We Got Snow!!!!

They have upped the winter weather advisory to a winter storm warning.
Looks like we have about 6 inches so far, and no sign of letting up. 

This is our second storm - the first one, on Thursday, Dec. 27 gave us 8 inches, less than the 12-14 predicted.

This one was predicted as 2-4 inches.

Tommy loves it! 

 

Pork Pies

Pork Pies



We thought it might be fun to make some pork pies, following and emending various recipes. 

Filling
1.5 kilos of pork, 500 g coarsely ground and the balance cut into 3/8" cubes
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp sage
2 tsp ground pepper
2 tsp salt

Pastry
500 g AP flour
200 ml water
175 ml suet, melted and finely sieved-- being unable to find any leaf lard here abouts, although the butcher's assistant at the local supermarket suggested I look in the produce section
2 tsp salt

Jelly
2 pigs feet
1 medium onion
1 medium carrot
a dozen peppercorns
1 celery rib
salt
pepper

Roll out a pie-sized piece of pastry and manipulate it into a cup.
Put in a bit of filling and add a top and pinch it together.
This is not a delicate crust!
:~:
 Brush the finished pies with an egg wash. and bake.

When they are cool, you can add jelly.
We did on one, but decided it is not necessary.

Delicious.

With some cider and cheddar cheese, it makes a fine meal.

 

Shrimp Soup with Bean Threads

We started our Christmas Eve dinner with soup.

This was delicious.
I used the stock that had cooked the shrimp.
There are slices of ginger, and at the last minute, I added onion tops.
and added the bean threads.

 

Delicious.

BTW, I experimented with ginger storage.
The best is to peel and slice it and put it in a jar, add vodka, and refrigerate.
This ginger is from the summer, and it was fine.

Christmas Eggs

The chickens are still laying a few eggs a day.
We noticed some are small and pink.

Actually, we weighed the eggs to see how puny the little ones are.
The little pink one in the far row weighs 50 grams.
That qualifies it as "medium".
:~:
The far left in the front row is 73 grams.
The far right in the front row is 72 grams.
Those guys are "jumbo".

Rosemary Olive Oil Whole Wheat Bread

Today is a gloomy, snowy day.

I needed to make King Arthur Flour's No-Knead Whole Wheat bread, to which I add raisins.  This is D's favorite breakfast bread.  But I wanted to have something different.  I found a recipe for Rosemary Olive Oil Whole Wheat Bread.  I basically followed the recipe, using the Cuisinart mixer rather than hand-kneading.

Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm water (100-110 F)
1 Tbsp. organic cane sugar  (I used regular)
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped (or 2 tsp. dried)
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning (or pinch of each ground garlic, dried oregano, and dried basil)
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bread flour + extra for kneading
(I skipped this part:  1 egg, whisked + 1 Tbsp. water, for egg wash
dried rosemary, for sprinkling)
The complete recipe is at:  http://www.ahintofhoney.com
After the second rise, I heated the oven to 450 with the pot and lid.
When it was hot, I put the dough in and turned the oven to 400.

 

It baked for 40 minutes.

Lovely.
(the background bread is the raisin whole wheat bread).

 

I think I don't like rosemary very much.
I liked the bread, but not the flavor.
I had also added one teaspoon of diastatic malt powder.
I'm not sure I like that either - it gives the texture of store bought bread -
slightly rubbery.

It was a fun way to spend a gloomy day.

Strawberry Jam Taste Test

Time for a taste-test of strawberry jam.
We had lunch last week at Neptune Diner.
D had eggs and toast, and I took a package of Smucker's Strawberry Jam so we could compare.

 

This is the less-successful of my strawberry jams.
I made it with liquid pectin, and as you can see, it separated into jam and jelly.

But on crackers, you can have a choice.
The one on the top is Smuckers.

The two on the bottom are from the jar of jam.

Of course, we prefer the one homemade from organically grown Mara Des Bois strawberries.
It is tangier and has a more intense flavor.
The Smuckers had no chunks of berry, just seeds, and had a slightly metallic taste.

I was tickled to discover that it was successful to clean and freeze the berries when it was too hot and humid to make jam in the summer.  Then, on a gloomy fall day, the smell of jam-making was a welcome treat.

Kabocha Squash

We are trying a new squash this year.
This is a Japanese variety, very popular in Mexico.

I took some to Mexican friends, and they were delighted.
They had been looking for this squash, and it is not available locally.
I had never tasted it, and they fixed it while I was there.
They cut it into small cubes, skin on, and added water, cinnamon sticks, and lots of brown sugar.
It was delicious, but perhaps too sweet for me.

I couldn't wait to try it.
I cut it into four pieces.
(I don't have the strength to chop small.  It's very hard.)
Put it into the dutch oven with a bit of water.
Cook until tender.

My friends mashed theirs, skin and all.
I peeled off the skin before mashing.
It is super soft, so there is really no mashing, just toss with a fork.

I used half to make an amazing soup with candied ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper.

The other half was served with butter, salt, pepper, and honey.

Delicious.