Ice Cream

I had a hankering for coffee ice cream...so I made some. I relied on this recipe, http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/coffee_ice_cream/ because I think it is the best tasting one I've found so far. David Lebovitz's blog entry on making ice cream without a machine was invaluable, as always (http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/making-ice-crea-1/ ). Even though I forgot to add the sugar until after the point I was supposed to, it came out very well.

Rendering Lard: The Moment of Truth

Now for the moment of truth.

Take two is on the left and the first version is on the right. Vive la différence.

I have more lard in the freezer. Perhaps I'll have another go...

Rendering Lard: Part Two (Take Two)

Thank goodness I had nine pounds of lard left.

I started the process again with another pot and a slightly higher temperature. I also made sure to stop the process sooner, when the cracklings were perhaps a bit too plump but the lard still smelled crisp and good.

The end result should pay off.

The cracklings are still a but plump.

The lard looks nice and clear. The true test will come tomorrow after the lard cools in its jars.

Rendering Lard: Part Two

In this step, the lard is mixed with water and heated until cracklings, or crisped fat, appears. Unfortunately for me, I did this step too long, waiting for the cracklings to sink. As a consequence, the lard has a slight burnt taste....

The cracklings are too crisp...

Rendering Lard, Part One

Did you ever have 23.5 pounds of lard and not know what to do? Render it.

I relied on this site for guidance: http://nourishedkitchen.com/how-to-render-lard/.

Step one: cut up the lard into small pieces.

(This took hours...)

Seeds

On Friday, I finally mailed in my seed order to Fedco Seeds. I bought mostly heirloom varieties that should provide plenty of bounty for the year. I can't wait till the snow melts away....

Breakfast

Perhaps breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. It certainly is enjoyable when it features Tim's famous waffles or pancakes, made from scratch. Add to that Kate's butter, maple syrup, local eggs and crisp bacon, you have bliss.

1-6 May 2011

Today I picked up the pig we had purchased while still in New York. Combined with the vegetables, tomato sauce packages, pies that Tim made in the fall, and the venison, our freezers are full. To celebrate, we had pasta with homemade tomato sauce with sweet sausage for dinner. A satisfying meal! So good, we had it again later that week.