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
The Kitchen's Garden 
51 responses to “Drinking from Puddles and making Sauerkraut with Whey”
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!
There is always something to learn with your posts C – thank you!
🙂 Mandy xo
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