Herb companion planting

Everyone always talks about companion planting of this and that vegetable or edible flowers but what about the under discussed herbs.  Without that tarragon, garlic sage or basil were would the flavors that make food savory, spicy and delicious be?

Partnering herbs with those vegetables that always steal the limelight will provide that the highest honor of supporting herb bestowed upon it.  Here is our list of herb companion plantings of some of the most common and some of the less common.

Let us know if there is others that can be added!

Basil
In the garden: Plant with tomatoes. Repels flies and mosquitoes.

Rosemary
In the garden: Plant near cabbage, beans, carrots, and sage. Deters cabbage moth, bean beetles, and carrot fly.

Parsley
In the garden: Plant near asparagus, corn, and tomatoes.

Oregano
In the garden: Good companion to all vegetables.




Mint
In the garden: Plant near cabbage and tomatoes. Deters white cabbage moth.

Marjoram
In the garden: Good companion to all vegetables.

Dill
In the garden: Plant with cabbages. Keep away from carrots.

Chives
In the garden: Plant with carrots.

Tarragon
In the garden: Good companion to most vegetables.

Thyme
In the garden: Plant near cabbage. Deters cabbage worm.

Sage

Sage
In the garden: Plant near rosemary, cabbage, and carrots; away from cucumbers. Deters cabbage moth and carrot fly.

Borage

Borage
In the garden: Plant with tomatoes, squash, and strawberries. Deters tomato worm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lovage
In the garden: Plant here and there to improve the health and flavor of other plants.

Anise
In the garden: Plant with coriander, which promotes its germination and growth.

Caraway
In the garden: Plant here and there. Loosens soil.

Chervil
In the garden: Plant with radishes.

Fennel
In the garden: Plant away from other herbs and vegetables.

Garlic
In the garden: Plant near roses and raspberries. Deters Japanese beetle.

Summer Savory
In the garden: Plant with beans and onions to improve growth and flavor.

As promised Braggot Recipes -

There have been reports of 2500 year old recipes of braggot found in celtic graves and village sites.  after a bit of digging what was found was spent grains that tested to have been malted, with other traces of honey, lavender chamomile and even goats milk.  Braggot?  No one really knows but there are several traditional recipes that are several hundred years old and below we have included some variations of those for your drinking enjoyment.

BRONZE AGE BRAGGOT BEER RECIPE From Radical Brewing

Specifications
Batch Size: 5 gallons
OG: 1.100
ABV: 12-13.5%
IBUs: none

Ingredients (Braggot Recipe All-Grain)
8 lbs. wheat malt
8 lbs. cranberry honey
1 lb. two-row malt
0.1 oz. bog myrtle
1 wintergreen Lifesaver and a few drops of liquid smoke (or a few ounces of smoked malt)
1 packet wine yeast (such as Lalvin D-47)

Ingredients (Braggot Extract Recipe) 
6 lbs. Wheat LME
8 lbs. cranberry honey
0.1 oz. bog myrtle
1 wintergreen Lifesaver and a few drops of liquid smoke (or a few ounces of smoked malt)
6 lbs. cranberries, frozen then thawed (or 1/2 gallon of pure cranberry juice)
1 packet wine yeast (such as Lalvin D-47)

Directions: For all-grain, mash the grains with 1.5 qts. of water and hold at 150°-154°F. for 60 minutes. Sparge to collect 3-4 gallons of wort and bring to a boil. (For extract, mix LME with 3 gallons water and bring to a boil.) Add the bog myrtle and boil for 60 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the Lifesaver and liquid smoke (if not using smoked malt). Mix in the honey. If needed, top off with enough clean water to make five gallons.

Cool to about 60°F., aerate, and pitch yeast. Towards the end of primary fermentation, transfer to a sanitized secondary fermenter containing the cranberries or cranberry juice. Allow to ferment for an additional 2-4 weeks, then transfer to a third fermenter and allow to clear. Traditionally, this type of braggot beer would be still, but you may carbonate if you wish.

A final word of advice: Whenever doing heavy homebrew experimentation, it’s a good idea to start with a small batch, as little as one gallon. Honey can be expensive, so it’s worth giving your braggot a few tries to get the braggot beer recipe right. You may wish to cut the above recipe in half the first time around

_________________________________________________________________________________

English Braggot

This recipe is featured in Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales & World-Altering Meditations in a Glass by Randy Mosher.

