California Witchcamp was amazing. Everyday felt as though I had a year in personal growth. I feel like a new person.
The only thing that I did not like at Witchcamp was eating what other people fed me. It was good food, but it wasn't my food. I came back and started making delicious things. Today I am going to set up some yogurt. Last night I made simple simple stuff. Steamed artichokes, oven fries, and steak. It tasted like bliss. I also had great friends to share it, which always helps.
Before I left I got some purslane vinegar going, that will be ready in 5 weeks.
Today I am going up to Tilden park with some fellow campers, which will be good. I miss the woods already. I forgot to mention before that I now have a garden, I think that will open up good things for me.
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday musings
It feels like spring has committed to the East Bay. Since early last month its been on and off with the cold rainy weather and the almost warm sun that we have most of the year. But the explosion of vegetables in the market over the last two weeks has been astounding. I really like the Tuesday Berkeley Market. Its pretty small, and very crowded. I sometimes get squirrelly because I am going to run into people I know and have to talk to them. (I am not cut out for urban living.) I asked the woman working the Four Sisters Farm stand when they would be getting in purslane. She told me between two weeks and a month. I am getting excited for the return .
I have some nettle vinegar steeping in my cabinet and I look forward to making purslane vinegar soon too. The nettle vinegar is for all sorts of things, but mostly for calcium. The vinegar breaks down the calcium in the nettle leaves so that its easily absorbed by the body. It provides 150-200mg of usable calcium per tablespoon. Its less than you get from pharmaceutical sources i.e. calcium supplements, but is easily used by your body. The purslane vinegar will be primarily for omega 3. I have been taking omega suppliments on and off for a while. I am quite down on supplements in general so I will be happy to have the vinegar in a few months. I would also like to get some cod liver oil, not capsules because there is a strong chance that the ones that are in the capsules have gone rancid and there really is no way to tell, as you cannot smell them.
I made roast chicken breast last night. It went off well. I had some itsy bitsy blue potatoes from Berkeley Bowl and spring garlic with the stems attached. I halved the garlic bulbs and lay them down in a small casserole dish with the potatoes. I put the chicken on top, smeared it with butter, lay some lemon slices on top and sprinkled it all with rosemary, salt and pepper. It was quite tasty. My favorite parts were the spring garlic bulbs and the crispy lemon slices. While that stuff was baking I chopped up the garlic stems and sauted them in butter. When they were all tender I added lemon juice and poured it all over lightly steamed asparagus. WOW! Tonight I am going to make flattened artichokes. My parents sent me some artichoke recipes and as it is the beginning of "there are so many artichokes" season, I am going to bust through them all.
I was disappointed today. I hadn't made yogurt in a month or two and my culture had gone bad. I brought it on the plane from New York in January. The yogurt I made with that culture was never quite right so I'm not that upset. It took 12 or more hours to set up and then it was way liquidy. So I'll keep up the search for a delicious yogurt over here. It think St. Benoit might work, I'll get some when I shop next week.
Oh, I decided to experiment today and I tied some lavender into an old sock and threw it in the dryer with my clothes. It smelled delightful. I am super allergic to chemical fragrances so I can't use any detergents that have smelly stuff, not even essential oils. Hopefully this won't give me contact dermatitis. I would love to be able to make my laundry smell pretty.
I have some nettle vinegar steeping in my cabinet and I look forward to making purslane vinegar soon too. The nettle vinegar is for all sorts of things, but mostly for calcium. The vinegar breaks down the calcium in the nettle leaves so that its easily absorbed by the body. It provides 150-200mg of usable calcium per tablespoon. Its less than you get from pharmaceutical sources i.e. calcium supplements, but is easily used by your body. The purslane vinegar will be primarily for omega 3. I have been taking omega suppliments on and off for a while. I am quite down on supplements in general so I will be happy to have the vinegar in a few months. I would also like to get some cod liver oil, not capsules because there is a strong chance that the ones that are in the capsules have gone rancid and there really is no way to tell, as you cannot smell them.
I made roast chicken breast last night. It went off well. I had some itsy bitsy blue potatoes from Berkeley Bowl and spring garlic with the stems attached. I halved the garlic bulbs and lay them down in a small casserole dish with the potatoes. I put the chicken on top, smeared it with butter, lay some lemon slices on top and sprinkled it all with rosemary, salt and pepper. It was quite tasty. My favorite parts were the spring garlic bulbs and the crispy lemon slices. While that stuff was baking I chopped up the garlic stems and sauted them in butter. When they were all tender I added lemon juice and poured it all over lightly steamed asparagus. WOW! Tonight I am going to make flattened artichokes. My parents sent me some artichoke recipes and as it is the beginning of "there are so many artichokes" season, I am going to bust through them all.
I was disappointed today. I hadn't made yogurt in a month or two and my culture had gone bad. I brought it on the plane from New York in January. The yogurt I made with that culture was never quite right so I'm not that upset. It took 12 or more hours to set up and then it was way liquidy. So I'll keep up the search for a delicious yogurt over here. It think St. Benoit might work, I'll get some when I shop next week.
