The Vegetarian's Bible: 350 Quick, Practical, and Nutritious Recipes

Vegetarian diet

Vegetarian food is more popular than ever. More and more people are choosing to eat vegetarian food for the sake of the environment. In addition, one researcher after another has confirmed how important it is to eat vegetables that are filled with antioxidants and other nutritional agents that are good for us.

That vegetarian food is the purest food we can eat—since vegetables are found at the bottom of the food chain—is just a bonus. Above that, vegetarian food is fresh, beautiful, and, most of all, tasty.

THERE ARE MANY REASONS to choose a vegetarian diet. Today, more and more people want to eat vegetarian food because of environmental reasons. A lot of people choose a vegetarian diet for ethical reasons and others for health reasons. Vegetarians are reported to suffer less from heart and vascular diseases, diabetes, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. Vegetarians—in particular, vegans—generally weigh less than people of a mixed diet and have lower blood pressure and cholesterol values.

Purer food. Since vegetables are at the bottom of the food chain, they collect less environmental toxins than animals that are higher up in the chain. In other words, a vegetarian diet contains fewer heavy metals and toxins like PCB and DDT.

Ethical reasons. Many people, especially young people, refuse to take part in other creatures' suffering or deaths for our sake. Most animals today live under terrible conditions in animal industries.

Economical reasons. If you mainly cook food from beans, grains, root vegetables, and seasonal vegetables and fruits, stay away from processed goods, and sprout and create your own source of protein, like tempeh (see p. 110), it will turn out a lot cheaper to eat vegetarian food.

VEGETARIAN DIETS

A super diet that is right for everyone does not exist. Each and every person has to feel and try out a diet that fits them the best. A person who does not eat meat and fish is generally called a vegetarian. But there are different types of vegetarian diets.

A vegan diet only includes nutrients from the plant kingdom like grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits. Many people become vegans because they choose to not participate in killing animals. They also avoid all products that in any way derive from exploited animals, like wool and honey as well as the leather found in shoes, boots, and jackets. All vegan recipes in this book are marked with Vegan.

Frugivore diet. Frugivores are vegans that let the plants live through their whole cycle. They only eat the plants' own harvest, like fruit, berries, grains, and nuts and also vegetable fruits, like tomatoes, bell peppers, peas, and cucumbers.

Raw food is becoming increasingly more popular. This diet is restricted to berries, fruit, vegetables, root vegetables, seeds, nuts, algae, green shoots, sprouts, and cold pressed oils as well as spices that are heated to a maximum of 107.6°F (42°C). Sweetening is only done with dried fruit and small amounts of agave syrup and honey.

This makes the food very nutritional and allows all of the enzymes to remain in the food. Raw food is easy to digest and does not burden your body as much as regular food. Raw food enthusiasts also claim that the food contains more life energy, and it makes them feel more alert and energized. All the raw food recipes in this book are labeled with Raw.

Lacto-vegetarian diet. Lacto comes from lac, which means milk in Latin. In addition to all vegetables, this diet also contains dairy products, like milk, butter, and cheese. All lacto-vegetarian recipes are labeled with Lacto.

Lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. Ovum means egg in Latin. The diet contains the same food as above, but also eggs. All lacto-ovo vegetarian recipes are labeled with Lacto-ovo.

Demi-vegetarians are a growing group of people that are not really vegetarians. Their diet consists of the same food as above, but they also eat fish and seafood.

Macrobiotic diet. Macrobiotic means big life and has its origin in the Far East. It is based on the principle of yin and yang, which are the universe’s opposite yet interdependent forces, and the key is to find balance between them through diet. Grains are considered to be the most balanced nutrients.

A macrobiotic diet is 50 percent cooked grains and whole wheat products, 25 to 30 percent vegetables and root vegetables, 10 to 15 percent legumes, and a small amount fruit, algae, and fish.

The Ayurvedic diet is about 3,000 years old and comes from the Indian Vedas. According to Ayurvedic thinking, we are born with a certain elementary constitution. The three basic types are vata, pitta, or kapha. You can also be a combination of two or all three basic types.

