Medicinal Use / immune booster

Lacto-fermented veggies are very easy to make, full of good for you probiotics and are a nice balance to the rich, warm foods we have begun eating for the fall and winter.  Sauerruben is made just like sauerkraut, only instead of shredded cabbage you'll be thinly slicing baby turnips. This method is a very easy way to preserve the end of harvest bounty by making it even more nutritious and flavorful.  The sauerruben will last for months in the fridge, if you don't eat it all in the first few weeks! Ingredients: -Salt, 2 tsp per pound of veggies. -Turnips, sliced or shredded. After much experimenting, I prefer sliced when using smaller, tender turnips. The turnips in this picture are delicious sweet, tender Hakurei turnips from our friends at Woven Roots Farm in Lee, MA. Options per Quart mason jar- 1-2 clove garlic and/or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and/or 1/2 tsp caraway seeds Or get cray-zay and spice it up with everything!   [caption id="attachment_776" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Clean bottles filled with water make great weights to keep the veggies under their brine.[/caption] Method: -Weigh your sliced turnips and measure out 2 teaspoons of salt for each 1 pound of turnips. -Add sliced turnips into jar, sprinkling salt as you go. The salt draws the water out of the turnips creating the brine it will ferment in. Weight top, mashing the veggies a bit to compact them and encourage the brine to form.  We used empty, cleaned beer bottles filled with water to weight the turnips and keep them under the brine. -Keep the veggies submerged under the brine or risk nasty things happening. Add a little water if you don't get enough liquid from the veggies. -Store them at room temp somewhere where possible overflowing brine won't cause problems, like a counter top with a pan under the jars to catch spills. -Wait a few days, admiring the lovely bubbling. Taste every now and then. -Put in the fridge to stop further souring, or keep them out for maximum sour awesomeness.