Kimchi

Nappa Cabbage, young onion and daikon after soaking overnight in brine

I've found pitchers are good for brining a lot of stuff

Ginger and garlic

Kimchi flavors: garlic, ginder, Korean chili powder & anchovy sauce
(the last two, plus daikon radish, found at a Korean grocery in Allston)

Many vessels for brining

Ingredients (I've found having a kitchen scale fantastic for this stuff)

Mixing everything together

Stuff into clean jars, pour brine over all

ready to ferment

All in all, I'd like to say, a resounding success.  After learning from other fermentation fails, I thoughtfully placed these puppies in the basement.   Fermentation happens best between, I think, 75- 85  degrees - and it goes faster the hotter it gets.   Our apartment is often in the upper range of that, I think, in the summer, so sometimes things get a little too ferment-y.   One week in the basement, however, worked well.

One addendum to Liana Krissoff's excellent recipe: when the fermenting is done, I poured off the brine and replaced it with water, extra garlic, ginger and chili.  Otherwise it's overwhelmingly salty.

Cruel, Cruel Summer

Well, my work part-time gardening is only paying off....medium.


So far, my straight up late start on some things plus an incredibly cool, wet and rainy summer plus my very shady backyard = not a whole lotta action.

So far we've harvested one cucumber, one eggplant, a handful of (sickly) roma tomatoes, onions, garlic, a bunch of tiny bitter carrots, a few peas and plenty of lettuce, nappa cabbage, arugula and herbs.    So greens = happy (except for my cabbage that has been eaten by ....something),   roots and fruiting plants = not very happy.
Right now my garden makes me think of mid-July, not early august:   squash and cukes are just flowering, we're just getting the first ripe tomatoes, tiny peppers forming, beans flowering, etc.

But today at least is hot and sunny...we'll see if things are able to take off.


The biggest pest I have right now is something, probably a rabbit, that ate my carrot tops and half of one of my cabbages.   I'm used to dealing with tiny pest problems (like bugs and slugs).  I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the big nibblers.  They've been in our neighborhood for quite some time, but I was hoping the cats would keep them away.

I have managed to make at least one *amazing* stir-fry dinner so far:

From our garden:  
garlic
onion
eggplant
nappa cabbage

From Boston Organic:
Mango
more onion
green pepper
ginger (amazing!  so juicy!)

From Trader Joe's:
Basmati rice
"Thai Curry Simmer Sauce"
chicken.


I grilled the chicken, cooked the rice, fried the eggplant, garlic and ginger in peanut oil in a big wok.   (cooked eggplant for over 1/2 hour a la Mark Bittman...it became creamy and delicious!) Threw in onions.   Peppers.  Cabbage.   red pepper.   Fresh mango.  Cut up chicken and stirred it in.   poured simmer sauce on top.  Delicious!   (also, I am very proud to now be able to grill a chicken breast *while* stir frying on the stovetop inside.  I am magical.)