Scherpa Fire 17 June 2016

from Sands beach

Scherpa Fire 16 June 2016

Nikon D600, 24-120

Plum Tree at the Garden

Nikon D600 + old AI'd 24mm f2.8

Sauerruben 2016

I really liked making/eating sauerruben last summer. Ruben is german for turnips. I made a batch May 1 and just put it in the fridge. Made another just now, except it was turnip free, I planted more rutabaga than turnips this year. So, rutabaga, black spanish radish, muscade carrot, chioggia beet, bulls blood (I think) beet; carroway, dill, celery seed.

Chile Colorado

Marty in the Climate Hazards Group got interested in chile colorado for a superbowl party, and got me and Laura hooked. I made a batch around then and filed the recipe away. Had a nice big roast in the freezer waiting for Sara to visit. I used these 2 recipes: bon appetit, a blog. I mostly followed the first one, adding an onion to the sauce. Solid.

Farm to Fable

Quite interesting story "Farm to Fable" about BS farm to table restaurants and farmer's markets in Tampa, Florida. The FM are much more legit in Cali, but restaurants, who knows. Food quality is obviously very important to me. The way i can afford expensive ingredients is to grow and/or cook them myself rather than going out to eat. From the Florida story, it sounds like even if you are spending alot in a restaurant you could still be getting cheap/low quality ingredients. I wish Americans respected the true cost of food more, and people could make an honest living producing and selling good quality food.

NPR overview, Farm to Fable farmer's markets story, Farm to Fable restaurants story

my 'shady' plot at the garden, also have a sunny plot. this one is shaded by a big eucalypt in the morning. foreground is a fuyu persimmon, middle ground a walnut that is super confused by the drought - hasn't leafed out yet. also coastal CA poppies, arugula flowers, etc

Lacto Fermented Daikon +

Nice. Followed a recipe from Cultures for Health. Gonna grow more daikon next year! I really liked the pink hue the beets gave it. Should have taken a timeseries of pics as the pink grew.

Daikon Pickles
Enough daikon to fill a 1Q mason jar, cut into spears
some beet (used chioggia)
couple cloves garlic (peeled, whole)
couple serrano chilies (stemmed, halved)
2T salt
2c water

stuff tightly into jar, dissolve salt in water, pour over. keep veggies below water line. cover jar with a coffee filter + rubber band. i fermented it about 3 weeks, probably a little too long but alright.

Garden, 17 April 2016

 oh, to be a black cat when it's 92 in the shade

 coastal CA poppies

Misc Food

 romanesco + mozz

 ok pizzas, red sauce/beet greens, greens/onions/anchovies

 indian potluck w/ team fun

 beet greens, collard greens

 veggie

 machaca de res (dried beef from Baja, it reconstitutes when you cook it with veggies)

Poppies, point and shoot

 Olympus 1030 SW, not a great camera but it's macro works well. Poppies in the garden, killing a little time waiting for the bikepaths to clear before biking in to school.

Misc Lizzy Girl

cat + radio = happy me

redwood 4x4 scratching post

Kaanji

Our friend Bharat was recently visiting back home in India and posted a pic of the Kaanji that his mom made. It looked interesting, so I have it a go. It's fermented carrots and beets; you drink the liquid and eat the pickled veg. Pics are day 1,2,3. It probably could have used an extra day but was still good.

I followed this recipe, but in case the link disappears here it is:

Kaanji
3 medium carrots
1 beet
1.5 T sea salt
2T ground mustard seeds
2t chile powder
2Q water


wash, chop veggies
put in jar, toss with salt, spices
pour in water
loose lid or coffee filter + rubber bands
put in sun for 3 to 4 days