration in a cellar for many months. One pickle that I like to make is the Korean kimchi, which is made with Chinese cabbage or radish, scallions, really hot peppers, and if desired, small fish like anchovies. I like hot pickles and one of my favorites is a hot pickle mix of cucumbers, carrots, and hot peppers. In this pickle everything becomes infused with the heat of the peppers adding a kick to the cukes and carrots. This was a good year in the hoop house for pickling cukes, so I made a big batch of hot pickle mix.
This season, there was a bounty from the garden in many ways. Because I end up with so much of some crops I try to come up with ways to preserve what I can't eat right away so I can extend the bounty through the rest of the year. Not so long ago, before the advent of refrigeration, everyone grew their own food and knew special ways of preserving it for the rest of the year. Pickling in brine was a great way of keeping veggies edible for the winter and inspired so many delicious new foods. These foods were fermented like saurkraut and could be stored without refrigeration in a cellar for many months. One pickle that I like to make is the Korean kimchi, which is made with Chinese cabbage or radish, scallions, really hot peppers, and if desired, small fish like anchovies. I like hot pickles and one of my favorites is a hot pickle mix of cucumbers, carrots, and hot peppers. In this pickle everything becomes infused with the heat of the peppers adding a kick to the cukes and carrots. This was a good year in the hoop house for pickling cukes, so I made a big batch of hot pickle mix. 
