I know people who are real gardeners. They start their own plants from seed, buy lamps, set up greenhouses, set timers for watering and get excited about transplanting their babies into the cold mucky spring soil. Bless you gardeners!
These people will have fresh herbs and tomatoes and many, many zucchinis.
I hope to grow up to be a gardener.
At this point in the growing season I’m really more of an alchemist than a gardener.
This month I have been cluttering my kitchen counter with both ferments and sprouts.
Kombucha is a a fermented tea that you can flavor – it contains lots of probiotics. I like to make small batches for a refreshing alternate to soda. My favorite flavors right now are lavender/lemon and strawberry. Yum!
Preserved Lemons (also a ferment with probiotics) are a really delicious and potent flavor. I had them with a dinner at a friend’s house the other night and wow! We all went home to make them. They pair well with chicken and olives or in hummus. Basically a salt preserve, the rind of the lemon becomes soft and not at all bitter. Here is a couple of recipes to use the preserved lemons, and another I will try soon with chicken and olives.
Sprouts are super easy and cheap to make with a jar and some cheesecloth and taste like spring in salads or on sandwiches. I used organic mung beans – soaked and rinsed throughly a couple of times a day – until they sprouted. You should sort through for un-sprouted beans before eating but they keep in the fridge for another couple of days once sprouted.
happy spring 🙂