My Kitchen Clatter

Real Food - Real Life

Whole Wheat Crackers

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Whole Grain Crackers

I feel I should start this recipe description with a warning – these crackers are addictive! Now we can move on.

Crackers are one of the few foods that we still buy in packaged form. The man loves Wheat Thins and even though I rarely buy them for him, I will occasionally find boxes in the pantry after I’ve sent him to the store for other things. And to be honest, Wheat Thins are not all that bad as far as processed foods go – there are not many ingredients and I can pronounce all of them.

But I have this desire to be able to bake things myself instead of having to buy them. If you need a box of crackers at the last minute, it often seems like it should be easier and quicker to whip some up instead of heading out to the store. And crackers really don’t seem like they should be that hard. And they aren’t – but I have had a difficult time finding a good recipe. I’ve tried several different recipes over the last year or so and I basically gave up looking because nothing was as good, quick or easy as the boxed ones. But I was recently inspired to try some new recipes and this time I’m pretty sure I hit the cracker jack pot.

The recipe itself is super simple – basic ingredients that you’ll probably have on hand.

You can play with the flours you use in these crackers

You can play with the flours you use in these crackers

If you know me, then you can probably guess that I’ve been making these crackers with freshly ground whole grain wheat flour. I’ve been playing with different heritage wheat varieties such as Einkorn, and I’ve also played with subbing some buckwheat flour for the wheat flour. The buckwheat made the crackers a little chewier that the all wheat version. If you aren’t milling your own flour and don’t have any on hand, this recipe will also work with a good store bought whole wheat or white flour.

Your dough should be sticky.

Your dough should be sticky.

When you mix up the dough, it should be sticky. Just be generous in flouring your dough as you roll it out.

I like a few seeds on my crackers. For my favorite seed mix, I combine equal amounts of caraway seeds, garlic powder, onion powder, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds in a little jar and then sprinkle away. This mix is one I use on bagels and dinner rolls. You could really use any seed, herb or finely ground nuts as the topping – have fun with it. To get the seeds to stick, I rolled the dough out just a tiny bit thicker than I want it at the end. Then I sprinkle the seeds on and finish rolling the dough out. This way you won’t have seeds everywhere in your kitchen except where you want them.

Using your rolling pin, lightly roll the seeds onto the crackers.

Using your rolling pin, lightly roll the seeds onto the crackers.

Whole Wheat Crackers
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
These simple crackers are amazingly tasty. Roll them really thin for a super crispy treat or a little thicker if you like your crackers a little chewy.
Ingredients
  • 3 cups of whole grain wheat flour
  • 2 t sugar
  • 2 t salt
  • 4 T olive oil
  • 1 cup water
  • topping, optional
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450 and place the rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven.
  2. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
  3. Stir oil and water into dry ingredients. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky.
  4. Divide the dough into halves. Cover one half with a clean towel.
  5. Pat the other half into a rectangle and place onto a floured surface.
  6. Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 1/8″ thickness or thinner. Add flour as necessary to control stickiness.
  7. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the dough and gently roll the topping into the dough.
  8. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 1-inch x 2-inch crackers – or whatever shape you fancy.
  9. Poke each cracker with a fork and line up onto an oiled cookie sheet. Place the crackers as close as possible, they won’t spread.
  10. Bake 12-15 minutes, one sheet at a time. Check at 12 minutes for desired doneness. If some crackers bake quicker than others (because they are thinner or in the center of the pan) you can pull them off and bake the remainder a few minutes longer.
  11. Repeat with remaining dough.

 

Ham Bone and Bean Soup

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If you were to ask me, I would tell you that the best part about a ham is the bone. Our local meat market stopped carrying bone-in hams a couple of years ago, so I was forced to find a new meat market. I can’t even comprehend how they “make” hams without the bones. Seems a little funny to me.

But anyway, that ham bone is great because it make an awesome soup. I sometimes think of it as free food – take something that you might have thrown away, add a couple cheap veggies, and you end up with a  very healthy and easy soup.

