Fall fermentations...

I had quite a few Jalapeno peppers and just a few smallish other peppers that I didn't think I'd use up fast enough, so I decided to make a ferment. I adapted a recipe from THIS book by Wardeh at Gnowfglins.

Here are the peppers, washed and drained:

 And here they are, with the ends trimmed off and being weighed.  I had more than I really needed, but went ahead and processed them all anyway.  The chickens got the leftovers.  :)

Oh... notice what I did with the paper plate?  That makes it much easier to actually be able to read the scale. (Idea not my own.)

Here is the food processor with the narrow slicing blade attached:

Now they are all sliced up.

I did NOT remove the seeds, so this mixture is quite hot and can irritate one's skin, so I donned a protective glove so I could handle the peppers.  (See?  Sometimes I actually use my head!  My mommie would be proud.)

For the recipe, I  needed some live whey, so I poured some milk kefir into a birdseye cloth and hung it to drain.  I quickly had enough.

Here is the recipe.  Wardeh used cayenne peppers and added garlic.  I omitted the garlic (DH dislikes the odor) and used the Jalapenos and sweet peppers.

1 pound peppers

1 Tablespoon sea salt

1/4 cup live whey

filtered water

Place the whey and salt in a little jar and shake it up to dissolve:

 Slice the peppers thinly.

Put the peppers into a Fido Jar (wearing a protective glove.)

Pour the salt mixture over the top.

Add enough filtered (non-chlorinated) water to cover the mixture.

Close the jar.  Set it out of the sunlight on your kitchen counter.

Ferment for 2 to 3 days.

Store in the refrigerator. 

This will be a Very Spicy condiment and the juice can be added sparingly to soups and things that you would like to add more heat to.

On to ferment #2 !!

Again, this is from Wardeh's book. 

I have a number of apples that are kind of mushy and my family is reluctant to eat them.  So, I was looking for a way to use some so they won't get wasted.

Perfect - "Spiced Applesauce"

3 to 4 medium apples (any type)

1/4 cup unrefined sweetener (I used real maple syrup)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup live whey

Quarter and core the apples and chop them up in a food processor or blender.  You want it to be chunky:

Mix all of the ingredients together an spoon it into a Fido jar.

Put on the lid and set it on your counter.

Allow to ferment for 2 or 3 days and then keep it in the refrigerator.  It will keep for a few weeks.

Here are both jars, ready to ferment:

Now I just have to wait a couple of days and the jars can join the jars of sauerkraut in the fridge.  

Naturally fermented foods are so very good for you.

By the way, I was able to buy some of my Fido jars at a Ross store very cheaply.  You can use other jars, but this is the easiest and most reliable way I've found.  Prepare it, forget it, and put it in the fridge.  Easy Peasy!