Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Coming soon...
Monday, February 25, 2013
Food-making frenzy!
We love to make food.
We did a lot of it this weekend. Our roommate, Joe, got a Foodsaver and wanted to try it out with some major food prepping. He brought his sister over and we all made a party of it. I made sprouted wheat bread and chai tea cakes while Joe and his sister made fermented bean dip and traditional sauerkraut, and Mtn Man made 54 chickpea patties for freezing. I wish I would have documented everything, but all I got was the bowl of chickpea mix. I came up with the recipe by accident last week and we decided that it'd be nice to have some prepared food in the freezer since archaeology season is coming up and sometimes meals have to be quick, which is hard with the way we eat. Most of our meals have to be prepared somewhat at least 6 hours before we can cook them. The chickpea "burgers" are a perfect quick solution because they are packed with protein and everything is already cooked so they can be eaten hot or cold. They don't even have to be in patty form. You could just eat the mix in a bowl if you wanted. I'd say they are field-friendly.
Directions:
After you have cooked everything that needs cooking- mix everything in a large bowl until well combined. Mash everything with a potato masher until it is able to be shaped into patties without falling apart. Bake patties in an oiled pan or sheet at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, flipping half way through, or cook in a skillet in coconut oil or butter until desired crispiness is reached. Can also be eaten without baking or frying.
Our favorite way to eat these is skillet cooked with a slice of aged cheddar melted on top. Mmmm!
Here's a cat moment for you- Arie loves to follow Mtn. Man around whenever he is doing anything- which is all the time. That includes brushing his teeth- so last night he jumped up on the toilet to watch him brush his teeth, but when I got the camera out he didn't care. Why would he?
We did a lot of it this weekend. Our roommate, Joe, got a Foodsaver and wanted to try it out with some major food prepping. He brought his sister over and we all made a party of it. I made sprouted wheat bread and chai tea cakes while Joe and his sister made fermented bean dip and traditional sauerkraut, and Mtn Man made 54 chickpea patties for freezing. I wish I would have documented everything, but all I got was the bowl of chickpea mix. I came up with the recipe by accident last week and we decided that it'd be nice to have some prepared food in the freezer since archaeology season is coming up and sometimes meals have to be quick, which is hard with the way we eat. Most of our meals have to be prepared somewhat at least 6 hours before we can cook them. The chickpea "burgers" are a perfect quick solution because they are packed with protein and everything is already cooked so they can be eaten hot or cold. They don't even have to be in patty form. You could just eat the mix in a bowl if you wanted. I'd say they are field-friendly.
Goat Girl's Chickpea Patties
(makes about 10- a "man's" serving size is about 4)
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups dry chickpeas
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa (for the best quinoa- soak for at least 3 hours before cooking)
- 2 1/2 sauteed red onions
- 1/3 cup cooked, chopped carrots
- 1/3 cup steamed, chopped broccoli
- 1/4 cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or 1/8 cup soy sauce)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or other cold pressed oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin or cumin seed
- dill, parsley, or other seasonings you want to add
 |
| Before the mashing. |
After you have cooked everything that needs cooking- mix everything in a large bowl until well combined. Mash everything with a potato masher until it is able to be shaped into patties without falling apart. Bake patties in an oiled pan or sheet at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, flipping half way through, or cook in a skillet in coconut oil or butter until desired crispiness is reached. Can also be eaten without baking or frying.
Our favorite way to eat these is skillet cooked with a slice of aged cheddar melted on top. Mmmm!
 |
| Stir! |
 |
| Keep stirring! |
 |
| Hello- hungry? |
 |
| Almost there... |
Here's a cat moment for you- Arie loves to follow Mtn. Man around whenever he is doing anything- which is all the time. That includes brushing his teeth- so last night he jumped up on the toilet to watch him brush his teeth, but when I got the camera out he didn't care. Why would he?
Friday, February 22, 2013
In which we enjoy the fruits... er cheese of our labours.
In my previous post, I showed our cheesemaking party with promises of the finished product. Well, here it is!
In all its deliciousness.
In all its deliciousness.
 |
| Topped with dill, paprika & sea salt |
 |
| Cheese is always best with chocolate- Chocolove Sea Salt & Almond |
 |
| Perfect accompaniment for homemade sprouted wheat bread |
Thursday, February 21, 2013
We are cheesemongers.
As part of our goat-loving- we love goat products as well.
Especially cheese.
But holy heck, most goat cheese is expensive, and it's very simple to make. Also, the specific kind of cheese we wanted can't be found in stores.
So we made cheese.
You wouldn't believe how simple it was. Ridiculously simple.
In case you don't know this- we are very much into natural food preservation & nutrient enhancement (aka- traditional cooking) via lacto-fermentation and soaking.
If you are interested in making this cheese- do it!
Here's the recipe:
Yield: 2 cups
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ferment time: 2 or 3 days
Ferment type: Lacto
Ingredients:
1/2 gallon raw milk [make sure it's raw, we used goat milk from a local farm]
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
Directions:
1. Put milk in a half-gallon jar. Cover with a cloth napkin or paper towel and secure with a rubber band. [Mtn. Man decided the best container for this was my brand new KitchenAid mixer bowl, I reluctantly agreed]
2. Leave at room temperature for about 2 days, until set up like yogurt. [I know this sounds crazy, but when you use raw, unpasteurized milk, the natural occurring cultures will start turning it into cheese! It's amazing what refrigerators keep us from learning.]
