Fall's bounty

So it has been awhile since updating, and I have been quite busy in the kitchen. Besides the normal cooking that I do, mostly with the CSA box bounty, I have done a few other projects to speak of. Firstly, I made a new batch of jam, a Pear Lime and Ginger jam, of completely my own creation. And it seems I've been in a big ginger mood lately, as I also tried a new recipe for ginger cake, or Gembertaart, as Gourmet magazine calls it. It's quite good, but the recipe has some ridiculous steps, such as making a foam out of egg whites and folding it into the very dense batter, which completely deflates the whites. But it is quite good, and makes an excellent tea cake or something to eat a slice with a small glass of sherry.

Speaking of sherry, I have to share that Kyle and I are wine club members of Mount Palomar winery in Temecula, CA and they make the best Solera aged cream sherry. Very nice and hazelnutty in flavor. Anyway, we went up to Temecula for some wine tasting, and we picked up another bottle of this divine liqueur.

Hmm, what else? Well, I made cheese again, this time a mascarpone cheese. It's a very rich yummy cheese, perfect mixed with a tiny bit of vanilla sugar and served along ripe, sliced pears. And of course, like many other people, I keep mispronouncing it "maRSCapone" instead of what it should be, "masCARponE". Otherwise, I have stumbled upon a really interesting vegetable item at Bristol Farms (which has a great full-service butcher, by the way), an upscale market. Brussel sprouts. Yup, you read that right, Brussel sprouts. But on a full stalk, which I had no idea they grew on. I ended up cooking them with a roasted spatchcocked chicken and some roasted potatoes for Thanksgiving. Of course, the best way to cook Brussel sprouts is to cook them simply and quickly. Briefly, I trimmed and washed the sprouts, boiled for 10 minutes, then tossed in a saucepan with some melted butter, minced garlic, some lemon juice, and minced parsley. Very good. And nice to have a simple meal, as I mostly boycotted Thanksgiving this year, as for some reason it always stresses me out every year.

Of course, when spatchcocking the chicken, I used my kitchen scissors and realized they aren't as heavy duty as I would like. I went ahead and bought some Messermeister heavy-duty kitchen shears that should easily handle chickens, and I can also separate the blades for cleaning and sharpening. Of course, Kyle doesn't get how I still need kitchen stuff, but oh well. And related to that, I was able to purchase some lovely All-Clad pans, like a saucier and a fry pan at their outlet, which carry factory imperfections. This means i got both pans for quite cheap, actually for more than 50% off retail since I purchased the pans with a friend and got an additional 20% off. I can't wait till they arrive!

Not so jammin'

So just a few updates on what I've been doing lately. As for my beloved ricotta salata I was trying to attempt, the curds were way too overcooked, and so they didn't press so well, giving me a cheese that was tasty, but really crumbly in texture and dry in an uneven way. Next time I'll definitely up the citric acid and hope I get better yields. But definitely not adding any more heat is the way to go. Hey, it was worth a shot though. Only cost me about the price of a gallon of milk and some time to experiment.

As for an earlier post involving my apple pectin stock, it did set up. Sort of. But when the big test came for it to be used as pectin stock in a black cherry with pinot noir jam recipe, I got....that's right, cherry sauce. So I now have lots of tasty, runny black cherry sauce and pretty much useless apple pectin stock (but decent apple jelly, if you like that sort of thing). Oh well, maybe I just need to resign myself to using a little bit of commercial pectin for certain recipes.

in other food epiphany news, on Friday I used a coupon at the new Bristol farms to buy some very pretty albacore tuna steaks since they looked good at the store, but wasn't sure what to do with them. I decided to lightly sear the top and bottom of each piece (after seasoning it with salt and pepper and adding toasted sesame seeds) till the inside was about med rare, and serving it with a wasabi compound butter on top. For a side, I did a personal house standard of shredded carrot and shredded radishes, sometimes thinly sliced green onion, with some ginger and rice vinegar (let sit for a bit to get everything all nice and vinegary). It was so incredibly good! And the wasabi butter part totally contrasted with the fish in a nice, smooth way. I love asian-style cuisine.



As you can see form the picture, it made quite a nice sight sitting on a plate. Of course, I'm still experimenting with good ways to take food pics, but now I have a new fancy camera to take better pics of. Yup, we finally succumbed to a new small, sexy camera, the Canon Powershot SD600. It's so pretty and shiny! But now I actually have to get better at taking food pics because I no longer have the "I have a crappy camera" excuse. Oh well, hopefully people won't be afraid to give me lots of tips.

