Special Wednesday Edition of Sunday Bread- NY Rye

by: Something The Dog Said

Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 12:08:28 PM PDT

Our Post-Harvest Celebratory Dinner

by: Jill Richardson

Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 22:50:23 PM PDT

Yogurt, Pefected

by: euclidarms

Sat Feb 20, 2010 at 04:59:54 AM PST

I'm always looking for ways to simpifly our yogurt making process. We make a quart each week with milk and cream we get delivered from our grassfed dairy, South Mountain Creamery. Until recently, I used a fairly rigorous process of bringing a mix of "creamtop" (unhomegenized) milk and heavy cream to 200 degrees on the stove top, then lowering the heat on the stove and keeping the milk at that temperature for about 20 minutes, monitoring frequently with my instant-read thermometer to make sure it didn't overheat. Then I would put the pot in a bath of cold water and quickly lower the temperature to 120 before mixing in my bacteria culture.

Well, sometimes I got distracted and the milk did overheat. Or maybe I just got tired of taking the milk's temperature all the time. And the whole water bath thing is a bit of a hassle, as well as a waste of water. In any case, I've found that my yogurt comes out just as fine--thick and creamy--if I just bring the mix to that magic 200 degrees, then turn off the stove and let the milk cool to 120 degrees on its own. Voila: I don't have to do hardly any work at all. The yogurt makes itself.

Sometimes the lazy way is also the most effective and fool-proof. The point of heating the yogurt is to make it thick. If you were thinking it's the amount of starter culture you add to the mix that thickens it, you'd be wrong. It's the heat, and the amount of time heat is applied. This binds the proteins in the milk together, resulting in thickness. So letting the temperature rise slowly, then deline slowly, gives those proteins plenty of time to do the necessary binding.

Still, this method didn't seem entirely simple enough. Is it possible to make yogurt this way if you don't have an instant-read thermomenter? Before I answer that, I would urge you to get an an instant-read thermometer if you don't have one already. It is an essential kitchen tool. That's why you see chefs walking around with one stuck in the pocket of their chef's jacket.

But, yes, I think it is possible to make yogurt without actually measuring the temperature of the milk. When the milk gets to 200 degrees, there should be a fairly thick layer of foam on top. The milk won't be bubbling--you don't want to boil it, at which point the proteins will separate. But there will be foam. Then simply turn off the burner and let the milk rest until it is just warm--not hot--to the touch. This might not be exactly 120 degrees. But the point is, bacteria are killed around 140 degrees, and the last thing you want to do is kill your starter culture when you add it to the milk. You won't get any yogurt at all if the bacteria are dead. Better to err on the cooler side.

So this is my new method for making our weekly yogurt: To make enough yogurt to fill a quart-size canning jar, first put two heaping tablespoons of last week's yogurt in a small bowl and set it aside on the kitchen counter to come up to temperature and activate the bacteria. If you don't have yogurt already, you can use any plain yogurt from the store with active cultures in it. We started with a small container of "Icelandic-style" yogurt. It was expensive, but incredibly delicious, with a distinctive tang.

Next, measure 3 cups of the best whole milk you can find, then add 3/4 cup heavy cream (the cream is optional--you can use milk only if you like.) Pour this into a heavy saucepan and heat on the lowest setting on the stove. We have an electric range, and not the typical coil burners, but those big, solid, European-style metal burners. These give off a gentle heat at the lowest setting.  If you have a gas range, or if your saucepan is not so heavy, you might want to consider investing in some kind of heat deflector so that you don't scorch your milk.

Heat the milk gently to 200 degrees, as measured with an instant-read thermometer, or when there is a thick layer of foam on the milk. Turn off the heat and allow the milk to cool to 120 degrees, or to a point where it is warm--but not hot--to the touch. Use a small whisk, if you have one, to stir your reserved culture into the warm milk. Now pour the mix into a warm canning jar and place the jar in a small cooler. I usually place a couple of extra canning jars filled with hot water in the cooler as well. Set the cooler in a warm spot overnight.

The yogurt will form within a few hours. But since I restrict the number of carbohydrates I eat,  I let my yogurt ferment another day at room temperature. This gives  the bacteria plenty of time to convert the naturally occurring lactose in the milk into lactic acid.

Try this and see if it isn't the best yogurt you've ever tasted.  You may never buy yogurt again.

Eat Yer (Carrot) Greens

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Feb 13, 2010 at 18:53:13 PM PST

After some discussion on this blog, I looked around and found that (much to my compost pile's disappointment) carrot greens ARE edible and, in fact, there are carrot top recipes. Woo-hoo! So here's a photo diary of two different carrot top recipes.