To make traditional ham bone soup, you simmer it the ham bone in a pot of water all day long and eventually you end up with a great stock for a bean soup. The little bits of meat loosen up while it’s simmering and it makes the perfect soup for a cold winter day.

This year, I decided there was no need to simmer all day long. Save energy, save time, all that good stuff. So, I modified my ham bone and bean soup recipe for the pressure cooker. Perfect!

The only trick to this recipe is a little thinking ahead on the beans. The night (or morning) before you make the soup, take a couple cups of beans and cover them with 2-3 inches of cold water in a big pot. 8-12 hours later, drain the beans and you are ready for the soup. I usually soak extra beans, drain them and freeze them in two cup portions – ready to go in a recipe that calls for soaked beans and no planning required. If you are in a time crunch, you can also do a quick soak of your beans.

You can make this recipe with any bean you like. I love it with cannellini, but a bag of mixed beans (sometimes called a 15-bean soup mix) is great also. Have fun with it!

Here’s the recipe. Hope you enjoy.

Ham Bone & Bean Soup
Recipe Type: Soup
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8-10
Don’t throw away that ham bone! Here’s my favorite recipe for a leftover ham bone. Remember to pre-soak your beans. This is made in a pressure cooker, but could be easily modified for stovetop. Also, there should be no need to add salt to this recipe because of the ham bone.
Ingredients
  • 1 cooked ham bone, with meat left on
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 16 ounces of beans, soaked – any kind will do, but cannellini or mixed soup beans are a good start
  • 2 cups of chopped carrots
  • 2 cups of chopped celery
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a 6 quart or larger pressure cooker, sauté the onion until translucent – not brown. Add the ham bone, bay leaf and 8 cups of water. Lock lid and bring cooker to high pressure for 25 minutes.
  2. Quick release pressure and add remaining ingredients. This is a big soup – do not fill cooker past the 2/3 line. Lock lid and return cooker to high pressure for 6-12 minutes, depending on your bean. Smaller beans like black beans will be 6 minutes, larger beans like cannellini will be 10-12 minutes.
  3. Release pressure naturally and remove lid.
  4. Remove ham bone. While ham bone is cooling, keep soup at a simmer. If you like a creamier soup, you can use a spoon to mush some of the beans up in it.
  5. When the bone is cool enough to handle, tear off the bits of ham still attached and return the ham to the soup.
  6. Serve with a crusty bread and enjoy!

 

 

How to Grind Cardamom from Pods

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Cardamom Pods

Cardamom Pods

I like to buy cardamom pods and then grind it once in a while as I need it. This has two big advantages over buying pre-ground cardamom – it’s fresher tasting and less expensive. Plus I think the pods have a longer shelf life than the ground stuff.

My girlfriends and I did a little food tour in an Indian neighborhood of Chicago last summer and I picked up a big bag of cardamom pods for a couple dollars. Ridiculously cheap. If you don’t have a local Indian grocery store, you can get bulk cardamom pods through places like Mountain Rose Herbs, also. My 8 ounce bag is probably enough to last most people a lifetime – but I love cardamom in my baking. The pods are also great for make chai tea and tossing in Indian curry. Just look for green cardamom – I’ve accidently purchases black cardamom before and the flavor is completely different. The green ones are what we normally use in baking and other recipes.

The major problem with cardamom pods is getting at the little seeds inside the pods. You can cut each individual pods open and scrape out the seeds – but it takes forever. After getting frustrated with my lack of progress of getting at the seeds, I did a little internet searching and found an approach that said to buzz the pods in a coffee grinder and then pick out the pod pieces.  This works. But it is difficult and time consuming to pick out the pod pieces. Especially if you buzz them too long in the grinder.

Cardamom pods after a couple pulses in the spice grinder

Cardamom pods after a couple pulses in the spice grinder

This is what mine looked like after a couple pulses in the coffee grinder.  I should note that you could do this also in a mortar and pestle. But can you imagine picking out all of those pod pieces? Here is how I got around it. I emptied the coffee grinder into a small bowl. And I took that bowl plus and extra bowl and headed outside. We had a nice windy day today, so I was helped along by the wind, and I simply held one bowl above the other and poured the seeds between the bowls. The wind picked up the little bits of the pods and blew them away, leaving me with the seeds and a few larger bits of pod. By this point, it was super easy to pick out the bigger pieces of pod and I was left with the seeds.

