Comments for The Herbangardener

Comment on Gratitude Sunday * February 19, 2012 by Lindsey

Lindsey — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:39:56 +0000

Hi Taryn!
Glad you’ve gotten to spend time with your mom & grandma
IKEA is a huge, fairly inexpensive Swedish furniture & housewares store that makes good design available to the masses; they have IKEAs worldwide. They also have a cafe with yummy food

Love to you!
Lindsey

Comment on Gratitude Sunday * February 19, 2012 by Trish

Trish — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:28:48 +0000

Oh how I love your Valentines meal with your parents…so lovely. All your gratitudes are lovely…I’ve never been to Ikea, I must go one day. I love your table by the window.
Stay warm beautiful lady, and have a wonderful week.x

Comment on Gratitude Sunday * February 19, 2012 by Taryn Kae Wilson

Taryn Kae Wilson — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:06:48 +0000

Hi Lindsey!
Love your sweet list!

Just getting online while my mom and grandma run a quick errand. They are leaving tomorrow. I’ve been spending all my time with them and have hardly been online. I was excited to check my e-mail and read your list, since I look forward to it every week.

Audio books are so fun.

The Valentine’s table is so beautiful. Sounded like a wonderful celebration.

What is IKEA? I’ve heard of it before, but don’t know what they have.

I’m so glad you got that piece of furniture that works just right for what you were needing! How wonderful!

Those roses from your hubby are beautiful!

Thanks for your sweet comments. They always make me smile.

So Much Love,
Taryn

Comment on Gratitude Sunday * February 19, 2012 by Lindsey

Lindsey — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:25:54 +0000

Hi Aja,
Yes I’m always cold! I must try your oil tip!

Hope you’re well,
Lindsey

Comment on Gratitude Sunday * February 19, 2012 by Aja

Aja — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:43:02 +0000

What a delicious looking and sounding list I love how your lists always include things about being warm. Are you cold a lot? I run cold all the time. There is something I do in winter to stay warm, from the ayurvedic tradition – at night before bed, I massage my feet with oil. Can be any oil you have in the kitchen – olive, sunflower, etc. It helps calm “vata” energy, keeps the body warmer throughout the night and just feels really nice

Comment on Minnestrone Soup by snowpeas

snowpeas — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:42:53 +0000

This looks like a winner!! Thanks for posting it in chilly FEBruary! <3<3

Comment on Minnestrone Soup by Trish

Trish — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:21:16 +0000

This sounds great…I will be making this for sure.
I made a simple lentil soup today ( onions, carrots, potato, frozen peas, lentils, veg stock and curry powder ), it was delicious…
Hope your weekend has been lovely.xxx

Comment on How to Make Beet Kvass by Lindsey

Lindsey — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 23:05:21 +0000

Hi Rachel!
So glad my blog is helpful! Yay. (Thank you!)

The salt in beet kvass: I find that it tastes too salty when you first brew it up, but once it’s finished fermenting the saltiness has magically tempered itself (at least to me). I don’t know why, perhaps because some has soaked into the beets themselves therefore making the saltiness of the entire thing less harsh than it was at the start. But if it’s too salty for you, definitely reduce the salt — there are no hard & fast rules regarding how much salt you use. Less salt sometimes means you’ll have to contend with a little more kahm yeast (the white film that may or may not appear on top of your ferments), but if you keep scraping it off, it’s not a big deal. Then again, there may NOT be more kahm yeast, especially in winter where everything is cooler and goes more slowly.
In other words, bend the recipe to your liking

And yeah! You can definitely make anything fermented, including kvass, without the whey. The whey will speed up the process, but it’s not necessary.

The lactobacillus bacteria is on the beets themselves. It’s pretty much everywhere actually… all veggies, fruits, etc. Probably in the air, too.

And yeah, it’s kinda similar to kombucha where the (in this case) bacteria feed on the sugars in the beets, producing lactic acid as the byproduct and creating the sourness.

Good luck with that kvass!!

Lindsey

Comment on Make Your Own Bubbies Pickles by Lindsey

Lindsey — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:03:20 +0000

Mr Delicious, Thanks for these ongoing updates! That’s helpful, and I’m very curious if the garlic trick works; have you tried it?
Cheers!
Lindsey

Comment on How to Make Beet Kvass by Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:44:27 +0000

Hi Lindsay,
I discovered your wonderful blog because of Beet Kvass… I was reading the recipe in Nourishing Traditions and wanted more detail. Sally Fallon does a wonderful job, but couldn’t possibly capture all of the possible variations or permutations of her recipes… So, thank you so much for the step-by-step, the photos illustrations and the extra tips explanations!
So, two questions for you about Beet Kvass:
It’s Really salty. How salty is yours? My secondary batch was a bit better cuz it was diluted. Just wondering about the science of the salt and how much is really necessary. Some salt does balance out the sweetness and the tanginess.
Other question is about the fermentation. Just above you discussed that it’s not necessary to add the yogurt whey – that’s great news! I just had an acquaintance over to make kombucha tea together and when I learned she loved beets I offered her some Beet Kvass that’s been brewing in my kitchen, not knowing she had a lactose issue — OOOPS!! Made her feel flushed, but fortunately she was OK. I would love to make it up to her by making her a batch of Beet Kvass without the whey. So is the bacteria just in the air or on the beets or in the soil? I will be patient!
By the way, is it like Kombucha where the yeast is supposed to eat up all the sugar, then you know it’s Ready?