Category Archives: pickles

pickle watch 2012

Already many people have swung by the booth to ask when the old-fashioned brined pickles will be ready this year.

August, I think.

Here is what the cucumbers look like today at Curious Farm:

I will buy cucumbers from other farms nearby who have safe growing practices, and they may have some available sooner than what grows here.

Because I ferment the cucumbers (old-fashioned, salt-brined pickles, no vinegar), the fruit must be grown outside (not in a greenhouse), and they must be fresh-picked, young, and dense/hard to turn into a proper Curious Farm pickle.

So we will wait until the cucumbers are just right here near Portland. And when they are ripe and ready, it will be glorious and dilly! And there will be pickles in late summer, fall, and even some brine to save for your New Year’s Eve cocktails.

Patience, my friends… it will be wonderful.

harvest thanks

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It’s fun to look inside other peoples’ refrigerators, isn’t it? Here is the Curious Farm pickle fridge — specifically the fridge that stores the sauerkrauts and all that are ready for Market.

The Harvest Market is tomorrow, and I’m very excited to see everyone there again. I hope you’ll come down. As you can see from the photo, Curious Farm has made the switch back to glass. Next year, everything will be sold in glass again, and I’ll find other uses for the eco-friendly compostable deli containers I used for most of this year. Glass has its challenges, too, but we’ll move forward with glass in any case.

Look at those jars… so much love inside each one. Can you imagine what the Pickle Lab smells like when I’m shredding 40 – 50 pounds of sweet, green cabbage? Or the leeks from Sweetrock Farm? Or what it smells like when I’m peeling 8 heads of garlic for a batch of kimchi? It’s magic and medicine. Plucking dill seed for the cucumber pickles always makes me feel washed clean… the aroma of dill just refreshes the spirit.

It’s true that cabbages, cucumbers and other vegetables talk to me. I was going to make kraut out of the kohlrabi grown by Galin-Flory Farms, but the crunchy brassica spaceships told me that they wanted to be a pickle instead. There was an awful day when I went to visit a produce stand with my mother and saw glorious, huge, vibrant cabbages that were screaming at me to turn them into sauerkraut. I went over to talk to them, and I tried not to cry. Sweetly, I explained that all of my fermenting vessels were full, and I couldn’t take them home. I told them I knew that other sauerkraut makers would be coming by today to scoop them up and let them ferment. I firmly believe that all cabbages grow up dreaming of becoming sauerkraut. Left to their own devices, they would ferment naturally. It is what they want to do, thank goodness.

This year, my customers surprised and encouraged me. Thank you. You know so much about the health benefits of these traditional, live-cultured foods! Some of you came to the booth every week or every other week, steadily encouraging me. You gave compliments that made me blush. You went out of your way to bring Curious Farm products to people you love. Some of you even became addicted to kimchi this year!

When people ask about my new business, I always mention my customers. Pickle lovers are spirited, opinionated folks, and you didn’t fail me. I heard plenty of constructive criticism: “More garlic!” “Too spicy!” “More heat!” “More dill!” “I don’t know… that’s kinda weird…”

I listened to it all, and I learned so much. Thank you.

I can’t wait for next May, when the Market starts up again! See you tomorrow…

harvest market, november 19th

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We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at the Beaverton Harvest Market this Saturday, November 19th. All of our products will be available in one-pound glass jars (size differences noted below) to make gift giving and winter storage easier.

Here’s what we’ll have available on Saturday:

SAUERKRAUTS:

Classic Sauerkraut $8.00

Leek-Horseradish Sauerkraut $9.00

Pink Lady Sauerkraut $9.00

Ginger-Turmeric Tonic Sauerkraut $9.50

Sauerruben $8.00

KIMCHI:

Spicy Radish Kimchi $9.00

Fall Harvest Kimchi $9.00

SAUCE:

Chili-Garlic-Ginger Sauce $9.00 (12 oz jar)

KVASS:

Beet Kvass Tonic Drink $5.00 (16 oz bottle)

PICKLES:

Spicy Garlic Dills $11.00 (two-pound, 32 oz jar)

Sour Kohlrabi $8.00

VINEGAR-BRINED FAVORITES:

Grown-Up Beets $9.00

Spicy Mexican Carrots $9.00

Giardinera $9.00

Pickled Red Onions $9.00

Herby Green Beans $11.00 (two-pound, 32 oz jar)

checking in, looking forward

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During the first two Market Saturdays, we sold out of four products. Last Saturday, many of you came back for favorites you discovered the first day of the Market. Yay!

We’re thrilled. We love that your favorite curious farm products are also our favorite products — like the Leek-Horseradish Sauerkraut, which is just so lovely and full-flavored. If you’re looking for Leek-Horseradish Sauerkraut this Saturday (5/21), come early because we will sell out. The next batch of L-HS will be ready in late June. (Be patient… it will return! All those sweet leeks I showed you need time to relax and get to know the cabbage and horseradish.)

