Home and Hearth

William and Sarah's photo blog about gardening, home economics, and building a life together in a Missouri town.

[missourihome]

Some Missouri photos. First two were taken in our hometown, the last at “Our Lady of Snows” shrine in the E. St. Louis area.

[missourihome]

Alternative Uses for Yogurt Makers Version 1

Warning: this is highly experimental. Some of these will work, some may not. The most questionable ones are marked with a question mark. Assumes yogurt maker warms to 100°F- 110°F range.

Primary:

Yogurt

Non-Dairy Yogurt

Quark (from buttermilk)

Sous vide

Natto (bacillus subtilis natto)

Cheonggukjang 청국장

Sprouted/germinated brown rice 현발아 http://www.instructables.com/id/HOWTO-make-GBR-germinated-or-sprouted-brown-rice/step6/And-one-hack-for-making-even-better-GBR/

Infused oils

Sour mash for homebrew https://byo.com/all-grain-brewing/item/1691-sour-mashing-techniques

Koji fermentation (Aspergillus oryzae)

Not sure how well temp range matches up, but some of these may be possible

koji rice http://homebrewsake.com/home/recipe/video-series-and-instructions-for-making-koji-for-sake/

Amazake?

sake

rice wine vinegar

shio-kōji?

ama-koji?

doupo/douchi? (fermented black bean) http://lilacgirls.com/archives/11

doufuru? 霉豆腐

douchi, hamanatto, shih, chi, ji

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.soyinfocenter.com%2FHSS%2Fsoy_nuggets1.php&ei=P8RCVInFBs6dygTk7YCwCA&usg=AFQjCNFDX0ecLg6bWv5hYw0j-UN3X2f3EA&sig2=gOOmLL0O2VnNng1659qO6g&bvm=bv.77648437,d.aWw

15-min beer yeast starter??

something from Mijiunai distiller's yeast leavening agent mijiunai leavening agent 0.8 5l mijiunai???? sake?

Tempeh? (Probably a little hot but might work)

http://www.tempeh.info/science/incubation-temperature.php

Cheese / Lactic Cheese?

cooking curds for haloumi

http://www.cheesemaking.com/Halloumi.html

or cheddar

http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/69-Cheese-Cultures.html

MAO11 at the high end though

TA061 Streptococcus thermophilus

semi-hard cheese like asiago http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/semi-hard-cheese-like-asiago-4036

100-110°F is top of mesophilic range, bottom of thermophilic temperature range

Rennet has the right temp range 90-100°F … close enough?

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Home_Cheesemaking

Secondary:

Ricotta

Frozen Yogurt

Greek Yogurt

Whey

Hoshi (Dried) Natto?

Not:

Kefir (uses room temp)

Filmjok (room temp)

buttermilk/sour cream (room temp)

Yeast for sourdough or bread — 65-85 °F

red yeast rice (room temperature, may be toxic?)

[missourihome]

William built some quick cold-frames today. He also finished lining one of our back gardens with discarded plates (they were second-hand ones that we collected for our wedding last summer). I made a pie crust. Tres domestique!

[missourihome]

Semi-Raw Cheater's Hot Fudge

Heat oil or butter in a pan, just enough so the peanut butter will melt. Remove pan from heat. Add some peanut butter first to help cool down the oil and melt the peanut butter. Then, add molasses, honey, and cocoa powder. Mix it up and enjoy!

Ratio:

1 tsp oil to butter (I prefer coconut butter for this.)

2 tbsp peanut butter

1/2 tsp blackstrap molasses

1 tsp honey

2 tsp cocoa powder

[missourihome]

Italian Mac N' Cheese

Thought I'd see what kind of spin the Italians put on macaroni and cheese. Came across this recipe: Conchiglie con Fonduta or “shell pasta with cheesy cream sauce.”

This is a tasty hearty sauce. I like the lack of flour as a thickener, comparing it to Mornay Sauce.

Not something to eat everyday though! I read that egg yolks are often used to thicken the sauce… perhaps this could be used to cut down on cheese and make it healthier. I'll try it next time since with our six new hens we are going to have a lot of egg on hand.

Here's my take on the recipe:

Shells with Fonduta

½ lb Cheddar

1 cup finely shredded Grana

½ cup cream salt to taste (keep in mind cheese is already somewhat salty)

1 quart young kale (from our garden)

1 lb shells

Start the sauce first. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a skillet and cook over medium-low stirring often to avoid scorching.

Tear up and then flash-steam the kale until just wilted.

In the meantime, start boiling salted water for the pasta. Cook the pasta till al dente and drain immediately.

Put the noodles back in the pan and stir in 1/2 tbsp. butter until melted. Stir in sauce and kale. If the sauce turns out too thick, add reserved pasta water to thin it.

Buon Apetito,

William

[missourihome]

Spring Herb Pesto

Spring greens have come up and they inspired me to make pesto Saturday night. This is a great mostly raw sauce, full of health and flavor.

I was inspired by several recipes for "pesto alle erbe" (herbal pesto), as well as a recipe for "pesto alla siciliana" (Sicilian pesto) which includes raw tomato and ricotta. I used what we had on hand in terms of greens and cheese.

Handful dandelion leaves

a few sage leaves

a few lemon balm leaves

green half of a leek (wash well)

seven handfuls arugula

a few celery leaves

a few lovage leaves

small handful of Italian parsley stems, woody ends cut off

one and a half small tomatoes raw

big handful pumpkin seeds

dash of fish sauce

garlic

salt

extra virgin olive oil

pecorino romano

3 tbs chèvre

Blend all together and serve with hot linguine or your favorite pasta shape! Top with additional pecorino.