Oh, I decided to experiment today and I tied some lavender into an old sock and threw it in the dryer with my clothes. It smelled delightful. I am super allergic to chemical fragrances so I can't use any detergents that have smelly stuff, not even essential oils. Hopefully this won't give me contact dermatitis. I would love to be able to make my laundry smell pretty.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Turkey Stock, Nettle Soup, and Corned Beef + Chard
Today we came to the realization that there were no readily consumable eats in the house. I was out of cheese and bread, we had no meats, and Jason was entirely out of snacks, so we headed to Trader Joe's to get some packaged food. There I found a Nieman Ranch corned beef. So I snatched it up along with some stout and a bag of pre-prepped swiss chard. I know its traditional to make corned beef and cabbage; but if I don't ferment my cabbage before attempting to eat it, disaster ensues. It was mighty tasty, and the broth is ridiculously good. I may have to add it to my chili for tomorrow.
Earlier in the day I portioned out my Turkey Stock. My method for making poultry stock, in large part inspired by my father, is a long process. The first step is to find somewhere that carries organic meaty bones, such as back and neck, and sells them for under $1/lb. Put 3-4 lbs in a huge pot and simmer the bejesus out of them along with a carrot or two, onion, celery, and maybe some fresh herbs. This batch I threw on the stove around 1pm and went to work. (I hope my landlord doesn't find my blog) When I got home I let it simmer until about 10pm. Then I took out all the parts, strained out the veggies, and put the pot in the fridge. The next night I skimmed the fat off, and clarified it. To clarify stock, I put in egg whites and whisked the pot until the liquid boiled, then I let it sit. Once the egg came together, I strained the now clear broth into a smaller pot and put it back in the fridge. I attempted to make mayonnaise with the yolks. Maybe because it was 11pm, or the food processor has a oddly fitted blade, or the faeries wanted it all for themselves, but it was a disaster. That was Thursday, today I filled many many ziploc bags with two cups of stock each.
While I was clarifying on thursday, I made dinner. I was trying to make a roast Cornish game hen, which is just the right amount of food for two wiry kids. Unfortunately the hen I had bought at Whole Foods the day before was actually labeled January 27th. My goodness it smelt awful!! I threw it away, and am going to get my money back from whole foods and go get a bird at the local butcher or Berkeley Bowl. I had to think on my feet and instead made a creamy nettle soup. I turned some onions and garlic in butter, added a handful of rolled oats, and sauted that until the oats were toasted, then I threw in some of the infamous turkey stock(it had not yet been clarified), once it came to a boil I added chopped nettles. If you were wondering, in the process of prepping the nettles I was stung only once. Once finished I added some sour cream, because if there is anywhere I can add fat to a dish, I will. It was good, we were full.
By the way, not only was St. Patrick a Roman, he landed in an Ireland already partially-Christianized by St. Columba. So if anyone wants to celebrate St. Colomba, St. Columbanus, or St. Brigid day, you can find me out back on my high horse.
Earlier in the day I portioned out my Turkey Stock. My method for making poultry stock, in large part inspired by my father, is a long process. The first step is to find somewhere that carries organic meaty bones, such as back and neck, and sells them for under $1/lb. Put 3-4 lbs in a huge pot and simmer the bejesus out of them along with a carrot or two, onion, celery, and maybe some fresh herbs. This batch I threw on the stove around 1pm and went to work. (I hope my landlord doesn't find my blog) When I got home I let it simmer until about 10pm. Then I took out all the parts, strained out the veggies, and put the pot in the fridge. The next night I skimmed the fat off, and clarified it. To clarify stock, I put in egg whites and whisked the pot until the liquid boiled, then I let it sit. Once the egg came together, I strained the now clear broth into a smaller pot and put it back in the fridge. I attempted to make mayonnaise with the yolks. Maybe because it was 11pm, or the food processor has a oddly fitted blade, or the faeries wanted it all for themselves, but it was a disaster. That was Thursday, today I filled many many ziploc bags with two cups of stock each.
While I was clarifying on thursday, I made dinner. I was trying to make a roast Cornish game hen, which is just the right amount of food for two wiry kids. Unfortunately the hen I had bought at Whole Foods the day before was actually labeled January 27th. My goodness it smelt awful!! I threw it away, and am going to get my money back from whole foods and go get a bird at the local butcher or Berkeley Bowl. I had to think on my feet and instead made a creamy nettle soup. I turned some onions and garlic in butter, added a handful of rolled oats, and sauted that until the oats were toasted, then I threw in some of the infamous turkey stock(it had not yet been clarified), once it came to a boil I added chopped nettles. If you were wondering, in the process of prepping the nettles I was stung only once. Once finished I added some sour cream, because if there is anywhere I can add fat to a dish, I will. It was good, we were full.
By the way, not only was St. Patrick a Roman, he landed in an Ireland already partially-Christianized by St. Columba. So if anyone wants to celebrate St. Colomba, St. Columbanus, or St. Brigid day, you can find me out back on my high horse.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)