Ann's Air Gardens

   

Having tried regrowing a few vegetables from kitchen scraps in the past without success (except for the onions and garlic which always worked well), I had given up on the idea for some time.  For some reason, though, this summer my micro-gardening experiments have taken off.

 

 The amazing thing about this kewl flower is that the bud formed and then opened from a baseless and rootless upper stem.  I had bought a bunch of leeks and tossed them in the refrigerator before learning that leek plants could be regrown from the basal parts.  Then we got a hot spell and they bolted.  Turns out that first cold and then hot is what triggers a bloom in this kind of plant, and once it wants to reproduce not much can stop it.

  So I cut the bottoms off to root and put the tops in water to stay fresh until I got around to using them. 

I make my sauerkraut in cabbage kvass, which is why there is a lot of liquid on top.    In addition to drinking the kvass and using it as a kraut starter, I also ferment Daikon radishes with garlic in it,  My kraut is made with cabbage, celery, sweet peppers, sweet onions, leeks, salt, and other seasonings.  The radishes have a bite that would overpower the cabbage, so I serve them alongside rather than in the sauerkraut.

Perfect Garnish for a Non-Alcoholic Cocktail

 

It has been four days since I put the cut off root end of a bunch of celery in water to see how fast it would grow.  I feel like everyone else who has access to a grocery store has probably done this except me, but better late than never.  I am not interested in cloning the plant, just in having a few fresh and tender stalks to use as garnishes.  

Tonight I put a sprig of it in my signature iced snow kombucha.  I used equal parts of tepache (fermented pineapple juice), kombucha, and guava tea, sweetened with coconut syrup.  The celery went well with this combination and I ate it after finishing the drink.  I think I will continue to grow celery leaves indoors just to use in these non-alcoholic cocktails.  I say non-alcoholic after having just read an excellent article called "It's Time to Ban the Word 'Mocktail' from Drink Menus."  As for the small amount of alcohol rumored to be in tepache as well as kombucha, it is my understanding that it is self-limiting.  In other words, the ethanol produced by the yeast in the kombucha is continually converted into acids which are organic and healthy.