A vata and pitta have a high metabolism and need to eat a steady breakfast and more cooked food. Vata and pitta get easily excited and easily get an upset stomach. It is particularly important for them to eat in a peaceful environment. A kapha has a slower metabolism and should eat a light breakfast and more raw food. A kapha also needs to drink more to speed up the circulation in their body.

Eco-friendly guide

Food does not need to be one of our biggest climate villains. Food represents over one-fourth of our climate impact. If we all threw away less food, bought less junk food and bottled water, and ate more seasonally, we could easily affect our food impact on the climate by half.

To eat seasonally is not a limitation but rather the opposite; it enriches the creativity and makes the food more exciting and varied. In this chapter, you will find a seasonal guide for vegetables as well as berries and other fruit. There are also several tips for indoor and outdoor cultivation.

EVERY PERSON IN SWEDEN CONTRIBUTES almost six tons of carbon dioxide every year. If the whole world’s population lived the way we do here in the West, we would need three planets. Luckily, most of us have very good opportunities to make important contributions to decrease emissions without any greater sacrifice. Food alone stands for 25 to 30 percent of our climate impact, including transport to and from stores. It is a matter of having knowledge and making conscious decisions. As a bonus, we gain better health and economy.

According to the Swedish EPA, beef generates about 25 times more greenhouse gas per kilo of edible food compared to an equivalent amount of beans. A five to ten times larger area is used for cultivating meat production, compared to the equivalent amount of vegetable protein. On 2.5 acres you can produce 616 pounds of beef or 24,640 pounds of beans. The United States is the world’s largest producer of soybeans, and a large amount of the soybean harvest is used as cattle food.

Junk food, mostly candy and chips, also affects carbon dioxide emissions. One bag of marshmallows affects the climate as much as one portion of pork. About 2.2 pounds of chips leads to 4.8 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, which is 20 times what the production of 2.2 pounds of potatoes does.

FOOD AND ECOLOGY

When the sun’s rays hit the earth, they are transformed into heat that radiates back into space. There are greenhouse gases in the atmosphere around the whole globe that will prevent some of the heat from leaving us. Without the greenhouse gases, the world would be ice cold. But if the amount of gases becomes too great due to human emissions, the earth will become too hot and cause the climate to change. Food production contributes to nearly a third of the global greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the United Nations’ climate panel, the increased amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past 20 years is caused 75 percent by the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), and 25 percent by using land, mostly clearing of forests.

Eat more eco-friendly

• Eat more vegetarian meals

• Throw away less food and use the leftovers

• Eat according to season

• Eat organic and local produce

• Avoid bottled water!

• Buy less junk food!

The atmosphere’s methane content is currently increasing. Some types of farming cause large emissions of methane, such as animal farms and rice paddies.

Today we speak of climate dieting in an environmentally adapted way. More people think we should choose more green options, and if you choose animal products you should choose organic or pasture-raised meat. Organic and pasture-raised animals contribute to biodiversity by keeping the landscape open and supporting the flora, insects, and small animals.

We throw away an average of 25 percent of our food. That is almost one million tons of food in Sweden alone. Half of the food would have been edible if only treated the right way, according to Konsumentföreningen, Sweden’s largest consumer association, in Stockholm. On average, Swedes buy 5.3 gallons of bottled water a year. Besides that, Swedes buy junk food like candy, soda, and snacks for about 35 to 40 percent of food costs.

Biodiversity

Today, the landscape in the West mostly consists of large monocultures. That often leads to illnesses in animals and pests on plants. As a result, biodiversity decreases, and both flora and small insects disappear. The most alarming effect is that bees are dying around the whole world, and our food chain is in danger. If there are not enough bees, pollination will not take place, and that makes it impossible for us to have large harvests of fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts, or seeds. Most scientists claim that it has to do with all the toxic pesticides that are used in conventional cultivation. Organic cultivation supports biodiversity.

In poor developing countries, there are usually several different species cultivated in the fields, just like people did in the old days. The diversity is a way of spreading risks and it contributes to important ecosystem services like insect pollination, natural pest control, cleaning water, and creating fertile soil.

