Tuesday Twister ~ June 15

It's Tuesday and that means I get to share what's been twisting in my kitchen with Wardeh and everyone else at GNOWFGLINS.  I've been playing a lot in the kitchen lately.  So much fun!  Here are a few of this weeks happenings.

 

Baby sprouts from the garden. We thinned out the spinach, lettuce, beets, cabbage, broccoli, and a few others. Instead of tossing it all - I brought it in and cleaned it up. Sprouts! straight from the garden. I was excited because I consider this our first harvest.  They were added to smoothies and salads. 

Oeufs en cocotte with lox ~ a fancy name for eggs, cheese, and lox .  I whipped this up one morning. So easy, but I thought, 'why only make one?'  So I made four and had some left for several breakfasts. The toaster oven worked well for the first baking and also the reheating.  These were so delicious and nourishing!

Egg drop soup ~ This came to be when I realized I had some broth and veggies, but no meat to go with it. Though I did have plenty of good eggs to use up.  I used about a half gallon of chicken bone broth (the feet do make a difference, it's gelling up a lot better!), onions, garlic, carrots, beet greens, spinach, bok choy, fresh sage, ginger and sea salt. Once the veggies were nice and soft, I scrambled six eggs and drizzled them in the hot soup. Let that cook a minute without stirring and then it's done. Wow! Is it ever chunky, flavorful and satisfying! I've never made this before and didn't follow a recipe - so I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

Sourdough bread ~ Finally a successful loaf!  After a couple of attempts at naturally leavened bread that came out like bricks, I was able to make some adjustments in the amount of flour and was rewarded with this happy loaf.

 

Granola ~ Made another batch of this wonderful, healthy snack.  Again, the ingredients changed a little based on what I had.  This time there was dried coconut (unsweetened) and juice sweetened dried cranberries along with the soaked oats, almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, flax meal, dates, banana, cinnamon, and coconut oil.  I let it go in the dehydrator for a full 24 hours to be sure it's nice and crunchy. So good!

Sprouted beans cooked in bone broth ~ Already cooked beans are great to have on hand.  This process starts several days in advance with the soaking and then slightly sprouting the beans.  Then I cook them in the crock pot in chicken bone broth.  Then I just use them in dishes throughout the week as need.  Even cold on salads works well.

Cultured butter ~ I was really excited to do this.  I've only tried butter one other time and it was a total flop.  Meaning, it never clumped.  Raw cream is a little hard to come by right now so I went with the next best thing which was a half gallon of local, grass fed, but pasteurized cream.  I kept a little for coffee cream and ended up with 6 cups of cream.  To culture it I put 6 teaspoons of kefir in the cream and let it sit out for 24 hours.  Then I chilled it for another 24 hours. The kitchen aide was put to the test as it spun on the highest speed for a good ten minutes.  I was afraid that nothing would happen, but it eventually turned to whipped cream.  I have to mention that I tasted a bit of the cream to see if it was really sour from the culturing, and I could barely detect a sour taste, if at all.  As you can see, this is quite messy so I kept a kitchen towel thrown over the whole thing.  I was so excited when I heard the sound change and peeked under the towel to see this:

BUTTER!!

 

When it was done clumping together, I gently rinsed it in ice water and formed this ball.  I was surprised that this was all I got out of six cups of cream, but still SO thrilled that I made cultured butter!

 

It has a rich, creamy taste and not the slightest bit sour.  Next up is to get my hands on some raw cream.

 
 
 Lacto fermented veggies ~ The only other thing I've fermented since last summer has been the recent ginger carrots.  Tis the season for fermenting with the new abundance of fresh produce.  After coming home from the farmers market on Saturday I decided to try a new mix.  This is chopped up radishes and carrots (both with the tops and bottoms), bok choy, swiss chard, leeks, rosemary, and garlic - along with some whey and sea salt.  I have a feeling that this will need to chill in the fridge for a while after the initial ferment to get the flavors just right.  Will probably be good on salads.

I just love knowing that I can increase the nutrition of these already nutritious vegetables in just a few simple steps.  AND! I don't have to worry about eating them right away because this naturally preserves them for a long time once in the fridge.

 
 

Sourdough focaccia ~ After Wardeh's rave reviews about this sourdough pizza crust, I had to give it a try.  Except I made it into a garlic herb focaccia bread instead of a traditional pizza.  It was really good and I froze a second dough ball for later use.

Tonight's dinner ~ baked salmon with cream and herbs.  This was a new recipe for us to try and we love it.  Instead of cream I used whole, organic coconut milk.  Fresh herbs from the garden - marjoram, thyme, and tarragon.  A keeper for sure!

So, after all that tinkering around in the kitchen, sometimes it's nice to get out for a beer and to hear some good music.  Our new favorite,  Hillfolk Noir and a Black Butte porter hit the spot. ;)

 

Comments

[erin vl]

Tara- You have been busy! The salmon recipe sounds wonderful! Yeah for a successful loaf of bread. I'm thinking of making a loaf today instead of my usual english muffins. The butter looks fabulous. My son and I made butter a while back. So fun. We molded little butter pats into heart shapes and included them on a plate of homemade bread for a friend. :-) And what a great way to celebrate a delicious week... a cold one with some live music. So great! :-)

[Millie @ Real Food for Less Money]

Yippee for the bread! I know you have been working on it for a while. It looks beautiful.
Love the LF veggie idea.

[lisa]

I never thought of using the thinned sprouts from the garden- wow!

[Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS]

You had a great week! I am really, really happy about how you got the bread to work for you. :) The butter is so beautiful. I'd like to hear more about how you turned the dough into focaccia bread. Rolled it thick, brushed it with oil, garlic and herbs? Or did you mix things in with the dough?