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.

new years day 2015

i am not a huge fan of new years eve. it is all hype. i would rather celebrate new years day. a new beginning early in the morning, a fresh start to the year, with all the shops shut. perfect!

 

borris, otto and i made plans to meet with tom and rosie and xi and chris and patsy at belair national park. otto enjoyed mostly being in the shade of the trees, but really would have preferred being inside during the hot weather if he had a choice.

 

so we met at the park and tom and chris managed the bbq area in style

 

borris and xi played some golf,

 

and we all enjoyed lunch under the shady tree before going for a stroll in the park and playing at the adventure playground area.  it was a nice way to celebrate the new year together.

maybe this can be a new tradition as well. i would like to go back to the national park and do a few of the walks. that is on my to do list this year. otto can come too as long as he stays on his leash!

oh and we also go to use a christmas present from my brother.

the kombi looking like the millennium falcon! cool!

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.

christmas eve

although my family lives on the other side of the world, after 11 years living in Adelaide it seems now there are some christmas traditions forming.

this orange pineapple and carrot jello salad (sounds strange but is yummy i promise) is one tradition i have taken from my grandma and have started introducing whenever possible. this year it was my christmas salad.

christmas eve for the last couple years has been spent with my friends tom and rosie and xi.

tom cooked up a great bbq

rosie's folks patsy and chris were visiting from FNQ (far north queensland) patsy had christmas socks!

we had dinner outside, bbq, salads, and lots of deserts!

then we had christmas song sing along. (seriously borris loves christmas music)

and then we had to call it a night, so that santa could make his visit that night!

raw - vegan - chocolate - birthday cake

last year i made borris a raw vegan birthday cake. he loved it. loved it. well at least he spoke about it for a few weeks and then 6 months later couldn't recall it. :) but it was the start of a new tradition. last years was way too sweet for me, so this year i toned it down a bit.

the base is made by blending in the food processor, medijool dates, flax and sesame seeds, rolled quinoa, hazelnut and pecans, then pressed into the bottom of a loose bottom tart pan. put in fridge or freezer to set.

 

the main body of the cake was made in the blender (my food processor is a mini one or i would have used that) in there are cashews, more dates, banana, vanilla bean, maple syrup, coconut oil, coconut shreds, goldenberries, goji berries, hazelnuts, pecans and water.

 

then i divided the mixture up and put cacao powder in one of them. then i layered the 2 mixes on the base and because it is raw, no baking. just pop it in the freezer. in this case overnight to set.

the next day on borris' actual birthday we had dinner together and then i finished off the cake.

 

some toppings, shredded coconut, goji berries, chocolate covered goji berries

 

you can see the layers of chocolate and vanilla once it is out the the tart shell.

 

then i drizzled some melted chocolate over the cake and sprinkled the toppings on top of the melted chocolate.

 

borris on his birthday with the cake.

 

ready to enjoy, a slice of raw, vegan chocolate birthday cake. best part is that it keeps in the freezer for a while. this years cake was better than last years, not as sweet. i think the use of more cashews and nuts in the base of the cake helped with that, and less dates, more banana.

the cake was inspired by this recipe.