St. Patty's Day fermenting

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Yesterday was a crazy fermenting day! We have had a beef brisket in the freezer for a few weeks, and I have been wanting to try the corned beef recipe from Nourishing Traditions for a while, so St. Patrick's Day was a perfect opportunity! I quit eating meat the beginning of this year, but we are still working through our CSA meat share. I believe that it is the right decision for me to eat the meat we have remaining in the freezer, though, because it is a lot of meat, and I don't want it to be wasted. That being said, Bill will still be largely responsible for the nearly four pounds of meat that is this corned beef. Just to be clear, this corned beef will not be cooked. It will ferment for a couple of days, and then we will eat it. It has salt, juniper berries, red pepper flakes, mustard seeds, and whey. If anyone wants the full recipe, let me know, and I will be happy to share it.

I also made the mustard from Nourishing Traditions, which needs three days to ferment. Included in that recipe is ground mustard, water, whey, honey, mustard seeds, and lemon juice.

And the grand mammy of all ferments....I finally made my miso yesterday! I used the recipe from Wild Fermentation. I used pinto beans rather than soy beans because I had plenty in the cabinet. I will test it late this fall, probably around November. It was a pretty easy recipe to follow, but it made much more than I anticipated--I had to use two crocks rather than just one, and my crocks are precious because I only have three. I should have halved the recipe. I am really, really excited about this--I hope it turns out. I just ordered some more miso from the same company I ordered my koji from. It isn't cheap, so it would be really great if mine turns out nearly as good as theirs. I have had other miso bought from the grocery, and it is just not so good. It does take many months or years to ferment (the stuff I bought was one- or three-year fermented) so, like most things, you get what you pay for.

And Bill and I tested the honey wine this weekend. It needs another week or two, but I am definitely happy with the results! My dad and my sister both had samples as well and were not too impressed. It does taste like homemade wine, but I like the earthy flavor of it.