Pickles.

Well, not really. Technically they are lacto-fermented sour cucumbers.

I have had the book Wild Fermentation for about a year, and besides a disastrous attempt at sour kraut ,I have not really gotten to try anything out.

I really thought this year would be no different since between the rainy summer, and the hungry chickens, my cucumber plants haven't produced much. Then fate stepped in the form of a whole bag of cucumbers from Jenifer's (Mrs Phantom Chicken Farm) cousin. "Use these up before they go bad" they told me. No Problem.

I broke out my copy of Mr Katz's book and whipped them up in about ten minutes. The recipe is super simple and just involves a brine,garlic, dill and black peppercorns. I let them set in the basement covered for a week and they turned out great. I sprung the cukes on our supper club this last weekend and everyone seemed to like them.

I had never had anything live culture besides yogurt before and I am digging it. Now that I have had some success I am looking forward to trying some more recipes. For anyone who likes food based literature Wild Fermentation is a must.