Cardamom Seeds

Cardamom Seeds

Then I just spun the seeds in the coffee grinder (again – you can use a mortar and pestle) until I had them ground as fine as I wanted.  And to be honest, I didn’t spin it long enough this time around. I still had larger bits of seed in my cardamom bread that I would have liked. So spin that coffee grinder a little longer than you think you need. I like to grind extra and keep it in a little jar so I don’t have to go through this process every time I want ground cardamom. But it will still be lots fresher than what you can buy in the store.

I hope this saves you some time and trouble in grinding your cardamom!

 

Ground Cardamom

Ground Cardamom

Dinner Rolls DIY

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Shaping the dinner rolls was always my kitchen task as a kids. My mom would give me the bread dough and tell me to go at it. But honestly, I never got beyond knots and round rolls. Now, there is nothing wrong with those shapes, but sometimes you want to mix it up a little for the bread basket. So, here are some of my favorite shapes to make, along with some ideas on toppings.

Once you have the rolls made, you can bake right away or you can do what I do – freeze them. I shape them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. As soon as I have the rolls shaped, I pop them into the freezer for 30-60 minutes until they are frozen solid. Then I put them into a freezer bag and keep frozen until I need them. A couple of hours before baking, pull out the number of rolls you want and let rest on a parchment lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown. You can do this with one to 100 rolls at a time and it’s a great way to enjoy a little warm bread with dinner without all of the work.

And one more tip before we get started, instead of making a batch of dough just for rolls, you can use any extra dough from bread baking and turn it into rolls. Freeze them and soon enough you’ll have enough for the family dinner.

Double Knot

Double Knotted Roll

Double Knotted Roll

This is my favorite shape to do. Just take your piece of dough, roll it into a long snake and start knotting the dough. I like to run the ends through the center a couple times – I like the extra little pull apart bits to the roll.  Then tuck the ends under. The only downside to this shape, is it takes some time. If you are in a hurry, see the braided roll below.

Once your rolls are shaped, you can oil the tops and add any toppings you like. My favorite topping mix is equal parts salt, poppy seed, caraway seed, garlic powder, and onion granules.

 

Braided “Knots”

This is a quick and easy way to get rolls shaped. Take three equal size pieces of dough and roll them into long snakes. Braid the dough and then cut pieces off to form rolls. You can try to shape it gently into a ball and tuck the ends under. You’ll end up with a mixture of different size pieces and some ends will end up sticking out. Sometimes its nice to have some variation in the rolls, but if you want everything looking the same, this might not be the roll for you.

Braided rolls

Step #1 – Braided rolls

Step #2 - Braided Rolls

Step #2 – Braided Rolls

Step #3 - Final Braided Rolls

Step #3 – Final Braided Rolls

Croissant Rolls

Step #1 - Croissant Rolls

Step #1 – Croissant Rolls

This is a classic shape that is really nice for a buttery roll. Take a piece of dough and roll into a flat circle. If you want, you can oil or butter the dough at this point and add shredded cheese (parmesan or asiago are nice), garlic, or any other seeds or seasonings you like. Cut the dough like a pie and roll up the pieces from the long end. Tuck the edges around to form a little curve to the croissant and you are done.

Done! Croissant Rolls

Done! Croissant Rolls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those are some of my favorite shapes. I’ll keep adding more to this page as I get some more photos together. If you have a favorite shape that I’ve missed, please comment below!

