Brussels Sprouts

In early July, when both the farmers market and my garden began really producing, I decided to see how long our family could go eating only locally produced vegetables.  I was surprised at how easy it was this summer.  We were still harvesting kale and chard in the garden up until that snowstorm just before Thanksgiving.  We stocked up on sweet potatoes and other vegetables for Thanksgiving dinner before the farmers market closed for the season.  (Thanks to Muddy Pumpkin Farms for telling me to store my sweet potatoes on the counter.  Before, mine were always molding in the refrigerator.)  I don’t think we will last year round, but it is a fun experiment, and I’ll keep you posted on our progress.  We have made two exceptions so far: salsa (we eat far more than I could possibly can myself and stay cheerful) and brussels sprouts.  This is the story of the brussels sprouts. 

On the last day of the farmers market this fall, DC Gardens had a basket full of two foot tall sticks loaded with brussels sprouts.  None of us had ever eaten them before so we purchased one to try.  My children had no prior knowledge of brussels sprouts; no idea that they might be a yucky vegetable.  They thought this new staff full of food was fabulous.  It soon became a walking stick and later a light saber.  There were arguments over who got to carry it.  On the drive home, they asked if I would cook it as soon as we got home.  They couldn’t wait! 

Recently while grocery shopping, my children pointed out the brussels sprouts for sale in the produce aisle.  They were so excited after that first experience and asked if we could get a bunch.  Personal challenge aside, I had a hard time imagining a situation where “No” could possibly be the correct answer to small children asking for vegetables.  We bought the brussels sprouts. I am so thankful to the farmers market for all the help I get there with helping my children to eat and even enjoy vegetables. 

So we have eaten brussels sprouts twice now, and the kids were so excited for them both times.  I admit that they have not asked for seconds.  I think they aren’t actually very excited about the taste, though I wouldn’t dare ask them.  They are convinced that brussels sprouts are amazing and fun.  Who am I to question it?  You can be sure that brussels sprouts will be the newest, coolest plant in our garden next summer.

John Gomez, who lives in the Black Hills, sent us this article:

Here in the Hills, our deer season is basically the month of November. For me, I really don’t start thinking about hunting until Thanksgiving rolls around. The four day weekend is a perfect time to spend some real quality time in the woods. I went out once during the week and then again Thanksgiving morning. I had no success but I was okay with that, you really don’t want to take a deer without properly spending some good hours walking the woods and earning it. But now it was Friday, and I needed to fill my tag.  Besides, I wanted to make some deer jerky over the weekend. This time I brought along a friend and, midway through the morning, we were driving back with a nice three year old doe.

My friend helped me process the deer.  Right there in my garage, I pondered how this deer was probably born and lived within 50 miles of my house. It is a product of the Black Hills and it is a source of lean healthy food. Being aware of the importance of local foods, I’m glad that this deer was grown and would be consumed locally.

For the jerky,  I sliced the meat in three inch long strips about ¼” wide. I processed about ten pounds for jerky and another ten pounds I set aside for deer sausage. I also kept the tenderloins to use as steaks.

For thousands of years people have been drying meats. Now was my time to partake in this food tradition. Venison, being that it is a lean meat, is a good choice for jerky. I had dabbled with it in the past and everyone in my family seemed to enjoy it. This year I was going to home in on the best recipes and techniques for producing tasty jerky.

Jerky – Four Ways

I decided to try the jerky in two flavors, a salt-based dry cure (High Mountain Mesquite  Jerky Cure – Cabela’s $6.99)  and a Worcestershire and soy sauce-based wet marinade. I was curious to see how each would perform in taste and texture. Furthermore, I tried each of the two recipes on two drying methods – a dehydrator and a smoker. With that, my experiment was set. I spent Saturday and Sunday prepping and drying. The recipes are easy and even though it takes all weekend for a finished food, the process is surprisingly simple.

The results? I loved the taste of the Worcestershire marinade as cooked in the smoker. However, I decided to be a bit more scientific about it and proceeded to conduct a blind taste test with a few of my neighbors and family. The results were a little surprising. It seems that the dehydrated mesquite dry cure jerky was more liked than the Worcestershire flavor. However, the latter flavor was preferred when dried by the smoker. It seems that the wet marinade produced a very tasty glaze flavor on the smoker that could not be achieved in the dehydrator.

Next year I’ll try it again. For now, we’ll have a snack to carry us through the end of the year. I find that when it comes to jerky it is very much like potato chips, once you eat one you really can’t stop. As I write this, I’m chewing on a piece. How do you know when to stop eating? I guess your jaw will let you know!

