I am a fellow fermented food fanatic
Fantastic tips-thanks.
Em

Send half a small red cabbage through the food processor to shred it. Combine with finely chopped garlic and hot peppers in a large bowl. Carrot, beets, broccoli, etc. are good in there too, but I don’t add them as often. Start dumping in the caraway seeds, dill, ginger powder, curry powder, whatever ("variety is the spice of life"). Toss it all together to evenly coat and splash in a tablespoon of unpasteurized vinegar. This is not really necessary, and I’ve made plenty of batches without, but it is probably a good safeguard when not using salt. Traditionally, the salt would be incorporated around this step and the cabbage would be let to sit with it for a while under pressure to draw out the juices. Once ready, pack it all in a quart-sized wide-mouthed mason jar or two. Pour in a little water to get the brine up over the veggies and cap with a couple large outer cabbage leaves to keep it all down. The more weight you can apply the better, so other ideas are to use smaller jars or water-filled plastic bags, etc.. Now, let sit out for 3-4 days before refrigerating. It continues to get more and more sour even in the fridge. I like all the stages it visits, from fresh and crisp to wilted and sour.

For reading material on fermented and cultured foods, the classic has got to be Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz.

There is also a Yahoo! group for kimchi and sauerkraut with a standard recipe and procedure on it’s front page where you can get answers to questions from an experienced bunch, should you wish to try your hand at it (which, of course, you do at your own risk).