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

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Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Sugar PumpkinSo don’t let the title of this post fool you. I usually make my “pumpkin” puree from a combination of sugar pie pumpkin, butternut squash, hubbard squash, or kubocha squash – pretty much any squash that the farmer’s at the market tell me will work. Why do I do this? Partially because of availability and quantity – some of these squashes (like the hubbard) are HUGE and will make a ton of puree. Some of these squashes are also lots cheaper than pie pumpkins. But it also helps to mix up the flavors and textures. A butternut is lots sweeter than pumpkin, but it is very wet. The hubbard is also really sweet, but it is comparatively dry. So when I mix a bunch of them together, I end up with an amazingly sweet puree that is not too wet or too dry. Do you ever want to eat pumpkin puree out of can? Me neither, but when I make homemade puree, I often find myself licking the spoon and the bowl – it’s so good. And isn’t that really what we want to be baking and cooking with?

  • Cut squash in half and clean out seeds.
  • Save those seeds! Sort them from the flesh. I like to soak mine in cold water for 1-12 hours. I guess this helps to get the sprouting process started which can help increase nutrition and digestibility – whether or not that’s true, I think they taste better soaked. Drain, rinse, toss with olive oil and salt. Roast in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes until toasted. You can mix up your seasonings also – try cumin, chili powder, cinnamon and a little sugar or even a curry seasoning.
  • Back to the squash – I’m going to give you two methods to cook it. In my opinion, they both end up tasting the same. Pressure cooking saves time and energy, but may not work if you are trying to do a huge batch.
    • To roast in oven – Place squash, cut side down on rimmed baking pan. Add ½ cup of water and roast in 400 degree oven for 45-60 minutes until it is pierced easily with fork and starts to slump. Cool until it can be handled.
    • To pressure cook – add 1 cup of water to pressure cooker. Cut squash into pieces and place into pressure cooker. Lock lid and bring to high pressure. Cook for 6 minutes. Release pressure naturally.
  • Once squash is cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scrape out the flesh into a big bowl. I usually taste a little bit of each squash to make sure it tastes sweet. You can also taste the raw squash, if you are into raw squash. If it doesn’t taste good (and you’ll know it), then toss it. I know that hurts, but it’s better now than later when you’ve made an awesome lasagna with not so great squash puree.
  • In small batches, puree the flesh in a food processor or blender until smooth.
  • You can use the puree immediately, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze. I usually freeze in 2 cup portions (same amount as a small can of pumpkin). Bags of frozen pumpkin puree can be thawed overnight in the fridge, or more quickly by submerging the bag in hot water for 15-30 minutes.

Use this puree in pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bundt cake, butternut squash lasagna, pumpkin chili, pumpkin butter, and butternut squash soup.  Yes, I know I should post my recipes for all of these great things. I’ll get to it. And then I’ll have a blog of entirely pumpkin things. Not the worst thing in the world, I know. If you have any great ideas for using pumpkin puree, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your ideas.

 

The Best Granola

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The name really says it all, but I’m just going to say it again – this is the BEST granola. But seriously, it has taken me a long time to find a granola recipe that is perfect for our family’s taste buds.

This makes a big batch, so use a big bowl!

This makes a big batch, so use a big bowl!

This recipe makes a huge batch of granola – so if you have a smaller family, you may want to half the recipe. You can also just eat it all. Or use some of it instead of oatmeal when you make cookies next. And of course, you can always bag it up and give it to neighbors and friends.

I’ve also listed all of the ingredients by both volume and weight. Honestly, who wants to measure out 10 cups of oatmeal? So, if you have a scale, this is the time to use it. Just plop your empty bowl on the scale, zero it out, and then start adding and weighing ingredients as you go.

Careful of little hands when you are stirring

This recipe is pretty low on the sugar as far as granolas go. That is probably reason enough to make your own. The granolas you find at the grocery store or farmer’s markets all have tons of sugar in them. It’s why they are so darn good. But that sugar is definitely not good. So, while we need some sugar in the recipe, I’ve tried to keep it as low as possible while still ending up with something that people want to eat.

When you get ready to put the granola in the oven, spread it out on two pans. I like to use parchment paper on the pans – it helps with clean up and you can use the parchment to move the cooled granola into it’s final storage container. After you bake the granola, try to leave it on the trays to cool in the oven – turn the oven off and leave the door shut. The granola will crisp up and form little chunks as it cools. If you bake the granola in the afternoon, you can go ahead and let it cool in the oven overnight.

