Puddles are superior drinking water evidently.
John is a great believer in fermented foods – most especially sauerkraut (he is of German extraction – the extraction being way way back in the mists of time). 
Live foods are incredibly food for the gut and therefore the general well being of the consumer. Pasteurised and ultra pasteurised are nice and safe for a paranoid public but leave out a number of live enzymes that our stomach needs to digest foods. Raw milk, good yoghurt, pickles in organic vinegars, salsa – all these are great to eat and good for the digestion. And John maintains that all natural sauerkraut is the best of them all. He has a special crock, kind of like this one, which is designed to exclude air completely and he makes a batch every month. It is very sour and very good. 
After cutting it and pounding it into submission, he adds a little salt
and the fresh whey left over from the mornings yoghurt making. 
Then packs it tightly into the crock, covers it in the last of the whey and water then leaves it to work for a month. There is a little rim of fluid visible around the lid and this is kept topped up with water during the fermenting period so that no air can reach the cabbage at all. The rest is all fermenting magic. I drained a batch of yoghurt so that I could make labneh, which I mixed with chopped spring onions and olives to have with a cracker and a drink, it being Friday and all. Live food! Good!
The Daily View.
Good morning. I hope you are all going to have some loveliness today.
celi
Feeling very springlike this morning…is it April already?
I just love it that John is your Official Fermenter…I’ll bet that kraut is wonderful.
It is sour, but a nice complement to many dishes.. plus sometimes we just need to eat stuff that is good for us.. c
Morning Celie, Nice to see Tonton in the daily view. Sauerkraut is something I can’t abide! Each to his own. What you say about fermenting explains why people seem to like beer!
and WINE! Wine is good!! morning ViV c
Oh I don’t know, live food does sound rather suspicious!
Indeed..but at least it does not wriggle!! {{laughter!}}.. c
Bad minds think alike then!
Love it. I totally agree. Nothing better than raw milk and raw food of all kinds!
We love it too. In fact when the teenager is away the only thing he misses is the raw milk.. c
That stuff sounds gross….lol
Oh you just hate vegetables!
Not all vegtables…just those kind…haha.
Mitch..your Gpa D and that side of the family made all kinds of strange things like that!
Keep at it C..sounds great..and wonderful to see you yesterday..wish I had your tan!
Oh Connie…I know this…but I sour kraut is one think I can’t bring myself to eat. Maybe that is why his side of the family moved over here years ago…lol
you got some good shot..
I have yet to make kraut but plan on trying it. I need a smaller crock as the only one I currently have is 20 gallons and I think that might be too much to try at once.
I may make yogurt next week but today is baking day! It’s supposed to be 67F!!! here today. And in the 40′s again by Monday. Sigh. I wish we’d have a real winter but at least we’re getting pretty regular moisture here. Have a great day Celi.
Morning C – Very windy and cold here in SE MN. Love the new header — amazed at how big Bobby B has gotten. Sauerkraut — it’s been years since I made any like that – might have to try it again some time. Stay warm — don’t get blown away.
My Dad, of full German heritage, always made sauerkraut, too. And horseradish. My family still carries on with the horseradish making tradition.
I was just going to warn you about the cold and windy weather perhaps moving your way from Minnesota. But I see Vesta has done that. Vesta–that’s the name of my hometown in southwestern Minnesota.
I love sauerkraut and have tried making it a few times, but can never get it to come out quite right. Most of the recipes I’ve tried call for a lot of salt and so, it always comes out too salty. Someday I’ll get the salt ratio just right. Great series of shots. Puddles are popular around here too.
You are very fortunate to grow your own food, we cannot get anything but pasteurized.
It’s really warm in Toronto today, already around 11C! Have a great day C!
Sadly Sauerkraut gives me such bad acid indigestion I can’t eat it
No problems with raw milk or yoghurt though 
Sounds good!
Miss Muffet might not have been so skittish if she had eaten sauerkraut and whey…
Finally found some raw goat milk for my premie lamb the other day. Transitioning over from formula and hoping for the best.
Good morning, Miss C. I wouldn’t drink from puddles if I were you…
Good morning, c! Such fun to see your kitchen, and those lovely stock pots.
We love sauerkraut. We also love kimchi, which is sort of the same but spicy. Totally delish.
I can not get over how green your lawn still is…we are brown, brown and more brown.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
I know! Wish the fields looked this green and this long!! c
Good Morning Miss C. I do hope this is the beginning of a grand week-end for everyone on The Farmy. Love that John makes sauerkraut. Growing up we always had huge crocks of sauerkraut weighted down with a heavy stone on the wooden lids. It was a way to preserve our cabbage crop for eating during the long winter.. I love sauerkraut. V.
That long winter! c
i always have sauerkraut fermenting away. i eat it on everything! it is 66 degrees here today and i am not liking it one bit!
Hey, Celi! What is it about puddles that animals find it so tempting? Max has a spot that if water is there, he’ll drink every time. The only way I can stop him is to stay with him the entire time he’s in the yard. I’ve seen other make sauerkraut and have been tempted to give it a try. This year I made limoncello instead.
Limoncello wins every time! For me. For sure! c
In the period that I study–the 15th and 16th centuries–vinegar was the cure-all for anything and everything! So I try to follow their advice and have a little every day. It can’t hurt.
Especially if you can find (or make) organic unpasteurised vinegar.. probably easier for you to buy over there actually, I HAVE to make my own.. I make my salad dressing with it and Daisy gets some every day too! I would love to study the recipes from that period! c
Love real foods AND sauerkraut. Have to admit tho’ that I make my own yogurt [and labneh etc] and horseradish, but do buy my sauerkraut commercially and, of course, that is nowhere as good. Had never heard of fresh whey being added: well, this morning’s lesson
! Hoping and praying by tonight we may have a few puddles here: local pups and pusses would no doubt go for them also . . . . .
Oh I do hope you get some puddles too.. God knows you need them more than us! c
hey Celi does john by chance ever make his own beer?
Not yet honey, but I am working on it! Home made beer would be awesome! c
Have a look at thirteenvegetables blog today; they have an article on beer making!
The new header looks great, as does John’s sauerkraut. Our kitties love puddles, too, so it really must be the best drinking water. Hope you had a great day!
Sounds good – would love to try the real deal sauerkraut. Loving the action shots
And yes, my pups would agree, puddles are like a Dry Martini, shaken not stirred to them…very glam and delicious!
Oh yes, puddles are very special to our 4 legged children!
Mandy xo
There is always something to learn with your posts C – thank you!
That sounds very good. I do like sauerkraut, although it makes one fart like a mad thing. Best to live on the prairies if you’re going to eat it. If you want to experience extreme French rudeness, go to Brasserie Lipp in Paris and order Choucroute in an American or English accent. It’s breathtaking:)
The rudeness of french waiters in legendary, What is choucroute? How about a NZ accent I hope that sparks the curled lip at Brasserie Lipp, you could always say cheers mate at the end! c
Hi Cecilia,
Stumbled across your blog through another … as way leads onto way …
Look forward to reading more.
what a fantastic expression, as way leads onto way.. welcome!! looking forward to seeing your site too!.. c
Having been away on holiday for a few days, I have returned to your blog, and there is the sauerkraut that we were served with our lunches. So it’s great to see and read how it’s made. I got a big surprise looking at your daily view to see not a white cover, but green grass!
the weather is crazy! but that happens out here on the plains.. c
I’ve never really looked into how sauerkraut was made. It’s not tops on my list, but the process certainly fascinates me. The Daily View looks especially crisp today.
I will leave the sauerkraut to you. That is not one of my favorites.