Saturday, January 29, 2011
28 January 2011
Tim surprised me with a 23 quart pressure cooker! We will be doing a lot of preserving this year.
26 January 2011
Tim made orange sorbet from the Florida oranges he bought from Indian River Direct. The texture was lovely--rather like eating summer's day. We have more oranges left and more expected from Hale. I wonder what he'll make next...
I dropped off some things at the local second-hand store and came away with The Guide to Self-Sufficiency by John Seymour. The cost? 15 cents. Wow. Tim and I plan to apply a lot of what's in the book throughout the coming year.
I dropped off some things at the local second-hand store and came away with The Guide to Self-Sufficiency by John Seymour. The cost? 15 cents. Wow. Tim and I plan to apply a lot of what's in the book throughout the coming year.
25-27 January 2011
Ralph came to the house with a gallon of raw milk. Oh joy, oh rapture, unforeseen. It was so wonderful to work with it again. The curds set up well, though it took two days as the house is a bit cold. When it came time to drain them, they stayed in the cheese cloth while the whey went away. As to the molds--no cheese cloth linings. The taste, the texture...beyond compare. And the taste? Well, we polished off one of the rounds of Fromage Blanc at a sitting with a nice bottle of wine.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
20 January 2011
Finished the process of making the marmalade. It went pretty well, though it took some time. Not having access to the dish washer, I had to use the pressure cooker to sterilize the jars. It worked very well!
I filled ten pint jars, and could have filled another had I had more available... I look forward to eating the results! The recipe called for oranges, water and sugar--simplicity itself..
.
I filled ten pint jars, and could have filled another had I had more available... I look forward to eating the results! The recipe called for oranges, water and sugar--simplicity itself..
.
19 January 2011
When the girls and I went to the Second Hand Shop, I found Pressure Cookery for Every Meal by Ruth Berolzhiemer for 25 cents! This books expands the information provided in the book that came with the $5.00 pressure cooker. How exciting!
When we got home, I started a batch of orange marmalade by simmering oranges in 5 1/2 quarts of water for two hours. The rest of the process comes tomorrow... I am using one of the recipes by Dariana Allen's book, Forgotten Skills of Cooking.
When we got home, I started a batch of orange marmalade by simmering oranges in 5 1/2 quarts of water for two hours. The rest of the process comes tomorrow... I am using one of the recipes by Dariana Allen's book, Forgotten Skills of Cooking.
17 January 2011
Sunday is not complete without waffles. Tim made a large batch of waffles from scratch, and it was good. Add to that maple syrup, sausage patties (from a local butcher) and bacon, and you have the perfect Sunday.
In the process of cleaning out the attic, Cary found a stove-top percolator, still in a plastic bag. So exciting! I will try to use it to make our morning coffee. If it works, I'll use it from now on. No more filters, less energy, and I can use it on the wood stove. Cool...
In the process of cleaning out the attic, Cary found a stove-top percolator, still in a plastic bag. So exciting! I will try to use it to make our morning coffee. If it works, I'll use it from now on. No more filters, less energy, and I can use it on the wood stove. Cool...
Saturday, January 15, 2011
14 January 2011
The ice cream was delicious but not frozen in the manner I would have liked. I think I need to beat the egg yolks and cream more. Also, using a yellow bowl in which to beat the eggs was not an inspired choice (though it was very pretty). It made seeing the the yolks a little difficult...
I will definitely try this again!
I will definitely try this again!
13 January 2011
I made a game soup today from goose, venison and turkey with lentils, barley, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, shitaki mushrooms and chives. It was very good. I also made a stab at making coffee ice cream again from Forgotten Skills of Cooking that did not require using an ice cream machine. I hope it comes out well...
11 January 2011
Though it was a busy day and going out to get fast food was so very tempting, I made the girls wraps: one with Nutella and peanut butter (OK, the Nutella isn't completely natural, but it is good) and the other with mayonnaise I made myself and cheddar cheese. With celery, carrots and mushrooms, they were far more nutritious than fast food.
10 January 2010
A quiet day without much excitement. I didn't feel much like cooking so I defrosted some turkey soup I made in November for dinner. It was delicious with some artisan bread.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
8 January 2011
Ben broke in the pressure cooker by braising some venison in a mirepoix (chopped celery, carrots, onions and garlic cooked in olive oil). With it, we had freshly baked bread, rice, salad and fresh dressing. It was a wonderful meal! The pressure cooker was worth far more than the $5.00 I paid for it...
7 January 2011
The goose is gone...or the carcass at least. I picked off as much meat as I could manage and set it aside, then strained the "juice" in which the goose had been cooked though cheese cloth. Both should make a mighty fine soup...
For a snack we had the pumpkin seeds sprinkled with sea salt and toasted at 250 degrees F for thirty minutes. Yum.
For a snack we had the pumpkin seeds sprinkled with sea salt and toasted at 250 degrees F for thirty minutes. Yum.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
5 January 2011
Score!
On our weekly pilgrimage to the second-hand store, I found a four-quart pressure cooker complete with a recipe book and all the attachments. It's large enough to accommodate four pint canning jars, not to mention lots of other food besides. This will certainly make harvest-time all the more fruitful! Here's the best part. The price? $5.00.
