kapusta

after many weeks of waiting i thought it was time to check my cabbage ferment.

it has been sitting in this crock for almost 7 weeks now. seeing as the temperatures are starting to rise i thought i should see if i was successful.

 

i cleaned and sterilized a glass jar in anticipation.

the look in once removing the lid. it smelled nice. there was a tiny spec of white mold, a but concerning but not alarming

when i removed the weights the cabbage below looked good.

as i scooped it out of the ceramic container and into bowls my confidence grew. it looked, smelled and tasted like sauerkraut.

it is now in a jar in the fridge waiting to be consumed. 

i think i will have to wait until next winter to try a kimchi ferment, but i am happy with my sauerkraut attempt. as my cousin brain would say. its easy!

kapusta AKA sauerkraut

my birthday is in may. my mom sent me a fermenting crock pot for my birthday. it arrived a few weeks ago and it has been sitting on my sideboard table waiting for me to be ready to start my first attempt at making sauerkraut. i have polish/ukrainian heritage so the sauerkraut is a part of my being. most of the shop bought stuff is made using vinegar, or is heat treated which kills off the good bacteria, or if it is a real ferment it is so expensive.

my cousin makes his own sauerkraut and i wanted to give it a go. its pretty simple - get a cabbage, slice it up and get some good quality sea salt.

 

then you layer the cabbage and the salt in the crock and then using a timber rolling pin i stamped it in, releasing the juice from the cabbage.

 

i used a potato masher to press the whole lot down into the crock and into the juices.

 

then you places these weights on top of the cabbage to keep it submerged in the liquid. apparently that is the key in the liquid the cabbage will ferment , if exposed to the air it will rot.

if there is not enough liquid then add some salt brine to top it up.

 

then set the whole thing aside and place the lid on top.

 

this fermenting crock pot is good because the lid sits within a small well that you fill with water. this water keeps the seal of the sauerkraut inside from drying out.

next step it time. it can take anywhere from 3 - 8 weeks at around 20 degrees celcius for the sauerkraut to be ready. after three weeks you can taste it and then let it keep developing the flavour you like. at least that is the theory anyways, this is my first attempt so we will wait and see how i go.

holiday highlights

i know the holidays are over but here are a few highlights i wanted to share.

believe it or not i have never before made a whole chook. that is until the week after christmas. i was in the markets and i found this lovely looking chicken from these guys. they started raising lamb but have recently begun raising chooks too.

anyways i splurged and bought myself this chook.

i roasted it with potatoes and rosemary and garlic and lemon

and i even made a gravy!

it was really yummy, and i feel more like a grown up now. i will definitely do that again when i can afford a lovely chook again!

other holiday highlights include borris wearing a new apron from my friend andi, and doing the hoovering as he calls it.

very nice job!

i also had the excuse to make a salted pecan caramel tart. this recipe has been on my to do list for over a year. rosies parents are partial to sweet treats with tea, so i invited myself over with a tart for us to try.

it was a success! and really yummy. i think next time i will try with macadamia nuts! here is the recipe. 

and that is Rosie's dad documenting my tart before we sit down to a nice cup of tea!

and that was rest of the highlights from the holidays last year.

orthodox christmas

my grandparents are Ukrainian and my other grandparents are polish. i have many memorable food traditions as a result of this heritage. one big one is the Ukrainian orthodox christmas feast. this christmas is held on january 7th, and on the 6th, christmas eve the family gets together and enjoys a 12 course vegetarian feast to celebrate. 

as borris' parents were away over christmas we got together the following week and had a mini version of the Ukrainian christmas feast. the first traditional course is kuitcha, or a boiled wheat grain, poppy seed cold soup. as a kid i did not like this, but as an adult i think it is really nice. i got this recipe from my aunt last time i was home.

here are borris' parents enjoying borscht.

otto came along too but was happy to just lie on the cold tiled floor.

here is the second course, vegetarian borscht. it was really yummy, ans actually so easy to make. 

and then all the rest of the food came out.

we had potato and cheese perogies (like dumplings) and fried sauerkraut, and some pan fried polish sausage. 

in a traditional orthodox christmas feast there would be no meat course, but a fish course. but this was much simpler for me as i made all the food for this feast by myself the day before.

it was a great success. and everyone enjoyed the food. it was nice to have a bit of my Ukrainian tradition here in Australia. i look forward to doing it again next year.

Happy Orthodox Christmas on Wednesday!

christmas day

on christmas day borris and i have a very relaxed routine. generally we have a bit of a sleep in. i think this is just because we can, so that means up around 9 or 10 which is much better than the 5 am wake up his sister deals with on christmas day.

then we open some pressies together and have breakfast. i skype with my family if they are around and then we have to get ready to head out.

 

another tradition for christmas day is lunch and kate phil and maxine's place. they generously host a christmas day lunch/afternoon/evening for a bunch of us who dont have family commitments on the day.

here is borris overseeing the serving of the chocolate roll yule log. kate and maxine made it. with meringue mushrooms, minty mossy leaves, and 2 kinds of chocolate bark. it was a serious undertaking, and also very tasty. 

 

we had lunch outside. before desert we had roast leg of lamb, and ham, and lovely salads, deviled eggs, and other snacky foods.

 

and of course champagne and lots of wine throughout the day. After lunch we sit about and drink and carry on a bit more until it gets dark and chilly out. Then we head inside where Phil who can play every instrument known to man and borris who loves christmas music jam and all the other musicians join in, while a few of us non music folks listen and hang out.

its was a good day and another nice tradition when your family live so far away at christmas time.

rainbow birthday cake

last month my friend kumi had her birthday. we had a small dinner party at my place. kumi made us dinner, a yummy japanese meal, soba noodle salad, gyoza. 

so my neighbour george and i decided to make her a cake.

 

but not just any cake. a rainbow cake. we followed this recipe.

 

you make the batter, divide it up and add the food colouring, then make 6 mini cakes. this means lots of washing up but the cakes cook in only 12 minutes each, so it went quickly.

 

after the cakes cooled we made a creme fraiche and white chocolate icing.

layering the cakes with the icing

in the order of colours of the rainbow.

until all 6 cakes are stacked up and not falling over. then we iced the whole thing.

 it was a big cake, and i think kumi was surprised

we sang happy birthday

 

 and the candles were blown out

it was nice to see the surprise of the layered coloured cakes when she cuts out the first piece.

everyone enjoying a slice of the rainbow

i think this is my new favorite cake to make. not too sweet, yummy and fun!

jobs on at home

recently i have learnt that i am lactose intolerant. that means that i have been not eating much cheese, my favorite and instead making new yummy treats. these are the most recent.

using silicone cupcake molds i melt chocolate and cover them, and then pop them in the fridge to set.

 

once they are cool i fill them with peanut butter, a slice of banana and some coconut.

 

so yummy

then i cover the tops and seal in the banana with more melted chocolate and decorate with more coconut and a goldenberry. these dont last long at our place.

when i am at home i have been spending my time trying to finish the quilt i started with lindsay ages ago. she finished hers last year. and i finally finished mine the other weekend.

here it is being help up by my lovely local models in the garden.

 

this is the back of the quilt

 

otto wanted to be in the photo too

 

the binding is green and yellow stripes. love it. quilting was simply making a diagonal cross through the plain linen squares.   i can't wait to get it on the bed once it warms up a tiny bit

and finally some local brat sprayed over my mile crate graffiti on our parking garage, so i sprayed over his disaster and made a new artwork.

 

who doesn't love a pineapple !

it is right on the corner in a prominent place, and i got the thumbs up from people passing by as i was doing it.

 

see how long this one lasts.