Kitchen experiments

I treated myself to some Meyer lemons from the store a couple of weeks ago, and had been using them slowly until this weekend.  Appreciating them for the treat that they are, I tried to make the most out of my purchase.  I made a couple of apple crisps, and some zucchinni lemon bread.  I also saved the seeds, and am trying to start plants both in soil and in dampened paper towels.

 

 

 

I used some of the rind to make citrus vinegar, along with some clementine rinds provided by Adrian's co-workers - and a couple of limes that were squeezed for hand-cut salsa.  I've just decanted and strained the citrus vinegar and will be using it as part of a home made cleaner when I finish the last of the Windex in my cupboard.  I've dried additional citrus rind for use as a simmering mix (to scent and humidify the house), or to add to sachets and scent my sheets and drawers of clothing.  The last two lemons will be skinned, and the rind dunked in vodka for some homemade citrus extract - it can be buddies with my vanilla bean extract.

 

We both have come to appreciate Korean food, and love kimchi.  We've enjoyed our home made, traditional sauerkraut over the past few months, but the 'Krautchi' cross that I attempted turned soft, and lacked the crunchy cabbage texture that we like. For now, I've switched gears and turned to a fermented daikon radish 'kimchi' - known as 'Kkakdugi'

We had a taste yesterday after I made it, and have high hopes for enjoying a different ferment with our meals, to change things up from the Saurkraut.  I have the jar out on the counter for monitoring and a mild ferment, and then will cap it and move it to the fridge when we like the amount of sour taste. 

The daikons were peeled and cubed, rinsed, patted dry, and sprinkled with salt and sugar (this encourages some release of the vegetable's juices, as with kraut).  After 30 minutes, I drained and held the juice aside.  Diced garlic and ginger were added, with several green onions, some fish sauce, and hot pepper flakes.  There are a ton of recipes on the net for reference and optional ingredients.  The whole shebang went into a jar, and I weighed down the daikon with a water-filled jar, then covered the whole thing with a clean towel to sit and mellow.

 

Another two items I have been meaning to replace forever - Nutella and nut butter (this is Honey Almond Butter with Sea Salt - doesn't that sound gourmet?) Both are quite easy to make on your own.  There are fewer ingredients (like 3), and though they need refrigeration and the consistency is a bit granier, I'm quite happy with the results - and Adrian was pleased to have them for breakfast this weekend.