Diario de writingwyo, 24 jul. 21

I love kombucha, but not a big fan of sauerkraut except on a Ruben! 

Have you had homemade? It's a different experience altogether! My husband makes it all the time  

Care to share husbands kraut recipe??? I'd love to try it. 

Shred a head of cabbage. Save an outer leaf or two intact. Mix cabbage with salt equalling 2% of the weight of the cabbage. (Eg. 1000 grams cabbage + 20 grams salt.) Let sit for half an hour. Come back and work it with your hands to squeeze out the liquid -- you're going to need the cabbage completely submerged in the liquid when it ferments. Put cabbage with liquid in a two-quart jar and push it down to submerge it completely. If you don't have quite enough liquid, make a 2% salt solution to top it off. (He doesn't usually have to. ) Take the outer leaves, put them on top and push down-- they're there to help keep everything submerged. Put the lid on the jar, but leave it a little loose so gas can escape. Put it out on a counter in a cool place, not in direct sunlight and let the microbes in it work their magic. Let it ferment at least three days, and then start testing. It's ready when it's sour and aromatic enough for your taste -- we like at least a week. When it's ready, discard the leaves you had on top and put the jar in the fridge. That's seriously all there is to it -- cabbage, salt, microbes and time. The one thing that can go wrong is if you get mold, but as long as you keep it submerged, that should prevent any mold 

You can add caraway seeds if you want, but we usually don't. You might also look up other recipes online to see what tips others might have. This is how he makes it, though. Let me know how it turns out! 

Sounds easy enough and I just bought a small head of red cabbage so I'll give it a go... Thank You! 

I thought the last paragraph was somehow a post of mine from years ago. I actually didn't track much but did have routines for the kind and volume of food categories on my plates for meals. I've bounced around at a lower amount (for other reasons) for the last few years, but was able to maintain a few pounds higher without tracking for about seven years. I'm doing it temporarily now to try to fend off diseases of aging. Not tracking takes another kind of honesty, but I bet you have it.  

Thanks, oolala 😊 It's nice to connect with others with similar experiences  

I should have added, oolala, that honesty and awareness are key for me -- not fudging my food diary and really paying attention to how foods make me feel. A lot of things taste good in the moment, but don't feel good afterwards. Every time I make a mental note of that, it steers me toward healthier choices. Doesn't mean I never have treats, but it helps me moderate.  

Just saw a video about making sauerkraut. The guy said to use canning salt because some table salts have preservatives and additives that prevent fermentation. It's important to press down the cabbage as you put it in the jar to remove as much air as possible and to keep it completely submerged (with weights). This is to prevent bacteria spoiling.  

Thank you, Eral! I forgot about the pickling salt detail. So glad you brought it up!