—wprl

[missourihome]

Polenta with Sweet and Sour White Beans

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp. bacon drippings

1 pinch salt

5 small beets leftover from making kvass, shredded

2 carrots, shredded

1 lb. dry white beans, cooked

2 tbsp. sugar

1/4 c. beet kvass

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

1/4 c. apricot-cinnamon cordial

1/4 c. fresh orange juice

zest of 1 orange

Sauté onion with salt in bacon drippings. Combine the sautéed onions with all other ingredients in a casserole dish. Mix well. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.

Serve over slices of polenta.

[missourihome]

Beer and Cooking with Beer

Recently I (William) attempted a Christmas-y molasses and date ale. It was inspired by Poor Richard's molasses ale recipe and ingredients I had lying around. Sarah and I are big fans of molasses.

This beer was heavy on adjuncts, and while a good table beer, I think it has too much of a cider flavor from the relatively large amount of sucrose in the molasses and date syrup. Inexplicably it forms quite a lot of head.

I posted the recipe on Brewtoad.

Home brew is probiotic and full of vitamins! It's been fun and healthy to drink it, but I thought I might like to cook and bake with it also.

Molasses Ale Breakfast Bread

I wanted to make bread using the beer instead of store-bought yeast. That was almost a disaster. I ended up narrowly saving the dough by kneading active dry yeast into the dough and then placing it in the oven (not turned on) with a pot of boiling water (then another) until it had risen.

Next time I will try making a yeast starter (beer + sugar or malt extract) the night before to see if the yeast will wake up given more time. This is a good technique to know for brewing as well.

2 tsp active dry bread machine yeast

12 oz molasses ale

1 tbsp blackstrap molasses

2 tbsp dark dry malt extract

2 tbsp evaporated cane juice

½ c. dried apricot†

¼ c. chopped walnuts 2 tsp salt 1 tbsp cinnamon 300g whole wheat flour 200g all purpose flour

† The apricot was left over from soaking in a cinnamon-apricot cordial I made.

Add a little more all purpose flour if the dough seems too wet.

Cook on the whole wheat / light crust setting of the bread machine.

Cabbage & Potatoes Cooked in Beer

1 lb. ground sausage

1 pint molasses ale

5 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks

1 medium head green cabbage

1 small onion

Hot Sweet Mustard

mustard powder

molasses ale

salt

sugar

Mix the mustard ingredients together (to taste) and set aside while the potatoes cook so the flavors will have time to marry.

Cut the cabbage in half perpendicular to the stem, then slice thinly into strips.

Finely dice the onion and sauté in the butter on medium-low for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Add the ground sausage and sauté until browned completely.

Add the beer, scraping up any tasty fond stuck to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 40-60 minutes.

Potatoes cooked this way are delicious, and the dish is full of fiber and vitamins from the cabbage. Serve the potatoes with the hot sweet mustard.

Enjoy!

[missourihome]

Startin' some beet kvass...

[missourihome]

Hash Browns in 15 minutes

I have wanted all my life to learn the art of making crispy homemade hash browns. Frugality balks at the price of frozen hash browns, which never seem to turn out well anyway, and sometimes have weird additives. Home fries or American fries are good but not as good as the true hash brown, the shoestring hash brown.

This morning at age 31 I have realized my dream.

Wash 4 medium potatoes and shred them. A food processor with shredder wheel will handle 4 potatoes in about 5 seconds. If you're patient you could always shred them with a cheese grater, but it'd take longer.

Put the shredded potato in a wire mesh colander and spray with cold water to remove excess starch. This helps the potatoes crisp when frying.

Wrap the shredded potato in a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much water as possible. This also helps the potatoes crisp.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of lard to medium-high heat in an iron skillet. We're using local semi-organic lard that we rendered from the fat of a pig our friend raised on his land.

Lard gets a bad reputation, but good lard is full of vitamins and when used in moderation provides a healthy amount of fats. Fats are essential for life and health!

Put the hash browns in the pan and squash them down with a spatula so they're flat. Sprinkle with a little salt. Cook for 5 minutes. Flip the hash browns after 5 minutes. Turn to medium-low heat. Cook 5 more minutes. Stir and cook a minute or two more.

Done! Enjoy crispy, delicious hash browns with ketchup and/or hot sauce.

These hash browns came out crispy and delicious, but loose. Next time I may try mixing the potato with an egg after squishing out the water with the kitchen towel. That way it might form into a satisfying round with a crispy outside and soft, moist inside.

— William

[missourihome]

Finally started my first batch of kombucha. That baby SCOBY I grew has been hanging out for about a month, just waiting to be used. I used Ahmed Ceylon tea and organic cane sugar. We shall see what happens! - Sarah

[missourihome]

Spice cabinet!

[missourihome]

William’s adventure with fish preservation: salted catfish. It definitely worked; we bought that fish months ago and it wasn’t the least bit rancid. It was, however, inedible in the pasta he made due to its overwhelming saltiness. Lesson learned: soak the fish before using it! The success of this experiment was that the salted catfish imparted a really good, savory flavor to the pasta - similar to anchovy paste. Yum!

William packed the catfish in salt, 20% by weight. Next time he said he's going to try a shorter curing period of 2-4 weeks.. He wonders if the liquid extracted from the fish during the process could be used as a fish sauce.

[missourihome]

Oh yeah hash browns!

[missourihome]

Saturday morning knitting! I'm making some wool mittens for William. -Sarah

[missourihome]

The town where we live.

[missourihome]

Made some laundry detergent with Fels Naptha, washing soda, baking soda (because we ran out of the washing soda), borax, and water. We’ve been using it for a while and it works great, although a little goes a long way. Next time we might use castile soap instead of the Fels Naptha, especially because we could choose to make it unscented.