Makin' Yogurt

About 2 1/2 years ago I lucked into a milking gig. That's right, a milking gig. A friend has goats and I was completely intrigued by the idea of learning to milk the goats and turn that whole, fresh, raw milk into something wonderful for my family. So I asked my urban farmer friend if they ever needed any help/relief with milking duties. To my joy she said yes, and the visions of fresh chèvre and mozzarella started dancing through my head immediately. Not really knowing what I or they were in for I asked for a weekly milking rotation and truth be told it has really become my favorite morning of the week. Yes I have to get up a bit earlier than I otherwise would, yes I schlep myself and milking pot through the hood rain or shine, and yes I love every single minute of it. Honestly, I find that each week I linger longer and longer feeling so fortunate to be spending time with these beauties and their chicken friends. When I first started milking Maple, I'd get a solid quart each time which turned out to be the perfect amount to make a week's supply of yogurt. So I researched and tried a few methods of yogurt making until I settled on what works best in my kitchen. The method I've settled on is reliable yet a bit hodge podge. I start by heating the raw milk on my stove top to 185 degrees then immediately cooling the milk to 110 degrees. At that point I add a cup or so of plain cultured yogurt and whisk all together thoroughly. Once I've gotten rid of most of the yogurt clumps I pour this into jars and put them in an insulated cooler with a heating pad set to medium. The goal is to keep your yogurt mix at as close to 110 degrees as possible for about 8 hours. This is the method that has worked best for me as I do not have a fancy fancy yogurt maker. So each week I am able to turn out about a quart of home made yogurt which is just enough for smoothies, or a few bowls of berries and yogurt, and still having just enough for the next week's starter culture. Well, as of last week there is now another goat in milk on the farm so I am excited by the prospect of doubling my haul each week and maybe even having enough to experiment with some cheese making. We are big chèvre fans around here so I am hoping to start there. We will see, it's going to be a while before I can start milking Basil as her 2 sweet little kids deserve all her goodness for now. Soon enough they will be old enough to wean off a bit and share some of their mother's bounty with us. Now I am off to start looking for a new milking pail, my little pot isn't going to be big enough for the milk of two goats. Lehman's here I come...

Rice And Beans Part II

Last night I was really winging it with our dinner's rice and bean dish, I was inspired by the flavors of my all time favorite taco served at Agua Verde. Said taco is constructed on a corn tortilla with yams, black beans and a creamy sauce of unknown origin but tasting so delicious to bring the whole dish together perfectly. I am happy to report that it came together as I had hoped and was a crowd pleaser. Tonight, as has been the case most nights this month, we are dining on leftovers. So with my trusty cast iron pan to reheat, (favored method in these parts as we are one of few American family kitchens sans microwave), a squeeze of lime and toss of cilantro leaves to freshen up flavors we will dine again on rice and beans.

What I Am Eating...

It has been all about the beans and rice for our family this Lenten season. After reading this post I was inspired to follow suit, I checked in with the family and they all seemed on board to give it a go. So here we are, about 2/3 of the way through Lent, and I am happy to report everyone is still on board with continued enthusiasm. I did discover quickly how far a pot of beans and rice can stretch throughout the week, luckily my family is totally down with leftovers. I also discovered that variety is vital. Though they are fine with beans and rice most nights, I need to break up the presentation a bit (they are not quite ready for the exact same dish night after night). So I have had a rotation going of our Costa Rican Black Beans and Rice, Homemade Refried Beans over Rice, Roasted Garbanzos, and tonight I'm experimenting. I caramelized some fennel, chopped up a couple small yams adding them to the pan along with some kale ribbons, black beans, a chili pepper and some salsa. This will be served over a bed of brown rice with avocado and goat cheese to top it off with. I'll report back if this is a success. In the mean time I continue to try and use up leftovers by adding a fried or scrambled egg and some fresh herbs and enjoying the new presentation for breakfast.