Trudy Draskovic, who sells canned foods and fresh herbs at the Black Hills Farmers Market, is offering a class called “Fermentation Fun.” She will teach students the fine art of making pickles and sauerkraut and show how microbes under the right condition will preserve food instead of causing it to spoil. In the case of sauerkraut (German for sour cabbage) the sugar in shredded cabbage is consumed by certain bacteria that produce as a byproduct lactic acid. That acid prevents the accumulation of other bacteria that would cause the food to spoil. Pickles are made with the same process.

But it’s not that easy. As in any chemical process the right combination of ingredients and the right containers and the right temperatures and the right amount of time contribute to success. That’s where Trudy comes in. Trudy is a perfectionist. Take it from me. I have tasted many of her products, and they are first rate. Like many who reach a state of perfection Trudy does a lot of reading and a lot of experimenting. As she puts it, “I experiment with the strength of the brine of my fermented pickles so that I can arrive at the freshest, best, crunchiest pickle that I can create!”

At the same time, she removes the mystery. “ I want food preservation to be simple, economical, and do-able for everyone. No matter where you are on the scale of experience, I can meet you there and it will not be complicated. You can buy all the best, most expensive equipment, or you can use a Ball canning jar, or you can recycle a spaghetti sauce jar.”

The class will be held at the Red Barn Farmers Market in Spearfish on Monday, November 14, at 6 p.m. The Red Barn is at the end of Evans Lane in the Crow Peak Brewery parking area. For more information you can contact Trudy at dill@knology.net.

As we approach the end of the fall harvest season, it’s time to think about buying out the farmers and storing as much as we can in our basements, garages, and root cellars. Winter squash, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, onions, garlic, and apples all keep well in a cool space. Ripe tomatoes must be canned, but green ones, wrapped in paper, will keep. For more on saving green tomatoes, click here.

The University of Minnesota Extension Office has an excellent website describing what to store and where and how. For those lucky enough to have a root cellar and for anyone planning to create one, the book Root Cellaring is recommended. Window wells work, too. Check Barb’s post on that.

October 29 is the last day for the Back Hills Farmers Market. Bring lots of cash, stock up, and enjoy the bounty through the winter.

This fall, I skimmed books looking for ways to put up the bounty of fresh foods from the garden, CSA, and farmers market.  I had heaps of root vegetables in my kitchen and not enough freezer space for all of them.  In past years, I have tried with decent success leaving my root vegetables in the ground covered with blankets or mulch to harvest during the winter.  But I soon figured out that it is just no fun harvesting vegetables in the cold and snow.  So this year I have been experimenting with root cellaring my vegetables.  I got the ideas from the book, Stocking Up by Carol Hupping.  This book is a wonderful how-to book filled with recipes and techniques for preserving your harvest as well as processing dairy into yogurt, cheese, etc., preserving meats, and using grains and sprouts. 

For my easy root cellar, I have filled a Styrofoam cooler with carrots and parsnips and have it stored in my egress window.  The earth, house, and cooler keep them from freezing and winter keeps them cool.  When it is cold outside, the window well stays about 10 degrees warmer than the outside air.  The cooler provides additional insulation so that my vegetables have not frozen so far.  I’m not planning to use my coolers for any winter picnics anyway.  The book also recommended laying damp burlap between the layers.  I didn’t have any, so I used moist sand in the bottom and damp plain paper between layers.  The vegetables are still crisp and in great condition.  In addition, I have easy access to my vegetables by simply opening my basement window.    

Less successful was my attempt to store leafy vegetables in my egress window.  The book suggested that I could keep celery and kale if I dug the plants up and kept them potted in moist sand.  Perhaps this would work if I had babied them and watered them often.  But for me, it is much simpler to freeze my leafy vegetables in the space I no longer need for root vegetables.

Stocking Up recommends using a different container for each kind of fruit or vegetable.  Apples or strong vegetables such as cabbage especially need to be stored separately from other foods.  It provides details that I have not yet mastered for ensuring both good air circulation and adequate humidity for your stored foods.  So far, my vegetables are staying fresh, so I am assuming that my trips to fetch a parsnip from the cooler are giving it as much air circulation as it needs.  I may need to fine tune next year when I attempt storing a larger selection of produce.  I started small this year, unsure if it would work.  But I have been surprised at how easily a cooler in my basement window well has stored my vegetables, and I’m looking forward to storing a larger selection next fall.