Snowed in with Apple Pancake

by: euclidarms

Fri Feb 12, 2010 at 04:12:02 AM PST

After being snowed in for a week, thoughts do turn to food. My wife dug into the crisper drawer (somehow, it's always stuffed to the gunwales) to make this lovely apple pancake.

Well, it's more like a crepe, but very simple. The recipe comes from our favorite breakfast-oriented cookbook, the aptly titled The Breakfast Book, by Marion Cunningham. In it you'll find all sorts of recipes for pancakes, scones, eggs, marmalades--even lemon curd. It really is a classic reference to have close at hand.

My wife adapted Marion's apple pancake recipe slightly. She only used one "medium" apple instead of the two "large" apples called for. And she caramelized the apple in butter after slicing it into thin wedges for additional flavor. You'll get no complaints from me.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a heavy 10-inch skillet (we use cast-iron), then take off the heat. Remove 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and set aside in a small bowl.

Put the slices from two large apples, peeled and cored, in a large bowl with 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Separately, stir 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon into 5 tablespoons confectioner's sugar and sprinkle the mix over the apple slices. Toss to mix. Put the skillet back on the burner and turn heat to medium. Add the apples and cook, stirring often, for about 3 or 4 minutes, or until the apples are tender but still hold their shape (here you can caramelize the apples should you desire).

In a separate bowl (or blender or food processor) combine 3 room-temperature eggs, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup milk and the reserved 2 tablespoons melted butter. Beat until smooth. Spread the apples evenly over the bottom of the skillet and pour the batter on top. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden and puffy. Turn immediately onto a warm platter so the apples are on top. Dust with confectioner's sugar and serve at once.

Turn Whey into Cream of Broccoli Soup

by: euclidarms

Thu Feb 11, 2010 at 11:01:48 AM PST

Yesterday I described the simple process my wife used to make delicious ricotta cheese. Since she made it from fresh, whole milk, it produced lots of whey. That's the liquid that separates from the protein solids in the cheese making process. We had a pot of whey sitting in the refrigerator for several days trying to figure out what to do with it, until my wife had the brilliant idea to use it as a soup base.

Just as the ricotta was simple, so is the cream of broccoli soup she made with only four ingredients--onion, broccoli, whey, heavy cream--and seasonings. First, roughly chop 1 large onion and sweat it in a heavy pot with about three tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil until the onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in two large heads of broccoli, the florets divided and the stems peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds. Saute a few minutes longer. Then add to the pot 2 cups whey. Bring almost to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the broccoli is completely cooked through.

Run the soup mix through a food mill or blender until smooth. Then return to the pot and stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Do I really need to tell you this is the best cream of broccoli soup ever? You could add some garlic croutons, or a generous dab of sour cream. Perhaps you like other spices--a pinch of nutmeg, maybe? In any case, this is a great way to get another meal out of making ricotta. But as our friend El pointed out in a comment yesterday, you don't have to use buttermilk to make your ricotta; you can use something else acid, such as El's homemade cider vinegar, or even lemon juice, which would result in much less whey.

But we like our new whey-based soup. No way, you say?

Whey.

Making Ricotta

by: euclidarms

Thu Feb 11, 2010 at 11:00:03 AM PST

My wife recently had an itch to make ricotta cheese. She says that cheese making and writing limericks are her new passions. Who knew?

Anyway, her ricotta, made with the grassfed milk we get from our local dairy, was the best I've ever tasted: thick and creamy. I ate it right out of the bowl, although I suppose you could make a smashing cheese cake with it, or lasagna. Sorry, I finished it before we ever got that far.

In Italian, ricotta means "re-cooked," because this really isn't a cheese, but rather a byproduct of the cheese making process. When the milk is heated to make the cheese, the whey separates from the protein. The protein becomes the cheese. Except that there's usually some protein still left in the whey. If you cook that again (ri-cotta), the remaining protein forms ricotta.

So what happens when you cook regular milk--instead of whey--to make ricotta? Well, as I've said, you get an incredible ricotta, although technically speaking it isn't "re-cooked": it's only been cooked once. You also end up with a lot of whey. But we'll get to that.

To make the ricotta, my wife used the method described in the February-March issue of ReadyMade magazine. To make 2 2/3 cups ricotta, pour 1 gallon whole milk and 4 cups buttermilk into a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, line a colander with four layers of cheesecloth and set inside a large bowl.