Curds and Whey

Weekends appear to be my busy Amish times, because this time around I made cheese! I made ricotta again in order to make ricotta salata, which is a dry, salted ricotta that apparently is very good for eating out of hand. Right now its happily being pressed in the fridge, and will soon begin it's salting and aging process for the next few weeks.

I really hope it turns out because when I made it this time, I think I overcooked the curds. I was trying to get it not only to the curdle stage (which it did, beautifully), but also to the "no milky whey" stage like the book suggests. Alas, I still had milky whey, but I finally gave up when I realized the curds were turning a bit rubbery. I think perhaps I just need more curdling agent on the front end to maximize my yield from grocery store milk. Basically, the recipe is as follows (paraphrased courtesy of Home Cheesemaking, a great book by Ricki Carrol):

Whole Milk Ricotta
-1 gallon whole milk (not ultra-pasteurized)
-1 tsp citric acid dissolved in 1/4 cup cool, unchlorinated water
-1 tsp salt

Mix salt and citric acid solution together. Add to milk, stirring well. Heat milk slowly to 185-195 degrees (should take at least 20 min), stirring often to prevent scorching. Once curds and whey separate and no milky whey is left, turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes undisturbed.

Gently transfer curds into butter muslin-lined colander , and hang for 20-30 minutes above bowl (to catch drips) until desired amount of whey has drained off. Store in sealed plastic container in fridge for up to 2 weeks, if it lasts that long.

Note: Citric acid can be ordered online (see link at left) or found in any homebrewing shop for beer or wine. Butter Muslin can be ordered online, or storebought cheesecloth can be folded several times over for drainage. Jersey cotton shirt material also works nicely. Just make sure holes aren't too large, or all the cheese will drain right through.

So next time I think I'll try adding 1 1/2 tsp of citric acid and see how that works. Hopefully my yield will improve without imparting too much of a rubbery texture

Cheese & Jam

I must say, the hardest thing about this blog (well, any writing) is how to start? I mean, since I don't post very often, a lot does tend to happen in my weeks away. Well, a lot for me anyway. Do I start by talking about the mozzarella cheese I made, and show everyone the yummy pics that I took during production? Or perhaps I can regale everyone with tales of my plum jam and the unfortunate cut that occurred? Or maybe talk about the cool new restaurant Kyle and I found that makes its own sausage?

Well, I guess I'll just start from the top, as I am a list person. About a week ago I made mozzarella cheese again, which is important because...I have pics to prove that it happened.







And of course, the cheese was tasty as always. Next time I really want to try and make feta cheese, so hopefully this coming weekend. What else, what else? Oh yes, I made plum jam as a friend of mine kept raving about her grandma's plum jam everytime I mentioned jam. So I decided to make some, since the stone fruit crop is really good this year, and alas, misfortune happened to me.

That's right, while chopping some plums, I decided to chop my thumb a bit too. Knife went right through the nail and started bleeding something fierce. Of course, my first thought was "no blood on the food!" so I was quickly able to avoid any blood on the food and get my thumb all wrapped up so I could finish the jam. So funny how anymore when I hurt myself, it's more an inconvenience than painful and all I can think of is how annoying cooking with a bandaid will be. The plums did get chopped, albeit slowly, and I managed to make plum jam with a bit of cinnamon in it.



I also just ordered a book by Christine Ferber, all on small batch, interesting jams (or confitures, how French!) and I can't wait to try new and exciting combinations.

Hmmm, what else? Well, Kyle's birthday was yesterday, and to celebrate over the last weekend, we went to a great place in North Park called The Linkery. Why is it called The Linkery? Well, they make their own sausage in house. I mean, how great is that! Plus, they're dedicated to local, sustainable produce with high quality for a reasonable price. And it was all very, very tasty. Someday, when I have more room, I can make my own sausage and truly become a Renaissance woman of the hearth. Most people think I'm crazy, and I can't really tell them I'm not, because I do know how odd it is that I have started making my own cheese and jam and want to make sausage and someday learn how to butcher meat, and all sorts of other stuff. Oh well, maybe I really am "Amish" like my friends tease me :)

Long time gone

So....it's been about a year since writing this blog, and I guess I just stopped doing it for some reason, mostly cause I got lazy. But Kyle and I hung out with a friend (down for ComicCon, more on that later!) yesterday who mentioned the blog and limoncello, and I thought why not start posting again and at least post the recipe for him to use all those lemons with. So first things first, here's my limoncello recipe:

