Short mead
A little before Pesach, I started a batch of orange spiced short mead. I racked it this evening and initial taste tests have come back decent. Sterile technique success.
Next time, maple mead? Hmmm.
Next time, maple mead? Hmmm.
Chocolate beet cake with cream cheese frosting
It's been nice having the kitchen to myself for an afternoon.
( Click for recipe! You know you want to. )
( Click for recipe! You know you want to. )
Facepalm moment
Why do I pay so much for granola, when it's so easy to make?
I just tried the above recipe. It's delicious.
I just tried the above recipe. It's delicious.
Applied Microbiology for Beginners: Fruit scraps vinegar
The experiment: Collect fruit scraps (apple cores, lemon peels, the white bits of a watermelon, etc.) in the 'fridge for whatever length of time is convenient. Add to a solution of 1/4 cup honey per liter of water, in a wide-neck bottle or jar. Cover with a cloth held on by a rubber band, and leave in a cool, dry place for a week. Next week, I'll find out whether watermelon rind makes a decent vinegar.
The science: The first and obvious step of any sugary solution left at room temperature is that wild yeasts will ferment the sugar into alcohol. Once there's alcohol in solution, the naturally occurring acetic acid bacteria will ferment that into vinegar, quickly lowering the pH below that favored by the various species of microbes and fungi that cause spoilage. (If the culture contains Acetobacter xylinium or similar, they'll form a harmless mat that floats at the top of the jar which is known as "mother of vinegar".)
The science: The first and obvious step of any sugary solution left at room temperature is that wild yeasts will ferment the sugar into alcohol. Once there's alcohol in solution, the naturally occurring acetic acid bacteria will ferment that into vinegar, quickly lowering the pH below that favored by the various species of microbes and fungi that cause spoilage. (If the culture contains Acetobacter xylinium or similar, they'll form a harmless mat that floats at the top of the jar which is known as "mother of vinegar".)
Salsa Fresca
Six yellow plum tomatoes, one bell pepper that's on the edge between yellow and red, lots of garlic, and a pinch of salt.
Perfection. :9
Perfection. :9
Garlic scape pesto
Garlic scapes are the flower buds of hardneck garlic. You cut them off so that the garlic will bulb more. I got mine at a farmer's market, and they taste delicious.
Pesto:
Into a food processor, combine garlic scapes, lemon juice, and olive oil. Run the food processor and adjust proportions to taste.
Serve on pasta or dip bread in it.
Pesto:
Into a food processor, combine garlic scapes, lemon juice, and olive oil. Run the food processor and adjust proportions to taste.
Serve on pasta or dip bread in it.
Evil Tea
So, I have either the beginnings of a cold, or a sinus infection. As a result, I feel kinda grotty and won't be up to much for a while.
In the mean time, I've kluged together a variant of ( Evil Tea. )
I'm drinking it as we speak. I ate breakfast a few hours ago, but this is the first thing I've been able to taste all day.
In the mean time, I've kluged together a variant of ( Evil Tea. )
I'm drinking it as we speak. I ate breakfast a few hours ago, but this is the first thing I've been able to taste all day.
Sunday evening salmon chowder
This past Sunday, the inevitable happened. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zeightyfiv and I were both too tired to make a grocery run, but we didn't have ingredients for our usual 'easy' foods. What we did have ingredients for was salmon chowder.
( Recipe inside. )
If you don't mind the salmon disintegrating into the broth, or larger chunks of potato, this could probably be a good slow-cooker recipe.
zeightyfiv and I were both too tired to make a grocery run, but we didn't have ingredients for our usual 'easy' foods. What we did have ingredients for was salmon chowder.( Recipe inside. )
If you don't mind the salmon disintegrating into the broth, or larger chunks of potato, this could probably be a good slow-cooker recipe.
Today I had an attack of avoidance, and spent five hours cooking...
And the results are delicious.
I think I've got enough food for a week (finally) without having to spend time cooking random incidental meals. I've been doing a lot of the latter these past few weeks, because I couldn't get it together to make a large batch of anything.
I now have:
* Fettuccini & mushroom alfredo (recipe tweaked in hopes of avoiding sauce separation)
* Vegetarian reverse-spaghetti (adding a big bag of soy crumbles resulted in having more sauce than gnocchi)
* Crock pot lentil dal (beef sage sausage, lentils, garlic, habanero, cooked intermittently for two days and counting)
I think I've got enough food for a week (finally) without having to spend time cooking random incidental meals. I've been doing a lot of the latter these past few weeks, because I couldn't get it together to make a large batch of anything.
I now have:
* Fettuccini & mushroom alfredo (recipe tweaked in hopes of avoiding sauce separation)
* Vegetarian reverse-spaghetti (adding a big bag of soy crumbles resulted in having more sauce than gnocchi)
* Crock pot lentil dal (beef sage sausage, lentils, garlic, habanero, cooked intermittently for two days and counting)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
403 picked a peck of pickled peppers...
Okay, not quite. A peck is 2.06 dry gallons (Imperial), and that's a lot of peppers.
( Preserving them turns out to be very simple. )
( Preserving them turns out to be very simple. )
Mini-pies and other kitchen goodness
Single-serving pie in a jar recipe, and how to make flakey pie crust with unsaturated oils. (Note to self: With both recipes, it's important to keep the dough cold.)
Also to try: Baked sweet-potato fries.
Tomorrow, I bake bread.
Also to try: Baked sweet-potato fries.
Tomorrow, I bake bread.
Entry tags:
- food,
- health,
- links,
- mind/brain,
- recipes
Today, I conclusively determined that I'm a wuss.
So, I baked bread today. By the time it was cool enough to eat, I was hungry and tired. ( Remainder cut for the squeamish. )
And after all that, I've finally managed to try some of the bread. It's tasty. But on the whole.. Probably not worth it.
And after all that, I've finally managed to try some of the bread. It's tasty. But on the whole.. Probably not worth it.
The technical term for this is OmNomNom...
So! Today I decided to figure out veggie tempura.
It is: ( inside. )
The tempura batter didn't get as golden-brown or crunchy as what I've had in restaraunts. It's possible that I didn't have the oil hot enough. I may also add a tablespoon of dark sesame oil to the next attempt to see how it tweaks the flavor.
As always, dispose of used fry oil in a container in the trash, not down the sink. Otherwise it may (eventually will) clog your pipes.
It is: ( inside. )
The tempura batter didn't get as golden-brown or crunchy as what I've had in restaraunts. It's possible that I didn't have the oil hot enough. I may also add a tablespoon of dark sesame oil to the next attempt to see how it tweaks the flavor.
As always, dispose of used fry oil in a container in the trash, not down the sink. Otherwise it may (eventually will) clog your pipes.