Miso Making

Since I'm not traveling this summer and staying in the city, I'm being more domestic. Gardening is one thing. Another passion now is making fermented foods. Along with some simple pickles, I made miso! It's easier than expected, at least the first step (except long cooking of soy bean). But the real challenge is if they will be fermented well. Usually & traditionally it's best to make miso in Winter, so it ferments during the spring and summer, then by the next winter, the first batch is ready. But if you make it in summer (as I did), it may stop fermenting during the cold winter, so the fermentation delays at best, or just completely fails. Well. let's hope for the best. Also it requires my patience, have to wait for at least 6 months, preferably 1 to 2 years until it's ready to eat. I'm planning a special miso making class this winter. So stay tuned~!

My LIttle Organic Garden!

After a long long wait, I finally got my own garden! A small plot (about 5/5 feet) in a community garden near my place. Since it's already in the middle of the summer, choices are limited for seeding. So I went to Union Sq farmer's market and got some young plants from an organic farmer, and plant them. Some vegetables can be seeded in summer and harvested in a few months, so I planted some seeds of daikon and kale, which are staples in my daily cooking. About 1 month now, and look how lush! Here are what I have, and now go everyday and pick up some for dinner : ) arugula wild arugula kale basil shiso red shiso parsley (curly and italian) garlic chives celery fennel mint daikon kale