For those of you on the edge of your seat as to what is happening with my strep throat, I’m feeling much better after a shot or two of gin (I had no antibiotics to sooth my throat so I opted for the alcohol cleanse). Of course, that means no cutting wood with sharp tools today. Oh well, there is a lot of cleaning and storing to do for the winter (snow starts Thursday!).
This photo is of the carrots that Tomoe mabikied the other day. Mabiki literally means “middle pull” - or, to take the weaker sprouts from in-between the stronger ones to prevent the weaker ones from stealing all the nutrients and light from the stronger ones. In English I guess you would say “weed out”, but they are not really weeds. They were delicious.
Next to her you see the kaki persimmons I am drying.
Drying kaki is one way to remove the astringents that make some varieties too bitter to eat fresh. This area is extremely humid at this time of year, so it is hard to dry them well. We hope the fire stove will help us, but just in case, we are planning to remove the astringents with booze this year. Another way is to put them in a plastic bag and let them suffocate. It helps to add an apple or banana, as both fruits release a chemical into the are which promotes ripening.
If we left these kaki on the tree long enough, they
We also hope to have a lot of persimmon vinegar in a few months. Making vinegar with them is the easiest, as all you have to do is wash them and thrown them into a bucket to ferment - no peeling or other processing needed.