From the editor
Do you remember as a child, there were some vegetables you just didn’t like? But you do now?
I had a few. Mushrooms, tomatoes, pumpkin, cabbage, and cucumbers. Cucumber-loathing was related to growing up on a farm with a commercial glasshouse full of the evil things. For me, cucumbers meant 45°C, humid days, beating back plants that were literally growing in front of your eyes. They would grab onto your clothing and your skin as you worked. By the end of the day, you reeked of cucumber, your hands were green, and it felt like cucumber was oozing out of your pores.
One day a frayed live wire connected with a guide-wire holding up a row of cucumber plants. When I brushed the guide-wire with my hand, it blasted me back several metres into the wall of the glasshouse. The person working with me laughed. “You flew!” Death to cucumbers. Fortunately, today I can eat them. My dad still refuses. I had a texture issue with mushrooms and pumpkin. I still can’t eat pumpkin unless it’s mashed or liquidised.
Tomatoes were too tangy, until one day Mrs Larsen next door combined them with cheese and cracked pepper. Sold.
Then, there’s cabbage. Why would you eat crunchy, bland cabbage when you could eat crunchy, bland lettuce?
Kelli Walker of Forage & Ferment takes just minutes to turn cabbage, a few tablespoons of salt and a sprinkle of carraway seeds into sauerkraut. Check out page 16 and see what kind of magic you can conjure up.