Stir the milk, scraping the bottom of the pot, until the milk is slightly hot to the touch. White, fluffy curds will begin to separate from the paler whey. About a minute after the first curds begin to form, remove the pot from the heat and use a slotted spoon to scoop the curds into the cloth-lined colander.

Gather the cloth around the curds and let it drain for a minute (more if you want the cheese drier). Salt to taste and it's done!

How simple could that be? You can eat the ricotta spread on bread or crackers with jam (we love our green tomato and apple chutney for this), or use it in baked goods. But now you have a pot full of whey. Do not throw it out! Tomorrow we'll describe how to turn that extremely healthful whey into a terrific cream of broccoli soup.

Kids Make Curried Chicken from Southern Africa

by: euclidarms

Fri Feb 05, 2010 at 02:55:43 AM PST

The food appreciation classes I teach at a private elementary school here in the District of Columbia this week landed in Southern Africa on our virtual world food tour. Because of the many Indian immigrants in this part of the continent, there is a definite tilt toward curry dishes in the cuisine. This one, called Kalya e Khaas, is surprisingly easy. Other than the spice mix, only a few ingredients are involved, most prominently chicken, yogurt and onions. But it is so good.

In the Indian tradition, "curry" really means any dish with a sauce, not so much a specific spice mix. But I think you will find this particular blend of spices intoxicating, especially if you grind them yourself. This is the part of the lesson I wanted to stress to the kids in our classes. We are all about making food the old-fashioned way, without fancy electric gadgets. Although you could use an electric grinder for this, the kids are just as happy to pass a mortar and pestle and grind away by hand.

So grind together 1 stick cinnamon, broken into pieces (or 1 scant teaspoon ground cinnamon); seeds only from 4 cardamon pods (we crack them open with finger nails to remove the seeds); 4 whole cloves, 5 whole black peppercorns; 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds; generous pinch saffron threads; 1/4 teaspoon turmeric; pinch cayenne pepper. Grind everything into a fine powder. Then add 1 Serrano pepper, seeds and veins removed and finely chopped. Grind this into the spice mix. Set aside.

Take a whole chicken and cut it into pieces. Or, use 2 pounds breast meat or boneless thigh meat, cut into bite-size dice. We chose the latter. Mix the chicken in a bowl with 1 cup plain yogurt. Stir in the spice mix and 2/3 14-ounce can diced tomatoes. Add 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger and 3 grated cloves of garlic. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to marinate while you cook your onions.

The next step requires 1/4 cup clarified butter. There's no trick to this. Simply melt a stick of butter in a saucepan over low heat. Most of the protein in the butter with rise to the top as foam. Simply skim it away with a spoon and discard. What you want is the remaining fat. Pour this carefully into a heavy pot, leaving behind any solids that may have settled at the bottom. Now heat the butter and add two medium onions, cut into small dice. Cook the onions, stirring frequently, until they are golden brown.

Now add the marinated chicken to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through. The yogurt and juices from the tomato will have become a delicious sauce and your kitchen should be filled with the unmistakable aroma of curry spices.

Serve the chicken hot, perhaps with brown rice. Garnish it with leaves from several stems of cilantro and mint, roughly chopped. The kids begged for second helpings.

For more great stories about how we are taking back our food system, check Fight Back Friday.

Kumquat Preserves: A Dessert Topping, NOT A Floor Wax

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Jan 22, 2010 at 19:12:25 PM PST

I loaded up with tons of kumquats and started looking for a recipe. Needless to say - if you've seen the SNL commercial I'm referencing - the sticky mixture I made is a great dessert topping, but definitely NOT a floor wax!

Awesome Cookbook, Nourishing Traditions

by: Brad Wilson

Mon Jan 18, 2010 at 09:16:38 AM PST

Have you folks seen Sally Fallon's awesome cookbook, Nourishing Traditions.  She's with the Weston A. Price Foundation, which is listed on the promotional page for the film, "Fresh," here:  http://www.freshthemovie.com/m...

The book has recipes and the margins are filled with fascinating food facts and quizzes.  The front has a powerful summary of research based nutritional information.

This group has done a great job of demonstrating shared interests between the food movement and farmers.  (See Joel Salatin's endorsement of Sally Fallon's work here  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...  Their research data emphasizes nutritionally dense foods.  They're great at overcoming corporate myths for vegetable transfats and hydrogenated oils and against saturated fats from eggs, dairy/milk, pork, and poultry, which they show to be crucial to our health.  They're leading in the fight for raw milk and against soy.  Got Silk?  Oooops.  You better check out what the Weston A. Price foundation has found out about it.  (Have yo seen the bumper sticker:  Babies need milk, not beans!)