INGREDIENTS
For 5 gallons (19 l)
12 lb (5.4 kg) Amber/Biscuit malt
6 lb (2.7 kg) Pale malt
2 lb (0.9 kg) Honey
0.8 oz (23 g) Cinnamon
0.8 oz (23 g) Black or Long Pepper
0.8 oz (23 g) Chopped candied ginger
0.2 oz (6 g) Galingale
0.2 oz (6 g) Cloves
0.5 oz (14 g) Low-alpha English hop (optional)
Alcohol-tolerant English ale yeast
SPECIFICATIONS
Original Gravity: 1.104
ABV: 10.5-11.5%
DIRECTIONS
Mash grains for 60 minutes at 153-155* F. Collect wort and bring to boil. If using hops, add them to the boil kettle at the start of the 60 minute boil. Rack to primary and pitch your favorite alcohol-tolerant English ale yeast.

Add honey and spices to secondary fermenter. Mature for 8 to 12 months. This braggot can be served still or with a lower level of carbonation.

Ancient beverage that deserves the homestead attention

Braggot -Photo by Andrew Sturgis

Within the mantra of TUFI there is that deep seated desire to make all that we want, and enjoy all of
what we have and share with all that partake. In there is the tradition of producing your own tonics, wines, beers and other creative libations and teas. We often look at modern methods and try to coin a simpler method so that we can do it in our own homes, but where we fail is looking back at traditions.

When we need to consider traditional drinks we need to look at braggots, (braggets, bragot, bragaut, bracket and bragawd). A beverage that is estimated to be over 9000 years old and brings together mead and ale, along with other spices depending on the region.

Braggot is considered a medieval Europe beverage though historical notes have found a similar beverage in northern Africa and the Mediterranean areas of Spain, often featuring spices of the region in the mead wine, such as anise, cinnamon and allspice, all of which are still very common when making mead.  It is suspected that braggot is a Celtic or Norse concoction and traveled with the vikings as they ventured across Europe into Italy and Turkey, bringing with them their ale and mead.  Even Chaucer wrote of braggot in The Canterbury Tales.

Homebrewers association shares how to brew braggot

Braggot is a form of mead made with both honey and barley malt. It typically uses 1/3 or more malt and may have as much as 50% malt. It is a distinct flavor and is relatively easy to make though the addition of conflicting spices can throw it into a less than desirable beverage.

Various options are possible depending on the balance of malt and honey used, but in strict terms there should be more honey than malt to distinguish braggot from a honey beer. See honey. Braggots may be made by combining separately fermented beer and mead, or the combination may be made at the outset of brewing, with the honey added to the kettle. In addition hops and spices may be included to give the drink various flavor characteristics. Ideally hop character and bitterness should balance any residual sweetness of the honey. The source of honey also contributes to the specific character, which varies with different types of flowers frequented by the bees, and also during the year according to the seasonal nectar they gather.

Historically specific versions of braggot were also distinguished by the range of hops, herbs, and spices added, with some of these being selected by the customer in the bar. Today this is only possible if the braggot is brewed at home. Commercial braggot is now rarely seen in bars, although versions are available from adventurous craft brewers, most of them in the United States.

Like mead itself, braggot requires almost a year before it is ready to drink and typically only gets

Extract honey-ale from Home brewers talk

better with age.  Over the next few weeks we will be gathering various old age recipes for making braggot at home, and if all goes well we will brew some and include some spices from home.

In the theme of self-sufficiency we are also going to expand our overall topics to include homestead building (as we embark on building our cabin), home brewing and distillation for tonics and essential oils, more livestock topics and of course our growing, farming and canning topics.

So keep an eye on the Facebook and on the blog and as usual please share any topics of interest to you and your family on the homestead, urban or in the forest!

Are you considering meat rabbits?

Raising livestock in an urban area is often a difficult task, not necessarily due to environment or space requirements but due to restrictions in the form of local laws.

We encourage each of you to choose your own path and raise and grow what suits your families needs.  We also do not judge those who choose the path of eating meat or being a vegetarian, all of which are your own personal choices.

For those who might be thinking of raising chickens for both eggs and meat you might also be considering rabbits for meat as well, you need to be aware potential issues that might arise.

Rabbits raised for meat are one that often spurs emotional and spirited debates, and the health benefits of rabbit meat as a lean source of protein are well known, versus wild rabbit that is so lean that it could be dangerous to rely on it as a long term food source.  There are pitfalls to raising meat rabbits and today we want to share from "They are not our goats" blog why they quit raising meat rabbits.

