Journal 5-11-17

   Hello Y'all! 😀 The May day snow melted away quickly, giving way to lush green beauty everywhere! Our apple trees are blooming and the lilac bushes look like they will be soon as well!

   We celebrated my Dad's birthday last weekend! The weather was so beautiful, everyone enjoyed spending time on the porch while we waited for dinner to be ready!

    My Dad loves rhubarb desserts, so we traditionally make him a rhubarb pie or cake for his birthday! This year I decided to make a cake. I tried a new recipe that I found here. It was quick to make and turned out yummy! (Side note if you want to make it for yourself: It was a bit too sweet... So I would recommend not putting in the 3/4 cup sugar. The sugar in the jello and cake is plenty! I cut the sugar down to 1/4 cup because I suspected that it wasn't needed... but I guess it was still too sweet, so next time I would leave it out completely! Oh and I didn't put the cinnamon in, personal taste preference. Let me know if you give this recipe a try!😀)

   I have been enjoying the music of David Wesley the last few weeks. Have you ever listened to him before? He is one talented singer! Here he is singing "In Christ Alone". A song that has been on my heart a lot this past week.

In Christ Alone 

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live,

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again 

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

   The Dandelions (a pretty weed!😉) are blooming, the grass is growing, the trees are leafed out and I am once again amazed at the beauty of spring! I am loving the warmer weather and the explosion of color everywhere!

Raw Sauerkraut

   Today I want to share with you, just how quick and easy it is to make homemade sauerkraut! I use the fermentation preserving method, so it doesn't require any special canning equipment or experience! The fermentation process not only preserves your food for storage, but also increases the vitamin C content from that of fresh cabbage! Plus a great benefit of fermenting is the wonderful probiotics that are created! To take full advantage of these nutritional qualities, you must eat the sauerkraut raw. 

   I normally make my kraut from store-bought cabbage. As I don't have very good luck growing it. Though using garden fresh cabbage would surely make the "best for you" sauerkraut. One nice benefit of using store-bought cabbage, is that you can make kraut anytime of the year! A great time of year to make kraut is in March, as most grocery stores, at least in my area, have cabbage on sale for St. Patrick's Day! Our supply of sauerkraut that I had made last March was getting low, so I made a few jars up on Monday. With plans to make a bigger batch in March.

Base Recipe: 

• 1 cabbage, 

• 2 Tablespoons of salt 

Multiply recipe as desired.  I normally expect to get 2 jars (1.5 pints each?) out of one cabbage.

Equipment: 

• Jars and lids (Old pickle jars or jam jars work great! No need for official canning jars and lids since you won't be sealing the jars.) 
• Knife.
• Cutting board
• Measuring spoon 
• Big bowl.
• Funnel.  
• Food Processor (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) or other shredding device. I use to use a kitchen hand grater/shredder and it took me a half hour to do one cabbage. 😕 Very tedious! The food processor does it in less then 5 minutes! 😊

 Step-by-step instructions:

Step 1. Prepare Jars and lids. (I normally do this by pouring boiling water in the jars setting the lids on top and letting it sit for a minute. That should sufficiently sterilize them!)

Step 2. Wash the cabbage and remove any leaves that aren't fresh looking.

Step 3. Chop into appropriate size chunks, to feed into the food processor. Process.

Step 4. Add Salt.

 Step 5. With clean hands "knead" the cabbage & salt together for 5-10 minutes. As you knead it, the cabbage's natural juice will be released. It is surprising how much liquid comes out! (Picture on right shows juice in bottom of bowl.)

 

Step 6. Press into sterilized jars, (A funnel helps make this step less messy!) Leave an inch or so of head space in jars, as the cabbage will "expand" as the lactic acid goes to work! Screw lids on and leave jars out on your counter for 3 days. During this time if you notice any of the lids bulging, simple unscrew them momentarily to let out lactic acid gas, Then re-screw lid on. If you don't keep an eye out for this... you might have a jar explode all over your kitchen! That caution comes from experience! 😉  

   After 3 days, move jars to a cool dark place, for storage. I put  mine in our unheated (60? degree) basement. A refrigerator may also work... The temperature at which you store it will determine how fast the fermentation process goes. (Warmer = faster, cooler = slower.) Kraut will be ready to eat in as little as 2+ weeks, but it does get "better" with age, I think it tastes best after 3 months! (We are currently eating 10 month old kraut and I think it is some of the best we've had yet!) 

   And that is it, it really is that simple! Why not give it a try for yourself and let me know how it goes! 😊 If you have any questions about making it, leave a comment and I will be glad to answer any and all of your questions!

     Do you like Sauerkraut? Have you ever made it? If so, what method did you use?  What is your favorite thing to eat sauerkraut with? 

 *This week I joined in on the fun Homestead Blog Hop held over at Homesteading on Grace!