Sesam is a nonprofit organization that wants to maintain the diversity that can be found in the plants of the garden or in fields. The members preserve old cultural plants by seed cultivating them and then spreading the seeds among the members. There are also smaller seed companies that sell the seeds of old cultural treasures.

Organic produce

More and more people are choosing to buy organic produce for both environmental and health reasons. Organic produce usually has a lot more flavor and stays fresh longer. Organic is a generic word for ways of cultivating in which gene manipulation, irradiation, pesticides, toxins, and fertilizers are not allowed. In organic produce, there cannot be any substances that may do harm to people or nature.

Organic produce is also proven to be more nutritional. The EU’s extensive research project (Quality Low Input Food Project) shows that there are 40 percent more antioxidants in eight kinds of organically produced fruits, vegetables, and grains. Several studies show that children who eat a lot of organic food run a lower risk of developing different kinds of allergies. A British study of rats that only ate organic feed showed that they remained slimmer, slept better, and had a better immune system. The University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, has shown that people who do not eat organic food have higher levels of pesticides in their urine than people who eat a lot of organic produce.

Organic labeling

There are several different brands for organic produce. The EU symbol for organic food demands the product to have at least 95 percent ecological raw material. Demeter and KRAV (a Swedish issuer of organic standards) have stricter rules—among other things, they demand 100 percent organic raw material. KRAV also has a climate label. In addition, KRAV accepts only a few food additives.

KRAV-approved animal breeding demands that the animals have a good life, that the calves can suckle their mother for a longer time, and that the animals can eat outside as much as possible. That, in turn, keeps the landscape open; flora, insects, and small animals are supported and carbon storage in the ground is increased.

KRAV-approved farmers grow their own feed and do not use any imported feed. That makes the farm self-sufficient using manure, and no fertilizer needs to be bought. Conventionally bred animals in Sweden are given feed that contains soy that contributes to the devastation of rain forests and the spread of extremely toxic chemicals.

Environmental labeling

There are several different environmental brands for different types of products, including everything from food, clothing, household products, and IT-products to services like hotels and restaurants. There are both national and international brands. EU has its branding; Nordic countries have international brands as well as various chain stores with their own brands. They all have their own different norms. The brands with the strictest demands in Sweden are KRAV and Nature Conservationist’s own brand, with the swallow.

Fair trade is an ethical and social branding with a focus on human rights. By buying fair trade products, you help give both producers and workers reasonable pay for their work, prevent child labor, and contribute to a better and more free existence for both children and adults in poor countries. The branding also encourages organic produce.

Eco-friendly pantry

The selection of vegetables and fruits in our grocery stores is enormous and almost the same all year round. It can even be difficult to see what is in season. That is when a seasonal guide comes in handy.

Shop eco-friendly

Best buy: local produce, outdoor-grown and seasonal (see Seasonal Guide, p. 16)

Good buy: outdoor-grown and transported by boat—for example, bananas.

There are surprisingly many varied products in a climate-conscious pantry. To eat vegetables and fruits of the season has a lot of advantages. Usually they are more locally produced, which leads to shorter transport distances, and that is good for the environment.

Besides that, vegetables and fruit that are allowed to ripen by themselves are richer in aroma and flavor. Another benefit is that cooking will be much more varied and exciting. When you can eat lovely strawberries during the summer, you enjoy it so much more than if you have unlimited access to them all year round.

Best buy for imported goods:

Autumn: October to December is the season for outdoor-grown fruits and vegetables like clementines, lemons, pomegranate, persimmon, and kiwi, as well as cauliflower, broccoli, fennel, celery, sweet potatoes, and zucchini.

Winter: January to March is the season for fruit and vegetables like oranges, lemons, and pomegranate, as well as avocado, fennel, celery, sweet potatoes, and zucchini.

Spring: April to June is the season for fruits and vegetables like lemons and melons as well as avocado, eggplant, fennel, bell peppers, asparagus, cucumber, celery, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and zucchini.

Summer: July to September is the season for fruits and vegetables like lemons, peaches, nectarines, grapes, and melons, as well as avocado, eggplant, artichoke, bell peppers, and sweet potatoes.

