Cabbage Patch

As most of you know, I love ALL things gardening! I'm still learning all the time and trying to figure things out as I go. The garden we put in at the barn turned out to be a tremendous success this past year. So once all of the summer crops were gone, we decided to plant some fall and winter crops. Kale and Cabbage galore!!!

The cabbage is incredibly resilient and self sufficient. I highly recommend planting it for a fall crop. So very easy. And it is actually quite beautiful.

We love cooking the cabbage and eating it. I also wanted to store some for the winter. I have such a love for canning. Its another area that I'm still learning about all the time. I decided to make Sauerkraut. I found a few recipes and could not believe how easy it was! Decided to share the recipe with everyone: Ingredients: 8-10 c shredded cabbage (loosely packed) 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds 1-2 tsp un-iodized/pickling salt 1 c filtered water mixed with 1 tsp un-iodized salt Boil and sterilize jars, rims and lids. Dry on a clean dishcloth. In a clean, non metallic bowl mix cabbage, mustard seeds and salt. Stir cabbage to release juices. Let rest half an hour and stir again. Pack in sterilized jars pushing down with wooden mallet. Add salty water (1 tsp salt per cup of water) to rim of jar.

Cap loosely with sterilized lid and rim. Place jar on a tray to catch overflowing juices. Keep jar between 65-72 degrees for 2-3 weeks. After bubbling stops, check container and top off with salty water if level falls below rim. Skim any (harmless) white spots or film from top, close jar tightly, wipe off outside and store in refrigerator. You don't need to put in a canner because the heat will actually kill all the good stuff in there that is creating the fermentation.

Taaa Dah!!! And it was so easy, I even had time to make a 'pony pie' with apples!!! Too cute!