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Spread the granola out on trays to bake.

The Best Granola
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 14 cups
Ingredients
  • 10 cups (2 lbs) old fashioned rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup (3.75 oz) sesame seeds
  • 1/2 cup (2.5 oz) sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup (2.5 oz) hemp seeds, optional
  • 3 cups (9 oz) any combination of chopped almonds, hazelnuts, and pecans
  • 1 cup (2.5 oz) shredded, unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2 T cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup (6 oz) coconut oil, melted
  • 1 cup (12 oz) honey
  • 1 1/2 T Vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 t almond extract
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Line two jellyroll pans with parchment paper.
  2. Combine oats through cinnamon in a large bowl.
  3. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
  4. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir to combine.
  5. Divide granola onto prepared pans.
  6. Bake in preheated oven for a total of 80-90 minutes. Every 30 minutes, stir granola and rotate pans in the oven.
  7. Once the granola is nice and toasty brown, turn off the oven and let cool in the oven, 6-8 hours. As it cools it will get crispy and form small chunks.

 

Pumpkin Chili

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Sugar Pumpkin

I originally found this recipe for pumpkin chili when I was looking for recipes to share for a pumpkin class. The original recipe came from Thug Kitchen and was pretty fabulous. I’ve upped the tomatoes and vegetables and adjusted it a little to make it my own, which is what you should do with any good chili recipe.

To make your own pumpkin puree, find yourself a sugar pumpkin. Don’t use a regular carving pumpkin – they won’t taste as sweet and you’ll be wasting your time. Wash the pumpkin, cut it in half, and remove the seeds and strings. To cook the pumpkin, you can either roast the halves, cut side down, in a roasting pan with a cup of water. It’ll take about 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees. Alternatively, you can pressure cook the halves for about 6 minutes on high pressure – remember to 1/2 a cup of water or your cooker’s minimum liquid amount. The pumpkin is done with you can easily stick a fork in through the skin. Once the pumpkin is cooked, let it cool, scrape out the flesh and puree it in your blender or food processor until smooth.

These dried beans were harvested from our garden

These dried beans were harvested from our garden

You can use any type of beans in this recipe. The recipe is written for using canned beans or soaked dried beans. If you use dried beans, you have the option for cooking them before adding them to the soup or pressure cooking them as part of the soup. Cooking them before adding, let’s you mix and match your beans in the soup. Save the cooking liquid for the beans and use it in the soup instead of broth or water. I’ve used combinations of black, cannellini, and kidney beans.

If you choose to pressure cook the beans with the soup, either use one type of bean, or pick beans that are about the same size so they cook the at the same rate. Black beans can cook as quickly as 3 minutes under pressure, but cannellini or kidney can take 6 minutes. Adjust the pressure cooking time to the beans that you are using.

Pumpkin Chili
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
This is a great fall recipe. It uses pureed pumpkin, tomatoes, beans, and comes together quickly.
Ingredients
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped finely – about a cup
  • 1 cup of chopped carrots, about 2-3 carrots
  • 1 cup of chopped sweet pepper
  • 1 1/2 T chili powder
  • 1 t ground cumin
  • 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, chopped
  • 2 T Braggs Amino Acids or soy sauce
  • 1, 28 oz jars of crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cups of pumpkin puree
  • 4 cups (or 2, 15 ounce cans of beans) – black, cannellini, or whatever you like (if you are dried beans, instead of canned), see special note in instructions for pressure cooked method
  • 4 cups of bean broth, vegetable stock or water
Instructions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrots, and peppers until soft – it’s okay if they brown a little – about 5 minutes.
  2. Add chili powder, cumin, garlic, jalapeno, and amino acids. Sauté for 30 seconds.
  3. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, broth and beans and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer on the stove for about 30 minutes before serving.
  4. * pressure cooker method – use soaked, dried beans. In step three, add remaining ingredients and pressure cook on high for 6 minutes for a medium size bean (see above notes for more info on cooking times). Done.