The worst buy you can make is everything that is transported by plane and products that are grown in oil-heated greenhouses. Avoid tomatoes, eggplant, and bell peppers from November until March. Use tomato concentrate, tomatoes in a can or paper box, or dried tomatoes during the winter season.

Rice is not a climate-smart option since it also creates methane gas during cultivation. Climate-smart alternatives are oats, spelt, barley, kamut, quinoa, and bulgur.

INDOOR GROWING

Sprouts have everything. They are nutritious, fresh, and tasty. No matter where you live, you can grow your own vegetables. They are cheap, too. About one tablespoon of alfalfa seeds will give you a big jar of sprouts. Sprouts are perfect during the winter and spring when we have a limited supply of other vegetables. In Asia, sprouts have been used for thousands of years. In Europe, they were introduced during the 1500 to 1600s.

All seeds have a concentrate of the nutrients that are needed for the future plant to grow. As long as the seed is not harmed and stored in a dry place, it can keep its ability to grow for a very long time.

Tips! Use sprouts in raw food, on your bread, in salads, in energy drinks, stews, and soups. If you have too many sprouts, you can mix them and use them when baking bread or in vegetarian sauces.

How to sprout:

1.   Place a few tablespoons of seeds in a regular big glass jar. Attach a piece of mosquito netting with a rubber band over the jar. All seeds can be sprouted, such as alfalfa, lentils, mung beans, broccoli, radishes, red clover, and sunflower seeds, as well as all grains like quinoa, barley, wheat, spelt, rye, and oat.

2.   Rinse the seeds a few times and then leave them to soak in water overnight.

3.   Pour off the water they soaked in and water your plants with the nutritional water. Carefully rinse the seeds in running lukewarm water. Turn the jar upside down until it is drained from all water.

4.   The sprout grows best in the dark. If the jars are standing on the kitchen sink, you can place a towel over them. Rinse the sprouts well, both morning and night, then let them drain. After three to five days, the sprouts will be done. Alfalfa needs the longest time. Delicate sprouts are usually the tastiest. That goes especially for mung beans. Peeled sunflower seeds will be done in one day.

When the sprouts are done, you rinse them several times. When it comes to alfalfa sprouts, it is important that you rinse off most of the brown seed peel. Drain the sprouts. Store them in jars or plastic bags in the refrigerator. They stay fresh for three to six days. Sprouted wheat grows small, white, hairy roots that are completely harmless.

Do not eat slimy sprouts that smell bad!

Tip! If you let sprouted alfalfa stand in the window for a few hours, they turn beautifully green, and the level of antioxidants increases considerably. It is important that you rinse the sprouts well and that all the fluid is gone. Spread the sprouts on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Rinse the sprouts afterwards.

Green shoots:

Fresh nutritional and chlorophyll-rich green shoots are very tasty to eat as a snack, mix in salads or energy drinks, or sprinkle on food.

1.   Sprout whole seeds with peel of sunflower (bird seeds), radish, fenugreek, buckwheat, mustard, or turnip for a few days. See above.

2.   Divide 1 to 1.5 inches of soil in a regular sowing box. Water the soil until moist, flatten the soil, and spread the sprouts on top of the soil. Place the box in a dark place or cover with black plastic for a few days.

3.   Take off the plastic and let stand in a light window for a few days until the shoots have grown. Spray the grass with water every day.

While sprouting, the enzymes' activity increases and many changes take place:

• The vitamin content increases substantially, especially when it comes to vitamin C. But carotenoids, vitamin E, as well as some B vitamins increase, especially folic acid. Vitamin B12 is formed but in very small amounts.

• Phytic acid is broken down, and that way we can absorb the minerals in the seeds more easily.

• The protein changes and becomes more easily digested.

• The gas-generating ability in beans is reduced.

Ecological cycle

In nature, plants that have grown during summer fall down to the ground and decompose into nutritional soil that naturally fertilizes new plants. If we want to live in harmony with nature, we should let our food and vegetable waste be decomposed into a nutritional compost.

