Enormous Veggies

First let me just say that I still don't know anything about why I feel bad.  Not to freak my American readers out, but when you live in a country with socialized medicine and you are not deathly ill, things can take awhile.  I figure that by the time I get a diagnosis, I will be all better anyway.  That's fine with me.

And really I am feeling better.  I have heard from many people that there has been lots of stomach stuff "going around" and that it has been worse this year for whatever reason, so probably that's all it is.  I find it funny (and a bit aggravating) when people say to me "You of all people to get a stomach problem?!" as if I am some paragon of food purity and perfection.  I have never claimed to be that nor do I want the title!  And I am just as capable of catching a bacteria, virus, parasite, whatever, as anyone else.  Remember when many people got e coli from eating spinach??  I rest my case.

I was having a discussion awhile back with Christy about how they sell leeks here in Israel.  Like many vegetables here, the leeks are GIANT.  Here is my son holding both giant leek and giant celery:

and what it looked like in my shopping cart:

So basically, you pay for that entire thing and then the cashier generously offers to whack off the top 1/2 and throw it away for you.  After you have already paid for it, mind you.  Today I asked her to leave it on b/c I wanted it for this picture and she looked at my like I've got 3 heads.  Right, I'm strange for wanting to keep the garbage I've already paid for.

Here is what the leeks ultimately became:

Pasta with Roast Veggies and lots of garlic, yummy!

And you know it's summer b/c cherries are here!!  I loooooove cherries. 

I had to choose between sending my eldest to college and buying these costly morsels, but you know, college is over-rated.

Lastly, I wanted to report on my fermentation experiment:

The sourdough didn't really work out.  It made a fine dough and it tasted good, but it just wouldn't rise very much.  I ended up making pizza dough out of it, which was perfect.  But I threw the rest of the starter away and will give it another try from scratch.

The kimchee however, came out fine.  I don't love how it tastes - it is VERY spicy for me - but I do love how it makes me feel when I eat it.  It's a lot like how I feel after I drink kombucha, sort of calm and settled and my belly feels really good.  This is how I made the kimchee:

Kimchee

1 head cabbage, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 carrots, roughly chopped

2 T ginger, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 green onion, chopped
5 cups water
2 T sea salt
2 tsp natural sweetener (optional - I didn't use any)

In a large non-metallic bowl, combine cabbage, water, 1 1/2 T salt, and carrots.  Set aside for 12 hours.  Remove the cabbage and carrots from the soaking liquid and put them into a jar.  To the liquid, add the remaining salt, ginger, garlic, scallions and sweetener is using.  Pour this over the veggies.  Cover the jar with cheesecloth secured with a rubber band and let side 3-7 days.  Eat a little bit as a digestive aid with your meals.