 

Apple Pork Roast

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This is the perfect fall recipe – apples, sauerkraut and pork all in one pot. Plus it is a super easy recipe. Throw it in the crock pot or pressure cooker, forget about it, and it’s done in time for dinner.

This is my mom’s recipe and typical of any good recipe, it came from her head and hasn’t been written down until just now. I hope I do it justice. I was reminded of this recipe this weekend when I was teaching people how to make sauerkraut. This is a great way to use it in a cooked recipe and you’ll be surprised at how everyone loves it. Even if you don’t think you or the kids like sauerkraut, I’d recommend trying this. The apple and kraut combination give it a little sweet and sour kick.

If you have any comments on it, I’d love to hear them in the comment section.

Apple Pork Roast
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Total time:
This is a favorite use of sauerkraut in our family. The apples mellow it out a bit and you’ll be surprised at how much you like sauerkraut after tasting it.
Ingredients
  • 1 pork roast, about 3 pounds
  • 2 cups of sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
  • 1 T caraway seed
  • 2 apples, cut up
  • 4-5 small potatoes, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
  • 2 T brown sugar
Instructions
  1. Crock Pot method – Place the pork roast in the bottom of your crock pot or pressure cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cook in crock pot on high for 6-8 hours
  2. Pressure Cooker Method – The only difference with pressure cooking the roast is that you need to make sure you have enough liquid in the cooker. You can use the sauerkraut juice, but it may result in a very salty roast. I’d recommend adding 1 cup of light beer, or at least the minimum amount required by your cooker to reach pressure. Cook at high pressure for 40 minutes (stovetop cooker) or 55-60 minutes (electric cooker). When the cooking time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally.

 

Getting Started with Sauerkraut

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A Little Background

My first attempts with sauerkraut started several years ago when we started getting our fall CSA baskets from Sue & Gary Gauger at Natural Farm Stand in Richmond, IL. Our fall CSA baskets are always stuffed full to overflowing with beautiful squashes, onions, carrots, and of course – cabbages. Cabbages of every variety – red, green, Napa, Bok Choy, and Savoy. The first year of the CSA, after I tired of coleslaws, stuffed cabbage and cabbage wrapped tacos, I ended up gifting the extra cabbages to any friend who would take a cabbage. While it’s great to share the extra with friends, I really wanted to use the cabbages myself. So, the second year that we got the CSA, I was prepared for the cabbages and had researched making sauerkraut.

I have a German heritage and have memories of sauerkraut on my grandparent’s table, but I had never actually seen or participated in the process of making kraut. And sadly, my grandparents weren’t around any longer to teach me the tricks of kraut. All I knew was that kraut from the grocery store doesn’t taste anything like the real stuff -not even the packages in the refrigerated section.

So, I did a little research on the internet and found some good cookbook references and I that next year I started a couple batches in half gallon Ball jars in my garage. Unfortunately, I was too scared to actually eat the first couple of batches of homemade kraut. The fermenting process was too different, and I honestly didn’t know whether I was doing things correctly. Over time, I’ve done more research and slowly gained confidence in home fermenting. The resulting kraut has been worth the learning experience.

Maybe you have been to my kitchen to learn how to make sauerkraut and maybe this is your first time attempting to make sauerkraut with your extra CSA cabbages. I hope this post will help you get started with home ferments and inspire you to  try some new things in your kitchen.

Things You’ll Need

The only things you’ll need to get started are:

  1. Cabbage – any kind is fine. Fresher is better, because it will have more moisture in it if it’s been picked recently. It’s great if you can get it at the farmer’s market or stand. But cabbage from the grocery store is fine also. Once it is shredded and packed, the cabbage really reduces in size, so don’t be afraid to pick out a really big head of cabbage or use several smaller ones.
  2. Salt – any sort of salt if fine as long as it has no additives – no anti-caking agents. I use either Real Salt or Ball’s canning/pickling salt.
  3. A container to hold your kraut – to get started, you can use a half gallon or larger glass jar. A half gallon jar will hold about a 3 pound head of cabbage. If you can find a small food grade bucket, they work great also. There is no need to invest in a crock or special equipment.
  4. Optional ingredients – you can add spices or veggies to your kraut. Some popular spices include caraway, juniper berries, bay leaves, or hot pepper flakes. Veggies can include carrots, onions, hot peppers, or even apples for a sweeter kraut.
Kraut Ingredients