Read on and see why meat rabbits may not be a good fit for your family.

http://www.theyrenotourgoats.com/homestead/quit-raising-meat-rabbits/

Cooking with Squirrel - A Fall homestead traditional meal

Braised Squirrel With Bacon, Mushrooms, and Pinot Noir

By Jonathan Miles September 12, 2013

Photo by Johnny Miller

“I love the sweet aroma of squirrel, and I’m surprised at most folks’ inexperience with serving the little guys,” says chef Levon Wallace, who heads up the kitchen at Proof on Main in Louisville, Ky. Wallace developed this recipe after bagging a few grays on a recent outing. “It’s a riff on coq au vin,” he explains, referring to the classic French dish of a rooster stewed in wine, “and works well for rabbit, or duck, too.”

Ingredients

- 4 squirrels, cleaned
- 1 bottle of Pinot Noir or other dry, light-bodied red wine
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp. juniper berries, cracked
- 1 tsp. black peppercorns, cracked
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 slices good-quality country bacon, cut into 1-inch dice
- 1 cup pearl onions, peeled
- 2 cups forest mushrooms (shiitake, morel, chanterelle, oyster, or your favorite variety)
- 2 small carrots, diced
- 1 large stalk celery, diced
- 1 clove garlic, smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- About 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1: Remove the hind and forelegs from each squirrel with shears. Trim the ribs away from the saddle and discard ribs. Cut the saddle in half.

2: In a large nonreactive bowl, combine half the bottle of wine with the thyme, rosemary, two bay leaves, juniper berries, peppercorns, and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the squirrel pieces and marinate for 6 to 8 hours or overnight, refrigerated.

3: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove the squirrel pieces from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the marinade. Season the pieces with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour, shaking off any excess. Transfer the floured pieces to a wire rack or plate. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the bacon, and cook until just crisp and golden brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel–lined plate. Add the squirrel pieces (in batches if necessary) and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to the plate with the bacon. Add the pearl onions and cook for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown, then add the mushrooms, carrots, celery, garlic, and remaining bay leaves. Cook for another 3 minutes, stirring. Add the reserved half bottle of wine and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pot to dislodge any tasty browned bits.

4: Return the squirrel and bacon to the mixture, stir to incorporate, and place the pot in the oven, covered. Cook for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the squirrel meat is tender but not falling off the bone. Serve immediately, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled with parsley. Serves 4

Pinot Two Ways

The same grape varietal you cooked with is the one to drink with this dish. So pick up two bottles at the store. Pinot Noir can get pricey, so for the stew, try an inexpensive bottle from New Zealand. If you want to upgrade for the drinking, look for an Oregon vintage like the 2010 St. Innocent Zenith Vineyard Pinot Noir.

From the October 2013 issue of Field & Stream magazine

Our first attempt at fermentation

Over the weekend between some gleaning of the gardens and coop cleaning and building a raku kiln for my wife's pottery, I collected up some of our smaller heads of green cabbage that had split open or were just too small to do with much with and decided to use them to make some kimchi.

While we have made sauerkraut in the past this was a little different in the sense we used a 1-1 brine (1 Tbsp. salt - 1 cup of water) solution and submerged the cabbage, carrots and diakon.  Traditionally salted cabbage is all that is used to make the sauerkraut to draw out its own water and when it is warm out it usually goes bad for us.
I ran into problems in that no two recipes for kimchi were the same, some where more of a pickle using vinegar, to me that is not conducive to fermentation.  Some didn't even provide measurements, an assumption that the authors made that could lead to failure.  After reading up in some of my fermentation guides I came to the conclusion that as long as the brine is correct to the amount of vegetables we would be good.


With four heads of cabbage in hand I removed all the damaged leaves and sent those off to the chickens, since cabbage and kale are two of their favorite things.  Loosely chopped the cabbage in to larger chunks and diced the carrots, about 1 cup, and shredded about 1 cup of diakon, placed them in an 8 cup fermentation crock and proceeded to mix 8 Tbsp. of kosher salt to 8 cups of water and cover the vegetables with the brine.  The key now is to keep the vegetable submerged in the brine so I placed a plate that was about the same diameter as the crocks opening the pressure of the brine on the surface of the plate kept it submerged.   Covered it all with a clean towel to allow it to breath and set it in the corner of the kitchen out of the sunlight but warm (around 70 degrees), this is where I have mixed information and we will update the post on the overall out come.  Some recipes call for 24-72 hours to let soak, others say 24 hours and I found several that called for 4 weeks.  We welcome any recommendation any of you might have on what you do for fermentation.  I opted for a wait and see, since I like my kimchi to have a crunch with heat ( that part is coming in a minute).

