Pop-Up Pepe!

Preserved Lemons

Salted lemons are a delicious ingredient in many dishes.  Making them is a great way to use an abundance of lemons.  You can add them to stews, soups and braises, or use them in dressings and salsas.  They are most famous as a staple in Moroccan cooking.  All you need are lemons, salt and something to put them in.  The most important ingredient is time.  Preserved lemons take about a month to mature.  

what you'll need:

lemons, two dozen

salt, about two cups

crock or mason jar (64 oz. pictured)

time

Figure out how many lemons you can fit in the jar.  We fit nine of them in the half gallon jar.  Now make a cross-cut through the top of each lemon going almost to the stem end but stopping before you get there, so the lemon is still intact.  Next, open up the lemon and start pouring in salt.  Jam the salt in, it will look like a lot but don't be skimpy, they're gonna be sitting around a while and you don't want them to spoil.   

Drop them into the jar.  You can use the back of a wooden spoon to help them sit so the salt doesn't pour out.  Cram as many as you can into the jar.  

Take the rest of the lemons and juice them.  The lemon juice and salt will help you figure out all the places you cut yourself earlier.  

 Pour the fresh squeeze juice into the jar until all the lemons are completely covered.  

Fit the cap on finger tight.  Leave it around with your other weird fermenting projects.  

In a few weeks taste one of them.  Remove it from the brine.   Thinly slice the peel.  You will be amazed how they have transformed.  Use them sparingly.  They are strong in flavor and precious.  

Pop-Up Pepe!

Addie's has been kind enough to loan us their space for the evening of MARCH 25TH.  Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian options will be available on a fixed menu.  All local and sustainable produce.  Expect handmade food like Andrew's delicious pork sausages, handmade kraut, yogurt, vinegar, etc.  We'll keep you updated as the menu comes together, but reserve your table!  Limited seating!  Let's have fun!

45$ per person

6pm-9pm

Write us an email at PopUpPepe@gmail.com to reserve your table!  Please specify a time and phone number where we can reach you!

Baby Chickens!

Making Sauerkraut

This month we've received an abundance of cabbage in our CSA box and its a good thing.  By utilizing this bountiful harvest, we are making one of the best things for your body!  A nutritious treat that provides active bacteria that our bodies rely on.  So simple, yet can be eaten alone as a snack or as an addition to give your dish some extra kick.

What you'll need (for one gallon sauerkraut):

1. Fermenting crock (plastic bucket works fine)

2. 5 lbs green cabbage

3. 1/2 oz. salt per pound of cabbage, or 3% by weight

4. (optional) horseradish 

5. Cheesecloth

6. String

Quarter the cabbage, then shred

Measure salt

Place shredded cabbage into a large bowl and salt as you go

Place salted cabbage into crock and top with sliced horseradish

Place plate or another container the same size on top of horseradish and cabbage to compress it.  Place a weight on top of that.  A jug or jar of water works well.  Soon you will notice the container filling with liquid from the cabbage. This is known as the brine.  The brine is the most important aspect of kraut making as the vegetables need to be totally submerged under this liquid.

After the sauerkraut is packed and submerged, remove the plate or second bucket and replace it with cheesecloth.  Tie a string around the mouth of the bucket.  Place bucket in a cool dark place and check periodically for progress.  

Your sauerkraut will be ready in a few weeks or so.  The warmer the weather the faster the sauerkraut will ferment.  

We enjoyed it with some homemade duck ham and mustard!  Eat it with your breakfast in the morning to start your day right, in-between meals, as a condiment or as a side dish to your entree!  

Feel the results!  

Wines we love

This stunning 2010 Bodegas Priorat says its oak-aged for 8 months in French oak barrels, but I honestly, I don't know what the ef that means.  Its delicious.  It stands beautifully on its own but pairs perfectly with practically anything.  Medium bodied with hints of red berries and dried herbs.  I don't like to pay more than 15 bucks for a bottle of wine and this bad boy is $17.99 and I went back for a few more bottles almost before I finished the first.  50% Garnacha, 30% Mazuelo, 10% Cab Sauv, 10% Syrah

Making Red Wine Vinegar at home

Leftover wine?  Wine corked when you opened it?  Put that wine to good use and make your own Red Wine Vinegar!  Follow these easy steps and you'll have delicious homemade vinegar in no time!

What you'll need:

1. Oak barrel (if you want to be fancy) or any wide mouthed glass vessel or plastic bucket

*Vinegar fermentation is an aerobic process, meaning it requires the presence of oxygen.  The more oxygen it is exposed to, the faster the process.

2. Red wine vinegar mother (you can get this from any bottle of organic vinegar or 

at your local wine supply store)

3. Red wine

4. Cheesecloth 

5. Large rubber band

*The ratio you want is three parts red wine to every one part vinegar mother and one part water

Pour three parts red wine into barrel

Pour one part water filtered (distilled is best) water into the barrel

Add the vinegar mother, cover with the cheesecloth to keep out flies and particles and secure it with the rubber band around the mouth of the vessel

Store in a warm dark place for roughly 4 weeks in winter, 2 in summer.  Don't worry about leaving it for too long, it'll be fine as it is a stable product.  Taste it and monitor its progress.  If you observe a thick film on the surface, this is the "mother".  It is edible and nutritious.  If it has sunken, the vinegar "mother" is dead.  You can then either strain it or consume it with the vinegar.  

Enjoy!

Crab Paella