Kraut Ingredients

Steps to Making Sauerkraut

1. The first step in making kraut is to clean the cabbage. Usually removing the outer layers of leaves is enough to clean it. Wash it also, if necessary. Next cut the cabbage in half down the core and cut out the core of the cabbage.

Cored Cabbage, ready for slicing

Cored Cabbage, ready for slicing

2. The next step is to shred the cabbage. You can slice it with a knife into thin strips (about the thickness of a quarter). This method works well if-especially, if you are only doing a couple of heads of cabbage. I usually do a big batch of kraut when I make it, so I use a kraut board to slice my cabbage. The kraut board allows you to slice the cabbage quickly into very thin, even slices. If you decide to use a kraut board, be sure to wear knife gloves to protect your fingers from the sharp blades – honestly, this isn’t a bad idea even when you are using a knife.

 

3. After you have one head of cabbage shredded, put it into a big bowl or directly into your fermentation vessel, if it is a larger vessel. Add one tablespoon of salt for each small head of cabbage, or 3 T of salt per 5 pounds of cabbage. Also add any extra spices that you are using. I usually add about 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds or juniper seeds per small head of cabbage or 1T per 5 pounds of cabbage. Mix in the salt and spices using your hands and massage the cabbage a little. Now let the cabbage rest for 10-15 minutes. If you are doing more heads of cabbage, the resting time basically happens while you shred the next head. Now pack the cabbage into your vessel. If your cabbage is very fresh, you will probably already notice water starting to be pulled out of the cabbage and pooling in the bottom of your bowl. When you pack the cabbage, push it down hard to make sure it is really packed in. You can use a special kraut pounder, but I usually use a potato masher or my fist. You want to submerge the cabbage under the brine. If you don’t have enough brine to submerge the cabbage, check it again the next day. If you still don’t have enough brine, then you should add brine to cover the cabbage. You can make your own brine by dissolving 1 1/2  tablespoon of salt into four cups of water.

4. Now weight down your cabbage to help keep it under the brine. When I’m using a glass jar, I fill a plastic bag with brine and use that to keep the cabbage submerged. When I’m using a plastic bucket, I put a small plate over the top of the cabbage and weight it down with a clean rock or another jar filled with brine. Cover the container with a towel or other cloth.

Sauerkraut submerged in brine

Sauerkraut submerged in brine

6. If you’d like to make wine kraut – add 1/2 cup of dry white wine per 5 pounds cabbage to your container on the second day.

5. After 24 hours, remember to check to make sure that the cabbage is covered with brine. If not, add brine to cover the cabbage (see step 3). Check the sauerkraut every couple of days to see if scum is forming on the top of sauerkraut. If you find scum, scrap it off daily and wash the plate and weights. If you want to avoid scum on your kraut, you can use an airlock on your jar. Airlocks are used in beer brewing and can be found at beer brewing supply stores. They really aren’t necessary for sauerkraut, but if the fear of a little scum or mold on your ferments is stopping you from trying home ferments, then it may be worth trying.

6. Store the sauerkraut container somewhere with a consistent temperature. 60 degrees is near perfect, but higher will work also. The time it takes to mature will depend on the fermenting temperature. Start tasting the kraut after about 2 weeks. If it ferments at 70-75 degrees, it will probably be ready at 2-3 weeks. If it ferments at 60-65 degrees, it may take 5-6 weeks to be ready. The final product will be pale golden in color and have a tart, crisp flavor. You can also tell if it is ready by looking for gas bubbles being released from the sauerkraut – once the bubble stop, you know it is done fermenting. But you should really just go by taste, when it tastes good to you, then call it done. I usually end mine at about three weeks when it is fermented in my 68 degree basement.