Favorite burger recipes thread

by: desmoinesdem

Mon Jan 18, 2010 at 08:05:34 AM PST

Veggie burgers (suitable for vegans)

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon mustard (I like coarse-ground, but dijon or other smooth kinds work well too)
1 tablespoon tomato paste (or ketchup)
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 medium or two small onions
1 large or two regular cloves garlic
1 carrot, shredded
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
about 3/4 cup rolled oats

In medium bowl, mash beans with potato masher. Add mustard, tomato paste or ketchup, and soy sauce and mash together.

Chop onion and saute in vegetable or olive oil. After a few minutes, add the shredded carrot. When onion and carrot are soft, add cumin, chili powder and pressed garlic cloves. Stir for another two minutes or so, adding a tablespoon or two of water if you need to prevent sticking. Stir sauteed vegetables into bowl with bean mixture. Add rolled oats and mix well. I like to leave this to sit in the refrigerator for a while to let the oats soften.

At dinner time, heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook on both sides for 5-8 minutes.

Share your own favorite burger recipes--vegan, vegetarian or carnivore--in this thread.

Citrus fruit recipe thread

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Jan 05, 2010 at 16:13:50 PM PST

I'm no college football fan, but in honor of the Iowa Hawkeyes playing Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl tonight, I wanted to put up this thread on favorite citrus fruit recipes.

I like oranges and grapefruit so much that I almost always eat them plain. However, I'm interested to hear other ideas for using them in salads, side dishes or desserts. I use a little lemon or lime juice frequently in Indian or Thai cooking, but the citrus isn't the centerpiece of the dish.

After the jump I've posted a recipe for lemon-sesame salad dressing and a cake with lemon syrup that I haven't made since before I had kids. It's not even that time-consuming, but making the syrup seems to be one step too many for me these days.

Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino

by: jasmaiden109

Thu Dec 31, 2009 at 02:41:21 AM PST

The Italian recipes of Spaghetti with Garlic , Oil, and Chilli.

Book Review: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Dec 28, 2009 at 21:51:59 PM PST

So here's the review: The book's great. I love it. The cookies include all of the classics plus innovative varieties like Tahini Lime Cookies and Sweet Wine Biscuits with Sesame. Plus it starts with sections on ingredients and equipment that make clear what you need, why you need it, and when and how you can substitute. They even include a gluten free flour recipe that you can use to replace regular flour. That's wonderful because, let me tell you - if one dietary restriction is harder, once you start mixing and matching dietary restrictions you're really screwed. Vegan cookies? Sure. Gluten free? No problem. Vegan and gluten free? Umm, eat some fresh berries for dessert. So I like it that this book actually provides an option there.

Tonight we used the book to make brownies. I thought about doing it together with my boyfriend's kids but I didn't want them to catch me putting tofu in the brownies. I made a few substitutions. I used applesauce instead of canola oil to reduce the fat and 1 tsp arrowroot powder instead of 1 tbsp corn starch because we didn't have any corn starch. The result is fantastic. They are a bit fluffier and more cake-like than I'd like in a brownie, but they are better than ANY boxed mix you will ever find. The only way to beat them would be to use a from-scratch recipe with tons of eggs and butter. Or maybe they would be better if you follow the recipe as written instead of substituting like I did. And I have a hunch that with some experimentation, you could find a way to make them denser and fudgier using avocado.

UPDATE: One more thought: You don't need to be a vegan to use the recipes in this book. You can't taste the tofu in the brownies. And most people don't eat bacon-flavored cookies, so it's not like any meat eater would be giving something up by eating a vegan cookie. All in all, it's a painless way to cut down your carbon footprint without noticeably giving anything up. The only aspect that might be annoying to non-vegans is that the recipes call for ingredients you might not keep in the house (like soy milk).

New Year's Traditions: What Are Yours?

by: Youffraita

Sun Dec 27, 2009 at 00:34:10 AM PST

That's the extent of my plans at the moment, although if anyone has a great recipe for a maple-bourbon glaze for the ham, I'm interested: haven't found one online that could match the one a friend of mine (a former chef) did off-the-cuff some years ago when we collaborated on dinner.  (She was in charge of the ham; I watched her make the glaze but have never been able to reproduce it.)