Going Nuts For Donuts

I love a good donut. It is on the short list of foods I will make a gluten exception for (pizza is the other). So when I saw this recipe on My Whole Life Food I knew I had to try it. The original recipe isn't actually gluten free but, still on my buckwheat kick, I wanted to try my hand at converting it. I had a couple of bananas browning by the minute just calling out to be used in a sweet baked treat, and some leftover buckwheat flour so I gave it a go. I linked to the original recipe above and below have rewritten my own gluten free version that turned out pretty great. I know my kids are going to be excited to dive into these when they get home. And once again I am loving that subtle, sweet, nutty flavor that the buckwheat flour adds. Banana Chocolate Chip Donuts 1 Cup AP gluten free flour 1 Cup Buckwheat flour 1/2 cup sugar (I used fair trade organic sugar) 1/4 cup melted coconut oil 2 very ripe bananas -- smashed 3/4 cup whole milk yogurt 1/4 - 1/2 milk 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup chocolate chips Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease your donut pan. I whisked all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then mashed and combined all the wet ingredients with the exception of the milk and chocolate chips in another smaller bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well, the batter will be rather thick, this is where I slowly added the milk to thin it out a bit, use your best judgement but I'd start with the 1/4 cup and slowly go up from there. Your going for just thick enough to be able to spoon up in large dollops. At this point add your chocolate chips and stir just until combined. Spoon into your donut pan just under the lip of the pan. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes in the center of your oven. Let cool and enjoy with your favorite coffee, or for the younger crowd, a big glass of milk.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

So I had just set some chickpeas to soak the other day, starting out with a good rinse and the water happened to be pretty hot from the dishes I had just washed. Well those little chick peas started to snap, crackle and pop away right there in the bowl, and it just made me chuckle thinking of that old rice cereal commercial we all grew up with. I still consider myself a bit of a beginner when it comes to cooking with dry beans, so this was totally new and unexpected.

This Moment...

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

The Soup That Kept Me Up All Night

I spend a crazy amount of time thinking about food; what I should cook for my family, what I want to cook for my family, what ingredients do I need to try to get into more of our meals, what have we been eating lately... it goes on and on but you get the idea. So to have something linger in my mind is nothing new, but TO KEEP ME UP ALL NIGHT?!?! Well, that was new for me. So let me back up a bit here, it all started with a sweet potato. I had one left over from this curried sweet potato salad I made last week, and I bought another to make these yummy looking sweet potato/pretzel balls. But time and life got away from me, I never got around to making the sweet potato/pretzel balls and now had two sweet potatoes sitting on the counter staring at me. I was thinking about the curried salad but it's been so cold around here lately I couldn't stomach the thought of a cold meal, I needed something warm and soothing and then it hit me - a steamy bowl of creamy curried sweet potato soup just sounded so good. I couldn't get the thought out of my head, I laid awake thinking how the flavors of curry, sweet potato and coconut milk just sounded like they were made for each other. I dreamt about creating this soup, crazy right? So 1 am, 3 am, 4 am the clock is ticking by all I can do is think about the amazing flavor of caramelized onions pureed with the sweet potato and finished off with coconut milk. So first thing that morning I got up and hit the WWW for a little guidance, really validation. I mean, to me it sounded like a little slice of heaven but would the flavors come together as gracefully as I had hoped? First off I found a recipe that suggested roasting the potatoes first, great idea. But nothing that I found in my quick search mentioned caramelizing onions, and most recipes called for all sorts of other additions like celery or apples. None that I found really hit the spot of what I was looking for, other than simply validating that I was on the right track with the curry and potatoes. So, I winged it. Roasted the potatoes in the morning, then chopped a big onion and caramelized it. Once that was done I threw in some garam marsala and curry powder to let the flavors really sink into those onions and toast themselves a bit. Next I added three roasted sweet potatoes and about a quart of homemade chicken stock. Once this came to a boil I pureed it all with my immersion blender and added a can of coconut milk and salt and pepper to taste. At the table we topped our bowls with some toasted pumpkin seeds and goat cheese. Home run I tell you. The smell told me I was on the right track, but when I finally had a chance to sit down to dinner and eat, it was exactly what I had hoped for. I was especially grateful for the suggestion to roast the potatoes and for the addition of the garam marsala. On a cold night, this was so warming from the inside out. It will definitely make a regular appearance on on our fall and winter table from here on out.