Choosing a Preservation Method—Canning or Freezing?
Soirée with The Sauce
Freezing is quick and easy—I understand why folks are fans. Chop green peppers, put in plastic bags, and toss in the freezer. Blanch and peel tomatoes, pack in freezer-safe containers, and stash in freezer. No doubt that freezing has a place in a preservation kitchen. I prefer to use a freezer as one of several preservation methods and not rely on it heavily. A freezer failing would make me sad and freezers fail from time to time. Instagram: Website: Producer: Recorded in beautiful Hampshire, Tennessee Try a Podcasting 2.0 Certified app: - - - - - In my freezer I stash, chopped bell...
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Turmeric Paste Perpetual Ferment
Soirée with The Sauce
Perpetual ferments like nuka pickling beds and pao cai are wonderful because they allow one to add and remove vegetables (and fruits) as needed to ferment then enjoy—fermented turmeric paste is another perpetual ferment. I love having the turmeric paste around as we are a household of two and having one jar of paste around is perfect for adding a handful of vegetables to then enjoy. It’s perfect when you have a radish or an apple or a couple cucumbers. The first step to all this convenient fermentation is to ferment the paste. Following ’s lead in ’s Fermentation Journeys, combine 400...
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Care of the Homestead Septic Tank
Soirée with The Sauce
Complete show notes: Recommended reading: Lloyd Kahn’s The Septic Tank Owner’s Manual. Shelter Publications, 2017. Or start with the tons of free information: Some recommendations: Use grey water friendly products. This is good practice to get ready for having a grey water system or moving to a rural area with a septic tank. The major consideration is sodium and boron (borax) as ingredients. Learn more about grey water: or Instagram: Website: Producer: Marina Darling Recorded in beautiful Hampshire, Tennessee Try a Podcasting 2.0 Certified app: - - - - -
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Garden Happiness
Soirée with The Sauce
Complete show notes: In 2008 there was flurry of folks starting gardens and again in 2020—both coupled with a run on canning jars. A gardener needs jars to put up the harvest—so do plan for a garden doing well—if not this year then next year. Buy canning jars and other preservation equipment and ingredients well ahead of canning season. Instagram: Website: My garden book recommendations: My favorite garden book: Alys Fowler's Garden Anywhere: How to grow gorgeous container gardens, herb gardens, kitchen gardens, and more—without spending a fortune. Chronicle Books, 2009. If...
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Cheesemaking Philosophy & Learning to Make Cheese
Soirée with The Sauce
I love cheesemaking. When I first learned to make cheese in 1991, I didn’t think or know that I should be scared or concerned about doing it wrong. I was raised with a can do attitude, just do it, learn, learn more, then down the road master it or at least be better at it. There are risks but cheeses often tell us we screwed up. Bloated, bouncy cheeses are obvious for example. Off colors and undesirable textures and smells are also obvious. Quite unlike Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism, hanging out with nary a sign of its paralyzing presence looming in a jars of home canned food,...
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Stocking the Homestead Pantry
Soirée with The Sauce
Food is expensive and stocking the homestead pantry with bulk food, buying food on sale, and other strategies is a good thing—but pantry pest infestations can be devastating and expensive. In this episode I share my considerations for storing food and stocking up. My favorite storage containers other than glass mason jars with metal lid and ring or fancy plastic lids like Mason Tops lids are Vittles Vaults. Vittles Vaults are made by Gamma 2 in San Diego. They are large food grade plastic containers (BPA-free) that are suitable for storing large quantities (50 pounds or more) of flours,...
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Ditching Urban Life
Soirée with The Sauce
After a multiyear hiatus, Soirée is back and switched things up. Permaculture Velocity is now Soirée with The Sauce. In this episode I share why we moved to rural Tennessee from San Diego and some of the big considerations if you are thinking about ditching the urban grind and moving to the country. Try a Podcasting 2.0 Certified app: - - - - - Thank you for suggesting “the sauce” as that spurred the podcast name change that was long overdue. xoxo The sauce isn’t really a saucy sauce but a tasty, umani punch of flavor, dry seasoning blend of dehydrated natto, sesame seeds,...
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The Best Breeds for the Backyard Flock - PVP44
Soirée with The Sauce
Of all the chicken breeds, which are good choices for a backyard flock?
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Understanding Seeds: Heirloom, Open Pollinated, & F1 - PVP43
Soirée with The Sauce
So many seeds, so many misunderstandings!
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Making Salves, Creams, & Lip Balms - PVP42
Soirée with The Sauce
Some products require special equipment, fancy ingredients, and so forth. These simple products are easy and economical. Each can easily be made as fancy as you like!
info_outlinePerpetual ferments like nuka pickling beds and pao cai are wonderful because they allow one to add and remove vegetables (and fruits) as needed to ferment then enjoy—fermented turmeric paste is another perpetual ferment.
I love having the turmeric paste around as we are a household of two and having one jar of paste around is perfect for adding a handful of vegetables to then enjoy. It’s perfect when you have a radish or an apple or a couple cucumbers.
The first step to all this convenient fermentation is to ferment the paste. Following Adam James’s lead in Sandor Katz’s Fermentation Journeys, combine 400 grams turmeric root, 400 grams turnips, 300 grams peeled garlic, and add 4% salt in a blender and blitz until it’s a paste. I found that using my food processor didn’t yield a paste.
I then fermented the paste in a 3 liter jar for nearly six weeks because I forgot—it was during winter so it would’ve taken a bit longer to be happy. I didn’t stir as the recipe indicated due to the same forgetfulness—there was some darkening on the top of the paste—but it was fermenting along happily and smelled terrific.
Now the turmeric paste is happy and ready to accept foods to be fermented. I found that I love the dramatic presentation of turnips, radishes, yellow or brown onions, grapes, apples, pears and Asian pears, and cucumbers. In the summer time they are usually tasty wonderful after 3 or 4 days—in the winter it takes a week or two.
I’ve found that if I need to add to the jar because the paste is running low or needs more salt, I make a half batch or so—adjusting the salt as needed—and add it to the existing paste. Stir and resume using the paste after a few days.
While I am sure that the creative culinary folks will have lots of ideas about using the turmeric paste for cooking or adding to other ferments, I always use it to get a curry kicked off. It’s more than half way there—sauté some garlic, ginger, etc. add the paste, and add a can or two of coconut milk. Done. Add tofu or meat if you like. Dinner on the quick along with some noodles or rice.
Instagram: Soirée-Leone Website: soireeleone.com
Producer: Marina Darling
Recorded in beautiful Hampshire, Tennessee
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