Zymurgy

Recently we drove to Barrie to see my Mum and decided the best way to make the journey less stressful, was to stop halfway, staying the night in Peterborough.  We could head out first thing, with only a two hour drive which would leave lots of time to visit.  This was also a fantastic opportunity to introduce The Mister to the Peterborough Farmers Market, where my cousin took me in autumn and I had the best bagels!  They have a great winter market that reminds me of the Halifax Farmers Market, which I miss tremendously.
We grabbed coffee - the Bagel guy was not there - just as well, we got The Best Apple Fritters Ever and we stopped briefly to try some lamb broth.  The gentleman with the broth also had an array of jarred fermented items.  Fermentation is one of those (to me) scary words.  When done right, fermented food is so good for you - think yogurt or miso.  But just thinking about 'bacteria' and food is enough to lose the appetite.  It just goes to show how much we have lost our way with cooking from scratch and knowing our food.  I picked up a jar of dilled vegetables and am now incorporating them into tasty dishes that might tempt The Mister.

No list of ingredients - just going on faith with this one!

Seemed easiest to start with a salad.  My approach to salad making is very loose, no real recipe to speak of and rarely do I bother to make a formal 'dressing'.   Often this results in a rather large salad, but I feel as long as the calorie dense additions are kept to a minimum, a large salad is fine to consume at one sitting!  This style of salad lends itself to whatever you have on hand.

big handful torn, washed Romaine
1shredded carrot
small amount thinly sliced cabbage
half a dozen kalamata olives
tablespoon chopped walnuts
big spoonful of fermented veg, chopped
heaping tablespoon light feta
splash of olive oil and red wine vinegar
grinding of salt and pepper
Toss together and top with some sliced chicken or other protein for a meal in a bowl.  Here I used some chicken cooked with Emeril's Essence  that we made last night and is super delicious!

Hard to even see the fermented bits, but it contributed great flavour!

I hope that you will consider some different ingredients the next time you are making a salad and if you see someone making these fermented products at your local Farmers Market, buy some!  It's not only a great way to get some healthy probiotics into your diet, but a way to eat local veggies when locally nothing is growing in the snow! 
Next?  maybe a pilaf with lemon or an orzo salad to showcase the great dill flavour.