It is easy to make a compost. Choose a shady place outside. There, you place a big box with three sections. In the first section, you place all the dry waste from your garden like leaves and sticks. In the other section, keep placing moist waste from the kitchen and garden in layers with the dry garden waste. It is important to keep the compost thoroughly moist all the time. Sometimes you have to water it. When the section is filled, you place a layer of dry garden waste on top. Then you leave the compost to decompose into soil.

That is when it is time to start from the beginning with the third section and place layers of moist and dry material in it.

The compost is done when the material smells and feels like soil. The compost is full of life and nutrition, and it is an amazing way to improve your soil and to fertilize your garden. Today there are also good organic aids that are approved by health authorities (see p. 339), if you want to create a completely odorless compost in an apartment.

Tip! If the decomposing process in the compost is slow, you can add a shovelful of soil from the garden. There are also composting aids you can buy.

SEASONAL GUIDE FOR FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Local variations occur depending on where in the country you live. Make sure to choose local produce when possible.

Storing and preservation

We have a lot to learn from old, proven knowledge. The most environmentally friendly and best method of storing both vegetables and root vegetables is a good old-fashioned root cellar and a well-functioning pantry. Back in the day, you always built the pantry on the north side of the house so it could stay cool.

What you could not store in the root cellar during wintertime you either dried or fermented in lactic acid. Despite our modern techniques, like deep freezing, there is no method that matches fermentation with lactic acid. Not only are all the nutrients preserved, but new, healthy nutrients like many B vitamins, enzymes, and acetylcholine are formed.

THE MOST ECO-FRIENDLY and often the best storage area for most fruits, vegetables, and root vegetables is an old-fashioned pantry. In the pantry, the fruits and cucumbers keep from getting ice cold like they would in a refrigerator and that makes them taste so much better. If the pantry is well ventilated, it has an entirely different humidity than a refrigerator, and it also prevents vegetables from quickly drying out and shriveling up.

Warm and dry air causes fruits, vegetables, and root vegetables to shrivel up or decay more quickly, and that also decreases the nutritional value. If you do not have a pantry, an entryway or porch would be a better option for most vegetables. Many things can also be stored in boxes in the balcony, like, for example, apples that can cope with several degrees below zero.

There are a few exceptions; for example, all onions except for leeks and scallions should be kept dry and preferably cool. When an onion is kept in a moist place, it starts to mold, and if it is too warm, it starts to grow.

If you have larger amounts of root vegetables, the best place for storage would be a root cellar with good ventilation. Keep the root vegetables in boxes with sand so they stay damp and do not dry out.

FERMENTATION

All over the world, people have fermented with lactic acid. It is a great way of refining and storing vegetables, beans, fruit, and milk. Lactic acid is a fantastic method of preserving food. Not only are all the nutrients preserved, but new ones are also formed, like B vitamins, enzymes, and acetylcholine, which the lactic acid bacteria need to grow.

In Germany, Russia, and the Balkan countries, fermented vegetables and sourdough bread are still a part of the everyday diet. In Southeast Asia, soy products, like tempeh, miso, and tamari are fermented. In Sweden, dairy products are mostly fermented, like processed sour milk and yogurt.

Tip! You can use fermented vegetables and broth instead of lemon juice in most dishes. It is especially tasty in salads with a yogurt-based dressing.

Lactic acid bacteria create a lactic acid coat on skin and mucous membranes, the mouth, intestines, and genitals. This protective coat of acid surrounds all living things in humans, animals, and plants. Pesticides and fertilizers can disrupt this balance. For that reason, all vegetables that are fermented should be organic.

Most lactic acid bacteria can be found on the outer green parts of vegetables. Because of this, the amount of bacteria can be smaller during rain. Do not harvest vegetables for fermentation right after rain; wait a few days. Green leaves are especially rich in lactic acid bacteria, like raspberry or black currant leaves.

Almost all vegetables and fruit can be fermented, like all kinds of cabbages, carrots, beetroots, celery, onions, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, and beans. All vegetables except for beans are fermented when fresh. Beans should be parboiled before the process.

