One last Christmas present.

Last December I was desperately seeking that one special gift that my daughter particularly wanted for Christmas. Despite phoning all over the city, being promised the item would be in stock at certain times, and at least 4 separate trips to crazy pre-Christmas crowded Toys R Us stores, I was never able to get what I was looking for.

Now that spring is around the corner, and the roads are dry, I went back to the toy store and picked it up.  (From among a whole shelf full!)

And here it is (click for the video), taadaa.....

The Fliker F3 from Y•Volution.

Sarah was thrilled to receive one last,  unexpected Christmas gift!  I think it is super cool, and (don't tell Sarah) a great core muscle workout.

Sauerkraut 101

Last summer, when I began my quest for reducing gut inflammation through diet, I became interested in home fermentation.  Fermented foods are found in the traditional diets of cultures (ha ha, cultures, get it?) all over the world.  Yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, kombucha, pickles and many more fermented foods contain probiotic bacteria which populate the gut and aid in digestion.

Fermenting food also makes the nutrients more bioavailable, makes the food more digestible and makes it last a lot longer without spoiling.

One of the easiest things to ferment is cabbage.  You don't need a starter culture; the lactobacillus bacteria that makes sauerkraut is all around us.  The salt in the brine keeps other, undesirable bacteria from growing,  but the good probiotic sauerkraut critters love living in a saline environment.

All you need to make your own sauerkraut is a head of (preferably organic) cabbage, a couple of tablespoons of salt,  a big sharp knife, a large bowl and a clean glass jar.  I used an empty Bicks Pickles jar.

First, I washed the cabbage and removed the outer leaves.  I saved them to use in the final step.  I chopped up the cabbage into slices about 1/4 inch thick, put them into the bowl and sprinkled on 2 tablespoons of kosher salt.

Next, I got my hands in there and started squeezing the salt and cabbage together.  The instructions in my recipe says to "massage the salt into the cabbage until the cabbage is limp but still crispy and there is a significant amount of watery brine in the bowl".

Now, I don't know how much "a significant amount" actually is, but I worked that cabbage for almost 10 minutes, and I did get quite a bit of liquid out of it.

Then I took the cabbage, one handful at a time, and transferred it into my jar.  I used the pestle from my marble mortar and pestle set to pack the cabbage down tightly in the jar.  I was a bit worried that a whole head of cabbage wouldn't fit in one jar, but it really packs in there!  I poured all the brine in on top, and there was more than enough to cover the cabbage.  I used one of the outer leaves to cover the shredded cabbage, so it can't float to the top during fermentation. 

Lastly, I covered the whole shebang with a coffee filter and fastened it on with an elastic band.  This allows the gases produced by fermentation out, while keeping things like mold and fruit flies from getting in.  I left the pestle in there, too, to weigh down the cabbage and keep it below the brine line.

After a few days, it started to form bubbles among the cabbage.  A few days later, there were a lot more bubbles and it was starting to smell like sauerkraut.  

I first tasted it at 7 days, and it tasted pretty good, but still quite salty.  I left it a couple more days, then tasted it again.  Much better!  So, I put it in the fridge and ate some for dinner.

The texture is pleasant and crisper than store-bought sauerkraut.  The smell is yummy, and the flavour is awesome.  I think next time I will use a little less salt, but other than that, I love it.  As a first foray into the arena of fermented food, I call it a success!

A Visit to the Sugar Bush

This weekend,  we went to a family party that included a trip to McCully's Hill Farm, in Stratford.  It might not feel like it to us yet, but the maple trees seem to think spring is on the way!   We got to see the whole process, from the sap dripping out of the trees, to the Sugar Shack, and the final product.

We rode on this horse-drawn sleigh into the sugar bush.

I had never been on a big sleigh like this one before!  The ride was very smooth and quiet.  The wind was pretty cold though.

They have a lot of maple trees, of various sizes.  The size of the tree determines how many taps the tree can support without doing it harm.  The largest ones can be tapped four times.  Over the whole season each tap will provide approximately enough maple sap to boil down into just 1 litre of syrup.

After touring the sugar bush, we got to see the sugar shack, where the sap is boiled down into syrup.

