Snippet Sunday

[wayfaringwordhack]

Been a busy week here, but not on the house cleaning front. Still haven't finished that, and what with the dust, it looks just as bad as when we arrived.  I'll get to it. Soon. Soon.

In the meantime, I've been making:

- sourdough starter (let the other one die while struggling through the first trimester)
- kimchi
- dilly beans
- makdous (combined this recipe and this one)
- homemade body butter (riffed off this recipe)

And I started a little sketch while S does her art.  And the blanket. Slow progress, but I think I finally have a suitable join-as-I-go technique down. Took me many false starts to find something I'm OK with. It isn't perfect, but I think it will do.

Comments

[frigg.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, it's going to be so homely and cozy once it's finished!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I really like the sketch you've started.

And dilly beans? Dilly beans?

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm sketching with a loose idea in mind that I may or may not make more complex as I go along. :)

This will be my third time making dilly beans. We really love them. The first time they were excellent, the second time good but too salty, and this time I'm afraid they aren't quite salty enough. We'll see. :P They need to ferment (sour) for a few days more before I can really tell.

The first time I used this recipe: http://www.cookinggodsway.com/lacto-fermented-pickled-green-beans/#sthash.XAeOnt2E.dpbs but thought they needed more garlic.

The second time, I did them like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNW7ujccc94 I don't know if it was the green beans or what, but they were "raw" after over two weeks of fermenting. By that, I mean that they were not just crisp but a little hard to chew. The first recipe calls for blanching the beans, which, living in Egypt, I prefer to do, but the second batch was made in France, so I didn't bother with that step since the youtube recipe doesn't call for it. We did put leaves from a cherry tree. Maybe that had an effect on the "rawness"? When I did the first batch and blanched them, they still remained crisp, even without the addition of something tannic to help out.

This last time, I omitted a bit of salt and used some whey instead. And I blanched the beans.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

I need to get on the ball. As soon as I kick the ick...

[88greenthumb.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, that makdous sounds yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe-must try it when I get back...I love kimchi. And I make a variation of the beans-using vinegar and a little salt for pickling. No dill but I throw in some red pepper flakes, and a few shallots, in addition to the garlic. I don't blanch the beans-the vinegar will act to "soften" the beans but still keep them crisp.

[mindseas.livejournal.com]

Looks like you've had a substantially creative week despite the cleaning and the ick!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Neat--now I want to try that first recipe, the one that you said was excellent.