Spices that prevent decay are juniper, garlic, chili, horseradish, and yellow mustard seeds. Feel free to season with other spices too, like cumin, coriander, dill, bay leaf, and other leafy spices. All spices are used whole.

During the fermentation, the lactic acid bacteria transform the raw material’s sugars to organic acids, mostly lactic acid. As the fermentation progresses, the pH levels are lowered, and no decay can occur. After that, the product has to mature and that is when the aroma is created.

A successful milk acid fermentation needs:

• organic vegetables

• a certain amount of salt. The salt prevents decay and incorrect fermentation before enough lactic acid has formed.

• an acid-free environment, otherwise yeast is formed on top

• right the temperature so that the fermentation gets started properly. The fermentation demands a warm place while fermenting and a somewhat cooler place while maturing.

• Whey (see p. 115) is not necessary but gives the lactic acid bacteria good nutrition and will help the fermentation to start.

How to ferment:

• Use glass jars with tight-fitting lids—preferably French preservation jars with a rubber seal. The size of the jar should be at least 1 quart.

• It is important that jars and bottles be very clean. Wash them in hot water and rinse carefully. Then place them in a cold oven. Heat the oven to 212°F and turn it off right when the temperature is reached. Let the jars cool.

• Boil the rubber seal in water.

• Press the vegetables into the jar with your fist so that the fluids are pressed out. (When you make cabbage, you first press or bang the cabbage with your fist in another bowl.)

• The jars can only be filled up to four-fifths of the jar. There must be space left for fermentation.

• Place the jars in a warm spot, protected from light. You can place a paper bag upside down over the jars.

• When the fermentation is finished, the jars are placed in a cool spot, and the temperature should preferably be between 32 and 46.2°F. If it is warmer than 46.4°F, the fermentation process will not stop.

Storage: Anything that has been fermented should be kept at a temperature of 32 to 46.4°F after fermentation and maturing. Fermented products has a good durability: up to two years in cool places like a root cellar.

If you have a problem with storing the fermented products, you can freeze them. Cold will not destroy the lactic acid bacteria. All vegetables except for cucumbers, which soften, can be stored in the freezer.

Sauerkraut

PER 2.2 POUNDS CABBAGE:

1–2 tbsp sea salt (12.5–25 g)

1 tsp juniper (3 g)

½ tsp cumin (1 g)

½ sliced apple (optional)

1 tbsp whey (optional) (12.5 g)

Clean the cabbage and shred finely. Also shred the core of the cabbage coarsely and mix with other cabbage. Layer cabbage with salt and spices, and, if you choose, some apple slices and whey in a separate bowl.

Press the cabbage with your fist until it becomes juicy. Continue to layer cabbage, salt, and spices, and press with your fist in the same way until all cabbage is thoroughly moist.

Fill the jar to four-fifths and press the cabbage down until it is under the vegetable juice.

Place the jar at room temperature (64.4–68°F) for 10 to 12 days. If it is warmer than 68°F, about 8 days will be enough. After this, the cabbage has to mature in a cool place of about 32 to 46.2°F for at least another 6 to 8 weeks.

Fermented carrots

FOR ONE 1½ QUARTS GLASS JAR:

about 2.2 pounds carrots and onions

1–2 bay leaves

2 peeled garlic cloves

1 tbsp sea salt (12.5 g)

1 tsp coriander seeds (3 g)

1 tsp mustard seeds (3 g)

fresh dill

2 tbsp whey (optional) (25 g)

Peel and grate the carrots coarsely. Peel and cut the onions in big pieces.

Layer salt and spices (and optional whey) directly into the jar. Press everything down as hard as possible with your fist, in order for the vegetable juice to cover the vegetables.

Fill the jar to four-fifths.

Let the jar stand at room temperature, about 64.4–68°F for 10 to 12 days.

Leave the jar in a cool place of 32 to 46.2°F and let the root vegetables mature for at least 7 to 8 weeks.

Fermented beetroots

Fermented beetroots is a delicacy. Follow the above recipe but replace the carrots, dill, and mustard seeds with beetroots and five whole cloves. Only fill the jar to two-thirds since beetroots ferment and become larger than other vegetables.