*6-7 thick-skinned lemons, preferably organic so no pesticides
*2 cups vodka (Smirnoff Red works well; don't use a really cheap vodka, but yummy Grey goose would be wasted here)
*1 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
*1 1/4 cup water

Wash the lemons in hot water before starting with veggie brush to remove any dirt or wax. Remove the peel with a veggie peeler, removing all the white pith on the back so it doesn't turn all bitter. Put the peels in a large jar (enough to hold 4-5 cups) that can be sealed tightly. A mason jar with lid works well, but so does the cool flip top jars. Add 1 cup of vodka to jar and swish around. Cover the jar with cap, date it and put it in a dark place at room temp.

After 20 days, take out mixture. In a saucepan over med-high heat, make a simple sugar syrup from all the water and sugar. Let boil for 3-5 minutes. Let syrup cool completely, then add to vodka lemon mixture, also adding the last cup of vodka. Mix well, cover, and date again.

Let sit in a dark, room temp place for about 2 weeks, at which time taste every so often until it's to your liking. The mixture should be sweet but tart, and smell a lot of lemons. When done, strain the mixture (discard lemon peels) and place in pretty, capped bottles. Really good cold as a sipping drink, but also good poured over fresh fruit or pound cake. Enjoy!
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Okay, hope that helps. Anyway, I've been up to a lot in the last 10 months. Hmm, we got a kitty (Kaylee) who is just so sweet, even though she always wakes me up at 6:30 in the morning. Also, since we had such a great time adopting here from the county shelter, I now volunteer at the central shelter. There's a link posted, for those looking for more info.



Also, Kyle has started to make his own beer, which is very good. So far he's made a porter and a German whit beer, both of which are nice and not too hoppy, so I can drink them ;) he's so sweet! As for me, I have started making jam and preserves quite a bit, and also started making cheese. I know, I get teased about being Amish all the time. I realize most people don't make cheese, but actually for soft cheese it's not too hard. I tried a gervais cheese (like cream cheese), ricotta, and mozzarella, and they all were quite delicious.



What else? Well, lots of cooking things I'm sure, and other stuff I can't really remember right now. Oh, but this is important! I've found a fabulous new show to watch that I totally love! Veronica Mars, and everyone should watch it, it's an amazing show! If you liked any Joss Whedon work at all, you would love this simply because it has a fresh, strong woman as the lead with amazing character development, storylines, and dialogue. Which leads me to the most exciting news ever!

I met Joss Whedon!!!!!!

That's right, I went with Kyle to San Diego ComicCon this year, and saw tons of amazing things, but most of all I met Joss Whedon and got him to sign my Fray comic book that he wrote. Seriously, I can't stop smiling about it:) For those who don't know, I am obsessed with all things Joss, such as Buffy, Angel, and Firefly, three amazing shows that everyone should watch.



Otherwise, it's just been horribly, horribly hot and humid here. We have both fans going full time, and it's barely made a dent. I don't remember it ever being this bad. I don't even want to think about cooking or dishes or laundry in heat like this. Luckily our complex has a pool (what one doesn't in SoCal!) so I think I'll take a swim. Hopefully it won't be another 10 months till I remember to post again ;)

Cheese and Sushi

So finally I get a chance to update this blog. Work has been pretty busy, but in a good way. And of course instead of writing about food so much, I've been making it. Last Saturday I went to a sushi making class that my old coworkers purchased for me. It was so much fun, and I learned a lot about making sushi and sushi etiquette. Plus, I got to make and eat tasty sushi, which is always fun. The class was in this cute little shop called Kitchen Witch with lots of fun cooking and baking supplies to tempt me. But I was fairly good, and I only grabbed a few things like dried lavender and bittersweet chocolate.

But I finally got a chance to make lavender pound cake from a recipe I had, which sadly sounds better than it actually tastes. It's pretty good, but not as fluffy as I thought it would be. Also, I added some lavender to honey to make lavender honey for use with hot tea, and it already tastes yummy.

Also had R&A over on Sunday for dinner and Firefly watching. Made a lime-ginger salmon and a side of warm potatoes with basil vinaigrette. Tried my hand at making yogurt cheese from the tasty French-style yogurt from Trader Joe's. It was quite easy, just a matter of draining the yogurt on paper towels in a strainer, then hung in a ball in cheesecloth. It turned out creamy and slightly tangy, sort of like goat cheese.