Another busy day for the both of us. I have been in the kitchen, and, Ivan, with Enrique.
I started by doing the usual sourdough starter feeding, then, went in search of my box of Einkorn wheat berries. I am in the mood to sprout, then dehydrate them, making them shelf stable for years to come.
I am soaking them overnight, then, will drain them, tomorrow, and place a mesh cap over the top of the jar. The jar is laid on its side and rotated daily, until the berries sprout, only a few days after starting.
After they sprout, I will put them in our Breville Smart Oven, on the dehydrate setting, for a few hours, until they are completely dried. After that, I will have to learn how to use them in bread making.
They are the “original”, ancient wheat berries, several thousands of years old, and, completely unmolested. The berry is actually a single grain, not the double grains of the current, genetically engineered wheat berries.
The modern grain of wheat has been modified for a couple of reasons; it has triple the amount of wheat berries on each stalk as it had originally, because of the need to mass produce bread for the US, in the forties, and, fifties; to grow lower to the ground, because the weight of the grains had a tendency to cause the shaft to fall over, spoiling the wheat, plus, the farming equipment necessary to harvest it is also low to the ground.
Einkorn wheat is able to grow taller as there are so few grains on each shaft, but are harvested with a combine, just like regular wheat.
What else did I do today, you ask? I finished our “fermentation station”. You already know about the kombucha batches, (though the bottles are almost invisible on the counter), I have added the jars of vegetables I am fermenting to the top shelf. Surprisingly enough, each jar contains just the vegetables, water, and salt. Each jar is weighed- the vegetables, plus the amount of water, then multiplied by two point five percent, which equals the amount of salt needed to ferment each jar. The veg needs to be completely submerged in the water; anything above the water will spoil, possibly spoiling the whole jar.
From left to right are two jars of Roma tomatoes with onion, garlic, and rosemary. The next jar contains cherry tomatoes with the same onions, garlic, and rosemary. The fourth jar has yellow and green peppers. The fifth jar has grape tomatoes, purple onions, and rosemary. The next jar is the Einkorn berries, then the sauerkraut. Neat, huh?
Last, but hardly the least important, are the EGG BITES!! Yessiree, I made fourteen of the little gems, and cannot wait until I can have one, or two, tomorrow morning.
E is spending the night tonight as he has been having blood pressure issues today; he should be better in the morning.
Until we know for sure, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.