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This Week In My Kitchen :: Blog Hop

8/7/2014

4 Comments

 
Capturing my love of whole foods, combined with the activity of a bustling kitchen.

A weekly collection of photos from the center of my home. 

*     *     *     *     *

Picture
blueberries drying {wholly rooted}
coconut water-blueberry sorbet {wholly rooted}
blueberry, peach, cherry, banana, spirulina, coconut water smoothies. {wholly rooted}
herb gathering {wholly rooted}
miso cucumber pickles in the making {wholly rooted}
tomato season {wholly rooted}
GF/DF Blueberry Upside Down Cake {wholly rooted}
blueberry mostarda {wholly rooted}

Top to bottom:: blueberries (over 20# this week), blueberries in the dehydrator for granola all winter long, blueberry-coconut water sorbet with orange blossom water, smoothies (peaches, blueberries, cherries, banana, spirulina, coconut water), gathering herbs to dry from the garden, spiralized cucumbers for making miso fermented pickles, tomato season has arrived, gluten free/dairy free blueberry upside down cake (a blueberry adapted version of this recipe), and blueberry mostarda. 

Blueberries is my theme for the week. Ha! We try to get things in season in bulk whenever we can, and then preserve enough in many ways to last the winter, of course. This week we froze a lot, dried a lot, made cake, mostarda, and a few other things. I try to freeze and dry enough fruit to last us all winter. We make smoothies all the time, plus dried fruit is amazing in homemade granola/granola bars. As for the mostarda, well, none of us really likes jam or jelly. Too sweet. We don't eat bread. So no need to make it. But, mostarda is amazing. I make tweaked versions of mostarda. Usually it is big whole fruit which is sweet and twangy and savory all at once. I like it more like a compote mustard texture. It has the flavor of the fruit, a lot of mustard seeds, the richness of the vinegar (in this I used raspberry balsamic), and isn't too sweet. I usually make several kinds to last us through winter - blueberry, peach, white currant. 

Tomato season is here finally as well. Time to dry a bunch, roast a lot, make salsa to freeze (I like the freshness of frozen salsa more than canned), and later, sauce. We don't use that much sauce these days, so I prefer drying and salsa the most. Cucumbers are here too. This is another one we use differently. We are not huge fans of pickles. Just regular pickles. We make a few bags of freezer pickles every year, plus a few jars of lacto fermented garlic pickles, but overall I like relishes and unusual flavors better. This week I made miso fermented refrigerator pickles. Almost ready to crack them open for a taste!

Door County Cherries should be in soon, so I will have more fruit after this batch. And we will be up to our noses in tomatoes. 


How about you? What has been happening in your kitchen this week?


Be sure to visit Heather at Beauty that Moves for all of the Blog Hop-ees.




4 Comments
Ock Du Spock link
8/7/2014 01:40:42 pm

I can't get enough of all these gorgeous berries! Love seeing your dehydrator in action. I really must get myself one of those!!

Reply
My Simple Life link
8/8/2014 01:19:54 am

all your food looks delicious. love blueberries!!!
have a nice time,
regina

Reply
shannon link
8/8/2014 02:16:57 am

Oh, man, blueberry time really is the best time. I'm intrigued by mostarda and will have to do some research, as we'll be picking more berries this weekend. I did make jam, but we don't use sugar. We use just enough honey to take the tart away and the result is jam that tastes like fruit rather than candy (imagine that!). We are still patiently waiting for tomatoes here...

Reply
Angela link
8/8/2014 02:35:26 am

I didn't know that you could freeze salsa. If I had, I would have done that when I started to make my own (but the recipe made too much). :) I'll have to try that.

I envy your food out of the garden. I had high hopes this year, and planted quite a bit, but some of them were eaten in seedling form, and the weather hasn't been good for them. I haven't fertilized as much as I should, due to stresses at home. I'm hoping to salvage things this month, and get more out of it than it looks like I will, at this time.

Reply



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    whollyrooted.com

    denise cusack

    I am a certified aromatherapist, clinical herbalist, permaculture designer,  organic gardener, plant conservationist, photographer, writer, designer, artist, nature lover,  health justice activist, whole foods maker, and mother of two young adults  in south central Wisconsin. 

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  • Home
  • About
    • About Our Family
    • About Denise Cusack
    • Sustainable Practices >
      • Plant Conservation/Botanical Sanctuary
  • Analu Perfume
    • Analu Perfume for Good
    • Natural Perfumery
  • What I Do
    • Health Justice + Mutual Aid >
      • Seed Grants & Donation Distribution Network
      • Grow Herbs for HWB
      • Volunteer With Us
    • Regenerative Herbalism & Aromatherapy
    • Permaculture Education
  • My Work
    • Teaching/Speaking >
      • Upcoming Presentations
      • Past Webinars, Podcasts & Classes
    • Writing
    • Clinical Aromatherapy
    • Clinical Herbalism
    • Flower Essences
    • Freebies
    • Other Work >
      • Where We Are Located
      • What I'm Reading
      • Unschooling
      • Denise Art
  • Blog
    • Blog Archive
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      • Food + Pantry
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