Priceless...
On our weekly pilgrimage to the second-hand store, I found a four-quart pressure cooker complete with a recipe book and all the attachments. It's large enough to accommodate four pint canning jars, not to mention lots of other food besides. This will certainly make harvest-time all the more fruitful! Here's the best part. The price? $5.00.
Priceless...
4 January 2010
Happy Birthday to Tim.
I started a batch of coffee ice cream the day before, and today the girls and I tried to make it in the ice cream maker we got from a wonderful local, second-hand store. While the result was very flavorful, the ice cream machine was not a success. We used this recipe from Simply Recipes: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/coffee_ice_cream">http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/coffee_ice_cream. This is a recipe we will use again...
While the girls baked a batch of peanut butter cookies from the 1986 edition of The Joy of Cooking, I tried my hand at making mayonnaise using a recipe from Root Cellaring by Mike and Nancy Bubel (http://www.amazon.com/Root-Cellaring-Natural-Storage-Vegetables/dp/0882667033). Though I could have been a bit more accurate when measuring out the honey, the result was satisfyingly delicious. With egg yolks, dry mustard, honey, vinegar, lemon juice and oil as ingredients, how could you go wrong?
For a cake, I made a pumpkin spice cake (from a pumpkin I had stashed in a lower cabinet) with chocolate frosting from James Beard's American Cookery (http://www.culinate.com/books/book_reviews/James+Beard*27s+American+Cookery). It was very good, though I didn't make enough frosting the first time around (had to make more the next day).
I started a batch of coffee ice cream the day before, and today the girls and I tried to make it in the ice cream maker we got from a wonderful local, second-hand store. While the result was very flavorful, the ice cream machine was not a success. We used this recipe from Simply Recipes: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/coffee_ice_cream">http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/coffee_ice_cream. This is a recipe we will use again...
While the girls baked a batch of peanut butter cookies from the 1986 edition of The Joy of Cooking, I tried my hand at making mayonnaise using a recipe from Root Cellaring by Mike and Nancy Bubel (http://www.amazon.com/Root-Cellaring-Natural-Storage-Vegetables/dp/0882667033). Though I could have been a bit more accurate when measuring out the honey, the result was satisfyingly delicious. With egg yolks, dry mustard, honey, vinegar, lemon juice and oil as ingredients, how could you go wrong?
For a cake, I made a pumpkin spice cake (from a pumpkin I had stashed in a lower cabinet) with chocolate frosting from James Beard's American Cookery (http://www.culinate.com/books/book_reviews/James+Beard*27s+American+Cookery). It was very good, though I didn't make enough frosting the first time around (had to make more the next day).
3 January 2011
I cooked the goose today, using John Manikowski's recipe "Upside-Down Roast Canada Goose" (http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg1196/cangoose.html) and found it worked quite well. The recipe called for veal or chicken broth, so I used chicken broth that I had made myself and frozen in December.
For h'orderves, we had some of my Fromage Blanc and pâté I made from the goose livers using a recipe from Forgotten Skills of Cooking by Darina Allen (http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/03/cook-the-book-forgotten-skills-of-cooking.html).
To accompany the goose we had artisan bread baked that day, salad of mixed greens (OK, store-bought), radishes, mushrooms, carrots, celery and onions with a dressing I made myself of olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, chives and balsamic vinegar.
The goose tasted quite good, though it was a little overdone. All in all, it was a very satisfying meal. How wonderful that Ben was there to take part.
For h'orderves, we had some of my Fromage Blanc and pâté I made from the goose livers using a recipe from Forgotten Skills of Cooking by Darina Allen (http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/03/cook-the-book-forgotten-skills-of-cooking.html).
To accompany the goose we had artisan bread baked that day, salad of mixed greens (OK, store-bought), radishes, mushrooms, carrots, celery and onions with a dressing I made myself of olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, chives and balsamic vinegar.
The goose tasted quite good, though it was a little overdone. All in all, it was a very satisfying meal. How wonderful that Ben was there to take part.
1 January 2011
Happy New Year!
Some hunters gave my husband, Tim, a Canada goose that they had shot. I decided to dress the goose myself, inspired by my mother, who had processed many a broiler (and goose) on the farm of my childhood. After Tim dispatched the head, the process took about two hours.
I can see myself doing something like this again. It certainly connects one to one's food when being so intimately involved with the processing of the meat.
Some hunters gave my husband, Tim, a Canada goose that they had shot. I decided to dress the goose myself, inspired by my mother, who had processed many a broiler (and goose) on the farm of my childhood. After Tim dispatched the head, the process took about two hours.
I can see myself doing something like this again. It certainly connects one to one's food when being so intimately involved with the processing of the meat.
It begins...
The effort behind this blog began in the previous year (or two) thanks to books like Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and movies like King Corn and Food Inc. Reading Independence Days by Sharon Astyk provided the impetus to take the plunge and go still further--making even more food and living by the creed of the Locavore. This blog will chart our progress throughout 2011...
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