After 24 hours, and another day of garden work and some squirrel hunting I checked the vegetables and the cabbage and carrots where soft but snapped when bit so I decided now is the time to process the paste.  The paste is the part where the additional flavors are added, I opted to go with an onion, six cloves of some spicy red garlic and 8 dragon chili peppers along with a good chunk of ginger with a Tbsp of fish sauce.

Some recipes called for hand mashing, grating or food processor, I chose the food process and again this should be a paste but the onions left so much liquid it was impossible to make a paste, but the smell was wonderful.

Now we took the cabbage, diakon and carrots out of the brine using a metal colander to separate the liquid from the vegetables, make sure to set the brine to the side, you are going to need it.  Place all the vegetables in a glass bowl or metal pot, do not use plastic bowels or utensils for processing due to inviting bacteria into your mix.

Dump the paste mix into vegetables and mix thoroughly with clean utensils so that all of the vegetables are coated.  Grab yourself some of your canning jars or 1/2 gallon glass jar and pack the vegetables into the jars.

Now the key is to only pack to the fill line of the jar(s) so that there is about 1/2 inch of head space. Ladle the brine into the jar(s) to cover the vegetable, cover and shake to get the air to rise to the top and add more brine to cover if needed.  The key is to keep the vegetables submerged so you do several things, you can place a stone, (make sure it has been washed and boiled for 10 minutes) on top of the mixture to keep it packed, this is good for small pints or quart large mouth jars or if you use a 1/2 gallon pack it only half full with vegetable cover with brine and take a second jar pint size will work, fill with extra brine or water, tie a string around it and lower it into the container so that it compresses the vegetables, the sting will help you remove it later.  You can loosely close the jars or cover with a paper towel and use the ring to hold in place.  Place the jars in a container to catch any brine that leaks out during the fermentation, this should also force any air out of the containers, and place in a cool dark location for fermentation to continue.

We will continue to update this post as we progress on the fermentation and let you know of any adjustments we have to make in the mean time here are some fermentation troubleshooting tips at Makesauerkraut.com

How to save heirloom tomato seeds

1.      Cut one or two of the best tomatoes in half (not end to end but around the middle) and squeeze out the seeds and gel into a small container. We recommend a small canning jar with the ring.

2.      Label the jar with the type of seed and variety.

3.      Add 1/2 cup of water and swirl it around.

4.      Cover the jar with a cloth or paper towel to keep out fruit flies.  Be sure to secure with either a ring if a jelly jar or rubber band to keep it in place.

5.      Store the container out of the sun, for 3 to 5 days.

6.      There will be an odor as the fermenting takes place.

7.      A mold film may form on top, which is normal.

To separate the seeds

Film of mold sealing the jars

If you covered the jar with a paper towel, carefully remove the film that has grown on top of the seed and water. There will not be a film if you used a fermenting lid.

Add more water to the jar and swish it around. The best seeds and those you want to keep will sink. If you are using a fresh tomato from the garden almost every seed will be viable.

Carefully pour off water, discard floating seeds, and the bits of pulp suspended in the liquid. Repeat this process, adding more fresh water, until all the pulp is gone and you have clean seeds.

Drain them as well as you can and spread them in a single layer on a screen or a paper plate to dry. We don’t use paper towels at our house so I patted the seed dry with a muslin kitchen towel. You can use paper towels, but I’ve heard that the seeds tend to stick to them. Plastic or ceramic plates do not work well to dry your seeds. The tomato seeds need to have the water wicked away from them and that won’t happen with plastic or ceramic. If you’re saving more than one variety, be sure to label the plates.

Let the seeds dry for five to six days at room temperature in a well-ventilated place. You may want to stir the seeds with your fingers daily to break up any that are clumped together. This will help them dry quicker.

In just a few days the seed will be completely dry and ready to go into storage. Tomato seed has a very long shelf life and once dry it doesn’t need any special care. Place the dried seed in small manila envelopes or zip lock bags.  I use old yogurt containers with lids. Be sure to label the container with the date packaged.