We made a batch of sauerkraut this week. Jeff and I both commented it was some of the most beautiful cabbage that we’d ever had the pleasure of working with. (Thanks Jean!) Some of the heads were really huge. One morning I brought some of the big cabbages out into the yard to take pictures of before we turned them into kraut (it’s challenging to get decent pictures inside our house sometimes) and Bracken went over and tried to lift them up. Some he could hardly lift, but he wanted to try anyway. Jeff washed our ten gallon crock and then let it dry out in the sunshine. Later we got busy cutting up cabbage, Jeff and I each with our own cutting board working at the same time, while Bracken washed dishes in the sink. 

Last week, when we knew we were going to make some sauerkraut, Jeff went online to order some of the culture we like to use (like I wrote about in this post.) They were sold out on all the websites where we usually order it. That happens sometimes. Jeff and I seemed to vaguely recall that we had seen it somewhere in Eugene before. We called around to some health food stores with no luck, people didn’t even know what we were talking about. But then I called Sundance Natural Foods and was so happy to discover that they carry the culture there. (I wanted to mention that for you locals who might be looking for some.) They even reserved one for me with my name on it, so it wouldn’t sell out before I got there. Bracken and I swung by on Saturday and picked it up. We’re pretty hooked on using that particular culture. It just makes the sauerkraut taste so good and we love the results. I don’t think we are going to need to ferment our sauerkraut for as long as we usually do this time because it’s been so hot here and the temperature in our kitchen is warmer than usual so the fermentation will happen quicker. That’s good because we don’t want to wait long. We have some homegrown garlic that will be going in this batch when we jar it up.

Jeff has been making sun tea almost every day. Bracken loves to help him with this. They throw in a bunch of garden herbs, especially mint. Cold herb tea from the fridge is so wonderful on these hot days. For some reason, hot weather makes me feel not as hungry. Does that happen to you? We’ve been watering the garden in the evenings most days and then by the time that’s finished, I’ve been wanting something quick and easy for dinner. We eat a late breakfast (it’s usually our biggest meal of the day), a late lunch (because we wait until Bracken wakes up from his nap), and a late dinner. So, by that time, it’s getting late. (I guess I already said that.) We already had a late lunch so we just need something light, yet nourishing for dinner. Jeff had a great idea recently to make a smoothie for dinner. He really started something around here. On these hot days, we all feel in the mood for a smoothie for dinner. Dinner’s ready in a jiffy and we all love them. We’ve been making smoothies with coconut milk (I’m curious to try the coconut cream concentrate from Tropical Traditions, ideally I’d like to switch to that) and frozen blueberries. We add raw egg yolks for the incredible nourishment they provide and usually add some superfoods: bee pollen, coconut oil, chorella, and coral calcium, to name a few. (We need to get some nutritional yeast, I love that in smoothies.) It’s so nice to have something that tastes so good and is so good for you at the same time. I don’t have to try to get Bracken to finish his dinner before we have dessert, since it’s a meal and dessert in one, and Bracken likes it so much he practically licks out the inside of his glass every time! 

This morning we harvested our very first zucchini. It’s the turning point where all that watering we’ve been doing in the garden starts to feed us daily. …So, that’s just a few end of July things around here. What about where you are?