3. Put colander into a container that fits it. Line the colander with 2 layers of 90-thread-count cheesecloth. [We used a sanitized gauze that I had in my fabric stash.] Pour sour milk into the cheesecloth layers. Tie up ends and put them inside the colander.
4. Let whey drip out for 1 or 2 days. Hang the bag to speed up process. [We just did this, so I will post updates on the finished cheese when this step is finished. By the way, don't discard the whey- it can be used as a starter for all kinds of ferments!]
5. Untie cheesecloth. Scrape out cheese and transfer to a storage container.
6. Mix in salt (if desired). Store in the refrigerator. Keeps for 2 weeks.
Variation: Add herbs and salt to clabbered cheese for a fantastic veggie dip. Or sprinkle it with cinnamon and drizzle with honey and eat it alongside fresh fruit. You can use it wherever you'd use cream cheese.
So there you have it! We made cheese.
Especially cheese.
But holy heck, most goat cheese is expensive, and it's very simple to make. Also, the specific kind of cheese we wanted can't be found in stores.
So we made cheese.
You wouldn't believe how simple it was. Ridiculously simple.
In case you don't know this- we are very much into natural food preservation & nutrient enhancement (aka- traditional cooking) via lacto-fermentation and soaking.
If you are interested in making this cheese- do it!
Here's the recipe:
Clabber Cheese
(from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fermenting Foods by Wardeh Harmon)
Yield: 2 cups
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ferment time: 2 or 3 days
Ferment type: Lacto
Ingredients:
1/2 gallon raw milk [make sure it's raw, we used goat milk from a local farm]
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
Directions:
1. Put milk in a half-gallon jar. Cover with a cloth napkin or paper towel and secure with a rubber band. [Mtn. Man decided the best container for this was my brand new KitchenAid mixer bowl, I reluctantly agreed]
 |
| The sour milk. Note the bowl. |
 |
| Mtn. Man straining cheese. Note the Kitchenaid... without its bowl. |
2. Leave at room temperature for about 2 days, until set up like yogurt. [I know this sounds crazy, but when you use raw, unpasteurized milk, the natural occurring cultures will start turning it into cheese! It's amazing what refrigerators keep us from learning.]
 |
| Whey dripping into pot. |
3. Put colander into a container that fits it. Line the colander with 2 layers of 90-thread-count cheesecloth. [We used a sanitized gauze that I had in my fabric stash.] Pour sour milk into the cheesecloth layers. Tie up ends and put them inside the colander.
4. Let whey drip out for 1 or 2 days. Hang the bag to speed up process. [We just did this, so I will post updates on the finished cheese when this step is finished. By the way, don't discard the whey- it can be used as a starter for all kinds of ferments!]
5. Untie cheesecloth. Scrape out cheese and transfer to a storage container.
6. Mix in salt (if desired). Store in the refrigerator. Keeps for 2 weeks.
Variation: Add herbs and salt to clabbered cheese for a fantastic veggie dip. Or sprinkle it with cinnamon and drizzle with honey and eat it alongside fresh fruit. You can use it wherever you'd use cream cheese.
So there you have it! We made cheese.
 | ||
| Doesn't this look like cottage cheese? |
***
For good measure, here are a couple pictures of the cat. He often sleeps in this faceplant position. Is it because we're being to loud? Too much light in the room? I don't know, but it's hilarious.
 |
| "Leave me alone." |
Hey Y'all
Hey Y'all.
It took me awhile to get to sleep last night because I kept brainstorming about wanting to share what's going on in our lives without posting it on Facebook. I'll post photos, daily "doings," musings, quotes, things we love, pictures of the cat and chickens, etc. Maybe I'll even convince Mtn. Man to post some things- the world should read what he has to say! (At least I think so.)
For those that have NO idea what's been going on, we live in Boise, in a wonderful little 1950 home that we were blessed with in November 2012. Mtn. Man has a "farmer's schedule" as we like to call it, and does archaeology when it's not too cold out. I, Goat Girl, am an artist with my studio at home, and also a wife- the best job of all! We have a sweet cat named Arie who loves to keep us company and explore his backyard kingdom. Next month, we'll be adding a flock to our family- six little chicks! I can't wait! I'll post some pictures of the yard before we start our gardening and chickening. - I doubt that's a word, but it seems so right...
Enjoy!
It took me awhile to get to sleep last night because I kept brainstorming about wanting to share what's going on in our lives without posting it on Facebook. I'll post photos, daily "doings," musings, quotes, things we love, pictures of the cat and chickens, etc. Maybe I'll even convince Mtn. Man to post some things- the world should read what he has to say! (At least I think so.)
For those that have NO idea what's been going on, we live in Boise, in a wonderful little 1950 home that we were blessed with in November 2012. Mtn. Man has a "farmer's schedule" as we like to call it, and does archaeology when it's not too cold out. I, Goat Girl, am an artist with my studio at home, and also a wife- the best job of all! We have a sweet cat named Arie who loves to keep us company and explore his backyard kingdom. Next month, we'll be adding a flock to our family- six little chicks! I can't wait! I'll post some pictures of the yard before we start our gardening and chickening. - I doubt that's a word, but it seems so right...
Enjoy!
Psalm 65:8
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)