7. When the sauerkraut is ready, you can store it, tightly covered in the fridge. I’ve kept it in my fridge for several months this way. You can also freeze it in plastic bags, which may preserve the Vitamin C better than canning, and it doesn’t hurt the texture too much. You can and should eat you kraut raw – it is perfect on sausages and pork chops. I also love it cooked with a pork roast or in a sausage soup.

8. If you want to can the sauerkraut, pack it and its juice into pint or quart jars. Leave 1/2 inch headspace and waterbath can for 20 minutes (pints) or 25 minutes (quarts). This storage method does not preserve the good probiotics of your kraut, but it saves on fridge space. Store the jars in a cool, dry, dark place.

Some additional resources

If you want to do more reading on fermentation, here are some of my favorite resources.

The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich, www.agardnerstable.com

The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz, www.wildfermentation.com

Mountain Feed & Farm Supply, www.mountainfeed.com

 

Crock Pot Apple Butter

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You know apple butter is ready when no liquid pools around the edges.

In recent years, I have avoided making apple butter. My last memory of it involved thinking, “Boy, this just tastes like spiced applesauce.” So I didn’t bother with it for a couple of years. And then this year, a friend asked me to make her some and I had an overload of apples. So, I figured I may as well give it another shot. Worst case scenario, I was planning to make my girlfriend take the entire batch of apple butter.

Apple butter is really great on homemade toasted bread or added to plain yogurt or oatmeal. I also love it on my whole grain waffles with toasted pecans and a little whipped cream. A friend told me just today about making cinnamon rolls with apple butter as the filling. I’m going to give that one a shot in the very near future, because it sounds like the perfect fall treat.

So this time around, I did a few things differently. First, I did not puree the butter like a lot of recipes call to do. Instead, I chopped the peeled apples up at the beginning using a food processor – almost to a chunky applesauce consistency, but not quite. If you don’t have a food processor, you can just put the quartered apples into the crock pot and use an immersion blender on them once they are soft and mushy. Or just run it through a blender or food mill and you’ll end up with a smoother consistency.

I also played with the liquid on this recipe. Instead of using water as the liquid, I made one batch using apple cider and a second batch using hard apple cider. Honestly – they really didn’t taste much different. I was honestly hoping that the trendy hard apple cider version would be amazingly better than the old fashioned version, but not so much. But either one of them provides a little more flavor than using plain old water.

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Crock Pot Apple Butter = almost done.

I did this recipe in the crock pot. I really love this approach. It’s pretty hands off. You can stir it periodically, but really, you just let it do it’s job until the end when you jar and can it. The main trick with the crock pot approach is to leave your wooden spoon on the edge of the crock with the lid on so that the lid is cracked open for most of the cooking time.

You’ll know that the apple butter is done when the liquid is mostly gone. You should take a little bit and put it on a spoon or plate – let it cool a couple minutes and check to see if any liquid pools at the edges of the butter. Once there is no liquid, then the butter is done.

Enjoy!

 

Crock Pot Apple Butter
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8 half pints
Because this cooks low and slow, this is a great recipe to start at night and finish the next morning. Your home will smell wonderful while you sleep.
Ingredients
  • 5 pounds of peeled, cored and quartered apples
  • 2 cups of apple cider, either hard or not
  • 3 cups of sugar – white or brown is fine
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
Instructions
  1. Using a food processor, chop the apples into small pieces, almost pureed
  2. Add all ingredients to the crock pot and stir.
  3. Cover crock pot and cook on high for one hour.
  4. Turn crock pot to low and crack the lid with a wooden spoon to keep the lid slightly open. Cook on low for 8-11 hours. Stir occasionally, more towards the end.
  5. Once the butter has thickened, test it for consistency. Place a small mound on a spoon and let it cool for a couple minutes. If, after two minutes, no liquid has escaped the edges, the butter is done.
  6. The butter can be frozen in jars – leave enough space for expansion. Or it can be processed in a boiling water bath – leave 1/4 inch headspace and process for 10 minutes.