Gravlax

We've been meaning to try this and finally got around to it.  Didn't turn out to be too much cheaper than store bought gravlax, but it was super easy and fun to do on our own.  We used the Minimalist recipe from Mark Bittman.

Basically you start with a slice of salmon- ours was about a pound.  You coat it in sugar (2 cups), salt (1 cup), and dill, and leave it wrapped and weighted down in the refrigerator for 36 hours.  Rinse, slice, and that's it- it comes out bright orange and cured!

Granola 2

Proportions here were much better.  I used about 4 cups oats, 2 cups nuts, 1 cup wheat germ, 1 cup shredded coconut PLUS about 3/4 cup oil, 3/4 cup coconut water, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup maple syrup.  Mix and bake at about 325 in 10 minute intervals (mixing after each) until crunchy (about 40 min-hour)

Beet Pickle

Sugar & Vinegar pickles with garden & farmers market beets.  I'm most excited for the Mennonite beet pickled eggs that I can make after we finish most of the beets! 

Red Snapper

Snapper from the neighborhood fishmonger. This is here mostly because I thought this was a funny photo.

Garlic, Olive Oil, Butter...

Yog 2

Bulgarian Yogourt Starter. Our last batch was a little runny, so decided to try real starter. It's supposed to be thick and tangy.

After heating the milk, it must be cooled before adding starter.  That's our dinner in the back,  EE is making corn chowder!

ACTION SHOT: preparing the starter, it's mixed so that is get distributed evenly in the pot.

Thicker and a little tangier then we were expecting... Might need to mix in some jam to sweeten it.

Plum Jam / Crumble

Mozzarella

1 Gallon of heated milk, plus citric acid and liquid rennet

Curds and whey!  Strain curds then start kneading.

Reheat the cheese as you knead, should be shiny and stretchy when finished.

Homemade mozzarella!

Yogurt

yes, we have a yogurt maker

adding the starter

Might as well make some homemade yogurt to go with the homemade granola!  Yogurt is really easy to do if you have a yogurt maker.  It is just heated milk with a yogurt starter (they sell packaged yogurt starters, or you can just use a tablespoon of commercial or homemade plain yogurt).  You mix the milk and starter, pour into cups, and then turn on the machine to keep it at the right temperature for 10-20 hours (depending on the consistency you want).  This batch ran for about 20 hours but was still rather runny, we're going to play with the starter next time- our Trader Joe's low fat greek yogurt didn't seem to get the culture going very strongly this time.

Walnut-almond-pistachio granola

We used honey, brown sugar, coconut, wheat germ, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, (oats, oil, spices).  Had to rebake to get it crunchy, but I think it turned out very well.  Next batch I may try increasing the honey/oil proportions.

Results

 September 10, 2011: Fig glazed Pork Chops, Biscuits & Beet Salad 

EE preparing the biscuits. 

Flour, Butter, Sour Milk (Milk & Vinegar) and sticky fingers

Into the oven (400f) for 10ish minutes

Chops (1 1/4 inch from our local pig farm via the butcher down the street) soaking in brine (1/2 gal water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/4 cup sugar, etc)

Fig Jam EE made from our community garden figs (Water, Figs, Sugar, Brandy). We have half a dozen jars so we were looking for a way to use it.

Glazing the Chops

Next into the over at 350f, until they are 140f inside

Waiting for dinner, results to follow...

Roast Duck with Sausage and Apple Stuffing a la Julia Child: Caneton Roti a l'Alsacienne

We roasted 3 ducks from the Meat Hook for Christmas, using a recipe from Julia Child. It helped to watch her episode on how to roast a chicken (the chicken sisters!).

The ducks were amazing, and the stuffing was possibly even better.

Pâté de Campagne

This recipe only took us a couple hours and it came out really great. We did about a third of the Ruhlman/Polcyn recipe, used chicken liver rather than pork (we'll try pork next time- its supposed to have more flavor), and just used the basic onion/parsley/garlic/spices seasoning. A "pâté de campagne" is characterized by a more coarsely ground meat and 'rustic' texture.

Step 1: Grind pork shoulder butt, chicken liver, spices.

Mix with flour, eggs, cream and brandy.

Step 2: Pour mixture into a lined terrine mold.

Bake in hot water bath.

Step 3: Remove from oven and let cool overnight.

Brats!!

Stiring the ground pork/spices

Me and the hog casing

Sauerkraut = Fail

Soy Milk 1

We decided to try to make soy milk and then tofu today. The first step is finding the ingredients. You'll need ~1lb of soy beans and nigari (or gypsum salt). Here in NYC you can get both at Sunrise Mart in the east village.

The beans need to soak in cold water until they are softish (~8 to 24 hours).

More detailed instructions can be found at http://www.justhungry.com/milking-soy-bean-part-1-soy-milk