Sauerkraut, that is.
The correct answer, of course, is “when you have to hold your breath walking through the garage because of the stench”. It reached that point last week, but I put off dealing with it until today. It’s an icky, rainy day in the northwest, too nasty to do much else, so I figured I might as well put this in jars and in the refrigerator. At first I thought I’d put this up in quart jars, but it appears to be the wrong time of year to buy canning jars around here. Currently John is out foraging for a gallon glass jug, but here’s the interim solution:
I’m pretty sure that storing this stuff in plastic will doom the plastic containers to smell like sauerkraut forever, but so be it. I never really talked about what you do with this stuff once you get it in your crock. Periodically during the brining process, oh, about once a week when I remembered, I took the rock out, then scooped out some of the nasty liquid on top, along with whatever yucky stuff had started to grow, then the plate. I mixed the kraut up a bit, added a bit more fresh brine, mixed again, then washed the plate and the rock and replaced. I haven’t tasted it yet, since I’m a bit of a stickler about food poisoning, so I’ll plan on heating it up as I use it. It looks and smells like a fine batch of kraut, however. It’s just that a gallon or so of it is a bit overwhelming all at once. Tonight’s dinner is sausages and kraut, I’ll report back if we survive.
OK, John just sent me a photo from Target. John and Tar-zhay save the day!
On the knitting front, I’m still working on the Passionately Pink Surprise Baby Present. (I’m going to have to pick a name and stick to it at some point.) I better get on it, since the recipient was born earlier today! I have a new grand-niece, Rowan Annabelle! I don’t have a photo yet, but I hear tell she is gorgeous.
I hope everyone’s holiday season is going well. We had a fairly low key weekend, since I had to work. I was pretty grumpy about the whole thing, but to put a positive spin on it, at least I have a job and don’t have to live in a box under the bridge. Where the hell would I ever keep all the yarn?
We did have the annual Solstice friends and neighbors gathering this year. It was quite a festive event. I made cassoulet, which I’ve never done before. Rather than putting up a billion photos here, I’ll just link the Picasa photo album that John put together. Let’s just say that our coronaries all probably took a hit from the duck fat and sausage load.
Well, the guy with the kraut jar is home, so I’m off to finish that project. Next time, maybe some actual knitting!
Rowan Annabelle! She has a knitting-related name! 😉 Annabelle is in my bank of ‘future cat names,’ too, since at this point it’s highly unlikely that I will ever be selecting a human baby name.
And good luck with the kraut….
Very funny saga on the kraut. I think I’ll pass on that one. (har har) New baby! Very exciting. Get crackin’ on that Pink Thing. (Say she who still owes a baby present two weeks after the birth.)
Wow! What an amazing dinner. You must have been cooking for a week. It all looks so wonderful. What was the recipe for the pink vichyssoise? My mouth is watering.
You have a grand-niece named after a great yarn brand — how cool!
I remember having to put a weight on the top of the kraut jar. Is that still done?
Congrats on the birth of Rowan Annabelle. What a delightful name.
Wowee, what a meal you served.
Great name! I can’t wait to hear how you like the kraut…I may be harassing you for the fine details as we eat quite a bit of it through the year.
Well, if you did have to live under a bridge, all the yarn would keep you warm 😎 (As you may have noticed, I am way behind on my blog reading – 2nd holiday season in a row with medical emergencies [my John this time not me – not sure which is worse – one of my daughters said I should buy lottery tickets next December because our luck has to improve!] & visit of one of the grands (his brother & sister were oh so jealous that he got to spend a whole week alone with us & go to the big Sue 10th Anniversary exhibit at the Field Museum) & then taking him home to Baton Rouge on Amtrak (he refuses to fly.) Things finally seem to be slowing down.