New special sauerkraut flavors are coming down the road. Remember that sauerkraut takes 6 to 8 weeks to ferment. We’re increasing our number of crocks/fermenting capacity here in order to have more batches in process.

We’re excited that many of you are discovering kimchi for the first time. As I hoped, some customers come to the booth and say, “I’ve heard a lot about kimchi, and I’ve always been afraid of it… but I’m curious…” It’s wonderful to watch customers’ faces light up when they try the Mild Spring Kimchi. It has just enough heat (from friendly ginger) to show kimchi-newbies how the taste of a well-made kimchi hits several spots on the palate all at once — including that elusive 5th taste called “umami.” Every batch of our Mild Spring Kimchi is slightly different, depending on what’s fresh from the garden. However, the overall spice profile will be fairly consistent because we want this kimchi to be your… ahem… “gateway” kimchi.

It also is great to hear from kimchi veterans that we’re producing surprisingly good kimchi. “Surprise” is the operating word, it seems. The givers of these compliments expertly navigate a taut bridge over areas of ethnicity and skin color and are so warm and gracious when they tell me how much they enjoy the full flavors in curious farm kimchi. These compliments mean a lot to me. I love making all of the products we offer at the booth, but making kimchi is a joy from beginning to end.

(Some of you also are certain that I’m using fish in the kimchi because the flavors are so deep. Nope. No fish. All of our products are vegan — including the kvass.)

I’m thrilled that you all love the Spicy Radish Kimchi as much as I do. If you missed it last week after we sold out, be assured that I will bring another large batch of it this Saturday (5/21), and today I made yet another batch that should be ready in a couple of weeks. Your interest in spicy varieties of kimchi gives me permission to explore new recipes. I can’t wait to share them with you.

Many of you noticed the sign for Beet Kvass and hoped I was selling pickled beets. This week (5/21), I’ll bring curious farm’s Grown-Up Pickled Beets. Be forewarned: these are not the pickled beets your Grandma made.

Cucumber pickle lovers: there will be pickles. If you’re anxious, do a sun dance, please, because the cucumber plants won’t grow until it’s sunny and warm. I understand your frustration and disappointment. I can’t wait to share curious farm pickles with you.

You can see a menu of what we’ll bring to the Beaverton Farmers Market right here. We’re in spot #15. Remember that you can try a sample of anything and everything we offer each Market day. Our offerings change as the seasons change and as new things become ready in the garden.

To your health!

to market, to market…

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I just posted the menu of what curious farm will bring to the Beaverton Farmers Market on Saturday (this Saturday! May 7th!). We also will bring some fresh herbs this week.

As I said on the “fresh this week” page, I can’t wait to meet neighbors and fellow pickle lovers. We’re in booth #15 (here’s a map of the market). Please ask for a sample of anything you’d like to try. Our offerings will change each week.

curious farm lovages you

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Our lovage has come up, and we’ll bring some to the Beaverton Farmers Market in May.

By June, this patch of lovage will be 5 feet around and 6 feet high, based on how it grew last year. Then it will flower and wilt and go away until next year.

Lovage is related to celery but is more aromatic. Its mysterious spiciness reminds me of bay more than anise, which is how many people describe it. It’s lovely in soups, cooked with beans and added sparingly to salads. People eat the root as they do celery root. The seeds are edible, too, and used just like celery seed. I like the tender leaves best — torn on top of soups or salads just before serving. Everyone always says, “What is this? I love it!”

We’ve been busy planting and preparing for the Beaverton Farmers Market. We’re a farm and a fresh food producer and have never sold at the Market before so we’re trying to get all our supplies in order so that we’ll be ready to offer you our wonderful live-cultured foods, pickles, and some fresh-grown herbs.

Curious Farm at the Beaverton Farmers Market!

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I’m thrilled to let you know that Curious Farm will be at the Beaverton Farmers Market in 2011, selling our brined pickles, live-cultured sauerkrauts, kimchi , beet kvass, and a variety of tasty vinegar-brined pickled vegetables.

The Curious Farm booth will be unique at the Beaverton Farmers Market because we will be selling these products by the pound/volume so that customers feel the freedom to explore a world of different pickling techniques and flavors. Each week, our offerings will change — according to the seasons and according to what’s fresh right now at our farm and at other farms nearby.

You still will be able to buy our “beyond pastured” eggs direct from our farm. However, we won’t be selling vegetables direct to customers from our farm this year. We look forward to seeing you at the Beaverton Farmers Market, which is the largest all-agricultural market in Oregon. Come try some pickles and cheer us on!