We were cooking dinner tonight; a simple polenta dish for an evening meal.  I wasn’t really paying much attention as I blissfully cooked guided by my subconscious and absolute hunger.  When I was letting the polenta rest I noticed a few open jars on the counter: dried wild leeks, chili salt, mushroom powder, and dried fermented chili seeds all made it into dinner.  Cooking with the diverse ingredients in our pantry is so easy that I almost risk taking it for granted/ remember what to make in coming years.

So tonight’s post is simple: 7 preserves we made last year for the first time that we will make again this year.

All of these are great ingredients to cook with and add to almost any dish (from bread to sauce to to dry rubs to soup and everything in between):

• Chili Salt and Pickled Chili Salt
• Dried Wild Leek Leaves (these were from 2011 but we’re just starting to use them and they’re great!)
• Dried fermented hot pepper seeds
• Lactofermented hot sauce with whey
• Homemade Powdered Parmesan Cheese
• Fermented dried peppers (Morita in this case)
• Pickled Cherry Hot Peppers

What is something you made last year that you’ll definitely be making again?