Health effects and nutritional value

• Fermented products have additional B vitamins. B12 can only be found in very small amounts.

• All fermented products are very easy to digest and contain living lactic acid bacteria that help the immune system, prevent gas and constipation, and help to keep the intestinal bacteria healthy.

• Acetylcholine is formed. It affects the vegetative nervous system and calms you; high blood pressure sinks and sleep is improved.

• The acids that are formed during fermentation lower the GI pH in a meal, and you stay full for a longer time.

Fermented pickles

FOR ONE 1½ QUARTS JAR:

about 1.1–2.2 pounds mixed vegetables, for example cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower, bell peppers, and onions

2 peeled garlic cloves

2 bay leaves

1 tsp coriander (2 g)

1 tsp mustard seeds (3 g)

dill

¼ cup whey (30 g)

Rinse and clean the vegetables. Place them in the jar whole or divided in big pieces.

The cucumbers should be whole. Poke a few holes in the cucumber with a needle, to make sure they don’t turn out soft on the inside.

Layer the vegetables with spices. Stuff them in the jar and fill with boiled and cooled off water (with 2 tbsp salt per quart of water) as well as whey.

Leave the jar at room temperature (64.4–68°F) for 10 days. If it is warmer than 68°F, it will be long enough after 6 to 8 days. Then place the jar in a cool place for maturing at 32–46.2°F for 2 to 3 weeks.

Fermented beans

Fermented green beans turn out very tasty.

Boil water with 2 tbsp salt per quart of water and let the beans boil until tender, about 5 minutes. Pour off the broth and save it. Rinse the beans with cold water in a strainer.

Place the beans together with the broth when it has cooled off, according to the recipe above. Add a little extra dill.

Fermented cucumber

Pick small, firm cucumbers. Poke a few holes in the cucumber with a stick.

Follow the basic recipe above, but add black currant leaves and a small oak leaf. The tannic acid in the oak leaf prevents the cucumbers from turning soft.

DRYING

Since time immemorial, food has been preserved by drying. Drying has mostly been done by using the heat of the sun. Legumes and rice are still dried in the sun in southern countries. Here in the north, we have dried food with the help of wood stoves or other sources of heat.

Since only the fluid disappears during drying, the plant regains its original volume after soaking. Unlike deep freezing, this method does not harm the plant’s cell structure. The method is environmentally friendly and gentle with the raw material. Dried vegetables are ideal food to bring when hiking.

Everything can be dried: wild plants, spices, vegetables, root vegetables, mushrooms, seeds, fruits, and berries.

Sliced fruit, rose hip, mushrooms, herb spices, and different kinds of leaves can be dried at room temperature. For vegetables that are richer in fluid, you need a heat source to achieve a good result.

There are very good drying machines that you can buy, often online. It will make the drying process both faster and easier.

ON THE DRYING RACK, at the bottom are celery leaves, then mint, then slices of zucchini, then marigold petals, then salvia as well as chanterelles. On the hanging drying rack are dried apples. Hanging to the left are dried sliced oranges and lime fruit as well as chanterelles. In the basket to the left are dill, mint, and marigold.

A DRYER can be easily created by attaching a fine net—a mosquito net, for example—and nailing it onto a wooden frame. Nail several wooden frames, about two inches high, which you can stack on top of each other. But if you want to stack several dryers on top of each other, you need a source of heat under them, like a lukewarm wooden stove or an electric heater.

Air drying. Many plants can be dried at regular room temperature both indoors and outdoors. Choose a warm, dry, and preferably dark place with plenty of circulation. This method is suitable for green leaves and herbs, spices, sliced apples, and mushrooms.

You either spread what you want to dry on a paper without ink, a basket tray, or dryer, or you can attach slices of fruit or mushrooms to threads or sticks that you hang in the air (see picture on p. 23).

The drying rack with baskets of several different heights is both beautiful and practical. It is easy to fold together when the season is over. The other drying rack on the picture is easily created by hanging two coarse strings with a knot at the end. Mark with a pen every four inches. Place regular flower pot sticks at the markings or tie open knots where the flower pot sticks should be