 I was expecting to see large vats of syrup over a fire, with someone using a giant spoon to stir the pot.  I guess I have seen too much Little House on the Prairie!   In actuality,  the process is automated.  Check out this evaporator!

They also had a barn where we got to see goats, chickens, rabbits and this "little" guy.  He's a baby Clydesdale,  only 3 days old.

 Last stop on the tour; a country store where they sell not only maple syrup,  but a wide assortment of home-canned pickles, jams, jellies, relishes and chutneys.

I was really inspired, since I have been thinking a lot lately about how to preserve the extra produce from my farm share this summer.

I bought some maple syrup, and I found a book on canning, freezing and fermenting.  Just what I needed!  Now I know the best method of preserving each type of vegetable and fruit, I can make my own fruit leather, pickles, jams, etc.  Can't wait! 

Spring Forward

This weekend, in the dead of night, in between Saturday and Sunday, we are going to lose an hour.  In the morning, everything will be happening an hour earlier than our circadian rhythms expect.  We will be getting up before we are ready and going to bed before we are ready (if we are smart).  Did you know, the Monday morning after the spring time change, there is an increase in traffic accidents?

The only nice part is that we also get to leave work an hour earlier in the day, which makes the daylight last one hour longer in the evening.  I think now is the time for me to start doing some walking in the evening.  I might even be able to talk Bruce and Sarah into joining me.  (Especially if we are playing Ingress.)  It's still plenty cold out there, but the light on my face might just be worth it.  Not to mention the exercise.

Here is a great article by Sarah Ballantyne, "The Paleo Mom", about the benefits of sun exposure.  Goodness knows we haven't had much of it this winter!

So, this weekend let's all try and get a little extra sleep, a little extra sunshine and pay a little extra attention on the road.

In other news...

As a special treat for his birthday last week, Bruce got...  a midterm exam!  Lucky.

Yes, Bruce turned 50 this year!  We had planned a party for this weekend,  but now, because of his school workload and deadlines we have moved it to the end of March.  But don't feel too bad for him, he is still getting plenty of birthday perks. We had a nice visit with Bruce's Mom and Dad last Sunday, and my parents for brunch last Saturday, followed by a small birthday celebration at Liana and Rob's that evening. And check out this cool 4th Doctor hat and scarf I gave him!

Looks just like the real Doctor, dontcha think?

Sarah is back into Girl Guides full tilt, after a few months of indecision on whether or not she wanted to continue.  This is her last year for Guides.  If she sticks with it she will be a Pathfinder next year.  This week, her unit hosted some girls and leaders from Pathfinders at their meeting, and I think Sarah is finally excited about the idea of "flying up" to Pathfinders this year.  

She has also decided to go for her Lady Baden-Powell pin.  It will mean finishing all the program areas of Guides, working on an independent service project, as well as doing a presentation on the life of Lady Baden Powell.  There is another 3rd year girl in Sarah's unit, and the two of them are going to work on it together.  I think they also have to do a camping trip where they are responsible for doing their own planning, set up, cooking, etc.  Under the supervision of a Guider, of course.

She went snowshoeing last week, and also participated in International Night, so it has been a Guiding-filled fortnight!  In May, there is going to be a province-wide Guiding event at Canada's Wonderland, and a camping weekend.

As for me, I've been using my new Stampin' Up goodies to create cards in my spare time, like this one I gave to Lorraine for her birthday.

Lorraine and I also went to a Stampin Up class where we made 10 cards and a box in which to put them.  So cute!

The same evening, we took a second class and made these 4 cards.

With all the running around we've been doing,  there hasn't been much time for cooking.  I'm excited to start trying some of the recipes out of "Fermented" by Jill Ciciarelli.  Hopefully, this time next week  I'll have a big jar of sauerkraut fermenting on my countertop.

Speaking of veggies, I got an email from the farm I bought from last year, that it is time to sign up for this year's CSA farm share!  This year I am challenging myself to preserve as much of the summer's bounty as I can, by freezing, canning and dehydrating.  I am also signing up for a meat share this year.  I will be paying for the shares up front, and then I will hardly need to go to the grocery store all summer!

Until next time!