KIMCHI

FERMENTATION KIT

KIMCHI

 

The Farmer has fermented things before.

It has always involved a large heavy crock.

At the moment it is full of sauerkraut. 

A few weeks back he saw these items online and ordered them.

Unboxing is always exciting.

A recipe book got the wheels rolling.

The Farmer loves a new toy.

The set includes glass weights to hold the fermenting produce under the brine.

There is also a lid with a dry airlock.

The black tube is a pump so you can open, taste, close and vacuum out the oxygen to avoid spoilage.

The Farmer chose this product for two reasons.

1. The glass weights have indentations to grab on to for removal.

2. The air lock lids don't require a bubbler to keep oxygen out.

The Farmers Kids like kimchi  so that will be the first project.

But the recipe included was rather vague.

Soooo...... Google it right?

Right.

Maangchi is a sweet little Korean chef.

The Farmer watched her you tubevideo for some inspiration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTucCw1w6Ak

With over ten million views she must know something The Farmer doesn't.

Napa cabbage is such a beautiful thing.

The Farmer made his own recipe starting with bite size pieces.

To use canning jars leaving the cabbage leaves whole wouldn't work.

Carrot, red onion, green onions, garlic, ginger, salt and hot pepper powder.

Maangchi used more pepper powder than The Farmer would dare.

Wow she must have built up quite a tolerance.

Sweet rice flower and brown sugar to make a roux is from Maanchi's video.

The roux is syrupy and will help the spices stick to the cabbage. 

 

 The Farmer spread things out.

Drenching cabbage in the roux / spice mixture.

Then on to the larger bowl.

Once all mixed together a large taste was enjoyed.

MMMMMMM!!

Now into the jars to ferment.

So now The Farmer doesn't have to wait for his crock any longer.

The Farmers Wife will have to get used to counter top fermentation though.

Petrie Building floor joists for Brothers Brewing

Floor Joist reclamation

The brothers of Brothers Brewing saved these pieces of floor joist from the dumpster

during renovation work on The Petrie Building in Guelph.

It was a truly frustrating time during the brewery's construction.

Delay after delay of the building renovation.

A totally incompetent contractor hired to build out the brewery had to be let go.

The Brothers took on the roll of contracting themselves and did much of the work as well.

So finding little gems like this was a welcome diversion from the stress of building a brewery.

They stashed two of these 135 year old diamonds in the rough away in The Farmers Barn.

 Now with Brothers Brewing open, finding the time to work on projects like this is tough.

So here is where The Father er ah .. The Farmer comes in.

Firstly the two boards must be separated.

They have been one for 135 years so this might take some effort.

The Farmer felt a bit of guilt at splitting these besties up.

It only took a hammer, though the sledge was close by.

Once the space was large enough to double up the wedges it was easy going.

Sand and bits of small gravel fell from between the two boards.

Hard to believe that it was from the boots of customers of the old pharmacy.

135 year old dirt tells no tales so The Farmer plodded on with the task at hand

Time to remove the hand forged iron nails that bound these boards for all these years.

They would make short work of The Farmers sanding belt.

A few hours later the sanding is complete.

Here is side A

Here is side B

One board flipped to hide the cross brace cut out for the mortis and tennon joint and 

there you have it.

Fairly flat boards that await being made into a stand up bar.

No longer structural support taken for granted by those who stand above.

After 135 years being burried under foot, these beauties will be part of the party.

Customers of Brothers Brewing will now welcome them as they 

support their libations and nosh.

While enjoying Brothers Brewing's many fine beer flavours, take a moment to 

view the edge of these fine boards.

You will see the lines where each floor boad lay for over a century.

The faces of the boards show the saw cuts that turned a stately tree into supports for a floor that stood strong for 135 years and will surely last for 100 more.

Minus these pieces of course. They will support libations and nosh for 100 more.

Cheers from The Farmer.

Sprouting

 

 AAAAHHHH!!!!!!

The Farmer awoke to this awful sight.

Something must be done!

Winter is such a desolate time on the farm.

So Mumm's sprouting seeds to the rescue.

Mumm's uses non gmo organic un treated seed.

The Farmer has chosen broccoli seed this time.

 This is so simple.
 Even in The Farmer's aggravated state it can be done.
A wide mouth canning jar, a piece of screen, an elastic band,
a table spoon and a pack of seed are all you need.

Just dump them into the jar and add water.
6 to 8 hours soaking does the trick.

Once they have been soaked and drained they will begin to germinate.
The Farmer rinses them twice a day.
Just fill the jar with warer and invert it for a while to drain.

Day 2

 Day 3

Day 4

 Day 5

Day 6

Day 7 is the magic day.
Pop the screen off the jar.

 The Farmer has saved a plastic container.
The Farmer's Wife had bought sprouts at the grocery store.
At $3 The Farmer thought there must be a cheaper way.
So .......hmmm.......GOOGLE IT!
Voila! Mumm's

They don't look like much until, with the help of a fork they are revealed

 They make an impressive sight when they aren't squeezed into the jar.

 A folded paper towel in the bottom of the container so they dry a bit.
The Farmer wouldn't want them to go slimey.
They won't last long enough for that to happen he is sure.

Top on and into the refrigerator.
The Farmer is now a winter time counter top farmer.
It's so nice to see green. Isn't it?

SAUSAGE !!!!!

Outstanding Sausage

The Farmer's Second Born wanted to make sausage.

The odessy begins with these ingredients.

Pork shoulder and loin.

Bacon

Bourbon

Mushrooms

Vidalia onion

Garlic

Apple

Salt and pepper

The Power Chopper came with The Farmers first electric pressure cooker.

The Power XL died one day after the warranty expired.

The chopper lives on.

The Instant Pot is a much nicer cooker but thats a story for another day.

This took less than 30 seconds WOW!

Gotta get cutting.

Lots of cutting.

Seasoning before the grinding is the trick to an even mix.

The Farmer has a cheap Canadian Tire grinder.

The pieces need to be small enough to fit the through the throat.

An even mix of the pork, bacon, onion, salt and pepper is achieved.

Now we smear the garlic, apple and mushroom over the mix and fold it in.

The Farmers Second Born douses the mix liberally with Bourbon.

Love the action shot!

Now thats a meat ball!!!!

Into the fridge it goes while we clean up the mess.

The Farmer always fries up a few sliders to taste the mix.

He wouldn't want to stuff 40 sausages and find they are lacking in some way.

These were fantastic by the way.

Filling the stuffer's pot is done a bit at a time.

You try to avoid air pockets so it stuffs smoothly.

So thats it 15+ pounds of sausage meat ready to go.

The casing can be purchased at your local butcher.

This was $6 at Country Corner Deli.

The Farmer's Second Born takes control of the crank.

Half way through, the swicheroo.

Nice links MMMMMM.

 This was the first time for this recipe.
It's a keeper.